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← Burton Renewal Fellowship

2025-03-31-accounts

Annual Report April 2023 to March 2024

We finished the year continuing to operate as Burton Renewal Fellowship (BRF) – known as ‘Riverside Church Burton’ (RCB) and as a church with charitable status. This will probably be the last year that we will be operating as BRF, as the ownership of the church building has now been transferred to the CIO that is RCB.

The existing team of four senior leaders, all of whom are trustees, continued to have equal authority & accountability in the leadership of the church. The staffing structure we had in the previous financial year which consisted of a full time Operational Manager, full time Community & Partnerships Manager, part time Children’s Worker & Administrative Assistant, part time Youth & Community Worker and sub-contracted cleaner, changed in September when our part time Children’s Worker & Administrative Assistant left to take a full-time position in a local school. A reshuffle of workload ensued and our youth and community worker is now The Children & Youth Worker. Our two full-time employees shared the majority of the administrative tasks.

During the year, the Operational Manager continued to undertake actions to ensure the building remained safe and viable long term. These included;

A grant from the Ward Enhancement Plan was applied for and we were successful. Part of this fund was to purchase a new warm air convector heater for the warehouse, as the old one was becoming obsolete. We were given 4 separate donations that came to £3,100 to enhance our PA & AV system towards the end of the financial year. This was for a new 2x new 65” TV’s, a new PC and associated hardware, along with new microphones. We converted an upstairs office into a media suite. This included painting one of the walls with ‘green screen paint’ and was used for the first time with our Christmas video this year. The big focus though was the commencement of the project to convert some waste land next to our outdoor area into a ‘secret garden’. We obtained a £1,980 grant from BUPA to pay for skips, and with the help of some amazing volunteers, and the further support of a local skip hire company, 100 tons of rubble and waste was removed to create a ‘blank canvas’ that we hope to complete next year. A Fire Risk assessment was commissioned, which highlighted a number of compliance issues, which are being rectified. One of which is for a new fire alarm system.

Riverside Church continued to hold weekly Sunday services - which were also live streamed via, and saved on, our Youtube channel. Throughout the year, this continued to prove to be an invaluable way of ensuring those who were not physically able to be in church – especially those who were too unwell - to remain connected with and a part of the church.

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

Along with their volunteer teams, the Children and Youth Worker was encouraged that the numbers of children and youth attending the sessions continue to grow. It has not been unusual for in excess of 30 under 18’s to attend on Sunday morning. As a reflective practitioner, our Children and Youth Worker continued to make minor tweaks to the practical arrangements for the children and youth in order to meet the diverse needs of those attending.

Some small groups for adults experienced changes in leadership and membership but the focus of these groups remained the same: prayer and pastoral support. Of significance during this year was the number of people who requested to join or transfer into the daytime small group. This culminated in creating an additional daytime home group that meets on the alternate Thursday. This is indicative of a growing number of the church who are feeling unable to drive at night for meetings. In addition to prayer and pastoral support, some small groups also used the time to study the Bible and delve deeper into the themes explored on Sundays.

During the year, our Children & youth worker was nominated for a SCVYS award, we also invested in our Children and Youth Worker by signposting her to a series of training events which had been shared with us by Staffordshire County Council and Staffordshire Council of Voluntary Youth Services. Some of the training included:

As we have registered Riverside Church as a food business with the FSA. We had an unannounced inspection in November by an Environmental Health Inspector. He was very impressed with the facilities and level of training of all staff and volunteers and awarded us a 5 star hygiene rating. On a different food based topic we received a very generous donation of 360kg of M&S chocolate digestives (seconds) from Fox’s biscuits of Uttoxeter.

At the beginning of this year the Senior Leadership Team, being mindful of the need to start succession planning, invited 17 individuals that were identified as having leadership qualities. 15 of which accepted the invitation. We invited these to a series of monthly training sessions. We have labelled this group the Emerging Leadership Team. Each evening provided time and space for attendees to discover more about themselves as leaders and to encourage them to grow and develop.

As well as the ongoing activities for the church family, we held some onoff events which included a BBQ and ‘Thanks a bunch munch’ for people who help with the many sessions which are run for the children and youth of the church and wider community.

