**Minutes of the Annual General Meeting of Purple Warriors (The Charity”)** on Google Meet at 8pm on 8 January 2024. **Present** : Gary Cruwys, Natasza Telfer, Glyn Own Barrell, Bernard Broadhurst, Andy Hodgetts, Wendy Ann Baker, Jez Ryan ## **In Attendance** : - Non-member Trustees: Peter Li (Chair), Charles Ryder, Jennifer Henderson, Daniel Windsor, - Secretary: Sarah McBride - Associate members: Amanda Taylor Broadhurst, Nicola Winskill-Hales, Sutton Yeung ## **Apologies were noted from:** ## Paul Cutmore (Coach) Mr. Peter Li (Chairman of Purple Warriors) opened the meeting and welcomed all to the meeting. Peter Li took the attendees through the business of the meeting and noted that: - A quorum was present in accordance with regulation 11.5.(b) of the Constitution and the meeting could proceed to business. - Notices to convene the meeting were duly served to all members of the Charity with the accompanying Trustee report and Treasurer Report. It was proposed that the two reports be taken as read and all members present at the meeting consent to the reports as read. ## **CHAIRMAN’S REPORT** ## **Trustees’ Annual Report** ## **1 January 2023 – 31 December 2023** ## **Section A - Reference, Governance and Administration Details** Charity name: Purple Warriors Registered charity number: 1169153 Registered office: 132A College Road Bromley, Kent BR1 3PF Charity Trustees: Peter Li (Trustee from 19/10/19, Chairman from 01/07/22) Jennifer Henderson (from 23/09/17) Charles Ryder (from 03/02/22) Dan Windsor (from 19/10/19) Bernard Broadhurst (from 19/10/19) Natasza Telfer (from 01/09/22) Admin Committee: Natasza Telfer (Committee Chair) Sutton Yeung Linda Tucker Glyn Barrell Paul Cutmore Sarah McBride Craig Winskill-Hales Nicki Winskill-Hales Bank: Santander, Bridle Road, Bootle, L30 4GB Type of charity: Charitable Incorporated Organisation (CIO) Trustee selection: 2 trustees were elected by members during our AGM on 8[th] January 2024, from existing trustees. Contribution by volunteers: Purple Warriors has no remunerated posts. The Trustees wish to particularly acknowledge the contribution of: - Natasza Telfer – Chair of Management Committee - Sarah McBride – Secretary - Clubs who supported us this year, including Pershore Dragons, Bradford Barracudas, Manchester DBC & Raging Dragons ## **Section B - Charity Object and Activities** Object per constitution: _For the public benefit, the preservation and protection of the physical and mental health of serving and retired members of HM Forces who have some form of physical or psychological impairment because of their service by providing and assisting in the provision of opportunities to take part in the sport of dragon boating._ ## **Main activities undertaken in support of the Charity Objects** The opportunities available to take part in the sport of dragon boating cover three distinct areas: 1. Training Sessions 2. Racing Events 3. Social Events & Support Systems As of 14 December 23, Purple Warriors has **30 full** members and **22 associate** members. Full Members are veterans and pay no fee, Associates are friends and supporters who pay a small associate fee. ## **Training Sessions** - a. Centralised training sessions are organised about once a month and last for a full day. They are held primarily at Arden Lake supported by Pershore Dragonboat Racing Club, but we have also used facilities at Henley and Wath-on-Dearne. These sessions are available to both full members and associate members and those wishing to give both the sport and the Club a go with a view to joining the club as either an associate or full member. Members are encouraged to attend as many training sessions as they can, and the coaches provide a mix of classroom theory and on-water training. ## **Racing Events** - a. Purple Warriors is a full member of the British Dragon Boat Racing Association (“BDA”) and takes part in its racing events around the country. - b. Purple Warriors also participates in charity race events in the UK and in international events. - c. Purple Warriors has not competed in many race events in 2023, however the Warriors did compete at the BDA National Finals and achieved great results with some help from friends from Bradford Barracudas, Raging Dragons, Manchester Dragoneers and Henley DBC. ## **Social Events & Support Systems** - a. A key element of the charity and our objectives is to provide a team ethos and safe environment for our members. It is important that we do not overlook the social events and support systems that are in place to help foster this. - b. After training sessions, we always try to provide a meal for members and families; these are generally well attended and allow members the opportunity to relax and socialise. In August we held a Purple Warriors family day, which was hosted by Pershore Phoenix Dragon boat club and was attended by members and their families, as well as local residents. - c. We appoint team captains who are responsible for making sure everyone has what they need during events and are available for members if needed. - d. A buddy system is in place for members and potential members who have expressed an interest in joining the club to ensure they are given full information and feel secure about joining a training session. - e. We also organise online social events for the full members, associate members, and