## **Colchester Pride Annual Trustee Report 2022 (December 2021- November 2022)** This has been a real year of growth for Colchester Pride and we feel we are in a very good place. At the end of last year, we had the following aims: -Grow the committee to introduce new skill sets into the team and help deliver projects -Create an exciting, accessible and inclusive programme of events for the community -Continue to build successful partnerships that will help us create opportunities for the community We feel we have achieved these goals, and in some cases exceeded our hopes, and feel very positive about the future. ## **Our committee** Our committee has once again changed this year, with a couple of members moving on and new team members coming on board. There is a wonderful sense of togetherness and shared vision on the team now, with a great sense of energy. Since our team has grown, our output has vastly increased, particularly in terms of events. The trustee team is very proud of the work our committee have done this year, volunteering so much of their time to make a positive impact in the community. ## **Our Projects** ## **Community Events** This year was certainly the year of events for the Colchester Pride community. It has been our aim that Pride is felt all year round, and the sense of community and inclusion that comes from being at a Pride festival should be replicated in ongoing events. As such we have created a programme of varied events that (with a couple of fundraising exceptions) have been free to attend ## **World AIDS Day 2021** As part of our programme of events, we hope to host an annual World AIDS Day event, in collaboration with our colleagues at Mercury Theatre. This year, our pilot event was very successful, with a huge number of people (both from the LGBTQ+ community and from the wider community) coming along to meet, chat, watch performances by local artists, and join us in a candlelit vigil. The event also included our colleagues at Terrance Higgins Trust and METRO, who delivered speeches and information videos. We plan to continue hosting this event each year and can see scope o grow it into an educational project for local youth performance groups and schools. ## **A Big Camp Drag Quiz** We established a working relationship with a local family run venue, Dice and a Slice, to create a fun, sell out quiz night. This was a fundraising event and very well received. The success of this event has led to an ongoing collaboration with Dice and a Slice who co-host our Fun and Gaymes nights. ## **Storytime events** We worked with Colchester Libraries to hold two free drag story times for local families. These events were very well received and we hope to do more in the future. ## **Beautiful Thing** We were thrilled, after many covid related delays, to be able to present a production of Jonathan Harvey’s play Beautiful Thing at Headgate Theatre. The play was directed by two of our trustees, Ben Powell and Jenna Saiz Abo-Henriksen, and featured a cast that included members of the local LGBTQ+ community, all of whom volunteered and worked incredibly hard. The show was a great success with audiences commenting how much they enjoyed it, including local theatre reviewers. We hope to create more productions like this in the future under the ‘Colchester Pride Players’ banner. ## **Family Picnic** We are very keen to ensure our programme of events speaks to all ages and that we provide free events for local LGBTQ+ families to meet, be entertained, and find a community. Our Mayday Picnic, in conjunction with Castle Park Theatre, was a lovely day, completely free to attend and focussed on family friendly entertainment including lawn games, story time, arts and crafts, a tuck shop and face painting. We aim to do many more picnics in the future. ## **Pub/Club socials** Due to a lack of LGBTQ+ night spots locally, we approached some venues about setting up some semi-regular nights. These included our Sunday Social karaoke night at Hole in the Wall, and various club nights at X Bar. Pride provided all of the entertainment for these events, paying for DJs, hosts etc, and they were very well received. ## **A Big Camp Cabaret** Our annual charity cabaret at Colchester Arts Centre was another roaring success. We were thrilled to be able to platform our local artists, both established and some new emerging talent (which is key to our charities aims). A wonderful night was had, and folk shared they had a real appetite for this kind of event, celebrating LGBTQ+ culture and bringing the community together. ## **Pride March 2022** We were thrilled that, after many years of wanting to, we were finally able to introduce a Pride March element to our main Pride event day. We hoped to attract a decent sized crowd, but we were blown away to see hundreds of people turn out for what turned out to be a very special moment for us all, filled with emotion. For many of our community