HIVE
Trustees’ Report
For the year ending 31 March 2023
Administrative Information
Hive is a charitable incorporated organisation, registration number 1165566.
Registered office: The Befriending Scheme, 1 The Croft, Sudbury CO10 1HN.
Trustees
Shirley Moore (Chair) Lesley Ford-Platt Robin Hodgkinson (Secretary) Gareth Cole (Treasurer) (Resigned end of March 2023) Andrew Welsh Tony Willson (Appointed February 2023)
As well as the Trustees, the organisation has a forum who usually support the Trustee Board in planning activities. Membership of the forum is open to voluntary and community sector groups in the local area, as well as relevant statutory agencies.
Structure, Governance & Management
1. Nature of governing document
The activities of Hive are governed by a Constitution approved by the Charity Commission on 12[th] February 2016.
2. Recruitment and appointment of trustees
The trustees and staff are always on the lookout for potential new trustees who can bring their skills and expertise to assist in the organisation’s governance. Potential trustees have access to the chair to discuss their involvement. When recruited, new trustees are inducted through meetings and an induction pack, which not only covers information about the organisation but their roles and responsibilities as trustees.
3. Review of the financial position
The accounting year this year runs from April 1st 2022 to 31[st] March 2023. Total income for this period was £61,306 and expenditure £56,520.
The net result was a surplus on the year of £4,786 thus leaving a fund balance of £26,674, including restricted funding.
4. Financial Management
Hive finances are managed by a Treasurer who reports to the Trustees at their quarterly meetings.
The Bank account is held at Barclays Bank plc. All cheques and internet banking transactions require two signatories.
The systems of internal control include reports submitted by the Treasurer at the regular Trustee Board meetings. Also, consideration of the financial results and forecasting of possible funding shortfalls are discussed in detail at Trustee meetings.
5. Reserves Policy
At present Hive has no reserves policy. If, however, sufficient surpluses are made in the future, the Trustees would designate a proportion of these as a general reserves fund.
6. Risk analysis and plan
There are a number of areas that the Trustees consider as potential risks. These are as follows:
Inability to raise funds for existing activities. Inability to recruit future Trustees.
Lack of interest in the activities and services offered by Hive
With the purchase of the URC Church and Hall, there are also additional risks of managing an old building and ensuring that this is:
a) fit for purpose
b) that income from hiring, events and fundraising activities meet the expenditure costs.
7. Funding
Funding was received from a variety of sources. These are listed in the Achievements and performance section of this report.
8. Objectives and Activities
Hive’s objects are primarily for the benefit of the inhabitants of the Sudbury and District area to:
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a) provide training and learning activities and resources to local voluntary and community groups;
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b) provide information services to local groups;
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c) provide opportunities for local groups to work in partnership with other agencies; and
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d) offer funding or funding advice to help local groups to develop
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e) provide a building and space for local organisations to hire for their activities and services.
Hive has fulfilled its objects in a number of ways:
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Redesigning its website to contain more information about local groups and online resources.
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Developing an e-bulletin sent out to its mailing list of 80 groups, with news of events, service and resources
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Providing quarterly steering group meetings giving groups the opportunity to discuss local issues and exchange information. Several new groups have found these a very useful way to establish contacts and learn about potential funding sources.
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Developing a programme of free training courses, in normal times, in subjects as diverse as 1[st] Aid, Social Media, Trustees’ Roles and Responsibilities and Managing Volunteers
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Developing one to one support for new groups or existing groups
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Purchasing the URC church and hall as a venue for local charitable organisations to hire at reasonable rates, less than commercial rates. Commercial hirers are welcome, but they pay higher fees.
9. Meeting the Principles of Public Benefit
Hive meets the Charity Commission’s Public Benefit Principles in a number of ways:
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It helps new and small groups to establish contacts and learn about current projects and developments through the regular steering group meetings. A regular email newsletter is also sent out
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through providing support to new groups through one-to-one meetings on issues ranging from business planning to setting up as a charity, training courses and online resources
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Through the purchase of the URC Church and Hall and managing this building as a place for hire and for staging events.
