## **Annual Report 2024 Annual General Meeting of Indigo arts - Online 21 November 2024 @ 18.30 (Postponed from 7 November 2024)**
**Agenda:** Apologies; Chair's Welcome; Minutes of last meeting; Matters arising; Finance Report; Projects Report; Fundraising; Future Projects; Elections of trustees; Election of Officers; AOB; Date of Next AGM
## **Welcome to the Indigo arts Annual General Meeting 2024.**
As always it has been a busy and eventful year for Indigo. Although I am no longer able to attend all events and shows I have managed to support whenever able and have seen some amazing performances from our members over the last year.
Many of our events have taken place at Forge Mill Museum and I would like to thank them for their hospitality over the last year. The mill makes a unique and atmospheric setting for our shows and their support has been invaluable. Community collaborations like these are what make Indigo Arts unique and the benefits to our young members are huge.
4 years on from Covid, we continue to face the challenge of keeping audience numbers up, but Young Indigo workshop attendee numbers seem to be stable and Indigo Co have benefited from a group of members making the jump up from Young Indigo over the year. It was a privilege to see them join the existing members for their first show, Cinema Song Book, back in March.
Fundraising has had an injection of spirit from Lee Rogers who has not only secured some supermarket fundraising spots, but also started the monthly Indigo Arts 'Wheel of Fortune'. I'd like to thank Lee for his continued support and look forward to supporting future fundraisers.
And so we look ahead...in the near future we look forward to Indigo Songbook - our show this coming weekend and then Shrek our next big musical in the spring of 2025, not forgetting all those fabulous fundraisers and community events in between!
Finally I would like to thank everyone involved with keeping Indigo Arts going, from our amazing workshop members, teams and volunteers to the parents and carers that commit to getting them to and from shows and workshops and everyone else in-between - we could not do this without you. The arts are, sadly, not high on schools' priority lists and with your help we continue to provide affordable workshops and opportunities for our members who simply shine in the spotlight.
## _**Alex Collins**_
Chair of Trustees
## **Trustees**
Alex Collins – Chair Natalie Gamble - Community Rep Lucy Prever – Vice Chair/Secretary Lynsey Sutherland - Parent Rep Claire Stanway - Parent Rep
Lyn Wilmott has remained as Projects Administrator and supports the financial administration of both the Trustees and Projects Team. Due to personal issues she looked to stand down from this role last year, but has remained with us, whilst we seek out a replacement. As she has acted as Treasurer to the Trustees over the interim period, we also need someone to cover this role.
We thank her hugely for all the support she has continued to provide to Indigo.
The members of the Trustee body are happy to remain in place for the coming year, and to stand for the offices currently fulfilled. We hope to appoint a new Treasurer.
We have one nomination for an additional Trustee this year:
**Kirsty Brazil** - nominated by Cathy Moss & seconded by Molly Butler
Kirsty’s statement:
_I’ve been a member of indigo for over 20 years since starting high school. Indigo was a place where I finally felt accepted for who I am and I’ve certainly tried to carry the indigo values through the rest of my life into adulthood and motherhood._
_It’s now my time to give back, to give back to others what indigo gave to me._
_Since joining those many years ago, I’ve gained experience both in performing that helps me assist in workshops, running a business which is a good basis for contributing towards ensuring the continued success in raising money to keep indigo going and lastly raising a family which has taught me a lot about supporting younger people and definitely helped me work with all the ages across indigo within workshops as well as on and off stage._
_I’ve always valued being a part of the indigo family and being a trustee feels like a natural progression in my commitment to that._
Should anyone be interested in joining the Trustees, please let us know. The Projects Director or any of the Trustees would be happy to discuss the role further.
