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← BSL Bible Translation Project

2024-07-31-accounts

Trustees’ Annual Report for 1[st] August 2023 to 31[st] July 2024

Charity name: British Sign Language Bible Translation Project

Charity registration number: 1119990; Registered Company No: 06278694

Based on Trustees' annual report template (SORP FRS 102), Gov.UK Downloaded 23/09/2024

Objectives and activities

Summary of the
purposes of the charity
as set out in its
governingdocument		 SORP
ref.
¶1.17		 The aim of the Charity (no. 1119990) is to translate, publish and
disseminate the Christian Bible in British Sign Language (BSL),
recognised by government in 2003 as a national minority language
of the United Kingdom.
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.		 ¶1.17
&
¶1.19		 §
Continuation of translation of the Book of Genesis and managing
processes of consultation, reviewing and revising the translation,
and final filming
§
Finalisation of translation of the Gospel of Mark and publication
with explanatory resources in BSL
§
Continuation of the strategy of residentials to accelerate our
teamwork and production
§
Continuation of the use of three IT tools (Paratext, Sign Language
Translation Tool, Logos Bible Study) to facilitate our work
§
Continuation and development of the use of Zoom sessions for
some of our checking and review processes
§
Consultation with SIL International and a continuing services
agreement for the involvement of a biblical scholar, giving us
access to others working in Bible translation into sign language
§
Facilitation and development of community checks to ensure the
translation is accessible to BSL users.
§
Maintenance of awareness of the Project and some fund-raising.
Statement confirming
whether the trustees
have had regard to the
guidance issued by the
Charity Commission on
public benefit		 ¶1.18 The objectives are targeted, and activities carried out, for the
public benefit as described in the guidance. The longer-term aim
benefits the UK Deaf community with incremental access to books
of the Bible in BSL. In the shorter term. the Project builds capacity
among BSL users in linguistic, exegetical, translational and
presentational skills to make this aim achievable and sustainable.
The UK Deaf community is also offered opportunities to learn new
skills by getting involved in charity work in different roles such as
Trustee.
Additional information(optional)
Policy on social
investment		 ¶1.38 The Project is building capacity among BSL users in linguistic,
exegetical, translational and presentational skills to make the aim
of translating and publishing the Bible in BSL achievable and
sustainable. New community-check leaders have been recruited
and their skills further developed. Hearing BSL users have the
opportunityto improve their signingand translation skills.
Contribution made by
volunteers		 ¶1.38 Some people give all their work voluntarily: e.g., trustees, the web
designer and some biblical scholars work voluntarily. Some
translators and co-ordinators who claim for some of the hours
they work also do additional hours on a voluntary basis. In these
ways, in the year in question, 20 people worked for the Project as
volunteers.

Achievements and performance

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.		 ¶1.20 •
The Gospel of Mark: the whole of the book has been translated,
and nearly 90% is published, with some explanatory resources.
The final chapters have been going through final review and
checks.
•
The Book of Genesis: we have now drafted Gen 11.27 to end of
Gen 25, and parts of Genesis 1 & 2. These are all in the various
stages of our checking processes. The teams have had key
discussions, developed through repeated encounters in the text,
for new traditions of signing, e.g. on how to sign the Hebrew
Tetragrammaton, a name for God
•
Our work continues to build capacity among BSL users in
linguistic, exegetical, translational and presentational skills; and
also in skills of administration and facilitation.
•
In our ‘Community Check’ groups, over 40 Deaf community
members (not translators) have engaged with draft sections of
the Bible and concepts such as ‘covenant’. There are established
CC groups in Glasgow and Boston Spa, and we have formed new
groups in Leicester, Bromley and Stafford and West Wales. Deaf
people lead groups, and training of new leaders is in progress.
•
We have agreed on the next part of the Project, to be translation
of the Gospel of John. We have begun to plan the recruitment
and induction of the scholars and translation teams, to begin
work in 2025.
•
We hosted a scholar from SIL Global SIgn Language Team at a
residential as part of their training, to give exposure to a
different sign language project.
•
We have oriented and included a Hebrew Bible/Old Testament
scholar from the University of Cambridge who will be able
contribute to the Genesisproject.

