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← Hope Church Rhydyfelin

2023-12-31-accounts

HOPE COMMUNITY CHURCH PONTYPRIDD

Aka Hope Church Rhydyfelin

________

REPORT AND ACCOUNTS

FOR THE YEAR ENDING 31[ST] DECEMBER 2023

_________

C Management Services 69 Velindre Road Whitchurch Cardiff CF14 2TF

HOPE COMMUNITY CHURCH PONTYPRIDD

FOR THE PERIOD ENDED 31[ST] DECEMBER 2023

CHARITY INFORMATION

Trustees: Ryan Denne (Chair)
Andrew Davies
Mayuri Hargest
Andrew Murray (appointed 17thJune 2023)
Anna Pitt (appointed 17thJune 2023)
Jon Ryan
Andrew Thomas (resigned 8thJanuary 2023)
Pastor: Jon Ryan (was Andrew Davies)
Treasurer: Anna Pitt
Charitable position: Registered Charity number 1170304
Governing Document: CIO Foundation Model dated 22ndNovember 2016
Address for correspondence: Hope Community Church
126 Morien Crescent
Rhydyfelin
CF37 5PT
Independent Examiner: Paul Burnell ACMI
C Management Services
69 Velindre Road
CARDIFF
CF14 2TF
Bankers: HSBC
92a Taff St
Pontypridd
CF37 4SR
CONTENTS
Page
Charity Information 2
Trustees Report 3-6
Independent Examiners Report 7
Statement of Financial Activities 8
Statement of Assets and Liabilities 9
Notes to the Accounts 10-11
Appendix A – Financial Review for Charity 12-13

2

HOPE COMMUNITY CHURCH PONTYPRIDD

REPORT OF THE TRUSTEES

FOR THE PERIOD ENDED 31[ST] DECEMBER 2023

The Trustees have pleasure in submitting the Report and Accounts for the period ended 31st December 2023. The report outlines similar activities as in previous years. By far the most significant difference was the ongoing management of the near derelict building purchased in 2022. Regrettably, extensive plans for this development have continued to be hindered by the increased scope of the repairs needed and clearance taking much longer than anticipated.

Structure, Governance, and Management

New Trustees are appointed from within the church/charity by existing trustees. They are provided with a copy of the organisation’s Constitution, finance reports, and any other information deemed necessary to assist them in their role. Meetings occur approximately quarterly depending on agendas. Trustees discuss safeguarding, finance, personnel and property; making decisions about the direction of the charity as deemed necessary. Any spending either of interest or above £500 is run by Trustees first informally. Meetings this year were held online for ease and accessibility to all trustees. For convenience, much of the communication between trustees was done using informal communication methods such as WhatsApp. E-mail communication was used for more formal communication between trustees. E-mails are stored and can be used as evidence of decisions alongside Trustee meeting minutes.

Structure and governance had significant changes throughout 2023. Two of the leadership team (and trustees) moved on in 01/23 and 08/23 respectively. One being the chair and treasurer. Additionally, the main leadership role (Pastor) was handed over from Andrew to Jon during the year, and as such Andrew’s salary was slowly phased out. Two more trustees were appointed, and the Treasurer role was handed over with continued support as needed. Through this handover, the trustees met less frequently as new roles were grasped. An extensive wider support network has been established to continue the support of the charity.

During the year the building which had been purchased, although not suitable to meet in publically was cleared out and a post box fitted allowing it to become used as the charity's primary business address in October 2023. The weekly meeting location continued to be Rhydyfelin Community Centre. Community work has continued and the number of households supported has remained high due to the severity of the cost of living crisis.

The salaries and outgoings of the church are re-evaluated every 6 months. No salary changes occurred in the year and, where activities could not continue as normal, roles were redistributed and refocused among volunteers and our one employee.

The Charity is connected with several organisations: Catalyst Network of churches, New Wine Cymru (other churches around South Wales), and the Evangelical Alliance. These organisations continue to provide insight and guidance, supporting the church and bringing wider recognition.

