Trustees Report for Prodigal Bikes - 1[st ] November 2019 to 31[st ] October 2020
Legal Status:
Prodigal Bikes is a Charitable Incorporated Organisation (CIO), registered on 20[th ] December 2016, registration number 1170845. It was recognised by HM Revenue and Customs as a charity for tax purposes on 23[rd ] October 2017, effective from 21[st ] December 2016. Prodigal Bikes registered for VAT effective from 1[st ] February 2020.
Board of Trustees (at 31st October 2020):
Anthony Raybould - Founder and Chairman Stephen Crane - Secretary Tim Neville Calum McFarlane
Charitable Objectives:
Prodigal Bikes has two objectives; firstly we aim to provide and maintain suitable bikes, donated by the public here, to people in Africa to enable them to gain access to education, trade, employment or healthcare. Secondly, we aim to prepare the bikes here with ex-offenders and other disengaged people, to teach them basic engineering skills and inspire them towards employment in Engineering-related jobs, away from crime, homelessness and long-term unemployment. We believe this work can give them a real sense of achievement and self worth, through them making significant contributions to helping some of the world’s poorest people.
Review of Activities and Achievements for 1[st ] November 2019 to 31[st ] October 2020:
- Income and Expenditure overview.
Our income increased again in this reporting period, bringing in over £16K. Prodigal Bikes has developed a number of income streams since the charity was founded. Having these multiple streams gave us stability through the disruptions of the pandemic.
Two grants were received at the start of 2020. The first from the Somerset Community Foundation (£4k) was for our work training people in the UK in basic Engineering, and to formally train the workshop instructor as a Level 2 Bike Mechanic. The second grant was from the Foyle Foundation (£3.5k), again for our work in the UK.
We received a large donation of high-end bike components from a local bike shop who were having a clear out of old stock. We sold much of this for fundraising (the remainder of the parts which were compatible with our Africa bikes will be sent to Africa as spares). The pandemic led to a huge increase in demand for bikes in the UK (in part because of supplies of bikes from China being suspended). These combined to enable Prodigal Bikes to readily sell many bikes and components, raising £4K. We have also generated income from gift aid, and by claiming the VAT from our purchases of bike components.
Our major expenditures, alongside rent and staff costs, have been funding the shipment of the second container of bikes to Kenya through the end of 2019, and bike spares here and in Africa. We are spending more on the bikes here than before, prior to shipping to Africa, to make them more resilient to the demands of Africa. We are also spending more on spares in Africa as the bikes previously supplied become more worn.
Our two sponsored rides and a quiz night planned for 2020 were cancelled due to the pandemic. At the end of the reporting period, funds were running low, but a number of grants have since been received, boosting our finances again.
2. Supply of bikes to Africa, and ongoing support of delivered bikes.
The batch of 125 bikes prepared through the previous reporting period were packed and dispatched on 1[st ] November 2019. Having completed the customs checks in the UK, the bikes arrived in Gai, Kenya, early in January 2020. The bikes were then distributed to the local schools and health clinics. Our mechanics in Kenya, Solomon and Mbiti, have been very active at their workshop at the Tei Wa Yasu clinic in Gai, Kitui County. Children bring their bikes in from the surrounding area to have new parts fitted. We have been able to pay for several large shipments of bike spares, initially sourced from a nearby town, Mwingi, then from Njanja Enterprise Services in Nairobi. Hence most of the bikes supplied are still working.
One of the effects of the pandemic has been the closure of schools in Kenya from April 2020, for all but the Grade 8 years. The schools are set to fully reopen in January 2021 now infection rates in Kenya are very low (as of December 2020). The bikes have still been very useful while the schools have been shut, helping families get produce to local markets.
The used inner tubes have been re-employed connecting irrigation pipes, and used tyres stripped of their wire beading which was used to tie the structures of shambas together.
We have come to realise the bikes we supply to school children in this area of Kenya are much better supplied with solid tyres and single speeds, negating the problem of the bikes being ridden with flat tyres, and the derailleur gears becoming damaged. Subsequent deliveries to school children will be supplied in this format. We have found a company called Greentyre, based in Middlesbrough, who manufacture suitable solid mountain bike tyres in a variety of sizes. These tyres will be assessed when they arrive in Kenya in Summer 2021.
The ten bikes in Malawi are still running, and very much appreciated. Our partner charity, Hooke Court in Malawi, has decided to send a further container of educational resources to Malawi in February 2021. We have agreed to go 50/50 on this 40ft container which we will half fill with 120 bikes, spares and tools. These bikes will be supplied to teachers in Malawi as before.
