2021-03-31-accounts - The Patchworking Garden Project

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The Patchworking Garden Project - Trustees Report 31 March 2021

The Patchworking Garden Project Trustees Report – 31 March 2021

For the year 1 April 2020 to 31 March 2021

Reference and Administration Details


Charity name	The Patchworking Garden Project
Registered Charity number	1162471 (Registered in England and Wales)
Charity’s Principal Address	Carmel O’Shea 44 West Bank Dorking Surrey RH4 3DH
Website	www.patchworkinggardenproject.co.uk
Social Media (Facebook and Instagram)	Search for patchworkinggardenproject

Trustees

Trustees

Name	Office (if any)
Isobel Gowan	Chair
Carmel O’Shea	Founder
Dan Andrew	Treasurer
Chris Blockey
Helen Flanagan	Mental Health Adviser
David Lloyd
Chris Munford

All Trustees served for the whole period unless indicated.

The Patchworking Garden Project Trustees Report – 31 March 2021

Structure, Governance and Management


Type of governing document	The Constitution was adopted on 23 April 2015.
How the Charity is constituted	The Patchworking Garden Project is a Charitable Incorporated Organisation with voting members comprising its trustees and its management committee. Its registration as a Charity was effective from 1 April 2015.
Trustee selection methods	Trustees are appointed for a three-year term. There must be a minimum of five and a maximum of seven. Vacancies or new appointments may be filled by the Trustees. The appointment of such interim Trustees must be confirmed at the next Annual General Meeting. From the second Annual General Meeting onwards one third of Trustees must retire annually but may be reappointed for a second term.
Decision-making	Decisions are made both by the Trustees or are delegated to the Management Committee. In the event of a matter being raised to the members for a decision then a simple majority is required from the voting members.

Other relevant governance matters

The project has policies and procedures in place covering the operation of the garden and what is expected of our volunteers. We also have policies for safeguarding, equal opportunities, health and safety, how we manage our income and expenditure and a reserves policy. These policies are reviewed on a regular basis.

The project works closely with local mental health and learning disability services, General Practitioners, volunteer agencies and other charities supporting individuals with physical and mental health needs.

The trustees and the management committee give their time voluntarily and receive no remuneration or other benefits. The project is entirely run by a dedicated group of volunteers who give freely of their time and many skills.

The Patchworking Garden Project Trustees Report – 31 March 2021

Objectives and activities

The objectives of The Patchworking Garden Project are:

The promotion of improvement in well-being as a result of accessing the therapeutic benefits of gardening in a volunteer supported environment, which include better physical health, improved psychological health, improved social opportunities, learning new skills and access to the natural environment.
The promotion of volunteering to increase engagement with the community, enhancing the use of community resources and raising confidence and self-esteem.
The reduction of stigma associated with physical disability, psychological health problems, old age and infirmity by creating an inclusive project where the contribution of each person is equally acknowledged.
To provide this service within the Mole Valley area of Surrey

Activities and Achievements

The 2020-2021 year has been hugely challenging for the project due to the pandemic. Sadly, we had to close our doors in March 2020 in line with the national lockdown so had to think quickly about how to continue supporting those who attend the garden. We also wanted to ensure the garden would be ready to re-open when permitted. On reflection we achieved quite a lot:

During the lockdown periods we stayed in touch with our supported volunteers with fortnightly newsletters, fortnightly mailing of craft activities and phone calls to about 75 individuals.
We used a generous donation to create new paths throughout the site to allow safe, year-round access to all areas, especially for those who use wheelchairs or are just a bit unsteady on their feet.
The car park has been cleared, enlarged and new composting bins set up.
Toilets and washing facilities have been upgraded.
A new covered area has been created around the outdoor kitchen which will allow us to meet and work safely whatever the weather.
Due to a change in circumstances we decided to move our Academy on to the Pixham site, kindly helped by our then landlords, Aviva, giving us an extra piece of land
Our Academy students now enjoy a classroom, greenhouse and their own marked plots protected by deer and rabbit proof fencing. With the addition of outdoor shelter in June 2021 their facilities are complete.
All our students are nearing completion of a Level 1 Diploma in Horticulture, and we are planning to apply to City and Guilds to deliver Level 2 qualifications.
During periods of closure two people at a time would go to the garden to water, weed and pick vegetables which were then donated to the Dorking Community Fridge
A roundhouse designed by our supported volunteers is now well under construction.

