**GROBY SINGS (Registered Charity No. 1180490)** **ANNUAL REPORT AND FINANCIAL STATEMENTS for year ending 31 JANUARY 2023** **Approved by the Groby Sings’ board of trustees on 5 October 2023** ## **CONTENTS** Annual Report Statement of financial activities Balance sheet Summary of accounting policies ## **ANNUAL REPORT** The Trustees present this report and the financial statement of Groby Sings for the period ended 31st January 2023, in accordance with the Charities Act 2011. ## **Establishment and objects** Groby Sings was registered as a Charitable Incorporated Organisation (CIO, Foundation model) on 30 October 2018, No. 1180490. Its charitable object is for the public benefit to advance, improve, develop and maintain public awareness in, and appreciation of, the art and science of music in all its aspects by any means the trustees see fit, including through the establishment and operation of a fully socially inclusive community choir and the presentation of public concerts. The Trustees have given due consideration to the Charity Commission’s published guidance on the Public Benefit requirement under the Charities Act 2011. The main activities undertaken to further Groby Sings’ purposes for the public benefit in the period were related to the promotion and performance of music as described in the review of developments, activities and achievements section. ## **Structure, governance and management** Groby Sings is governed by its constitution adopted on 11th October 2018. The Trustees consist of elected Officers and other members. The Trustees meet twice a year, plus extra meetings as necessary. The routine management of Groby Sings is the responsibility of a Management Team who, as per the constitution (section 14, paragraph 1), have delegated powers, the terms of which are determined by the Trustees. 1 The key personnel during the year under review were as follows, in order of date of appointment or re-appointment. Changes during the year are in **bold** . ## Trustees (Trustees are appointed for a 3-year term and can be re-appointed at the end of that term.) MICHAEL RANDLE Appointed 17 May 2019 **Retired 16 May 2022** ANDREW SCOTT Appointed 17 May 2019 **Resigned 1 June 2022** CLIFF ASHBY Re-appointed 17 May 2020 PAUL COX Re-appointed 17 May 2021 STEPHEN GEORGE Re-appointed 17 May 2021 CAROL KNILL Re-appointed 17 May 2021 LOUISE ROSS **Re-appointed 17 May 2022** KATE SMITH **Appointed 13 June 2022 Resigned 23 Oct 2022** NICOLA BASHFORTH **Appointed 13 June 2022** ## Management Team (Members of the Management Team are appointed by the Trustees. At least one member of the Management Team must be a Trustee.) CLIFF ASHBY Appointed 17 May 2018 JANE COX Appointed 17 May 2018 ANDREW SCOTT Appointed 6 Jan 2020 **Resigned 1 June 2022** JODIE TOTMAN **Appointed 19 July 2022** HELEN O’BRIEN **Appointed 31 Oct 2022** The address for correspondence to the Charity is: 18 PYMM LEY LANE GROBY LEICESTER LE6 0GZ 2 ## **Review of developments, activities and achievements** Because of COVID-19, Groby Sings held no rehearsals or concerts between March 2020 and the end of 2021. By February 2022, the covid infection rate had reduced and most singers had been given multiple vaccinations, and so the Management Team and the Trustees felt it was safe to invite the singers back to rehearse with our new conductor, Simon Lubkowski. A risk assessment was discussed at length and implemented in line with government advice at the time. With this in place and the choir having been informed of the guidelines for their attendance, about half the singers on our adult database and some new singers felt able to join to sing in person. It was decided to limit the songs to half of the popular hits we had started learning in 2020 and been singing at home through 2021. To this, our new musical director added two