members, to walk proudly down the High Street of their hometown without fear, being part of a large supportive community, was a really empowering thing. We had wonderful feedback from the community explaining how much the march meant to them, and it meant a great deal to us to. Pride marches are where Pride festivals grew from, so we want to ensure this element is grown and nourished each year. ## **Pride Festival 2022** On what turned out to be one of the hottest days of the year, our main Pride festival returned to Firstsite with a full programme of family friendly entertainment. We utilised two stages once again, with the outside stage being sued for bands, singers, a community choir and drag artists. Our indoor stage was programmed into themed hours including stand up, spoken word and our new Emerging Talent hour where we offered paid slots to new artists to perform. We also had a programme of workshops including rugby taster sessions with Colchester Kings, arts and crafts, and movement/relaxation. The field was full of stalls with a wonderful array of LGBTQ+ (and allies) business owners showcasing their services. As our flagship event it is our aim to make this an event full of joy, self expression, safety, kindness and cohesion… and we really feel we achieved this! ## **‘Fun and Gaymes’ Board Game Socials** Following our successful collaboration with Dice and A Slice, we set up a monthly board games night, ‘Fun and Gaymes’. We recognise that our community want spaces to meet and interact so they can forge new friendships, but don’t necessarily wish to do this in typical environments like pubs and clubs. The board game socials are hugely successful, with the cafe packed with folk wanting to make new friends… and it’s working! It’s lovely to see people flourish and be more comfortable week month after month. These events are free for the community and we initially paid the overheads. However, due to the success of the project, our partner venue no longer charges us and wants to support the community by making it no cost to Pride, which is wonderful and very generous of them. ## **Safe Space Campaign** This year we launched a ‘Safe Space’ poster campaign by asking local shops and venues to display the above image in their windows all year round. In doing so, that organisation is promising to be welcoming to all and be mindful of the needs of the LGBTQ+ customers they have and challenge any prejudice they may see/hear. It is lovely to see these posters around Colchester as a visible support for the community. We would like to revisit this in future and make it into a larger, more robust campaign. ## **Community Action Awards** We have continued to recognise the hard work people have done in the community through our Community Action Awards. These awards are given to someone who has gone above and beyond to help the LGBTQ+ community here in Colchester, be that as part of their job role or as a volunteer. As with all our projects, we would love to expand and grow this, perhaps eventually creating an awards evening of some kind. ## **Working with Local Partners** ## **Mercury Theatre** Our relationship with Mercury Theatre has continued this year, with the organisation taking control of our tickets and acting as our box office for the main Pride event. They also provided staff to work Front of House and run craft workshops, and allowed use of their forecourt as a meeting point for the Pride March. ## **Local shops and Restaurants** It is wonderful to see the town really embrace Pride this year. The Colchester BID (‘IN Colchester’) kindly funded some wonderful Pride murals for local shop windows, and Red lion Walk also created Pride-themed artwork for empty shop fronts. This visible show of support for the community has been truly wonderful to see. ## **New regular LGBTQ+ nights** We were consulted by Yates nightclub who wanted to launch a new LGBTQ+ night called Technicolour Tuesdays. We met and suggested local artists who could be regular hosts/performers, and a local DJ (all members of the LGBTQ+ community), all of whom were then hired. The night was a real success, especially in the summer months, and we were happy to be present and show our support through creating additional marketing materials. ## **Funding** We are very grateful to the organisations that have provided funding to Colchester Pride this year. As well as private companies providing sponsorship for our main event, we received a £10k grant from the Lotto Community Fund, £1000 from Colchester Borough Homes, £1,500 from Colchester Borough Council and £1,700 from Colchester Improvement District to help us make our Pride festival and ancillary events/projects happen! ## **Looking Forward** We feel Colchester Pride is making a hugely positive impact in Colchester. The increased visibility in community events and projects appears to be having knock on effects, with community members and organisations starting