## **ALABARÉ CHRISTIAN COMMUNITY TRUSTEES' REPORT FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31 DECEMBER 2023** 

## **Achievements and performance during the year 2023** 

We achieved our aims by partnership and working with others. The Bible study group have been meeting in St.Osmund’s Church Rooms and we are grateful for their hospitality. 

• Spiritual support for our members was provided through regular weekly meetings of instruction and liturgy and these have been held every Tuesday at the Headquarters of Alabaré Christian Care and Support. 

•  Pastoral  Care  was  provided  for  our  members  and  others  through  organised retreats, sharing groups, and prayer and ministry meetings. 

• In March 1991 we established a separate charitable company, Alabaré Christian Care Centres through which we provide care and support to the vulnerable and marginalised and we continue to promote and support their work. We have the right to appoint four of its directors. Our community gatherings now take place in the offices of this charity and again we express our gratitude for their hospitality. 

• We are members of ENC (European Network of Communities) and the Leader is a member of its Council. 

## **Meeting the needs of vulnerable people in our community** 

We have established a fund to support people in poverty who are trying to make a step change in their life. These include travel expenses to get to and from work or training, clothes for job interviews, driving license and ID cards. Meeting the Needs of Vulnerable People in our Community. 

## **Financial review** 

The financial period under review is the 12 months from 1st January 2023 to 31st December 2023. During this period total income raised was £53,679; total costs were £49,160 and the surplus for the period £4,519. 

The financial statements provide more details which are summarised below. The principal funding sources are set out in the table below: 

|Income Source|2023<br>£|
|---|---|
|Grants and donations|14,758|
|Members Gift Aid|4,941|
|500 Association Subscriptions|648|
|**Total Donations and legacies**|53,643|



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|Interest Received|36|
|---|---|
|**Total Income**|53,679|



The main components of our charitable expenditure were: 

|Expenditure Items|2023<br>£|
|---|---|
||7,419|
|**Total Staff Costs**|24,967|
|General administration of the Community|11,178|
|Depreciation|423|
|Governance costs|4,973|
|ACC Welfare|200|
|**Total Expenditure**|49,160|



The charity holds a substantial reserve over and above that required to cover the cost of Governance as a result of the sale of our property. The Community and Trustees have decided to purchase a property to be used by our sister charity Alabaré Christian Care and Support for their clients on a beneficial rent. We are currently working with them to find a suitable property. 

The trustees have considered the level of reserves required that will allow the charity to continue operating and providing the capacity to explore new sources of funding should any of its funding streams be withdrawn or come to an end with no immediate replacement and more importantly to enable the charity to develop new services for the future. 

The trustees have assessed the major risks to which the charity is exposed, and are satisfied that systems are in place to mitigate exposure to the major risks 

The trustees have overall responsibility for ensuring that the Charity has appropriate systems of control, financial or otherwise. They are responsible for ensuring that: 

- The charity is operating efficiently and effectively. 

- Its assets are safeguarded against unauthorised use or disposition. 

• Proper records are maintained and financial information used within the Charity or for publication is reliable. 

- The charity complies with relevant laws and regulations. 

The systems of internal control are designed to provide reasonable, but not absolute, assurance against material misstatement or loss. They include: 

• Regular consideration by the Community Council of financial results and approval of all developments. 

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- Consideration by the trustees at each of their meetings the financial results, variants from expectations and non-financial performance indicators. 

- Delegation of authority and segregation of duties. 

- Identification and management of risks. 

The charity is small and the main risk to which it was exposed was having insufficient funds to cover the running of its Retreat Centre and Christian Guest House. There is no longer any such risk and the Community will decide in due course how to use its reserve. 

## **Structure, governance and management** 

The charity is governed by a charitable trust deed and was set up on 29th March 1985 and the Deed was last amended on 18th June 1993. All trustee appointments are approved by the full body of trustees. The trustees have for some years been composed of two members of the Community and three trustees from churches in the local community in which the Community operates. The committee of trustees meets at least twice a year and is served by a members council. The charity   is led by the leader of the Community. The trustees who served during the year and up to the date of signature of the financial statements were: 

Revd M Godwin 

Mr H J Collins 

Colonel C J A Lyne-Pirkis (Chair) 

Revd John Proctor OBE (Joined 5 September 2022) 

Mrs Gay Edwards (Joined 7 December 2023) 

The key management comprise the Trustees. None of the trustees received any remuneration or reimbursement of expenses. 

The company's current policy concerning the payment of trade creditors is to follow the CBI's Prompt Payers Code (copies are available from the CBI, Centre Point, 103 New Oxford Street, London WC1A 1DU). The company's current policy concerning the payment of trade creditors is to: 

• Settle the terms of payment with suppliers when agreeing the terms of each transaction. 

• Ensure that suppliers are made aware of the terms of payment by inclusion of the relevant terms in contracts. 

• Pay in accordance with the company's contractual and other legal obligations. Trade  creditors  of  the  company  at  the  year  end  were  equivalent  to  18  days’ purchases, based 

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on the average daily amount invoiced by suppliers during the year. The trustees' report was approved by the Board of Trustees. 

Colonel C J A Lyne-Pirkis (Chair of Trustees) 

Dated: 8[th] July 2024 

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