Newbiggin Arts Centre (A Charitable Incorporated Organisation)
Annual Report Report and Financial Statements For the Year Ended 31 December 2024
Charity Number 1163002
Newbiggin Arts Centre (A Charitable Incorporated Organisation)
Financial Statements For the Year Ended 31 December 2024
Contents
Legal and Administrative Information Annual Report of the Management Committee 2024 Financial Report and Accounts
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Newbiggin Arts Centre Report of the Trustees for the year ended 31 December 2024
The Trustees presents its annual report and audited financial statements for the year ended 31 December 2024.
Reference and Administrative Information
Charity Name: Newbiggin Arts Centre
Charity registration number: 1163002
Registered Office and operational address :
74B Front Street Newbiggin-by-the-Sea Northumberland NE64 6QD
Trustees
Steve Wilkinson Chair & Treasurer Sue Andrew Deputy Chair Sue Case Val Hearn Leigh Patterson
Administration Officer
Wendy Storey
Bankers - Lloyds Bank, 3 Station Road, Ashington, Northumberland, NE63 9UZ
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Structure Governance and Management
Governing Document
The organisation is a Charitable Incorporated Organisation, which was registered as a charity on 5[th] August 2015. In the event of the charity being wound up the trustees have no liability to settle its debts and liabilities
Recruitment and Appointment of the Trustees
Under the requirements of the Constitution, at each Annual General Meeting one third of the Trustees, by rotation, shall be offered for re-election. A charity trustee who has served for three consecutive terms may not be reappointed for a fourth consecutive term but may be reappointed after an interval of at least three years.
There shall be a minimum of three Trustees and no defined maximum; but we aim to have less than eight Trustees.
Any person retiring as a Trustee is eligible for reappointment.
All Trustees give their time voluntarily and receive no financial or remuneration benefits from the charity.
Organisational Structure
Newbiggin Arts Centre has up to eight Charity Trustees who are responsible for ensuring all legal requirements of the charity are met. They are supported by a part-time Administration Officer and a group of approx. twenty volunteers who effect the day-to-day running of the operations.
Responsibilities of the Trustees
The Trustees prepare financial statements for each financial year which give a true and fair view of the state of the affairs of the charitable company as at the balance sheet date and of its incoming resources and application of resources, including income and expenditure, for the financial year. In preparing those financial statements, the Trustees should follow best practice and:
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select suitable accounting policies and then apply them consistently;
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make judgements and estimates that are reasonable and prudent;
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prepare the financial statements on the going concern basis unless it is not appropriate to assume that the charity will continue on that basis.
The Trustees are responsible for maintaining proper accounting records which disclose with reasonable accuracy at any time the financial position of the CIO and to enable them to ensure that the financial statements comply with the Companies Act 1985. The Trustees
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are also responsible for safeguarding the assets of the CIO and hence for taking reasonable steps for the prevention and detection of fraud and other irregularities.
Members of the Trustees
Members of the Trustees, who served during the year and up to the date of this report are set out on page 2. As the CIO’s Trustees, we certify that we have taken all the steps that we ought to have taken in order to make ourselves aware of any relevant audit information.
Our Aims and Objectives
Purposes and Aims
Our charity's purposes as set out in the objects contained in the CIO’s constitution:
Our objective is to advance education in Arts and Crafts for the local community; in particular, but not exclusively, by providing tuition and art/craft facilities.
Ensuring our work delivers our aims
Each year we review our objectives and activities to ensure that what we are doing meets the objectives of the charity. In reviewing the year, it helps us focus on what we need to do in the coming year in order to further our aims.
Who are we?
Newbiggin Arts Centre (NAC) are an independent local community-based charity operating out of two facilities in Newbiggin-by-the-Sea, Northumberland.
We are a charity committed to providing a safe, accessible, inclusive (and fun!) environment for the community and visitors alike, where they can benefit from, and enjoy art, in all its forms. We strive to create a thriving, vibrant, ‘buzzing’ environment. A place where artists and visitors want to come, not just to paint or buy paintings, but to learn, share, and socialise.
We see NAC as the ‘place for all things art’, where Art is for All.
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What do we do?
