2023-10-31-accounts

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GOOD NEWS FELLOWSHIP UK

Charitable Incorporated Organisation 1167287

ANNUAL REPORT AND FINANCIAL STATEMENT OF ACCOUNTS

FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31[st] OCTOBER 2023

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GOOD NEWS FELLOWSHIP UK

Registered Charitable Incorporated Organisation No. 1167287

ANNUAL REPORT FOR YEAR ENDING 31[st] OCTOBER 2023

The work of producing and distributing the Good News newspaper, our main ministry, continued through the year and we thank God for His leading and provision.

Our priorities for 2023 were:

1. Promotion of Good News, especially through some selected Christian conventions and exhibitions, speaking at churches, limited advertising in Christian publications and promotions on Christian radio. (A £12,000 budget had been set and was reviewed throughout the year.)

2. Maintaining our current customers, restarting the paused customers, and looking to extend personal outreach with new customers

3. Work in cooperation with Outreach UK and Pocket Testament League on the Casting Your Nets programme

4. Continue to promote the ‘Jesus Unmasked’ booklet and the “Good News for Everyone” tract

5. Contact the UK prisons who currently do not take the paper each month and offer to send to chaplains freely

6. Ensuring the monthly publication of the Good News paper meets the needs of those using the paper as well as those reading about the Christian faith.

Activities

The Good News newspaper was produced each month and sold to missions, churches and individuals as a means of helping them in Christian witness, testimony and outreach. Sales of the newspaper were largely similar to 2022 with marginal growth at around 53,000 per month, with the Christmas, Easter and harvest editions being stronger. It has been thrilling to receive many encouraging reports of lives being changed by God as people receive the paper and talk about articles it contained. The paper continues to be widely used as an aid to personal evangelism.

We had stands at fewer Christian exhibitions and events, which included the Christian Resources Exhibitions at Sandown Park (the regional Liverpool event was cancelled), and the Baptist Churches convention in Telford. Our UK representative was able to attend some Evangelists conferences as well as speak in churches about the paper.

We continued to advertise in several publications the CRE Handbook, Evangelical Alliance and through interviews with the UK representative on two Christian radio stations.

The gospel leaflet we produce, ‘Good News For Everyone’, (not to be confused with the new name for Gideons UK using the same title) continued to be well received and sales of copies were encouraging at over 2,000 in the year.

We continued to work in cooperation with two other Christian charities, Outreach UK (OUK) and Pocket Testament League (PTL), on a programme titled ‘Casting Your Nets’, which aims to train and encourage Christians and churches in personal evangelism for all. OUK lead this, with the training involving the use of the Good News paper and a PTL edition of the Gospel of John.

A monthly video review of the Good News newspaper is produced by an evangelist from Outreach UK supported by either our UK representative or other Outreach UK colleagues. These have been well received with very encouraging viewing figures.

Our presence on Facebook and X (formally Twitter) we see as a means of outreach and raising awareness of the paper and postings were strong throughout 2023 with a good number of followers, “likes” and “shares”. We were not able to continue posts on Instagram.

The paper was printed by Newsquest and packed and mailed by Parcel Hub. Both businesses provided excellent service and worked well with Good News.

On the first Sunday in March, we held a national day of prayer we call Good News Sunday, when Christians were involving their churches to report on our ministry and to take time to pray. The latest promotional video was made available to show in meetings. It was encouraging to hear of many praying and knowing that God answered prayers, and this is now an annual event.

A national supporters on-line Zoom evening was held in October with around 35 delegates attending, with a variety of contributions from both team members, Outreach UK evangelists and those using the paper. Dr Chris Sinkinson, a lecturer at Moorlands College and specialist in Biblical archaeology, gave an excellent talk. This was a great encouragement and will now become an annual event with varying formats.

At the start of January, we wrote to around 55 prisons where they were not taking advantage of our offer of free Good News newspapers each month. We had been supplying 84 prisons and wanted to reach as many of the remaining prisons as possible. The response was very encouraging and within days several more enthusiastically requested papers. In the late summer another prison in London also requested papers monthly, so we now supply 94 prisons, three half-way houses and two Christian rehab centres each month totalling 2,750 copies. Free-will gifts, both regular and occasional, make this ministry possible and we thank donors and God, for providing the funds to carry out this work.

The gifts for the ministry, including interest and gift aid, during the year came to £11,349, a significant increase from 2022 (£6,620). Gifts designated for the prison ministry are ring fenced so they can only be used for this work and as a charity, we are able to reclaim gift aid tax on gifts from donors who have signed a declaration. We never fundraise or approach people to ask for gifts. 100% of all such gifts are used 100% for the cost of the prison papers and postage out. We are grateful to a team of volunteers from a church in north-east England, who faithfully pack and post the papers each month. We look forward to contacting the remaining prisons again in 2024 and offering the paper.

Follow-up correspondence was carried out by Rolf Burnie with prisoners (Rolf is a member of the Prison Fellowship) and Sheila Johnson, a Christian writer, with the general public and a retired trustee, Donald Banks, sending copies of the Jesus video when requested.

The bi-monthly newsletter was distributed to customers and prayer supporters to keep them updated with the work.

People

The trustees throughout the year were: Mr Phillip Bounds (Chairman and prison ministry) * Mr Andrew Halloway (Editor) Mr Paul Olise * Mr Stephen Leedham Mrs Susan Cuthbert (till March 2023) Mr Ian White Mr Keith Tripp (from March 2023)

The trustees and team met three times through the year in November, March and June, either face to face or by Zoom. Any interim decisions are made by email or telephone.

