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Bridgend Samaritans
Trustees’ Annual Report and Financial Statements For the Year ended 31 March 2024
Annual Report and Financial Statements Year ended 31 March 2024
Bridgend Samaritans Charity Registration Number 1170848
Contents
Charity Information....................................................................................................................... 2 Branch Director’s Report............................................................................................................... 3 Trustees’ Annual Report ............................................................................................................... 3 Independent Examiner’s Report ................................................................................................... 9 Statement of Financial Activities................................................................................................. 10 Balance Sheet ............................................................................................................................. 11 Notes to the financial statements ............................................................................................... 12
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Annual Report and Financial Statements Year ended 31 March 2024
Bridgend Samaritans Charity Registration Number 1170848
Charity Information
Charity Name: Bridgend Samaritans Organisation type: CIO Registered Charity Number: 1170848 Registered Address: Bridgend Samaritans, 2 Green Street, Bridgend, CF31 1HF Website: www.samaritans.org/bridgend Trustees: JL Griffiths (Director and Chair) R Harbour A Marshall (resigned 14[th] June 2023) J Osborne (Secretary) J Wynne (Treasurer) W Xerri (appointed 14[th] June 2023) Independent Examiner: P Whiting, Thaw Cottage, City, Cowbridge, CF71 7RW Solicitors: Redkite Law, Old Castle Offices, South Street, Bridgend CF31 3ED Bankers: Lloyds Bank plc, 14 High Street North, East Ham E6 2HN CCLA Fund Managers Ltd, One Angel Lane, London EC4R 3AB
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Annual Report and Financial Statements Year ended 31 March 2024
Bridgend Samaritans Charity Registration Number 1170848
Branch Director’s Report
This year, which marked our 50[th] anniversary, has been another busy year for everyone in branch. A key focus for us was to continue to increase the amount of outreach work we do in our local community following the removal of restrictions posed by the pandemic and I am pleased to say that we are now well and truly back on track. Our premises team members have also been busy upgrading aspects of the building to ensure we continue to provide a safe and pleasant environment for everyone. Alongside this, we have continued to recruit and train new volunteers; have strengthened the teams providing our volunteers with support and leadership during their journey with us; and have continued to support HMP & YOI Parc with the Listener Scheme.
Special thanks must go to my fellow trustees and members of the branch leadership team who, along with many others, dedicate a lot of their time to ensure the branch runs smoothly. There are a number of areas of responsibility that contribute to the successful provision of our service including recruitment, training, volunteer support, duty leaders, outreach, publicity, fundraising, premises, IT and the prison Listener Scheme and I know the trustees join me in thanking all of those who lead or participate in each of these functions for all that has been achieved this year.
We can only do what we do through the generosity of others and we are very grateful to the organisations and individuals who have supported us through the provision of grants, donations and various fund raising activities. Without their help and support we could not be here for our callers to turn to in their darkest hours.
However, despite all the financial help we have received, we have seen our income reduce for the second year running and we will be focusing attention in the coming year on our fund raising efforts.
Another challenge to be faced in the coming year is the need to increase our volunteer numbers, which have shown a decline this year. To help facilitate this, we are introducing an information morning where prospective volunteers can come to the branch to learn more about the branch and what we do. We are hoping that a return to more face-to-face contact with perspective volunteers will help encourage them to join us. We will also be returning to face-to-face training for our new recruits.
Our IT team will also be kept busy in the months ahead with the introduction of a new more reliable multi-channel platform, which will improve the experience for both our callers and volunteers.
Finally, I would also like to thank each and every branch member for their ongoing support, the contribution they have made to the running of the branch, and for being there for our callers.
Julie Griffiths
Branch Director and Chair of Trustees Bridgend Samaritans
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Annual Report and Financial Statements Year ended 31 March 2024
Bridgend Samaritans Charity Registration Number 1170848
Trustees’ Annual Report
The trustees present their annual report and financial statements for the year ended 31 March 2024.