members’ families, including a quiz night and a Christmas festive get together. To date we have undertaken numerous email campaigns to raise the visibility and awareness of Purple Warriors and will continue with this activity to help introduce new members into the sport and into the club. We also use Facebook extensively and have a large following on this platform. During the 2023 year the Management Committee and the Trustees focused on five key areas: 1. Retention & Support 2. Fundraising 3. Refocussing our efforts in new referral pathways 4. Governance 5. Marketing ## **Retention/Support** Purple Warriors is a membership organisation and as such we will always have fluctuations in our membership. This is no different to any other membership organisation and any other Dragonboat club who always go through peaks and troughs in membership levels. This year has been a tough year, with many clubs losing members and the BDA membership is down overall. As we want to support as many people as we can, maintaining our membership and how we can help people who are members is critical. ## **Fundraising** Charities have been hit very hard over the past few years. Fundraising is always a constant challenge for any charity, and we are very lucky that we have support already and a healthy bank balance that has been built up over the past few years and with limited operational costs. However, this is something that needs to be continued and ideas. We do have access to a Give As You Live system where we can use graphics and links for people to use to donate money and we are now registered for Facebook (and other) donations via the PayPal Giving Fund, JustGiving and Benevity platforms. As we know, Purple Warriors members are very resilient, and we have yet again gone through another difficult year with our core members and due in part to the bond and strong relationships created as a team. We would like to acknowledge two very successful fundraising events in 2023, the efforts of Sutton Yeung and ROCC who raised funds for us during their Guiness World Record paddle and Natasza Telfer for leading the activities of the Purple Warriors Family Fun Day. ## **Referral Pathways** In the last few months, the trustees have been busy working on our future strategy and fundraising and partnerships as well as how to grow and develop the club and reach new potential beneficiaries. We are in the process of registering with several forces’ frameworks, including Sporting Force, Veteran’s Gateway and COBSEO to increase our reach and membership. We have been relatively successful with partnership conversations with ASDIC, Combat Stress. ## **Governance** The Board of Trustees manage and control the charity. We set the strategy for the charity and are responsible for ensuring the charity is compliant and the resources are used effectively, and only in pursuit of the charity’s objects. We review risk and governance structures on a regular basis and ensure financial surety for the efficient operation of the charity. The Trustees are supported by the Management Committee who support the Trustees with the operations of the charity as delegated to them by the Board of Trustees. To support our desire to raise and shift the profile of the charity we are currently undertaking a review of our governance structure and building new policies that bring us into line with similar organisation to ensure compliance and deliver the best service to our beneficiaries and stakeholders. ## **Marketing** We were honored to have two pivotal members recognized and nominated for the Soldiering on Awards and ecstatic that Glyn Barrell won his category for Sporting Excellence. ## **Section C - Key External Relationships** Purple Warriors has developed ongoing relationships with a range of individuals and organisation. Worthy of special mention: **Immaculate** Immaculate has provided a significant amount of _pro bono_ support to Purple Warriors. It is responsible for our branding, our web presence, design of our clothing, and for ‘back office’ IT support to our social media and email. **Race The Dragon** Race the Dragon is a corporate company who organise charity dragon boat races throughout the country. They support Purple Warriors with reduced/free entry into certain races in the year and raised awareness of the charity during the day to visitors of the events. **Partners** We wish to call out initiatives started with ASDIC, BLESMA & St Neots DBT. ## **Section D – Financial Review** Treasurer: The role of Treasurer throughout the period covered by this report has been undertaken by Sutton Yeung. He is authorised to expend monies up to £250 at his own discretion; purchases over £250 require the approval of Peter Li (Chairman). Policy on reserves: As at 10 Dec 2022, Purple Warriors held **£16,514** cash at the bank of which **£3,403** were restricted funds (mainly for hardship support). The Trustees have determined that £3,000 is to be maintained as a financial reserve. Additional information: The main source of funds has been: Associate Membership fees Donations (for unrestricted club use) Sponsorship Hardship support (restricted) Fundraising as highlighted above ## **Section E – Declaration** **The Trustees declare that they have approved the Trustees’ report above.