2022-12-31-accounts - U3A Chepstow Group

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Trustees' Annual Report for the Year 2022

Period start date Period end date Day Month Year Day Month Year From 01 01 2022 To 31 12 2022

Section A Reference and administration details

Charity name U3A Chepstow Group

Other names charity is known by Chepstow u3a Registered charity number (if any)[702771]

Charity's principal address Riverbank House, Brightlands, Church Road, Newnham Postcode GL14 1AG

Names of the charity trustees who manage the charity

Trustee name	Ofce (if any) Dates acted if not for whole year Name of person (or body) entitled to appoint trustee (if any) Chairman (joint) Chepstow u3a AGM Chairman (joint) Chepstow u3a AGM Secretary Chepstow u3a AGM Treasurer Chepstow u3a AGM Treasurer Chepstow u3a AGM Membership Secretary Jan-Mar 2022 Chepstowu3a AGM Committee Member Membership Secretary Jan-Mar 2022 Mar-Dec 2022 Chepstow u3a AGM Committee Member Jan-Mar 2022 Chepstow u3a AGM Committee Member Chepstow u3a AGM Committee Member Chepstow u3a AGM Committee Member Chepstow u3a AGM
Nicola Lee
Shelagh Davies
Hugh Hutton
Ruth Harper
Pat Allard
Irene Hullah
Laraine Golding
Marion Huckle
Anne Pitman
Alison Broughton
Pamela Harrison
Jenny Channing	Committee Member Chepstow u3a AGM
Ann Tyson	Committee Member Chepstow u3a AGM
Sandra Gregory	Committee Member Chepstow u3a AGM

Names of the trustees for the charity, if any, (for example, any custodian trustees)

Name Dates acted if not for whole year

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Names and addresses of advisers (Optional information) Type of Name Address adviser

None

Name of chief executive or names of senior staff members (Optional information)

None

Section B Structure, governance and management

Description of the charity’s trusts

Type of governing document How the charity is constituted Trustee selection methods	Original Constitution of 1stDecember 1989 Revised Constitution approved by Third Age Trust and then by members on 7thFebruary 2018. Further changes to allow electronic meetings, introduce proxy voting, formalise electronic communications and revise the quorum defnition to include proxy voters were voted through at the 2021 AGM. Unincorporated Association Elected by members at AGM – all trustees are subject to re-election every year. Appointment by the Executive Committee (for casual vacancies) Co-option by the Executive Committee
Additional governance	issues (Optional information)

Type of governing
document
How the charity is
constituted
Trustee selection
methods

Original Constitution of 1stDecember 1989
Revised Constitution approved by Third Age Trust and then by members
on 7thFebruary 2018. Further changes to allow electronic meetings,
introduce proxy voting, formalise electronic communications and revise
the quorum defnition to include proxy voters were voted through at the
2021 AGM.
Unincorporated Association
Elected by members at AGM – all trustees are subject to re-election
every year.
Appointment by the Executive Committee (for casual vacancies)
Co-option by the Executive Committee

Additional governance

issues (Optional information)

You may choose to Policies for Induction of Trustees: include additional 1. Charity Commission’s Charity Trustee – What’s Involved information, where 2. u3a Advice Sheet on Conduct for Trustees relevant, about: 3. u3a Induction of Trustees  policies and Organisation
procedures adopted Chepstow u3a is an operationally independent organisation under the for the induction and umbrella of the Third Age Trust. The Committee deals with the financial training of trustees; and practical running of the charity. We have formed loose links with
the charity’s other u3as and other organisations for the promotion of our objectives. organisational Major Risks
structure and any wider network with No major risk considerations and management plans are currently in place but areas which could be of major risk are:
which the charity 1. Financial: these are controlled within the committee thus
works; minimising the risk of fraud or error. Additional payment controls
relationship with any put in place to minimise the risk from scams was put in place related parties; 2022.
trustees’ 2. Governance: each Trustee has specific responsibilities within the consideration of committee so they feel an integral part of the u3a. 3. Compliance: Annual Accounts are reported to Charity
major risks and the Commission.
system and 4. u3a Risk assessments are completed by conveners to assess risk
procedures to factors at the venues used for their activities.
manage them. 5. A major review of our Risk Management was implemented in

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2017 and the Risk Register is reviewed twice a year by the Committee.

