
## **Trustees' Annual Report for the period** 

Period start date Period end date 01 Sep 2023 31 Aug 2024 

**To** 

**From** 

## Section A                        Reference and administration details 

## **Charity name** Shrewsbury U3A 

**Other names charity is known by** None 

**Registered charity number (if any)** 1148657 

**Charity's principal address** c/o Dyke Yaxley 1 Brassey Road, Old Potts Way Shrewsbury Shropshire **Postcode SY3 7FA** 

## **Names of the charity trustees who manage the charity** 

|1<br>2<br>3<br>4<br>5<br>6<br>7<br>8<br>9<br>10<br>11<br>12<br>13<br>14<br>15<br>16<br>17<br>18<br>19<br>20<br>21<br>22<br>23|**Trustee name**|**Office (if any)**|**Dates acted if not for whole**<br>**year**|**Name of person (or body) entitled**<br>**to appoint trustee (if any)**|
|---|---|---|---|---|
||Mike Reece|Chairperson|||
||Jonathan Mutch|Past Chair|||
||Russell Game|Secretary|Oct 2023||
||Michael Masterson|Treasurer|||
||Alwyn Winter||||
||JennyMasterson||||
||Norman Jones||||
||Jan Dale||||
||Patti Cooke||||
||Don Burgess||||
||Keith Winter||||
||Pat Coulthard-<br>Jones||||
||Ian Tanner||November 23||
||Alison Ford||November 23||
||Frank Velander||November 23||
||||||
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**TAR** 

March **2012** 

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**Names of the trustees for the charity, if any, (for example, any custodian trustees) Name Dates acted if not for whole year** 

## **Names and addresses of advisers (Optional information)** 

**Type of adviser Name Address** 

## **Name of chief executive or names of senior staff members (Optional information)** 

## **Section B              Structure, governance and management** 

## **Description of the charity’s trusts** 

Constitution – revised 18 October 2021 Type of governing document (eg. trust deed, constitution) Trust How the charity is constituted 

- (eg. trust, association, company) 

Officers and other Committee Members are appointed by the membership Trustee selection methods at the Annual General Meeting in October, following year end August. (eg. appointed by, elected by) Trustees may be appointed by the Committee within the year, to fill vacancies and to prepare for taking on a role from a predecessor. 

## **Additional governance issues (Optional information)** 

The Charity’s organisational structure comprises a maximum of 5 Officers You **may choose** to include (Chair, Vice Chair, Past Chair, Treasurer and Secretary). In addition additional information, where between 5 and 10 other Committee Members can be appointed. On relevant, about: occasion this might be exceeded to provide a change-over of roles. • policies and procedures The charity works with the Third Age Trust, West Midlands U3A Region adopted for the induction and and Shropshire U3A Network. training of trustees; 

- the charity’s organisational The Chair, Vice Chair and Past Chair shall have a maximum term of 2 structure and any wider years. The Treasurer and Secretary shall have a maximum term of three network with which the charity years. works; 

   - During the financial year the Executive Committee has approved actions to: - Duty of Trustees, and - Expenses Policy 

- relationship with any related parties; 

- trustees’ consideration of - Expenses Policy major risks and the system and procedures to manage Existing policies relating to Data Protection and Privacy of Members data them. continue. 

**TAR** 

March **2012** 

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## **Section C                    Objectives and activities** 

The charitable purpose of Shrewsbury U3A 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 activities conducive **Summary of the objects of the** to learning and personal development, in Shrewsbury and its surrounding **charity set out in its** locality. **governing document** 