songs he had arranged himself. This gave the choir both the comfort of familiarity and the challenge of the new for the spring/summer season. Regular communication was continued by the secretary of the Management Team with all singers whether they chose to attend or not. They were kept informed of other singing opportunities including some online, and they were updated on any changes made to the rehearsal guidelines. After the Easter holidays, it was felt safe to restart the children’s choir and a small number of enthusiastic children gathered each week. The spring/summer season culminated with about 100 singers from all three rehearsal choirs gathering one June evening in a local spacious church to sing the songs en masse. It was the perfect opportunity to celebrate the joys of singing together and to thank the volunteers who had retired during the previous two years. The choir was also able to say a fond farewell to the founding musical director, Helen Hayes. After the usual break, the choir started the autumn season in September with songs chosen to fit the theme of ‘Seasons’. The numbers attending grew and the choir enjoyed learning the new repertoire under Simon Lubkowski’s conducting with the aim of performing together in November. As a result of singers volunteering to help at the summer party, two new Management Team members were recruited to work alongside the chair and secretary with a view to taking responsibility for the Children’s Choir and the Performance Weekend arrangements once they felt confident to do so. Their skills and enthusiasm were invaluable too in keeping the choir growing as new recruits continued to join and previous singers returned. The decision was taken by the Management Team to again sing at the end of the season in a local church but to also invite friends and family to form an audience. About 120 singers performed to a full house. The audience were invited to make a donation if they had enjoyed the evening and they were very generous. The concert finished with everyone looking forward to a return to ‘normal’ at the start of the next season in March 2023. To ensure that Groby Sings continues to thrive despite having fewer singers after Covid, we applied for and were successful in obtaining two significant grants: a ‘no strings’ grant of £500 from the Weavers’ Company; and a grant of £2,000 from Leicester, Leicestershire and Rutland Councils’ _Living Well with Dementia_ fund, to help Groby Sings to fulfil its role as a dementia-friendly community choir. We were also grateful to receive many sponsorship donations, including a total of £825 from sponsors of the songs in the word booklets and more than £350 from sponsors of a sky-dive done by one of our singers, Carol Knill. 3 As always, we are grateful to the many volunteers who help with organising and governing Groby Sings and with various aspects of the running of our rehearsals and concerts. Without their unpaid help, Groby Sings could not function. We are also immensely grateful to Groby Club, who allow us to use their premises for our rehearsals. ## **Testimonials from singers** _‘’Groby Sings is like a family, a diverse family. We support each other and the individuals who run the choir care for so much more than the music, it’s about the holistic needs of each individual including those with memory loss and other disabilities.”_ _“It makes me happy to sing with others.”_ _“The sense of community and togetherness that the group leaders foster. The way Simon leads the group to help us learn the lyrics and the melodies through repetition, and the CDs given to help us practice at home.”_ _“I come away from the sessions feeling uplifted I enjoy immensely the singing and company.”_ _“It’s great for my mental health. Gets me out of the house and I enjoy the company. It gives me a sense of purpose working towards the performance.”