## _Mere and District Day Centre_ _(The Rosemary Goddard Centre)_ **__________________________________________________________________________________** ## **Mere and District Day Centre Annual Report for the year ending 31[st] March 2025** ## **Introduction** Mere and District Day Centre is a registered charity number 1207117. Our registered address is Rosemary Cottage, Dark Lane, Mere, Warminster, BA12 6DT. ## **Trustees during the period** Jane Mason (Chair) Andrew Thomas Hermione Ward Frank Marshall Peter Gane Julia Cole (appointed 15/5/2024) ## **Structure** Mere and District Day Centre was registered as a Charitable Incorporated Organisation on 20[th] February 2024 and is governed by an Association Model Constitution. It was formed to replace the former unincorporated association structure using the same name from 1[st] April 2024. It is managed by the trustee board. New trustees are appointed by the board and undergo DBS checks. Training is provided where appropriate in accordance with the roles undertaken. ## **Objectives** To provide public benefit by promoting the health and wellbeing of older people in and around Mere, who are in danger of isolation and loneliness, in particular but not exclusively, by providing a safe place to meet, with a nutritious lunch and stimulating activities. ## **Chair’s Report** Mere and District Day Centre has successfully navigated through 37 years of change, and surmounted multiple hurdles and crises through and since Covid. In the eighteen months since our reconstitution as a Charitable Incorporated Organisation we have done amazingly well financially, and in all ways relating to regulatory compliance, systems and processes, policy development, training and development etc. I have no hesitation in saying we are a well-founded, professionally run organisation, of which the community of Mere and District can be proud. This is recognised in the support we have gained from national funding bodies, as well as local businesses and organisations. Page **1** of **3** However, the current socio-economic climate is unlike anything we have faced before. In common with charities across the nation, we are facing difficulties which threaten our very existence. In general, charities are being asked to do more and more with less resources, while the demand for services escalates. This is reflected in our own experience at MDC, so I want to use this year’s report to consider the specific risks we currently face. 1. **Funding** : our fundraising thus far has been amazingly successful, as the Treasurer’s Report highlights. Of course, our success cannot be guaranteed into 2026/27 and beyond, with all funders experiencing hugely increased demands. On-going fundraising is, therefore, a permanent priority, which necessitates having a constant eye to potential sources, and the ability to manage grant applications electronically. 2. **Premises** : We continue to rent our premises from Wiltshire Council, but the size and scope of the building is restrictive. With the increasing frailty of our guests, it has become necessary to reduce numbers to 14 at a session so as to accommodate a growing number of mobility aids. As there are no suitable alternative venues in the locality, we continue to ensure that we offer a safe and valued service, albeit to fewer beneficiaries. 3. **Guests** : with an ageing local population, the need for a regular opportunity to get out of the house and enjoy company - plus providing respite for carers - is selfevident; referrals have increased, and we currently have a waiting list. We know from research that many older people would prefer a more flexible, drop-in type of facility, but this would not be feasible in these premises and would require a much larger cohort of volunteers. 4. **Human Resources:** Our thanks and appreciation go to all our volunteers without whom this centre could not exist, and of course, to our Centre Manager and her deputy who give unnumbered hours over and beyond their paid time. The volunteer rotas have a few gaps, so we are currently recruiting in local media for some new people. 