Trustees Annual Report 2022 - 23 Reference and Admillistrative Details Company Name: ' The Confederation of Community Groups (Newry & District) Company Number: N122294 Charity Number: Registered as a Charity in Northern Ireland (NIC 101359) Accepted as a charity for tax purposes by HMRC under its reference XR40558 Registered Office.. Ballybot House, 28 Commarket, Newry BT35 8BG Directors: David Cunningham (Chairperson - resigned Oct 22) Maureen Ruddy (Chairperson- Oct 22) ROSemle McDonnell (Treasurer) Kathleen Lowry Ewan Morgan Deirdre Shields Maureen Ruddy Anne Woods Colin Hanna (Vice Chairperson - Oct 22) Co. Secretary and CEO: Raymond Jackson Auditors: Malone Accountants, 12 New Street, Newry BT35 6JD. Bank of Irelan(L 12 Trevor Hill, Newry Bankers .
Stt'ucture, GovernAnce and Managemeiit Governing Document The Confederation of Cominunity Groill)s is a company limited by guarnntee which wag incoworated on12 January1989. The companywas &StablishUnderaManoIdum of A&wialion which establish the objecLs andp)wets ofthe chItable company and is gov&nal under its Articles of Association. The Articles weie amended by special resolution on 30 Octob& 2014. In the event ofthe company being would up membek3 are Wllr&l to contribute an amount not exceeding one pound. Mallagement The companyis inanagdby a voluntary Boa[ OfD]ors Mthich is ele(thl from themembetship or copted by dir&0. The Board ofDirectors dire¢tOL3 ofthe cxY under company law and are also charity tsustees for the pu4)oses of clmity law. The Boa ofDjrtcto is dectsl annudly th)m thememlM3hip oflhe company and o)n8iSts ofup to Iwdve indivAdual manbets andnot than foLW. Up to onfrtl]irdofthe directo retire from office at eacli Annual General Meetin& those longest in office retiring frst. Reliring directors are ellble for re-election rfnominth howeverno dir shall servemore thantwelve consecutive years. Whennelvdl are appint to the Botlld dwreceive an UctiOn wl)idibriefs the members on their roles and responsibilitie8 as m+anbers oftheboard and company directo and outlines the company's strategic planning pll)S. fi]nding a]gementy prOjt seledionpolicy, staffing struclLwe and policy WOAL All members ofthe Boa ofDireCtO give theirtllne volunt&ily and receiveno benefits or un&ion fiDm the company. Directors The WIK) aLE tsvstrf8 for the puLp)se of dmity law, swho sffvd dwing the financial year rnllmi fiDmApiil 2022 to mah2O23 al up to thedate ofthis wrtwere as follows: David Cunningliam (resigned Oct 2022), Icathleen Lowry, Ewan Morgan, Rosemarie M¢Donnell, Rosemary Rooney, Deirdre Shields, Anne Woods, Maureen Ruddy and Colin Hanna.
