## **Trustees’ Annual Report from 01/04/24 to 31/03/25**
**Charity name:** Friends of Church Stretton Library **Charity registration numbe** r: 1182554
## **1. Objects and Activities**
## **1.1 Purpose**
- To support the provision of a community library and information centre in Church Stretton
- To promote education, cultural activities and lifelong learning in Church Stretton and the surrounding area
- To organise events and activities which support education, culture and the health and wellbeing of residents and visitors
- To encourage the involvement of the local community in all we do without distinction of gender, age, sexual orientation, race, disability, religion or political opinions
## **1.2 Main activities**
Our activities in pursuit of these objects include:
- Proactively encouraging the local community to make use of library facilities
- Raising funds to support and enhance the work of the library
- Running a programme of activities supporting lifelong learning, culture and promoting health and social wellbeing
- Providing volunteers to support - but not replace - library staff and enhance the work of the library
- Acting as a link between the Church Stretton Library Service and the wider community
- Working in collaboration with other local groups and organisations to support a coordinated approach
## **1.3 Statement on public benefit**
- The library can better meet the needs of the community
- Residents have more opportunities to engage in educational and social activities that bring people together, support lifelong learning and improve physical and emotional wellbeing
- Volunteers benefit from opportunities to engage in active citizenship and be involved in community life
- Library staff work in collaboration with the local community, leading to a more stable and cohesive community
In pursuing these activities, Trustees have followed the guidance issued by the Charity Commission on public benefit.
## **1.4 Contributions made by volunteers**
We have a large and active corps of volunteers who support our work in several ways:
- Advising visitors at the library’s Visitor Information Centre when the library itself is closed
- Organising our programme of speakers
- Supporting events (selling tickets, organising seating, serving refreshments, etc)
- Putting up posters and distributing other forms of publicity to advertise such events
- Proofreading publicity materials and articles
- Raising funds through tabletop sales, stalls at charity fairs and other venues
These different contributions are much valued, and we hold occasional ‘thank you’ events that bring volunteers together and generate new links between the library service, local stakeholders and the wider community.
These all ~~demonstrate~~ the value of collaboration between a professionally run library and an active Friends group. They also show ways in which local engagement can help secure the future development of the library service and foster new generations of active users.
## **2. Achievements and Performance**
## **2.1 Grant giving**
We give grants to the library to help improve and enhance its service **.** In 2024/25 this included funding for:
- New chairs with arm rests which are more suitable for people with limited mobility
- Additional material for the library’s Dementia Collection
- Additional material for display in the Visitor Information Centre
- A magician to perform to children in the library supporting the Summer Reading Challenge
## **2.2 Events**
We ran various events with educational and cultural content to cover a broad range of interests and involving other community organisations. These included a sea- shanty concert, local author talk, a quiz evening and talks on various topics, all designed to appeal to a wide range of interests.
## **2.3 Visitor Information Centre**
With the help of volunteers, we continued to open the Visitor Information Centre two days a week, when the library is normally closed. Many of the volunteers have commented on how much they enjoy this role, because they meet other local residents as well as provide assistance to visitors.
## **2.4 Working with the local community**
We produced a calendar of local scenery, with support from local photographers, to help raise funds. It was sold in shops in Church Stretton and in the library.
We continued to make an active contribution to Shropshire Council Library development initiatives that seek to enhance the health, wellbeing and involvement of local residents. This included supporting a local charity, Stretton Dementia Friends, so that material could be added to the library Dementia Collection.
These examples demonstrate the value of collaboration between the community, a professionally run library and an active Friends group. They also show ways in which local engagement can help secure the future development of the library service and foster new generations of active users.
## **3. Financial Review**
## **3.1 Accounts**
Our principal source of income is from donations from residents and the profit made from running events. This year, we generated a total income of £14,737 which is higher than previous years. This can be attributed to two very generous individual donations. Income from regular donations and fundraising activities remained similar to those in previous years. We claimed £1055 in Gift Aid on donations and earned £468 interest on our savings account.
Our administrative costs for the year remained low at £584, which includes the cost of insurance.
We spent £3,134 on the library, including subsidised sessions in the library for local primary school children. This left us with a balance of £38,985 in the bank at year end, of which £22,685 is in a high interest savings account. We are in discussion with library staff about future possible spends. These include improving library facilities for events by installing an overhead digital projector and speakers.
