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2021-12-31-accounts

TRIRATNA CAMBRIDGE

REPORT OF THE TRUSTEES FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31[st] DECEMBER 2021

The trustees present their report with the financial statements of the charity for the year ended 31[st] December 2021. The trustees have adopted the provisions of the ‘Accounting and Reporting by Charities: Statement of Recommended Practice (SORP) applicable to charities preparing their accounts in accordance with the Financial Reporting Standard applicable in the UK and Republic of Ireland (FRS 102) (effective 1 January 2015)’.

The trustees have had regard to the guidance issued by the Charity Commission on public benefit (PB1, PB2, PB3).

REFERENCE AND ADMINISTRATIVE DETAILS

Charity Name and Number

Triratna Cambridge: registered charity number 297894 Operating under the name: Cambridge Buddhist Centre.

Registered Address

36-38 Newmarket Road, Cambridge, Cambridgeshire, CB5 8DT

Trustees during 2021

Mr James Sessions (Arthasiddhi) Mr Jeffrey Wood (Samudraghosha) Ms Virya Jyoti (Viryajyoti) Ms Sarah Bannock (Vidyasakhi) Mr Arthapriya O’Neill (Arthapriya) Ms Mary Wild (Kamalamati) Mr John Turner (Sarvajit) Mr Santosh Kamble (Sanghanath)

Professional Advisors

Bankers:

Co-operative Bank, PO Box 101, 1 Balloon Street, Manchester, M60 4EP

Independent Examiner:

Annemie Philips (Satyapara) 3 Oak Tree Avenue, Cambridge, CB4 1AZ

1

OBJECTIVES AND ACTIVITIES OF THE CHARITY (includes ‘Achievements & Performance’)

The object of Triratna Cambridge is the advancement of the Buddhist religion. In particular:

  1. To encourage members and others to live in accordance with the teachings of the Buddha;

  2. To support ordained members of the Triratna Buddhist Order and other duly ordained Buddhists, at the discretion of the Council of the Triratna Cambridge;

  3. To maintain close communication with and work under the guidance of the Triratna Buddhist Order and in co-operation with other groups with the same objects.

  4. To use applications of the Buddha’s teaching to promote the health and well-being of all.

Activities

We are now fully operational again following the Covid pandemic, having progressively opened the Centre to more and more activities since reopening in July 2021. The last couple of years have been extremely difficult, but the Centre Team and the regular community attending the Buddhist Centre have worked extremely hard to maintain on-line activities until we were able to start meeting in-person again.

We are now offering our usual wide range of Buddhist and meditation classes, aimed at a diverse cross-section of the community. These include an introductory class on Buddhism and meditation (Transform Your Life); a course looking at how to take loving-kindness meditation deeper (Who Hates The Metta Bhavana); a course on mindfulness (Life With Full Attention); a course for developing your Buddhist Practice further (Journey and The Guide); and a course exploring how Buddhism relates to modern day challenges (What The World Needs Now).

In addition, we hold a weekly Sangha Night exploring a wide range of Buddhist topics, have provided regular drop-in meditation classes on-line, and have held a range of Sangha (community) events throughout the year.

There are also normally about ten study groups which meet regularly, and many people have requested ordination into the Triratna Buddhist Order and meet regularly to support that aspiration. The Buddhist Centre also organizes several retreats a year, some at an introductory and some at a more experienced level. In 2021 there was a successful in-person Sangha retreat in December (as well as online retreats earlier in the year), several day events introducing people to meditation and Buddhism, and a variety of teaching and practice days for more experienced practitioners.

2

The Cambridge Buddhist Centre is also a venue for courses in Mindfulness Based Stress Reduction, Deep Relaxation, Yoga and Tai Chi, all of which are well attended. Because the Charity occupies an historic theatre there are also arts events and occasional open days for the general public. We also host visits from several local schools throughout the year, an activity that will grow again now that we are fully operational.

