## **British Friends of Quaker Council for European Affairs Registered charity 293776**
Registered Address: C/O Finance and Property, Religious Society of Friends, Friends House, Euston Road, London NW1 2BJ
## **ANNUAL REPORT FOR THE YEAR 2020**
The examination of our accounts was completed in April 2021. The world was dominated by the effects of the Covid 19 Pandemic, with very significant contractions in most major economies. Against this backdrop, we have endeavoured to maintain the support of British Friends for QCEA, an organisation which has become more important than ever after Brexit in allowing the voices of British Friends to be heard in Europe. The long-term work on peace and human rights remains our focus.
## **Financial Summary**
We are pleased to be able to report that we were able to make a grant to QCEA of £63,000 in 2020
**----- Start of picture text -----**
2020 2019 2018 2017 2016
Sterling 63,000 83,000 88,000 59,250 62,500
Euros 70,280 95,590 96,681 66,876 73,071
**----- End of picture text -----**
This was achieved whilst keeping our expenses to £60 Bank Charges (£65 in 2019). All members of the committee are volunteers.
We are very grateful to individual Friends, whose contributions increased in response to the crisis, as inevitably contributions from Quaker Meetings were lower due to the closure of many Meeting houses for most of the year.
Our General Fund reserve at the end of the year was £5,707. Our end of year reserve has been minimal since the sterling devaluation of 2016/7, so each year we have to raise as much as possible to enable QCEA’s valuable work to continue.
## **Purpose, Objectives and Activities**
British Friends of QCEA is a Quaker charity whose main purpose is to promote Quaker values at the European level. These values are based on Quaker testimonies to peace, integrity, simplicity, equality and good stewardship of the planet, which we commend to everyone. This purpose is primarily achieved by supporting the work of QCEA, an international non-profit organisation based in Brussels, and by promoting its work within Britain Yearly Meeting.
British Friends of QCEA participates in the governance of QCEA by appointing a member of its Council, as do each of the Quaker Yearly Meetings in Europe. QCEA relies for funding from year to year entirely on the Yearly Meetings, Quaker Meetings, individual Friends and Quaker and other trusts throughout Europe. British Friends of QCEA supports QCEA by channelling funds from Friends and meetings in Britain to QCEA and by
1
promoting its work so that British Friends and other interested people are aware of the important work of speaking truth to power at the European level.
British Friends of QCEA also transmits Sterling funds (£24,958 in 2020, £69,208 in 2019 when there were a larger number of one-off grants received) collected on behalf of QCEA such as grants directly awarded to QCEA for specific purposes following successful grant applications and membership subscriptions and pays any Sterling expenses incurred by QCEA. In this way, exchange costs are minimised. In addition, British Friends of QCEA administers funds for bursaries to enable participation in QCEA study tours / conferences by those who live outside the UK and could not otherwise afford to participate. These are the Ramallah and DW Saunders restricted funds (the Brummana fund having been fully used up).
## **Members of British Friends of QCEA Charity**
At the time this report was approved the members of British Friends of Quaker Council for European Affairs (trustees of the charity) are: Derek McLean Martin Hughes Simon Bond John Crosfield Rebecca GumbrellSue Myers Marcie Winstanley McCormick Elspeth Wollen Andrew Jameson Sarah Dodgson Martin Ford
John Crosfield is the clerk and Martin Ford is the treasurer.
The Trustees have considered the Charity Commission’s guidance on public benefit. British Friends of QCEA supports work that benefits the public in Europe’s sphere of influence and elsewhere in the world by promoting the values of peace and human rights embodied in the Quaker testimonies to peace, simplicity integrity, and equality.
## **Signed:** _John Crosfield_
## **John Crosfield, Clerk, 7 May 2021**
## **Independent Examiner’s report to the Trustees Year ending 31[st] December 2020**
I report on the accounts of the charity for the year ended 31 December 2020 comprising the Statement of Financial Activities, Balance Sheet and related notes.
## **Respective responsibilities of trustees and examiner**
The charity’s trustees are responsible for the preparation of the accounts. The charity’s trustees consider that an audit is not required for this year under section 144(2) of the Charities Act 2011 (the 2011 Act) and that an independent examination is needed.
