## **Creation Research Trust** ## **Charity Number 1103449** **________________________________________________________________** ## **Annual General Meeting** **Date : Thursday 16[th] October 2025 10:00 (English Time) Venue : Creation Research Centre, Coney Grn, Oswestry SY11 2JL Attendees : Marvin Jones (MJ), David Keep (DK), Joseph Hubbard (JH), Ed Huddleston (EH) Using ZOOM : John Mackay (JM), Esther Huddleston (EST), Andrew Forbes (AF) (part time)** ## 1 Introduction Esther Huddleston was unable to attend and sent her apologies. DK opened with prayer and a few words on Gen 1:1, the first thing God created was the heavens (plural!) _In the beginning God created the heaven and the earth. And the earth was without form, and void; and darkness was upon the face of the deep…. (Gen 1:1-2)_ ## 2 Approval of Previous Meeting Report DK proposed, MJ seconded the acceptance of the Previous Meeting Report without change. The report was then signed and emailed to all trustees in the lunch break ## 3 Outcomes of actions identified in our last meeting MJ to arrange the necessary Natwest equipment to be supplied to DK - DONE About 200 donors were sent the book "Your Questions about Creation…" as a token of thanks and a short letter updating them of recent developments. MJ thought it might have resulted in perhaps £50 of additional one-off donations. Economically it therefore appears not to have been a cost-effective exercise. Nevertheless, it was agreed that this was a good thing to do in principle but this year it will be physically managed by the team at the museum who will post out the new Creation Research magazine to the most active donors of the last 2 years or so. MJ & DK to assist JH with an address list and an accompanying letter from the Trust. ## 4 Introduction of New Trustee Following the earlier recommendation of EH who knows that Esther Huddleston is in agreement with our “doctrinal statement of beliefs”, she had agreed to become a trustee of the Creation Research Trust. Therefore, DK proposed and EH seconded the addition of a new Trustee, namely Esther Huddleston. Unfortunately, she could not attend in person on this occasion but did attend via an audio zoom link. Following the procedure in our “CREATION RESEARCH TRUST DEED_2025”, sections E.1c & E.2 a printed copy of CR beliefuk.doc and the form “NEWTRUSTEE.PDF” were given to EH to be passed on to Esther who should please sign the latter and scan and email it to DK at the next opportunity. 1 C:\Users\david\Dropbox\CRT\CreationResearchTrust_32_AGM_16_Oct_2025\CR Trust Meeting Report Oct_ 2025.docx Furthermore, DK proposed, and MJ seconded the suggestion that Esther take on the responsibility of secretary. We were delighted that Esther immediately agreed. After completing the report for this meeting, DK shall contact her and pass on all the relevant electronic files and documentation pertaining to the Creation Research Trust since its inception in 2004. ## 5 Personal update from John Mackay JM is suffering from a recent fall and is still in very considerable pain which has forced him to cut back on most of his activities, though he is still able to visit his wife Ann who remains stable and appears to understand that he is hurt and cannot visit as much as he used to. The main highlight from Australia is the transfer of the ministry to Craig Hawkins, which is still ongoing. ## 6 Personal update from Joe JH gave a presentation with photos of recent ministry activities. Some of the highlights were: - Over 200 speaking engagements (throughout world), over100 in UK - Trips to Poland and Morocco - Trips to the USA in Feb-Mar, September and another planned in November. (The trips to the USA bring in essential financial support as well as facilitating fossil finding expeditions and visits to sites of scientific interest, e.g. Mt St. Helens) - Launch of the new “Creation Research” magazine This year has been particularly hectic with 3 trips to the USA. JH recognizes that it has been a bit too much and intends to cut back somewhat next year. The principal beneficiary of Creation Research Trust is the museum, so we were given a tour of it after the meeting. Its development over the last year is truly impressive, thanks largely to the work of Steve Chedzoy. It is regularly open on Wednesdays