Registered Charity number 1169885 Annual Report
Jan 2021
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The registered address for Bike to the Future is: Orchard House 22 Millfields Newtown Powys SY16 3JP
It operates from workshop premises at: Pen Dinas Llanidloes Road Newtown Powys SY16 4HX
Website: www.bikettf.org email: admin@bikettf.org phone: 07720 218 499
We have a Facebook presence: @Bikettf.org
Status and Aims
Bike to the Future is a Charitable Incorporated Organisation (CIO), registered with the Charities Commission and with the following aims as stated on the foundation document:
“ the relief of unemployment for the benefit of the public in North Powys in such ways as may be thought fit, including assistance to find employment through the teaching of accredited skills in bicycle repair to improve their employability and the provision of pool bikes for job seekers.”
Trustees
This charity benefits from steerage provided by 4 Trustees, bringing experience of Social Development, Commercial Management, Social Care, and Education. Thanks go to:
Rebecca Henderson Chris Jones Jeremy Thorp Peter Mitchison Thanks also to: David Morgan for financial oversight and producing the accounts.
Bike to the Future is happy for anyone who feels they have something to contribute to seek a trustee position. This CIO needs a minimum of 3 Trustees. Simply email a request to admin@bikettf.org for an invite to attend a subsequent board meeting.
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Chairperson report for Bike To The Future 2021
At the AGM last year no one could have even imagined the difficulties that we would all encounter in the annus horribilis caused by the covid-19 virus. For so many charities the year has seen many unable to do anything beyond managed closure and while BTTF has managed to stay open as an essential business that has not made for plain cycling for BTTF.
The tenacity and drive shown by our management has been tremendous during the past year in keeping the operation open. We started the year by providing employment skills and an alternative education program. Soon after this we were arranging and providing emergency delivery of essentials to those having to self isolate. This while still ensuring that our core services of waste collection and workplace training continued, whilst we embraced the challenges and opportunities of commercial cycle repair.
We did have the option to move to Trehafren Hill in the year but collectively we decided to consolide the project at Pendinas and this has proved an undoubted success. Having worked at the unit under Toms guidance for the latter part of January you can't help but notice the constant flow of people looking for bike maintenance, new or recycled bikes, or the mind help provided by the ‘tinker and talk’ and who ever arrives there is always the welcome offer of a cup of tea while isolating.
The question for 2021 is can we make the project financially sustainable? It has certainly delivered on its core aims of delivering employability skills and cycle promotion, and this has been enhanced through its repositioning as a cycle repair workshop. With a commitment to maintaining its presence at the Pen Dinas sustainability village it has the opportunity to create a commercial arm which can help to deliver on its charitable aims.
There are exciting times ahead.
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Thanks to our funders
The following organisations have shown faith in our delivery, its aims and approach, and have made the journey possible. Our thanks go out to them.
Community Foundation Wales: £ 11650 Lottery Small Grants: £ 7100 Groundworks: £ 500 Ashley Foundation: £ 5000 PAVO £ 3050
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Project Managers report:
Alternative learning
Our relationship with the participating schools looked set to build at the start of the year, but global events meant that this relationship was mothballed from April. We are however maintaining contact with one student, due to this being his only educational engagement. The intention is to build back, should the new normal allow, but at present this skills delivery option is not a deliverable format.
Employability skills
Due to the need to restrict social mixing we were unwilling to promote access to our workshop for the purposes of attracting participants to enage with work place learning. However we did not stop people from self referring. This meant that although we worked with a smaller number of people that we might have hoped to in a “normal” year, those who did participate gained lots from the experience and all moved on to either paid work (four participants) or returned to college education (one participant). Small numbers, but 100% positive outcome, so it depends on how you wish to do the maths. The intention is to actively promote the workshop to Careers Wales with a view to continuing a low number - high intensity support programme once the current situation allows.
