Welcome to the Annual General Meeting - Friday 12 th June 2015 Annual Report for the Year Ending 31 March 2015 The Charity s Finances Events during the year Donations and Grants received DGS s activities during the year Election of Officers and Trustees Challenges for the year ahead
Destiny Children currently supports Destiny Garden School in Mombasa, Kenya. It raises funds to help provide a better future for the children at DGS by securing them a good education and the basic welfare they need to survive. 100% of all our sponsor and donor funds, including Gift Aid, go to Destiny Garden School. All the costs of running the charity are met by the committee members.
Finances 1.04.2014 to 31.03.2015: All targets on the budget plan were exceeded except sponsor numbers and grants. The income for 2014/15 was 66k + 7,000 Gift Aid (compared with 78k in the previous year) Payments to Destiny Garden School were 63k ( compared with 61k last year). A reserve of 14,000 is there to cover the shortfall in the school s running costs and for emergencies, whilst we try to recruit more sponsors, or find alternative income sources. In January, we were able to give the staff of DGS a much needed and deserved pay increase of 6%, cover the increases in the NHIF and NSSF, and give Jacob, the DGS Director, an honorarium. The pound s exchange rate with the Kenyan shilling was relatively stable, moving within a range of around 135 to 146, the average for the year being about 5% higher than the previous year.
Events during the year raised 3,670 and included: Macclesfield Treacle Market in July 2014. Destiny Children were represented for the first time here and provided a fun stall aimed at children (raised 130 ) This was repeated in November ( 70 )
Events during the year included: A successful Bridge Drive the first time DC have done this ( 245 ) A lively Ceilidh and another first ( 680 )
Events during the year included: A number of supporters, including DC Chair Alan, braved the Ice Bucket Challenge (raising 100 ) Gawsworth Coffee Morning in August the third time DC has organised such an event (raised 250)
Events during the year included: Bollywood event in March 2015 the third time DC has organised this (raised 1,600) A quiz night with quizmaster Chris Aggersby proved successful and great fun ( 570)
Donations received during the year - 14,080 included: 1,200 from Viki Lee s contact which went towards educating 10 children for a year. 1,000 from Alan Stater s contact which provided school lunches for all 420 children for 35 days.
Donations during the year included: The Rotary Breakfast Club of Manchester donated 50 which bought much needed stationery. 500, 100, 50 from 3 sponsors and several smaller donations bought text books. This reduced the pupil to books ratio to 3:1, from the previous 5:1 - i.e. 5 children were sharing one book.
Donations during the year included: Committee member Martin Sutcliffe and his wife Sharon donated 250 instead of buying wedding favours. 700 from sponsor Sophie enabled DGS to buy the teaching staff better tables and chairs.
Donations during the year included: 60 raised from sponsor Matt s collection tins inspired us to pilot them in Julia Marshall s Macclesfield cafes, Amuse and The Tea Kitchen. So far the two boxes have raised 133 in 4 months - with the Gift Aid element this is funding the education of 4 children at DGS. The Macclesfield and East Cheshire Law Society raised 1005 for DGS at their Dinner Dance. 1,100 was donated to cover the Kindergarten children s lunches for a year by a charity run by Stella Bili.
Donations from Gifts That Make a Difference : The relaunch of GTMAD raised 560 for items needed by Destiny Garden School. Committee member Nick Burton arranged a stall in Macclesfield Grosvenor Centre with help from sponsor Helen Dawson. 40 a goat 10 toys 15 library books 5 plants 15 beans 35 chickens 35 desks 30 text books 20 stationery
Donations during the year included: King's Juniors and Infants raised over 3,100 during the year, from various events including a Christmas fun run, Church service collections, post office and other initiatives. an electronic Christmas card, with a link to a Christmas song by both the children at King s School, Macclesfield, and Destiny Garden School, Mombasa. Raised - 375.
Contacts of committee member Kathy donated 75 for uniforms and 165 to buy goats and chickens for the DGS s small farm. Before After Committee members continue to put in their own funds to help Destiny Garden School and cover the charity expenses. These include Pat who put in 450 this year to cover the administration costs, Debbie 200 for a number of items, Val s Birthday Party which raised 220, Nick s leaflet drop and boxes 100.
Celebration Fund raised 970 - donations from sponsors and supporters paid for the DGS closing day celebrations. This included the Kindergarten graduation, a special lunch for the parents and guardians, prizes for the top performers and a Christmas gift bag for all the children.
