Wokingham Men’s Shed - Trustees Annual Report 2021
The year of 2021 was not anywhere near normal for the Shed. The COVID-19 lockdowns and restrictions forced us, along with many other charities and organisations to remain curtailed in our physical activities, and even as we finally began to emerge from the national paralysis it proved to be a gradual process.
Weekly Zoom calls kept us talking, and as we carefully opened up, more of us were feeling able to return to the Shed for our social interaction. We moved the weekly Zoom calls to Thursdays at 10am for those who could not or preferred not to return to the Shed, though even these calls were thinly attended over the latter part of the year, perhaps because people remained focused on family priorities.
On average, we retained around 30 members on our books, but this dropped slightly towards the end of the year as many people re-evaluated their priorities after the trauma of the pandemic. Having said that, three more potential members approached the Shed in the last few weeks of the year, and we had one member who rejoined the merry band after a long absence.
Financially, the Shed has remained in good shape, with the accounts managed successfully by our Treasurer; Martin. Membership fee collection resumed late in the year after being suspended during the closure of the Shed, and we still have funds left in our renovation fund.
Despite the Shed closure, some projects were still able to be taken on by individual and small groups of shedders, including a ‘Wellie Rack’ for a local school, a 6ft pot-store for the Wokingham council allotments, and an outdoor lending library for the Cowshed. As a result of doing these and other highly appreciated charity projects, we were able to successfully apply for zero tariff business rates for the Shed, keeping our running costs to a very manageable level.
Our website and social media sites on Facebook and Instagram have kept going, with photos and commentary from our Secretary, and a number of new membership enquiries as well as project enquiries and tool donation offers have come through these channels.
So far in 2022, things have been much more active, and the WMS trustees are looking forward to a much more interactive and normal men’s shed over the coming months. There is still more renovation work to be done at the Shed, and our next major event will be the stall at the Wokingham Winter Carnival in 2022,
where we hope to sell some of our crafts as well as encourage new members.
Ron Baillie
Chairman – Wokingham Men’s Shed
Wokingham Men’s Shed – Accounts for Year 2021
WMS began 2021 in lockdown, like many other charities, and with it we’ve had an extended freeze on new memberships and a fee holiday for existing members as the Shed continued to be shut for the first half of the year. Since re-opening in late July, we’ve continued to spend money on renovation work as well as tools and materials to make things for other charities, schools and our Christmas fayre stall. In the 3[rd] qtr of the year we began to receive membership renewal funds, and our accounts remain healthy for us to continue our activities.
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Petty Varianc
MEN'S SHED WOKINGHAM Bank Cash Budget e
2021
Income
Membership £660 £60 £660
Daily Fee £22
Membership Other
Donations - Corporate
Donations - Charities £640 £640
Donations - Other £80 £60 £80
Fundraising Event - Projects £284 £284
Fundraising Event - Xmas Fayre £600 £600
Misc Income £14
Total Income £2,278 £142 £660 £1,604
Expenditure
Electricity
Gas
Water
Fundraising Costs - Projects £217 £217
Fundraising Costs - Xmas Fayre £40 £207 -£167
Materials £124 £200 -£200
Shed Provisions £6
Comms £201 £201
Renovation - Materials £487 £150 £337
Renovation - Services
Renovation - Tools £392
Renovation - Other
Insurance £284 £260 £24
Miscellaneous £55 £55
Bank Charges
Total Expenditure £1,676 £129 £817 £466
Surplus/(Deficit) £603 £12 -£157 £1,138
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Summary
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Petty
Bank Cash
£1,591.4
Opening Balance - Bank 2
£232.30
Opening Balance - Petty Cash
£602.53 £12.22
Surplus/(Deficit)
£2,193.9
Closing Balance - Bank 5
£244.52
Closing Balance - Petty Cash
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Martin Jeater Treasurer – Wokingham Men’s Shed