2023-08-31-accounts

Hungarian Cultural Association

Directors' / Trustees' Annual Report 2022/23 for the Financial Year ending 31 August 2023

Thanking our key supporters:

Bethlen Gabor Alap Zrt Neighbourly Fund

1

Directors' / Trustees' Annual Report 2022/23

Prepared in accordance with the special provisions provided for smaller companies by Part 15 of the Companies Act 2006 and the Charities SORP (FRS102) guidelines for charities.

This is the Company's 12th Annual Report since incorporation on 15 April 2011, for the Financial Year from 1 September 2022 to 31 August 2023.

Reference and administrative information

==> picture [459 x 240] intentionally omitted <==

----- Start of picture text -----
Name of the company / charity: Hungarian Cultural Association
Short name: HCA
Any other name by which the company / Hungarian School and Cultural Association
charity makes itself known: Guildford
Magyar Iskola és Kulturális Egyesület Guildford
Charity registration number in England and 1144110
Wales:
Company registration number: 7606402
The address of the principal office of the 2 Elles Avenue, Guildford, GU1 2QH
charity:
The names of the charity’s trustees or Maria Chambers,
trustee(s) for the charity on the date the report Katalin Hegedus
was approved: Dora Blazsek-Dixon
Maria Padfield
The names of any other person who served none
as a charity trustee in the financial year:
----- End of picture text -----

2

Structure, Governance and Management

The nature of the governing document and how the charity is constituted: The Hungarian Cultural Association is a Company Limited by Guarantee, constituted with a Memorandum and Articles of Association.

How the Charity is constituted:

The Hungarian Cultural Association (HCA) was established on 15 April 2011 as a company limited by guarantee and was registered as a Charity in October 2011. The HCA has continued the activities founded by its predecessor organisation, the Hungarian Cultural Group Guildford (HCG) established in March 2009.

The methods adopted for the recruitment and appointment of new trustees: The Hungarian Cultural Association invites all its beneficiary members, volunteers and contracted staff to participate in the governance of the charity. It has invited any member or associated partner to apply for Trustee positions. New Trustees/Directors can be appointed by a resolution of the Board of Trustees/Directors or at the AGM. Trustees will resign on a rotation basis, but can be re-elected at the AGM. During the Financial Year, all Trustees resigned and were re-appointed on the AGM in January 2022 and again in January 2023.

Objectives and Activities:

A summary of the objects of the charity as set out in its governing document:

The charity's objects as set out in the Articles of Association agreed on 16 September 2011 and accepted by the Charity Commission are as follows:

(1) To advance the education of the public in the subject of Hungarian Culture (language and literature, music, art and craft, folk dance, history, etc.) in particular, but not exclusively, amongst families with Hungarian connections in the Surrey area. (2) The prevention or relief of poverty, sickness and distress amongst families with Hungarian connections in Surrey or nationwide by providing grants, items and services to individuals in need.

Summary of the main activities undertaken in relation to those objects:

The charity achieves its aims through delivering regular educational sessions of Hungarian language and literature, folk dancing, singing and music, history, traditional art and craft to children aged 0-18 years as well as to adults who wish to learn Hungarian as a foreign language. There are also regular music, folk music and dancing, puppet show and poetry events, as well as educational trips to museums and botanical gardens open for all people from the wider community. Members with financial or other disadvantages can participate in activities free or at reduced price to ensure events and educational sessions are open to all. The charity also provides support and advice for people in need and aids personal development and employability through volunteering opportunities and coaching.

The trustees confirm that they have had regard to the Charity Commission’s guidance on public benefit.

==> picture [460 x 32] intentionally omitted <==

3

Achievements and Performance

The Charity had 345 beneficiary members representing individuals aged 0-80, many of them families with 1-3 children. They represent all segments of society from Surrey, Hampshire, Sussex, London and the Home Counties. There were over 4000 beneficiaries (members and non-members) who took part in the HCA’s activities and events in Guildford and London in this financial year between September 2022 and August 2023. The operations have now fully recovered from the impacts of the pandemic, but two online groups continue to operate to cater for adults and children who find it difficult to attend faceto-face.

