Charity No. 1170368
Trustee’s Report 2025
The Trustees of New Buddha Way present their accounts for year ended 31 March 2025.
Trustees who held office during the year were as follows:
| Mrs Lynne McNeil | Chairperson |
|---|---|
| Mr Richard McIlwraith | Chairperson |
| Mrs Juliet Kimber | Secretary |
| Mrs Lucy Davidson | Secretary |
| Mr Paul McNeil | Treasurer |
| Ms Caroline Relfe | Trustee |
| Mr Gordon Davidson | Trustee |
| Mrs Rosalind Brooks | Trustee |
| Mr Rod Brans | Trustee |
OBJECTIVES AND MANAGEMENT
The aim of New Buddha Way (hereafter ‘NBW’) is to advance the Buddhist religion, also known as ‘the Buddha Dharma’, for the benefit of the public in accordance with the spiritual, religious and ethical framework of ‘The Four Noble Truths’ and ‘The Noble Eightfold Path’, with their particular emphasis on wisdom, non-harm, compassion, and peace. New Buddha Way aims do this for the benefit of the public by:
—Informing, promoting, and distributing Buddhist teachings, practices and way of life through study and engaged discussion as well as through printed and online communications. These are all facilitated with recognition that the preferred Buddhist way is by ‘making available’ rather than proselytising.
—Promoting peaceful coexistence and community through the coordination of activities that are open and available freely to members of the public, as active participants, including:
-
(a) Community meditation and contemplation sessions,
-
(b) Meditation retreats,
-
(c) The celebration of Buddhist festivals,
-
(d) Occasional pastoral care.
HISTORY
New Buddha Way was founded in 2002 in Guildford as a voluntary association by Prof. Geoff Hunt, Buddhist Chaplain at Surrey University. Geoff Hunt retired in 2020 and since then, the group has continued to grow steadily to become the community that meets regularly today.
REVIEW OF THE YEAR 2024-25
New Buddha Way has continued to meet in 2024 for meditation sessions as a community of practitioners. We held community meditation sessions, readings and discussions every week for groups of 15 to 25 participants.
We have offered Introductory Sessions every eight weeks during 2024 to anyone who would like to know more about NBW and to follow on with our Sunday Community Sessions.
These sessions, as for everything that is provided at NBW, are free.
We also provided a 48-hour residential retreat and a non-residential day retreat.
We raised funds through participant donations this year and were able to send financial contributions to the Anukampa Bhikkhuni Monastery Project, to Buddhist Global Relief and to Woking Food Bank. We also supported the Anukampa Project during the year through a monthly food donation.
Our board of Trustees met at regular intervals throughout the year and we have been supported by new members stepping forward from the community to continue the charity’s work. Juliet Kimber resigned as secretary in October 2024 and Lucy Davidson was elected to that role. Caroline Relfe also stepped down from the board of Trustees in October. Rosalind Brooks and Rod Brans were elected as Trustees at the same time. In early March 2025, our chairperson, Lynne McNeil, stepped down due to ill health and Richard McIlwraith was elected as chairperson. Lynne McNeil died on 21 August 2025.
We continue to promote our aims of wisdom, non-harm, compassion, and peace.
Signed on behalf of the Trustees:
| Signature ~~a~~ |
Full Name |
Date of Approval |
|---|---|---|
| ~~or~~ | Richard McIlwraith ~~or~~ |
12 October 2025 ~~or~~ |
| Lucy Davidson | 12 October 2025 | |
| ~~pee~~ | Paul McNeil ~~pee~~ |
12 October 2025 ~~pee~~ |
Independent Examiner’s Report to the Trustees of New Buddha Way
This report is on the accounts for the year ended 31[st] March 2025.
Respective responsibilities of Trustees and Examiner
The charities trustees are responsible for the preparation of the accounts. The charities trustees consider that an audit is not required this year under section 144 of the Charities Act 2011 (the Charities Act) and that an independent examination is needed.
My examination includes a review of the accounting records kept by the charity and a comparison of the accounts presented with those records.
Independent Examiners Statement
No matter has come to my attention with my examination of the accounting records, in accordance with section 130 of the Charities Act, and the accompanying records.
