Bicester Christian Action Trustees Annual Re ort 2020 2021 p /
Bicester Christian Action Limited
Company No. 06874524 Registered Charity No. 1132169 Registered in England Registered office: Holly Tree House, Ardley Road, Middleton Stoney, OX25 4AD Telephone: 01869 343 707
Trustees
Matthew Clements James Dunne Alex Eames Janet Marshall Diana Pettifer Susan Rand
Charity Structure
Bicester Christian Action (BCA) was established by a group of Bicester based Christian Churches to tackle the practical issues of poverty, alienation and isolation within the community. It is rooted in the biblical themes of justice and fairness for the poor and dispossessed in society. Future development of the charily will be in line with these and other Biblical concepts and agreed with the sponsoring churches as a whole. BCA exists to tackle those issues that the community of churches deem best tackled outside the normal denominational and parish structures. Its projects and activities are of a practical and pragmatic nature.
BCA is a company limited by guarantee and an independent charity with a Board of Trustees.
Trustees and Governance
The trustees are nominated by the participating churches. Trustees are nominated with reference to the skills they possess, and the overall skill profile required by the Board of Trustees. The management style is collegiate and supportive whilst dealing clearly and firmly with issues of conflict arising from its activities. The Board is responsible for marketing/public relations, fund raising, financial management, business planning as well as the strategic management of the activities under its' control.
The Board look to the Churches for guidance, inspiration and support. This support is spiritual, emotional, and resource based. The churches view BCA as an alternative way of delivering or realising a vision God has laid on them. BCA works collaboratively with the individual churches in order to achieve the goals that have been set. Where relevant and
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Bicester Christian Action Trustees Annual Re ort 2020 2021 p /
requested BCA can work with an individual church in order assist in delivering a service in which BCA has a competence.
The management of the charity is carried out by the Trustees assisted by project managers who are appointed to run the various active projects. The project managers are responsible for the week to week operations of their allotted activity and report back to the trustees through formal reports and informal discussions. The Trustees meet regularly with each other and with the active project managers.
Aims and Objectives
The charity’s formal objectives are to undertake any purpose that is charitable according to the law of England and Wales for the benefit of the public, in particular but not exclusively:
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a) the relief of financial hardship, poverty and distress,
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b) the advancement of education and training,
c) to advance in life and relieve needs of young people through:
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the provision of recreational and leisure time activities provided in the interest of social welfare, designed to improve their conditions of life;
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the provision of support and activities which develop their skills, capacities and capabilities to enable them to participate in society as mature and responsible individuals.
As part of its activities the charity runs Bicester Food Bank and Bicester Street Pastors, Bicester Refugee Support Group and Shine Family Learning.
Achievements and Performance
The Covid19 pandemic has made 2020/2021 a very challenging year. All of our projects have had to modify their operations in order to comply with Covid19 regulations.
The charity has run the Bicester Food Bank since 2009. Demand for Food Bank services in 2020/2021 have shown an increase of 28% during the year with food distributed being 31,225 kilograms against 24,345 kilograms in the previous year. Food donations have also increased during the year from 27,491 kilograms to 33,038 kilograms. This represents a 20% increase. The increase does not tell of the significant fluctuations in demand that the team experienced. In the first three months of lockdown demand for food increased by over 225%. Demand gradually returned to more normal levels as restrictions eased and support schemes such as
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Bicester Christian Action Trustees Annual Re ort 2020 2021 p /
furlough came into effect. At the same time the team had to implement new work methods to comply with regulations. A significant number of the existing volunteers were deemed vulnerable and had to shelter. This required the recruitment and training of new volunteers. In December 2020 the Food Bank moved into their new premises. In all of the above the team were successfully led by Janet Ray.
The Food Bank is available to clients 5 days a week.
During 2012/2013 the charity began the introduction of Street Pastor Patrols in Bicester during the weekends. These patrols are aimed at ensuring the safety of young adults who are out late at night. The patrols have been welcomed by the local community and viewed as a great success by the Police, Entertainment Outlets and individuals being helped. Oxfordshire County Council now supports this initiative with an annual grant.
Bicester Street Pastors operations were suspended in April 2020 as many of the volunteers had direct connections to the NHS. These volunteers will remain unavailable as long as the current emergency remains. This has created the need to recruit and train a new team of Street Pastors but this has not been possible due to the regulations in force. In the coming year we will assess how and when Street Pastors operations can be restarted.
During 2017/2018 the charity took responsibility for the Bicester Refugee Group, which supports refugees placed in the Bicester area. The group have been actively supporting refugee families as they settle in the Bicester area. Up to the end of April 2021 five families had settled in the town.
In 2018/2019 the charity took on the responsibility for managing a specific property dedicated to housing a refugee family in the local area. The house is managed within the framework provided by the national charity Hope into Action. The first years rent was paid by the council. Subsequent years are paid by the tenant. It is anticipated that this project will run for five years.
During 2019/2020, The charity took responsibility for the Shine parenting initiative. This project runs parenting courses within the local community. The courses are adapted from nationally recognised models and delivered by professionally qualified staff. The project ran three courses during the year. During 2020/2021 the team ran four parenting courses in the Bicester Area.