10. Achievements & Performance
Having bought the URC Church and Hall in November 2021 and carried out sufficient remedial work to make the building usable again, this year has been one of consolidation and building up a reasonable client base.
The significant progress this financial year on the building was to draw up plans for our use of the building and improvements to the infrastructure. These plans were submitted in June 2022. Planning permission and listed building consent was granted in October 2022 by the local planning authority. These plans include replacement of all wooden windows, doors, removing the pews from the floor, and forward-facing balcony of the church, re-flooring the uneven surface of the old church and building a porch at the entrance to the old church hall. Our priorities for the future include making the access to all areas for wheelchairs, and to that end we have already installed a step-lift that links the old church and the church hall. We have also taken the opportunity of installing LED lighting in the old church hall, as well as upgrading the old electrical distribution panel to one of a more modern design with circuit breakers rather than fuses. Some of the pews have already been removed and more will be taken out during the next year.
Our finance records for this year shows we are breaking even on running costs versus hire fees and more hirers are keen to hire our larger than average sized rooms.
During the year the building has been used by a number of hirers including Sudbury Choral Society who performed a number of concerts in the Joy Abbot Hall, The Befriending Scheme, various classes including low impact exercise classes, a WI group, Newstalk (a recorded newspaper for the blind), the Bridge Project and Offshoot films (a charity that provides a film school for disadvantaged children).
A part-time Administrator, Anna Miles, was appointed during the year and she was instrumental in re-activating Hive activities. She created Hive Facebook, Instagram and
Twitter pages, re-organised the website and sent out Autumn and Winter newsletters, packed with information about Hive and local voluntary and community sector events and information. Three local Forum events were held including a funding drop-in involving Suffolk Community Foundation, The Lottery and Babergh District Council. Nicki Bray of Suffolk Community Foundation came to another forum meeting which was well attended and talked about relevant funding pots. A number of events and concerts took place in the Joy Abbot Hall including concerts by the Djangoliers and a number of organ concerts organised by Roger Green and an organ sub group. Over £1000 has so far been raised to pay for the upkeep of the organ and the purchase of a de-humidifier. Roger Green also organised a programme of Tuesday Summer lunchtime concerts.
Hive also planned to re-activate the Sudbury and District Volunteer Awards, though the event planned for March was subsequently postponed to June 2023 to coincide with the end of Volunteers Week. Also announced during the year was a planned fundraising coast to coast trek to be undertaken by trustee, Andy Welsh and his wife – a 192 mile walk from St Bees in Cumbria to Robin Hoods Bay in Yorkshire to take place over 17 days in May 2023.
In the year under review, donations for the project were received from:
The Hillier Trust (£10k) and Suffolk Community Fund (£5k) (funding Hive’s Part-time Administrator), Locality Grants from Babergh District Councillors: Adrian Osborne, Jan Osborne, Alison Owen and Trevor Creswell (totalling £3.1k), Suffolk County Councillor: Philip Faircloth-Mutton (£500), Colchester Catalyst (£10k), Andrew Phillips Trust (£250), Fonnereau Road Health Foundation (£5k), Roger Green (£1k), The Maurken Fund £500), David and Jan Mann (£5k) and Misc donations £136.
11. Future Plans
Future plans include raising money to continue the refurbishment of the Hive Community Hub and programming events and concerts within the building. It is hoped that an Organ School will start soon and a small sub group has been set up to take this idea forward. As already mentioned, the Sudbury and District Volunteer Awards ceremony will take place in June and Andy Walsh’s Coast to Coast walk in May.
I would finally pay tribute to my fellow Trustees, who have discharged their duties and responsibilities as Trustees and Directors with pragmatism and good sense. I would particularly like to thank Gareth Cole who resigned as a trustee at the end of March for all the work he undertook in overseeing the refurbishment of the building and for being a very efficient Treasurer as well.
Shirley Moore Chairman
Date:
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