## **Chairman’s Report for Charity Commission 2020/21** 

This report, covers the period April 1 2020 to end March 2021. 

At the last AGM (18 February 2021) the Trustees agreed to re-schedule our next AGM to September 2021, as soon as the audited accounts have been finalised, bringing our charity return timetable closer to our financial year, and ensuring that we submit our Charity Commission returns on time. 

I am grateful to our Treasurer David Harris, who has spent considerable time again working on the accounts, both to meet the requirements of our reporting to the Charity Commission, and to keep the management team fully informed of the current financial position. 

## **I must thank our auditor Des Smallman for his assiduous work in again examining our accounts.** 

## **We are grateful for the continued financial support that we receive from Dorchester** 

**Town Council** , providing some baseline financial support, giving us the confidence to tackle the challenges we face.  The Government Furlough scheme coupled with the energetic and successful results obtained by our funding team, ensured that the financial year ended with the charity in a strong overall financial position. 

## **Overview of the year** 

What a strange year this has been, blighted by the Coronavirus epidemic, never-theless our Youth team have done an excellent job to support our young people via digital methods, one to one telephone contact, and outreach work. 

In mid-March 2020, following the Government decision to impose lockdown, the Trustees reluctantly took the decision to close the club until the situation improved. We could never have realised how long this would last and the affect it would have on our country and particularly our staff and young people’ 

The Trustees recognised that our staff are our key resource and applied to partake in the Government Furlough scheme and to “top up” staff salaries to 100% (The government paying 80%) until end of July. The Trustees subsequently agreed to continue this top up until the end of June 2021. I must applaud our staff who have been very willing to supportive to allow us to take advantage of the partial furlough rules, throughout this period, to deliver as much youth support as possible, through digital online resources, face to face and telephone, one to one contact, and outreach where appropriate. 




In July 2020, at the end of the first lockdown, the club opened with reduced numbers, and with Social distance precautions in place. We were forced to close again in September, when lockdown was re-introduced. 

We opened again in December, participating in the Xmas window displays in the town but closed at the end of December and remained so to the end of the financial period. 

## **Youth Work** 

Kate Parkman, our Youth Work Manager took the initiative to organise our continued support. **What would we do without her inspired team guidance?** 

The following are some of the key initiatives that Kate introduced and managed: - 

DYCC Online- responding and adapting quickly to deliver an online project. Working out what worked and didn’t work along the way - a brand new way of working for all youth organisations. Producing inspiring and informative content. 

Free One to One support - DYCC stepped up to provide a more distinctive one to one support for local young people which has continued. Parent feedback shows us that the work carried out by Youth Workers has made such a positive impact. 

DYCC team - everyone stepping out of their ‘evening session comfort zones’ to work with people they didn’t know that well. The team is much stronger, skills have been shared and developed. 

Outreach- the outreach team have gone out into the community come rain or shine (and Baltic conditions) to ensure young people get access to support. Their commitment and enthusiasm is outstanding. DYCC added town centre and Stratton plus villages to this developing project 

Traveller Community - We were asked by a local charity if we could assist with children of a local static traveller community, helping them to integrate into the local community, particularly school entry. 

A trial period commenced in February 2021. Our Youth worker team led by Kate, provided outreach work at the community, successfully gaining the trust of the young people and their parents. Following the successful trial, funding has been provided by The Bridge House Trust and the program will continue in the new financial year. 

Kate also spent considerable time liaising with external organisation, Dorset Council, DYA, Schools, the Police and the NHS to deliver a more holistic approach to help young people. It is testament to her work that the reputation of the Youth team and Kate in particular has been recognised by these organisations. 




We are so lucky that we have a well led, very capable team who all deserve our thanks for the work they have accomplished this year. 

Covid - Secure sessions - a huge effort from everyone to get the centre Covid secure. The sessions of 15 people max, during the no lockdown periods, were busy (year 10’s needing to pre book) and young people were so happy to be back. 

Covid fatigue- we have had to work extra hard to maintain links with young people, navigate changing restrictions, ensure staff balance DYCC hours with other often changeable/uncertain jobs and family life; not to mention Covid infections and isolation situations. All this made for challenging times but everyone should be very proud of their efforts and what we have all achieved. 