and Saturdays with visitors impressed by the displays and who often engage in the underlying Christian theme. ## 7 Chairman’s report Attachment 1 ## 8 Treasurers Report for 2024 Attachment 2 Please see attachment 2 for the treasurers report for the 2024 financial year. In order to preserve the anonymity of the donors, the donors list only identifies donors by ID. From that it can be seen that our major supporter by far is donor 1 whom we all know by name and to whom we are very grateful for his support. Creation Research Trust was one of the beneficiaries of the legacy of the late Mrs Jannis Lockett. Proceeds from the estate totalled £61,895.95 and were received on the 5[th] of August 2025. This was moved into an immediate access and therefore low interest-bearing account. It was agreed that all this money should not be immediately put to use, but the majority (£50,000) shall be held in reserve in a higher interest-bearing account to be decided upon by MJ. Several possible new museum projects and displays were mentioned in the personal update from Joe (§6) earlier and which could be implemented with some of the remaining £12,000. One particular project that has often been considered is a “Fearfully and Wonderfully Made” exhibition highlighting human development from the moment of conception. It is thought that about £5000 would be required. 2 C:\Users\david\Dropbox\CRT\CreationResearchTrust_32_AGM_16_Oct_2025\CR Trust Meeting Report Oct_ 2025.docx ## 9 Charitee Commission Matters (Trust Document & Policies) The questions raised by MJ in his E-Mail of the 2nd of August have already been answered as follows and implemented. 1. Is Creation Research UK a 'charity'? - Ans = No. 2. Should any of the policies and procedures questions be answered differently? Ans = No. 3. The Checklist for internal controls suggests we are compliant with it where we need to be. Agreed. 4. The Creation Research Trust admin HQ has been moved on the Charity Commission website from John Young’s address to MJ’s as suggested With respect to the various policies and procedures that are mentioned on the Charity Commission website, it was agreed that these were already indirectly addressed in our Trust Deed. Should there be a need for any formal written policies and procedures, we are confident that as a small and very simple organization, we could meet at short notice to put such together from our Trust Deed. ## 10 Next steps with the Trust Documents The document CREATION RESEARCH TRUST DEED_2025.DOc was distributed by email with the agenda. It contains 2 minor changes with respect to the 2024 version of the document which we all agreed to last year. As there have been no comments on that new document by email or during the meeting, it now represents our revised Trust Deed, which embodies the policies and procedures for the running of the Creation Research Trust. The question now is whether it should be formalized in the manner it was in 2004. The original Trust Deed was set up on the 29[th] of January 2004 by Randall Hardy, Andrew Forbes and David Keep. On the 31[st] of March 2004 it was formally amended by the solicitor Fiona Bruce & Co. In July 2025 DK contacted a solicitor at Fiona Bruce & Co who stated that for them to formally amend the Trust Deed in a similar manner would cost £256+VAT per hour. The total cost could therefore be in the region of up to £1000. We are all reluctant to use Trust funds to cover this as all the changes to the original (March amended) Trust Deed are minor corrections to simply bring it into line with our working practices over the last 20+ years. AF then stated that he could contact John Skipper who is both a Notary and a solicitor and ask his advice. On Saturday 18.10 4:00 pm he replied: _**“Provided any change in wording complies with our original Creation Research Trust constitution and the change is agreed and minuted in our Creation Research Trust meeting notes, that is sufficient without the need for further legal endorsement”**_ _John Skipper is registered: With the Law Society of Scotland. He’s a registered Notary and He’s a Fellow of the UK Institute of Directors. You can find his details on LinkedIn._ 3 C:\Users\david\Dropbox\CRT\CreationResearchTrust_32_AGM_16_Oct_2025\CR Trust Meeting Report Oct_ 2025.docx ## 11 Next Meeting