Objectives
The charity’s objects are to: enable persons who are experiencing feelings of distress or despair, including those who may be at risk of suicide, to receive confidential emotional support at any time of the day or night from appropriately trained Samaritans in order to improve their emotional health and to reduce the incidence of suicidal feelings; and to promote a better understanding in society of suicide, suicidal behaviour and the value of expressing feelings which may otherwise lead to suicide or impaired emotional health, and to collaborate with and support Samaritans Central Charity and its affiliated branches in fulfilling these objects.
Our Vision
Our vision is that fewer people die by suicide.
To achieve this, we believe Samaritans has a crucial role to play in:
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reducing the risk factors that make some people more likely to take their own lives;
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ensuring that people who are at increased risk of suicide are supported;
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making it less likely that people who do experience suicidal thoughts act on them; and
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reducing the likelihood that people will develop suicidal thoughts.
Our Mission
We’re here every day and night of the year for anyone struggling to cope. We make sure people have somewhere to turn and support when they need it most. We work with communities to let people know we’re here for them and we campaign to make suicide prevention a priority.
Our Values
Our support services adapt to the changing environment, but the values at the core of our listening service remain constant.
Listening
Exploring feelings alleviates distress and helps people to reach a better understanding of their situation and the options open to them.
Confidentiality
If people feel safe, they are more likely to be open about their feelings.
Non-judgemental
We want people to be able to talk to us without fear of prejudice or rejection.
People making their own decisions
We believe that people have the right to find their own solution and that telling people what to do takes responsibility away from them.
Human contact
Giving people time, undivided attention and empathy meets a fundamental emotional need and reduces distress and despair.
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Annual Report and Financial Statements Year ended 31 March 2024
Bridgend Samaritans Charity Registration Number 1170848
Achievements and performance
The Charity’s core activity is to support the Samaritans national helpline which it does by managing volunteer rotas to ensure the national helpline operates every day of the year and 24 hours a day. Each rota shift is 3-4 hours long and covered by at least two listening volunteers and a shift leader. On average throughout the year (April 2023 to March 2024) 54 listening volunteers spent 3,536 hours on the phone (last year 59 volunteers spent 3,777 hours on the phone). Our listening volunteers are approximately three quarters of our total membership at any one time. Bridgend branch received 15,315 contacts during the year from callers which included 15,215 inbound phone calls, 63 follow up calls, and 37 callers were supported outside the branch through our outreach programme. The majority of the callers were offered emotional support, but 3,077 callers made ‘snap’ calls, where the contact was less than 10 seconds. Where the gender of contacts could be determined 47.2% percent identified as male, 50.6% percent identified as female and 0.3% identified as transgender or some other preferred term. The gender of a caller was unable to be determined in 1.9% of callers.
A priority during the year has been to increase the amount of time we are available to take calls between the hours of 2am and 6am, which our revised rota has enabled us to achieve. This year, on average, 9% (7% last year) of our time on the phone has been between the hours of 2am and 6am which is just short of our 10% target.
Our rota team, although small, are a vital cog in us getting duties appropriately covered.
Recruitment and selection
Our recruitment and selection team undertook 2 sets of recruitment and selection interviews this year. We received a total of 55 incoming enquiries (much the same as we received last year) out of which: 17 of these withdrew for a variety of reasons; 9 did not respond when we contacted them; 2 transferred to other branches; 17 were selected and moved on to start their training and 10 have booked an interview for the next round in June 2024.
The recruitment challenge remains one which the Samaritans organisation, as a whole, has continued to work hard to address, as the statistics continue to show a slowing down in enquiries post-Covid. Our main source of enquiries is the Samaritans Website which comes through to the Branch Management Tool (the Samaritans automated system that deals with Recruitment, Selection and Training data), with just a handful from direct emails and Samaritans Cymru Central Office.
