**Trustees' Annual Report for the period** Period start date Period end date 6[th] April 2021 5th April 2022 **From** **To** ## Section A Reference and administration details **Charity name** Deep Roots Tall Trees **Other names charity is known by Registered charity number (if any)** 1169357 **Charity's principal address** 53 High Street DRTT Corby **Postcode NN17 1UU** ## **Names of the charity trustees who manage the charity** |1
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20|**Trustee name**|**Office (if any)**|**Dates acted if not for whole**
**year **|**Name of person (or body) entitled**
**to appoint trustee (ifany)**| |---|---|---|---|---| ||Mrs Bridget Margaret
Watts|||| ||Eddie Arthey|||| ||John Mellor|||| ||Diane Goldsmith|Chair||| |||||| |||||| |||||| |||||| |||||| |||||| |||||| |||||| |||||| |||||| |||||| |||||| |||||| |||||| |||||| |||||| **TAR** 1 **Names of the trustees for the charity, if any, (for example, any custodian trustees)** **Name Dates acted if not for whole year** ## **Names and addresses of advisers (Optional information)** **Type of adviser Name Address** **Name of chief executive or names of senior staff members (Optional information)** Neil Paris – Artistic Director **TAR** 2 ## **Section B Structure, governance and management** ## **Description of the charity’s trusts** Type of governing document Constitution (eg. trust deed, constitution) How the charity is constituted Charitable Incorporate Organisation (Foundation) (eg. trust, association, company) Trustee selection methods Appointed by Charity Trustees (eg. appointed by, elected by) ## **Additional governance issues (Optional information)** You **may choose** to include additional information, where relevant, about: - policies and procedures adopted for the induction and training of trustees; - the charity’s organisational structure and any wider network with which the charity works; - relationship with any related parties; - trustees’ consideration of major risks and the system and procedures to manage them. DRTT is governed by a board of trustees. Prospective trustees are identified on a rolling basis by the Board and matched against the findings of an annual Board skills audit. They are initially approached by the Chair, a trustee or The Artistic Director who discusses with them the work and aims of the trust and requests that they join a board meeting as an observer. Following a satisfactory outcome, the prospective trustee is formally approached in writing by the Chair. The new trustee is then given an induction pack which includes information on the role and responsibilities of trustees, terms of appointment of trustees, a copy of the latest annual report and accounts, a copy of the current artistic plan, as well as policies including equal opportunities, child protection and vulnerable adults protection and health and safety policies. All trustees are offered places on relevant training courses as and when appropriate. The trustees have a risk management strategy which comprises: - an annual review of the risks the organisation may face; - the establishment of systems and procedures to mitigate those risks identified in the plan; - the implementation of procedures designed to minimise any potential impact on the organisation should those risks materialise. The work has identified several risks related to ongoing changes in the prevailing funding environment in particular regarding the acquisition of funding through local grant schemes, National Lottery funded schemes, and charitable trusts and foundations. A key element in the management of financial risk is the setting of a reserves policy and its regular review by trustees. **TAR** 3 ## **Section C Objectives and activities** The objects of DRTT are as follows: **Summary of the objects of the charity set out in its governing document** - To advance the arts, culture and heritage for the benefit of the public, particularly but not exclusively, by promoting and facilitating access to and performances of music and other art forms; and - To provide for the recreation of people of all ages in Northamptonshire and elsewhere for the benefit of the public by providing facilities and services to them in the interests of social welfare with the object of improving their conditions of life; and - To advance education within the framework of music and arts for the benefit of the public of Northamptonshire and elsewhere. The Trustees of the Charitable Incorporated Organisation have complied with their duty to have due regard to the guidance on Public Benefit published by the Charity Commission in exercising their powers and duties. The activities undertaken to further DRTT’s purpose for the Public Benefit consist of arts and arts education projects, performances