## Solihull & District Hebrew Congregation Trustee’s ## Annual Report and Accounts For the year ended 28th February 2022 **Enjoying the Thursday Club Baking Workshop** Registered Charity No. 1100938 ## **HOLDING TRUSTEES:** Mr Jon Gouldman Mr Malcolm Hyams Dr Gerald Langman ## **MINISTER:** ## Solihull and District Hebrew Congregation Registered Charity No. 1100938 ## **Address of Synagogue and Jewish Community Centre:** 3 Monastery Drive Solihull West Midlands, B91 1DW 0121 706 8736 office@solihullshul.org ## **BANKERS:** Lloyds Bank PLC The Priory Queensway Birmingham B4 6BP Rabbi Yehuda Pink ## **PRESIDENT:** Mr J Gouldman Barclays Bank PLC 25 High Street Coventry, CVl 5QZ ## **MEMBERS OF COUNCIL:** Mrs S Epstein Mr M Hyams Dr G Langman Mrs A Stone Mr G Stone Mr J Gouldman **Ex officio:** ## **Trustees:** The Trustees named on page one have served throughout the year unless indicated otherwise. Appointment of Trustees is governed by the Constitution of the charity. The Board of Trustees is authorised to appoint new Trustees to fill vacancies arising from resignation or death of an existing Trustee. The Constitution authorises the Trustees to make or hold investments in the general funds of the charity. ## **Description of Organisation:** The Solihull and District Hebrew Congregation was founded in 1963 and was registered with the Charity Commission on 28th November 2003 under registration number 1100938. The constitution was last updated and modified on 3rd September 2015. ## **Constitution, objectives, policies and public benefit:** The Charity is governed by a constitution and its objectives are: i. The advancement of the Jewish Religion to include provision and maintenance of a place of orthodox Jewish worship. ii. Provision of education to adults and children in the heritage, culture and language of Judaism. iii. Provision of welfare and social support for Jewish people. We have an open door policy for all our activities welcoming both members and people with no affiliation. Further details of our activities for the benefit of the public particularly in the area of community cohesion can be found later in this report. The policy of the Charity continues to be to seek additional finance and support in order to enable it to continue and expand its objectives and activities. The Charity’s main sources of income are from members’ subscriptions, donations and grants received from charitable trusts. ## **Reserves:** The trustees regularly review the free reserves available to meet day to day expenses. Funds that are received for a specific purpose are ringfenced for that purpose. We currently have three restricted reserve accounts. The Coventry Burial Fund which may only be used for the costs of burial of people enrolled in the fund, the Building Fund to cover the costs of planned refurbishment and any emergency repairs and the Eric Samuels Legacy Fund. The trustees have identified a target of free reserves equal to six months operating expenses to ensure that any short term downturn in income will not cause undue harm to the day to day operations of the charity and to allow an orderly winding up of affairs should the charity no longer be viable. ## **Fund Raising** The charities fundraising is primarily carried out by the Rabbi and members of the Council, through direct approaches to individuals and other charitable trusts. The Charity has signed up to the Fundraising Regulator to ensure that we follow best practice. In 2021-22, the fundraising objectives were met. No complaints were received about the nature of fundraising carried out on behalf of the Charity. Grants were received from the following Charitable Trusts and foundations. The Arnold Clark Foundation, The Chief Rabbi’s Centre for Community Excellence, Heart of England Community Foundation, Solihull Metropolitan Council Winter Welfare Fund, The Baron Davenport Foundation, The J Davies Charity, The Co-Op Fund, The We Are All Making A Difference Trust, Birmingham Jewish Community Care, The CST on behalf of The Governments Jewish Community Protective Security Fund and The Warwickshire Free Masons Charity. The Trustees are grateful to all the benefactors whose generous contributions remain an important element in the ability of the charity to continue its work. ## **Changes in policy:** The Charity’s policies have remained the same throughout the year. ## **Organisational structure and Management of the Charity:** The Management of the Charity is vested in the Council which is comprised of five members elected for a period of two years. The members of the council have experience in a wide variety of fields and posses a broad range of knowledge and expertise that is of great help in the management of our affairs. The management members are elected by the membership in General Meeting. The members of the Council give their time freely and receive no remuneration or other financial benefits. To assist in the smooth running of the charity there are a number of sub-committees that report back to the council and help them oversee certain aspects of the charity’s work. The membership of the sub-committees reflects the particular skills that members of the Council can bring to the work of the charity. These subcommittees report back with their recommendations to the full meeting of the Council. The Trustees and the Rabbi meet regularly to discuss any relevant matters and to determine which matters need to be placed before Council, and to keep the Council informed of all matters concerning the charity. The Council meet together as a body bi-monthly and are responsible for all decisions taken in relation to the running of and activities