Thursday 8[th] of October 2026 ## 12 AOB None ## 13 MJ Closed in Prayer ______________________ 16[th] October 2025 David Keep (chairman / secretary) 4 C:\Users\david\Dropbox\CRT\CreationResearchTrust_32_AGM_16_Oct_2025\CR Trust Meeting Report Oct_ 2025.docx **ATTACHMENT 1** ## **Chairmans Report 2025** Health matters have continued to be a concern, not only for us trustees, but also the ongoing problems with Ann Mackay, and now John too is suffering from a bad fall back in September. Last year we were very concerned about Ed Huddleston, but we are delighted that he is now in good spirits and doing so well he has even returned back to work at the charity where he has worked for most of the last 30 + years. In October last year I was suffering from polymyalgia, although I did not know it at the time. That has now been completely resolved. We must remember Joe too in our prayers as so much depends on him and he has a great deal to manage at the moment with his home life, a new baby, his PhD work, the museum and general ministry, and on top of all that he has some health issues which flare up from time to time. We are all getting older and we live in corrupted world, so we are very grateful to our King, Jesus the Christ who despite all the challenges of this fallen world continues to uphold and keep us going. ## **Donors** In July we learned about the death of Janis Lockett, one of our donors. I find it rather sad that I do not think that any of us knew her, yet she left Creation Research Trust a substantial amount in her will. It would be nice if we could thank her, but we must leave that to Jesus now. All we can do is, with God's guidance, to use that money as well and wisely as we can. By way of a “thank you” to our donors, last year around Christmas we sent just over 75 copies of the book “Your Questions about Creation Answered, Vol 1” (provided by the museum) and a personal letter to semirandom list of about half of the donors on the treasurer’s database. (Donors whose names were recognized by any of us were selected in preference, hence it was only a semi-random list). It was our hope that it might be an encouragement to them, and they may reconnect with the work of the ministry. It was a major undertaking with several unexpected complications and taking many hours of work and costing a lot in postage. So far it is not clear whether it has resulted in any renewed interest in the ministry. It remains to be decided whether anything like it should be repeated this year. Also, worth mentioning is one of our donors who runs a small company providing “Organic & Natural Wholefoods” (https://www.pinksun.co.uk). If anyone is interested in that, do put an order through his website! ## **Museum** It is very good and encouraging to see the positive changes with every visit. It is so much more like a museum than a warehouse now! Joe has managed to find a great team of volunteers and Nadina is clearly doing a great job with the day-to-day administration work. In addition to the volunteers and services of Steve Chedgzoy we are especially thankful for the financial support given by one of our donors as can be seen on the pie chart attached to the treasurers report. ## **Trust Matters and the Charity Commission** The Charity Commission website has been updated with our names and contact information, and John Young has been removed. We have revised and updated the Trust documentation to more accurately reflect our ways of working. Preliminary investigations indicate that it could cost over £1000 to formally update the Trust Deed through the solicitor who made the last update. ## **Looking to the Future** It is very good that Esther Huddleston has agreed to join us, and we look forward to working with her! Hopefully we shall soon have someone able and willing to take on either the role of Chairman or Secretary as I would rather not be covering both roles. David Keep (chairman & secretary) Oct 2025 5 C:\Users\david\Dropbox\CRT\CreationResearchTrust_32_AGM_16_Oct_2025\CR Trust Meeting Report Oct_ 2025.docx **ATTACHMENT 2** ## **Treasurer's Report** ## **CREATION RESEARCH TRUST ACCOUNTS 2024** ## **For the financial year 1st January to 31st December 2024** ## **Summary of the 2024 Financial Year:** Donations continued into 2024 at a modest level, supported