HERTFORD AND WARE BEEKEEPERS'
ASSOCIATION CIO
REPORT AND ACCOUNTS FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31 DECEMBER 2020
Registered Charity No: 1187139
www.HWBees.org.uk
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@HWBeekeepers
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Hertford and Ware Beekeepers' Association CIO ("HWBKA")
Chair's Report
Well, what a year that was! Who would have guessed when members gathered together twice in January at The Old Barge what the rest of the year held in store?
We started the year with such optimism: a newly incorporated charity, independent but affiliated to the Hertfordshire Beekeepers Association, with a new apiary and lots of ideas for the year. And then the world changed.....
Nevertheless, we were not to be deterred and determined to make the best of a difficult situation and pursue our mission to promote beekeeping throughout the Hertford and Ware area. And looking back over the year, we have achieved a lot.
Jo Humphries, Chair
Membership: without members, we could not of course exist. While we always expect some churn, as people leave the area or decide that beekeeping is not for them, we were pleased that 41 members of our predecessor organisation resumed membership; in addition we welcomed 7 new members and also added 12 participants from the Beginners' Course who are given country membership for the duration of the year as part of their course fee.
Training: training of beekeepers is at the heart of our activities, to keep our established membership refreshed and to share knowledge and in particular to welcome newcomers to the wonderful world of the honey bee. We got off to an excellent start with a well attended, and very interactive, presentation given at the Old Barge in January by Malcolm High, a Hertfordshire beekeeper who has been keeping bees since 1975; it was interesting to hear how his beekeeping has evolved and is still changing. Over the summer, and still unable to meet in person, we held "Beekeepers' Question Time" sessions on Zoom, which seemed to go down well.
In February we started advertising our Beginners' Course on Facebook and with more traditional notices posted in such places as Sainsbury's! We had a strong response, we prepared entirely fresh material, we invested in a training hive for classroom demonstration and were all set to run midweek and Sunday sessions at the Old Barge starting at the end of March when lockdown arrived. What to do? We delayed and hoped for a swift release (remember the first "review after 3 weeks"? Another age!) but it was not to be. Eventually like the rest of the world we decided to give Zoom a go and in June we rescheduled the classroom sessions online. Almost all of the original planned participants decided to go ahead, although a couple have deferred until 2021, and it all seemed to go very well. We then followed up with socially distanced practical sessions in our new apiary. One incidental benefit of going online was that the course, which is priced with a view to breaking even, produced a surplus in 2020 of £442, which contributed towards the investments we have made in our resources this year. Ultimately, however, there is no substitute for gathering together in person and we hope to get back to this as soon as possible.
Logo and Marketing: the Committee decided it was time for a new look for our new organisation and invited members to vote using online polls for their preferred option. We had a clear winner with the design of our own secretary, John Daffern, claiming 74% of the votes cast. The logo also features on the banner we now proudly display at the Framers' Market stall each month.
Members will be pleased to hear that, unlike some other charities, we did not spend a single penny on our designs! Although we spent a modest sum printing cards, which feature the logo, which we give to members of the public at events we attend to provide all our contact details.
Public Engagement: engaging with the public to share our enthusiasm for bees, and to promote their importance, is now enshrined in our constitution (as noted in the formal Trustee Report); the main way we promote this is by our attendance at suitable local events. The committee decided that our focus should be on doing a limited number of things well and that we should therefore just attend the summer carnivals in both Hertford and Ware (both of course cancelled in 2020) and take a stall at the monthly Hertford Farmers' Market. The stall now looks lovely each month, laden with honey produced in our apiary or by members, candles and lots of leaflets about bees to hand out. We find that many members of the public are delighted to chat about bees as well as buying the finest local honey that is available.
Market stall in August (before the new banner)
Facilities: a major step forward in 2020 has been the acquisition of secluded apiary facilities courtesy of two local farmers who have allowed us to establish hives on spare corners of their fields. Not only does this provide us with places to quarantine the swarms which we catch, but it has enabled us to set up a small number of Association colonies which will enable us in future to make nucs, rear queens and generally provide back-up resource for when members lose colonies; and, of course, produce some own brand club honey to sell!
Our financial resources have become strong enough to start investing regularly in our facilities and equipment. During 2020 we purchased a training hive (a brood box filled with frames covered with fake comb, bees, brood and diseases), an observation hive for events, second hand and new brood boxes and supers for our apiary and a new electric honey extractor, which has been popular with members wishing to borrow it.
And Finally: I would like to extend my thanks to my fellow trustees and committee members who give their time to keeping HWBA going, and to the other members who volunteer to help setting up our market stall, engaging with the public and selling. I will now be stepping back as a change in family circumstances means that I am leaving the Hertford area, but I know that I leave HWBKA in good heart and ready to face whatever the future holds.