3

Dana Economy

Following the re-opening of the Centre in July, we moved to a full ‘Dana economy’ based on generosity, where meditation and Buddhism events are provided free of charge, with the opportunity to donate to the Centre rather than paying a fixed fee for attendance. This included in-person courses, whereas in the first half of the year courses were being held on Zoom and ‘by donation’ only. We are moving away from a situation where community activities, which lie at the heart of the Charity’s objects, are being effectively financially supported by the income from newcomers’ courses and classes, and towards one in which our courses, classes and events are aimed at a wider range of people who can attend regardless of their financial situation.

To support this move we held a highly successful fundraising appeal in September 2021 focused on increasing monthly donations in the form of Standing Orders from regular members of the Sangha. This provides a more predictable source of income for CBC and means that we are less reliant on income from courses to finance the Centre’s activities. The generosity of the Cambridge Buddhist Centre Sangha members was a great benefit, both financially and psychologically, resulting in an increase in unrestricted donations of over £12K compared to 2020. However, this was offset by a corresponding drop in restricted donations, which was high in 2020 due to a number of one-off donations to mitigate the impact of Covid.

Financials

2021 was a difficult year to manage financially with so much uncertainty due to the Covid pandemic and the gradual, but unpredictable, opening of the Centre, the move to the ‘Dana economy’ and the change in course structure (initiated in 2019 but still becoming established in 2021 due to activities having been online for 16 months). These factors all made it difficult to forecast based on previous years. Having said that, the monthly accounts were closely monitored against the forecast and the numbers stacked up surprisingly well, resulting in a larger end-of-year profit than was originally forecast.

Donations aside, other income streams continued to be adversely affected by the closure of the building and some classes continued to operate online. The reduction in fee-paying Buddhist activities can be attributed to both a reduction in the number of in-person classes due to the pandemic and the move to a Dana economy. Whilst this was a strategic change and a fall in course income was expected, we need to keep a close eye on our income in 2022 as things return to normal after the pandemic so that we can assess the impact of our move to a Dana economy in a more normal environment. Additionally, our Bodywork net income continued to be reduced with Zoom sessions conducted from teachers’ homes.

Other income streams related to the Buddhist Centre building being open continued to be lower than normal, although this situation improved once

4

the Centre began to open again in the second half of the year. Also, our income from our investment property was down by over £4K, due to the rental income received being lower as people began to move again in 2021, which led to some rooms being vacated and then a gap before new tenants moved in.

These falls in income were offset by a mixture of corresponding savings in building running costs – maintenance, heating, etc – and by the Government’s Covid support, totalling £20K in 2021. This support allowed us to post a positive net income this year, but we remain cognizant of the fact that this level of support will not be available to us in the future.

5

Staffing

In March 2021 we selected a new Chair of Cambridge Buddhis Centre (Vidyasakhi), having previously been operating a Co-Chair arrangement with Vidyasakhi and Arthasiddhi undertaking the role in addition to their existing team roles. Arthasiddhi has now resumed his full-time role as Men’s Mitra Convenor. Unfortunately, in the last couple of months of 2021, Vidyasakhi was taken ill and subsequently resigned her post (in early 2022).

As a consequence of Vidyasakhi taking on the role of Chair full-time, there was a need to recruit a new full-time Centre Manager, and on 31[st] May 2021 Jonathon Hollands (Abhayamati), already a highly experienced member of the Centre Team, was appointed to the role.

Another major staff change was that Viryajyoti decided to step down as Women’s Mitra Convenor in September 2021. This role was subsequently covered by three senior Order Members on a voluntary basis until a new Women’s Mitra Convenor could be appointed, and Elkie Wootton (Amarachandra) was appointed to the role in December, with a start date of February 2022.

The financial (“Support”) package provided to Centre team members was extensively reviewed and an updated version was published in November 2021.

MANAGEMENT AND GOVERNANCE ARRANGEMENTS

Recruitment and appointment of new trustees

The governing document allows a minimum of 5 and a maximum of 15 trustees. New trustees are invited through discussion between existing trustees, to ensure that they are in harmony with the aims of the charity. In practice this means that trustees are selected from the pool of members of the Triratna Buddhist Order within Cambridge (approximately 120).

