==> picture [105 x 55] intentionally omitted <==
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uda l [tee] iveearn,
Bridgnorth & District
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Trustees’ Annual Report for the period
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From: 1° April 2024 To: 31% March 2025
Charity name: Bridgnorth and District u3a
Charity Registration Number 1123501
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Objectives and Activities
As quoted in the Constitution:
The charity’s object (‘the object’) is the advancement of education and in particular the education of older people and those retired from full time work by all means including associated activities conducive to learning and personal development within Bridgnorth and its surrounding locality.
Since the introduction of u3a to Bridgnorth, the group has become and continues to be a welcome contributor to the town community, offering residents of the town and surrounding district the ability/option to combine social (friendship), educational and personal development activities. Such residents may have lived in the area all their lives or moved to the town in retirement, full or semi, or having raised a family, though as there is no upper or lower age limit for membership, work is ongoing to attract younger members to secure the future of the group.
The Charity’s objective is to build affiliation particularly amongst the older members of the community in a friendly and unpressured manner and provide a support network to those in a joint relationship at home or those on their own. New members join monthly attracted by local publicity and word of mouth.
When planning activities for the year, we endeavour to follow the Commissions and our own guidance for the Public Benefit in addition to the u3a ethos of ‘learn, laugh, live’.
Bridgnorth and District u3a offers group activities on a regular basis to engage the membership and attract new members. Activities are open to all members; we hold a monthly ‘Greet and Meet’ coffee morning which acts as a useful introduction to u3a and a monthly ‘Speakers’ Meeting — an Open Meeting with a guest speaker offering a diverse/broad range of topics. For those looking to join u3a, the Speakers’ meeting offers an opportunity to experience and learn more about u3a before making a final decision to join. However, often those attending for the first time have heard of u3a and what we offer by word of mouth or personal internet research — u3a website.
j
The average attendance at Speakers’ Meetings is over 80, here members are also updated with the latest news and can sign-up for activities. We try hard to encourage members to attend the AGM by providing a speaker to follow the business discussion and being quorate is not usually an issue.
Activity and interest groups are co-ordinated by volunteer members. Regular groups meet monthly, the exception being the Games Together and Bridge Groups, which meet weekly, and the Cribbage Group which meets fortnightly. We use various local venues such as Bridgnorth Low Town Community Hall, Bridgnorth Library and Bridgnorth Fire Station Lecture Room. We also have groups meeting in local hotels and public houses at quiet times. We aim to use venues within the local community and keep costs as low as possible. Members of groups divide any venue charges equally between them.
Groups cover a range of interests. Longstanding groups include Art Appreciation, Book Groups, Creative Writing, Photography and Quiz Hour, plus French and Spanish Conversation. More recent additions are Calligraphy, Family History, Environment & Climate and Needlecraft, together with Breakfast and Supper Clubs. To keep fit, members have a choice of three walking groups, according to mobility levels.
Visits and day trips, usually to a place of interest and incorporating a guided tour are provided by our Out & About, Garden Visits, Exploring Churches, Bus Pass Day Out and Theatre Goers Groups. Each group aims to offer four trips annually.
Looking forward, this year we hope to add an IT Group. Other member suggestions include Modern Board Games, Acapella and Walking Tennis. We believe there is also an opportunity in the future to expand our offering to include workshops.
Through the growing use of technology and changing work practices, monthly messages from the Chair and Activities Co-ordinator are sent via email, though members without email are informed by letter. We share news about our activities with members and the wider community through word of mouth, our website, twice yearly newsletter, and use of Facebook. We welcome visitors at our monthly speaker meeting to learn more about u3a. Volunteer members act as ‘hosts’ to ensure our visitors always see a friendly face.
Currently, more than 360 members from our local community are benefitting from Bridgnorth and District u3a membership, enjoying lifelong learning and socialising in the company of old and new friends from all walks of life.
All group activities emanate from member suggestions due to personal interest skills, experience, and former knowledge. Importantly, all our activities have created friendships, this in turn ensures that members look-out for each other and we truly are a group run by members for members.
2
Achievements and Performance
We started the year with 353 members and ended with 369 members, a recruitment of 61 and a net gain of 16.