provided by the charity. The day-to-day management of the Community Centre and projects are delegated to staff. We have recently added a part time bookkeeper to our staff to aid in the efficient management of our finances. ## **Charity Governance Code** The third edition of the code for charities was published in July 2017. The code lays out seven key areas of governance together with recommended practice for each principle. The Trustees & Council have considered each principle to satisfy themselves that the Charity’s current governance structure explained below satisfactorily addresses each of these principles and, where appropriate, what enhancements might be made. ## **Risk Management and Child Protection Policies:** The trustees have examined the major strategic, business and operational risks that the charity faces and confirm that systems have been established to enable regular reviews to be carried out so that the necessary steps can be taken to lessen these risks. In particular, insurance cover is in place and the finances of the charity are kept under review. Appropriate Disclosure and Barring Service (DBS) checks, supported by regularly reviewed policies, are made for all those who work with children or other vulnerable groups within the Community Centre. All volunteers who work with children or vulnerable adults undergo training and hold certificates confirming that they have received the level of training appropriate to their work. The charity has appointed a suitably trained member of staff to act as Senior Safeguarding Officer for both children and vulnerable adults. All new employees and volunteers are given an induction into the charities policies and procedures and existing employees and volunteers all undertake an annual review of all policies that are applicable to them. Copies of all are policies are kept in a folder that is available for public inspection in the office of the Community Centre. ## **Statement of Trustees’ Responsibilities:** The Trustees are required under the Charities Act 1993 and the constitution of the charity to prepare financial statements for each financial year which give a true and fair view of the state of affairs of the charity and of its results for the period. In preparing those financial statements the Trustees are required to: (a) Select suitable accounting policies and apply them consistently. (b) Make judgments and estimates that are reasonable and prudent. (c) Prepare the financial statements on a going concern basis unless it is inappropriate to assume that the charity will continue in business. (d) Prepare the financial statements in accordance with all applicable financial reporting standards, statements of standard accounting practice and charity statements of recommended practice. ## **Review of Activities:** With the effects of the COVID-19 Pandemic continuing to be felt we have had to look at new and innovative ways to carry out our activities in a manner that protects the well-being of our staff and users while bearing in mind the “Zoom fatigue” that many people were experiencing after a year with very little face to face interaction. Through the dedicated work of our staff and volunteers we were able to put in place a completely new set of activities and succeeded in engaging with more people than ever before. The excellence of our work was recognised by funders and we were successful in securing the additional funding needed to allow us to expand our work. We have continued to work in accordance with the stated aims of the charity, which are promoting Jewish worship, education, community welfare and social support. Our activities can broadly be divided into two categories. Those that service the religious and spiritual needs of our members and those of a cultural and social nature which on the whole are non-denominational and open to all-comers. Our community welfare and social support activities are non-denominational and are kept separate from the religious side of our activities. In order to safeguard this distinction we maintain separate bank accounts for our various activities that are overseen by a separate management committee and are managed by their own treasurer. As they all fall under the main charity mandate each of these groups reports back regularly to the trustees. The trustees have reviewed the objectives and activities of the charity to ensure they continue to reflect our aims. In carrying out this review the trustees have considered the Charity Commission’s general guidance on public benefit and in particular its supplementary public guidance on the advancement of religion for the public benefit. ## **Finances:** Our accounts are prepared on an income and a receipts and payments basis in line with the Charities Commission guidelines for small charities (income below £250,000). As this is simply a snapshot in time we have listed below any anomalies resulting from income expected in the financial year being received late or usual expenditure being delayed. Our accounts include a consolidated account for the four funds operating under the umbrella of SDHC, Synagogue, Ladies Guild, Thursday Club and Tzedokah Fund. (The Cheder Fund that dealt with youth work has been amalgmated with the Tzedokah Fund) These accounts were set up to allow much of the non denominational activities of the charity to be clearly separated from the religious activities although there is some overlap as the main fund is responsible for the upkeep of our community centre which is the venue for many of our non-denominational activities . We have also included a separate break down of the income and expenditure for each fund. The