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2021-12-31-accounts

Open Door - Colchester Annual Report

2021

Registered charity number: 1101675

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Contents

History and Background ............................................................................................. 3 Chairman’s Letter ....................................................................................................... 5 Director’s Report ........................................................................................................ 7 Report on the Public Benefit .................................................................................... 10 Client Stories ............................................................................................................ 11 Treasurer's Report ................................................................................................... 13 Accounts: Open Door Colchester ............................................................................. 14 Management and Constitution ................................................................................ 18 Financial Policies ...................................................................................................... 19 Independent Examiner's Report on the Accounts .................................................... 20

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History and Background

Open Door began after some church members invited a few young drug users for coffee and biscuits. In response to the obvious need for help, support and somewhere to go, Open Door was born in September 1986. Initially, six volunteers opened up the church vestibule for just two hours a week. This quickly became four hours a week, then three days a week soon after. The volunteers were able to welcome people with a wide variety of needs and could listen, support and form relationships with those they were welcoming.

After five years in cramped conditions in the vestibule, it was decided that a church lounge would be built. This building project also included an office that enabled confidential conversations to happen and the use of a telephone. During this period, three team leaders were appointed, one for each day that Open Door was open, all under the leadership of the Director.

Listening and counselling, formal or informal, were at the heart of what Open Door offered. It is a very informal setting where people can come and go as they please. Guests can sit quietly on their own, or one of the team will always be happy to talk with them.

Open Door has been grounded in prayer from the beginning, with the team meeting to pray each morning. Many people have come to find faith in Jesus through the work of Open Door, and many others have benefitted emotionally or practically from their involvement in the charity.

There have been many challenging moments over the years as guests are often in challenging situations. A number of people have passed away significantly from the rough sleeping community. In addition, there have been ongoing battles with various addictions, but many success stories of addictions have been beaten.

Drug addictions have often been a very common challenge experienced by guests. In recent years, mental health has become the dominant challenge faced by the guests to Open Door.

In 1994, Cornerstone came to life as a form of church for those who struggled with ‘normal’ churches. Until September 2018, they met weekly in the back room of the Odd One Out pub in Colchester.

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A couple of years after that Beacon House was set up as a separate charity (originally named Open Door Primary Health Care Centre) that focussed entirely on those who were homeless or at risk of homelessness.

For over 20 years, a Christmas lunch has been served to the guests with turkey and Christmas pudding for everyone. This is a joyful occasion to celebrate and often give gifts to the guests.

In 2004, Open Door – Colchester was registered as its own charity with the Charity Commission. Strong links have remained between Open Door and Colchester Baptist Church, and they continue to allow the use of their premises free of charge.

Over seven years ago, further opportunities were developed for guests to explore and express their Christian faith. Open Door opened every Tuesday for a Bible study (called Tuesday@Twelve) and every Sunday for a service (called Sunday@One). These quickly grew and were popular with the guests providing an accessible form of church for those who again may not be comfortable with ‘normal’ church.

While much has changed over the years at Open Door, and there have been six different Directors, the DNA has remained unchanged. Open Door is still a place where anyone can come to be welcomed, served affordable food and drink, treated with dignity and respect, listened to and supported through whatever challenges they face. There is no typical Open Door guest, but they may be homeless, unemployed, hungry, addicted, elderly, lonely or struggling with mental illness. Thousands have been served over the years, and we trust God that many thousands more will continue to be served in the years ahead.

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Chairman’s Letter

Chairman’s Letter

“Resilience” had undoubtedly been one of the underlying themes in 2021. The year started with another bout of ‘lockdown’ and finished the year operating ‘at full steam’ with the plan to open on an additional weekday – Tuesdays. However, support continued throughout lockdown, with staff and volunteers contacting guests to check whether they were ‘OK’ or if they needed any help. Critical issues encountered during lockdown included increased loneliness, poor mental health and bereavement. Food parcels were prepared and distributed through Beacon House during the second lockdown. Through God’s wonderful provision of resources and a team of compassionate, resilient staff and volunteers, Open Door had again been able to fulfil its two charitable objectives as set out in its Constitution, providing services such as refreshments, listening, caring, signposting, and Christian-based support to those in need in the Colchester area.

