2023-12-31-accounts

Corona Worldwide Registered Charity No. 204802

Board of Trustees Report

Annual Financial Report Year ending 31[st] December 2023

Registered Office: China Works, 100 Black Prince Road, London SE1 7SJ Tel: [phone]

Email: [e-mail] Web: http://www.coronaworldwide.org

1

OBJECTS

• Corona Worldwide is an organisation that is voluntary, non-political, and open to people of all nationalities, whatever their background.

• Corona Worldwide’s main function is as a support organisation. Formerly known as the Women’s Corona Society, it was originally established to promote and advance education in, and knowledge of, the peoples and cultures of the countries of the world, with special reference to the Commonwealth. It aimed to equip women for public life and service overseas, by establishing and maintaining advisory services, in order to assist women when moving to live in a country not their own. Whilst this assistance and advice is not required so much today, the Society continues to offer help, support and fellowship to its members, both in the UK and across the world, whether moving to a new country for the first time or returning home.

• Corona Worldwide is an unincorporated charity governed by a constitution. The latest revision of the Constitution was approved by the AGM in 2018. It is governed by the Trustees of the Society, who also form part of the Executive Committee.

• In our activities, the Trustees are cognisant of the guidance issued by the Charity Commission on public benefit. We provide friendship and understanding to those of different cultures and assist those whose mobility and circumstances may constrain their activities. The Society continues to welcome new members.

2

GOVERNANCE

The Trustees for the period April 2023 – March 2024 were:

• Angela Mizner – President

• Clare Bartram

• Eileen Torbet – Deputy President

• Amanda Kinnison

• Yvette Bavin – Chairman

• Christine MacFadden

• Sally Perkins – Vice Chairman

• Emmie Pollard

• Jennifer Atkinson – Hon Treasurer

Following the AGM in March 2024, the Trustees approving this Report are:

• Jennifer Atkinson

• Yvette Bavin

• Eileen Torbet

• Emmie Pollard

• Sally Perkins

• Sarah Randall

• Trustees are appointed for a two-year term, which may be renewed for a further two years. Effectively, two new Trustees are elected by the AGM each year, having been formally proposed and seconded. The Chairman is appointed from among the Trustees, also for a term of two years, which may be renewed. The President’s term is similar. The Honorary Treasurer is elected every year at the AGM and there is no restriction on her term of office.

The Society is governed by the Trustees of the Society, who serve on the Executive Committee alongside the Co-ordinators of various functions, the Overseas Member (who usually attends by Zoom) and the immediate past President and Chairman.

• Officers and appointed Co-ordinators of the Society all have job descriptions. Procedures for managing the office, protocols for internal management communication and policies for other activities are documented. These assist succession planning and help mitigate key person risk.

• The AGM is held annually in London in March. Members who cannot attend in person are invited to attend remotely using Zoom. Overseas Chairmen in particular are encouraged to attend using this facility. As this may not be feasible due to time zone differences, the AGM proceedings can be recorded in order that the meeting can be viewed later, if required.

3

FINANCIAL REVIEW OF THE YEAR 2023

Corona Worldwide is funded by members’ subscriptions and donations.

• The Society thrives and survives on the goodwill and hard work of its volunteers, both in the UK and Overseas. It is managed from the Headquarters (HQ) in London, staffed by volunteers who handle post, telephone and email communications. There are no paid members of staff, and the volunteers receive no remuneration nor other benefits from the charity.

• In 2023 the Society ended the year with a surplus on the ordinary account of £11,301, which was mainly due to a generous donation of £20,000 from one individual. There was a surplus of £20 on the Memorial account. Receipts from subscriptions were down by £2,919 and donations by other individuals and branches were down by £140 over 2022. Income from HM Revenue and Customs, through the Gift Aid claim, came to £1,190, slightly lower than in 2022.

• In spite of finding a slightly cheaper venue for the AGM and carefully managing miscellaneous expenses in the office, expenditure in 2023 was more (£1807) than in 2022, mainly due to rent increases and the development of the new website.

