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 Tn￿t 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 Tn￿tee, 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 EMplO￿ent and Learning and CEO of
Ilex. A fonner National Trustee of the BBC. Aideen is a Tn￿tee 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

2. Structure. Governance and Management.
Trust Deed - Background
The Ferrnanagh Trust was cstabli5hed in 1995 with the financial support and
guidance of the Barrow Cadbury Tn￿t with four founding Trust¢es.
Trustee$
Trustees are appointed at a tneeting of the Trustees, new Tn￿teeS 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 T￿￿teeS 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 Tn￿tees.
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 Tn￿t'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 I￿al 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 Tn￿t 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 Sllp￿rt. 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 T￿￿t'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 Tn￿ts 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 u￿an 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 'InV￿tIng 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 ln￿le¢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¢ rea￿nable 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