2025-07-31-annual-report - Lisburn Community Choir

This text was generated using OCR and may contain errors. Check the original PDF to see the document submitted to the regulator. This document is also available as Markdown.

Lisburn Community Choir Annual Report For Year Ended 31* July 2025

COMMUNITY

Registered Charity Number NIC 108427

Annual Report

SIGNED: Vid} oun

pate: AL-26MN. Chair)

SIGNED: hada MiAw,

pate:_(2|i|26 (sec)

Registered Charity Number NIC 108427

LISBURN COMMUNITY CHOIR

LEGAL AND ADMINISTRATIVE INFORMATION Sa ea

Trustees Pat Knowles

Des Henry Marian Mateer Fiona Hart Hilary McCauley Lyndsay Millar John Henry Robert Wilson

==> picture [253 x 140] intentionally omitted <==

----- Start of picture text -----
||||| |---|---|---|---| |Chair|Pat Knowles| |Vice-Chair|Des Henry| |Secretary|Lyndsay Millar| |Treasurer|Robert Wilson| |Musical|Director|Tim|Reynolds| |Deputy Musical|Director|Sharon|Hodgins| |Independent Examiner|Vivienne Thompson|

----- End of picture text -----

Registered Charity Number NIC 108427

| Ee ~~

LISBURN COMMUNITY CHOIR ANNUAL REPORT

CONTENTS	PAGE
CHAIROFTRUSTEESREPORT	4
TREASURERS REPORT	5
STATEMENTOFFINANCIALACTIVITIES	9
INDEPENDENTEXAMINER’SREPORT	11

Registered Charity Number NIC 108427

;

LISBURN COMMUNITY CHOIR ANNUAL REPORT

CHAIR’S REPORT

For year ended 31* July 2025

Introduction

The last 12 months have been busy for the choir and even busier behind the scenes for the Board of Trustees, to whom | extend my sincere thanks.

We welcomed 4 new Trustees at our AGM last year - John Henry, Lyndsay Millar, Hilary McCauley and Fiona Hart, to join Marian, Robert, Des and myself. The Trustees meet monthly and communicate a lot by e mail and WhatsApp between meetings.

In our 1* term | arranged for the Board to have their own Saturday Away Day which included Governance Training delivered by one of our members, George Gillespie, to ,; whom we are extremely grateful. This focused our objectives for the year ahead — and | almost gave Robert our treasurer nervous debility!

Trustees, not previously trained, also attended Safeguarding Training later in the year.

Within the Board, Trustees were allocated the following roles in addition to the general jobs involved in running a large choir:

e Fiona Hart was the link with the Children’s Choir and the lead on Charitable registration requirements and review;
e John Henry was tasked with reviewing the Role of Sectional Reps; e Hilary McAuley was the link with the Social Committee; e Robert Wilson, as Treasurer, supported by a Finance subgroup of Marian and John;
e Lyndsay Millar as Secretary and Minute-Taker, which is no easy task, considering the breadth of issues discussed and the level of discussion!
e Marian Mateer was responsible for maintaining and updating our website; and e Des Henry as Vice Chair, manning the Enquiry e-mail, but mainly responsible for all technical and IT aspects including recording music, and for our concert performances, often making site visits with Tim prior to concerts.

New Initiatives

e The establishment of a Welcome Letter, given to all new members and further developed this term into a Welcome Pack.
e The provision of Sheet Music, at a small charge, for those who prefer this method of learning. Thank you to Margaret, our Choir Librarian, for co-ordinating this.
e We started “Recognition from the Choir” , by way of a Card or Text, when we are made aware of significant “ life events”—-bereavement, sickness, birth, marriage etc

Registered Charity Number NIC 108427

e We also undertook a Choir Members Surveythe collated results of which are on the member shared drive. Suffice is to say comments were reassuringly positive with useful ideas and suggestions - which were and still are being considered by the Board. Thank you to all of you as members who completed the survey.
e Minutes of Trustees Meetings are all now on the shared drive to be read by members and making all choir business more open and transparent.
e Inanother effort to involve members, and allow suggestions to be heard, the Voice Box was set up as another online communication platform.
e Lastly, regarding Choir Policies, our Safeguarding Policy has been rewritten by our Safeguarding Officer Karen McCartney , who is also a Trust Senior Manager in Family and Childcare. Previously we complied with the Church of Ireland Policy, but it was recommended that as a charity in our own right, we should have our own specific policy. Thanks go to Karen for this comprehensive document.
Moving on from new initiatives to more established practices...