Education

Our unique Hungarian Cultural Identity Programme (HCIP) entered into its 15th year. We moved our main operational location to St Thomas of Canterbury Catholic Primary School in Guildford that provides more flexible teaching tools and a wide outdoor space and also kept our old venue St John Centre for some events.

The HCIP delivered educational activities in 7 age groups : 0-3, 3-4, 4-5, 6-7, 8-10, online for children, and online for adults. The previous teenager group became very capable teaching assistants across the other age groups. Fortnightly face to face sessions were held in Guildford, while our online groups and events reach a wider geographical area. Sessions are ranging from 60 – 210 minutes/week and cover: Hungarian language and literature, singing and music, folk dance, traditional craft, free play and library, delivered by 24 teachers and support staff including 5 volunteers, between 10.30 -14.00 on Saturdays 20 times a year. Total number of sessions per child were up to 80-100 this year depending on participation levels, for approximately 150 enrolled learners this year. They also benefited from our excellent teaching resources including a Hungarian children’s library, traditional folk costumes, and laptops. All school aged learners received a free learning pack at the beginning of the year.

Events

Along with the teaching programme, Hungarian cultural events play an integral part of the HCIP. Despite the pandemic, we delivered the following eight events, many of which are much awaited recurring visits of well-known artists.

In September we opened our year with an educational trip to RHS Wisley Garden which was a very popular trip with activities for all group including a 3 km walk, visit to the education centre, glass house and the natural playground.

In October we celebrated Harvest with Kolompos, a Hungarian Family Folk Band, made grape juice with the children, alongside craft activities, dancing and traditional food buffet.

The fourth Hungarian Stand-up Comedy Night by Dumaszinhaz took place in October, drawing in a young adult audience not typically involved in our regular activities, joining us for an evening of laughter and hilarity.

In early December we held our traditional St Nicholas Celebration with a classical concert by exceptional professional musicians from Southern Pro Musica interspersed with audience participation and poems recited by the children. All those who were good received gift bags from Santa, followed by traditional food and crafts.

4

In February our traditional masked ball was celebrated by two concerts by our patron Gryllus Vilmos who played his music for both an adult and a children audience in Guildford as well as in Birmingham, continuing our long-standing cooperation with other Hungarian organisations.

In March , we celebrated Mothers' Day with special poems and songs performed by the children to the loving parents and grandparents.

In April we had a family trip to Alice Holt Forest with a 5 km walk, an Easter Egg Hunt and visit to ten natural playgrounds and Gruffalo.

In May, on Coronation Day, the community came together to celebrate our cultural identity as Hungarians living in the UK. The children learned about history of English and Hungarian kings and queens, prepared related artwork and we watched the proceedings together on a big screen. Of course, we all dressed up in coronation costumes and had a traditional English picnic.

Also in May, the storyteller and puppet artist Judit Kovacs, creator of the Kerekito books, workshops and puppets for young children was guest teacher for the 0-5 age group. The children loved the adventures of her mischievous gnome "Kerekito Mano", accompanied by many well known songs.

In June we celebrated Fathers' Day for first time by performing songs, folk dance and preparing special gifts delighting all Dads.

In July , the year closed with our celebration of the childrens' achievements and they received awards and gifts including a printed copy of the story books they created in their groups during the year. Team members and volunteers were also celebrated and thanked for their work. This was followed by our participation in the usual Summer Fayre of St Thomas of Canterbury school, where our activities are hosted. Children enjoyed the usual selection of barbeque and games.

Both educational and cultural projects were supported by the Bethlen Gábor Alap foundation and the purchase of a much-needed new sound system for events was supported by the Virgin Media O2 Neighbourly Fund.

HCA provided bursaries of up to 100% to families in difficult circumstances to ensure financial means do not limit access to its activities.

While the income from grants has significantly reduced in this financial year, the strong reserve position built up over the past three years ensured that families did not perceive any change in our level of service.

