Trustees. Annual Report for the period Pariod start dale Period end dale From Section A Reference and administration details Charity name WINCHESTER POETrY FESTIVAL Other names charlty Is known by Registered charity number lif any) 1150997 Charity's prlnclpal address clo Faculty of Arts Univer51ty of Winchester Sparkford Road. Winchesler Postcode 5022 4NR Names of the Charity trustees who manage the charlty Datès actèd If nol for whole •ar Tru$l•• nam• Offi¢•111 any) Name 01 pèrson lor body) •rtill•d loa oinl trustee Ifan Winchester Poetry Festival Jane Bryant Rupert Nabarro Jon Whitfield Chair Trustee Trustee Bear Shaw Trustee lillian Saucier Trustee Susmita Bhattacharya Abanti Chakrabartv Mukhopadhyoy Ai51ing O'Toole Jo Fisher Trustee Trustee Appointed June 2023 Trustee Appointed 2210112024 Appointed 2210112024 Appointed 22/0112024 Trustee 10 Jeremy Wikeley Trustee Names of the trusteos for the charity. if any, (for example, any custodlan trustees) Name Dates acted If not for wholè year Names and addresses of advisers Ioptlonal Information) TAR
e of adviser Name Address Treasurer I Sue Spiers Name of chlef executlve or names of senlor staff members (Optional Informallon) Amy Juliet Brown IFestival Manager): Clare Pollard (Artlstlt Dlrectorl- Both freelance contracts. Section B Structure, overnance and mana ement Descrlption of the charlty's trusts Trust Deed Type of governing documenl How Ihe charity is constituted Trust Trustee selection methods Elected by Trustees Addltlonal governan¢o Issues (Optional inforniationl Trvstees consider areas of risk at each trustee meeting via a regularly updated risk register, considering appropriate mitigation plans and actions. You may choose to include additional information, where relevant, about.. Additional governance information policies and procedures adopted for the induction and trdining of Iruslees.. the charity s organisational structure and any wider network with which the charity works.. New trustees are provided with guidance and information to allow them to undertake their roles effectively. The formal business of the charity is conducted through regular trustee meetings (generally 4 to 5 meetings per yearl. relationship with any related parties.. trustees Conslderation of major risks and the System and procedures lo manage them. Section C Ob ectives and activities l.To educate the public in the arts with particular reference to poetry. 2.To encourage the enjoyment, appleciation and practice of literature, the beneficiarie5 being people of all ages throughout Hampshire Summary of thè objects of Iho charity set oul In Its governing document TAR
The principal activity of the charity is to organise and present a biennial festival of poetry in Winchester, together with associated events. which also mainlain year-round presence. The trustees, in making decisions about the festival and associated artivrties. have held due regard to the Charity Commission's public benofit guidaTrte when exercising any powers or duties to which the guidance is relevant. Summary of the maln activltl8s undertaken for the public benefit in relation to these objects (include within this sectlon the Statutory declaration that trustees havo had regard to the guidance Issued by the Charity Commission on public benefit> Addltlonal delall8 of obJoCtlv8s and activltles Ioptlonal Informatlon) You may choose to include further statements, where relevant, about.. policy on granlmaking.. policy programme related investment: contribution made by volunteers. Section D Achievements and performance TAR
Section D Achievements and performance Summary of Ihe main achievements of the charity during the year WINCHESTER POETR Y FESTIVAL'S rnis%iori 1% ir) 8h.Irp, c.plebrclte and chainpinn poplry nl rill kind£,' we believe in the power of poetry tts bring us together and make a p051tive, enriching difference to our lives. While WPF is international in outlook, our commitment to reaching under-represented voices and those experiencing challenges is kev. During 2024, Winchester Poetry Festival IWPFI was very active throughout the year programming a wide range of activities and growing our reputation as an increasingly year-round organisation. As a key highlight of our annual programme, we delivered a Poetry Day in October. Our events this ye.2r have been focused on maintaining our commitment to accessibility, inclusion and collaboration. These events allow us to build and Strengthen partnerships and grow and develop our network of communities. The following is a summary of the principal activities during the year. ointrnent