## **Mayor of Merton’s Charitable Trust**
## **Trustees’ annual report for the period 01/04/2023 to 31/03/2024**
## **Reference and administration details**
Charity name – The Mayor of Merton’s Charitable Trust Registered charity number – 1149209
Names of the charity trustees Gill Manly 30.5.23 onwards (Chair from 30.5.2023) Martin Whelton 30.5.23 Michael Brunt 30.5.23 *Edith Macauley 24.06.19 onwards *Oonagh Moulton 24.06.19 onwards
## **Structure, governance and management**
Type of governing document – Trust deed adopted by meeting of Merton Council on 11 July 2012. A supplemental trust deed, approved by the trustees on 13 May 2019, restated the original trust deed and provided for an increase in the number of trustees from three to five.
How the charity is constituted – Trust
Trustee selection methods – the trustees are appointed or re-appointed annually after the Annual Meeting of Merton Council at which the Mayor is elected. There is an understanding that each year the Mayor, Deputy Mayor and the previous year’s Mayor may become Trustees. The appointments are noted by a meeting of the Council in June/July each year. The Trustees elect the Chair of the Trust Board at the first Trust Board meeting following Annual Council.
## **Objectives and activities**
Summary of the objects of the charity set out in its governing document
The Trust Deed states that the charity's objects are any purposes currently recognised as charitable and any new charitable purposes which are similar to another charitable purpose. The purpose of the Trust is to collect and distribute charitable donations for the benefit of the residents of the borough. The focus will shift from year to year so that each year the Trust can support specific organisations and/or themes such as young people, sport, the arts etc.
Each year the Mayor of Merton nominates a charity or charities for whom fundraising activities are carried out during the year to meet a specified purpose for the benefit of the residents of Merton. Additional small donations may be made to local charities and or individuals.
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The Trustees consider the public benefit requirement prior to issuing funds to any organisation or individual. When providing financial donations, the Trustees will in every event place specific stipulations as to the use of those funds to ensure that the use is in accordance with the charity’s objects and charitable purposes as well as complying with the Charity Commission’s guidance on public benefit.
Summary of the main activities undertaken for the public benefit in relation to these objects
Fundraising activities undertaken over the past year were planned so that a wide range of people from Merton’s diverse local communities could participate, particularly those people who had not previously had any contact with the mayoralty.
Councillor Manly selected the Merton Music Foundation as the first of her two nominated charities Merton Music Foundation (MMF) has been providing high-quality music, arts and culture education programmes to the young people of Merton and the surrounding areas for over 32 years. Their principal object of the Merton Music Foundation is to advance musical education within the framework of the arts for the benefit of the public in the London Borough of Merton and elsewhere. Her second charity was The National Brain Appeal who have been dedicated to raising vital funds for The National Hospital for Neurology They try and improve the outcome and quality of life for the one in six affected by a neurological condition by funding pioneering research, providing access to the best technology for expert diagnosis and treatment, and training tomorrow’s clinicians.
**Achievements and performance** (summary of the main achievements of the charity during the year)
Fundraising activities Fundraising highlights in the 2023/24 year included:
- Quiz Night – Jul 2023
- Annual sponsored swim by Deputy Mayor, Cllr Edith Macauley – 50 lengths of the pool at David Lloyd Sports Club in Wimbledon.
- Silver Sunday – October 2023
- Mayors Jazz Night – Councillor Gill Manly performed and sang for this event
- Mayors Christmas Dinner held at Merton College
- Mayors Christmas Concert organised by her charity Merton Music Foundation – December 2023
- Bingo Night – February 2023
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## Community outreach
**Silver Sunday** : October saw Silver Sunday, when Councillor Gill Manly hosted a tea party at Tooting and Mitcham Community Sports Club. A delicious afternoon tea was served, accompanied by sparkling entertainment which included Councillor Gill Manly performing for the guests. The day was a fitting celebration of achievements by older residents, and a chance to share some amazing life stories.
During her mayoral year Councillor Gill Manly not only held the mayoral events but also assisted in helping with the baking/cooking and cleaning for her events and involved as many community members as possible.