_ _“Totally enjoyable and the best day of the week.”_ ## **Financial review** The year to the end of January 2023 was a time of beginning the recovery from the effects of COVID on Groby Sings’ activities. Our income from all activities was £10,933 (in 2022: £4). This includes two very generous grants from the Weaver’s Company (£500) and The Dementia Programme Board of Leicester, Leicestershire and Rutland (£2000). It is worth noting that these grants came towards the end of the year and without them we would have run a deficit in our accounts. Looking forward, if the number of singers who join us each season and make donations does not increase back up to pre-COVID levels, we will become increasingly dependent on finding grants from other organisations to finance our activities. Total payments for the period were £9,284 (2022: £193). Most of that amount was for fees made to our conductor and musicians of £5,590. Music, licences, printing and rehearsal costs (including rehearsal venue) came to £2,079. Plans for our concert in November 2022 had to be revised due to issues with the venue (outside of Groby) and poor ticket sales. The accounts show income from ticket sales, subsequent refunds for these tickets, and the cost of putting on a free concert (financed by donations). One purchase of a CO2 meter £66 was refunded when the device was found to be faulty. The closing bank balance for the period was £7,694, an increase of £1,649 over the previous year. ## **Other assets** The charity owns a number of assets which it retains for its own use and for which we have shown cost but to which we have assigned no current value. 4 ## **Reserves policy** Groby Sings aims to maintain the accumulated fund at a minimum balance of £3,200. This level of reserves, in conjunction with Groby Sings’ insurance policy, would ensure that Groby Sings could cover any concert abandonment costs should the need arise. ## **Financial statements** The statutory financial statements of Groby Sings are attached. They consist of a Statement of Financial Activities, setting out the incoming and spending for the year, both from concert activities and from Groby Sings’ general activities. The financial statements conclude with a Balance Sheet summarising Groby Sings’ financial position. Signed on behalf of the Trustees ## Steve George Chair 5 ## **STATEMENT OF FINANCIAL ACTIVITIES FOR 12 MONTH PERIOD ENDED 31 JANUARY 2023 (all amounts to nearest £)** ## **Income and spending** |**Income and spending**||||| |---|---|---|---|---| ||**Unrestricted**
**funds**
**to 31/01/23**|**Restricted**
**funds**
**to 31/01/23**|**Total funds**
**to 31/01/23**|Total funds
to 31/01/22| |**Income**||||| |Donations andgrants|£9,119|**-**|£9,119|4| |Sales (CDs, music, pencils)|1,043|**-**|1,043|-| |Performance refreshments|225|**-**|225|-| |CO2 meter refund|66|**-**|66|-| |Performance ticket sales|480|**_-_**|480|-| |||||| |**Total income**|**£10,933**|**_-_**|**£10,933**|£4| |||||| |**Spending**||||| |Conductor and musicians|£5,590|-|£5,590|| |Rehearsals|867|-|867|| |Music, licences, printing|1,212|-|1,212|| |Admin., insurance, misc.|560|-|560|193| |Performance costs
(includingticket refunds)|921|-|921|| |CO2 meter|66|-|66|| |CDs|69|-|69|| |||||| |**Total spending**|**£9,284**|**-**|**£9,284**|£193| |||||| |**Net of income /(spending)**|**£1,649**|**-**|**£1,649**|(£189)| ## **Cash funds** ||**Unrestricted**
**funds**
**at 31/01/23**|**Restricted**
**funds**
**at 31/01/23**|**Total funds**
**at 31/01/23**|Total funds
at 31/01/22| |---|---|---|---|---| |**Cash at bank**|**£7,694**||**£7,694**|£6,045| ## **Assets retained for the charity’s own use** |
