Rockhampton Folk Festival
Charity Number 1201317
Annual Report of the Trustees for the year ending 31 December 2023
Our Aims
Our charity was established in December 2022 as a Charitable Incorporated Organisation. As defined in our governing document our Charitable Objects are :
FOR THE PUBLIC BENEFIT, TO ADVANCE THE EDUCATION OF THE GENERAL PUBLIC IN, AND TO PROMOTE THEIR APPRECIATION OF MUSIC AND PERFORMING ARTS, BY MEANS OF, BUT NOT EXCLUSIVELY:
-
THE PROVISION OF AN ANNUAL MUSIC FESTIVAL AND OTHER ASSOCIATED EVENTS;
-
THE PROVISION OF GRANTS TO INDIVIDUALS AND ORGANISATIONS FURTHERING THE SAME PURPOSE.
Our Activities and Impact
This year we successfully delivered activities that furhered all of our charitable aims.
Our main activity was the 2023 Rockhampton Folk and World Music Festival held in June. Over 500 people enjoyed a wide range of music and dance acts and participation workshops.
We made our festival inclusive and promoted participation by the widest possible range of people. We encouraged refugees, low-income families and carers to the festival with reduced price or free entry. The Dovetail Orchestra, made up of refugees and asylum seekers, was an inspirational and thought-provoking start to the festival. We chose acts that promote an appreciation of genres of music and performing arts that are not often seen in our area – for example the West African Kora Harp and Balkan jazz.
We believe participation in creative activity is good for the soul. It lifts the spirit and helps communities bond. The festival site was a safe, accessible, family-friendly environment that allows people to mix with each other. Visitors had the chance to join participation workshops, which helped to promote their education and appreciation of the performing arts. They had the opportunity to try new things, such as body percussion, and meet and get to know the performers.
Through our outreach programme we funded 11 concerts through the year reaching over 1500 people. We targeted groups who might otherwise not have the opportunity to engage in creative participation - special needs schools, care homes, dementia support groups, groups for adults
with learning difficulties etc. These events are hugely popular, get excellent feedback and very successful in delivering our charitable aims.
By choosing young and emerging artists we help reduce the barriers to a cultural career that face musicians and artists starting in their career. We worked in partnership with Live Music Now to identify emerging artists - for example Ainsley Hamill - and provided performance opportunities and coaching from our own professional experience to help their development
Our collaboration with the local radio station and media outlets ensured that our work gains good publicity in the local area which also helps to further our charity objectives of promoting the appreciation of the performing arts.
This year we also continued to award grants to individuals and organisations that share our values and further our charitable purpose. This supported music tuition for individuals who could otherwise not afford it, including Ukrainian children.
Our activities are built on an ethos of sustainability and 'treading lightly' on our environment. We insisted that our food suppliers at the festival did not use single-use plastics, and over 90% of our waste was recycled. We use local businesses as suppliers, to reduce travel and carbon footprint.
Our Governance
At the conclusion of this year there were three trustees. These are the original trustees with whom the CIO was formed in December 2022.
Christopher White-Horne
Nicola Barnes
Elizabeth Curtis
All Trustees give of their time freely and no remuneration or expenses were paid for their activities as Trustees in the year.
With the approval of all the trustees Nicola Barnes was in receipt of payment of a total of £176 from the charity for work to deliver outreach performances and musical tuition in pursuit of our charitable aims. Trustees are satisfied that this did not represent a conflict of interest and the payments were equivalent to those paid to all of our performers.
Our Finances
At the start of the year Trustees set an annual budget for the charity which aimed to ensure that our main activities – the music festival and associated outreach programme can be delivered successfully and on at least a cost neutral basis. When sufficient cash reserves exist our policy is to disburse any excess through grants.
The budget for 2023 was set based on actual costs from previous festivals and prudent estimates based on our experience of managing the budgets for other public artistic events.
Income is mainly receipts from the festival, with some additional contribution from donations. Expenditure is primarily associated with delivering the festival and associated outreach event – for example fees for performers, costs for the site and the provision of catering. Our investment in marketing paid off with an increase in ticket sales in the areas we targeted.
Trustees recognise the need to maintain a cash reserve to ensure the future financial sustainability of the charity.
This year expenditure exceeded income by £1,488. This was due to us not being successful in our bid for Arts Council funding, which we had assumed in our original budget. This resulted in a reduction of our cash reserves by c9% at the end of year but with reserves of £15,974 Trustees are confident that the charity remains a going concern.
Lessons from this year will be incorporated into the budget planning for 2024.
Risks were managed and mitigated by trustees during the year, in a prudent way. The major risks are mitigated by comprehensive event and liability insurance.
Rockhampton Folk Festival
Charity Number 1201317
Statement of Financial Activities and Accounts for the year ending 31 December 2023
The charity trustees are responsible for the preparation of the accounts in accordance with the requirements of the Charities Act 2011.
It is not required to conduct an independent examination of the accounts due to the level of our turnover. However, we confirm that the accounts give a true and fair view and that there are no other matters to which attention should be drawn to enable a proper understanding of the accounts to be reached.
As this was our first year as a charity, no comparative figures are provided for previous years
All funds are Unrestricted.
| Income | Year ending 31 Dec 23 |
|---|---|
| Grants and Donations | 716.00 |
| Other Trading Activities Tickets Catering |
5,618.72 2,623.92 |
| Investment Income Interest |
61.54 |
| TOTAL | **9,020.18 ** |
| Expenditure | Year ending 31 Dec 23 |
|---|---|
| Grants Given | 371.00 |
| Operating Costs Marketing Performers Catering Costs Insurance Festival Site Services Materials |
994.91 3,839.40 1,374.56 534.08 2,474.00 330.00 591.07 |
| TOTAL | 10,509.02 |
Reconciliation of Funds
| Total Funds Brought Forward on 1 Jan 2023 | 17,463.26 |
|---|---|
| Net Income minus Expenditure |
-1488.84 |
| Total Funds Carried Forward on 31 Dec 2023 | 15,974.42 |
Balance Sheet
As at 31 December 2023 Cash at Bank £15,974.72
Approval
This Annual Report and Statement of Accounts was approved by the Trustees on 11 Feb 2024
Christopher White-Horne Nicola Barnes Elizabeth Curtis