by one significant donor who started their support in October 2023. Income during the year was further supported by c. £7,000 in Gift Aid claims from HMRC for the 2021, 2022 and 2023 years. These payments had been delayed for various reasons, now resolved. (By contrast, the gift aid was claimed and paid in a few weeks for the 2024 tax year ending April 2025). Total income for 2024 was £57,507.31. Monthly contributors via direct credit range from £10.00 to £100.00. As at December 2024 the Trust had 14 donors paying via direct credit: 13 donors paying in aggregate £410 and one paying £3000. ## **a) Opening Balance 1 January 2024 = £7,134.88 (+£3,600 savings).** **b) Receipts during 2024** = £57,507.31 (2023: £25,628; 2022: £11,019; 2021: £12,201.54; 2020: £28,396; 2019: £24,956.45; 2018: £18,825.64). £6,946 was received in the form of gift aid. **c) Outlays during 2024** = £62,242 (2023: £15,836; 2022: £18,254; £18,254 (2021: £12,724.58; 2020: £27,600; 2019: £ 25,500, 2018: £18,380). Virtually all proceeds were used to fund scientific research worldwide and public education through museum support and educational curriculum development, fieldwork, digital outreach and public engagement. ## **d) Closing Balance 31 December 2024** = £5,400.19 (+£600 savings). Anonymous Donors use one of three platforms, amounts as outlined below:- - CAF (Charities Aid Foundation) – currently two donors contributing £810 in 2024. Currently around £80 per month. (Additional donations may be sent periodically but none in 2023 or 2024). - Charities Trust = £5,009 (no other donor-level information available for free); and - Stewardship = £167 monthly + one off donations. Monthly aggregate donations do vary considerably, with the range in 2024 from £68.50 to £1093.50. Although modest, consistent financial support continues to be a great encouragement. The commitment from one cornerstone donor has been of invaluable assistance and enabled the Trust to supported the ministry post-covid. Additional opportunities to support digitally would be welcome, including on-site charity digital collection tins in the museum, QR codes to stripe (or similar platforms), and mobile versions for field trips and ministry trips. **e) Donor History:** There is a slight increase to the number of donors as at YE 2024, with four new donors donating through Bank Credit with one (HCF) ceasing. The total number of donors on our database remains at approximately 240, of which c.150 6 C:\Users\david\Dropbox\CRT\CreationResearchTrust_32_AGM_16_Oct_2025\CR Trust Meeting Report Oct_ 2025.docx ## **ATTACHMENT 2** are eligible for Gift Aid. However, with less than 10% of donors on the database actively donating directly through the Bank account, the usefulness of the database is questionable. Around a quarter at least (judging by the gift aid date) were added 20 years ago and may have long since moved. Some entries were removed in the change of bank account mailout in 2021, and the secretary attempted a further remediation as part of the 2024 year-end mailout to 70 selected supporters. In other instances, supporters may have changed their support method and now be using charity platforms. Please see **Appendix I** for an anonymised breakdown of income sources and donors by contribution in pie chart format. Please see **Appendix II** for for an anonymised breakdown of income sources and donors by contribution in table format. Of the 22 regular donors in 2024, 17 are eligible for gift aid. Gift aid is encouraged and claimed via HMRC. f) Expenses totalled £342, 0.5% of receipts for the year, leaving 99.5% to be allocated to ministry and research. Expenses were limited to those strictly necessary for the operation of the Trust, namely accountancy fees. Accountants’ audit fee was £342 (2023: £342; 2022: £324; 2021: £324; 2020: £324.00; 2019: £312.00; 2018: £306.00). g) Our independent auditor, Paul McKelvey, completed the Charity Commission audit form on 21 July 2025. ## **16 October 2025** 7 C:\Users\david\Dropbox\CRT\CreationResearchTrust_32_AGM_16_Oct_2025\CR Trust Meeting Report Oct_ 2025.docx **ATTACHMENT 2** 8 C:\Users\david\Dropbox\CRT\CreationResearchTrust_32_AGM_16_Oct_2025\CR Trust Meeting Report Oct_ 2025.docx **ATTACHMENT 2** 9 C:\Users\david\Dropbox\CRT\CreationResearchTrust_32_AGM_16_Oct_2025\CR