Rock ‘n’ Soul Singers Registered Charity Number 1173836 Annual Report and Financial Statement 1[st] August 2024 - 31[st] July 2025
Presented and approved for publication by the Rock ‘n’ Soul Trustees in accordance with the Charities Act 2011.
Rock ‘n’ Soul Singers CIO st Annual Report and Financial Statement for Year Ending 31 July 2025
Objectives, aims and activities
Objectives
The Rock ‘n’ Soul Singers CIO was established as a registered charity (1173836) on 17th July 2017.
The objectives of the choir are:
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To advance, improve, develop and maintain public education in, and appreciation of, the art and science of music in all its aspects by any means the trustees consider suitable, including through the presentation of public concerts and recitals.
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To further such charitable purposes for the public benefit as are exclusively charitable according to the laws of England and Wales as the trustees may from time to time determine, in particular through the making of donations.
Aims
The choir’s aims for the financial year 1[st] August 2024 – 31[st] July 2025 were as follows:
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To build listening skills within and across sections, helping develop a more cohesive and blended choir sound.
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To increase singers’ confidence in performing without sheet music, encouraging stronger connection with the audience and each other.
Activities
This year the choir took part in the following performances:
Selstock Beer and Music festival
On 10[th] August 2024 the choir were again invited to be the opening act for the Selstock Beer and Music festival.
Nottingham Robin Hood Beer Festival
On Thursday 10th October 2024 the choir sang at Trent Bridge Cricket Ground as part of the Nottingham Beer Festival. We had a great time entertaining the crowd, who all seemed to be having a good time too!
Nuthall WI meeting
On Saturday 9th November 2024 the choir sang at Nuthall Methodist Church for a meeting of local WI groups. The choir were well received and enjoyed giving the performance.
Selston Christmas Lights
On November 29th 2024 the choir sang at the Selston Christmas Lights switch-on and were rewarded with mince pies and sausage rolls.
Elderberries group
On Friday November 29th 2024 the choir sang at Hilltop, Eastwood. As usual the group were very welcoming and we all enjoyed the concert which featured some of our Christmas repertoire.
Arnold U3A Christmas meeting
On December 3rd 2024, the choir sang to a large audience of U3A members at Arnold Methodist Church. Although the number of choir members was relatively low, the acoustics in the church helped to create a fuller sound and the audience were very appreciative of the performance.
Christmas Concert 2024
On December 14th 2024 the choir held its annual Christmas Concert at Selston Parish Hall. Tickets sold very quickly via choir members and no advertising took place due to an early sell-out. We were joined by Oliver on drums and Ben on electric guitar and had a very enjoyable evening with an enthusiastic audience.
'Rewind through the decades' Concert Spring 2025
On Saturday 29th March 2025 we held our Spring Concert entitled 'Rewind through the decades' at Underwood Church. We sang songs from each decade from the 60s through to the 2010s, and were joined by Oliver on drums and Ben on electric guitar. We received lots of great feedback from the audience and really enjoyed ourselves. At the concert we presented a cheque for £3000 which is the total amount we have raised so far for Nottinghamshire Blood Bikes.
‘Summer Sensation of Songs' Concert June 2025
On Saturday 28th June 2025 we held a joint concert with Sonara ladies choir at St Andrew's Church Swanwick. Each choir sang individually, and we sang together for the grand finale - 'Something inside so strong'. The audience enjoyed the diverse musical styles that were included in the programme, and over £1350 was raised for the choirs' nominated charities - Rainbows Children's Charity and Nottinghamshire Blood Bikes.
Achievements and performance
Listening Skills
Rachel our MD has continued to focus on blending individual members voices, by encouraging the choir to listen within their sections, singing to each other. This is then balanced with listening to other sections to give a cohesive sound. Whilst this is still ongoing, good progress has been made.
Member’s confidence
Rachel has encouraged choir members to learn musical pieces by heart and not rely on using music during performances. This has been really successful and has resulted in a much improved overall sound and better engagement with audiences.
Summary
During this period, Rachel Cropley our Musical Director has continued to use her considerable skills to improve the overall sound produced by the choir. Feedback from audiences has been extremely positive, and the choir continues to receive requests for appearances by community groups and other very experienced choirs. This indicates that the Rock 'n' Soul Singers choir is popular with audiences and is respected by their peers.
Structure, governance and management
The Rock ‘n’ Soul Singers choir was established as a CIO and registered charity (number 1173836) on 17th July 2017. The choir is governed by a Constitution which was adopted in February 2017 and amended in July 2017.
Trustees of Rock ‘n’ Soul Singers CIO (August 2024 – July 2025):
Maria Beal Chair Helen Asbury Secretary Yvonne Footitt Treasurer Clare Cooper Librarian Rosemary Lynam Events & Members secretary Timothy Plant Legal Compliance Trudy Webster Charity Liaison Trevor Woolley Committee Member Petra Turton Committee Member
The trustees are responsible for the day-to-day running of the organisation, and make all the decisions required to do this. Decisions made outside the board of Trustees are group decisions voted on by the choir membership, and include choosing charity partners, changes to the constitution and other major decisions that affect the membership as a whole.
Trustees are nominated and voted into post by members of the choir, the appointment process taking place on an annual basis.
To the best of their knowledge, the Trustees have complied with their duty to have due regard to the Charity Commission’s public benefit guidance wherever relevant.
Reference and administrative details
Rock ‘n’ Soul Singers Principle Office address:
50 Alfreton Road Underwood Nottingham NG16 5GB
Banking Services
TSB Bank plc 80/82 Nottingham Road Eastwood Nottingham NG16 3NQ
National Association of Choirs
The Rock ‘n’ Soul Singers CIO is a member of the National Association of Choirs, which provides support in areas such as legal advice and best practice guidance.