Section C Objectives and activities

Summary of the objects of the charity set out in its governing document

Summary of the main activities undertaken for the public benefit in relation to these objects (include within this section the statutory declaration that trustees have had regard to the guidance issued by the Charity Commission on public benefit)

Objectives

The advancement of education and, in particular, the education of older people and those who are retired from full time work by all means, including associated activities conducive to learning personal development, and mental wellbeing.

The Main Activities

The central focus of our u3a is our 80 activity groups, offering an eclectic mix of educational, physical and social activities.

We also offer a range of social events, offering some of these as hybrid meetings to offer an inclusive programme for those members who are unable/unwilling to attend in person.

In August we hold a picnic in the park with entertainment from our performance groups, where members can gather with their friends and family to enjoy an afternoon.

We are a Monmouthshire stakeholder and participate fully in local community discussions with Monmouthshire County Council and Chepstow Town Council.

We participate in community events such as the Chepstow Festival of Arts, and we support our performance groups in their community concerts.

Tuesday Live Monthly Meetings

2022 saw a full programme of hybrid meetings in the community Drill Hall. Numbers have slowly grown over the months. In December we invited the Chepstow Male Voice Choir to entertain us and we opened the Christmas season with 150 of our members.

Saturday Coffee Mornings

These are monthly, and are held at the Chepstow Club. These have been very successful and regularly attract around 40 members.

Activity Groups

Eighty educational and leisure activity groups meet regularly to explore their area of interest: intellectual, physical, or creative, for the benefit of our members. These groups also offer trips to the theatre, various historic and artistic venues and walking trips of between one day and one week. These are now attracting maximum numbers. Indeed, the trip to Windsor Castle was so popular that our AwayDays group ran two trips.

Apart from some start up grants and help with purchasing capital equipment, all groups are self-funding.

Communication with Members

We keep members fully informed of all our activities by sending out information emails and maintaining a web site for those of our members who are ‘on-line’ (currently 95%). In September we

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launched a new website, 18 months in development. It offers an attractive and easily navigated layout, with many new features including the ability to join online. We publish a monthly Magazine which is available on our web site as a flipbook. 200 printed copies are available at Monthly Meetings, Coffee Mornings, and at Chepstow Library and other community centres.

Public Benefit

Our charity is welcoming and inclusive to anybody within the criteria set out in our constitution. There are no qualifications needed and we endeavour to keep the membership fee as low as possible and provide our core facilities, the Tuesday Live monthly meeting, the monthly Magazine, and the Third Age Trust magazine, free to members. The u3a Zoom is available for groups to use free of charge.

The activity groups are made up of our members. Knowledge is exchanged as a process of learning and groups are particularly conducive to forming friendships which is part of our objectives.

We take inclusivity and diversity very seriously, and involve all of our conveners to ensure that we are a welcoming, inclusive organisation.

The trustees have ensured that everything our charity has done has helped (or is intended to help) to achieve the purposes for which it is set up, and to no other purpose .

Additional details of objectives and activities (Optional information)

Grants

Grants are given to existing groups towards purchasing equipment. Grants are given to new groups to help them to ‘start-up’.

You may choose to include further statements, where relevant, about:

policy on grant making;
policy programme related investment;
contribution made by volunteers.

Volunteers

All Activity Groups, administration, and support activities are run by volunteers from the overall membership. For example:

All of our Activity Groups are led by our members, we call them Conveners.
Members take a role in teaching the Activity Groups, leading walks, organising educational trips etc.
Members normally offer their homes for the smaller Activity Groups to keep costs to a minimum.
Members also assist in many other more minor ways such as general administrative duties, providing refreshments etc.
Members help in running the Tuesday Live monthly meetings.
The Activity Groups provide speakers or entertainment for some of the Tuesday Live monthly meetings.

