Christian Unions Ireland (NI) Trust
Company Limited by Guarantee
Trustees' Annual Report (Incorporating the Director's Report)
Year ended 31 August 2023
The trustees, who are also the directors for the purposes of company law, present their report and the financial statements of the charity for the year ended 31 August 2023.
Reference and administrative details Registered charity name Christian Unions Ireland (NI) Trust
Charity registration number NIC102525 Company registration number NI33539 Principal office and registered 6 University Road office Belfast BT7 1NH The trustees who served during the year Mr Martin Agnew - Chair Dr Edward Cox – Vice Chair (Resigned 3 June 2023) Mr Gavin Rothwell - Treasurer Mrs Catrin Carolan Prof John Gillespie Mr Iain Hamill (Appointed 3 June 2023) Ms Julie Hamilton (Appointed 3 June 2023) (Appointed 24 September 2022 & Mr Daniel Moorcroft resigned 23 September 2023) Ms Helen McNeely Mr Cassells Morrell (Appointed 3 June 2023) Prof Frank Peters Ms Bethany Petrie (Resigned 24 September 2022) Mr Jonathan Reid Mr Gavin Taylor (Resigned 24 September 2022) (Appointed 24 September 2022 & Miss Julia Yermak resigned 23 September 2023) Company secretary Mr Mark Ellis (Resigned 23 September 2023) Mr Chris McBurney (Appointed 23 September 2023) Auditor FEB Chartered Accountants Chartered accountants & statutory auditor Linenhall Exchange First Floor 26 Linenhall Street Belfast BT2 8BG Bankers AIB (NI) 11-15 Donegall Square North Belfast BT1 5GB Solicitors MacCorkell Legal & Commercial Private Client & Commercial Solicitors Garvey Studios 8-10 Longstone Street Lisburn BT28 1TP
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Christian Unions Ireland (NI) Trust
Company Limited by Guarantee
Trustees' Annual Report (Incorporating the Director's Report) (continued)
Year ended 31 August 2023
Structure, governance and management
Christian Unions Ireland (NI) Trust is a registered charity and operates as a company limited by guarantee. The company is managed by an experienced board of directors and a team of skilled and dedicated employees.
Objectives and activities
The principal activity of the company during the year was that of the advancement of the evangelical Christian faith amongst students.
The Vision is to give every student in Ireland an opportunity to respond to the gospel of Jesus Christ. The Mission Statement of the company states their mission is students reaching students for Christ.
This mission statement is distilled into a set of core values which are:
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Fuelled by the gospel of Grace
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Confident in the sufficiency of Scripture
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Joyfully dependent on God
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Striving for unity in Christ
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Generously serving the Church
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Passionately engaged in God’s world
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Investing in dynamic student-leadership
Strategic report
The following sections for achievements and performance and financial review form the strategic report of the charity.
Achievements and performance
During the year Christian Unions Ireland (NI) Trust continued to work amongst student communities in Northern Ireland to further advance their work. Workers in these communities are encouraged to act by and spread the core values in order to work towards achieving the mission statement.
Financial review
Results for the year ended 31 August 2023 are given in the Statement of Financial Activities on page 9. The assets and liabilities as at 31 August 2023 are given on the Statement of Financial Position on page 10. The financial statements should be read in conjunction with their related notes, which appear on pages 11 to 16 and have been prepared in accordance with the Statement of Recommended Practice.
In summary:
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total incoming resources decreased by 3.13% (2022: increased by 9.99%) to £344,677 (2022: £355,831)
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total resources expended increased by 8.19% (2022: increased by 39.2%) to £372,138 (2022: £343,977)
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net deficit for the year on total funds was £27,461 (2022: net surplus of £11,854)
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Christian Unions Ireland (NI) Trust
Company Limited by Guarantee
Trustees' Annual Report (Incorporating the Director's Report) (continued)
Year ended 31 August 2023
Designated Reserves
In order to make a judgment on the amount of reserve the Board consider the risks in respect of expenditure, unrestricted income and where appropriate restricted income and where funds can only be realised by the disposal of a fixed asset.
A risk assessment is undertaken annually and determined using a Risk Identification approach. Also taken into consideration are any external identified potential major risks to income and expenditure during the year under consideration. Designated reserves therefore reflect areas outlined in the Organisations Risk Register which is maintained to ensure identified risks are mitigated for and managed appropriately.