We offer various classes, clubs, and workshops, suitable for every level of skill in; painting, drawing and other fine and applied arts. We have watercolour classes for children, various classes for the beginner (and the more advanced wanting a refresher course), workshops for the more experienced who want to expand their skills, and mixed sessions for those who just want to get together to be creative and socialise.
NAC is also proud to be able to provide a venue for displaying (and selling) local and visiting artists’ paintings. We change the displays regularly, so we can keep things fresh and interesting for visitors and artists coming to the Centre.
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One of our 2024 exhibitions
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For anyone needing art supplies, we also have a shop where people can drop by and pick up what they need. We stock a wide range of the materials and equipment as used at the Centres for classes and clubs.
We also put on special events and displays through the year which are promoted through social media, press releases, and printed material.
How do we do it?
We have a dedicated and committed Board of Trustees who manage the financial affairs, apply for funding and gain sponsorships. In May 2024 we hired our first (part time) employee for the role of Administration Officer, who manages the office and supports the Board of Trustees in organising our workshops, exhibitions, and presentations.
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As we aim to create an environment that welcomes people, where people can learn and develop and make new friends, it is important that we share common values and beliefs. For us, this means treating everyone with respect , being open and honest in how we operate, and importantly, being flexible and innovative in how we strive to meet the community’s need. These values and beliefs form the basis of how we operate and how we make decisions, both financially and otherwise.
How Did We Do?
Throughout 2023, we focused on building our infrastructure, improving our physical facilities and developing and implementing our policies and procedures. This set us up well for a very busy and productive 2024, thanks in large part to a grant from Northumberland Inclusive Economy Community Partnership (NIECP) and another from National Lottery Community Fund (NLCF).
The NIECP grant was for our ‘Community Art Classes’, and ran from 1[st] April to 31[st] December. The NLCF grant is for ‘Arts for All’, running from 31[st] May 2024 to 30[th] May 2027. The funds allowed us to really ramp up our delivery of courses and workshops, offering a much wider variety; which concomitantly, resulted in a significant increase in the involvement of members of our community.
In addition to our base of clubs and classes, we were able to fund 28 new courses and workshops, delivered by eight new tutors. In total, we delivered 148 extra learning events, attracting 134 new people to our organisation, many of whom have stayed on to attend our weekly classes and clubs.
As well as paying for tutors, the NIECP grant also covered our Gibson St. studio’s rent over that period, marketing and art materials. The NLCF grant, includes cover for some overhead costs and, importantly, the salary of our new Administration Officer. In future years, it will continue to do so and also fund some additional tutors.
We expanded on our choice of classes and workshops
The NIECP funding allowed us to deliver a wider range of new eight-week courses and a variety of workshops. The courses included photography (both beginner and intermediate), pastels, watercolour and mixed media, ceramics (both beginner and intermediate), sculpture and digital photobook. We added an ‘Art for All’ class where people can come and draw or paint in their preferred media, with guidance provided on a one-to-one basis by a qualified tutor.
Christine with her first class
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Our workshops proved to be very popular and attracted many new people to our art centres. The subjects were varied and included:
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Pastels
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Animation
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Textiles
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Autumn Wreath
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Fabric Photo Frame
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Woodworking
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Xmas Robin
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Japan Culture
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Talented North East
Examples from our Genealogy Project
The Children’s Art Group plays a staple and key role in helping us meet the community’s needs. Not only do the children learn new skills, the classes also help them in their personal development and to form new friendships. Several events through the year, such as the lantern making classes for the Christmas parade provided them with additional opportunities to enjoy NAC’s offer.
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We hired our first employee!
After a rigorous recruitment process for an Administration Officer, we were lucky to find the perfect fit! In May, our new member of the team (Wendy Storey) took up residence and immediately began work on creating and implementing new processes, procedures, and policies, aimed at improving our efficiency and effectiveness. This was a key turning point for us, as without them (and Wendy!) we would not have been able to source and deliver all the new courses and workshops which we did.
Wendy – the perfect fit!
Getting our message out there
Attracting new people to art and all it has to offer them is one of our key aims. One of the ways we do this is by holding events where they can have the opportunity to try some drawing or painting without having to commit to a class.
In previous years one of our more popular events was ‘Art on the Beach’. This year, due to the weather, we re-located this event into our Front St. studio so our visitors could try their hand at various forms of art in comfort. In spite of the weather, it was well-attended and was successful in bringing in several new people to our classes.
