Trustees Report Slh April 2022 The Fernianagh Trust has two Patrons and Nine Trustees who oversee the Trust's work. Joanna Mcvey - a founding Trustee is fonner Mana8in8 Director of William Trimble Ltd which owned the Irnpartial Reporter. Joanna 15 involved in a number of community and voluntary organisations in Fernianagh. Joanna and family have been actively involved in establishing the Joan Trimble Award Scheme a named fund within the Tnt and is a member of the fiind's advisory grants panel. Frank Mcmanus is a solicitor based in Lisnaskea. Frank has a long-terrn interest in the Femianagh Gaelic Athletic Association. Ernie Fisher(Vice Chairperson) is Chairnian of Fisher Holdings Ltd and formcr Managing Director of Fisher Engineering Ltd. Ernie has been involved in community life in the Ballinamallard area for many year5 and is actively involved in a number of organisations including Ballinamallard Development Association and Ballinamallard Enterprise Company Ltd. Ernie was instrurnental in establishing the Fisher Fouodation a named fund with The FeTmanagh Trust, and oversees the work of the Fisher Foundation advisory gTOUP. Ernie is Deputy Lieutenant for County F¢nnanagh and also a Director of the Annagh City Hotel Ltd. Jim Ledwith - the convenor and a founding Tntee, Jim has a long track record of involvement in community life in County Fernianagh. particularly during his employment as Community Services Manager with Fermanagh District Councxl. which involved working with townland and village-based communities across Fennanagh. Jim was n)ost recently involved in managing a community research project with the London bas Young Foundation. Jim is an active member of Sruth na hEime an Irish language conversation circle. A company Director of the Mummers Foundation, a not-for-profit organi5ation with a remit for the promotin8 and widening the understanding of mumming traditions at home and abroad. Kevin Lunney is Chief Operations Officer at Mannock Holdings DAC. Previously Kevin was Group Development Director of the Quinn Group and General Manager of Quinn Insurance. Kevin is also a Director of various local renewable energy ass¢ts, On a voluntary basis Kevin is a Director of Kinawley Community Hall Association and Is also involved in 5UPPOrting post pritnary cducation in his local community. Aideen McGinley (Chairperson} is chair of Ferntsnagh Trust. Aideen has extensive experience of public service in local and central 8OVCTnment in Northern Ireland a5 CEO of Fernlanagh Dislrict Council and Permanent Secretary in the Department of Culture, Arts and Leisure. the Department of EMplOent and Learning and CEO of Ilex. A fonner National Trustee of the BBC. Aideen is a Tntee of the National Trust and Vice-chair of The Carnegie UK TTUSt a Director of the Ai51ing centre and a
member of the expert panel on City of Culture for DCMS. She is involved in a number of other charities nationally and locally. Sue Bryson (Secretary) is a Fernianath native and solicitor by profession Sue recently retired as Deputy Chief Executive of and Head of Regulation within the Law Society of Northem Ireland. Sue is a Committee member of her local Concern charity shop and of her locaI Residents, Association. Anna Devlin is a Charterol Accountanl and Director of Cavanagh Kelly. Anna leads the Forensic Accounting team and specialis¢s in providing exwt reports in a range of commercial and civil litigation matters. On a voluntary basis, Anna is a Director of Enniskillen BID Ltd. a not-for-profit company which promot&8 the development of business activity within the Enniskillen town arca. Robert Gibson, a Civil Engineer, was fonnerly Director of Community, Health and Leisure with Fermanagh and Omagh District Council for five years. Prior to this Robert was Acting Chief Executive of FernwaBh District Council, for the l&st year of that Council, holding a Director role for 14 years previously. Rob¢rt has a long personal commitment to Community i&su&s. Fornierly Robert played rugby for Enniskillen RFC and 15 an ardcnt Ulster and Ireland supporter. Advisors Accountants - MacNeary Rasdale & Co. Ltd Wellington House 30 Darling Street Enniskillen BT74 7EW Solicitors Cleaver Fulton Rankin Solicitors 50 Bedford Street Belfast BT2 7FW
- Structure. Governance and Management. Trust Deed - Background The Ferrnanagh Trust was cstabli5hed in 1995 with the financial support and guidance of the Barrow Cadbury Tnt with four founding Trust¢es. Trustee$ Trustees are appointed at a tneeting of the Trustees, new TnteeS meet with the Chair and are given a briefing on the TNsts work and commitments, responsibilities, etc prior to joining the Board. We were delighted to welcome Robert Gibson a5 a new Trustee this year, Robert brings a wealth of local knowledge and experience to the Board. Deci51on$ The TteeS are responsible for the overall governance of the Trust and also oversee all grant makin& the exception is grants of £300 and under which can be awarded by The Director with the support of one Trustee. All major strat¢gic decisions are taken by the Tntees. The Trust has two working committees in relation to Finance and Managem¢nt and Strategy. Each Committee consists of at least two Truslees advise the Trustees on issues impacting the work of the Trust in these specific areas. This structure was put in place following a review of the Governance structures by th¢ Trustees. The Trust's Director is responsible for implementing the Femianagh Trust, Strategy. Affiliatlons - Membership: The Trust is a member of Philanthropy Ireland and the Association of Charitable Foundations {UK). The Trust is also a member of the N.1. Trust Group, NICV A and DTNI as well as being represented on a number of local committeegj partnerships. Statement on Rlsk Assessment: The major risks to which The Fennanagh Trust are exposed, a5 identified by the Trustees, have been reviewed and systems have been established to manage those risks. The Trustees recogni5c the importance of overseeing the Trust assets including the Trust's financial investments. system5 are in place to rnaThage thi5 aspect of the Trust5 work. In relation to Femianagh House, in light of the Covid 19 public health crisis, the Trust updated its risk management guidelines.
