2022-12-31-accounts

Trustees’ Annual Report for the period

From 1st January 2022 To 31st December 2022

Charity name: Oxford Insight Meditation

Charity registration number: 1175855

Objectives and Activities

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SORP reference
Summary of the purposes of Para 1.17 To advance the education of the public in
the charity as set out in its the subject of meditation and the
governing document teachings of the Buddha, in particular but
not exclusively by supporting and
encouraging the study and practice of
Buddhist Insight meditation for the public
benefit, in particular but not exclusively
for the benefit of people in Oxford and
the surrounding areas.
Summary of the main Para 1.17 and Oxford Insight Meditation carries out
1.19
activities in relation to those these purposes by offering a year-round
purposes for the public programme of activities and events to
benefit, in particular, the
the people of Oxford and the surrounding
activities, projects or services
area, giving them the opportunity to
identified in the accounts.
study and practise Buddhist Insight
Meditation and to learn about the
teachings of the Buddha. We regularly
invite teachers from Gaia House, a
retreat centre in the Insight Meditation
tradition, to lead our retreat days. These
teachers are highly experienced, widely
recognised and bound by a code of
ethics.
We are committed to creating inclusive
spaces. We welcome people irrespective
of religious or political beliefs, ethnicity,
class, sexual orientation, gender identity,
age, ability and culture. It is our hope
over time to increase the accessibility of
what we offer to people of all
backgrounds through developing a more
varied programme of events.
Oxford Insight Meditation offers activities
on a sliding scale; it is committed to
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ensuring that no one is excluded from any of its activities because of lack of funds. People unable to afford the discounted rates will not be turned away. Pricing of events is intended to cover the costs of putting on the events; any surplus goes into reserves. The price of events does not cover any payment to teachers. In the longstanding tradition of ‘Dana’, donations to the teacher are invited at the end of the session, in gratitude for their teachings. The main activities undertaken by the charity to carry out its charitable purposes for the public benefit are as follows: Teacher-led day retreats – nonresidential day-long retreats in Oxford with respected teachers in the Insight tradition, who offer their teachings free of charge. We ask people to pay a small fee to cover costs and waive this fee where someone is unable to pay it. Donations are invited to support the teachers . The days are suitable for both experienced and new meditators. Monday sitting group – this evening drop-in group is suitable for both beginners and those with more experience. It aims to enable people who are new to Buddhist meditation to have a taste of the practice, and to support more experienced meditators to practise together on a regular basis. These evenings consist of guided meditation, teaching and discussion. Some of the sessions are facilitated by experienced teachers and others by peer facilitators or teachers in training. Donations are invited to support the teachers. Occasional non-residential courses – We occasionally organise and underwrite courses on aspects of meditation practice or the Buddha’s teaching, to support the deepening of understanding and to foster a sense of a community amongst practitioners. Website and e-newsletters – Oxford Insight Meditation keeps in touch with supporters and engages with new people through its website, which has details of events and how to book a place on retreats. We also send out regular email newsletters to two subscriber lists to let

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recipients know about our activities and
other related events: one newsletter is
about the day retreats and has about
400 recipients, and the other is about the
Monday evening drop-in group and has
about 280 recipients.
Statement confirming Para 1.18 The trustees confirm that they have
whether the trustees have complied with their duty to have due
had regard to the guidance regard to the guidance contained in the
issued by the Charity
Charity Commission’s general guidance
Commission on public
on public benefit when reviewing the
benefit
charity’s aims and objectives, in planning
charitable activities and when exercising
any powers or duties to which the
guidance is relevant.
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Additional information (optional)

You may choose to include further statements where relevant about:

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SORP reference
n/a
Para 1.38
Policy on grant making
n/a
Policy on social investment Para 1.38
including program related
investment
Trustees receive no remuneration for
Para 1.38 their work for the charity. All activities are
Contribution made by planned and delivered by volunteers.
volunteers
The Trustees are grateful to all of the
volunteers who have offered service
during the period of this report. Without
their regular support and commitment to
the organisation, our charitable activities
would be significantly reduced.
Other
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Achievements and Performance