Coventry Burial Fund is valued at £55,350, the Building Fund at £18,000 the E Samuels Legacy Fund and £37,000 and we have a free reserve of £49,000. Bearing in mind the need for prudence and low risk the funds are deposited in interest bearing bank accounts backed by the FSCS. Our headline figures show a net deficit for the group as a whole of £6,133 this was partially due to grants received shortly before the end of the previous financial year that were not spent until this accounting period. It also reflects some refurbishment of our community centre funded by the Eric Samuels Legacy. We have continued to expand the sources of our income to reduce reliance on membership subscriptions, with 80% of our income coming from other sources. With an ageing population and the general move amongst the younger generation towards ‘pay as you go’ rather than a membership relationship this move away from relying on membership income is becoming increasingly important. Our non-denominational work is carried out under the umbrella of the Thursday Club this shows a deficit of £13,612. This is due to an increase in our operational costs as well as a drop in income due to the timing of our crowd funding campaign which ran at the very end of the finacial year with most of the funds received in the following accounting period. We have also been successful in attracting a significant amount of funding from charitable trusts as well as the Local Authority which has allowed us to expand this vital area of our activities. We are also grateful to HMRC for the Furlough funding which allowed us to continue to pay those members of staff whose work was halted due to the pandemic restriction on activities. We took the decision to recognise the valuable contribution these members of staff have made to our organisation and we topped up the government grant to ensure that they received 100% of their normal salary while on furlough. This support was invaluable in ensuring that as we resumed regular activities and the furlough scheme ended we were able to return all employees to their previous paid positions. The Kol Nidrei appeal has continued to play an important role in our overall budget . We have been successful in expanding the appeal to past members and friends of the community who have moved away from Solihull but retain a connection with the community. Our current agreement with Renault who rent a section of our car park is still in place providing another income stream with zero overheads. We have other companies interested in taking Renault’s place should they decide to end the agreement. In line with the decision of the Trustees that we should have six months operating capital set aside as a reserve we have funds invested in two zero risk fixed interest accounts backed by the FSCS. The Trustees and Council have taken the view that the reserve is essential to our long term future and that security of the capital is of paramount importance and therefore have eschewed the chance of higher rate of return from investments that are not 100% secure. It is the aim of the Trustees and Council to continue building up this reserve recognising that as the community ages our income might reduce and that the level of grant funding received will vary from year to year and cannot be taken as a given. The reserve will allow us to continue to operate and provide services to the Solihull community for the foreseeable future. On the other accounts, each of the separate divisions are self financing and managed independently of the main shul account. Each fund has tried to build a small reserve to help cope with short term fluctuations in income. Our finances have allowed the Council to freeze membership subscriptions at the same level as last year. We hope that careful management of our finances will balance the books each year. Overall we are satisfied that we are in a reasonable financial position at the end of our 2022 financial year. we have absolutely no debts and have a small surplus in the bank to cover four months of expenditure in case of emergencies. We will continue to seek ways to broaden our revenue stream to further reduce our dependence on membership subscriptions. We believe the synagogue finances are on a stable footing for the immediate future, however we cannot be complacent and must recognise that there is likely to be an increased demand for our activities and services with a diminishing income stream in the next few years. At the time of writing this report we are struggling as most charities are with the massive increase in energy and raw material costs and an increase in demand for support. We are fortunate that the excellence of our work has been recognised by Solihull Metropolitan Borough Council and a number of charities we has enabled us to continue to operate. We are actively exploring the possibility of installing solar panels to reduce the impact of the rising energy costs. We are also continuing to explore a number of options to ensure that we are able to guarantee the long term financial security of the community. ## **Area of Operation:** As the closest organised Jewish Community which retains the services of a Rabbi we are often called upon to provide support to Jews in an extremely wide geographical area, which includes in addition to Solihull, Coventry, Leamington, Malvern, Ross on Wye, Stratford, Warwick and Worcester as well as a host of smaller towns and villages. We open our activities to all-comers irrespective of whether or not they are formally affiliated with the Solihull Jewish Community. We are often called upon to provide help to visiting Jewish businessmen and tourists. ## **Review