## **Annual Report – The Zen Gateway Trust**
## **November 2024 – October 2025**
We began our last financial year in 2024 while The Buddhist Society, with which we all have a close historical association, celebrated its 100th anniversary.
This provides a timely reminder of how long Buddhism has been present on these shores. The Pali Text Society was founded in 1881, which we might take as a marker point—giving a history of over 150 years. Since the middle of the last century, Buddhism has mushroomed, and it can be argued that it has already made a significant impact on both culture and scientific and medical practice in the West.
The Zen Gateway is part of this legacy, and our work continued throughout the year.
During the year we saw the departure of Mitch Albert, who brought his extensive experience of editing and publishing to the team and had been working on our style guide. As he took up a fulltime position elsewhere, he recommended Rukhsana Yasmin as his successor. Rukhsana has continued work on the style guide, which is now very close to completion. She also prepared a report on the website, which is attached to the email accompanying this Annual Report.
This work dovetailed with the efforts that Michael, Martin, and Sam were already undertaking on the website redesign. The website contains a vast archive of material, and visitors have often found navigation difficult. The sheer volume of content can be overwhelming, particularly for those new to the site or those looking for something specific. In response, new categories have been developed to simplify searching and browsing. A redesign of the site and the migration of all material into these new categories are already underway, and we hope to launch the new site in the New Year.
Another outcome of Rukhsana’s report will be a survey of our 750+ newsletter subscribers, allowing us to better understand who they are and why they engage with our work. This will help us curate and commission future material that more closely matches their interests and needs.
We are also developing a more structured approach to planning and commissioning articles in advance, making use of seasonal events, festivals, and memorial days. This will allow our output to reflect the Buddhist year more clearly, reminding visitors that Buddhism moves with the round of the year and reflects the cyclical nature of time and of our lives.
The subject of artificial intelligence is much discussed at present, and we are exploring ways in which this technology might assist us with aspects of organising and editing our work. To be clear, its role would be limited to mundane or repetitive tasks such as proofreading, editing support, and research. There are no plans for AI to replace human contributors, who will continue to create content, curate material, and fulfil our mission of making the Dharma available to those whose hearts incline towards it.
There has also been a slight thawing in relations between ourselves and the Trustees of the Zen Centre. This year, a trustee approached us to ask whether we would help in promulgating their publications. We agreed, and we are now in the process of publishing reviews of Zen Centre publications for our subscribers. We sincerely hope this trend continues, as we believe that, in uncertain times, the relatively small Buddhist world has much to offer and that we can always work better together.
We would also like to take this opportunity to welcome Alan Sidi to the Board of Trustees. As you all know, Alan is a long-standing member of both The Buddhist Society and the Zen Centre, and a long-standing student of Ven. Myokyo-ni, as many of us were. He has already contributed a number of articles to the website, and we look forward to his ideas and contributions as we move forward together.
Finally, as we pass through a time in which many things once taken for granted may no longer support us, we are reminded of the Buddha’s words at the end of his life in the Sāla Grove: _“Impermanent are all compounded things; strive on heedfully.”_ These words underscore the importance of our own training and of keeping the lamp of the Dharma lit. In this spirit, The Zen Gateway continues to play its own small part in preserving and handing on the values and practices that are so vital to human flourishing.
