Pundarika UK Annual Report 2022-23
Pundarika UK Annual Report
1[st] June 2022 - 31[st] May 2023 Registered Charity Number 1104530
Contact Details
Address: 2 Mallard House Townmead Rd Fulham SW6 2BF Phone: 07444172078 Email: jason.upton@pundarika.org.uk Web: www.pundarika.uk.net
Trustees
Jason Upton - Chair Michelle Bernard - Secretary Rosie Roberts - Treasurer Carole Bishop – Fundraising Co-ordinator Erica Whitfield Matt Hart
Charity Commission Classification
Pundarika UK is committed to:
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Religious activities
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Education/training
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Relief of poverty
Background
In 1999 the Tibetan Buddhist teacher Tsoknyi Rinpoche requested some of his British students to set up Pundarika UK in order to organise Buddhist teachings for the general public as well as raise funds to support his monastic communities in Nepal and China (Tibet). We registered with the Charity Commission as a Charitable Trust in 2004.
Since then, we have been organising an annual six-day residential retreat every year for which we use rented accommodation. Buddhist philosophy is taught as well as meditation instruction given. These retreats are popular although numbers have been limited in the past by the nature
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Pundarika UK Annual Report 2022-23
of the accommodation which, historically, was around 150 people. Since COVID, we have been offering retreats online reaching up to 900 people around the world. This has significantly changed how we view the potential for our retreats to be accessible to a greater number of Rinpoche’s students.
After expenses, profits from the retreat are used to support Rinpoche's monastic community, now mainly nuns in Nepal. We also support a girls’ school in Nepal. Many of our supporters pay a monthly standing order to support the nuns as well as the school in Nepal.
Activities this year for Public Benefit
Over the past year, our organisation faced a period of transition and preparation rather than our usual activities. This phase was necessitated by the search for a new location for our annual retreat, following the unfortunate closure of Bruton Girl’s School, which had been our longstanding venue of choice. This closure prompted an extensive evaluation of potential sites, culminating in the selection of Lord Wandsworth College as our new venue. A visit to the college reassured the trustees of its suitability, both in terms of meeting our requirements and providing a picturesque environment for our retreat.
Given the necessity to align with the availability of Lord Wandsworth College, we made the decision to reschedule our annual retreat from its traditional Easter timing to a later date in the summer, specifically August. Consequently, no retreat was held within the reporting period. However, this allowed us time for significant planning and preparatory work to ensure the success of what is to be our inaugural live-streamed retreat.
An important aspect of our preparation was the updating of our website, for which we hired the services of Carbon Creative. Throughout the reporting period, work continued enhancing the website’s aesthetics and functionality, culminating in its launch at the end of May 2023. This update coincided with the commencement of bookings for our summer retreat. Despite encountering some initial challenges during the registration process, the collaborative efforts of the trustees and Carbon Creative were instrumental in addressing these issues efficiently.
In summary, while the year did not see our usual activities, it was marked by significant groundwork to facilitate a smooth change of venue as well as laying the foundation for a new step into live-streamed retreats.
Finances
At the start of the reporting period, Pundarika UK held a total £70,395.41 in funds. As we did not hold a retreat in this time, our general income of £23,924.94 was lower in comparison to previous years. Our various general expenses including the development of the new website totalled £27,883.43. In addition, we received £51,404.17 in the form of sponsorships and donation towards monastic and education support. And we made payments totalling £ 57,374.17 to Tosknyi Gechak Ling and the Tsokny Gechak School. As of the end of May 2023, we held £60,466.92 in available funds.
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Pundarika UK Annual Report 2022-23
Future Plans
In August 2023, we will be hosting our first in-person retreat with Tsoknyi Rinpoche, in the UK, for four years. This will be held at the Lord Wandsworth College, Hampshire and will also be live-streamed. In addition, we are considering ways to expand our activities through online platforms. One such possibility is running book and meditation groups online as well as hosting online teachings through our new website. Furthermore, we continue to discuss plans to make available our archive of recordings from past retreats through a membership scheme. This would enable members to access video and audio from nearly 20 retreats containing hundreds of hours of Rinpoche’s teachings.