Financial Summary
The previous year’s balance was £3843.78
Income
Members’ contributions
Members contributions have remained the same - £36 if paid once every 12 weeks, mostly paid by BACS or cheque, with the option to pay £4 a week on a weekly basis.
Total of members contributions - £6934.20
Other income
Gift Aid - £586.69 Grants & Donations - £330.00 Charitable activities & Collections - £3068.00 Receipts for uniforms - £58.00
Total Income: including start of year balance - £14,820.67
Expenditure
Rehearsal venue charges - £1160.00, (£25 per week). MD fees - £2600.00 Accompanist fees - £2110.00 Concert expenses - £1195.34 Music purchases - £1552.79 (mostly downloaded digital copies). Uniforms - £87.99
Other expenses - Insurance inc Public Liability £87.00, NAC Membership £63, Members’ expenses £366.60 Charity donations –
Nottinghamshire Blood Bikes £2270.23
St Michael's Church Underwood £400.00
This totals £2670.23 in charity donations.
Total Expenditure - £11,892.95
The end of year balance stands at £2927.72 . This puts the choir in a good position to cover any increased expenses in terms of rehearsal venue, MD and Accompanist costs, and future equipment purchases, and is in line with the maximum (£4,000) and minimum (£3,450) thresholds of reserves set for this financial year.
Assets
The choir holds assets of £7,059 consisting of £1456 equipment and £5603 of purchased sheet music.
Financial Due Diligence
Because of the choir’s relatively low turnover, with an income of less than £25,000, it is not necessary to submit a copy of an independent examiner’s report.
Financial checks for the choir are undertaken by a Finance sub-group which comprises of three trustees, and regular checks take place to verify the accounts.
The Financial Statement for 2024-2025 is detailed in a separate document.
Document Approval Document Approval
This document is approved on behalf of the Trustees board This document is approved on behalf of the Trustees board
Date: Date: pate: 2572/26 Date: Name: Name: MAQA-AIA BAL Name: Name: Signature: Signature: Signature: Venera Bas Signature:
| ROCK 'N' SOUL SINGERS 1173836 |
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| CC16a Receipts and payments accounts |
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| For the period from To 1st August 2024 31st July 2025 |
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| Section A Receipts and payments | |
| Unrestricted funds Restricted funds Endowment funds Total funds Last year |
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| to the nearest £ to the nearest £ to the nearest £ to the nearest £ to the nearest £ |
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| A1 Receipts Members Donations 6,934 - - 6,934 - Grants and Donations 330 - - 330 - Charitable activities 3,056 - - 3,056 - Gift Aid 587 - - 587 - Charity Collections - - - - - Receipts for Uniforms 58 - - 58 - Other 12 - - 12 - - - - - - Sub total(Gross income for AR) 10,977 - - 10,977 - ~~=e~~ |
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| A2 Asset and investment sales, (see table). - - - - - - - - - Sub total - - - - - Total receipts 10,977 - - 10,977 - A3 Payments Accompanist 2,110 - - 2,110 - Musical Director 2,600 - - 2,600 - Rehearsal Venue 1,160 - - 1,160 - Sheet Music 1,553 - - 1,553 - Uniforms 88 - - 88 - Donations to Charity 2,670 - - 2,670 - Concert Expenses 1,195 - - 1,195 - Other 517 - - 517 - - - - - - Sub total 11,893 - - 11,893 - A4 Asset and investment purchases, (see table) Sheet music, equipment & uniforms - - - - - - - - Sub total - - - - - Total payments 11,893 - - 11,893 - ~~S55~~ ~~sans=~~ ~~= ———~~ |
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| Net of receipts/(payments) - 916 - - - 916 - A5 Transfers between funds - - - - - A6 Cash funds last year end 3,844 - - 3,844 - Cash funds this year end 2,928 - - 2,928 - ~~=SSS=~~ |
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| Section B Statement of assets and liabilities at the end of the period | Section B Statement of assets and liabilities at the end of the period | Section B Statement of assets and liabilities at the end of the period | Section B Statement of assets and liabilities at the end of the period | Section B Statement of assets and liabilities at the end of the period | 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 | Bank account + petty cash | 2,928 | - | - | |||
| - | - | - | |||||
| - | - | - | |||||
| Total cash funds | 2,928 | - | - | ||||
| (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) |
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| B3 Investment assets | - | - | |||||
| - | - | ||||||
| - | - | ||||||
| - | - | ||||||
| - | - | ||||||
| Details | Fund to which asset belongs |
Cost (optional) | Current value (optional) |
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| B4 Assets retained for the | Sheet music | Unrestricted | 303 | - | |||
| charity’s own use | Equipment Uniforms |
Unrestricted Unrestricted |
- - |
- - |
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| Assets introduced: | - | - | |||||
| Piano, amps, accessories | Unrestricted | 1,331 | - | ||||
| Roller banners | Unrestricted | 125 | - | ||||
| Music and folders | Unrestricted | 5,300 | - | ||||
| - | - | ||||||
| - | - | ||||||
| Fund to which | Amount due | When due | |||||
| Details | liability relates | (optional) | (optional) | ||||
| B5 Liabilities | - | ||||||
| - | |||||||
| - | |||||||
| - | |||||||
| - | |||||||
| Signed by one or two trustees on behalf of all the trustees Stoned by one'ortwpmuses on behalfofallthetrustees |
Signature Signature |
Print Name |
Print Name Name |
Date of approval Date ofapproval |
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