Table 1
|**Month**|**Description**|**Income**|**Expenditure/Staf**|**IT/Tech**|**Misc.**|**Notes**|
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
|**October 2024**|M Haggiag|£12000.00|||||
||||||||
|**Opening Balance**|||||||
|**November 2024**|||||||
||D Kearne||£800.00||||
||M Goodson||£850.00||||
||Creighton/Editorial||£75.00||||
||Stripe|£141.94|||||
||Paypal|£600.00|||||
||**TOTALS**|**£741.94**|**£1725.00**||||
|**December 2024**|||||||
||D Kearne||£800.00||||
||M Goodson||£850.00||||
||Creighton/Editorial||£300.00||||
||Mitch Albert/
Editorial||£600.00||||
||Stripe|£177.56|||||
||Paypal|£370.00|||||
||**TOTALS**|**£547.56**|**£2550.00**||||
|**January 2025**|||||||
||D Kearne||£800.00||||
||M Goodson||£850.00||||
||Creighton/Editorial||£120.00||||
||Bruce Ginsberg|£3000.00|||||
||Sam Marcuson|||£5812.50|||
||Stripe|£265.57|||||
||**TOTALS**|**£3265.57**|**£1770.00**|**£5812.50**|||
|**February 2025**|||||||
||D Kearne||£800.00||||
||M Goodson||£850.00||||
||Creighton/Editorial||£90.00||||
||Stripe|£208.32|||||
||**TOTALS**|**£208.32**|**£1740.00**||||
|**March 2025**|||||||
||D Kearne||£800.00||||
||M Goodson||£850.00||||
||Creighton/Editorial||£0.00||||
||Stripe|£383.40|||||
||Paypal||||||
||**TOTALS**|**£383.40**|**£1650.00**||||
||||||||
|**April 2025**|||||||
||D Kearne||£800.00||||
||M Goodson||£850.00||||
||Creighton/Editorial||£60.00||||
||Stripe|£308.81|||||
||M Haggiag|£14671.36|||||
||**TOTALS**|**£14980.17**|**£1710.00**||||
1
|**Month**|**Description**|**Income**|**Expenditure/Staf**|**IT/Tech**|**Misc.**|**Notes**|
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
|**May 2025**|||||||
||D Kearne||£0.00||||
||M Goodson||£850.00||||
||Creighton/Editorial||£60.00||||
||Stripe|£149.30|||||
||**TOTALS**|**£149.30**|**£910.00**||||
|**June 2025**|||||||
||D Kearne||£800.00||||
||M Goodson||£850.00||||
||Creighton/Editorial||£45.00||||
||Stripe|£149.30|||||
||R Yasmin||£750.00||||
||Paypal|£750.00|||||
||Sam Marcuson|||£1062.50|||
||Robson Jackson
Accountant||||£264.00|Annual Accounts|
||**TOTALS**|**£899.30**|**£2445.00**|**£1062.50**|**£264.00**||
|**July 2025**|||||||
||D Kearne||£800.00||||
||M Goodson||£850.00||||
||Creighton/Editorial||£60.00||||
||Stripe|£184.34|||||
||SOAS|£112.00||||Donation from B
Ginsberg for talk
given.|
||R Yasmin||£750.00||||
||**TOTALS**|**£296.34**|**£2460.00**||||
|**August 2025**|||||||
||D Kearne||£800.00||||
||M Goodson||£850.00||||
||Creighton/Editorial||£45.00||||
||Stripe|£193.60|||||
||R Yasmin||£750.00||||
||**TOTALS**|**£193.60**|**£2445.00**||||
|**September 2025**|||||||
||D Kearne||£800.00||||
||M Goodson||£850.00||||
||Creighton/Editorial||£75.00||||
||Stripe|£221.22|||||
||Robson Jackson
Accountant||||£276.00|Check registration?|
||Sam Marcuson|||£2468.76|||
||**TOTALS**|**£221.22**|**£1725.00**|**£2468.76**|**£276.00**||
|**October 2025**|||||||
||D Kearne||£800.00||||
||M Goodson||£850.00||||
||Creighton/Editorial||£60.00||||
||Stripe|£184.26|||||
||R Yasmin||£1500.00|||Aug/Sept|
||Paypal|£600.00|||||
||M Haggiag|£1600.00|||||
2
|**Month**|**Description**|**Income**|**Expenditure/Staf**|**IT/Tech**|**Misc.**|**Notes**|
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
||**TOTALS**|**£2384.26**|**£3210.00**||||
||Standing order
dana|£120.00|||||
|**SUMMARY**||**Income**|**Staf expenditure**|**IT/Tech**|**Misc**||
|**Expenses**|Salaries||£23350.00||||
||Editing cost||£990.00||||
||IT costs/website
design|||£9343.76|||
||Miscellany||||£540.00|Accounting|
||Subscriptions to
online services||||£848.00||
||||||||
|**Income**|Sponsorship|£30655.00|||||
||Dana|£3168.00||||+ online subs taken
directly out of PP
dana fund (848
GBP)|
||DC subscriptions|£2567.62|||||
||||||||
|**Totals**||**£36390.62**|**£24340.00**|**£9343.76**|**£1388.00**||
||||||||
||||||**Total expenditure**|**35071.76**|
||||||**Surplus**|**1318.92**|
||||||||
||||||||
||||||||
||||||||
3
|**Month**|Bank Statement||
|---|---|---|
|**October 2024**|||
||||
|**Opening Balance**|13,603.85||
|**November 2024**|||
||||
||||
||||
||||
||||
||12,620.79||
|**December 2024**|||
||||
||||
||||
||||
||||
||||
||10,618.35||
|**January 2025**|||
||||
||||
||||
||||
||||
||||
||6301.42||
|**February 2025**|||
||||
||||
||||
||||
||4,769.74||
|**March 2025**|||
||||
||||
||||
||||
||||
||3,503.14||
||||
|**April 2025**|||
||||
||||
||||
||||
||||
||16,773.31||
4
|**Month**|Bank Statement||
|---|---|---|
|**May 2025**|||
||||
||||
||||
