## GREEK CULTURAL SOCIETY OF BIRMINGHAM "ITHACA"
_Trustee Annual Report and Financial Statements_
_For the Year Ended 6 April 2024_
Charity Number: 1183839
**Greek Cultural Society of Birmingham “Ithaca”**
**Trustee Annual Report and Financial Statements for the year ended 6 April 2024**
## **1. Reference and Administrative Information**
Charity name
Greek Cultural Society of Birmingham “Ithaca”
> Other name the charity uses Ithaca
> Registered charity number 1183839 Charity’s principal address BIRMINGHAM CHAMBER OF COMMERCE 75 HARBORNE ROAD BIRMINGHAM B15 3DH
## **Names of the charity trustees who manage the charity:**
**Trustee name Office** Konstantinos Anastasakis Assistant Treasurer Athanasia Evlampia Davies Vice Chair Kalliopi-Paraskevi Charitaki Secretary Ioannis Karavias Chair Ioanna-Kleopatra Kouremenou Social Media Lead Eirini Sakellari Social Media Assistant Maria Emmanouela Terlektsi Class Manager Antonios Theodoromanolakis Head Treasurer
## **2. Structure, Governance and Management**
Type of governing document: Constitution Charity type: CIO
Appointment of charity trustees: The structure and governance of the charity is detailed in the charity constitution. In selecting individuals for appointment as charity trustees, the charity trustees must have regard to the skills, knowledge and experience needed for the effective administration of the CIO.
## **3. Objectives and Activities**
## Objectives:
Our charity’s aim and purposes as set out in the objects contained in the Ithaca’s constitution are to advance education of the public concerning Greek culture, traditions, language, history and arts in Birmingham and such parts of the United Kingdom as the trustees may from time to time determine through the provision of courses and activities.
## Activities:
In setting our objectives and planning our activities the trustees have given careful consideration to the Charity Commission’s public benefit guidance.
Our organization experienced a profound loss with the untimely passing of our beloved Vice Chair, Vicky Drakopanagiotaki. Her sudden departure deeply affected our community, leading to a period of mourning and the postponement of several activities. During this time of transition, we also bid farewell to our second Vice President, Nicholas Sachinopoulos, who moved on to new opportunities.
As we navigated these changes, we welcomed two new trustees to our organization: Eirini Sakellari, who took on oversight of our social media presence, and Panagiotis Vakirtzis, who began leading our Greek music band. Their contributions helped us continue our important work while honouring Vicky's memory.
Despite the cost-of-living crisis, the society maintained its commitment to broad community engagement. We achieved this through a combination of subsidized activities and external funding sources, notably securing £500 through the prestigious Localgiving's Magic Little Grants Fund.
Overall, the main activities were:
1. Greek dancing lessons: The time and location was kept the same, and so did student tuition at £30 per month, same as before the pandemic, in order to keep our doors open even to those who struggle financially. The new year saw an influx of new students.
2. Traditional Greek Costumes: Ithaca proceeded in an investment buying 12+1 traditional Greek costumes to be worn by the Ithaca’s dance team, now formally named “Vicky Drakopanagiotaki”. The investment was of significant cost and it was funded by donations received in the past few years.
3. Greek Dancing exhibitions: Ithaca’s dance team, now formally named “Vicky Drakopanagiotaki” spearheaded the following activities:
1. Performed at the May Day Festival organized by The Midlands Greek and Cypriot Association. The team performed for free to support the Association.
2. Participated in "An Enchanted Evening", which was a music and dance event in collaboration with Harborne Orchestra.
3. Organized a private function for a company.
4. Performed at the celebration of the Three Hierarchs for free, in the celebration organized by the Greek School of Ayia Triada Birmingham.
5. Participated "Apokriatiko Glenti" was held, which is traditionally a carnival celebration before the beginning of Lent.
4. Ithaca collaborated with Birmingham’s Greek Club to organize two free seminars:
1. St Paul and Corinth in History and Archaeology
2. The latest research on the Greek Alphabet
5. Iconography: Ithaca, together with the Greek Orthodox Church of the Holy Trinity and St Church co-funded the classes. Ithaca did not take any fees for this class.
6. Ithaca received a significant achievement with the Magic Little Grants success, securing £500 in funding from Localgiving and Postcode Local Trust. This grant was specifically allocated to support their Greek Dancing Group, enabling them to hire a dancing room for 13 weeks.
7. The organization hosted a Greek Summer Photo Competition. The winner of the competition won a prize of £30. In a further event the community voted on the 12 best photos and these were used to create a calendar named “Endless Greek Summer”.
8. Free coffee events and get-togethers were organized:
1. "Fthinoporino Synapantima" (Autumn Gathering) at Bill’s Restaurant.
2. “Speedfriending Café” was held to facilitate connections within the community, at Bill’s Restaurant.
3. “Vasilopita 2024” celebration, a traditional New Year's cake cutting ceremony, at Bar Estilo.
9. Greek nights: To further strengthen bonds and attract new members, Ithaca organised a Greek night for “Tsiknopempti” which included a display of traditional Greek dances and Greek music.