The Trnst has been operational since 1995 and has in place sound financial management procedures. These procedures have been guided by advice from internal auditors and cvaluated and tested by the Trust accountants and extemal auditors over the past year. The Trust has adequate and effective systems of Governance, Risk Management and Control in place. 3. Objectlves and Aetivities. a) of Trust Objects - from Trust Deed The Trust was established in 1995 to promote any charitable purpose and to support initiatives which will lead to social and community development to improve the conditions of life for people in the County of F¢nnanagh and immediate hinterlands. In 2W2 the Trust Deed was broadened to extend beyond the initial area of benefit to include 'other exclusively charitable purposes in the United Kingdom and elsewhere which are in the opinion of the trustees bcncficial to the community Wlth a preference for those in the area of benefit., b) Explanation of the Trust's aims ake through our Activities: Including the differences we seek to A significant part of the Trust's work involves both grant-making and developmental 5UPPOrt to groups and organisations across Femianagh and beyond. The Trust utilises its local knowledge and expertise to mak¢ a r¢al difference to voluntary work taking place at a community level includin8 providing a range of community education supports to volunteers and organisations. Shared Education and building effeclive community relationships remains an important part of the Trusls work. Our focus on advancing Shar¢d Education particularly in the preschool sector remains in line with the Trusts overall strategy. Due to the challenges around public health particularly at the earlier part of the year the Trust recognised and supported local peopl¢ both through the provision of grant aid and guidance and support for local community initiatives acros5 Fcrmanagh. In addition. the Trust supported the implementstion of a county wide befriending service, 'Connect Fennanagh. which supports vuln¢rabl¢ and isolated people across the County. During the year the Trust continued to provide a mechanism for local donor5, tunders etc interested in supporting civil society. The Trust also supports community and voluntary endeavour and has a particular focus on building 8ood relations between the two main traditions living in Fem)anagh. Ov¢1 the past twelve months this has involved the Trust working with over l87 organisations and projects from across Fennanagh and beyond.
c) Main objectives for 202112022 This year continued to be challenging for communities and people. Whil¢ th¢ impact of Covid on the work of the Fernianagh Trust and the organisations we support declined, many challenge5 remained. The Trusts main objectives as set out at the start of the year evolved in light of this. The main objectives for the last year included: Implement the Trust strategy - 'Investing in Communities 2019 - 2023. focusin8 on helping groups support local people impacted by the challenging public health environrnent. Developing our grant making programme incorporating targ¢t¢d grant making in response to Covid. Implementing the Trust'5 community and voluntary sUPPOrt programme including continuing to provide support to numerous groups and organisations across Fermanagh and beyond. Support Shared Education including the deliv¢ry of ihe 'Sharing from the Start, project and supporting the ongoing mainstreaming of Shared Education. Ensure Fernianagh House operates as an effective and sustainable community networking centre with a particular focus on being available for counselling and oih¢r Covid support interventions. Explore new philanthropic partnerships. Developing the work of the Community Academy. Implementing the Community Education Leadership programme and other developmental approaches. Support the Connect Fermanagh initiative - a befriending service helping vulnerable and isolated members of the community during the Covid risis. d) Trust strategy The Tnt's Strategy 'lnvesting in Communitics 2019-2023. provides the foundation stone for the Trust to advance and ifflplernent the programme of work over the last year. The Trustees advise and guide the Director on the development of the strategy and support the Director and the staff tearn with the advancement of this work. All of the TNst¢¢5 play an important role in 5peciFJc aspects of the emerging and developing work during the year. e) Slgnific2Dt activities during the year The last year will be remetnb¢red as ihe year we began emerging from Covid, a year of transltion and change for the communities and people we serve. The chall¢ng¢s and uncertainty resulted in the Trust being both reactive and proactive lo the public health environmenl. While maintaining a lot of online activity the Trust increasingly rnoved to face to face rneetings and training, while observing Social distancing and all of the other health guidance.
