www.bshp.org.uk
Charity Number 299041
Annual Report and Financial Statements
Year ended 31[st] March 2024
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British Society for the History of Philosophy
REFERENCE AND ADMINISTRATIVE DETAILS
Registered Charity Number 299041 Trustees Listed on page 5 Contact address Kings College London Strand London WC2R 2LS Independent Mark Heaton FCCA FCIE Examiner KM Chartered Accountants 1[st] Floor, Block C, The Wharf, Manchester Rd, Burnley, BB11 1JG Banker s Metro Bank
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British Society for the History of Philosophy
TRUSTEES ANNUAL REPORT
The trustees present their report with the financial statements of the charity for the year ended 31st March 2024.
OBJECTIVES AND ACTIVITIES
The objects of the charity as set out in its constitution are to promote and foster all aspects of the study and teaching of the history of philosophy.
ACHIEVEMENTS AND PERFORMANCE
As usual, the Management Committee met twice during the year, once in November ’23 at the time of the Antognazza Lecture (the renamed Annual Lecture), and again in April ’24 at the time of the Annual Conference.
The inaugural Antognazza Lecture was held at King’s College London, where Professor Peter Adamson spoke on “Thinking with Rosa: Assent in the Islamic World”.
The year culminated in a successful international conference at the University of Liverpool.
Over the course of the year, the Management Committee assessed applications for:
Research Fellowships, Research Grants, and Conference Funding.
We awarded:
A Postgraduate Fellowship worth £4,000 to Ellie Robson, for work on ‘Aristotelian Naturalism in Stebbing and Midgley’.
A Postdoctoral Fellowship worth £4,000 to David Harmon, for work on ‘Spinoza and the Efficacy of Oblique Collision’.
Two new Pre-Doctoral Scholarly Activity awards to Stefano Parrinello and Amy Ward, who each received grants of £500. (These awards were made possible by a generous donation.)
Grants for conferences and research activities: £16,261.25.
Prizes:
We awarded a Graduate Essay Prize worth £1,000 to Norah Woodcock.
In collaboration with the Society’s journal, The British Journal of the History of Philosophy, we awarded:
The Roger’s Prize (£1,000) – Best Article in 2023. Winner: Jack Beaulieu
The Beaney Prize (£1,000) – Best Contribution to Widening the Canon in 2023.
Winner: Domenica Romagni.
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Book Series
New Texts in the History of Philosophy (the book series we sponsor with Oxford University Press and of which Professor Mogens Laerke is the Chief Editor) is progressing steadily. One volume was published in 2023; three volumes will appear by the end of 2024; three more are at the final review stage and an additional two are under contract.
Constitution
At the Annual General Meeting in April 2024 the Society agreed to change its constitution in order to expand the membership of the Management Committee. (There is more work to be done and we need extra hands to do it.) Section 3a was altered to allow 14 members instead of 12, and section 3b was altered to allow for the co-option of 4 members instead of 2. Section 4b was altered to allow the Committee to appoint members to a wider range of offices than the old constitution allowed for: Chair, Secretary, Treasurer, Deputy Treasurer and Membership Co-ordinator, and Communications Officer.
Public Benefit
In accordance with their objectives for this year, and with due regard to the published Charity Commission guidance on the operation of the Public Benefit requirements of the Charities Act 2006, the trustees have undertaken appropriate activities in furtherance of these aims for the public benefit.
RESERVES POLICY
The Society is overspending its income. Our expenditure this year exceeded our expenditure in 202223, and in both years exceeded our income. Although we have reserves, we clearly need to reduce our spending and/or increase our income to avoid running our reserves down to an unsafe level. In 2023-4 we made small and insufficient reductions in our expenditure: we awarded one postgraduate and one postdoctoral fellowship (instead of two of each the previous year) and fewer conference grants. Since March 2024 we have put in place a plan to reduce the gap between our income and expenditure and will reassess this when we meet in April 2025. We shall supply more information about the measures we are taking in our report for 2024-25.
Reserves at the year end amounted to £79,481 and are all unrestricted.
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STRUCTURE, GOVERNANCE AND MANAGEMENT
The charity is unincorporated and governed by its constitution, currently being revised as explained above.
There was a change in the Management Committee in April 2023, due to the untimely death of the Chair, Professor Maria Rosa Antognazza. At a Management Committee meeting in April ’23, the Committee agreed that Professor Susan James would step in as Chair for one year. In April ’24 she was elected as Chair for a full term.
Our Treasurer, Katherine O’Reilly also gave notice in April 2023 that she wished to resign. The financial reports we are returning this year are the last of her contributions and we have appointed a new Treasurer.
In April 2024 we also elected other new Trustees as a result of a resignation, trustees reaching the end of their term, and the change to our constitution.