Tinker and Talk
This has continued to be extremely successful, despite being hampered by a need to restrict numbers. The concept is that Bike to the Future provides a workshop focussed social space. This creates a reason for people to volunteer their time, and whilst doing so they engage socially with other people as well as undertaking cycle repair related activities which feed into the bigger community well being ethic. It is not a club, it is a workshop. The outcomes are measured along well being lines, so the priority is to engage socially with others, although having a range of jobs to do seems to take the pressure from being purely “social”. It seems to be a model which works with participants saying how they look forwards to attending, how it is good for helping them deal with depression, or simply that following retirement they need something to do. We anticipate continuing this opportunity and promoting participation through PAVO community connectors
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Commercial activities:
The commercial side of running the community bike workshop was not anticipated at the start of the year. It was seen as a luxury extra rather than a core income stream. However events being what they are this is something which Bike to the Future is embracing, and has realised that it needs the commercial arm to enable it to deliver on its charitable aims. The need to make the workshop Covid secure has worked in Bike to the Futures favour here, as by seperating the workshop from public space and by creating a hospitality zone we have made the space resemble a conventional bicycle “shop”. This helps to not only keep our participants safe, but also inspires confidence in our customers, and makes the workshop into a more conventional work skills space.
So we are undertaking servicing and repairs at a commercial rate as well as selling repaired donated cycles, although it is difficult to make this pay due to the highish cost of spares and the low value of second hand bikes. The real benefit is of course in doing the work, with its associated social, work skill and well being outcomes. We are also stocking electric bikes ( https://www.emubikes.com ) and can supply Urban Arrow cargo bikes. (https://www.urbanarrow.com/en ).
In addition to the community workshop we were invited to undertake the bin emptying on Newtown Green Spaces by Open Newtown ( https://opennewtown.org.uk ). This was intended to be for the duration of the initial lockdown period, but has continued all year. We do the collection using our cargo bike, which is ideal for pathways and green spaces as well as not emitting carbon or particulates.
We hope to formalise this relationship early in 2021, as it provides an excellent advert for Bike to the Future, as well as a great work skill opportunity. We are employing a former participant to lead on the waste collection.
Community Links
Helping Cultivate plant up the town flower beds. We also helped with planting a community orchard, and we also delivered food for people self isolating with the intial lockdown. The cargo bike has been an enduring presence throughout this year.
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We helped with a “getting into cycling” series ran through open newtown in the early spring.
And we delivered food for the Cultivate shop
Location, and the future
Our landlord, Circular Economy Mid Wales (https://www.facebook.com/skillshopnewtown/) has offerred Bike to the Future the opportunity to formalise its tenancy within the Pen Dinas sustainability village. One year ago we saw our future within the nascent Urban Bike Park, however this year has seen us get very comfortable at Pen Dinas, with the workshop overhaul and a ( yet to be realised ) investment in new doors, so we are now looking at consolidating our presence alongside the other community groups at the site.
The shift of focus towards embracing a commercial presence means we have to engage more fully with reaching out to our customer base, which is a whole new skill set to be explored. However it also means an opportunity to widen the skills and interests within the Bike to the Future team which ultimately will enable greater project sustainability. Also of course a greater commercial presence will also support our skill build and well being aims, as it ensures we can deliver a real time workshop experience.