New trustees are given a copy of a guidance document outlining their responsibilities (incorporating material from The Essential Trustee), and a copy of the governing document. In some cases, they are invited as a guest to a trustees’ meeting beforehand, so that they can witness the operation of the meetings.

Regular trustee meetings were held in 2021 (usually monthly, sometimes fortnightly as required), in addition to an AGM held on 12[th] November 2021 . The Trustees worked well together during 2021, conducting a challenging Chair selection process and holding a successful event to allow members of the Sangha to understand the role of the Council and get to know the Trustees.

6

Risk management

The trustees have a duty to identify the risks to which the charity is exposed, and to ensure appropriate controls are in place to provide reasonable assurance against fraud and error.

The major financial risk is connected with our exposure to variations of donations from individuals, particularly with the move to the Dana economy. The emphasis on encouraging regular members of the Sangha to set up monthly Standing Orders is designed to make the donation income more predictable, rather than relying on donations from specific events.

The major operational risk is our reliance on volunteers for all the core teaching activities, as our Buddhist teachers are not paid for their services. However, the use of volunteer teachers does have the benefit of allowing us to provide the ‘Dana economy’ since we are not incurring any additional costs when we put on a new course.

Since the appointment of a full-time Properties Manager, the last few years have seen good progress made in areas of non-financial risk such as fire safety and health and safety. However, the maintenance of an old, listed building is a constant challenge. The establishment of a heathy Designated Maintenance fund gives confidence that we have the resources to cover any unforeseen building repairs, and we will be looking for grant assistance in the next couple of years for a series of building improvements to maintain the building, particularly to make it more weather proof.

Safeguarding

Our latest Adult Safeguarding policy was updated in 2021. Our Child Protection Policy was updated and approved in July 2021. Both policies are available on our website at Policies | Cambridge Buddhist Centre.

The Safeguarding Officer of Cambridge Buddhist Centre is Padmajata (Gillian Thomas), responsible for coordinating the protection of children and adults who may be at risk at the Cambridge Buddhist Centre.

The Safeguarding Trustee of Cambridge Buddhist Centre is Kamalamati (Mary Wild), responsible for making sure safeguarding is taken seriously by the Trustees and appears regularly on their agendas, ensuring the trustees comply with their Safeguarding obligations as required by the Charity Commission.

Reserves policy

The trustees see it as their responsibility to hold reserves in order for the charity to function properly. The income of the Cambridge Buddhist Centre comes from: donations, bodywork classes, rent from the investment property, donations from classes and events, the giftshop, fundraising events and other facilities such as room hire. There is some variability in

7

the major components depending on what events are held and the level of attendance.

On the other hand, the expenses are largely fixed and non-discretionary: personnel salary and related expenses (40% of total expenditure in 2021), as well as running costs. Therefore, in order to maintain liquidity and avoid making staff redundant, the Buddhist Centre needs to hold a substantial reserve. As such, the trustees usually plan to hold between 3 to 6 months expenditure as free reserves. At the end of 2021, our unrestricted undesignated cash reserves were 4 months’ worth of expenditure.

Meanwhile, we aim to hold at least £20K for designated maintenance projects. Our good result in 2020 enabled us to top up this fund sufficiently, after it had become depleted in recent years, and at the end of 2021 stood at over £27K.

Contributions from individual donors continued to be managed in restricted “benevolent funds”. The aim of these was to build funds for the long-term well-being and Buddhist practice of two individual Triratna Order Members who were both previously the Chair of our charity (in the case of the “Ruchiraketu Benevolent Fund” and the “Ratnaghosha Benevolent Fund”) and for Triratna Order Members who are former employees / significant volunteers of the charity (in the case of the “CBC Benevolent Fund”). Payments from these funds are as decided by the trustees, in line with the objectives and activities of the charity. The “Ratnaghosha Benevolent Fund” has now been closed having funded a sabbatical for the previous Chair, Ratnaghosha, before he took up another post in the Triratna movement.

