## **Trustees' Annual Report for the period** 

Period start date 

Period end date 

> **From 1 April 2023 To 31 March 2024** 


## **Section A                 Reference and administration details** 

> **Charity name** The North of Ireland Family History Society 

> **Other names charity is known by** NIFHS 

**Registered charity number (if any)** NIC106071 

**Charity's principal address** 

Unit C4, Valley Business Centre 

67 Church Road Newtownabbey, Co. Antrim, Northern Ireland **Postcode** BT36 7LS 

## **Names of the charity trustees who manage the charity** 

||**Trustee name**|**Office (if any)**|**Dates acted**<br>**if not for whole year**|**Name of person (or**<br>**body) entitled to**<br>**appoint trustee (if**<br>**any)**|
|---|---|---|---|---|
|1|Brian O’Hara|Ballymena Chair|||
|2|Patricia Cummings|Ballymena Secretary|||
|3|Alan Rosborough|Ballymena Treasurer|||
|4|Arthur Macartney|Belfast Chairperson|||
|5|||||
|6|Margaret Armstrong|Belfast Treasurer|||
|7|Elwyn Soutter|Causeway Coast  Glens Chairperson|||
|8|Andrew Kane|Causeway Coast & Glens Treasurer|||
|9|Gerard Harvey|Foyle Chairperson|||
|10|Nuala McGee|Foyle Secretary|||
|11|Gerard Harvey|Foyle Chairperson|||
|13|Elaine Doherty|Foyle Treasurer|||
|14|||||
|15|Ken Tait|Killyleagh Secretary|||
|16|Glenyss Glass|Larne Secretary|||
|17|David Simms|Larne Treasurer|||
|18|||||
|19|||||
|21|Vivien Holding|Society General Secretary|||



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**Section A                Reference and administration details (continued)** 

**Names of the charity trustees who manage the charity** 

|22<br>23<br>24<br>25<br>26<br>27<br>28<br>29<br>30<br>32<br>33<br>34<br>35<br>36<br>37|**Trustee name**|**Office (if any)**|**Dates acted**<br>**if not for whole year**|**Name of person**<br>**(or body) entitled**<br>**to appoint**<br>**trustee (if any)**|
|---|---|---|---|---|
||Vacant|Newtownabbey Chairperson|||
||Imelda McVeigh|Newtownabbey Secretary|||
||Etta Mann|Newtownabbey Treasurer|||
||Angela O’Connor|South Tyrone Chairperson|||
||Sarah Robinson|South Tyrone Secretary|||
||Leslie Kelly|South Tyrone Treasurer|||
||Vincent Brogan|Tyrone Chairperson|||
||Sheena McClure|Tyrone Secretary|||
||Ann Robinson|Society President|||
||Michael Parkinson|Society Chairperson|||
||Jean Curran|Society Treasurer|||
||Martin McDowell|Society Education & Development Officer|||
||Maeve Rogan|Society Publicity Officer|||
||||||
||Alexandra Barr|Society Membership Secretary|||



## **Names of the trustees for the charity, if any, (for example, any custodian trustees)** 

**Name Dates acted if not for whole year** None 

**Names and addresses of advisers (Optional information)** 

**Type of adviser Name Address** None 

**Name of chief executive or names of senior staff members (Optional information)** 

None 

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**Section B                  Structure, governance and management** 

## **Description of the charity’s trusts** 

Type of governing document 

- (eg. trust deed, constitution) 

> [  Constitution ] 

How the charity is constituted 

- (eg. trust, association, company) 

> [  Unincorporated Association ] 

## Trustee selection methods 

- (eg. appointed by, elected by) 

> [  Annual Election by Members ] 

## **Additional governance issues (Optional information)** 

   - You **may choose** to include 

   - additional information, where The Society is governed by the Council consisting of all the relevant, about: Trustees.  It includes the Society Officers and, for each Branch  a named trustee, the Chairperson, Secretary and Treasurer. 

- policies and procedures adopted for the induction and training of trustees; 

- the charity’s organisational structure and any wider network with which the charity works; 

The Society is a member of the following organisations: 

   - [FHF]  The Family History Federation, the new operating 

   - name of the Federation of Family History Societies, Registered Charity Number 1038721. 

- relationship with any related parties; 

- trustees’ consideration of major risks and the system and procedures to manage them. 

- [FULS]  The Federation for Ulster Local Studies, Registered 

- Charity Number NIC100526. 