We are anticipating returning to three intakes over this coming year, which will help increase our volunteer numbers. To help facilitate this, we are introducing an information morning where prospective volunteers can come into the branch to learn more about the branch and what we do.
Our thanks go to Dave, our deputy director for recruitment and selection, and his team for being there right at the start of those potential volunteers’ journey in becoming full listening volunteer members of Bridgend Samaritans.
Volunteer training
Our training team has the task of training our new volunteers, as well as ensuring the skill levels of all our active listeners is maintained. They also train our outreach team members to equip them for delivering our service outside of the branch, our branch leadership team members and our Listeners.
Our new volunteers undergo six months of training before becoming active listening volunteers and this involves our core and embedding training, along with a period working with a mentor. Part of
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Annual Report and Financial Statements Year ended 31 March 2024
Bridgend Samaritans Charity Registration Number 1170848
the training is skills practice, and we have a small team of trained skills practitioners who use remote skills sessions to help prepare our new volunteers for their role as listening volunteers.
This year the training team delivered 132 hours of core and embedding training, which enabled 20 new Samaritans to start taking calls in our operations room (last year 24). The role of the mentor in the development of our new starters is crucial in providing them with the best possible experience as they prepare to move forward to full listening Samaritans.
We are very grateful to Gabby and her team of trainers, skill practitioners and mentors for all they do in ensuring our volunteers are provided with the training and mentorship they require to meet the needs of our callers.
Supporting our volunteers
Listening to users of our service and providing emotional support can be challenging. It is therefore important for us to have a robust structure in place to care for our volunteers. Our specially trained leaders and volunteer care team members provide the support needed to enable our volunteers to help others while maintaining personal well-being.
Leaders
Our Leaders are known as the “eyes and ears of the branch”. All duties must have a Leader and their role is to support volunteers throughout their shift, and after, if necessary, by providing guidance and emotional support.
When recruiting new leaders it is important to choose people with the right skills and attributes and for them to have the time to undertake the additional workload. The leaders must be available by telephone throughout the shift they are leading. There are currently 17 active (last year 19), regular and experienced leaders within the branch.
Our thanks go to Elise and her team of Leaders, who are vital to keeping shifts on our rota open and extend a welcome to Darren, who took over the deputy director role from Elise and the end of the year.
Volunteer Support
The other vital role in our volunteer support structure is that of volunteer support. We have a hardworking team of 9 volunteers (12 last year) who support all our volunteers, helping where needed to enable us all to maintain good health and wellbeing and establish good working relations within Bridgend branch.
Each team member is assigned a number of branch Samaritans to care for and support. Their role being to ensure they make regular contact to check all is well. This may be worries about their role or a recent call they have taken, or a personal worry or concern. Whatever the circumstances, the Volunteer Support team provides the required back up in complete confidence. The ethos of Samaritans is "The Care of Others" so therefore it is vitally important we care for our own hard working branch volunteers. Thank you to Vicky and her team for helping us when we need it.
Our work in the community
Bridgend Samaritans branch is recognised within the organisation for its prolific outreach and awareness raising activities, which have always been many and varied. We are therefore very grateful to Paul, our deputy director for outreach, who has continued to work hard to re-establish
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Annual Report and Financial Statements Year ended 31 March 2024
Bridgend Samaritans Charity Registration Number 1170848
links and resume our regular activities following the pandemic and to his team for all they have done.
More than 24 volunteers have undertaken at least one outreach event in the last year, with a number of volunteers participating in multiple events. This has involved 320 hours of outreach volunteer time (260 hours last year), which has enabled us to engage with approximately 1,600 members of the public as well as providing emotional support in the community to 37 people who have reached out to us while attending events. Outreach activities are additional to our regular phone listening duties and we would like to thank everyone who has supported these activities and events throughout the year.