New members join each month as a result of local publicity and through word of mouth.
As indicated earlier in this report a diverse/broad range of topics has resulted in an average Speakers’ (Open) Meeting attendance of over 80 members.
Activity Groups number over 30 — including 4 new groups created during the year and a number that have been running for more than 10 years.
3
Financial Review
Virtually all of Bridgnorth and District u3a’s assets take the form of cash (excepting a few items of IT equipment etc.).
The charity is predominantly funded by its members, via two routes:
-
e Annual subscriptions (paid by all members), which are used to cover the overhead costs associated with running the charity.
-
e Activity payments (optional), which are used to cover the costs of the of members’ Activities that we provide (for example, such costs might include coach or venue hire). Members choose which Activities they want to participate in and pay for them accordingly. Each Activity aims to be self-funding, with its charges being set to balance the costs involved.
During 2024-25, our total receipts were £26,874, comprising:
-
e Members’ annual subscriptions: £4,286
-
e Members’ Activity payments: £18,743
-
@ Other sources: £3,845
Our total payments during 2024-25 were £27,792, representing a £918 shortfall relative to our total receipts. A significant part of this shortfall resulted from the ‘one off’ purchase of a new portable PA system. The shortfall is considered acceptable, given the healthy level of funds still held.
Our funds are held in four places:
-
e A ‘Deposit’ bank account: for our reserves.
-
e A ‘Current’ bank account: for our annual subscriptions and core operating costs
-
e An ‘Activities’ bank account: for the receipts and payments associated with Activities. e ‘Activities’ cash: some Group Leaders retain small amounts of cash to facilitatethe delivery of their Activities.
At the end of 2024-25 our funds totalled £14,432, comprising:
-
e Deposit account: £7,000
-
_ @ Current account: £6,190 e Activities account: £745
-
e Activities cash: £497
4
Reserves Policy
The Trustees have agreed to maintain a balance of unrestricted funds of £5,000 to cover the costs of closure or unforeseen events. The current balance within our Deposit account exceeds this amount.
A couple of factors limit the size of our potential financial risk.
-
e Our most significant overhead payments (namely our payments to our umbrella organisation, the Third Age Trust), are levied on a ‘price per member’ basis and are not due until after we have received the corresponding subscriptions from our members.
-
e Similarly, most payments that we make for Activities (apart from some deposits), are not due until after we have received the corresponding money from our members. It should also be noted that whilst our annual expenditure on delivering Activities during 2024 -25 was around £19,000, this sum resulted from the holding of several, much smaller events which were spread throughout the year (so the financial risk at any particular time was much smaller).
Financial Statements
Our financial transactions are recorded and analysed using proprietary ‘Beacon’ software, provided by our u3a umbrella organisation, the Third Age Trust (TAT).
The following Table presents the annual financial statement produced by this software.
Following this, is a set of Receipts and Payments Accounts which uses the same data but presented in a format consistent with Charity Commission guidance.