## **Finance**
The full accounts will be published on line as usual once audited – and can be seen on the Charity Commission site. These will contain a breakdown of the areas of expenditure. Below is the draft summary of our income and expenditure for the year. As you will see, our income has dropped again significantly, following two years of growth. This has largely been due to limitations on our staffing capacity to deliver projects, and pursue grants, given the many other demands on those running the organisation. Coupled with the economic times in which we live, the hours needed to deliver the same return have increased considerably. We are steadily building a team once more which will help us achieve the results required to sustain the charity aspirations!
|contain a breakdown of the areas of expenditure. Below is the draft summary of our income and expenditure for the year. As you
will see, our income has dropped again significantly, following two years of growth. This has largely been due to limitations on
our staffing capacity to deliver projects, and pursue grants, given the many other demands on those running the organisation.
Coupled with the economic times in which we live, the hours needed to deliver the same return have increased considerably. We
are steadily building a team once more which will help us achieve the results required to sustain the charity aspirations!|contain a breakdown of the areas of expenditure. Below is the draft summary of our income and expenditure for the year. As you
will see, our income has dropped again significantly, following two years of growth. This has largely been due to limitations on
our staffing capacity to deliver projects, and pursue grants, given the many other demands on those running the organisation.
Coupled with the economic times in which we live, the hours needed to deliver the same return have increased considerably. We
are steadily building a team once more which will help us achieve the results required to sustain the charity aspirations!|contain a breakdown of the areas of expenditure. Below is the draft summary of our income and expenditure for the year. As you
will see, our income has dropped again significantly, following two years of growth. This has largely been due to limitations on
our staffing capacity to deliver projects, and pursue grants, given the many other demands on those running the organisation.
Coupled with the economic times in which we live, the hours needed to deliver the same return have increased considerably. We
are steadily building a team once more which will help us achieve the results required to sustain the charity aspirations!|contain a breakdown of the areas of expenditure. Below is the draft summary of our income and expenditure for the year. As you
will see, our income has dropped again significantly, following two years of growth. This has largely been due to limitations on
our staffing capacity to deliver projects, and pursue grants, given the many other demands on those running the organisation.
Coupled with the economic times in which we live, the hours needed to deliver the same return have increased considerably. We
are steadily building a team once more which will help us achieve the results required to sustain the charity aspirations!|contain a breakdown of the areas of expenditure. Below is the draft summary of our income and expenditure for the year. As you
will see, our income has dropped again significantly, following two years of growth. This has largely been due to limitations on
our staffing capacity to deliver projects, and pursue grants, given the many other demands on those running the organisation.
Coupled with the economic times in which we live, the hours needed to deliver the same return have increased considerably. We
are steadily building a team once more which will help us achieve the results required to sustain the charity aspirations!|contain a breakdown of the areas of expenditure. Below is the draft summary of our income and expenditure for the year. As you
will see, our income has dropped again significantly, following two years of growth. This has largely been due to limitations on
our staffing capacity to deliver projects, and pursue grants, given the many other demands on those running the organisation.
Coupled with the economic times in which we live, the hours needed to deliver the same return have increased considerably. We
are steadily building a team once more which will help us achieve the results required to sustain the charity aspirations!|contain a breakdown of the areas of expenditure. Below is the draft summary of our income and expenditure for the year. As you
will see, our income has dropped again significantly, following two years of growth. This has largely been due to limitations on
our staffing capacity to deliver projects, and pursue grants, given the many other demands on those running the organisation.
Coupled with the economic times in which we live, the hours needed to deliver the same return have increased considerably. We
are steadily building a team once more which will help us achieve the results required to sustain the charity aspirations!|contain a breakdown of the areas of expenditure. Below is the draft summary of our income and expenditure for the year. As you
will see, our income has dropped again significantly, following two years of growth. This has largely been due to limitations on
our staffing capacity to deliver projects, and pursue grants, given the many other demands on those running the organisation.
Coupled with the economic times in which we live, the hours needed to deliver the same return have increased considerably. We
are steadily building a team once more which will help us achieve the results required to sustain the charity aspirations!|contain a breakdown of the areas of expenditure. Below is the draft summary of our income and expenditure for the year. As you
will see, our income has dropped again significantly, following two years of growth. This has largely been due to limitations on
our staffing capacity to deliver projects, and pursue grants, given the many other demands on those running the organisation.