We continued to follow the National Youth Association (NYA) guidelines to inform our use of the facility and ensure that appropriate Covid precautions are in place. 

## **I am sure that you will all agree that Kate and our youth team deserve a vote of thanks for sterling work in difficulty circumstance.** 

## **Buildings** 

Early in the lockdown we were able to implement the European Union energy grant we received, which was also supported by Dorchester Town Council, and all the lighting in the centre has been converted to low energy LEDs. This should support the Dorchester Green initiative and also reduce our ongoing energy costs. 

With Grateful thanks to Magnet joinery, we have had a new reception desk provided. 

We have already purchased a full CCTV upgrade for the inside of the club and wait for Covid to end to continue and implement the installation. 

The Dorset Mental Health Team have continued to work in the garden, providing therapeutic work for their clients and good maintenance for the centre garden. 

## **Home-Start** 

The Home-start 3 year lease expires at the end of November 2021. The Chairman of Home-start has indicated their intention to continue the lease and the Trustees agreed to offer this lease on the same basis as current. If agreed, the new lease will commence in November 2021 and will continue to generate approximately £7000 of income per annum for the ensuing 3 years. 

Kathleen Rice, who managed our safeguarding activities, has resigned from the management committee. A small gift was presented to Kathleen to thank her for her valuable service over many years. 




Stella Jones has on the role as our Safeguarding lead. An updated Safeguarding Policy has been produced to reflect societal changes in recent times. 

Molly Rennie has taken over the role for Dorchester Town Council representative 

## **Governance** 

We have spent the last year reviewing our policies, adjusting these to the latest requirements and Covid situation. Policy review has been requested of the responsible Trustee for each area. 

We were thankful to gain support from the Furlough scheme. The Trustees were anxious to ensure that we did not transgress either the spirit or the rules of this scheme. 

## **The future** 

The Trustees agreed a budget for 2021/22. This was not be an easy task as we could not predict the further extent of the Covid situation. 

The centre has been very fortunate this year in the grant applications that were made, and the funding that we have received. We anticipate that the funding situation will become increasingly challenging as we come out of the Covid pandemic. This will represent a challenge to ensure that the current financial stability of the club can be maintained. 

We will continue looking at the building, with regard to ongoing maintenance and decoration, ensuring that it is a safe and inviting venue both for our young people, and to encourage more use by the local community. 

The young people will need our support now more than ever. Our team is ready and waiting. We are all anxious to return to providing a safe and secure environment at the centre for our young people to meet and socialise. We will continue to follow government guidance and the recommendations of the National Youth Organisation, ensuring at all times that safety of all is our key driver. 

The Trustees are confident that the club remains on a secure footing to continue our work for the young people of Dorchester. 

Chris Davies 

Chairman of Trustees 

September 2021 




## **Financial Report for the Year 01/04/2020 to 31/3/2021** 

## **Policies and processes** 

- Charity Commission guideline are adopted with regards to the Accounts of DYCC 

- The Accounts of DYCC are prepared under a Receipts and Payments basis 

- All financial decisions are made by the Trustees. Member of the management committee are permitted to speak on such matters but do not have a vote. 

- The financial Year is set as 31[st] March. 

- A monthly report is given to the Trustees by the Treasurer outlining the current financial position. 

- The Treasurer makes a detailed examination of the accounts monthly and confirms the validity of all income and expenditure. This is checked against the Bank Statement. 

- The Treasurer will carry out a Bank reconciliation quarterly. 

## **Statement of Policy for Holding Reserves** 

Reserves will be held by the trust on deposit obtaining the best interest rate available at the time the deposit is made. 

The term of any fixed deposit or the notice period will be agreed by the Trustees on a case by case basis. 

The Financial Institution will be researched to ensure, as far as it is possible to do so, that it carries out its business in an ethical manner. 

Investments other than deposit accounts are not to be held. 

## **Review of the Charities Position at the Year ending 31/3/2021** 

This was a very difficult year with regards to the finances due to the closure of the centre for much of the period because of the Covid pandemic. The performance of both income and expenditure against the budget was completely out of sync with the projections due to the unexpected situation the whole world found itself in. 