Our Accounts were independently Examined on 7 April 2025 (report attached) and Approved by the Trustees on 10 April 2025. On 23 April 2025 they were presented to our members at our AGM. )
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| 2024 -25 Financial report from our u3a Beacon management software -25 Financial report from our u3a Beacon management software Financial report from our u3a Beacon management software report from our u3a Beacon management software from our u3a Beacon management software our u3a Beacon management software u3a Beacon management software Beacon management software management software software
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|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
|2024 -25 Financial report from our u3a Beacon management software -25 Financial report from our u3a Beacon management software Financial report from our u3a Beacon management software report from our u3a Beacon management software from our u3a Beacon management software our u3a Beacon management software u3a Beacon management software Beacon management software management software software|||
|Bridgnorth|&|District U3A|Income & Expenditure,|1st April|- 3ist March|||
|Statement|of|Accounts:|all|accounts|2024-2025|2023-2024|||
|Category|In|Out|In|Out|
|lactivty-atJactivity-Brdgeos|||eoo}as0.00i =|||eo)e350.00)|S||||[ea7aszo|]||eaonooi|||—__e400.00)3.99426|
|lactvity-Games__lActvity-BusPassDaysout||esso.gs, =||esos) «|||||
|Iactivity-Gardens|||e740]||e 307400)|£ 2,161.50|£ 2,262.00]|
|factvity-Norfolkvst_lactvity-out|about|||||egeagazs|e|a|zn.zs,szgol|=||caso}egos)|e.)|©©||||_esz7aes|ea yoazol|||1695.25)||
||e|||
|Jactivity-theae|zsz.oo|||e zreasl||||e|5341.80)|
|lpank-PayPalCommission||||||esp|||
|Lets}|
|lbonations||e|aaa|
|Membership[Membership Donationfuns||||eazscoofego}=||||eae,||| «||eas]cco]|=||etl|||
|Membership|
|[MembershipTaTHMIRC|Gift Aid|||eres]|||LLessars||
|[Membership|TAT MagazinesBeacon|||||L|etts}ez,|«|=|||[eso.)]|||||e283.|00)|
|Membership|TAT|Subs|Peazenoof La|55.00|
|lMembershipticenceslMembershipVenueMonthylMembere-ActivityGrouss|||cesoof||=|Leman)ets) « |e||||||e 26zt|0075)|
|lMemberr-Events||||||e]|«||eazzro) —| SS|era.70|
|[Membere-NewslettersIMemberz-postagelMemberz-prnting[Memberz-publctyIMemberz-Speakersmtg|||||Ttesse|a|||s|too)~—|Tess}|ecates)|949||||e|reta|[ers)]||e£554.90)z0.50) reat] a|
|||2,005.00,|||984.28|£958.18|
|sundries|ee|
|e|
|c|lcommittecommittee expenses ater)|Temes}es|||||r76 56|
|INetworkngua||
|Sub-totals|£|26,874.67|£|27,792.00ctsoof Lez)£|22,058.83|£|20,676.58|
|Brought forward|—-£15,349.50|£|13,967.25|
|Total|es£ 14,432.17|ars£ 15,349.50|||
|||
|:|Balance Sheet|i|
|.|Activities (Bank)|£744.57||£ 500.62|||
|Activities|(Cash)|£ 497.33|£ 1,108.21|||
|Current|£ 6,190.27||£ 6,740.67|||
|Membership|£0.00|£0.00|||
|PayPal|£0.00|£0.00|||
|Reserves|£ 7,000.00|£ 7,000.00|||
|Total|£|14,432.17||£|15,349.50|
|*NOTE: once|all cheques issued by us during 2024-25 have been cashed by the Payees.|||'|
|Prepared|by|Apporoved|by|6|||
|Cliff|Bassett|- Treasurer|u3a Committee 10th April|2025|||
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Bridgnorth & District u3a Charity no. 1123501 RECEIPTS AND PAYMENTS ACCOUNTS 1 Apr 2024 to 31 Mar 2025
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||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
|Note:|All|funds|are|unrestricted.|
|,|2024-25|last year|
|2023-24|
|£|£|
|Receipts|
|[Groupleadermeetings|CT|A90] «||
|Sub|totals|
|Payments|
|1,156||
||Monthly|members‘|meetings|
||Group|leader|meetings|
|9|
|Newsletters,|printingand postage|||866|
|| Publicity|217|764||
|Committee expenses||B|793)|
|85|
|Activity|groups|
|Sub|totals|20,677|
|Asset purchases|||
|'Portable sound|system|le|ee)|
|Sub|totals|0|
|Receipts minus payments—|=|918|
|Funds|last year end|
|Funds|this|year end|
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STATEMENT Of ASSETS ON 3ist MARCH 2025
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|||||
|---|---|---|---|
|£|
|Cash funds|2|
|Bank|account|‘Current’|
|Bank|account|‘Deposit’|7,000|
|Bank|account|‘Activities’|
|Cash|in|hand|
|Total cash funds} 14,432,|
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Assets retained for charity's own use Please see separate list.