and events, providing opportunities for our beneficiaries to collaborate with professional musicians and artists of the highest calibre. **Summary of the main activities undertaken for the public benefit in relation to these objects (include within this section the statutory declaration that trustees have had regard to the guidance issued by the Charity Commission on public benefit)** Our regular core activity is a community choir and a dancetheatre group whose membership consists of people living in the local area and beyond. The choir focusses on writing, arranging, rehearsing and performing songs alongside local amateur and professional musicians under the direction of our Music Director. The song repertoire comprises almost entirely of original songs and we support our beneficiaries in taking an active part in the songwriting process. The dancetheatre group works with our Artistic Director in a similar fashion to create new bespoke pieces of work. We run workshops and events based around singing and songwriting, dance and movement and related activities. These are offered out to the people in the choir and dancetheatre groups, the general public, and other organisations including local community groups and clubs and schools and colleges. We also organise special music and arts projects that are larger in scale than our core activity. These include further opportunities for beneficiaries to collaborate with professional musicians and artists as well as offering: - music and arts education workshops for the local community - performances and arts events incorporating the work of other artists working across a range of different genres and forms in collaboration with the choir, our Artistic Director and Music Director; - performance events open to the general public. **TAR** 4 ## **Additional details of objectives and activities (Optional information)** You **may choose** to include further statements, where relevant, about: - policy on grantmaking; - policy programme related investment; - contribution made by volunteers. Beneficiaries involved in our core activities (e.g. choir and dancetheatre groups) are also active as volunteers throughout the year supporting the operation of DRTT both in our regular activity as well as public events. The choir has a small steering group consisting of members of the choir. Their role is to feedback opinions and ideas from the choir to management as to the running of the choir and other activities, feed ideas into and support the artistic planning of the organisation, as well as devise and run social activities for the choir on an occasional basis. **TAR** 5 ## Section D Achievements and erformance p ## **Summary of the main achievements of the charity during the year** **Deep Roots Tall Trees provides accessible arts and cultural activities for the people of Corby and surrounding areas. We empower participants to explore their creativity as a means through which to express themselves, develop new skills, and raise aspirations.** Based in the town of Corby, Northamptonshire, the organisation was set up in 2012 (first as an unincorporated association and then, in 2016, as a registered charity) as a response to the significant post-industrial social and economic changes the town was undergoing. Working alongside professional artists, our singers, musicians and dancers create and perform their own songs and choreographies. Over the past 9 years, they have worked with the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra and Sinfonia Viva, performed for the Queen, sung in Gaelic, Polish and Latvian, and performed in a football stadium, a theatre, an art gallery, in Corby’s urban woodlands, and on film. By enriching people’s lives through arts and culture, our work impacts on personal and social health and well-being, creates stronger communities, and builds a brighter and more fulfilling future for our beneficiaries. Our vision for Deep Roots Tall Trees is to expand its offering of arts and cultural activities to all sectors of the local community as well as further afield, empowering individuals and partner organisations to achieve personal growth and societal change. In response to the many difficulties local people face, we offer a programme of aspirational arts activities: - **Deep Roots Tall Trees Choir** and **Deep Roots Tall Trees Dancetheatre** - inclusive, open-access groups for adults that enable individuals to express themselves and their ideas through song, music, and dance. - **Ring of Fire** - a song-writing collective which writes songs and music drawing on the stories and life experiences of people in Corby for the choir to sing and perform. - **Cultural Steering Group** - consisting of representatives from the above groups and the