crafting2gether Trustee Annual Report 14/07/2021 - 31/03/2022
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Table of Contents
Structure, Governance and Management 3
Governance 4
Organisational Structure 5
Objectives and Activities 6
Main Activities 7
Achievements and Performance 8
Community Activities 10
Making a Difference 11
Award Time 12
Thank You 13
Our Wonderful Volunteers 14
Financial Review 15
Report Sign Off 16
Acknowledgements 17
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crafting2gether Annual Trustee Report 14/07/21 - 31/03/22
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Structure Governance and Management
Our Charity
crafting2gether is a Charitable incorporated Organisation (CIO) and is governed by its constitution, which was agreed on 14th July 2021 and amended on 26th August 2022 to include changes to the Trustee Board.
Trustee Selection
As part of the Charity's 3-year busines plan, we have worked through our strengths, weaknesses and the external opportunities and threats.
This process highlighted our organisations' core skill requirements and the areas that we needed to strengthen.
Following this analysis, the Trustees carried out a detailed review and audit of the skills and experience of both Trustees and Volunteers and identified those areas of knowledge which needed to be strengthened.
This information has been used to inform our selection and recruitment of new Trustees and has helped us to identify the training and development needs of the Charity's Trustees and Volunteers.
New Trustees are recruited and appointed by the Board of Trustees.
crafting2gether Annual Trustee Report 14/07/21 - 31/03/22
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Governance
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"Since our inception on 14th July 2021, our focus
has been on ensuring we have a robust
organisational structure with an agreed 3-year
business plan against which we can measure our
success and inform our decision making"
crafting2gether Trustees
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POLICIES AND PROCEDURES
Key procedures, such as those related to safeguarding, risk management, GDPR, Health and Safety, Trustee Recruitment and Equality & Diversity were prioritised and as part of the Business Plan, there is a requirement to deliver a suite of supporting processes and progress is charted through the quarterly Trustee Meeting and at the Strategic Business Committee.
RISK MANAGEMENT
The Trustees have completed an initial assessment of the potential risks the Charity may face using a risk assessment matrix and have taken action to mitigate those risks identified as having a high impact and high probability of occurring. the Charity is now concentrating on developing and implementing a Risk Management policy to ensure that the Charity has day to day procedures in place that enable it to effectively identify, assess and manage the risks it may face in the future.
crafting2gether Annual Trustee Report 14/07/21 - 31/03/22
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Structure
ORGANISATIONAL STRUCTURE
The organisation structure has been refined during this period as part of the development of the Business Plan and has grown to take account of the growing needs of the Charity.
Trustee Board – the Trustee Board meets quarterly and provides strategic direction, governance and oversight of the organisation, its committees and working groups
Strategy Business Committee (SBC) – the SBC meets monthly as is currently constituted of all standing Trustees and a volunteer, with skills in marketing and media. This committee is responsible for the co-ordination and delivery of all aspects of the Business Plan, including oversight of the operational planning groups below.
Activity Planning Group – this group meets monthly and is formed of volunteers, headed by a member of the Trustee Board. It seeks to promote the Charity’s work, organises promotional events and fund-raising activities and reports to the SBC.
Workshop Planning Group – this group meets monthly and is responsible for the production of a workshop schedule of activities which is offered to our volunteers, at cost, providing stimulating, interesting and often new crafting techniques. These sessions operate seasonally, and the activities vary and are always very popular. The intention is for these types of activities to be offered to the local community following evaluation. This group reports to the Strategy Business Committee.
We are currently establishing the Digital & Media group and recruitment is underway
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crafting2gether Annual Trustee Report 14/07/21 - 31/03/22
Structure
ORGANISATIONAL STRUCTURE
The organisation structure has been refined during this period as part of the development of the Business Plan and has grown to take account of the growing needs of the Charity.
Trustee Board – the Trustee Board meets quarterly and provides strategic direction, governance and oversight of the organisation, its committees and working groups
Strategy Business Committee (SBC) – the SBC meets monthly and is currently constituted of all standing Trustees and one volunteer with skills in marketing and media. This committee is responsible for the co-ordination and delivery of all aspects of the Business Plan, including oversight of the operational planning groups below.
Activity Planning Group – this group meets monthly and is formed of volunteers, headed by a member of the Trustee Board. It seeks to promote the Charity’s work, organises promotional events and fund-raising activities and reports to the SBC.
