2022-03-31-accounts

Annual Report April 2021 to March 2022

With the rollout of the Covid-19 vaccination programme, this year saw a gradual return to ‘normal’ at Burton Renewal Fellowship – known as ‘Riverside Church’ - a church with charitable status. Given the mixed nature of the groups meeting at the premises, the Trustees erred on the side of caution when resuming activities, so this meant that when waves of the virus hit, there was minimal disruption.

As planned, Mark Ward took on the role of Chair for the financial year and introduced a new way of structuring and recording meetings after the retirement of Daryl Williams in May 2021. Daryl Williams and Karen Williams stepped down as Elders and Trustees when Daryl retired in May 2021 and they both took a break from all things connected with Riverside Church for six months. The Elders took this opportunity to rename their role as ‘Senior Leadership Team’ – a phrase it was hoped would be more meaningful to the general public. At the same time, the five remaining SLT who were also Trustees took on equal and joint leadership of the church.

Having investigated the functions carried out by Daryl in his role as full time Church Leader, trustees made changes to staffing: initially the part time Operations Manager’s hours increased when Daryl retired. Later in the year, in September, the new Youth & Community Worker started her part time role, the combined Children’s Worker and Administrative Assistant’s part time hours increased and the existing Operations Manager’s focus changed to become full time Community & Partnerships Manager. A replacement temporary part time cleaner was appointed during this year, although she didn’t start the role until the new financial year.

The objectives of the charity continued to remain as they have been since its inception:

• the advancement of the Christian faith in accordance with the doctrines outlined in the Trust Deed,

• the relief of those in conditions of need, hardship, distress or aged.

• The advancement of education on the basis of Christian principles, without prejudice as explained by the terms outlined in the Trust Deed.

With these objectives in mind, Riverside Church Burton continued to hold services and was able to open the church up from Sunday 4[th] April 2021 for those who felt comfortable to attend – with Covid mitigations in place. These controls ranged from pre-booking seats which were arranged in bubbles, to use of hand sanitiser, the wearing of face masks and the shortening of services to one hour. As the financial year progressed, the controls were gradually relaxed. For the most part, services were also livestreamed and this meant that those who were unable to attend the church in person still

remained connected. As well as the typical Sunday Services, a number of special ones took place:

• 4[th] April 2021: Interactive Easter Experience

• 31[st] October: Hope & Light Messy Church

• 5[th] December 2021: Christmas Magic Show

• 19[th] December 2021: Christmas Carol and Christingle Service

• 26[th] March 2022: Service of Thanksgiving and Remembrance for those who died during the last two years

• 27[th] March 2022: 4Front Theatre Company production to celebrate Mothering Sunday

Perhaps the most poignant service was the one held on 26[th] March when families and friends of those who’d sadly passed away during the two preceding years were invited to come and pay their respects to their loved ones. A memorial was unveiled on that day and families continue to leave flowers for their loved ones.

For half of the year, the children and youth remained separate from the rest of the church in order to protect adults who attended the service but as time progressed, it was a joy to have the children return to being in the services at the start and end, while leaving for age appropriate activities during the middle. The Children’s Worker and Youth & Community redesigned the format of the Sunday morning activities to make them less like school and to encourage socialisation between the age groups.

Small groups such as those meeting in homes or at the church met in ways that suited them best: some met in person, others online, while a hybrid approach was used by those who felt confident to do so. These groups were mainly for prayer and pastoral support, while some also used the time to study the Bible and delve deeper into the themes explored on Sundays.

Of equal importance was the desire to continue to reach out to the community and serve those in need. This meant that during the financial year, Riverside Church supported projects financially and in kind where it was considered help was needed. One such example is that the church assisted with the community testing programme by distributing 600 LFTs during the year.

Throughout the year, appropriate representatives of the church also continued to support children at local schools. A staff member led Collective Worship at a local primary school via video call on alternate weeks and a total of five young people received one-to-one support for an hour on a weekly basis – two in person at a local high school and three via video call at a primary school. One-to-one support at the primary school was and continues to be delivered in partnership with TLG (Transforming Lives for Good) – a national charity in receipt of a number of awards.

