Free Bible Images Ltd Report and Accounts
Year ended 31 December 2022
FREE BIBLE IMAGES LTD
COMPANY INFORMATION FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31 DECEMBER 2022
Directors/Trustees A Bird R Bird R Burn C Manby P Stiff M Tierney Directors other than Trustees P Thompson G Thompson Company Secretary R Burn Governing Document Memorandum and Articles of Association dated 20 March 2012 Governing Trustee Document dated 30 January 2013 Company Registration Number 7998416 Charity Registration Number 1150890 Registered Office 20-22 Wenlock Road London N1 7GU Independent Examiner Neville Reid 19 Mills Grove London, E14 0RH Bankers Santander
CONTENTS
| Page | |
|---|---|
| Company Information | 1 |
| Directors’ Report | 2–4 |
| Independent Examiner’s Report | 5 |
| Statement of Financial Activities | 6 |
| Balance Sheet | 7 |
| Notes to the Accounts | 8–11 |
| Detailed Statement of Financial Activities | 12 |
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FREE BIBLE IMAGES LTD
REPORT OF THE DIRECTORS FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31 DECEMBER 2022
The Trustees have pleasure in submitting their Report and Accounts for the year.
Objectives and activities
The objective of the Charity is the advancement of the Christian faith through the provision of free downloadable Bible story images, for the benefit of the public, for use in teaching the Bible in homes, schools, churches and communities around the world.
Our activities include the creation of images (either photographic or illustration) offline which are then loaded onto a website. We also encourage Christian artists and organisations to donate to the project sets of Bible story images they have created. They choose a Creative Commons licence under which we can distribute them for free use in teaching or define their own terms of download to protect their images from abuse and give copyright cover where needed. We have 58 contributing Christian artists and organisations with more being added each year.
There are typically 10 to 30 images per story. People globally are able to access the website and freely download stories or images and use them in teaching. The images can also be projected live from the site in slide-show view from phones, tablets, or computers to larger screens via Bluetooth or other airplay technologies.
Main activities during the year
In 2022 we saw further growth in the number of visitors to the FreeBibleimages website and its translated sites in Chinese, Arabic, Romanian and Polish. Over 13.5 million pages were viewed, 6.5 million Bible stories read in slide-show mode and over 1 million sets downloaded. Visitor numbers to the English site were up 10.2%; page views up 4.7%; slideshow views up 5.2% and downloads up 1.6%. The average user spent 7 minutes 25 seconds on the English site in a world where Google rates an engagement time of 2 minutes as being good. The newly launched Portuguese and Spanish sites in September 2022 already have an average engagement time of over 2 minutes 40 seconds. Each month the Chinese site had over 5,000 sets of Bible story images downloaded. 106 new sets of Bible story images went online in 2022. New Christian illustrators to donate artwork in 2022 were Cory Baugher (maps), Rainer Holweger, Julia Watson, Kerstin ter Veen and Phillip Martin. We have also licensed new sources of Bible story images for free use in teaching to go online in 2023. These include:
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Photographic scenes of Bible passages in the book of Genesis from ‘The Covenant’, shot by the LUMO project in the Middle East.
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The Australian Bible society have consented to our use of still images from their animated ‘Wild Bible stories for kids’ videos.
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Good News Productions International have shared over one thousand images showing scenes from the Book of Acts.
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We have licensed 60 Bible story image sets for preschool children from a gifted Christian artist in South Korea.
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We are distributing over 900 images from the Jesus Messiah project by Dutch illustrator Willem de Vink of Bible stories from the Gospels.
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We have licensed 5 Bible story sets from missionaries David and Hilary Ker who run Little Zebra Books to help children in Africa read.
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In September 2022, FreeBibleimages launched a Spanish version of the FreeBibleimages site with 801 free Bible story sets. Biblica, the International Bible Society, kindly licensed the free use of the Santa Biblia, Nueva Versión Internacional so that all references can be clicked to view the Bible account.
FreeBibleimages were also able to launch a site in Portuguese in September 2022 with 859 Bible story sets. Biblica kindly licensed the free use of the Nova Versão Internacional 2011 across the site.
