2025-12-31-accounts - Connect Exminster

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Connect Exminster CIO

(registered charity number 1199203) Financial Statements and Chairs Report for the year ending 31[st ] December 2025

Page Contents

2-5 Trustees’ annual report

6 Financial report showing receipts and payments, assets and liabilities with notes to the account. 7-8 Independent examiner’s report

Chair’s Re ort 2025 – Connect Exminster CIO p

Background

Connect Exminster was set up at the beginning of 2022, previously running as a Christian community group since 2018, carrying out its activities with the oversight of Exminster Parish Church. It now runs with a small group of trustees and a large volunteer team.

Vision

As per our constitution our objects are:

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.
To relieve poverty by the making of grants and the provision of items within the community of Exminster.
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.

Chairperson’s report

I am delighted to be able to present this Chair’s report, detailing the highlights that Connect Exminster has been able to accomplish in 2025. We continue to be overseen by Exeter Diocese for our Safeguarding practices and work closely with the local churches and school. 2025 saw some significant donations to Connect which we have budgeted to spend in 2026. We were delighted to be able to provide a grant to St. Martin’s Church to appoint a part time Children and Families Lead who is engaged with the wider community and developing programmes of support for outreach, pastoral care and life skills workshops. £3000 of our funds have been allocated to support a new Children and Families support role within the village.

We have continued to serve the community providing community connecting events, workshops and small grants and in this report I would like to highlight the main areas that we have been able to use our resources to make a difference. We have also been able to share our space with other community groups including music groups, a drumming workshop and the Exminster Preschool.

Faith Based & Community Events/Workshops

Throughout the year we have run a range of community activities open to anyone from Exminster to join. Fortnightly on Sundays we continue to host an informal discussion-based space to explore themes of faith and spirituality. These events often involve food together. We were delighted to support the village Summer Fayre in the vicarage garden, funding their bouncy castle and kids activities. Everything was free to access to ensure no-one was excluded and it was a wonderful event connecting the community together.

We have continued to run workshops and coffee mornings for the community. These help people learn new skills while connecting with new people to alleviate loneliness. This year, for the first

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time we also partnered with St. Martin’s church to offer a three day holiday club in the summer holidays. This had 40 children attend each day engaging in a range of faith based activities as well as life skills learning.

Refugee Support & Hardship Fund

Many Ukrainian families have chosen to settle in our village having come over at the start of the war. Initially we prioritised providing significant support to help with learning the language and accessing vital services, as well as providing

opportunities to meet with other Ukrainians for support. Now all our families are living independently (not in the homes of hosts) and we have identified the greatest need is for

connection with the wider community - where they can develop their English and form friendships outside of their Ukrainian friendships. To that end we have continued to run monthly coffee mornings, where our Ukrainian community can meet with the wider community. We also had a wonderful evening Christmas wreath making, partnering Ukrainian and UK families together.

In additional we have continued to award small grants through our pastoral support fund, to be able to help those in Exminster who find themselves in financial difficulties. This is for anyone within the community not only our refugees. With thanks to the generosity of Exminster parish Council awarding us £1000 in 2024 we have been able to increase the support we can offer. With grants issued at the end of 2024 and in 2025 this grant has now been spent. Within our unrestricted fund, the trustees have allocated a further £500 should needs arise. The local schools, GP and community

groups will often signpost people in need of support to us for this.

We have continued to be able to open our Exminster’s Eco Refill every Saturday morning. 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

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make these choices. We now have a wonderful community of volunteers where friendships have also grown and often regulars come in and enjoy a cuppa and a chat as well as getting their products. This year we have also hosted other community groups through Coffee Mornings in the chapel, so they can share their work with the wider community. These community coffee mornings have been another free space for connection. This ring fenced budget line covers its own costs, but makes no profit, passing all savings on to those who are trying to make more environmentally friendly choices.

Exminster Community Kitchen Garden

Exminster Community Garden, as overseen by Jeremy Pyne and a core team of volunteers is a project that emerged through the course of 2024. Discussion with St Martins Church and other village based organisations paved the way for spades in the ground from January 2025. With a green light from the church and a partnership developed with Connect Exminster – a co-ordinating steering group of volunteers was established and a weekly working session on site initiated to work on creating a garden which would

help ‘reconnect

our community with nature, with food and with each other’.

The site had to be cleared of a whole range of waste, and shoulder height brambles and undergrowth to enable us to carve out growing spaces and bring the largely neglected allotment site back to life. The group have met every Friday – with the exception of Boxing day 2025 since then.

With the assistance of grant funding from the Parish Council, Devon CC along with generous donations from members of the community we have installed new sheds , incorporating rain water harvesting, raised beds, communal seating area, composting sites and growing spaces. A recent additional grant allocation from ‘The Conservation Volunteers’ will enable us to build our facilities and tools for use by children and families. The garden is managed using organic principles and aims to provide a wildlife friendly space – incorporating new bird boxes, bird baths and feeders. We hope to revamp the existing

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pond to add to the wildlife that shares the space.

Open days and visits have been arranged with groups such as the brownies and pre-school. Events including open days, plant and produce stalls and a recent fruit grafting workshop have begun to explore other ways of engaging with the wider community. In January this year a celebration event was held to mark our first anniversary – attracting 30-40 people.

Looking ahead to our second year, the aim is to ramp up production of food and flowers to share (Including through the recently revamped community larder). With our improved on-site facilities we anticipate more opportunities to broaden engagement and plan for future development – for example through the improvement of access to make the garden available to those with more limited mobility.

