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TRUSTEES’ REPORT & FINANCIAL STATEMENTS FOR THE PERIOD 1[st] JANUARY 2024 TO 31[st] DECEMBER 2024
LEGAL & ADMINISTRATIVE INFORMATION
CHARITY NUMBER
1169953
LEGAL FORM
Charitable Incorporated Organisation formed under the Charities Act 2011
TRUSTEES AT 31/12/24
Mike Bradley (Treasurer), Jane Clark, Nick Pollock and Philip Wallace (Chairman)
GOVERNING INSTRUMENT
Constitution as incorporated on 31/10/16
OBJECTS
To advance education in the science of astronomy and related subjects for the public benefit by furthering the knowledge of its members, promoting and conducting observations, and by providing facilities for active participation in astronomical observation
CONVERSION TO CIO
The members of the Cardiff Astronomical Society agreed at an Extraordinary General Meeting on 21 July 2016 that the Society should become a Charitable Incorporated Organisation (CIO). The Cardiff Astronomical Society (CIO) was formed and registered as a charity on 31 October 2016 when it took over all the activities of the former Cardiff Astronomical Society.
INSPECTOR OF ACCOUNTS
TBC
SOCIETY MEMBERSHIP
The Society had 227 paid-up members as at 31 December 2024, comprising 140 adult, 7 junior, and 40 family memberships
THE SOCIETY'S ACTIVITIES DURING THE PERIOD 1 JANUARY 2024 TO 31 DECEMBER 2024
While 2024 was overall a successful year for CAS, it must be noted that it was marked with sadness as our Secretary and Trustee, Gregory Titley, passed away in July. In his memory the Committee have voted to rename the Bill Sutherland Award to the Greg Titley Award and this will be presented for the first time at the 2025 AGM.
Trustees/Committee - The Trustees met 4 times and the Committee on 6 occasions during 2024. The Trustees have delegated most of their duties and powers to the Committee which, thus, takes care of the main operational issues.
Fortnightly Talks – The talks program for this period comprised 21 lectures plus the 2024 AGM. All talks were conducted in person in our usual lecture theatre at Cardiff University. An inability to change the lighting levels has been an ongoing issue that has been repeatedly escalated with Cardiff University and should be resolved in the new year.
Public Events & Outreach – Public Events and Outreach activities have resumed with a number of events, including the February “Museum After Dark” event at the National Museum of Wales, a summer Astronomy event at Techniquest in Cardiff Bay, solar observing at Bannau Brychanilog National Park and the September Brecon Dark Skies Festival, which involved solar observing, night-sky observing and talks from our Chairman and member Stephen Webber. Following a new agreement reached with the National Trust, Star Parties have resumed and run successfully in late 2024. The joint “beginners” course was run with Bath and Bristol AS and proved to be successful and well-received.
Observatory – The Observatory has required some ongoing maintenance during the year and this has been accomplished by CAS volunteers. A new agreement with the National Trust for access has been reached and events have resumed with more planned for 2025.
Library - The Society continued to maintain a comprehensive Library of astronomical books. This is once again available for members to use.
- UKMON (UK Meteor Observation Network) CAS continued to provide observational data to UKMON from our Cardiff-based cameras. Our UKMON Coordinator, Edward Cooper, also continues to provide extensive support for other organisations in setting up and utilising UKMON cameras.
Merchandising & Society Trips – Our Merchandising Officer/Social Secretary, Tiffany Kew, has developed a wide range of merchandise for sale at events, star parties and Society lectures. This has proven extremely successful and has provided a significant amount of funds for other Society activities. Tiffany has also managed to get our clothing supplier to provide other colour options and this has also proved moderately successful.
Tiffany also planned, organised and implemented three CAS trips to museums, specifically the Herschel Museum in Bath, Jodrell Bank Observatory and the National Space Centre. These were well-attended and well-received, and plans are being considered for further trips in 2025.