Other one-off events which we organised and hosted throughout the year included:

External grants were a little more forth coming compared to the previous year. The church was awarded funds by the Consolidated Charity of Burton on Trent which will cover some of the costs associated with the warehouse building i.e. rent, insurance and part of the utility bills. As mentioned we received the WEP for the heater and skate ramps, and BUPA for the skips. In addition, some micro grants were secured and to help with the costs associated with:

We looked at the finances vs. value for money and decided to cut ties with TLG (Transforming Lives for Good). We still continued to send

appropriately vetted representatives of the church to support children at our local school. Two staff members led Collective Worship at a local primary school on alternate weeks and, six young people received one-toone support for an hour on a weekly basis at a primary school. The team of volunteer coaches from Riverside remains at six.

The playgroup, Jelly Tots, which is for parents/carers and children from newborn up to pre-school, continued to be extremely popular, making the most of the safe outdoor space, as well as the large indoor warehouse. The Childminders’ Support Group also continued as the separation of the two groups benefits those who attend both sessions.

The Warehouse Wednesdays’ provision continued to offer sessions for those aged 7-11 years from 4-5.15 pm. It is seen as a safe space for children with additional needs, so some stay and play with their parents. These children are often limited in the extracurricular activities that they can attend, but they are welcomed and feel at ease at our venue as we take the time to draw up care plans with them and their parents. The later session for those aged 10-16 continued running form 5.45-7.15 pm every Wednesday during term time. Many of the youth accessing our provision are struggling for a variety of reasons and this means that some of these youth have been excluded from activities elsewhere – either by a third party or have excluded themselves as they don’t feel able to attend because they are ‘quirky.’ At these sessions, we offer a safe, warm and accepting place to be themselves. Another USP of both Wednesday sessions is that they attract children and youth who want to learn/develop their skateboarding skills and this is only possible thanks to the committed team of volunteers from the wider community which is growing in number.

A number of sessions were planned for the summer holidays to help children, youth and their parents to continue to have access to the activities which are on offer during term time; some were based at Riverside, while others were in the community. The Jelly Tots playgroup ran for two sessions at the warehouse and, in contrast to term time, siblings were invited to reduce the need for parents to arrange childcare for their older children. Two sessions for primary aged children also took place at the church, as well as another one for youth. In partnership with Burton Albion Community Trust, Trent & Dove and Burton Youth for Christ, we ran three sessions of detached work at local parks. They were aimed at young people, but in reality, they attracted young families so following a review, revised plans will be made for the coming year.

The English Class continued to provide essential support to those for whom English is a second language. Due to word of mouth numbers regularly exceeded 30 each week. After some months, it became necessary to stop any new referrals and for the first time ever we had to have a waiting list.

The monthly Craft Club welcomed some of the English Class participants and it was wonderful to see them honing their command of the English language in a different setting.

Similarly, the monthly Lunch Club for those over 60 altered their criteria slightly to over 65, and the clients continue to be incredibly grateful for an affordable, tasty and nutritious meal with the company of others. 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. We also donated funds to our local branch of Christians Against Poverty (CAP) for the invaluable work they do in helping getting people out of debt.

The Place of Welcome which is usually hosted at Burton library temporarily relocated to Riverside’s premises for a few months when the library closed refurbishment. Feedback from the volunteers and staff about the venue and the welcome they received from the church was very positive. An additional two groups who used the library as a meeting place also relocated to Riverside temporarily.

Our local Teams4U volunteers were kind enough to provide 136 Christmas shoeboxes for local children in need. These were distributed by Winshill’s Bee Blessed Charity Shop and three local primary schools - all of whom were incredibly grateful for the gifts. Riverside also donated funds to the local branch of the Teams4U to support their invaluable work moving forward.

Support for people further afield also continued with regular giving to 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. Likewise, the church continued to highlight and support the work of ‘Open Doors.’

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 can be seen below.

Narcotics Anonymous (which is for those who are recovering from drug and alcohol addiction) continued to hold two fellowship meetings each week at the church’s premises. The Burton Addiction Centre also started to hold a weekly pre-recovery group at the church, further cementing the relationship with this incredible local organisation.

BAC ‘o’ Connor are a pre rehab group that used our premises. Individuals tend to go to rehab and then feed into the NA groups that meet in our building. Hosting the BAC group helps get a sense of continuity for those attending.

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. The Burton-wide ‘tea and talk’ sessions took place as usual at Riverside during the year, while the History Group continued meeting once a month.

Burton Child Contact Centre (BCCC). Started using our warehouse and workshop. They provide a safe, supervised place for divorced are separated parents that require supervised contact.

