Friends of Calcutta
Cathedral Relief Service
Annual Report for the Financial Year 1[st] April 2020 to 30[th] March 2021
Introduction
The Friends of the Calcutta Cathedral Relief Service is a registered charity (number 266302). It has no offices.
During the financial year, the trustees were: The Right Reverend Michael Harrison (Chairman) Mr Clive Brown (General Secretary) The Reverend David Walker (Treasurer) The Reverend Anita Matthews Dr Jenny Lunn Ms Elizabeth Stanley-Wainwright Dr Alison Brown Mr John Forster
Dr Jenny Lunn announced her intention to step down from her position as trustee and director of communications in the forthcoming year.
Purpose and Main Activities of the Charity
The purpose of the Charity is to further the work undertaken by the Calcutta Cathedral Relief Service (CRS) among the destitute and needy in the slums of Kolkata, and a number of villages in West Bengal. The main activities of the Charity are to raise funds for CRS, to publicise the work of CRS, and to support CRS with advice and expertise where possible.
Structure, Governance and Management
The governing document of the Charity is a Constitution which was last amended on the 28[th] August 2019. A copy of the Constitution can be found on the UK Friends section of the CRS website at http://www.cathedralreliefservice.net/supporters/ukfriends
As a small charity, there has hitherto been no need for a formal structure, although certain trustees do take on specific roles. The trustees meet twice a year to transact the business of the Charity. There is also frequent contact
between trustees by e mail. Previously, there were regular visits by trustees to Kolkata which enabled due diligence to be carried out on how funds sent to CRS by the Charity were spent, but these visits have not been possible since the advent of Covid 19. It is, however, intended that they will be resumed when circumstances permit. There is, however, regular contact with CRS by e mail and video calls.
Financial Policies and Financial Review
The trustees have adopted a policy to maintain a minimum balance of £1000 on the General Fund at any one time to meet expenses.
During the financial year under review, the Charity has not held any funds as custodian trustee for others. On occasion, however, the Charity does receive funds from other entities for onward transmission to CRS provided the funds are intended to further the work of CRS. This is because it is more expeditious for funds intended for CRS to be transmitted together rather than separately.
CRS requires a certificate under the Indian Foreign Contribution Regulation Act (FCRA) in order to receive funds from outside India. The usual procedure is for CRS to send the Charity requisitions for the funds it needs, detailing the specific purposes for which they are required. Transfers totalling £49,988 were made against requisitions received during the financial year, of which £25,000 was from general funds, and £24,988 restricted funds. The trustees were informed by CRS that the FCRA rules have been tightened by the Indian Government with effect from March 2021, and in future CRS, in common with other Indian NGO’s, will have to maintain an account at the State Bank of India in Delhi, and all foreign payments will have to be made through that account.
The bequest from the estate of the late Patricia Payne remains invested through Rathbones Investment Management on a discretionary basis. This produced investment income of £3,319 during the financial year. The book value of the investment at the end of the financial year was £142,788 which represented cost, and the actual market value was 148,048.
The trustees have an investment policy which is kept under review.
Achievement and Performance
The principal event of the year was the response to the Covid 19 emergency, and then subsequently to the devastating Cyclone Amphan which devastated Kolkata and surrounding areas. An appeal was launched by the Charity which raised £17,000 in just four months. This enabled emergency relief work to be carried out by CRS in Kolkata, by bringing essential supplies to 4000 families, and thereafter to help people with materials to reconstruct their homes which had been destroyed.
Thereafter came the challenge of keeping CRS projects going, in particular primary school teaching and the training of women. Funds were provided to purchase smart phones so that training and teaching could be done online, and a system was set up with the aid of teachers from Derby schools.
Total income was nearly the same as the previous year, but the year under review saw an overall increase in donations from both individuals and from other charities, churches and schools. This was mainly the result of the special Covid / Amphan appeal referred to above.
Newsletters were sent out in April and November 2020, and a number of newssheets were produced in relation to the appeal for funds. These were mainly distributed to supporters by e mail. The news was dominated by the emergency, but it was also possible to report on various positive matters such as the inauguration of the new centre at Mahamaya, the visit to Kolkata and CRS by the Archbishop of Canterbury, and the advances made by Nari Dana, including the recruitment, with the assistance of the Friends, of a production manager with good experience in running social enterprises
A visit to Kolkata by Derby schoolteachers, which had been planned for January 2021, had to be cancelled.
The trustees continue to have due regard for their duty to comply with guidance of the Charity Commission on public benefit in the exercise of their powers or duties.
