Friends of Porty Prom Annual Report 2020-2021
Friends of Porty Prom became an OSCR registered charity, number (SC048642) on the 23rd of August 2018. Our constitution had previously been signed off by board members on the 16th of May 2018.
Following the AGM on 19/05/2020 the board consisted of - Chair, - Secretary, - Treasurer.
We have a membership list of 20 and a wider mailing list of 66 people. We also have a FB page and a Twitter account to promote the prom and the activities taking place there.
We have the agreed aims and objectives -
Aims
Our aim is to enhance Portobello Promenade and beach for Edinburgh residents, visitors and tourists, which is recognised for being an important local community resource and a place where people can thrive together in an attractive and welcoming environment. We are looking to improve the amenity and accessibility of the Promenade, and drive improvements to the space. Portobello Promenade and beach will be an attractive space that provides a welcoming environment for the community, thereby contributing to improving the health, quality of life and wellbeing of all residents and users of the Promenade and beach.
Charitable Objectives
Our primary charitable objective is to increase the provision of recreational facilities and the organisation of recreational activities, with the object of improving the conditions of life for those who use the Promenade. We also seek to advance the amount of arts, heritage, and culture present on the Promenade, through both permanent and temporary activities. We also seek to improve and protect the environment of the Promenade, the beach and the waters of the Forth.
Activities
Over the past year our activities have been severely curtailed by the covid pandemic. At the AGM on 19/05/2020 it was felt that due to the ongoing pandemic restrictions the activities of the group should be curtailed for the foreseeable future. In addition to the impact of restrictions on group members meeting up in person on the Prom for things such as clean-ups it was also felt that the group should not be actively encouraging people to visit the Prom at that time. As restrictions have eased we have once again started to promote the Prom and activities taking place there through our social media accounts. We are looking to this AGM as a starting point to revitalise the group.
Annual Accounts
There has been no financial activity since the last AGM, reflecting the general lack of activity from the group. The balance remains £476.75.
Looking Forward
Over the past year our activities have been severely curtailed by the covid pandemic. We are looking to this AGM as a starting point to revitalise the group.
We are constituted as a two-tier SCIO (Scottish Charitable Incorporated Organisation) which means we have members and trustees. The idea behind the two-tier organisation is that the trustees meet more regularly than the full membership and organise the activities of the organisation on the members’ behalf. All-member meetings such as this AGM provide accountability to the wider membership. With that in mind I propose that we should slightly change the way we work. Trustees (The Board) will meet every two months to organise and review the group’s activities. Those activities could include adhoc meetings and events that are arranged for and by the wider membership (and the general public) but ordinary members would not attend the regular meetings.
The group’s activities are likely to fit within three main strands:
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Publicity - promoting activities and events organised on the promenade and beach by ourselves or others, using our social media accounts (Facebook, Twitter and Instagram) and other means.
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Small Projects - activity on the promenade and beach specifically organised by the Friends of Porty Prom. For example, two years ago we organised a tidy-up of the promenade, removing sand and weeds, clearing the blocked drainage channels and removing signs and stickers from the lampposts.
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Large Projects - having cleared the administrative hurdles to set ourselves up as a SCIO with a bank account the Friends of Porty Prom are able to provide a charitable vehicle to deliver larger projects that require grant and/or donation funding. Grant-awarding bodies usually require there to be a charity already set up to receive funds and charitable donors are reassured to be giving money to a formally constituted charity. The most likely way for us to deliver such a project is for someone to bring an idea they are passionate about to the group. They would then join the board to take the lead on progressing the project with the support of the rest of the trustees and using the Friends of Porty Prom’s charitable status to seek the necessary funding.
Our constitution requires a minimum of three trustees for board meetings but we can elect up to ten at the AGM and appoint up to three more through the year, as long as the total doesn’t exceed twelve. If you have strong ideas for improving the amenities on the Prom and beach this
is the time to join the board and help to improve the Prom for all its users, residents and visitors alike.