ILMINSTER LITERARY FESTIVAL
ANNUAL GENERAL MEETING
25[th] FEBRUARY 2025
CHAIRMAN'S REPORT
We are delighted to report that the eighth Ilminster Literary Festival in 2024 undoubtedly surpassed all its predecessors. Our speakers excelled themselves - as usual - and the feedback from audience members who had enjoyed their performances was more enthusiastic than ever. We are pleased that our audiences seemed to have overcome their reluctance to venture out after Covid, and attendance figures continued to improve, with several sell-out events. We also seemed to have attracted a few younger audience members, who slept quietly in their mother’s arms throughout the proceedings. At one event, the oldest member of the audience was over 100 years older than the youngest!
Over the calendar year we achieved a surplus of £1485 in 2024, which compares with £2435 in 2023. Our finances remain strong, and we are able to plan the 2025 Festival in the knowledge that we have sufficient reserves to meet any unforeseen contingencies.
During the year we continued developing our relationship with The Ilminster Entertainments Society (The Warehouse Theatre) and Ilminster Arts Centre (The Meeting House) and we were pleased to include some successful shared events within the Literary Festival week. We are progressing our cooperation along similar lines this year, and we are pleased to welcome Julie Manley here this evening to talk to us about some of the background to the place of the Arts Centre in the Ilminster Arts scene.
Following our appeals for reinforcements to our management team during the year, we had an excellent response. We were fortunate to be able to recruit four new members to our team, who bring a variety of skills and expertise with them – together with lots of enthusiasm! So the future of ILF is now looking secure. One of our new members, Gerald Hawke has agreed to take on the role of Festival Director for 2026, and he has been appointed a trustee.
Nevertheless we continue to seek to strengthen our team to build on the changes we have initiated. The Ilminster Literary Festival can and must further evolve and develop into the 2030s and beyond. Some of us need to step back and make way for younger, more dynamic blood. If you feel you could spend a few hours a month (and perhaps a bit more during the Festival Week) and would like to contribute to the delivery of one of the highlights of the Ilminster Calendar, talk to myself or one of the other members of the team today – don’t just put it off!
The success of Ilminster Literary Festival, and ILF 2024 in particular, would have been impossible without the support of my fellow Trustees and members of the management team, and I would like to take this opportunity to thank them wholeheartedly for that.
And, finally, thank you to all our Friends, sponsors and advertisers, volunteers, speakers, and audience members. We hope you are looking forward to ILF 2025 as much as we are. If you want any further information, or if you think you can help in any way, perhaps by delivering programmes or acting as a steward at an ILF event, please contact myself or one of the other Trustees.
Deryk Outram Chairman, Ilminster Literary Festival. February 2025 Registered Charity No. 1169618
Ilminster Literary Festival - AGM February 2025 Treasurer's Report
Our financial year runs from 1st January to 31st December. The Income & Expenditure Account is shown below. We had a small excess of income over expenditure over the period. The total funds position is shown below.
Ken Cooper Hon Treasurer
Ilminster Literary Festival - Income & Expenditure Account
For the period 1st January to 31st December 2024
| Income Expenditure 2024 2023 2024 2023 Friends subs £1,924 £2,529 Venues £2,825 £1,942 Sponsors £240 £1,510 Publicity £605 £396 Donations £177 £188 Marketing £868 £764 Advertising £2,055 £1,380 Events £52 £48 Ticket sales £8,247 £7,703 Programmes £1,009 £1,286 Events £184 £0 Book supply £90 £0 Book sales £90 £0 Admin £211 £147 Other £253 £0 Speakers £3,889 £4,483 £13,170 £13,310 Hospitality £317 £469 Services £1,393 £1,280 Other £426 £60 £11,685 £10,875 ~~me~~ (O~~U~~ OO a G~~O~~ OS a GO OS a GO OS a GO OS a GO OS a GO OS a GO OS a GO OS a GO OS a GO OS a GO ~~OS~~ es nsI O~~D~~ |
|---|
| Income over Exp. £1,485
| SUMMARY | |
|---|---|
| Opening cash at bank | £10,592 |
| Income over Exp. | £1,485 |
| Closing cash at bank | £12,077 |
| Petty cash | £7 |
| £12,084 | |
| NatWest a/c | £10,886 |
| Total Funds | £22,970 |