Registered Charity Number: 1193674
WADER QUEST
TRUSTEES ANNUAL REPORT
& ACCOUNTS
FOR THE YEAR ENDED 5 APRIL 2023
WADER QUEST
TRUSTEES ANNUAL REPORT FOR THE YEAR ENDED 5 APRIL 2023
Contents
Reference and administrative details ........................................................................................ 3 Structure, Governance and Management ................................................................................. 4 Objectives .................................................................................................................................. 4 Activities ..................................................................................................................................... 5 Reserves and Future Financial Policy ......................................................................................... 6 Trustees’ Responsibilities........................................................................................................... 6 Statement of Financial Activities ............................................................................................... 8 Balance Sheet ........................................................................................................................... 10 Notes to the Accounts ............................................................................................................. 13
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WADER QUEST STATEMENT OF FINANCIAL ACTIVITIES FOR THE YEAR ENDED 5th APRIL 2023
Reference and administrative details
Name of Charity: Wader Quest Charity Number: 1193674 Principal address: Lapwing Cottage, 15 Hall Grounds, Loftus, Saltburn-by-the-Sea, TS13 4HJ. E-mail: waderquest@gmail.com Website: https://www.waderquest.net Bankers: Barclays Bank plc Milton Keynes 2 Ashton House Milton Keynes MK9 2LD
Trustees:
The trustees who served during 2022-23 were as follows:
Rick Simpson Chair Phil Hadley Secretary Elis Simpson Ray Heaton Elizabeth Anderson John Beaumont
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WADER QUEST STATEMENT OF FINANCIAL ACTIVITIES FOR THE YEAR ENDED 5th APRIL 2023
Structure, Governance and Management
Wader Quest is registered with the Charity Commission as a Charitable Incorporated Organisation (Charity No. 1193674). It is governed under a constitution adopted in May 2020 and amended in February 2021. A Board of Trustees elected by the members manages the charitable affairs of Wader Quest. There are no restrictions on membership of Wader Quest subject to payment of the appropriate subscription.
Elected Trustees serve for a period of three years and may be found from amongst the members or other methods of recruitment. The Board has the power to co-opt additional members at any time where a specific need is identified. The Trustees are supported by the Executive Committee (ExCo), governed under the rules of the charity. Members of the Executive Committee serve for a period of three years and can be elected at the Annual General Meeting or Co-opted to assist the committee carry out its functions.
There is one further committee, the Grant Fund Panel, which receives and reviews all grant applications made through a formal application procedure and makes recommendations to the Trustees. All decisions on the allocation of funds to conservation projects are made by, and are the responsibility of, the elected Trustees.
The charity has no employees and owns no property or fixed assets; the charity is run by an active team of volunteers, with a focus on ensuring that the majority of income can go to supporting its charitable purpose. The Charity is grateful to the contribution by Trustees and ExCo Members. Meetings are held online, which is time and expense efficient way of maximising volunteer engagement.
All Trustees are directed towards regular reference to the Charity Commission website to stay up to date on current guidance related to their responsibilities. Trustees meet formally four times during the year, with papers circulated in advance.
The Charity supports the issues facing waders on a global basis and through grant funding, providing financial assistance rather than organising and directing projects itself. The Charity pays due regard to the Charity Commission guidance on public benefit in deciding the activities it should undertake.
Objectives
To advance the education of the public regarding the conservation and protection of waders or shorebirds and their natural habitats.
The charity has independent expert evidence that waders are in decline and merit conserving, and aims assist the prevention of that decline through:
i) raising funds which at the discretion of the Board of Trustees to be used to make small grants or carry out appeals to or for wader conservation projects worldwide.
ii) promote for the benefit of the public the conservation and protection of waders or shorebirds and improvements of their physical and natural habitats.
iii) advance the education of the public regarding the conservation and protection of waders or
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WADER QUEST STATEMENT OF FINANCIAL ACTIVITIES FOR THE YEAR ENDED 5th APRIL 2023
shorebirds and their natural habitats.
The Charity is non-political and non-profit making.
Activities
As much as possible the Charity awards grants towards wader fieldwork and conservation and invites applications through the Wader Quest website. Grant applications are received by the Grant Funding Panel which selects suitable projects and makes technical recommendations to the Trustees. Further considerations are based on local involvement, public benefit, available budget and financial sanctions that may restrict or prohibit the transfer of funds. These grants help us to meet our aims of raising funds to make small grants, and promotion of conservation and protection of waders.
