Connect Exminster CIO
(registered charity number 1199203) Financial Statements and Chairs Report for the year ending 31[st] December 2022
| Page | Contents |
|---|---|
| 2-5 | Trustees’ annual report |
| 6 | Independent examiner’s report |
| 7 | Financial report showing receipts and payments, |
| assets and liabilities with notes to the account. |
Trustee’s Report 2022 – Connect Exminster CIO
Background
Connect Exminster was set up at the beginning of 2022. While Connect has been running as a Christian community group since 2018, carrying out its activities with the oversight of St. Martin’s Church of England Church, Exminster. This included having a designated separate bank account which was overseen by St. Martin’s PCC treasurer and annually audited. As Connect has grown over the years, it was agreed that becoming a stand-alone entity was necessary. We received notification of our successful application to become a CIO on 7[th] June.
Vision
As per our constitution our objects are:
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To advance the Christian faith for the public benefit, in accordance with the values and tenets of the Anglican Communion in Exminster and the surrounding area, in particular but not exclusively by raising awareness of Christian beliefs, values and practices, through holding meetings, outreach and pastoral care in the community.
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To relieve poverty by the making of grants and the provision of items within the community of Exminster.
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To advance education, through the provision of workshops and courses in the community to help people enhance their life skills including within family related areas led by local professionals.
We believe that the church should be at the centre of a community, meeting needs (spiritual, emotional, social, financial and practical) as they arise. Our vision is to build a community in Exminster where people love one another by serving each other so no-one is left in isolation, whatever challenges they face. We see ourselves as partners with the many other wonderful groups seeking to care for the residents of Exminster. We also hope to be catalysts that can help build connections, share resources and help build bridges to create a more loving infrastructure in the community.
Chairperson’s report
I am delighted to be able to present my first Chair’s report, detailing all that Connect Exminster has been able to accomplish in 2022. As our first official year, much of our work has been establishing ourselves as a CIO. This has
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included recruiting trustees, opening a bank account, setting up all our policies and procedures, registering with Exeter Diocese for safeguarding oversight and completing all the relevant safeguarding training. Our constitution was finally approved in June.
However, this has not stopped up making a positive start, serving the community and in this report I would like to highlight three main areas that we have been able to use our resources to make a difference.
Faith Based Community Events
Throughout the year we have run a range of community groups open to anyone from Exminster to join. Fortnightly on Sundays we host an informal discussion-based space to explore themes of faith and spirituality. For example, from Autumn 2022 we looked at what we might learn from ancient spiritual practices and enjoyed a community ‘pilgrimage’ walk, a feasting brunch, a discussion around healing. We have also run a monthly Youth Connect for secondary aged students, based around pizza, games and chat and they have been looking at emotional health and how to look after your own well-being. Having identified a need within the community for relationship support we also ran Exminster’s Date Night. 44 people signed up to this, which gave them a weekly goodie bag with treats, questions and a link to a video to watch together to spark thoughts and help them discuss and reflect on their long-term relationships together.
This was very well received by all who took part and the anonymity, being able plan your own date night rather than meet with others in a big hall, enabled more to take part. We also hosted two much larger community events, Love Easter and Love Christmas. These were very well attended by the wider community and a chance to
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gather for fun (live chicken and donkey included) and learn a little bit about these Christian festivals in an inclusive informal way.
Ukrainian Support
With the Russian invasion of Ukraine and the UK Homes for Ukraine Scheme opened in March 22, Connect Exminster established Exminster Refugee Support and took the role of catalyst to connect the wider community in Exminster so that we could respond in a larger scale to the crisis. Gathering over 300 members, we were able to host
30 Ukrainians in families within the village. This was possible because we provided all the support for completing government applications, accessing support services and funding resources. All our members were encouraged to complete a simple questionnaire to identify how they could help practically. We also hosted community meetings to keep people informed of what we were doing and the help they could give. As a result, we coordinated volunteers who we ran EAL classes for beginners, intermediates and advanced students. We opened a conversation café for guests to meet informally with others from the community to practice English but also to make friendships and ask questions that they had. This was a great place for signposting to other support they could access. We oversaw a designated fund, with donations from the community as well as some local grants, which meant local people who could not help practically, could donate, and provide emergency clothing to travel bus passes etc for our new Exminster Ukrainian residents. Connect also donated the small chapel that they use for weekly events, and we were delighted that so many for the wider community stepped up to revamp the space so it could be a hub for our new friends to meet in the evenings
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together. We also provided a daily summer camp for the Ukrainian children to support parents over the summer holidays.