• A decision was approved at the AGM in March 2024 to raise members’ subscriptions in order to help alleviate any operating deficits in the future.

• HQ fundraising continued through the 100 Club (£860 net) and the International Founder’s Day Coffee Morning (£260). A reinvigorated programme of London Events produced a profit of £329. Money is raised by individual branches to fund their charitable activities, as and when the need arises. This may come from their local subscriptions, raffles, sales, sponsored walks and the like.

• The capital of the Society is held in investment and cash funds with CCLA (£80,274). These investments constitute the reserves of the Society and are held for the purpose of providing an income to run the organisation. Both the memorial funds and the capital reserves are ringfenced for their original purposes according to instructions from the Charity Commission. At the end of 2023, the charity’s net assets stood at £109,283, an increase of £600, plus the £20,000 donation, over 2022.

• The funds that the Society holds fall into three major groups. The General (unrestricted) Funds are held in a current account with a linked deposit account, and a separate Treasurer’s Account for the London Events programme: the vast majority of cash movements in any year are through these accounts. The Memorial (restricted) Funds are in a deposit account.

4

SERVICES TO MEMBERS

• The Society is managed from the Headquarters in London, staffed by volunteers (there are no paid members of staff).

• The London office provides the first point of contact by telephone, post and email for all members and other enquirers. The main means of communication continues to be by email. London Jubilee Branch, which normally meets on the first Thursday of each month, is our main place of contact for members returning from overseas, as well as those newly arriving in the UK who may be interested in joining. The event also gives members the opportunity to meet members of affiliated organisations, who are invited to attend.

• The website is used by enquirers and members. Communication amongst members is maintained by personal contact (email, telephone, post), spearheaded by the various Co-ordinators, and Facebook and Whats App are also used, particularly by overseas branches. The website is regularly updated with News and Society events taking place, for which application forms can be downloaded.

• Links to affiliated, like-minded organisations are maintained by the President and Chairman who attend networking events and share relevant details with Trustees and members as required. Corona Worldwide is a founder member of the Joint Commonwealth Organisations (JCO) and is an Associate of the Royal Commonwealth Society. It has active links with the Federation of Women’s Association in London (FIWAL), the Diplomatic Service Families Association and The Women’s Council (TWC).

• HQ provides advice, procedural policies, sample documentation and general assistance to those members (both in the UK and Overseas) who are interested in setting up a new branch. Similar assistance is given to any branch which considers that it is no longer viable and wishes to close down.

• Contact with branches is maintained by two Co-ordinators on the Executive Committee, one for Overseas branches and one for UK branches, by both electronic and normal mail. Another Trustee endeavours to track members moving countries, in order to continue to offer support, making use of the ‘Moving On’ postcard, which gives members essential contact information and has been made available to branches, advertised on the website and in the twice-yearly newsletter, as well as being circulated to overseas branches.

• All members receive the newsletter, twice a year, which reports on the more recent activities of branches and of the Society as whole, as well as announcing upcoming events. It often includes articles of general interest written by individual members.

5

REPORT ON ACTIVITIES IN 2023

• The new website finally went live at the end of 2023. The branches were involved in the design and content, and feedback has been positive, as members find the website more attractive and interesting. It is now much easier to use and update on a timely basis, also allowing potential new members to make contact with HQ, or their nearest branch, on-line. The website, along with a regular newsletter, reinforces the ethos upon which the Society was founded as it enables all branches to see what other branches are doing to support their local communities.

• Various administrative procedures have been documented to improve succession planning and mitigate key person risk.

• An exercise was carried out in the late summer to try and establish contact with all those Life members, of whom nothing had been heard in the past five years. This review of the membership database and mailing lists was part of a project to establish more pro-active contact with those individual members, who often cannot attend branch or HQ activities due to poor mobility.

• Financial investments were re-evaluated and decisions were made to release funds for ongoing expenses. These will be monitored on an ongoing basis.