The Society has the following insurance cover: 

- Asset Insurance 

- ● Public Liability Insurance ● Charity Trustee Indemnity Insurance 

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**Section C                      Objectives and activities** 

|**Section C**|**Section C**|**Objectives and activities**|
|---|---|---|
|**Summary of the objects of the**||<br>To promote and encourage the public and personal study of|
|**charity set out in its governing**<br>**document**||<br>worldwide family history, genealogy, heraldry and local history with|
|||particular reference to the North of Ireland.|
||||
|**Summary of the main activities**||<br>The Trustee’s have continued to use guidance throughout the year|
|**undertaken for the public**||<br>to keep all safe.  We have continued to have virtual meeting and|
|**benefit in relation to these**<br>**objects (include within this**||<br> <br>held courses using Zoom technology as this has been very helpful to<br>include international members|
||**section the statutory**||
|**declaration that trustees have**<br>**had regard to the guidance**<br>**issued by the Charity**||<br> <br> <br>Branches have continued organising meetings both by Zoom and in<br>person.|
|**Commission on public benefit)**||The Society has held a programme of courses during the summer|
|||which amounted to 10 sessions using Zoom Technology these were|
|||open to members and the public. Due to the creation of a new web|
|||and membership site it was decided we would hold a number of free|
|||classes during the spring.|
|||This year again the Society participated with the Family History|
|||Federation’s Family History Show manning a virtual booth|
|||interacting with potential members.|
|||The Society North of Ireland DNA project has continued and has|
|||increased by 1000 to 9535 it is now one of the largest geographical|
|||projects available worldwide. There was also 12 DNA interest group|
|||meeting as well as educational DNA videos added to the DNA|
|||Youtube Channel|
|||The Research Centre is open regularly on a Tuesday and provides|
|||lookups and assists with enquries from members throughout the|
|||year.|
|**Additional details of objectives and activities (Optional information)**|||
|You**may choose**to include|||
||further statements, where<br>relevant, about:|<br> <br>The Society is run entirely by volunteers.|
|●|policy on grant making;|<br>The contribution made by volunteers at Branch and Society levels is|
|●|policy programme related|<br>substantial.|
||investment;||
|●|contribution made by||
||volunteers.||



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**Section D                      Achievements and performance** 

**Summary of the main achievements of the charity during the year** 

**Events:    Branches all had dates for Super Saturday’s at Research Centre which was attended by members and potential members.   Along with the Society North of Ireland DNA project which continues branches have DNA projects in their area such as The Belfast City Cemetery Project, the 1813 Bellyeaston Church Census DNA project and also the Islandmagee and Ballycarry DNA projects which are geographical.** 

**Courses:   In total the Society has arranged 3 course programmes which contained 10 sessions for members and the public.  Plus we ran free DNA courses during the spring** 

**Publications   Twice each year the Society publishes a journal North Irish Roots for its members along with other publications these are on sale to the public. 10 issues of a monthly e-newsletter is sent out to members worldwide.** 

**Projects:  The programme of transcribing and indexing records continues.** 

**The North of Ireland DNA project continues to grow it was 9,353 an increase of 1,000 on last year.** 

**The Society continued to provide paid genealogy courses for groups such as The Men’s Shed.** 

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**Section E                      Financial review** 

**Brief statement of the** 

The Society earmarks funds to cover anticipated future expenditure **charity’s policy on reserves** and possible contingencies and it maintains adequate reserves to underwrite projects that might arise during the coming year. 

## **Details of any funds materially in deficit** 

## **Further financial review details (Optional information)** 

You **may choose** to include additional information, where **Receipts** : **Payments** : relevant about: Subscriptions, donations Premises ● the charity’s principal Publications Journal, publications Events Office expenses sources of funds (including any Gift Aid Insurance, fees fundraising); ● how expenditure has Courses IT expenses Other DNA project supported the key objectives of Other 

● how expenditure has supported the key objectives of the charity; 

● investment policy and The rented premises house the Research Centre and Library for objectives including any ethical use by members and the public. investment policy adopted. 

Reserves are held in bank accounts, not in investments. 

## **Section F                     Other optional information** 

## **Section G                    Declaration** 

## **The trustees declare that they have approved the trustees’ report above.** 

## **Signed on behalf of the charity’s trustees** 

**Signature(s) Full name(s)** Vivien Holding **Position (eg Secretary, Chair, etc)** Secretary 

## **Date** 03 Dec 2024 

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