town’s migrant communities. It is currently exploring how we can best bring Corby’s diverse communities together to collaborate on delivering a cultural celebration event in 2021. - **Corby Future Voices** - a singing and music production project for young people living on the Kingswood Estate, one of the most deprived and economically depressed wards of the town. During 2021-2022, the organisation was run by: - Neil Paris - Artistic Director and Dancetheatre Director - Simon Steptoe - General Manager - Gareth Fuller - Choir Director - Judy Caine - Project Coordinator **TAR** 6 ## **Regular sessions** Throughout the period both choir and dancetheatre continued their regular sessions, moving to a blended live and online offer. With the lifting of Covid 19 restrictions in June 2021, both choir and dancetheatre returned to live inperson sessions, initially observing the Rule of Six and retaining precautions such as hand sanitising and mask-wearing where required. Those who did not feel ready to return to a fully live rehearsal situation were able to take part online. ## **Doorstep Delight** Our online project with orchestral organisation Sinfonia Viva (SV) was completed and released online via social media channels. An original song, composed in collaboration with SV musicians and Pete Letanka and recorded online at home by choir members, the film included members of DRTT dancetheatre and was Song-signed in British Sign Language by Fletch@. ## **DRTT Lockdown EP** Following on from the ‘Doorstep Delight’ project with Sinfonia Viva, the choir continued the process of recording themselves at home on their mobile devices and produced the ‘Lockdown EP’. Consisting of 7 new songs written by our songwriting group Ring of Fire in collaboration with local musicians and with vocal arrangements and production by Gareth Fuller, this is DRTT’s first commercially available recording and can be purchased on Spotify and Apple Music. **TAR** 7 ## **Into The Wild** During the Easter holidays, we provided an online, cross-arts project for primary-aged children. The project used music, songwriting, visual arts and crafting to explore the nature and wildlife to be found around Corby. A new venture for the organisation this was somewhat of an experiment and was very successfully led by musician and visual artist Kate Stilitz and DRTT Music Director Gareth Fuller. The young people involved provided song ideas, lyrics, melodies and artwork which resulted in an original song arranged by Gareth and Kate and a stop-motion animation film. ## **Ocean Odyssey** Following the success of Into The Wild, we offered a further online opportunity for young people. Run again by Gareth and Kate this project focussed on life beneath the sea off the North Norfolk coast. In a development to Into The Wild we delivered a box of art materials and equipment to each child with which they could create their own underwater seascape under Kate’s guidance. They spent time working with Gareth to learn a new song written and arranged by Kate and Gareth and devised movement to go along with it. Their parents filmed them performing the song alongside their artwork and these along with still photos and screenshots were edite d into a film. **Beyond Corby: A Cultural Celebration** Originally planned for June 2020 this event took place on Sunday 26th September, 6:00pm at The Core at Corby Cube. Our first live event since March 2020 it was linked to the theme of harvest and featured performances from Corby’s Scottish, English, Latvian and Polish communities. Both DRTT Choir and DRTT Dancetheatre contributed performances that showcased their own unique approach to song, music, and dance. Northamptonshire artist Jo Blake was commissioned to write and record a bespoke story based on an original Latvian folk tale which was incorporated into the dancetheatre performance. Food from the different cultures was provided by a local cafe owner which was distributed individually **TAR** 8 to audience members in order to respect concerns around social distancing, d into a film. The event was very successful, attracting a diverse audience of different ages and nationalities. The combination of different nationalities and cultures had been a decisive factor in attracting people to the event, some of whom had never been to see a performance at The Core before. ## **Screendance project** Working with local community interest company HD Media and their young trainees, and in collaboration with Northamptonshire storyteller and dancer Jo Blake, DRTT dancetheatre created an original screendance. Shot on location at National Trust Lyvden, Northamptonshire and in The Core at Corby Cube the film was an extension of the choreography made for Beyond Corby: A Cultural Celebration