Financial Review

In this financial year the charity’s turnover was £35,641 (2022: £52,723), mostly explained by a significant reduction in external grant funding.

In this financial year, the income from our own activities has changed only marginally (£29,285 in 2023 v. £29,739 in 2022), however restricted income from grants and other donors reduced drastically from £22,984 in 2022 to £6,357 in 2023. Some of this was due to timing, as the grant for Events for the calendar year 2023 was received so late, it could only be used in the current financial year. Some of it can be explained by 2022 being an exceptionally successful year, and the current year represents a return to usual levels.

5

Despite this, with the careful reduction in exceptional events and unnecessary expenses the reserves have only reduced by £4,904, from £30,799 in 2022 to £25,895 in 2023. This is still a healthy level of reserve and shows the merit of the Trustees' strategy to keep sufficient reserves to continue the operations of the charity for a reasonable period even in the absence of external sources. The following financial year is showing signs of improvement in the grant position.

Also, income from our basic charitable services - course fees - is showing continuing growth, supported by an increasing membership number. In absence of the security of external grants we held less feepaying events, explaining the reduction in the event fee income.

A small proportion of the reserve and grant funding was agreed to be used for the purchase of a sound system for a total of £1,768. This provides now significantly improved sound quality and more flexibility of locations for our events. HCA also continues to recruit more teachers and teaching assistants to cater for the increase in participant numbers and the personal circumstances of teachers.

There were no funds in deficit during the financial year and the charity has no concerns or uncertainties about its ability to carry out its activities in the medium term, even if grant financing becomes less accessible. We have also started to place the funds not immediately required on interest paying bank accounts as the interest rates have started to rise. We opted to stay with our current banking provider as the interest rate differential was insignificant, and we are still well within the limits of the Financial Services Compensation Scheme. The Charity has obtained further grant financing in the Financial Year 2023/24 and is confident it will continue to operate as a going concern.

In the financial year 2022/2023, the Charity obtained grants from two donor organisations and was able to cooperate with other Hungarian schools and community organisations.

• Bethlen Gabor Alapkezelő Zrt (Bethlen Gabor Fund Management Private Limited Company, BGA Zrt) in Hungary, responsible for the promotion of Hungarian culture, language and heritage outside Hungary. We had contributions in this financial year from two grant applications:

• • The BGA-1 grant £7,733 covers teaching fees for full calendar year of 2022 Of this amount, £6,938 was already spent in the previous financial year and £795 - accrued from the previous year - was used in the current financial year between 01/09/2022 and 31/12/2022.

• • The BGA 2023 grant covers teaching fees for the calendar year of 2023. Of the total £6,748 received, £5,356 was spent by 31/08/2023, the rest of the fund was used in the following financial year.

• The Virgin Media O2 Neighbourly fund provided £1,000 contribution for the purchase of a new sound system.

The Charity's regular sources of income continued: including membership fees and course fees, income from events. Fundraising income from sale of food and toys reduced substantially This year again, no Gift Aid request was submitted because the amounts are immaterial, only new families pay membership fees.

The continued success of our operations means that the charity continues to exceed the £25,000 threshold requiring an Independent Examination and will submit this Trustees' Annual Report to the Charity Commission.

Further details are available in the Financial Accounts below.

6

THE 2022-2023 HCA Team

Mária Chambers Trustee/Director (Operations and Education, Safeguarding) Katalin Hegedüs Trustee/Director (Finance) Maria Padfield Trustee/Director (Policies/Safeguarding) Dóra Blazsek-Dixon Trustee/Director Patrons Dr Beáta Pászthy Former Director of the HCC London Dr Ilona Gállné Gróh Head of Ringato music foundation, Forrai Award winning music teacher Veronika Marék Janikovszky Éva Award and József Attila Award winning writer Vilmos Gryllus Kossuth Award and Prima Primissima Award winning singer-songwriter Margaret Olivers Chairman of the British Kodaly Academy, music and Montessori teacher Kolompos Ensemble Hungarian Folk Band

