The Nalanda Trust
Operating under the name North London Buddhist Centre .
Annual Report and Accounts for year ended 2022
Charity number 801632
The Nalanda Trust
Contents
| Contents | |
|---|---|
| Page | |
| 1. Charity details and governance | 3 |
| 2. Trustees’ Report – Chair’s Report | 4 |
| 3. Accountants Report | 7 |
| 4. Statement of Financial Activities | 9 |
| 5. Balance Sheet | 12 |
| 6. Notes to the Financial Statement | 13 |
| 7. Independent Examiners Report | 16 |
2
The Nalanda Trust
Charity details and governance
Trustees
The trustees during 2022 were: Ratnaprabha (John Robin Cooper) – Chair Karunagita (Sara Burns) –Secretary Kusala (Guy Redmond) Vajramitra (Michael Ward) Maitrisambhava (Sharon Reed) Singhashri (Francisca Gazmuri) (resigned April 2022) Nandaraja (Obafemi Adewumi) Darsavini (Eve Lear) Anandavajra (Jonathan Turnbull) Kshantisara (Uschi Gramann)
Property
The Property owned by the trust is held in the following names: David Zukas, Peter Gill and David Green
Charity governance
The organisation is an unincorporated association, registered as such on 6 June 1989. The charity is governed by a constitution/trust deed revised 10 September 2014.
Charity trustees
The trustees are members of the charity but this entitles them only to voting rights. The trustees have no beneficial interest in the charity. Trustees are elected annually from the membership by the members at the AGM. As and when needed, new trustees are sought from within the membership and from the pool of experienced committed Buddhists who are able to attend meetings in London. All trustees are required to have relevant experience and skills in order to serve on the trustee body. Trustees meetings are at present monthly. All trustees give their time voluntarily and receive no benefits from the charity for their trustee work. Any expenses reclaimed from the charity are set out in note 11 to the accounts.
Charity details
Name: The Nalanda Trust
Operating under the name “North London Buddhist Centre”.
Registration number: 801632
Registered Office
72 Holloway Road, London, N7 8JG
Principal Bankers
Santander Bank, Bootle, Merseyside, L30 4GB
Independent Examiner
F. G. McMahon
Image front cover
The image on the front page is provided by Aryajit (Stephen Heppel).
3
The Nalanda Trust
Trustees Report - (includes the Chair and Treasurer reports)
The trustees present their report and the unaudited financial statements for the year ended 31 December 2022.
Achievements and developments at the North London Buddhist Centre in 2022
This section is aimed at charity members and interested people in the Sangha. There is a second section following closely the Charity Commission guidelines, which includes the required annual information. (The trustees’ report is a public document, available on the Charity Commission website.)
By the beginning of the year, pandemic restrictions were in the past, and 2022 was our first postCovid year in most respects. We were able to end limits on numbers attending classes.
People.
At the start of the year, Alana stepped down as Acting Centre Manager after over 18 months in the role, and we held interviews in February for Centre manager and bookkeeper. During the year, there were several changes in the team, as well as a shortfall in available people to cover centre team working hours, which team members handled extremely well, though we really must try to avoid this kind of pressure in the future.
Danaraja was appointed centre manager, and was in post for six months starting in February, but unfortunately had to move on owing to family circumstances. He was a very well-liked and practically able manager, and we were sad to lose him when he left in August.
In October we interviewed for a new Centre manager, and were extremely fortunate to be able to appoint Akshayapradipa, who hit the ground running. She was soon tackling some long-standing knotty centre running issues such as improving the safety of the building. She brought excellent management and organisational skills, and has already made a big difference.
Satyapurna moved on from the bookkeeper role in March in order to concentrate on her therapy work. She had of course been centre manager, and a dedicated and much loved team member for many years, crucial to bringing the centre to where it is now, and very popular and well loved.
Anita Tew took on the job of bookkeeper for part of the year, and she simplified and clarified our procedures, using her excellent accountancy knowledge. Andy Slack took over as bookkeeper towards the end of the year.
Silvia came into her own in managing our communications, web presence and social media, getting knowledge of the centre out to many thousands more people in a dedicated, effective and cheerful manner.
Alana took on full responsibility for the development of the yoga studio, as well as room hire including facilities for therapists. She spearheaded the origination of a new plan for the studio, streamlining classes, and providing a definite and distinct public image for the studio, making the publicising of it far more effective. The results of her excellent initiatives here (in financial, teacher support and other areas) were already apparent by the end of the year, and have accelerated since.
Aryavajra retired as our volunteer bookshop manager after many years running a thriving bookshop, possibly the largest specialist Buddhist bookshop in the UK. Serena, an ideal volunteer manager with
4
The Nalanda Trust
her work experience in bookshops and love of books, took over, and is in the process of reorganising the shop.
Our two Mitra convenors, Anandavajra for men and Darsavini for women were active trustees, strengthening our governing body. (See the separate Mitra convenor reports.) Anandavajra also joined the centre team, specialising in programming, and supporting volunteering at the centre.
Singhashri left the council in April in order to devote more time to her other work, including Dharma teaching and very exciting projects in the US. She had been on the council for over five years, and had recently in particular contributed important initiatives highlighting the need for more racial diversity and inclusiveness at the centre.
Kulamitra, our president, completed his PhD, and so was much more available to visit the centre, with two extended stays in London. He participated in discussions, contributed Dharma talks, and met up with the trustees, team and others.