The current Trustees are:
Susan James (Birkbeck/KCL), (chair, 2024–2027)
Jeremy Dunham (Durham), 2023-2027 (secretary, 2023-2026)
Antonio Salgado Borges (Nottingham) (Treasurer 2024-27)
Caterina Pello (Geneva), 2022-26 (deputy treasurer, membership officer. 2022-2025) Rachael Wiseman (Liverpool), 2022-26 (communications officer) Fedor Benevich (Edinburgh), 2022-26 Julia Borcherding (Cambridge), 2024-2028 Angela Breitenbach (Cambridge), 2020-28 John Callanan (KCL), 2023-2027 Lea Cantor (Cambridge/Sheffield) 2024-2028 Clare Carlisle (KCL) 2024-2028 Sophia Connell (Birkbeck), 2017-25 Alexander Douglas (St. Andrews), 2024-28 Zita Toth (KCL), 2023-2027 Sacha Golob (KCL), co-opted, BJHP editor Alix Cohen (Edinburgh), co-opted, BJHP editor Mogens Lærke (CNRS), co-opted, BSHP-NTHP managing editor
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Changes since 1[st] April 2023:
Dr J Dunham, Dr J Callanan and Z Toth – appointed in April 2023
Dr K O’Reilly-Fleming and Dr J Cottrell – resigned April 2024
Appointed in April 2024:
Antonio Salgado Borges Julia Borcherding Lea Cantor Clare Carlisle Mogens Lærke
How does the charity operate?
The Charity is run by its Officers and Management Committee. The members of the Management Committee are Trustees of the Society and are responsible for its activities and finances. Because we are a small organisation it is easy for Officers to consult the Committee as matters arise, but there is of course some devolution of responsibility. Some members have specific areas of responsibility, such as the membership, the website, or the book series. Others are responsible for organising events or awards, such as the Annual Conference or Postgraduate Fellowships. They all report back to the Committee as a whole. In accordance with the constitution, members of the Management Committee (including Officers) are elected for a fixed term by the Society’s members.
One must be a member of the Society in order to apply for its funding. The members of the Management Committee are Trustees of the Society for charity law purposes and are responsible for its activities and finances.
Risk Assessment
The Trustees have carried out a detailed review of the charity's activities and produced a comprehensive plan setting out the risks to which it was exposed. A strategy has been implemented to establish systems and procedures to mitigate those risks identified. These will be reviewed annually.
Approved by the trustees on 7[th] January 2025 and signed on its behalf by:
Prof S James
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INDEPENDENT EXAMINER'S REPORT TO THE TRUSTEES OF BRITISH SOCIETY FOR THE HISTORY OF PHILOSOPHY
I report to the charity trustees on my examination of the accounts of the charity for the year ended 31[st] March 2024.
Responsibilities and basis of report
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 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 matters have come to my attention in connection with the examination giving me cause to believe:
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(1) accounting records were not kept in respect of the charity as required by Section 130 of the Act; or
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(2) the accounts do not accord with those records.
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.
Mark Heaton FCCA FCIE KM, Chartered Accountants 1[st] Floor, Block C The Wharf Manchester Road Burnley BB11 1JG
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7th January 2025
British Society for the History of Philosophy
RECEIPTS AND PAYMENTS ACCOUNT
For the year ended 31[st] March 2024
| Unrestricted Funds (£) RECEIPTS Subscriptions 11,084 Royalties 22,320 Other 0 Total receipts 33,404 PAYMENTS Special Project Support 900 Prizes 1,975 Fellowships 17,000 Grants to conferences 16,261 Other 12,202 Total payments 48,338 Net receipts less payments (14,933) Balances brought forward 94,414 Balances carried forward 79,481 STATEMENT OF ASSETS AND LIABILITIES AS AT 31st MARCH 2024 Bank balances £ 79,481 Liabilities: Independent examination £900 |
Previous Year (£) 8,029 20,063 250 28,342 |
|---|---|
| 5,000 5,000 17,500 8,070 6,850 42,420 |
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| (14,078) 108,492 |
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| 94,414 | |
These accounts were approved by the trustees on 7[th] January 2025 and signed on their behalf by:
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Prof Susan James – Trustee
British Society for the History of Philosophy
NOTES TO THE FINANCIAL STATEMENTS
- 1 Basis of preparation
These accounts have been prepared on the Receipts and Payments basis in accordance with the Charities Act 2011.
- 2 Fund Accounting
Unrestricted funds are those that can be expended at the discretion of the trustees in the furtherance of the objects of the charity.
- 3 Taxation
The charity is not liable to tax on its charitable activities.
The charity is not registered for VAT. Irrecoverable VAT is included in the expense to which it relates.
- 4 Transactions with trustees
No remuneration nor expenses were paid to trustees or any persons connected with them during the period.
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