3

Objectives

The charity’s objects remain:

Achievements and Activities

In 2023 the charity held regular public meetings to worship God, preach from the Bible and have fellowship together, in accordance with object (a). We have also collaborated with other churches in and around South Wales building friendships and associations between ourselves, in accordance with object (a) and (c). Since the establishment of the wider support network for the charity we have been keen to strengthen ties with other churches and charities similar to our own through groups such as Pontypridd Christian Concern.

The charity met together to pray for one another, have fellowship together, and discuss teaching from the ‘God’s Big Story’ series, and a weekly bible study was held virtually most Wednesdays. These have grown the church in friendship with one another, enabled us to meet one another’s needs and brought accessibility for those unable to join on a Sunday in accordance with objective (b).

Our community work in accordance with (b) which seeks to reduce the impact of poverty on youth and families in and around South Wales has remained vital to many members of the community. Due to the cost of living crisis, we issued a far greater number of foodbank vouchers than in previous years.

We were able to provide service to the community in accordance with objective (b) through the work of our community worker and volunteers. As in previous years, we worked in collaboration with Rhydyfelin Community Group, supporting community events during the summer and concluding the year by having Santa Claus pulled around Rhydyfelin on a sleigh. This brought great joy with over 2000 people seen waiting for Santa to pass by their street. This was again one of the most far-reaching events we were involved in and helped build our reputation as a church, being seen as a force for good in the community.

Performance & Goals

The church/charity met approximately 48 times throughout the year for worship and teaching from the bible on a Sunday afternoon. A normal service reached around 10 households, and on special ‘all age’ services with creative themes, an additional 5 households were reached.

Our full-time community worker continued to organise and oversee the majority of work represented above, empowering the church to carry out its serving objective (b).

4

We were able to continue giving charitable donations to the Catalyst network of churches, give monthly to support New Wine Cymru and the Evangelical Alliance, giving £1440 to organisations and individuals. We also gave £6000 to help support an individual in the church to enable their oversight and support of other churches we are close to.

Overall our objectives have been achieved. Objective (a) has been met in Sunday meetings, mid-week meetings and through collaboration with other churches through Catalyst, New Wine, the Evangelical Alliance, and Ponty Christian Concern. Objective (b) has been extensively met with the Community work ministry; foodbank and personal support; members supporting one another and their neighbours; and through supporting other ministries along with objective (c).

Management of Property

The charity's most exciting (and daunting!) endeavour so far has been the management of what was Rhydyfelin Sports Bar. Purchased in 2022, much of 2023 was spent clearing out possessions, making progress on making it safe, repairing issues, and looking for grants for refurbishment. We believe the cost for a full renovation to be approximately £350,000. A business plan is available on request, though it is an ongoing process.

Financial Review

The charity has received continued giving through stewardship, monthly donations, oneoff donations and sponsorship of our full-time community worker. Most funds are raised through members giving monthly to the charity. There were some restricted funds for an individual.

The charity does not have a reserves policy, but it has been decided approximately £2000-£3000 would be the appropriate level of total unprotected funds required to end the activities of the charity not already provided for or paid for within 3 months. This includes ‘redundancy’ type payments to any employees, stopping direct debits and rent payments and informing members they may wish to stop giving temporarily or permanently.

The reserves/savings account was set up in May 2019 which stores our restricted funds. Through 2023 this has been where monies raised for the building purchase have been transferred and stored.

Initial Funds (1[st] January 2023): £13,802.23 (inc. £9,006 reserves) Concluding Funds (31st December 2023): £10,362.90 (inc. £3,073 reserves)

Operational funding has mostly been met by monthly or weekly giving by members who attend weekly meetings. Average regular operational giving for 2023 (including all sponsorship, stewardship giving and monthly giving), was approximately £2378 per month excluding Gift Aid. £300 of this is direct sponsorship of our community worker. We also claimed £5,206 from Gift Aid on previous years' giving.

Total income: £ 34,015.35

5

Total expenditure: £ 37,455.11

Total Net income (loss): £ - 3,440.76

This is a small overall loss but represents the ongoing commitment of the charity towards the community to maintain activities regardless of monetary value. Our current account has been quite stable thanks to decreased costs (no longer renting church office) and the generosity of supporters.

