The Prometheus Trust
Chairman’s Report 2024-25
The Prometheus Trust has seen steady activity over the year on both its publishing and educational sides: new titles have been added to our catalogue and all our courses have seen growing numbers attending.
Publishing
During the year we have published four books: Harold Tarrant’s Chaerephon: Rethinking Platonic Characters in the Light of the Dereveni Papyrus; John Dillon’s collection of essays on Plotinus: Perspectives on Plotinus ; a ‘Students’ Edition’ of the Phaedrus (with accompanying essays from David Nowakowski and Tim Addey; and an anthology from the International Society for Neoplatonic Studies, Platonism Through the Centuries . Several titles in our catalogue have been reprinted in order to ensure that all our books are available. Background work required for the transferring the whole of the Thomas Taylor Series into a more modern format continues at a steady pace, and we expect this to be completed this year.
Work on several volumes is in hand, and it promises a busy year ahead in this area of the Trust’s work. We are planning to set up a team of volunteers to facilitate this.
We have made an additional appointment to the editorial board – Sebastian Moro, whose expertise in ancient approaches to music and number should be of value to the Trust.
Our own sales and those via our North American distributor, Kindred Star Books, remain at healthy levels, and we are planning to switch our consignments to the US from air to sea freight. Not only is this better from an ecological point of view but it means a considerable saving for KSB which should compensate for the new tariffs now imposed on imports into the US.
Education
The education programme of the Trust has continued to make steady progress: our residential study weekends (six per year, divided into two modules – the first in the autumn and the second in the winter and early spring) have been run with good attendance; our three regular zoom-based courses at introductory, intermediate and advanced levels have continued, with increasing numbers.
We have run our regular London evening sessions on a monthly basis, and although numbers for these remain low, we consider them to be an important element of our ongoing service to those of the general public who are interested in serious Platonism. We have also established monthly talks in Manchester, which are attracting a youthful and regular attendance.
We are continuing to run regular “open sessions” via zoom – at present once a month (with a repeat based on a more USA oriented time zone). These are proving increasingly popular.
Conference
Our annual conference was held in June at Mancetter (in Warwickshire). It ran with the theme ‘Being Human in a Divine Universe’ which attracted an excellent set of papers (14 in total) and a good number of participants (28 in all). The conference was opened with a keynote address The Khôratic Dance of the Platonic Tradition , given by Professor Danielle A Layne; our annual lecture in honour of Thomas Taylor was given by Professor Jan Opsomer entitled Where all powers unite: the human soul and the gods according to Proclus. A musical interlude was provided by Professor James Tartaglia.
Public Beneft
The above activities are considered to be of public benefit and pursued in fulfilment of the Trust’s stated purposes: all our zoom courses are offered free of charge; face to face meetings are charged at cost (and where necessary, subsidized) and we price our books to ensure that they are within the reach of ordinary students.
The Trust
The have been no changes with regards to Trustees this year, but we continue to look for possible additions to the board in the future.
The Prometheus Trust centres its activities on the wisdom tradition of Plato and his fellow philosophers, so aptly summarized by the Pythagorean aphorism: “Just as land must be specially cultivated by him who wishes to obtain from it the best fruit, so the soul should be most carefully and attentively cultivated, in order that it may produce fruit worthy of its nature.”
