ion Trustees’ Annual Report for the period 7 aS ai Period start date Period end date oe Eom 1st January 2024 To 31% December 2024 SectionA ___ Reference andadministration details | Charity name!aElstow Bunyan Christian Fellowship | | —oo Other names charity is known by| Registered charity number (if any}} 1114128 | Charity’sneg principal-e address: |at.High Streettk | Elstow mijn | Bedford | || eremenersreaeMK42 9XP | geeeeneenenentenmnetrtee Names of the charity trustees who manage the charity — aTrustee oe a ‘ ' ; Name of person (or body) entitled name Office (if any) | Dates acted if not for whole year to appoint trustee (if any) 1 | Brian Addington | Chair of Trustees | Church Meeting 2 | Rachel Litchfield Secretary | ee Church Meeting 3 | Pauline Todd | Treasurer | Church Meeting | 4 | Pat Cox | Deacon | | Church Meeting 5 | Roger Smith | Deacon Church Meeting 6 | Jocelyn Harper | Trustee Church Meeting es ee ee Names of the trustees for the charity, if any, (for example, any custodian trustees) |aName | Dates acted if not for whole year_ i | Congregational Federation Lid | | (Custodian Trustees) ce
eee |
EBCF Trustees Annual Report for 2024
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_SectionB _ Structure, governance and management ssi Description of the charity’s trusts Type ofz governingz document) Constitution.. a: Adopted. 7cs March 2006 (ed. trust deed, constitution)|» mended 7! June 2012; and 2™ December 2014
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How the charity is constituted | Association | (eg. trust, association, company) | i (€g.Trusteeappointed selectionby, elected methodsby); cera| AnnualSuitable,Generalwillingrrremtereremmer candidates,Meeting. enm re germaneTrustees are electedcan (orappoint not) byduring members,the yearetat ourif an nc|| unexpected situation arises. | eae
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Additional governance issues (Optional information) You may choose | The Annual General Meeting (AGM) of Elstow Bunyan Christian Fellowship to include | (EBCF) appoints Trustees (to focus on the fabric of the building) and Deacons econ | (to focus on the faith-life of the Fellowship). In line with our Constitution, | eee nt Deacons are also Trustees. The AGM also appoint our Secretary and about Treasurer. If training is needed regarding the role and responsibility, we seek to * offer this OR find a competent person / organisation who can deliver the | policies and necessary information. adoptedproceduresfor the | AS and when necessary, the Church Meeting appointathe Pastor. Belonging to induction and | the Congregational Federation (CF), their Officers offer advice and guidance training of with this appointment, but they have no powers to override our decision. trustees; ; , . , -
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» the charity's= i % ; needFrom totimebe totakingtime into.the CFconsideration,offer. appropriate. and actadvice upon and(eg; GDPR:quidanceSafeguarding).onra issues we i| organisational | structure and As members of the East Midiand Area of the CF we are encouraged to | any wider participate in Area events and are allowed 2 representatives at their Business | network with Meetings. We are also invited, and encouraged to attend the Annual which the Congregational Assembly — normally held in May. charity works;
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e We are Members of the local Churches Together group. relationship with any Our trustees are encouraged to be well versed in the requirements laid upon related parties; | them by the Charity Commission, and the Office they hold, including public
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e trustees’ benefit, and an awareness of the various pieces of legislation we need to take consideration into consideration, as part of our responsibilities relating to the positions we of major risks hold within the Charity. and the system ; a ; and All our Office holders give their skills and time without any financial reward. procedures to All our Office holders have a current Disclosure and Barring Certificate. | manage them.