5. **Lunch:** We have had successive difficulty in maintaining a consistent lunch supply, since we lost the Fives Court (Care Home) provision in 2020. The Walnut Tree proved a highly successful alternative until it changed hands, and the new landlord was unable to meet our needs. I am delighted to report that the Mere School has stepped into the breach, with a system which is working well. We are very appreciative of the enthusiastic support from Catriona Williamson, the school Head. To cover school holidays, the management team has planned a regime involving visits out (such as to The Coppleridge or Orchard Park), or soup and sandwich lunches bought in. However, this increases the load on volunteers and a more suitable alternative needs to be found in the long term. 6. **Trustees** : I have left our most urgent need to the last because it represents our greatest vulnerability and requires full consideration by the meeting. Trustee succession planning is proving a problem for all volunteer organisations nationally, and we are no exception. We will be losing two key members of our committee this summer. Our current treasurer, Andrew Thomas, will soon be Page **2** of **3** relocating, and another long-standing trustee, Hermione Ward, is retiring. Both will be hugely missed. Peter Gane has kindly agreed to stand in as a temporary Treasurer, but we urgently need to recruit a permanent Treasurer, and further new blood onto the Management Committee. In summary, Mere and District Day Centre is a viable and much-loved organisation which could founder if we are unable to recruit a Treasurer and another trustee. We have a major publicity drive planned, using social media and local journals as well as wider on-line platforms. I would ask you all to think through your own social networks and publicise this need, as we work together for solutions that will ensure that MDC continues into a bright and secure future. ## **Financial review** Key points of financial period **.** - Closing funds of the former unincorporated association transferred to new CIO **£22,505** - Total operating income **£ 26,917** . Total expenditure **£26,959** giving a deficit of **£42** for the year - The total funds were **zero** at the start of the year and were **£22,462** at the end of the year - Donations received were **£17,400** from 8 donors - ASDA product donations total **£300** ## **Reserves policy** In view of the heavy reliance on grants and donations to meet operating costs, the aim of the trustees is to maintain reserves at a level as close as possible to one year’s costs. The trustees have agreed that a designated minimum reserve of £7,200 is necessary to cover potential closure costs if fundraising fails to meet targets. ## **Accounts** A more detailed breakdown of income and expenditure for the year is available in the form CC16a, Receipts and payments accounts in the following pages. Page **3** of **3** IHARITY COMMISSION FOR ENGLAND AND WALES 12D7117 Recei tsand ments accounts CC16a 01- -24 31-Mar-25 Section A Receipts and payments Unresthct¢d R¢strictsd nds Endowment fund• T¢rtal funds L••t yur A1 RK•l Tran51er Ir¢Mm Gr4nti don￿* tl.744 17ACII 761 17.4QO 193 39D ARJ 4•A22 Total r•c*ts Pa Stthcoiti 16NZ 2N32 902 Vc4uniè*rtr*n Pft**o*on 200 429 167 InDLrnryCe Sub tot•1 742 x,•eo 712 N•tofrnCelp￿(pa￿ts) AS Transfers tjets￿n fund8 A6 Cash funds last year Cash funds thls y•ar •nd 22,462 ££££ 22,462 CCXX R1 aLt(xmts Issi 1W912025 Section B Statement of assets and liabilities at the end of the period UnrÈstricted frJn¢ts r•#£ Restricted nds Endowrnent funds Cat&gorle8 Details 81 C••h fvnd• 2fM7 Total c•sh funds EndcMm•rt lund$ to n••rn•t¢ Dgtsi15 82 Oth•r mon•tary a•••l• Curmrrt v•lu• t)•talls p￿￿10￿*1Bk Deialls B4 A•••ts r•t•ln•d forth• C￿rIty,* own u Pund lo*thkh Detai15 B5 Ll*blllll Date of roval e4L Gor¥A CHARITY COMMISSION FOR ENGLAND AND WALES Independent examiner's report on the accounts Section A Independent Examiner's Report Report to the tnth member5 of DI57RI C7 9 On accounts for the year ended g i M4 tf£ll )o?S Charity no (tf any) 1?07111 Sot out on pays 10 paw nw)ber5 af addilty)n81 $118¥bi I rerKJrt to tr￿leeS on my examinat￿ of the accounts of the above tharity (Ih8 Tn￿) for the year ended gi 1031)ts?S Responslbllttles and As the charity tnjstees of the Trust. sffju are responsible for the preparation basls of re[￿ of the a(￿￿ts in aC(￿rda￿e with the requwnents of the Charities Act 2011 W. under section 145 of the 2011 Act and in ca￿.ng out my examlnation. I have folk)￿ell the appkxble Dire(Xions gi￿ by the Charfty Commission under 145(51{b) of the AGt. Independent examlnerfs statement come to my attentlon (other than that dlscknsed below.) in connection with the 8xamlnation giv8s me Cause to believe that in. any matarial respert accountiThJ re