In June 2022 we organised a fund-raising walk to fund the initial development of a FreeBibleimages site in Hindi and work began on the development of this site in October 2022. We are working with a Christian couple from India, now living in England, to do the
Volunteers
We have 12 volunteers using our online translation portal to translate our stories into French, German, Telugu, Hindi, Arabic, Chinese, Spanish and Portuguese. In 2022 we were able to develop an online workflow to speed up the creation of translated Bible story title slides.
Public benefit
The Trustees have complied with the duty to have due regard to the public benefit guidance published by the Charity Commission.
Future direction
We aim to continue the development of translated versions of our website and free Christian Education resources. We are currently developing a site in Hindi with a target to launch it in Sept 2023.
We also plan to develop an onsite video player. Some of our Bible stories also have video versions hosted on YouTube or Vimeo. We plan to enable teachers to play these from our site through embedding instead of sending them to external video hosting sites.
We will continue to locate and work with artists and illustrators around the world willing to contribute their artwork of Bible scenes to the project.
We plan to publish over 100 new Bible story sets on our English site in 2023 with translations made, which can be hosted on our translated sites in Chinese, Arabic, Polish, Romanian, Spanish, Portuguese and Hindi. We have a further 89 stories being translated into Chinese to go on the Chinese site in early 2023.
Financial Review
In 2022, income reduced by £6,300 compared to 2021, while total expenditure rose by £8,700. The overall result for the year was a surplus of income over expenditure of £1,800. The Charity ended the year with £46,300 in general reserves and £1,200 in restricted funds.
Reserves Policy
The Charity aims to hold free reserves not less than £14,000, which would be sufficient to cover forthcoming expenditure for 6 months. It has a bank balance that is regularly reviewed by the trustees, and year on year the income broadly matches expenditure. The Charity’s general reserves have increased over the year.
Risk Statement
The charity is not exposed to any major financial risk.
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Governing documents
The company's governing documents are the Memorandum and Articles of Association dated 20 March 2012, and the Governing Trustee Document dated 30 January 2013.
Governance
The company is controlled by its Governing Trustee Document and the Memorandum and Articles of Association, and is limited by guarantee, as defined by the Companies Act 2006.
The company was incorporated on 20th March 2012.
The policy and operating decisions of the charity rest with the Trustees, who are also directors for the purposes of company law. They meet regularly to monitor the activities of the company.
Paul and Gill Thompson resigned as Trustees in 2018 when it was agreed to pay Paul to lead the work of sourcing, creation and formatting new content. Paul continues to attend Trustee meetings as an advisor but takes no part in decision-making. Because of his prominent role in the company's activities, Paul is still registered as a Director of the company, as is Gill.
Procedure for appointing Trustees
Trustees are appointed for a term of 3 years by resolution passed at a special meeting in accordance with the provisions of the Governing Trustee Document.
Directors' responsibilities
Charity law requires us as Directors to prepare financial statements for each accounting year which give a true and fair view of the state of the charity and of its income and expenditure for the year. In preparing the financial statements, the Directors are required to:
• select suitable accounting policies and apply them consistently;
• observe the methods and principles in the applicable Charities SORP;
• make judgements and estimates that are reasonable and prudent;
• state whether the applicable accounting standards have been followed, subject to any material departures disclosed and explained in the accounts;
• prepare the financial statements on a going concern basis unless it is inappropriate to presume that the charity will continue in operation.
We are responsible for keeping adequate accounting records which disclose with reasonable accuracy at any time the financial position of the company and enable us to ensure that the financial statements comply with the Companies Act 2006.
We also have a responsibility to safeguard the assets of the charity and to take reasonable steps to prevent fraud or any other irregularities.
Approval
This report was approved by the Directors/Trustees on 29th September 2023 and signed on their behalf by:
Robert Bird Alan Bird
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INDEPENDENT EXAMINER'S REPORT TO THE TRUSTEES OF
FREE BIBLE IMAGES LTD
I report to the charity trustees on my examination of the accounts of the Company for the year ended 31 December 2022.
Responsibilities and basis of report
As the trustees of the charity (who are also directors of the company for the purposes of company law), you are responsible for the preparation of the accounts in accordance with the requirements of the Companies Act 2006 (‘the 2006 Act’).