I (Ratnaprabha) completed four years as chair of the trustees in September, when I announced that I wished to step down within 1 to 2 years of that date, and so during the autumn a process started for seeking a replacement chair.
We celebrated two ordinations this year, with Akshayapradipa and Mokshayogin returning from their ordination courses in Spain in July.
Financial
After many years as both treasurer and our accountant, Abhilasa handed over the financial management role to Ratnabodhi, and trained up Andy Slack as our new bookkeeper. Abhilasa’s contribution to the centre over the years has been enormous, both spiritually and practically. Andy Slack is based in Brighton, which means he’s not a regular face-to-face part of the centre team, but so far it has worked well. We did not have a designated treasurer on the council for the whole of 2022.
After a mortgage capital repayment holiday during the pandemic, we resumed monthly mortgage repayments in March. It became clear that the outgoings on the mortgage were compromising the financial health of the centre, and at the end of the year we decided to begin fundraising to pay off the mortgage in 2023.
An alternative suggestion was to fundraise for revamping the ground floor of the centre, taking forward draft plans produced earlier by Vajramitra, but the council agreed unanimously that this appeal would have to happen later than the mortgage repayment appeal, and so preliminary planning enquiries (which would cost several thousand pounds) were deferred.
The centre and the Sangha
The racial diversity and inclusion Kula took forward its 2021 report, funded by the Future Dharma Fund, and made available around the Movement. Members of the Kula organised meetings for the Sangha during the year. The June meeting included discussion of the vision for the future of diversity and inclusion initiatives at the North London centre. One among a number of strategies they recommended was “Offer events by and for BIPOC, including BIPOC-led events for all, classes, courses and events specifically for BIPOC, and PoC mitra study.” We have rather lagged behind the other London Triratna centres in hosting events or courses aimed specifically for people of colour, and I do hope the number of these will increase in the future.
5
The Nalanda Trust
Before the pandemic, we had agreed to institute a Kula (subcommittee) mandate system for decisionmaking and getting things done in the centre. This did not make very much progress during 2022 – it will require work and research to implement fully. For example, there was an abortive attempt to set up an aesthetics Kula. However, there were some well-functioning kulas.
An environmental Kula was active for part of the year, and presented an Energy audit of the centre, with recommendations for energy saving and green initiatives.
The Karuna Trust remained as highly valued tenants of our second floor. They renovated and beautified their space to meet their needs more effectively. The combination of some of their staff being based outside London, and the effects of the pandemic and more working from home, meant that few of their staff were regularly in the premises, and their needs for space reduced. The Centre therefore took on their top floor meeting room and parking space, and reduce their rent accordingly.
Courses and events
Numbers attending events increased during the year, and were particularly good in the autumn.
The programme included:
-
Stories of the Great Buddhists
-
Life with Full Attention
-
A Day on Blake’s ‘Marriage of Heaven and Hell’.
-
Workshop for NLBC teachers with Vajradaka in February.
-
A new death conversation café event monthly on Saturday afternoons.
-
New regular whole weeks of morning meditations for men, and other events specifically for men or for women plus.
-
A weekend workshop with guest Jnanavaca on ‘Doorways to Dhyana’.
-
Successful weekend retreats were held at Othona in Essex, and Vajrasana in Suffolk.
-
Lunchtime meditation classes were extended to every weekday.
-
Monday Sangha night was held monthly in person and monthly online for most of the year, and ceased in its present form at the end of the year, pending a review. Among others, Santva and Lalitaraja were recent solid and inspiring mainstays at this class, but by the end of the year, neither were available for a weekly commitment.
-
The Friday Puja evening developed an established order team to give it strength and continuity, and the numbers attending increased.
-
Online classes continued, especially the Tuesday evening meditation class led by Visuddhimati, 2-3 lunchtime classes, a hybrid class every Saturday morning, and an online option at festivals and some other events. Our range of talks and meditation-leading available on YouTube expanded greatly during the year.
-
Some ideas and suggestions from local order members have not yet seen fruition, unfortunately. These include more events specifically for order members and the more experienced people and a revival of a “Who’s Who” photo board.
(Signed)
Dh Ratnaprabha (chair, on behalf of the trustees)
Date 11 May 2022
6
The Nalanda Trust
Financial Report by the Accountant
Overall the charity ended the year with a surplus of £1,456, and a Balance Sheet Net Worth of £847,169. The equivalent 2021 figures were a deficit of £3,902, and Net Worth of £841,047.
Income
The income figure was £206,069. This compares to the 2021, covid affected figure of £151,414, an increase of 36%.
There was a large improvement in Buddhist Charitable Activities – up from £83,349 to £136,203, with income from classes improving by almost 57%
Room Hire made a very good recovery from £3,198 in 2021, to £15,156 in 2022. Donations, on the other hand, which were a vital source of income during the pandemic, fell slightly from £33,781 in 2021, to £28,765 in 2022. The pre-covid income figure for 2019 was £271,970. So in 2022 The North London Buddhist Centre was making promising progress back towards that level of income.
Expenditure
Expenditure in 2022 was £204,614, an increase of approximately 31%, with almost all categories of expenditure showing an increase, largely due to increased activity with the easing of covid restrictions.
Reserves Policy and other information
General reserve
At the end of 2022, after a suspension of mortgage capital repayments during the pandemic, the charity held reserves of £49,460. This was somewhat below the ideal of £55,000 but the charity is confident that this can be remedied in the near future in conjunction with a fully-costed and funded early repayment of the remaining mortgage.