Fj
ASSET REGISTER as at 3ist March 2025 BRIDGNORTH & DISTRICT u3a
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8
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f |
| 2 CHARITY COMMISSION — Independent examiner's
| FOR ENGLAND AND WALES report on the accounts
Section A independent Examiner's Report : : ce
Report? to thememberstrustees/ ofEE| Bridgnorth & District u3a
On accounts for the year | 31% March 2025 | Charity no | 1123501 |
ended | i (if any}
Set out on pages | tand2 /
Nn |
| report to the trustees on my examination of the accounts of the above
charity (‘the Trust’) for the year ended 5
Responsibilities and As the charity trustees of the Trust, you are responsible for the preparation
basis of report of the accounts in accordance with the requirements of the Charities Act
2011 (“the Act’).
| 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, |
have followed the applicable Directions given by the Charity Commission
under section 145(5){b) of the Act.
independent i have completed my examination. | 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:
: e accounting records were not kept in accordance with section 130 of
the Aci or
e the accounts do not accord with the accounting records
! have ne 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 werds in the brackets if they do not apply.
Signed: kKA wry al.ZL. | Date: | 7 April 2025
Name: | Tony Trathen — - 7 7 |
Relevant professional |FCA
qualification(s) or body
(if any):
Address: So| 26, Friars Street
faBridgnorthrn RR a a ea|
eeernin matt terme anconsauamnciycl
WV16 4B |
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IER
4
October 2018
9
Section B Disclosure on eS : . 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 [Notapplicable. | any items that the | examiner wishes to i disclose. | | | | | | ‘|i | i i| | | i | | i |[|] | | | i .i i | I Poeeee: IER 2 October 2018
10
Structure, Governance and Management
The charity is governed by the Constitution adopted Wednesday 26th April 2023.
The charity is constituted as An Unincorporated Members Association. Registration No: 684/663/07
Bridgnorthand District u3a is a member of the Third Age Trust (TAT) which is the national representative body for u3as in the UK.
Trustees are elected at the Annual General Meeting (April).
All trustees give their time voluntarily and receive no remuneration or other benefits. We are grateful for the time given by members who volunteer to lead Activity Groups and those who serve as Trustees on the Committee.
Volunteers are key and work hard to ensure activities run smoothly.
The recruitment of volunteers remains a constant challenge for all charity and local groups nationwide. At Bridgnorth and District u3a we encourage members to take on a new challenge byjoining the Committee as a member with a view perhaps to adopting a particular role in the future e.g. Chair or Secretary. An initial step can be to become a Group Leader. supported by the Activities Co-ordinator.
The Committee meets monthly to ensure we observe all administrative requirements, for example: keeping policies up to date — Data Protection, Equality and Diversity and Privacy, having a Budget, ensuring arrangements are in place for Speakers’ Meetings and dealing with any issues that may arise. Including sadly, news of illness or death.
Reference and Administrative details
| CharityName | Bridgnorth and District u3a | |
|---|---|---|
| Othernamethe charityuses | N/A | |
| Registered charitynumber | 1123501 | |
| Charity PrincipalAddress | ~_ | c/o Linda Barton (u3a Secretary) |
| Church View | ||
| Well Meadow | ||
| Bridgnorth WV156DD |
11
Names of the charity trustees who manage the charity — April 2024-March 2025
||No||||TrusteeName|Office (ifany)|Datesacted if|Name of|||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
||||||notforwhole
year|person(or
body) entitied
toappoint
trustee (ifany)||
||
|||||||AGM April 2024||
||2||Linda Barton|Secretary||Members at||
||||||||| AGM April 2024|||
||||||ordinator||AGMApril2024||
||5|||JanetHardy|| Membership
| Secretary||Membersat
AGMApril2024|||
|||||Member||AGM April 2024|||
||||||Member||AGM April 2024||
|||||Member||AGM April 2024|||
||9|||Linda Ruston|||Members at||
|||||Member||AGM April 2024||
|||||Member||Trustees||
|||||Member||Trustees|||
||||LizSmith|Committee||| Co-opted by||
|||||Member||Trustees|||
12
Declarations
The Trustees declare that they have approved the trustees’ report above.
Signed on behalf of the charity’s trustees.
| Signature(s) | ; | , | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Fullname(s) | nda MaryBarton | HeatherYarwood | |||
| Position: e.g.: Secretary, | Secretary | Activities Co-ordinator | |||
| Chair etc. | |||||
| Date: | 23April2025 | 23April2025 | |||
13