The village hall is a registered charity ( charity number 305160) and regulated by the Charity Commission. The only income is from rental of the hall or of equipment such as tables or crockery plus the occasional donation. The principal outgoings are maintenance, insurance and energy costs.
The hall generally runs at a loss and has had to rely on donations and fundraising to bridge the gap between income and outgoings. In the last financial year fortunes changed and there was a huge uptick in rental income meaning that there was a surplus of over £500. A summary of the finances since 2011 can be viewed by clicking this link.
Hall maintenance costs have been very high over the years with the last major expenditure being the replacement of all the wooden windows with uPVC double glazed units. This was made possible due to the ongoing generous subsidy from Ashburnham Thanksgiving Trust which gives £3 for every £4 spent on maintenance provided that what we spend comes from fundraising.
Income from fundraising is, therefore, always kept in a separate account called the Appeal Fund which in January 2020 has a bank balance of £3,850. Because of the 3:1 subsidy from Ashburnham Thanksgiving Trust, it means we have the resources to spend four times that amount on village hall maintenance, but rest assured that the committee has no plans for any major expenditure in the foreseeable future!