ANNUAL REPORT AND STATEMENT OF ACCOUNTS
KEYNSHAM AND SALTFORD DEMENTIA ACTION ALLIANCE FOR THE YEAR ENDING DECEMBER 31[ST] 2024
Registered Charity Number 1181589
KEYNSHAM & SALTFORD DEMENTIA ACTION ALLIANCE
Annual Trustees’ Report for 2024
CHAIR’S FOREWARD
2024 was a record breaking year as far as our income was concerned with over £11,000 collected. We are continually grateful and amazed at the support we receive from the local community, those who attend our Music for the Mind sessions with their families or carers, plus our fantastic volunteers who keep the charity running and offer their valuable time.
With successful grant applications and the hard work put in by our treasurer and the rest of the management committee, the financial position of the charity is strong and we look forward to making good use of the funds available.
It is always rewarding to hear the comments of all our friends and their carers of how much they enjoy our music sessions as well as the boccia sessions and the daytrips that we organise. Everybody appears to leave our sessions with a smile on their faces. A sign of a job well done.
It will be tough to top this in 2025 but with the continued time and effort that is put in by everyone, we look forward to another successful year in 2025.
BACKGROUND
The Keynsham & Saltford Dementia Action Alliance (K&SDAA) was established in December 2016 with a view to making Keynsham and Saltford more dementia friendly. The term “dementia” describes a set of symptoms that may include memory loss and difficulties with thinking, problem solving or language. The DAA:
-
Covers and serves the needs of those living with dementia in Keynsham and Saltford and the surrounding area.
-
The first meeting of the group was in late 2016 and the first Music for the Mind took place in early May 2017. In January 2019 we became a Charitable Incorporated Organisation. We recently celebrated our 8[th] anniversary.
-
The Keynsham & Saltford DAA does not employ any paid staff. All those involved are volunteers. We do engage a paid professional to facilitate our ‘Music for the Mind’ sessions. We use Keynsham Dial-a-Ride to bring dementia residents from local care homes to our sessions and also for any day trips that we arrange.
-
Music for the Mind sessions are held twice monthly on the second and fourth Thursday mornings of the month. The format is a social conversation for half an hour over tea and coffee, cakes and biscuits and then over an hour of singing, including light seated exercises. Attendance to these sessions has always been free of charge and this will continue. We stipulate that each person living with dementia who attends a session must be accompanied by a friend, relative or carer.
-
We have recently started running boccia sessions whenever there is a 5[th] Thursday in the month which is approximately 4 times a year. Boccia is a paralympic sport
similar to bowls but is played sitting down and is suitable for all ages and abilities. It is great fun and enjoyed by many of our dementia friends
-
We also arrange outings for our friends and carers. We normally run about 4 outings a year that has included visits to National Trust properties, the Bishop’s Palace in Wells, the Avon Valley steam railway, garden centres and the local cinema
-
We have regular contact with local care homes that look after people living with dementia. They are welcome to join us at our Music for the Mind sessions when they have transport available
-
For the last 3 years we have been invited to join the Keynsham Music Festival and put on one of our Music for the Mind sessions in the big top in Keynsham Park. This is free and is open to all.
-
Our secretary contacts all our dementia friends and care homes twice a month to let them know what is going on. We also liaise with many organisations linked with dementia including local doctor’s surgeries, Bristol Dementia,Action Alliance, the Alzheimer’s Society, Dementia Friends, the Carer Centre, Age UK, ReMind, Live Well and Wellbeing
THE TRUSTEES
During 2024 Judith Lynn resigned as a trustee and was replaced by Steve Edwards who will be able to take a broader view of what we do. Judith is staying with us as a volunteer where she continues to do a great job in charge of the kitchen. The other trustees are Tim Blowers. who is the Chair, Liz Edwards, and Mike Knight who is also treasurer. Despite advertising for new trustees we have not received any expressions of interest. We will continue the search to find at least two more preferably from outside the group to provide more experience and variety. The trustees meet 3 times a year
The trustees met up in May to discuss and approve all our financial details for 2024. All the relevant information was circulated beforehand. This included a summary of the group’s income and expenditure and a printout of all the transactions. At the meeting the monthly bank statements and all the invoices were available for inspection. Any questions were answered and once everyone was satisfied, the trustees signed off the accounts.
