Aberdeen u3a
Annual Report and Financial Statements
For
Year Ended 31[st] March 2026
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Trustees’ Annual Report
For the year ended 31 March 2026
The trustees have pleasure in presenting their report together with the financial statements and independent examiner’s report for the year ended 31 March 2026.
Reference and Administration Information
Charity Name
Aberdeen u3a
Charity Number SC031940
Address
Mary Hoggard 1 Old Road, Balmedie Aberdeen AB23 8TP Current Trustees Natalie Pendrey Chair Elected 5 June 2025, (first co-opted 30 September 2024) Resigned 12 May 2026 Bettina Hoppe Secretary Co-opted 21 July 2025 Vice Chair Co-opted 30 March 2026 Mary Hoggard Treasurer Elected 5 June 2025 (first co-opted 30 September 2024)
Gwyneth McWilliam Re-elected 5 June 2025, (first elected 1 June 2023)
Jenny Smith Re-elected 5 June 2025, (first elected 1 June 2023) Joyce Grahame Re-elected 5 June 2025, (first elected 1 June 2023) John Brown Re-elected 5 June 2025, (first elected 6 June 2024) Sylvia Redvers Elected 5 June 2025 Mary Hill Elected 5 June 2025 Claire Wallace Co-opted 30 March 2026 Fiona Watson Co-opted 30 March 2026
Other Trustees who served during the year
None
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Structural Governance and Management
Constitution - Aberdeen u3a is an unincorporated association and a registered Scottish charity. It is governed by its constitution which was adopted on 20 June 2001 and amended on 5 June 2014, 4 June 2015, 7 June 2018, and 1 September 2022. It is affiliated to the Third Age Trust and the u3a in Scotland. A number of proposed amendments to the 2022 Constitution will be voted on at the AGM 2026.
Appointment of Trustees - between five and twelve trustees are elected at the Annual General meeting. A further three trustees can be co-opted at other times.
Management - the trustees are responsible for the strategic direction and governance as well as the day-to-day running of Aberdeen u3a.
Objectives and Activities
Charitable Purpose - t he object or charitable purpose of Aberdeen u3a is:
The advancement of education and, in particular, the education of older people and those who are retired or not in full-time work, by all means including associated activities conducive to learning and personal development in Aberdeen and the surrounding area.
Activities - our primary activity is the provision and promotion of informal learning opportunities based on the aspirations and wishes of our members. We hold monthly speaker meetings, groups are formed to reflect members' more specific interests, and these are occasionally complemented by educational excursions to places of interest.
Achievements and Performance – monthly speaker meetings were held at the Mercure Hotel with members enjoying talks on a wide variety of subjects such as A Journey through Kerala, Dietary Health, Cheese making and Corn Dollies. Numbers attending are steady but vary according to the speaker topic and the weather. Tea and coffee afterwards is an important social aspect of these meetings much appreciated by members.
At the AGM in June eight trustees were elected. Three new trustees were co-opted during the year in line with the constitution. Most committee meetings were conducted in person and on Zoom during the winter months. Feedback was requested from all members via a questionnaire, asking for suggestions on new groups and views on the monthly meetings. Findings were incorporated where practicable.
Groups continue to thrive with many being at full capacity. New start-ups included Spanish and Creative Writing. Most interest groups are now meeting entirely in person, with just one partly on Zoom during the year. We are grateful to all group leaders for their skills and continued commitment to the ethos of the u3a movement, to make life-long learning a reality for third-agers.
Aberdeen u3a offers learning activities which include educational, cultural, recreational and social aspects. Our Christmas event this year was celebrated with mulled wine and festive bakes.
Throughout the year members were sent regular updates, mostly by email but also posted on the website and announced at monthly meetings, with details of upcoming events, new groups or
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information from the Third Age Trust etc.. Our annual newsletter was printed as hard copy this year, but also can be found on the website. Our website has been up and running for about 18 months and continues to grow in use.
With regard to the wider u3a, we were represented at the Third Age Trust Annual General Meeting. Some members attend the online talks and courses provided by the Third Age Trust and the u3a in Scotland, and some have become associate members of new u3a in Banchory.
Financial Review
The balance at the end of the financial year is £12,500. Late invoices amounting to around £1,500 for the Northern Arts Club and Methodist Hall hires for the December to March were submitted and paid in April, despite repeated reminders by the Groups Co-ordinator asking for prompt submission. If submitted and paid before the end of the financial year the reserve in the bank would have been £11,000 and a deficit of just over £1,000 registered.
The fortunate position of Aberdeen u3a of having received funds of nearly £6,000 from the dissolution of the Pre-retirement Council in 2015 and Turriff u3a in 2022 and modest surpluses from previous years means that, despite deficits registered in the last two years, we are still in a position to continue to support financially our full range of activities and to continue printing and posting the annual newsletter for the coming year. The annual membership fee remains £12. We will continue to use the Mercure Caledonian Hotel for monthly meetings, the Northern Arts Club and the Aberdeen Methodist Church for many of our interest groups, as these are convenient venues in the city centre. We will however review such use periodically. Some other interest groups meet at venues, such as Aberdeen City Central Library, free of charge.
A new purchase of a portable speaker was made to support the French Group.
Policy on Reserves – as we receive our main income in late August/early September, at the start of the new season, our balance is at its lowest in the summer. In the year reported on, our lowest level of reserves was almost £9,500 in July. The Third Age Trust advises us to maintain reserves to cover six months of running activity and the annual one-off payments, so £7,000 will be kept as reserve for the coming year.
Even allowing for likely increases in room hire and other costs, we are exceeding that reserve and so can continue to subsidise the level of fees charged to members.
Donated Facilities and Services - the trustees give their time freely to attend meetings and fulfill their specialised roles and group leaders also give their time freely, preparing and running group sessions. It is estimated that in excess of 1,200 hours have been donated in this way.
Trustee Remuneration and Expenses - trustees have not charged expenses to attend committee or monthly meetings. Free Zoom has been used for some committee meetings.
Future Plans
We will continue to expand our range of activities in accordance with our members’ interests
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providing support where needed. We will make use of a variety of publicity methods in order to attract new members. Members will be encouraged to become involved in the running of Aberdeen u3a and new interest groups to ensure we continue to thrive in the future.
Approved by the Trustees and signed on their behalf:
| Name | Bettina Hoppe |
|---|---|
| Position | Vice Chair |
| Date | 20 May 2026 |
Signature
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Independent Examiner’s Report
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