Triratna South East Buddhist Group (TSEBG) Registered Charity No 1179930 ## **Trustees Annual Report for y/e 31-12-2023** ## **1. Management** ## **Trustees:** Sraddhamayi Chair Niccy Lowit Secretary Jane Bolger Treasurer Fiona Smith Finance Group Vidyaketu Communications Group Shuddhadhara Communications Group Satyamati Communications Group ## **Teaching Team:** Nagarakshita Satyamati Women’s Mitra Convenor Shuddhadhara Mens’ Mitra Convenor Vidyaketu Sraddhamayi Vidyakaya ## **Safeguarding Officers:** Satyamati Sraddhamayi ## **2. Governance** **Constitution and Governing Document** : Triratna South East Buddhist Group (TSEBG) is a Charitable Incorporated Organisation (CIO) Registered Charity No 1179930. It was granted charitable status by the Charity Commissioners on 14 September 2018. It is governed by a constitution dated 1 August 2018, amended 7th September 2020 and amended again on 10 June 2021. **Organisation** : TSEBG is run on a day-to-day basis by the Board of Trustees appointed by the membership at the AGM. The Trustees and their duties are shown above. **Trustees** : Every trustee of the CIO must be a member of the Triratna Buddhist Order or a Mitra of the Triratna Buddhist Order practicing within and committed to TSEBG. At the Annual General Meeting of Members held on **7th October 2023** there were a number of changes to the trustees. Penny Moyse resigned with immediate effect, and Vidyaketu resigned with effect from the end of 2023. Nicki Williams was invited to join as a Trustee, and because of her experience will take on a Safeguarding role in addition to Fiona, Satyamati and Sraddhamayi. All other Trustees were re-elected unanimously. **Members:** It was agreed at the Trustees meeting held on **16th December 2023** that all active, local, OMs and Mitras are to be invited to become Members of the TSEBG charity. All those that accept the invitation to become members will be invited to the AGM where they will have voting rights on Trustees standing for election or re-election, and on proposed changes to the constitution. **1 |** P a g Triratna South East Buddhist Group (TSEBG) Registered Charity No 1179930 **Relationships** : TSEBG maintains close communication with and works under the guidance of the Triratna Buddhist Order and in co-operation with other centers and groups with the same objects. **Safeguarding** : TSEBG has prepared specific guidelines for Order Members or other experienced members of the Triratna community who are teaching and communicating with those where a duty of care is owed. There are overall Ethical Guidelines with separate documents for the spiritual and secular activities covering Child Protection and the treatment of Sub-Adults and “Adults at Risk”. The new Safeguarding lead, Nicki Williams, will update the Safeguarding Policy during 2024. **Health and Safety** :TSEBG has additional procedures for handling and evacuating the premises in the case of fire or flooding. The Health, Safety and Security Risk Register is updated annually. ## **3. General objects and activities** The object of the TSEBG (as specified in the constitution) is to support the advancement of the Buddhist religion by: 1. Encouraging members and others to live ethical lives in accordance with the teachings of the Buddha. 2. Supporting ordained members of the Triratna Buddhist Community and other members of the Sangha, at the discretion of the Trustees of the TSEBG. 3. Maintaining close communication with and working under the guidance of the Triratna Buddhist Order and in co-operation with other centres and groups with the same objects. 