Friends of Calcutta Cathedral Relief Service
Charity Number 266302
Accounts for the year ended 31 March 2021
Income and Expenditure Account
| Income and Expenditure Account | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2021 | Total | 2020 | |||||
| Income | General | Restricted | Endow- | Funds | Total | ||
| Notes | Funds | Funds | ment | Funds | |||
| (Note 1) | |||||||
| £ | £ | £ | £ | £ | |||
| Individual Donations | 11,724 | 7,195 | 0 | 18,919 | 16,176 | ||
| Supporting Churches, Charities, Schools | 2 | 2,757 | 13,899 | 0 | 16,656 | 12,203 | |
| Donations through Just Giving | 3 | 2,665 | 3,370 | 0 | 6,035 | ||
| Other Restricted Fund Income | 0 | 860 | 0 | 860 | 13,673 | ||
| Investment Income | 3,319 | 0 | 0 | 3,319 | 3,735 | ||
| Bank Interest | 2 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 12 | ||
| Tax Recovered | 2,488 | 1,720 | 0 | 4,208 | 4,696 | ||
| TOTALS | 22,955 | 27,044 | 0 | 49,999 | 50,495 | ||
| Expenditure | |||||||
| Transfer of Funds to CRS | 25,000 | 24,988 | 0 | 49,988 | 67,166 | ||
| Communications and Publicity | 4 | 458 | 0 | 0 | 458 | 243 | |
| Insurance | 206 | 0 | 0 | 206 | 206 | ||
| Bank Charges | 5 | 171 | 0 | 0 | 171 | 150 | |
| TOTALS | 25,835 | 24,988 | 0 | 50,823 | 67,765 | ||
| Net Surplus/(deficit) for the year | -2,880 | 2,056 | 0 | -824 | -17,270 | ||
| Adjusted Value of Rathbones Portfolio | 6 | 0 | 0 | 10,494 | 10,494 | -10,494 | |
| Accumulated reserves brought forward | 8,096 | 233 | 132,294 | 140,623 | 168,387 | ||
| Accumulated reserves carried forward | 5,216 | **2,289 ** | 142,788 | 150,293 | 140,623 |
Friends of Calcutta Cathedral Relief Service
Charity Number 266302
Accounts for the year ended 31 March 2021
| Balance Sheet | Notes | 2021 | 2020 |
|---|---|---|---|
| £ | £ | ||
| CAF Cash Account | 2,522 | 2,392 | |
| CAF Gold Account | 1,966 | 4,064 | |
| Barclays Community Account | 465 | 356 | |
| Barclays Premium Account | 2,552 | 1,517 | |
| Rathbones Investment Management Portfolio (at c | 6 | 142,788 | 132,294 |
| TOTALS | 150,293 | 140,623 |
The accounts were approved by the Trustees on 29th September 2021
(sgd) M Harrison CHAIRMAN
(sgd) D Walker TREASURER
Page 3
Friends of Calcutta Cathedral Relief Service Charity Number 266302 Accounts for the year ended 31 March 2021
Notes to the Accounts
1 Restricted Funds
| Restricted Funds | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Restricted Funds for CRS Projects | B/F | Received | Paid to CRS | Balance |
| Arunima Hospice | 117 | 291 | -341 | 67 |
| Appeal: Covid 19, Cyclone Amphan, Smart phones | 0 | 17,307 | -17,520 | -213 |
| Nari Dana | 0 | 6,301 | -6,151 | 150 |
| Hastings School | 0 | 79 | 0 | 79 |
| Pally Mangal Building | 0 | 600 | 0 | 600 |
| Totals | 117 | 24,578 | -24,012 | 683 |
| Other Restricted Funds | ||||
| Staff Medical Expenses | 116 | 1,606 | -116 | 1,606 |
| University Students' Expenses | 0 | 860 | -860 | 0 |
| Total Restricted Funds | 233 | 27,044 | -24,988 | 2,289 |
2 List of Supporting Churches, Charities, Schools
Ashgate School St Weburgh's Church St John'sw C of E School Tadworth & Walton Overseas Trust St Laurence School Melbourn PCC Baslow St Anne's C of E Primary School Little St Mary's Church, Cambridge Winchmore Hill URC St Peter's. Derby St John's Church, Walton Belper PCC Palmers Green URC
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3 The Charity joined the Just Giving platform for donations during the financial year, and as it has become a successful means of fund-raising, it is now shown separately in the accounts
-
4 The amount of £243 under Communications and Publicity represents the expenses of maintaining the website,and printing and posting newsletters
-
5 Bank Charges are comprised of a monthly account fee charged by CAF Bank, and the cost of transfers of funds to CRS in India.
6 Rathbones Investment Management Portfolio
The value of the portfolio is taken as the lower of cost or the value at the year end The portfolio value was £132,294 at the 31st March 2020, and as this was lower than the original cost of £142,788, an adjustment was made in the 2019/20 accounts to reflect that fact. The value of the portfolio on the 31st March 2021 was £148,048 and so the value in the accounts has been returned to the original cost.
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