of Activities** ## **Community Cohesion** As in person activities have begun to resume we have slowly re-opened our community centre to other we continue to be registered with Solihull Metropolitan Council to allow our Community Centre to be used by the authorities in the case of an emergency requiring accommodation, office space etc. To ensure that our facility is a welcoming place for all users we have embarked on an extensive programme of refurbishment. Rabbi Pink is involved in many different organisations, serving as Chaplain or sitting on advisory committees to local hospitals, prisons, The NEC, SACRE, Solihull Faiths Forum, Safer Solihull Board and Birmingham International Airport Multi Faith Support Team. This has helped to promote a better understanding of the needs of the Jewish citizens of Solihull and also to promote harmonious relationships amongst the various ethnic groups that live in Solihull. Rabbi Pink again played a central part in the National Holocaust Day Service organised by Solihull Council. Due to the pandemic this was held virtually and the programme was hosted on our Zoom platform. We were delighted our annual Menorah during the Festival of participation of the event highlights the of religion and mutual to be able to hold Lighting Ceremony Chanukah with the Mayor of Solihull. This importance of freedom respect and tolerance. In October 2021 we Promoting Tolerance welcomed a large schoolchildren from Region. We are Kaplan, our School for her dedicated were able to restart our programme that number of groups of the West Midlands grateful to Marina Visits Co-Ordinator work. Rabbi Pink has working relationship Police and members neighbourhood police with them on a number racist behaviour in the in our calendar is a reception thanking the their work. This was developed a close with West Midlands of the local team and he has worked of initiatives to reduce borough. A fixture special service and members of WMP for cancelled this year but we hope to run it next year and intent to expand it to include the members of the NHS who have worked so tirelessly over the past year. The Stanley Middleburgh library has continued to be in great demand. With many stuck at home we have had a large demand for the loan of books and DVD’s and we are fortunate to have a wonderful team of volunteers who have happily delivered items to peoples homes. Our Judaica store is a valuable facility that is used by Jews and non Jews seeking a source where they can purchase cards, books and Judaism related items as well as expert advice. This resource is greatly appreciated by local schools looking to boost their RE department. We are proud to be part of the Solihull Food-bank Network which has allowed us to work in close collaboration with other organisations in the area that are helping those in need. Rabbi Pink also volunteered to act as a Community Champion to help spread information from Solihull’s Director of Public Health during the pandemic. He participated in the weekly virtual meetings and helped ensure that the messages shared by the government were reaching as wide an audience as possible. ## **Communications and PR:** Our newsletter, Hakol has continued to play a valuable role in communicating details of our activities to our members and supporters. Graham Stone, our advertising manager and has been successful in increasing the revenue that we generate through advertising, which ensures that this aspect of our work is self funding. We produce two versions of the Hakol a full colour version that is distributed as a PDF to all the members and friends of the community on our email distribution list and a paper version that is sent out to those members who do not have internet access. We have increased the number of our members and supporters who receive information via email helping us cut down on stationery and postage costs and helping us meet our commitment to reduce the environmental impact of our activities where possible. We continue to keep in touch with the elderly members of the community who are unable to venture out by phoning them up or paying them a visit. Our weekly email bulletin is received and read by an increasing number of our members and friends, we also maintain a regularly updated website. Our Facebook page, Instagram and Twitter Feed is managed by Chana Miriam Golub and is another important tool in ensuring that as large a group as possible are aware of our activities and services. We receive a large amount of enquiries as a result of visits to our website. Our activities have been featured in a number of media outlets both locally and nationally in the UK as well as abroad. ## **Religious & Educational Services:** Whilst we have resumed our regular religious activities we have continued to offer the opportunity to join via Zoom were possible.We have a wonderful team of volunteers who helped those who were technically challenged to get online. We sent out over 150 complete Seder in a Box in place of the communal Seder that we have held for the past 3 decades. This allowed many who were having to celebrate Passover at home to observe the festival. Shavuos marked the first time that we were able to come together again as a community to celebrate and everyone was delighted to be able to enjoy a delicious Shavuos lunch together. Every event in the Jewish Calendar was marked with a communal activity. 