||||
||16,012.61||
|**June 2025**|||
||||
||||
||||
||||
||||
||||
||||
||||
||13,140.41||
|**July 2025**|||
||||
||||
||||
||||
||||
||||
||10,976.75||
|**August 2025**|||
||||
||||
||||
||||
||||
||8,725.35||
|**September 2025**|||
||||
||||
||||
||||
||||
||||
||4,476.81||
|**October 2025**|||
||||
||||
||||
||||
||||
||||
||||
5
**----- Start of picture text -----**
Month Bank Statement
3,651.07
SUMMARY
Expenses
Income
Totals
**----- End of picture text -----**
6
## **THE ZEN GATEWAY TRUST**
## **FINANCIAL STATEMENTS**
**YEAR ENDED 10 OCTOBER 2025 Registered Charity No. 1185762**
Page 1
## **THE ZEN GATEWAY TRUST**
## **Financial Statements for the Year Ended 10 OCTOBER 2025**
|**Contents**|**Page**|
|---|---|
|Independent Examiner's Report|3|
|Statement of Trustees' Responsibilities|4|
|Statement of Financial Activities|5|
|Balance Sheet|6|
|Notes to the financial statements|7-9|
Page 2
## **THE ZEN GATEWAY TRUST INDEPENDENT EXAMINERS REPORT YEAR ENDED 10 OCTOBER 2025**
## **Report of the independent examiners to the Zen Gateway Trust**
We report on the accounts of the Zen Gatewat Trust for the year ended 10 October 2025 which are set out on pages 3 to 5
## **Trustees**
The trustees at the financial year end were as follows:
Mr Michael Hagging
Mr John Eskenazi
Mr Bruce Ginsberg
## **Respective responsibilities of trustees and examiner**
The trustees are responsible for the preparation of the accounts.
The trustees consider that an audit is not required for this year under section 144(2) of the Charities Act 2011 (the 2011 Act) and that an independent examination is needed.
It is our responsibility to:
- (a) examine the accounts under section 145 of the 2011 Act;
- (b) to follow the procedures laid down in the general Directions given by the Charity Commission under section 145(5)(b) of the 2011 Act; and
- ( c) to state whether particular matters have come to our attention.
## **Basis of the independent examiner's report**
Our examination was carried out in accordance with the general Directions given by the Charity Commission. An examination includes a review of the accounting records kept by the Charity and a comparison of the accounts presented with those records. It also includes consideration of any unusual items or disclosures in the accounts, and seeking explanations from you as trustees concerning any such matters. The procedures undertaken do not provide all the evidence that would be required in an audit and consequently no opinion is given as to whether the accounts present a 'true and fair view' and the report is limited to those matters set out in the statement below.
## **Independent examiner's statement**
In connection with our examination, no matter has come to our attention:
- (1) which gives us reasonable cause to believe that in any material respect the requirements:
(a) to keep accounting records in accordance with section 130 of the 2011 Act; and
(b) to prepare accounts which accord with the accounting records and comply with the accounting requirements of the 2011 Act have not been met; or
(2) to which, in our opinion, attention should be drawn in order to enable a proper understanding of the accounts to be reached.
## **Signed by : Jackson Robson Licence, Chartered Accountants**
**33-35 Exchange Street, Driffield, East Yorkshire, YO25 6LL on 3rd September 2026**
Page 3
## **THE ZEN GATEWAY TRUST**
## **Financial Statements for the Year Ended 10 OCTOBER 2025**
## **Statement of Trustees' responsibilities**
The law applicable to charities in England and Wales requires the trustees to prepare financial statements for each financial year. In preparing those financial statements the trustees are required to:-
- select suitable accounting policies and then apply them consistently;
- make judgements and estimates which are reasonable and prudent;
- state which accounts have been prepared in accordance with the Statement of Recommended Practice - Accounting by Charities; and
- prepare the accounts on the going concern basis unless it is inappropriate to presume that the concern will continue in operation.
The trustees are required to act within the framework of trust law and the Charities Acts;they are also responsible for keeping proper accounting records. The trustees have a general responsibility for taking such steps as are reasonably open to them to safeguard the assets of the funds and to prevent and detect fraud and other irregularities.