Away Days / Super Saturdays :-

Portadown and Bangor were the chosen destinations in October and March, with over 70 members attending each and another Flash Mob performance at Bangor Train Station. Thanks go to the Social Committee for organising refreshments.

Support for Charities

Members suggested Simon Community and Emerge Counselling as our nominated charities for the year. Both charities were the recipients of our concert bucket collections and some matching funding was made possible through our choir member Samantha Connor’s employer. We presented each charity with £1300.

Choir Social Activities:

e Monthly Tea/ Coffee with an extended interval during practise was established and a Sectional Rota drawn up to provide the refreshments.
e The Christmas Jumper Evening in Lisburn Cathedral on the Monday after our Concert with Mulled Wine, Mince Pies and Shortbread, was a great success and enjoyed by all.
e The New Year “ Pot Luck Dinner” at Lisburn Rugby Club in January, wasa brilliant fun night. Special thanks to the Social Committee for organising.
e Avery successful and well supported Quiz Night at Dunmurry Golf Club in May wasa great event to kick off the fundraising for the choir’s trip to Wales in 2026.
e Other Wales Fund Raising Events so far have been the Sing Sing Sing night at Malone Golf Club and the sale of craft items. These have all been very successful and thank you to the members involved.

Registered Charity Number NIC 108427

ail

a ae

ead —_ ea

—

~~ ERS.”

Wales Tour - July 2026

For the first time ever, Lisburn Community Choir are going on tour.

Thank you to Tim who had the idea and has done extensive initial “ ground work” linking with Barry Male Voice choir and City Voices Cardiff.

With the assistance of a brilliantly enthusiastic Wales Planning Sub Group under the Chairmanship of George Gillespie, Tim’s ideas and plans are becoming a reality in July 2026, with over 80 members travelling to Wales — hotel, flight and coaches are now all booked and fundraising is well underway!

A major thank you to George who willingly agreed to Chair the Wales Planning Sub Group, without fully realizing the magnitude of this task, and to his committee or ‘crew’, as they like to be called. We look forward to reflecting on the trip in next years report.

The Choirs

We had 115 Registered members last year, with a significant increase in our men’s section, which together with all the other sections, produces such a wonderful harmony and sound to the choir.

Throughout the year we sang to over 3000 people!

Our Christmas concert in Lisburn Cathedral was fully booked for both the matinee and evening performances, despite a mighty storm threatening even our electricity supply.

Other Christmas performances included singing in Castle Gardens, Lisburn, which certainly required warm clothing and Des dealing with a loud report from one of our speakers; we also had another very stormy afternoon at the switching on of the Christmas Lights at Titanic Belfast, requiring suitable clothing along with clothes pegs to hold Tim’s music in place!

The Spring Concert was in the Island Centre, where thankfully we didn’t experience weather restrictions. Tim’s opening Michael Buble performance was simply wonderful and set the scene for another super concert with rave reviews.

Other performances were at Musgrave Park Hospital Spinal Unit, a Habitat for Humanity event at The Belfast Harbour Commissioners Office, and Lisburn Feile.

It would be remiss of me not to mention our amazing Children’s Choir. We had 38 young people last year, who always “steal the show” with their singing talent and expressive performances.

Last year Tim was supported by Rosie Irvine as Assistant Musical Director who, we are delighted, has now assumed full responsibility for the Children’s Choir as its Musical Director.

Thanks to Fiona Hart as Trustee link with LCCC and to all the volunteers and concert chaperones, all of whom go through the necessary Access NI checking process.

Registered Charity Number NIC 108427

, ! |

Musical Directors

Finally, to our Musical Director, Tim and Assistant Musical Director and accompanist, Sharon.

Thank you for your inspiration, musicality, patience, fun, friendship and for raising the choir up to such a high standard and helping us all believe in ourselves!

Thank you for all the work you do from recording music over the summer, as well as what you do throughout the term. Thanks also to Tim for making the time to speak and promote the choir to organisations such as Rotary and Soroptimist.

Signed: Vidras®> .