A particular highlight was on Ukrainian Independence Day, where we facilitated and funded a community evening to learn more about Ukrainian and show our solidarity and love on such a difficult day.
Eco Refill
On February 5[th] 2022 we launched Exminster’s Eco Refill. Our vision for this was to be another place of community connection, run by volunteers, that also would help the community make environmentally friendly choices. We highlighted that for many in our community, eco products were unaffordable so buying these products in bulk for wholesale prices and selling them on at costs (no profit) we hoped to encourage more people to make these choices. We now have a wonderful community of volunteers where freidnships have also grown and often regulars come in and enjoy a cuppa and a chat as well as getting their products. In our first year we had 438 transactions made!
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Independent examiner’s report to the trustees of Connect Exminster CIO for the year ended 31 December 2022
I report on the accounts of the charity, which are set out on page 7.
Respective responsibilities of trustees and examiner :
The charity’s trustees are responsible for the preparation of the accounts. The charity’s trustees consider that an audit is not required for this year under section 144(2) of the Charities Act 2011 (the 2011 Act) and that an independent examination is needed.
It is my responsibility to:
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examine the accounts under section 145 of the 2011 Act;
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follow the procedures laid down in the general directions given by the Charity Commissioners under
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section 145(5)(b) of the 2011 Act; and
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state whether particular matters have come to my attention.
Basis of independent examiner’s report
My examination was carried out in accordance with the general directions given by the Charity Commission. An examination includes a review of the accounting records kept by the charity and a comparison of the accounts presented with those records. It also includes consideration of any unusual items or disclosures in the accounts, and seeking explanations from you as trustees concerning any such matters. The procedures undertaken do not provide all the evidence that would be required in an audit, and consequently no opinion is given as to whether the accounts present a ‘true and fair view’ and the report is limited to those matters set out in the statement below.
Independent examiner’s statement
In connection with my examination, a few small matters came to my attention from early dates which have been investigated. Improvements in practice and recording have already been implemented and I do not foresee these issues arising in the future which gives me reasonable cause to believe that in any material respect the requirements:
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• to keep accounting records in accordance with section 130 of the 2011 Act; and
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• to prepare accounts which accord with the accounting records and comply with the accounting requirements of the 2011 Act have not been met.
Signed __ __ Date 8th September 2023____
Jo Wilkey, Operations Officer; Data Protection Officer Employee of St Christopher's CofE (Primary) Multi Academy Trust
Connect Exminster End of year accounts December 2022
| Receipts/Income Note Payments/Expenditure Note Connect main fund 1 Connect main fund Initial transfer from St. Martins 2 1500 Youth activities 258.32 One off donations 636.85 Kids activities 245.93 Chapel Usage Donations 1477.5 Connect activities 394.8 Total 3614.35 Maintenance 59.87 Utilities inc Wifi 136.18 Funds donated to other charities 60 Total 1155.1 Fund balance Eco refill Eco refill Sales from Eco Refill 2602.45 Bulk buying for Ecorefill 2235.49 Equipment/Maintenance Ecorefill 51.82 Total 2287.31 Fund balance Refugees Refugees One off donations 3 3289.61 Staffing expenses for refugee support 5 3118.75 Grants 4 8212.5 Facilities reimbursement 1477.5 Total 11502.11 Individual harship grants 2686.73 Consumables 6 1654.87 Total 8937.85 Fund balance 17718.91 12380.26 Balance 5338.65 Total Receipts Total Payments |
258.32 245.93 394.8 59.87 136.18 60 |
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|---|---|---|
| 2459.25 | ||
| 315.14 | ||
| 2564.26 | ||
Notes:
1.Receipts and payments accounts contain a summary of money received and money spent during the period and a list of assets and liabilities at the end of the period. All transactions are through the bank account which opened in Feb 2022.
2.£1500 was donated from St. Martin's church from the designated fund that had been used by Connect when it operated within the PCC of St. Martins, prior to registering as a CIO. This also includes small donations at community events.
3.£2818.21 from GoFundMe transfers, £326.40 from a local school sports fundraiser, £145 from a local community fundraiser and the remaining £500 from a private donor.
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4.£900 from Christadelphian fund, £2872.50 from Teignbridge Community Voluntary Services and £4440 from Church Urban Fund
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5.This includes specialist English Language tuition, summer camp coordinator and overall project coordinator costs
6.This includes food, crafts, teaching resources
Statement of Assets and Liabilities:
Cash assets - Bank Account = £5338.65
At the end of 2022 there were no liabilities/creditors.