Trustees Annual Report 2023 - 24
Reference and Administrative 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 Cornmarket, Newry BT35 8BG
Maureen Ruddy (Chairyerson)
Colin Hanna (Vice Chairperson)
Directors:
Rosemarie McDonnell (Treasurer)
Kathleen Lowry
Ewan Morgan
Deirdre Shields
Maureen Ruddy
Anne Woods
Marie-claire Fitzpatrick (appointed 1417123)
Kerrie Havern (appointed 26110123)
Moira O'shea (appointed 26110123)
Co. Secretary and CEO: Raymond Jackson
Malone Accountants, 12 New Stree( Newry BT35 6JD.
Auditors:
Bankers .
Bank of Ireland, 12 Trevor Hill, Newry

Structhre, Governance and Management
Governlng Document
The Confedffttion of Commupity Groups is a company limitedby guaL￿tee which was
incory)oratsl on 12 Jamwy 1989. The con]pany was ethlishd aManO￿nd￿ of
AsgKyciation which estab]ished theobjects andwwa3 ofthe Ch￿Itable and is govemed
under its Articl&s of Association. The Articles were amended by special resolution on 30
October 2014.
In the event ofthe company being would up members are required to <x)ntribute an amount ￿t
exLieeding one wund.
Management
The companyism£lltyby aVolUntyB0a￿ OfDir￿tOrS which is deLtsI fiDm themanboship or
by the di￿tOrS. Th¢ Board ofDirectors are directors ofthe company under (x)mpany law
and are also charity tsustees for the puw of charity law.
The Board 0fD1red￿ is dectol annually from the MaD￿ShIp ofthe cOm￿Y and oxntsists ofup to
twelve I￿1VIdUal and ￿t than four. Up to 0nfrdrri￿ of the diT￿rS retire from office at
each Annual General Meetin& those longest in office rdiring first. Reliiing directors are eligbL le
for Trelection ifnomin￿￿ hOWe￿n0 director shall s￿¢ more than twelve (J)nsecutive years.
Wh￿new d1￿cth aLE apWInt￿ to theBo&dthey receive an it￿U￿10n whithknirfs the memb&3
on their n)les and rcsp)nsibilities as members ofthe boalll and company dire(*0￿ and out]ines
the company's strategic planning proc￿. fi]ndll]g a￿an￿en￿ project sel￿tIOn wlicy, staffing
Strl￿ and wlicy woA(.
All manbers ofthe Bo&d of Directh give theIrtin￿ voluntsily andreceive no ba]efits {
ran￿￿ation fiDm the (X)m￿Y.
Directors
nllll]1￿ fromApll 2023 to Ma￿h 2024 andw)tothedthofthis rep)rtwere as foIlows:
Kathleen Lowry, Ewan Morgan, Rosemarie McDonnell, Rosemary Rooney, Deirdre
Shields, Anne Woods, Maureen Ruddy, Colin Hann4 Marie-claire Fitzpatrick (from
1417/23), and Kerrie Havem and Moira O'shea (from 26110123).