Coupled with the economic times in which we live, the hours needed to deliver the same return have increased considerably. We
are steadily building a team once more which will help us achieve the results required to sustain the charity aspirations!|contain a breakdown of the areas of expenditure. Below is the draft summary of our income and expenditure for the year. As you
will see, our income has dropped again significantly, following two years of growth. This has largely been due to limitations on
our staffing capacity to deliver projects, and pursue grants, given the many other demands on those running the organisation.
Coupled with the economic times in which we live, the hours needed to deliver the same return have increased considerably. We
are steadily building a team once more which will help us achieve the results required to sustain the charity aspirations!|
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
|**Income**||||||||||
|**Wkshp**|**Membership**|**Donations/**
**fundraising**|**ticket sales**|**Refunds**|**Merch**|**Projects**|**Interest**|**Bar**||
|3652|250|3231.63|2927.42|26.76|160|1885|2.70|380.06||
|**Total: £12515.57**||||||||||
|**Expenditure**|**Expenditure**|**Expenditure**|**Expenditure**|**Expenditure**|**Expenditure**|**Expenditure**|**Expenditure**|**Expenditure**|**Expenditure**|**Expenditure**|**Expenditure**|**Expenditure**|
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
|**Practitio**
**ners**|**Materials**|**Props/set**
**/costume**|**Tech/Mu**
**sic**|**Bar/Hosp**
**itality**|**Promo**|**Licence/s**
**ubs**|**Venue**|**Service**|**Insurance**|**Bank**|**Energy**||
|1575|93.79|1319.66|398.38|522.51|237.77|1265.46|5464.65|68|710.50|72|614.28||
|**Total:£ 12342**|||||||||||||
The charity continues to run both a Trustee account and a Projects Account, with funding being paid into the Trustee Account, and then being allocated to Projects as necessary, or paid into Projects when directly required for specific activity. The signatories on the accounts are Treasurer: Lyn Wilmott, Chair of Trustees: Alex Collins and Projects Director: Cathy Moss. Once we have secured a new projects financial administrator and/or Treasurer, they will be added to the account in place of Lyn.
Anne Smallman continues to audit our accounts for us.
Our workshop fees, fundraising and ticket sales continue to be the main source of income that sustains the organisation. It is therefore important that to continue our work, and develop it further, we are able to build on membership and attendance at activities.
Young Indigo Workshop fees have not increased since September 2022, where they were raised for the first time in over 10 years. They stand at £66 per term - which remains considerably less than any of the other similar community or commercial provision in the town.
Take 2 Workshop fees were increased to £40 per term
IndigoCo pay £10 per term on top of their membership sub, alongside the commitment to one fundraising show a term, plus involvement in the main shows of the year, with support for events and fundraising.
Membership fees remain at an annual £10 subscription.
All these will be reviewed at the end of the summer term. We continue to hold to the ethos of supporting any member to continue to have access to Indigo regardless of their ability to pay.
We have not suffered too greatly in terms of membership ability to pay, which we feared in the current climate. This seems to demonstrate that we have got the current fee expectations, about right. We have been happy to delay payment to meet individual needs.
Audience figures have been slow to pick up, and building momentum again as we recover from the effects of the pandemic, have proved slower than hoped.
We need to continue to secure further grant income, and increase membership of regular workshops to improve our current situation. We seem to be in a position where numbers are remaining stable again, and where others join, as members move up. It is hopeful then that going forward we will be able to grow the numbers in the group, which will help income.
Unfortunately, however, this has not been the case with Take 2, who have found the commitment harder as members age, and suffered from less support for their activity from a care network in crisis. We therefore took the sad decision to end this as a regular workshop in the summer, but are working to an ‘ad hoc’ model, where we can bring them together for short term projects, which demand less.
