## **Wokingham & District Beekeepers Association CIO Charity Number 1200002** ## **Report of the trustees for the year ending 31 August 2023** The Trustees of the Wokingham & District Beekeepers Association present their annual report and accounts for the year ended 31 August 2023 and confirm they comply with the requirements of the Charities Act 2011, the trust deed and the Charities SORP (FRS 102). The Association has operated since 1946 and became a Charitable Incorporated Organisation as sealed by the Charity Commissioners for England and Wales on 9 August 2022 which included the regulations for appointment of trustees. ## **AIMS** The Association promotes good beekeeping and encourages people to learn about the fascinating world of the honeybee, the art of beekeeping and the benefit of bees in the environment. As part of the British Beekeepers Association (BBKA) our members can enjoy a range of benefits including – BBKA News, Insurance and much more. The Association is a focal point for local beekeepers, providing opportunities for members to network with other beekeepers and keep on learning by: - _taking part in our seasonal, weekly inspections at the Apiary_ - _getting together with other beekeepers, twice a month, at informal spring and summer meetings, and_ - _attending our monthly winter meetings and listening to talks and presentations by experts_ Attendance at one or more of our Open sessions at the Association’s apiary in the spring or summer gives an introduction to the art of beekeeping. Members and non-members are also welcome to come and meet us at one of our regular association meetings. Visitors of all ages are welcome. The CIO’s area of benefit is the Borough of Wokingham and the surrounding districts. ## **ACTIVITIES** ## **Funded:** - Membership of the BBKA and basic Bee Disease Insurance is provided for members. - Members and guests meet monthly from October to March in a formal setting. At some of these meetings we have presentations from experienced beekeepers. - The charity’s teaching apiary provides members a place where members can get hands on experience and non-beekeepers can observe inspections. - The Charity rents stalls at local shows and carnivals in order to provide information to the public and to sell honey and bee-related products. - Each year a Honey Show is held where members judge each others hive products. - The charity has a range of equipment that can be hired by beekeepers. - The charity pays the membership fees of its Honorary President. ## **Non-Funded:** - Volunteer members provide a swarm collection service. - During April to September, we meet socially twice a month. - Managing levels of BDI insurance for those members who have more than 3 and up to 49 colonies. - Provision of an online course for beekeeper beginners. - Support of beekeepers taking proficiency examinations. - Support of beekeepers by assisting with mentoring. - Circulation of available apiaries offered by members of the community. - Bulk purchasing of treatments to provide cost savings and standard medicines. - Bulk purchase of feed and jars to provide cost savings. ## **OUR OBJECTIVES** Our key objectives for the year included: - to broaden the appeal at the association apiary - to enhance local general knowledge of invasive species - to continue to provide interesting and educational lectures for members - to increase the members’ knowledge of bee diseases - to provide continuing support of local beekeepers and potential local beekeepers - to play our part in the life of our local community through involvement at carnivals and fairs ## **MEMBER NUMBERS AND FEES** There were 120 members throughout the year ending 31[st] August 2023. Approximately 30 members of the public were welcomed to our open sessions at the association apiary through the summer of 2023 Our annual fee for membership was £37.00 which included membership of the British Beekeeping Association (BBKA) and Bee Disease Insurance (BDI) for up to 3 colonies of honey bees. The BBKA provides insurance for all its members and member associations for £10 million Product and Product Liability Insurance for Beekeepers ## **FUTURE PLANS** The Charity intends to continue its current strategy of providing beekeeping support and education to beekeepers, potential beekeepers and members of the public. ## **FINANCES** The financial statements show net incoming year of £14,529 and outgoings of £12,185 Our main source of retained income is the membership fees. We also act as bulk buyer for honey jars plus food and treatments for bees. This generates very little profit but provides consistent treatments for our members’ bees and a cheaper way of purchasing consumables. As a charity we enjoy tax exemption on our activities and will be registering for Gift Aid in the near future. The financial benefits we receive from these tax exemptions are all applied for educational purposes and indirectly help us to maintain our educational programme. ## **APIARY** Our apiary is located in Wokingham on leased land. As such we are at the whim of the landowner should a change its use occurs. For this reason, we maintain a reserve in case we have to move the apiary to a new site. ## **ACCESS POLICY** It is