**Details**|**Original Cost(£)**| |---|---| |Solta TA-Sub Sound Array|2,200| |LaneyMonitors(4)|585| |QSC Touch Mix 8 Mixer|692| |Roland FP-80 Keyboard|1,500| |Systor 1-7 CD Duplicator|485| |Other miscellaneous equipment|1,350| Signed on behalf of the Trustees ## Steve George Chair ## **ACCOUNTING POLICIES** ## _**Basis of accounting**_ Charities registered in England and Wales that are not companies are allowed under section 133 of the Charities Act 2011 (‘the Charities Act’) to prepare receipts and payments accounts provided the charity’s gross income is not over £250,000. As such we are not required to prepare accounts on an accruals basis and the Trustees have opted not to do so. In addition as the gross income does not exceed £25,000, we have opted not to subject the accounts to independent examination. ## _**Funds and reserve policy**_ At the year end, all the charity's funds are unrestricted. Groby Sings aims to maintain the accumulated fund at a minimum balance of £3,200. This level of reserves, in conjunction with the Groby Sings insurance policy, would ensure that Groby Sings could cover any concert abandonment costs should the need arise. ## _**Designated and Restricted reserves**_ The charity has received no restricted donation nor has designated any specific funds and hence has no such reserves. ## _**Income**_ All income is accounted for on a receipts basis. ## _**Expenditure**_ All expenditure is accounted for on a payment basis. ## _**Cash at bank and in hand**_ All cash is banked in total upon receipt and no cash floats or banking receipt residual are now kept. All such funds during the period in question, were banked as of 31[st] January 2023. ## _**Creditors and provisions**_ Creditors and provisions are recognised where the charity has a present obligation resulting from a past event that will probably result in the transfer of funds to a third party and the amount due to settle the obligation can be measured or estimated reliably. ## _**Preparation of the accounts on a going concern basis**_ The trustees consider there are no material uncertainties about the Charity’s ability to continue as a going concern. The review of our financial position, reserves levels and future plans gives the Trustees confidence that the charity remains a going concern for the foreseeable future. **Charity Name No (if any) Groby Sings 1180490** **CC16a** ## **Receipts and payments accounts** **For the period** Period start date Period end date **To from** 2/1/2022 1/31/2023 ## **Section A Receipts and payments** |**A1 Receipts**
Donations and Grants
**9,119**
Sales(CDs,Music, pencils)
**1,043**
Performance refreshments
**225**
CO2 meter refund
**66**
Performance ticket sales
**480**
**-**
**-**
**-**
**10,933**
**Unrestricted**
**funds**
**to the nearest £**
**_Sub total_**_(Gross income for AR)_|**A1 Receipts**
Donations and Grants
**9,119**
Sales(CDs,Music, pencils)
**1,043**
Performance refreshments
**225**
CO2 meter refund
**66**
Performance ticket sales
**480**
**-**
**-**
**-**
**10,933**
**Unrestricted**
**funds**
**to the nearest £**
**_Sub total_**_(Gross income for AR)_|**to the nearest £**
**-**
**-**
**-**
**-**
**-**
**-**
**-**
**-**
**-**
**Restricted**
**funds**|**to the nearest £**
**-**
**-**
**-**
**-**
**-**
**-**
**-**
**-**
**-**
**Endowment**
**funds**|**Total funds**
**to the nearest £**
**9,119**
**1,043**
**225**
**66**
**480**
**-**
**-**
**-**
**10,933**|**Last year**
**to the nearest £**| |---|---|---|---|---|---| |Donations and Grants|**9,119**|**-**|**-**|**9,119**|**4**| |Sales(CDs,Music, pencils)|**1,043**|**-**|**-**|**1,043**|**-**| |Performance refreshments|**225**|**-**|**-**|**225**|**-**| |CO2 meter refund|**66**|**-**|**-**|**66**|**-**| |Performance ticket sales|**480**|**-**|**-**|**480**|**-**| ||**-**|**-**|**-**|**-**|**-**| ||**-**|**-**|**-**|**-**|**-**| ||**-**|**-**|**-**|**-**|**-**| |**_Sub total_**_(Gross income for AR)_|**10,933**
|**-**|**-**|**10,933**|**4**| |**-**