Awards were made to the following projects during the year:
| April 2022; | |
|---|---|
| Donation to Texel Coastal Birds, Netherlands | £ 42.09 |
| Donation to New Zealand Black Stilt | £ 52.57 |
| Donation in respect of migrant birds in Guatemala | £ 46.80 |
| July 2022; | |
| Donated to Oikonos Ecosystem Knowledge for Mono Lake Phalaropes project, USA | £ 1,000.00 |
| October 2022; | |
| Donation to Manomet, USA |
£ 101.18 |
| November 2022; | |
| Donation to Projeto Aves Limícolas for ongoing work protecting São Paulo State | |
| beaches in Brazil |
£2,500 |
| January 2023; | |
| Anniversary grant made to Alicia Grant, a freelance filmmaker to assist in the making | |
| of a film about the life of an Eurasian Curlew from birth to death |
£1,000.00 |
| March 2023; | |
| Donation to Colectivo Amigos de las Aves de Calima el Darién, Colombia | £500.00 |
| Donation to Quetzalli Monitoring and Research Programme, Nicaragua | £500 |
| Donation to Ugii Lake Shorebird Monitoring Centre, Mongolia | £500 |
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WADER QUEST STATEMENT OF FINANCIAL ACTIVITIES FOR THE YEAR ENDED 5th APRIL 2023
| Donation to National University of Patagonia San Juan Bosco, Argentina | £ 525.09 |
|---|---|
| Donation to Shropshire Ornithological Society – Save our Curlews Campaign | £2,112.00 |
| Donation to Venezuelan Institute for Scientific Research study of Wilson’s plover | on Margarita Island, |
| Venezuela | £1,100.00 |
| Total £ 9,979.73 |
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WADER QUEST STATEMENT OF FINANCIAL ACTIVITIES FOR THE YEAR ENDED 5th APRIL 2023
In addition to the funding of projects, to further advance public education regarding waders, the Charity organised its annual Wader Conservation World Watch. As ever, this took place over the first weekend of November.
Worldwide there were 451 participants who reported observing waders, with 150 species of wading bird recorded across 52 countries.
Wader Quest continues to promote awareness about the threats facing waders and conservation projects to its members and the public through its website waderquest.net, through Facebook page @WaderQuest, X (formerly Twitter) account @waderquest and Instagram account @wader.quest.
The Charity publishes a regular newsletter throughout the year, which is circulated to members and made available to non-members on our website. It also participates in UK based national bird events through networking, speaker opportunities and exhibition stalls. The founders, Rick and Elis Simpson, regularly attend events around the country speaking on behalf of Wader Quest, and raising funds through sales, donations and membership sign-ups.
Following the joining of joint Patrons Tim Appleton MBE and Penny Robinson in 2021, the driving forces behind Global Bird Weekend, they joined the 2022 AGM, committing to support Wader Quest at the Weekend.
At the end of the year there were 260 family, life and individual Friends of Wader Quest members worldwide all of whom received the Wader Quest newsletters. There were 7 club sponsors and 14 corporate sponsors.
Reserves and Future Financial Policy
The Trustees aim to maintain sufficient reserves for the running of the charity, whilst noting that the charity has no fixed costs due to its work being carried out by volunteers and having no premises or fixed assets.
Trustees remain committed to growing the current membership level, and to maintain a grant fund target of £10,000. In this year, the value of grants given were £9,979.73 as listed on the previous page.
Trustees’ Responsibilities
Laws applicable to charities in England and Wales require the trustees to prepare financial statements for each financial year which give a true and fair view of the charity’s financial activities during the year and of its financial position at the end of the year. In preparing those financial statements, the trustees:
-
select suitable accounting policies and then apply them consistently.
-
make judgements and estimates that are reasonable and prudent.
-
state whether applicable accounting standards and statements of recommended practice have been followed, subject to any material departures disclosed and explained in the
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WADER QUEST STATEMENT OF FINANCIAL ACTIVITIES FOR THE YEAR ENDED 5th APRIL 2023
statement of accounts.
- prepare the financial accounts on the going concern basis unless it is inappropriate to presume that the Charity will continue its operations.
The trustees are responsible for keeping proper accounting records which disclose with reasonable accuracy the financial position of the Charity, and which enable them to both ascertain the financial position of the charity and to ensure that the financial statements comply with applicable law, accounting standards and the Charities SORP. They are also responsible for safeguarding the assets of the Charity and hence for taking reasonable steps for the prevention and detection of fraud and other irregularities.
The Charity is a Charitable Incorporated Organisation, and therefore not registered with Companies House. Due to having income under £25,000, the charity is required to submit a Receipts and Payments based report to the Charity Commission and does not require independent examination or audit.
