Chairman's Report
Past months have been difficult times for the Centre 63 Board. Recession does not make funding the Centre's work easier, either through earned income or through fund-raising.
The summary of our financial position included with this report demonstrates the very fine financial judgements that the Board has had to make over the last year to stay just on the right side of the line. From the beginning of 2009 we realized that this was going to be a very hard and have worked at our financial management to make sure it was up to the task. We negotiated a short-term overdraft facility with our bankers should there be any cash-flow difficulties and fortunately we have not need to draw on this.
The forward prospects in 2010 look very much better than was the case for the last year. We hope to build up sufficient free reserves over the coming year to give our Board a little more comfort. At some points in 2009 we operated on less than one month, which was managed by almost daily chasing up of overdue invoices.
As we pause to take stock and look back, one consequence to Centre 63 of tougher times is to see a reduction in the work that we deliver to the neighbourhood ourselves. To compensate, there has clearly been an increasing trend in renting out space to partner and allied agencies that also deliver work through our premises. The income has helped keep centre 63 solvent to do its own work over the year and our tenant partners are delivering good work too. These are partnerships that we are grateful for. Without the income the Centre would have seen considerable reduction last year and would not be able to anticipate growing some reserves this year.
A concern looking forward is that Centre 63 must avoid simply becoming a community hall with managed workspace for rent. We have a track record of being sensitive to the needs and culture of the local community through which high quality and innovative informal education and support to young people that really makes a difference has been delivered. This still continues to be the case and the Centre is determined to see it grow. Our aspiration to provide a multi-media facility and learning opportunities for young people through audio, visual and IT media including performance and production skills look ever more likely to go live in the near future. The Volunteering Project and The Youth Enquiry Services remain very strong pieces of work. Our partnerships with The Rank Foundation, Supporting People, Henry Smith, K.H.T Advantage and more recently Mersey Travel and Vola involving our employment and quality training of young people to provide invaluable experience in a variety of work contexts has been growing. We are also pleased to see other organisations based here thrive, such as the Local Young Bike Riders Organisation, K.D.V.S.S, Age Concern Knowsley and Knowsley Pensioners Advocacy Service.
So, after a hard year, over which the Centre has not just ‘pulled through’ but also delivered some sterling work, my thanks to colleagues on the Board, staff and volunteers, who make the Centre what it is and contribute so much to life in Kirkby.