||**Objectives and activities**|
|---|---|
||The charitable purpose of Shrewsbury U3A is the advancement of<br>education and in particular the education of older people and those who<br>are retired from full-time work, by all means including activities conducive<br>to learning and personal development, in Shrewsbury and its surrounding<br>locality.|
|**Summary of the main**<br>**activities undertaken for the**<br>**public benefit in relation to**<br>**these objects (include within**<br>**this section the statutory**<br>**declaration that trustees have**<br>**had regard to the guidance**<br>**issued by****_the_**_Charity_<br>_Commission on public benefit)_|The charity carries out the following activities in relation to the objects:<br>➢Monthly Meetings in the Walker Theatre, Shrewsbury or other<br>venue as necessary, with an invited Speaker to which all<br>members are invited.<br>➢At the end of the year (December or January), the monthly event<br>takes the form of a Social. This might be U3A members<br>performing music, poetry, readings. Alternatively, an Entertainer<br>or key Speaker may be hired.<br>➢At the year-end there were 1160 members and 114 groups<br>operating within the charity meeting on an at least monthly basis.<br>The groups cover a wide range of indoor and outdoor activities.<br>Members can belong to one Study Group or many more – there is<br>no limit other than their time available.<br>➢In order to better manage the growing number of groups these<br>have been organised into 8 categories, each having a Category<br>Lead.<br>➢A monthly Newsletter is circulated to all members (either<br>electronically or in printed form) giving details of the charity’s<br>recent and forthcoming activities.<br>➢A monthly Coffee Afternoon is organised as a drop-in centre for<br>potential new members and a meeting place for existing<br>members.<br>➢A Theatre Group offering coach travel to attend a regional theatre<br>production.<br>➢A Trips Group offering day trips to various historical sites or cities<br>in the UK|



## **Additional details of objectives and activities (Optional information)** 

Section D                      Achievements and erformance p The membership of the Shrewsbury u3a was markedly affected by the **Summary of the main** Covid pandemic. In 2019 membership declined from 1000 to 700. A **achievements of the charity** 

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March **2012** 

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Section D                      Achievements and erformance p 

**during the year** 

major focus of activity from 2020 on was to recover membership. Membership has recovered to better than earlier peaks, and we have had to strengthen the management of groups. 

- To achieve this: - In 2021 and again in 2023 the public brochures were redesigned to better inform interested parties of the activities and groups available, with contact information. 

- - In 2023 we selected present a special speaker (Iolo Williams) in the main auditorium of Theatre Seven. We shared this with Shropshire Wildlife Trust. The event sold out with 650 tickets. This was in place of the earlier u3a Open Day events. 

- - While the heat did affect footfall at the flower show, post-event analysis did show strong growth of membership that well re-paid the costs of these events. 

The other major activity of the Shrewsbury u3a was to stabilise and enhance management information system: Arda. In 2021 this became unsupported. Through 2021 and into 2022 the Management Committee has rebuilt the support and made enhancements. This continued through 2023 

The finances of the Shrewsbury u3a continue to be healthy. Below is an extract ot the Treasurers Report to the AGM: 

## Extract: 

The headline income and expenses as reported to the Charity Commission and available to the public are £32,406 and £28,770. However, these numbers include the Groups: Trips, Theatre, Calligraphy and Golf/Croquet. For most of this report I will comment on the accounts of Shrewsbury u3a, with a note on Groups at the end. 

So, looking at Shrewsbury u3a (below) it can be seen that the u3a continued in surplus, even though we did budget a deficit as we hoped to complete some enhancements to Arda, our IT management suite. 

|suite.|||
|---|---|---|
|u3a|FY 23 24|FY 22 23|
|Income|£19,500|£17,500|
|Expenses|£18,000|£15,300|
|Surplus/ Deficit|£1,500|£2,200|



With subscriptions being constant, it is membership that drives the u3a income. This year has seen a continued growth in membership from the decline of the pandemic. Membership is now 1160, from 1050 last year, and well above pre-pandemic membership. 

Many expenses are also driven membership, but in this year there has also been more cost inflation than in 22 23. This would account for approximately £1,500 of the £2,700 increase. However, some expenses should be noted: 

- Speaker room hire was increased as we had to use Shrewsbury Town Football Club on three occasions: £500. 

- - We needed to spend £1,000 on equipment, having not spent anything in the previous year. That was un-naturally low. 

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March **2012** 

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Section D                      Achievements and erformance p 

- IT remediation (Arda enhancement) was £500 lower than in 22 23 as our supplier was not able to complete the work. - Our publicity spend recovered from the low spend of 22 23: £300. 

