Carrickfergus Literary & Scientific Society (Union Hall) Trust Fund
Annual Report and Financial Statements for the year ended 5 April 2025
Charity Commission for Northern Ireland Number NIC103610
Carrickfergus Literary & Scientific Society (Union Hall) Trust Fund
Trustees’ Annual Report
for the year ended 5 April 2025
The Trustees present the annual report and financial statements for the Carrickfergus Literary & Scientific Society (Union Hall) Trust Fund for the year ended 5 April 2025.
Reference and Administrative Information
Charity Name: Carrickfergus Literary & Scientific Society (Union Hall) Trust Fund
Charity Registration Number: NIC103610 Contact Address: 19 Wesleydale BALLYCLARE BT39 9WD
Charity Trustees
Robert Barr Kerry Bradley Mary Boylan Elaine Dawson (appointed 24 March 2025) Desmond Graham Simon Hanna Peter Howard Margaret Roy
Principal Office-bearers Chairman: Kerry Bradley (appointed 18" November 2024) Secretary: Mrs Gillian McConnell Treasurer: Desmond Graham
Independent Examiner Karen Mcilhatton FCA, 22 Broadway Avenue, Ballymena, BT43 7AA Bankers Danske Bank, Donegall Square West, Belfast, BT1 6JS Solicitors Johns Elliot, 40 Linenhall Street, Belfast, BT2 8BA
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Carrickfergus Literary & Scientific Society (Union Hall) Trust Fund
Trustees’ Annual Report for the year ended 5 April 2025
Structure, Governance and Management
Governing Document
The Trust is governed by its Trust Deed dated 18 April 1983 as approved by The High Court of Justice in Northern treland.
Recruitment and Appointment of Trustees
The Trustees shall be not less than 6 or more than 9 in number.
The Trustees may by resolution from time to time appoint new Trustees provided that the total number of Trustees shall not at any time exceed 9.
The Trustees appoint, from amongst themselves, a Chairman and Vice Chairman who shall both hold office for three years. The outgoing Chairman and Vice Chairman shall both be eligible for reelection.
The Trustees also appoint an Honorary Secretary, who shall not be a Trustee.
The Trustees are responsible for making decisions on matters of general concern and importance to the charity including deciding how charity funds are to be applied.
Trustees do not receive remuneration, reward, reimbursement for expenses or other private benefit for carrying out their Trustee responsibility. No charitable funds have been used to purchase insurance to indemnify the Trustees against the consequences of any neglect or fault on their part.
Objectives & Activities
The charitable purpose of the Trust is to act as a grant making body providing grant funding to other charities across a number of fields comprising:
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e Advancement of education;
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© Advancement of the arts, culture, heritage and science; e Advancement of amateur sport; and
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¢ Advancement of citizenship and community development.
In setting our objectives and planning our activities for the year the Trustees have given careful consideration to The Charity Commission for Northern lreland’s Public Benefit Requirement statutory guidance to ensure that the activities have helped to achieve the charity’s purpose and to provide a benefit to the beneficiaries.
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Carrickfergus Literary & Scientific Society (Union Hall) Trust Fund
Trustees’ Annual Report for the year ended 5 April 2025
Objectives & Activities (continued)
The charity’s beneficiaries are both other organisations operating within the above-mentioned fields, which are themselves charitable in nature, and the public at large, either resident within or visiting the Carrickfergus Local Authority Area, and no harm flows from its purposes.
The direct benefit which flows from its purposes is the increased availability of funds to other charitable organisations towards fulfilling their purposes, which in turn results in improved access to educational and arts-based resources, enhanced opportunities to participate in amateur sporting and recreational activities, and improved health and safety facilities for the benefit of the public in the locality.
Any private benefit to Trustees may possibly arise from their association with the charity in that they may acquire skills or experience that are transferable to other settings, or which may assist towards obtaining other appointments. These benefits are necessary to ensure delivery of the benefits provided to the charity's beneficiaries but are purely incidental to the purposes of our work.
