Charity registration number: 1180167
The Bristol Reggae Orchestra Annual report and Unaudited Financial Statements For the year ended 30 September 2020
The Bristol Reggae Orchestra Contents
1 - 4 5
Trustees Report
Statement of Receipts and Payments Statement of Assets and Liabilities
The Bristol Reggae Orchestra Reference and Administrative Details
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Charity Registration Number 1180167
Patron Gary Crosby OBE
Trustees Adam Wilson
Arden Tomison (Chair)
Barrington Chambers
Kat Branch
Kevin Millwood
Mark Spence
Norma Daykin
Treasurer Sue Lamble
Musical Director Ben Jenkins
Principal Address Malcolm X Community Centre
141 City Road
St Pauls
Bristol
BS2 8YH
Bankers Lloyd s
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Page 1 The Bristol Reggae Orchestra Trustee Report
The Trustees present the annual report together with the financial statements of the charity for the year ended 30 September 2020.
Objectives and activities
Objects and aims
The objects of the charity are to advance the art of music, particularly reggae and music of Jamaican origin for the benefit of the public by performing such music to the public and providing opportunities to develop musical skills.
Public benefit
The Trustees confirm that they have complied with the requirements of section 4 of the Charities Act 2011 to have due regard to the public benefit guidance published by the Charity Commission for England and Wales.
Achievements and performance
The highlight of the year was undoubtedly our performance at St George’s in January 2020 with the fabulous Jazz Jamaica Allstars as part of their national tour of The Trojan Story and the Reggae Ticket.
The rise of Covid-19 as a global pandemic and the resulting public health emergency measures put paid to any meetings of the Orchestra throughout this reporting period from March 2020. Live music, both amateur and professional has been hit hard by the pandemic. No rehearsals or performances could take place and our anticipated programme of 8 concerts was cancelled. More significantly we lost one of our founder members to Covid-19 in May. Members were able to attend his funeral procession in May.
Despite individual illnesses and tragedy, BRO tried to maintain some cohesion through on-line meetings, news updates and music development tutorials and projects. Our overall membership levels have been maintained and our repertoire has expanded significantly. By the end of this reporting period we have been actively planning for a return to rehearsals and working with our partner organisations to ensure that measures are put in place to protect members and the community.
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Page 2 The Bristol Reggae Orchestra Trustee Report (continued)
Financial review
The Statement of Assets and Liabilities includes musical equipment of £3,858 (2019: £3,898) and merchandise of £2,283 (2019: £2,304). These assets were transferred to the charity prior to the charity becoming a registered charity with the Charity Commission.
The cash position at the end of the period was £2,686 (2019: £2,349). Income was largely from members subscriptions which totalled £2,259 (2019: £1,535) an increase on the previous year due in part to the membership fee increase and the increased use of direct debit. In spite of lockdown, since March 2020 many members who have been able to have continued to contribute their full subscriptions. This has enabled us to continue to engage the Musical Director (“MD”) for the development work, which is an ongoing success. It also has provided a healthy cash reserve going forward to meet minimum operating costs.
The past year was an extremely challenging year and meant that no live performances were able to take place. The orchestra has weathered the pandemic well financially due to the strong support from its members, the MD and the trustees. We are in a good position to go forward when ‘business’ can return to the new normal.
Efforts are ongoing to attract grant funding and sponsorship to support the development of the orchestra and engagement with communities across Bristol.
Plans for future periods
Our bid to Bristol City Council Arts Fund has, like all other bids, been rolled into 2021 and we remain hopeful of a positive response. Success would mean we would be able to appoint a project coordinator with a view to rolling out a programme of 6 events across the City through the year.
Building on our success with the St George’s event we are working with St George’s on developing a project as part of their Rebel Music programme and we also expect to get future collaborations with Tomorrow’s Warriors and Jazz Jamaica.
More detailed plans and other opportunities will be explored but the public health situation remains very uncertain and compromises any detailed planning.
Structure, governance and management
The Bristol Reggae Orchestra is a registered charitable incorporated organisation (CIO) and is governed by its constitution dated 2 October 2018. The CIO was registered with the Charity Commission on 2 October 2018 .