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Bike To The Future
Registered Charity No. 1169885
Receipts and Payments Account for the year ending 31 December 2020
| Unrestricted funds Receipts Grants 7,100 Donations 11 Contracting 5,538 Waste Collection 5,971 Sales 19,535 Total receipts 38,154 Payments Workshop Consumables 4,000 Trade Purchases 1,854 Printing and Stationery 16 Insurance 100 Website 200 Promotion 200 Telephone and Internet 200 Session Staff 1,180 Project Manager 4,500 Subscriptions - DBS Costs - Repairs and maintenance 1,770 Consultancy 600 Sub total 14,620 Asset and investment purchases Tools, Equipment and Fittings - Office Equipment - Sub total - Total payments 14,620 Net of receipts/(payments) 23,534 Transfers between funds - Cash funds last year end 7,525 Cash funds this year end 31,059 |
Unrestricted funds 7,100 11 5,538 5,971 19,535 |
Restricted funds 20,200 - - - - |
Total funds 27,300 11 5,538 5,971 19,535 58,354 7,843 1,854 16 280 337 305 255 1,180 13,062 - - 4,921 600 30,654 1,411 - 1,411 32,064 25,690 - 7,603 33,293 |
Year end 2019 6,000 124 9,474 - 2,050 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 38,154 | 20,200 | 17,648 | ||
| 3,843 - - 180 137 105 55 - 8,562 - - 3,151 - 16,033 1,411 600 2,011 18,044 2,156 - 78 2,234 |
4,781 - - 257 225 60 290 - 7,985 - - 90 |
|||
| 13,688 | ||||
| - - |
||||
| - | ||||
| 13,688 | ||||
| 3,960 - 3,643 |
||||
| 7,603 |
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| MOVEMENT IN FUNDS | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Net | ||||
| Movement | ||||
| At 1.1.2020 | in funds | At 31.12.2020 | ||
| Unrestricted funds | ||||
| General Fund | 7,525 | 23,534 | 31,059 | |
| Lottery Small Grants | - | 0 | 0 | |
| Restricted Funds | ||||
| CommunityFoundation | 78 | 311 | 389 | |
| Groundworks | - | 200 | 200 | |
| Ashley Foundation | - | 1,595 | 1,595 | |
| PAVO | - | 50 | 50 | |
| TOTAL FUNDS | 7,603 | 25,690 | 33,293 | |
| Net movement in funds included in the above are as follows: | ||||
| Incoming | Resources | Movement | ||
| Resources | Expended | in funds | ||
| Unrestricted funds | ||||
| General Fund | 31,054 | (7,520) | 23,534 | |
| LotterySmall Grants | 7,100 | (7,100) | 0 | |
| 38,154 | (14,620) | 23,534 | ||
| Restricted Funds | 0 | |||
| CommunityFoundation | 11,650 | (11,339) | 311 | |
| Groundworks | 500 | (300) | 200 | |
| AshleyFoundation | 5,000 | (3,405) | 1,595 | |
| PAVO | 3,050 | (3,000) | 50 | |
| TOTAL FUNDS | 58,354 | (32,664) | 25,690 |
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Independent examinerfs report to the charity trnstees of Bike to tho Future As instructed by you: PAVO has reported on the accounts of Bike to the Future for the period ended 31 December 20, vthich a set out in the annual report. Respective responsibilities ot charity trustees and examiner As the chanty's trustees you a responsible for the preparation of the accounts in accordance wrth the Charrties Act 26. 11 is my responsibility lo.. examine the accour)ts under seth'on 65 of the Charities Act follow the procedures laid down in the general Directions given by the Commission state whether particular matters have come to my attention. Basis of independent examinerfs report I have examinèd yotjr charity accounts as required under section 65 of the Charities Act and my examination was carried out in accordan with the general Directions given by the Challty Commission. My examination included a rewew of the accounting records kept by the charity and a comparison of the accounts presenle(I with those records. It also included consideration of any unusual items or disclosures in the account5, and seekillg explanations from you as charity trustees conceming any such matters. My role is to state whether any material matters have come to my atterktion giving me cause lo believe.. 1. That accounting records were not kept in accordance with section 63 of the Charities Act 2. That the accounts do not accord with those accounting record5 3. That the accounts do not comply wtth the accounting requirements of the Charities Aci 4. That there is further information needed for a proper understanding of th8 accounts lo be reached. Independent examinerfs statement I have completed my examination arKI have no concems in respect of the matters11) to14} listed above and, wtth following the Directions of the Charrty Commissio. I have found no aterial matters that require drawng to yo r,attention. Name.. Angela Owen Relevant professional qualtficalion- ACCA PAVO G*irtD¢WFw¥5 10