## **LAMPS COLLECTIVE** ## **Charity 1162692** ## **REPORT OF THE TRUSTEES FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31 MARCH 2023** The trustees present their annual report and financial statements of the charity for the year ended 31st March 2023. The financial statements have been prepared on a Receipts and Payments basis and comply with the charity’s trust deed, the Charities Act 2011 and Accounting and Reporting by Charities: Statement of Recommended Practice applicable to charities preparing their accounts in accordance with the Financial Reporting Standard for Smaller Entities published on 16 July 2014. ## **STRUCTURE, GOVERNANCE AND MANAGEMENT** LAMPS Collective is a Charitable Incorporated Organisation (CIO) which was established under a Constitution which set out the objectives and powers of the CIO. LAMPS Collective is currently staffed by volunteer staff members: the joint Creative Directors, who advise the trustees on the productions which should be mounted, a Treasurer, a Tours and Bookings Coordinator and a Website Manager. ## **RECRUITMENT AND APPOINTMENT OF TRUSTEES** The trustees of the charity have the responsibility for managing the affairs of LAMPS Collective. The Constitution of the Charity requires that there should be a minimum of three and a maximum of twelve trustees and that every trustee has to be appointed by a resolution passed at a properly convened meeting of the charity trustees. Trustees bring a variety of skills to the board, including organisational, charity and financial management and a passion for the arts. The board of trustees continues to explore the recruitment of additional trustees and will seek to make sure that the composition of the board is adequate to ensure the strategic development of the charity’s work and the proper oversight of its operations. Any new trustees are likely to be sought from people known to the trustees or the Executive Team of the charity and will be those who can provide the necessary specialist skills and experience to ensure the proper working of the trustees and the development of LAMPS Collective’s ministry. We are pleased to have been able to recruit two new trustees in the year 2022-2023. ## **TRUSTEE INDUCTION AND TRAINING** New Trustees are given a copy of the Constitution and a copy of the Charity Commission's booklet "The Role and Responsibility of Charity Trustees" and the role and responsibilities of trustees are explained to them. New Trustees are expected to spend some time with the Executive Team to gain a proper understanding of the work of LAMPS Collective. The need for Trustee training is kept under review and appropriate training will be undertaken as needs are identified. Trustees are reminded of their responsibilities at each meeting of the board. Currently the trustees are drawn from a variety of professional and charity backgrounds relevant to the work of the charity. In November, a number of the Board took part in free training during National Trustee Week. ## **TRUSTEES** Trustees who served during the period were: Marion Haynes Philip Henderson Charles Milward Tony Rogerson Rev Mandy Marriott Bob Sands ## **RISK MANAGEMENT** A Risk Management review is carried out each year and records the risks identified, the steps in place to mitigate those risks and any actions required to further improve risk. management. Procedures are also in place to safeguard the health and safety of the production and creative teams in performance, and a prior risk assessment review is required at performance venues. Internal financial control risks are minimised by the implementation of appropriate systems and procedures, including the dual authorisation of expenditure and payments. On 27[th] June 2022 we conducted a review of all our policies. ## **OBJECTIVES AND ACTIVITIES** LAMPS Collective is a Charitable Incorporated Organisation which was registered by the Charity Commission on 16th July 2015. The purpose of LAMPS Collective is to advance the Christian faith for the benefit of the public by: a. The re-telling of stories for the public benefit, through high quality performances involving theatre, music, puppets, poetry and other art forms, b. The production of media resources which are of educational, cultural and spiritual value to the community and based on Christian principles, c. Teaching, training and encouraging churches and the wider public in the art of song-writing and storytelling through workshops and other media. ## **PUBLIC BENEFIT STATEMENT** The Trustees are mindful of their responsibilities regarding public benefit and seek to meet these criteria in a number of different ways. Through its performances, the charity entertains, challenges and encourages people of all ages to live a life full of meaning and purpose, seeking to motivate and change society for the better. ## **ACHIEVEMENTS AND PERFORMANCE** ## **Productions/Products** Partly as a result of postponed shows from 2021, our 2022 Easter Tour of _The Passion_ was a great success with eleven shows performed and _The Passion_ audiobook broadcast twice over Easter on Premier Radio. Our new show _Salt and Light_ (tales of the first disciples) toured in the summer. Bookings of this as yet unknown offering were modest but we performed in Radley (Oxfordshire) then toured to Devon and Cornwall, performing six times in all including outdoors for the first time in Ilfracombe. The show was extremely wellreceived. Performances were plagued however with sound related problems, resulting in the decision post tour to invest in new microphones and receivers. Further investment is likely to be needed, particularly if our average venue size increases, but the equipment already purchased