Workshop Planning Group – this group meets monthly and is responsible for the production of a workshop schedule of activities which is offered to our volunteers, at cost, providing stimulating, interesting and often new crafting techniques. These sessions operate seasonally, and the activities vary and are always very popular. The intention is for these types of activities to be offered to the local community following evaluation. This group reports to the Strategy Business Committee.
We are currently establishing the Digital & Media group and recruitment is underway
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crafting2gether Annual Trustee Report 14/07/21 - 31/03/22
OBJECTIVES AND ACTIVITIES
OUR VISION
Our Vision is to provide opportunities and activities through the medium of crafting that enhance the physical and mental wellbeing of all participants and beneficiaries.
OUR OBJECTIVES
The objects of the Charity are set out in the charity’s constitution and are summarised as follows:-
To promote the benefit of crafting within the local community (including Schools and other organisations), preserving and nurturing lifelong and portable skills through the provision of practical craftingTo sessions which connect and strengthen relationships across our community and enhance overall learning experiences.
To provide volunteer hand-made crafted goods, free of charge to Charities and Organisations which demonstrate a particular need and where the product is required to support or improve the quality of life of their service users.
To actively seek, retain and support local volunteers, providing equipment, technical support, friendship and premises in which to learn, improve and impart their home crafted (and other) skills.
To promote volunteering by signposting to Charities or Organisations delivering projects that they may wish to support and to provide a safe and welcoming base for volunteers and members of theTo community to engage in crafting and other activities aimed at developing an individual skill and competence.
crafting2gether Annual Trustee Report 14/07/21 - 31/03/22
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Our Main Activities
ADVANCEMENT OF EDUCATION
Open and free access to our community: We offer twice weekly crafting sessions which are open to all. Individuals and volunteers work together to share skills and knowledge which in turn results in unique and beautiful items which are gifted to organisations in our community.
In addition, we have encouraged and welcomed children in our community to participate in crafting workshops and have provided opportunities to our local schools to take part in the planning and delivery of the Queen's Platinum Jubilee project
SPREADING THE WORD
:Our charity founder, Shelagh Cheetham, (Chair of Trustees) has worked with local organisations to deliver informal lectures, promoting the charity and the good causes it supports, and through regular radio and exhibition slots, we have been able to celebrate our amazing volunteers and the work we do, raising our profile and generating much needed revenue.
Our logo. Purple for loyalty and dignity, White for purity, Green for hope and Yellow for light and life. The torch that lights our purpose
crafting2gether Annual Trustee Report 14/07/21 - 31/03/22
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THE GIFT OF GIVING
The relief of those in need, by reason of youth, age, ill-health, disability, financial hardship or other disadvantage
Since July we have delivered 11,773 hand crafted items to 18 organisations across Dronfield, Derbyshire and South Yorkshire, providing relief to those in need and we’re working with a further 4 organisations to plan for anticipated need in Winter 2022.
We've had the privilege of working with and on behalf of some wonderful organisations - here's a summary;
Baby Basics - an amazing national networked charity providing essential equipment to new families.
Armenian Project - providing neck warmers and tuck-ins to those in need
Grace Project - fighting female period poverty through the provision of drawstring bags and female products
Hope Food Bank - providing neckwarmers/scarves, toy bags/bags, blankets, hats and other knitted items to those in need
Ashgate Hospice - providing drawstring bags, sharing hearts and tablecloths
Baby Bonding Hearts for Special Care Baby Units and Palliative Care settings across Chesterfield, Rotherham and Sheffield
Remembrance Hearts to churches in Dronfield, Old Whittington and Killamarsh in memory of a local tragedy
Worry worms for our local Primary schools. Helping children through difficult times
crafting2gether Annual Trustee Report 14/07/21 - 31/03/22
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Achievements and performance
PREMISES
The charity offers two 4-hour free to use crafting sessions per week, situated at the heart of our community in the Peel Centre, Dronfield. We are based on the ground floor with easy access for those with mobility issues. There are excellent welfare facilities on-site and we welcome anyone with an interest in crafting for good causes, or those offering support to the charity to drop in, collect materials to craft at home for good causes or indeed stay, chat and craft at the centre.