Staff

In July this year, our Director, Rev Simon Heard, moved to take the lead role at Watford Baptist Church. We are grateful to Simon for his innovation and passion. Lee McDade joins as the new Director in October. Lee’s experience at SASRA of dealing with the human condition, often among the vulnerable, has prepared him for his new role. His leadership skills and passion for life in all its fullness will undoubtedly be of great benefit to the team and guests. A big thank you to Kaoru for taking on increased responsibilities during the change of Directors and for shouldering the increased challenges of lockdown.

Volunteers

The Covid-19 pandemic and lockdowns resulted in around two-thirds of Open Door’s volunteer staff (many of whom were vulnerable by age and health conditions) having to stand down / retire. However, an overriding culture of compassion has led to innovation, with many people coming forward to offer their services and help. We were delighted to welcome new team leaders drawn from local Churches’ Hannah (Colchester Baptist), Anna (Orchard Baptist) and Nicky (St John’s C of E). Long-term volunteer Dr Mary Isaacs recently moved to Chicago, and the visitors and volunteers will miss her happy disposition. Thank you, Mary.

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Trustees & Advisors

Ted Drake, our ‘Honorary’ Treasurer since 2004, stood down at the October AGM. We are exceedingly grateful to Ted for his sage financial management and oversight as a Trustee. His knowledge and wisdom will be greatly missed. Grant Duminy joined as a trustee and was appointed Treasurer at the AGM. Darren Greenfield joined as a new trustee. Rev Cole Maynard (trustee) resigned in December as he moved to a new church in Ipswich. A big thank you to Cole for his mentorship to the Director and his training skills and for being an enthusiastic Ambassador of the work of Open Door. I thank the trustees and Pam Simpson for her safeguarding support and Mike Baker for due diligence in the independent examination of Open Door’s Annual Financial Accounts.

Donations

We are grateful to all our stakeholders who have generously resourced the running of Open Door. Your grants, individual gifts, and legacies have enabled the Open Door team to make a massive difference to hundreds of guests at Open Door Colchester.

Recognition and thanks are also due to Gerry Linderman, a guest of many years standing for his remarkable efforts and tenacity in raising funds for Open Door. In September, Gerry completed the Open Door sponsored walk of 8 miles around Alton Water and raised over £1,800- a personal best! Over the years, Gerry had proved to be Open Door’s most significant individual fundraiser!

Tim Rose, Honorary Chairman, August 2022

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Director’s Report

Post-Covid

In the last report, I mentioned that we found ourselves having to adapt our services to help people in need due to the Covid 19 pandemic. Now we are “post-Covid”, we are aware that more people than before find themselves needing support for either practical or mental health needs.

Thankfully, we have extended our opening days to 5 days a week. For the first time ever, we have been able to open our café/drop-in on Tuesdays. This is one step closer to our vision to open every day of the week.

It is important that Open Door doesn’t divert too far from our main objective: which is to offer a befriending service to our guests. Some people may find themselves at a particular difficult time in their life due to a change in their circumstances; Open Door has always been a lifeline that has contributed to rebuilding their life. We do not underestimate how important it is to have a friend to journey with through the low times. That is why I am very proud of our staff and volunteers. They give their time, energy and compassion at least one day a week (some give more) to support our guests. Their sacrifice for others is admirable and worthy of highlighting in my report.

Kintsugi Hope

It is nationally recognised that the pandemic has further contributed to an already growing rise of mental health issues in the UK. This prompted us to think about offering to our guests, a wellbeing peer support group. Over the last few months 6 of our volunteers have been trained up as Kintsugi Group Leaders.

The first group that we hosted was initially attended by 8 people, 5 of whom stayed the course. People really felt that it was beneficial in maintaining their mental wellbeing. Due to the success of the first 9-week session, we have decided to run another course in spring 2022.