Directorsl Responsibilities
accordance with applicable law and regulations.
Company law ￿luireS the DI￿ to prq)aTr financial statema]ts for each financial year. Under
that law the Dir￿￿ have elected to the fin￿cial statements in aC￿rdanCe with Unit
Kingdom G￿ern11Y Accepted Aco)unting Practice (unit￿ Kingth A(W￿ltIng Sth(Lths a
applicable law). u￿er LX)mpany law the Dir￿*￿ mustnot appLDvethe ￿all¢la1 statemLIts ￿lesS
they are Satisfi￿ they give attue and fair view ofthe state of affairs ofthe company and of the
profit or loss of the (x)mpany for that year. In pr4)aring thase financial statements, the Director3
select suitable accounling wliciag and apply them consistently,
make judgeM￿ts and tljat are reasonable and pnthi¢
state whethff appllcableuKA(w￿rtlng Staths havebeen follow&l Sl￿Je£l to any
mat￿la1 depart￿ disclos&J and explained in the fin￿Cial statements"
prepare the financial statements on the going concem basis unle&s it is inapwpriate
to prasume thatthe o)mpany will contiwe inbusin
The Directors are ragponsible for keqiing adequate accounting reixirds that atr suffiathtto slM)W
and cxplainthewiHstransadions aul disclo￿Withr￿S0nab1e acclwacy at anylime the financi
tx)sition ofthe company and athle than to a￿Ure that the financial statements comply with the
Companies Act 2(M)6. They are also reswnsible for SafegU￿ding the &ssds of the company and
hence for taking ￿nable steps forthe prevention and ddection of fraud and other i￿egularltiI
Policies and Procedures
The company h&8 a nU￿1￿r ofy)lIci￿ andproc￿UR$ in placeto which Dirthr3 and staff adhere.
These reviewed periodically to ensure they continue to meet the neats ofthe company and
current legislation and include policies and ptt)C￿ur0S relating to declaring confiicts of interests.
levels of company reserves, risk managan￿( disclosu￿. fraud. quality equality, hdth
Risk Management
The (x)mpany regularty￿￿takes an 8&8&qna]tofrisks to which itrn1grtbecon￿ exposed. It has
a Risk Management Plan in place which identifies and categorises eachp)kntialiisk the
]ll(e]ih(KKI ofthe riskoccwrin& causes arAd llnpj1c￿Ions thereofand the actions to mitigate the risks.
The Directors reviewed and approved the (x)mpauYs Risk Manag&nent Plan in March 2023.
Related Parties
The company establish￿ a 10(P/o wholly owned knding subsidiary - Ballybot Community
Projects (BCP) in July 2015. Th￿e dI￿t0￿ of the Confolerthon of Community Grnups are also
directh of BCP. The tsadti￿ subsidiary, alw a company limit￿] by s￿ranteE donat&g its profits to

the charity by way of a gift.
Objectives and Activities
Objectives
The obje(*ives of the (x)mpany- as defined by its govaning documart- are:
(a)
To develop programmes and services to advance community development,
citizenship and educatio￿ promote volunteering, relieve poverty and
distress, youth and the aged, and for the promotion of good health, and the
promotion of racial harniony and diversity.
To promote and improve the efficiency and effectiveness of charities and
voluntary and community groups by the provision and management for such
organisations of office accommodation, daycare facilities, conference,
training, inforniation, advice, payroll and other facilities, services or
support.
(b)
Activities
CCG regularly review all activities as part of a strategic planning cycle - we currently
have in place a Strategic Plan 2024 - 28 encompassing our statd aims:
To support the development of connected and vibrant communities.
To address issues that give rise to social isolatioffj deprivatio￿ disadvantage and
poverty at a local level.
To help create inclusive communities which embrace diversity.
To empower civic society through the development of appropriate physical and
community infrastrncture.
Public Benefit
Inplanning and di￿ting the WO￿ of the company the Board ofDire(*or3 has Cx)nSid￿ and
dem&]ts ofthepubjicba1efftwui￿nent-that is d]at ate dllwtknefits
whid] are idartifiable and are availabletothepublicor a section ofthe pub]ic.
The company has identifid the b￿efitS for ￿pIc and con]munity wups as:
Increased numbers of volunteers and volunteering oppoitunities, the
empowennent of individuals, an increase in social investment /activities, a more
inclusive society, a rduction in the fear of clime and an enhanced quality of life.