Website - The Society’s website is at http://www.cardiff-astronomical-society.co.uk/
CARDIFF ASTRONOMICAL SOCIETY
Treasurer’s Report and Statement of Accounts for the Period 1 January 2024 to 31 December 2024
| Available Funds on 1 January 2024 (£) | Available Funds on 1 January 2024 (£) | Available Funds on 31 December 2024 (£) | Available Funds on 31 December 2024 (£) |
|---|---|---|---|
| Current Account Opening | 1587.20 | Current Account Closing | 220.87 |
| Reserve Bank Opening | 4550.56 | Reserve Bank Closing | 5508.99 |
| Petty Cash Opening | 148.45 | Petty Cash Closing | 361.80 |
| PayPal | 383.82 | PayPal | 284.15 |
| Merchandise Officer Cash | 126.70 | ||
| Total | 6670.03 | Total | 6502.51 |
| Expenditure exceeded Income by £167.52 |
Table 1. CAS Assets
Breakdown of Income and Expenditure 2024
Item |
Credit Amount (£) |
Debit Amount (£) | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Donation | 110.00 | ||
| Easy Fundraising | 17.85 | ||
| Engraving | 50.80 | ||
| Facebook Advertising | 50.00 | ||
| FAS Fees | 30.00 | ||
| Gift Aid | 321.97 | ||
| Hosting UK | 23.99 | ||
| Insurance | 1201.98 | ||
| Insurance Broker Fee | 60.00 | ||
| Interest (Reserve Account) | 62.43 | ||
| Members Travel Expenses | 362.15 | ||
| Merchandise Officer Cash | 126.70 | ||
| Merchandise Purchases | 640.14 | ||
| Merchandise Sales | 504.69 | ||
| Observatory Costs | 521.58 | ||
| Outreach Income | 300.00 | ||
| Printing | 36.34 | ||
| Raffle Costs | 212.39 | ||
| Raffle Income | 605.13 | ||
| Speaker Costs | 1314.82 | ||
| Test Item | 0.98 | ||
| Trip Costs | 3375.93 | ||
| Trip Income | 3052.28 | ||
| Trophy Purchase | 102.99 | ||
| Webfactory | 330.60 | ||
| Zettle Card Reader Purchase | 34.80 | ||
| Zoom Licence | 155.88 | ||
| Membership | 3234.84 | ||
| Totals | 8336.87 | 8504.39 | |
| Expenditure Exceeded Income by £167.52 |
Table 2. Income v Expenditure for 2024
Assets
The figures presented above in both Table 1 and Table 2 are accurate and a true reflection of the society’s assets, income, and expenditure at the end of 2024.
As can be seen in Table 1, the value of Cardiff Astronomical Society (CAS) assets dropped by £167.52 in 2024. When income and expenditure items from both Petty Cash (PC) and the Bank Transactions are analysed, the expenditure exceeds income by £167.52. This matches the drop in assets described in Table 1.
During 2024 it was decided at Committee to trial the sales of space themed merchandise to both CAS members and the public. This venture has proved successful and merchandise sales and purchases are included in the annual report. It is still too early to provide a report on merchandise sales profits, and this would also require a stock check. However, the sales figure plus the cash holding add up to £631.39. The revenue from sales was £640.14. This means that, effectively, any sales of the stock held on 31 Dec 2024 are profit.
Reserves
The reserve fund grew in 2024 from £4550.56 to the current level of £5616.50. An increase of £1065.94. Petty Cash surpluses, mainly profit from the raffles and merchandise sales were put into the reserve account throughout the year to replace funds withdrawn when major expenditure was encountered, such as trips and merchandise purchase. The Reserve Fund is still above the level agreed by the trustees[1] . (£3500 v £5616).
Income
The largest generator of income for CAS is the Membership fee. In 2024 it generated an income of £3234.84 (2023 £3061.81) and a further £321.97 (2023 £286.65) in Gift Aid.
The second largest generator of income in 2024 was the raffle held on “Talk Nights”. This year the profit from the raffle was £392.74 (2023 £323.34).
Merchandise sales were reintroduced this FY and have proved popular. A merchandise officer was appointed and has made excellent progress. The outreach events at Bannau Brycheiniog (BB) brought in two donations of £150.00. Easyfundraising (EFR) is still active and generated £17.85 in 2024.
No commission was claimed from the CAS clothing supplier, this is something to do in 2025. A donation of £10 was received form a grateful Star Party visitor and the work colleagues of Greg Titley donated £100.00 in his memory. This was put towards the purchase of a Trophy to be awarded annually in his memory.
Expenditure
The largest expenditure in 2024 was the cost of speakers to attend the talks programme. A total of £1314.82 was spent on accommodation, travel, and subsistence for speakers. This was to be expected as hotel and food costs are rising.
The second largest cost to CAS in 2024 was insurance. This was a total of £1261.98 which includes a broker’s fee of £60. The anticipated inflationary increase did not materialise. It should be mentioned here that our tie-in to a contract with ANSVAR ends in June 2025, so we are able to shop around for a better deal. Currently, Federation of Astronomical Societies (FAS) provides a group policy for approx. £60p.a. This is a considerable saving. The Treasurer assured the committee that they will investigate the levels of cover and any hidden clauses in time for the renewal date.
A new financial cost in 2024 was the introduction of trips to places of interest. They were well attended and enjoyed by all those who took part. The trips were expensive to put on and the attendees paid for tickets. The cost of running the trips was £3331.25 (plus PayPal fees of £84.75) and the income generated from sale of tickets was £3235.95. Thus, the three trips were run at a loss of £180.05. It should be noted that the costs involved with running the trips was unknown and therefore the financial outcome unpredictable. Cautious financial decisions were made in planning all the trips and a decision was taken to cancel the trip to Greenwich Observatory when the cost to travel there was deemed too great for members.
Performance against prediction
1 The figure is equivalent to the previous year’s membership income rounded up to the nearest £500. Income from 2024 was £3234.84 which rounds up to £3500.