In September 2023 we saw Councillor Gill Manly shave her head for the National Brain appeal and raise over £2500 for the charity as a sign of compassion and solidarity for those who are undergoing treatment for Brain Cancer and those that have lost to the disease
Aside from her charity work, Councillor Gill Manly led the tributes to fallen servicemen and servicewomen on Armistice Day and Remembrance Sunday, and she led citizenship ceremonies throughout the year as part of her civic duties.
## **Engagements**
During 2023.24 Councillor Gill Manly ensured that their programme of 400 to 500 engagements annually has been used as an opportunity to reach out to all parts of Merton’s diverse community and therefore increase understanding, participation and communication, thus addressing one aspect of the public benefit duty of the Trust.
## **Parlour receptions**
During 2023/24, Councillor Gill Manly hosted several receptions in the Mayor’s Parlour as an opportunity to thank individuals and local community organisations, thus recognising and celebrating the positive contribution they have made to the life of the borough.
## - Grant making
Grant-making In the 2023/24 financial year the Trust made seven grants totalling £29,946 to support local community organisations for the benefit of Merton residents:
- **Dons Local Action Group £15,000**
- **Jimmy Asher Foundation £10,000**
- **Phoenix Community Steelband £426.25**
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- **AIM121 £426.25**
- **Uptown Youth Services £426.25**
- **Accoutre Centre £426.25**
- **Ashdown Jazz Academy £426.25**
- **Ghanaian Parents Association £964.60**
- **Sherwood Primary School £600**
- **Merton Music Foundation £1250**
## **Financial review**
Brief statement of the charity’s policy on reserves:–
All cash balances are held as unrestricted funds. All funds are held for the purpose of donations to the Mayor’s chosen charities or cover the costs of further fundraising. We do not have a policy of holding a minimum reserve, other than to not go into deficit.
## **Independent examiner’s report on the accounts**
Separate PDF document
## **Receipts and payments accounts**
Separate PDF document
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Official#
**Charity Number: 1149209**
## **The Mayor of Merton's Charitable Trust**
## **Receipts and payments accounts**
**For the period from**
**01/04/2023**
to
**31/03/2024**
|**Section A Receipts and payments**|**Section A Receipts and payments**|**Section A Receipts and payments**|||
|---|---|---|---|---|
|
**A1 Receipts**||**Unrestricted**
**funds**
**to the nearest £**
**32,138**
**48,454**
**7,087**
**0**
**87,679**
**22,205**
**29,946**
**52,150**
**35,529**
**0**
**33,250**
**68,779**|**Total funds**
**to the nearest £**
**32,138**
**48,454**
**0**
**7,087**
**0**
**87,679**
**22,205**
**29,946**
**52,150**
**35,529**
**0**
**33,250**
**68,779**|**Last year**
**1 April 2022 to 31**
**March 2023**
**to the nearest £**|
|Event Income||**32,138**||**45,125**|
|Donations||**48,454**||**0**|
|Gift Aid Receipts||||**0**|
|Wimbledon Draw||**7,087**||**8,756**|
|Openingdonationspre charitable status||**0**||**0**|
|||||**0**|
|**_Total receipts_**
**A3 Payments**|||||
|||||**53,881**|
||||||
|Cost of Fundraising Activities||**22,205**||**30,402**|
|Donations to charities||**29,946**||**38,500**|
||||||
|**_Total payments_**||**52,150**||**68,902**|
|**_Net of receipts/(payments)_**
**A5 Transfers between funds**
**A6 Cash funds last year end**
**_Cash funds this year end_**|||||
|||||**(15,021)**|
|||||**0**|
|||||**48,271**|
|||||**33,250**|
||||||
|**Section B Statement of assets and liabilities at the end of the period**|||||
|**Categories**
**B1 Cash funds**||**Details**
Cash at bank||**Unrestricted**
**funds**
**to nearest £**|
|||Cash at bank||**68,779**|
|||||**68,779**|
|||||Date of approval|
||||||
||||||
**Unrestricted Details funds to nearest £** Cash at bank **68,779** _**Total cash funds**_ **68,779** Print Name Date of approval
Signed by one or two trustees on behalf of all the trustees
Signature
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