The Patchworking Garden Project Trustees Report – 31 March 2021

Challenges

Apart from the obvious and difficult challenges caused by having to stay closed for prolonged periods, increasing the isolation felt by many we support, we also had to stop taking new referrals.
We had to cancel our popular fundraising events and opening the garden to other community groups.
Our local community and our local council, Mole Valley, came to the rescue in August 2020 when we launched a re- opening appeal-their hugely generous support allowed us to re-open safely within enhanced toilet, hand washing and other facilities set up.
The winter lockdown was tough for everyone so we made sure we re-opened again as soon as we could so that we could also start taking new referrals.

Looking forward

We can safely support up to 80 people alongside our 50 support volunteers so have re-established the principle that those who are able to move on to other opportunities will be supported to do so at the end of 2 years in the project. This will allow us to keep taking new referrals.
We will be updating our website and renewing our marketing and publicity effort with links to social media such as Facebook, Twitter and Instagram, hopefully with the help of some new volunteers.
We will keep up our quarterly newsletter to those who like to hear about our work and will re-launch our “Friends of the Patchworking Garden” scheme to encourage regular giving to help cover our running costs.
We will approach local businesses more formally with a view to establishing a network from whom we can ask for ongoing financial support.
At present we have a short-term annual licence for our site. Following the change in ownership of the whole Aviva site we hope to persuade the new landlords, Surrey County Council, to give us more security of tenure.
We would like to establish more links within our community to ensure our students and others we support can find new opportunities for employment and volunteering.
We would like to open the garden regularly for even more community groups to enjoy. We have just established such an opportunity for children from CAMH services to use the garden in half terms and other days when we are not present. We intend again to offer visits to Nursing homes and Dementia/Carer groups when we can.

The Patchworking Garden Project Trustees Report – 31 March 2021

Financial Review

Overall, our deficit was £13,400 (2020 : surplus of £21,900) and our balance sheet shows total funds of £26,700 with no liabilities. (2020 : £40,100). These are split between our unrestricted funds £8,900 and restricted Academy funds of £17,800. Funds are held at NatWest and Virgin Money.

Despite the impact of Covid on our activities our income was significantly boosted from two sources : a grant of £20,000 from the National Gardens Scheme and our Covid-Reopening appeal of £14,900 which included a Mole Valley District Council grant of £5,000.

As a result, we took the opportunity to make major infrastructure improvements at Pixham totalling £29,100 and spent a further £20,100, later in the year, moving and establishing the Academy at Pixham.

In more detail :

The Garden

Our deficit this year of £21,400 (2020: surplus of £7,200) was mainly due to our significant investment costs.

Total income rose £23,300. Grant income increased £10,000 and the Covid Reopening Appeal added £14,900. However, with no summer Open Day, our Fundraising Income fell £5,200 but this was partly offset by an increase in other donations of £3,600.

Our expenses increased £47,800 caused mainly by increased invested at Pixham of £49,400 (2020 : £800). Our other running costs of £11,200 (2020 : £12,100) were slightly lower.

The Trustees approved that expenditure both to move the Academy and improve their facilities be funded from our Unrestricted Funds. The grants and other donations received for the Academy prior to this year were used for running costs only.

The Academy

Total income of £19,000 came from two sources: grants of £15,000 and donations of £4,000. Expenditure totalled only £11,000 due to the Covid-impact which reduced the number of months of teaching from the planned nine to four. With all other Academy costs being funded from general reserves, the surplus of £8,000 increased restricted reserves to £22,700 (2020:£14,700)

Financial outlook

The Academy’s budgeted costs for this year of £24,000 represent around two-thirds of our total forecast costs of £37,000. Whilst the Trustees may reallocate funds from general reserves on either a temporary or permanent basis the securing of regular grant income for the Academy is likely to remain critical to its success. Our budget for this year shows a further reduction in

The Patchworking Garden Project Trustees Report – 31 March 2021

our total funds, confirming the need to watch our expenditure closely and to focus on fundraising, from various sources.

