## **TRUSTEE’S ANNUAL REPORT AND FINANCIAL REVIEW** FINANCIAL YEAR ENDING 31[ST] DECEMBER 2025 ## **TRUSTEES** Ms Blanca Zamora Leria Mrs Maria Mercedes Gomez Miranda Mr Daniele Magazzeni 1 |1.|Charity Details|3| |---|---|---| |2.|Governance|4| |3.|Charity Purpose and Goals|5| |4.|Activities, Achievements and Performance|6| |5.|Financial Review|8| |6.|Future Plans|9| |7.|Appendix|10| 2 ## **1. Charity Details** Below is a summary of the charity’s key details: **Name:** John Henry Newman Cultural Society **Registered charity number:** 1210381 **Date registered with the charity commission:** 8[th] October 2024 **HMRC reference number:** ZD37158 **Postal Address:** 31 Spencer Hill Road Wimbledon SW19 4EL **Email address:** jhnewmanculturalsociety@gmail.com info@jhnewmanculturalsociety.com **Website:** www.jhnewmanculturalsociety.org.uk **Bank details:** Natwest Community Banking Centre PO Box 575 Rotherham S63 3FJ 3 ## **2. Governance** ## **2.1 Type of Governing Document** The Charity’s Constitution is based on the Charity Commission’s model governing document for Charitable Incorporated Organisation with voting members other than its charity trustees (Association model) ## **2.2 Trustees** As of 31st December 2025, Ms Blanca Zamora Leria, Mrs Maria Mercedes Gomez Miranda and Mr Daniele Magazzeni are the trustees of the charity. The trustees have not changed during the period covered by this report. All Trustees act in a voluntary capacity and receive no remuneration or other material benefits from their services to the charity. In addition to the three trustees, the charity has six other voting members. On 24th January 2026, during the Charity Annual General Meeting (“AGM”), Mr Daniele Magazzeni stepped down as a trustee and Ms Irene Burke was appointed as trustee by agreement of all members. ## **2.3 Methods for Appointing Trustees** As per article 13 of the Charity constitution, the methods for appointing trustees are: - There must be at least three charity trustees. There is no maximum number of charity trustees that may be appointed to the CIO. - At every annual general meeting of the members of the CIO, one third of the charity trustees shall retire from office. The charity trustees to retire by rotation shall be those who have been longest in office since their last appointment or reappointment. - If any trustees were last appointed or reappointed on the same day those to retire shall (unless they otherwise agree among themselves) be determined by lot. The vacancies so arising may be filled by the decision of the members at the annual general meeting. - The members or the charity trustees may at any time decide to appoint a new charity trustee, whether in place of a charity trustee who has retired or been removed or as an additional charity trustee. - In appointing Trustees due consideration is given to ensuring that the Trustees have, between them, the skills and experience necessary to manage the charity effectively and in accordance with charity law. 4 ## **3. Charity Purpose and Goals** The Charity meets on a regular basis to discuss current affairs of interest to its members around the topics of culture, art, history, and science. The Charity organizes public events to share content, create spaces for dialogue, and present different perspectives on these topics. Events often include external speakers with knowledge that can enrich our discussions. The Charity organizes other activities such as exhibitions and guided tours on the topics of interest as a way to engage the general public. The events are public and open to anyone who is interested in attending exhibitions / discussions on the above topics. The target audience is mainly adults; if any children attend, they will be accompanied by their parents. Attendees will have the opportunity to participate in a discussion and ask questions on the theme of a particular event. 5 ## **4. Activities, Achievements and Performance** ## **4.1 Public Events** 4.1.a: National Portrait Gallery: A journey through faces The charity organised a tour of the National Portrait Gallery led by Blue Badge guide Maurizio Patti. The purpose of the visit was to get to know the personalities that shaped and continue to shape our world across all fields of human endeavour, bringing history to life and helping us understand our lives today. Around 15 people participated in the tour. The success of the visit is well summarized in this quote by Thomas Carlyle: “Often I have found a portrait superior in real instruction to half a dozen written biographies…or rather …I have found that the portrait was as a small lighted candle, by which the biographies could for the first time be read, and some human interpretation be made of them” (Thomas Carlyle, letter to David Laing, 2 May 1854). The charity collected donations to fund our activities with a total of £345 collected from this event. 4.1.b: Cicely Saunders Exhibition: YOU MATTER: “Because you are you to the last moment of your life’’ As part of a wider cultural event, Oxford Convergence 2025, the Charity sponsored an exhibition on Dame Cicely Saunders a pioneer of palliative care in the UK. The title of this edition of the Oxford Convergence was “True Companionship: Solitude and Belonging” which links well to Cicely’s core belief: _you matter because you are you to the last moment of your life_ , later chosen as the title for the exhibition. This exhibition explored the life and legacy of Dame Cicely Saunders, the pioneering English doctor who founded modern palliative care and the first hospice. The exhibition explored this groundbreaking work emphasising compassionate care for those with life-limiting illnesses and their families. The purpose of the exhibition was to show the life of an extraordinary woman who looked at a person in their entirety. It was also a pertinent opportunity of reflection at a moment where the Assisted Dying Bill is being discussed in the UK Parliament. Between November 2024 and March 2025, members of the charity were involved in the preparation of the content and panels, setting up the onsite exhibition and conducting tours to groups of visitors. The exhibition was exhibited for three days over the weekend that the Oxford Convergence took place. The exhibition was also exhibited at Holy Cross RC church in Eastleigh during the parish’s Cultural Fridays initiative. Some members of the charity presented the exhibition content to a group of 50 parishioners, and the panels were left in the parish hall for visitors to see at their leisure. In July, the exhibition was also exhibited at St Christopher's Hospice, the hospice founded by Cicely Saunders. In commemoration of the 20[th] anniversary of Cicely’s death, the hospice organised a series of talks and showed the exhibition for a few weeks. Further opportunities to take this exhibition to other locations are being explored. 