These include:
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re-establishment of our partnership with the Princess of Wales Hospital supporting both patients and staff on a regular basis;
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resumption of our regular ‘Feet on the Street’ activities in Bridgend Town Centre;
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regular attendance at a foodbank in Cornelly;
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support for events involving young people such as visits to educational premises and attendance at Bridgend College events;
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Samaritans national awareness events at Bridgend and Pontyclun railway stations with early starts to catch the commuter rush;
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supporting colleagues in other branches by attending events such as the Royal Welsh Show and Cardiff Pride;
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attendance at a number of local community events across the county including venues in Bridgend, Cowbridge, Ton Kenfig, Kenfig Hill, and Ogmore Valley;
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delivery of workshops to local businesses and organisations in Bridgend and the Vale of Glamorgan; and
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continued partnership working with the Glamorgan Heritage Coast Parish, with St Illtyd’s Church in Llantwit Major continuing to have our literature on display
Looking forward to the coming year, Paul is working with South Wales Police to re-establish our attendance at their custody suite.
Supporting prisoners
Supporting prisoners is important. People in prison are ten times more likely to die by suicide than people in the general population.
Samaritans provide emotional support to prisoners in two key ways:
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(i) Samaritans volunteers in branches talk to prisoners who phone us;
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(ii) by operating the Listener scheme inside prisons.
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Annual Report and Financial Statements Year ended 31 March 2024
Bridgend Samaritans Charity Registration Number 1170848
Samaritans also provide confidential help and emotional support to prison staff and to prisoners’ families.
The Listeners is a special scheme run by Samaritans inside prisons. The Listeners are prisoners who have been selected and trained by Samaritans to enable them to act as “the Samaritans” inside the prison so that they can provide face-to-face confidential emotional support to their fellow prisoners. Listeners have been operating in UK prisons since the scheme was initiated in HMP Swansea in 1991. From these early beginnings the Listener Scheme spread and nowadays there are Listener Schemes operating in most UK & ROI prisons. Each Listener Scheme is supported by volunteers from the local Samaritans Branch.
At Bridgend Samaritans we have a small, dedicated, Branch Prison Support Team of volunteers that supports our local prison, HMP & YOI Parc. Parc is classed as a Cat B/C male prison for about 1700 inmates. It is a private prison run on behalf of the Prison Service by G4S. Every week our Branch Prison Support Team spends time in the prison supporting our Listeners. Our Branch has been supporting the Listener Scheme at HMP & YOI Parc since it opened in 1997.
In 2023/24 we had between 19 and 27 trained Listeners in Parc who regularly provided round the clock emotional support to their fellow prisoners. All Listeners are selected and trained by Bridgend Samaritans which requires our Branch Prison Team to engage the help of the Branch Recruitment Team and the Branch Training Team.
Our Listener Scheme does save lives and the support our branch gives to Parc means we can continue to help prisoners who are worried, finding it difficult to cope, or who may be in despair. In addition to providing face-to-face support on request, our Listeners also undertake weekly “Introduction to Listeners” sessions with newly arrived prisoners and our Listeners also provide extra emotional support sessions when needed following any deaths in the prison.
Our thanks go to Grace and her team for all they do. We are also very grateful for the support we receive from the Management and Safer Custody staff at HMP & YOI Parc for our Listener Scheme.
Long service awards
It is important that we acknowledge and celebrate key milestones in our volunteers’ journey with us and as is customary, this year we are celebrating the following long service awards with heartfelt thanks for their hard work, dedication, and support.
| Frances | 5 | years |
|---|---|---|
| John | 5 | years |
| Kitty | 5 | years |
| Melanie | 5 | years |
| Jan | 15 | years |
| Paul | 15 | years |
| Evan | 25 | years |
| Philip | 48 | years |
Gifts and Donations
Without the generosity of others we could not be here for our callers to turn to in their darkest hours. We can only do what we do through the generosity of others. This includes organisations who provide us with grants and donations; individuals who have undertaken sponsored activities;
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Annual Report and Financial Statements Year ended 31 March 2024
Bridgend Samaritans Charity Registration Number 1170848
those who have chosen to leave us legacies or donate money in lieu of flowers when loved ones have passed away; and individuals who put their spare change into our collecting boxes hosted by many businesses across the communities that we support. We are very grateful to everyone who has helped us.
