2024-12-31-accounts

ROSLISTON ASTRONOMY GROUP (Reg. Chaiity Number 1175118) TRUSTEES, ANNUAL REPORT for the period - 1st Januaryj 2024 to 31st December, 2024 Aims and Purposes Rosliston Astronomy Group. abbreviated to RAG for ease of reference, is an amateur Astronomy Group with a membership of around seventy five. and with a small. but very enthusiastic and active, Junior Members, section. Although RAG is a relatively new Charity. having be8n granted status as a Charitable Incorporated Organisation (CIO) in October 2017, as a Club the group has been in existence since October 1999. Throughout this time we have been committed to delivering an 'outreach' programme for all age rang6s of th8 General Public. promoting the advancement of education in both the theory and practice of Astronomy. Our regular Meetings are based at Rosliston Forestry Centre, in South Derbyshir8. on the border with Staffordshire, and our membership and the members of the public attending our regular Meetings and one off events are mainly drawn from the surrounding a￿aS of South D8rt)yshire, Staffordshire. Leicestershire and adjacent sections of the West Midlands, wtth oGcasionai visitors from wider afield. Objectives and Activitses As a CIO our objectives are twofold: promoting, in general. scientific topics, by providing facilities for active participation particulaty, but not exclusively, in astronomical observation. and {ii) assistlng Rosliston Foresty Centre in their educational programme for members of the general public, by providing guidance. practical activities. and information on all matters relating to astronomy in its many aspects. RAG continues to be committed to enabling as many people &8 possible to experience the 'Wow' factor when they observe the wonders of the night sky. a galaxy. a solar flare or sunswt. at first hand. We believe in encouraging lrfelong learning, and helping everyone to appreciate the value of having a knowledge of Astronomy. to whatever level, and rts place in the wortd around them. Thts is refiected in the membership. with ages ranging from 7years to 80 plus. This year RAG has been able to continue our support assisting Rosliston For8sty Centre In their weekend Science Days, providing the Astronomy element, including Solar observation, active radio astronomy, and examples and explanations of d8ep sky astrophotography. Our members have also voluntsrily provided the Astronomy element at Rosliston Forestry Centre's two 'Night Watch. Events. Every 'outreach' event offered by RAG invofves a number of Members. providing a range of activities for members of the public to take part in. These activities are free, and accessible to overyon6. Members are 'on hand., both inside and out, to provide guidance,

encouragement, further explanation, provide background knowledge, and extend the public awareness of the wonders of Astronomy generally. In addition, during the y8ar. RAG'S 'outreach' support for specific communty groups was also able to continue. RAG engaged wtth four Beaver Groups, three Cub-scout groups and a Scout Group to facilitate them being able to achieve their Astronomy Badges. Members of RAG gave evening presentations to one Wl Group, and in October two Members presented an 'A8tronomy' theme to Home Educated children during Rosliston Environment Education Team's 'Schools' Science Week,. In addition to the Home Education Day. again this year. RAG took full part in the Schools, Science Week, and presented four houriy sessions to full classes on each of four days in October. RAG continued to extend our Outreach programme offsite - wtth eight Members travelling to a local Junior School in November, to assist WFth their Space Week's evening 'Camp' in the school grounds. Another Mernber travelled 30 miles in November to assist anoth8r Primary School with th8ir Space Week. and delivered 'Astronomy' to seven classes separately. The y8ar conclud￿1 wth, also in November, four Members providing an Astronomy evening for sixty Year Five primary children from a school in Nottinghamshire. This was the fourth event for this school, tt now becoming a regular booking following their successful visits in 2022, and two in 2023. In addition to our 'one-off' outreach events, RAG holds a regular series of general meetings through the year, t￿ICe ￿ery month, Mid-month and End of Month. These meetings are open to everyone, members and non-members, and are publicis8d on the RAG website Calendar. Facebook. by Rosliston Foresty Centre's Environmental Education Team, the Rosliston Forestry Centre's webstte and Centre Information booklets. specific Leaflets at the Centre, and in the Local 'What's On.. Achievements and P•rforniance The Trustees have continued to assess the effectiveness and range of RAG'S 'Outreach' Programme for specific and general public events involving the whole age range. Our Programme is well established. and well received. and has agan reached in excess of 1500 members of the general public during the year. Having due regard to the Charity Commission's documents on 'public benefrt,. Trustees have continued to spend time analysing and discussing future events and actlvitles, monitoring the effects of the pandemic which continues to have an impact on the work of the Charity, and with particular emphasis on identrfying effective evaluation and added value. and what the impact is of holding all our Meetings as 'hybrid'. being 'in p8rson' in the room. and 'online'. The data protection dement has continued to be maintained by all meetings being instigated by the Membership Secretary, as a single 80ur¢e for personal details. In more detail - the Trustees are extremely proud of the way RAG has functioned throughout 2024. The positive approach taken by the Tnjstees in 2020 through 2022 ensured RAG'S prograrnme of meetings were maintained, and, indeed, built on by the introduction of the Astrophotography Special Interest Group (SIG). This was achieved by the irrtroduction of holding 'online' meetings via Microsoft Teams.