The Accounts for the year ending 31/3/21 show a surplus for the year of £19,035. This is after allowing for £6,500 to be placed in Reserve for potential future emergencies and building and maintenance costs. Without this set aside amount the surplus would have been £25,535. 

The monies that are held in Reserve have been invested in interest bearing accounts. The purpose of the set aside funds is to have a separate reserve account in case there is a need for major expenditure on the building such as roof repairs. The funds “set aside” this year will also be placed in an interest bearing account to increase this reserve position. This allows the HSBC account to be used for day to day activities. Details of the Reserves held and the financial policy for holding them is set out below. 




**Total income received** was £96,461 compared to a budgeted figure of £57,800. The largest income source was again Dorchester Town Council who contributed £20,400 to the Trust. This was in line with the ongoing agreement with the Town Council and the Trustees are grateful for their continued support. 

Members fees and shop income were almost non-existent due to the closure of the centre for long periods of time. In following NYA guidelines, it was only possible to open for a limited number of young people for short periods. 

Income from Home Start was lower than budgeted due to the centre being closed. This reduced the utility bills for the centre and therefore the contribution towards them that is made by Home Start was reduced accordingly. This was achieved through agreement between the Trustees of the two charities. 

Other sources of income were achieved during the year in response to the effects of the global pandemic: 

- The sum of £16763 was received from HMRC under the Coronavirus Job Retention Scheme (CJRS). 

- Covid related grants were received from Dorset Council which totalled £11,000. These grants were awarded to enable the Trust to pay its ongoing bills and cover re-opening costs. 

- A Grant of £6841 was received to allow the Trust to replace all the lighting with low carbon lights. This will save money in future energy costs. An identical amount appears in the accounts as expenditure. 

The Grants team were very active and achieved success in obtaining grants to the total of £18695 to enable the Trust to change the way it worked. Youth sessions were run online and additional outreach services were delivered. These funds were spent under various project headings detailed in the accounts as Projects 6 through to 9 

Dorset Council provided a Grant of £6,100 to cover ongoing costs and activities for the first 6 months of the next financial year. 

**Expenditure in total** was in line with the budget but where the funds were spent was markedly different. 

The Salaries line was lower than budgeted as much of the actual salary cost was placed in the relevant Project lines. In addition, the CJRS income offset much of the cost. 

Premises expenditure was much reduced with Gas & Electricity £2,427 lower than budgeted, cleaning £4587 below budget and building and maintenance £3,294 less than had been budgeted.  All these reductions were due to the centre being closed. Supplies excluding projects was below budget by £6,552 for the same reason. 

It is important to note that expenditure on projects was £25,898 against income for those projects of £30,725. The difference is largely due to the £4,000 grant from the Foyle Foundation the terms of which allowed the Trust to use the funds for ongoing youth work sessions into the new financial year. This negated the need to spend the funds or hand them back as was the case with other grant monies awarded for our ongoing projects. 




## **Reserves Held** 

Having set aside a further £6,500 into reserves during the financial year, the total Reserves held are now standing at £16,500. 

These funds have been placed in various interest bearing accounts. The Trust currently holds £5,000 in a 120 day notice account with Hampshire Trust Bank (HTB) and a further £5,000 with HTB in a 1 year business bond. The sum of £6,500 is held with United Trust Bank (UTB) in a 1 year bond. 

The reserves are held for two primary purposes. First, to be able to meet major unanticipated building costs such as repairs to the roof and secondly in case of the need for the charity to cease its activities. In that situation the reserves will enable the charity to meet all outstanding financial obligations including redundancy costs. 

It is anticipated that extensive refurbishment work will be required in the next financial year as we re-open the Centre following the long closure due to Covid. 

## **Statement of the Charity as a going Concern** 

The Charity has achieved a surplus in its activities this year and is holding a strong level of Reserves to cover future emergencies. 

Sufficient funds are held both in the Bank Account and Reserves to sustain the Charity for a period of up to 3 years assuming the same level of support is received from Dorchester Town Council and our other regular sources of income/grants. The Grants Team have been very successful in obtaining grants to support our ongoing activities. 