their own projects and initiatives. In the past couple of years, Colchester has become a place that is known for it’s welcoming atmosphere towards LGBTQ+ people and we know of folk who have chosen to move here because they are excited by the thriving community projects and sense of safety that Colchester now provides. Local artists are getting their first career steps by being a part of Colchester Pride projects and are now flourishing. That said, we know we have much to do. There is a sinister rise in anti-LGBTQ+ sentiment in the world and we may soon face a time where safe spaces are more important than ever. We must continue to create accessible, supportive and inclusive events and continue to campaign for acceptance. Our main goals for the coming year are: -To maintain a varied programme of inclusive events that promote mental and physical wellbeing and social cohesion -To find, support, mentor and platform local LGBTQ+ creatives as we continue to contribute to the local creative art community. -To find educational opportunities and develop campaign ideas needed for social change. Colchester Pride Charity No 1193098 Company No CE024600 ## **Section B Balance sheet** |Guidance Note
**Fixed assets**
**Intangible assets (Note 15)**
B01
**Tangible assets (Note 14)**
B02
**Heritage assets (Note 16)**
B03
**Investments (Note 17)**
B04
**_Total fixed assets_**
B05
**Current assets**
**Stocks (Note 18)**
B06
**Debtors (Note 19)**
B07
**Investments (Note 17.4)**
B08
**Cash at bank and in hand (Note 24)**
B09
**_Total current assets_**
B10
**Creditors: amounts falling due within**
**one year (Note 20)**
B11
**_Net current assets/(liabilities)_**
B12
**_Total assets less current liabilities_**
B13
**Creditors: amounts falling due after**
**one year (Note 20)**
B14
**Provisions for liabilities**
B15
**_Total net assets or liabilities_**
B16
**Funds of the Charity**
**Endowment funds (Note 27)**
B17
**Restricted income funds (Note 27)**
B18
**Unrestricted funds**
B19
**Revaluation reserve**
B20
**Fair value reserve**
B21
**_Total funds_**
B22|**Unrestricted**
**funds**
**£**
F01|
**Restricted**
**income**
**funds**
**£**
F02|**Endowment**
**funds**
**Total this**
**year**
**£**
**£**
F03
F04|**Endowment**
**funds**
**Total this**
**year**
**£**
**£**
F03
F04|**Total last**
**year**
**£**
F05| |---|---|---|---|---|---| ||-|-|-|-|-| ||-|-|-|-|-| ||-|-|-|-|-| ||-|-|-|-|-| ||-|-|-|-|-| ||||||| ||-|-|-|-|-| ||2,050|-|-|2,050|-| ||-|-|-|-|-| ||30,906|-|-|30,906|17,812| ||32,956|-|-|32,956|17,812| ||||||| ||295|-|-|295|-| ||||||| ||32,661|-|-|32,661|17,812| ||||||| ||32,661|-|**-**|32,661|17,812| ||||||| |||-|-|-|-| ||-|-|-|-|-| ||||||| ||32,661|-|-|32,661|17,812| ||||||| ||-|||-|-| |||-||-|-| ||32,661||-|32,661|17,812| |||||-|| ||||||| ||32,661|-|-|32,661|17,812| _**The company was entitled to exemption from audit under s477 of the Companies Act 2006 relating to small companies.**_ _**The members have not required the company to obtain an audit in accordance with section 476 of the Companies Act 2006.**_ _**The directors acknowledge their responsibilities for complying with the requirements of the Companies Act with respect to accounting records and the preparation of accounts.**_ _**These accounts have been prepared in accordance with the provisions applicable to small companies subject to the small companies regime and in accordance with FRS102 SORP.**_ |**_ect to the small companies regime and in accordance_**|**_with FRS102 SORP._**|| |---|---|---| |Signed by one or two trustees/directors on behalf of all the
trustees/directors
Signature of director authenticating accounts being sent to
Companies House|Print Name|Date of
approval
dd/mm/yyyy| |||30/09/2023| ||Mr D Deller Thompson|| |||| ||Signature|Date
dd/mm/yyyy| |||30/09/2023| ||Mr D Deller Thompson|**Print name**| CC17a (Excel) 30/09/2023 1 ## **Colchester Pride Annual Trustee Report 2022 (December 2021- November 2022)** This has been a real year of growth for Colchester Pride and we feel we are in a very good place. At the end of last year, we had the following aims: -Grow the committee to introduce new skill sets into the team and help deliver projects -Create an exciting, accessible and inclusive programme of events for the community -Continue to build successful partnerships that will help us create opportunities for the community We feel we have achieved these goals, and in some cases exceeded our hopes, and feel very positive about the future. ## **Our committee** Our committee has once again changed this year, with a couple of members moving on and new team members coming on board. There is a wonderful sense of togetherness and shared vision on the team now, with a great sense of energy. Since our team has grown, our output has vastly increased, particularly in terms of events. The trustee team is very proud of the work our committee have done this year, volunteering so much of their time to make a positive impact in