2025-03-31-accounts - Time Bank Plus Ltd

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TIMEBANK PLUS ANNUAL REPORT 2024/25

Despite significant difficulties with staff recruitment this year, we were able to maintain and extend a full programme of projects, groups and activities and to redesign and refresh our premises. The period ended with some excellent funding successes, the launch of several innovative new projects and a full complement of staff finally in place, ready to take all this forward.

April 2024 marked the beginning of a year’s maternity leave for our Community Projects Co-ordinator. During the year, despite several attempts, apart from a few months during the summer we were unsuccessful in recruiting maternity cover staffing. The progress and successes we have achieved this year are thanks to the hard work and dedication of remaining staff, our wonderful community of volunteers, Management Committee members, project participants and other local people.

During the summer, our temporary staff member, aided by a great team of local people, did a wonderful job of redecorating the centre and changing the layout so as to maximise the amount of space available for local people and groups to meet there. This helped pave the way for a significant new project, the ‘Community Sharing Space’. This project aims to maximise the use of our centre, by opening it up to trusted local groups on days of the week when staff are not present. Our role is to offer the outreach, resources, guidance and support needed for groups of local people to set up and run groups and activities.

We are very grateful to the Medlock Foundation and to Wessex Water which both provided funding towards this innovative new project. The first group to respond was a community music group – the ‘Django Jazz Club’, led by a longstanding Timebank member, offering local musicians the opportunity to have a go at playing and improvising simple jazz standards.

We were also approached by a group of former participants in our 'Art for Everyone' Wellbeing College courses, who wanted to set up a weekly peer-led Art Group. As the size of the group was too large for our premises, we were able to support them in gaining free use of a local community venue. This group has been fantastically successful and well attended, with a great deal of mutual support, many strong friendships and a very active WhatsApp group.

Other ongoing peer-led groups we have continued to support this year include the popular Bath Guitar Group and our longstanding online Creative Writing

Group. Both groups help to nurture the creative talent of a range of people from beginners to more experienced players or writers.

Our ‘Borrow It’ Library of Things was well used this year. As a free-of-charge service, it is particularly valued by members of the local community in and around the Twerton area, many of whom are impacted by low income levels. With a need to update and overhaul the collection of items, add further equipment and expand the available storage space we were delighted to receive funding from Bath & West Community Energy, which would pay for a project worker to put this into place.

Twerton Lunch Club has continued to provide nutritious, hot lunches and a varied programme of activities each week to older people living locally. Most of the people attending the Club live alone and are socially isolated, and the Club provides a much-needed opportunity to get out and meet with other people. Many thanks to the Quartet Catalyst Fund, which supported the Club for a further year.

The Timebank Gardening Team has continued to meet each week, providing gardening help to local people who are in need of assistance. This is a longstanding and much valued Timebanking service which enables us to 'give back' to people who have contributed their time and active participation in other aspects of our work programme.

Other longstanding activities we have supported this year include the Allotment Group and our weekly FeelGood walks, led by a wonderful local Timebank member.

With staff time in short supply this year, we reluctantly made the decision to discontinue our Food Co-op vegetable delivery scheme, at least for the foreseeable future. This project had been running for over 20 years, but numbers had dwindled and we were simply unable to provide the admin, outreach and marketing needed to maintain an effective service.

One of our main priorities this year was to put time into building organisational capacity and resilience, in particular through effective fundraising and a restructuring of staff roles to facilitate successful recruitment. We are delighted to report that we were successful on both fronts. A big welcome to three great new members of staff: Nicky, Borrow it Co-ordinator, Louise, Project Support worker, and Mary-Jane, Lunch Club Co-ordinator. In addition to the funders we have mentioned above, we would like to extend our warm thanks and appreciation to the Postcode Local Fund and to the Roper Family Trust, who once again offered their generous support to our small charity.

It remains to add a huge thank you to all the wonderful supportive people in and around the local community, who offer their time and become involved in our work in so many different ways. A special appreciation is due to our dedicated Management Committee and Trustees, who selflessly give their time and expertise to our small local charity.

