FGH Trustee Report 2024 Issue 1 FORTHILL GOSPEL HALL ANNUAL TRUSTEE AND SUMMARY FINANCIAL REPORT For year ending 30th September 2024 Nl Chartties CommF8SiNI f&f Nl 107283
FGH Trustee Report 2024 Issue 1 This report has been prepared by the Trustees of Forthill Gospel Hall to review the activities of the charity for the financial period of 1st October 2023 to 30 September 2024 in line with the requirements of the Chanties Commission and the Charits'es Act (Northern Ireland) 2008. BACKGROUND Forthill Gospel Hall (hereafter referred to as the charty) was first registered with the Charities Commission for Northem Ireland (CCNI) in January 2015 under registration number N1100676 at 116 Low Road. Lisburn. In 2018 our registration was changed to reflect that we are now registered as Forthill Gospel Hall Trust and we were allocated the new number N1107283. Forthill Gospel Hall Trust has appointed the following trusteas". Alex Connor (Secretary) Eric Hull Samuel Smyth John Cromie (Treasurer) The charity is limited by guarantee and is governed by a constitution agreed by the trustees in Dernber 2014 and approved by the Charities Commission in January 2015. In addition, the constitution refers to a Trust Deed and is supported with an Articles of Association document. The trustees meet regularly throughout the year in accordance with the above documents, where the minutes of the previous meeting are read and agreed, a status report on our finances is discussed, distribution of monies (where applicable) is agreed as a group and various activities are reviewed and planned. An Annual General Meeting takes place each year shortly after the financial year end. A financial report and progress report of all acttvrties, which has been compiled by the treasurer and secretary and approved by the trustees, is presented to the church as a whole and opportunty given for questions and anSvrs. The members of the church are also invited to endorse the list of trustees at this AGM meeting. PURPOSES OF THE CHARITY The charity is established for the advancement of religion through the Evangelical Christian Faith (as outlined in the First Schedule of the Trust Deed). The Trust considers that promotion of the Christian Faith has a beneficial and transfonnative effect on society locally and worldwide. PUBLIC BENEFIT The charity has declared that the benefft to the public of its existen is thal they might have a pla where they can come and worship God and find fulfilment, satisfaction and pea in their lives as a result. We believe we have carried out our activities in compliance to the Charity Commission's Public benefft requirement statutory guidance. Nl Charities Cc¥nmission ref Nl 107283
FGH Trus1& Report 2024 Issue 1 th Vigilan still in mind, as Covid-19 is periodically present in our community, activities associated with this charity have continued to be able to take Pla throughout the time period that we are reporting on. This decAsion was taken in line wtth Govemment regulations to continue to protect the health and welfare of our aged members. 1st October 2023 - end Soptsmber 2024 We continue our Sunday moming and W8dnesday evening mtingS respectively on the basis that they can be 'up to, 1 hour in duration. This was done whilst continuing to ensure safe access to those who sought to worship God and join with us in so doing within all relevant Covid guidelines and recomrnendations. In addition, the Sunday School continued from September 2023 as noffnal from 2.30 - 3.30 pm and is a great sign of the relurn to normal sepiices. vin)ilst holding these meetings we continued to use the 'virtual' methods of: A WhatsApp group so that members of the church could keep in contact with each other especially when unable to attend meetings, or being unwell. Our Website continues to contsin selected video and audio messages of church meetings. We distributed approximately 1400 wall cabndars and tracts to every house within the vicinity of our hall along wrth an invrtalion to our Church serv+ces in a special outreach event in December 2023. We were also pleased to be able to pass on a gift of £200 to 2 families in our community through the guidance of Forthill Integrated Primary School which is situated close by. We have a long association with FIPS. We also gave a gift of £400 to their hardship fund to help families of the schoolchildren and this was in lieu of Bibles to school leavers which was taken care of this year by another church in the Lisbum area. One of our Elders. Alex Connor, sits as a school governor and this helps us maintain the strong linkage to this school on our doorstep from whom many generations of children have come to Sunday school and kids meetings over our history of being in this Low Road area. All of these outreaches have involved church members who have given of their time fre81y and willingly and where applicable, are Access Nl cleared to meet the requirements of our Child Protection Policy and Guidelines. FINANCIAL REPORT The charity depends on the freewill giving of Ihe members of the church for the upkeep of our facilities and the distribution of finance to those in need and for this the trustees acknowledge their generosrty throughout the last financial year. Additionally, many church members, and in some InStanS those who come to speak at our meetings, also give of their time freely. Numerous tasks are required to maintain the building and prepare as necessary for every planned event and for such no-one has wanted or recetved any financial recompense for their efforts. Nl Charities CommisslM ref Nl 107283
FGH Trustee Report 2024 Issue 1 At no time during this financial year did we have any debtors or have any financial deficit. It has always been our intention to ensure our funds can support any major unforeseen expenditure (e.g. major roof repairs) however, we are confident that our church members would support an emergency need rf such arose. Our accounts were compil&J by our treasurer, reviewed and agreed by the trustees arKI independentty audited for this financial year and approved as sats'sfactory. The accounts cover the full financial year and are not limited by Covid-19 restrictions. The financial report will be presented to the members of the church at the AGM on 20th November 2024. In comparison to last year. our Income has decreased by £ 4.028.46. (a decrease of 160h)' this is mainly attributable to a reductFon in offenngs,. however, we remain grateful to the continued thoughtfulness and generosity of our members who attend and contribute weekly offerings in a very generous manner considering their age profile. Our Expenditure decreased by £4,011.90 (18Vo down on the 2022123 figure). Expenditure decreases are largely due to less spending on the building being required in this financial year, and we have also prudently built up our bank balance as we have some building expenditure planned for the next financial year to help replace and upgrade our heating system. The charity started the year with a Strong cash balance of £23,364.53 and closed with a cash balance of £26,965.06. This is due to the levels of donations being given. Throughout, we maintained strong levels of grft distribution to missionaries and increaséd some individual levels of donations, but our overall missionary l Lords work expenditure decreased slightly as we made less donations to world disaster situations where gifts were previously given to missionary bodies to help in those areas. We belFeve ourselves to have acted prudently in our financial transactions. The trustees consider this to be a healthy financial position moving into the next financial year. Table 1 (below) shows the Inconw grouped into appropriate categorF8s. INCOME - 202312024 eompar•d to 202212023 Mknc 171.55 *202YI4 Ghl Ahj 1031.72 1080 09 offerfrvJGNlB 24857 BIFfrom prev y 23 .53 19 Nl Charities Commission rof Nl 107283
FGH Trustee Report 2024 Issue 1 Table 2 (below) shows the Expenditure grouped into appropriate categories EXPENDITURE - 202312024 compared to 202212023 Support to Other Causes Speak•r Eyyn8es D2023r24 Support to ¢omrr¥Jnty iap.11 •2022 Support to Ch+jrenkn Vksrk Buihliw & Éwty)t CIF to next year Tablo 2- EXP•ndiro chart No expenses were paid to any of the Trustees during the year except to reimburse them for purchases made on behalf of the charity. This document has b88n reviewed by each trustee and approved accordingly by signature below. Alex Connor Eric Hull Samuel Smyth John Cromie 51 lol 202Ltr Dats of Report Approval Nl Charths Commission rèf Nl 107283