2021-03-31-accounts - Chess Valley University Of The Third Age

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Chess Valley University of the Third Age

Report of the Trustees for the year ended 31[st] March 2021

The Trustees present their report along with the financial statements of the charity for the year ended 31[st] March 2021. The financial statements comply with the charity’s Constitution. Chess Valley University of the Third Age (CVu3a) is a charity registered with the Charity Commission under registration number 1126990.

Objects

The object of CVu3a is:

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.

This object was adopted by CVu3a at its Annual General Meeting on 14[th] June 2018. Its wording follows the recommendations of the Third Age Trust, the national body for the u3a movement, and complies with discussions held between the Trust and the Charity Commission.

Activities

CVu3a advances its objects by:

Holding monthly General Meetings where members hear speakers on a variety of topics (for example, on history, geography and science)
Operating a number of activity groups focused on specific topics (for example, art, history, science and technology)
Organising educational visits to places of interest to the membership (for example to historic houses, museums and gardens).

Achievements and Performance

Since late March 2020, the activities of CVu3a have been severely constrained by the need to comply with the regulations and advice issued by the UK government in its response to the COVID-19 pandemic. Face-to-face meetings have mainly ceased, although some resumed on a limited scale after the end of the first period of lockdown and before the second lockdown. Many activity groups have continued to keep in contact using various forms of social media and video-conferencing. General Meetings have also continued using video-conferencing.

Financial Review

The current financial position of CVu3u is presented in the attached accounts. Overall, the organisation generated a large surplus in 2020/2021, largely due to the fact that venue expenses dropped dramatically from March 2020 as the first COVID-19 lockdown was imposed. The Committee continues to be concerned at the rising costs of venue hire although, as mentioned in previous reports, central contributions have now been capped and Groups will need to make increasing contributions as venue costs rise in the future.

To avoid building up an unacceptable surplus (see ‘Reserves Policy’ overleaf) and to compensate members for the reduced activities during the past year, members renewing from April 2021 (provided they had been members in 2020/21) will be asked to pay a reduced subscription. Depending on when normal activities can resume, when normal levels of expenditure would return, the Committee envisages another reduction in subscriptions in 2022.

Many items of equipment owned by CVu3a – computers and data projectors for example – are at or past the end of their useful lives and some of the reserves may have to be devoted to their replacement.

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Reserves Policy

Following the advice of the Third Age Trust, the Trustees consider that a reserve of about six months’ operating expenses is sufficient to deal with unforeseen problems and/or to ensure an orderly dissolution of CVu3a if that were to prove necessary. Currently, reserves exceed this figure because of the reduced expenditures described above under ‘Financial Review’. The Committee plans to reduce the reserves further to a more ‘normal’ figure in 2022 when, it is hoped, the pandemic has passed and normal activities have resumed. Given the fact that, for the activity groups, income and expenditure tend to match, the Trustees believe that the present reserves are adequate.

Membership

Total membership of CVu3a during the year 2020/2021 was 636, including two honorary members. This compares with 750 members, including two honorary members, during the year 2019/2020. This large drop in membership results from many members not renewing during the past year because of the uncertainty surrounding the COVID19 pandemic. The Committee is confident that many of these lapsed members will renew their subscriptions once more normal conditions prevail.

Plans for the Future

It is difficult for CVu3a to make firm plans for the year 2021/2022 because of the continuing uncertainty arising from the COVID-19 pandemic. By definition, our members largely fall into the older and more vulnerable categories which have been prioritised by the UK government for vaccination and it is hoped that it will become clearer by mid-2021 what opening-up of activities may be possible. One priority, however, will be to bring back into our U3A those members who decided to lapse their involvement during the restrictions on our activities.

Structure, Governance and Management

Our Constitution, the governing document for our charity, was adopted in its present form by the membership at the AGM held on 14[th] June 2018.

The Trustees are appointed at an Annual General Meeting for a fixed term of two years and may be reappointed for further terms at the discretion of the members. We are affiliated to the u3a National Organisation, the Third Age Trust, and to the u3a Thames Valley and Hertfordshire Networks.

