FRIENDS OF DOWN COUNTY MUSEUM REPORT OF THE TRUSTEES FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31 MARCH 2023 The tntst¢¢s present their report with the financial statements of the charity for the year ellded 31 March 2023. OBJECTIVES AND ACTIVITIES Objectives and aims Purpose of charity As slated in its eonstitulion. the purposes of the charity are- To support and prornote the work of the Museum. The Society shall be independent of, but associated with Down County Museum. Member5 will WOTk in close association with the Curator and staff of the Museum, lo develop the Museum. support the collection, participate in associated activities and act as ambassadors within the community for the Museum. The Society is a charity (no NtC102387) and any fimds raised are solely for th¢ benefit of the Museum. Slgnifi¢ant activltles The main areas of eharitable activity The Society may. in furtherance of its purpose. organise relevant activities. a5 well as support the Museum's own programme of events. These activities rnay include leclures. tours, literary or musical events, for educational, social OT ndraising purp05¢s. The Society will not undertake any substantial permalleut trading activity and must comply with all statutory regulations. The Society may acquire or make grants, from its own funds or by acting as a conduit for other grant-aiding bodies. lo the Museum for curatorial or educational purposes. The Society may appoint representatives or delegales to other relevant bodies, if such invitations are made. Beneficiaries The Museum is the main direct beneficiary. since its beneficiaries are people of all ages and bxckgrounds within the local community as well as visitors from elsewhere, these ar¢ the beneficiaries of the Friends. projects and activities. OBJECTIVES AND ACTIVITIES Public benefit The trustees are confident thal the charitable aims of Friends of Down County Museum satisfy the principles of public benefit as defined in the Charities Act. They have refe￿¢d to the guidance contained in the Charity Commission's general guidance on public benefit when reviewing the aims and Objectiv￿ and in planning its fUtll￿ activities. The principal aim of the charity is that of providing support for, and promotion of. Down County Museum. FRIEI¥DS OF DOWN COUNTY MUSEUM REPORT OF THE TRUSTEES FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31 MARCH 2023 ACHIEVEMENT AND PERFORMANCE FINANCIAL REVIEW Financial position The financial position of the charity can be found on pages 7 and 8. Charitable activities Following Newry Mounie and Down Council's comtnithient to commissioning a strategic review of mus¢utn services. a chainnati, Siobhan Stevenson. was appointed, who met or talked with a number of stakeholders from July to October 2022. Representatives of th¢ Friends were invited to a meeling in October and subsequenily provided a written statement, which was attached to Ms Sievenson's final report. This report was compleled in November and its recommendations agreed by Council. The Friends were invited to a meeting tn January 2023 to hear the recommendations. By tbis time, Dew members of staff, including Assistant Curator. Education Officer and Collections Assistant, as well as front of hou5¢ Staff. had already been appointed. although one had resigned after a few rnonths in post and a repla¢ement appointed. In addition, one of the recommendations of the report, to re-title curatorial posts. to better reflect their responsibilities. was also imm¢diat¢ly acted upon by Council. The Friends hope that the current staffing level, while missing what was considered a key post of TechniciaDIPhotographer, will be fully supported by Council, staff given necessary Iraining and funding provided ftlr all aspects of museum activities, the colle¢tion and n￿IntenanCe of the museum buildings. The Friends. committee has been endeavouring to build relationship5 with the new staff, keep members of the Friends infornied and re-commence a programme of events. post-covid. The balance of educational and social events is key to this, so the fwst event organised, in Nov¢tnber 2022 was a highly success￿] visit to Louth County Museum, followed by a pre-christmas event to listen to some music and tneet new staff members. This will continue in the next fmancial year as we continue to discuss issues whicb may arise and work with the museum to solve ihem. Prlneipal funding $ourees The prÉncipal funding sources for the charity are cutrently from membership fees. donations and fundraising activities. Investment pollcy objective5 The Trustees have decided that any reserves should be invested in secure bank deposits. The Trustees consider the overall return on d¢￿sIt accounts to be disappointin& but are not willing to pla¢e valuable resou￿¢$ in riskier investments. Reserves policy Due to the unpredictability of the income receivable by th¢ charity it is the policy of Fri¢Thds of Down County Museum to rrLainlain a balance on unrestricted fvnds to cover emergency sitslations that arise from time to time and to also enable the charity to continue to deliver its s¢rYi¢e effectively. Th¢ present level of reserves available to the charity is £24.890. FUTURE PLANS The charity plans continuing the activities outlined above in the fortbcoming years subject to satisfying funding arrangements. STRUCTURE, GOVERNANCE AND MANAGEMENT Governing document The charity is controlled by its governing document. a deed of ttust. and Constitutes an unincotporated cbarity. Recruitment and appointment of Dew trustees A broad mix of business, professional and otber skills are well represented on the Management Committee and all Tntstees are chosen on the b&%is of tbeir willingness to serve, ability. governance experien¢e and support of the etho5. mission and philosophy of the organisation. Risk management The trustees have a duty to identify and review the risks to which the charity is exposed and to ensure appropriate controls are in place to provide reasonable assurance against fraud and error. REFERENCE AND ADMINISTRATIVE DETAILS Registered Charity number 102387 FRIENDS OF DOWN COUNTY MUSEUM REPORT OF THE TRUSTEES FOR THE YEAR ELNDED 31 MARCH 2023 REFERENCE AND ADMINISTRATIVE DETAILS Principal address Down County Museum The Mall English Street Downpatrick Co. Down BT30 6AH Trustees Anne Liggett Lesley Simpson Paddy Moore Gerald Lennon Chairperson Anne Curran Treasurer Paddy Moore Asslstant Tr¢a$urer Brian Leathem Secretary M Lesley Simpson Committee members Jennifer Taggart Noreen Napier Independent examiner M.B.McGrady & Co Chartered Accountants Rathmore House 52 St Patricks Avenue Downpalrick Co. Down BT30 6DS Approved by order of the board of trnste¢s on 24 May 2023 and signed on its b¢half by: Ms Lesley Slmp50n Trustee Dr Patrick R J Moore Trustee