150 cheescakes prior to Shavuos and 150 Rosh Hashona boxes complete with honey cake and apple and honey and 150 chanukah kits.all the items needed to celebrate the festival were delivered by our wonderful team of volunteers to all our members. None of these would have been possible without the work carried out on a voluntary basis by Rebbetzen Dinie Pink which has allowed us to provide top class events at a fraction of the price it would otherwise cost to organise. We were delighted to be Holy Day Services back extremely fortunate to services of Chazan Zali by Daniel Littlestone singing and lively tunes their feet and singing Rabbi Pink continued zoom message every which participants with each other. Many developed as a result Education has central plank of our learning opportunities levels virtually every total there are eight Most of these classes person but they have all well, one of the positive allowed many people to be able to participate In fact once lock-down able to restart in-person decision to continue classes for the benefit there in person. able to hold the High in our shul. We were once again retain the Rodal, ably assisted and their melodious had everyone tapping along. to broadcast a weekly Friday, following were able to chat new friendships have of this initiative. continued to be a work and there are for all ages and skill day of the week. In classes every week. have now restarted in continued on Zoom as benefits was that it who lived to far away normally to join in. ended and we were classes we took the to live stream all the of those unable to be The week starts with Bagels Lox & Torah at 10.00 am on Sunday morning, a 30 minute breakfast and discussion of an issue of Jewish law or tradition, this is open to men and women and is ideal for someone who is unable to attend classes during the week. The Halacha Shiur is a text based shiur aimed at more advanced learners and takes place every Sunday evening. The SMILES lecture series on a Monday evening continues to attract a loyal following. The Retired Gentlemen’s Shiur on Tuesday Morning, Ladies Discussion Group on a Wednesday Morning, the Shiur on Jewish Philosophy for Ivrit Speakers on Wednesday evening, the Saturday morning Shiur and Talmud Shiur on Saturday Evening provide a variety of opportunities for every age range and level of learning. A number of people have also sought to improve their knowledge by setting up one to one study sessions primary job is to teach accommodate anyone knowledge of Judaism. feel that they do not already packed schedule lifeblood of every Rabbi to fit in another learning with the rabbi. A Rabbi’s and Rabbi Pink will happily who wishes to further their We know that some people want to want to add to his but teaching Torah is the and he will always find time opportunity. ## **Social Activities** The functions committee functions organised by the ensuring that maximum use that we have to offer as other groups in the area. restrictions we held our July and were delighted friends from Sheffield great afternoon. The event ties with neighbouring our aims of breaking building bonds between the co-ordinates all the social community as well as is made of the facilities a community centre by With the relaxation of annual summer bbq in to be joined by our everyone enjoyed a further strengthened our communities and fulfilled down the generation gap different age groups. A very popular addition to our activities is an online Art Class. Taught by Lee Benson a well known local artist and former art gallery owner the classes were a great success it was launced at the height of the pamdemic to relieve the tedium of lock down but was continued even after restrictions were lifted. We also have enjoyed Zoom on the first Thursday session is called “Loaves the aims is to share the are unable to access fresh streamed from Rebbetzen great opportunity to meet do something fun. We were resume this in person baking challahs via of each month. The of Love” as one of loaves with those who bread themselves. Live Pink’s kitchen it was a virtually, have a chat and delighted to be able to during the summer. We strive to be a very enjoying all the social much as possible, so long caring community, aspects of the calendar as may that continue! We have been extremely significant funding from for Rabbinic Excellence organise events that would financial capability. fortunate in attracting the Chief Rabbi’s Centre which has allowed us to otherwise be beyond our ## **The Thursday Club** The Thursday Club is the vehicle through which we deliver our Social Welfare Programmes, these are nondenominational and open to all irrespective of whether or not they are members of the community. Having moved everything online when the pandemic started we were delighted to be able to reopen our Club to visitors in the summer. We attracted a larger audience than pre-pandemic demonstrating how desperate people were for human contact after long periods of isolation. Research by Age Concern found that over 10% of Senior Citizens see themselves as intensely lonely. We have found that there are still many elderly and vulnerable people who were refraining from participating in public events for fear of infection so we took the decision to continue operating our Home but not Alone programme providing fresh meals and volunteer visits to peoples homes. Volunteers visited people throughout the region and ensured that their needs were catered to, whether that was supplying a freshly cooked meal, collecting prescriptions and shopping or even just having a chat. This programme directed by Rabbi & Rebbetzen Pink has been running every single week without fail since April 2020. Thousands of meals including enough chicken soup to fill a lake as well as sufficient food to feed a small army has been cooked, packed a n d d e l i v e r e d . I n the past year w e have supplied 6 3 2 7 freshly cooked meals. Mention