The charity signed a 10-year lease on new premises, the first five years being rent free, with the lease beginning in March 2020. Amongst other activities the premises will be the principal location for Food Bank. The unit required complete fitting out. Planning and fund raising for this project were hampered by lockdown. Initial estimates for this work were in the range of £90,000 to £120,000. By undertaking the project management ourselves we
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were able to carry out all necessary work for £70,000. The expenditure was covered by a mix of grants, internal resources and additional fund raising.
Financial Review
Turnover for 2020/2021 was £171,050 up from £80,344 in 2019/2020. The increased turnover was due to the following factors:
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Increased grants of £37,000 to fund the fitout and equipping of the new food bank site.
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One off Covid19 grant of £10,000
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Increase in food donations of £6,000 approximately
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Increased donations of £46,000
Costs for 2020/2021 were up to £159,337 against £55,949 in 2019/20120. This increase was caused by a number of factors:
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Cost of fit-out of new premises of £71,000
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Increase in food distributed of £7,000 approximately
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End of Lease Redecoration costs of £8,000
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Fixtures, Fittings, and equipment for new premises of £13,500
The bulk of these costs are one off.
Financial donations and grants increased to £138,012, up from £52,853. Donations in kind increased to £33,038, up from £27,491. Donations in kind are principally made up of food donations which are valued at a notional £1 per kilo. These food donations increased by £5,027 during 2020/2021
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Financial costs were £120,317 (approximately £90,000 in one off costs) with costs in kind being valued at £33,038. Costs in kind are food and other services that are donated free of charge but nevertheless have a financial value and are recorded as such.
Reserves policy
The Charity aims to hold 9 months of financial reserves in its accounts.
In last year’s report the financial reserves at the end of the 2019/2020 were £59,804 which represented in excess of 12 months of financial operating costs. We are pleased to report that
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Bicester Christian Action Trustees Annual Re ort 2020 2021 p /
with financial reserves of £77,499 at the end of 2020/2021, the charity holds in excess of 12 months expected financial operating costs in its’ reserves.
The Charity is confident of continuing to meet the nine months reserves target at the end of 2021/2022.
Funds are currently held in a central admin account and in project admin/operating accounts. No cash balances are maintained. As part of its normal activities the trustees review the banking arrangements on a regular basis.
Approved by the Trustees 25[th] November 2021
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2020/21
Total 2021
Unrestricted Restricted
| Income | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Cash Income | |||
| Donations | 16,162.53 | 59,544.18 | 75,706.71 |
| Grants | 31,009.26 | 21,500.00 | 52,509.26 |
| Charitable Activities | 9,796.08 | 0.00 | 9,796.08 |
| Total Cash Income | 56,967.87 | 81,044.18 | 138,012.05 |
| Non-cash Income | |||
| Food Donations | 0.00 | 33,038.00 | 33,038.00 |
| Total Income | 56,967.87 | 114,082.18 | 171,050.05 |
| Expenditure | |||
| Cash Expenditure | |||
| Charitable Activities | 14,439.09 | 34,151.72 | 48,590.81 |
| Support | 0.00 | 845.24 | 845.24 |
| Westbury Court Fit-out | 70,881.04 | 0.00 | 70,881.04 |
| Total Cash Expenditure | 85,320.13 | 34,996.96 | 120,317.09 |
| Non-cash out | |||
| Food Distributed | 0.00 | 31,770.00 | 31,770.00 |
| Lease deposit written off | 0.00 | 7,250.00 | 7,250.00 |
| Total resources used | 85,320.13 | 74,016.96 | 159,337.09 |
| Net Incoming / Outgoing Resources | |||
| (before transfers) | -28,352.26 | 40,065.22 | 11,712.96 |
| Fund Transfers In | 49,681.82 | 6,165.24 | 55,847.06 |
| Fund Transfers Out | 14,847.06 | 41,000.00 | 55,847.06 |
| Net Movement of Funds | 6,482.50 | 5,230.46 | 11,712.96 |
| Total Funds Brought Forward | 23,628.03 | 50,254.13 | 73,882.16 |
| Total Funds Carried Forward | 30,110.53 | 55,484.59 | 85,595.12 |
| Represented By | |||
| Current Bank Accounts | 0.00 | 0.00 | 0.00 |
| Lease Deposit | 0.00 | 0.00 | 0.00 |
| Food Stocks | 0.00 | 8,096.00 | 8,096.00 |
| Total | 0.00 | 8,096.00 | 8,096.00 |
Prior Year 2020
29,329.67 15,359.04 8,164.04 52,852.75
27,491.00 80,343.75
31,603.65 0.00 0.00 31,603.65 24,345.00 0.00 55,948.65 24,395.10 1,660.00 1,660.00 24,395.10 49,487.06 73,882.16
0.00 7,250.00 6,828.00 14,078.00
For the year ending 30/04/2021 the company was entitled to exemption from audit
under section 477 of the Companies Act 2006.
The members have not required the company to obtain an audit
in accordance with section 476 of the Companies Act 2006.
The directors acknowledge their responsibility for complying with the requirements of the act
with respect to accounting records and for the preparation of accounts.
These accounts have been delivered in accordance with the provisions applicable to companies
subject to the small companies’ regime
Which otherwise comply with the requirements of the Companies Act relating to accounts, so far
as applicable to the company.
Signed
James Dunne
Director