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Foodbank

It is a privilege to work in partnership with Colchester Foodbank as a satellite hub in the Colchester Town Centre (soon to be a city). Being in the centre of the town means that those who live nearby that are without vehicles can easily access the service. We provide food to hundreds of people a year who find themselves in need. Post-Covid, more individuals and families find themselves on the breadline due to the rise in fuel and energy prices. We could never say that providing for so many people is a “success”, but we are grateful that we are able to help throughout this tough time. Working alongside Foodbank gives Open Door an opportunity to further support people by offering them more than just food. By spending time with people, we can help find the root of the problem and help them accordingly to move towards a better life.

Discipleship

It is fundamental that we do everything to help and support people with whatever practical need they might be facing. However, we often find that even though people get back on their feet, they still feel something lacking in their life. One of my most treasured verses from the Bible is taken from the famous Psalm 23, “the Lord is my Shepherd, I lack nothing”.

Many of our volunteers have had similar experiences to that of some of our guests. At one point, life was lacking in some way, but now we experience the hope of knowing God. Many can attest to the meaning and purpose Jesus brings to their lives and want others to experience the fullness of life that Jesus promised. We don’t ever want to force people to believe what we believe, but we simply share our own testimony in the hope that God can too.

Tuesday at 12 offers our guests the opportunity to learn more about the Bible, and we always attempt to make it applicable to our lives. It is astonishing to see those with mental health-related issues engage. It is amazing to witness those who lack confidence read out loud. It is phenomenal to hear people from all walks of life recall different stories and events from the Bible and share what each verse means to them. Sunday at 1 (The Circle) also gives those who wouldn’t usually feel comfortable in a traditional church setting to feel safe in their own environment. Both of these meetings are attended by 10-20 people.

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A Big Thank you

We are so grateful to Colchester Baptist Church for their constant support of the work of Open Door. They allow us to use their Church lounge as a drop-in centre and also provide a substantial donation each year.

Likewise, we are grateful to all those who give regular donations each month. These small donations together make a huge difference to the running of this service.

We continue to thank Essex County Council for their support to us in helping with support those who suffer from mental health-related issues or loneliness.

I want to thank Essex Community Foundation for obtaining a grant so that we could open the extra day for our guests.

We look forward to working closely with Colchester Borough Homes in 2022 to help prevent homelessness. Thank you to the team that works closely with our manager.

Thank you to MIND, who releases Hannah one day a week to spend time talking to our visitors.

Rev Simon Heard, April 2022.

Report on the Public Benefit

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The aims of Open Door are two-fold:

These aims have been the focus of the work of Open Door in 2019. The Sunday@One and Tuesday@Twelve ministries have provided the main opportunities for advancing the Christian faith. These provide informal and accessible opportunities for guests to explore or express their Christian faith. Anyone is welcome to these events and is encouraged to participate as much as they feel comfortable.

The provision of emotional and practical support is primarily through our regular drop-in sessions. These are open to anyone at all, and everyone is treated equally regardless of their circumstances or past. We can refer guests to appropriate agencies that they may not otherwise know about. In addition, we regularly help with phone calls and filling in forms. We serve food and drink at very reasonable prices and offer a willing listening ear.

Many people have found great help from their involvement in Open Door, and for some, we are the only agency in Colchester whose services they access. We provide a community and safe space to belong for those who are lonely and crisis support for those who need it.

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Client Stories

If you have any problem, this is the right place for talking: no discrimination, no judgement.

Your place is the best place for helping people. If you need attention, the staff are here for you.

Marius, Guest

If I am feeling down, the staff will talk to me which makes me feel better.

Carol, Guest

This place has helped me a lot. You get help and things like that. They help people with their mind.

Dennis, Guest

It is very good what you do here, you help people a lot. If it weren’t for people like you there would be a lot of people who wouldn’t have anywhere to go.

Kevin, Guest

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Everybody helps me, they listen to me. They know about my disabilities. I have friends here.

