2023-12-31-accounts

Trustees' Annual Report for the Year 2023

Period start date Period end date a | Day Month Year Day Month Year 01 01 2023 31 12 2023 From To Section A Reference and administration details ~~Pe~~ Charity name ~~Pt~~ U3A Chepstow Group Other names charity is known by ~~Ct~~ Chepstow u3a Registered charity number (if any) 702771

Charity's principal address c/o 8 Cross Farm Close, Aylburton

Postcode GL15 6EB

Names of the charity trustees who manage the charity

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|||||| |---|---|---|---|---| |Dates acted if not for whole|Name of person (or body) entitled| |Trustee name|Office (if any)| |year|to|appoint|trustee|(if any)| |ee|es|en| |Nicola Lee|Chairman (joint)|Elected at AGM| |esGs| |Shelagh Davies|Chairman (joint)|Elected at AGM| |Secretary|Jan|Mar|Elected at AGM| |Hugh Hutton|Secretary|May|Co-opted by EC| |Committee Member|Apr & Jun-Dec|Apr & Jun-Dec| |ee|eeee| |Neville Goward|Secretary|Apr|Appointed by EC| |ee Re| |Tony Fishpool|Secretary|Jun - Dec|Appointed by EC| |ee|GR| |a|Ruth Harper|Treasurer|Jan - Mar|Elected at AGM| |Pat Allard|Treasurer|Elected at AGM| |es| |Rob Davies|Vice Treasurer|Mar - Dec|Elected at AGM| |eses| |Laraine Golding|Membership Secretary|Elected at AGM| |ee|nsGn| |Anne Pitman|Committee member|Jan - Mar|Elected at AGM| |es|en|Gs| |Alison Broughton|Committee Member|Elected at AGM| |ee|Gn| |Pamela Harrison|Committee Member|Elected at AGM| |esns| |Jenny Channing|Committee Member|Elected at AGM| |ee|es| |Ann Tyson|Committee Member|Jan - Mar|Elected at AGM| |ee Ge| |Angela LeFevre|Committee member|Appointed by EC| |es| |Sandra Gregory|Committee Member|Elected at AGM| |ee es|

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

Name Dates acted if not for whole year Names and addresses of advisers (Optional information) Type of adviser Name Address None ~~RR~~

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

None

~~ee~~ Section B Structure, governance and management

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Original Constitution of 1[st] December 1989 Type of governing Revised Constitution allows electronic meetings, introduced proxy voting, document formalised electronic communications and revised the quorum definition to include proxy voters were approved at the 2021 AGM. How the charity is constituted[Unincorporated Association ] Elected by members at AGM all trustees are subject to re-election every year. Trustee selection Appointment by the Executive Committee (for casual vacancies) methods Co-option by the Executive Committee Additional governance issues (Optional information) You may choose to Policies for Induction of Trustees: include additional 1. What s Involved information, where relevant, 2. u3a Advice Sheet on Conduct for Trustees about: 3. u3a Induction of Trustees policies and procedures Organisation adopted for the induction Chepstow u3a is an operationally independent organisation under the umbrella of and training of trustees; the Third Age Trust. The Committee deals with the financial and practical running the of the charity. We have formed loose links with other u3as and other organisations for the promotion of our objectives. organisational structure and any wider network Major Risks with which the charity No major risk considerations and management plans are currently in place but works; areas which could be of major risk are: relationship with any 1. Financial: these are controlled within the committee thus minimising the related parties; risk of fraud or error. Additional payment controls put in place to minimise t the risk from scams was put in place 2022. 2. Governance: each Trustee has specific responsibilities within the of major risks and the committee, so they feel an integral part of the u3a. system and procedures 3. Compliance: Annual Accounts are reported to Charity Commission. to manage them. 4. A major review of our Risk Management was implemented in 2017 and the Risk Register is reviewed every year by the Committee.

Section C Objectives and activities

Summary of the Objectives objects of the The advancement of education and, in particular, the education of older people and charity set out in those who are retired from full time work by all means, including associated activities its governing document conducive to learning personal development, and mental wellbeing.

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The Main Activities

The central focus of our u3a is our 70+ 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 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 hold an annual inter group quiz. We have a Spring concert, and a Christmas party. 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.

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)

Tuesday Live Monthly Meetings 2023 saw a full programme of hybrid meetings in the community Drill Hall with a rich variety of speakers attracting around 60 people. In December we held a Christmas party with entertainment from Alison Neil and her one woman show which attracted 170 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. In December we hold a Christmas coffee morning - this year with entertainment by our Guitar group. Activity Groups Over seventy 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. 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 - Our website 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 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 .