This has been built on and increased in 2024, wtth all meetings being both 'online' and held 'in person, at RFC. This includes all General meetings mentioned above. and the Astrophotography Special Interest Group meetings that are held monthly. The introduction of the new website in 2021 has be8n a great success, and RAG has continued to reC￿ve a major increase in interest, and contsct from the general public and potential new members. Trust88s receive regular updates on website usage at their m88tings. In practice. Membership in 2024 has increased significantly, building on the trend begun in 2022. and extended in 2023. The Trustees are proud to report that the￿ have been a number of specffic achievements this year. Soma of these are detailed in other parts of this Report, but are itemised here to report their overall significance. DurSng 2024 we have achieved the following: January the continuation of the the provlsion of bespoke 'Stargazing Experiences, private events for specific groups of thè public, begun in October 2021. ongoing and available throughout the year. February - continuatlon of Outreach evenings for Cub-scouts. Beaver Groups, etc. April held a successful 'Obser4atory Op8n Day, and general supportlng Rosliston Forestry Centre's Science staging an 'Exhibitlon' of Astrophotography Images 'donated' by members in the Astrophotography SIG, with a twofold purpose: - to publicise th8 work of RAG to create a potential 'fvndralslng' outlet, to contribute to the Phase 2 fund for the bank of telescopes. July held a successful 'A8tronomy Evening, as part of Rosliston Foresty Centre's Night World Event. This included vlsual observing opportunities for the general publlc facllltated by RAG volunteers, and two s&ssions offering a Talk about Astror￿mY in general. September celebrated the achi8v8ments of two of our youngest Junlor Members. belng awarded 'Highly Commended, in the international Young Astrophotographer of the Year Competition 2024 - and their image of Messier 106 being part of the Astrophotographer of the Year Exhibltion at the Royal Observatory, Greenwich, and included in Its 2024 Year Book. Again, as last year. over 5,000 entries from 64 countries took part in the whole competition. October i) took part in the Rolls Royce sponsored Schools. Science Week. for individual classes from local Primary Schools, presenting hour sessions on Astronomy. This included an extra day dedicated to children being Hom8 Schooled. 11) held a SLJccessful 'Observatory Open Day, and general Obser4ing ev8nt, supporting Rosliston Forestry Centre's Science Discovery Day, with a number of RAG Members providing the Astronomy element for the general public.