Pictures of our bikes in service, and maintenance support this year in Kenya
- Work in South Somerset with Ex-Offenders, Long term Unemployed and Homeless people.
The work during this reporting period started well, with a group of seven adults with backgrounds in homelessness and offending. They were referred by the Link, a homeless outreach organisation in Yeovil. The group narrowed down to two older gentlemen through the winter of 2019 / 2020. While neither was looking to progress into employment for a number of reasons, both gained much fulfillment and confidence, and have now moved into more permanent accommodation.
We then planned to work with a group of children from a local secondary school through the summer of 2020, but this was cancelled due to the pandemic. The workshop teaching sessions were suspended from March 2020, reopening in July 2020 with the two gentlemen from the spring.
The bike maintenance instructor, Anthony Raybould, passed (with distinction) his Level 2 Bike Mechanic qualification at the Cycle Systems Academy in Newton Abbott in July 2020. Two youngsters, aged 17 and 19 with backgrounds in long term unemployment joined the group in September. They enjoyed their time with us, and we were just starting to find their feet when the second lockdown was suddenly announced, and the workshop training suspended again in November 2020. The workshop is currently closed for teaching at the time of writing due to restrictions on meeting indoors. The workshop manager has been working on bikes alone or with one volunteer, and has carried out a number of repairs and upgrades to the workshop. We hope to reopen in the spring of 2021 when restrictions are lifted and vaccinations are being widely administered.
Work with Probation has not progressed as hoped, with no people being referred. Also, Prodigal Bikes has looked into the Dynamic Framework programme from the Ministry of Justice. This is a national retraining scheme for ex-offenders. It would see a huge number of referrals to Prodigal Bikes, but provides just a small fraction of the running costs Prodigal Bikes would need to enter into such contracts. For this reason it is not being pursued by Prodigal Bikes.
We have had a number of volunteers join us for periods of a few months, assisting in the workshop teaching.
Despite all the disruption, 150 bikes have been prepared for Africa during the reporting period.
Bikes ready for Africa. The coloured tyres are solid airless tyres supplied by Greentyre, that will never puncture.
Futur• pl•n As outfined above. we are plannlng to sh our next two baleh68 of 120 bikes eath to MalavA and Kènya through the spring of 2021. Our mechanlc In Gai, Solornon. has some land he Is preparnd lo donate to Prodlgal Bikes on which we couhj build a bespoke blke workshop. Thls would be a loroer term objectlve Ihat we Wld pursue over a 34 year period. We have been approached by a charity worklng In Eldore( Kenya, Langas Gorofani Luo. Thèy worf( wllh people living in the shanty lowns around the city. They have requ95ted blkes for th8 peoplè they Irain, to help them reath theirjobs. They h8ve 81s0 requested a signfficant amount of educational resources. As these r8sour¢e$ are outside the chaiTl8ble objectives ol Prodigal 85k8s. a partner charity In the UK is being sought lo as8lsl. Charity Founder Anthony R8loould Is hoplng to Kenya in 2021 to $8e the project thera and meet In person the people Involved. Our teachlng work here VAII resume once mlyjng of groups Indoors Is pemittted and the Vacdna0n programme is carried out. We expect to be worksng with people wlth baGkgrounds in offendlng. hom818ssna88 and th children at rfsk ot exclu81on from schocl. We alw plan to wn many of the fund ralslng events cancelled through 2020. Charfty A¢counts. The ¢hadty'8 accounts att8ched to thls rnport have baan préparéd In Ilnè th eurrenl slalutory requif8m•nts. On b•haW of tho trustees Anthony Raybould - Founder of Prodw81 Bike8. 31 December 2020
CHARITY COMMISSIO FOR ENGLAND AND WALE Receipts and payments accounts CC16a For the p•rlod from Spction A Receipts and payments Unrestrlcted funds t•lh• n•w••t R•strlctod funds Endowment fund• Total funds La8l y1 lo th• M•r••t£ toth• n••v••i£ to th• •war••t£ to th• n•ar••l£ A1 R•c•l Publlc Don8.08 Grant From *wt Com. FaundallDn Grant from Foyle FoundaJon Grnnt from Nom Family Tw¥1 Grant from Somerset cmabo&t Tru Grant from The Souter TnJ8t Grant From theA & N Fe U58Dn Tru Proc•ed8 Imm LBnd& End Rld• Proc¢¢ds fvom T h Mudé•r GIftAld 2.627 1027 4000 &500 000 000 1.000 6,000 2.100 4010 1,418 1,065 1,065 Blk• l rt8 8818$ and r VAT R¢¢l)Im Sub tot•l(Gross Income for AR) AITB 4,685 403 210 403 1,7BO 18,240 14470 A2 A•s•l and Inv••tm•nt salo•, Sub total Total reIpts 44.2•q A3 Paym•nts 8lke parts & ioobs SNpph Tralnln9 PAym•nt totrusl8• for s•Nkè# wovlde zzo Work$h¢p decoratlu) & Rent of work6hop Publlc Liabllty Irffjuran Publldty Wothshop HeaD9 Misc EXpendUrv Parcd Postage 380 4B1 330 135 481 230 135 764 653 346 $26 16.208 Sub total 10,2 CCXX Rl acCnts ISS) 301061202.