I really like Sunday@One and Tuesday@Twelve, they make me think more. I learn more about the Bible

Gerry, Guest

I have been coming since 2001 now and have found it a place of great help and of friendship. Nowhere else in town can you get tea & coffee for 10p. It has been a great help over the years.

Bob, Guest

If I’m honest, I think it is the most rewarding experience I have ever had

Tim, Volunteer

Treasurer's Report

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The Accounts for the year ended 31st December 2021 follow this Report and should be read with the accompanying notes.

We are very grateful to the Essex Community Foundation and Colchester Borough Council for their grants to the value of £16,900 in support of specific aspects of our work.

The continuing support of Colchester Baptist Church (through a donation and allowing the use of their premises without charge) is much appreciated. The support of other Churches in Colchester and District is valued by Open Door, primarily for 20 talented volunteers who regularly give their time, but also because of the generous donations to our work over many years.

We continue to benefit from around 35 individual monthly donations ranging from £5 to £300 and averaging £600 a month and from Gerry Linden’s fruitful fundraising activities.

Donations from the Baptist Insurance Company and donor grants are much appreciated

We are again grateful to David Prentice on Payroll and Michael Baker FCCA for his work in Examining the Accounts.

Grant Duminy Honorary Treasurer July 2022

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Accounts: Open Door Colchester

Accounts for the period 1[st] January – 31[st] December 2021

1. Receipts and Payments: General Fund

1. Receipts and Payments: General Fund
2021 2020
Receipts
Donations and Grants
Colchester Baptist Church 11,250 1,100
Other Churches 400 1,859
Other Bodies 16,915 23,000
Individuals 7,343 11,322
Total Donations and Grants 25,783 37,281
Receipts from Activities
Sale of Refreshments 693 613
Sponsored Walk and Cycle Ride 1,863 0
Loans refunded by Guests 0 291
Sale of cards, etc. 0 7
Total receipts from Activities 2,555 911
Other Income 0 19
JRC Grant 3,493 0
Legacy 0 5,000
Interest on Deposit Accounts 146 484
Income Tax refunded on Gift-Aided Donations 1,351 1,307
Total Receipts 33,328 45,002

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Payments 2021 2020
Direct costs of supporting Guests
Payments and loans to or on behalf of Guests 0 656
Food and Refreshments 2,211 2,228
"Compassion" payments 0 168
Total Direct Costs 2,221 3,052
Costs of running Open Door – Colchester
Salaries, Pension and National Insurance 38,687 37,024
Staff training costs 0 283
Telephone line rental, calls and broadband 369 312
Insurances 512 535
Purchase of Equipment 1,930 1,622
Administration materials, etc. 0 677
Miscellaneous Costs 15 105
Total Running Costs 41,513 40,558
Total Payments 43,734 43,610
Increase (Decrease) in Funds over the Period -10,395 1,392
Balance brought forward from previous Period 38,629 37,237
Balance carried forward 28,234 38,629

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Richard Green Special Needs Fund
Donation received 0 0
Payments made 0 30
Balance carried forward 805 805
2. Statement of Assets and Liabilities - 31st December 2021 2020
Bank balances, etc., held
CAF cash account 4,638 2,534
Deposit with the ADFC 0
Epworth cash plus 14,401 26,900
Shawbrook Bank 10,000 10,000
Cash and Cheques 0 0
Total Assets 29,039 39,434
Representing balances on Receipts and Payments
Accounts
General Fund 28,234 38,629
Richard Green Special Needs Fund 805 805
Total Funds 29,039 39,434

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Notes on the Accounts

1. Accounting Policy: in view of its size, Open Door’s accounts are presented on a “receipts and payments” basis in accordance with Sections 132 & 133 of the Charities Act 2011.

2. Status: Open Door – Colchester became a Registered Charity (No 1101675) on 22nd January 2004.

3. Donations and Grants: large donations and grants given to Open Door are listed in the Treasurer’s Report. Other Churches and bodies in and around Colchester continue to give much-appreciated support, both in money and prayer.