November - took part in the Rosliston Foresty Centre's Christmas Market - 2 days. Fundraising with the Astrophotography ExhibTtion. The completion of the build in its entirety in 2020 marked the completion of Phase One of the Observatory Project. With storage facilrties now available. Phase Two is to fund and purchase a bank of Telescopes plus accessories, to be used as 'training' Scopes, both on and off slte, to facilitate 'hands on, practical experience for the various community groups. During 2024 Bids have been submttted to various grant awarding bodies. To date these have proved unsuccessful. Following the pandemic many of these grant awarding bodies adapted thelr eligibility criteria to encompass supporting the various community initiatives for recovary post pandemlc. As extemal funding continues to be difficult to obtain. the Trustees have supported the suggestion by the A8trophotography SIG. to use some of their images lo create a source of 'sales' to contribute to the Phase Two fundraising for the bank of Telescopes. Thls Is a long tenn project that will raise money, with all sales going to the Phase Two fund once the initial monetsry outlay for printing and mounting has been repaid. Sales thls year have totalled £800. Monies have been rec8ived from other extemal sources, namdy £78 from the sal8 of old equipm8nt, and £384.25 comprising donations from various 'outrea¢h' g￿UpS and from bespoke 'Stargazing Experiences,. Volunteer8 The Trustees would like to thank all the members of Rosliston Astronomy Group for the level of commltment they have continued to demonstrate this year. Every event that RAG holds for the publlc benefrt depends on m8mb8rs' voluntary attendance, and willingness to share their knowledge, exwtise as an astronomer, and their personal equipment with members of the Public of all ages. Thelr support has always readily been av￿lable. In addltlon, the Trustees would like to thank the M8mb8rs for their continued support for the fundralslng actlvltles undertaken by RAG to help fvnd the Observatory Project. Their willingness to make small donations on a regular basls during Club Meetings also plays an important part in maintsining the Observatory Fund. This year these sm8Jl donations totalled £214.25. Flnancial Review A detailed analysis of the financial transactiorE carried out during the year can be found in the Financial Statement and rts accompanying Notes. This year. the focus of financial awareness to support the key objective8 of the Charity, for the public benefit, namely by ii) maintaining the ongoing functions and activities of the Charity, and iii) investing in the future outcome of a successful build has been actively maintained. Consequently there has been increased activity In the Community Account, with the majority of spend being directly rdated to the Ob8er¥atory, and annual background expenditure e.g. Buildings Insurance for the Observat(xy. and Public Liabilty Insurance.

A significant financial OLrtlay in 2(Y24 has been the purchase of &8trophotography Camera for the Observatory Dome. RAG uses two Accounts - a Business Communty Account arKI a Business Premium Account. The Business Communty Account holds predominantly 'unrestiicted' funds catering for the day to day transactions. This year unrestricted receipts totalled £3514 and unrestricted expenditure totalled £2104.05. The Business Premium Account holds monies accumulated from successful bids to various Grant Awarding bodies. and formal Donations made by external sources, All the funds held in this Account are designated monies. Previously, some Grants. and donations have been received with 'open' targets but still within the capital build requirement, and others have been for specffic stages of the build or items of equipment. This year, as was the case last year, although applied for, Grants have been received - see above regarding Phase Two. This y8ar 'designated' receipts totalled £1516.50. 'Designated' expenditure totslled £2468.82. This Account aso includes identified monies 'ring-fenced' for use as the 'Observatory Fund,. These are raised in small amounts, sourced by the on-going donations at Meetings, and fvndraising activities. by Members. This year this amount totalled £254.25 donated specifically by Members. The remaining amount included sales of Astrophotography images. and the sale of old equipment. This yearfs reduced expenditure in the Business Premium Account was expected as the malority of the monies have been held in this Accourrt for the spectfic purpose of funding the construction of. and equipping, the Observatory. As the build has progressed and reached completion monies have