Sway Welfare Aid Group
Registered Charity No. 261220
Minutes of SWAG AGM held on 31st October 2016
Attendees: David Golby – Organiser, Jeremy Stevens- Treasurer; Jon Hartley- Chair; Pat Fleat- Trustee;
Vanessa Edwards; Rev. John Pawson - St. Luke’s ; Barry Rickman – SPC; John Warden – SPC and Cango
Users Group; Hugh Marchant- SPC; Ted Fleat- SPC; Jo Cryer- SRISF; Ian Chislett-Bruce - Hordle Voluntary
Care Group; Mike Green; Jane Pitts; Ray Champion; Derek Whitney; Margaret Whitney; John Bullen; Ian
Burnham; Anne Johnson - Over Sixties Club; Gill Hayne – Over Sixties Club; Sue Young – Open House;
Colin Denman; David Hendley; Trevor Astbury; Tony Oakhill
1.
Apologies: Deborah & Richard Walker; Clive Potter, Dick Bugg; Steve Wilkinson; Barry Gough;
Malcolm Gathercole, Clare Charsley (“Two Saints”)
SPC: Sway Parish Council
SRIFS: Sway Relief in Sickness Fund
2.
Approval of Minutes of 2015 Annual General Meeting and matters arising.
The minutes of the previous AGM were approved without modification. There were no matters arising.
3.
Adoption of Accounts
Jeremy Stevens presented the charity’s Statement of Financial Activities for the year to 30th September 2016 and
the Balance Sheet as at same date. He advised that these documents had been approved by the Independent
Inspector of Accounts.
For the year in question Mr. Stevens reported that income from donations, charitable activities, fund raising and
investments had totalled £28,253, while expenditure on charitable activities, costs of fund raising and room hire
was £26,739, resulting in a net income for the year of £1,514.
In comparing 2015/16 against the prior year performance, two unusual events needed to be discounted. These
were the £10,000 legacy received in 2014/15 and the special £4,100 donation SWAG received this year for the
purchase of an electric wheelchair. After discounting the two events above, income for the year was down 10%
and expenditure up 24%, compared to prior year.
The unrealised percentage gain on investments of 11% could be attributed roughly one third due to a low market
valuation prevailing at the prior year end, 30th September 2015, which reverted during the first quarter of 2016,
and the remaining two thirds due to the fall in the value of the pound against the dollar following the vote to
leave the EU, giving rise to a gain on overseas investments in British Pounds terms on translation.
Donations resulting from the Christmas Appeal were down by 37% and those from transport clients down by
14%.
Major donations received, other than those from the Appeal or Transport were: £1,411 from individuals, £656
from the wind up of the Sway Neighbourhood Watch scheme, £525 from Open House Coffee Mornings and
£508 from those drivers that donated their mileage expenses.
SWAG’s share of Profit from the summer Boule event organized by the Boule Club and Sway Scouts was £501.
Hardship grants disbursed were three times those for last year with twelve families helped as opposed to four
last year.
Heating grants disbursed were down by 11%, due to two less clients. Subsequent to the date of the last grant
payment at Easter, two new clients have however been added.
Support costs had risen in the year due to changeover of telephone system from BT to Open Office, with double
rental being paid in the proving period. The transition had proved successful, with BT now dropped.
The Chair thanked the Treasurer for his report, and invited questions from the floor.
John Bullen enquired if the charity was looking at making any changes in investment policy to mitigate
exchange rate fluctuations. The Treasurer responded that we would continue to take advice from our investment
managers in this regard.
Trevor Astley enquired if Gift Aid for Small Donations was being fully exploited. Sue Young and Rev. John
Pawson raised the possibility that “Open House “ coffee morning donations might qualify for GASD, despite
being received by SWAG as one lump sum from the Open House Coffee organiser. The Treasurer will look
closely at the idea.
There being no further questions, the Chair invited the meeting to approve the accounts. The meeting so
approved, with Colin Denman proposing and Jane Pitts seconding.
The Accounts and Notes thereto are attached in their entirety at the conclusion of these minutes
4.