has solved a significant problem and is serving us well. Footage from the Ilfracombe performance secured us an invitation to perform at Spring Harvest in Minehead in April 2023 – an exciting opportunity in terms of the public profile of LAMPS and exposure to new potential bookers. We planned to tour two productions in the lead up to Christmas 2022 – _Bread and Starlight_ and _Babs of Bethlehem._ In the event, all _Bread and Starlight_ performances had to be cancelled due to cast illness. _Babs of Bethlehem_ had to be re-cast at the last minute for the same reason but then toured successfully with a new lead. The shows were within about 100 miles of Abingdon so overnight hosting was not necessary. There were six performances of _Babs of Bethlehem_ and audiences were appreciative as ever. Thanks to the generosity of the Andre Trust and other supporters, we were able to purchase our first vehicle, a Vauxhall Vivaro crew van which seats six, in December 2022. The van has already made a huge difference logistically in terms of storage and travel. In January 2023 we held auditions for _Salt and Light_ at Spring Harvest and for other future projects. These yielded some very exciting new additions to the LAMPS stable, three of whom have joined this year’s _Salt and Light_ cast. March 2023 was an extremely busy period with a very successful six-show _Passion_ tour (all new churches) reaching about 800 people in all. More churches might well have booked but there were some communication difficulties in the runup to the tour. There was universally excellent feedback with one church booking immediately for Easter 2024 (and a booking for _Bread and Starlight_ confirmed the day after on the basis of a _Passion_ performance). We were also approached after one performance by the secretary of Cathedrals Plus suggesting we might perform at their annual conference in January 2024. Representatives of all the UK cathedrals attend so it is a significant opportunity for LAMPS. It will need careful consideration however due to financial implications. The tour was followed immediately by re-rehearsing _Salt and Light_ to incorporate some new script-writing and three new actors ready for Spring Harvest. ## **Future Plans** We are now working on writing and developing a new all-age Christmas show called _Angels_ for December 2023. We hope to tour _Salt and Light_ again between 29[th] September and 8[th] October, _Bread and Starlight_ 1[st] – 10[th] December and the new family show ( _Angels_ ) 15[th] - 23[rd] December. We plan to tour _The Passion_ again in the run-up to Easter 2024. ## **MARKETING** Our Marketing Coordinator, Andrew McCracken, has continued to be a valuable team member and has raised our Social Media profile successfully. However there has not been a significant increase in terms of booking numbers. His contract has been extended to June 2023 but not beyond. Trustee Phil Henderson now provides back-up support to our website manager, with extra content creation. On 2 December 2022 a sub-committee of trustees held a Marketing Strategy meeting. On 1 March 2023 a small group met with Helen Taylor of Salisbury Playhouse to discuss ideas for Fundraising, Marketing and Communications. ## **FINANCIAL REVIEW** The tour of _The Passion_ at Easter 2022 cost £8067 to put on. Income from the basic charge and collections totalled £10878. Thus there was a surplus of £2811. For _Salt and Light_ in the summer of 2022 the cost was £8961 and the income £4550. Thus there was a loss of £4411. This loss was mainly due to the bigger company than in previous shows (five actors). Therefore rehearsal costs and performance costs were higher than usual. Transport also cost more, as our new van could not carry the whole company to a show, so a second vehicle had to make the journeys. On the other hand it was felt that we could not charge much more for a show – the decision was made to keep the charge for a show to below £1000. The six performances of _Babs_ cost £6057 to put on. Income totalled £6610. Thus there was a surplus of £553. The cost of the van was largely met by the generous donation from the Andre trust. The balance was supplied by gifts which had already been made in previous years, with the money just sitting in the bank waiting for the purchase to take place. The Easter 2023 tour of _The Passion_ , and the Spring Harvest showing of _Salt and Light_ , both come into next year’s accounts. Regular and individual donations, and the Gift Aid reclaimed from the previous year, amounted to about £3700, down by about £1000 from previous years. The Marketing Coordinator’s work cost about £3500. The balance of funds in the two Barclays bank accounts began the year at £16,874, and ended the year at £7209 - a loss on the year of £9665. Three main reasons for this loss have already been mentioned: the loss on _Salt and Light_ , the cost of the marketing co-ordinator, and the money drawn out when the van was purchased. A fourth reason was the need to purchase new microphones, costing just under £3400. To maintain a healthy balance for the future, we need to control expenditure tightly. The final examined accounts for the year 2022-2023 are here: Rocel t• and CC18a Tv J141•p. Section A Rocoipts and payment$ lun T¢)t•l Iw Al Ib¢•** psp OLK¢•• Inb*sirW￿l C*•hknd• h••i Sèction B Statement of assèts and liabilitiès at the ènd of the pèriod end(YAin•rl frJDd• •0 Ll•t41th• om• 214A73 CHARITY COMMISSION FOR ENGLAND AND WALES, Independent examln•e8 report on the accounts SeciTron A Iiidepeii(leill ExaftiiT)or s Rew)rt R•port kn th• tru•••• On xcounl• fry Ih• yw 31 M•rth 1023 Ch•rfty ng11182092 14 ftr* Tw•tl 31AJY2023. 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