It is important that the Trustees continue look to new sources of funding to ensure that DYCC is safe as a going concern for the future and in the meantime, costs need to be contained as far as possible. 

## **There are two key risks that the Charity faces:** 

- The first and the biggest risk is the future of the Charity if the funding from Dorchester Town Council were to stop. This would result in the need find significant funding from elsewhere and to look closely at the level of services that could be offered. 

- The second risk is the potential cost of redundancies. If services need to be reduced and staff made redundant, it is important that the Trustees understand the full implication of any costs in this respect. 

## **Summary** 

In summary, the Trust is in good financial order but will need to continue to apply for grants on an ongoing basis to ensure the position remains that way. 

Dave Harris – Treasurer. August 2021 



|**Dorchester Youth and Community Centre**|**Dorchester Youth and Community Centre**||
|---|---|---|
|**Income**|**BUDGET 2020-2021**|**Actual to date**<br>**at 15.05.21**|
|Dorchester Town Council|20,000|20,400.00|
|Lettings main hall and barn(stage)|5,000|880.00|
|Trainingroom lettings|0|0.00|
|Home-Start Rent|6,000|6,000.00|
|Home-Start Services Contribution|2,100|1,330.00|
|Bank Interest|0|63.54|
|HMRC JRS Grant|0|16,763.20|
|Members attendance fees|12,000|122.00|
|Shopsales|5,400|64.40|
|**Fund Raising**|||
|Car Boot Fund(WDDC)- Project 1(18/19)|0|0.00|
|WDDC Innovation fund|0|0.00|
|DYCC Car Park Income|700|250.00|
|100 CLUB|1,800|120.00|
|Anon - Significant Donor|0|0.00|
|OPEN DAY 05.10.19|0|0.00|
|Project 2 - NETWORK Jun 19 - Mar 20|1,600|0.00|
|Project 3 - PoundburyOutreach - 2019|0|0.00|
|Project 4 - WDDC - CBF - CookeryProject - Sep19|0|0.00|
|Project 5 - LANTERN - Dec 2019|0|0.00|
|Project 6 - Zoom & Online Networks|0|14,695.00|
|Project 7 - PoundburyOutreach - 2020|0|750.00|
|Project 8 - Dorchester Centre Outreach - 2020|0|3,000.00|
|Project 9 - Stratton Outreach - 2020|0|612.50|
|Project 10 - Low Carbon - New centre lights|0|6,841.04|
|Project 11 - Online(Dec 2020 onwards)|0|4,000.00|
|Project 12 - Shoebox Appeal|0|220.00|
|Project 13 - Piddlehinton Outreach|0|607.00|
|Rotary|1,000|1,000.00|
|Beerex|2,000||
|Year 10 +|200||
|COVID GRANTS|0|11,000.00|
|DONATIONS - OTHER|0|7,742.93|
||||
|**Total Income**|**57,800**|**96,461.61**|
|**Expenditure**<br>**Staff**|||
||||
|Centre Manager|14,750|10,858.10|
|Part time Youth Leaders In Charge|8,260|11,439.81|
|Part time Youth Workers|9,900|3,429.92|
|Administration|6,400|5,020.07|
|Caretaker/keyholder|0|0.00|
|Cleaner|0|0.00|