been released accordingly. Working Parties have continued in 2024, with the emphasis on extemal ground maintenance, weeding and grass cutting. etc. and, internally, work on the Observatory Dome focussing on improving the shutter functions. Consequently, as the work has been labour intensive with little or no cost for materials, then the AS Account has not been very active. The Business Community Account had dso had a significant reduction in activity during the period of restrictions caused by the pandemic. This led the Trustees, as part of their strategic dLrties, to review this sttuation in light of the potential for 'online' meetings to continue in the future, and the decision was taken in 2021 that 'online' meetings would carry an entrance fee. as for 'in person. attendance at 'indoor' meetings. This decision has required all those tskn'ng part in meetings 'online', to use bank transfer to pay for each meeting attended. This was implemented in January 2022. and has continued through 2024. Ae8erv•s Policy RAG has a policy for the unrestricted element of the Business Community Account, whenever possible. to maintain a batance of £500, as a minimum. This is to cover emergencies should Ihey arise from time to time. This year this was achieved throughout the year. There is no such expectation in the Business Premium Account as the monies held in this Account have been sourced from various grants, awards and identified donatiorts to fund

specific aspects of the Observatory Project arKI its matntenance. and, therefore. 1 of these fflonies are for designated targets. Structure. Governance and Management Rosliston Astronomy Group is a 'micro' Chajity, manag&Y by six Trustees drawn from, and elected by, the RAG Membership. RAG is a Charitable Incorporated Organisation (CIO) that gained Charity status on 11th October. 2017, and is govemed by a Constitution, which is reviewed annualty at the AGM in March. Prior to them taking up their roles, and during the first few months in office, new Trustees take note of various guidance documents produced by the Charty Commission. setting out th￿r rolés and responsibilities, namely guidance on ov8rall duties {CC3), financial management (CC8, CC12), fundraising (CC20), guidance on Safeguarding, and documents S8tting out guidance on understanding the Public Benefit requirement. This is not a finite list. and Trustee 'training' is ongoing. The Tnjstees fonn the overarching tier of management. However, as described at the OLrtS8t of this Report, aithough RAG has been a Charity since October 2017, we have existed as an amateur Astronomy Group (Club) for twenty five years. Consequently. the original Club element has an establishéd committ￿ that manages the day to day actions of the Group. This Committee comprises a Char and Vice-chair, a Secretary. Treasurer, Equipment Manager. Technical Manager. Membership Secretary, Events Co-ordinator, Welfare Officer (that incorporates Safeguarding). a Website Manager. a Training Officer, and an Observatory Manager. As reported in previous Annual Reports, to enable this Committee to continue to manage the day to day running. and the individual post holders to cary out their roles efficiently. they refer to a Trustees, document produced in 2017 and regularfy reviewed. This is a 'Delegation of Powers. document setting out the roles and responsibilities delegated to the Committee by the Charity Trustees. One of these delegated powers refers to the Committee being able to take decisions on the sale or purchase of items up to the value of £100. Amounts above £100 need to be refeThed to the Trustees for agreement. The RAG Committee reports to the Trustees. Meetings are minuted, and are then recerved by the Trustees at their next Meettng. The Committee holds three Meetings a year. For administrative r8asons each of these is scheduled to be hekl one month in advance of a Trustees, M*ting. This year has required the Trustees to hold one meeting 'online' via Microsoft Teams. wtth specific agenda items, and two 'in person, meetings held at Rosliston Forestry Centre. The Treasurer reports both to the committ￿ arKI to the Trustees at each Meeting. For continutty purposes, the Constitution states that. wherever possible, two of thè Trustees should dso be members of the RAG CommFttee. Thls y8ar this has been complied with, by both Mr Mann and Mr Holden holding eleded roles on the Committee. Administratlve Inforn￿tiOn RO￿lstOn Astronomy Group hold their Meetings at Rosliston Forestry Centre. Burton Road, Rosliston, South Derbyshire. DE12 &JK However, RAG has no strategic 'base' at