Financial Review

Financial Review
Review of the charity’s
financial position at the
end of theperiod		 ¶ 1.21 The net incoming resources of the Charity were £9065.77.
Total expenditure was £55,309 (cf. 2023: £67,741.86).
The policy for holding
reserves stating why
they are held		 ¶ 1.22 Our policy is to hold sufficient reserves, as a minimum, to
cover any forecast operational deficit for the next six
months, which at our projected rate of translation work
means a minimum of £25,000.
Amount of reserves
held		 ¶1 .22 The financial statement shows the Charity has reserves of
£58,789.58(cf. 2023: £49,693.81).
Reasons for holding
zero reserves		 ¶1.22 n/a
Any uncertainties about
the charity continuing
as agoingconcern		 ¶1.23 n/a
Details of fund
materiallyin deficit		 ¶1.24 n/a

Additional information (optional)

The charity’s principal
sources of funds		 ¶1.47 Our funding is through personal donations and small grants.
Investment policy and
objectives including any
social investment policy
adopted		 ¶1.46 Our financial resources do not warrant investment. Our social
investment is integral to the aspect of public benefit relating to
building capacity among BSL users in linguistic, exegetical,
translational and presentational skills: this is a necessary element
in our keyaim of translatingthe Bible into BSL.
A description of the
principal risks facing the
charity		 ¶1.46 1. The slow rate of translation work. We need to sustain our
reputation for scholarly work but also address our speed of
progress.
2. The recruitment of suitable trustees. The current board is
capable of managing this phase of the project but if we are to
accelerate our rate of work, we need to recruit trustees with
particular management skills for moving the project forward.
3. Loss of volunteers, especially Trustees, due to burn-out: we need
to recruit more volunteers and/or we need more funding to pay
appropriate people to carry out the tasks and provide
management and supervision.
4. We evaluate other risks (compliance with legislation and good
governance, cash flow, access to documents) as low level of
threat,applymitigating processes and keepthem under review.

Structure, governance and management

Description of charity’s trusts: Description of charity’s trusts:
Type of governing
document		 ¶1.25 Memorandum and Articles of Association dated 3rd June 2007.
How is the charity
constituted?		 ¶1.25 The company (no. 06278694) was incorporated and began
tradingon 13th June 2007.
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		 ¶1.25 We advertise for potential new Trustees and also seek those with
skills and experience to enhance those of the existing Board
through our network of contacts. This includes an active search
for Deaf trustees as part of maintenance of a good reputation.
Trustees subscribe to the doctrinal beliefs underpinning the
Charity as laid out in the governing document’s Statement of
Belief. At each AGM one-third of the Trustees, subject to
retirement by rotation, retire; if their number is not divisible by
three, trustees of the number nearest to one third retire.
Additional information(optional)
The charity’s
organisational structure
and any wider network
with which the charity
works		 ¶1.51 Strategic and policy decisions are made collectively by the
trustees, often in consultation with advisers. We have agreed,
and keep under review, policies on complaints procedure,
conflicts of interest, equal opportunities, financial procedures,
privacy, risk register, and volunteer management. Operational
decisions are taken by co-ordinators of teams and reported to
meetings of trustees. Trustees meetings are used to update or
induct fellow trustees on points of good governance, with advice
from the CompanySecretary.
Relationship with any
related parties		 ¶1.51 •
St Joseph’s Deaf Club, Manchester, from whom we hire rooms
for filming, also offers storage for our studio equipment.
•
The biblical scholar for the Genesis team works for SIL
International and we have a service agreement with them for
this.
•
The Saltley Trust funds some of our work in the West Midlands
and we report to them annually on how we have used their
grant.

Reference and Administrative details

Charityname British Sign Language Bible Translation Project
Other name the charityuses n/a
Registered charitynumber 1119990
Charity’s principal address 4 Silverwood Close, Cambridge CB1 3HA

Names of the charity trustees who manage the charity

Trustee name Office (if
any)		 Dates acted if not
for wholeyear		 Person or body entitled to
appoint trustee(if any)
1. Rev. Canon Gill Behenna n/a
2. Liz Heyburn n/a
3. Rev. Dr Robert Evans n/a
4. Susan Myatt n/a
5. Janice Silo n/a

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

Director name All trustees are directors

Name of trustees holding title to property belonging to the charity

Trustee name Dates acted if not wholeyear
n/a

Funds held as custodian trustees on behalf of others

Funds held as custodian trustees on behalf of others
Description of the assets held in this capacity n/a
Name and objects of the charity on whose behalf the assets are held
and how this falls within the custodian charity’s objects		 n/a
Details of arrangements for safe custody and segregation of such assets
from the charity’s own assets		 n/a

Additional information (optional)

Names and addresses of advisers (optional information)

Type of adviser Name Address

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

Exemptions from disclosure

Reason for non-disclosure of key personnel details

n/a

Declarations

The trustees declare that they have approved the trustees’ report above.