of the new Ham shire Poet 2024 2026 After a strong set of applications and working in partnership with Hampshire Cultural Trust IHCTI, WPF selected a5 tho new Hampshire Poet for 2024 and 2025. Damian is the first male Hampshire Poet since 2012, and one of the few male applicants to apply for the role this vear. He is also very active within the poetry scene locally. Damian has already visited multiple poetry open mic nights in Hampshire, and introduced himself to cultural organisations. A5 well as formulating his own projects (Festival of Surrealism), he islhas been engaged in a number of 2024 activities las outlined belowl. Wlnchestef Poet Festlval •t Sound Wlnchesler Launch event., Febru 2024 Attended by over 50 people, WPF delivered a communily poetry session as part of Sound Winchester Launch at The Arc, supporting local poet performances by Winchester Muse and Poetry Platform in an engaging session attracting a large and dlverse audience. Wlnchester Poet Festival at Bournemouth Wrltln Fesilval.. A ril 2024 WPF was delighted to be invited by Bournemouth Writing Festiv31 a city-wide literary festival 'inspiring writers to write" to curate a full day of drop-in activities inspiring WOTdplay and expression through poetry, taking place as part of the festival programme in April. We programmed a rango of sessions including.. Bloodaxe Books poet land Poetry Ambassadors mentee, KAycoe Hill, Aiysha Jahan from transnational writin8 development scheme Write 8e ondB ers sliirt, Poel D!iYiiJn Kelly_ BLislior, and award winning writer and poet, Estelle Philli Activities Included Truck Art Poetry exploring the sloganslartwork of Pakistan's jingle trucks; poetry collage., using non.verbal prompts from naturo,. surrealism in poetry., and a Communlty Landscape Poem for 8ournemouth from submissions collated in person and via social media. Ham shire Youn Poets, com etltlon 2024 The Hampshire Young Poet's Competition, an ongoing collaboration with Hampshire Cultural Trust has been growing in popularity since it5 inception in 2017118, with 2024 experiencing the largest number of entries ever1600+ poems12023: 200 entrie51. Thls years, theme, "Our World, Our Planet" also attracted good press covera8e. Sponsored by Paris Smlth Jnd independent bookshop, PG Wells, the latter set up a 'Poetry Writing Desk, at the shop for the duration of the competition inspiring children to both write and submit entries via the shop. Hampshire Poet, Damian, was the competition judge. Mother T ue Poet Evenin A celebration of lan ua es at their most beautiful.. Ma With 3 giarbt from Winchester City Council, WPF invited Susmita 8hattacharya and Aiysha Jahan from Writp iond Borders to facilitate a celebration of language5 and multilingualism. Our Mother Tongue Poetry Evening bfought people from diverse cultures to share poems (their own or others), that were written in their 'mother tongue" Languages represented from our community were.. Portuguese, Welsh, Hindi, Maltese, Malayalam, French, Spanish, Romany, Ukrainian, Russian, English, Urdu, Dutch, Bengali, Hausa, Japanese, Arabic and Italian. The FK)em5 created in this session were performed to those in attendance and shared on our social media channels. 2024 TAR
Section D Achievements and performance "We don'l olwoy5 understand language5, but we con feel Ihe pos5ion ond open feelings of poetry. especially in the mother tongue. We (Ire oll different, but creativity, the desire to learn new things ond ot the some time the preservotion (7nd desire to shore our culture ond identity con build bridges, not borders." (Workshop partlClPGntJ. Winchester Poet Prize 2024 With spon50r5hip from Pari5 Smith, WPF launched it5 international 2024 Winchester Poetry Priie in April, with Irhey/theml as jud8e. The first prize is £IOOO, with those coming second and third winning £SOO and £250 respectively. 2024 saw a total of 1956 entries including entrie5 from 38 countries outside of UK linc Zambia, Iran, Romania, Pakistan, Finland, New Zealandl There were 315 entrie.s from Hampshire-ba5èd poets- 16.2% of total entries (similar % to last year). This Was an increase oil both 2023 and 2022. This year wa5 the first Kathryn Bevis Prize'lsee below) Iformally Hampshire Prize) with an expanded prize offering courtesy of The Writing School Online. I" Prize Oliver Carmichael 'You Ask About My First Kiss, 2nd Prize - Adele Evershed 'Hard Labour, 3rd Prize - Jordan Hamel 'How To Drive Drunk In A Flaming Paddock, Kathryn Bevis Prize Jenny McRobert 'Oslo lune 2022, l(athryn Bevls Prlze: Our friend, poet, and supporter Kathryn 8evis died in May 2024. 