4. Gift Aid Income Tax refund: many individual donations have been made under the Gift Aid Scheme. The tax reclaims in respect of donations made in 2021 are included in these accounts.

5. The Richard Green Special Needs Fund: this Fund arose from specific donations – its purpose is to help Open Door buy items such as sleeping bags, tents, etc., for Guests with particular needs. Mr Green has generously continued these donations.

6. Borrowings: Open Door owes money to no one. The Director and Team Leaders are provided with floats out of which they make small grants and loans to Guests.

7. Insurances: Open Door holds insurance cover for Public and Employer’s Liability, Trustees’ Indemnity and Legal expenses. Insurance cover for buildings and contents is held by Colchester Baptist Church, on whose premises Open Door operates.

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Management and Constitution

Open Door – Colchester was constituted as a charity separate from Colchester Baptist Church on 25th November 2003 and registered with the Charity Commission on 22nd January 2004 (registered number 1101675).

Open Door is managed by an Executive Committee of between 5 and 12 members, including

Membership of the Executive Committee and Trustees during 2021

The part-time Director controls the day-to-day work of Open Door; Reverend Simon Heard, assisted by the almost full-time drop-in Manager, Kaoru Magee. Open Door continues to take full responsibility for Sunday@One (an informal Sunday service) and Tuesday@Twelve (an informal Bible Study). The Director’s hours cover part of this ministry. Open Door operates on Sundays, Mondays, Tuesdays, Wednesdays and Fridays with groups of helpers led by Team Leaders Hannah, Anna and Nikki. There are approximately 20 volunteers in total

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Financial Policies

Investments

The investment funds possessed by Open Door – Colchester have been relatively small and are not held for the long term. Hitherto, the Trustees have considered it appropriate for funds not immediately needed for current expenses to be placed on deposit. These funds are placed in an account with the Affirmative Deposit Fund for Charities (ADFC) operated by Epworth Investment Management (associated with the Methodist Church) and the CAF/ Shawbrook Bank in order to gain interest while retaining immediate access to the funds.

A current account is held with the CAF Bank to manage the day-to-day needs of Open Door.

Reserves

We currently have a balance of £24,401 in interest-bearing deposit accounts.

Grants and Loans

Open Door – Colchester does not make significant grants to individuals (or to organisations). Small sums of money to assist with living expenses, delays in receiving benefits, etc., are provided for individual Guests in appropriate cases at the discretion of the Director, Manager or Team Leaders. When feasible, these sums are provided in the form of loans, and repayment terms agreed with the Guest. Otherwise, the money is given without strings attached.

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Independent Examiner's Report on the Accounts

Report to the Executive Committee (as Trustees) and members of Open Door Colchester (Charity no. 1101675) on the accounts for the year ended 31st December 2021 set out on the preceding pages.

Respective responsibilities of trustees and examiner

The Executive Committee is responsible for the preparation of the accounts. The Committee considers that an audit is not required for this year under section 144 of the Charities Act 2011 (the Charities Act) and that an independent examination is needed. It is my responsibility to:

Basis of independent examiner's statement

Independent examiner's statement

My examination was carried out in accordance with general directions given by the Charity Commission. An examination includes a review of the accounting records kept by the charity and a comparison of the accounts presented with those records. It also includes consideration of any unusual items or disclosures in the accounts and seeking explanations from the 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 statement below.

In connection with my examination, no matter has come to my attention:

  1. which gives me reasonable cause to believe that in, any material respect, the requirements:

  2. to keep accounting records by section 130 of the Charities Act;

  3. to prepare accounts which accord with the accounting records and comply with the accounting requirements of the Charities Act have not been met; or

  4. to which, in my opinion, attention should be drawn in order to enable a proper understanding of the accounts to be reached.

Signed: Date: 29[th] September 2022

MG Baker FCA, 118 Chapel Road, West Bergholt, Colchester, C06 3EZ