Annual Report dated 3rd September 2026
Page 4
## **THE ZEN GATEWAY TRUST STATEMENT OF FINANCIAL ACTIVITIES YEAR ENDED 10 OCTOBER 2025**
|**Note**
**Incoming resources:**
Donations
2.1
Subscriptions
Interest
**Total incoming resources**
**Resources used:**
Total expenditure
3.1
**Total resources used:**
Net incoming/(outgoing) resources
Net movement in funds|**TOTAL**
**TOTAL**
General
Restricted
**FUNDS**
General
Retricted
**FUNDS**
Funds
Funds
**2025**
Funds
Funds
**2024**
£
£
**£**
£
£
**£**
20,223
-
**20,223**
23,874
-
**23,874**
2,518
-
**2,518**
3,943
-
**3,943**
-
-
**-**
-
-
**-**|
|---|---|
||22,741
-
**22,741**
27,817
-
**27,817**|
||34,344
-
**34,344**
22,145
-
**22,145**|
||34,344
-
34,344
22,145
-
22,145|
||11,603
-
-
**11,603**
**-**
5,672
-
**5,672**|
||**11,603**
**-**
**-**
**11,603**
**-**
**5,672**
**-**
**5,672**|
Page 5
## **THE ZEN GATEWAY TRUST BALANCE SHEET YEAR ENDED 10 OCTOBER 2025**
|**Note**
**Fixed assets:**
Tangible fixed assets
Intangible assets
**Current assets:**
Bank deposit account
Bank current accounts
**Net current assets:**
**Current Liabilities**
Accruals
**TOTAL NET ASSETS**
**FUNDS:**
Capital Reserve
4
**TOTAL FUNDS**
_Signed by a Trustee_
_Name:_
Date:
Signature:
………………………………|**TOTAL**
**FUNDS**
**2025**
**£**
-
-
**-**
-
3,567
**3,567**
**3,567**
300
**3,267**
**3,267**
**3,267**|**TOTAL**
**FUNDS**
**2024**
**£**
-
-|
|---|---|---|
|||**-**|
|||-
15,170|
|||**15,170**|
|||**15,170**|
|||300|
|||**14,870**|
|||**14,870**|
|||**14,870**|
||||
Page 6
## **THE ZEN GATEWAY TRUST NOTES TO THE FINANCIAL STATEMENTS YEAR ENDED 10 OCTOBER 2025**
**1. Accounting policies** (this note should be read in conjunction with the following notes 2 to 10)
The financial statements have been prepared in accordance with the Charities Act 2006 together with applicable accounting standards and the Charities Statement of Recommended Practice.
The financial statements have been prepared under the historical cost convention with the exception of tangible fixed assets and investment properties which are included at valuation, and investment assets, included at market value.
## **Tangible fixed assets**
Depreciation is provided at the following annual rates in order to write off each asset over its estimated useful life:
Page 7
## **THE ZEN GATEWAY TRUST**
## **NOTES TO THE FINANCIAL STATEMENTS ( continued ) YEAR ENDED 10 OCTOBER 2025**
|**2. Incoming resources**
2.1
Donations
Subscriptions
Interest
**Total incoming resources**
**3. Resources used**
3.1 Expenditure
Website / IT
Website up keep
Content creations
Filming & editorial
Accountancy
Subscriptions
**Total resources used**
**Excess income over expenditure**|**TOTAL**
**TOTAL**
General
Restricted
**FUNDS**
General
Restricted
**FUNDS**
Funds
Funds
**2025**
Funds
Funds
**2024**
£
£
**£**
£
£
**£**
20,223
-
**20,223**
23,874
-
**23,874**
2,518
-
**2,518**
3,943
-
**3,943**
-
-
**-**
-
-
**-**|
|---|---|
||22,741
-
**22,741**
27,817
-
**27,817**|
||**TOTAL**
**TOTAL**
General
Restricted
**FUNDS**
General
Restricted
**FUNDS**
Funds
Funds
**2024**
Funds
Funds
**2023**
£
£
£
**£**
9,344
-
**9,344**
-
-
**-**
8,800
-
**8,800**
9,600
-
**9,600**
10,200
-
**10,200**
10,200
-
**10,200**
5,460
-
**5,460**
1,818
-
**1,818**
540
-
**540**
300
-
**300**
-
-
**-**
227
-
**227**|
||34,344
-
**34,344**
22,145
-
**22,145**|
|||
||(11,603)
0
**(11,603)**
5,672
0
**5,672**|
## **4. Capital Reserves**
Movements on the Capital reserves were:
|Capital Reserves at 11 October 2024
Total net movement in funds
Capital Reserves at 10 October 2025|**£**
14,870
(11,603)|
|---|---|
||**3,267**|
Page 8