the Centre. The correspondence address for the Group is ￿lar House. Burton Road. Streethay, Lichfield. Staffs, WS13 8LS. During the period of Govemment restriction on public gatherlngs due to Covld-19. from March 2020 through 2021. meetings were held 'online' via Microsoft T￿arns. Since September 2021 when meetings held indoors were reinstated - all RAG meetings have been 'hybrid' in fO￿at. being held in person in the room at RFC. as well as 'online' via Microsoft Teams. The Charity is managed by six Truste8S. The Constitution sets out the Terms of Office for each of the Trustees on a rolling programme, with two Trustees being r8quired lo stand down each year at the AGM. The 2024 AGM was held both in the room and 'online' vra Microsoft Teams, and took place on 22nd March, 2024. At the Meeting the two Trustees stepping down from Office were Mr. Edwin Mann and Mr. Adam Cheetham. Both had been nominated to stand again. and had indicated a willingness to do so. ttHe were no other nominations Mr Mann and Mr Cheetham were r￿elect￿l unoppowj for a further tenn of office. The names of the Trustees who have manag&fj the Charity for the period covered by the Annual Report. are: Mr Edwn Mann - Chair Mr Adam Cheetham Mr Geoff Dryland Mr Stephen Holden Mr Robert Leonard Mr Nicholas Rufo The Trustees have approved this Annual Report. Signed on behalf of the Charity Trustees for Rosliston Astronomy Group. by: Signature: Signature". Name: Position: Mr Edwin Mann Chair of Trustees Name: Position: Mr Stephen Holden Trustee Date: ZOZI

ROSLISTON ASTRONOMY GROUP Number 1175118 Anal Sis of Accounts and Balanc heet for Year endin 31st December 2024 PAYMEKfs AND RECEIPTS AccouKrs: Year 2024 Blfwd: £ 7961.55 Unrestri¢tsd Funds Designatsd Funds 1704. 1810.(J) RECEIPTS: Monthly Meetings (Entrance) Annual Memberships Internal Donations - Meetings (Obsy Fund) Intemal Donations - Individuals (Obsy FurKI) Major Grants Fundraising {Sak8 of AP Prints) Extemal l Outreach donations Miscellaneous Sale of Old Equipment 214.25 40.00 0.00 800.00 384.25 (incl Su'ence F88t ) 78.00 3514.00 1516.50 6030.50 Total Recolpts.. EXPENDITURE: Speakers Zurich {Charities) Ins (Otw+PLI> ObseNatory Build l Equipment (Intemal) Website I Wi-Fi R8freshments Stationerylprintingletc. Other (indud. Piize l AP Prints) Miscellaneous 100.00 233.81 1257.82 (incl. Lease) 334.47 273.80 233.04 898.93 30.00 1211.00 (Obsy Camera) 2104.05 2468.82 4572.87 Total Expendlturn: Total Receipts Total Expenditure 5030.50 4572.87 Profft for year: 457.63 Balancè Sheetfor Year endin 31st December 2024 Balance at 3111212023 Profit for the Year Interest Balance at 3111212024 7961.55 457.63 13.44 8432.62 Represented by: 1) Bank Alc Business Communlty 2) Bank Alc Business Premium 3) Plus: Business Premium Interest 4) Cash in Hand 4212.47 4176.73 13.44 29.98 GRAND TOTAL: £ 8432.62 Assets: li} Various Items of secondhand and new equipnent to tho approximats value of £14.645 lil) Observatory Bulldlng STATEMEpif OF ACCOUNTS nd BALANCE SHEET FOR 2024 Approved by the Tntsttts of Rosliston Astronomy Group. They have been slgned on behalf of the Trustees, and tho RAG Slgnaturn(2) rshlp. by: Slgnaturnl1) Mr Ed M•nn - Chair of Trustees Mr Stephen Holden - Trusts•

ROSLISTON ASTRONOMY GROUP (Registered Charity Number 1175118) Financial Statsment for the Year ended 31sL December, 2024 Notes: The financial ststement has been prepared usir¥J the Re￿[pts & Payments fomat. RosSiston Astronomy Group (RAG) is a small CharFty. and is telow the Chatrties Act's audit threshold. RAG uses two Accounts. a Business Communty Account, and 8 Business Premium Account. Tho Business Communty Account. funciions like a Current Account, holding monies that are predominanuy unrestricted and, therefore. cater for RAG'S day to day transath"ons. There is one amount of monies identffied within this Account that is 'ring fenced, to fomi the Observatory Fund. These monies are accumulated on a day to day basis from small amounts gained through Members. donations at Meetings and Members, fundraising acts"viti8S. The Business Premium Account hokls monies that are being ac￿MUlated from successful bids to Grant Awarding bodies that have been awarded for specthc purposes. and larger donations made by extemal sources. The largest amount was for the capital build in géneral, aThJ this reduced considerably in 2019 as the nstruction and the fftting out of the Observatory prtyressed. During the overall fundraising other smaller grants have been for specific aspeds wrthin the build e.g. pU￿￿aSe of the interactive screen. These can only be used for those purposes identified in the Grant and have been held until that stage in the construction has been reached and completed. These