Teresa Jackman became administrator in August 2022 and has settled well into the role, making changes to internal processes to streamline her operation.

Julie Reeves, continued as Finance Officer, attending meetings and reporting on the finances.

Rev Trevor Dickerson *, National Field Director for Outreach UK, acts as an adviser for the work, is consulted on articles proposed for publication, attends meetings and is on the remuneration committee.

Rev Andy Godfrey, who was UK representative on a contract basis, also attended meetings and contributed to the promotional strategy as well as being actively involved in promotional work. Rev Godfrey tendered his resignation in July 2023 and left his role on October 12[th] . The Trustees are considering what kind of promotional support is needed going forward and what qualities are needed in a replacement.

• Members of the remuneration committee (2 trustees, 1 independent adviser, none paid)

Other committed people actively involved in the Good News ministry but who don’t attend meetings are:

Mr Rolf Burnie – prison correspondence counsellor Mrs Sheila Johnson – general correspondence counselling and social media support David & Cath Thompson plus a team of helpers – pack and post the prison papers

The following people continue to be on the Council of Reference: Rev David Cole, Rev Dr Sam Gordon, Mr Terry Puttick Mr Victor Jack (till August 2023)

Finance and Governance

The financial statement for the year ending 31[st] October 2023 is attached. The accounts were examined and approved by Mr Neil Towers, an accountant with vast experience with charity accounts.

Designated income for the prison ministry was £11,004 plus £345 tax reclaimed and for general operation was £129,932. There was a deficit for the year of £3,608, where we had budgeted a deficit of £12,701. We were able to keep the price per copy at 20p in spite of further printing and mailing price increases. Reserves at the year-end were £72,843 (£6,655 prison ministry, £66,188 general funds). We are thankful to God and several churches and individuals who gave specific gifts for the ongoing work of Good News, totalling £923 in the year.

The trustees are mindful of continued cost pressure with raw materials, energy and transport/delivery. The proposed 2023 budget is again based on a circulation of 53,000 average per month (although we are striving for some growth) and plans for a deficit of £17,370 for the year ending 31[st] October 2024 being met from the general fund reserves. We believe this to be a wise course of action given the uncertainties around price rises. The actions and finances will be reviewed monthly, and changes made as needed. The deficit will be met from reserves, a price increase, or from a circulation increase.

The Good News Fellowship UK is accepted by HMRC for reclaiming gift aid tax from donors completing a declaration. Such gifts were received throughout the year.

The Trustees continued to ensure compliance with the General Data Protection Regulations.

Looking forward

The Trustees are aware that the ministry of Good News is God’s work under His guidance. The plans for 2023 major on:

1. Promotion of Good News, especially through mailshots to existing customers and supporters, some selected Christian conventions and exhibitions, speaking at churches, limited advertising in Christian publications. (A £12,000 budget has been set and will be reviewed throughout the year.)

2. Maintaining our current customers, restarting the paused customers, and looking to extend personal outreach with new customers, to support them in personal evangelism

3. Continued work in cooperation with Outreach UK and Pocket Testament League on the Casting Your Nets programme

4. Continue to promote the ‘Jesus Unmasked’ booklet and the “Good News for Everyone” tract

5. Contact the UK prisons who currently do not take the paper each month and offer to send to chaplains freely, particularly newly opened prisons.

6. Ensuring the monthly publication of the Good News paper meets the needs of those using the paper as well as those reading about the Christian faith.

Phillip Bounds

…………………………………………………. Phillip Bounds Chairman on behalf of the Trustees 14[th] November 2023

Receipts		2023-2023	2021-2022
Sales of Good News paper		£127,506.55	£131,601.96
Sales of tracts		£567.33	£898.70
Refunds on pronnotional events		£0.00	£392.32
Advertising revenue and other income		£607.75	£1,147.50
Investment general income		£327.69	£79.64
Investment income designated prisons		£43.38	£2.12
Tax refund		£345.04	£972.25
Designated Gifts for General Funds		£923.03	£3,175.25
Designated Gifts for Prison Ministry		£10.961.12	£5.648.00
	Total	£141,281.89	£143,917.74
Payments
Contract Services (Editor, Finance, Admin, Promotion)		£57,776.00	£54,034.00
Honararia (Advisors, Orders)		£1,731.00	£1,876.00
Distribution costs Prison Ministry		£3,102.89	£2,610.08
Distribution Costs (Parcel Hub, Post)		£22,406.45	£23,354.98
Printing Costs (Newsquest)		£31,730.48	£28,420.52
Editorial Costs (contributors, design, proof read)		£14,127.41	£13,458.64
Administration (team meetings, legal, insurance, new equip etc)		£2,747.06	£3,910.39
Bank charges		£0.00	£3.00
Promotion		£10,064.61	£11,532.35
Commission and Gifts and Refunds		£758.24	£273.47
Counseliing/foliow up		£444.00	£468.00
	Total	£144,888.14	£139,941,43
Surplus/deficit on year		-£3,606.25	£3,976.31
Statement of Assets
Santander Operational (Current)		£17,228.73	£13,160.60
Santander Operational (Savings) inc £6,655.46 Prison Ministry		£23,324.68	£31,191.64
Kingdom Bank Bond		£32.289.65	£32.097.07
		£72,843.06	£76.449.31

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