Trustees’ Annual Report for the Period
From 01.10.2021 (Period start date) To 30.09.2022 (Period end date)
Charity name: Ashington Veterans and Elders Institute
Charity registration number: 1101024
Objectives and Activities
| SORP reference | ||
|---|---|---|
| Summary of the purposes of the charity as set out in its governing document |
Para 1.17 | To provide facilities for recreation and other leisure time occupation, in the interest of social welfare, with the object of improving the conditions of life of the inhabitants of Ashington and the surrounding areas. |
| Summary of the main activities in relation to those purposes for the public benefit, in particular, the activities, projects or services identified in the accounts. |
Para 1.17 and 1.19 |
The end of the Covid-19 pandemic from the previous year meant that activities/revenue returned to more normal levels this financial year. Members have 8am until 11pm access to the building which provides snooker, billiards, darts and indoor table games. They can socialise over refreshments, watch tv, or use the institute as a drop-in centre if they wish. Members can join local snooker and billiards leagues which enables contact and establishes friendship with others in the local community who have similar interests. In year ending September 2022 we ran internal competitions and held special events including the occasional barbecue, an exhibition match in January 2022 with Cliff Thorburn and a Music Night in August 2022. Members and visitors continued to have access to our established community garden to either work in or relax in. We continued and extended our woodworking workshop which members can join and either help with institute projects or use equipment for their own private tasks. Our established local guitar group continued to practice twice a week and small crafts and activity workshops were held occasionally. |
| Statement confirming whether the trustees have had regard to the guidance issued by the Charity Commission on public benefit |
Para 1.18 | Trustees had previously obtained their joining pack by accessing the Charity Commission website and receiving hard copies. Now they only have access to files which they can print off themselves if they wish to have hard copies. They are encouraged to do this. Any changes are communicated at committeemeetings. |
|---|---|---|
Additional information (optional)
You may choose to include further statements where relevant about:
| SORP reference | ||
|---|---|---|
| Policy on grant making | Para 1.38 | The charity does not normally make grants to other organisations. |
| Policy on social investment including program related investment |
Para 1.38 | The charity does not normally get involved in social investment. |
| Contribution made by volunteers |
Para 1.38 | The charity only normally seeks contributions from volunteers when working parties are needed for the upkeep of the premises. Volunteers help to keep the place clean and tidy, organise events and help to maintain the quality of the snooker tables. Around 12 volunteers are involved in running the community garden, and a volunteer has taken up the role of Garden Club Organiser. More volunteers joined our woodworking project this year, raising money for local charities. Activities include cutting, painting and selling. Volunteers themselves are suggesting improvements and new designs all the time, and one of them has taken up the role of project co-ordinator. Both of these project leaders have been elected as Trustees. Coffee mornings became an even stronger part of the institute this year, and our Garden Club members continue to run these events themselves. These are now held every month, an increase of three per year from the previous financial period. One of our volunteers is a member of Ashington Camera Club and he continued to showcase the activities of AVAEI. He once again photographed Brightside volunteers in action, Buzz volunteers in action, our garden club members carrying out their activities and our coffee morning activities, aswellas the exteriorofthe |
| building. He continued to photograph our Music Nights and exhibition matches, so these photos could be displayed around the building, used on social media and used on our website. He produced collages of our main activities. Another of our members continued to see that our building was kept in good condition by carrying out small maintenance jobs around the premises. |
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|---|---|---|
| Other | Earth Balance allowed us to use one of their buildings for us to carry out our woodworking in. They have been supportive in allowing us to develop this building should we get funding. Brightside Adult Services continued to help us in the Community Garden and with our woodworking projects, Buzz Learning helped us paint our fence and Akzo Nobel donated paintforour large garden improvements. |
Achievements and Performance
| SORP reference | ||
|---|---|---|
| Summary of the main achievements of the charity, identifying the difference the charity’s work has made to the circumstances of its beneficiaries and any wider benefits to society as a whole. |
Para 1.20 | The main achievement this year was being nominated for and receiving the Queen’s Award for Voluntary Service. We were nominated in November 2021, and through the sifting system we were presented with the award, which is the equivalent of an MBE, and is for life, in June 2022. A group of volunteers were invited to receive the award from The Duchess of Northumberland at a Garden Party at Alnwick Gardens. We also had representatives attend the Royal Garden Party at Buckingham Palace and The Pageant at the end of The Mall, as AVAEI was invited to be part of the Queen’s Platinum Jubilee Celebrations. We had many of our own Jubilee events at the institute. We ran snooker, billiards and dominoes competitions, held a free members event, and decorated the inside and outside of the institute with bunting for the three weeks we held activities. We held our main Jubilee Event on June 12th which was especially for those who’d made a contribution to the institute as volunteers. We invited 80 local people for a free buffet, freeraffle andlivemusic. |