Reserves Policy

Our Reserves Policy requires the Charity to retain a year’s running costs in reserve, which for the Garden and Academy combined is £37,000. We were below that at year-end by £10,300 as our reserves totalled £26,700.

A financial review has been undertaken which has confirmed that our Garden reserves should be restored by the end of March 2022. The Academy however has double the annual running costs of the Garden and will always rely on grant applications to cover a significant proportion of those costs. The Academy has funding to the end of March 2022 and grant applications and approaches to other potential donors are underway.

If there are delays in the receipt of grants or other funding shortfalls, the Trustees will reallocate funds from general reserves on either a temporary or permanent basis to support the Academy.

Any excess funds will remain available for unforeseen expenditure and appropriate investments that the Trustees and Management Committee agree should be made in furtherance of our charitable objectives.

Declaration

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

Signed on behalf of the charity’s trustees: Signatures


Full Name	Isobel Gowan	Dan Andrew
Position	Chair	Treasurer
Date	18 July 2021

The Patchworking Garden Project Trustees Report – 31 March 2021

The Patchworking Garden Project	The Patchworking Garden Project	The Patchworking Garden Project	The Patchworking Garden Project	Reg. 1162471 England & Wales
Receipts andpayments accounts
For the year	01-Apr-20	To	31-Mar-21	Form : CC16a

Section A Receipts and payments

Receipts	Unrestricted Funds £	Restricted Funds (Academy) £	Total Funds £	Last Year £
Donations includingGift Aid	4,864	4,000	8,864	8,132
Covid ReopeningAppeal and MVDC Grant(£5,000)	14,903	-	14,903	-
Grant from National Garden Scheme	15,000	5,000	20,000	-
Other Grants Received	-	10,000	10,000	32,300
Fundraising	4,383	-	4,383	14,409
*Total receipts*	39,150	19,000	58,150	54,841
Payments
Expenditure to developthe Garden	29,136	-	29,136	7,171
Expenditure to establish the Academyat Pixham	20,200	-	20,200	-
Garden,Craft supplies and Equipment	5,994	-	5,994	7,653
TrainingCosts	-	10,660	10,660	10,534
FundraisingCosts	1,401	-	1,401	592
Other Expenses	3,809	357	4,166	6,998
*Total payments*	60,540	11,017	71,557	32,946
*Net (deficit)/surplus* Transfers between funds Opening funds Cash funds this year-end
	(21,390)	7,983	(13,407)	21,895
	-	-	-	-
	25,321	14,742	40,063	18,168
	3,931	22,725	26,656	40,063

Section B Statement of assets and liabilities at the end of the year

	31-Mar-21 £	31-Mar-20 £
NatWest Dorking-Current Account	9,656	5,063
Virgin Money-Charity Deposit Account	17,000	35,000
	26,656	40,063

Unrestricted Funds	3,931	25,321
Restricted Funds	22,725	14,742
	26,656	40,063

No book value is placed on our buildings, equipment or other development expenditure at Pixham.	None	None

None	None	None

The Patchworking Garden Project Trustees Report – 31 March 2021

Independent examiner's report to the trustees of The Patchworking Garden Project Registered charity number 1162471

I report to the trustees on my examination of the accounts of The Patchworking Garden Project (‘the Project’) for the year ended 31 March 2021.

Responsibilities and basis of report

As the charity’s trustees of the Project, you are responsible for the preparation of the accounts in accordance with the requirements of the Charities Act 2011 (‘the Act’)

I report in respect of my examination of the Project’s accounts carried out under section 145 of the 2011 Act and in carrying out my examination I have followed all the applicable Directions given by the Charity Commission under section 145(5)(b) of the Act.

Independent examiner's statement

I have completed my examination. I confirm that no material matters have come to my attention in connection with the examination giving me cause to believe that in any material respect:

accounting records were not kept in respect of the Project as required by section 130 of the Act; or
the accounts do not accord with those records.

I have no concerns and have come across no other matter 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.

Signed:

Mr David Huw Bassett FCCA Tamar, Harrow Road East, Dorking, Surrey Date: 18 July 2021