## **4. Achievements and Performance**
The performance was overall positive. The Greek dancing and Iconography classes had many students. The Greek night was successful having about 120 participants. The coffee get togethers attacted between 30 and 70 participants. The private party’s event was highly successful, and the company said they would invite us again in the future. Overall, the aim of reaching more people was achieved.
## **5. Financial Review**
In the period April 7[th] 2023 – April 6[th] 2024 Ithaca had a total income of £4592.5 and a total expenditure of £6,711.47. The reserves are equal to £5,160.64. The financial position is considered satisfactory.
Income was generated through the following methods:
1. Memberships and donations: Memberships cost £30 pounds and last for a year. The membership was advertise as a means to support the charity, and it was accompanied by a T-shirt with Ithaca’s logo and by a 2023 calendar with pictures of Greek traditional costumes.
2. Classes: Iconography and Greek Dancing lessons cost £50 and £30 per person per month.
3. Greek nights.
4. Fee’s from Ithaca’s team dancing at the birthday party function and at the “Enchanted Evening event”.
The expenditures were generated as follows:
1. Communications cost: Ithaca has a dedicated mobile number which is used for communications with our members and public. Furthermore, Ithaca built and maintains its own website.
2. Costs for promotional materials: Ithaca’s t-shirts, and the calendars had to be paid for.
3. Advertisement cost: Ithaca paid for a page at the magazine issued by the Greek Orthodox Church of the Dormition of Theotokos and St Andrew.
4. Charitable activities: this is the cost for booking the Midlands Greek Cypriot Association space for iconography, as well as the costs for renting the dancing room at the Hippodrome Theatre, and the dance instructor renumeration. The iconography instructor is paid directly by the students.
The policy on reserves is to hold them and increase them until we are in a position to secure a place which can host all of Ithaca’s activities. Currently the activities are spread in various locations in Birmingham and this has an economic cost both for us who need to rent space and our community which have to travel to different locations.
## **6. Plans for Future Periods**
The main objectives for future periods will be to become widely known to the public through activities of greater visibility. We will aim to expand activities into areas such as Greek music. This year we generated sufficient income, and it seems that the overall economic and public health situation will continue to improve, increasing the success of charitable activities. Ithaca’s strength is that it carries no debts or obligations, only a good reserve of unrestricted funds.
## **7. Declarations**
**The trustees declare that they have approved the trustees’ report above.**
**Signed on behalf of the charity’s trustees**
**Signature(s)** Antonios Theodoromanolakis **Full name(s)** Ioannis Karavias **Position** Chair Head Treasurer
**Date** 1/2/2025
## **Greek Cultural Society of Birmngham “Ithaca” Statement of Financial Activities (including Income & Expenditure Account) for the year ended 6 April 2024**
||||Unrestricted|Unrestricted|Total Funds|Unrestricted|Unrestricted|Total Funds|
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
||Notes||Funds|2024|2024|Funds|2023|2023|
|**Incoming Resouces**|||£||£|£||£|
|_Incoming resources from_|||||||||
|_generated funds_|||||||||
|Charitable activities||1||4592.5|4592.5||9409.5|9409.5|
|Total Incoming|||||||||
|Resources||||4592.5|4592.5||9409.5|9409.5|
|**Resources Expended**|||||||||
|_Costs of generating_|||||||||
|_funds_||2||2926.29|2926.29||509.25|509.25|
|_Charitable activities_||3||3785.18|3785.18||6242.53|6242.53|
|Total Resources|||||||||
|Expended||||6711.47|6711.47||6751.78|6751.78|
|Net Income of the year|||-2118.97||-2118.97||2657.72|2657.72|
|Total funds carried|||||||||
|forwards||||5160.64|5160.64||7279.61|7279.61|
## **Greek Cultural Society of Birmngham “Ithaca” Statement of Assets and Liabilities for the year ended 6 April 2024**
||2024|2023|
|---|---|---|
|Current assets|||
||5160.64|7279.61|
|Cash and cash at hand|||
|Total Funds|5160.64|7279.61|
## **Greek Cultural Society of Birmingham “Ithaca” Balance Sheet as at 6 April 2024**
||**Balance Sheet**|**as at 6 April**|**2024**|||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
|Notes||Unrestricted
Funds 2024|Total
Funds
2024|Unrestricted
Funds 2023|Total
Funds
2023|
||**Income**|||||
|1|Memberships and Donations|966|966|1652|1652|
||Classes|3526.5|3526.5|3398.5|3398.5|
||Greek Nights|100|100|4359|4359|
||Ithacia Festival|0|0|0|0|
|||||||
|||||||
||**Expenditure**|||||
|2|Costs ofgeneratingfunds|||||
||Communication Costs|60|60|55|55|
||BroadcastingCosts|2816.29|2816.29|382.27|382.27|
||Advertisement costs|50|50|71.98|71.98|
|||||||
|3|Charitable activities|||||
||Classes|3592|3592|2793.69|2793.69|
||Greek Nights|193.18|193.18|3448.84|3448.84|
||Ithacia Festival|0|0|0|0|