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Additional details of objectives and activities (Optional information)

Youmay chooseto include further statements, where relevant, about: policy on grant making; policy programme related investment; contribution made by volunteers.

Grants Grants are given to existing groups towards purchasing equipment. Grants are given to new groups - . Volunteers All Activity Groups, administration, and support activities are run by volunteers from the overall membership. For example: All 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 : Our pre Covid membership (2019) was 948, we felt it was important to keep active during Covid with the help of 2 zoom memberships, the monthly magazine (posted to those without internet) and a chatline. We successfully held Chepstow u3a together during the difficult pandemic years. Membership has steadily grown since Covid restrictions were lifted and now stands at 1045. Membership can now be paid online, by credit/debit card, and still by cash or cheque although these methods are now a significant minority. Website : A decision was taken to invest in a new website which was launched in September 2022. The website has been very well received and attracts visitors every month. We now have the facility to join online. Magazine pictures which began during Covid, which has proved to be very popular. 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. The magazine can also be read via flipbooks on our website. This has proved to be very popular, and visits to the magazine page on the website are growing. Groups : Some groups have been lost this year, but most have grown, and many are at full capacity. Our emphasis for 2024 is to encourage the creation of more groups to satisfy the increase in membership. Social Events : In addition to our monthly Tuesday Live meetings and coffee mornings, we held a summer picnic by the Bandstand where our performance concert, which provided the opportunity for our guitar group to play in public for the first time. It was a great success with well over 100 attending and will be repeated in 2024. In November our wine Appreciation 1 group hosted a very successful wine d School. For our Christmas party we whilst enjoying a glass of mulled wine and Christmas cakes. 170 members came and it was a great success. The u3a Family : We have been proactive in maintaining activity within the South Wales Network of u3as, via our Zoom. We have also been active in national discussions about the future of the Third Age Trust. We continue to work within the national u3a network. In September we hosted the u3a National Chairman, Liz Thackray and the Trustee for Wales Karen Green for an afternoon where we discussed the future of u3a nationally. 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 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. reserves Details of any funds None materially in deficit —_ ~~re~~ Further financial review details (Optional information) You may choose to include The majority of our cash flow relates to funding by the members of individual additional information, group activities. Apart from some central seed-funding, these activities are where relevant about:

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:

• the chari ty’s sources of funds (including any fundraising);

Principal sources of funds

1. Members subscriptions about 85%

2. Gift Aid about 12%

3. Grants & Donations about 2% 4. The source of all our funds is England or Wales.

4. how expenditure has supported the key objectives of the charity;

5. Main areas of expenditure are:

   1. Subscriptions to the Third Age Trust.

6. Investment policy and objectives including any ethical investment policy adopted.

7. Providing a monthly Magazine, which is free for u3a members. This also acts as publicity at our marketing events and is normally freely available to the public at Chepstow library.

8. Direct mailing of the national Third Age Trust magazine, free to u3a member households who have opted to receive it.

9. All of our expenditure takes place in England or Wales.

Section F Other optional information

Section G Declaration

Signed

Signature(s) ~~S8Dawie, NY VEE) Sse.~~ Full name(s) Shelagh Davies Nicky Lee Tony Fishpool Position (e.g. Chair, Secretary, etc.) ~~ee~~[Chairman] Chairman Secretary ~~ee ee~~ Date 10-1-2024 15-12-2023 20-1-2024

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CHEPSTOW U3A CHARITY # 702771 RECEIPTS AND PAYMENTS ACCOUNTS For the period: 1st JANUARY 2023 to 31st DECEMBER 2023

SECTION A : RECEIPTS AND PAYMENTS

A1 : RECEIPTS	2023
	£
Group Activities	53,466
Membership Subscriptions	12,390
Gift Aid	1,742
Grants	0
Marketing	0
Bookstall	0
Donations	20
Diaries	51
Walking Week	30,614
Open Day	150
Interest	0
Administration	0
Social Activities	85
Summer and Christmas Parties	0
Monthly Meetings	80
Third Age Matters	1,040
Sub Total	99,638
A2 : ASSET AND INVESTMENT SALES	0
TOTAL RECEIPTS	99,638
A3 : PAYMENTS
Group Activities	52,064
Admin	324
Beacon System Subscription	960
CLA License	0
Coffee Mornings	29
Convenor's Meetings	725
Diaries	48
Donations	150
Grants	125
Magazine Expenditure	2,206
Marketing Expenses	48
Membership	74
Membership Fee to TAT	3,604