Structure, governance and management
Bridgend Samaritans (registered charity number 1170848) is a CIO governed by its constitution dated February 2016. The charity is an affiliated branch of the Samaritans (charity 757372), and its service delivery is governed by an operating agreement with that national charity.
The charity is led by a Branch Director (who is also a trustee and the Chair of Trustees) and the trustees who are responsible for its general management. The Branch Director and trustees pay due regard to the public benefit guidance issued by the Charity Commission in deciding what activities the charity should undertake. Bridgend Samaritans does not charge for the charitable services it provides.
The trustees and Regional Director for Wales consult with all branch members and then select who should be appointed as Branch Director for a term of three years. Trustees are elected annually by the members at the Annual General Meeting. The members are the currently serving volunteers at Samaritans Bridgend CIO. The minimum number of trustees is 3 and the maximum 13.
Up to two trustees may be appointed by the existing trustees if any gaps in expertise are identified on the Charity's Board of Trustees. Such trustees are required to retire and seek re-election at the next AGM. The Branch Director and trustees may serve for up to 6 consecutive years.
In addition, a team of deputy directors support the Branch Director in the day-to-day operational management.
Risk management
The trustees have considered the principal risks to which the organisation is exposed and have developed strategies and action plans to mitigate the effects of these where possible.
Key risks identified include the health and safety of volunteers, maintenance of the branch premises, ongoing recruitment and retention of volunteers and the continued financial viability of the charity.
The trustees complete an annual review of the risks and controls at the charity.
Financial review
We are grateful to our generous supporters who in total gave the branch £22,785 (last year £33,370), this income has reduced for the 2[nd] consecutive year as the trustees have focussed on safety and recovery from Covid years which has led to a reduction in the number of larger gifts to the branch and has triggered a new focus on fund raising for next year.
Running costs were reduced to £18,737 (last year £21,556) with additional expenditure of £11,200 (last year £nil) on premises safety improvements at the branch for which funds were designated last year.
The trustees have adopted a low-risk investment strategy and funds are held with Lloyds Bank and CCLA (see note 6).
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Annual Report and Financial Statements Year ended 31 March 2024
Bridgend Samaritans Charity Registration Number 1170848
Future plans
The charity continues to develop new plans to achieve its objectives for the helpline, prison support and local outreach. Additionally the trustees new focus on fund raising aims to develop a new strategy to engage our volunteers to help increase income over the coming years.
Reserves policy
The trustees have set a minimum level of free reserves of 12 months of operating costs, this amounts to approximately £30,000. Reserves have not fallen below this level in either year.
| 31 Mar 2024 |
31 Mar 2023 |
|
|---|---|---|
| Total unrestricted –general funds | 112,878 | 106,114 |
| Less fixed assets | (36,570) | (37,332) |
| Free reserves | 76,308 | 68,782 |
Statement of Trustees’ Responsibilities
Bridgend Samaritans Branch Trustees are required to prepare financial statements for each financial year which give a true and fair view of the state of the charity and of the surplus or deficit of the charity for that period.
The Trustees are responsible for keeping proper accounting records, which disclose with reasonable accuracy at any time the financial position of the charity. They are also responsible for safeguarding the assets of the charity and hence for taking reasonable steps for the prevention of fraud and other irregularities.
In preparing those accounts, the Trustees are required to:
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select suitable accounting policies and then apply them consistently;
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observe the methods and principles in the Charities Statement of Recommended Practice;
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make judgements and estimates that are reasonable and prudent;
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state whether applicable accounting standards have been followed, subject to any material departures disclosed and explained in the financial statements;
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prepare the financial statement on the going concern basis unless it is inappropriate to presume that the charity will continue in existence.