** Signed on behalf of the charity’s trustees: Signature: _Peter Li_ Full Name: Peter Li Position: Chairman Date: 16/12/2023 ## **FINANCIAL ACCOUNTS:** Treasurer’s Report – Financial year April 2022 to March 2023 ## **Background** The year from April 2022 to March 2023 was a marked contrast to the previous year, with life moving closer to the normality seen pre-covid. This meant that the Purple Warriors family was able to meet unencumbered by requirements such as social distancing, and as frequently as meetings could be organised. As a result, the key objective of Purple Warriors – to enable members to meet, get together and provide mutual support could at last be fulfilled. The Committee continues to assess the risks associated with running events, as a number of the Purple Warriors family are clinically vulnerable but the frequency of meetings grew during the year, compared to the previous year. Our thanks go to those who organised those meetings, including Linda, Tash and Glyn, and to the clubs who hosted us, including Pershore Phoenix Dragonboat Club. The events situation for 2024 looks bright, with Jez putting a number of potential meets into the calendar. He is undertaking solid work in turning those potential dates into reality. We look forward to seeing all of you in 2024. ## **Finances** We started the financial year on 5 April 2022 with £21,900 and ended the year with £16,514. The significant majority of the expenditure for the year was on hardship (£4,046) incurred as a result of the increased number of meetings. A further £957 was incurred on administration of the charity, with most of this primarily comprising BDA club membership, Directors insurance, accountants and CRM fees. Donations during the year were minimal. Purple Warriors however had significant fund raising activity during April 2023 onwards and this activity will be seen in the 2023/ 24 accounts. Aims audited our accounts in September and signed them off with no issues raised. The final accounts are shown below for review and sign off by the Trustees. Appendix 1: Final accounts - Sect A - CC16a **1169153** ## **Purple Warriors** ## **Receipts and payments accounts** For the period from **5 April 2022** to **4 April 2023** |**Section A Receipts and payments**|**Section A Receipts and payments**|**Section A Receipts and payments**|||**Total funds**
**to the**
**nearest £**
**200**
**10**
**32**
**140**
**0**
**0**
**382**
-
**-**
**382**
**957**
**665**
**100**
**4,046**
**0**
**0**
**5,768**



**5,768**
**-5,386**
**-**
**21,900**
**16,514**|**Last year**
**to the nearest**
**£**| |---|---|---|---|---|---|---| ||**Unrestricted**
**funds**
**to the nearest**
**£**||**Restricted**
**funds**
**to the nearest**
**£**|||| |**A1 Receipts**||||||| |Membershipfees|**200**||**-**||**200**|**184**| |Donations|**10**||**-**||**10**|**1,252**| |Training& Race fees|**32**||**-**||**32**|**610**| |Sale of merchandise|**140**||**-**||**140**|**48**| |Hardship|**-**||**-**||**0**|**0**| |Other receipts|**-**||**-**||**0**|**0**| |**_Sub total_**||||||**2,094**| |||||||| |**A2 Asset and investment sales**|-|||||-| |**_Total receipts_**||||||| |||||||**2,094**| |||||||| |**A3 Payments**||||||| |Administration|**957**||**-**||**957**|**972**| |Training& race events|**665**||**-**||**665**|**140**| |Marketing|**100**||**-**||**100**|**6**| |Hardship|**4,046**||**-**||**4,046**|**603**| |Purchase of merchandise|**-**||**-**||**0**|**0**| |Otherpayments|**-**||**-**||**0**|**-**| |**_Sub total_**||||||**1,721**| |||||||| |**A4 Asset and investment**
**purchases**||||||| |Trainingand race equipment|**-**|||||| |Office equipment|**-**|||||| |**_Sub total_**
**_Total payments_**
**_Net of receipts/(payments)_**||||||| |**A5 Transfers between funds**|**-**|||||| |**A6 Cash funds last year end**|**18,497**|||||| |**_Cash funds this year end_**||||||| Appendix 2: Final accounts- Sect B - CC16a CC16• Purple Wa￿lorS 1169153 Recelpts and payments accounts '.4• Dencllj frorp 6 Apnl 2022,, . 4 A•nl 202J S•¢tion B Ststoment of ass•ts and liabiliti•$ at th• •nd of th riod Caieqorms t*5rri¢th funa) iArf¢ 81 C15h funds Cw ii.joz f&YQb G¥kn B2 Olh¢r rnon•tary ass•ts BJ Inv*Slrnvrtt assets B4 Ass•ts r•t•ln•d tor Ir.Lr Jryy 1371 85 LlauiliJ¢S Dak ￿ awrovai NfiTAS£fy TELfre orloi l 14 GEI.,114 ## **THE FOLLOWING RESOLUTIONS WERE RESOLVED:** 1. To re-appoint Peter Li who has retired by rotation and is eligible for reappointment in accordance with clause 13 of the Constitution 2. To re-appoint Bernard Broadhurst who has retired by rotation and is eligible for reappointment in accordance with clause 13 of the Constitution ## **AWARDS:** With the formal part of the meeting complete The Chairman asked Nicki Winskill-Hales to present the Outstanding Contribution awards to the following: - To Sarah McBride – for her work on governance and policies, laying the groundwork for the development of the charity - Natasza also said the Management Committee Chairman’s award was granted to Glyn Barrell for his impressive contribution to various aspects of the charity, making himself available to support various activities. - We will also issue a letter of thanks to Pershore Dragon Boat Club for their ongoing support for the charity. Peter Li then gave thanks to his fellow Trustees, the Management Committee and all members for their ongoing support. There being no other business, the Chairman declared the meeting closed at 8.35 pm.