Monthly Meetings Expenses Open Day Expenses Speakers Expenses Social Activities Xmas and Summer Parties Third Age Matters U3A Meetings (New Members etc) Zoom Licence Walking Weeks Web Site	1,714 562 530 130 623 1,325 183 144 31,494 285
Sub Total	97,347
A4: ASSET AND INVESTMENT PURCHASES Sum Up Credit Card Reader	150
TOTAL PAYMENTS	97,497
NET OF RECEIPTS/PAYMENTS A5: TRANSFER BETWEEN FUNDS A6: CASH FUNDS LAST YEAR END CASH FUNDS THIS YEAR END SECTION B: STATEMENT OF ASSETS	2,141 0 24,442 26,583 AND LIABILITIES AT END OF PERIOD

B1 : CASH FUNDS

Treasurers Main Account(General)	1,829
Treasurers Activities Account(Designated)	13,698
Membership Subscriptions Account(General)	9,210
Walking Week Account(Designated)	1,843
COIF Main Account	0
COIF Activities Account	0
Petty Cash	3
TOTAL CASH FUNDS	26,583

B2 : OTHER MONETARY ASSETS

B3 : INVESTMENT ASSETS

B4 : ASSETS RETAINED FOR CHARITY'S USE

Hi Fi System Lectern Extension Leads Laptop PC Portable Microphone System Amplifiers 2 Microphones 2 Loudspeakers Yamaha Sound Mixer CD Player x 3 Electronic Keyboard Projector for connection to PC Hot Water Urn U3A Banner 3 Notice Boards Projection Screen Bluetooth Speaker Trolley 2 Flip Charts A1 SilverSnap Frame A Board 2 Speakers Large Teapot Coffee Flask Electronic DrumMachine Portable Hard Drive Webcam External Sound Card Remote control "clicker" for laptop Behringer Portable PA system PK110A Mixer Behringer Xenyx 802 3 Behringer XM1800S Microphones Microphone Stand Microphone Stand Tray 5M 6-way Mains Lead 10M Mains Lead USB Hub Ground Loop Isolators Miscellaneous Cables Awaydays Labels and Lanyards Badminton Equipment Bridge Equipment Dance Hats, Skirts and Canes Table Tennis Tables x 4 Sheet Music - Various Sum Up Credit Card Reader x 2

Fund Amount Due

B5: LIABILITIES

Outstanding Rent	Activities	706
Outstanding Credit Card Invoice	Activities	138
Group Expenses	Activities	13
CLA Licence	Main	60

SIGNATURE OF TRUSTEE:

NAME OF TRUSTEE POSITION

PATRICIA A. ALLARD TREASURER

DATE OF APPROVAL

12th January 2024

Independent examiner's report on the accounts

Section A Independent Examiner’s Report

Report to the trustees/ Charity Name U3A CHEPSTOW GROUP members of On accounts for the year 31[st] DECEMBER 2023 Charity no 702771 ended (if any) Set out on pages (remember to include the page numbers of additional sheets)

I report to the trustees on my examination of the accounts of the above charity (“the Trust”) for the year ended 31/12/2023 .

Responsibilities and As the charity's trustees, you are responsible for the preparation of the basis of report accounts in accordance with the requirements of the Charities Act 2011 (“the Act”).

I report in respect of my examination of the Trust’s accounts carried out under section 145 of the 2011 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 [The charity’s gross income exceeded £250,000 and I am qualified to examiner's statement undertake the examination by being a qualified member of [insert name of applicable listed body]]. Delete [ ] if not applicable.

I have completed my examination. I confirm that no material matters have come to my attention in connection with the examination (other than that disclosed below *) which gives me cause to believe that in, any material respect:

• the accounting records were not kept in accordance with section 130 of the Charities Act; or

• the accounts did not accord with the accounting records; or

• the accounts did not comply with the applicable requirements concerning the form and content of accounts set out in the Charities (Accounts and Reports) Regulations 2008 other than any requirement that the accounts give a ‘true and fair’ view which is not a matter considered as part of an independent examination.

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.

• Please delete the words in the brackets if they do not apply.

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||| |---|---| |Signed:| |Name:|Robert Anthony Wilson|

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Date: 22[nd] January 2024

1

Oct 2018

IER

Relevant professional qualification(s) or body (if any):

Retired Chartered Accountant in England and wales

Address:

Ty Twr Ditch Hil Lane, Shirenewton, Monmouthshire NP16 6RG

Section B Disclosure

Only complete if the examiner needs to highlight material matters of concern (see CC32, Independent examination of charity accounts: directions and guidance for examiners).

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

2

Oct 2018

IER

IER Oct 2018