finances P
erhaps our worst fears of ‘recession’ have not materialised, due no doubt in part to a strong spiritual impulse and firm
belief that the work of spreading biodynamics is a task beyond the normal constraints of national economics. But attracting new members is harder when less money is about and book sales have been down a bit on last year. What is amazing is that people still find the motivation to be generous towards our cause and we are hugely thankful to the many people who have made donations to our work in general or to specific projects in the course of the year. It seems, even with less money to spend, people have prioritised attending biodynamic workshops and training events. is is very encouraging. e accounts look very similar to last year - numbers wise
- and indeed the activity covered is similar. All matters to do with bank interest and investment have not escaped the recession though and the Grange Kirkcaldy Fund income declined somewhat and bank interest at Triodos has been zero. In the Demeter Certification Scheme accounts a small increase in income is evident. However with more licensees and financial hardship comes more delayed payments and difficulties with maintaining certification. e Defra grant has held for the year, but we must worry about the future scenario regarding government funding. Governance and management costs have been kept to
a minimum and we can truthfully say that our main costs are incurred in keeping our dedicated and hard working staff team in
place. A great deal of staff effort has gone into generating a public face for the organisation during the year. ey have put a lot of effort into attending shows, and creating good publications and publicity material along with improvements to our website. I believe this has been money well spent and wish to thank all the Executive team for their enthusiasm and commitment.
Reserves Policy It has been the policy of the trustees for some years to try and achieve a reserve of between 1 and 2 years income from charitable activities. Having consistently drawn on reserves rather than building them this is clearly not manageable over and above our current operating costs, but remains in the trustees opinion a reasonable level of reserve should it ever be achievable. Should any substantial legacy be received that would provide finances for more than the immediate year they would be held in the Reserve account. e free reserves at the end of the period stood at £65,894 As of September 2010, I have to add that things are
getting more severe! Our workshops planned for this year have not achieved the attendance we hoped for and so we have had to cancel training courses. Taking on the Biodynamic Agricultural College at Emerson Campus is proving very tight financially but we have confidence that this venture will win through and generous support for setting up the new college has been tremendous. Ian Bailey, Treasurer
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