The adequacy of the reserves policy is reviewed annually.

DISCLOSURE NOTES on staf & payments to trustees & other related party transactions:

8

9

STATEMENT OF TRUSTEES’ RESPONSIBILITIES

Charity law requires the trustees to prepare financial statements for each financial year which show a true and fair view of the state of affairs of the charity and its financial activities for that period. In preparing those financial statements, the trustees are required to:

The trustees are responsible for keeping proper accounting records which disclose with reasonable accuracy at any time the financial position of the charity and to enable them to ensure that the financial statements comply with the Charities Act 2011. They are also responsible for safeguarding the assets of the charity and hence for taking reasonable steps for the prevention and detection of fraud and other irregularities.

Signed on behalf of the trustees at the AGM

……………………………………………………………………………….. Mr Jeffrey Wood (Samudraghosa), Secretary 11 November 2022

Trustees on 11 November 2022:

Mr James Sessions (Arthasiddhi), Mr Jeffrey Wood (Samudraghosha), Ms Mary Wild (Kamalamati), Mr John Turner (Sarvajit), Mr Santosh Kamble (Sanghanath), Mr Arthapriya O’Neill (Arthapriya), Mr Mike Silver (Keturaja) , Ms Elkie Wootton (Amarachandra)

10

Registered Charity no. 297894

Annual Report for the Year Ended 31 December 2021

for

Triratna Cambridge

Page 1

STATEMENT OF FINANCIAL ACTIVITIES

For the year ended 31[st] December 2021

INCOME
Note
Donations and legacies
1
Charitable activities
2
Other trading activities
3
Interest & investment income
4
Other income (Grants)
5
EXPENDITURE
Direct charitable expenditure:
Buddhist centre
6
Support of Buddhist activities
7
Management & administration
8
Raising funds
9
Total expenditure
Net income/(expenditure)
Transfer in from restricted/designated funds
Reconciliation of funds:
Funds brought forward
Net income/(outgoings) for the year
Transfer in from restricted/designated funds
Transfer to Designated Maintenance fund
Total funds carried forward
97,314
-
7,600
104,914
105,108
43,622
-
-
43,622
67,246
4,015
-
-
4,015
2,893
30,190
-
462
30,652
35,363
20,404
-
-
20,404
22,075
Unrestricted
funds
Designated
maintenance
Restricted
funds
TOTAL
FUNDS 2021
TOTAL
FUNDS 2020
97,314
-
7,600
104,914
105,108
43,622
-
-
43,622
67,246
4,015
-
-
4,015
2,893
30,190
-
462
30,652
35,363
20,404
-
-
20,404
22,075
Unrestricted
funds
Designated
maintenance
Restricted
funds
TOTAL
FUNDS 2021
TOTAL
FUNDS 2020
97,314
-
7,600
104,914
105,108
43,622
-
-
43,622
67,246
4,015
-
-
4,015
2,893
30,190
-
462
30,652
35,363
20,404
-
-
20,404
22,075
Unrestricted
funds
Designated
maintenance
Restricted
funds
TOTAL
FUNDS 2021
TOTAL
FUNDS 2020
97,314
-
7,600
104,914
105,108
43,622
-
-
43,622
67,246
4,015
-
-
4,015
2,893
30,190
-
462
30,652
35,363
20,404
-
-
20,404
22,075
Unrestricted
funds
Designated
maintenance
Restricted
funds
TOTAL
FUNDS 2021
TOTAL
FUNDS 2020
97,314
-
7,600
104,914
105,108
43,622
-
-
43,622
67,246
4,015
-
-
4,015
2,893
30,190
-
462
30,652
35,363
20,404
-
-
20,404
22,075
Unrestricted
funds
Designated
maintenance
Restricted
funds
TOTAL
FUNDS 2021
TOTAL
FUNDS 2020
97,314
-
7,600
104,914
105,108
43,622
-
-
43,622
67,246
4,015
-
-
4,015
2,893
30,190
-
462
30,652
35,363
20,404
-
-
20,404
22,075
Unrestricted
funds
Designated
maintenance
Restricted
funds
TOTAL
FUNDS 2021
TOTAL
FUNDS 2020
97,314
-
7,600
104,914
105,108
43,622
-
-
43,622
67,246
4,015
-
-
4,015
2,893
30,190
-
462
30,652
35,363
20,404
-
-
20,404
22,075
Unrestricted
funds
Designated
maintenance
Restricted
funds
TOTAL
FUNDS 2021
TOTAL
FUNDS 2020
195,545
109,390