The trustees' report was approved by the Board of Trustees on 4[th] June 2024.
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JL Griffiths, Branch Director and Chair of Trustees
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Annual Report and Financial Statements Year ended 31 March 2024
Bridgend Samaritans Charity Registration Number 1170848
Independent Examiner’s Report
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Annual Report and Financial Statements Year ended 31 March 2024
Bridgend Samaritans Charity Registration Number 1170848
Statement of Financial Activities
Year ended 31[st] March 2024
| Note | Unrestricted | Designated | Restricted | Total Funds | Total Funds | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Funds | Funds | Funds | 2024 | 2023 | ||
| INCOME | ||||||
| Voluntary income | 2a | 21,285 | - | 1,500 | 22,785 | 33,370 |
| Charitable income | 2b | 10 | - | - | 10 | 413 |
| Interest income | 3,166 | - | - | 3,166 | 873 | |
| TOTAL income | 24,461 | - | 1,500 | 25,961 | 34,655 | |
| EXPENDITURE | ||||||
| Generating funds | 712 | - | - | 712 | 452 | |
| Charitable activities: | ||||||
| General expenditure | 3 | 18,737 | 11,200 | 19 | 29,956 | 28,045 |
| Grant to Samaritans (national) | 2,701 | - | - | 2,701 | 4,366 | |
| Depreciation | 5 | 762 | - | - | 762 | 762 |
| TOTAL expenditure | 22,912 | 11,200 | 19 | 34,131 | 33,625 | |
| Net income / (expenditure) for the | year | 1,549 | (11,200) | 1,481 | (8,170) | 10,772 |
| Fund reconciliation: | ||||||
| Fund balance brought forward | 106,114 | 15,000 | - | 121,114 | 120,084 | |
| Net income / expenditure | 1,549 | (11,200) | 1,481 | (8,170) | 1,030 | |
| Fund transfers | 5,281 | (3,800) | (1,481) | - | - | |
| Fund balance carried forward | 8 | 112,944 | - | - | 112,944 | 121,114 |
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Annual Report and Financial Statements Year ended 31 March 2024
Bridgend Samaritans Charity Registration Number 1170848
Balance Sheet
As at 31[st] March 2024
| Note | 2024 | 2024 | 2023 | 2023 | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| £ | £ | £ | £ | ||
| Tangible fixed assets | 5 | 36,570 | 37,332 | ||
| Current assets | |||||
| Bank deposits | 6 | 79,571 | 91,086 | ||
| Prepayments | 2,036 | 2,026 | |||
| Total current assets | 81,607 | 93,112 | |||
| Current liabilities | |||||
| Creditors | 285 | 3,380 | |||
| Accruals | 4,750 | 5,950 | |||
| Deferred income | 198 | - | |||
| Total current liabilities | 5,233 | 9,330 | |||
| Net current assets | 76,374 | 83,782 | |||
| NET ASSETS | 7 | 112,944 | 121,114 | ||
| Unrestricted funds | 112,944 | 106,114 | |||
| Designated funds | - | 15,000 | |||
| Restricted funds | - | - | |||
| TOTAL FUNDS | 8 | 112,944 | 121,114 |
Approved by the Trustees on 4[th] June 2024 and signed on their behalf by:
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JL Griffiths, Branch Director and Chair of Trustees
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Annual Report and Financial Statements Year ended 31 March 2024
Bridgend Samaritans Charity Registration Number 1170848
Notes to the financial statements
1. Statement of Accounting Policies
Basis of Preparation
The accounts have been prepared under the historical cost conversion. The financial statement followed the guidelines of the revised Statement of Recommended Practice for Accounting Charities, effective from 1st January 2015 (the Charities SORP FRSSE version) and uses applicable Accounting Standards.
Going Concern
At the time of approving the financial statements, the trustees have a reasonable expectation that the charity has adequate resources to continue in operational existence for the foreseeable future. Thus, the trustees continue to adopt the going concern basis of accounting in preparing the financial statements.