Conflict of interest
We have in place a conflicts of interest policy. This requires a Council member to absent himself or herself from any discussions of the Council in which it is possible that a conflict will arise between his or her duty to act solely in the interests of the Association and any personal interest (including but not limited to any personal financial interest) and take no part in the voting upon the matter.
Ratnabodhi (Geoff McMahon) Finance Manager, 14 May 2023
7
The Nalanda Trust
Statement of Financial Activities
| Income Donations Investment Income Charitable Activities Income Generating Activity Other |
Unrestricted 28,765 44 136,203 15,156 25,902 |
Restricted |
Total 28,765 44 136,203 15,156 25,902 |
2021 33,781 2 60,619 25,929 31,083 |
|
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Total Income | 206,070 | 0 | 206,070 151,414 |
||
| Expenditure Fundraising Costs Governance Charitable Activities |
20,986 182,343 |
1,285 | 20,986 2,919 0 275 183,628 152,122 |
||
| Total Expenditure | 203,329 | 1,285 | 204,614 155,316 |
||
| Net Income | 2,741 | -1,285 | 1,456 -3,902 |
||
| Funds Brought Forward Transfer of Restricted Funds Equity Adjustment |
837,601 | 3,446 | 841,047 4,667 847,170 |
||
| Funds Carried Forward | 840,342 | 2,161 |
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The Nalanda Trust
North London Buddhist Centre
2022 Annual Accounts
Detailed Statement of Financial Activities
| Donations Dana Fundraising Restricted Investment Income Interest Received Charitable Activities Classes Bodywork Charged Events Dharma Courses MBCT etc. Courses Shop Sales Retreats Income Generating Activity Room Hire Other Income Rent & Service Charges Grants Other |
Unrestricted 24,119 4,646 |
Restricted | Total 24,119 4,646 0 |
2021 29,420 4,361 |
||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 28,765 44 30,491 34,828 4,707 13,524 31,858 7,640 13,155 |
0 |
28,765 44 30,491 34,828 4,707 13,524 31,858 7,640 13,155 |
33,781 2 19,466 21,428 1,255 7,095 21,476 3,615 9,015 |
|||
| 136,203 15,156 |
0 136,203 15,156 |
83,349 3,198 |
||||
| 15,156 25,380 522 |
0 15,156 25,380 522 |
3,198 28,337 2,311 436 |
||||
| 25,902 | 0 25,902 |
31,083 | ||||
| Total Income | 206,069 | 0 206,069 151,414 |
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The Nalanda Trust
| Fundraising Costs MBCT etc. Courses Room Hire Charged Events Total Fundraising Costs Charitable Activities Costs Officers Expenses Chair's Expenses Mitra Convening expenses President Trustees/Council People Retreat Support Support/Payroll Travel Volunteers Finance Charges Bank & Card Charges Mortgage Interest Centre Communications Office Premises Professional fees Publicity Refreshments Shop Purchases Shrine Utilities Activities Costs Bodywork Costs Dharma Courses Retreat Expenses |
Unrestricted 18,725 2,261 |
Restricted |
Total 18,725 0 2,261 |
2021 10,768 218 |
|
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 20,986 185 736 |
0 | 20,986 185 736 0 0 |
10,986 12 502 56 |
||
| 921 5,497 102,421 57 247 |
0 |
921 5,497 102,421 57 247 |
570 5,593 85,314 20 92 |
||
| 108,221 4,218 3,939 |
0 |
108,221 4,218 3,939 |
91,019 2,941 4,482 |
||
| 8,157 2,166 2,325 12,651 2,967 1,001 5,093 777 3,806 |
0 |
8,157 2,166 2,325 12,651 0 2,967 1,001 5,093 777 3,806 |
7,423 1,982 1,385 7,942 275 1,139 59 2,638 260 1,994 |
||
| 30,787 17,191 62 5,271 |
0 |
30,787 17,191 62 5,271 |
17,673 10,157 4,547 |
||
| 22,525 | 0 | 22,525 | 14,704 |
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The Nalanda Trust
| Other Central Dana Accounting Error Depreciation Miscellaneous Restricted Grant Exp. Suspense Acc Unknown Total Charitable Activities Costs |
792 792 792 0 10,349 10,349 10,706 311 311 809 1,285 1,285 634 280 280 0 |
|
|---|---|---|
| 11,732 1,285 13,017 12,940 182,343 1,285 183,628 144,330 |
||
| Total Expenditure | 203,329 1,285 204,614 155,315 |
|
| Operating Balance | 2,740 -1,285 1,455 -3,901 |
|
| Capital In/Ex Mortgage Capital FFE |
-40,976 -40,976 |
|
| -40,976 0 -40,976 0 |
||
| Cash Flow Balance | -38,235 -1,285 -39,520 -3,901 |
Due to the pandemic, mortgage capital repayments for 2021 were deferred until 2022
11
The Nalanda Trust
| Assets Tangible Fixed Assets Land & Building Plant & Machinery FFE Intangible Fixed Assets Website Total Fixed Assets Current Assets Stock Debtors Cash at Bank & In-hand |