Signed on behalf of the charity’s trustees

Signature(s) Cillian & Behonuor _
Jana. A.
Full name(s) Full name(s)
Gillian Eve Behenna Janice Ann Silo
Position (e.g. Secretary, Trustee & Chair of AGM Trustee
Chair, etc.)
Date 27 Date 27th February 2025 27th February 2025

BSL Bible Translaton Project Annual Accounts for the period 1 Aug 2023 to 31 July 2024

INCOME & EXPENDITURE
Income
Donatons & legacies
Charitable actvites
Other trading actvites
Investments
Other
Total income
Expenditure
Raising funds
Charitable actvites
Other
Total expenditure
Net income before tax
Tax payable
Net income afer tax
Investment gains/(losses)
Net income/(expenditure)
Extraordinary items
Transfers between funds
Other gains
Net movement in funds
Funds b/f
Funds c/f
BALANCE SHEET
Fixed Assets
Intangible assets
Tangible assets
Heritage assets
Investments
Total fxed assets
Current Assets
Stocks
Debtors
Investments
Cash at bank/in hand
Total current assets
Creditors < 1 year
Net current assets
Total asssets less current liabilites
Creditors > 1 year
Provisions
Total net assets
Funds of the Charity
Endowment funds
Restricted funds
Unrestricted funds
Revaluaton reserve
Fair value reserve
Total funds		 64,074.31
64,074.31
-
-
-
-
-
-
300.73
300.73
64,375.04
64,375.04
-
-
55,309.27
55,309.27
-
-
55,309.27
55,309.27
9,065.77
9,065.77
-
-
9,065.77
9,065.77
-
-
9,065.77
9,065.77
-
-
-
-
-
-
9,065.77
9,065.77
49,693.81
49,693.81
58,759.58
58,759.58
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
9,000.00
9,000.00
-
-
54,568.50
54,568.50
63,568.50
63,568.50
4,808.92
4,808.92
58,759.58
58,759.58
58,759.58
58,759.58
-
-
-
-
58,759.58
58,759.58
-
-
0 -
0
-
58,759.58
58,759.58
-
-
-
-
58,759.58
58,759.58
Unrestricted
Funds
Restricted
Funds
Endowment
Funds
Total Funds
This Year		 Prior Year
Funds
29,895
-
-
345
30,240
-
67,742
-
67,742
- 37,502
-
- 37,502
-
- 37,502
-
-
-
- 37,502
87,196
49,694
-
-
-
-
-
-
3,759
-
52,363
56,122
6,428
49,694
49,694
-
-
49,694
-
-
49,694
-
-
49,694

CHARITY COMMISSION Independent examiner's report FOR ENGLAND AND WALES on the accounts Independent Examiner's Report ~~eae~~

Section A

Section A Independent Examiner's Report Report to the Charity Name trustees/directors/[BSL BIBLE TRANSLATION PROJECT ] members of ~~ee~~ On accounts for the year 31 JULY 2024 ended '1 ------------——— ~~UL~~ ------------' — _ Charity no.: Company no.:[94] I ~~=~~ 1[1119990] ~~I~~ 1[62786] Set out on pages 1 AND 2 ve111ember to ·nclude the page numbers of additional sheets)

I report to the charity trustees on my examination of the accounts of the Company for the year ended 31 / 07 / 2024.

Responsibilities and basis of report

As the charity's trustees of the Company (who are also the directors of the company for the purposes of company law), you are responsible for the preparation of the accounts in accordance with the requirements of the Companies Act 2006 ("the 2006 Act").

Having satisfied myself that the accounts of the Company are not required to be audited for this year under Part 16 of the 2006 Act and are eligible for independent examination, I report in respect of my examination of your charity's accounts as carried out under section 145 of the Charities Act 2011 ("the 2011 Act"). In carrying out my examination, I have followed the Directions given by the Charity Commission (under section 145(5)(b) of the 2011 Act.

1

IER

/

I have no concerns and have come across no other matters in connection with the examination to which attention should be drawn in this report in order to enable a proper understanding of the accounts to be reached.

Signed: '------------------' Date:[I] 29/09/2024 Name: MICHAEL PARSONS ~~jews~~

Relevant professional CHARTERED INSTITUTE OF PUBLIC FINANCE AND ACCOUNTANCY qualification(s) or body (CIPFA) (if any):

Address:

30 GILBERT ROAD

CAMBRIDGE

CB4 3PE

I Section 8 Disclosure ~~ae~~ ~ SC ~~S~~ Only complete if the examiner needs to highlight material matters of concern (see CC32, Independent examination of charity accounts: directions and guidance for examiners).

Give here brief details of NOT APPLICABLE any items that the examiner wishes to disclose.

2

IER