58 High Street, Felling, Gateshead, Tyne and Wear NE10 9LT
Felling Volunteer Library Trustees' Finance Report - 2022/23
to the Charities Commission. Registered Charity Number: 1185205 .
Felling Volunteer Library (FVL) is a small CIO run independently of, but with material support from, Gateshead Council; we have been autonomous since July 2017.
The Charities Commission has already received FVL's Annual Return from the year 2022/3, and this Report covers our activities for that specific period.
April 2022 to March 2023 was a challenging time for the Library; we had effectively been closed down from March the previous year until October 2021 when the building was requisitioned as a COVID Vaccination Centre.
During that time, one of our four 'public use' PCs was removed and re-purposed by the Council, and footfall and therefore usage of our facilities by the public had been reduced to zero.
Accordingly, re-building public awareness of FVL was our chief concern throughout the period of the 2022/2023 financial year.
As with many public amenities, restoring matters to a pre-COVID level of take-up has been and remains a continuing challenge for the library.
On the positive side, expenditure had been minimal, and so our financial position was relatively strong; we are effectively still existing on the back of the residue of those 'savings' (but we are now in the position of needing funding of circa. £10k, so as to be able to pay our Council re-charge in April 2025).
In October 2021 we had re-started operations on a slightly reduced basis of opening 4 days a week (Monday to Thursday, 10am-4pm), and this arrangement continues today.
A couple of our volunteers had dropped out from the Library during COVID, but we were soon recruiting, and quickly planning our Christmas Fayre '21 - and then almost immediately preparing for our Spring Fayre 2022, both of which were huge financial successes.
We have two prominent local patrons who are successful authors, and we generally receive the assistance of one as 'opener' of our events.
In the Summer holidays FVL participates in the Council-run scheme which encourages children to read a number of books, after which awards are given; 2022 was no exception.
In addition, that year, FVL had presented Falla Park, one of our local Primary Schools, with bags of donated books for the pupils and their families; in the Council ward of Felling, one of the most deprived in the North East of England, FVL pride ourselves in reaching out to offer amenities to the general public, a feature which continues today.
In late 2022, our Library joined Gateshead Council's 'Warm Spaces' initiative, a supportive and welcoming feature which quickly became popular with our users.
At the same time, late in 2022 and coordinated with the 'Warm Spaces' undertaking, FVL inaugurated a weekly 'Knit & Natter' group which was an instant success, attracting an average of twelve to fourteen men and women of all ages and diversity. This continues today.
Christmas 2022 saw our Annual seasonal Fayre nett FVL over £700 (see our accounts), and at the end of the financial year, March 2023, we were planning the May Spring Fayre, once more.
In March 2023 our previous Treasurer left the post suddenly, and, lacking a planned succession procedure, FVL encountered a number of organisational challenges, with our new Treasurer, Mrs K. Lavender taking up the reins from cold, without prior knowledge concerning precise detail of her remit. Suffice to say she has grown into her post commendably quickly.
Trustees' familiarity with and experience of the requisite procedure for rendering Accounts and reports to the Charities Commission, was also quickly learned and we have been 'on catch-up' since then. The matter is important for us, since we need to be compliant with the Commission's regulations in order to be able to apply for our next funding brief (of circa. £10k) in the immediate future.
I trust that this explains the regrettable delay in FVL's submission of accounts and report, and l that you will find our report acceptable; please let me know (timwilson300@googlemail.com) if you require more information. In the interim, l have found your telephone operatives to be immensely helpful on the two occasions very recently, when l have contacted them for advice on required compliance.
Kind regards,
Tim Wilson, Trustee and Secretary to Felling Volunteer Library .
| FellingVolunteerLibrary Yearending 31/03/2023 FinancialPositionasat10Mar2023 |
|
|---|---|
| UnrestrictedFundsasatL0Mar2023 | |
| tsrought ForwardfromPreviousYear | 11,22t.4t |
| lncomefromLibrarv Transactions | 794.7 |
| lncomefromDonations and Events | 1,546.4( |
| qdiustr.enttoxfrfromRestrictedtoUnrestricted | 8.11 |
| LESS:[xpenses | 9,230.41 |
| LESS:DesisnatedFunds | 6.0: |
| TOTAT UNRESTRICTSD TUNDS | 10,334.25 |
| Fore€arts Yearent:rg3 | |
| lncomefrom IibrarvTransactions {actual+forecast) | 814.1 |
| lncomefromDonations and Events | 0_0( |
| Expenses:General(Paoer,Milk,Tea, Coffee) | 70.0t |
| Expenses:Examination of Accounts | 0.0c |
| Expenses:Service Charee DueNovember2023 | 0.0c |
| Expenses:Service Ch3rge Due May 2023 | 1,097.52 |
| ForecastPositiona*at3LlO3/2027 | 9,985.88 |
| ReslrictedFunds - Balancesisat10Mar2023 | |
| WarmSpaces | 443.26, |
| Xmas 2022 | 0.0c |
| CostofLivins | 2.505.OC |
| Clare's Crafts | 320.01 |
| ClosedFundsBalances | 4.15 |
| Adjustment to xfrClosed BalancesfromRtoU | -4.75 |
| TOTATRESTRICTEDFUNOS | ,,76A.27 |
| Funds-Balaneesaset10Mar 2023 | |
| Current | |
| lankBalance | 74,477.91 |
| lashBalance | 30.56 |
| :urrentLiabilities(billsrecvdbut notpaid) | 0.00 |
| lurrentLiabilities(outstandingloans) | 0.00 |
| L€SS:Restricted Funds | 3,768.21 |
| IYetCurrentAssets | 10,:!10.30 |
| Felling | vo | lunteerLibraryu | nrestrictedrncome | &Expenditure | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| for | rending | 31March 2023 | 11 | ||
| OtherUnrestritted | |||||
| Month | Ubrary Transedions | lnaome | Erpenses | l{etGain/Lo:s | |
| April | 9s.50 | 5s3.59 | 49.16 | 599.93 | |
| Mav | 64.05 | 20.97 | 19.96 | 55.00 | |
| lune | 87.56 | 76_9A | 2,239.25 | -2,A74.79 | |
| Iuly | 85.34 | 10.00 | 48.23 | 47.71 | |
| August | 128.50 | 10.00 | 22.50 | 116.00 | |
| September | 87.30 | 23.60 | 51.81 | 58.49 | |
| October | 56.30 | 10.00 | 26.6A | 49.70 | |
| November | 87.1,0 | 76.96 | 59.20 | 94.86 | |
| December | 38.60 | 707.98 | 476.AA | 27A.58 | |
| lanuary | 37.80 | 31.00 | 219.79 | -150.99 | |
| February | 13.60 | 16.06 | 79.43 | -49.77 | |
| March Tot"ls |
, | 2.50 Zgl.fS |
10.00 f,SCe.+O |
5,928.48 9,230.41 |
-5,915.98 -5,889.86 |
| TotalUnrestrictedFunds | 10,331.55 | ||||
| CurrentYear:lncome | 2,340.55 | ||||
| CurrentYear:Expenditure | 230.41 | ||||
| :: | |||||
| ADD: UnrestrictedFundsBrought Forwardfrompreviousyear | 17,22r.4r | ||||
| TotalUnrestrictedReserves | 10,331-Ss | ||||
| LESS:DesignatedFunds | 5.05 | ||||
| CurrentLlnrestrictedFundsAvailable | t0;25S0 |