must be m a d e of our wonderful t e a m of volunteers who have helped deliver the meals, between them t h e y have driven a staggering 14825 m i l e s since the project w a s launched, with 6 7 9 0 miles driven this year! We also w o r k closely with o t h e r agencies such a s B i r m i n g h a m Jewish Community Care, Age UK, Hearing Dogs for the Deaf etc. to ensure that the services provided by these agencies are properly signposted to our users. We have forged particularly close ties with Birmingham Jewish Housing Association and are very grateful to Phil Linz, the chairman of BJHA for all his support. The Thursday Club has continued to provide a beacon of light in the lives of many of our elderly members and friends. We have continued to invest in new equipment to ensure that we are able to cope with the increased demand for fresh meals whether in person at our club or delivered by our volunteers. As a result of the expansion of our food provision we have joined the Solihull Foodbank Network, a forum set up by Solihull Metropolitan Borough Council to promote collaboration between the various charities providing food support to people in Solihull. We have also joined Neighbourly, an organisation that supports Charities and links them with local businesses. As a result we have partnered with the Sainsburys store in Dorridge and we now receive weekly donations of surplus food from them. Rabbi Pink has been extremely successful in raising funds, primarily from Charitable Trusts to support the rest of our activities. This year we have received grants from Arnold Clark Foundation, Heart of England Community Foundation, The Co-op Foundation, Solihull Metropolitan Council Winter Welfare Fund, The Baron Davenport Foundation, The We Are All Making A Difference Trust, The Warwickshire Free Masons Charity, The J Davies Charity, The Ronson Trust and Birmingham Jewish Community Care. We have also received significant donations of packaging and food from Chevingtons Cheese, 151 and Midland Packaging. With the rising costs of raw materials this support is vital to our ability to continue our work. Our funds are managed separately to the main Shul funds ensuring that every penny raised for the Club is used to further the work of the Thursday Club. Our work would not be possible without the help of our team of volunteers and we give our wholehearted thanks to our dedicated team of volunteers, many of whom are not members of the Solihull Community for their continued support. Particular mention must be made of our caretaker and security officer, Eric Harrison who consistently goes over and above the call of duty in his work for the community. Our plans for the coming year include launching a fortnightly art class for and a weekly excercise class to encourage those who have isolated themselves during the pandemic to re-integrate into society. ## **Tzedokah Fund** The Tzedokah Fund has had a busy year. Our income is derived from donations to the tzedokah (charity collection) boxes in the Shul, private donations and gift aid where the donation was eligible. All donations received are allocated to general charitable use unless the donor has specifically asked for it to be ear marked for a specific purpose or project. We have continued to support a variety of charitable causes both in response to appeals received and proactively when the Rabbi is made aware of an individual or family needing assistance. The privacy of all recipients is carefully protected to ensure that no one will ever refrain from requesting help due to a fear of the c ## **golihull Thursday Club COVI0-(9 Response** 45 Guegt gpeakern 295 �ourn of Cultural Programming 169 Daily Video Meggageg from Rabbi Pink 6327 Mealg Delivered 6790 Mileg traveled by our volunteern 2027 Phone Calls made by our volunteers 1085 Shopping Trips by our volunteern 4530 Home Visits made by our volunteern **Thank you to al I our volunteers without their help we would never have been able to achieve all this.** ## request become public knowledge. The pandemic has led to increased demand for assistance and we have distributed funds and food items throughout the year as well as before Festivals to people requiring assistance, offered short and medium term interest free loans to people in financial need, provided scholarships to young people wishing to pursue further education and helped families cope with the immediate aftermath of accidents, bereavement and natural disasters. ## **Summary of our achievements:** We have continued to increase the scope of our activities in the areas of Social Welfare, Adult Education and Social Cohesion and maintained our level of activities in all other areas. This has allowed us to deliver all our aims and objectives in a manner that surpasses expectations, we have increased the use of volunteers and have successfully implemented feedback from our users to further improve the quality of the services that we offer. With the aid of donations and grants we have been able to continue our programme of refurbishment of our community centre, particularly the facilities for the elderly and disabled. We are confident that we are in a sufficiently healthy state to allow us to bounce back from COVID and continue to expand the work that we do. ## **Plans for the future:** Reach out to more unaffiliated Jewish families in the area to expand our membership base thus reducing our reliance on donations and fundraising. Continue our programme of upgrading and repairing the physical infrastructure of our Community Centre. Expand our educational activities to reach a greater number of our members. Build on the work of the Home but Not Alone Project by expanding our food provision to vulnerable and needy people and expamd the range of activities we provide for senior citizens. Identify areas where we can reduce expenditure by the use of volunteers from within our community. _The financial summary of the last financial year ended 28th February 2022 is attached._ ## **Approval:** This report was approved by the Trustees on 10/11/2022 and signed on their behalf. Gerald Langman Malcolm Hyams SOUHULLA14D DISTRI￿ HEBREW CONGREGATION RÈglstered Charity Number.. 