Having satisfied myself that the accounts of the Company are not required to be audited under Part 16 of the 2006 Act and are eligible for independent examination, I report in respect of my examination of the Company’s accounts carried out under section 145 of the Charities Act 2011 (‘the 2011 Act’). In carrying out my examination I have followed the Directions given by the Charity Commission under section 145(5)(b) of the 2011 Act.
Independent examiner's statement
I have completed my examination. I confirm that no material matters have come to my attention which give me cause to believe that:
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accounting records were not kept in respect of the Company as required by section 386 of the 2006 Act; or
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the accounts do not accord with those records; or
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the accounts do not comply with the accounting requirements of section 396 of the 2006 Act other than any requirement that the accounts give a ‘true and fair view which is not a matter considered as part of an independent examination; or
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the accounts have not been prepared in accordance with the Charities SORP (FRS 102).
I have no concerns and have come across no other matters in connection with the examination to which attention should be drawn in this report in order to enable a proper understanding of the accounts to be reached.
Neville Reid ACA
19 Mills Grove Poplar London E14 0RH
29 September 2023
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FREE BIBLE IMAGES LTD
Statement of Financial Activities FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31 DECEMBER 2022
| Note INCOME AND ENDOWMENTS FROM: Donations and legacies 3 Investments 3 Total income and endowments EXPENDITURE ON: Raising funds 5 Charitable activities 5 Total expenditure Net income/(expenditure) Transfers between funds Net movement in funds Reconciliation of funds: Total funds brought forward Total funds carried forward |
Unrestricted Restricted Total Total Funds Funds Funds Funds 2022 2022 2022 2021 £ £ £ £ 39,908 4,520 44,428 50,784 30 - 30 6 39,938 4,520 44,458 50,790 546 246 792 261 22,880 18,933 41,813 33,674 23,426 19,179 42,605 33,935 16,512 (14,659) 1,853 16,855 (6,043) 6,043 - - 10,469 (8,616) 1,853 16,855 35,815 9,836 45,651 28,796 46,284 1,220 47,504 45,651 |
|---|---|
Movements on reserves and all recognised gains and losses are shown above.
The notes on pages 8–12 form part of these accounts.
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FREE BIBLE IMAGES LTD
BALANCE SHEET AS AT 31 DECEMBER 2022
| Note CURRENT ASSETS Debtors 10 Cash at bank and in hand CREDITORS: Amounts falling due within one ye 11 Net Current Assets TOTAL NET ASSETS FUNDS OF THE CHARITY Restricted funds 12 Unrestricted funds TOTAL FUNDS |
Unrestricted Restricted Total Total Funds Funds Funds Funds 2022 2022 2022 2021 £ £ £ £ 2,651 - 2,651 207 47,230 1,954 49,184 50,217 49,881 1,954 51,835 50,424 (3,597) (734) (4,331) (4,773) 46,284 1,220 47,504 45,651 46,284 1,220 47,504 45,651 - 1,220 1,220 9,836 46,284 - 46,284 35,815 46,284 1,220 47,504 45,651 |
|---|---|
For the year ended 31 December 2022, the company was entitled to the exemption from audit under Section 477 of the Companies Act 2006 relating to small companies.
The members have not required the charitable company to obtain an audit of its accounts for the year in question in accordance with Section 476 of the Companies Act - however, in accordance with Section 145 of the Charities Act 2011 the accounts have been examined by an independent examiner whose report forms part of this document.
The directors/trustees acknowledge their responsibilities for complying with the requirements of the Companies Act with respect to accounting records and the preparation of accounts.
These accounts have been prepared in accordance with the provisions applicable to companies subject to the small companies regime and in accordance with the FRS102 Charities SORP.
Approved by the Directors and signed on their behalf on 29 September 2023 by:
Robert Bird
Alan Bird
Company number: 7998416
Charity number: 1150890
The notes on pages 8–12 form part of these accounts.