Approved and signed on behalf of the Trustees:
Rick Simpson Chairman Date 27/10/2023
Elis Simpson Trustee Date 27/10/23
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WADER QUEST STATEMENT OF FINANCIAL ACTIVITIES FOR THE YEAR ENDED 5th APRIL 2023
Statement of Financial Activities for the period 6 April 2022 to 5 April 2023
| GENERAL | RESTRICTED | TOTAL | TOTAL | TOTAL | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Fund | Fund | 2023 | 2022 | ||
| £ | £ | £ | £ | ||
| Income from: | |||||
| Donations and | |||||
| legacies | |||||
| Donations | 3,013 | 3,013 | 2,670 | ||
| Charitable activities | |||||
| Subscriptions | 3,903 | 3,903 | 3,403 | ||
| Gift Aid tax refund | 545 | 545 | - | ||
| Other trading | |||||
| activities | |||||
| Sales of goods | 5,927 | 5,927 | 3,986 | ||
| Mobile Charity Shop | 56 | 56 | 321 | ||
| Red Bubble sales | - | - | 37 | ||
| Other Income | - | - | 50 | ||
| Refund of Grants | - | - | - | ||
| Sponsorship | 90 | 90 | 50 | ||
| Investments | |||||
| Bank and other | - | 21 | 21 | 1 | |
| interest | |||||
| Total | 13,534 | 21 | 13,555 | 10,518 |
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WADER QUEST STATEMENT OF FINANCIAL ACTIVITIES FOR THE YEAR ENDED 5th APRIL 2023
| GENERAL | RESTRICTED | TOTAL | TOTAL | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Fund | Fund | 2023 | 2022 | |
| £ | £ | £ | £ | |
| Expenditure on: | ||||
| Raising funds | ||||
| Cost of sale - goods | 397 | 397 | 1,727 | |
| Event running costs | - | - | 56 | |
| Charitable activities | ||||
| Conservation Fund | 9,980 | 9,980 | 9,088 | |
| grants | ||||
| Support costs | ||||
| Postage fees | 391 | 391 | 522 | |
| Stationary | 199 | 199 | 2 | |
| Insurance | 155 | 155 | - | |
| IT fees | 616 | 616 | 459 | |
| Marketing | 489 | 489 | 833 | |
| Maintenance | 196 | 196 | 20 | |
| General expenses | 7 | 7 | - | |
| Bank charges | 127 | 127 | 117 | |
| Total | 2,577 | 9,980 | 12,557 | 12,824 |
| TOTAL | TOTAL | |||
| 2023 | 2022 | |||
| £ | £ | |||
| Excess of Income | 998 | (2,306) | ||
| over Expenditure |
(2022 was an excess of expenditure over income)
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WADER QUEST STATEMENT OF FINANCIAL ACTIVITIES FOR THE YEAR ENDED 5th APRIL 2023
Balance Sheet at 5 April 2023
| Current assets Current account PayPal Cash Deposit account Total current assets Creditors: amounts falling due within one year Grants awarded but not yet paid Other creditors Net current assets Funds: General Fund Restricted Fund TOTAL Movement in Funds General Fund Conservation Fund TOTAL |
2023 £ 1,240 (8) 575 8,802 10,609 0 0 10,609 1,807 8,802 10,609 2023 £ 1,807 8,802 |
2022 £ 7,246 - 742 1,622 9,610 0 0 9,610 7,988 1,622 9,610 2022 £ 7,988 1,622 |
2022 £ 7,246 - 742 1,622 9,610 0 0 9,610 |
|
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 7,988 1,622 9,610 |
||||
| 10,609 | 9,610 |
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WADER QUEST STATEMENT OF FINANCIAL ACTIVITIES FOR THE YEAR ENDED 5th APRIL 2023
These financial statements were approved by the Trustees on …………………………………. and signed on their behalf by:
Rick Simpson Chairman
Elizabeth Anderson
Trustee and Chair of Executive Committee Date: 27/10/23
Date: 27/10/23
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WADER QUEST STATEMENT OF FINANCIAL ACTIVITIES FOR THE YEAR ENDED 5th APRIL 2021
Notes to the Accounts
1. Accounting Policies
-
1a. Subscription Income. Subscription income is credited to the income and expenditure account in the period to which it relates. Subscriptions received in advance are carried forward as deferred income in the balance sheet and result in a liability for the future provision of membership services.
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1b. Stock. No value is placed on the stock of primary purpose goods and donated goods held for sale in the Charity’s accounts.
2. Trustees
No remuneration was paid or was payable out of Wader Quest funds directly or indirectly to any Board member or to any person or persons known to be connected to them. Trustees are able to claim expenses at cost, but no such expenses were paid this year.
3. Employees
The Charity has no paid employees.
4. Description of Funds
General Fund (Un-restricted)
The General Fund is the un-restricted cash fund of the Charity which receives all income and makes all payments. Transfers are made to and from other funds upon the authority of the Board.
Conservation (Reserve) Fund (Restricted)
The Conservation Fund was set up to provide awards to projects for conservation in the Region. It is funded from the General Fund, net proceeds from fundraising activities and from other funds set up specifically for that purpose.
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