Financial Summary 2022/23

Overview

Our turnover for the year was almost £12,000.

70% of this was raised by the team and from direct donations from the public. £3,000 was a grant from Wiltshire Community Foundation and £500 from Magic Stars.

Stand out fund raising achievement’s were: Sofiia’s walk from Swindon to Scotland which raised over £3,270 and Keseniia’s Classics concert which raised £1,500. We also had a very successful beer launch at the Hop Kettle which raised £1500, but this features in the next years accounts.

We are very grateful to all those who gave us money and or bicycles to keep the projects running.

Running costs £1,342

The bulk of the running costs are in the provision of the website; software, hosting, translation and email service.

All SWU officials and helpers are volunteers and are unpaid giving their time and often transport for free.

Bike Project £6,361

The total cost of the bike project was £6,361 with 221 bikes serviced and 176 issued, the balance being stock.

The project has been funded 40% by funds raised by the committee, the balance being grants from Wiltshire Community Foundation and Local Giving.

The bikes that come in vary widely to almost unused, through to those that were on their way to the dump and are uneconomic to repair. These “wrecks” are broken up for spares as needed, and are still a valuable resource to keep costs down. The cost of a bike repair varies from £2 to clean, adjust & lubricate a quality bike, to £40-£50 where new tyres, tubes, cables and chain are needed. Mostly though the average is around £10. We have a stock of around 35 bikes, half of which are children’s bikes.

All bikes are issued with a helmet, lock and lights (where needed), this equates to around £30 per person. At our peak we gave out about 15 bikes per week. The run rate is now around 5 bikes per week which still equates to £650-800 per month including repairs. There were some initial set up costs like; work stands, racking, specific bike tools and a stock of common parts like tubes, lubes, cleaners, brake & gear cables, grips and chains. Mechanics bring their own common tools in.

We have a trade account with Raleigh, so most parts and equipment are obtained at cost. Mechanics and assistants all give their time and transport voluntarily to collect, restore and fit locally donated bicycles.

Occasionally we get an “expensive” bike in - 2 last year. These are sold to raise funds to purchase parts or more suitable bikes for our customer base. e.g. A Liv Road bike was sold for £350 and from the proceeds we bought 12 more suitable city/hybrid bikes.

From Jan 2023 we needed to pay for light and heat for our workshop at the Pattern Church, for days the bike project is operating. This will come out of 2023-24 funding. Heating is essential in the winter when the workshop was as low as 2 degrees. It’s not needed from May on.

Events - £1,032

Throughout the year we have put on a number of events, either for social purposes or for fund raising. Those necessitated the purchase of some equipment like flags, t-shirts, art materials, food and refreshments.

Sofiia’s unsupported walk from Swindon to Scotland required some kit to be purchased for the trip; tent, sleeping bag clothing etc. Some kit was donated. Total spent was £504 but the walk raised over £3,200, so was a sound investment.

£100 was provided for fuel for long trips e.g. London.

Donations out to Ukraine - £2,050

All donations came from fundraising events organised by our Ukrainian Committee members who want to help those back home. Donations were made to small charities in Ukraine that the committee felt were helping local people in need:

• Sofiia’s walk: £1,500 to Rescue Now, who help the elderly and displaced escape the war zone.

• Classics Concert: £275 to Embrace Me and £275 Patients of Ukraine., money towards an ambulance and for medical parts for limb reconstructions.

Outlook for 2023/24

As the year closed out we had just enough cash for 1-2 more months. However, I’m pleased to report that Swindon Borough Council have agreed to fund our website & bike project to the sum of £6,500. This is great news as it allows Swindon Welcomes Ukraine to continue to offer these vital services. The website has become an essential portal, providing advice, support and signposting visitors to further information. We will continue to develop and update the site further over the coming year.

This also means that other fundraising can be focussed on the community and integration events. Thus the outlook for 23/24 is positive.

David Thrower

Treasurer

Infographic Summarising our Cashflow in 2022/23