Due to the NIECP grant we were able to offer more workshops and classes than we have in the past. This meant we had an added responsibility to advertise and market the new sessions as widely as possible in order to meet our mandate of making art accessible for all. To that end, we increased our use of social media (primarily Facebook) to advertise new and existing sessions, distributed brochures to local shops and businesses, attended various community events, and created posters and banners for use at events and general advertising.
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Newbiggin Arts Centre Facebook Pages
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Building our partnerships and networks with the local community
We continued our commitment to building our networks with the local community organisations.
For example, in March we ran a Portraiture Weekend in partnership with Dovecote Street Arts in Amble.
Hard at work at the Portraiture Weekend
In August, Northumberland Community and Voluntary Action (NCVA) invited us to display some of our work in their window. This was a win-win: our artwork encouraged people into their centre, and our increased visibility attracted new people to our classes and clubs. This is a partnership that we intend to continue in the future.
Our artwork in the NCVA window
In October, alongside several other local groups and facilities, two members of our team attended the joint Wellbeing event held in the Women’s Institute Hall. This allowed us to not only advertise our general timetable, but also, and most importantly, to show how the arts can impact favourably on one’s health and wellbeing. We are intending to continue this link in the future.
Art is good for your health
Throughout October and November, our craft club enjoyed themselves working with another local organisation, the Elizabethan Hall, helping to create the props for Newbiggin Amateur Pantomime Association.
A crown fit for a king ! .
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The importance of exhibitions
Through 2024 we continued to exhibit art from local artists and our members, ensuring a varied and inclusive art experience for our visitors.
Recognising the importance of showcasing the art our members produce in their classes and clubs, we increased the number of in-house exhibitions. In addition to the media-based exhibits we typically held, we introduced ‘themed’ exhibitions based on the seasons: Easter, Summer Dreams, and Celebrating Winter. These proved to be very popular with the artists themselves (many of whom used their class time to create their submissions) and with our visitors alike.
In line with our commitment to making art accessible to all, we were excited to have the opportunity to capture our exhibitions virtually. Thanks to a generous grant from Foyles Foundation, we purchased a Matterport 3D camera and 3 Meta Quest Pro VR Headsets, along with all the necessary software. This allowed us to capture our October, November and December exhibitions virtually, to offer them to visitors to view via the VR headsets and to make them available on our website. Visitors to our website are now able to view our exhibitions from the comfort of their home on their PC or phone (or VR headset, if they have one), wherever they live. See https://newbigginartscentre.org/events/
Our exhibitions online!
Volunteer development
In February we held a volunteer social event. The purpose was two-fold: first, to use this as opportunity to hear their ideas and suggestions for improvements, and second, to socialise and get to know each other better towards a better working relationship.
During our Committee Meetings, we identified three areas in which we needed to develop: IT skills (primarily our website), using social media more effectively, and business planning. Although members of the Board of Trustees had some experience from their respective business careers, we realised that professional guidance was worthwhile and received advice from CVA Blyth Valley on who to go to.
Firstly, we arranged for basic website and social media training from Jackie Latham of Jackdaw Web Design. Leigh, Wendy and Steve attended a really informative session in November and were able to define an action plan for 2025.
The business planning sessions, with Kate Duffy from Junction Point are scheduled for the whole Board early in 2025.
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What Comes Next?
Our plans for 2024 were to do more of what we do best : offering more classes, clubs and workshops to expand on the arts; to make NAC the ‘place for all things art’, where Arts are for All. We certainly achieved that in large part due to the NIECP and NLCF grants, the outstanding efforts from Wendy and the dedication of our volunteers.
Going forward into 2025 we plan to do even more of the same, but with an eye on becoming more self-sustainable. While we recognise that we will always need support from a variety of funding agencies and sponsors, the uncertainties of the economic world alert us to the risks associated with a high dependence on grants.
To that effect, one of our aims is to develop a membership scheme which will provide us with a steady income. Alongside that, we will focus on marketing and promoting our charity to attract and retain a wider membership by increasing our visibility and improving our communication channels via our website and social media.
Along the sustainability line, we also recognise the importance and need to develop a succession plan for our team; in particular, financial, IT, and grant application skills.