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Section D Achievements and performance

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Summary of the main achievements of the charity during the year

Membership : In 2020 we focused on retaining existing members in the face of the Covid Pandemic. In 2021 our strategy widened to recruitment and retention. 2021 ended with 954 members, 55 of whom joined after visiting the Open Day in October. Our pre Covid membership (2019) was 948, and we feel that we successfully held Chepstow u3a together during the difficult Pandemic years. We have bounced back in a more positive way than many u3as because we kept our members engaged with zoom and the monthly magazine during the difficult lockdowns, so our groups were ready to meet face to face as soon as regulations allowed.

Website : A decision was taken to invest in a new website as Sitebuilder was 20 years old and had significant restrictions. A group was formed to develop a brief and to investigate potential suppliers. A local web designer was chosen and worked closely with the u3a website Lead. The new website was launched in September 2022, firstly to the conveners and then to the membership in general. Many training sessions for conveners were held to ensure that each group has the technical knowhow to keep their webpage updated. The website has been very well received and is now attracting visitors every month.

Magazine : Over Covid more member participation was included in the magazine, in place of group activities. This proved to be very popular and has been kept during 2022. The structure of the magazine has evolved to include group activities and member activities. The magazine now prints 200 copies per month and is again distributed at our monthly meeting, coffee morning, at the library and other community hubs. With the launch of the new website, the magazine is now read via flipbooks and thus reads exactly like a magazine, although online. This has proved to be very popular, and visits to the magazine page on the website are growing.

Groups : All of our groups are now meeting face to face. Numbers across many groups have not yet reached pre Covid levels, and we are putting effort into encouraging people to try new groups.

Social Events : In addition to our monthly Tuesday Live meetings and coffee mornings, we held a summer picnic by the Bandstand where our performance groups entertained us as we enjoyed a glass of Pimm’s. In October we celebrated the 40[th] anniversary of u3a in the UK with a party with Bubbly and a magician. In November our wine Appreciation 4 group hosted a very successful wine tasting evening in Mencap’s beautiful Board School. For our Christmas party we were entertained by the Chepstow Male Voice Choir whilst enjoying a glass of mulled wine and Christmas cakes.

Marketing : u3a had a big presence at the Chepstow Festival of Arts in July which raised awareness and interest.

The u3a Family : We have been proactive in maintaining activity within the South Wales Network of u3as using our Zoom for meetings and making significant contributions to the discussions.

We have also been active in national discussions about the future of the Third Age Trust. We continue to work within the u3a network, sharing best practice via the toolkit resource.

We continued as members of GAVO (Gwent Association of Voluntary Organisations) and became members of the Monmouthshire County Council Volunteer Organisations group. We are an MCC stakeholder.

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Section E Financial review

Brief statement of the charity’s policy on reserves

To keep between £3,000 and £4,000 in reserves or about 3 to 4 months of operational costs to meet any unforeseen expenditure that may occur.

Details of any funds materially in deficit

None

Further financial review details (Optional information)

The majority of our cash flow relates to funding by the members of individual group activities. Apart from some central seed-funding, these activities are essentially self-funding. For all other expenditure:

You may choose to include additional information, where relevant about:

the charity’s Principal sources of funds
principal sources of 1. Members subscriptions – about 85%
funds (including any 2. Gift Aid – about 12%
fundraising);
Grants & Donations – about 2%
how expenditure has supported the key objectives of the charity;
The source of all our funds is England or Wales.

Main areas of expenditure are:

Subscriptions to the Third Age Trust
1. Providing a monthly Magazine which is free for u3a members.
Investment policy This also acts as publicity at our marketing events and is
and objectives normally freely available to the public at Chepstow library.
including any ethical 3. Direct mailing of the national Third Age Trust magazine, free
investment policy to u3a member households who have opted to receive it.
adopted. 4. All of our expenditure takes place in England or Wales.

Section F Other optional information

Section G Declaration

The trustees declare that they have approved the trustees’ report above.