Additional Information

Contact details

Timebank 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

Duncan McGibbon Simon Horsman Nathan Gale

Company Secretary Treasurer

Other Management Committee members

Jo Salisbury (Chair) June Wentland Krystal Osmond Mary Fee Stewart Weston

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

TtME BANK PLUS Income & Ex Dditure Ateount for Yr ended 311t Marcb 2025 2023n4 2024ll5 Ineomt Roper Rhodes Quartet Community Foundation Bathscape Postcode Local Tntst Wellbeing College Other project funding Food Co-op & Lunch Club (net takings) Donation5 Other income Total income 12000.00 7000.00 12(MN).(X) 14000.(M) 8373.75 8(X)O.00 4060.CK) 6875.00 1419.pl 457.44 724.60 325 55(Ki.00 1795.94 392.13 365.94 50427.76 28864.37 677.27 8040.86 553.85 974.37 184.60 2761.7S 194.79 161.08 195.5 4260 Staffing costs Voluntcer expenses Rent & services Insurance Postsge. IT & phonc Non-stsff proj¢ci costs Wellbeing College (net expenditure) Olfice supplies & equipmeni Payroll costs Other expenditure Total eipcndllure 22387.20 568.50 7760.22 560.86 1089.87 26. 627.68 20.00 155.68 125. 1007 Surylu(DefiQ1t) for tbe yeAr 17106.56 B*lane¢ beet It 3111 M 2025 2023124 2024125 50452.71 0072.30 40380.41 Totsl futsls at beginning of year Sury)lusl(Deficit} for year Tol•l fvnds #l end of yur ReprueDted by: 40380.41 17106.56 5748 40325.42 54.99 40380.41 C&sh at Bank Cash in Hand 57468.17 57486.97 Sundry creditors Plus: s debiors 40380.41 7486.97 9934.00 75(M).00 22946.41 Restri¢t¢d fijnds D¢signated Funds Unrestricted funds 23669.00 7000.00 26817.97 Board of Management I have examined the alK)ve accounts, wbicb in accordance with the books and records submitted to me, and in my opinion they are Correct. Indent Examiner '7..13.1 Lo

CHARITY COMMISSION FOR ENGLAND AND WALES Independent examinerfs report on the accounts Section A Independent Examinerfs Report Report to the trustee I 6kNJL On accounts forthe year Charity no (rf anyl 11+7èL£ Sel out on pages I I report to the trUstS rny •tsmination cl the ac£omts ol the chaity (tre Tn fry year WKled R•sponslb511tles Ind As the charlty trustees of the Tnjst, you we responsible the yeparation of basis of rrtport the accounts in acCdarKe the requirements of the Charities Act 2011 (Ihe Acn I rèport in respect d my examin8tth of the Tt'S accounts carned out under sectson 145 of the 2011 Act and in Carng out my examination. I have followed the apF4icth Diredions given by the Charty Commission under secticm 14515>(b} of the Act. I Ive ¢1eted my exlIati'0n. I confimi that no material matters have come to my attention (olher than that dtsckjsed beltrw") in connecbon wtth the exarn1nth gves me cause to believe that in, any material respect.. accounting recxKds were not kept in ac(y)rdarKe with section 130 of the Act or the accounts do r¥)t accord with the acco1 records Independent examlnerfs statsment I havè no ¢(ceMS arvj have come across no other matter5 in connection wilh the examin*ion to attenti{ should be drawn in order to enable Iper understn9 of the accixjnts to be reached. ' Pkne (kkte words in the brnckets rfthey do not ay. Slgned: ts@[ ij Li i fLE wlc-C>J) Relevant professional l E k , c r)1 p Aé . qualification(sl or body | (rf any): |

BA TF4 S+ G(-c- fpf£o AI IHZ Section E Disclosure only (x)mplet& rf the examirEr needs to highlighl rnatters of cnncem (see CC32, Indedert examinabon chanty accounts: d1ctIonS and guidance for examiners). Glve here brief dotails of any items that the examiner wlshos to disclose. IER October 2018