## **Alma Group** **Trustee Annual Report for the Period: 1[st] February 2021 – 31[st] January 2022.** ## **Aim and purpose** Alma Group aims to advance the conservation and improvement of the physical and natural environment for the benefit of the public in any part of the world by providing capacity building activities, advancing environmental education, raising awareness and carrying out scientific research. ## **Objectives and activities** During the planning of our objectives and activities for the year, the board of trustees specifically considered the Charity Commission’s guidance on public benefit. In particular, the ‘Objectives and activities’ and ‘Achievements and performance’ sections provide a brief summary of the efforts undertaken for the overall aim to improve the physical and natural environment, together with a confirmation that the board of trustees have had regard to our guidance on public benefit. The primary objectives during this period were to: - Establish a project - Raise awareness of the project and charity using communication channels ## **Achievements and performance** During the previous year, Alma Group and the Sierra Leone School Green Club (SLSGC) applied for the British Council’s open call for creative commissions, in response to climate change and COP26. The idea for this commission was to produce a radio drama series that directly addresses environmental sustainability. This application was not successful. Alma Group and SLSGC remain in contact and will continue to look for further funding opportunities. This year, Alma Group successfully applied to the International Coral Reef Initiative Small Grants Programme 2021 in collaborated with the Department of Parks and Wildlife Management (DPWM) of The Gambia. The $80,000 project entitled Ba Nyamo Tanko – meaning ‘conserving seagrass’ in Mandinka, a Gambian dialect, is a pioneering community-led seagrass protection intervention in The Gambia. The specific objectives of Ba Nyamo Tanko are to: - - Restore degraded seagrass areas through community participation - Enhance ecosystem services provided by seagrasses, including improved fisheries, biodiversity, carbon sequestration and coastal protection - Integrate seagrass conservation into national regulations and sectoral laws - Act as a demonstration programme showcasing community-led seagrass conservation and influence national and regional policy For Ba Nyamo Tanko, Alma Group will provide continuous scientific support on the training workshop and ongoing use of seagrass restoration techniques. It will also lead the project communications, and assist with the technical requirements of reporting (i.e. GIS mapping). To date, Alma Group has successfully established a dedicated webpage for the project (Ba Nyamo Tanko — ALMA (alma-org.co.uk)), in addition to a twitter page (Ba Nyamo Tanko (@BaNyamoTanko) / Twitter). Furthermore, Alma Group assisted with the logo design, and creation of the restoration handbook to be used at the restoration workshop. ## **Financial review** The balances carried forward on the 31[st] January 2021 on unrestricted funds totalled £49.98. Between 1[st] February 2021 to 31[st ] January 2022, total receipts on unrestricted funds amounted to £505.00. These funds were obtained through two donations of £200 and £300 from one of the trustees one the 13[th] October and 21[st] of December respectively. A further £5.00 was donated through the Amazon smiles scheme on the 24[th] of May. A total of £300.00 was spent on the design of the project logo and outreach material (e.g., flyer and restoration handbook) for Ba Nyamo Tanko. A further £194.40 was spent on transferring the hosting of the website to Squarespace Inc. Between the period in question, total expenditure was £494.40. The net result for the year was an excess of receipts over payments by £10.60. Adding bank and deposit balances brought forward at the beginning of the year, the balances carried forward on the 31[st] January 2021 on unrestricted funds total £60.58 ## **Structure, governance and management** Alma Group is a Charitable Incorporated Organisation and is governed by its constitution. The board of trustees are responsible for making decisions on all matters of general concern and importance to the charity including on how any funds are spent. The method of appointment to the board of trustees is set out within the constitution. The board of trustee’s met a total of six times during this period. During these meetings all trustees were present. In June, during one such board of trustees meeting a resolution was passed to re-appoint Sam Fletcher as a trustee for a further 2 years. Following the successful application of Ba Nyamo Tanko, in October 2021 trustees unanimously agreed to install a fourth trustee, Patricia Arenas Gonzalez to the board for the initial period of 1 year, to broaden the boards technical skills. ## **Reference and administrative details** Charity name: Alma Group Registered charity number: 1183977 Charity’s principal address: 77 Rosedale Avenue, York, YO26 5LH. ## **Current Board of Trustees:** Alexander Kent Maria Potouroglou 2 Samuel Fletcher Patricia Arenas Gonzalez ## **Declarations** The trustees declare that they have approved the trustees’ report above. Signature(s): Full name(s): Alexander Kent Position: Head Trustee Date: 25/06/2022 Signature(s): Full name(s):Patricia Arenas Gonzalez Position: Trustee Date: 25/06/2022 Signature(s): Full name(s):Maria Potouroglou Position: Trustee Date: 25/06/2022 Signature(s): Full name(s):Samuel Fletcher Position: Trustee Date: 25/06/2022 3 ## ALMA GROUP FINANCIAL STATEMENTS FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31[ST] OF JANUARY 2022 CHARITY COMMISSION FOR ENG￿N0 ANO WALES Alnw G IWJ R￿apts aKI counts Ccffia OUOZQ020 To 3U0112021 Section A Recei aNI Rec DonaboD5 PIA Sub th>tsl(Gffjss i￿on￿ br AR) 5ales.15ee lthl. Subtst Blue￿st￿oM G￿addY.coM Subts hases. IsÈetthèl CashfivKls lastyÈrKI Cash ths)Birernl ££££ Section B Staten￿￿Of assets aKI ￿al￿&11es at the end of the De￿IS fvrKb BICash fiuKIs CwErtAcccvt Babrre fvrx *est£ b)rtarestÉ NIA B4Assets rElakn￿l trlhe NIA NIA 85 Llablllllès NIA NIA Dats of b&￿fI￿all t￿ t￿￿tee5 svjr*t￿ Prirt Nary AlexarthrKert 2Y(W021 2Y￿(l21