A4 As#•t and Investm•rbt pur¢hases, (see table) Sub total 15,208 7,223 22N31 10.250 Net ofrnc•lpts/(paymonts) - A5 Transf•rg b•tw••n fund8 A6 Cash funds last year end C•sh ftinds thls year end 428 151 5,212 6.564 413 136 277 6.212 Section B Statement of assets and liabilities at the end of the period Unr8strfcted Restrlcted fund• fund• to n•w••l £ Endowment lund• to n••r••t £ Categorl•$ Dèta115 to n•aY••t£ B1 Cash fund• Uoyds Bank 136 277 Total c•8h fiinds 13ts 277 l•Br•¢ r•cdpt#aTrd p•wr unt(ll Unr••trlctsd lunds RMtrlct•d lund• Endowm•nl fund• Details lo nMr•Bt£ to n•ar•4t £ to n•v•¢t £ Fund tè whlch •M•tb•lor4• Detalls C1 loptsoMII Curmnt valu• loptlon•ll Fund to *thl¢h a8s•t b•J¢no1 Cumint valu• Details (optlonall CCXX R2 8cttJunls ISS) 301061202.
B4 Assots retalnod for the eharltys own u STOCK OF DONATED BICYCLES UNRESTRICTEO WORKSHOPTOOLS UNRESTRICTED Fund to whlch Il•blllty r•1 Amount du• l•ptlon•ll Wh•n du• lopilon•ll Details BS Ll•bllltl•s Slgned by on• or IN81••5 on b•h8lf of all Iho tru6tee8 Sign8ture Print Name Date of approval NbJThQfvll klyDoULD 25/5121 CCXX R3 aoUntS {SS) 301081202"
CHARITY COMMISSION FOR ENGLAND AND WALES Independent examinerfs report on the accounts Section A Independont Examiner s Report PRcl&lL BIs m•mb•rn of On ac¢ounts for tho year •ndod 31 October 2020 Charlty no (If any) 1170845 Set out on pag8• I report to the tru8tO88 on my amInatIon of the accounts of the above charny (Ihe Trust.) for th8 year er)ded RMpoMlblllUo• and Ai the charlty trustees ofthe Trust, YOU are r88ponslble for the proparation b••l8 of r•port of thè accounts In accordance wtth the requirement8 of the Ch8rf1188 Act 2011 (Yhe Acf). I report In respect of my examlnallon of the Trust's accounts carrd out under section 145 of the 2011 Act and in carrying out my examinatlDn. I have follo the applicable Dlr8Ctions gfven ty the Charity Commlssion under 8edlon 145(SXb> of the Act. I have completed my examinallon. I confirm that no materlal matters have Come to my attentlon (other than thal disclosed bolow ') In ¢onnection with the examinatlon wh6ch gives mé cau8e to bellev8 that In, any materlal re8pect.' accountlng red8 not kopt In accordan wlth 8•ctlon 130 of Act or t a(%ount8 do not accord wlth the accountSng record• I have no conrRrn8 and have come acr088 no other mattern In connectlon wlth Ihe examination to which attenllon should b8 drawn In ordw to enable a proper understanding of the account8 to be reached. ' Please d6 te tha word8 in the br8ckets rfthgy do not apply. Independent •xamlnef• •tat•ment 8lgn¢d: Dat•: 21812021 Nam•: Neil Luklns Rolevant prof•*$lonal quallfi¢atlonl•) or body (11 afty): FCCA Addr•u: 27 GREEN STREET HINTON ST GEORGE SOMERSET. TA17 8SQ IER O¢tobor 2018
Sectioii B D15cIosLJrc Only complete rfthe examiner needs to highlight matters of ¢on¢em (see CC32, Independent examination of charity acnts.. directs'on8 guidan* for examiners). Glvo hor• brf•f dots118 of any Itéms that tho •xamin•r whhes to dl¥¢lo••. IER OCtor 2018