Generally, as a charity, we are in a better position to see the organisation through the present economic crisis, so long as we can continue to bring in funding. We are in a better position to provide the access to the arts, which commercial organisations are struggling to maintain with increasing overheads and depleting income.
Indigo has once again secured 100% discount on business rates from the local authority, that being the 80% mandatory charity discount from the government as well as the 20% optional from the authority itself.
Our energy bills are currently working out at about £50 per month, which shows a reduction from last year. Obviously these are likely to increase again in the coming months. We are continuously monitoring our usage, in terms of financial management and impact.
After considerable effort, and jumping through several hoops to meet the financial rigors of Paypal, we are now an approved charity and registered for Paypal Giving. This has provided us with use of a Paypal card terminal, and all our Facebook charity payments come to us via Paypal Giving.
## **Projects Report**
Numbers remain fairly stable in the two regular groups. We are currently at 15 in Young Indigo, and 12 in IndigoCo, longstanding member, Flo, having left in the summer to go to university.
Take 2 shrunk to 6 members, and attendance was fluctuating due to issues with care support, and various issues related to the health, and mental capacity of those involved and their families. The lack of continuity of attendance and ability to rely on member involvement, was inhibiting progress, and adding to pressures, despite members continued overall enjoyment of the group. We therefore took the difficult decision to stand down the regular workshops, which had run for coming up to 22 years, (and the majority of those remaining had been with us for the whole of that time), and move to a more ad hoc way of working, with shorter term projects to which they would need to commit. We wait to see how successful these might be.
We started an informal drumming workshop in March 24, as a result of an approach from members of a group who were meeting to drum for wellbeing elsewhere. Bang on the Drum runs with a fluctuating membership, on a very informal basis each week. Those participating donate as they play. Twitch hosts the workshops, along with Leslie, who instigated the sessions. It is good to have our drums being put to use again!
## **Events since October 2023:**
Sun 8 October Forge Mill Sessions 28,29 October - Oliver
25 November Carnival of Light Parade
3 Dec Forge Mill Christmas Fair
5 Dec With Love from Take 2 at Christmas
8 Dec Christmas Party & Quiz
11 Dec - Morrisons Fundraiser Christmas sing
2 March IndigoCo Cinema Songbook
20 March Take 2 Timewarp
2 April Cloisters by Candlelight - Songs from the shows
5 May Forge Mill 40s Day
18 May Young Indigo 70's Fest
1 July St Davids Care Home
22 July Young Indigo Summer Sessions
27 July Forge Mill Sessions
13 September Forge Mill Heritage Day
21 September Redditch Carnival Procession
As you will see we continue to produce our own shows, as well as getting involved in many community events. Forge Mill have been incredibly supportive in providing spaces for many of our events, and have been instrumental in enabling us to resurrect the ‘Sessions’ initiative, which had all but disappeared coming out of the pandemic. We will continue to build these up again over the coming year.
We enjoy working in partnership with Forge Mill, and helping them out with equipment, set materials and performance for their own events.
We have also continued to work alongside the Violettes, who also support our events, and those which we share with the community.
We look forward to further developing the partnerships we have currently, and forging more in the year ahead.
We hope to get back to pop up events in the town centre, but have issues to resolve over PRS licensing, and organising around the new regime in the shopping centre.
## **Fundraising**
Lee has taken on the lead for Indigo Hearts, helping to co-ordinate a fundraising strategy for Indigo. He has got off to a great start by organising a fundraising gig, along with Kirsty, and involving their two bands, which brought in £608. He has also distributed our funding pots in various Redditch locations, with great results, and got the Wheel of Fortune off the Ground. We hope that there are plenty of you out there, who will join Lee and Kirsty in fundraising activities, they are always looking for supporters.
We continue to get income from those subscribing to the Redditch Local Lottery on a weekly basis, although subscribers have depleted considerably.