The start of our reporting period saw us firmly resident at the Scout Hut on Wreakes Lane in Dronfield. Regrettably, structural issues meant that we had to vacate the premises at very short notice, and we were temporarily housed in a local Pub where crafting sessions and even workshops continued with no interruption. Recognising the difficulty experienced by some of our volunteers in accessing the premises and following a due diligence exercise, the charity moved to the Peel Centre, a central location in Dronfield. We have continued to operate every Tuesday and Thursday without fail.
We continue to work in partnership with the Scouting organisation to understand how we can again move forward with a joint vision for shared premises.
GETTING STARTED
In September we celebrated a milestone in delivering over 78,500 face masks!! PPE had been our core output and focus during the pandemic and as we launched our new charity, we celebrated our achievements and reflected on our collective experiences of the pandemic (not forgetting the heavy toll experienced by many) in a daylong outdoor event attended by our local MP and Mayor and all our amazing volunteers and their families. We showcased our work to date in a special exhibition and proudly displayed our community quilt, a beautiful, quilted banner lovingly worked on by volunteers and designed to reflect their own personal experience of the pandemic and expressing what their involvement in our organisation had meant to them during that time. A true labour of love which perfectly captures an exceptional period in all of our lives. We emerged from our covid chrysalis to enjoy a wonderful day with our volunteers and families - a lovely event to say thank you and goodbye to Shelagh's Sewing Circle and HELLO to our new charity, crafting2gether!
crafting2gether Annual Trustee Report 14/07/21 - 31/03/22
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Achievements and performance
QUEENS JUBILEE PROJECT
OUT AND ABOUT
Queen’s Jubilee Project: The design process associated with the Jubilee project involved volunteers and Trustees to arrive at the technical design, alongside a local artisan ironworker and the many local infant and junior schools who really engaged with the project. This project is due for completion in time for the Queen’s Platinum Jubilee.
Being part of our town: As part of our fundraising activities, we’re active in the Dronfield Outdoor Market and the Dronfield Hall Barn Artisan events, where our crafters use their spare time to provide us with beautiful handmade items for sale. This has the dual benefit of providing much needed funds and ensures that we remain at the heart of our community
crafting2gether Annual Trustee Report 14/07/21 - 31/03/22
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Achievements and performance
11,773 items lovingly crafted and freely donated by our wonderful volunteers
2738 lovingly crafted items to Baby Basics - helping freely donated by families get off 2000 to a good start repurposed our wonderful handmade poppies for the Royal volunteers British Legion 1671 supporting Remembrance their vital and sharing fundraising hearts for our local hospice, 705 bonding care homes, hearts to schools and NHS Special churches Care Baby Units helping 330 crafted connect Buddy dolls mums and 6254 other supporting babies in beautiful items children in donated their early hospitals and days 264 Worry children's Worms - centres helping local Smaller, but no children less important through a deliveries to 240 Neck difficult time organisations in warmer and need Tuck ins for the Armenian Project We are amazingly proud of
We are amazingly proud of our volunteers and all they have achieved this year!
7 8 dignity aids for local care homes
crafting2gether Annual Trustee Report 14/07/21 - 31/03/22
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Achievements and performance
It's always nice when the work of our organisation and our volunteers is recognised
In this year, we certainly had a bumper haul of awards and plaudits - here's just a few:
The Big Thank you awards - Yorkshire Post
Chesterfield Vounteer Sector Awards
Team of the Year Award Best Small Charity of the Year (under 25k) Outstanding contribution of an individual (Shelagh Cheetham) Innovation award for our Link Volunteer system
Beacon of Hope Award (Derbyshire County Council), recognising the work of the organisation in supporting the vulnerable of Derbyshire
High Sheriff of Nottingham Award for our contribution during the pandemic.
BBC One Show - One Big Thank You Award - Nominated by our wonderful volunteers, our founder Shelagh Cheetham received the shock of a lifetime as her hero the Sewing Bee's Patrick Grant presented her, live on the One Show with her award!
We also featured in a Northeast Derbyshire publication, Life in Lockdown, celebrating the essential work of the organisation in providing essential PPE.
Perhaps of all our awards, the decision by Once Upon a Time Daycare Nursery to hold a sponsored toddler walk (raising an amazing £465) to thank us for our work in providing face masks to our local community is the most fondly remembered and greatly received! In return we supplied all of the pupils with a crafted toybag, toy and 3 facemasks, 1 each for pupils, parents and the teddy!