Hertford and Ware Beekeepers' Association CIO ("HWBKA")
Report of the Trustees to Members for the Year Ended 31 December 2020
| Management | Trustees | **Committee ** | Role |
|---|---|---|---|
| Jo Humphries | | | Chair |
| Paul Cassidy | | | Treasurer |
| John Daffern | | | Secretary |
| Philip Moore(resigned 19 October 2020) | | ||
| Stuart York | | ||
| Rachel Daffern | | ||
| Oliver Riley(appointed 29 October 2020) | |
| Registered Charity No: | 1187139 |
|---|---|
| Bankers: | Lloyds Bank |
| Membership | |
| Full | 32 |
| Partner | 10 |
| Country | 6 |
| Total Regular Beginners' Course |
48 12 |
| Total All | 60 |
Annual General Meeting
The first AGM of HWBKA took place on 15 January 2020, at which the founding trustees were confirmed by the members and the officers elected.
The second AGM will take place via Zoom on 10 March 2021.
Trustees: The current trustees and committee members (opposite) served throughout 2020 except where otherwise stated.
Incorporation and Objective: HWBKA was incorporated as a charitable incorporated organisation and registered with the Charity Commission on 23 December 2019. It was established in order to assume the role formerly undertaken by the Hertford and Ware branch of Hertfordshire Beekeepers Association ("Closing Charity"), an unincorporated charity, which closed at the end of 2020 and was dissolved in 2021. HWBKA commenced this role with effect from 1 January 2020 and was endowed with an initial capital by the Closing Charity equal to the assets which were attributable to the Hertford and Ware branch, totalling £3,565.
The objectives of HWBKA, as set out in its constitution, are " to promote and further the craft of beekeeping within the area defined broadly as the towns of Hertford and Ware and their surrounding villages and countryside (“area”) and to advance the education of the public within the area in the importance of bees in the environment. "
Activities: The activities of HWBKA were inevitably heavily restricted during 2020 as a result of the measures taken by the government in response to Covid 19. Despite this HWBKA furthered its objectives during the year by running a training course for beginner beekeepers, Q&A sessions for members via Zoom, promoting public engagement through regular attendance at the Hertford Farmers' Market and attending members of the public to catch swarms of bees which were transferred to the HWBKA apiary and then rehomed. Activities are fully described in the Chair's Report.
HWBKA also invested in excess of £1,600 in acquiring assets such as hives for the Association apiary and a new electric honey extractor which was borrowed 11 times by members.
Hertford and Ware Beekeepers' Association CIO ("HWBKA")
Independent Examiners Report to the Trustees of HWBKA
I report on the accounts of HWBKA for the period from incorporation to 31st December 2020.
Respective responsibilities of trustees and examiner
As trustees you are responsible for the preparation of the accounts. It is my responsibility to state whether particular matters have come to my attention.
Basis of independent examiner's report
My examination includes a review of the accounting records kept by HWBKA 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 I do not expressed an audit opinion on the view given by the accounts.
Independent examiner's statement
In connection with my examination, no matter has come to my attention:
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1) which gives me reasonable cause to believe that in any material respect the requirements to (a) keep accounting records and (b) prepare accounts which accord with the accounting records have not been met; or
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2) to which in my opinion attention should be drawn in order to enable a proper understanding of the accounts to be reached.
Mark Slater
Independent Examiner
10 February 2021
Hertford and Ware Beekeepers' Association CIO
Accounts for the Period from Incorporation to 31 December 2020
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INCOME AND EXPENDITURE ACCOUNT
Row Labels Income Expenditure Net Income
Membership Fees
HWBKA Membership Fees £1,611 £1,611
HBKA Membership Fees -£886 -£886
Gift Aid £258 £258
Membership Fees Total £1,869 -£886 £983
Farmers' Market & Events
Sales of Own Product £807 -£274 £533
Commission on Member Sale £566 £566
Stall Fees -£123 -£123
Other Sale Costs -£93 -£93
Farmers' Market & Events Total £1,373 -£490 £883
Training
Beginners' Course £750 -£308 £442
Other Training -£50 -£50
Training Total £750 -£358 £392
Other Income
Donations £38 £38
Other Income Total £38 £38
Operating Costs
Small Equipment -£181 -£181
Governance (AGM & Committee Meetings) -£100 -£100
Apiary Costs -£96 -£96
Depreciation -£462 -£462
Miscellaneous -£61 -£61
Operating Costs Total -£900 -£900
Net Income £4,029 -£2,634 £1,395
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BALANCE SHEET
Net Assets
Fixed Assets
Original Cost £2,207
Cumulative Depreciation -£821
Fixed Assets Total £1,387
Current Assets
Stock £213
Debtors £356
Cash At Bank & In Hand £3,315
Current Assets Total £3,883
Current Liabilities
Creditors £0
Deferred Income -£310
Current Liabilities Total -£310
Net Assets Total £4,960
HWBKA Funds
Endowment £3,565
Net Income
2020 Net Income £1,395
Net Income Total £1,395
HWBKA Funds Total £4,960
Approved by the Trustees and signed on thir behalf by:
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10 February 2021
Jo Humphries, Chair; Paul Cassidy, Treasurer
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The Accounts are presented on an accruals basis, i.e. matching income with expenditure by time period.
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Fixed assets are depreciated at 25% per annum based on the depreciated value at the start of each year.