Redditch Round Table presented us with a cheque for £375 in January, as part of their Birthday celebrations, and as a result of lots of nominations from you lovely people.
We continue to receive donations through Easyfundraising, and continue to actively encourage people to join up.
We have also received donations from Sue Thompson and Malcolm Carlton, who have helped with Licencing shows, and supporting our projects over the year.
We are looking to get back to grant applications next year, so long as we can find the staffing capacity to devote the time to these. This is a priority.
Thank you to all who have contributed to our fundraising, raised money, bought raffle tickets and donated prizes, and helped run our funding efforts. Every little bit makes such a difference!
## **Staff**
Cathy, Molly and the trustees have been excited to welcome some great new volunteers to the projects team this year, with the addition of Rochelle, Kirsty and Rhiannon supporting Young Indigo. Obviously they also get dragged into everything else that we do, and go above and beyond! Huge thanks to all of them for their hard work with everything Indigo.
We have missed having Alex around, following her departure back to her family home, for personal reasons, but as many will have noticed, she still pops up regularly at events, and is continuing to support as Chair of Trustees. We are enormously grateful for her continued devotion to Indigo!
We are extremely lucky to have an amazing team of staff on board, who have kept Indigo flying through some very testing times, as well as surviving their regular employment!!
This year we have also been pleased to have had a committed team supporting the running of events, and all that goes on front of house, and behind the scenes. We are always looking for people who are happy to join in with all the hard work that goes on with getting the show on the road, and are grateful for anyone who might be happy to get involved. Having now got an Indigo phone so we can create lots of Whatsapp groups to co-ordinate our volunteers, and rally them to arms, we are looking forward to the millions who will join up!
Twitch, Margaret, Alan, Clive, Cathy and Molly, will be very glad to hear of anyone willing to join us with get ins/outs!!! Our average roadie age could do with bringing down a little!!
**Overall, this year has seen a gradual return to what Indigo does best, after a slow recovery from the impact of the pandemic. Momentum in everything is returning, and we are fortunate to be run by a team who grasp every little positive and forge forward with optimism. We are still in difficult times, and the demands on each and every one of the team, should not be under estimated - but we are surviving, even thriving, and very much looking forward to that which is in store for the coming year. With a Christmas full of community events following hot on the heels of our November show, and rehearsals for Shrek underway - the future is looking exciting! We hope you will stay on board for the ride!!**
## **Indigo Arts Profit & Loss Account 2023/2024**
## **Income**
|Project Specific|5,219.00|
|---|---|
|Workshop/Membership|3,902.00|
|Fundraising/Donations|3,392.00|
|Bank Interest|3.00|
|Grants|-|
|**Total Income**|**12,516.00**|
|**Expenses**||
|Promotions|238.00|
|Project Management|1575.00|
|Equipment/Props|2401.00|
|Venue Hire|5465.00|
|Licences|1265.00|
|Insurance|710.00|
|Advertising|0.00|
|Property costs|686.00|
|Bank|2.00|
|**Total Expenditure**|**12,342.00**|
|**Net Profit/(Deficit)**|**174.00**|
## **Signed:**
Alex Collins - Chair Cathy Moss - Projects Director
## **Indigo Arts Profit & Loss Account 2023/2024**
## **Income**
|Project Specific|5,219.00|
|---|---|
|Workshop/Membership|3,902.00|
|Fundraising/Donations|3,392.00|
|Bank Interest|3.00|
|Grants|-|
|**Total Income**|**12,516.00**|
|**Expenses**||
|Promotions|238.00|
|Project Management|1575.00|
|Equipment/Props|2401.00|
|Venue Hire|5465.00|
|Licences|1265.00|
|Insurance|710.00|
|Advertising|0.00|
|Property costs|686.00|
|Bank|2.00|
|**Total Expenditure**|**12,342.00**|
|**Net Profit/(Deficit)**|**174.00**|
## **Signed:**
Alex Collins - Chair Cathy Moss - Projects Director