Operative Team

Mária Chambers Session Leader – Music and Language 0-5, Music 5-11, Folk dance Niki Cseh Session Leader – Kindergarten Szandra Kettler Session Leader - Language 5-6 Katalin Hegedüs Session Leader – Language 6-7, Folk dance Katalin Vincze Session Leader – Language 7-14 online, Adults Online Orsolya Pinter Session Leader - Language 9-11 Anasztazia Chambers Teaching Assistant Alicia Padfield Teaching Assistant Katalin Fabian- Markus Librarian Csilla Bedy Librarian Maria Padfield Librarian Denisszia Gerocz Teaching Assistant Szilvia Kovacs Teaching Assistant Orsolya Nemeth Teaching Assistant Andras Csakany Event Assistant

7

Financial Accounts as at 31 August 2023 - Hungarian Cultural Association

Registered Charity in England and Wales reg. Number 1144110 Company Limited by Guarantee in England and Wales, company number 7606402

Balance Sheet

==> picture [490 x 299] intentionally omitted <==

Prepared in accordance with the special provisions provided for smaller companies by Part 15 of the Companies Act 2006 and the Charities SORP (FRS102) guidelines for charities.

For the Financial Year ending 31 August 2023, the Company was entitled to exemption under section 477 of the Companies Act 2006 relating to small companies. 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 Companies Act 2006 with respect to accounting records and for preparation of accounts. These accounts have been prepared in accordance with the provisions applicable to companies subject to the small companies regime. The accounts give a true and fair view of the state of affairs of the Company as at the end of the Financial Year and of its Profit and Loss for the Financial Year in accordance with the requirements of Sections 394- 396, and which otherwise comply with the requirements of the Companies Act 2006 relating to accounts, so far as applicable to the Company. All figures rounded to the nearest pound (£).

Trustee's Annual Report and Financial Accounts approved by the Board of Directors/Trustees on 6 May 2024. Signed on behalf of the Board of Directors/Trustees:

Katalin Hegedus Maria Chambers Director / Trustee Director / Trustee

8

Statement of Financial Activities (Profit and Loss Account)

==> picture [517 x 603] intentionally omitted <==

9

Summary of Fund Movements

==> picture [498 x 138] intentionally omitted <==

Notes to the Accounts for the Financial Year ended 31 August 2023

Hungarian Cultural Association:

Registered Charity in England and Wales reg. Number 1144110 Company Limited by Guarantee in England and Wales, company number 7606402 Prepared in accordance with the special provisions provided for smaller companies by Part 15 of the Companies Act 2006 and the Charities SORP (FRS102) guidelines for charities. All figures are rounded to the nearest pound (£).

The Accounts show a true and fair view, and were prepared on the going concern assumptions and using the accruals concept and provide information that is relevant, reliable, comparable and understandable.

Financial Review Policy on reserves:

The charity aims to hold the equivalent of the running costs of three school terms (c. £25,000) as reserve due to the uncertainties of grant financing. The reserves reported in the Accounts have reached the target level, and are now expected to be maintained. A small portion of the reserves may be used for online events at reduced cost or free of charge that is not otherwise financially viable, or for purchase of essential teaching equipment.

Details of any fund materially in deficit and the circumstances giving rise to the deficit and steps being taken to eliminate the deficit:

The Hungarian Cultural Association has not had funds in deficit at any time during the financial year ending 31 August 2023.

Funds held as Custodian Trustee:

The Hungarian Cultural Association does not hold funds as Custodian Trustee .

10

Detailed Notes to the Accounts:

1. Fixed Assets

The Company has a policy to only capitalise assets with values in excess of £500. In January 2023, the company purchased a sound system for a total of £1,768, part funded by grant. The asset will be depreciated over 3 years. All previously purchased assets have been fully depreciated.

==> picture [460 x 110] intentionally omitted <==

----- Start of picture text -----
all in GBP Restricted Unrestricted Total
Original Cost of Fixed Assets £1,000 £768 £1,768
Cumulative Depreciation £204 £156 £360
Net Book Value £796 £612 £1,408
----- End of picture text -----

The resale value of all teaching materials currently in use by the Company but shown at zero value on the Balance Sheet is estimated at £2,500 and consist of around 250 library books, teaching reference books and teaching materials, 50 sets of folk costumes for adults and children, musical instruments and children's toys.