4. Using applications of the Buddha’s teaching to promote the health and well-being of all. ## **4. Specific activities for 2023** For 2023 our main activities have been: - Weekly meditation meetings and classes: once a month on zoom and the other times in-person in each of our three locations: Tunbridge Wells, Eastbourne and Hastings. All the order teaching team take it in turns to travel to each of the locations to ensure that none of our Sanghas are left to feel isolated and to train and mentor the mitras. - Regular study courses, run in parallel by the teaching team, and covering different years of the four-year Mitra Study Course. - Two day events (in January and October) to celebrate the sangha and welcome new mitras. - One sangha retreat at the beginning of July at the Rivendell Retreat Centre in High Hurstwood. - **2 |** P a g Triratna South East Buddhist Group (TSEBG) Registered Charity No 1179930 ## **5. Chair’s Report from Sraddhamayi** Primarily I would like to rejoice in the team effort of the running of TSEBG. This is an amazing team of trustees, working together for the development of our charity. No one person bears overall responsibility, it is truly a joint effort. Our secretary is a star as well, keeping us informed of our meetings and taking the necessary notes for all these meetings. There is also a lot of gratitude to our finance officers, who also put in large amounts of their time to keeping our records up to date and the team informed at regular intervals. The safeguarding team work really hard to keep up with the training and to ensure all out locations provide a safe environment in which to practice. I would also like to thank Śripada and Taragita for running weekly courses with the Mitra community who have completed their Mitra study. The vision of succession is very much in our hearts and we work enable any new order members to feel equipped and supported in their own journey towards enlightenment. There have been several ordination requests this year and quite a few regular friends have become Mitras. I’d also like to express gratitude and appreciation for our sangha night teams, who set up and tidy away each week. They also make the tea, bring biscuits, milk and flowers, the generally unseen bodhisattvas in our midst. I think our sangha is alive and thriving, driven by the bodhisattva ideal, spiritual friendship and Sangharakshita’s vision of community (NB Sangharakshita is the founder of the Triratna Buddhist Order and Community, of which TSEBG is a part). It has been a pleasure to serve as chair, and I would like to thank you all for your guidance, friendship, and inspiration. ## **6. Financial Overview** Our income from donations has remained steady and combining the accounts for our three groups into one has left us in a strong position for further growth and development in the years ahead. The signed end of year balance sheet, and breakdown of income and expenditure for 2023 and the preceding two years, is included on pages 5 and 6 below. ## **6.1 Income** TSEBG is funded by a combination of donations and fees. - Those attending the regular weekly spiritual activities (i.e. Sangha Night and Mitra Study) donate to TSEBG what they can afford either on a monthly basis or at each meeting. - Registration fees are charged for weekend retreats. While our intention is to simply cover the costs of hiring the retreat venue, in 2023 we made a profit of some £232. **3 |** P a g Triratna South East Buddhist Group (TSEBG) Registered Charity No 1179930 - No applications for grants from sister Triratna organisations have been made in 2023. ## **6.2 Expenditure** In addition to the time and effort that our volunteers supply freely, our income from the sources above was able to cover the following costs: - The day-to-day running of TSEBG, the main ones being room hire, insurance, the Zoom platform and maintenance of our website and email communications. - Consumables (e.g. printing, stationary, shrine candles, cloths and flowers) - Travel expenses for the teaching team - Venue hire, such as halls for day retreats and retreat center costs for weekend retreats. - Subsidized places on retreats for those on low income. - Regular financial support to the Mitra Convenors to cover their on-going training, the time they spent meeting with mitras and their associated travelling expenses. **4 |** P a g Triratna South East Buddhist Group (TSEBGI Registered Charity No 1179930 Tkn•We&t Ker*Trfr•bi• South E4¥t Buddhi￿ Re*$¢¢￿¢ ¢h4rity 117993• 31 2027 As*etB 1￿147.39 Cib¥h •ICts¢p Cfftntl￿￿ TD?tr4 Easl 67231$ fi8 r.w AIPtyp?l Ayt IV cc 14.ID7 13 1,21?JO 31 12 202* rt45#<-).' rJ•lth i-; tr*2023 8kn*31 122023 11.7Q307 16 31UI J•n• Bo Tre.?5W¥ I h.wpmrrffl•i otthe Vth.. KenlJlrraJw E¢Jt114W*l¥l 3*u4 iopthprth ,tr to￿ tsfOUD, woaucw *l¢J Ili¥ g1¥th In ry wlrdr.n Il*y ILlJl bt K¢th IthL*K Dal Ind•P￿ Fx.wri 51Pag Triratna South East Buddhist Group (TSEBGI Registered Charity No 1179930 TriTatha so￿ Easi B￿ldhiSt GTO 7Jg 4IM023 -l.Cfj6m -1180J)7 -2.479.78 oj Jfy) -U9.O8 -3.