Additionally, the monthly giving of members is still generally stable but does fluctuate as the church congregation varies, and we have been able to continue to claim Gift Aid which would increase the net income by approximately £5000 to a small gain.

Our publicly available financial report is attached as Appendix A. Throughout ‘HR’ refers to the community worker’s initials, not Human Resources.

This report was approved by the Trustees and is signed on their behalf by

Signature……..………………………… Name ……………………………….. Jonathan Ryan

Chair of Trustees Date 22/10/24 Position ……………………………..

6

INDEPENDENT EXAMINERS REPORT

TO THE TRUSTEES OF

HOPE COMMUNITY CHURCH PONTYPRIDD

I report on the accounts of the Trust for the period ended 31[st] December 2023, which are set out on pages 9 to 12.

Respective responsibilities of trustees and examiner

The charity's trustees are responsible for the preparation of the accounts. The charity's trustees consider that an audit is not required for this year under section 144 of the Charities Act 2011 (the Charities Act) and that an independent examination is needed.

It is my responsibility to:

Basis of independent examiner's report

My examination was carried out in accordance with the general Directions given by the Charity Commission. An examination includes a review of the accounting records kept by the charity and a comparison of the accounts presented with those records. It also includes consideration of any unusual items or disclosures in the accounts, and seeking explanations from you as trustees concerning any such matters. The procedures undertaken do not provide all the evidence that would be required in an audit and consequently no opinion is given as to whether the accounts present a 'true and fair view' and the report is limited to those matters set out in the statement below.

Independent examiner's statement

In connection with my examination, no material matters have come to my attention which gives me reasonable cause to believe that in any material respect:

I have come across no other matters in connection with the examination to which attention should be drawn in order to enable a proper understanding of the accounts to be reached.

Paul Burnell

Paul Burnell ACMI

For and on behalf of:

C Management Services (trading name of C Mgmnt Services Ltd) 69 Velindre Road

Cardiff CF14 2TF

Date: 22[nd] October 2024

7

HOPE COMMUNITY CHURCH PONTYPRIDD

RECEIPTS AND PAYMENTS ACCOUNT

FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31[st] DECEMBER 2023

Note
RECEIPTS
Receipts from generated funds
2
Receipts from charitable activities
3
Other receipts
4
Interest received
Total Receipts
PAYMENTS
Charitable activities
5
Governance costs
Total payments
Net Receipts/(Payments)
Transfers between funds
Fund balances at 1stJanuary
2023
Fund balances at 31stDecember
2023		 Unrestricted
Funds
£
Restricted
Funds
£
Total
Funds
2023
£
Total
Funds
2022
£
30,157
3,581
33,738
42,361
-
-
-
-
10
200
210
193,750
67
-
67
27
30,234
3,781
34,015
236,138
33,674
3,781
37,455
303,432
-
-
-
33,674
3,781
37,455
303,432
(3,440)
-
(3,440)
(67,294)
-
-
-
13,802
-
13,802
81,096
10,362
-
10,362
13,802

The notes on pages 10-11 form part of these accounts.

8

HOPE COMMUNITY CHURCH PONTYPRIDD

STATEMENT OF ASSETS AND LIABILITIES

FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31[ST] DECEMBER 2023

1. Fixed Assets

The value of assets owned are:
Buildings (purchase price)

Equipment (Insurance value)

2. Bank & Cash Balances

Cash at bank and in hand


3. Other Assets and Liabilities


Assets
Gift aid tax recovery not yet received
Liabilities
Unbilled fee for Independent Examination		 2023
£
237,500
6,604
244,104
2023
£
10,362
10,362
2023
£
3,348
300		 2022
£
237,500
5,613
243,113

2022
£
13,802
13,802
2022
£
4,096
300

The accounts were approved by the Trustees and signed on their behalf on 22[nd] October 2024

Signed:

Name:

The notes on pages 10-11 form part of these accounts.