Summary

This year our income was significantly higher at £19305, compared to our outgoings of £11551, largely due to a large grant given for the renovation of Emmanuel Chapel, the building we mainly use for events. This will be fully spent in 2026 replacing the guttering, soffits and facias and redecorating some of the exterior paintwork. We continue to have sufficient reserves to cover our general expenses in to 2026 if needed. With this financial security we can expand our activities for 2026.

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	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	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	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	within one bank account with ‘pots of monies’ to track	designated and restricted funds. This includes our Eco refill pot so we can ensure this breaks even but is non profit	designated and restricted funds. This includes our Eco refill pot so we can ensure this breaks even but is non profit	making and our refugee fund, kitchen garden fund and	making and our refugee fund, kitchen garden fund and	chapel fabric fund to track grant monies given.	2. These figures do not include the 2025 Gift Aid HMRC	claim.	3. Connect has had no further donations to the Hardship	fund as it was spending the £1000 grant from the Parish	Council given at the end of 2024.	4. We continue to offer the Eco refill, led by volunteers, as	5. The full £1000 from the Parish Council was spent within	this year	6. This was carried over ringfenced money to fund a PT	children and families worker in partnership with St.	Martin's Church.	7. This included two grants from Connect - £380 to support	Refill.	8. Activities run by Connect raising funds for Nayamba	9. While we have had no additional designated income for refugee support the remaining funds have focused on	9. While we have had no additional designated income for refugee support the remaining funds have focused on	closed.	Community Kitchen garden received grants from the Post	Office (£100) Alan Connett’s Locality Grant (£300) and	11. We are delighted to have a grant of £10,000 given via	P Symons from the legacy of Brenda Winter to restore and	repair the fabric of Emmanuel Chapel. There are	donation for.	Statement of Assets and Liabilities:	At the end of 2025 there were no liabilities/creditors.
				150	393.38		852.86		804.98	3000	580	206.06	5987.28		7536.53		2917.52		2917.52		697.2		564	564		-77.37		1532.56	1532.56		447.44		550	550		9450
									5	6	7	8											9
	Note												Total	Closing balance	Dec 25				Total	Closing balance	Dec 25			Total	Closing balance	Dec 25			Total	Closing balance	Dec 25			Total	Closing balance	Dec 25
	Payments/Expenditure	Connect main fund	Kids & Youth activities - CIO		Connect activities - CIO	Utilities inc Wifi - CIO		Hardship fund CIO		Supporting interchurch expense	Transfer from Unrestricted to designated	Funds donated to other charities				Eco refill	Bulk buying for Ecorefill					Refugees	Support group costs				Kitchen Garden	Kitchen Garden Expenses				Chapel Fabric Fund	Fabric Fund expenses
				£289.62	£3,302.59		£360.00		£28.52	£137.99			£4,118.72		9405.09		2907.14	300	3207.14		407.58		0	0		486.63		1980	1980		0		10000	10000		0	10299.3	£19,305.86	11551.36	£18,053.80
	Note	1			2					2			Total	Starting balance Jan	25	4			Total	Starting balance Jan	25			Total	Starting balance Jan	25		10	Total	Starting balance Jan	25		11	Total	Starting balance Jan	25	Starting balance	Total income	Total expenditure	Closing balance
December 2025	Receipts/Income	Connect main fund	CIO One off donations - Connect main		CIO Gift Aid Donations/Gift Aid	CIO Chapel Usage Donations		CIO Supporting Interchurch donations		CIO GASDS						Eco refill	Sales from Eco Refill	Grants for Eco Refill				Refugees	No income for refugee support				Kitchen Garden	Kitchen Garden grants / donations				Chapel Fabric Fund	Chapel Fabric Grants / donations

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Independent examiner's report on the accounts

Section A Independent Examiner’s Report

Connect Exminster CIO	Connect Exminster CIO	Connect Exminster CIO

31 December 2025	Charity no (if any)	1199203

4
I report to the trustees on my examination of the accounts of the above charity (“the Trust”) for the year ended 31/12/2025. As the charity's trustees, you are responsible for the preparation of the accounts in accordance with the requirements of the Charities Act 2011 (“the Act”).

I report in respect of my examination of the Trust’s accounts carried out under section 145 of the 2011 Act and in carrying out my examination, I have followed all the applicable Directions given by the Charity Commission under section 145(5)(b) of the Act.

Independent I have completed my examination. I confirm that no material matters have examiner's statement come to my attention in connection with the examination (other than that disclosed below *) which gives me cause to believe that in, any material respect:

the accounting records were not kept in accordance with section 130 of the Charities Act; or
the accounts did not accord with the accounting records; or
• the accounts did not comply with the applicable requirements concerning the form and content of accounts set out in the Charities (Accounts and Reports) Regulations 2008 other than any requirement that the accounts give a ‘true and fair’ view which is not a matter considered as part of an independent examination.

I have no concerns and have come across no other matters in connection with the examination to which attention should be drawn in this report in order to enable a proper understanding of the accounts to be reached.

Signed: Name: Relevant professional qualification(s) or body (if any): Address:		7thMay 2026

	Jo Wilkey

	No official qualifications. Currently hold the role of Operations and Data Protection Officer in a multi academy trust.

	30, Reddaway Drive

Oct 2018

IER

Exminster, Exeter, Devon EX6 8SY

Section B Disclosure

Only complete if the examiner needs to highlight material matters of concern (see CC32, Independent examination of charity accounts: directions and guidance for examiners).

Give here brief details of any items that the examiner wishes to disclose .

Oct 2018

IER