T J Addey
| CHARITYCOMMISSIONIThe Prom | etheus T | rust | ,~99648 | ,~99648 | ,~99648 | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| FORENGLANDANDWALES,.___.____, | |||||||||
| Recei | ments accounts | CC16a | |||||||
| Forthe period from |
To | 31/07/2025 | |||||||
| Section A Receipts and payments | |||||||||
| Unrestricted funds |
Restricted funds |
Endowment funds |
Total funds | Last year | |||||
| to the nearest £ |
to the nearest£ | to the nearest£ | tothe | nearest£ | to the nearest£ | ||||
| A . t 1Rece1ps |
|||||||||
| Giftsanddonations | 1,812 | 1,812 | 2,791 | ||||||
| Deeds of Covenant | 3,705 | 3,705 | 2,955 | ||||||
| Gift aid reclaimed | 916 | 916 | 1,033 | ||||||
| Sales of publications | 43,995 | 43,995 | 31,254 | ||||||
| Seminarandconference receipts | 14,445 | 14,445 | 15,953 | ||||||
| Bank interest | 3,052 | 3,052 | 2,922 | ||||||
| Sundry income | - | -- | 4,710 - |
||||||
| Sub total(l:irossincome tor AR) |
67,926 | 67,926 | 61,618 | ||||||
| 2 Asset and investment sa es, | |||||||||
| seetable. | |||||||||
| - | I | :11 | :11 |
:j§ | |||||
| Total receiptsj | 67,92611 | ·II | -11 |
67,92611 | 61,618I | ||||
| A3P t avmen s |
|||||||||
| Printinganddistribution | 37,331 | 37,331 | 24,410 | ||||||
| Seminarandconference expenses | 21,544 | 21,544 | 19,429 | ||||||
| Managementandadmiin expenses | 5,031 | 5,031 | 4,784 | ||||||
| - | - | - | |||||||
| - | - | - | |||||||
| - | - | - | |||||||
| - | - | - | |||||||
| - | - | - | |||||||
| - | - | - | |||||||
| Subtotal | 63,906 | 63,906 | 48,622 | ||||||
| A4 Asset and investment | |||||||||
| ...~~:;t&in_v_e_si_m_en_t_p_ur-ch_a_s_e:-u-b_t_o_ta-l-:---------:::::::: | :::::::::::::I:I::::-:.-:.-:.-:.-:.-:.:.:...ii | ::::::::::-:o_o:_-:: | |||||||
| Totalpayments_I 65,9691 _Netofreceipts/(payments).....___ 1_,9_5-16_ ASTransfers between funds |
.. ,__.-I..,_.-II 65,9691..I 4_8_,8_82..I 8:_8-_- 1-------·-i 1,956 12,736 |
||||||||
| ASCash fundslastyear end | 98,531 | .._ 98_,5_3_1-1,.,. 8_s,7_9_.5 |
|||||||
| Cash fundsthisyearend_____ 1_0_0,4_88_. |
., 1oo_,4_8_8_.., 9_8,s_J_.1 |
| Unrestricted | Unrestricted | Unrestricted | Restricted | Endowment | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Categories | Details | funds | funds | funds | |||
| tonearest£ | tonearest£ | to nearest£ | |||||
| 81 Cash funds | Bank accounts | 100,273 | |||||
| Cash in hand | 214 | ||||||
| . | |||||||
| Total cash funds | 100,488 | ||||||
| (agreebalanceswithreceiptsandpayments | |||||||
| account(s)) | |||||||
| Unrestricted | Restricted | Endowment | |||||
| funds | funds | funds | |||||
| Details | tonearest£ | tonearest£ | to nearest£ | ||||
| 82Other monetary assets | Debtors and prepayments | 1,853 | |||||
| Gift aid due | 304 | ||||||
| . | |||||||
| . | |||||||
| . | |||||||
| . | |||||||
| 83Investment assets | Details | Fundto which tb I asse e onas |
Cost(optional) | Current value (ootionall. |
|||
| . | |||||||
| . | |||||||
| . | |||||||
| . | |||||||
| Details | Fundtowhich bl asseteonas |
Cost(optional) | Current value (ootionall |
||||
| 84Assets retainedforthe | Equipment at nbv | Unrestricted fund | 2,193 | ||||
| charity's own use | Stockofpublications | Unrestricted fund | 64,868 | ||||
| . | |||||||
| . | |||||||
| . | |||||||
| . | |||||||
| . | |||||||
| . | |||||||
| . | |||||||
| Fund | towhich | Amountdue | When due | ||||
| 85Liabilities | Details | liabilityrelates | footionall. | <ootionall | |||
| . | |||||||
| . | |||||||
| . | |||||||
| . | |||||||
| Signed by one or two trustees on behalfofall the trustees |
Signature | Name | Dateof | ||||
| BA-1= | A |