This event was organised by a Steering Group of mostly new members. Admission was ticket only. We received funding for Ashington Town Council, Northumberland County Council, Newcastle Building Society and ASDA to help run events for our members and volunteers. We maintained our member numbers, introduced more Garden Club members and again encouraged more women to get involved in our activities. We grew our female numbers to 23 by the year-end. Two of these women members acted firstly as Steering Group leaders then were elected on to the committee. For the first time in a number of years AVAEI has a full committee compliment of ten Trustees, the most our Constitution allows. We generated more interest from the local community by improving and extending our activities at Coffee Mornings. We maintained links with ASDA, the Co-op and Newcastle Building Society, where we returned to use their meeting room for our OGM in June 2022 and for our AGM in October 2022. We started links with the local Scouts by holding a colouring competition around Easter. We continued with the upgrade of the premises by completing the redecoration of the outside of our building and the repainting of our entire perimeter fence. We installed a new roof over our toilet block and installed three water butts to help reduce our overall water usage.
We built a shaded area in the garden, replaced our snooker table lights with LED units and replaced the older of our three tables with a newer one.
The main focus this year was once again on our fundraising around our woodworking activities.
We continued to sell these products at our coffee mornings, which again generated more revenue for us as the public got even more behind the project this year.
We have now sold over 3,000 products and raised over £19,000 for the NHS and SSAFA locally. We have received grants to enable us to buy more tools and to make our workshop at Earth Balance more efficient and comfortable. We hired a stall at Amble Market which allowed us to sell these items to people from outside of our local community and plan to do more of these events this year. We further-developed our Community Garden by installing a potting shed to replace a perspex greenhouse which was damaged beyond repair during storms in November 2021. We introduced more activities at our Music Nights by running a quiz and a bingo session. These nights typically attract the maximum number we can comfortably fit inside the building – 60 – as members of the public join our members on these popular occasions.
Additional information (optional)
You may choose to include further statements where relevant about:
| Achievements against objectives set |
Para 1.41 | We completed all of our outstanding projects and committed to further improvements to our premises this coming year. We got our committee up to the maximum number our Constitution allows. We changed our membership application forms in line with our re-written Constitution. Our social media groups have over 200 members and our website is fully-up to date. |
|---|---|---|
| Performance of fundraising activities against objectives set |
Para 1.41 | We kept our table fees the same as previous years. We again raised money from our refreshments sales, coffee mornings, room hire and selling through our Small Lotteries Licence. Our coffee mornings are now a major income stream for us and help us to connect with the local community. We are committed to holding them every month, when previously we stopped during the winter. |
| Investment performance against objectives |
Para 1.41 | Not applicable. |
| Other |
Financial Review
| Financial Review | ||
|---|---|---|
| Review of the charity’s financial position at the end of the period |
Para 1.21 | Trustees were reasonably happy with the financial position at the end of the year. The charity is still financially sound, which is very similar to the previous year’s performance. Our regular income is growing but we are very much aware of the enormous increases we face with our energy costs. We estimate these to grow from an annual cost of around £900 a couple of years ago, to what will be over £4,000 per year and perhaps even higher. Our Treasurer has put in a tremendous amount of work to keep a control of this, but these are tough times with much uncertainty in the energy market. The business interruption grants we received from the County Council during Covid-19 have therefore been very important to us. Trustees understand that investment in the future may well be very difficult if energy costs continue to increase so much. Decisions on what can be spent and on what projects will be difficult ones in the months ahead. The Trustees are aware of the situation and why prudent financial control is required right now. |
| Statement explaining the policy for holding reserves stating why they are held |
Para 1.22 | Even more prudent financial management. We are a not-for-profit organisation and any surplus at the end of the financial year is ploughed back into the future running of the institute. All surpluses are used for the benefit of members, and a year’s regular income held in reserves is our aim. |
| Amount of reserves held | Para 1.22 | £41,116 |
| Reasons for holding zero reserves |
Para 1.22 | Not applicable. |
| Details of fund materially in deficit |
Para 1.24 | Not applicable. |
| Explanation of any uncertainties about the charity continuing as a going concern |
Para 1.23 | The Covid-19 pandemic has resulted in a handful of our members either not returning, or were slow to come back. |
We are confident we have a sound financial structure and operating model, we have a sound membership base and committed Trustees and volunteers with the support of the local community. The only uncertainty Trustees have about the charity continuing as a going concern is around the increasing energy costs, which we are aware of, and we are doing all we can to maintain our activities and facilities.