Balance Sheet 31/12/2022 31/12/2021 852,750 859,500 14,528 17,433 210 640 867,488 877,573 263 527 263 527 867,751 878,100 3,965 5,962 5,267 6,660 49,460 74,925 58,692 87,547 |
Balance Sheet 31/12/2022 31/12/2021 852,750 859,500 14,528 17,433 210 640 867,488 877,573 263 527 263 527 867,751 878,100 3,965 5,962 5,267 6,660 49,460 74,925 58,692 87,547 |
Balance Sheet 31/12/2022 31/12/2021 852,750 859,500 14,528 17,433 210 640 867,488 877,573 263 527 263 527 867,751 878,100 3,965 5,962 5,267 6,660 49,460 74,925 58,692 87,547 |
Balance Sheet 31/12/2022 31/12/2021 852,750 859,500 14,528 17,433 210 640 867,488 877,573 263 527 263 527 867,751 878,100 3,965 5,962 5,267 6,660 49,460 74,925 58,692 87,547 |
|
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 31/12/2022 852,750 14,528 210 |
|||||
| 867,488 263 |
877,573 527 |
||||
| 263 867,751 3,965 5,267 49,460 |
527 878,100 5,962 6,660 74,925 |
||||
| 58,692 | 87,547 | ||||
| Total Assets | 926,444 | 965,647 | |||
| Liabilities Current Liabilities Mortgage due in one year Creditors Long-Term Liabilities Falling due after one year |
56,579 8,195 |
40,975 12,545 |
|||
| 64,774 14,501 |
53,520 71,080 |
||||
| 14,501 | 71,080 | ||||
| Total Liabilities | 79,275 | 124,600 | |||
| Net Assets | 847,169 | 841,047 | |||
| Represented by: Funds Brought Forward Equity Adjustment Surplus/Deficit for year |
841,047 4,667 1,455 847,169 |
||||
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The Nalanda Trust
Notes
Depreciation
The building is depreciated over 100 years, the land is not depreciated Equipment, computers and printers are depreciated over 5 years Plant & Machinery (Lift) is depreciated over 5 years Website is depreciated over 3 years
Notes
Tangible Fixed Assets
| Tangible Fixed Assets | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Cost 1st January 2022 Additions Revaluations Disposals 31st December 2022 Depreciation 1st January 2022 Disposals Charge for the year 31st December 2022 Net Book Value 31st December 2022 31st December 2021 |
Land & Buildings 900,000 |
Plant & Machinery FFE Total 29,053 4,705 933,758 0 0 0 |
|
| 900,000 | 29,053 4,705 933,758 |
||
| 40,500 6,750 |
11,620 4,065 56,185 0 2,905 431 10,086 |
||
| 47,250 | 14,525 4,496 66,271 |
||
| 852,750 | 14,528 209 867,487 |
||
| 859,500 | 17,433 640 877,574 |
Intangible Fixed Assets
| Intangible Fixed Assets | ||
|---|---|---|
| Cost 1st January 2022 Additions Revaluations Disposals 31st December 2022 |
Website 1,000 |
|
| 1,000 |
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The Nalanda Trust
| Depreciation 1st January 2022 473 Disposals Charge for the year 263 31st December 2022 736 Net Book Value 31st December 2022 264 31st December 2021 527 Staff Costs 2022 2021 Wages & Salaries 94,677 79,470 Pensions 2,817 2,066 97,494 81,536 Trustees Remuneration For Services Rendered 2022 2021 Ratnaprabha (John Cooper) 8,437 12,384 Chairman overseeing the work of the charity Darsavini (Eve Lear) 6,344 - Women's Mitra Convenor Anandavajra (Jonathan Turnbull) 13,049 - Men's Mitra Convenor Abhilasa (David Francis) 1,746 2,798 Professional accountancy services 29,576 15,182 Trustees Donations 2022 2021 The following trustees made donations to the charity S Burns 680 680 G Redmond 240 440 R Cooper 240 240 D Francis 120 120 S Reed 940 900 2,220 2,380 |
473 263 736 264 527 2022 94,677 2,817 |
2021 79,470 2,066 |
|
|---|---|---|---|
| 97,494 | 81,536 | ||
| For Services Rendered 2022 2021 8,437 12,384 6,344 - 13,049 - 1,746 2,798 |
|||
| 29,576 | 15,182 | ||
| 2021 680 440 240 120 900 |
|||
| 2,220 | 2,380 |
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The Nalanda Trust
Creditors & Debtors
| Creditors & Debtors | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Chairman's exp. Prepaid Retreat Venue Costs Prepaid Retreat Support Prepaid Received in advance Buddhism & Meditation Courses Yoga Workshop Other Courses Bookshop Stock Estimate As at 31 December 2021 2022 purchases Stock increase 2022 Sales Less estimated markup Stock decrease Stock as at 31 December 2022 Overall stock decrease |
Creditors 1,025 55 2,316 |
Debtors 328 2,389 1,850 |
||
| 4,567 5,962 3,096 |
||||
| 3,396 7,640 2,547 |
||||
| 9,058 5,093 3,965 1,997 |
||||
15
The Nalanda Trust
Operating under the name North London Buddhist Centre .