We were delighted to support and welcome back so many people and or8anisation5 back to Fernianagh House, and as the year went on and confjdence grew it was fantastic to see colleagues, partners and all of ihe organisations and service users back. For many there were wonderful smiles and even tears of joy as people met face to face for the first time. The Macular group held their Christmas dinner in Fennanagh House in December 2021, a joyous occasion, watchin8 friends come together for the first time in 21 months. The fonnal cstabli5hmenl of Connect Fernianagh as a s¢aThdalone charity was another real highlight. Assisting in establishing a new Board with th¢ majority of Board members Current befrienders from within the service was very positive. The Fennanagh Trust provided significant in-kind support lo the new charity helping the group develop a sound footing to build on ihe work going forward support included recruiting volunteer befrienders and the volunteers. The Community Leadership Programme was a real Success this y¢ar. W¢ organised and supported a wide range of programmes working closely with our partners. This included supporting the Rural Community N¢twork with the establishment and recruitment onto the Diploma in Community Development supported by National University of Ireland in Galway With the knowledge from providing this local support the Trust also actively engaged with regional based organisations to help bring much needed resources lo Ial communities and organisations. The Dcpartment for Communities, Community Investment Fund contributed to the Trust's core costs. The funding supported the Trust to be in a position to advice and support groups and organisations from across FemianagK with th¢ Trust providing advice. mentoring. networking SUPPOrt and training. The Trust continued to support the development of the Community Academy's work in partnership with the Department and the Resurgam Trust based in Lisburn, transferring knowledge and best practice lo communilics across Nl. This included supporting community-based projects to advance major capital proj¢cts in the Urban Village areas of Derry ILondonderry and in Belfast. This work included hosting study visits, mentoring and networking support and deliv¢ring training on a range of themes. The Trusts strategic work on rural poverty continued disseminating th¢ findings on Poverty in Fennanagh 'Poverty in a Rural Findings - Working Together to Make a Difference, report with a number of organisations including the local Council, Health agencies and others. The Trust also actively supported a number of grdss roots organisations helping make an effective contribution to people'5 lives across the community. Throughout the year the Trust worked with the Early Years Organisation and the National Children's Network on the continued implancntation of th¢ Peace 4 Shared Education Programme Sharing from the Start. The Tnt team playing an important rolc in the roll out of this worK ensuring a smooth and effective role out of the programme. Over sevenly-preschools and approximately 2000 children benefited from the programme during the year.
Q Grant making The Trust's continues its important grant making including both unrestricted and restricted grant making through the named funds. The unrestricted grant making continued to provide grant awards of up to £31J)O. During the year, the Trust directly awarded over £250.000 in Grant Aid. The administration of the Fermanagh Recreational Fund continued during the year. During the year the Trust also advised and supported a number of other regional and nalional funders helping to advance their Covid grant making work in Fern]anagh. This included effective partnership working helping bring much needed resources to groups across Fern]anagh. Providing fundraising guidance and sUPPOrt to local organi5ation5 Seeking significant financial support was an important part of the Trusts work particularly due to the challenges faced by groups facing a significant decline in income. This has involved a rang¢ of int¢rv¢ntions ranging from holding seminars and workshops to direct one-to-one mentoring Sllprt. Fifty-six groups benefitted directly during the year. The Wind Farn] funds, which pmvide specific geographical based funding continued during the year to a wide range of small, localised organisatiOn5. The Trusts, Young Grant-makers Apprenticeships Programme, brought together young people from acros5 Fernianagh. The young people became active grant- makers awarding grants to Youth based activities in the County and helped guid¢ and inforni the Trust in our work. This initiative is part of the Community Leadership progratnme. Aehlevements and Performanee. a) Review of activities The last year saw the tearn emerge from the pandemic. from social distanced meetings and engaging with policy makers and other online. The team fully returned to Fernianagh House whilc recognising and embracing the new reality of virtual working and supports. During the year the Trust have continued to maintain its core staff team of thirteen. Our social enterprise, Fernianagh House, seen a major uplift in activity and business compared to ihe previous year 20 - 21 where Covid had a huge negative impact. The team took every step possible lo welcom¢ back old fri¢nds and new while taking the necessary precautions to keep people safe.