Directors, Responsibilities The Dirth5 are ragp)i]siblef0rpwitheDltECl, Rewt and the fin8naal statements in accordance with applicabIe law and regulatioAi8. Company law rUllES the DItorS to prepare financial statents foi" each financial Y. Under that law tbeDllECtoiE have elected to prep&E Ihe financial statonents in accordance with United Kingdom Generally Aceq)ted Accounting Piactice (Unitsl Kingdom Accounting Standards and applicable law). Und. company law the D]rTS mustnot approve the financial statema]ts unl they are satisfied dmt theygive atsue and fair view ofthe state ofaffairs ofthe company and ofthe profit or loss ofthe company for that year. Inprep&ing these fllMncial statements, the Directors are required to: select suitable accountingp)licies and apply them consistently; make judgements and estimts that are reasonable and pen¢ state whether applicable UKAccounling Standards have beffl follow subject to any Matla1 departures disclos and explained in the financial statements. prepare the financial statements on the going coiicem b&8is unless it Is ii]appropriate to pre that the company will continue in busine& The Directo are resp091b1e for keeping adequate accounting reCoS that are sufficiffltto show and oxpl&nthecon]ps transactiotts 8nd disclose with1ThthIe accLwacy at anytime the financial positionofthe company and enable them to Lsure that the financlal statemaits comply with the Compani£s Act 20(. They are also responsible for safeguarding the assets of the company and hence for taking reanable steps for theprevention and detection of fiaud other inEgularities. Policies and Procedures The con]panyhas allnb ofwlicios and proceduras inplace to whithDrectOLS and staff a(Ihere. These are review periodically to ensure they continue to meet the needs ofthe company and current leSlatiOn and include policies and procdures relattng to declaring confjicts ofinterests. levels of company reserve4 risk managanatt. disclow fraud. quality a&suran. equality, health and safty, the vi)n¢ financial procedures and staffing matta3. Rlsk Management The LnpanY regularlYwtake5 assessmatt ofiisks to which itm1becOMe exposed. It has a Risk Management Plan in place wbich identifies and categoris&s eaChy)ttiaI risk. the likeliho( ofthe risk OCCL]n& Cau and impli(ations thera)fand the actions to mitigate the risks. The Directors reviewed and approved the company's Risk Management Plan in March 2022. Related Pai1ies The company astablished a 100% wholly owned trading subsidiary - Ballylx)t Community Projects- in July2015. ThedirectOrS0ftheeQnfederationofCOrnMUnityGupS arealso director8 ofBCP. The tradll subsidiary, also acompanylimited byguarant4 donat&s itsprofits to thecharity by way o£a gifL
Objectives and Activities Objectives The objeclives ofthe company- as defina by its goveming document- are: (a) To develop programmes and seivices to advance commuiiity developm¢nL citiZlShIp and education, promote volunteering, relieve poveity and distress, youth and the aged, and for the promotion of good health, and the promotion of racial hamony and diversity. To promote and improve the efficiency and effectiveness of chtllities and voluntary and community groups by the provision and management for such organisations of office accommodation, daycare facilities, conferellce, training, infonnation, advice, payroll and other facilities, services or support. (b) Actlvities CCG regularly review all activities as part of a strategic planning cycle- we currently have in place a Strategic Pl1 2022 - 23 encompassing our stated aims: -T-u advance-the"community-/. voluntary-sector-agenda_thr.ough.p-artn¢Is_hip.with all sectors ill a range of roles and levels Promote Community Development within the Newry, Mourne & Down District Council area with a ptICUlar focus on areas / communities of disadvantage. Proinote and develop community projects / services to meet the needs of communities and social groups. Promote and develop the Coiyorate services of the Confederation of Community Groups. Public Benefit Tnplanning and ditlthe workofthe company the Board ofDirectors has consid unda3tanth IK)th elents 0fthepublicbfflefitiUinent- thatis thatthere are d]rtbenefits which are1dtifiab1e and areavailableto thepublic orasection ofthe public. The company has identifia the benefits for pwle and community gll)ups as: Increased numbers of volunteers and volunteering opportunities, the empowerment of individuals, an increase iii social investment /activities, a more inclusive society, a reduction in the fear of crime and an enhanced quality of life.
Increased effectiveiiess of local cliarities, coinmwiity groups and associations and their effective use of charilable iesow'ces, an increase in L'ommunity infrastructiire and facilities, kui increase in partnership work and increased engagement with statutory bodies Siistaining and increasing individual and collective knowledge and the development of individual capabilities, competences, ski119 and undeistanding through cominunity education and life-long letlllling. Awareness raising of existing and einerging iieeds within communities, the enabling of people to overcome barrie18 to services and the identification of new services to meet gaps in provision The beneficileS ofthe company's servicas aiE the Con]munity & Voluntw sector £md people living in Newry and its environs and the wider region in Northem Ireland and the Republic of Ireland. Any private benefit is incidental and necessary to ensure the benefit is provided to our beneficiaries. Main Activities, Achievements and Performance Dwing theyear weprovided high quality projects and services and coinbined this work with our role as a sub-regional network and community development support organisation. We collaborated with a wide range of partners, hosted a number of seminars and responded to a range of consultations. We continued to advocate on behalf of the Comfvol sector in relation to economic development, community infrastruCt'e, health & wellbeing and Community engagement. Despite dealing with restiictions stemming from the Covid 19 pandemic (and recovery) we were able to adapt systems and provide our services throughout the year. Through our social enteiyrise (Ballybot House alld An Storas) we delivered affordable office accommodation, retail, day-care and, due to Covid, limited venue hire/conference facilities. These revenues together with other generated income in our Resource centre and back-office generated approxiinately 52 % of total "nomial" revenues (excluding covid recovery / cost of living funding) in the period, We provided capacity building, advice and support to a wide range of local community groups in areas such as . Assistance with drafting Constitutions Guidance on organizational structure and development Itttemet access and training Risk assessments and Insuiance, Financial control and management, Grant-tracker advice and help with grant applications for project activity, Access N.I. Enhanced Disclosure Checks. Through the Neighbourhood Renewal Progi'amme the Confederation has been able to offer weekly support to community assocÉations in the most deprived ar&98 of Newry City. This work has seen contiiiued improvement in governance structures within local group8 and has facilitated the delivery of a varied range of services and activities in locaI areas.