(Chair of LCC)

Registered Charity Number NIC 108427

LISBURN COMMUNITY CHOIR ANNUAL REPORT

TREASURER’S REPORT

For year ended 31* July 2025 ———

Lisburn Community Choir Receipts and Payments for Year Ending 31/07/2025

==> picture [337 x 331] intentionally omitted <==

----- Start of picture text -----
|||||||| |---|---|---|---|---|---|---| |2025|2024| |Unrestricted|Restricted|Total|Total| |Receipts| |Adult Subs|9,274|-|9,274|7,355| |Children's Subs|1,110|-|1,110|1,175| |Sheet|music|855|-|855|1,125| |Uniforms|902|-|902|350| |Ticket|Sales|11,861|-|11,861|16,156| |Programme|sales|-|-|-|860| |Grants|{note 1)|-|-|-|4,730| |Fundraising|177|2,601||2,778|2,744| |Performance|550|-|550|-| |Wales trip|-|10,340|10,340|-| |_____24,729|12,941|37,670|34,555| |Payments| |Management|Costs|11,930|-|11,930|9,483| |Uniforms|1,104|-|1,104|943| |Performance & Venues|8,337|-|8,337|16,432| |Refreshments|1,096|-|1,096|870| |Donations|-|4,981|4,981|-| |Printing|147|-|147|1,240| |Music|1,698|-|1,698|-| |Insurance & Travel|273|-|273|380| |Wales trip|-|6,000|6,000|-| |Expenses|2,332|-|2,331|1,307| |Bank|Fees|66|-|66|61| |26,982|10,981|37,962|30,716| |Surplus/(Deficit) for the year|-|2,252|1,960|-|292|3,839|

----- End of picture text -----

Registered Charity Number NIC 108427

Sale

ied cieiiniislinmaa bial

i |

==> picture [336 x 293] intentionally omitted <==

----- Start of picture text -----
||||||||| |---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---| |Opening|Balance|5,611|2,380|7,991|4,152| |Closing reserves|3,359|4,340|7,699|7,991| |Balance|Sheet| |Unrestricted|Restricted|2025|2024| |Total|assets| |Cash|at bank|3,359|4,340|7,699|7,991| |Reserves| |Opening|reserves|5,611|2,380|7,991|4,152| |Surplus/(Deficit)|for the year|-|2,252|1,960|-|292|3,839| |Closing|reserves|3,359|4,340|7,699|7,991| |Note|1| |Grants|received|2025|2024| |Halifax|grant|.|-|3,660| |Black|Santa|Grant|St Annes|Cathedral|-|880| |Lisburn|Rotary|club|-|250| |-|4,790| |Approved by the trustees on|| fi 7|l|mi|Ab&|and signed on their behalf by:|

----- End of picture text -----

Registered Charity Number NIC 108427

LISBURN COMMUNITY CHOIR ANNUAL REPORT

INDEPENDENT EXAMINERS REPORT to the charity trustees at LCC

For year ended 31* July 2025 ———eee Independent examiner’s report to the charity trustees of Lisburn Community Choir.

| report on the accounts of the Trust for the period ended 31 July 2025, which are set out on page 1.

Respective responsibilities of charity trustees and examiner

As the charity’s trustees you are responsible for the preparation of the accounts in accordance with the Charities Act (Northern Ireland) 2008.

It is my responsibility to:

examine the accounts under section 65 of the Charities Act
follow the procedures laid down in the general Directions given by the Commission under section 65(9)(b) of the Charities Act ¢ state whether particular matters have come to my attention.

Basis of independent examiner’s report

| have examined your charity accounts as required under section 65 of the Charities Act and my examination was carried out in accordance with the general Directions given by the Charity Commission for Northern Ireland under section 65(9)(b) of the Charities Act. My examination included a review of the accounting records kept by the charity and a comparison of the accounts presented with those records. It also included consideration of any unusual items or disclosures in the accounts, and seeking explanations from you as charity trustees concerning any such maiters.

My role is to state whether any material matters have come to my attention giving me cause to believe:

That accounting records were not kept in accordance with section 63 of the Charities Act
That the accounts do not accord with those accounting records
That the accounts do not comply with the accounting requirements of the Charities Act 4. That there is further information needed for a proper understanding of the accounts to be reached.

Independent examiner’s statement

| have completed my examination and have no concerns in respect of the matters (1) to (4) listed above and, in connection with following the Directions of the Charity Commission for Northern Ireland, I have found no matters that require drawing to your attention.

Name: Vivienne Thompson

Relevant professional qualification or body: Fellow of Chartered Accountants in Ireland Address: 18 Mount Royal, Lisburn, BT27 5BF

Date: 6 October 2025

Registered Charity Number NIC 108427