Annual Report for the year to 5th April 2018
The Timios Trust was established in 1999 in memory of Tim Skipp and provides travel bursaries to young people undertaking Christian Service projects. This Report is on the Trust’s 19th year of operation and so far 415 bursaries totalling £137,816 have been awarded, whilst the Trust has funds in hand in excess of £133,000.
Through a combination of the generous support of regular donors, fundraising activities and one-off gifts, the Trust has been able to support all the applications within its published criteria which it has received to date. This year applications for bursaries were again at a lower level than previous years and 18 new bursaries were awarded, totalling £5,050. These bursaries, which ranged in amount between £150 and £450, have helped applicants travel on Christian Service projects to destinations across the world and the Trust has now assisted volunteers to travel to eighty different countries.
A predominance of females amongst our applicants has always been a characteristic of the Trust and this year it was particularly marked, with only four of our 18 bursaries going to men. With one exception, all of this year’s beneficiaries were aged under thirty, the exception being a lady of sixty-eight, whom we were pleased to support as she undertook a demanding assignment in north Africa in her retirement.
After rising consistently for the first decade of its existence, the funds of the Trust peaked in 2010 at £142,000, when lower interest rates and the absence of major fundraising activities have combined to move the Trust into a phase where its funds started to decline. However the last two years have seen this trend arrested mainly as a result of fewer bursary applications and the use of a lower scale of bursary awards. Including investment gains, the current funds in hand are of the same order as the total bursaries awarded to date, and it is therefore anticipated that the Trust has many years of valuable active service ahead.
As foreshadowed in our Annual Report last year, John Levick, a long term friend of the Skipp family and supporter of the Trust, became both a Trustee and our Treasurer at the 2017 AGM. John has a wealth of financial experience and his wise counsel has already been brought to bear and appreciated by his fellow Trustees, in guiding the affairs of the Trust at a time when running a small charity, manned by volunteers, is becoming increasingly complex.
The Trustees’ thanks again go to Peter McMahon, for conducting the Independent Examination of our accounts, and to everyone who has supported our work this year, so that Christian young people can explore both their gifts of service and longer term vocations in the wider world.
The Timios Trust is a Registered Charity (No. 1077516) and is pleased to receive donations and bursary enquiries.
Through a combination of the generous support of regular donors, fundraising activities and one-off gifts, the Trust has been able to support all the applications within its published criteria which it has received to date. This year applications for bursaries were again at a lower level than previous years and 18 new bursaries were awarded, totalling £5,050. These bursaries, which ranged in amount between £150 and £450, have helped applicants travel on Christian Service projects to destinations across the world and the Trust has now assisted volunteers to travel to eighty different countries.
A predominance of females amongst our applicants has always been a characteristic of the Trust and this year it was particularly marked, with only four of our 18 bursaries going to men. With one exception, all of this year’s beneficiaries were aged under thirty, the exception being a lady of sixty-eight, whom we were pleased to support as she undertook a demanding assignment in north Africa in her retirement.
After rising consistently for the first decade of its existence, the funds of the Trust peaked in 2010 at £142,000, when lower interest rates and the absence of major fundraising activities have combined to move the Trust into a phase where its funds started to decline. However the last two years have seen this trend arrested mainly as a result of fewer bursary applications and the use of a lower scale of bursary awards. Including investment gains, the current funds in hand are of the same order as the total bursaries awarded to date, and it is therefore anticipated that the Trust has many years of valuable active service ahead.
As foreshadowed in our Annual Report last year, John Levick, a long term friend of the Skipp family and supporter of the Trust, became both a Trustee and our Treasurer at the 2017 AGM. John has a wealth of financial experience and his wise counsel has already been brought to bear and appreciated by his fellow Trustees, in guiding the affairs of the Trust at a time when running a small charity, manned by volunteers, is becoming increasingly complex.
The Trustees’ thanks again go to Peter McMahon, for conducting the Independent Examination of our accounts, and to everyone who has supported our work this year, so that Christian young people can explore both their gifts of service and longer term vocations in the wider world.
The Timios Trust is a Registered Charity (No. 1077516) and is pleased to receive donations and bursary enquiries.