It is my responsibility to:
- examine the accounts under section 145 of the 2011 Act
- to follow the procedures laid down in the general Directions given by the commission under section 145(5)(b) of the 2011 Act
- to state whether particular matters have come to my attention
2
## **Basis of independent examiner’s report**
My examination was carried out in accordance with the general Directions given by the Charity Commission. An examination includes a review of the accounting records kept by the charity and a comparison of the accounts presented with those records. It also includes consideration of any unusual items or disclosures in the accounts, and seeking explanations from you as trustees concerning any such matters. The procedures undertaken do not provide all the evidence that would be required in an audit and consequently no opinion is given as to whether the accounts present a ‘true and fair view’ and the report is limited to those matters set out in the next statement.
## **Independent examiner’s statement**
In connection with my examination, no matter has come to my attention: (1) which gives me reasonable cause to believe that in any material respect the requirements:
- to keep accounting records in accordance with section 130 of the 2011 Act and
- to prepare accounts which accord with the accounting records and comply with the accounting requirements of the 2011 Act have not been met or
(2) to which, in my opinion, attention should be drawn in order to enable a proper understanding of the accounts to be reached
**Signed:** _Beatriz Medina Amaris_ **Beatriz Medina Amaris, Examiner 19 April 2021**
3
|**Statement of Financial**
**2020**|**Activities for the Year Ending 31st December**|**Activities for the Year Ending 31st December**|**Activities for the Year Ending 31st December**|**Activities for the Year Ending 31st December**|**Activities for the Year Ending 31st December**|**Activities for the Year Ending 31st December**|**Activities for the Year Ending 31st December**||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
||**Unrestricted**
**funds**||**Restricted funds**||||**Total**
**2020**|**Total**
**2019**|
||**Genera**
**l fund**|**QHB**
**fund**|**Ramallah**
**Bursary**|**Brumman**
**a Bursary**|**DW Saunders**||||
||||||**Capital**|**Income**|||
|**Income**
**Not**
**e**|||||||||
|Gifts and donations
2|72,950
72,950|||||||89,952|
|Conference fees
2|0
0|||||||0|
|Interest
2|9
2
0
11
194
216|||||||230|
|Receipts for QHB
2|25,538
25,538|||||||69,208|
|**Total incoming resources**|72,959
25,538
2
0
11
194
98,704|||||||159,38
9|
|**Charitable Expenditure**|||||||||
|QHB rent paid by BC|6,152
6,152|||||||6,234|
|BC Grant to QHB
3|63,000
63,000|||||||83,001|
|Bursaries|0
0
0
0
0|||||||0|
|Acting for QHB
3|25,974
25,974|||||||68,997|
|Sub-total|69,152
25,974
0
0
0
0
95,126|||||||158,23
2|
|Governance|0
0|||||||0|
|Bank charges|60
60|||||||65|
|Admin & publicity|0
0|||||||0|
|**Total resources**
**expended**|69,212
25,974
0
0
0
0
95,186|||||||158,29
7|
|**Net incoming resources**|3,747
(436)
2
0
11
194
3,518|||||||1,092|
|Gains/(losses) on investments|(138)
(138)|||||||8|
|**Net movement in funds**|3,747
(436)
2
0
(127)
194
3,380|||||||1,006|
|Transfers between funds|0
(25)
25
0|||||||0|
|Brought forward 1st January|1,961
211
1,101
(0)
17,371
388
21,031|||||||20,025|
|Carried forward 31st December|5,707
(225)
1,103
(0)
17,218
607
24,410|||||||21,031|
|**Balance Sheet as at 31st December 2020**|**Balance Sheet as at 31st December 2020**|**Balance Sheet as at 31st December 2020**|
|---|---|---|
|2.5% Index Linked Treasury 2024|9,221
9,221|9,360|
|**Fixed Assets**|||
|CAF Bank current account|100
100|100|
|CAF Bank Gold account|5,607
(225)
1,103
0
7,997
607
15,089|11,571|
|Debtors & prepayments|||
|**Current Assets**|5,707
(225)
1,103
0
7,997
607
24,410|21,031|
|Less creditors due within one year|0
0|0|
|**Net Assets**|5,707
(225)
1,103
0
17,218
607
24,410|21,031|
|Note: QHB = Quaker House Brussels and BC = British Committee|||
## **Supplementary note:**
Our bank details are sort code 40-52-40 (CAF Bank) account 00004748 (BFoQCEA).
We are grateful to everyone who BACS transfers donations etc. to us rather than posting a cheque as in current circumstances this minimises visits to a bank to pay in cheques.