have now been used for the appropriatè items. Although applied for, for Stage 2 - the purchase of a 'bank' of mobile t&18scopes for our Outreath work. no grants were received during 2024. Thus Stage 2 has not yet been achieved. b) The Observatory Fund represents accumulated small donations and fundraising activrties, camed ouiwithin RAG. and currently Identi￿ and held within the Busin8SS Communrty AccounL Now the main cortstruction is complete rt is the purpose of these monies to form basis to fvnd ts rna1ntenan￿ of the building. and for vthich further grants for specffic issues, and items of equipment, will be applied for, arKI added. Such grants will be hèld in the Business Premium Account, and the intemal donations also will be transferred from the Business Communty Account to the AS Account. Currently, RAG has an amount of equipment as assels. These comprise secondhand stems e.g. telescopes, donated over time by members and the general public, plus new ttems of equipment for the Observatory. See 'assets' . item (4). In addiiion, tr the public beneffl, RAG'S intentions have been realised - to build an ObseNatory wrth an att&hed Wann Room in which to present courses and meetings for various Communty Groups. schools, scouwguides, etc." and the provision of storage facilities to be ￿e to build up a bank of trainiThJ equipment for 'hands on, experiencé. FIAG hosted the Grand Opening of The Peter Bolas Observatory on 14th March, 2020. This marked the culmination of a major fundraising inrtiative that began in 2014. stage one ￿ndraising targets were achieved, and ContraGtorn began construction of the Observatory in November 2018. RAG took possessim of the building on schedule 3.a) b)

n late Spring 2019 _ 12th April, 2019. sin￿ 'handover of the 'strEII', RAG Members have given a signfficant amount of voluntary hours. carying out various external works, and fftting out the intemal areas compnsing Dome, Warm Room, and storage facilities. Following the prolonged shutdown, On￿ Covid restrictions were eased, in the latter quarter of 2021. and throughout 2022, mor8 volunteer hours were spent working on the shutter and ¢3mera set-ups. Maintenance work has continued in 2024, carried out by Memtr*ts in a voluntary capaw, and involving a significant number of volunteer hours. RAG has an agreed Lease with South Derbyshire Distrirt Council (SDDC) for the land on which the building stands. This is being paid annually at a peppercom rate of £1. The fffth payment to SDDC was made in October 2024. Assets, recognised but not valued individually in the Statement of Ac¢ounts. have an approximate value of £14.645. 4.a) b) These Compnse newly acquired Ftems of equipment for use within the Obseryatory, namely the EQ8 Mount, and the Astrophotography Camera. and items of secondhand equipment. namely various types of telescope and a seieclion of other smaller rtems of equipment that go with these telescopes. The ttems vary in condition and age. They have been acquired, 'ad hoc., over the period of tr￿nty five year5 the Club has been in existence. donated by Club member5 or thw'r relats"ves, and by the General Public. Currently, these secondharKI iiems are being 'stored' by named members of the Committee, mainly by the Equipment Manager, who hokls the definitive list, and within the Observatory. d) As these secondhand btems have not been 'selected' regarding their suitabilty for Training purposes, for use to provide 'hands on. experience in W￿1¢ groups. or as items surtably easy to set up to enabie them to be used as 'Loan' rtems for members new to Astronomy - in 2018 the Trustees. having due r8gard to the public benefi( arKI to rats"onalise the sit￿lon, agreed the folk￿Ing.. to mandate the Equipment Manager to carry out an audit to thntsfy rtems that a etlher to be retained, or that are sutplus to requirement and need to be disposed of, and to re￿1Ve the results of this audti at a future Tmstees. Meeting. The resutts of this Audit were received by the Tntstees at their Meeting in February 2019. to agree the disposal of the identified items. with due regard to RAG'S Equipment Development Plan, and followng the financsal procedures as set out in thé 'Delegation of Powers, for the RAG Commrttee i.e. delegated responsibilities for saleslpurthases of items £1 fAI and below. to r￿1ve a Draft'PolicM forthe Acceptance of ftems of Equipmentthat are Offered as a Donation or Opt'on to Purchasè.. This Policy was re￿Ned a￿Pted, and formalised at their Meetirrfj in February 2019, and is regularty reviewed. Sales of unsutsble items identified in the Audii have taken Pla￿ in 2024 - identified as 'Sale of Old Equipment.. FIAG TAR 2024