Signed
Jason Upton Chair Pundarika UK
Date: 23[rd] March 2024
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PUNDARIKA UK
Statement of accounts for period 1st June 2022 - 31st May 2023
| BANK | CASH | PAY-PAL | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Funds as at 01/06/22 | £ | £ | £ | £ |
| Balance LloydsTSB current account | 50,170.15 | |||
| Cash in hand | 36.82 | |||
| Balance at PayPal account | 20,188.44 | |||
| TOTAL FUNDS | 70,395.41 | |||
| GENERAL FUND Receipts & Payments | (unrestricted funds) |
|||
| Receipts | ||||
| Retreat fees | 1,893.00 | 20637.23 | ||
| Retreat income | ||||
| Cash float transfer | ||||
| Miscellaneous | 10.10 | |||
| Recordings | 19.52 | |||
| Payment refunds | ||||
| Web testing | 1334.45 | |||
| Amazon Smile donations | 30.64 | |||
| TOTAL RECEIPTS | 1,933.74 | 0.00 | 21,991.20 | 23,924.94 |
| Payments | ||||
| Retreat Venue | 9,450.00 | |||
| Printing | ||||
| Insurance | ||||
| Accomodation & Hospitality | 1,406.02 | |||
| Flights and Travel | ||||
| Website costs | 11,111.12 | 1,251.21 | ||
| Office Expenses | 8.74 | |||
| Recording Equip & Expenses | ||||
| Translator fees | ||||
| Internet set-up costs | 537.96 | |||
| Retreat storage | 1,957.85 | |||
| Transfer Charges | 52.67 | |||
| Miscellaneous | 81.24 | |||
| Refunds | 1,799.47 | |||
| Trustees Expenses | 227.15 | |||
| TOTAL PAYMENTS | 24,294.79 | 0.00 | 3,588.64 | 27,883.43 |
| MONASTIC COMMUNITY SUPPORT FUND Receipts & Payments (restricted funds) |
|
|---|---|
| Receipts Sponsers 7,716.00 1806.80 Donations for Nepal School 37,800.00 99.00 Monastic donations 3,496.00 486.37 TOTAL RECEIPTS 49,012.00 2,392.17 51,404.17 Payments Monastic donations Asian Monastic Support 11,728.77 Nepal School Support 45,645.40 TOTAL PAYMENTS 57,374.17 0.00 57,374.17 |
|
| Fund transfers From PayPal to Bank 20,500.00 20,500.00 T0TAL FUNDS at 31/05/23 Balance at bank 39,946.93 Cash in hand 36.82 Pay-Pal account 20,483.17 TOTAL FUNDS 60,466.92 |
Independent examiner's report on the accounts
Section A Independent Examiner’s Report
Report to the trustees/ Pundarika UK members of
On accounts for the year 31 May 2023 Charity no 1104530 ended (if any)
Set out on pages Pages 1 & 2, section A only required.
I report to the trustees on my examination of the accounts of the above charity (“the Trust”) for the year ended DD / MM / YYYY .
- Responsibilities and As the charity trustees of the Trust, you are responsible for the preparation of basis of report the accounts in accordance with the requirements of the Charities Act 2011 (“the Act”).
I report in respect of my examination of the Trust’s accounts carried out under section 145 of the 2011 Act and in carrying out my examination, I have followed the applicable Directions given by the Charity Commission under section 145(5)(b) of the Act.
Independent I have completed my examination. I confirm that no material matters have examiner's statement come to my attention (other than that disclosed below *) in connection with the examination which gives me cause to believe that in, any material respect:
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accounting records were not kept in accordance with section 130 of the Act or
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the accounts do not accord with the accounting records
I have no concerns and have come across no other matters in connection with the examination to which attention should be drawn in order to enable a proper understanding of the accounts to be reached.
- Please delete the words in the brackets if they do not apply.
Signed: Date: 28 March, 2024 Name: Roy Sutherwood
Relevant professional Not required for receipt and payment accounts. qualification(s) or body (if any):
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October 2018
IER
Address: The Coach House 1 White Hart Street London SE11 4EP
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 .
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October 2018
IER
IER October 2018