As the uptake of Covid vaccinations increased, so did the reopening of the church’s outreach activities in person. On 9[th] June 2021, the Warehouse Wednesdays youth club opened for a restricted number to ascertain their needs and wants moving forward. This provision continued into the school Summer holidays, with an additional session for primary school aged children during the October half term. By September 2021, the Warehouse Wednesday sessions for those aged 10 to 17 were running as normal, with indoor skateboarding, outdoor football cage and further indoor activities for those in attendance

Jelly Tots, a parent/carer and child group for new-borns up to pre-school, restarted in September 2021, with the first month being open to children below the age of two so that they could settle before the older children joined. This was such a success that this phased start is likely to be used in future years. Numbers started quite low but by the end of the financial year, had risen to 46 children, with 31 adults in a single session.

The break imposed by Covid meant that the parent/carer and child group’s organisers were effectively recruiting a brand new client base and this was a sentiment echoed by the volunteers running the English Class which also restarted in September 2021. The latter group continued to provide essential support for those who English was virtually non-existent right through to those who could communicate effectively in the language but wanted to improve. Numbers were low in comparison to previous years but global issues meant that the volunteers had plans in place to advertise and recruit newcomers to the country.

The wide-ranging benefits of learning crafts are well known and so it was with some excitement that the monthly Craft Club restarted in November. Organisers experimented with running this on a Saturday for a couple of months to provide those in full time work with the opportunity to engage with the club, but as this didn’t happen it reverted to a weekday in the New Year. The group, although quite small, attracts people with severe health issues who are unable to leave their homes easily; it’s therefore proving to be helpful in overcoming isolation.

Similarly, the monthly Lunch Club for those over 60 restarted in October 2021 and the clients who have attended since that point have been incredibly grateful for the opportunity to meet again for an affordable, tasty and nutritious meal. Numbers have been consistent, at around 40, which is manageable for the size of the room and the cooks.

The church continued to partner with a number of local organisations by working together with them and making financial donations where appropriate. Riverside contributed funds and foods to Burton YMCA in acknowledgement of the amazing contribution they make to the town, as well as the ever-growing need for food parcels. On 5[th] April 2022, Riverside

was proud to host Burton YMCA’s Fashion Show Fundraiser and were very grateful to the latter for the donation made to help with the cost of utilities.

Likewise, the church has a strong relationship with the local Teams4U volunteers and both organisations worked together to provide 300 Christmas shoeboxes for local children in need. Amongst other organisations, these were distributed by Winshill’s Newstart Charity Shop and Holy Trinity Primary School. Riverside also donated funds to the local branch of the Teams4U to support their invaluable work moving forward.

The young people of the church are encouraged to look outward and together they continued to sponsor a child through ‘Compassion.’ Similarly, on larger scale, the church has links with Restoration of Hope in Burundi which supports over 70 children and young people who have been living on the streets and are behind with their education. Riverside send regular financial support to help pay for the education and material needs of those requiring it there, as well as sending additional funds if possible when requested.

The Church premises continued to be made available for regular use by third party groups and local charities, many of whom work with the vulnerable and disadvantaged in our community.

As a self-help group, Narcotics Anonymous was one of the first to return to meeting in person at the church. This group is for those who are recovering from drug and alcohol addiction and at one stage the church was facing requests for three different groups to meet in the buildings each week. By the end of the year, the original single group was meeting each week.

The U3A, or ‘The University of the Third Age’ movement is a collection of groups (u3as) that run local and online member-led learning for those no longer in full time work across the UK. While the History Group wasn’t ready to return, the Burton-wide ‘tea and talk’ sessions took place as usual at Riverside during the year, using Covid procedures to minimise risk of transmission.

As indicated earlier, Burton YMCA is one of our key partners and the organisation used our facilities for staff training and trustee meetings, in addition to the fund raiser mentioned previously. The same can be said of Burton Youth for Christ who partner with us in the Warehouse Wednesday project and have used our facilities free of charge for events such as ‘Starbuds’ and the Youth Alpha.

Eagle’s Nest Project works with young people aged 11-18 years who are struggling to remain in mainstream education. It has a variety of projects – one of which is based at Riverside. The nature of this charity meant that it continued to meet throughout pandemic on a weekly basis during term time.

In line with the recommendations of the Charity Commission, we continue to keep reserves of sixth months in order to make sure that we can meet all our

financial commitments, should the need arise. An independent check of accounts and other records has been completed again this year by a Chartered Accountant.