6 ## 4.1.c: Shoreditch Street Art Tour The charity organised a guided tour of various pieces of street art in Shoreditch, led by Blue Badge guide Maurizio Patti. This was an event open to the public and about 15 people attended. During the tour, the group were shown the ins and outs of Shoreditch learning about the origin of the art and how it became a free and spontaneous mode of expression open to anyone. The tour featured an interactive element with participants invited to express themselves on the walls of the neighbourhood. The tour was an opportunity for reflection, summarised in the following quote from an attendee: “ _Street Art is in constant evolution; a street will change from one day to the other. You would expect a work of art to be preserved, to stay forever. However, in Street Art a creation can be erased from one day to the next or altered by anyone. It gave me the idea that its value lies not in the fact that it stays to be contemplated but in the infinite nature of the instant in which it expresses itself. To be noted that the best creations have been there for long, they are respected and unaltered. In this changing scenario, there is something in us which wishes for beauty to stay._ ” The charity collected donations to fund our activities with a total of £230 collected from this event. ## 4.1.d: Siena The Rise of Painting, 1300 – 1350 Over two evenings the Charity organised visits to the National Gallery for the exhibition: “Siena: The Rise of Painting, 1300-13:50”. A contextual introduction to the exhibition was provided and the group then able to view the content at their leisure. The event was open to the public and about 15 people attended on each occasion. The exhibition was a unique occasion to step into Siena at the beginning of the 14[th] century in central Italy at a golden moment for art. It showed works of artists like Duccio, Simone Martini and the brothers Pietro and Ambrogio Lorenzetti, who were forging a new way of painting. After centuries of separation, the exhibition gathered scenes that once formed part of Duccio’s monumental 'Maestà' altarpiece. Panels from Simone Martini’s glittering Orsini polyptych come together for the first time in living memory. ## **4.2 Internal Activities** The Charity had two key objectives for the year: one was to create a new website, the second was to open a bank account. We were successful in achieving both objectives. A website is a key method of communication. Through this channel we are able to explain who we are, advertise our events and collect donations. The address of the new website is: www.jhnewmanculturalsociety.org.uk Work on the website is ongoing and there are plans to develop this further in the future. In February 2025 we successfully opened an account with Natwest. The three trustees have access to the account. This was a key step in formalising the existence of the charity as it allows donations to be made directly to the charity. The bank account details have been made available on the website so the charity can receive donations in this way. The trustees are also exploring options to make donations more accessible in the future. 7 ## **5. Financial Review** The present report covers the period between the 8[th] October 2024 (when the charity was registered) until 31[st] December 2025. This is the first time the charity has been required to report its accounts. In the first year since becoming a registered charity the objective of the period has been to set solid financial foundations. Therefore, the charity has focused on fundraising through private, institutional and public donations linked to the events described in section 4.1 A summary of the charity’s income and expenditure for the reporting period is outlined below (amounts are in GBP): |(amounts are in GBP):|||| |---|---|---|---| |**Description **|**Income**|**Expenditure**|**Balance**| |Donations|5,107||| |Expenditure||30|| |Balance|||5,077| 8 ## **6. Future Plans** During the reporting period the charity has also focussed on planning for future events in 2026 and beyond. Some suggested future events are outlined below: - A workshop in the National Gallery for Children exploring how to look at a painting. This event has been scheduled for the 17[th] January 2026 - A series of events to commemorate John Henry Newman being named doctor of the Catholic church. Some ideas include: - The Dream of Gerontius: an evening of reading and listening to the poem by John Henry Newman set to music by Edward Elgar. The event has been scheduled for the 31[st] January 2026 - Newman Book Club: meeting on a regular basis to read a book by John Henry Newman as a group - Visit to Littlemore: a key location for the conversion of John Henry Newman - An event about St Francis at the National Gallery to commemorate the 800[th] anniversary of his death - A series of film club sessions during the year on films of interest relevant to cultural topics and / or current affairs - Norman architecture: A presentation on this topic exploring key themes and styles of Norman churches in the UK followed by a visit to one of these places. The above list of events is not exhaustive and may vary due to unforeseen circumstances. The charity may also organise other events in the future based on proposals received and responses to current affairs. Approved by the Board of Trustees on January 24, 2026 and signed on its behalf by Blanca Zamora, Chair. 9 ## **7. Appendix** ## **7.1 Leaflets for events** These are the leaflets used to advertise events the charity organised during the reporting period: A) National Portrait Gallery: A Journey through faces B) Shoreditch Street Art - C) Siena: The Rise of Painting, 1300 – 1350 10 ## **7.2 Photos of Events** Below are a series of photographs of events organised by the charity during the reporting period. 11