## **3.2 Reserves policy**
We have put aside £15,000 for library spend over the next three years and £5,000 into our general reserve. This leaves £23,917 available to spend on new projects.
## **3.3 Principal risks**
There has been uncertainty over the future of the library as Shropshire Council, which funds the library, is having to make massive savings in its budget. Shropshire Council sought additional funding from the Town Council in order to keep the library open. A three-year agreement is now in place, with the Town Council agreeing to contribute £20,000 a year for 2025, 2026 and 2027. Friends have offered to help the Town Council by raising funds to cover £5,000 of this per year.
## **4. Structure, Governance and Management**
We are a registered Charitable Incorporated Organization (CIO). Trustees are elected for a three year term by members at the AGM. Our board of Trustees meets once a month and our financial accounts and annual return are independently checked by a local accountant. We regularly meet with Church Stretton library staff who advise us on how we can support their work.
## **4.1 Trustees**
Trustees can also be coopted for a one year term by a committee of Trustees held between AGMs. People interested in becoming a Trustee are invited to attend a few committee meetings so that they better understand the role. New Trustees are provided with the Charity Commission document ‘Welcome – you’re a charity trustee‘ - and copies of the policies listed below which can also be found on our website.
- Data Protection
- Equality
- Financial
- Safeguarding
- Terms of Reference
## **5. Reference and Administrative Details**
|Charityname|Friends ofChurchStretton Library|
|---|---|
|Other name the charity uses||
|Registered charitynumber|1182554|
|Charity’s principal address|c/o Church Stretton Library
Church Street
Church Stretton
Shropshire
SY6 6DQ|
## **5.1 Trustees**
|**Trustee name**|**Office (if any)**|**Dates acted if not**
**for whole year**|**Name of person (or body)**
**entitled to appoint Trustee**
**(ifany)**|
|---|---|---|---|
|Sheila Davies|Chair|||
|Madeline Haigh|Secretary|||
|Margaret Quartly|Treasurer|||
|Ben Warren||||
|Beth Furlong||||
|Inese Neilson||||
|||||
## **Declarations**
**The Trustees declare that they have approved the Trustees’ report above.**
**Signed on behalf of the charity’s Trustees**
.
|**Signature(s)**
**Full name(s)**
**Position**
(e.g. Secretary, Chair,
etc)
**Date**|||
|---|---|---|
||Sheila Davies|Beth Furlong|
||
Chair|Secretary|
||||
||14thOctober 2025|14thOctober 2025|
**Charity Name No (if any) Friends of Church Stretton Library Receipts and payments accounts CC16a For the period** Period start date Period end date **To from** 01.04.24 31.03.25
## **Section A Receipts and payments**
|**Section A Receipts and payments**|||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
|**A1 Receipts**
Events
**5,227**
Donations
**9,203**
Gift Aid
**1,055**
Grant
**470**
Interest
**468**
**-**
**-**
**-**
**16,423**
**-**
**_Sub total_ -**
**_Total receipts_ 16,423**
**A3 Payments**
Cost of events
**1,244**
Postage & Stationery
**25**
Publicity
**-**
Repairs & Renewals
**-**
Insurance
**383**
Miscellaneous
**176**
Grants to Library