Election of the Independent Inspector of Accounts
Mr. Raymond Champion confirmed that he was willing to stand for election for a further year. The Chair
having put the matter to the meeting for decision, Mr. Champion was elected, Mike Green proposing and Ian
Burnham seconding.
5.
Election of Trustees
The Chair advised that all four existing trustees, namely David Golby, Jeremy Stevens, Pat Fleat and Jon Hartley
had all confirmed their willingness to serve for a further twelve months. Vanessa Edwards has indicated her
willingness to stand as an additional trustee. The Chair provided the meeting with a brief description of Ms.
Edward’s professional experience and qualifications.
The meeting elected the five candidate trustees, Tony Oakhill proposing and Rev. John Pawson seconding the
motion.
6. Organiser’s Report
The Chair welcomed David Golby back to full time duties with the charity after a most challenging year for him.
David had been greatly missed.
David’s Organiser’s report is recorded here in full:
It is nice to be back full time working for SWAG. However during my enforced absence the charity has been
doing very well – maybe I should take breaks more often; overall 2015-2016 can be summarised as a year of
very pleasing development and growth. A number of new clients were identified, and there was a notable trend
2
for younger individuals and families to turn to the charity for assistance. Due in great part to the generosity of
the people of Sway, the charity’s income amounted to £28,253, and our charitable activities including grants
amounting to £26,739. Including the much better performance in our investment income we have reported a far
closer alignment of monies raised and monies expended on charitable activities than the previous year. As I
will explain in more detail later, thanks to the generosity of the people of Sway, SWAG was able to help twentyeight individuals or families financially. We also served nearly 600 meals at our Lunch Club and our volunteer
drivers drove 3,886 miles taking clients to their medical appointments. This equates to 199 individual drives.
Fund Raising
The charity remains indebted to a local charitable trust that has again sponsored our heating grants for the third
consecutive year. This has enabled us to maintain the amount of the annual grant per household at the level of
£450.
The village response to our 2015 Christmas appeal was again most gratifying. Whilst falling well short of the
record set in 2014, in total the appeal raised £3,771, including gift aid and GASD. This represented a 37 %
decrease over the record sum collected in the previous year. The Trustees attribute this reduction to the record
surplus reported by the charity in our 2014-2015 accounts mainly due to a large legacy. The Trustees would
also like to thank all of those who contributed, as well as the many village shops and retailers who took our
collection boxes.
The charity benefited from a £501 share of the net funds raised from the 42nd Annual Boule event organised by
the Boule Club in conjunction with Sway Scouts, to whom our thanks are due.
During the year, SWAG was pleased to receive a donation of £656, being funds remaining in the community
bank account of the now wound-up Sway Neighbourhood Watch. Our thanks are due to the family of the late
Peter Collenette for directing that this money be passed to SWAG. In a trial initiative, a portion of these funds
have been used to purchase energy-efficient light bulbs, to be distributed to the charity’s heating grant clients.
The Trustees have continued to invest your charity’s endowment funds to seek to maximise income whilst
protecting the capital investment. Despite a very volatile market over the last 12 months we gained income from
these investments of £7,936, a 9% increase over last year.
Charitable Activities
During the year, the charity helped twenty-eight individuals or families with heating grants or other forms of
financial support. During the year, and also a marked feature as we move into our new financial year is the rising
trend of young people and families requiring the support of the charity. In many of these new cases we are
working closely and in co-operation with other charities and support agencies operating in the New Forest area
to bring joint resources and expertise to support residents of Sway.
Our medical transport service continues to provide an invaluable service to people who need help in getting to
their hospital and doctors’ appointments. In February, following many years of outstanding service as a Trustee
and Driver Coordinator, Dick Bugg retired as our Driver Coordinator. Trustees, Drivers and Clients alike are
indebted to Dick for his outstanding service to the charity. We were extremely fortunate that three new
volunteer coordinators have stepped forward, led by Mike Green. Mike has successfully recruited several new
volunteer drivers during the year.
The charity continues to promote among our volunteer drivers awareness of and registration for the Hampshire
County Council Road Safety unit “Driver Skills 60 Plus” Assessment.