Many keen supporters have provided extra voluntary help, including: Audrey Galloway - developing the charity s accounting system Tony Mirfin - examining the charity s accounts 5 th year he has done so Gail Delany - developing both the DGS and DC websites Sam Gardner - undertaking grant applications Tina Howdle - undertaking various projects including the clothing and book sales Kathy James spreading the word far and wide and recruiting new sponsors and donors Elizabeth Wright - organising the Black Tie Dinner Dances, and coffee mornings And of course all on the committee, not forgetting our sponsors
GRANTS - we were successful in securing two grants during this period The BFSS, the British and Foreign School Society, granted 13,000. Two new kindergarten classrooms were built The four old classes of the kindergarten block were converted into two DC contributed 500 from donations and Gift Aid to furnish the rooms
MDMT, the Martin Donaldson Music Trust, granted 800 which enabled DGS to employ a part time music teacher during the year. DGS children and choirs were entered into the Kenyan Music Festival in August 2014.
Victor's Visit to the UK - May 2014: Victor Ongola, the DGS school manager, spent 4 weeks in the UK as part of his training and development, learning more about the sponsorship administration. He had an insight into how the charity works and met members of the committee. His trip was paid for by Judy Roper. On his return Victor told all the DGS classes about his visit and the UK
In May 2009 DGS opened with 7 classes, 160 children and 9 staff. It is now a full Primary and Kindergarten School with 12 classes, 420 children, 16 teachers and 8 support staff. The office 2015 The office 2009
This year our first batch of students left DGS Class 8 pupils performed well in the Kenya Certificate of Primary Education (KCPE) examinations. The top 3 pupils from the school achieved marks of 384, 381 and 360, out of 500, which qualified them for places in top Kenyan High Schools. DGS s average mark was 289 with 16 As in various subjects.
Other DGS activities during the year Destiny Garden School teachers took part in a 2 day teacher training exercise conducted by Ms. Rose Owuor from the Centre For Bridging Teachers Education (CFBTE ). DGS s small farm holding is helping to feed the children a fantastic crop of brinjals, called aubergines in the UK, with enough left over to sell to the Royal Castle Hotel in central Mombasa!
Other DGS activities during the year DGS joined Muslims around the world observing the Eid Ul-Fitr holiday at the end of 30 days of fasting during the holy month of Ramadan. This was funded by a Mombasa Company. DGS students visited Tsavo East National Park. The 2 day trip was sponsored by Castle Royal Hotel in central Mombasa. For the majority this was the first time they had been on safari, and most had not seen the animals for which Africa is so famous.
Other DGS activities during the year DGS took part in an athletics event for schools in Mtongwe and excelled in the high jump, long jump, 800M, 1,500M and 400M. 7 children qualified for the next heats. A boost for DGS s feeding programme - Mr.Dinesh Raj, a commercial Indian farmer whose farm is located in Mtongwe, is donating 20 batches of African spinach twice a week.
Other DGS activities during the year DGS took part in football and volleyball matches between schools in Mtongwe. The girls volleyball team won in spite of never having played the game before! DGS hosted 10 local schools to compete in reading, poetry, songs and comprehension (questions). They came first in reading and second in comprehension.
Election of Trustees, Officers and Committee Members: The Trustees, Officers and Members below have agreed to the positions and have been nominated and seconded. Trustees: Alan Slater, Judy Roper, Pat Roper, Val Lear, Adrian Ramsden, Colin Cliffe, Debbie Kennerley, and new Trustees - Viki Lee and Martin Sutcliffe Officers: Alan Slater Chair Colin Cliffe Treasurer Viki Lee Secretary Committee Member: Nick Burton Our thanks go to Kathy James who is stepping down from the committee this year. As a founder member she has contributed greatly and will continue to do so.
Challenges for DCC in the year 2015/2016 include : Increasing the number of children sponsored. This year the numbers rose from 240 to 260 despite the loss of 21 and we need to increase this to 320, or find alternative sources of income. Improving communications with Jacob (The School Director) Raising the profile of the Charity locally and further afield Securing more administrative help in the UK
Summary of the Annual General Meeting - Friday 12 th June 2015 It has been a busy year and the Destiny Children team have done well, being strengthened greatly with recent new members. Thanks go to the Trustees, committee members, sponsors and supporters for their donations and fund-raising activities during the year, and to those involved in applying for grants. Adoption of this presentation as the Annual Report All trustees have approved the Charity Commission s Trustees Annual Report, (TAR) and The Receipts and Payments Accounts, CC16a, and these will be submitted to the Charity Commission, together with the IER, the independent examiner s report, which was signed off with flying colours. Welcome to our new team of Trustees and committee members and we wish them all the best in the forthcoming year..
Enjoy the rest of the evening!.