Name Janette Dalgliesh JMD Accounting Ltd | Signature Address 16 Hare Hill Addlestone KT15 1DT Date 13/10/2025 |
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|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
|New Buddha Way|No 1170368|
|Receipts and payments accounts|CC16a|
|For the period|01/04/2024|31/03/2025|
|To|
|from|
|a|ee|ee|
|Section A Receipts and payments|
|Unrestricted|Restricted|Endowment|
|Total funds|Last year|
|funds|funds|funds|
|to the nearest|
|to the nearest £|to the nearest £|to the nearest £|to the nearest £|
|£|
|A1 Receipts|
|Amazon Smile|-|-|-|-|18|
|Retreats|4 630|-|-|4 630|3 530|
|Card Donations SumUp|576|-|-|576|310|
|Cash Donations|151|-|-|151|288|
|FONBW|2 044|-|-|2 044|2 044|
|Gift Aid|301|-|-|301|526|
|Individual Donations|375|-|-|375|1 035|
|July 2023 Day Retreat|-|-|-|-|450|
|Sub total|(Gross income for|
|8 077|-|-|8 077|8 201|
|AR)|
|A2 Asset and investment sales,|
|(see table).|
|-|-|-|-|
|-|-|-|-|-|
|Sub total|-|-|-|-|-|
|Total receipts|8 077|-|-|8 077|8 201|
|——————=|
|A3 Payments|
|BGR/Foodbank|2 185|-|-|2 185|-|
|Computer and Internet Expenditures|153|153|-|
|Hall Hire|1 403|1 403|1 248|
|Insurance Expenditure-General Liability|
|Insurance|157|157|337|
|Office/General Administrative Expenditures|188|-|-|188|380|
|Printing and Publicity|-|-|-|81|
|Professional Fees|60|-|-|60|60|
|Quickbooks|103|-|-|103|57|
|Retreat Hire|5 100|-|-|5 100|4 840|
|Travel expenses|69|-|-|69|-|
|Visiting Speaker|876|876|187|
|Anukampa Donation|1 145|-|-|1 145|194|
|Sub total|[ 11 439 ]|-|-|11 439|7 384|
|A4 Asset and investment|
|purchases, (see table)|
|-|-|-|-|
|-|-|-|-|
|Sub total|[ - ]|-|-|-|-|
|S|Total payments|SS|[ 11 439 ]|-|-|11 439|5—|7 384|
|Net of receipts/(payments)|(3 361)|-|-|(3 361)|817|
|A5 Transfers between funds|-|-|-|-|-|
|A6 Cash funds last year end|12 313|-|-|12 313|11 496|
|Cash funds this year end|[ 8 952 ]|-|-|8 952|12 313|
|—S—S=|=|S=|=>|
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CCXX R1 accounts (SS)
1
Section B Statement of assets and liabilities at the end of the period
| Unrestricted | Restricted | Endowment | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Categories | Details | funds | funds | funds | ||
| to nearest £ | to nearest £ | to nearest £ | ||||
| B1 Cash funds | 7 573 - - 1 379 - - - - - 8 952 - - Total cash funds Treasurer's Account Reserve Account ~~—====>~~ |
|||||
| (agree balances with receipts and payments | (agree balances with receipts and payments | |||||
| account(s)) | OK | OK | OK | |||
| Unrestricted | Restricted | Endowment | ||||
| funds | funds | funds | ||||
| Details | to nearest £ | to nearest £ | to nearest £ | |||
| B2 Other monetary assets | - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - ~~—=_——~~ |
|||||
| Details | Fund to which asset belongs |
Cost (optional) | Current value (optional) |
|||
| B3 Investment assets | - - - - - - - - - - ~~ee~~ |
|||||
| Details | Fund to which asset belongs |
Cost (optional) | Current value (optional) |
|||
| B4 Assets retained for the charity’s own use |
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - ~~is~~ |
|||||
| Fund to which | Amount due | When due | ||||
| Details | liability relates | (optional) | (optional) | |||
| Signed by one or two trustees on behalf of all the trustees B5 Liabilities CCXX R2 accounts (SS) |
- - - - - Date of approval 12/10/2025 Print Name Paul McNeil signed in manuscript 2 ~~——~~ |