Annual Report and Accounts for year ended 2022
Charity number 801632
The Nalanda Trust
Contents
| Contents | |
|---|---|
| Page | |
| 1. Charity details and governance | 3 |
| 2. Trustees’ Report – Chair’s Report | 4 |
| 3. Accountants Report | 7 |
| 4. Statement of Financial Activities | 9 |
| 5. Balance Sheet | 12 |
| 6. Notes to the Financial Statement | 13 |
| 7. Independent Examiners Report | 16 |
2
The Nalanda Trust
Charity details and governance
Trustees
The trustees during 2022 were: Ratnaprabha (John Robin Cooper) – Chair Karunagita (Sara Burns) –Secretary Kusala (Guy Redmond) Vajramitra (Michael Ward) Maitrisambhava (Sharon Reed) Singhashri (Francisca Gazmuri) (resigned April 2022) Nandaraja (Obafemi Adewumi) Darsavini (Eve Lear) Anandavajra (Jonathan Turnbull) Kshantisara (Uschi Gramann)
Property
The Property owned by the trust is held in the following names: David Zukas, Peter Gill and David Green
Charity governance
The organisation is an unincorporated association, registered as such on 6 June 1989. The charity is governed by a constitution/trust deed revised 10 September 2014.
Charity trustees
The trustees are members of the charity but this entitles them only to voting rights. The trustees have no beneficial interest in the charity. Trustees are elected annually from the membership by the members at the AGM. As and when needed, new trustees are sought from within the membership and from the pool of experienced committed Buddhists who are able to attend meetings in London. All trustees are required to have relevant experience and skills in order to serve on the trustee body. Trustees meetings are at present monthly. All trustees give their time voluntarily and receive no benefits from the charity for their trustee work. Any expenses reclaimed from the charity are set out in note 11 to the accounts.
Charity details
Name: The Nalanda Trust
Operating under the name “North London Buddhist Centre”.
Registration number: 801632
Registered Office
72 Holloway Road, London, N7 8JG
Principal Bankers
Santander Bank, Bootle, Merseyside, L30 4GB
Independent Examiner
F. G. McMahon
Image front cover
The image on the front page is provided by Aryajit (Stephen Heppel).
3
The Nalanda Trust
Trustees Report - (includes the Chair and Treasurer reports)
The trustees present their report and the unaudited financial statements for the year ended 31 December 2022.
Achievements and developments at the North London Buddhist Centre in 2022
This section is aimed at charity members and interested people in the Sangha. There is a second section following closely the Charity Commission guidelines, which includes the required annual information. (The trustees’ report is a public document, available on the Charity Commission website.)
By the beginning of the year, pandemic restrictions were in the past, and 2022 was our first postCovid year in most respects. We were able to end limits on numbers attending classes.
People.
At the start of the year, Alana stepped down as Acting Centre Manager after over 18 months in the role, and we held interviews in February for Centre manager and bookkeeper. During the year, there were several changes in the team, as well as a shortfall in available people to cover centre team working hours, which team members handled extremely well, though we really must try to avoid this kind of pressure in the future.
Danaraja was appointed centre manager, and was in post for six months starting in February, but unfortunately had to move on owing to family circumstances. He was a very well-liked and practically able manager, and we were sad to lose him when he left in August.
In October we interviewed for a new Centre manager, and were extremely fortunate to be able to appoint Akshayapradipa, who hit the ground running. She was soon tackling some long-standing knotty centre running issues such as improving the safety of the building. She brought excellent management and organisational skills, and has already made a big difference.
Satyapurna moved on from the bookkeeper role in March in order to concentrate on her therapy work. She had of course been centre manager, and a dedicated and much loved team member for many years, crucial to bringing the centre to where it is now, and very popular and well loved.
Anita Tew took on the job of bookkeeper for part of the year, and she simplified and clarified our procedures, using her excellent accountancy knowledge. Andy Slack took over as bookkeeper towards the end of the year.
Silvia came into her own in managing our communications, web presence and social media, getting knowledge of the centre out to many thousands more people in a dedicated, effective and cheerful manner.
Alana took on full responsibility for the development of the yoga studio, as well as room hire including facilities for therapists. She spearheaded the origination of a new plan for the studio, streamlining classes, and providing a definite and distinct public image for the studio, making the publicising of it far more effective. The results of her excellent initiatives here (in financial, teacher support and other areas) were already apparent by the end of the year, and have accelerated since.
Aryavajra retired as our volunteer bookshop manager after many years running a thriving bookshop, possibly the largest specialist Buddhist bookshop in the UK. Serena, an ideal volunteer manager with
4
The Nalanda Trust
her work experience in bookshops and love of books, took over, and is in the process of reorganising the shop.
Our two Mitra convenors, Anandavajra for men and Darsavini for women were active trustees, strengthening our governing body. (See the separate Mitra convenor reports.) Anandavajra also joined the centre team, specialising in programming, and supporting volunteering at the centre.
Singhashri left the council in April in order to devote more time to her other work, including Dharma teaching and very exciting projects in the US. She had been on the council for over five years, and had recently in particular contributed important initiatives highlighting the need for more racial diversity and inclusiveness at the centre.
Kulamitra, our president, completed his PhD, and so was much more available to visit the centre, with two extended stays in London. He participated in discussions, contributed Dharma talks, and met up with the trustees, team and others.
I (Ratnaprabha) completed four years as chair of the trustees in September, when I announced that I wished to step down within 1 to 2 years of that date, and so during the autumn a process started for seeking a replacement chair.
We celebrated two ordinations this year, with Akshayapradipa and Mokshayogin returning from their ordination courses in Spain in July.
Financial
After many years as both treasurer and our accountant, Abhilasa handed over the financial management role to Ratnabodhi, and trained up Andy Slack as our new bookkeeper. Abhilasa’s contribution to the centre over the years has been enormous, both spiritually and practically. Andy Slack is based in Brighton, which means he’s not a regular face-to-face part of the centre team, but so far it has worked well. We did not have a designated treasurer on the council for the whole of 2022.