2024 was the first year with our new Kathryn Bevis Prize which replaced the prize formerly known as the Hampshire Priielspecifically for a poet based and living in Hampshire). It offers the winnin8 Hamp5hire-based poet an enhanced prize offering with year-long tuition sponsored by The Writin8 School and a cash prize of £150 sponsored by Ollie Goldsmith IKathryn's husbandl. This sponsorship will run for 3 years subject to annual review. WPF will enhance this prize further bv introducing opportunities for the winner to read at Poetry Platform (Railway Innl as a guest poet. and also to be part of the Winchester's Poets event at Winchester Poetry Festival 2025. Au ust: ci,. .)y('r Adil,I Poet Com tltlon on Unl 101 radlo statlon Radio host, Abanti Chakrabarty Mukhopadhyay (also a WPF Trusteel, ran a poetry competition for listeners of the globally popular Chayor Adda programme on Bengali Radio Station Unity 101. The winners were announced on air on 1st sept and were invited to read their poem as part of WPF Poetry Day 2024. It was judged by the Hampshire Poet. Going forward, this competition will be annual 50 we can grow the relationship between WPF and Unity 101 listener5. em Netw rks nnec ns at Herlt The Heritage Open Days 2024 theme was "routes. networks. connections" We delivered a H3mpshire.Poet curated event on exploring this theme. Oamian Kelly- Basher identified poets from Hampshire poetry groups, to read poems on a vintage bus and a circular bus route. October.. Winch ster Poet Da t Th ARC.. S urda After 2023,5 Successful biennial festival, we held the smaller ..*r Doptrv nH:, which took place on Sat 5th October 2024. Thi5 year's event included BSL interpretation and the livestreamin8 of the popular Winchester Poetry Prize ceremony. All events were low cost, free, or by donation. Rèther than a 'headline' event at the end of the event, each event throughout the day had a notable 'guest poet,. This one-day poetry event included.. Local poets curated by Artfulscribe-hosted Write A Note poetry group Itheme 'home'l' Chayer Adda competition winners, announcement and reading- a poetry workshop with Susmita BhattBcharya,' guest poets (Akila Richards and Adriana Lordl and poetry drop-in activities curated and provided bv lorganisation fostering. supporting and prornoting poet5 of colourl,. TAR
Section D Achievements and performance WiiTrchesrer Poetry Prize and K.athryn Bevis Prize ceremony IBSL interpreted and livestreamed) including launch of the Winchester Poetry Prize Anthology 2024 Hampshire Young Poets celebration and a Poets Of Colour social taking place at the Cabinet Rooms Universi Ofwinchester Uow artnershi reement refreshed and renewed WPF was delighted to announce the signinB of a renewe(J partnership agreement with the Llow at a reception held in July 2024, attended by trustees ond friends of Winchester Poetry Festival and hosted by Vice Chancellor of the Unlversity, Professor Sarah Greer. This is a 3-year agreement with an annual review. WPF has agreed to provide collabofative opportunities for students plus 50 x free student entries Imax 3 per student) to Winchester Poetry Prize, 10 x free student place5 at selected WPF performance events. The Uow will provide £IOOO per year, plus use of the University address, Post room, free use of meeting rooms, and other artistic programme collaborations. This partnership is now we15-established and enables us to reach a large and important local community of young people, offering them signlficant opportunities to gain new skills and en8a8e in cultural activities. FINALLY A NOTE FROM CHAIR JANE BRYANT As always, Winchester Poetry Festival is eminently grateful to its funders, sponsors, supporters, Friends and Volunteers. We very much value our relationship with you all indeed, we could not manage without you all and your vital support, skills, and enthusiasm. Particular thanks 80 to our wonderful Artistic Director, Clare Pollard, and our Festival Manager, Amy Juliet Brown. Together, you make everything happen seamlessly and enable WPF to put on a varied annual programme of activity including reaching those experiencin8 challenges in their lives. We continue to be grateful to the Univer51ty ot Winchester for it5 Partnership support and to Winchester City Council and to Paris Smith. We were also particularly delighted to have been successful with our application to Arts Council England for a grant towards our year-round programme of work in 2025 as well as to a number of smaller grant making trusts, and we are looking forward to delivering our plans across the coming year with confidence. As ever, my fellow Trustees and our volunteer Treasurer and Minutes Secretary have been generous with their wisdom, insight, support and guidance over the last year. and l am deeply grateful to them. I now look forward to working with you all over the coming period as we deliver our vision and plan5 for 2025 with equality and inclusion at its heart- and taking u5 into 2026 and beyond, Jane Bryant Chair - Winchester Poetry Festlval April 2024 Section E Financial review TAR