Burton YMCA is one of our key partners and the organisation used our facilities for staff training during the year. In order to offer the best support available to those in need in the town, professional connections between the staff of both organisations are continuing to grow. The same can be said of Burton Youth for Christ who partner with us in the Warehouse Wednesday project and other aforementioned activities. 24 youth joined the Burton Youth Christ weekend away at Alton Castle. Their good behaviour was commented upon by the staff and volunteers who were responsible for running the programme and upon returning home, all youth confirmed that they had moved forward in their faith.

We are extremely grateful to the following organisations who have supported us financially:

In line with the recommendations of the Charity Commission, we continue to keep reserves of six 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 by Lifestyle Accounting.

Riverside Church Burton Riverside Church Burton Riverside Church Burton 515335 515335
Receipts andpayments accounts CC16a
For the period
from
~~es ~~		 Period start date
4/1/2024
~~ee~~		 To Period end date
3/31/2025
~~ee~~
Section A Receipts and payments
Unrestricted
funds		 Restricted
funds		 Endowment
funds		 Total funds Last year
to the nearest £ to the nearest £ to the nearest £ to the nearest £ to the nearest £
A1 Receipts
MonthlyGiving 92,758 - - 92,758 79,448
Offerings 3,183 - - 3,183 2,930
One offgiving 11,474 - - 11,474 1,020
Grants 33,840 - - 33,840 18,425
Donations/Rent for use of Building 5,976 - - 5,976 3,954
Gift Aid Reclaim 21,801 - - 21,801 20,266
Church Social Activities & Events 30 - - 30 951
Bank Interest On savings Accounts 1,554 - - 1,554 1,654
Sub total(Gross income for AR) 136,776
(Gross income for AR)		 33,840 - - 170,616 128,648
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
Sub total -
-
-
-
-
Total receipts 136,776
33,840
-
170,616
128,648
A2 Asset and investment sales,
(see table).
~~——————~~
A3 Payments
Gifts 4,338 - - 4,338 5,884
Salaries/PAYE/Pension (includes Grant
fundedproject salarycosts) 76,402 12,817 - - 89,219 110,379
Admin & BuildingRunningCosts 29,953 - - 29,953 34,925
Bank Charges/AccountancyFees 1,032 - - 1,032 892
Church Outreach 3,676 - - 3,676 7,355
Grant Funded Projects (excluding salary
Costs) 21,023 - - 21,023 611
Special Projects 1,700 - - 1,700 6,688
- - - - -
- - - - - -
Sub total 117,101 33,840 - - 150,941 166,734
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
Sub total -
-
-
-
-
Total payments 117,101
33,840
-
150,941
166,734
A4 Asset and investment
purchases,(see table)
~~——————~~
Net of receipts/(payments) 19,675
-
-
19,675
- 38,086
A5 Transfers between funds
-
-
-
A6 Cash funds last year end
145,766
-
-
145,766
183,852
Cash funds this year end 165,441
-
-
165,441
145,766
~~SSS$=~~

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

Categories
B1 Cash funds
B2 Other monetary assets
B3 Investment assets
B5 Liabilities
B4 Assets retained for the
charity’s own use
Signed by one or two trustees on
behalf of all the trustees		 Details
Current Account
Buildings & special projects
Reserves
Details
Details
Details
Details
Signature
Total cash funds
(agree balances with receipts and payments
account(s))		 to nearest £
to nearest £
27,168
-
66,734
-
71,539
-
165,441
-
OK
OK
to nearest £
to nearest £
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
Cost (optional)
-
-
-
-
-
Cost (optional)
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
Print Name
Unrestricted
funds
Restricted
funds
Unrestricted
funds
Restricted
funds
Fund to which
asset belongs
Fund to which
asset belongs
Fund to which
liability relates
Amount due
(optional)		 to nearest £
Endowment
funds
-
-
-
-
OK
to nearest £
Endowment
funds
-
-
-
-
-
-
Current value
(optional)
-
-
-
-
-
Current value
(optional)
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
When due
(optional)
Date of
approval

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CS | Independent examiner's report on the
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Name: | David R Munro Relevant professional qualification(s) or body |Member of the Association of Accounting Technicians (if any):

Address: | Lifestyle Accounting Ltd

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IER
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1

April 2009

58 — 60 Wetmore Road, Burton-on-Trent Staffordshire, DE14 1SN

Only complete if the examiner needs to highlight material problems.

IER

2

April 2009

Give here brief details of any items that the examiner wishes to disclose.

IER

3

April 2009

IER

4 April 2009