the community. ## **Our Projects** ## **Community Events** This year was certainly the year of events for the Colchester Pride community. It has been our aim that Pride is felt all year round, and the sense of community and inclusion that comes from being at a Pride festival should be replicated in ongoing events. As such we have created a programme of varied events that (with a couple of fundraising exceptions) have been free to attend ## **World AIDS Day 2021** As part of our programme of events, we hope to host an annual World AIDS Day event, in collaboration with our colleagues at Mercury Theatre. This year, our pilot event was very successful, with a huge number of people (both from the LGBTQ+ community and from the wider community) coming along to meet, chat, watch performances by local artists, and join us in a candlelit vigil. The event also included our colleagues at Terrance Higgins Trust and METRO, who delivered speeches and information videos. We plan to continue hosting this event each year and can see scope o grow it into an educational project for local youth performance groups and schools. ## **A Big Camp Drag Quiz** We established a working relationship with a local family run venue, Dice and a Slice, to create a fun, sell out quiz night. This was a fundraising event and very well received. The success of this event has led to an ongoing collaboration with Dice and a Slice who co-host our Fun and Gaymes nights. ## **Storytime events** We worked with Colchester Libraries to hold two free drag story times for local families. These events were very well received and we hope to do more in the future. ## **Beautiful Thing** We were thrilled, after many covid related delays, to be able to present a production of Jonathan Harvey’s play Beautiful Thing at Headgate Theatre. The play was directed by two of our trustees, Ben Powell and Jenna Saiz Abo-Henriksen, and featured a cast that included members of the local LGBTQ+ community, all of whom volunteered and worked incredibly hard. The show was a great success with audiences commenting how much they enjoyed it, including local theatre reviewers. We hope to create more productions like this in the future under the ‘Colchester Pride Players’ banner. ## **Family Picnic** We are very keen to ensure our programme of events speaks to all ages and that we provide free events for local LGBTQ+ families to meet, be entertained, and find a community. Our Mayday Picnic, in conjunction with Castle Park Theatre, was a lovely day, completely free to attend and focussed on family friendly entertainment including lawn games, story time, arts and crafts, a tuck shop and face painting. We aim to do many more picnics in the future. ## **Pub/Club socials** Due to a lack of LGBTQ+ night spots locally, we approached some venues about setting up some semi-regular nights. These included our Sunday Social karaoke night at Hole in the Wall, and various club nights at X Bar. Pride provided all of the entertainment for these events, paying for DJs, hosts etc, and they were very well received. ## **A Big Camp Cabaret** Our annual charity cabaret at Colchester Arts Centre was another roaring success. We were thrilled to be able to platform our local artists, both established and some new emerging talent (which is key to our charities aims). A wonderful night was had, and folk shared they had a real appetite for this kind of event, celebrating LGBTQ+ culture and bringing the community together. ## **Pride March 2022** We were thrilled that, after many years of wanting to, we were finally able to introduce a Pride March element to our main Pride event day. We hoped to attract a decent sized crowd, but we were blown away to see hundreds of people turn out for what turned out to be a very special moment for us all, filled with emotion. For many of our community members, to walk proudly down the High Street of their hometown without fear, being part of a large supportive community, was a really empowering thing. We had wonderful feedback from the community explaining how much the march meant to them, and it meant a great deal to us to. Pride marches are where Pride festivals grew from, so we want to ensure this element is grown and nourished each year. ## **Pride Festival 2022** On what turned out to be one of the hottest days of the year, our main Pride festival returned to Firstsite with a full programme of family friendly entertainment. We utilised two stages once again, with the outside stage being sued for bands, singers, a community choir and drag artists. Our indoor stage was programmed into themed hours including stand up, spoken word and our new Emerging Talent hour where we offered paid slots to new artists to perform. We also had a programme of workshops including rugby taster sessions with Colchester Kings, arts and crafts, and movement/relaxation. The field was full of stalls with a wonderful array of LGBTQ+ (and allies) business