The reserves of the u3a remain strong: £21,000 excluding groups, equivalent to roughly 10 months of our anticipated spend in the year to come. 

Consequently, the Committee is recommending that the Membership Subscription Rate should be unchanged at £15 per member. 

Groups: The requirement is that groups must be self-funding. So, income should match or exceed expenses.  It can be seen that this is the case. 

Mike Masterson, Treasurer. 

**TAR** 

March **2012** 

5 



Section D                      Achievements and erformance p 

**Section E                    Financial review** 

**TAR** 

March **2012** 

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## **Brief statement of the charity’s policy on reserves** 

In order for the charity to manage the variable timing of income and expenditure, a reserve sum equivalent to 6 months income will be maintained. At the financial year end 2023-2024 the reserves held were nearly the equivalent of one full year. Even allowing that ongoing enhancement of Arda may cause deficits, we consider that the reserves are strong, and do not anticipate a need to change or lift subscriptions. 

**Details of any funds materially in deficit** 

None 

## **Further financial review details (Optional information)** 

You **may choose** to include additional information, where relevant about: 

- the charity’s principal sources of funds (including any fundraising); 

- how expenditure has supported the key objectives of the charity; 

- investment policy and objectives including any ethical investment policy adopted. 

## **Section F                     Other optional information** 

## **Section G                    Declaration** 

**The trustees declare that they have approved the trustees’ report above.** 

**TAR** 

March **2012** 

7 



**Signed on behalf of the charity’s trustees** 

|**Signature(s)**<br>**Full name(s)**<br>**Position (eg Secretary, Chair,**<br>**etc)**<br>**Date**|||
|---|---|---|
||Mike Masterson||
||<br>Treasurer||
||11 Sept, 2024||
||11 Sept, 2024||