The Organisation has adopted a policy to build up and retain cash reserves equalling 3 months running costs, to reflect:
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delays in funding receipts,
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withdrawal or reduction of funding
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support for Organisational growth
Reserves and Risk are reviewed regularly as part of the Business Planning and included in Financial reporting at regular Board Meetings.
Risk Management
The Board has conducted a review of the major risks to which the charity is exposed. A risk register has been established and is updated at least annually. Where appropriate, systems or procedures have been established to mitigate the risks the charity faces.
Public Benefit Statement/Declaration
Christian Unions Ireland (NI) Trust provides benefit to students by promoting the formation and growth of Christian Union groups run by students for students.
We deepen and strengthen the spiritual life of students through Bible teaching, study and prayer. This in turn benefits the wider church that students belong to by increasing their knowledge and opportunities for service within the church.
We encourage students to obey God’s commission to go into all the world with the Gospel, sharing in this privilege by giving, praying and serving in every area of life to which God calls them. This in turn promotes the adoption of a moral framework which encourages students to be good citizens in their university, church and society.
We provide opportunities for students to engage with students from other universities throughout Northern Ireland, Ireland, UK, Europe and the World through our sister movements in 153+ countries worldwide under the umbrella movement IFES. The organisation’s beneficiaries are students in third level education institutions across Northern Ireland.
All of the above benefits will be evidenced through:
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Training events for Christian Union leadership teams;
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EQUIP Festival - a training event open to any student from any Christian Union in Ireland;
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Co-operation with local churches and other mission agencies to offer students opportunities for service in their local communities and society;
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Regular surveying of student training needs and service opportunities – via Christian Union groups;
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Facilitating the meeting of a Student Council (a selected group of student leaders from across Ireland) to gain feedback on Christian Unions Ireland activities and give student input into the decision making process of the organisation.
• The Board of Christian Unions Ireland (NI) Trust has 2 student representatives, chosen annually from current Christian Union Leaders. The only private benefit flowing from our purposes is related to the employment of our staff who receive benefits as a result of their employment. However, we consider this to be incidental and necessary in order to further our charitable purposes. We do not anticipate that any harm will flow from any of our purposes.
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Christian Unions Ireland (NI) Trust
Company Limited by Guarantee
Trustees' Annual Report (Incorporating the Director's Report) (continued)
Year ended 31 August 2023
Trustees' responsibilities statement
The trustees, who are also directors for the purposes of company law, are responsible for preparing the trustees' report and the financial statements in accordance with applicable law and United Kingdom Accounting Standards (United Kingdom Generally Accepted Accounting Practice).
Company law requires the charity trustees to prepare financial statements for each year which give a true and fair view of the state of affairs of the charitable company and the incoming resources and application of resources, including the income and expenditure, for that period.
In preparing these financial statements, the trustees are required to:
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select suitable accounting policies and then apply them consistently;
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observe the methods and principles in the applicable Charities SORP;
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make judgments and accounting estimates that are reasonable and prudent;
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state whether applicable UK Accounting Standards have been followed, subject to any material departures disclosed and explained in the financial statements;
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prepare the financial statements on the going concern basis unless it is inappropriate to presume that the charity will continue in business.
The trustees are responsible for keeping adequate accounting records that are sufficient to show and explain the charity's transactions and disclose with reasonable accuracy at any time the financial position of the charity and enable them to ensure that the financial statements comply with the Companies Act 2006. They are also responsible for safeguarding the assets of the charity and hence for taking reasonable steps for the prevention and detection of fraud and other irregularities.
Auditor
Each of the persons who is a trustee at the date of approval of this report confirms that:
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so far as they are aware, there is no relevant audit information of which the charity's auditor is unaware; and
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they have taken all steps that they ought to have taken as a trustee to make themselves aware of any relevant audit information and to establish that the charity's auditor is aware of that information.
The auditor is deemed to have been re-appointed in accordance with section 487 of the Companies Act 2006.
The trustees' annual report and the strategic report were approved on 2 March 2024 and signed on behalf of the board of trustees by:
Mr Martin Agnew - Chair Trustee
Mr Iain Hamill Trustee
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