and included Jo Blake performing the text she wrote for the event. The dances were choreographed by the dancers themselves and DRTT Dancetheatre director Neil Paris. The film was directed by Paul Balmer of HD Media. **Orchestral Collaboration with Sinfonia Viva: Phase 2 ‘One Step at a Time’** In March 2022 we began a second project with orchestral organisation Sinfonia Viva. This began with all-day songwriting workshops which took place in Corby and involved the whole choir and a composer and musicians from Sinfonia Viva. The resulting song ideas will continue to be developed and worked on by DRTT and SV and recorded live in Corby later in the spring. **TAR** 9 ## **Corby Future Voices** Paused since March 2020, DRTT resumed working with vulnerable young people on Corby’s Kingswood estate. The effects of lockdown on young people living on the estate had been profound and the youth club leaders felt a change of direction was needed in order to maintain engagement with the increased numbers attending the youth club. In consultation with the young people and youth leaders we changed our approach from a group songwriting model to providing instruments, equipment and guidance which would allow the young people to express themselves and make their own music. Alongside this we employed a young man who grew up on the estate and had been involved in working with young people and creating his own music for some years. It was felt he would be more relatable to the young people we were working with and indeed knew many of the young people and their families personally. Investing in this young man is now a key element of the project, equipping him with the skills, confidence and experience which will help him evolve into an independent community music leader. This work has been challenging and we have been on a steep learning curve but are making progress. Our light-touch approach is allowing young people to explore sound and music in a non-judgmental environment and giving some of them access to instruments and equipment for the first time. ## **Lyrical Lockdown** We supported The Core @ Corby Cube by covering a funding shortfall and negotiating the release of funding from our own Youth Music budget to fund a musician to co-lead their summer music activity. ## **Corby Arts Podcast DT** DRTT Dancetheatre dancers were filmed and interviewed alongside dancetheatre Director Neil Paris by HD Media’s young trainees for HD Media’s Corby Arts Podcast which was broadcast on Corby Radio and social media channels. ## **DRTT Repertoire day for 10yr concert** In preparation for their 10yr Celebration Concert in October 2022 the choir came together to review their past repertoire and begin selecting the songs to be included in the concert. This social event was well attended and gave people a valuable opportunity to reminisce, celebrate and reassess the work they had created over the decade and to have a vital input into the set list for the event. ## **Kettering Arts Day March 22** Choir Director Gareth Fuller and members of the choir held workshops as part of Kettering Arts Centre’s ‘Come and Try’ day. The workshop resulted in recruiting a new member to the choir and laid the foundation for a future partnership with KAC. **TAR** 10 ## **Carol Concert at PHP Care Home** The choir gave an informal Christmas carol concert at a new care home which had recently opened at Priors Hall Park, Corby where the choir hold their weekly rehearsals. ## **ORGANISATIONAL DEVELOPMENT** ## **Arts Consultancy** Working with Morgan Ballantyne of Ballantyne Carmichael and Alison King of Turtle Key Arts we mapped out the next stages of development for DRTT. Morag worked with the artistic and management team of Neil Paris, Simon Steptoe and Gareth Fuller on the overall vision for the organisation and Alison King worked specifically with Neil Paris on his own artistic vision. Morag Ballantyne also consulted with the Board of Trustees, our participants and current partner organisations. The consultancy process proved invaluable; it increased confidence across the artistic team, established a clearer artistic vision, restructured the artistic and management team, set a framework for the next Project Grant application to Arts Council England and a business model that aimed to take the organisation forward for the next 10 years. ## **GOVERNANCE AND MANAGEMENT** The Board of Trustees for the year ending 5[th] April 2022 were: Chair: Diane Goldsmith Trustee: Eddie Arthey Trustee: John Mellor Trustee: Bridget Watts Quarterly board meetings were held in person during the period. ## **Steering Group** Deep Roots Tall Trees Steering Group is made up of four members of the choir, dancetheatre and songwriting groups, the Artistic Director and General