COLCHESTER MUSEUMS DEVELOPMENT FOUNDATION
T R U S T E E R E P O R T & F I N A N C I A L S T A T E M E N T
YEAR ENDED 31 MARCH 2025
CHARITY NUMBER 1192018
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COLCHESTER MUSEUMS DEVELOPMENT FOUNDATION
I N D E X
Year ended 31 March 2025
General information
Trustees' annual report Statement of financial activities Balance sheet
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COLCHESTER MUSEUMS DEVELOPMENT FOUNDATION
G E N E R A L I N F O R M A T I O N
Year ended 31 March 2025
Trustees
Charity Registration Number
Address
Sophie Penelope Weaver (Chair) Andrew Lynn David Hedges Denise Fiennes Fern Lovett Francis Hargrave Glynis Barritt Ilaria Boncori Mark Cheeseman Nicholas Wickenden Philip Berners Stephanie Rickard 1192018 Colchester Museums Development Foundation Rowan House 33 Sheepen Road Colchester Essex CO3 3WG
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COLCHESTER MUSEUMS DEVELOPMENT FOUNDATION
T R U S T E E S’ A N N U A L R E P O R T
Year ended 31 March 2025
Colchester Museums Development Foundation is a Charitable Incorporated Organisation (CIO) and the organisation is governed by its Constitution.
Objectives and Activities
Colchester Museums Development Foundation exists to support Colchester Museums to inspire and enrich our local community, through the preservation, exploration, and sharing of the town’s heritage in its widest sense. The Foundation serves four key objectives, to:
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Increase Colchester Museums’ capacity to offer accessible events and programmes through targeted investment.
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Provide new opportunities for engaging with Colchester Museums' collections and research.
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Support and inform new initiatives across Colchester Museums aimed at involving and reflecting the diverse members of our community.
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Expand Colchester Museums’ reach and impact through strategic partnerships with community groups and businesses.
Performance
In its fourth year, the Foundation raised over £15,000 in support of Colchester Museums through a combination of small donations, corporate donations, in-kind support, a Guardian Membership scheme, and an Adopt an Object campaign. Colchester Museums Service’s Fundraising Officer, who is primarily responsible for submitting the grant requests that usually make up c.50% of CMDF’s income, was on maternity leave during the majority of the year hence the fall in overall income from 2023/24.
Despite this, the Foundation continued to grow income from membership and maintain a steady source of unrestricted income from donations and other sources. Membership numbers increased by 20%, and the Foundation received contributions from Tesco Stronger Starts, MHA Accountants, and Google Ad Grants. Tesco Stronger Starts funding allowed the Foundation to help two local schools cover transport costs to visit Colchester Castle. MHA donated funds to enhance access at the Castle’s blockbuster ‘Gladiators’ exhibition. Supplementing these contributions, the trustees voted to allocate unrestricted funds to pilot ‘Joy at the Jobcentre’ in Colchester, an award-winning initiative bringing cultural experiences to lower-income families at Jobcentres. This programme was first developed by Ipswich Museums Service in 2015 and is now being rolled out in centres across East Anglia. The Foundation also helped to raise over £600 for local charity Headway Essex by taking donations for the cause during Colchester Castle’s ‘Thunderbirds’ exhibition.
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Organisational Structure and Governance
Colchester Museums Development Foundation’s fundraising and activities are overseen by a board of trustees, with administrative and operational support from Colchester Museums’ Development Officer, Museum Manager, and Museum Service Director.
There must be at least five charity trustees and no more than 13. The elected Member of Colchester Borough Council who is primarily responsible for Cultural Services is automatically (“ex-officio”) a charity trustee, for as long as he or she holds that office. The Colchester + Ipswich Museums Manager is also automatically a charity trustee, for as long as he or she holds that office.
The Foundation currently has 12 active trustees (listed on page 3) and is supported part time by a Fundraising Officer employed by Colchester + Ipswich Museums Service. The trustees met with a quorum three times in 2024/25. At the September 2024 meeting, trustees were consulted on their thoughts on CMDF’s progress, direction, and structure. Useful feedback was collected which will feed into the future of the Foundation.
Distributing Funds
Any CMDF trustee or employee of Colchester Museums Service may submit a proposal to distribute funds, proposals from community groups for projects with local impact will also be considered at the discretion of the trustees. Proposals are submitted to trustees along with meeting agendas in advance of trustee meetings and discussed at the next possible meeting. Providing a quorum is present, a vote is taken and noted in the minutes. Trustees who have submitted a proposal may not vote on their own project, or those who have a declared conflict of interest.