|PAYE(Tax/Emplyer NIC)|1,750|3,161.20|
|---|---|---|
|Pension|1,000|784.62|
|Training|500|60.00|
|Travel|50|0.00|
|Recruitment & DBS|750|153.00|
|**Premises**|**43,360**|**34,906.73**|
||||
|Electricity|3,000|1,143.15|
|Gas|1,500|930.32|
|Business Rates 80%reduction|0|0.00|
|Water|900|40.50|
|Contract Cleaning|5,250|663.50|
|Waste disposal|550|158.20|
|Buildingmaintenance|2,000|0.00|
|Fire Contract|180|305.40|
|Boiler Contract|270|308.40|
|Alarm Contract|1,000|300.00|
|Lift Contract & Repairs|225|842.22|
|Maintenance repairs & materials|1,500|205.58|
|Hygiene Contract|400|562.77|
|Grounds maintenence and trees|250|0.00|
|Buildings Insurance & Contents|1,600|2,262.76|
|Insurance - Other|0|0.00|
|**Supplies**|**18,625**|**7,722.80**|
||||
|Youth Club activities/craft|1,000|0.00|
|Phone Line Rental & Calls + Broadband|700|996.38|
|Internet connection|0|0.00|
|IT Licenses/Software and Equipment|50|71.61|
|Medical|50|0.00|
|Stationery, postage andprint|250|120.76|
|Furniture|0|0.00|
|YC Food and drink|1,000|0.00|
|Shopstock|2,500|0.00|
|Gifts|0|30.00|
|Payroll|400|585.00|
|Cleaningmaterials/supplies|50|288.00|
|Music and Licences(TV)|500|291.16|
|Legal support(Tenancy)|0|0.00|
|SurveyCosts|0|0.00|
|100 CLUB|960|0.00|
|Misc - DO NOT PUT ANY ITEMS TO MISC.|||
|Subscriptions|50|15.00|
|Car Boot Fund - Project 1(18/19)|0|0.00|
|Project 2 - NETWORKS - June 2019 - Mar 20|1,440|0.00|
|Project 3 - PoundburyOutreach - Jul 19|0|0.00|
|Project 4 - WDDC - CBF -  CookeryProject - Sep19|0|0.00|





|Project 5 - LANTERN - Dec 2019|0|0.00|
|---|---|---|
|OPEN DAY - 05.10.2019|0|0.00|
|Project 6 - Zoom & Online 2020|0|15,273.61|
|Project 7 - PoundburyOutreach 2020|0|472.07|
|Project 8 - Dorchester Town Outreach 2020|0|1,881.85|
|Project 9 - Stratton Outreach 2020|0|586.63|
|Project 10 - Low Carbon - New Centre Lights|0|6,841.04|
|Project 11 - Online(Dec 2020 onwards)|0|0.00|
|Project 12 - Shoebox Appeal|0|217.44|
|Project 13 - Piddlehinton Outreach|0|625.76|
|Building Maintenance Reserve Transfer<br>Equipment depreciation and replacement<br>**Total expenditure**|**8,950**|**28,296.31**|
||5,000<br>500|6,500.00|
||**76,435**|**77,425.84**|
|Annual Surplus|-18,635|19,035.77|





#REF!

CHARITY COMMISSION
FOR ENGLAND AND WALES
Independent examiner's
report on the accounts
Section A
Independent Examiner's Report
Rèport lo the trustee
members of
On accounts for the year
ended
31 rt4Acrf 1021
Charity no
Irf any)
11 &g701
Set out on pagos
I report to the trustees on my examination of tr￿ accounts of the above
charity llhe TNsfi for the y8ar ended
Responslbllttias and As the charity trustees of the Trust. YDU a￿ reSFon$lb￿ for Ihe preparation
ba$is of report crf th8 aC￿unts In accordance with the requirements of the Chariti&s Act
2011 llhe Acr).
I r8rN)rt in respe¢l of my examination of the Trust's accounls Carried oul
under section 145 of the 2011 Act and in carying out my examination, I
have follo4*d the app￿ICable Directions given by the Charity Commission
under section 145(5Xbl of the Act.
I have completed my examination. I confimi that no material matters have
come to my attention (other than that disdosed below") in connection with
the exarninalitm which gNes rne cause lo believe thal in. any material
respect:
accounting recxKds not kept in accordance with section 130 of
the Act or
the accounts do Th)t acC(￿d ￿1th the a(xounting records
Independent
oxaminer's Statement
I have no concems aThJ have come across no other matters in connection
with the &xaminalion to which attention shouhj be drawn in order to enable a
proper understsnding of the acwunls lo be reached.
. Please delet• the words in lh8 brackets rfthey do not apply.
Date:
Slgned:
2011
Name:
Ellis SIV4LLryA/
R¢levant professional
qualification(s) or body
(If any):
dro5$:
7 7 Tr7&nJe// Sk-rt4
0￿)()￿
IER
October 2018