Outside Newry City we worl<ed with a wide ilc nge of additioiial cominunity and sportiiig groiips in 2022123 incliidiiig. Icilkeel COI Seeds ot'Hope, M0neYdTagh Coinmuiiity Hiib, VOCAL (Victims Of Conflict Arriving Locally), Caring Coins Associatioii, Frr Club, W¢ll Lane Warriors, Newtownhillnilton Men's shed, U3A, Rural Health Partnei'ship, Davina's Ark, Silveiy Light Sailing, Newry & Mouine Enterprise Agency, Forkhill pre-school Playgroup) Newry & fvIourne Coinmunity Transport, Polish Families Cominunity Association, Autism Families, Larchmoimt Residen.ts group, DeaMOre Men's Shed, Brookvale Youth club, SNAP (Special Needs Autism Project), Rathore School Pareiits & Frieiids Group, Young LGBT Group, New Town Together, SWAGAT Tndiaii Families Association We assisted 14 groups in ielation to Charity Registration, accounting, reporting and compliance. We provided additional training, operational planning and sourcing of nding with a large number of groups. We continued to take an active iole in Cominunity Planning (in particular witli the engaganeiit process between the statutory bodies and the coin/vol sector) through our meAnbership of local DEA groups. We delivered 10 Community Development courses focusing on good goveniance and compliance issues to 15 0upS 160 participants. We also delivered two face-to-face courses in Safeguarding Training for more than 30 people froin 4 separate groups and facilitsted an Emergency First aid ts'aining in January for 20 coinmunity participants froin across the Newry & Mourne Area -unfortunately-, oUr-annUal&ShRllAllg Light" celebration£vent-for. voIlteerS had to_be. again postponed due to Covid concerns however.we held a nwnber of small scale events for our volunteers thi'oughout the periocl. Our GM IGN volunteers also undertook the followiiig training in this period: RNIB (adaptations and awareness), Autisni ¢xperience Bus, Basic Awareness safeguarding of children and vulnerable adults, Dementia Awareness (Alzheimer's Society) ld IT I'raining on new system (30 volunteers). We developed our cross - border "CircIe of Learning Programme" in conjunction with Cooperation Ireland. As part of the project CCG identified four 0upS that would benefit from involvement in the Project and provided mentoi'ing support to them. Th&8e included: SWAGATH Indian Families Association, New Town Together, SNAP and the Crisis Café. We assisted each 0Up witli the completion of a Baseline Skills Audit and Action Plan which helped us chart where the group was at the start of the project, what issues each group would like help with and what the ollp would like to do for its Social Action Plan. We then assisted them in addressing key development issues and offei'ed them a chance to design & social action project. Each social action project. which was delivered complimented tlie thematic pillars of the Reconciliatioii Fund ¢iiabliiig groups to address issue,s of peacebuilding, netwoi'king and 0wIng connections. Older Peoples Community Programine: Our Good Morning Service volunteers provided 1875 hours of engagement with older people throUoUt the year. Our volunteers were able, with the support of our staff, to piovide the service from their homes or froin within Ballybot House following a major overhaul of our services. We now have a fully fi]nctional cloud- based voluiiteering
