2022-03-31-accounts - Time Bank Plus Ltd

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TIME BANK PLUS ANNUAL REPORT 2021/22

The time period covered by this report – 1[st] April 2021 to 31[st] March 2022 - corresponds to the gradual withdrawal from Covid Lockdown and the start of a return to more ‘normal’ times. This has been a slow and somewhat uneven process which has affected different people at different rates depending on factors such as their age, vulnerability, family situation, etc.

Although we have been able to resume a good number of our previous activities, we also had to take care to keep within Covid-safe guidelines at all times, for example ensuring that group numbers remained low, maintaining social distancing or limiting the number of volunteers who were able to work together in enclosed spaces. Inevitably, the fallout from long periods of Lockdown affected the confidence and wellbeing of some of our members.

Whilst online groups remained the preferred option for some people, many of our participants welcomed the ability to meet up again in person. This was particularly true for those people who did not have an Internet connection or smartphone, such as members of our Lunch Club.

Grateful thanks are due to the Rose Cottage Centre in Twerton, who kindly offered to host and cook for the Lunch Club until July when their usual venue was able to re-open. Members of the Club were so thrilled to be able to meet up again, enjoy hot meals, stimulating activities and even a summer daytrip.

‘Borrow It’, our lending library of useful things, came into its own again as our office was able to open up regularly once more and people re-emerged from Lockdown. The gardening equipment, DIY tools and camping gear were particularly in demand this year.

Our Feelgood Walks programme provided an ideal opportunity for those people who had been particularly isolated during Covid to re-engage safely with others in the outside world. We were able to offer a variety of routes to help keep the walks varied and interesting and when necessary, our trained volunteers could accompany participants who needed to go at a different pace.

The Time Bank Gardening Team were in high demand during the year and also provided a perfect outdoor volunteering opportunity. In addition to helping local people in need of gardening assistance, our volunteers were also able to help create a food growing area at the local Childrens’ Centre, design, plant up and maintain a Community Garden and grow a variety of delicious vegetables on our allotment. One of the volunteers also led weekly Litter Picks to help keep the Twerton area clean and tidy.

Southside Food Co-op continued to provide a well-used and popular service throughout the year, delivering fresh, locally grown veggie boxes to the homes of local people in South & West Bath.

We were delighted to be able to host in-person Art workshops again towards the end of the year. These sessions, which are suitable for people at all levels including complete beginners, are very popular with local people and have resulted in some stunning displays of artwork.

For some of our members, online groups remained a safer or more practical option this year and we continued to offer two Zoom groups: Knit & Natter and Creative Writing. The latter group has been particularly productive, resulting in almost 200 pieces of original writing posted up on their Forum this year and publication of a wonderful booklet of poems and short stories written by members of the group.

This year of transition has come with a unique set of challenges, including difficulties in reconnecting with some of our previous participants, adjusting to a somewhat changed world and securing funding in an increasingly competitive environment. This has prompted us to start reconsidering the role of the Time Bank, our strengths and where we are able to be most effective going into the future. We decided to embark on a Strategic Review process with the aim of re-evaluating our vision and mission and producing a 5-year plan for our organisation. We were fortunate to receive funding from Quartet Community Foundation to enable us to take this on.

Consultation with our members and other local people will be an essential part of this exercise. Community forums, in particular the Twerton & Whiteway Community Network, are also a wonderful resource, which are helping us to communicate and work together with other local 3[rd] sector organisations, as well as identifying current needs and issues in the local community.

Once again this year we have many people to thank, who have enabled our little charity to achieve so much despite a small budget and limited staffing capacity. Massive thanks are due to our truly wonderful volunteers, who give their time and skills so freely. The Management Committee and Trustees have also continued to generously offer their expertise, support and encouragement despite many other commitments.

