The Treasurer, Paul Rash presented the annual accounts for 2023 at the AGM. The Association is operating within budget, and the balance sheet remains healthy. When the Association started the subscription was £5, and has only once been increased, to the present level £7. This may sound like the lead-in to announcing a subscription rise but not so. There are no plans to raise the subscriptions because the introduction of a digital version of the newsletter has produced considerable savings in printing and postage costs.
The balance reported at the AGM was £16,317. However, this includes £12,067 remaining from a legacy of £12,805 that we received from Terry Anstey’s estate, leaving an ‘operating’ balance of £4,250. We have spent £738 of the legacy on a computer and software to improve and back-up the hybrid Zoom and on-line video facilities. It is our intention to spend funds from the legacy only when we have identified a need that will potentially benefit all of the Association Members, not just those who are able to attend events. We will not subsidise the monthly meetings at the YMCA Hawker Centre in Kingston, or any visits/events arranged as part of the annual programme. They will all continue to be self-financing by those attending.
The Committee has debated uses for the legacy at length but so far we have not made any decisions other than that already mentioned. Throughout the life of the Association we have been able to operate with the annual income. We would appreciate any suggestions on what would be a good use of the generous legacy from Terry.