The Trust consolidated on its work over the pasi year as evidenced by the work of the various initiatives and funds including the Sharing from the Start PTogTamme. Femianagh House, Poverty work and proactive community development work. The first 1] year of implementing the Community Lead¢rship programme was a real highlight. Our collaboration work with our project partners the Holywell Trust and the Rural Community N¢twork led to over 2CrfJ people benefitting from a range of Community development training and support programmes. We look forward to building on this work in the corning year. b) Fundraising I Income generation- The Trust's balanced funding strategy tTaditionally included investment incomc. income from Fernjanagh House, other income from consultancy work and flow- through fundingi SUPPOrt from independent funders plus the support via grant aid from the Department of Comrnunities. While the past year seen an increase in income generated compared to 2020 12021, the income generated remained lower than the pr¢ Covid y¢ars. The team however embraced thi5 challenging environment ensuring no deficit was incurred. c). Investment's pcrforn)an¢e The Trusts financial investments recorded positive returns during the year. The Trustees have taken a long-terni view of the investrnents and the perforniance of Ihe portfolio. and this continues. During the year The Femianagh Trust invested the bulk of its investrnent in the NI Central Investment Fund for Charities. The Fund is managed by the Dcpartment through recognised fimd managers. the CUTTent fund rnanager 15 Aberdeen Standard Capital. The fund's inv&stment lIcY is guided by a locally based Advisory Commillee appoint by the Departrnenl, which meets in February. May. August and November each year. The Fund operates as a discretionary managed fiuld. Participating charities pool their investmeThts and are given a proportionate number of shares b&sed on the most recent valuation (share price). The Fund invests in fixed-interest securities and selected equities. The allocation between fixed-interest securities and equities is r¢vi¢w¢d and adjustcd periodically, in line with the Fund's invesknent rK>licy. The Trust continues to have social inve5th1cnts in both the Drumlin Wind Energy and Nl Community Energy Co-operative. d) External relationships - beneficiaries. funders. etc Collaboration and networking with local. regional and national organisations remained integral to the Fermanagh Trusts work with positive relationships Wlth a wide range of or8an15ation5. The Tt'S membership of the Association of Charitable Foundations, Philanthropy Ireland and the NI Funders Forum ensures the Trust is infonThed of opportunities and developments in the sector.
Our collaboration with The Holywell Trust and the Rural Community Network continues with the implementslion of the Community LeadeT5hip training initiative in the West. wilh investment from The National Lottery Community Fund. The 'Sharing from the Start. Programme wilh the Early Years OrgaThisation and the National Childhood Network alongside oth¢r work in Shared EducatioTh has resulted in the Trust's continued involvement in a number of Shared Education Forums and networks. The Trust has a maintained a strong working relationship with a wide range of organisations including the Department for Communities. The Department's core funding is important in ensuring ihe Trust can deliv¢r the community and voluntary sector support work across County Fernianagh- These relationships help the Trust advance our work. The Tnts work with the Community Academy remained an important part of the Trusts 'outward looking. work and working with the Resurgam Trust th¢ Community Academy implernented a programme of mentorin& networking and training support in the uan Village areas of Derry / L'Derry and Belfast on behalf of the Executive Office. Looking to the future the Community Academy has significant p)teDtial to enhance comrnunity development prdCtic< research and community leadership in Fernianagh and across NI. During the year the Trust Director was an active Advisor Network member of Engage Britain Engage Britain's mission is to help find ways forward on the biggest challenges facing society through active citizen engagement and Icarning from grass roots organi5ations. Financial Review. a). Financial position of the Trust Thc Trust is in a strong financial position. with a diverse range of income including private donations, charitable foundations, support from the SEUPB and the Department for Comrnunities alongsidc and income generated from Fennanagh House and consullancy work. The Trustees continued to overse¢ th¢ Trustees investment Strdtegy during the period including inveslin8 in the Nl Central Investment Fund for Charities. b). Financial Management systems The Trust ha5 in place sound financial management procedures which we are confident are robust and appropriate in terms of good govcrnance. As part of the governance work, the Trustees completed a major financial syslems review helping future proof our work. c). Statement on Reserves