PRESENTATION AND ADOPTION OF FINANCIAL ACCOUNTS FOR 2024
The Annual General Meeting of the trustees was held on Monday 19[th] May 2025 when the main item was the presentation and adoption of the financial accounts. In 2023 our income dropped to £3,377 which led to a loss of £2,099 over the year. The trustees agreed that the group should target a minimum income of £5,000 for 2024. We consequently applied for 3 grants totalling £4,300 and were successful with each application. During the year we also received donations from 13 local groups and organisations which totalled £4,312. Three organisations, the Keynsham Good Afternoon Choir, the Keynsham Town Walking Football Club and Homeavon House Retirement Home in Keynsham had made our group their Charity of the Year. Five donations were received from individuals, two donations in memorium of people who had had connections with our group and also donations were collected during our Music for the Mind sessions.
Our annual expenditure was down slightly in 2024 to £4,195.88. Just over 70% of our expenditure is spent on our Music for the Mind sessions. Our profit over the year was
£7,283.20 and our end of year balance was a healthy £18,755.17. A full breakdown of our income and expenditure can be found in the table at the end of this report.
All relevant financial information was circulated to the trustees prior to the meeting and all receipts and bank statements were available for scrutiny at the meeting. The trustees all agreed that the information provided was accurate and the accounts were duly adopted and a form was signed off by all the trustees.
MANAGEMENT TEAM
We now have 9 members on the management team. June Brassington Is our Lead, Merrial Knight is Secretary and Mike Knight is Treasurer. Trish Wilson has taken on the role of coordinating the volunteers and Christine Hall has recently taken on the role of organising outings along with Mike Knight. The other management team members are Liz Edwards, Sue Stevens, Jane Leaves and Tim Blowers (chair of trustees). Meetings are generally held about every 2 months and Trish is also responsible for writing up the minutes.
VOLUNTEERS
We have a loyal group of about 18 volunteers who are mainly involved with ensuring that the Music for the Mind sessions run smoothly. They do an excellent job preparing the tables in the hall, meeting and greeting our friends in the car park and helping to get any wheelchair users into the building. Everybody is registered and provided with drinks and biscuits and cake before we start the singing. Once everybody has left everything has to be cleared away and the hall left in a tidy state. A number of our volunteers first came to our sessions as carers but on losing their partner have returned as volunteers. They have a great understanding of what our guests are going through. We always have a friendly and supportive atmosphere in the room during our sessions and it never fails to raise people’s spirits.
GOING FORWARD
Our aim for 2025 is to continue providing Music for the Mind sessions twice a month. They will be free of charge. We will run boccia sessions whenever there are 5 Thursdays in the month and we will organise a number of external trips out during the year if there is sufficient interest.
We are still trying to find new trustees and we still need a liaison officer to link up with local businesses and organisations as our aim is still to make Keynsham and Saltford more dementia friendly.
Mike Knight
Treasurer and Trustee
Keynsham and Saltford Dementia Action Alliance
August 2025
KEYNSHAM & SALTFORD DEMENTIA ACTION ALLIANCE
Balance Sheet for period 1st January 2024 to 31 st December 2024
Balance in bank on 1/1/24 £11,471.97
| Income | Expenditure | |
|---|---|---|
| Money received from grants (3) | £4300.00 | Music for the Mind£2637.50 |
| Donations from organisations (13) £4312.21 | Public liability insurance £197.25 | |
| Donations from individuals (5) | £1533.62 | Excursions (6) £499.33 |
| Donations in memorium (2) | £817.05 | Domain registration £72.00 |
| Donations from collection tins | £516.00 | New posters for publicity £171.96 |
| Dial-a-Ride £380.00 | ||
| Biscuits for dementia friends £175.00 | ||
| Lanyards & plastic sleeves £62.64 |
TOTAL INCOME £11,478.88 TOTAL EXPENDITURE £4,195.68
INCOME MINUS EXPENDITURE FOR 2024 £7,283.20 PLUS THE BALANCE ON 31/12/2023 £11,471.97
BALANCE IN BANK ON 31/12/2024 £18,755.17