25,316

42,597

14,808

192,111
3,434
-

637,730
3,434
-

-

641,164
0
-
-
-
-
0
0
-
27,615
-
-
27,615
8,062
-
6,255
-
-
6,255
1,807
-
57,824
1,807
-
-
59,631
203,607
109,390
31,571
42,597
14,808
198,366
5,241
-
723,169
5,241
-
-
728,410
232,685
114,841
34,687
40,354
15,162
205,043
27,642
-
695,528
27,642
-
-
723,169
27,642

Page 2

Notes to the Statement of Financial Activities 2021
1. Donations income 2021 2020
Donations – unrestricted 97,314 85,193
Donations- restricted 7,600 18,915
Grants (Windhorse Trust) 0 1,000
104,914 105,108
2. Charitable activities
Fee-paying Dharma activities 11,192 22,948
Bodywork 28,448 41,078
Gift shop 2,960 1,363
Meditation services/events 216 816
Schools visits 660 980
Other 146 62
43,622 67,247
3. Other trading activities
Fundraising and facilities 1,765 480
Arts events 35 270
Rental of storage space 1,920 2,000
Second hand book sales 295 143
4,015 2,893
4. Interest and investment income
Interest (unrestricted) 520 647
Interest (restricted) 462 415
Investment income 29,670 34,300
30,652 35,362
5. Other income–Government Covid support
Coronavirus job-related support 4,069 9,702
Local authority leisure grants 16,335 12,373
20,404 22,075
6. Buddhist centre expenditure
Fee-paying Dharma activities 3486 8,093
Gifts 124 182
Personnel (exc pension) 79662 74,965
Employee pensions 4079 3,055
Publicity 761 665
Travel & entertainment 187 195
Bodywork 19334 25,713
Vehicles 1057 1,525
Gift shop expenses 700 448
109,390 114,841

Page 3

7 Support of Buddhist Activities
Support of other Triratna
Support of other Triratna (restricted)
Staff retreats & training
8. Management & administration
Building maintenance
Depreciation
Office costs (inc bank charges)
Consumables & cleaning
Shrine costs
Small assets
Mitra convening expenses
Book library
Independent examination fee
9. Raising Funds
Meditation services/events
Fundraising
Investment property
Arts events expense
19,981
10,236
6,255
19,030
5,335
5,421
31,571
34,687
18,867
17,187
14,832
15,422
6,833
6,227
372
773
495
232
897
481
51
33
0
0
250
200
42,597
40,554
400
0
0
14,808
14,762
0
0
14,808
15,162