Manager. It met 3 times during the period. Day to day and overall project management was undertaken by the Artistic Director and the General Manager. ## **PARTICIPATION AND AUDIENCE** During this period, across all activities, DRTT worked with approximately 160 participants and reached a combined audience of over 40,000. This figure includes live performances, views on online via social media platforms and website visits. ## **FINANCE AND FUNDRAISING** DRTT received a grant of £36,345 from the second round of the Government’s Culture Recovery Fund and a grant of £4,990 from The Compton Fund via Northamptonshire Community Foundation. These grants supported our online delivery, helped Deep Roots Tall Trees make the transition back to face-to-face activity, brought the artistic and administrative team back up to full capacity and provided additional training for the choir and dancetheatre group to prepare them for a return to live performance. It also enabled DRTT to invest in its future through the Arts Consultancy and to reflate its reserves in line with Arts Council England recommendations. **TAR** 11 ## **INVOLVEMENT IN THE WIDER ARTS NETWORK** Throughout the year the Artistic Director has maintained relationships with strategic local partners as a member of the Corby Cultural Forum. This was formed of a group of long-standing, established arts organisations in Corby in order to develop a response and strategy to represent arts and culture in the town as the local borough council was dissolved into North Northamptonshire Council, one of two new unitary councils for Northamptonshire. He also attended online conferences and seminars with the Foundation for Community Dance, MAP Consortium and Northamptonshire Music and Performing Arts Trust. Outside of DRTT the Artistic Director continued to run his own online and inperson workshops in the UK and Europe. The General Manger continued his work as Musical Inclusion Partnership and Programme Manager for Northamptonshire Music and Performing Arts Trust. Choir Director Gareth Fuller continued to lead other choirs across the country and direct Northants Sings Out, a massed choir event in Northampton. **TAR** 12 ## **Section E Financial review** ## **Brief statement of the** ## **charity’s policy on reserves** The trustees have reviewed the organisation's needs to generate free reserves in accordance with Charity Commission’s guidance. In the Trustees’ view, DRTT needs free reserves in order to: - Ensure that funds are available to safeguard the organisation for the benefit of the local people accessing our services (i.e. our beneficiaries); - Ensure there is sufficient cash during the high spending periods of the projects enabling DRTT to meet its short-term financial liabilities as they fall due; - Provide the financial resources to enable investment in resources (e.g. premises, facilities, staff, equipment, documentation etc.) to enhance the range of services DRTT provides to its beneficiaries; - Maintain sufficient funds to enable operational activities to be maintained, taking account of potential financial risks, uncertainties and contingencies that may arise from time to time. In light of the above, the trustees aim to maintain a target level of free reserves equal to three months of administrative and management costs. In 2021/22 this would have equated to £9,000. The level of free reserves at the end of 2021/22 is £2788. However, provision was made within the Arts Council England Cultural Recovery Fund (CRF) grant to reflate reserves. The reconciliation of the final position on the CRF grant will be undertaken during the financial year 2022/23. Our current projection is that this will bring free reserves up to around £8,500 and thus in line with the Trustees’ target levels. **Details of any funds materially in deficit** N/A ## **Further financial review details (Optional information)** You **may choose** to include additional information, where relevant about: - the charity’s principal sources of funds (including any fundraising); - how expenditure has supported the key objectives of the charity; - investment policy and objectives including any ethical investment policy adopted. A) Funding Sources: DRTT’s principal sources are: i) Subscriptions from our beneficiaries attending our regular core activities. This currently includes both the choir and the dancetheatre group. Trustees reserve the right to waive such fees for those individuals on benefits or who can demonstrate low levels of income or other form of economic disadvantage. ii) Grants from a range of sources including: - National Lottery funded sources; - Locally managed grants schemes through bodies such as Northamptonshire Community Foundation and local government departments; - Charitable