Reserves Policy
The trustees considered the overall risks faced by the Foundation including the extent to which each income source is at risk and the extent to which costs are fixed and unavoidable in the short term. The Trustees concluded that they would aim that unrestricted and undesignated (free) reserves, not backed by fixed assets, should cover six months of projected charitable costs. Because CMDF has no staffing or overhead costs beyond bank and transactional fees, this number has been set at £1,000. Surplus unrestricted funds are allocated to Colchester Museums projects that align with CMDF’s charitable objectives by the board of trustees, as above.
This report was approved by the trustees on 23/06/2025 and signed on their behalf by:-
DR FRANCIS HARGRAVE
Trustee
24/06/2025
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COLCHESTER MUSEUMS DEVELOPMENT FOUNDATION
S T A T E M E N T O F F I N A N C I A L A C T I V I T I E S
Year ended 31 March 2025
| INCOME | Restricted | Unrestricted | Total | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Individual | ||||
| Giving | ||||
| Cash donations in venue | £616.57 | £3,767.18 | £4,383.75 | |
| Card donations in venue | £0.00 | £762.00 | £762.00 | |
| Digital trail donations | £0.00 | £115.00 | £115.00 | |
| Other small gifts | £0.00 | £89.00 | £89.00 | |
| Gift Aid Small Donations Scheme | £0.00 | £1,177.08 | £1,177.08 | |
| TOTAL | £616.57 | £5,910.26 | £6,526.83 | |
| Corporate | ||||
| Giving | ||||
| Tesco Charity of the Year | £500.00 | £0.00 | £500.00 | |
| MHA | £500.00 | £0.00 | £500.00 | |
| Google Ad Grants | £5,234.42 | £0.00 | £5,234.42 | |
| TOTAL | £6,234.42 | £0.00 | £6,234.42 | |
| Trusts and Foundations | ||||
| N/A | £0.00 | £0.00 | £0.00 | |
| TOTAL | £0.00 | £0.00 | £0.00 | |
| Membership | ||||
| Guardian Members | £0.00 | £2,125.00 | £2,125.00 | |
| Adopt an Object Members | £0.00 | £490.00 | £490.00 | |
| Gift Aid | £0.00 | £90.75 | £90.75 | |
| TOTAL | £0.00 | £2,705.75 | £2,705.75 | |
| Interest | Interest accrued | £0.00 | £56.19 | £56.19 |
| TOTAL | £0.00 | £56.19 | £56.19 | |
| TOTAL | ||||
| INCOME | £6,850.99 | £8,672.20 | £15,523.19 |
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EXPENDITURE
Admin
| Admin | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Bank fees | £0.00 | £60.00 | £60.00 |
| AIBMS fees | £0.00 | £140.00 | £140.00 |
| Device management fees - contactless | |||
| donation points | £0.00 | £1,023.00 | £1,023.00 |
| Transaction fees (Stripe and GoCardless) | £0.00 | £103.33 | £103.33 |
| Cancelled transaction fees (Stripe and | |||
| GoCardless) | £0.00 | £2.04 | £2.04 |
| TOTAL | £0.00 | £1,328.37 | £1,328.37 |
| Project Spend | |||
| Digital trail tokens | £0.00 | £215.00 | £215.00 |
| Donation to Headway Charity | £616.57 | £0.00 | £616.57 |
| Access Gladiators | £500.00 | £0.00 | £500.00 |
| School transport fund | £500.00 | £0.00 | £500.00 |
| Joyat the Jobcentre | £0.00 | £2,000.00 | £2,000.00 |
| TOTAL | £1,616.57 | £2,215.00 | £3,831.57 |
| In Kind | |||
| Gifts in kind redeemed | £5,234.42 | £0.00 | £5,234.42 |
| TOTAL | £5,234.42 | £0.00 | £5,234.42 |
| TOTAL EXPENDITURE | £6,850.99 | £3,543.37 | £10,394.36 |
| SURPLUS/DEFICIT YEAR TO DATE | £0.00 | £5,128.83 | £5,128.83 |
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COLCHESTER MUSEUMS DEVELOPMENT FOUNDATION
B A L A N C E S H E E T
Year ended 31 March 2025
Cash at bank £29,351.05 Liabilities falling within 12 months £0.00 Total net assets £29,351.05
The financial statements were approved by the trustees on 23/06/2025 and signed on their behalf by:-
DR FRANCIS HARGRAVE
Trustee 24/06/2025
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