Page 4

BALANCE SHEET
As at 31stDecember 2021
Unrestricted Designated Restricted TOTAL TOTAL
Note funds maintenance funds FUNDS 2021 FUNDS 2020
Fixed Assets 10 54,510 - - 54,510 55,841
Investment assets 14 496,000 - - 496,000 496,000
Current Assets:
Cash and bank 20,326 27,615 17,996 65,937 79,265
Cash held as investments 37,024 - 41,634 78,658 67,688
Debtors 11 36,963 - - 36,963 24,051
Stock (gift shop) 6,568 - - 6,568 5,028
100,881 27,615 59,630 188,126 176,032
Creditors:liabilities due within one year 12 10,226 - - 10,226 4,704
Net current assets 90,655 27,615 59,630 177,900 171,328
Total assets less current liabilities 641,165 27,615 59,630 728,410 723,169
Creditors: liabilities due after one year 13 - - - - -
Net assets/liabilities 641,165 27,615 59,630 728,410 723,169
Represented by:
Unrestricted funds 272,991 269,557
Designated maintenance 27,615 27,615
65 Abbey Road revaluations 368,173 368,173
Unrestricted funds 668,779 665,345
Restricted benevolent funds 59,198 57,391
Restricted Ely outreach fund 433 433
Restricted funds 59,631 57,824
TOTAL FUNDS 728,410 723,169

Page 5

Notes to the Balance Sheet

10. Fixed Assets
Additions
Disposals
Charge
On disposals
Net book value 2020
Net book value 2021
11. Debtors
Trade debtors
Prepayments
Accrued income
VAT reclaim (LPOW scheme)
12. Creditors
Trade creditors (inc credit card)
HMRC PAYE/NI
Deposits received – key fobs
Accruals
Deferred income
13. Creditors falling due after o
Cost 1stJan 2021
Cost 31st Dec 2021
Depreciation 1stJan 2021
Depreciation 31st Dec 2021
Float for New View investment
property management
2021
2020
Land & buildings
Total
128,515
108,376
236,891
228,828
10,875
2,626
13,501
8,063
-
-
-
Plant &
machinery
2021
2020
Land & buildings
Total
128,515
108,376
236,891
228,828
10,875
2,626
13,501
8,063
-
-
-
Plant &
machinery
2021
2020
Land & buildings
Total
128,515
108,376
236,891
228,828
10,875
2,626
13,501
8,063
-
-
-
Plant &
machinery
2021
2020
Land & buildings
Total
128,515
108,376
236,891
228,828
10,875
2,626
13,501
8,063
-
-
-
Plant &
machinery
139,390
111,002
250,392
236,891
77,689
103,361
181,050
165,628
10,925
3,907
14,832
15,422
-
-
-
ne year 88,614
107,268
195,882
181,050
50,826
5,015
55,841
63,200
50,776
3,734
54,510
55,841
270
20
4,176
6,267
30,564
16,841
650
600
1,303
324
36,963
24,051
-120
-2,027
0
0
1,705
1,650
2,713
825
5,928
4,256
10,226
4,704
-
-
-
-
20
6,267
16,841
600
324
24,051
-2,027
0
1,650
825
4,256
4,704


Bank loans
Other creditors

14. Investment Asset

The charity's investment asset, property held for private rental (65 Abbey Road) was kept at a value of £496,000

Page 6

Independent Examiner’s Report

Report to the trustees of

Accounts for year ended
Responsibilities and basis of
report
CAMBRIDGE BUDDHIST CENTRE CAMBRIDGE BUDDHIST CENTRE CAMBRIDGE BUDDHIST CENTRE
31stDecember 2021 Charity no 297894
I report to the trustees on my examination of the accounts of the above charity for
the year ended 31 December 2021.
As the charity's trustees, you are responsible for the preparation of the accounts in
accordance with the requirements of the Charities Act 2011 (“the Act”).
I report in respect of my examination of the Charity's accounts carried out under
section 145 of the 2011 Act and in carrying out my examination, I have followed all
the applicable Directions given by the Charity Commission under section 145(5)(b)
of the Act.

Independent examiner's statement I have completed my examination. I confirm that no material matters have come to my attention in connection with the examination which gives me cause to believe that in, any material respect:

I have no concerns and have come across no other matters in connection with the examination to which attention should be drawn in this report in order to enable a proper understanding of the accounts to be reached.

Signed:

Name:

Relevant professional
qualification(s) or body:

Address:
Annemie Philips 22/09/2022
Annemie Philips (Satyapara)
Association of Certified Chartered Accountants.
3 Oak Tree Avenue, Cambridge CB4 1AZ