EBCF Trustees Annual Report for 2024
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|SectionC|—sCOsibjectivesandactivities|2|
|Summary;|of the objectsjects|‘ToCe advance|the|Christian|religion|in the Elstow|/ Bedford|area,|for the benefit of|||
|eat®its OSgoverning Eseries.*|document.ROE|theS|Poe|public:z|andDa|maintainfae|linksa withPile?the wider Congregationalyyhueerier|wongregationaEig|i|Federation“|‘«||||
|To|a|——|_|||
|||meet the objectives of the charity:|||
|||»|We|hold weekly services on a Sunday|in the building.|Our Sunday Services|are|||
|||followed by a time of fellowship.|||
|welcomed|some new people|to|our meetings.|We|also|began|to|allow a|group|to|||
|||»|All of our meetings are open to anyone who would like to attend.|During 2024 we|||
|||meet for Worship on a Sunday afternoon, whose first language|is not English.|||
|»|Throughout 2024 we|continued to|offer some of our meetings|via Zoom,|for those|||
|unable|to|attend|‘in|person’.|Those|joining|via|Zoom|have|in|the|past|benefited|from|||
|||meeting|in|the|building,|but|for a|variety|of|reasons|cannot|currently|meet|with|us|on|
|||a|Sunday|morning|or Thursday|afternoon.|The Zoom|link|is|available|to anyone who|||
|||would|like|to attend.|||
|||»|Our|Office|Holders|met|regularly|throughout|the|year,|monitor|our|ongoing|work;|and|
|Summary of|||making necessary arrangemenis|regarding|all the issues that need our attention.|
|the main|||»|Ona|fortnightly|basis|on|a Thursday|in Term|Time,|we|run|either a|Bible|study|and|
|a|||Fellowship,|or|a Coffee moming.|These are open to anyone who would|like to attend.|||
|un|no|ts|
|for the|public‘|||A|numbernumber|fromfrom|thethe|local|communitynmunity|j|join|us|forr CoffCoffee|Mornings.ngs|||
|benefit|in|||»|A number of local community groups — including|Ladybirds|(Preschool);|Brownies;|||
|relation|to|||Slimming|World|and|now the|Sunday|Afternoon|group|use|the|premises.|||
|thesei|objects|||__|;|fad|i,|||
|;|
|within(include||||»|Alonguo|with|the|events we|run,|these|groups|add|to|the|positive|benefit|to|the||||
|||»|From time to time|(usually|a Saturday) we have|‘one|off bookings to use the|||
|mary|this|||community of the existence of the Charity, and premises|we manage.|||
|Qetaenticr:|||premises,is|often3)|for a birthdayirthda|party.||||
|that trustees|||At our Office Holder meetings,|some agenda|items|may be of a|confidential|nature|and|
|have|had|not open|to|non-Office|Holders.|.|
|regard|to the|||
|guidance|There|is|no|charge|made|to|attend|any,|or|all,|of the|events we|run.|Attendees|are|given|||
|issued by the|||the opportunity|to make a financial donation|to support the work of EBCF.|Some support|||
|Charity|||our work with a|regular Bank Transfer of money to|Elstow Bunyan|Christian|Fellowship’s|||
|commission|||Bank account,|or a cheque payable to Elstow Bunyan|Christian|Fellowship,|others|prefer|||
|Les|||to make a|cash|donation|each|time they|visit the|building.|
|benefit)|||
|||2024 had|its set of challenges|and|highpoints.|One of the high points was welcoming|||
|||theyTony obtain Frost asby ourbeing partpart timeof Pastor. EBCF andMostsharingif not allfellowship wi of our con|t|hactsothers. can testify to the benefit|||
|||As|part|of our oversight|and|engagement|with|our|contacts,|the|Trustees|keep|in|mind|||
|and|seek|to|pay due|regard|to the|issue|of public|benefit guidance|issued|by the|Charity|||
|Commission.|||
|||We|are|also aware|of the|need|to|protect:|people|(for example:|Safeguarding|and|||
|||infectious disease); our property and the environment.|Indeed, many would say that|||
|||these are a|natural|outworking|of the|Christian|Faith|which|shapes|our actions.|
|||Ladybirds,|[but]|[are]|Slimming|[a]|[tangible]|World, Brownies,|[expression]|[of]|and|[how]|the|[our]|Sunday|[building]|Afternoon|[is]|[used]|[for]|group|[ the]|[public]|are not run|[benefit]|by|[of]|||
|||[EBCF]|
|||the|local|community.|The|Leaders|of these|groups|have|signed|that they|will|adhere|to|||
|||our Safeguarding|Policy and other relevant regulations,|during|their useof|our premises.|||
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EBCF Trustees Annual Report for 2024
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Additional details of objectives and activities (Optional information)
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You may choose to We are greatly blessed by the contribution made by all of our | include further statements, | volunteers, who give freely of their time, talents, and money, to where relevant, about: support the ongoing work of EBCF, without any financial reward. ® policy on grantmaking: . | * Pony eng "3: | We are not a grant-making body. e policy programme | | related investment; | if we have surplus to current expenditure funds, we seek to hold |
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° —— some of them in an easy access interest-bearing account. contribution made by | | volunteers. |