After a mortgage capital repayment holiday during the pandemic, we resumed monthly mortgage repayments in March. It became clear that the outgoings on the mortgage were compromising the financial health of the centre, and at the end of the year we decided to begin fundraising to pay off the mortgage in 2023.
An alternative suggestion was to fundraise for revamping the ground floor of the centre, taking forward draft plans produced earlier by Vajramitra, but the council agreed unanimously that this appeal would have to happen later than the mortgage repayment appeal, and so preliminary planning enquiries (which would cost several thousand pounds) were deferred.
The centre and the Sangha
The racial diversity and inclusion Kula took forward its 2021 report, funded by the Future Dharma Fund, and made available around the Movement. Members of the Kula organised meetings for the Sangha during the year. The June meeting included discussion of the vision for the future of diversity and inclusion initiatives at the North London centre. One among a number of strategies they recommended was “Offer events by and for BIPOC, including BIPOC-led events for all, classes, courses and events specifically for BIPOC, and PoC mitra study.” We have rather lagged behind the other London Triratna centres in hosting events or courses aimed specifically for people of colour, and I do hope the number of these will increase in the future.
5
The Nalanda Trust
Before the pandemic, we had agreed to institute a Kula (subcommittee) mandate system for decisionmaking and getting things done in the centre. This did not make very much progress during 2022 – it will require work and research to implement fully. For example, there was an abortive attempt to set up an aesthetics Kula. However, there were some well-functioning kulas.
An environmental Kula was active for part of the year, and presented an Energy audit of the centre, with recommendations for energy saving and green initiatives.
The Karuna Trust remained as highly valued tenants of our second floor. They renovated and beautified their space to meet their needs more effectively. The combination of some of their staff being based outside London, and the effects of the pandemic and more working from home, meant that few of their staff were regularly in the premises, and their needs for space reduced. The Centre therefore took on their top floor meeting room and parking space, and reduce their rent accordingly.
Courses and events
Numbers attending events increased during the year, and were particularly good in the autumn.
The programme included:
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Stories of the Great Buddhists
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Life with Full Attention
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A Day on Blake’s ‘Marriage of Heaven and Hell’.
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Workshop for NLBC teachers with Vajradaka in February.
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A new death conversation café event monthly on Saturday afternoons.
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New regular whole weeks of morning meditations for men, and other events specifically for men or for women plus.
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A weekend workshop with guest Jnanavaca on ‘Doorways to Dhyana’.
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Successful weekend retreats were held at Othona in Essex, and Vajrasana in Suffolk.
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Lunchtime meditation classes were extended to every weekday.
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Monday Sangha night was held monthly in person and monthly online for most of the year, and ceased in its present form at the end of the year, pending a review. Among others, Santva and Lalitaraja were recent solid and inspiring mainstays at this class, but by the end of the year, neither were available for a weekly commitment.
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The Friday Puja evening developed an established order team to give it strength and continuity, and the numbers attending increased.
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Online classes continued, especially the Tuesday evening meditation class led by Visuddhimati, 2-3 lunchtime classes, a hybrid class every Saturday morning, and an online option at festivals and some other events. Our range of talks and meditation-leading available on YouTube expanded greatly during the year.
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Some ideas and suggestions from local order members have not yet seen fruition, unfortunately. These include more events specifically for order members and the more experienced people and a revival of a “Who’s Who” photo board.
(Signed)
Dh Ratnaprabha (chair, on behalf of the trustees)
Date 11 May 2022
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The Nalanda Trust
Financial Report by the Accountant
Overall the charity ended the year with a surplus of £1,456, and a Balance Sheet Net Worth of £847,169. The equivalent 2021 figures were a deficit of £3,902, and Net Worth of £841,047.
Income
The income figure was £206,069. This compares to the 2021, covid affected figure of £151,414, an increase of 36%.
There was a large improvement in Buddhist Charitable Activities – up from £83,349 to £136,203, with income from classes improving by almost 57%
Room Hire made a very good recovery from £3,198 in 2021, to £15,156 in 2022. Donations, on the other hand, which were a vital source of income during the pandemic, fell slightly from £33,781 in 2021, to £28,765 in 2022. The pre-covid income figure for 2019 was £271,970. So in 2022 The North London Buddhist Centre was making promising progress back towards that level of income.
Expenditure
Expenditure in 2022 was £204,614, an increase of approximately 31%, with almost all categories of expenditure showing an increase, largely due to increased activity with the easing of covid restrictions.
Reserves Policy and other information
General reserve
At the end of 2022, after a suspension of mortgage capital repayments during the pandemic, the charity held reserves of £49,460. This was somewhat below the ideal of £55,000 but the charity is confident that this can be remedied in the near future in conjunction with a fully-costed and funded early repayment of the remaining mortgage.
Conflict of interest
We have in place a conflicts of interest policy. This requires a Council member to absent himself or herself from any discussions of the Council in which it is possible that a conflict will arise between his or her duty to act solely in the interests of the Association and any personal interest (including but not limited to any personal financial interest) and take no part in the voting upon the matter.