All Trustees are volunteers and receive no remuneration or other benefits in return for their services.

CVu3a is managed for its members by a Committee consisting of the following Trustee positions:

Chair	James Cadle
Vice-Chair	Helen Barnard
Business Secretary	Chris Kinsley#
Treasurer	Geoff Naylor
Membership Secretary	Jim Wilkie
Groups Coordinator	Helen Barnard
Events Coordinator	Jackie Cobb
Webmaster and System Administrator	Valerie Garrood
Newsletter Editors	John Bunyan and James Cadle

In addition, the following non-Trustee assists in the management of CVu3a:

Speaker Organiser Michael Cohn

#Chris Kinsley has announced his intention to stand down as Business Secretary at the 2021 AGM. Colin O’Rourke has offered himself to fill this role and his appointment will be recommended to the membership at the AGM.

The accounts of CVu3a are reviewed by an independent Examiner. For 2020/2021, the Examiner has been Ernest Newhouse, a member of Chiltern u3a and a former Financial Controller of BBC’s World Service and Director of Finance at the Barbican Centre.

The activity groups (58 as at 31[st] March 2021) each have one or more Convenors who organise their programmes, book venues, arrange speakers and so forth. They receive support from the Groups Coordinator and from the Committee in general.

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Approvals

The report was approved by the Trustees and signed on their behalf:

Name: James Cadle Position: Chair Signed: Date: 10[th] May 2021

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CHESS VALLEY UNIVERsrrY OF THE THIRD AGE RegistÈred Chartty Number.. 1126990 INCOME AND expENDITURE ACCOUNT FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31ST MARCH 2021 2011 20 114COME Subscriptions163826 & 1151 Third Age new51etter198'3.10 & 4"2SOI Inland Revenue-Grft Aid Refund Donation Group Income Quiz MiscÈllaneous plus internal transfers cheque payrnent + Riviera travel Total Income 16,603 315 17,761 589 3,424 52 35.205 330 1,212 550 .IZ3 4.860 25,4Z2 EXPENDITURE Hlre of Halls and Associated Expenses Guest speaker5.' Fees alld expenses New5 Letter= Production Posts8e, Telephone,Travel and Stath)nery U3A Members Fees to Third Age Trust Group E¥pe05es Web site Quiz expenses Third Age newsletter Miscellaneous Slmple Membership Equiprnent Totsl expenditure 14,156 1.063 2,538 1.845 2,604 33.762 43 335 590 715 2,179 1.142 2,625 6.363 150 515 700 72 57.712 15 Surplusforyear 10.193 INII BALAPICE SHE as at ar 2021 2020 A55EfS Cash 34.199 24.854 LIABILITIES Subscriptions in advance NAssErs 224 1,072 FINANCED bv Current Year Surplus l-Deficitl Operations Group5 Total Current Year Surplus {-Deficit) IIW6 -1,503 -33 1,443 Retained Earnin8s Prior Year Operatlons Groups Total Prior Year Retalned Earnlngs 17.643 17.676 4,695 TOTAL RAINED EARNINGS Note: REfAINED EARNINGS Operatlons Groups See Note I Total Retained Earnlngs 29.339 4,635 Date .lath21 Treasurer.. 6 6 Nawor I have examined the above ltscome & Expenditvre account and Baknce Sheet which have been prepared on a receipts and payrnent ba51S_ These accord with ttte booksand records ofthe Chess Val* U3 ID Il Extemèl ExamiDer= E G Ilewhouse Date

Note I Money held for groups Eclertic Mus Famlly Htstory Garden 398 398 147 History group Hlstory trip5 Jazz event 311 575 78 78 231 231 Keepfit Pilate5 613 613 314 314 l J i Tai chi Theatre fjroup Visits Walkefs l fijnd Walker5 213 fvnd Wildlrfe Total Group money 142 1.343 652 1.797 642 54 39 567 69 6.138 4.635