**3,135**
**-**
**-**
**_Sub total_ 4,963**
**-**
**-**
**_Sub total_ -**
**_Total payments_ 4,963**
**_Net of receipts/(payments)_ 11,460**
**A5 Transfers between funds**
**-**
**A6 Cash funds last year end**
**27,498**
**_Cash funds this year end_ 38,958**
**Unrestricted**
**funds**
**to the nearest £**
**_Sub total_**_(Gross income for AR)_
**A2 Asset and investment sales,**
**(see table).**
**A4 Asset and investment**
**purchases, (see table)**|**to the nearest £**
**-**
**-**
**-**
**-**
**-**
**-**
**-**
**-**
**-**
**-**
**-**
**-**
**-**
**-**
**-**
**-**
**-**
**-**
**-**
**-**
**-**
**-**
**-**
**-**
**-**
**-**
**-**
**-**
**-**
**-**
**-**
**Restricted**
**funds**|**to the nearest £**
**Endowment**
**funds**|**Total funds**
**to the nearest £**
**5,227**
**9,203**
**1,055**
**470**
**468**
**-**
**-**
**-**
**16,423**
**-**
**-**
**16,423**
**1,244**
**25**
**-**
**-**
**383**
**176**
**3,135**
**-**
**-**
**4,963**
**-**
**-**
**-**
**4,963**
**11,460**
**-**
**27,498**
**38,958**|**Last year**
**to the nearest £**|
|||**-**
**-**
**-**
**-**
**-**
**-**
**-**
**-**
**-**|**5,227**|**4,432**|
||||**9,203**|**4,376**|
||||**1,055**|**935**|
||||**470**|**-**|
||||**468**|**217**|
||||**-**|**-**|
||||**-**|**-**|
||||**-**|**-**|
||||**16,423**|**9,960**|
||||||
|||**-**
**-**
**-**|||
||||**-**|**-**|
||||**-**|**-**|
||||||
|||**-**|**16,423**|**9,960**|
||||||
|||**-**
**-**
**-**
**-**
**-**
**-**
**-**
**-**
**-**
**-**|**1,244**|**1,140**|
||||**25**|**83**|
||||**-**|**131**|
||||**-**|**2**|
||||**383**|**372**|
||||**176**|**121**|
||||**3,135**|**10,517**|
||||**-**|**-**|
||||**-**|**-**|
||||**4,963**|**12,366**|
||||||
|||**-**
**-**
**-**|**-**|**-**|
||||**-**||
||||**-**|**-**|
||||||
|||**-**|**4,963**|**12,366**|
||||||
||**-**|**-**
**-**
**-**
**-**|**11,460**|**- 2,406**|
||**-**||**-**|**-**|
||**-**||**27,498**|**29,904**|
||**-**||**38,958**|**27,498**|
## **Section B Statement of assets and liabilities at the end of the period**
|**Categories**
**B1 Cash funds**
**B2 Other monetary assets**
**B3 Investment assets**
**B5 Liabilities**
**B4 Assets retained for the**
**charity’s own use**|**Details**
Bank Account Current
Cash In Hand
Bank Account Savings
**Details**
**Details**
**Details**
Donated projector
VIC Book stands
**Details**
**_Total cash funds_**
(agree balances with receipts and payments
account(s))
**u**|**to nearest £**
**16,258**
**15**
**22,685**
**38,958**
OK
**to nearest £**
**-**
**-**
**-**
**-**
**-**
**-**
unrestricted
unrestricted
**Unrestricted**
**funds**
**Unrestricted**
**funds**
**Fund to which**
**asset belongs**
**Fund to which**
**asset belongs**
**Fund to which**
**liability relates**|**to nearest £**
**-**
**-**
**-**
**-**
OK
**to nearest £**
**-**
**-**
**-**
**-**
**-**
**-**
**Cost (optional)**
**-**
**-**
**-**
**-**
**-**
**Cost (optional)**
**-**
**-**
**-**
**-**
**-**
**-**
**-**
**-**
**-**
**-**
**-**
**-**
**-**
**-**
**Restricted**
**funds**
**Restricted**
**funds**
**Amount due**
**(optional)**|**to nearest £**
**Endowment**
**funds**|
|---|---|---|---|---|
|||||**-**|
|||||**-**|
|||||**-**|
|||||**-**|
|||||OK|
|||||**to nearest £**
**Endowment**
**funds**|
|||||**-**|
|||||**-**|
|||||**-**|
|||||**-**|
|||||**-**|
|||||**-**|
|||||**Current value**
**(optional)**|
|||||**-**|
|||||**-**|
|||||**-**|
|||||**-**|
|||||**-**|
|||||**Current value**
**(optional)**|
|||||**-**|
|||||**-**|
|||||**-**|
|||||**-**|
|||||**-**|
|||||**-**|
|||||**-**|
|||||**-**|
|||||**-**|
|||||**When due**
**(optional)**|
||||**-**||
||||**-**||
||||**-**||
||||**-**||
||||**-**||
Signed by one or two trustees on behalf of all the trustees
Signature
Date of Print Name approval