Ratnabodhi (Geoff McMahon) Finance Manager, 14 May 2023
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The Nalanda Trust
Statement of Financial Activities
| Income Donations Investment Income Charitable Activities Income Generating Activity Other |
Unrestricted 28,765 44 136,203 15,156 25,902 |
Restricted |
Total 28,765 44 136,203 15,156 25,902 |
2021 33,781 2 60,619 25,929 31,083 |
|
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Total Income | 206,070 | 0 | 206,070 151,414 |
||
| Expenditure Fundraising Costs Governance Charitable Activities |
20,986 182,343 |
1,285 | 20,986 2,919 0 275 183,628 152,122 |
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| Total Expenditure | 203,329 | 1,285 | 204,614 155,316 |
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| Net Income | 2,741 | -1,285 | 1,456 -3,902 |
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| Funds Brought Forward Transfer of Restricted Funds Equity Adjustment |
837,601 | 3,446 | 841,047 4,667 847,170 |
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| Funds Carried Forward | 840,342 | 2,161 |
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The Nalanda Trust
North London Buddhist Centre
2022 Annual Accounts
Detailed Statement of Financial Activities
| Donations Dana Fundraising Restricted Investment Income Interest Received Charitable Activities Classes Bodywork Charged Events Dharma Courses MBCT etc. Courses Shop Sales Retreats Income Generating Activity Room Hire Other Income Rent & Service Charges Grants Other |
Unrestricted 24,119 4,646 |
Restricted | Total 24,119 4,646 0 |
2021 29,420 4,361 |
||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 28,765 44 30,491 34,828 4,707 13,524 31,858 7,640 13,155 |
0 |
28,765 44 30,491 34,828 4,707 13,524 31,858 7,640 13,155 |
33,781 2 19,466 21,428 1,255 7,095 21,476 3,615 9,015 |
|||
| 136,203 15,156 |
0 136,203 15,156 |
83,349 3,198 |
||||
| 15,156 25,380 522 |
0 15,156 25,380 522 |
3,198 28,337 2,311 436 |
||||
| 25,902 | 0 25,902 |
31,083 | ||||
| Total Income | 206,069 | 0 206,069 151,414 |
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The Nalanda Trust
| Fundraising Costs MBCT etc. Courses Room Hire Charged Events Total Fundraising Costs Charitable Activities Costs Officers Expenses Chair's Expenses Mitra Convening expenses President Trustees/Council People Retreat Support Support/Payroll Travel Volunteers Finance Charges Bank & Card Charges Mortgage Interest Centre Communications Office Premises Professional fees Publicity Refreshments Shop Purchases Shrine Utilities Activities Costs Bodywork Costs Dharma Courses Retreat Expenses |
Unrestricted 18,725 2,261 |
Restricted |
Total 18,725 0 2,261 |
2021 10,768 218 |
|
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 20,986 185 736 |
0 | 20,986 185 736 0 0 |
10,986 12 502 56 |
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| 921 5,497 102,421 57 247 |
0 |
921 5,497 102,421 57 247 |
570 5,593 85,314 20 92 |
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| 108,221 4,218 3,939 |
0 |
108,221 4,218 3,939 |
91,019 2,941 4,482 |
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| 8,157 2,166 2,325 12,651 2,967 1,001 5,093 777 3,806 |
0 |
8,157 2,166 2,325 12,651 0 2,967 1,001 5,093 777 3,806 |
7,423 1,982 1,385 7,942 275 1,139 59 2,638 260 1,994 |
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| 30,787 17,191 62 5,271 |
0 |
30,787 17,191 62 5,271 |
17,673 10,157 4,547 |
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| 22,525 | 0 | 22,525 | 14,704 |
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The Nalanda Trust
| Other Central Dana Accounting Error Depreciation Miscellaneous Restricted Grant Exp. Suspense Acc Unknown Total Charitable Activities Costs |
792 792 792 0 10,349 10,349 10,706 311 311 809 1,285 1,285 634 280 280 0 |
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|---|---|---|
| 11,732 1,285 13,017 12,940 182,343 1,285 183,628 144,330 |
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| Total Expenditure | 203,329 1,285 204,614 155,315 |
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| Operating Balance | 2,740 -1,285 1,455 -3,901 |
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| Capital In/Ex Mortgage Capital FFE |
-40,976 -40,976 |
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| -40,976 0 -40,976 0 |
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| Cash Flow Balance | -38,235 -1,285 -39,520 -3,901 |
Due to the pandemic, mortgage capital repayments for 2021 were deferred until 2022
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The Nalanda Trust
| Assets Tangible Fixed Assets Land & Building Plant & Machinery FFE Intangible Fixed Assets Website Total Fixed Assets Current Assets Stock Debtors Cash at Bank & In-hand |
Balance Sheet 31/12/2022 31/12/2021 852,750 859,500 14,528 17,433 210 640 867,488 877,573 263 527 263 527 867,751 878,100 3,965 5,962 5,267 6,660 49,460 74,925 58,692 87,547 |
Balance Sheet 31/12/2022 31/12/2021 852,750 859,500 14,528 17,433 210 640 867,488 877,573 263 527 263 527 867,751 878,100 3,965 5,962 5,267 6,660 49,460 74,925 58,692 87,547 |
Balance Sheet 31/12/2022 31/12/2021 852,750 859,500 14,528 17,433 210 640 867,488 877,573 263 527 263 527 867,751 878,100 3,965 5,962 5,267 6,660 49,460 74,925 58,692 87,547 |
Balance Sheet 31/12/2022 31/12/2021 852,750 859,500 14,528 17,433 210 640 867,488 877,573 263 527 263 527 867,751 878,100 3,965 5,962 5,267 6,660 49,460 74,925 58,692 87,547 |
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|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 31/12/2022 852,750 14,528 210 |
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| 867,488 263 |
877,573 527 |
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| 263 867,751 3,965 5,267 49,460 |