• HQ fundraising continued through the 100 Club. Branches, both in the UK and overseas, managed to raise funds through various means to support their local selected charities. This support is not only financial, but volunteers, particularly overseas, are very active in providing services to their local hospitals, schools, old people’s homes, orphanages and the like, assisting their local communities as and when the need arises.

6

ACTION PLAN FOR 2024

• Purchase a new laptop and set-up folders so that all administrative and financial papers can be maintained and filed correctly. Transfer historical records as practical.

• Design and build a new membership database, to better identify individual members and their history and to put them in touch with other individual members and nearby branches. To instigate a regime to encourage those more active members to keep in contact with others less fortunate, through telephone calls, visits and the like.

Continue to review, cull and archive historical documentation of the Society.

Work with Branches:

• To maintain their records and establish ad-hoc contact with members, both of their branch and in their region, who may be isolated at home.

• To encourage growth, increase membership and share skills and knowledge.

• Trustees to attend Branch meetings around the country wherever possible, to keep in touch, reassure and be a presence to support, guide and advise.

• Update the Constitution, to reflect the changing needs of our members and emerging technology.

• Use social media (particularly Facebook and Whats App) to keep in touch with overseas branches that use this regularly and to promote/advertise events to members.

• Ensure ‘best prices and value for money’ are sought when using Society funds for projects and events held for the benefit of the organisation and its members as a whole.

This report has been agreed by the Trustees and is signed on their behalf by:

Yvette Bavin, Chairman

Jen Atkinson, Honorary Treasurer

7

NOTES TO THE ACCOUNTS 2023

1. These accounts are prepared on a receipts and payments basis, with all revenue and expenses shown on a cash basis.

2. Corona Worldwide has three funds. In addition to the General Fund, banked in Barclays Current and Business Reserve Accounts, and the Lloyds TSB Treasurer’s Account, the Memorial Funds, currently banked in the Barclays Business Premium Account, are for the benefit of members. All other cash movements were from the general fund.

3. Investments are shown at their value on 31[st] December 2023. During the year the decision was taken to cash in 479.81 of the 1279.81 Income Units held at CCLA. The proceeds from this, which amounted to £8,923.46 were transferred to the main bank account.

4. Equipment is miscellaneous office furniture at the value of the previous year’s accounts.

5. Goods for sale in stock are shown at cost on a FIFO basis.

6. No remuneration was paid to any Trustee. However, the following payments in reimbursement of expenses were made:

7. *Rent for meeting rooms: £ 172.80

8. *AGM 2023 and deposit for AGM 2024: £2,017.00  Travel expenses: £ 844.21  Postage: £ 109.30  Stationery: £ 147.99  Equipment (subscriptions to McAfee and Zoom): £ 233.87  Audit Fee: £ 18.50  Professional fees: £ 450.00

* The rent for the first meeting room of the year had to be paid by personal credit card; subsequent to this, we were able to obtain a debit card on the current account, and to use this. The payment to the hotel for the Annual General Meetings had to be paid by personal credit card.

8

To the Trustees of Corona Worldwide, I have examlned the accounts of Corona Worldwlde for the year endlng 31* December 2023. The accounts comprise the Ststement ofFinanaal ArtEvltle$ and the Ststementof knets and LlabIlltt￿. In my oplnlon. the flnanclal accounts give a true and lairviewofthe charity's affalrs as at31 December 2023 and oflts surplus for theyear ended 31 December 2023,. and have been prepared In accordance with the appropriate accountlng framework and stsndards. Rlchard Wolfe Retired Bank Officlal 12th March 2024

Corona Worldwide (formerly Women's Corona Society)

Registered Charity Number 204802

Statement of Financial Activities for

the year ended 31st December 2023 (see Note 1)

(Receipts and Payments Account)