9

HOPE COMMUNITY CHURCH PONTYPRIDD

NOTES TO THE ACCOUNTS FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31[ST] DECEMBER 2023

1. Accounting Policies

The accounts have been prepared on a receipts and payments basis with a statement of assets and liabilities

2. Voluntary receipts
Gift Aid donations
Other donations
Tax recovered		 Unrestricted
Funds
£
Restricted
Funds
£
Total
2023
£
Total
2022
£
13,392
-
13,392
16,385
11,560
200
11,760
19,893
5,205
-
5,205
6,083
30,157
200
30,357
42,361

3. Receipts from charitable activities

Conferences and events
4. Other Receipts
Grant received
Other sundry receipts
Sponsorship for Eden/Heather
Refunds
5. Charitable activities
a. Direct Charitable Costs
Salaries & staff expenses
Eden/Message expenses
Speaker expenses
Other ministry/evangelism expenses
b. Support and Administration
Premises rental and expenses
Administration and general expenses
Insurance & professional fees
c. Grants
Evangelical Alliance
New Wine Cymru
Catalyst Network
PCY – contribution for schools		 -
-
Unrestricted
Funds
£
Restricted
Funds
£
Total
2023
£
Total
2022
£
-
-
-
183,000
-
-
10
-
3,581
-
-
3,581
10
6,315
4,435
-
10
3,581
3,591
193,750
Unrestricted
Funds
£
Restricted
Funds
£
Total
2023
£
Total
2022
£
22,262
2,489
24,751
28,850
-
1,092
1,092
1,835
317
-
317
170
819
-
819
1,011
23,398
3,581
26,979
31,866
7,347
200
7,547
265,170
331
-
331
166
1,158
-
1,158
1,144
8,836
-
9,036
266,480
240
-
240
240
600
-
600
600
500
-
500
160
100
-
100
86
1,440
-
1,440
5,086

6. Staff and Trustees

The charity has one part-time employed member of staff, and another individual that is paid who is selfemployed. Its activities are generally carried out by volunteers. No staff received salaries at a rate of more than £60,000 per annum.

10

The Pastor, Andrew Davies, who is also a Trustee, was paid on a self-employed basis, and received payments totalling £8,000 in his capacity as Pastor of the church before leaving this role.

No remuneration or trustee expenses were paid to any other trustee during the year, nor to any person connected to them.

11

APPENDIX A: PUBLICLY AVAILABLE (UPON REQUEST) FINANCIAL REVIEW FOR CHARITY

2023 Financial Review

During 2023 Hope’s Structure changed significantly due leadership moving on in various forms which no doubt had an impact on the effectiveness of the charity as expected. Fundraising for the building paused whilst the building was assessed and repaired (repeatedly).

Incomes:

Regular giving dropped slightly. Our Gross income was nearly £34,000 (£236,000 2022 thanks to building fund). General income averaging £2,080 a month (from £2,300 in 2022). HR’s sponsors gave £3,580 which was slightly lower than previous years but still covered approximately 35-40% of her salary. Stewardship giving returned for general use from the purchase of the building. Over the year £6,000 was retrieved from reserves, and given specifically to support AD in ministry. We gained £67 interest.

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We were also fortunate to claim over £5200 through gift aid on 2022’s applicable income. We continued to be fortunate enough to receive gifts through the year from Brynmawr.

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Income sources show similar proportion of giving again though more proportion was for stewardship than tithing, they both totalled approximately 65%: 2022

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Expenditures:

Hopes Expenditures have stayed roughly the same as last year, though community work decreased slightly in expenditure. We only spent 5% on building work, though this was purely to maintain the state of disrepair.

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Expenditure streams are still biggest on HR & AD Salaries (69% of total expenditure including tax and pension contributions for HR) This is expected due to how the church operates, though our largest proportion yet sadly. However, as AD has transitioned roles his salary was phased out. For transparency, salaries are HR: £1,306 pcm (before tax @ Jan 2024).

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Bills have increased in proportion, community work and gifts have decreased in proportion. The rest remained roughly the same. Rent decreased in cost. Comparative 2022 excludes building expenses.

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2022
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