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crafting2gether Annual Trustee Report 14/07/21 - 31/03/22
Achievements and performance
We know that our crafted gifts mean a lot to those receiving them, so it's always nice to receive a thank you and to know how our contribution will be used. From the hundreds of personal messages of thanks, here are just a few.
The Armenian Project providing neck warmers and tuck ins was the first time we had crafted for a non-UK organisation and whilst not our core activity, this worthy cause had been suggested by a volunteer and meant that our crafters were able to use up donated wool ends and let their creative imaginations run riot!! Here's what they said: -
A big thank you for all your hard-work and incredibly useful and beautiful knitting! Thank you!! This will all be making its way over to Armenia very soon and into the homes of war refugees, families in dire poverty and families with ill children, elderly folks who are living in the most desperate poverty in homes we wouldn't even call garage sheds.
A very heartfelt thank you to you all, please do keep knitting!
much love,
Dr Perouz Harrison
Our gift of crafted bonding hearts which provide an emotional connection to a departed loved one or for those experiencing crisis in health or mental wellbeing have been given to many organisations and have been greatly received – here’s a lovely testimonial from St Giles Church...
On behalf of St Giles Church and the community here in Killamarsh, I would like to thank you and all those who have made the Hearts for us. As you can imagine we are all shocked at the terrible events of last weekend and we as a Church have been open for all to light candles, write a message in the book of condolence, chat, say a prayer, or simply just to sit and reflect. The hearts have been given out and much appreciated by all. Your kind gifts and support mean so much to the Church and wider Community at this time.
John Hall
crafting2gether Annual Trustee Report 14/07/21 - 31/03/22
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Our wonderful volunteers
Our volunteers are amazing!
Responsive, creative, inclusive and welcoming to name just four adjectives!
They not only respond to projects in a heartbeat with imagination and unflagging hard work, they innovate and suggest amazing projects which not only benefit those who receive them, but also increase their skill levels.
From beautifully crafted swift nests, creating a safe refuge for this endangered species to designing and decorating our very own Christmas Tree exhibit in St John's Church.
They organise and manage our crafting event stall, generating much needed revenue and relentlessly sift and sort donations, supporting the critical supply chain, ensuring we always have sufficiency of stock.
Our Workshop Planning Group creatively organises and lead creative craft workshops, providing exciting new taster crafts for everyone to enjoy and raising revenue into the bargain.
But it isn't just about crafting, Voluntary Riders UK (3000 bikers nationwide) came to our rescue to deliver critical supplies in our time of need. Wonderful generosity.
We asked the crafing2gether Trustees to think of a few words which describe our volunteers..here's what they said.
YOU ARE AMAZING, THANK YOU!
crafting2gether Annual Trustee Report 14/07/21 - 31/03/22
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Financial Review
Our policy on reserves
The Charity's policy for holding reserves is to maintain a level of reserves that enables the Charity to support the future growth and development of its charitable activities and allows for the provision of a small contingency to mitigate against any unforeseen financial risks.
financial operations
The Charity was established on the 14th July 2021, part-way through the 2021/22 financial year.
During the year, the charity received donations of £17,242 and raised a further £5,007 through fund-raising and income generating activities.
This was offset by fundraising and income generations costs of £2,962 and operational running costs of £2318, leaving an unrestricted reserve balance at the end of the year of £17,032.
The funding and donations rasied by the charity during the year allowed it to develop and provide a range of charitable activities, that have fully supported its key objectives as exemplified in this report.
crafting2gether Annual Trustee Report 14/07/21 - 31/03/22
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Acknowledgements
We'd like to thank....
Our wonderful volunteers for donating their time so generously and skilfully
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The Activities Planning and Workshop Groups, for their inspiration and imagination in support of income generation
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Our local community groups and businesses who have variously housed our charity throughout the reporting period
We thank all of our volunteers, our generous donors and our local community for their continued support
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The people of Dronfield for their generous donations of materials
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The Dronfield Hall Barn and the Peel Centre for their continued support
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The Chesterfield Volunteer Centre for continually reaching out to provide guidance
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The Asian Association for generously allowing us to benefit from their experience
We move our vision and values forward thanks to all of you.
crafting2gether Annual Trustee Report 14/07/21 - 31/03/22
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