Fund Accounting
Unrestricted funds are available for use at the discretion of the Trustees, in furtherance of the objectives of the charity and have not been designated for other purposes. Designated funds comprise unrestricted funds that have been set aside by the Trustees for particular purposes. Restricted funds are funds that are to be used in accordance with specific restrictions imposed by the donor.
Incoming Resources
Incoming resources are included and recognised in full when deposited in the charity’s bank accounts.
No amounts are included in the financial statements for services donated by volunteers.
Resources Expended
All expenditure is accounted for on an accruals basis and has been classified under headings that aggregate all costs related to that category.
Fundraising cost are those costs incurred in seeking and receiving voluntary contributions.
Fixed Assets
Assets costing under £1,000 have been expended in the year of purchase as they have been deemed to be minor in nature. Freehold property was previously not depreciated, but from April 2022 it is being written down at 2% per year to better reflect the estimated lifetime of the premises. All other assets are depreciated on a straight-line basis at 20% per year.
Taxation
Bridgend Samaritans is a registered charity and is therefore potentially exempt from taxation of its income and gains to the extent that they fall within section 505 of the Income & Corporation Taxes Act 1998 and section 256 of the Taxation of Chargeable Gains Act 1992. No tax charge has arisen this year.
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Annual Report and Financial Statements Year ended 31 March 2024
Charity Registration Number 1170848
Bridgend Samaritans
2. Income
| 2a. Voluntary income | Unrestricted | Restricted | Total 2024 | Total 2023 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| funds | Funds | |||
| Donations | 14,917 | 1,500 | 16,417 | 29,034 |
| Gift aid | 1,156 | - | 1,156 | 2,183 |
| Collections and boxes | 3,257 | - | 3,257 | 3,700 |
| Legacies & in memoriam | 1,955 | - | 1,955 | 636 |
| Total voluntary income | 21,285 | 1,500 | 22,785 | 33,370 |
| 2b. Income from charitable activity | Unrestricted | Restricted | Total 2024 | Total 2023 |
| funds | Funds | |||
| Events & raffles | 10 | - | 10 | 343 |
| Sales | - | - | - | 70 |
| Total income from charitable activity | 10 | - | 10 | 413 |
3. General Expenditure
| Unrestricted | Designated | Restricted | Total 2024 | Total 2023 | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| funds | funds | Funds | |||
| Premises | 7,318 | 11,200 | - | 18,518 | 10,135 |
| Volunteers and training | 3,926 | - | 19 | 3,945 | 5,837 |
| Materials and literature | 570 | - | - | 570 | 6,050 |
| Publicity & AGM | 702 | - | - | 702 | - |
| IT and telephones | 3,030 | - | - | 3,030 | 3,264 |
| Van annual costs | 2,074 | - | - | 2,074 | 1,611 |
| General insurance | 1,117 | - | - | 1,117 | 1,148 |
| Total general expenditure | 18,737 | 11,200 | 19 | 29,956 | 28,045 |
4. Employees and Trustees
None of the trustees (or any persons connected with them) received any remuneration or benefits from the charity during the year. Trustees were reimbursed for eligible expenses incurred in the year amounting to £1,357 (2023 £1,492).
The charity has no employees (2022 – none).
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Annual Report and Financial Statements Year ended 31 March 2024
Bridgend Samaritans Charity Registration Number 1170848
5. Tangible Fixed Assets
| Freehold | Vehicles | Total 2024 | Total 2023 | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Property | ||||
| Cost: | ||||
| Brought forward | 38,094 | 24,823 | 62,917 | 64,142 |
| Disposals | - | - | - | (1,225) |
| Carried forward | 38,094 | 24,823 | 62,917 | 62,917 |
| Depreciation: | ||||
| Brought forward | 762 | 24,823 | 25,585 | 26,048 |
| Charge in year | 762 | - | 762 | 762 |
| Disposals | - | - | - | (1,225) |
| Carried forward | 1,524 | 24,823 | 26,347 | 25,585 |
| Net book value: | ||||
| Brought forward | 37,332 | - | 37,332 | 38,094 |
| Carried forward | 36,570 | - | 36,570 | 37,332 |
Our branch premises are at 2 Green Street, Bridgend, its freehold is held in the name of the charity and is included above at its original cost. Owning the freehold enables the charity to operate without paying commercial rent.