| Additional information (optional) Youmay choose toincludefurtherstatements |
Additional information (optional) Youmay choose toincludefurtherstatements |
whererelevant about: |
|---|---|---|
| The charity’s principal sources of funds (including any fundraising) |
Para 1.47 | Income from snooker table usage and membership fees, room hire, refreshment sales, events and small lottery income. We have recently had interest from people wanting to start other groups off in our committee room, which would generate more income. We hope to develop this in the coming months through craft and painting activities. We have had to increase all of our membership fees for the coming year. We explained to membership at the AGM in October that this was to try and minimise the effect increased energy costs would have at the institute. They accepted this and supported it. Our coffee mornings have become a major success, and we hope to continue building revenue from these monthly events in the future. We are now committed to running six Music Nights a year, and we’ll continue to run internal competitions and exhibition matches. We are again taking new members and allowing visitors who can attend with a member if they pay a daily fee. |
| Investment policy and objectives including any social investment policy adopted |
Para 1.46 | None planned. |
| A description of the principal risks facing the charity |
Para 1.46 | We are pleased to be forecasting an increase in regular revenue this financial year. If institute usage continues at its present level we would be anticipating to make a decent profit in this 12 month period. |
However, increases in energy costs will bring that anticipated profit into a loss. This is very much out of our own control. We are, however, a little more optimistic than we were during the height of the Covid pandemic, but with the prospect of large increases in utility charges looming, we are mindful that prudent financial management is needed by every one of our trustees and users. Other
Structure, Governance and Management
| Description of charity’s trusts: |
None | |
|---|---|---|
| Type of governing document (trust deed, royal charter) |
Para 1.25 | Constitution |
| How is the charity constituted? (e.g unincorporated association, CIO) |
Para 1.25 | Charitable Institute |
| Trustee selection methods including details of any constitutional provisions e.g. election to post or name of any person or body entitled to appoint one or more trustees |
Para 1.25 | Nominated and seconded by members, appointed at AGM. Election by ballot at AGM if required. Notices for nominations on display one month prior to AGM. Constitution allows for four Honorary Officers and up to four Lifetime Presidents to form a committee of at least six and up to ten. Non-members can be elected as trustees, but have no voting rights. |
| Additional information (optional) Youmay choose toincludefurtherstatements |
Additional information (optional) Youmay choose toincludefurtherstatements |
whererelevant about: |
|---|---|---|
| Policies and procedures adopted for the induction and training of trustees |
Para 1.51 | New trustees receive links to The Charity Commission website and are encouraged to read about their role as a Trustee. They receive a copy of our Safeguarding, Health and Safety and Equal Opportunities Policies at their first meeting following their appointment. These policies are all on display on the main notice boards. |
| The charity’s organisational structure and any wider network with which the charity works |
Para 1.51 | Chair, Vice Chair, Treasurer, Secretary, two Lifetime Presidents and four other trustees. We currently have no vacancies on the committee. We are an individual charity. |
| Relationship with any related parties |
Para 1.51 | Regular contact with Age UK, Newcastle Building Society, Earth Balance, Brightside Adult Services, Buzz Learning, NHS and SAAFA. We hope to further-develop our relationship with the Scouts this coming year. Three more of our members joined Earth Balance at Bomarsund this financial year, ensuring we could continue our woodworking sessions in bespoke surroundings |
| Other | Networking with similar snooker clubs in the area. Developing our website and social media pages. We now have over 200 members of our own Ashington Community Garden Facebookpage, (double thenumber from |
last year) the institute’s main way of informing the public what is happening in the garden. We regularly update our website to show the latest news and activities around the institute. We contact the local press if we feel they might be interested in the activities we run. They have featured a number of our activities, including our exhibition matches with former World Snooker Champions.