important to us that access to the education we offer is not restricted to those who can afford to be members. This is why we hold apiary open days and freely provide information at carnivals and fairs. ## **STRUCTURE, GOVERNANCE AND MANAGEMENT** The Committee, who are also the charity trustees, are responsible for the overall management and control of the Wokingham and District Beekeepers Association, meet on a monthly basis. The work of implementing the non-apiary policies is carried out by the trustees themselves. The apiary itself is managed by our Apiary Manager who is not currently a trustee. Other volunteers from the membership assist with many and varied tasks that keep the charity running. The W&DBKA Chairman is responsible for co-ordinating the work of the Committee. The treasurer is responsible for the Association’s finances. All trustees give of their time freely and no remuneration or expenses were paid in the year. No trustee is allowed to commit to new spending without agreement of at least one other trustee. ## **COMMITTEE AND CHARITY TRUSTEES** The Committee are the charity trustees of Wokingham & District Beekeepers Association. New Committee members are appointed by the members at the AGM which takes place in the Autumn after the main beekeeping season has ended. These Trustees served throughout the year 2022/23: |**Name**|**Post**|**Date**
**appointed**| |---|---|---| |John
Waddelove|Chair & Trustee|02 October
2022| |Andy Ormiston|Secretary &Trustee|02 October
2022| |Tony Lack|Treasurer &Trustee|02 October
2022| |Kevin Cowley|Vice Chair & Trustee|02 October
2022| |Peter Butcher|Membership Secretary & Trustee|02 October
2022| |Quentin
Knowlson|Learning and Development Ofcer &
Trustee|02 October
2022| ## **CONTACT DETAILS** **Addresses:** W&DBKA C/O 20 Westmorland Close, Wokingham, RG41 3AZ **Bankers:** Lloyds Bank Plc Woklngh•m & 8o•kowgr¥ A¥*oclAlJon 1.5Si. l638fy) 2,11%50 Collected 81. 120fy) 8.7¥1.51 Ji>th) pnitrtMlr+tt4r8•S lfiEPr¢xE￿d5 DWlDnsfoFP￿b1lLSr¥￿￿7SRectty6 321.13 141. 51$.15 1029.50 4]￿D I92￿5 4LL ILVPrtmI￿I-CVb 11&4D 40 7.5fALII Ih) xnHlie 1229.26 OJb.Etylp￿￿lC0￿SUm1b1N Grf￿&￿ttSDOnatsO 393.25 11115AI iowzz NEtBrthVa1￿-o￿FWd Add￿￿ Al(￿tl￿ThEY￿iT redatI￿o￿equl￿￿rtknTh￿YQIIarI5X 17Q9 IXi8.73 etty￿h**Id*1rIl5ww 191.9) 4.￿1.11 2561 1714.45 49ffjam t761.74 7Me?2 lffY l&k251 F50111 5,IY24.45 .761.74 &UiU5 &761.74 Asfot&NDnsitfvit545*3lstW1202lwndl¢rth•y•4rth¢nqr**4.fhisoplNpnhw￿bw￿e¥ty￿￿ TorryL 1912a2 ## **Wokingham & District Beekeepers Association Notes to Annual Accounts - Year Ended 31st August 2023** ## **Income & Expenditure Account** Overall income exceeded expenditure by £2,343.54, a complete reversal on last year. We have therefore recovered from the expenditure spent on the portacabin, so it will now be OK for Mark to carry our further small repairs. ## **Income** - Membership - Income for the year was from 117 members. - Honey Sales – Income from the sales by Mary reached a record £481.85. - Carnivals – We raised over £1000 at both the May and Winter Carnivals. We now take card payments which accounted for over ½ of the money taken. - The raffle, which is kindly run by Mary, contributed quite a lot, and helps toward the costs of the club meetings at the Bowling Club. - The club sold a couple of Nucleus colonies with brought in a useful £180. Public session donations contributed £70 so the apiary is generating cash as well as spending it. ## **Expenditure** - The Apiary is, as would be expected, a big spender, with £895 spent on consumables and £175 on items that can be considered assets. - Now that we are a charity everyone, including the Apiary manager, has to get the nod from a trustee to spend obo the club. This keeps our expenditures under control. ## **Balance Sheet** Cash, reserves and assets stood at £5,024.45 at the end of last year and now stands at £6,761.74. I only include items which over £50 as assets and then only if they are not going to be consumed in the year. Honey stocks, syrup, jars and treatments are not included as assets, so if they are sold, they will look like extra income. ## **Subscriptions** Subscriptions have not been increased for the last two years. Over the coming years I need to build a small reserve to enable us to move apiary if we lose the current site. The site is owned by a land bank and they have already announced their intention that its suitable for hundreds of houses and so on. Therefore subscriptions, subject to AGM approval, will rise to £15.00 per member for W&DBKA. The BBKA element remains at £21.00 and the BDI premiums will not change either. Proposal: Subscriptions to be £15 + £21 + BDI premiums for beekeeping members and £15 for those who don’t have bees. Overall, the Association’s financial position remains strong with cash reserves adequate to meet its short-term financial commitments. The Association has no known undisclosed liabilities or future commitments outside of its ordinary operating activity. My thanks go to member Tim Nabbs who audited the WDBKA accounts for us. If any member of the association has any questions with respect to the financial information presented, I will be happy to do my best to answer them. Tony Lack. Treasurer and Trustee. September 2023.