527 878,100 5,962 6,660 74,925 |
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| 58,692 | 87,547 | ||||
| Total Assets | 926,444 | 965,647 | |||
| Liabilities Current Liabilities Mortgage due in one year Creditors Long-Term Liabilities Falling due after one year |
56,579 8,195 |
40,975 12,545 |
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| 64,774 14,501 |
53,520 71,080 |
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| 14,501 | 71,080 | ||||
| Total Liabilities | 79,275 | 124,600 | |||
| Net Assets | 847,169 | 841,047 | |||
| Represented by: Funds Brought Forward Equity Adjustment Surplus/Deficit for year |
841,047 4,667 1,455 847,169 |
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The Nalanda Trust
Notes
Depreciation
The building is depreciated over 100 years, the land is not depreciated Equipment, computers and printers are depreciated over 5 years Plant & Machinery (Lift) is depreciated over 5 years Website is depreciated over 3 years
Notes
Tangible Fixed Assets
| Tangible Fixed Assets | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Cost 1st January 2022 Additions Revaluations Disposals 31st December 2022 Depreciation 1st January 2022 Disposals Charge for the year 31st December 2022 Net Book Value 31st December 2022 31st December 2021 |
Land & Buildings 900,000 |
Plant & Machinery FFE Total 29,053 4,705 933,758 0 0 0 |
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| 900,000 | 29,053 4,705 933,758 |
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| 40,500 6,750 |
11,620 4,065 56,185 0 2,905 431 10,086 |
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| 47,250 | 14,525 4,496 66,271 |
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| 852,750 | 14,528 209 867,487 |
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| 859,500 | 17,433 640 877,574 |
Intangible Fixed Assets
| Intangible Fixed Assets | ||
|---|---|---|
| Cost 1st January 2022 Additions Revaluations Disposals 31st December 2022 |
Website 1,000 |
|
| 1,000 |
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The Nalanda Trust
| Depreciation 1st January 2022 473 Disposals Charge for the year 263 31st December 2022 736 Net Book Value 31st December 2022 264 31st December 2021 527 Staff Costs 2022 2021 Wages & Salaries 94,677 79,470 Pensions 2,817 2,066 97,494 81,536 Trustees Remuneration For Services Rendered 2022 2021 Ratnaprabha (John Cooper) 8,437 12,384 Chairman overseeing the work of the charity Darsavini (Eve Lear) 6,344 - Women's Mitra Convenor Anandavajra (Jonathan Turnbull) 13,049 - Men's Mitra Convenor Abhilasa (David Francis) 1,746 2,798 Professional accountancy services 29,576 15,182 Trustees Donations 2022 2021 The following trustees made donations to the charity S Burns 680 680 G Redmond 240 440 R Cooper 240 240 D Francis 120 120 S Reed 940 900 2,220 2,380 |
473 263 736 264 527 2022 94,677 2,817 |
2021 79,470 2,066 |
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|---|---|---|---|
| 97,494 | 81,536 | ||
| For Services Rendered 2022 2021 8,437 12,384 6,344 - 13,049 - 1,746 2,798 |
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| 29,576 | 15,182 | ||
| 2021 680 440 240 120 900 |
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| 2,220 | 2,380 |
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The Nalanda Trust
Creditors & Debtors
| Creditors & Debtors | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Chairman's exp. Prepaid Retreat Venue Costs Prepaid Retreat Support Prepaid Received in advance Buddhism & Meditation Courses Yoga Workshop Other Courses Bookshop Stock Estimate As at 31 December 2021 2022 purchases Stock increase 2022 Sales Less estimated markup Stock decrease Stock as at 31 December 2022 Overall stock decrease |
Creditors 1,025 55 2,316 |
Debtors 328 2,389 1,850 |
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| 4,567 5,962 3,096 |
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| 3,396 7,640 2,547 |
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| 9,058 5,093 3,965 1,997 |
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15
CHARITY COMMISSION FOR ENGLAND AND WALES Independent examiner's report on the accounts Section A Independent Examiner's Report R•port to the trustsesl membors of The Nalanda Trust On accounts for the year ended 31 December 2022 Charity no lif any) 801632 Set out on pages 1-16 I report to the trustees on my examination of the accounts of the abovè charity ("Ihe Trust.) for tho year ended 3111212022. Responsibilitiès and As the charity trustees of the Trust, you are responsible for the preparation basis of report of the accounts in accordance wrth the requirements of the Charities Act 2011 ("the Act"). I report in respect of my examination of the Trust's accountg carried out under section 145 of the 2011 Act and in carrying cul my examination, I have followed the applicable Directions given by the Charity Commission under section 145{S)Ib) of the Act. I hsve Completed my examination. I confKm that no material matters havé ome to my attention in connection with the examinatlon which gives mg cause to believe that in. any material respect: accounting records were not kept in accordance with section 130 of the Act or the accounts do nol accord wlh the accounting record$ Independent oxamlner's ststsment I have no concems and have come across no other matters in connectlon th the examination lo which allention should be drawn in order to enable a proper understanding of the accounls to be reached. Please d8l&fe the kvords in the brackets rf they do not apply. Slaned: Date: 1810512023 Name: i Franrjs Geoffrey Mcmahon R•l•vant professional quallficationls) or body (if any): Address: Flat 6, 22-30 North Slreet Leathertad KT22 7AT IER Oclober 2018