**-**
**_Sub total_ -**
**_Total receipts_ 10,933**
**A2 Asset and investment sales,**
**(see table).**||**-**
**-**
**-**
**-**|**-**
**-**
**-**
**-**|**-**
**-**
**-**
**10,933**|| ||||||| ||||||**-**| ||||||**-**| ||||||| |||**-**|**-**|**10,933**|**4**| |**A2 Asset and investment sales,**|||||||||||| |---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---| |**(see table).**|||||||||||| |||**-**||**-**||**-**||**-**|||| |||**-**||**-**||**-**||**-**||**-**|| |**_Sub total_**||**-**||**-**||**-**||**-**||**-**|| ||||||||||||| |**_Total receipts_**||**10,933**||**-**||**-**||**10,933**||**4**|| |**A3 Payments**
Conductor and Musicians
**5,590**
Rehearsals
**867**
Music, Licences, Printing
**1,212**
Admin, Insurance, Misc
**560**
**921**
CO2 Meter
**66**
CDs
**69**
**-**
**-**
**_Sub total_ 9,284**
**-**
**-**
**_Sub total_ -**
**_Total payments_ 9,284**
**_Net of receipts/(payments)_ 1,649**
**A5 Transfers between funds**
**-**
**A6 Cash funds last year end**
**6,045**
**_Cash funds this year end_ 7,694**
Performance costs (including ticket
~~f~~
~~d )~~
**A4 Asset and investment**
**purchases, (see table)**|**-**
**-**
**-**
**-**
**-**
**-**
**-**
**-**
**-**
**-**
**-**
**-**
**-**
**-**
**-**
**-**
**-**
**-**|**-**
**-**
**-**
**-**
**-**
**-**
**-**
**-**
**-**
**-**
**-**
**-**
**-**
**-**
**-**
**-**
**-**
**-**|**5,590**
**867**
**1,212**
**560**
**921**
**66**
**69**
**-**
**-**
**9,284**
**-**
**-**
**-**
**9,284**
**1,649**
**-**
**6,045**
**7,694**|| |---|---|---|---|---| |||||**-**| |||||**-**| |||||**-**| |||||**193**| |||||**-**| |||||**-**| |||||| |||||**-**| |||||**-**| |||||**193**| |||||| |||||| |||||| |||||**-**| |||||| |||||**193**| |||||| ||**-**|**-**|**1,649**|**- 189**| ||**-**|**-**|**-**|**-**| ||**-**|**-**|**6,045**|**6,234**| ||**-**|**-**|**7,694**|**6,045**| ## **Section B Statement of assets and liabilities at the end of the period** |**Categories**
**unds**|**Details**|**to nearest £**
**-**
**Unrestricted**
**funds**|**to nearest £**
**-**
**Restricted**
**funds**|**to nearest £**
**Endowment**
**funds**| |---|---|---|---|---| |||**-**|**-**|**-**| **B1 Cash funds** ||||**-**||**-**||**-**|| |---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---| ||||**-**||**-**||**-**|| ||**_Total cash funds_**||**7,694**||**-**||**-**|| ||(agree balances with receipts and payments
account(s))||OK||OK||OK|| ||||**Unrestricted**||**Restricted**||**Endowment**|| ||||**funds**||**funds**||**funds**|| ||**Details**||**to nearest £**||**to nearest £**||**to nearest £**|| |**B2 Other monetary assets**|||**-**||**-**||**-**|| ||||**-**||**-**||**-**|| ||||**-**||**-**||**-**|| ||||**-**||**-**||**-**|| ||||**-**||**-**||**-**|| ||||**-**||**-**||**-**|| ||**Details**||**Fund to which**
**asset belongs**||**Cost (optional)**||**Current value**
**(optional)**|| |**B3 Investment assets**|||||**-**||**-**|| ||||||**-**||**-**|| ||||||**-**||**-**|| ||||||**-**||**-**|| ||||||**-**||**-**|| ||**Details**||**Fund to which**
**asset belongs**||**Cost (optional)**||**Current value**
**(optional)**|| |**B4 Assets retained for the**|Solta TA-Sub Sound Array||Unrestricted||**-**||**-**|| |**charity’s own use**|Laney Monitors (4)||Unrestricted||**-**||**-**|| ||QSC Touch Mix 8 Mixer||Unrestricted||**-**||**-**|| ||Roland FP-80 Keyboard||Unrestricted||**-**||**-**|| ||Systor 1-7 CD Duplicator||Unrestricted||**-**||**-**|| ||||||**-**||**-**|| ||||||**-**||**-**|| ||||||**-**||**-**|| ||||||**-**||**-**|| ||||**Fund to which**||**Amount due**||**When due**|| ||**Details**||**liability relates**||**(optional)**||**(optional)**|| |**B5 Liabilities**|||||**-**|||| ||||||**-**|||| ||||||**-**|||| ||||||**-**|||| ||||||**-**|||| |Signed by one or two trustees on
behalf of all the trustees|Signature||Print|Name|||Date of
approval|| ||||Steve|George|||31-Jul-23|| ||||||||||