THE FRIENDS OF ST JAMES THE GREAT, THORLEY

ANNUAL GENERAL MEETING 16th MARCH 2012

TREASURER'S REPORT - YEAR ENDING 31 DECEMBER 2011

This year our accounts show an excess of income over expenditure of £9153 compared with a deficit in 2010 due to the purchase of the organ. All our excess funds are deposited with the Church's Central Board of Finance until they are needed and so we can earn a little bit of interest. The Accounts I am presenting tonight show how the income was received and the expenditure was incurred in the year ended 31st December 2011 with comparative figures for 2010

I will now comment on some of the detail.

1. Subscriptions show a good increase this year which is encouraging but this is mainly due to existing members increasing their contributions. So we still need new members, we need to encourage our friends to become our "Friends" and in particular, those of us who attend the 10:30am service need to invite members of that congregation to join. Donations have also increased on the 2010 figures.

2. As you know, because I say it every year, gift-aid on contributions is a great benefit, particularly in these days of low interest rates. The tax rebate has increased to £780 for this year.

3. The Festival of Flowers and Music was again a huge success and our thanks are to you all for your tremendous support and hard work. Changes in the method of reporting our finances require gross income and expenditure to be shown separately so you will need to deduct £2266 expenditure from £7405 income to arrive at the net proceeds of £5142, as against £4187 for 2010, a substantial increase, Praise the Lord. I have produced details of the figures for you, alongside the Accounts.

4. October saw our Quiz evening again, great fun as ever, with £217 raised. This is another event where we see many non-members of the Friends come to enjoy themselves, so another outreach opportunity.

5. Sunday teas in the summer and soup lunches in the winter months have both generated another year on year increase. These afternoons are a vital outreach opportunity for our Church and our thanks go to the small band of volunteers who take on this work. Visitors to the Churchyard and walkers obviously value the opportunity for a sit down, a chat and refreshment- just what Jesus told us to do.

6. Once again, I would like to thank Bob and Brenda Williams for running the ever popular whist drives which raised a tremendous £353 for the Friends.

7. Lesley Parker's contributions have again been wonderful. The Plant sale in May raised £246, up on the previous year and the Craft Fair in November £478. Both further outreach opportunities. In fact, all our events are outreach opportunities, which I think is something the whole Church family should be aware of, we are not just a fund-raising organisation, we have become much more.

8. Repairs and Maintenance costs remain high, with our equipment needing costly repairs because of all the hard work they are put to. Our thanks to Peter and Margaret Morley for all their dedication and efforts in this area.

9. We have spent a lot of money on the Churchyard this year, £1730 to be precise, which is the cost of tree maintenance. Our churchyard is a very beautiful place, because of the lovely trees but they do need looking after. Christine Tew has overseen all this work and our thanks to her for taking on this task on our behalf.

10. Finally, I would like to thank Geoff Pickering for again examining our Accounts to check I haven't done the sums wrong. Geoff is currently working on the audit but I have been assured by him that it all looks fine.

Rosemary Jones
16th March 2012

Notes

1. Cost of flowers met by sponsors £676 (2010 £664).

2. Other expenses include donation to Organist and advertising.

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