platfoiin. Oui Caring Neighbour Volunteer Service delivered calls to "cared for" people and their infonnal carers resideiit in the Southern Health and Social Care Trnst. Our Good Day Good Carer service provided a confidential telephone support service foi" oIdei carers offering ongoing support and a listening e. The service provided iiifonnation, advice and signposting to other services such as iespite breaks, benefit entitlement, aids and adaptations, housing Inatters and health and wellbeing. Our dedicated volunteeis provided 1340 hours of calls to carers in the community. In 2022123 the project also helped deliver the Millenniwn Volunteer programme locally in partnership with VNOW in 4 schools with 29 participants actively engaged in a Summer Scheme. Covid Recovery & Emerging Issues: We continued to act as com/vol sector representatives on NMDDC'S Community Coordination Hub (CCH) and have engaged with statutory departments and others to help coordinate. the response to the Covid 19 recovery and more recently the cost-of-living crisis. CCG, together with SSF colleagues, were able to coordinate an additional £1 Ook Dfc Covid Recovery / Cost of Living crisis funding (allocated via trusted partners in the com/vol sector and targeted at the most disadvantaged iri our community) and £80k for a pilot Social Supennarket scheme (SSM.delivered by our partner Clanrye Group). We demonstrated the capacity to deliver quickly "on the ground" and the ability to deal with emergency situations as they arise. We continued to engage with the comlvol sector in the Newry, S Arniagh and S Down area.including food banks, SVdP etc. We helped coordinate the 6 week Norbrook "We care at Clristmas" programme and follow up distribution of donated food Feb/Mar 23. We also agreed to coordinate a £25k flmding programine.for people struggling to pay utility bills (fLmded by Newry Credit Union) which started Jan 23. We attended NlCitA:s Cost of Living crisis (Sep 22) and a further meeting of Com/Vol sectors "Emergency Leadership Group" with Minister Hargey (27/9122) re emerging issues, funding concerns, lack of govt and cost of living crisis. We also met with the Head . of NI Civil service (Jayne Brady) in Nov 22 to discuss Cost of Living (COL) crisis and issues affecting comlvol sector and attended fillther COL meetiiigs between Jan - Mar 23. Financial Revlew Principal Funding Sources The CompySenEdknth core knding alldpjefi]lldlng fromanumbff ofsources dll]g the by this report. Core Funding was received from: Dfc - The Department for Communities, NMDDC - Newry, Mourne and Down District Council, SHSCT - Sotheth Health & Social Care Trnst It eamd incoine from Ballybot House & An sto (its social entery)rise) fiDm the pmvision of office accommodation, day care facilities and vfflue Hire and from its lBsour center, back office support and facilitation.
Reseives Policy The Di*013have themnriskS to theorganisatioii and dlted fimds needed to meet these. Tliey have established aw)liw wha'eby the u[lltriCtd fijnds not coirnnitted or invested in tangible fixed assets held by the clwity sliould be between three and six montl)s ofdie at]nual ex]dIture. Expenditure for the year 31 Math 2023 was £61821 l and theref¢the tsrget is from £154,553 to £309,105 in general fimds. The r&serves are needed to meet the woiking capital requirements of the charity and the Di aLE confident that attlits levd they wouldbe ableto contiilljethe CLllTrart activities of the chlty for some time in the event of a SAgnificant drop in fLU]ding. WhilstutllEstild fimds stand at £1,571,413 adesig]ationof£l265219 th the£8 avwlable to the dwity of£306,194 (Fe Reserves figure as at 3113/23 quates to £291,674) wl]ich is in liiie with the target levd. Plans for fi uture Periods The Confthationofcommunity GLDUPS will continueto Pff)VAde its communitydevdopmfflL communitywod( &ucatiOnalld capaty]lIdjng8ndsUpp0rt Servi to disadvantaged pwle and communities. The Companyh&s al Url fi]nding and in(x)me froin anuMb0f8oUr to enable it to devdop its oldpeOpl£S prolle and to continue its WO to support its Community Pling and community engagement activities. Declaration Thiswrtwas apWivbYtheBod atitsmeetingon23 Novanber2023 and the Sigm on itsbehalfby: Maureen Ruddy Ewan Morgan Director