2024-01-31-accounts - Furness University Of The Third Age (U3A)

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Trustees’ Annual Report for the period

From

1[st] February 2023 To 31[st] January 2024

Charity name: FURNESS UNIVERSITY OF THE THIRD AGE (u3a)

Charity registration number: 1118002

Objectives and Activities

	SORP reference
Summary of the purposes of the charity as set out in its governing document	Para 1.17	The advancement of education and, in particular, the education of older people and those who are retired from full time work, by all means, including associated activities conducive to learning and personal development in the Furness area and its surroundinglocality.
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	Furness u3a, part of the nationwide u3a organisation, exists to help its members make new friends, develop their interests and enjoy social activities. Furness u3a raises funds through an annual membership fee [£12 in the reporting period]. Furness u3a covers the whole of the Furness area and has about 50 interest groups which meet regularly and are led by the u3a members themselves. These cover a wide range of activities, including: reading groups and walking groups, history, photography, drawing, painting, table tennis, philosophy, theatre visits and board games. Any member whose interest is not catered for can start a new group. We have a Groups Liaison officer who helps with the setting up of new groups. Some interest groups meet in members’ homes, others meet at a venue which may incur a small charge and others meet outside.

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		Throughout the reporting period, Monthly Meetings open to all members took place each month, normally in the Coronation Hall, Ulverston, with a speaker, coffee and an opportunity to socialize. A Christmas Social was also held, in the same venue. Throughout the reporting period, Furness u3a also ran a Drop-In each month, where our groups introduced themselves and their activities. As well as providing an ideal opportunity to find out what the u3a can do for members, members could also get help with computing problems at the Computer Helpdesk, which is run by volunteers. Throughout the reporting period, the Trustees of Furness u3a met on a monthly basis to ensure the smooth running of Furness u3a. The meetings involved reviewing finances, organising Monthly Meetings and Drop-ins, dealing with matters related to the smooth running of existing groups and the setting up of new groups, and developing and monitoring strategies and policies for enabling the charity’s activities to continue effectively and appropriately. The Trustees also worked to ensure good communications with its members, through a monthly Newsletter and an up-to-date website.
Statement confirming whether the trustees have had regard to the guidance issued by the Charity Commission on public benefit	Para 1.18	All trustees have regard to the guidance issued by the Charity Commission on public benefit.

Additional information (optional) You may choose to include further statements where relevant about:

	SORP reference
Policy on grant making	Para 1.38	[Not relevant.]
Policy on social investment including program related investment	Para 1.38	[Not relevant.]

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Contribution made by volunteers	Para 1.38	All of our activities were run by volunteers from within the membership of Furness u3a.
Other		[None.]

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	Overall, this has been another good year for Furness u3a. Attendance at Monthly Speaker meetings and Drop-ins has been good, and the number of our members increased to 651 at the end of the period, over 100 more than at the same time in 2023. The Christmas Social in December was successful, despite the low temperatures in the venue. Members enjoyed a festive quiz; a magician had also been booked, but was unable to attend due to ill-health. The Trustees held a successful event for Group Leaders in the summer. Several Trustees, and other members of the u3a, staffed a stand at the Ulverston Retro Rendezvous Festival in June and the Ulverston Charter Day in September. These were successful publicity events, and we plan to participate again in 2024 We also had a stall at the Morecambe Bay NHS Trust Members Meeting in September, which was very poorly attended, and we do not propose to participate in such events in the future. Our website has been relaunched, and is now much improved. This was done as part of a project across the Third Age Trust. The Trustees developed several new policies and guidance documents, now available from the website. These include: • Minimising risks: a Guide for Walking Groups; • a_Day Trip Risk Assessment_ Checklist; • an_Incident Report Form_;

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• a set of Role Descriptions for Committee Members ; • a set of Complaints Procedures . The Trustees are grateful to so many volunteers who have done so much to keep our u3a going. over the past year! In particular, we are immensely grateful to all our Group Leaders, walk leaders, members who organise trips and talks, members who book in attendees at meetings, members who serve refreshments, and many others who selflessly offer their time to our u3a.

Additional information (optional)

You may choose to include further statements where relevant about:

Achievements against objectives set	Para 1.41	[Not relevant.]
Performance of fundraising activities against objectives set	Para 1.41	[Not relevant.]
Investment performance against objectives	Para 1.41	[Not relevant.]
Other		[Not relevant.]

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Financial Review

Review of the charity’s financial position at the end of the period	Para 1.21	We ended the year financially in very good health. At the end of the reporting period, our Reserve stood at £11145.80. This is somewhat in excess of our target (£7000), but has enabled us to freeze membership subscriptions despite an increase in costs. We have embraced online finance - for membership subscriptions as well as our general business We have also acquired a card reader to enable payment by credit and debit cards.
Statement explaining the policy for holding reserves stating why they are held	Para 1.22	A reserve level of £7000 has been identified as an appropriate target to cover the month- on-month variations in liquidity and to allow for financial cover in the (unlikely) event of Furness u3a ceasing to operate. This reserve level is a judgement based largely on the normal annual subscription income.
Amount of reserves held	Para 1.22	End of period balance is £11,145.80 with no current liabilities; future outgoings are budgeted to be covered by member subscriptions and meeting door charges.so this balance is taken as our reserve.
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 trustees judge that the charity is likely to be able to continue as a going concern for the foreseeable future.