Increased effectiveness of local charities, community groups and associations and
their effective use of charitable resources, an increase in c4)mmunity infrastructure
and facilities, an increase in partnership work and increased engagement with
statutory bodies
Sustaining and increasing individual and collective knowledge and the
development of individual capabilities, competences, skills and understanding
through community education and life-long learning.
Awareness raising of existing and emerging needs within communities, the
enabling of people to overcome barriers to services and the identification of new
services to meet gaps in provision
The beneficiaries ofthe companys services are the Community & Voluntary sector and people
living in Newry and its environs and the wider region in Northern 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
Dthing the year weprovitsl high quality projects and services and combined this work with
our role as a sub-regional network and community development support organisation. We
collaborated with a wide range of partners, hosted several seminars and responded to a
range of consultations. We continued to advocate on behalf of the Com/Vol sector in
relation to economic development, community infrastruclure, health & wellbeing and
community engagement.
Through our social enterprise (Ballybot House and An Storas) we delivered affordable
office accommodation, retail, day-care and venue hirelconference facilities. These
revenues together with other generated income in our Resource centre and back-office
generated approximately 53 % of total 'knornial" revenues (excluding Hardship / 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
Internet access and training
Risk assessments and Insurance,
Financial control and managemen¢
Grant-tracker advice and help with grant applications for project activity,
Access N.I. Enhanced Disclosure Checks.
Throu￿7 the Neighbourhood Renewal Programme the Confederation has been able to
offer weekly support to community associations in the most deprived areas of Newry
City. This work has seen continued improvement in governance structures within local
oups and has facilitated the delivery of a varied range of services and activities in local
areas.
Outside Newry City we worked with a wide range of additional community and sporting
oups in 2023124 including. Soul Sisters (Cullyhanna), WALD Centre (Cullyhanna),

Newtown(Hamilton)Together - Women, s group, Denmmore Men's shed (Bessbrook),
Lislea Men's Shed, Newry Street Unite (Kilkeel), Moneydarragh Community Hub,
Clonduff GAC (Hilltown), Brookvale Youth Club (Bessbrook), Derramore Training &
Development Association {Bessbrook), Craobh Rua Hurling Club (Bessbrook), Oriel
Traditional Music Archive (Annagh / Louth/ Monaghan), Swagath Indian Group (N&M
wide), Tinnitus Group (Newry & Mourne wide).
We assisted 16 groups in relation to Charity Registration, accounting, reporting and
compliance. We provided additional training, operational planning and sourcing of
nding with many groups. We continued to take an active role in Community Planning
(in particular with the engagement process between the statutory bodies and the com/vol
sector) throu￿} our membership of local DEA Forums.
We delivered 12 Community Development courses focusing on good governance and
compliance issues to 17 groups. We also delivered courses in Safeguarding Training and
First Aid. In the period CCG facilitated & delivered training to 280 participants across the
Newry and Moume area in the above courses.
We have been working and delivering on the cross-border Cirele of Learning project for
the past number of years and were delighted to continue this work into the 2023 to 2024
period. This innovative project is funded by the Department of Forei￿ Affairs,
Reconciliation Fund, and project managed by Co-operation Ireland. CCG are one of four
Hubs involved with the project, the other Hubs being County Arn]agh Community
Development, Dundalk Youth Partnership and the Clones Family Resource Centre
Each group received bespoke community development support tailored to their individual
needs, and it helped them complete Baseline Skills Audits and Action Plans for the
groups. CCG then assisted with the design of individual Social Adion Plans to address
key development issues in each locality to compliment the thematic pillars of the
Reconciliation Fund, enabling groups to address issues of peacebuilding, networking and
growing connections.
Older Peoples Community Programme:
Our Good Day Good Carer service came to an end and has been merged into the new
Good Morning contract. During the period up to November 2023, when the new service
came into being, The Good Day Good Carer Service made a total of 3813 calls to older
carers ri￿lt across the Southern Trust area. The average call time was 15 minutes, and
this equated to 953 volunteer hours engaging with and lending support to older isolated
carers in the comrnunity.
The CCG'S Good Morning project in Newry and Mourne has been consolidating our
volunteer base which now stands at 75 volunteers, expanding our volunteer network in
hubs, and continuing our work engaging with key trust teams. We have been active in
engaging with a number of community groups to forni as Community Volunteering Hubs
as part of the CCG'S Good Morning programme. Community Hubs for the Good
Morning programme are now developed in the Newry & Mourne area with
groups including WALD Centre (Cullyhanna), Lislea Men's Shed, Newry Street Unite,