Section E Financial review The trustees have agreed to hold a minimum reserve of £IO,C(10. The primary purpose of the reserve is to mitigate the risk of unforeseen shortfalls in income and to allocate a specific amount in the event of closure. Trustee approval 15 required before any expenditure may be made from the reserve account. Brief statement of the charity's policy on reserves Trustees have agreed that the anticipated surplus on the 2024 account. beyond those items specified above, represents funds which will be ringfenced and carried forward to support the festival and its work in 2025 and 2026. Detalls of any funds materially In deficlt Further financial review detalls (Optional informatlon) the charity's principal sources of funds (including any fundraising)., how expenditure has supported the key objectives of the charrty" investment policy and ol¥'ectives including any ethiGaS investment policy adopted. You may choose to include additional infomiation, where relevant about". Section F Other optional information Section G Declaration Th8 trustees d¢Glar¢ that tli$y havo approvod thg trustees, r8port abova. Signed on behalf of the charlty's tru8tsos Signature(s) Full namels) Position (eg Secretary, Chair, etc) Jane V rstseg ryant Chair Date TAR
CHARITY COMMISSION FOR ENGLAND AND WALES Independent examiner's report on the accounts Section A Independent Examiner's Report Report to the trusteesl members of Winchester Poetry Festival On accounts for the year ended Charlty no (If any) 31" December 2024 1150997 Set out on pages 1-2 below I report to the trustees on my examination of the accounts of the above charity ("the Trust") for the year ended 3111212024. Responsibilities and As the charity trustees of the Trust, you are responsible for the preparation basis of report of the accounts in accordance with the requirements of the Charities Act 2011 {"the Act"). I report in respect of my examination of the Trust's accounts carried out under section 145 of the 2011 Act and in carrying out my examination. I have followed the applicable Directions given by the Charity Commission under section 145151(b) of the Act. I have completed my examination. I confirm that no material matters have corne to my attention in connection with the examination which gives me cause to believe that in. any material respect.. accountiiig records were nol kept in accordance with section 130 of the Act or the accounts do not accord with the accounting records Independent examiner's statement I have no concerns and have come across no other matters in connection with the examination to which attention should be drawn in order to enable proper understanding of the accounts to be reached. Signed: Date: 1 July 2025 Name: F J Wilde Relevant professlonal qualifi¢ation(s) or body (if any)., FCCA DChA Address: 4 Marigold Drive Bisley, Surrey GU24 9SF
Wlnch•5ter Pwtry F•sfjvl 1150997 Receipts and payments accounts Ca6a For th• p•ilod from 0110112024 3ts1ty024 Emdowm•nt Un¥•#rlrt•d Funth Aostrlrt•d Fundi tstho nEiTe#t£ t¢the tteare#t£ Totsl Funds to the nearest £ iartY• tothe ncJrc2t£ Al R•¢•lpfs iLI,Jt IV,166 27,038 Gtantg 27.038 2.475 4.650 4,650 1,?65 3.7JO L415 rrlends Scheme Personal CLTrntiiburions/¢ther Grft Ai 1,269 1,463 1,463 Sub Total IGFOU Incorrb• fw ARI 19,183 35.188 54.671 AlAts and Inv•stm•nt ul•¥ Sub Tot•1 T•tsi P•c•lpts 19.483 35,188 54.671 AJ p>•n Art15 fec 6.850.C 11.625.IX 15.498 ??94 1.148 (N) 69n.(N) 158.CM) 18,713 69(J 155 Profes5ioDal fee5 538 Pay Pal rhai8p5 FTieiids scliemes 459. 472 L162 2.rJ4 Vcnup & Lquipmeiit hire Poetiy Pilie b¥2. 81 5,138 5.148. Sub Totyl A4 AM•t •hd I1•nt9urChW1 Tot1 Total Paym•nts 9,602 25.167 34,769 Net 11 Receipt%1lpaymenisI A5 TT•Trsf•rs blTr fLinth A6 Cdsh funds last year end I'.a5h FiinrtS th14 year end 9M81 10,021 IIL 39.B83 39.382 29,148
Unrestrirted Futhds toth• n••t••t£ Eo0wnt Funds toth• n•ar•rtÉ Detsl A•st¥irt•d Funds t• th• tt•4r•rt£ HSBC Pay Pal 59,284 59,284 B3 Inve5tmenrAsset5 U4 As&ot5 rctainodfoi thè Lharity'5 u$e 85 Ilabllltles Slined ty one or two tiustees on beha of all rhe tfusiees Ddie of ayproyal