Get Up and Go Gloucester Annual Report 2020/21 & Covid-19 Recovery Objectives 2021/2022
Chairman's Report to the Trustees
Welcome to our annual report for 2020/21. As Chairman and Trustee, I am responsible for the organisation’s strategic direction, operational management, diligent financial management, robust governance arrangements and overall performance. I am aptly supported by Neil Chatten and Andrew Burford in their roles as Secretary and Treasurer respectively.
It is fair to say that the past 12 months have been the most challenging and difficult that we have experienced to date. Unfortunately, due to the Covid-19 pandemic, the charity has been involuntarily inactive. The nature of our work involves close contact between organisers, participants and volunteers and; therefore, as a result of the government lockdown and social distancing restrictions, we have been unable to organise any activities, events or launch any new projects in 2020/21.
Regretfully, the charity was unable to actively fundraise over the past 12 months and our finances remain at a low but (with no overheads) stable level, with funds of less than £400 at the charity’s disposal. Furthermore, my own personal and work commitments have increased and I was not able to dedicate as much time to the work of the charity as I would have liked. The pandemic has meant that we have been unable to recruit additional trustees and volunteers as we had intended, thus, increasing the pressure on the existing trustees.
Over the coming year, the trustees will develop a robust Covid-19 recovery plan as a basis for the phased introduction of fund raising and community activities, as the nation recovers from the pandemic. The charity accepts that Covid-19 may bring permanent changes to how we deliver its endeavours and that it may not be possible to resume some activities, for example, our walking club for older people, as they are considered to be in a particularly vulnerable group. I am keen to see the charity look at new delivery models for community events making greater use of ICT and smart phones or tablets using freeware applications; however, it is acknowledged that all community members may not have access to suitable ICT equipment to make these events a success.
Prior to recommencing any in-person community events, the charity shall ensure that detailed Covid-19 risk assessments are undertaken, in addition to its existing rigorous risk management processes, with measures identified, and put in place to ensure the activities are made as safe as possible for participants, trustees and volunteers.
Furthermore, the charity may also have to consider an alternative business model, depending on the extent of Covid-19 infections and social restrictions moving forward. Rather than relying upon external grant funding as we have done so historically, we will have to contemplate working to commission. This would involve developing new relationships with commissioners and would be a challenge in itself and inevitably result in a loss of control that we have not experienced hitherto.
As a consequence of the lockdown restrictions, people of all ages and backgrounds have become less active, with their physical and mental health inevitably being negatively impacted upon. This is of great concern to the charity and is an area where we can add considerable social value. This makes the reactivation of our work and our core community focused aims even more crucial as we aim to ‘reactivate’ and ‘re-engage’ the local community.
Additionally, socio-economic factors such as the impact of Brexit, coupled with that of Covid-19, should not be underestimated. Voluntary sector funding will continue to be under pressure in the wake of reduced public spending and we should be patently aware of this and respond accordingly.
Despite the current state of affairs, we would like to give reassurance to our service users, partners, funders and the wider community that we are committed to promoting sport and physical activity to the people of Gloucester. We may have been ‘knocked down’, but we will ‘get up and go’.
Feroz Goga Chairman Get Up and Go Gloucester Covid-19 Recovery Objectives
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Community re-engagement
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Covid-19 safe events
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New ways of delivering events e.g. ICT. Online or virtual yoga/book clubs/home workouts etc
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Identify post Covid-19 “build back better” funding streams
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Improve community health after 18 months of restrictions/lockdown
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Help support people getting off lockdown induced alcohol and drug issues through sport and physical activity
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Focus on outdoor gyms as being Covid-19 safe in comparison with indoor gyms
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Promote the charity by trustees to do some PR and radio work
– Get Up and Go Gloucester Accounts 2020/21
| Balance – 1/4/2020 Accumulated fund at 1/4/2020 Excess of income over expenditure Accumulated Fund at 31/3/2021 Represented by: Current Assets Bank Current Account at 31/3/2021 Cash in hand |
385.36 385.36 0.00 |
|---|---|
| 385.36 | |
| 385.36 0.00 |
|
| 385.36 |
I agree these figures reflect correctly the bank statements.
F. Goga
- 11/22/21
| Opening Balance at 1/4/20 | Amount |
|---|---|
| Cash in bank | 385.36 |
| Total | 385.36 |
| Income | |
| Grants | 0.00 |
| Total Income | 0.00 |
| Expenditure | |
| Project Costs | |
| Venue Hire | 0.00 |
| Equipment Purchase | 0.00 |
| Total | 0.00 |
| Total Expenditure | 0.00 |
| Excess of Income Over Expenditure | 0.00 |
| Closing Balance at 31/3/21 | 385.36 |