￿.￿ -1￿.￿ 4W8.03 -1153 YI k_111 Jw -147.70 om .01 -5.[mA￿ 4.67825 4.142.14 .1.th5.5S om 4I•UI .17￿9.75 -1$2XI• I20.￿ IMPD) 3.￿￿1 494.(ffj 512JX OA)) 321.(Jl 11.73 OD) om 190 4521 0.￿ 4.O181XI 1.790.tII A)) om 30A)) 334. om ODJ 11 120)) 214.04 om 0.￿ 1310.D) J.D￿.￿l 515.91 581.02 D.IM> 4.100D) om 131W 11697.70 1137SA4 4OTU¢ 4113.05 4.919.74 Trwd -1I1•7X -14.117.13 -121211 -15J19J1 61Pag Triratna West K￿nt￿riratna South East Buddhist Group Registered Chaiyty Number 1179930 Balance Sheet 31 December 2023 31 DeCern￿r 2022 31 December 2023 Current Assets 650.00 Cash at Co-op Bank Current Account West Kent Buddhist Group 08-92-99 65761669 10,187.39 Cash at Co-op Bank Current Account Triratna South East Buddhist Group 08-92-99 67231935 955.68 Cash al Paypal Account Paypal ID wkbgretreats@gmail.com 0.00 Less current liabilibes 11,793.07 0.00 14,107.13 1.212 38 0.00 15,31951 Unrestricted funds Balance al 31.12_2022 Surplus 1+1 l Deficil (-) for 2023 Balance at 31.12.2023 11,793.07 3.526.44 15,319.51 Jane Bolger Dale Treasuter I have examinied the accounts of the TriTatna West Kent￿riratna South East Buddhist Group together with the books of the Group. the vouchers produced and the explanations given. In my opinion they are in accordance therewith. ILI)Ibt Keith Mitchell Dale Independent Exarniner ## **Triratna South East Buddhist Group Annual Total Income and Expenditure** ||**2021**|**2022**|**2023**| |---|---|---|---| |**Income**|||| |Cash donations|0.00|-397.39|-2,040.23| |PayPal donations|-1,056.93|-1,289.07|-2,479.78| |SumUp donations|0.00|0.00|0.00| |Standing order donation|-50.00|-3,299.68|-3,530.00| |Library donation|0.00|0.00|0.00| |FWBO Grant|0.00|0.00|0.00| |Beginners course participant fee|0.00|0.00|0.00| |Beginners course venue refund|0.00|0.00|0.00| |Sangha retreat participant fee|-100.00|-3,998.66|-2,153.50| |Day event participant fee|0.00|0.00|-255.00| |Day event dana|0.00|0.00|0.00| |Jewel Quest dana|0.00|0.00|0.00| |Venue deposit refund|0.00|0.00|0.00| |Order member support credit|0.00|-147.70|0.00| |One-off donation to WKBG|-0.01|0.00|0.00| |Legacy donation to WKBG|0.00|0.00|0.00| |Transfer from another account|-5,000.00|-8,678.25|-4,142.14| |Gift Aid|0.00|0.00|-1,695.53| |Bank Interest|0.00|0.00|0.00| |**Income total**|**-6,206.94**|**-17,810.75**|**-16,296.18**| |**Expenditure**|||| |Room hire|120.00|1,839.00|3,850.50| |Zoom subscription|0.00|494.06|542.04| |PayPal donations correction|0.00|0.00|0.00| |Speaker expenses|0.00|0.00|0.00| |Sundries|0.00|2.05|0.00| |Website|0.00|66.62|321.00| |Email subscription|0.00|0.00|324.75| |Insurance|0.00|261.73|196.00| |Library purchases|0.00|0.00|0.00| |Beginners course room hire|0.00|0.00|320.88| |Beginners course publicity|0.00|0.00|45.29| |Sangha retreat venue hire|0.00|4,018.00|1,799.00| |Sangha retreat food and sundries|0.00|50.00|0.00| |Sangha retreat refund|0.00|0.00|520.00| |Day event room hire|0.00|30.00|334.00| |Day event speaker expenses|0.00|0.00|0.00| |Day event publicity|0.00|0.00|0.00| |Day event sundries|0.00|0.00|26.72| |Jewel Quest room hire|0.00|0.00|0.00| |Order member expenses|12.60|120.30|214.64| |Order member retreats|0.00|0.00|0.00| |Order member support|0.00|2,200.00|3,000.00| |Training|0.00|515.94|581.62| |TSEBG charitable donation|0.00|4,100.00|0.00| |Bursary|0.00|0.00|300.00| |**Expenditure total**|**132.60**|**13,697.70**|**12,376.44**| |**Annual surplus(-) / deficit(+)**|**-6,074.34**|**-4,113.05**|**-3,919.74**| |**Year end bank account balance**||**-10,187.39**|**-14,107.13**| |**Year end PayPal balance**|||**-1,212.38**| |**Year end total assets**|||**-15,319.51**|