Signed on behalf of the charity’s trustees

Signature(s) Full name(s) Shelagh Davies Nicky Lee Hugh Hutton Position (e.g. Chair, Chairman Chairman Secretary Secretary, etc.)

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Date 7[th] February 2023

7[th] February 2023

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2022 Annual Accounts rlod: 1st IANLIARY 2022 to 31st DECEMBER 2022 For the SECTION A,, RECEIPTS AND PAYMENTS AI.. RECEIPTS 2022 2021 Group A¢tivities Membership Subscriptions Gift Aid Grants 45.208 11,420 1,794 150 22,378 9,S55 1.347 Marketing Donations 32 81 3.500 85 Walking Week Open Day 4.800 200 16 9S 20 Summer and Christmas Parties 180 Sub Total 62.296 38,626 A2.. ASSET AND INVESTMENT SALES TOTAL RECEIPTS 62,296 38.626 A3.. PAYMENT5 Group Activities Admin Bearon System Subscription CLA Litense 46.939 192 933 60 23.411 216 904 Coffee Mornings Convenor's Meetines iio 35 141 J2 79 70 Donations Grants Magazine Expenditure Marketing Expenses Membership Membership Fee to TAT Monthly Meetin%5 Expenses Open Day Expenses Speakers Expenses 95 1.711 1.832 723 206 2.982 704 637 775 117 3.472 1149 425 136 Xmas ind Summer Parties Third Age Matters U3A Meeting5 INew Members etcl Zoom Licence Walkint Weeks Web Site SubTotal 332 1,314 95 480 1,504 74 144 5700 1504 65,670 34,859 A4.. ASSET AND INVESTMENT PURCHASES Sum Up Credlt Card Reader New Laptop computer New Projectorfor laptop 150 498 495 TOTAL PAYMENTS 66,813 34,859 NETOF RECEIPT5IPAYMENTS A5.. TRANSFER BETWEEN FUNDS -4,517 3.767 6.. CASH FUNDS LAST YEAR ENO 28.959 25.192 CASH FUNDS THISYEAR END 24,442 28959

SECTION B: STATEMENT OF ASs AND LIABILITIES AT END OF PERIOD BI: CASH FUNDS Treasurers Main AccountlGenerall Treasurers Activities AccountlDesignatedl Membership Subscriptions AccountlGenerall Walking Week AccountlDesignatedl COIF Main Account COIF Activities Account 3,514 12,308 5,894 2,723 2.916 14,011 7,102 4,923 Petty Cash TOTAL CASH FUNDS 24,442 28,959 83: INVESTMENT ASSETS 84: ASSETS RETAINED FOR CHARITY'S USE HI Fi System Lectern Extension Leads Laptop PC Portable Microphone System Ampllfiers 2 Microphones 2 Loudspeakers Yarnaha Sound Mixer CD Player x 3 Elearonic Keyboard Projector forconnection to PC Hot Water Urn U3A Banner 3 NotSce Boards Projection Screen Bluetooth Speaker Trolley 2 Fllp Charts Al Silversnap Frame A rd 2 Speakers Large Teapot Coffee Flask Elettronlc Drummachlne Portable Hard Drfve Webcarn External Sound Card Rernote control 'clicker' for laptop Behrlnger Portable PA system PKIIOA MSxer BehrSnger Xenyx 802 3 Behringer XM18(A)S Microtthones Microphone Stand Microphone Stand Trav SM 6-way Main5 Lead IOM Malns Lead USB Hub Ground Loop Isolators Miscellaneous Cables Awaydays Labe15 and Lanyards Badmlnton Equipment Bridge Equipment D8nce Hats, Skirts and Canes Table Tennis Tables x4 Sheet Mu5ic- Various Sum Up Credit Card Reader 85.. LIABIUTIES Fund Amount Due Outstanding Rent Outstanding Credlt Card Involce Uncleared Cheques Walking Weeks 2022 Acknvities 910 177 li ACVille5 Activities Walking Weeks SIGNATURE OF TRUSTEE.. AME OF TR POSITION PATRICIA A. ALLARD TREASURER DATE OF APPROVAL 23rd January 2022

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