1100938 A¢counts 28 FEBRUARV 2022 INDEPENDENT EXAMINER'S REPORT ON THE ACCOUTrtrs OFTHE SOLIHULL AND DISTRI￿ HEBREW CONGREGATION FOR THE YEAR ENDED 28 FEBRUARY 20Z2 l ￿pOrt on the accountslorthe yearended 28 February 2022 Set out on pages 2 to 9. ertive re5 nslblllile$ of trustee53nd emamlner The charity's trustee5 are responsible for the preparation of the accounts. The charity's trustees considerthat an audit is not required for this year undersettion 144121 of the Charities Act Ithe 2011 Act) and that an independe examination is nEeded. Havin8 Satisfied rnyself that the charity is not subject to an audit under company law and is eliqlble lor independent e¥aminatlon. It15 my responsibillty to.. examine the accounts under sertion 145 of the 2011 Act- Follow the procedu￿5 laid down in the general directions given by the Charllles Cornmission lunder section 145 15lb of the Act) State whether particular matters have come to my attention. of inde ndetht ex iner's ststemeTht Myexaminatlon wa5 carried out in accordance with general dlrectlons given bythe Charity Commisslon. An examination includes review of the accountlng records kept bythe charfty and a compari50n of the accounts presented with those ￿CordS. It also includes consideration of any unusual item5 ordisc105ures in the accounts. and seeking explanations from you a5 tru5tee5 concemlng any such rnatters. The procedures undertaken do not provide all the evidence that would be required in an audit, and consequently no opinion is Eiven a5 to whetherthe accounts p￿sent "true and fairview" and the report 15 limited to those matter5 set out in the st3tement below. Inde endent rniner'5 Statement I have completed my examlnatlon. I tan confimi that no material matter5 have come to my attentton In connettion with the examination gwing cause to belleve that in any material respett the requirement5'. 111- to accounting records wefe not kept in accordance with Section 130 of the 2011 Act,. and - to prepare financial 5tatemeThts whlch accord with the accounting record5 and cornplywith the requiremeTr*s of the Act and the Regulation5 have not been rnet,. OT -to which in myoplnitsn, attention should be drawn In order to enable a proper understanding of the accounts to be reached. I have no oncems and have tome acr¢)s5 no matters in connection with the examination to which attention shoul wn in thi5 report in orderto enable a proper understanding of the accounts to be reached. Rlthard Gold FCA Independent examlner Forand behalf ol Bamett Ravensrroft Llmtted Charterd Atttsuntants 13 Portland Roid EdBbaston Blrmlngham B16 9HN 27 Ortober 2022 Pa8e I Y)LIHULL AND DISTRicf HEBREW CONGREGATION CON50LIDATED FINANCIAL sTATEmE￿s FOR THE YEAR ENDED RECEIPT5 AND PAYMENTS ACCOUNT 28 FEBRUARY 2022 2022 Total 2021 Total RECEIPTS Synagogue Ladies Guild Thursday Club Tzedokah 87.043 1.006 50,645 36.755 82.657 568 102,733 25,496 175.449 211.454 PAYMENTS Synagogue Cheder Larlies Guild Thursday Club Tiedokah 95.B56 55 183 64.257 21,231 84.316 50 1.510 71,894 27,473 181.582 185,243 Net loufflowllinflow of funds 16,1331 26,211 Within the parent charity there are a number of subsidi3ry attiwties that operate independently of the rnain account with their own bank account and treasurer. Namely. Ladies Guild, Tiedokah Fund, Thursday Club and Cheder. The detailed analysi5 Of these accounts is attathed. Page 2 SOLIHULL AND DISTRicf HEBREW CONGREGATION FINANCIAL STATEMENTS FOR THE YEAR ENDED RECEIPTSAND PAYMEpifs ACCOUNT 28 FEBRUARY 2022 21)22 rotal 2021 Total RECEIPTS Government Grants IFurlouBhl Subscription5 Gift Aid Kol Nidrei Appeal 8ank Interest Donation5 1.659 26,821 8.841 11,672 4.113 2,724 5,539 26.632 12.171 2.585 2.928 55,830 49.861 tJp¢ratinK artivltSes to geneRte funds Funrtions and Fundralsin8 Sale of Judaica Rent Received Advertising Income Restricted Grants 402 17,130 10.600 2,026 2,638 16.477 10,000 745 3,142 31,Z13 32.796 Totsi Recelpt5 87.043 82.657 PAYMENTS Charitable Attlvltles Mini5teri31 and Religious Expenses Chazan Expenses Subscrlptlons, Printin8 and Advert15ing C05t of Judaica Affiliated Organisations Other Salaries CommunityActivities 32.375 3.840 239 IS.932 385 5.120 4,694 62.585 29,576 3.700 188 14.738 385 10.830 2,128 61.545 Support Costs Repairs and Maintenance Synagogue Refurblshment Cleaning and Gardening Telephone, Internet and Postage Insurance Gas, Electricity and Water Bank Charges Security C05t5 Secretarial Costs 18.218 486 2,552 2,085 2,183 127 299 6.034 1,287 33.271 95,856 5,564 3.726 2.304 3.090 1,398 296 5.185 1.208 22,771 84.316 Total Payments Bank and Cash Funds lastyear end Net Inthwllotsthowl of Funds Bank and Cash Funds thts yearend 191,908 18,8131 183.095 193.567 11.6591 191,908 Note- Gift Aid The clairn forgift aid relating to donations received In thlsfinancial year was not processed untsl April 2022 and therefore is not included in these accounts. Page 3 SOUHULLANO DISTRI￿ HEBREW CONGReGATION CHEDER- RECEIFtSAND PAYMENT5 ACCOUNT FOR THE YEAR ENDED 28 FEBRUARY IOZZ 2022 Total 2021 Total PAYMENTS Charltable AttivitiES Support Costs Bank Charges 55 50 Totsl Payment5 55 50 Net l¢eceiptsllPaymentsl in year Transfer