2. Stocks

The Company does not capitalise any stocks purchased and therefore calculates no revaluation or depreciation. Stocks, if any, would be valued at the lower of cost and net realisable value.

3. Debtors

£5,357 relates to accrued income for the BGA 2003 Teaching grant, which related to expenses between January and December 2023 but was only received on 19 December 2023.

4. Provisions

The Company has no activities that would require any Provisions.

5. Financial Assets

In May 2023, the Company has moved £10,000 to a term deposit expiring in November 2023, and in July 2023 £10,000 to a 32-day notice account and £10,000 to an interest paying online savings account to benefit from the increase in interest rates. All products are provided by our current banking provider Lloyds Bank. We continue to keep funds for immediate needs on a non-interest-bearing bank current account for transactional purposes and a small amount of petty cash kept as change for cash payments for fundraising sales.

6. Creditors over one year

The Company has no long-term financial or other liabilities.

7. Creditors within one year

Payables of £417 relate to two expense forms received in August and paid in September.

11

8. Tax

The Company is not subject to Corporation Tax as all its activities are exempt under Charity tax regulations. The Company has no employees, therefore it pays no PAYE and NI contributions.

9. Deferred Income

£16,929 relates to course fees and event fees paid in advance in August for the term starting in September 2023, and deferred for the following financial year. None of these pre-paid fees had to be refunded and were realised as income in September 2023.

1. Prepaid and Accrued Expenses

There were no prepaid and accrued expenses this financial year.

11. Capital

The Company has no share capital, as it is registered as a Company Limited by Guarantee. The total amount of guarantee is £30.

1. All donations were received as detailed in the activities section of the Annual Report.

2. The main source of unrestricted income for the organisation is from its regular courses and events as well as the membership fees received. The Company also conducts fundraising activities (e.g. Hungarian food buffet, book and folk costume sales), all related to Hungarian culture.

14.The Treasurer (Katalin Hegedus) contributed 100 hours of professional management, accounting and financial services in-kind. Additionally, approximately 20 professional hours were contributed in the course of the financial year by volunteers in teaching, operational and administrative services, event management, catering and other services. These services were considered at a value of £10/h. Volunteer hours for non-professional services are not represented in the accounts but have exceeded 160 hours in the year. Cakes and books donated for sale and eligible for Gift Aid were not recognised this year. Other in-kind donations of books, toys, provision of travel, storage and other services not eligible for Gift Aid were not represented in the accounts but exceeded £1,000 in total value.

1. The Company's major expense line items are below. Professional Fees for Performing Artists: £4,281 Fees paid for the teachers, all of whom are self-employed and work on a fixed-term contract basis: £13,857, of which £3,398 are related party transactions. Teaching Materials: £2,422 Management Fees: £8,871, of which £8,245 are related party transactions.

Details of the expenses are given in the Profit and Loss Account. All costs were attributed to the activity where it was incurred. Management fees and teaching fees were tracked based on actual hours spent on the activity. For related party transactions including Directors' Remunerations as permitted by the Articles of Association and agreed by the Board of Trustees see the below table.

==> picture [460 x 31] intentionally omitted <==

12

Not• 16 T1•n￿lor4W1thirn￿￿S•Thd f•l•ted p•rtle TOT r11t￿￿￿e Wi5ph .U25 ed￿th￿&Mr￿&oireClr￿s1￿A T￿¥￿5.￿￿dr￿Tmthd￿thelltIi1e0lAs￿D[i￿tIU￿.Kknw1 hif4artlyitw rwdinat1￿thyfii￿nlVfflrt InLludiniliaiwith•￿sty ifythird Mrfyhi%bwn St•T¢tr*nuMbtr TOT ¢ornityJvon 10.400 790 5t¥RfvnurtthrOFtrv5t¢r5￿5￿rtbrt￿lb}Ibtr￿h￿•rtIt¢tyl￿Wtht¥ 37Q 439 13