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FREE BIBLE IMAGES LTD
Notes to the Accounts FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31 DECEMBER 2022
1 Basis of Accounting
The accounts have been prepared under the historical cost convention, with items recognised at cost or transaction value unless otherwise stated in the relevant note(s) to these accounts. The accounts have been prepared in accordance with the 2019 version of the Statement of Recommended Practice, Accounting and Reporting by Charities (SORP(FRS102)), and with the Financial Reporting Standard applicable in the United Kingdom and Republic of Ireland (FRS
The trust constitutes a public benefit entity as defined by FRS 102.
The trustees consider that there are no material uncertainties about the Trust’s ability to continue as a going concern.
2 Accounting policies
The following are the accounting policies which have been applied in dealing with material items:-
a) Recognition of income:
Grants and donations are included in the Statement of Financial Activities (SoFA) when:
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the charity becomes entitled to the resources;
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it is more likely than not that the trustees will receive the resources; and
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the monetary value can be measured with sufficient reliability.
b) Tax reclaims on donations and gifts:
Gift Aid receivable is included in income when there is a valid declaration from the donor. Any Gift Aid amount recovered on a donation is considered to be unrestricted income unless the donor or the terms of the appeal have specified otherwise.
c) Settlement of insurance claims:
Insurance claims are only included in the SoFA when the general income recognition criteria are met, and are included as an item of other income in the SoFA.
d) Volunteer help:
The value of voluntary help received is not included in the accounts but is described in the
e) Liability recognition:
Liabilities are recognised where it is more likely than not that there is a legal or constructive obligation committing the charity to pay out resources, and the amount of the obligation can be
f) Funds:
Unrestricted funds are donations and other income received or generated for the objects of the charity without specified purpose and are available for purposes as directed by the Trustees. Restricted funds are amounts received where the donor has specified the purpose for which it The company has three restricted funds, for donations received for websites in specific
g) Fixed assets and depreciation:
Fixed assets acquired for use by the charity are capitalised and depreciated over their estimated useful life, unless they cost less than £1,000 in which case they are written off on purchase.
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FREE BIBLE IMAGES LTD
Notes to the Accounts FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31 DECEMBER 2022
3 Analysis of income
| Donations and legacies: | Unrestricted | Restricted | Total | Total |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Funds | Funds | 2022 | 2021 | |
| £ | £ | £ | £ | |
| Donations and gifts | 32,487 | 4,520 | 37,007 | 43,338 |
| Gift Aid | 1,421 | - | 1,421 | 1,446 |
| General grants provided by other charitie | 6,000 | - | 6,000 | 6,000 |
| 39,908 | 4,520 | 44,428 | 50,784 | |
| Income from investments: Interest income |
30 | - | 30 | 6 |
| 30 | - | 30 | 6 | |
| Total income | 39,938 | 4,520 | 44,458 | 50,790 |
4 Donated goods, facilities and services
The company benefits greatly from the involvement and enthusiastic support of its many volunteers, more details of which are given in the Trustees’ report. In accordance with FRS 102 and the Charities SORP (FRS 102), no monetary value is included in the accounts for the
5 Analysis of expenditure
| a | Raising funds Fundraising costs |
Unrestricted Restricted Total Total Funds Funds 2022 2021 £ £ £ £ 546 246 792 261 |
|---|---|---|
| 546 246 792 261 |
||
| b | Charitable activities: Direct charitable activities Sourcing and creation of content Translation IT costs Web design & maintenance |
14,055 4,472 18,527 17,958 1,040 12,181 13,221 6,778 1,395 - 1,395 2,023 3,851 2,280 6,131 5,766 |
| 20,341 18,933 39,274 32,525 |
||
| Support costs Publicity Governance costs Insurance & sundry office costs |
1,149 - 1,149 - 450 - 450 400 940 - 940 749 |
|
| 2,539 - 2,539 1,149 |
||
| Total expenditure on charitable activit | 22,880 18,933 41,813 33,674 |
Support costs are shown in the Statement of Financial Activities as part of the cost of charitable
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FREE BIBLE IMAGES LTD
Notes to the Accounts FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31 DECEMBER 2022
----- Start of picture text -----
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|---|---|---|---|
|2022|2021|
|6|Fees for examination of the accounts|£|£|
|Independent examiner’s fees|450|400|
----- End of picture text -----
7 Paid employees
The charity has no employed members of staff.