Reference and Administrative details
| Charityname | Ashington Veterans andEldersInstitute |
|---|---|
| Other name the charity uses | |
| Registered charitynumber | 1101024 |
| Charity’s principal address | Woodhorn Road Back Ashington Northumberland NE63 9AG |
Names of the charity trustees who manage the charity
| 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 |
Trustee name | Office (if any) | Dates acted if not for wholeyear |
Name of person (or body) entitled to appoint trustee(if any) |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| William Thompson | Chair | |||
| Lawrence Duddridge | Vice Chair | |||
| Kenneth Hicks | Treasurer | |||
| Keith Green | Secretary | |||
| John Hume | Lifetime President | |||
| John Dobinson | Lifetime President | |||
| Colin Neary | Trustee | |||
| Alan Oliver | Trustee | |||
| Helen Anderson | Trustee | June 2022 to Sept 2022 | ||
| Lynn Gray | Trustee | |||
Corporate trustees – names of the directors at the date the report was approved Director name
Name of trustees holding title to property belonging to the charity
| Trustee name | **Dates acted if not for whole year ** | |
|---|---|---|
| Keith Green | ||
| John Hume | ||
Funds held as custodian trustees on behalf of others
Description of the assets Not applicable. held in this capacity Name and objects of the Not applicable. charity on whose behalf the assets are held and how this falls within the custodian charity’s objects Details of arrangements for Not applicable. safe custody and segregation of such assets from the charity’s own assets
Additional information (optional)
Names and addresses of advisers (Optional information)
Type of Name Address adviser
Name of chief executive or names of senior staff members (Optional information)
Exemptions from disclosure
Reason for non-disclosure of key personnel details
Other optional information
Declarations
The trustees declare that they have approved the trustees’ report above.
Signed on behalf of the charity’s trustees
| Signature(s) Full name(s) Position (eg Secretary, Chair, etc) Date |
K Green | K Hicks |
|---|---|---|
| Keith Green | Kenneth Hicks | |
Secretary |
Treasurer | |
| 08.11.22 | ||
| 08.11.22 |
( Period from: 01-Oct-2021 to 30-Sep-2022)
| Ashington Veterans and Elders Institute 2021/22 Profit & Loss Statement Income Category Associate Membership £202.00 £202.00 Community Garden Membership £79.00 £281.00 Community Garden Income £281.00 Garden Club Income £2,702.03 £2,983.03 Competitions Income £139.00 £3,122.03 Chalk & Tips Money £37.60 £3,159.63 Donations £347.05 £3,506.68 Third Party Donations Income £9,326.00 ######## Full Membership £1,527.00 ######## Grants (Restricted Income) ######## Co-operative Society £3,650.47 ######## NCC Community Fund 2021 £4,600.00 ######## Queens Platinum Jubilee £1,400.00 ######## National Garden Society £1,720.00 ######## Grants (UnRestricted Income) ######## NCC Covid Grant 2022 £2,667.00 ######## Miscellaneous Income £117.79 ######## Meters £4,889.80 ######## Refreshments Income £1,381.15 ######## Room Hire £1,086.00 ######## Small Lottery Income £52.00 ######## Special Events Income £998.26 ######## Tea & Coffee Money £469.42 ######## Visitors Fees £63.20 ######## Total Income £37,454.77 Total Grant Income £14,037.47 Total Non-Grant Income £23,417.30 |
Balances Cash in hand as at 01-Oct-2021 Opening Bank Balance Available Opening Balance Profit (Loss) to 30-Sep-2022 Cash in Hand as at 30-Sep-2022 Current Bank Balance - Accruals for this Year Available Bank Balance + Payments from Previous Year ` |
£143.17 £43,475.96 £43,475.96 (£2,502.96) £41,116.17 £95.84 £41,020.33 £41,020.33 £41,116.17 |
|---|---|---|
| penditure | Category | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Community Garden Expenditure | ||||
| Garden Club Expenditure | £818.40 | £818.40 | ||
| Competitions Expenditure | £275.00 | £1,093.40 | ||
| Gas and Electric | £2,297.69 | £3,391.09 | ||
| Insurance | £953.45 | £4,344.54 | ||
| League Fees | £48.00 | £4,392.54 | ||
| Maintenance & Repairs | £2,936.82 | £7,329.36 Funding Grants |
||
| Grant Expenditure | £7,329.36 | |||
| (1)(2)(6) | Garden Shade Roof | £2,880.00 | ######## (1)NCC Community Chest 2021/22 |
|
| (1)(3)(4) | Roof Repair | £3,765.00 | ######## (2)National Lottery 2020/21 |
|
| (3)(4) | New Snooker Table | £1,000.00 | ######## (3)NCC Covid 19 BI Grant 2019/20 |
