Brooklyn Toy Library Trust
Annual General Meeting Minutes
17th April, 2016 - 7:30pm
Present
Sarah Hewitt, Jessica Jones, Peal Chin
Apologies
Lesley Lundquist
Minutes from previous AGM
Minutes of the last AGM were circulated through email prior to the meeting. The minutes were accepted as a true account.
Matters arising from the 2015 AGM minutes
Stocktake
The stocktake was completed as planned in July 2015. It resulted in approx 20 toys being disposed of by sale to members or being thrown away. There are also another 50 or so toys which have not been issued since the computer system was implemented and were not ticked off in the stocktake. Jessica continues to look for them in case they were missed.
Entertainment Books
These were not successful as everyone was doing them. We will not be doing them again.
Treasurer’s report
We finish the 2015/16 year with a small deficit of $433 (see attached statement). There are 3 factors which have contributed to this compared to the previous year:
- reduction in membership
- less achieved in fundraising efforts
- toy librarian being paid for more hours to allow earlier opening for the Capital Montessori School parents on Fridays
These issues have been discussed by the Committee through the year. They have decided to put more emphasis on membership. Increased membership will require less fundraising.
Charities Commission Annual Return for year ending 31 January 2016 will be submitted online.
Grants and Fundraising report
The Trustees and members are very grateful for the support of the following organizations with whom we have made successful grant applications during this financial year (ending 31 January 2016):
Lotteries Commission $900
TG McCarthy Trust $190
Community Organizations Grants Scheme (COGS) $1000
The grants from the Lotteries Commission was used to purchase toys. The grants from TG McCarthy Trust and COGS went towards insurance and librarian salary respectively.
The toy library was able to organize two fundraising events last year. The movie night was organized during Term 2 and raised $489. The trustees and members would like to thank Lighthouse Cinema, Countdown Newtown and Farmers for their contributions to the night.
During Term 4 we held a raffle. We are grateful for the prizes which were donated by local Brooklyn businesses. The raffle raised $355.
A toy library member, Andrew Peters, also worked to get AMP to match our funds raised from the 2014 raffle. The money was deposited in our accounts after the close of the financial year so has been included in our final accounts.
Cards were sent out in December to all the organizations who have supported us. We greatly appreciate their contributions.
Toy buyer’s report
The Brooklyn Toy Library received a $900 Lotteries Grant to spend on toys this last financial year. Toys had to be purchased through Toy Express, the TLFNZ toy buying service. This grant resulted in a number of new toys being added to the toy library towards the end of last year. We thought we’d trial some wooden toys this year. A wooden fire station playset, a wooden barnyard playset and a wooden puppet theatre with puppets were three bigger purchases made. In addition a number of smaller toys were purchased.
Nomination of Trustees
The following nominations for Trustees were received:
President - None
Secretary – Lesley Lundquist
Toy Buyer – Pearl Chin
Grants officer - None
Treasurer – Sarah Hewitt
Membership Officer – Jessica Jones
Fundraising officer - None
All nominations were approved.
To ensure Brooklyn Toy Library's on-going qualification for registration on the Charities Register following Statutes Amendment Act (No.2) 2011, all officers have confirmed that their certification as being qualified to be an officer under section 16 of the Charities Act is still valid.
It should be noted that our Treasurer Sarah Hewitt has indicated she will be stepping down at the next AGM as her daughter is likely to be too old for the Toy Library by the middle of 2017.
General Business
Duties
It was decided to reword our publications to say "up to 2 duties (max 2)" as it is unlikely with current membership levels that most members will do more than one per year.
30 Days Free promotion
This promotion in February, to coincide with the belated celebration of the Toy Library's 30 anniversary, resulted in 12 30 day memberships being given away. About half of these have joined.
Island Bay Toy Library
It was noted that the Island Bay Toy Library have closed due to their premises no longer being available. They are currently searching for new premises in the Island Bay area. We have emailed to offer them any help we can.
Fundraising
There was much discussion about fundraising and how much the membership enjoyed doing it. It was decided that a Movie Night would be pencilled in for Term 3. However, if grants applications were successful in getting funds for the Toy Librarian wages, this might not go ahead.
The Committee agreed to review the Fundraising Levy in the middle of the year. It adds a layer of complication to the fees structure and may not be necessary if no fundraising is required.
- Harbourside Parking
This is an easy 1 day fundraiser. Jessica will investigate if we're on the waiting list.
- Survey
A survey of the membership in November found that the majority of members felt we were doing the right amount or too much fundraising. Given that we only did 2 fundraisers in 2015, this indicates they generally don't wish to do it.
Advertising
The Committee decided part way through 2015 that increasing membership numbers was the best solution for the Toy Library. It would decrease the amount of fundraising required and reduce the number of duties members would need to do. During the year they have endeavoured to raise the Toy Library's profile by:
- contributing memberships to community organisation raffles (eg local Kindys)
- listing in the Brooklyn Tattler
- getting posters and flyers printed to distribute locally
They propose to continue this in 2016 by:
- getting more local press eg article in Brooklyn Tattler, Cook Strait Times
- continuing to support community organisations
- taking toys to community events (such as the Brooklyn Kindy Food Fair)
- getting a local business to sponsor a voucher draw for new members in Term 2 (Jessica to source a voucher)
Our Facebook page currently has 65 like - many more than we have members.
* 2014/15 were calculated on an accrual basis. However, changes to the reporting requirements
of the Charities Commission require future accounts to be kept on a cash basis.
** Reconciliation of Cash accounting for 2014/15
Current Account
Closing - 31 January 2015 3,864.49
Less: Opening 1 February 2016 - 3,343.58
= Account movement 520.91
Interest received on Term Deposit 455.34
Net Surplus/(Deficit) for the period 976.25