The Trust has in place the necessary accessible reserves to cover 6 month'5 core costs. The Trust will endeavour to ensure this level of res¢rves is maintaincd. d). Principal funding sources The Trust continues to have a healthy mix of private donations, income generation and ¢xt¢rnal funding support. The financial support from a number of charitable Trnsts and funders continues to be appreciated as without it many of the Trust's activities would be impossible or significantly reduced. A numbcr of staff are engagd on time limited projects funded by particular funders, and this work will continue subject to fiinding being secured and as deemed appropriate. Income generation from Fennanagh House continued to be impacted due to Covid, though it is clear that th¢ Fennanagh House model remains a sustainable one going forward. e) Investment Policy and Obj¢ctivcs The Trust aims to maintain the value of the capital invested whilst maximising returns. The Trustees have recognised the need for a regular review of the Tru5t'5 investm¢nls, overseeing these through engaging Wlth the investment managers, considering quarterly reports and regular meelings to di5CUSS the Trust investments. After a review this year, the Trustees re-directed the majority of the Investments to the NI Central Investment Fund for Charities. The Trustees will continue to keep a c505¢ ¢y¢ on quity inveslments with a view to safeguarding the capital value of the Investments. 6. Plans for Future Periods. The Trust five-year strategy 'InVtIng in Communities 2019- 2023, continues to guide and infonn the Tn]st's future work. The Trust completed a midterm review of the Strategy during the year taking on board the impact of Covid on the Trusts work and the impact on communities and people across the County. The Trustee5 also began to have conversations about the TTUSts fiiture strategy and put in place a programme of work io take this WOTk forward with the support and guidance of the Strategy committee. The continued opening up of soci¢ty and facilitie5 resulted in Fennanagh House, once again, an important resource for our work in supporting civil society locally. The Trusl will continue to oversee this community resource for the people of Fernlanagh by working with and supporting not-for-profit initiatives over the coming period. The Trust is committed to continuing to progress Shared Education. building on the Trust's knowledge and experience in this area. We utilised our knowledge and experience in this area to engage in and inform the Department of Education on the development of their Mainstreaming Shared Education initiative. Over the next year we will continue to build on the work with Early Years and the National Children's Nctwork impl¢mentiDg the Peace 4 Sharing from the Start programme. io
We fully understand the impact Covid has had on civic society and in particular on voluntecring and recognise this will continue to have a huge impact on the Trusts work and the organisations we support. The Trust will continue to both convene, support and if possible, fijnd localised community initiativ¢s and support grass roots community organising and leadership. The Trust also remains commilted to supporting the newly established charity Connect Fcrnianagh and help to firnily embed this County wide befriending service for those members of the community who are vulnerable, anxious, lonely or isolated across Fennanagh over the coming years. The Trust also looks forward to ihe continued implementation of th¢ Community Leadership in the West programme building the knowledge and competence of volunteer5 and staff acTOSS the community and voluntary sector in Fennanagh aThd beyond including the delivery of the Young Apprenticeship Grant making cours¢. Trust¢es' responsibilities statement The Trustees are responsible for preparin8 the Trustees, Report and the financial statements in accordance with applicabl¢ law and United Kingdom Accounting Standards (United Kingdom Generally Accepted Accounting Practice). The Charity lnle¢S are rquir¢d to prepare financial staternent5 for each year which give a true and fair view of the state of affairs of the charitable trust and the incoming resources and application of resources, includin8 the income and expenditure, for that period. In prq)aring th¢s¢ financial statements. the trustees are required to: select suitable accounting policies and then apply them consistently. • observe the rnethods and principles in the applicable Charities SORP. make judgments and accounting estimates that ar¢ reanable and prudent. 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 cxplaiTh the charity's transactions and disclose with reasonable accuracy at any tirne the financial position of the charity. 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 iffegularities. Auditor Each of the persons who is a Trustee at the date of approval of this report confirnis ihaÉ: So far as they are aware, there is no rclevant audit information of which the charity's auditor is unaware: and
They have taken all steps that they ought to have taken as a trustee to make th¢ms¢lv¢s aware of any relevanl audit inforn)alion and to establish that the charity's auditor is aware of that inforniation. The trustees, annual report was approved on I, Febn]ary 2023 and signed on bchalf of the board of trustee5 by: Aideen McGinley Sue Bryson Chairperson Secretary 12