Most importantly, we would like to thank our funders, who have continued to show their support for our work through grants and donations which literally make it possible. Feelgood Walks were supported, via the Bathscape Project, by the Heritage Lottery Fund whilst Art Workshops were funded by the Wellbeing College. Quartet Community Foundation provided the funding for both the Strategic Review and to enable the Lunch Club to continue for another year. Our massive thanks go once again to the Roper Family of Roper Rhodes Bathrooms, who have continued to provide generous financial support towards our work programme this year.

Additional Information

Contact details

Time Bank Plus Ltd www.timebankplus.co.uk 86 High Street, timebankplus@googlemail.co.uk Twerton, Bath, BA2 1DE. 01225 442813

Charity no. 1147665 Company no. 06716502

Trustees

Steve Woodcock Company Secretary Simon Horsman Treasurer Duncan McGibbon Nathan Gale

Other Management Committee members

June Wentland (Chair) Jo Salisbury Krystal Osmond Wendy Elliott Susan Johnson

Structure & Management

The Management Committee, consisting of the Trustees and several other elected or co-opted members, meets approx 6 times per year (and no less than 4 times) to receive operational and financial reports, review progress and do future planning. The Management Committee are elected each year at the AGM, which is open to all Time Bank members. Up to three other people with relevant skills and experience may be co-opted onto the committee.

Aims & objectives

The overall aim of Time Bank Plus is:

To enhance community involvement and improve health and wellbeing in Bath & NE Somerset

Working particularly with more disadvantaged groups and communities, our specific aims are:

to stimulate volunteering within the local community
to enable local people to gain and develop skills and confidence
to facilitate local people in making healthy & sustainable lifestyle choices
to enhance social involvement and promote understanding between different groups within the local community
to stimulate the provision of volunteer services which help promote independence and improve quality of life
to increase the capacity of people in B&NES to engage in their local community

We do this by:

providing a brokered timebanking service, which enables local people to exchange services and skills on the basis of time
co-ordinating groups and activities which help build community involvement
providing learning opportunities which enable local people to develop existing skills or gain new ones
co-ordinating projects which help support healthy lifestyle choices and environmental sustainability
supporting activities which help to foster understanding between different groups in the local community
working in creative partnership with other agencies to develop and support community initiatives

Reserves Policy

We aim to keep reserves totalling at least 3 months’ total expenditure plus 9 months’ rental cost

TIME BANK PLUS IDcome & Ex Dditure Ae¢ouDt for Year ended 3151 March 2022 2020r21 2021r22 Ineome Roper Rhodes Quartet Community Foundation Peoples Health Trust Wellbeing College B&NES (Covid Recov) Other project funding Food Co-op & Lunch Club (net takings) Donations Other income Total Incom¢ 12000.00 14635.00 1066.00 1160.00 ioooo.00 2850.08 571.58 25.00 8.45 42316.11 120(X).(x) 15000.(X) 1255.(K) 5120.00 1079.85 168.41 52. 34675.59 Dditure Staffing sts Volunleer expenses Rent & seryices Insurance Postag¢, IT & phone Non-staff project costs Wellking College course expenditure Office supplies & equipment Payroll costs Other expenditure Tolal expenditure 29466.68 26525.80 62.11 5434.52 502.28 813.51 212.38 350.00 35.76 187.08 117.7 4093.82 461.06 813.15 556.45 1431.99 37.65 187.08 194.14 7242. 5074.09 Surplu&l(Defieil) for the yexr 434J9 Bal#Dce Sh At3111 reh 2022 2020121 2021n2 47615.16 5074.09 2689.25 Totsl fimds at beginning of year surplu(Der1cIt) for year Total funds at end of year Represented by: 52689.25 434.39 53123.64 55729.60 40.35 55689.25 (30(K).00) Cash at Bank Cash in Hand 53041.82 81.82 53123.64 Lesg: Sundry creditors Plu$: Sundry debtors 2689.25 53123.64 17546.00 6900.00 28243. Restricted funds Designated Funds Unrestricicd funds 18255.00 12925.00 21943.64 . Board of Management I have examined the alx)ve accounts, which are in accordance with the books and records submitted to me, and in my opinion they are corTecL ndependent Examiner