owners showcasing their services. As our flagship event it is our aim to make this an event full of joy, self expression, safety, kindness and cohesion… and we really feel we achieved this! ## **‘Fun and Gaymes’ Board Game Socials** Following our successful collaboration with Dice and A Slice, we set up a monthly board games night, ‘Fun and Gaymes’. We recognise that our community want spaces to meet and interact so they can forge new friendships, but don’t necessarily wish to do this in typical environments like pubs and clubs. The board game socials are hugely successful, with the cafe packed with folk wanting to make new friends… and it’s working! It’s lovely to see people flourish and be more comfortable week month after month. These events are free for the community and we initially paid the overheads. However, due to the success of the project, our partner venue no longer charges us and wants to support the community by making it no cost to Pride, which is wonderful and very generous of them. ## **Safe Space Campaign** This year we launched a ‘Safe Space’ poster campaign by asking local shops and venues to display the above image in their windows all year round. In doing so, that organisation is promising to be welcoming to all and be mindful of the needs of the LGBTQ+ customers they have and challenge any prejudice they may see/hear. It is lovely to see these posters around Colchester as a visible support for the community. We would like to revisit this in future and make it into a larger, more robust campaign. ## **Community Action Awards** We have continued to recognise the hard work people have done in the community through our Community Action Awards. These awards are given to someone who has gone above and beyond to help the LGBTQ+ community here in Colchester, be that as part of their job role or as a volunteer. As with all our projects, we would love to expand and grow this, perhaps eventually creating an awards evening of some kind. ## **Working with Local Partners** ## **Mercury Theatre** Our relationship with Mercury Theatre has continued this year, with the organisation taking control of our tickets and acting as our box office for the main Pride event. They also provided staff to work Front of House and run craft workshops, and allowed use of their forecourt as a meeting point for the Pride March. ## **Local shops and Restaurants** It is wonderful to see the town really embrace Pride this year. The Colchester BID (‘IN Colchester’) kindly funded some wonderful Pride murals for local shop windows, and Red lion Walk also created Pride-themed artwork for empty shop fronts. This visible show of support for the community has been truly wonderful to see. ## **New regular LGBTQ+ nights** We were consulted by Yates nightclub who wanted to launch a new LGBTQ+ night called Technicolour Tuesdays. We met and suggested local artists who could be regular hosts/performers, and a local DJ (all members of the LGBTQ+ community), all of whom were then hired. The night was a real success, especially in the summer months, and we were happy to be present and show our support through creating additional marketing materials. ## **Funding** We are very grateful to the organisations that have provided funding to Colchester Pride this year. As well as private companies providing sponsorship for our main event, we received a £10k grant from the Lotto Community Fund, £1000 from Colchester Borough Homes, £1,500 from Colchester Borough Council and £1,700 from Colchester Improvement District to help us make our Pride festival and ancillary events/projects happen! ## **Looking Forward** We feel Colchester Pride is making a hugely positive impact in Colchester. The increased visibility in community events and projects appears to be having knock on effects, with community members and organisations starting their own projects and initiatives. In the past couple of years, Colchester has become a place that is known for it’s welcoming atmosphere towards LGBTQ+ people and we know of folk who have chosen to move here because they are excited by the thriving community projects and sense of safety that Colchester now provides. Local artists are getting their first career steps by being a part of Colchester Pride projects and are now flourishing. That said, we know we have much to do. There is a sinister rise in anti-LGBTQ+ sentiment in the world and we may soon face a time where safe spaces are more important than ever. We must continue to create accessible, supportive and inclusive events and continue to campaign for acceptance. Our main goals for the coming year are: -To maintain a varied programme of inclusive events that promote mental and physical wellbeing and social cohesion -To find, support, mentor and platform local LGBTQ+ creatives as we continue to contribute to the local creative art community. -To find educational opportunities and develop campaign ideas needed for social change.