## **Note 1 Accounting Policies**
A) Basis of accounting: The accounts have been prepared:
1) on the accruals basis, with all known debtors and creditors at the year-end included in the figures for the year to which they relate.
2) Under the historic cost convention, but with investments shown at market value B) Foreign currencies
Transactions denominated in foreign currencies are converted into sterling at the rate of exchange ruling at the date of the transaction.
Assets and liabilities in foreign currencies are converted into sterling at the rate of exchange ruling at the end of the Financial Year.
|**Note 2 General Fund Income**||||
|---|---|---|---|
|**Gifts & donations**|**2020**|**2019**||
|Britain Yearly Meeting (BYM)|£
25,564||£
24,938|
|Trusts|£
11,400||£
31,164|
|Quaker Meetings|£
10,129||£
13,438|
|Individuals|£
24,312||£
18,896|
|From part of Ireland Yearly Meeting|£
1,545||£
1,250|
|Other donations|£ -||£
265|
|Conference fees|£ -||£ -|
||£
72,950||£
89,952|
|**Interest**||||
|Bank interest|£
9||£
19|
||£
72,959||£
89,970|
|**Receipts for Quaker House**
**Brussels**||||
|Direct Grants|£
21,764
£
21,764|£
56,850|£
56,850|
||£
94,723||£146,82
0|
|Associate Membership subs|2,561|2,474||
|Supporting Membership subs|460|465||
|Around Europe subscriptions|172|397||
||3,193
£
3,193|3,336|£
3,336|
||£
97,915||£150,15
6|
|Study Tour - UK participants|150|0||
|---|---|---|---|
|Brussels Conference Fees|431|7,170||
|BYM for European Peacebuilding
Liaison Ofce (EPLO)|0|0||
|
BYM landlord's expenses|0|0||
|Miscellaneous Inc received for
QCEA|1|1,852||
|Sub-total|£
25,538||£
69,208|
|**Total income**|£
98,497||£159,17
8|
## **Note 3 Periodic transfers to Quaker House Brussels (QHB)**
Periodically, British Committee (BC) make a a transfer to QHB comprised as follows:
A) A grant made by British Committee to QHB to fund its work (Notes 4 and 5)
B) Add amounts received in Sterling on behalf of QHB and transferred to them
|follows:
A) A grant made by British Committee to QHB to fund its work (Notes
4 and 5)
B) Add amounts received in Sterling on behalf of QHB and transferred
to them|follows:
A) A grant made by British Committee to QHB to fund its work (Notes
4 and 5)
B) Add amounts received in Sterling on behalf of QHB and transferred
to them|follows:
A) A grant made by British Committee to QHB to fund its work (Notes
4 and 5)
B) Add amounts received in Sterling on behalf of QHB and transferred
to them|
|---|---|---|
|C) Deduct Sterling expenses incurred by QHB and paid on behalf of
QHB|||
|**Payment**|**BC**
**grant**
**Bursari**
**es**|**Sterling**
**receipts**
**Less**
**Sterling**
**expens**
**es**
**Total**|
|March|37,000|2,482
(532)
38,949|
|June|11,000|400
(883.00)
10,517|
|November|15,000|27,178
(4,996)
37,182|
||||
||63,000|30,059.7
9
(6,411)
86,648|
|Plus amounts awaiting transfer||0|
|Total||30,060|
||(Check
totals|£
4,521.58
£
210.50
)|
|**Note 4 British Committee grant**
**to QHB**|||
For 2020, the British Committee agreed to make a grant to QHB as made up below. Sterling expenses paid on behalf of QHB are deducted from the grant. The British Committee also pays the rent for QHB
**Note 5 Transferring Sterling payments to QHB in Euros**
|**Euros**||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
||||**Euro**||**Euro**|
||**Exchang**|**Sterling**|**equivale**|**Sterling**|**equivale**|
|**Payment**|**e rate**|**grant**|**nt**|**transfer**|**nt**|
|March|1.121026|37,000|41,478|38,949|43,663|
||1.097600|||||
|June|1|11,000|12,074|10,517|11,543|
|November|1.115200|15,000|16,728|37,182|41,465|
|**Totals**||**63,000**|**70,280**|**86,648**|**96,672**|
**Signed:** _John Crosfield_
**John Crosfield, Clerk, 7 May 2021**
**Signed:** _Simon Bond_
## **Simon Bond, Treasurer (to 31 December 2020), 7 May 2021**
**Signed:** _Martin Ford_
**Treasurer (from 1 January 2021), 7 May 2021**