8 Trustees
No remuneration was paid to any trustee during the year nor to any person connected to them. The charity trustees were not paid nor received any other benefits from the charity in the year (2021: £nil). One was reimbursed expenses of £182 for fundraising costs during the year (2021: £nil). No charity trustee received payment for professional or other services supplied to the The company received unrestricted donations from its Trustees totalling £1,356 (2021: £1,668).
9 Related party transactions
Paul Thompson is a former Trustee, who remains registered as a Director but takes no part in decisions of the Trustees. He resigned in 2018 when it was agreed to pay him for sourcing and creation of content. The trustees have reviewed the cost of the services provided by him, and are of the opinion that they represent good value when compared to the market.
The amounts payable to Paul Thompson for his services in the year, and the outstanding balances at the year end, were as follows:
----- Start of picture text -----
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|---|---|---|---|
|2022|2021|
|£|£|
|Expenditure incurred in the year|19,072|17,958|
|Balance due at year end, included in creditors (note 11|1,334|943|
|10|Debtors and prepayments|2022|2021|
|£|£|
|Tax recoverable|2,551|31|
|Prepayments and accrued income|100|176|
|2,651|207|
|11|Creditors: liabilities falling due within one year|2022|2021|
|£|£|
|Trade creditors|3,756|4,123|
|Accruals|575|650|
|4,331|4,773|
----- End of picture text -----
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FREE BIBLE IMAGES LTD
Notes to the Accounts FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31 DECEMBER 2022
12 Funds
Restricted funds are set up for donations raised for websites in specific languages.
Movements on Restricted Funds
| ements on Restricted Funds | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Arabic | S. American | Hindi | Total | |
| website | websites | website | ||
| £ | £ | £ | £ | |
| Balance brought forward 1 Jan 2021 | 2,848 | - | - | 2,848 |
| Restricted donations | - | 21,384 | - | 21,384 |
| Restricted expenditure | (4,213) | (11,548) | - | (15,761) |
| Transfer from General Funds | 1,365 | - | - | 1,365 |
| Balance carried forward 31 Dec 2021 Restricted donations Restricted expenditure Transfer from General Funds |
- - - - |
9,836 800 (16,679) 6,043 |
- 3,720 (2,500) - |
9,836 4,520 (19,179) 6,043 |
| Balance carried forward 31 Dec 2022 | - | - | 1,220 | 1,220 |
Analysis of net assets between funds:
| Cash Other net assets lysis of net assets between funds Cash Other net assets |
General Restricted Total funds funds 2022 47,230 1,954 49,184 (946) (734) (1,680) 46,284 1,220 47,504 – previous year: General Restricted Total funds funds 2021 38,061 12,156 50,217 (2,246) (2,320) (4,566) 35,815 9,836 45,651 |
|---|---|
Analysis of net assets between funds – previous year:
13 Members
Each member of the company commits to contribute an amount of £1 if the charity is wound up.
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FREE BIBLE IMAGES LTD
Detailed Statement of Financial Activities with Comparatives
FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31 DECEMBER 2022
| Note INCOME AND ENDOWMENTS FROM: Donations and legacies 3 Investments Total income and endowments EXPENDITURE ON: Raising funds 5 Charitable activities 5 Total expenditure Net income/(expenditure) Transfers between funds Net movement in funds Reconciliation of funds: Total funds brought forward Total funds carried forward |
Unrestricted Funds Restricted Funds Total Funds 2022 2021 2022 2021 2022 2021 £ £ £ £ £ £ 39,908 29,400 4,520 21,384 44,428 50,784 30 6 - - 30 6 39,938 29,406 4,520 21,384 44,458 50,790 546 261 246 - 792 261 22,880 17,913 18,933 15,761 41,813 33,674 23,426 18,174 19,179 15,761 42,605 33,935 16,512 11,232 (14,659) 5,623 1,853 16,855 (6,043) (1,365) 6,043 1,365 - - 10,469 9,867 (8,616) 6,988 1,853 16,855 10,469 9,867 (8,616) 6,988 1,853 16,855 35,815 25,948 9,836 2,848 45,651 28,796 46,284 35,815 1,220 9,836 47,504 45,651 |
|---|---|
Movements on reserves and all recognised gains and losses are shown above.
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