Trust Meeting Report Oct_ 2025.docx CHARITY COMMISSION FOR ENGLAND AND WALES Creation Research Trust 1103449 Receipts and payments accounts CC16a For the period from 1st Janua 2024 31 st December 2024 Section A Receipts and payments Unrestricted funds Restricted funds Endowment funds Totsl funds Last year to the nearest to tho nearest£ to the nearest £ to the nearest £ to the nearest £ A1 Re¢eipts Donations Tax refunds (Gift aidl Interest Bank Compensation 50.562 50.562 25.628 Sub total (Gross income for AR) 57.508 57.508 25.628 A2 Asset and investment sales. (see tablo). Sub total Total receipts 57,508 57.508 25,628 A3 Payments Researches and donations Research and equipment Premisi8s r8nt Bank Charges Accountancy Postage 2nd stationery Sundry 8xpen5es 47.400 47.400 14,500 14,500 15,500 342 336 Sub total 62.242 62.242 15.836 A4 Asset and investment purchases, (see table) Sub total Total payments 62,242 62.242 15,836 Net of receipts/(payments) A5 Transfers between funds A6 Cash funds last year end Cash funds this year end 734 4.734 9.792 10,734 6,000 10,734 6,000 942 10.734 Page 3 CC16a revisions 190417 Section B Statement of assets and liabilities at the end of the period Unrestricted Restrieted funds funds to nearest £ Endowment funds Categories Details to nearest £ to nearest £ B1 Cash funds Natwest bank 5.400 Natwest bank 600 Total cash funds 6.000 (agree baanTr5 wilh receipts atKI payrnpnts acc￿￿($1) Unrestri¢ted Restricted funds funds to nearest £ Endowment funds Details to nearest £ to nearest £ B2 Other monetary assets Fund lo which asset belongs C05t loptionall Current value Details loptlonall Fund to which asset belongs Details Cost loptionall Current value loptionall B4 Assets retained for the charity's own use Fund to which lates knount due onal When due loptionall Details B5 Liabilities Signed by one or two trustees on behalf of all the trustees Signature Print Name Dale of approval orfe5 Marvin Jones 5 Jul 2025 Marvin Jones (Jul 15, 2025. 9 53pml Page 4 CC16a revisions 190417 CHARITY COMMISSION FOR ENGLAND AND WALES Independent examiner's report on the accounts Section A Independent Examinerfs Report Report to the trusteesl rnembers of Creation Research Trust On accounts for the year ended 31st De￿mber 2024 Charity no (if any) 1103449 Set out on pages 3and4 Respective The charity's trustees are responsible for the preparation of the accounts in responsibilities of accordance with the requirements of the Charities Act 2011 ("the Act"). trustees and examiner The charity s trustees consider that an audit is not required for this year under section 144 of the Act and that an independent examination is needed. It is my responsibility to- examine the accounts under section 145 of the Charities Act, to follow the applicable Directions given by the Charity Commission (under section 145(5){b) of the Act, and to state whether particular matters have come to my attention Basis of independent My examination was carried out in accordance with general Directions given examiner's statement 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 eviden￿ that would be required in an audit, and consequently no opinion is given as to whether the accounts present a 'true and fairf view and the report is limited to those matters set out in the statement below. Independent In connection with my examination, no material matters have come to my examiner's statement attention which gives me cause to believe that in. any material respect" accounting records were not kept in accordan￿ with section 130 of the Charities Act or the accounts do not accord with the accounting records I have no concems and have come across no other matters in connection with the examination to which attention should be drawn in order to enable a proper understsnding of the accounts to be reached. Signed: Date: 1 Jul 2025 Name: . &eO. 9.30arnl Relevant professional qualification(s) or body (if any): Association of Chartered Certified Accountants Address: 19 Lime Avenue, Upminster, Essex. RM14 2HY Section B Disclosure Only complete if the examiner needs to highlight matters of concern (see CC32, Independent examination of charity accounts: directions and guidance for examiners). Give here brief details of any items that the examiner wishes to disclose. NIA