Achievements & Performance
A summary of the grant applications and grant disbursements for the year is as follows:
| 2025 | 2024 | |
|---|---|---|
| Numberofapplication forms sent out | 2 | 6 |
| Number of application forms received | 2 | 6 |
| Grant applications approved in full | 2 | 5 |
| Grant applications approved in part | - | - |
| Grant applications declined | - | 1 |
| 2 | 6 | |
| Totalcharitablegrantsdisbursed | £3,325 | £7,224 |
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Carrickfergus Literary & Scientific Society (Union Hal f) Trust Fund
Trustees’ Annual Report for the year ended 5 April 2025
Achievements & Performance (continued)
The Trustees held two meetings during the year and approved grant payments in respect of the following:
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e Contribution towards the cost of an A3 book/ document scanner for use by the Charles Sheils Community.
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¢ Contribution towards the cost of hosting a music festival in the town centre, organised by Positive Carrickfergus.
Financial Review
A list of charitable grants disbursed is as follows:
| list of charitableof charitablecharitable grants disbursed is as follows: | ||
|---|---|---|
| 2025 | 2024 | |
| £ | f | |
| Charles Shiels Community | 325 | ~ |
| Positive Carrickfergus | 3,000 | - |
| Third Carrickfergus Band | - | 2,540 |
| Carrickfergus & District Probus Club | - | 584 |
| Carrickfergus District Historical Society | - | 500 |
| Belfast Lough Sailability | - | 600 |
| Uplift CommunityOutreach | - | 3000 |
| 3,325 | 7,224 |
The Trust’s principal source of income is the return from its investment portfolio.
The personnel managing the charity’s investment portfolio changed in 2020. Despite being advised of the level of income required by the Trustee’s to make charitable grants and meet administrative expenses, income generated from investments was low. In an attempt to provide liquid funds for the Trustees, the portfolio managers paid out cash from the Trust’s capital funds, in spite of being advised of the Trust rules which prohibited these activities from being financed from capital funds. The Trustees received this money in good faith that this was income out of which they could pay charitable grants, and they approved the payment of charitable grants in due course. The Trustees did not act inappropriately and did not intentionally break the Trust’s Rules, nor did they intentionally reduce the capital funds of the Trust.
On being made aware of this issue by the Independent Examiner, the Trustees removed the portfolio managers from their position as advisers, instructed that the portfolio be liquidated, and placed the asset with new personnel in February 2023. However, the consequence of these actions left the income fund of the charity in a deficit position.
The Trustees are pleased to report that income generated from the new portfolio management is at sufficient levels to allow the charity to meet its obligations.
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Carrickfergus Literary & Scientific Society (Union Hall) Trust Fund
Trustees’ Annual Report
for the year ended 5 April 2025
The reserve of endowment funds continues to be in surplus with an adequate level of net current assets for the continuation of operational activities. The income fund is £10,477 in deficit at 5 April 2025 (2024: £16,154) and the Trustees aim to repay the capital and to return the income fund to a surplus position in future years as income and charitable grants permit. The Trustees have written to the Charity Commission for Northern freland requesting that they relax the rules for a one-off basis to enable the capital account to be rebalanced. As at 5* April 2025 no response had as yet been received.
There are no other areas of financial concern noted by Trustees.
Reserves Policy
The Trust’s reserves policy is as follows:
“If any income is not expended by the Trustees in any one year, one half thereof shall be transferred to the capital of the Trust Funds and shall not subsequently be treated as income, and the remaining one half may be applied and expended by the Trustees as income of the Trust Funds in the immediately following year, but if not so expended by them as aforesaid, then it shall be transferred also to the capital of the Trust Funds and shall not subsequently be treated as income”.
The Trustees’ aim is to retain a level of unrestricted (income) reserves which matches its needs at the current time and in the foreseeable future, coupled with retaining a level of endowment (capital) reserves to produce sufficient annual income to cover its expenditure on charitable grant disbursements and administrative costs (i.e. to ensure that the charity has enough resources to fund its charitable objectives and to hold sufficient resources to meet all of its commitments). The Trustees believe that our reserves policy is both responsible and prudent but have not specified a particular level of reserves to be held.
At 5 April 2025 the charity had a deficit in unrestricted funds of £10,477. This is below what is regarded as an appropriate level and the Trustees aim to return the income fund to a surplus position in future years as income and charitable grants permit. The charity also held endowment funds costing £451,145 (£462,903 at valuation).
Funds held as custodian trustee on behalf of others
There are no funds held as custodian trustee on behalf of others.
Approved by the charity trustees and signed on their behalf,
Kerry Bradley LOM v7 fi Chairperson (Ae lAeafpltn— Date: 3 November 2025
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