GENERAL (UNRESTRICTED) FUNDS

GENERAL (UNRESTRICTED) FUNDS
RECEIPTS Subscriptions: £ Annual 6,478.00 (77.00) Investment Income and Bank Interest Tax received through Gift Aid Donations - individuals 21,198.00 Donations - branches and affiliates 263.00 Annual General Meeting Functions London Functions Other London Events Fundraising: 100 Club 1,800.00 Founder's Day Worldwide Coffee Morning 260.00 Sale of Goods Other . TOTAL RECEIPTS PAYMENTS Travelling Expenses Office Expenses: Audit Charge 19.00 Professional Charges 450.00 Affiliated Societies Subscriptions 260.00 Postage 135.00 Telephone and Internet 1,137.00 Photocopying 0.00 Magazine Costs including mailing 1,081.00 Rent including rates and cleaning 14,362.00 Miscellaneous office expenses 729.00 Purchase of Goods Annual General Meeting current year 1,342.00 Annual General Meeting following year 756.00 Cost of functions: London Functions 0.00 Other 0.00 London Events: Tickets 859.00 Administration 5.00 Refunds 0.00 Fundraising: 100 Club Other TOTAL PAYMENTS SURPLUS/(DEFICIT) RECEIPTS Donations to Memorial Fund 0.00 Interest 20.00 TOTAL RECEIPTS PAYMENTS TOTAL PAYMENTS SURPLUS/(DEFICIT) _less_Subscription Refunds MEMORIAL (RESTRICTED) FUNDS (See Note 2)	2023 £ £ 9,500.00 6,401.00 (180.00) 694.00 1,190.00 1,386.00 21,461.00 215.00 1,117.00 0.00 1,290.00 0.00 0.00 1,193.00 2,010.00 2,060.00 211.00 552.00 0.00 34,668.00 1,013.00 16.00 120.00 260.00 60.00 1,137.00 0.00 1,109.00 12,555.00 18,173.00 1,109.00 279.00 2,098.00 1,632.00 0.00 0.00 317.00 0.00 864.00 0.00 940.00 0.00 23,367.00 11,301.00 2023 £ 0.00 2.00 20.00 0.00 0.00 20.00	2022 £ 9,320.00 740.00 1,264.00 1,601.00 1,130.00 1,290.00 641.00 2,221.00 573.00 0.00 18,780.00
		1,025.00 16,366.00 504.00 1,609.00 1,632.00 317.00 1,035.00 34.00 22,522.00
		(3,742.00) 2022 £ 2.00 0.00 2.00

RECEIPTS

----- Start of picture text -----
RECEIPTS 2023
SUBSCRIPTIONS 6401
INVESTMENTS 694
GIFT AID 1190
DONATIONS 21261
FUNCTIONS 0
LONDON EVENTS 1193
FUNDRAISING 2060
SALES 552
2%
TRAVEL EXPENSES 1013
OFFICE COSTS 4% 18173 19%
6%
MAGAZINE COSTS 1081
FUNCTION COST 0
LONDON EVENTS 864
FUNDRAISING 940 2%
PURCHASE OF GOODS 279
4%
64%
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SUBSCRIPTIONS INVESTMENTS GIFT AID DONATIONS FUNCTIONS LONDON EVENTS FUNDRAISING SALES

PAYMENTS 2023

----- Start of picture text -----
1%
5% 4%
4% 5%
81%
----- End of picture text -----

TRAVEL EXPENSES OFFICE COSTS MAGAZINE COSTS FUNCTION COST LONDON EVENTS FUNDRAISING PURCHASE OF GOODS

To the Trustees of Corona Worldwide. I have examined the accounts of Corona Worldwide for the year ending 31# December 2023. The accounts comprise the Statement of Financial ActAvities and the Statement of iissets and Liabilities. In my opinion. the financial accounts give a true and fair view of the charity's affairs as at 31 December 2023 and of its surplus for theyear ended 31 December 2023,. and have been prepared in accordance with the approprRate accounting framework and standards. RÉchard Wolfe Retired Bank Official 12th March 2024