4.¥$ ch￿r￿¥ 745 qfTrW Wul•r yrt +4rk¥pepwi4perkn h￿¢t￿li¢￿l>rt￿lVoet￿rtj￿•ft$lCtVQfvsW￿1u•1Ii￿*tyrt ThttNPtns¢lotm5 Itt 14

CHARITY COMMISSION FOR ENGLAND AND WALES Independent examine¢s report on the accounts Section A Independent Examinor's Report Report io th• tn18te•sldir•etor81 momb•r¥ ol Mu hJeiA k NJ CD hSst>C4ATI<> On •ccounts lor the year ended l &oousf 2oL Ch•rfty no.: IIL¥4-110 Conyny no.: 7é0< S•t out on pag I rewt to thè th¥ity tsustees on my examlnatitin ol Ihe 8c£tyJnts of lh8 Company for year 8nded Q l 09 Ze31L AB Ihv ¢h¥lty8 tnJote¢$ of lh& Ctsnpany (who are also th8 dIreC￿ts of the o)mpany l¢y the ol CL￿panY18w}. you are responsIb￿ frxth8 epwBtiffi ofth• ac¢s)w181Th wJrdarK• ￿1h the rw4uirements ol the C¢¥npanles A¢t 2(￿ nh& 2W6 Nrf). HavlThJ sab.51￿d myseff thai the wJnts ol th8 C￿￿nY aro not r8qulrod to bg a￿j118￿ for Ihis under Part 16 of the 20￿ #no are eligible for Ind•pe￿en1 8x8rnin8bc￿, I repcwl in respwa of my èxamlnabon of your harsty's accounts a$ carried ovt under serain 145 of the Chariuos Art 2011 I"¢h8 2011 kl-l. In carryiw otst my oxaminatw, I havg folbw8d the Dire¢￿C￿5 gw) by tho Ch3nty Ctymmis$K)n lund•r sgdiL47 14515llbl of th• 2011 A¢t. R•¥pon•lbllJtl•B •nd ba•1¥ ofr•port Indepènd•nt •x•mln•rfs 8tat•m•nt I h8¥e ccffl￿trle￿ rny examinalkm. I conlimi that rK¢ materfal matters have ccffje to my attention lobler than th disclosed bebw") %¥hKh gr¥es mg CHU￿ lo belK8ve thaL . accounting reccrts w¢r• nol kept Rl 8ccoTd8nce wih s8CtioTr 366 of t Companies Ad 20(￿. c . the acctymts do rMIl accLYd ￿th s￿h recuds., or . Ihe aLEwnts do C(*nply wrth reth8nl 8(¥ounliTra requnmenls und8r sectN)n 396 01 Ihe c¢￿panieS Act 20C6 Ot￿r Ihan any r8quiremeni that the aecounts give a Irue aThJ fairf ￿eW whtch is ￿￿1 a matter wn$K1er8d 8$ p8rt of an independent examinatK)n". .Ih8 accwnts have l)een w8pared in accordanL% ￿th tho Charities SORP (FRS1￿2l. IER 15

I how ￿ crrtms a￿1 have rA)Tn& acToss no other matter5 in rA)nnethon with the examinati￿1 to whth attethn shouwj dravm in this rewTI Iri order lo enaNe a wop8r und8rst8nding ol the a¢counlS to be Teach8d. * Plea5& dd8t• lh8 ty? the b￿ketS i11￿Y¢? Tr)1 #p￿. Dato: Sion•d= Narn•: P£rGK g IM Ohb Rg18vanl Prof￿$10n•1 quallllcationlsl or body Ilf any): AddMs•: S8Ction B Disclosure Only COfnplel¥ il Ihe examirer noeds 10 hiohlighl ma￿1￿1 matter8 of cone¥m Isee CC32. Indewidenl eyan¥nBtson of dwniy a¢¢0￿15.. dlredions guidance •xarninersl. al￿ hor• brfeld•t•lh of any Il•m• th•t th• ¢x•mln•r wLh• to diKIo•o. IER 16