**TAR** 

March **2012** 

8 



## **U3A SHREWSBURY** 

|**U3A**<br>**£**<br>**Receipts:**<br>Subscriptions<br>17,601.50<br>PayPal & SumUp Commission<br>(363.48)<br>**Net Subscriptions**<br>17,238.02<br>Gift Aid<br>1,865.87<br>Newsletter Advertising<br>330.00<br>Interest<br>63.72<br>Group Courses - Trips/Theatre/Golf Croquet<br>19,497.61<br>**Payments:**<br>Third Age Trust Membership/Insurance<br>4,176.00<br>U3A Magazine mailing<br>2,232.28<br>Room Hire - Speakers<br>3,678.00<br>Speakers' Fees<br>920.00<br>Palmers Café<br>497.80<br>Social<br>1,421.25<br>Newsletter, printing (Inc. AGM supplement)<br>1,263.00<br>Newsletter Postage<br>480.00<br>Membership Stationery<br>337.27<br>IT Remediation & Enhancement<br>894.00<br>IT Support Costs<br>178.69<br>Equipment<br>1,073.78<br>Committee + Office<br>259.40<br>Sundry<br>236.98<br>Publicity - u3a day, Flower Show, print<br>342.60<br>Group Courses - Trips/Theatre/Golf Croquet<br>17,991.05<br>**Surplus/(deficit)**<br>**1,506.56**<br>Surplus brought forward from previous year<br>19,447.78<br>**Surplus carried forward to next year**<br>**20,954.34**<br>**Represented By:-**<br>**Bank Accounts**<br>Current Account<br>14,618.21<br>Deposit Account - Lloyds<br>5,089.51<br>Theatre Group Bal - to u3a<br>100.00<br>PayPal account<br>1,146.62<br>**20,954.34**<br>Accrued Income<br>0.00<br>Accrued Expenses<br>0.00<br>**Net assets**<br>**20,954.34**<br>**Prepared by Mike Masterson, Treasurer**<br>**Examined and found correct in accordance with account books an**<br>**S Tarr, Chartered Accountant**<br>**Receipts and Expenditure for the Year En**|**Receipts and Expenditure for the Year En**|**Receipts and Expenditure for the Year En**|**ded 31 August 2**|**2024**<br>**£**<br>17,601.50<br>(363.48)<br>17,238.02<br>1,865.87<br>330.00<br>63.72<br>12,909.20<br>32,406.81<br>4,176.00<br>2,232.28<br>3,678.00<br>920.00<br>497.80<br>1,421.25<br>1,263.00<br>480.00<br>337.27<br>894.00<br>178.69<br>1,073.78<br>259.40<br>236.98<br>342.60<br>10,778.85<br>**024**|**2023**<br>**£**|
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
|||**U3A**<br>**£**<br>17,601.50<br>(363.48)<br>17,238.02<br>1,865.87<br>330.00<br>63.72<br>19,497.61<br>4,176.00<br>2,232.28<br>3,678.00<br>920.00<br>497.80<br>1,421.25<br>1,263.00<br>480.00<br>337.27<br>894.00<br>178.69<br>1,073.78<br>259.40<br>236.98<br>342.60<br>|**Groups**<br>**£**<br>12,909.20<br>12,909.20<br>10,778.85<br>|||
||||||15,505.40<br>(307.18)|
||||||15,198.22|
|||||||
||||||1,841.73<br>300.00<br>128.82|
|||||||
||||||9,443.14|
|||||||
||||||26,911.91|
|||||||
||||||3,688.00<br>2,119.30<br>2,878.80<br>828.00<br>494.00<br>1,404.10<br>1,174.00<br>238.79<br>354.00<br>1,428.00<br>75.04<br>0.00<br>479.11<br>47.00<br>69.96|
|||||||
||||||8,428.13|
|||||||
|||17,991.05|10,778.85|28,769.90|23,706.23|
|||||||
|||**1,506.56**<br>19,447.78<br>**20,954.34**<br>14,618.21<br>5,089.51<br>100.00<br>1,146.62<br>**20,954.34**<br>0.00<br>0.00<br>**20,954.34**|**2,130.35**<br>1,804.75<br>**3,935.10**<br>3,935.10<br>**3,935.10**<br>**3,935.10**|**3,636.91**<br>21,252.53<br>**24,889.44**<br>18,553.31<br>5,089.51<br>100.00<br>1,146.62<br>**24,889.44**<br>0.00<br>0.00<br>**24,889.44**|**3,205.68**|
|||||||
||||||18,046.85|
|||||||
||||||**21,252.53**|
|||||||
||||||15,744.12<br>5,025.79<br>100.00<br>382.62|
||||||**21,252.53**|
|||||||
||||||0.00|
|||||||
||||||0.00|
|||||||
||||||**21,252.53**|
||||||**17-Sep-24**<br>**17-Sep-24**|
|||**count books an**|**d receipts**|||



_Susan J Tarr_ 



Independent examiner's report to the trustees on the unaudited financial statements of
Shrem'sbury U3A.
I report on the accounts of Shrewsbury U3A for the year end¢d 31 August 2024.
Respective responsibilities of trustees and examiner
As the chartty's irustees: you are responsible for the preparation of the accounts in accordance
with the requirements of the Charities Act 2011 ("Ihe Act").
I report in respect of my examination of the Trust"'s accounts carried out under section 14) of
the 2011 Act and in carrying out my examination, I have folloTh'ed all the applicable Directions
given b5, the Charity Commission under section 145(5)(b) of ihe Act.
Independent examiner's Statemellt
I have completed my examination. I confinn that no material matters have come to my
attention in connection H.'ith the examination which gives me cause to believe that in, any
material respect..
Ihe accounting records were not kepi in accordance M'ith section 130 of the Charities Act. or
the accounts did not accord with the accounting records; or
the accounts did not comply ￿'1th the applicable requirements concerning the fonn and
content of accounts set out in the Charities (Accounts and Reports) Regulations 2008 other
than an>" requirement that the accounts give a 'true and fair view which is not a matter
considered as part of an independent examination.
I have no concerns and have come across no other mallers in connection with the examination
to which attention should be drawl in this report in order to enable a proper understanding of
the accounts to be reached.
Susan Ta￿ Bsc ACA
Date.. 16 September 2024