SORP reference

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In 2022, we offered eight day-long
retreats led by experienced teachers
connected to Gaia House. These
Summary of the main
Para 1.20
achievements of the charity, retreats were offered as hybrid events,
identifying the difference the
with some participants attending in
charity’s work has made to
the circumstances of its person and others online. This format
beneficiaries and any wider has been very successful and has
benefits to society as a helped us to accommodate those
whole.
wishing to attend in person, as well as
maintaining accessibility to those still
shielding from Covid-19, those with
disabilities or caring responsibilities and
those living further away. Appropriate
Covid-related measures continued to be
taken at the in-person retreats. We
reintroduced (and increased) fees for
participation to help us cover the higher
cost of in-person meetings (venue hire,
teachers expenses, refreshments, etc.),
whilst balancing this with making sure
that retreats are accessible to all. Each
retreat day attracted between 25 and
120 participants.
The Monday sitting group met
throughout the year. The frequency of
sessions was initially reduced from
weekly to monthly from January to April.
The group was then put on hold, owing
to a lack of capacity amongst the original
teachers, for the rest of the spring and
summer. A small number of trustees and
some experienced practitioners, came
together to reimagine and relaunch the
Monday sitting group sessions in
September 2022. The group met twice a
month to the end of the year, alternating
between in-person meetings in central
Oxford and online meetings.
Experienced and trainee teachers led
some of the sessions, with the rest led
by peer facilitators. There were between
10 and 25 people at each session. The
group is now thriving again. It has a core
of regular participants with a strong
commitment to practice, and offers
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connection and support for practice – a dedicated community of practitioners is developing. It also attracts many newcomers and beginners. Some of these have been to retreats at Gaia House and decided to find a group to meditate with locally, while others have simply decided to come and meditate for the evening. The Sunday morning meditation group (Sunday Sangha) remained suspended throughout the year. We didn’t offer any study courses in the period because the trustees lacked the capacity to organise additional events.

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Achievements against Para 1.41
objectives set
n/a
Performance of fundraising
activities against objectives Para 1.41
set
Investment performance
against objectives n/a
Para 1.41
Other
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Financial Review

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Review of the charity’s Para 1.21 Oxford Insight Meditation made a small
financial position at the end surplus of £7.20 in 2022. The total
of the period assets at 31st December 2022 were
£3,822.97, a slight reduction compared
with the previous year (£3,964).
Finances will continue to be closely
monitored to ensure that the financial
resources of the charity are not
exhausted.
Statement explaining the Para 1.22 Reserves are held to cover the small
policy for holding reserves number of annual fixed costs (insurance,
stating why they are held web hosting, publicity, printing, etc.), and
to provide some contingency if several
day retreats fail to break even. The
majority of costs incurred by OIM relate
to activities that can be cancelled without
incurring significant unrecoverable costs.
For this reason, the reserves needed are
low.
Amount of reserves held Para 1.22 £1000
Reasons for holding zero Para 1.22 n/a
reserves
Details of fund materially in Para 1.24 n/a
deficit
Explanation of any Para 1.23 n/a
uncertainties about the
charity continuing as a going
concern
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The principal source of funds is the fees
paid by participants for the various
The charity’s principal activities that we offer, but there are also
sources of funds (including Para 1.47
donations from members of the public
any fundraising)
who support our work.
n/a
Investment policy and
objectives including any Para 1.46
social investment policy
adopted
The charity’s income is dependent on
levels of interest in its activities, and the
A description of the principal Para 1.46 capacity of attendees to pay booking
risks facing the charity fees and/or make donations to cover
OIM’s costs. The trustees are mindful of
the need to reverse the trend of recent
years of a deficit, and are actively
considering ways to reduce costs and
increase income, without compromising
our policy of ensuring that no one is
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excluded from our activities because of a lack of funds. One way in which we are able to do this is to find private accommodation for our visiting teachers. Thanks to the generosity of some of our supporters, and following the decreased risk of Covid, we are managing to do this. Other