Additional information (optional) You may choose to include further statements where relevant about:

The charity’s principal sources of funds (including any fundraising)	Para 1.47	The primary source of income is membership subscriptions (including Gift Aid) We do not routinely arrange 'Fund Raising' events.
Investment policy and objectives including any social investment policy adopted	Para 1.46	We have no investments.

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A description of the principal risks facing the charity	Para 1.46	1. A significant reduction in membership numbers, leading to a significant reduction in income. However, this is highly unlikely in the short term: membership numbers are growing in u3as across the UK. 2. A significant increase in costs, especially room hire costs for meetings. However, the cost of hiring our main hall have been reduced recently, and we are confident that we will be able to handle likelyincreases over the next fewyears.
Other		[None.]

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Structure, Governance and Management

Description of charity’s trusts:

Type of governing document (trust deed, royal charter)	Para 1.25	Constitution	Constitution
How is the charity constituted? (e.g unincorporated association, CIO)	Para 1.25	A Member of the Third Age Trust as an Unincorporated Association.
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	Elected by members at Annual AGM which is in March.
Additional information (optional) You may choose to include further statements
Policies and procedures adopted for the induction and training of trustees	Para 1.51		New trustees are inducted via meetings with the Chair; this induction uses, inter alia, training documents issued by the Third Age Trust.
The charity’s organisational structure and any wider network with which the charity works	Para 1.51		We belong to an area Network group with other local u3a groups
Relationship with any related parties	Para 1.51		None.
Other			We have an up-to-date Safeguarding Policy. We have an up-to-date Data Protection Policy.

Reference and Administrative details

Charityname	Furness Universityof the Third Age(U3A)
Other name the charityuses	Not applicable.
Registered charitynumber	1118002
Charity’s principal address	18 Lyndhurst Road, Ulverston, Cumbria, LA12 0EG

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Names of the charity trustees who manage the charity

Trustee name	Office (if any)	Dates acted if not for whole year	Name of person (or body) entitled to appoint trustee (if any)
Ann Wilson	Chair		Not applicable
Harry Knowles	Vice Chair		Not applicable
Neil McLaughlin Cook	Secretary		Not applicable
Chris Brown	Treasurer until 9th October 2023	1stFebruary 2023 to 4th November 2023	Not applicable
Gary Thompson	Treasurer from 10th October 2023	11thApril 2023 to 31st January 2024	Not applicable
Julie Amos			Not applicable
Janet Barlow			Not applicable
Christine Butler		9thMay 2023 to 31st January 2024	Not applicable
Richard Lewis		10thOctober 2023 to 31stJanuary 2024
Linda Marshall			Not applicable
Julie Wilson		12thDecember 2023 to 31stJanuary 2024	Not applicable

Between 31[st] January 2024 and the date this report was agreed:

Ann Wilson stood down as Chair, and was elected as Vice Chair, at the charity’s AGM on 12[th] March 2024;
Richard Lewis was elected as Chair at the charity’s AGM on 12[th] March 2024;
Harry Knowles stood down as Vice Chair at the charity’s AGM on 12[th] March 2024;
Julie Wilson resigned as a trustee on 10[th] September 2024;
Duncan Platts was appointed as a trustee on 8[th] October 2024.

Corporate trustees – names of the directors at the date the report was approved

Director name [None]

Name of trustees holding title to property belonging to the charity

Trustee name	Dates acted if not for whole year
[None]

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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)

None

Name of chief executive or names of senior staff members (Optional information)

None

Exemptions from disclosure

Reason for non-disclosure of key personnel details

Not applicable.

Other optional information

Not applicable.

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Independent Examiner’s Report to the Trustees of Furness U3A

I report on the accounts of the Trust for the year ended 31 January 2024, which are set out on page 2.

Respective Responsibilities of Trustees and Examiner

As the charity’s Trustees you are responsible for the preparation of the accounts; you consider that the audit requirement of section 144(2) of the Charities Act 2011 (the Act) does not apply. It is my responsibility to state, on the basis of procedures specified in the General Directions given by the Charity Commissioners under section 145(5)(b) of the Act, whether particular matters have come to my attention.

Basis of Independent Examiners Report

My examination was carried out in accordance with the General Directions given by the Charity Commissioners. 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 explanation 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, I do not express an audit opinion on the view given by the accounts.

Independent Examiners Statement

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

Which gives me reasonable cause to believe that in any material respect the requirements
To keep accounting records in accordance with section 130 of the Act; and
To prepare accounts which agree with the accounting records and to comply with the accounting requirements of the Act have not been met, or
To which in my opinion, attention should be drawn in order to enable a proper understanding of the accounts to be reached.

………………………………………………..

Mrs L Piechura TI Accountancy Ltd 07/02/2024

74 Duke Street Barrow in Furness Cumbria LA14 1RX