Chair’s Report for 2021/2022 - John Young
2022 has been a year of mixed fortunes. It’s been a tough year for members and we pay tribute and our condolences with the recent passing of Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II. Recognising also the members and members’ family losses during the year,
The Society has fully evolved to its new Charitable Status, with assets transferred from the old style Trust run by a Committee to the new Charitable Incorporated Organisation operated by Trustees with the support of a Committee.
This year was and is a period of normalisation. The Club has reopened on Wednesday nights at Aston University. Membership fees have been reinstated, though at a reduced sum. Our meteor detection program is being revitalised with the planned relocation of the club’s AllSky 7 camera system to the Dark Sky site at Space Guard near Knighton.
Outreach programs have been restarted, and lectures continue to be provided through via Zoom.
As astronomers, we are fully aware of the vastness of the Universe. The Earth is a relative spec in the Cosmos. Hence our aim as a Society to promote and share Astronomy, this remains our aim as we move to reopened society. I would like to thank the Officers, Trustees and Committee for their support and hard work in difficult times.
We all look forward to 2023.
Membership Secretary’s Report 2021/2022 - John Downing
Free membership ended on the 1st of July 2022, concessionary rates and family membership were abolished, and the annual fee for all members was set at £15.
Membership is only available to persons aged 18 years and over.
Membermojo was set up to automate membership details and renewals and is working well. Payments via stripe are nice and easy, although some have had trouble with bank transfers.
Membership on 17th September stands at 72 (66 paid up + 6 honorary)
Financial Report 2021/2022 – Ben Stanley
With memberships resuming this year at the new reduced rate, we have seen a small boost to club income which has help to bring our balances back to pre-covid levels. We continue to receive a reasonable income from our investments despite global financial instability. With lectures being online, expenses have been low and there have been very few running costs.
As we start to resume some face-to-face events and the club room becomes more active we may need to invest in equipment, fixtures & fittings and we have the funds available to do this. The society is in a good financial position and plans for 2022/23 will see this continue.
Income
Expenditure
| Account | 2020 | 2021 | 2022 | Account | 2020 | 2021 | 2022 | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Memberships | £ 842.71 |
£ 26.89 |
£ 939.86 | Stationary | £ 90.09 |
£ 151.12 |
£ 0.00 |
|
| COIF | £ 1,944.44 | £ 1,983.46 | £2,048.26 | Marketing | £ 0.00 |
£ 0.00 |
£ 0.00 |
|
| Trips | £ 0.00 |
£ 0.00 |
£ 0.00 |
Equipment | £ 244.29 |
£ 1,095.78 | £ 307.22 | |
| Clothing | £ 0.00 |
£ 0.00 |
£ 23.00 |
Prizes | £ 0.00 |
£ 0.00 |
£ 0.00 |
|
| Other Income | £ 0.00 |
£ 16.17 |
Subscriptions | £ 796.50 |
£ 515.30 |
£ 464.16 | ||
| raffe, sales of equip, etc |
Lectures | £ 146.48 |
£ 280.00 |
£ 303.95 | ||||
| Fixtures & Fittings |
£ 61.83 |
£ 0.00 |
£ 0.00 |
|||||
| Interest | £ 14.69 |
£ 0.60 |
£ 6.83 |
|||||
| Clothing | £ 0.00 |
£ 0.00 |
£ 0.00 |
|||||
| Trips | £ 0.00 |
£ 0.00 |
£ 0.00 |
|||||
| Other | £ 973.56 |
£ 1,962.55 | £ 392.68 | |||||
| Bank Charges | £ 60.00 |
£ 84.00 |
£ 93.00 |
|||||
| TOTAL | £ 2,801.84 | £ 2,010.95 | £3,034.12 | TOTAL | £ 2,372.75 | £ 4,088.75 | £1,561.01 | |
| 31st Aug 2021 31st Aug 2022 £ 0 £ 0 £ 1063.69 £ 2,529.49 £ 11500.60 £ 11,507.91 £ 12564.29 £ 14037.40 £ 74031.80 £ 73209.78 £ £86,596.09 £ £87,247.18 |