Charity Name No (if any) Receipts and payments accounts CC16a For the period Period start date Period end date To from 4/1/2021 3/31/2022

Section A Receipts and payments

----- Start of picture text -----
Unrestricted Restricted Endowment
Total funds Last year
funds funds funds
to the nearest
to the nearest £ to the nearest £ to the nearest £ to the nearest £
£
A1 Receipts
Monthly Giving 80,176 - 80,176 86,643
Offerings 1,164 844 - 2,008 2,023
Other Giving - - 3,930
Grants 363 4,375 - 4,738 22,758
Gift Aid Reclaim 18,806 - 18,806 19,948
Donations/rent for use of buildings 4,920 - 4,920 3,856
Bank Interest on Savings Accounts 15 - 15 26
Church weekend away/youth/social events 155 - 155 46
Sub total (Gross income for AR) 105,599 5,219 - 110,818 139,230
A2 Asset and investment sales,
(see table).
- - -
- - - - -
Sub total [ - ] - - - -
Total receipts 105,599 5,219 - 110,818 139,230
A3 Payments
Gifts 5,436 5,436 7,713
Salaries/PAYE/Pension(includes Grant
funded project salary costs) 46,565 5,174 51,739 65,727
Admin & Building Running Costs 16,274 5,412 21,686 16,298
Bank charges/Accountancy fees 856 856 701
Church Outreach 3,304 2,250 5,554 6,059
Grant Funded Projects(excluding salary
costs) 2,969 2,969 4,279
Special Projects 4,172 4,172 2,167
Adjustment
Sub total 76,607 15,805 - 92,412 102,944
A4 Asset and investment
purchases, (see table)
- - - -
- - - -
Sub total - - - - -
Total payments 76,607 15,805 - 92,412 102,944
Net of receipts/(payments) 28,992 - 10,586 - 18,406 36,286
A5 Transfers between funds
A6 Cash funds last year end 118,428 36,933 155,361 119,075
Cash funds this year end 147,420 26,347 - 173,767 155,361
----- End of picture text -----

Section B Statement of assets and liabilities at the end of the period

			Unrestricted	Restricted	Endowment	Endowment
	Categories	Details	funds	funds		funds
B1	Cash funds	Bank Current Account Savings Account - Reserves Savings Account - Buildings & Special Projects Total cash funds (agree balances with receipts and payments account(s))	to nearest £ 11,646 69,872 65,539 147,057 Agreement Error	to nearest £ 6,710 20,000 26,710 Agreement Error	to OK	nearest £ - - - -

			Unrestricted	Restricted	Endowment
			funds	funds	funds
B2 Other monetary assets	Details		to nearest £ - - - - - -	to nearest £ - - - - - -	to nearest £ - - - - - -
B3 Investment assets	Details		Fund to which asset belongs	Cost (optional) - - - - -	- - - - - Current value (optional)
B4 Assets retained for the	Details Riverside Church Building + land it occupies		Fund to which asset belongs	Cost (optional) 12,500	- Current value (optional)
charity’s own use	purchased in 2003			- - - - - - - -	- - - - - - - -
			Fund to which	Amount due	When due
B5 Liabilities	Details		liability relates	- - - - - (optional)	(optional)
Signed by one or two trustees on behalf of all the trustees		Signature	Print	Name	Date of approval

RIVERSIDE CHURCH – BURTON RENEWAL FELLOWSHIP

INDEPENDENT EXAMINER’S REPORT TO THE TRUSTEES FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31 MARCH 2022

I report on the accounts of the charity for the period ended 31 March 2022.

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 of the Charities Act 2011 (the Charities Act) and that an independent examination is needed.

It is my responsibility to:

• examine the accounts under section 145 of the Charities Act,

• to follow procedures laid down in the general directions given by the Charity Commission under section 145(5)(b) of the Charities Act, and

• to state whether particular matters have come to my attention.

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 statement below.

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 Charities Act; and

• to prepare accounts which accord with the accounting records and comply with the

• accounting requirements the Charities Act have not been met 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.

Deborah Dean FCA CTA 30 Postern Road Tatenhill Burton-on-Trent Staffordshire DE13 9SJ