Page 3 The Bristol Reggae Orchestra Trustee Report (continued)
The CIO is administered by the Board of Trustees. The Board meets on a quarterly basis. A management committee and formal action groups are appointed to assist with orchestral section management, planning, development, communications and finance who meet on an ad hoc basis.
The Board recognises The Bristol Reggae Orchestra members are the integral part of the orchestra and the Board continually seeks to listen to the important voice of its members in order to meet the charity aims and objectives.
The action groups consist of the following:
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Finances and income: responsible for managing the money, generating income, pursuing funding opportunities, sales and merchandising
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Membership: responsible for managing recruitment, keeping a balance of musicians, involving members and volunteers, running rehearsals with refreshments
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Musical development: responsible for working closely with the Musical Director to define our repertoire, manage the music library, commission new works and arrangements, seek educational and funded projects.
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Media and Marketing : responsible for publicity, recruitment strategies, managing social media and web-based activity, marketing and point of contact for bookings.
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Performance logistics: responsible for maintenance and storage of all equipment, managing all aspects of performances including contracts, liaison, logistics (including transport), set-ups and take-downs.
Recruitment and appointment of Trustees
Trustees are appointed at the Annual General Meeting and are appointed on the basis of their skills and relevant experience to meet the objects of the charity. Trustees are elected by the membership to serve terms of one year and are eligible for re-election at the next Annual General Meeting.
Induction and training of trustees
Once appointed, new trustees are fully briefed by the Board with regard to:
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their obligations as members of the Board of Trustees, including relevant publications from the Charity Commission;
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relevant documentation regarding the legal framework of the charity, e.g. Constitution;
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relevant financial information as set out in the most recent published annual accounts;
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strategic plans and objectives.
Page 4 The Bristol Reggae Orchestra Trustee Report (continued)
Declaration
The Trustee’s declare that they have approved the Trustee report above. Signed on behalf of the charity’s trustees:
… …………………………. Arden Tomison Trustee 16th July 2021
Page 5 The Bristol Reggae Orchestra Statement of Receipts and Payments
| RECEIPTS Donations Membership subscriptions Performance income Merchandise sales Total receipts PAYMENTS Musical director Musician fees (non-members) Rent / Hire of rooms Storage Advertising Insurance Website maintenance Merchandise Total payments Net of receipts/(payments) Cash funds last year end Cash funds this year end |
2020 Unrestricted funds £ 109 2,259 - 56 2,424 1,455 180 - 9 - 180 263 - 2,087 337 2,349 2,686 |
2020 Restricted funds £ - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - |
2020 2019 Total Funds Unrestricted funds £ £ 109 2,715 2,259 1,535 - 2,751 56 185 2,424 7,186 1,455 2,125 180 830 - 1,095 9 398 - 70 180 185 263 36 - 98 2,087 4,837 337 2,349 2,349 - 2,686 2,349 |
2019 Restricted funds £ - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - |
2019 Total Funds £ 2,715 1,535 2,751 185 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 7,186 2,125 830 1,095 398 70 185 36 98 |
|||||
| 4,837 | |||||
| 2,349 | |||||
| - | |||||
| 2,349 |
Page 6 The Bristol Reggae Orchestra Statement of Assets and Liabilities
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2020 2020 2020 2019 2019 2019
Details Unrestricted Restricted Total Unrestricted Restricted Total
£ £ £ £ £ £
Cash funds Cash at bank 2,686 - 2,686 2,349 - 2,349
- -
Other monetary assets - - - - - - -
- -
Investment assets - - - - - - -
- -
Assets retained for the charity's own use Merchandise 2,283 - 2,283 2,304 - 2,304
Musical equipment 3,858 - 3,858 3,898 - 3,898
Liabilities Creditors 450 - 450 - - -
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Page 7 The Bristol Reggae Orchestra Statement of Assets and Liabilities
The financial statements on pages 5 to 6 were approved by the trustees, and authorised for issue on 16[th] July 2021 and signed on their behalf by:
…………………………. Arden Tomison Trustee