In order to support our new ceramics clubs, we will be looking to invest in our own pottery kiln to give flexibility and reduce the costs of getting their clay fired.
Financial Review
Overview
At 31[st] December 2023, NAC had £3,836 to its name (of which £500 was restricted funds) and at 31[st] December 2024, NAC had £2,513 (of which £500 was restricted funds), a decrease in available funds of £1,323.
Our income was from grants, donations, shop sales, painting commissions and session fees. Whereas our expenditure included rent (for the two premises), electricity, telephonics and Internet, payroll, tutor fees, art supplies & equipment, office supplies and miscellaneous purchases.
Reserves Policy
The Trustees continued to examine the charity’s requirements for reserves in light of the main risks to the organisation. The reserves are needed to meet the day-to-day expenditure requirements of the charity and the Trustees are confident that at this level they would be able to continue the current activities of the charity in the event of a significant drop in external funding.
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The Board has confirmed a policy whereby the funds held by the charity should be at least three months of the expenditure, but we are aiming to have six months reserves. Budgeted expenditure for 2025 is £97,750 and therefore the target for three months reserves is £32,500 in the general funds. The target for six months reserves is £65,000. We recognise, as a new charity, we fall well short of this level of reserves and it will take time to achieve.
The strategy is therefore to continue to build reserves through normal revenue surpluses, to enable us to consider future plans for NAC, including an increase in session provision, and build reserves for any future expenditure that may arise.
Independent Check of the accounts
We didn’t need an independent examination of the accounts due to our income level this year. When we reach the threshold for Independent Checks the Trustees have agreed to ask The Finance Officer of Northumberland CVA, 107 & 109 Station Road, Ashington, Northumberland, NE63 8RS to independently check the accounts.
This report has been prepared in accordance with the Statement of Recommended Practice: Accounting and Reporting by Charities (issued in March 2005) and in accordance with the special provisions of Part VII of the Companies Act 1985 relating to small entities.
Approved by the Trustees on 10[th] April 2025 and signed on its behalf by
Mr Steve R Wilkinson (Chair & Treasurer)
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2024
Charity Name No (if any) Newbiggin Arts Centre 1163002 Receipts and payments accounts CC16a For the period Period start date Period end date To from 01/01/2024 31/12/2024
Section A Receipts and payments
| Unrestricted funds |
Restricted funds |
Endowment funds |
Total funds | Last year | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| to the nearest £ |
to the nearest £ | to the nearest £ | to the nearest £ | to the nearest £ | |||||
| A1 Receipts | |||||||||
| Grants | 0 | 51573 | 0 | 51573 | 8500 | ||||
| Donations | 6350 | 0 | 0 | 6350 | 1784 | ||||
| ShopSales | 1513 | 0 | 0 | 1513 | 1600 | ||||
| Paintings Commission | 437 | 0 | 0 | 437 | 276 | ||||
| Session Fees | 25472 | 0 | 0 | 25472 | 24526 | ||||
| Unspentgrants from 2023 | 0 | 500 | 0 | 500 | 8786 | ||||
| 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | |||||
| 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | |||||
| Sub total(Gross income for AR) |
33772 |
52073 | 0 | 85845 | 45472 | ||||
| A2 Asset and investment sales, (see table). |
|||||||||
| 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | ||||||
| 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | |||||
| Sub total | 0 |
0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | ||||
| Total receipts | 33772 | 52073 | 0 | 85845 | 45472 | ||||
| A3 Payments | |||||||||
| Rent(both facilities) | 9212 | 4980 | 0 | **14192 ** | **12851 ** | ||||
| Electricity (heat and light) | 1875 | 1441 | 0 | 3316 | 2570 | ||||
| Telephonics and internet | 958 | 308 | 0 | 1266 | 1276 | ||||
| Zettle Fees | 193 | 0 | 0 | 193 | 93 | ||||
| Payroll | 44 | **10887 ** | **10931 ** | 0 | |||||
| Tutor & Professional(PM)Fees | **13451 ** | 18403 | 0 | **31854 ** | 16090 | ||||
| Cleaners | 1773 | 0 | 0 | 1773 | 524 | ||||
| Art Supplies | 2035 | 11176 | 0 | 13211 | **3452 ** | ||||
| Office Supplies, inc. insurance & s'ware | 3036 | 0 | 0 | 3036 | 2370 | ||||