to Ttodokoh Bank and Cash Funds pa￿ yearend Bankand Cash Fundsthls year end 1551 18,8391 8,894 1501 8.944 8,894 Note Cheder refers to a Sunday School to educate children aboutjewish culture and heritsge. This branch of our charlty also carries out work with youth and school children, in particular our anti-racism and tolerance programmes promoting peacefvl co-existance and British values. Pa8e 4 SOLIHULLAND OISTRicf HEBPEW CONGREGAYION LADIES GUILD- RECEIPTSAND PAYMENTS ACCOUNT FOA THE YEAR E14DED 28 FEBRUARY 2022 2022 Total 2021 Total RECEIPTS Donations and FundraSsln¥ 568 Total Rece5pts 1.006 568 PAYMENTS Function Costs Waitre555es and CleantnE 1.163 347 183 Total Payments 183 1,510 Net RecelwsllPayrnentsl In year 19421 Blnkand ￿sh Fund5 last year end ahk and Cash Fund$thisyear end 917 1,740 1,859 917 Note The Ladies Guild 15 a seperately managed Subsidiary of the main charitywhose purpose is to 5UPPOrt the social and cultural attivites of the comrnuniyu. Page 5 SOUHULLAND DISTrICT HEBREW CONGREGATION TZEDOKAH FUND- RECEIPTS AND PAYMENTS ACCOUNT FOR THÉ YEAR ENDED 28 FEBRUARY 2022 2022 T<>tsl 2021 Total AECEIPTS Gift Aid Donations Restrirted Donations Unrestricted Loan Repayments Grants A¢tivitie5 1,652 12,474 8,095 6.954 6,175 1.000 4.075 7,292 3.024 11.410 Total Rwelpts 36,755 25,496 PAYMENTS Charitable Activities Charitable Payments Synagogue Refurbishment Llbrary Fund 12.496 8,735 13,239 12,295 756 1.183 Total Payments 21,231 27,473 Net Recelpts /IPaymentsl in year Tr•nsf¢rfrom Cheder Bank and Cash Funds last year end B•nk and Cash Funds this year end 15.524 8,889 27.926 52,339 11,9771 29,903 27,926 Note T2edkèh means charity. This account handles both donations made for spetific charitable purposes in line with the wishes of the donor (restricted fund51 such asthe library fund. building fund and donations made for general haritable use. examples of this are grants wade to organisation5 suth as soup kitchens oryouth club5 who have appealed to us for chaTOtable funding or interest free loans to people suffering temporayfinancial difficuky. Page 6 SOLIHULLAND DISTRicf HEBREW CONGREGATION THURSDAY CLUB- RECEIPTS AND PAYMENTS Accouiif FOR THE YEAR ENDED 28 FEBRUARY Z02Z 2022 Tot 2021 Total RECEIPTS Donations GIftAid Unrestricted grants received Restricted grants reteived 21,312 29,417 3.367 21.333 46,010 Operatln¥ 4rtlvltlesto Eeneme funds 85.794 Meals Provided 16.939 Total Recelpts 102.733 PAYMENTS Charitable Arti¥ltle5 Cost of Catering Lecture fees and Zoom Su ortcosts Equipment and Repalrs Elettricity Insurance aeaning Fund RaisiThE Fees Motor Expenses Training Man 29.352 665 27.796 20,832 3.5 35,333 1882 29 245 2(Kl 3( ment and Administratbon Costs Accountsncv Z21 Total Paymtr 64,257 71,894 Net Re¢eipts IIPayTnentsl In year Rent Deposit Bank and Cash Funds last year end Bankand Cash Fund5this year end 113.6121 3,100 34,618 24.106 30.839 3,779 34,618 ￿￿¢$ This fund was set up under the auspices of Solihull and District Hebrew Con8regation and is non demominational. and it exist5 to provides social attivities and wÈMarÈ support forthe elderly Unrestrirted Imay be used at the discretion of the donee charlty In support of the obletts of the donor) Restricted (To be used for specrfically designated purposes) Fundraising fees refer5 to the hosting, commission and credit card fees deducted by the crowd fvnding platform lchèrityextra.coml that we use for public fvndraising. Page 7 SOLIHULL AND D15fRicf HEBREW CONGREGATION FINANCIALSTATEMENTS FOR THE YEAR ENDED 28 FEBRUARY 2022 CASH FUNDS 2022 2021 Bank A¢¢ounts: Synagogue (Less Halifax c￿dit Card) Cambridge and Countie5 Bank ijnited Trust Bank Thursday Club Ladie5 Guild linc Israel Drawl T2edok&h Fund Cheder 27.338 89.337 62,360 24,106 1,740 52.288 44,323 87.585 60,000 34.618 917 27,926 8.894 264.263 Z57.169 2021 Assets Retsined for Charlty's own us¢: Loan- Repayable within 12 month5 Syna808ue and Community Centre Fixture5 and Fittings Sifrei Torah Stock and Equipment 750 330,351 150.IAY) 56.Q 6,0 543,101 750 330.351 150,000 56.0 543.101 Thetrustee5 have not hèd the synagogue and comrnunity centre professlonalty valued and 15 shown at cost. They considerthe current market value to be £1,200,IJXI. Uabllltles.. Wages and PAYE Coveniry Hebrew Con8regation Burlal Fund 2022 34 55.350 55.350 2021 54,000 54.000 J. Gouldman G. LanEfflan Sl8ned on behalf of the trustees on Note The Coventry Burial Fund is estimated at current prlces plus 1.5% p.a for inflation in respect of 16 living members v4hose aEe5 range Irom approximately 60 to 90 Membership of the burial fund exclude5 any payments due to Coventry cr(y Council who are the owners of the cemetery. Page 8 SOUHULLAND DISTr1￿ HEBREWCONGREGAnON FINANCIALSTATEMENTS FOR THE YEAR ENDED 28 FEBRUARY 2022 SHEDULE OF GRANTS RECEIVED 2022 Totsi Arnount Purpose crs Security Chief Rabbi Centre for Communlty Excellence HMRC Furlough Scheme Heart of England Comrnunity Foundation Solihull Metropolitsn Borough Coun¢il- COVID Welfare Fund Solihull Metropolitan Borough Council- Winter Welfare Fund Solihull MÈtropolitsn Borou8h CotJncil- E55ential Food Fund Arnold Clark Foundation Warwick5hire Freerna50ns We Are All Making A Difference The Neighbourly- Virgin Media Working To8ether Fund Birrningham Jewlsh Cornmurnity Care Baron Davenport J. Javies Charity 3,142 Security 3.024 Activities 1,659 Covering Wage5 s,(￿ Work with Vulnerable 5.332 Work with Vulnerable 6.aw Workwith Vulnerable 5.000 Work with Vulnerable 2,500 Work with Vulnerable 1,000 Work with Vulnerable 1.000 Work with VulnÈrable 1,000 Work with Vulnerable 1,000 Work with Vulnerable 1.000 Work with Vulnerable SOO Work with Vulnerable 37,157 Page 9