| CHARITYCOMMISSIONIThe Prom | etheus T | rust | ,~99648 | ,~99648 | ,~99648 | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| FORENGLANDANDWALES,.___.____, | |||||||||
| Recei | ments accounts | CC16a | |||||||
| Forthe period from |
To | 31/07/2025 | |||||||
| Section A Receipts and payments | |||||||||
| Unrestricted funds |
Restricted funds |
Endowment funds |
Total funds | Last year | |||||
| to the nearest £ |
to the nearest£ | to the nearest£ | tothe | nearest£ | to the nearest£ | ||||
| A . t 1Rece1ps |
|||||||||
| Giftsanddonations | 1,812 | 1,812 | 2,791 | ||||||
| Deeds of Covenant | 3,705 | 3,705 | 2,955 | ||||||
| Gift aid reclaimed | 916 | 916 | 1,033 | ||||||
| Sales of publications | 43,995 | 43,995 | 31,254 | ||||||
| Seminarandconference receipts | 14,445 | 14,445 | 15,953 | ||||||
| Bank interest | 3,052 | 3,052 | 2,922 | ||||||
| Sundry income | - | -- | 4,710 - |
||||||
| Sub total(l:irossincome tor AR) |
67,926 | 67,926 | 61,618 | ||||||
| 2 Asset and investment sa es, | |||||||||
| seetable. | |||||||||
| - | I | :11 | :11 |
:j§ | |||||
| Total receiptsj | 67,92611 | ·II | -11 |
67,92611 | 61,618I | ||||
| A3P t avmen s |
|||||||||
| Printinganddistribution | 37,331 | 37,331 | 24,410 | ||||||
| Seminarandconference expenses | 21,544 | 21,544 | 19,429 | ||||||
| Managementandadmiin expenses | 5,031 | 5,031 | 4,784 | ||||||
| - | - | - | |||||||
| - | - | - | |||||||
| - | - | - | |||||||
| - | - | - | |||||||
| - | - | - | |||||||
| - | - | - | |||||||
| Subtotal | 63,906 | 63,906 | 48,622 | ||||||
| A4 Asset and investment | |||||||||
| ...~~:;t&in_v_e_si_m_en_t_p_ur-ch_a_s_e:-u-b_t_o_ta-l-:---------:::::::: | :::::::::::::I:I::::-:.-:.-:.-:.-:.-:.:.:...ii | ::::::::::-:o_o:_-:: | |||||||
| Totalpayments_I 65,9691 _Netofreceipts/(payments).....___ 1_,9_5-16_ ASTransfers between funds |
.. ,__.-I..,_.-II 65,9691..I 4_8_,8_82..I 8:_8-_- 1-------·-i 1,956 12,736 |
||||||||
| ASCash fundslastyear end | 98,531 | .._ 98_,5_3_1-1,.,. 8_s,7_9_.5 |
|||||||
| Cash fundsthisyearend_____ 1_0_0,4_88_. |
., 1oo_,4_8_8_.., 9_8,s_J_.1 |
| Unrestricted | Unrestricted | Unrestricted | Restricted | Endowment | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Categories | Details | funds | funds | funds | |||
| tonearest£ | tonearest£ | to nearest£ | |||||
| 81 Cash funds | Bank accounts | 100,273 | |||||
| Cash in hand | 214 | ||||||
| . | |||||||
| Total cash funds | 100,488 | ||||||
| (agreebalanceswithreceiptsandpayments | |||||||
| account(s)) | |||||||
| Unrestricted | Restricted | Endowment | |||||
| funds | funds | funds | |||||
| Details | tonearest£ | tonearest£ | to nearest£ | ||||
| 82Other monetary assets | Debtors and prepayments | 1,853 | |||||
| Gift aid due | 304 | ||||||
| . | |||||||
| . | |||||||
| . | |||||||
| . | |||||||
| 83Investment assets | Details | Fundto which tb I asse e onas |
Cost(optional) | Current value (ootionall. |
|||
| . | |||||||
| . | |||||||
| . | |||||||
| . | |||||||
| Details | Fundtowhich bl asseteonas |
Cost(optional) | Current value (ootionall |
||||
| 84Assets retainedforthe | Equipment at nbv | Unrestricted fund | 2,193 | ||||
| charity's own use | Stockofpublications | Unrestricted fund | 64,868 | ||||
| . | |||||||
| . | |||||||
| . | |||||||
| . | |||||||
| . | |||||||
| . | |||||||
| . | |||||||
| Fund | towhich | Amountdue | When due | ||||
| 85Liabilities | Details | liabilityrelates | footionall. | <ootionall | |||
| . | |||||||
| . | |||||||
| . | |||||||
| . | |||||||
| Signed by one or two trustees on behalfofall the trustees |
Signature | Name | Dateof | ||||
| BA-1= | A |