| Misc. Purchases inc. independent examiner's fees |
**1031 ** | 6365 | 0 | 7396 | 13046 | ||||
| Sub total | 33608 | 53560 | 0 | 87168 | 52272 | ||||
| A4 Asset and investment purchases, (see table) |
|||||||||
| 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | ||||||
| 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | ||||||
| Sub total | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | ||||
| Totalpayments | 33608 | 53560 | 0 | 87168 | 52272 | ||||
| Net of receipts/(payments) | 164 | -1487 | 0 | -1323 | -6800 | ||||
| A5 Transfers between funds | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | |||||
| A6 Cash funds lastyear end | 3336 | 500 | 0 | 3836 | 10636 | ||||
| Cash funds thisyear end | 3500 | -987 | 0 | 2513 | 3836 |
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Section B Statement of assets and liabilities at the end of the period
| Categories | Details | Details | Details | Unrestricted funds |
Restricted funds |
Endowment funds |
|||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| to nearest £ | to nearest £ | to nearest £ | |||||||
| B1 Cash funds | Bank Account | 1,882 | 500 | - | |||||
| Cash in hand | 131 | - | |||||||
| - | - | ||||||||
| Total cash funds | 2,013 | 500 | - | ||||||
| (agree balances with receipts and payments account(s)) |
Agreement Error | Agreement Error | OK | ||||||
| Unrestricted funds |
Restricted funds |
Endowment funds |
|||||||
| Details | to nearest £ | to nearest £ | to nearest £ | ||||||
| B2 Other monetary assets | Art materials stock | 3,500 | - | - | |||||
| - | - | - | |||||||
| - | - | - | |||||||
| - | - | - | |||||||
| - | - | - | |||||||
| - | - | - | |||||||
| Details | Fund to which asset belongs |
Cost (optional) | Current value (optional) |
||||||
| B3 Investment assets | - | - | |||||||
| - | - | ||||||||
| - | - | ||||||||
| - | - | ||||||||
| - | - | ||||||||
| Details | Fund to which asset belongs |
Cost (optional) | Current value (optional) |
||||||
| B4 Assets retained for the charity’s own use |
- | - | |||||||
| - | - | ||||||||
| - | - | ||||||||
| - | - | ||||||||
| - | - | ||||||||
| Details | Fund to which liability relates |
Amount due (optional) |
When due (optional) |
||||||
| B5 Liabilities | Mercy Grant for Murals | Grants | 500 | Summer (weather dependent) |
|||||
| - | |||||||||
| - | |||||||||
| - | |||||||||
| Signed by one or two trustees on behalf of all the trustees |
Signature | Print Name | Date of approval |
||||||
| Steve R Wilkinson | 10/04/2025 | ||||||||
| Sue Andrew | 10/04/2025 |
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Notes to the Unaudited Financial Statements
Basis of Preparation
The financial statements have been prepared under the historical cost convention with items recognized at cost of transaction values unless otherwise stated in the relevant notes to these accounts.
The Charity constitutes a public benefit entity as defined by FRS 102. The financial statements have been prepared on the going concern basis, which assumes that the charity will continue in operational existence for the foreseeable future.
1. Accounting Policies
Income
All Incoming resources are included in the Statement of Financial Activities once the Charity has entitlement to the income and the amount can be quantified with reasonable accuracy.
Expenditure
All income is accounted for as soon as there is a legal constructive obligation committing the Charity to that expenditure.
Depreciation
No depreciation is charged in these accounts because any and all Capital Equipment or new fixtures or fittings will be written off in the year of purchase.
Fixtures and Equipment
No value has been included in these Financial Statements for the market value of Fixtures and Equipment that may have been written off in the Financial Statements.
Taxation
As a Charity, Newbiggin Arts Centre is exempt from tax on income and gains falling within section 505 of the Taxes Act 1988 or section 256 of the Taxable of Chargeable Gains Act 1992 to the extent that these are applied to charitable objects, no tax charges have arisen on the charity.
Fund Accounting
Unrestricted funds can be used in accordance with the charitable objectives of the charity at the direction of the trustees.
Restricted funds can only be used for particular restricted purposes within the objectives of the charity, and/or as specified by the donor or when funds are raised for a specific purpose.
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