In the report for FY2023 predictions were made to allow planning to take place regarding income and expenditure in 2024.
The following table shows the predicted expenditure for 2024 against actual expenditure.
| 2024 Predicted | 2024 Predicted | 2024 Predicted | 2024 Actual | 2024 Actual | 2024 Actual | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Item Type | Credit Amount (£) |
Debit Amount (£) |
Credit Amount (£) |
Debit Amount (£) |
||
| EasyFundRaising | 20 | 17.85 | ||||
| FAS Fee | 33 | 30 | ||||
| Gift Aid | 300 | 321.97 | ||||
| Insurance | 1338.51 | 1261.98 | ||||
| Interest | 30 | 62.43 | ||||
| IT Services | 23.99 | 23.99 | ||||
| Eurologo Commission* | 25 | Unknown | ||||
| Member Travel Expenses |
300 | 362.15 | ||||
| Membership | 3800 | 3234.84 | ||||
| Merchandise Sale | 30 | 410.2 | ||||
| Misc Donations | 110 | |||||
| Observatory Goods Cost |
250 | 381.51 | ||||
| Observatory Services Cost |
250 | |||||
| Outreach Income | 300 | 300 | ||||
| Printing/Engraving | 150 | 50.8 | ||||
| Raffle Costs | 240 | 212.39 | ||||
| Raffle Income | 500 | 605.15 | ||||
| Speaker Costs | 1750 | 1314.82 | ||||
| Website | 350 | 330.6 | ||||
| Zoom | 155 | 155.88 | ||||
| Table 3. Performance against prediction 2024 The item which stands out is the below prediction income from membership fees. Following the 20 increase in fee (in 2023) it was predicted that, with the membership staying at the level of 2023 the from membership would increase to £3800.00. In 2024 the membership income was £3234.84. 2025 Budget Forecast |
||||||
| 2024 | 2025 | |||||
| Item Type | Credit Amount (£) |
Debit Amount (£) |
Credit Amount (£) |
Debit Amount (£) |
||
| EasyFundRaising | 20.00 | 15.00 | ||||
| FAS Fee | 30.00 | 33.80 | ||||
| Engraving | 50.80 | 50.00 | ||||
| Gift Aid | 321.97 | 350.00 | ||||
| Insurance | 1261.98 | 1300.00* | ||||
| Interest | 62.43 | 50.00 | ||||
| IT Services | 23.99 | 25.00 | ||||
| Eurologo Commission | 0 | 20.00 | ||||
| Member Travel Expenses |
362.15 | 370.00 | ||||
| Membership | 3393.00 | 3393.00 | ||||
| Merchandise Sale | 504.69 | 600.00 | ||||
| Merchandise Purchase | 640.14 | 250.00 | ||||
| Observatory Goods | 381.51 | 391.04 |
The item which stands out is the below prediction income from membership fees. Following the 20% increase in fee (in 2023) it was predicted that, with the membership staying at the level of 2023 the income from membership would increase to £3800.00. In 2024 the membership income was £3234.84.
| Cost | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Outreach Income | 300.00 | 300.00 | ||
| Raffle Costs | 212.39 | 220.00 | ||
| Raffle Income | 605.15 | 600.00 | ||
| Speaker Costs | 1314.82 | 1347.69 | ||
| Trophies | 102.99 | 0 | ||
| Website | 330.60 | 338.86 | ||
| Zoom | 155.88 | 159.77 | ||
Table 4. Forecast changes in income and expenditure 2025
*this figure assumes a worst case scenario of being unable to take advantage of the reduced premium offered by FAS.
Table 4 shows the significant items which incurred a cost or brought an income during 2024 and a prediction for that item in 2025. Where the predicted increase cannot be confirmed an inflationary increase of 2.5% (CPI) has been assumed.
The largest source of income for the society is the membership fee. The predicted income for 2025 assumes that the current level and demographic of membership is maintained.
The item of expenditure which could have a significant impact on the Society’s finances, and is the most difficult item to forecast, is the cost of visiting speakers. In 2024 CAS had combined hotel, travel and subsistence costs of £1314.82. There were 13 visiting speakers. Assuming inflation in line with CPI 2.5% this could rise to £1347.69. A greater impact would be the inability to recruit local (to Cardiff) speakers who would require overnight accommodation.
As with any organisation’s finances nothing is guaranteed and 2025 could prove to be a difficult year, however, the Society’s finances are in good order and has a significant reserve fund.
Factors which could act to the detriment of this prediction are, a large loss of membership income, an above inflation increase of a large expenditure item such as the insurance. The Society has no control over these and must rely on the reserve to fill the gap if needed.
Future Reports
-
Early April 2025. The 2024 end of year report will be submitted to the Trustees and committee to show the financial position before the AGM on 24[th] April.
-
Early September 2025. This report will allow Trustees and committee to have insight of the performance to budget and to make judgements regarding the end of year report.
-
End of December. This will be the end of year report for 2025.