Structure, Governance and Management

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Description of charity’s
trusts:
Type of governing document Para 1.25 Constitution
(trust deed, royal charter)
How is the charity Para 1.25 Foundation Charitable Incorporated
constituted? Organisation
(e.g unincorporated
association, CIO)
Trustee selection methods Para 1.25 Appointed by Trustees
including details of any
constitutional provisions e.g.
election to post or name of
any person or body entitled
to appoint one or more
trustees
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Additional information (optional)

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When there is a vacancy for a trustee,
the position is advertised to the OIM
Policies and procedures mailing list, on our website and other
adopted for the induction and Para 1.51
relevant places, and applicants are
training of trustees
invited for interview. New trustees are
provided with information on their duties
as trustees and their legal obligations
under charity law. They are also inducted
in the work of the charity, its aims and
objectives, its constitution and how it
operates day to day.
Oxford Insight Meditation is part of a
network of Insight Meditation groups
The charity’s organisational around the country that are connected
structure and any wider Para 1.51 with the residential retreat centre Gaia
network with which the
House. We are in regular contact on
charity works
practice and ethical issues. Whilst we
collaborate with these organisations, we
are independent, and there is no formal
legal or financial relationship with any
other organisation.
n/a
Relationship with any related Para 1.51
parties
Other
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Reference and Administrative details

Oxford Insight Meditation

Charity name

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Other name the charity uses n/a
Registered charity number 1175855
Charity’s principal address 55 Bartlemas Road Oxford OX4 1XU
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Names of the charity trustees who manage the charity
Dates acted if not for whole Name of person (or body)
Trustee name Office (if any)
year entitled to appoint trustee (if any)
Pamela Ruth Treasurer The Charity Trustees
1 Sutherland
Andrew MarBn The Charity Trustees
2 Finney
Dione Brigid Avison The Charity Trustees
3
Isabel Grace Tucker The Charity Trustees
4
Kathryn Tulip Secretary The Charity Trustees
5
Jennifer Kirsten The Charity Trustees
6 Daniella Nicholson
7
8
9
10
11
12
13
14
15
16
17
18
19
20
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Corporate trustees – names of the directors at the date the report was approved Director name n/a

Name of trustees holding title to property belonging to the charity

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Trustee name Dates acted if not for whole year
n/a
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Funds held as custodian trustees on behalf of others

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Description of the assets n/a
held in this capacity
Name and objects of the n/a
charity on whose behalf the
assets are held and how this
falls within the custodian
charity’s objects
Details of arrangements for n/a
safe custody and
segregation of such assets
from the charity’s own assets
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Additional information (optional)

Names and addresses of advisers (Optional information)

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Type of Name Address
adviser
Name of chief executive or names of senior staff members (Optional information)
n/a
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Exemptions from disclosure

Reason for non-disclosure of key personnel details

Other optional information

Declarations

The trustees declare that they have approved the trustees’ report above.

Signed on behalf of the charity’s trustees

Signature(s)
Full name(s)	Kathryn Tulip	Isabel Grace Tucker
Position (eg Secretary, Chair, etc)	Secretary	Trustee
Date	20th September 2023

Oxford Insight Medita2on

Accounts for year ended 31 December 2022

		2022 £		2021 £
Income:
Eventbrite Cheque/cash		3470.26 141.32		1183.47 30.00
		3611.58		1213.47
Expenditure: Hall hire Teacher's expenses Other expenses Insurance
		-698.00 -2207.46 -662.63 -170.80		-130.00 -131.08 -578.95 -170.80
Drop in:
Hire Dana	-224.10 186.50		-0.00 262.80
		-37.60		262.80
Dona2ons: CAF less fees
		72.11		152.54
Sunday Sangha: Costs Repayment
	0.00 100.00		0.00 0.00
		100.00		0.00
Surplus of income over expenditure		7.20		617.98

Bank Balance at 31 Dec Unpresented cheques Cash in hand Total Assets and LiabiliXes		3815.77	3817.55 148.67
		48.67
		3822.97	3964.44

Approved at AGM 5th August 2022 Treasurer Pamela Sutherland