The fund is a registered charity with the registered number 264606
The registered address is:-
La Rejouissance
Lockerley Green
Lockerley
Romsey SO51 0JN
The fund is governed by rules approved by the Winchester and Portsmouth Diocesan Guild of Church Bell Ringers (the Guild) in General Meeting.
The trustees during 2011 were:-
The independent examiner of the fund is Mr P Clarke ACIB.
The principal bankers are LloydsTSB Bank plc.
The activities of the Bell Restoration Fund are restricted to the area covered by the Anglican Dioceses of Winchester and Portsmouth. None of the Fund’s assets is a permanent endowment. There are no borrowing limits imposed in the governing rules. The trustees have no specific investment powers.
The main aims of the Funds are to provide financial assistance by way of grants to Churches, within the area mentioned above, incurring expenditure on the provision, maintenance, improvement or acoustics of their bells and bell installations, or for the maintenance of the fabric of their towers and belfries, to enable their bells to be properly rung in full circle.
Our income from the Guild subscriptions has increased on 2011. This guarantees income into the BRF and enables the Trustees to be confident of an ongoing stream for the future. Having said the donations from Towers were down in 2011 they show a marked increase in 2012. We acknowledge these below.
The ever popular W&P 200 club continues to provide significant income to the BRF and the Trustees once again thank Mark Esbester for running this.
Gift Aid is a useful way of giving to the BRF tax efficiently by tax paying Guild members. A Gift Aid donation of £10 will give a further £2.50 to the BRF.
A simple declaration on an envelope stating that “the amount enclosed is to be treated as a donation under Gift Aid” with your name and address is all that is needed. This should be sent direct to the Guild Treasurer (enclosed in an envelope). Alternatively if you wish to make a regular donation by standing order he has a form together with a banker’s order that can be used.
A few years ago the Inland Revenue introduced a new method of giving to your favourite Charity. Within your self assessment return you are able to nominate your favourite Charity to receive any tax you have over paid. All you need to do is quote the number specific to the Charity and the Inland Revenue treat that as a Gift Aid donation and will transfer that amount to the Charity plus tax at basic rate. The number for the Bell Restoration Fund is BAA66LG.
A further way of donating is through pay roll giving. Not all firms offer this scheme so anyone wishing to take advantage of this should discuss this with their payroll officer.
During the year grants of £10,400 were approved. Of these £900 were paid on 2012. Of the outstanding grants of £1,500 at the end of 2011 £500 due to West Tytherley was paid and as the work undertaken at New Alresford was fully funded the grant was withdrawn. In addition Dummer had surplus funds in their restoration account and repaid their grant of £3,500.
A reminder to those applying for grants that the initial application needs to be with the Guild Treasurer at least 2 months before the Trustees meet. Trustees meet three times a year, before each of the Executive meetings and before the Guild AGM. Grants can only be approved at either the Executive meeting or AGM. Any approved at the Executive meetings are required to be ratified at the next Guild AGM. The forms required are to be found on the Guild’s website or can be obtained in paper form from the Guild Treasurer. It is very important that all of the documentation requested in the form is made available to the Trustees. We have again had instances when not all information has been available and we have been unable to make decisions as to the allocation of a grant. If an application is sent by e-mail then it should also be sent through the postal system. All applications are acknowledged so if no acknowledgment is received within a couple of weeks then a chaser should be sent.
The Trustees believe that the reserves of the Charity are adequate to meet our immediate need. We held a meeting in March 2011 with the Belfry Stewardship Committee when we discussed the ongoing bell stock survey being undertaken in the Guild area. This is still identifying possible calls on the BRF in the near future so we need to ensure our annual income is increased sufficiently for the Trustees to be able to support any future requests for grants.
The Trustees acknowledge with thanks the donations from the following towers:-
| Christchurch Priory | £100 |
| Hambledon | £50 |
| North Stoneham | £250 |
| Portsmouth Cathedral | £60 |
| Ringwood | £60 |
| Romsey Abbey | £100 |
| Shedfield | £50 |
| Winchester Cathedral | £300 |
The Trustees would like to thank all those who have donated time, energy and money towards the aims of the Bell Restoration Fund.
For and on behalf of the Trustees:
D A Strong
Trustee
M Bubb
Trustee
9th March 2013