Kilkeel, and Clonduff GAC. In the ABC Council area we are actively working with ABC
Network Portadown and the West Arn]agh consortium, Armagh nien's Shed and The
Vibe Amiagh.
23573 calls were made in the year by our volunteers devoting 3066 hours to the service.
Cost of Living / Hardship 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 th'e cost-of-living crisis.
CCG, together with SSF colleagues, helped co-ordinate a "cost of Living" {COL)
funding programme (approx. £180k) via our established "Eof, and 'Trusteed Partner
scheme" and engaged with the com/vol sector in the Newry, S Arn]agh and S Down area
including food banks, SVdP etc.
We completed the distribution of a £25k funding programme for people struggling to pay
utility bills (funded by Newry Credit Union). This funding complemented the Dfc
"COL" funding (which was restricted to Food only).
As lead partner on behalf of the Strategic Stakeholder Forum (SSF) for Dfc's "Hardship
Fund" programme we were able to co-ordinate a further £383k funding in the period Oct
23 - Mar 24 period.
We helped coordinate Norbrook's "We Care at Christmas" programme (including
distiibution of cooked food,. food hampers and toys) over a six week period up to
Clllisth]as and included 3 "older peoples" meals hosted at Norbrook headquarters. We
also coordinated Norbrook's Easter Good Friday meal on wheels (150 meals distributed
2613124).
Civic Policy / Wider engagejllent
We attended Community Development Network Forum (CDNF) meetings throughout the
period and attended meetings with NICVA and Dfc (CSSP) to discuss Cost of Living
(COL) crisis, civic infrastructure, and VCD ￿llaing issues.
CCG staff attended "People & Place Review" meetings and regional meetings of the 36
NR Partnerships throughout the year as part of the wider review of regional support
programmes and met with Colm Boyle (Pemianent Secretary Dfc) and Jayne Brady
(Head of Civil service).
Financial Review Prillcipal Funding Sources
The cowy core fi￿ing andpTrJ￿ fill￿1￿ fiDm anumbff of SA)￿￿eS thlligthe
PQi(Kl wveLEdby this report. Core Funding was received from: Dfc - The Department
for Communities, NMDDC - Newry, Mourne and Down District Council, SHSCT -
Sothern Health & Social Care Trust
It earn￿ income fiDm Ballybrt House & An StOrn8 (its social ￿te￿ise) fit)m thepN>vision of
Offi￿ acconllncthion, day care faci]ities and venue Hire and from its resA)urce center, back office
supwrt and facilitstio

Reserves Policy
The DIreth￿ have ass￿ thern￿ riskg to the organisationa￿l desig7at￿ funds needed to meet
. Theyhave establishd wherd)y the unrestiiLtted fi]nds not committed or invested in
tan￿ble fixed assets held by the clwity should be between thrtt and six months ofthe annual
expenditure. Expenditure fortheyear to 31 March 2024 was £￿,750 aThl th￿efffl￿ the tty is
from £227,437 to £454,875 in ga]eral fill]d8.
The reserves are to meet the wodiing capital requrnfflts ofthe ch&ity and the Di
L))nfida]t that at this Ievd theywouldlK abIe to (x)ntinued￿¢￿TCllt activities of the charity for
some lime in the event of a significant drop in fLll]ding. WhI￿t￿l(*￿ fi]nds thjd at
£1,537575 ad•ion of£l265219 ratsKrsthe r￿v￿ available to the clMity of£272J56 (Free
Reservcg figlre as at 31￿/24 equatas to £257,836) which is in ]ine with thetty level.
Plans for Future Periods
The Confalrtionofconm￿tyGtt)ups Mall continuetopmvide its c(xrnrrity deVd(Yn￿L
(￿n]m￿nityW0A(& thcati(x] and capacitylxrilding and support servicds to disadvantagalpwle
and coi]]murrities.
The Com￿ybaS akn S￿knthng and income fit)m seV￿al ￿ to o)able itto devdop its
olderwle9pTr￿ and to Contin￿ its WO￿ to supwrt its Community Planning and
community engagement activities.
Declaration
Illls w)rtwas appmv￿bythCBO￿d atitsm￿tingffl 21'Novanber 2024 alldtherea
Si￿1ed on its bd]alfby."
Maureen Ruddy
Ewan Morgan