The 2% depreciation charge on freehold property is made to better reflect the revised estimated lifetime of the premises.
6. Bank deposits
| 2024 | 2023 | |
|---|---|---|
| £ | £ | |
| Lloyds Bank | 14,016 | 12,946 |
| Lloyds Bank – term deposits | - | 30,000 |
| CCLA | 65,555 | 48,110 |
| 79,571 | 91,086 |
Other than the Lloyds Bank term deposits shown above for last year (now matured) all funds shown above are available without notice.
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Annual Report and Financial Statements Year ended 31 March 2024
Bridgend Samaritans Charity Registration Number 1170848
7. Analysis of Net Assets between Funds
| Current period | Unrestricted | Designated | Restricted | Total Funds |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| funds | Funds | Funds | 2024 | |
| Tangible fixed assets | 36,570 | - | - | 36,570 |
| Current assets | 81,607 | - | - | 81,607 |
| Current liabilities | (5,233) | - | - | (5,233) |
| Net assets 31 March 2024 | 112,944 | - | - | 112,944 |
| Prior period | Unrestricted | Designated | Restricted | Total Funds |
| funds | Funds | Funds | 2023 | |
| Tangible fixed assets | 37,332 | - | - | 37,332 |
| Current assets | 78,112 | 15,000 | - | 93,112 |
| Current liabilities | (9,330) | - | - | (9,330) |
| Net assets 31 March 2023 | 106,114 | 15,000 | - | 121,114 |
8. Movement in Funds
| Current period | Opening | Incoming | Outgoing | Fund | Closing |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| funds | resources | resources | transfers | Funds 2024 | |
| Unrestricted – general funds | 106,114 | 24,461 | 22,912 | 5,281 | 112,944 |
| Designated – building fund | 15,000 | - | 11,200 | (3,800) | - |
| Restricted funds – GWR | - | 1,500 | 19 | (1,481) | - |
| Total funds | 121,114 | 25,961 | 34,131 | - | 112,944 |
| Prior period | Opening | Incoming | Outgoing | Fund | Closing |
| funds | resources | resources | transfers | Funds 2023 | |
| Unrestricted – general funds | 112,934 | 30,317 | 27,137 | (10,000) | 106,114 |
| Designated – building fund | 5,000 | - | - | 10,000 | 15,000 |
| Restricted funds – GWR | 2,150 | 4,339 | 6,489 | - | - |
| Total funds | 120,084 | 34,656 | 33,626 | - | 121,114 |
The designated reserve of £15,000 (2022 - £5,000) comprised funds set aside for premises safety improvements which were completed in the year to March 2024 for less than budgeted, on completion the unused funds were transferred back to general funds.
The restricted funds in both years comprised the generous support from the GWR Communities and Education and Community Cohesion Programme which was used to create publicity, awareness raising and recruitment of new local volunteers to support local communities over the last 2 years. The funding from the GWR Programme in 2023/24 supported the recruitment and training of outreach volunteers from within and for our local communities, work which matches our own charitable objectives the costs of which are included in general funds.
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Annual Report and Financial Statements Year ended 31 March 2024
Bridgend Samaritans Charity Registration Number 1170848
9. Ultimate control and related parties
The charity is controlled by its members who are the currently serving volunteers at the Bridgend Samaritans, the charity trustees are also members of the charity.
Bridgend Samaritans is an affiliated branch of Samaritans (charity 219432).
There were no disclosable related party transactions during the year (2023 - none).
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