trusts and foundations. iii) Donations from individuals **TAR** 13 ## B) Fund Accounting: General funds are unrestricted funds which are available for use at the discretion of the Trustees in furtherance of the general objectives of the Charitable Incorporated Organisation and which have not been designated for other purposes. Designated funds comprise unrestricted funds that have been set aside by the Trustees for particular purposes. DRTT does not currently hold any designated funds. Restricted funds are funds which are to be used in accordance with specific restrictions imposed by donors or which have been raised by the CIO for particular purposes. As of 5[th] April 2022, DRTT held the following restricted funds: ‘Beyond Corby’ - £25,257, ‘Corby Future Voices’ (Youth Music Fund A project) - £ 7,221, Cultural Recovery Fund - £19,369. ## C) Going Concern Issues At the time of writing, the Trustees are confident that DRTT remains a going concern until March 2024. Funding from Arts Council England, Northamptonshire Community Foundation, National Lottery Community Fund, Corby Borough Council, the Austin and Hope Pilkington Trust, and Youth Music, are continuing to support our two major projects, ‘Beyond Corby’ and ‘Future Voices’, although much of the planned activity associated with these initiatives have been delayed and the terms of grants extended accordingly due to the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic and the two main periods of lockdown. This funding acquired covers core and marginal costs and provides a firm foundation for operation over the coming period. **TAR** 14 Section F Other optional information Section G Declaration The trustees declare that they have approved the trustees, Ipport above. Signed on behalf of the charity's trustoes Signa￿re(S) Full namels) Positlon (eg Secretary* Chalr. Diane smith CHAIR DE[ IQX Z022 TAR 15 CHARITY COMMISSION FOR ENGLAND AND WALES 116835T Receipts and payments accounts CC16a To Section A Receipts and payments Unr85trictad fuThJ• R45trictad fvnd• Tthal fund¥ L••t y••r A1 Recel 47 66A12 tkJll*Jns and GdtAvJ Bonk Intsmt 132 Sub total (Gross i1￿orne for ARJ 7,1 180• tsbl•l. Sub ¢0 Tot•1 nralpts 47.726 57.180 A3P* 78.95$ J4.974 Co¥1 ol Fundw Sub tst 14,919 A4 Amet •NI Inv••lrnert purcha••*, I￿• tsbl•l Sub totsl 84,919 41.274 Ilet of ro¢elp￿(paym￿tsj . AS Tr•Mfern bet*wn fund• A6 Ca•h fund8 la8t y•*r •nd 182 37.193 37.376 16.906 2,970 1788 92,010 54.636 76.104 92.010 51.847 CCXX R1 ISS) 3111(V21)22 Section B Statement of assets and liabilities at the end of the period UnrgSth¢t R￿trICted Endoiwmont 4nblmt£ t• r￿￿1£ B1 CMh fun 37276 Totsl cash funds 1788 S1.847 to C¥vr•fflHIu• C(¥t{opkn* CurTrnttrnlu• B4 Awts r•taln•d for the Gharlty'l own u•e Amtyjiiid B6 Llabllltlo• Priit Nam• Cqte of roval K(l-*Hc ILILL CCXX P2 ISS) 51110120 CHARITY COMMISSION FOR ENGLAND AND WALES Independent examinerfs report on the accounts Sectlon A Report to the tru•t•ul memb•rn of Deep Roots Tall Trn88 On accounts for th• y••r •nd•d 5thAwll 2022 1169357 (If any) Sot out on p•ge• I rwl to the tnA8tee8 on my examinalion ofth8 Of1￿ above tharity ftho Tr￿) for the year erthj R•spon8lbllltl•• and ba•h of r•port As th• ¢honV¥ truslges. you are responsible for preparation of tho accounts in s￿Ord*ne￿ tho rnqLNrnnwnts of tho Charitig#A¢a 2011 IY I rewt In re8r*rt of my examination of tr* Tnmt's accounts Carri￿ out ler secaion 145 of the 2011 Ara and in ￿rying Out my examination. I have followed all ts a￿lCab￿ Directions given by thè Charty Commission under 88ciion 145151{bl of thèAct. Independent I have ￿ME4818d my eXamNWtv￿. I confim that no malerial matters hav• examlnerf8 Statsmont come to my attenlion in c￿lIe¢￿'0n th8 exomination {other than that disclosed bel¢yw"I gives me cause to bolievg that In, any malenol It* accountiry record8 not kept in a(WTdanc¥ ¥Ath Section 130 of the Charities Act.. or the accounls dKI not actord wrth the accounting recorf5", or the a¢wunls did not ￿mplY wrth the appIl￿ble Tequirements conceming the form aThJ content of accounts Sel out in the Charities lAC￿￿nts aTrJ Reports) Regulations 2CQ8 other than any requirement that the accounts give a and fair, which is not • matter conside￿d as part of an irhlependent examinalion. I have no ¢onom8 aThJ have ￿me across no other matter5 in connection th the examination lo which attention shoukl be drnwn in this ￿port in oTd8r to enaLqo a PrOF￿ underslanding of the ac¢xunts to be rea¢l*d. s￿￿ed. IER Oct 2018 ?0& Rel￿•nt professional qualificatlanl$l or body Ilf any): fcA Addr￿. JLST L IqL Section B Disclosure Only complete il the examiner needs lo highlight material matters ol concem (see CC32, Ir¥Jependent examinobon of ¢haiity accounts.. dire(*"ons •nd gwdance for examirwsl. IER Oct 2018