Additionally, all volunteer drivers
receive Disclosure and Barring Service clearance before starting with the charity.
During 2016, in a new initiative, the charity extended its medical drive service to the Gracewell retirement
community in the village. The take-on of these additional clients has been managed seamlessly, thanks to the
hard work and dedication of our driver coordinators and our volunteer drivers. The charity’s active volunteer
driver roster currently numbers 42.
A significant piece of work was undertaken by Trustees, led by Jeremy Stevens, to move our medical drive
reservation information on to a shared platform. Additionally, Jeremy arranged for our 681500 Help Line
number to migrate to a new provider, enabling ready transfer of call handling responsibilities between the
volunteer coordinators, as well as introducing a voice mail message alert system, ensuring that clients requiring
financial assistance receive prompt attention from Trustees.
3
SWAG’s twice-monthly lunch club had another very successful year, increasing both meals and clients served.
Over the last 12 months we have served close to 600 meals to an average of 26 clients per session. In total we
have 30 active members of lunch club with room for a few more. This is only achievable by the hard work and
dedication of our lunch club team of volunteer cooks, helpers and greeters so admirably led by Deborah Walker
and Jane Pitts. Several of our clients provide help with transport to get their less able friends to these lunches.
In addition we have a small team of volunteer drivers who provide door-to-door transport for a small number of
our less mobile clients.
Good Neighbours Support Service
SWAG has continues to be an affiliated to GNSS, with whom we have a regular dialogue, and whose advice and
umbrella insurance arrangements provide important benefits to us.
New Forest Basics Bank
SWAG continues to be the appointed “agent” for Sway for the New Forest Basics Bank, for whom the charity
distributed six parcels over the Christmas period. During 2015-2016, in common with previous years, SWAG
made a grant to the NFBB to support them in their valuable work in the local area. Over the last few months we
have increased our call on the Basics Bank to supply both food and essential household items to several families
who are unable to regularly put food on the table for their children.
Trustees
As well as recruiting a new volunteer driver coordinator and call handlers, the charity was fortunate during the
year to co-opt a new Trustee, Pat Fleat. A further Trustee will be proposed for election by the members at this
Annual General Meeting, the intention being to increase the Trustee strength to five during 2016-2017. Trustees
are recruited via word of mouth, and occasionally via local advertisement, and are interviewed by one or more
Trustees before being put forward for election.
Future Outlook
This last year has provided encouraging signs for Trustees that your charity continues to provide relevant and
timely services to residents of the village who are in need of practical and financial assistance. The Trustees
believe that they are witnessing early signs that the age profile of your charity’s clients, particularly those
requiring financial assistance, is reducing, with an increasing tendency to receive requests for assistance from
young families who are struggling with the effects of unemployment, reduced income on maternity (or incomes
which have “flat-lined” in recent years, while household costs have continued to rise), and historic consumer
debt. We are also witnessing more referrals from charities operating in the local area who offer debt counselling
or debt management services, and who have observed SWAG’s ability to offer quick solutions to some of the
most pressing pressures on clients encountering a financial crisis.
The Trustees attach great importance to the successful continuation of existing services in which we have an
established record of success, and where demand in our local community for these services continues to be
strong.
The trustees will also look open-mindedly at possible new areas of activity which correspond to the charity’s
charitable objects, and where we feel that your charity can intervene without compromising its favourable
reputation for timely and effective assistance to clients in need of our support.
Finally, the Trustees wish to extend a truly deserved thank you to our volunteer drivers and cooks, our many
supporters and donors without whose help our services would not exist.
7. Any Other Matters
There being no further matters for the business of the AGM, the Chair thanked all the participants, and the
meeting was closed at 8:15 p.m.