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sectionD ==~———___— Achievements and performance —_—© i: Summary in accordance with our objectives, some of the money raised in 2024 was given to of the outside causes to alleviate poverty and need; and some of our income is given to | sei organisations which promote the Christian faith; our greatest expenditure in 2024 | ants of related to keeping the property well maintained, and the associated running costs of | the charity | heat, light, water and Insurance. | during Some ‘off-site’ gatherings like Fellowship breakfasts and lunches, plus a Christmas | the year meal took place in 2024. All who attended these gatherings greatly enjoyed not only | the food, but also being with fellow minded people. Throughout the year the Trustees regularly monitored our financial position and | continued te give due diligence to the funds being used in accordance with our Charitable purposes; and ensure assets were available when required. |
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|[The][ Trustees][consider][ that][all][known][risks][ around][ any][potential][reduced][income][ and] | |Lnanticipated expenditure wereee givenee dueaconsideration.ee amnmmnmmnesnnnareenennmeernmannmemeenenenmert |
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SectionE —___ Financialreview —__ oe : | ale mins tm Wicd m erimiupn nf mmmemvinmatah; Rmmpntine murandiniwsinnmir
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Grief | We aim to hold inimur imately 6 months expenditure in our of statement® | We aim to hold5 a minimum of approximat iy i 4 p 4nooi Af i| the charity’s | account to pay ongoing regular bills. In addition to this, we consider it wise to |
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policy on hold in the region of a further £15,000 in hand, to pay for any unplanned | reserves expenditure which may arise at short notice on our building which is over 110 | | years old. | | Any funds not required in the near future are held in an interest-bearing account. | | We ended the financial year in a similar financial position to that at the beginning | | of the year. |
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Details of any | funds materially | None of our funds were in deficit at any stage during the year being reviewed. in deficit
EBCF Trustees Annual Report for 2024
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Further financial review details (Optional information)
You may lincame in 2094 our total incame amounted io £24 005.52 Quarhalfafihiewae |
ehuuse io | Income. in 2024 our total income amounted to £31,205 - 53 . Over half of this was |
include | voluntary donations, (plus where applicable, Gift Aid and Gift Aid Small Donation Scheme |
additional | sums) which shows the commitment of our givers, and the public benefit they believe is |
ee | delivered through EBCF. The fees paid by the groups who use the building also help us |
about: | to provide a valuable asset to the local community.
principal Investment. As our funds may be needed at short notice, any income over expenditure
sources | is held in an easy access account. We have not had any sums left us in a will, (but would
as eesoell | be willing to receive such a gift if anyone wanted to remember us!) We seek to keep our
any fund. | surplus to requirement funds in account(s) which pay due regard to the ethos of the |
raising); | Charity. |
° aeoenature Expenditure. Much of our expenditure relates to maintaining the premises, plus utility |
has | bills, to enable us to continue our ongoing work at EBCF, as we seek to fulfil our
supported | objectives and keep the premises in a good condition, so that they can continue to be a |
the key | useful resource to the local community. With the appointment of a part time Pastor we |
oe shee | also had other financial commitments to keep in mind, but we still managed to pass on to |
- | other charities over £4,500 — 00. A large part of this raised by those from the local |
investment | community who attend our Coffee Mornings.
policy and | -
objectives ; . oo |
including any | All the money expended from our accounts is in accordance with the key objectives |
ethical | of the charity.
investment |
policy | We consider that we have been wise stewards of the funds and property we have been |
adopted. | responsible for during 2024, and also holding sensible reserves for any known, and |
| potentially unknown expenditure during 2025. |
SectionF ss Otheroptionalinformation
pe,
SectionG.= ««—i‘w«“s‘ésDclgvation=—
The trustees declare that they have approved the trustees’ report above. —_ : OO
Signed on behalf of the charity’s trustees
Signature(s)| al ay Haden 4 pe} | K A LA, Ler ef 7 |
Full name(s)|| aBrian John Addington | RachelcnnLitchfield |
Position (eg Secretary, Chair, etc) aChair of TrusteesMeeting ___Secretary |
Date] (9 - J - 25°
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EBCF Trustees Annual Report for 2024
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26 Crawley Close Slip End LUTON LU1 4BT 24 February 2025
To Whom It May Concern
Dear Sirs
Re: Elstow Bunyan Christian Fellowship/Accounts Y/E 31/12/24
[ have examined the records and vouchers for the above, and audited accounts for year ending 31 December 2024 and confirm they are correct.
Yours faithfully
Stephen P Lyons Independent Examiner