|
| (3) | Replacement Table Lights | £1,107.28 | ######## (4)NCC Covid 19 BI Grant 2020/21 |
|
| (1)(4) | Building External Decoration | £2,310.00 | ######## (5)Co-op Society Garden Grant 20 |
|
| (5) | Garden Shade Furniture | £1,150.00 | ######## (6)Co-op Society Garden Grant 20 |
|
| (3) | Outside Toilet | £384.00 | ######## (7)Funded by Queens Platinum Jub |
|
| (8) | New Potting Shed | £930.90 | ######## (8)Funded by National Garden Soci |
|
| (8) | Mature Garden Tree | £569.05 | ######## | |
| (6) | Commmunity Garden from Grants | £199.94 | ######## | |
| (7) | Queens Platinum Jubilee | £1,425.04 | ######## | |
| Third Party Donations Expenditure | £9,326.00 | ######## | ||
| Miscellaneous Expense | £2,077.10 | ######## | ||
| Miscellaneous Supplies | ######## | |||
| Refreshments Expenditure | £965.82 | ######## | ||
| Council Rates | ######## | |||
| Security | £475.84 | ######## | ||
| Small Lottery Expenditure | £90.00 | ######## | ||
| Snooker Equipment/Maintenance | £1,854.23 | ######## | ||
| Special Events Expenditure | £868.00 | ######## | ||
| Stationery | £11.14 | ######## | ||
| Tea and Coffee Supplies | £124.11 | ######## | ||
| Telephone & Broadband | £418.81 | ######## | ||
| Toilet/Cleaning/Kitchen Supplies | £219.54 | ######## | ||
| TV Licence | £159.00 | ######## | ||
| Water Rates | £317.57 | ######## | ||
| Total Expenditure | £39,957.73 | |||
| Total Grant Expenditure | £15,721.21 | |||
| Total Non-Grant Expenditure | £24,236.52 | |||
| Total Profit/Loss | (£2,502.96) | |||
| Regular Profit/Loss | (£819.22) | |||
| Grant Excess/Depletion | (£1,683.74) | |||
| Accrued Expenditure | ||||
| Adjusted Regular Profit/Loss | (£819.22) |
Expenditure
(3) NCC Covid 19 BI Grant 2019/20
(4) NCC Covid 19 BI Grant 2020/21
(5) Co-op Society Garden Grant 2020/21
(6) Co-op Society Garden Grant 2021/22
(7) Funded by Queens Platinum Jubilee donations (8) Funded by National Garden Society
Michelle Brannigan 2 Aintree Close Ashington Northumberland NE63 8NB
Ashington Veterans and Elders Institute Back Woodhorn Road Ashington Northumberland NE63 9AG
To Chair of Trustees,
I report on the receipts and payments accounts for Ashington Veterans and Elders Institute for the year ended September 2022.
The trustees are responsible for the preparation of the accounts. The trustees consider that an audit is not required for this year under section 144(2) of the Charities Act 2011 (the 2011 Act) and that an independent examination is needed.
Having satisfied myself that the charity is eligible for independent examination, it is my responsibility to:
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Examine the accounts under section 145 of the 2011 Act.
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Follow the procedures laid down in the general Directions given by the Charity Commission under section 145(5)(b) of the 2011 Act;
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and
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State whether particular matters have come to my attention.
My examination was carried out in accordance with the general Directions given by the Charity Commission. An examination includes a review of the accounting records kept by the charity and a comparison to the accounts presented with those records. It also includes consideration of any unusual items or disclosures in the accounts and seeking explanations from you as trustees concerning any such matters. The procedures undertaken do not provide all the evidence that would be required in an audit and consequently no opinion is given as to whether the accounts present a ‘true and fair’ view, and the report is limited to those matters set out in the next statement.
Independent Examiners Statement
In connection with my examination no matters have come to my attention, which gives me reasonable cause to believe that, in any material respect, the requirements:
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To keep accounting records in accordance with Section 130 of the Charities Act 2011; and
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To prepare accounts which accord with the accounting records and comply with the accounting requirements of the Charities Act
have been met.
Signed:
Name: Mrs Michelle Brannigan Date: 15/10/2022