4
Statement of Financial Activities for the year ended 30th September 2016
Other recognised gains/(losses):
Gains/(losses) on investment assets
Net movement in funds
Reconciliation of funds:
Total funds brought forward
Total funds carried forward
Total Funds
Last Year
Net income/(expenditure)
Transfers between funds
Total Funds
Total
£
17,311
1,800
7,936
1,206
26,571
1,676
7,245
1,326
1,830
28,253
36,817
2,515
743
25,936
60
760
17,456
60
24,224
2,515
26,739
18,276
2,200
(685)
18,541
(626)
626
1,514
0
20,885
21,658
(1,310)
£
£
17,281
30
1,800
7,936
1,206
Total
Expenditure on:
Raising funds
Charitable activities
Other
Endowment
Fund
2
£
Restricted
Lunch Club
Fund
Income and Endowments from:
Donations and legacies
Charitable activities
Investments
Fund raising activities
26,423
3
4
5
2015
£
Unrestricted
Fund
Notes
2016
743
23,421
60
773
2,346
(59)
20,885
23,172
17,231
18,347
381
186,136
204,864
187,633
20,693
323
207,021
228,036
204,864
5
Balance Sheet at 30th September 2016
2016
2015
£
£
6
7
207,021
12,022
186,136
11,249
8
758
7,367
1,342
1,056
6,028
755
9
(474)
(371)
Net assets or liabilities
228,036
204,854
The funds of the charity:
Endowment fund
Unrestricted fund
Lunch Club fund
207,021
20,693
323
186,136
18,347
381
228,036
204,864
Note
Fixed assets:
Investments - Endowment
Investments - Unrestricted funds
Current assets:
Debtors
Deposit account
Cash at bank and in hand
Liabilities:
Creditors: Amounts falling due within one year
Total charity funds
6
Notes to the Financial Statements for the year ended 30th September 2016
1. Accounting policies:
a) The financial statements have been prepared in accordance with SORP2015, the
Financial Reporting Standards for Smaller Entities (FRSSE) and the Charities Act 2011.
b) Donations are credited to income when received.
c) Income from investments is credited to income when received.
d) Investments are stated at their market value at the balance sheet date.
2. Donations:
Appeal
Donations received
In memoriam
Legacy
Gift Aid tax recovery
GASD recovery
Transport
Lunch
Club
Heating
Other
£
£
£
£
£
3,082
2,221
30
3,000
7,429
100
2016
Total
2015
£
15,763
100
£
13,573
800
10,000
1,949
249
26,571
663
212
303
26
245
0
1,178
270
3,771
2,678
7,832
17,311
30
3,000
Note: Of the other donations listed above £4,100 was given specifically for a wheelchair
for a disabled person.
3. Costs of fundraising:
2016
£
38
476
230
743
Appeal
Boule and Draw
Scouts for help with Boule event
4. Charitable activities:
1,945
893
2,510
5
2016
Total
£
12,502
7,200
880
2,838
2,515
24,859
1,077
25,936
Direct
Support
£
£
Hardship grants to individuals
Heating grants to individuals
Grants made to organisations
Transport service
Lunch Club
12,324
179
Total costs of charitable activities
7,200
880
Note: Hardship grants above include £4962 for a wheelchair for a disabled person
7
2015
£
80
476
204
760
2015
17,456
£
3,386
8,100
1,110
2,602
2,257
Notes to the Financial Statements (continued)
5. Other costs:
2016
£
60
60
Room hire for public meetings
6. Investments - Endowment:
Carrying value at start of period
Additions at cost
Unrealised gain/(loss) on investments
Carrying value at end of period
7. Investments - Unrestricted Fund:
Carrying value at start of period
Additions at cost
Unrealised gain/(loss) on investments
Carrying value at end of period
8. Debtors:
Gift Aid/GASD refund due
Un-credited cheques
Pre-payments:
Room hire for Lunch Club
Room hire for Over Sixties Club
Room hire for AGM
9. Creditors:
2015
£
186,136
20,885
207,021
£
177,500
10,000
(1,364)
186,136
2016
2015
£
11,249
773
12,022
£
6,195
5,000
54
11,249
2016
2015
£
438
85
£
579
242
135
80
20
758
135
80
20
1,056
£
444
30
474
8
£
60
60
2016
2016
Accrued mileage costs
Un-presented cheques
Driver Appraisal Charges Due
2015
2015
£
361
10
371