Birmingham Evening Decorative and Fine Arts Society
Annual General Meeting Committee Reports
September 2015
Chairman Carole Gumbley
Birmingham Evening Decorative and Fine Arts Society (BEDFAS) has completed its first year’s
programme and looks forward to a future of increased activities to promote and advance the arts,
culture and heritage. My thanks go to the original steering group members, the current committee,
National and West Midlands Area NADFAS, the Barber Institute of Fine Arts and our 201
members.
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Our new society came about following three NADFAS at Night lectures at the Barber Institute of
Fine Arts. These had been instigated by Stephanie Faroqui, the then West Midlands Area
Chairman. She felt there might be a demand for an evening society to complement the
Birmingham DFAS, which meets in the day, and has a long waiting list. Anyone interested in being
involved in a new NADFAS evening group with lectures to be held at the Barber Institute of Fine
Arts was invited to a meeting.
On February 25th 2014 those of us interested in forming a Steering Group met with Jane Sawyer
(NADFAS Support Team), Stephanie and Carol Austin (Treasurer of the West Midlands Area). We
had not met each other before but we had a common interest in the Arts. With NADFAS support
we began working together with enthusiasm to set up a new evening society. We were excited by
the opportunity to be based at the Barber, a prestigious gallery, with a remit to broaden the age
and background of NADFAS members.
The Steering Group worked collaboratively to draw up a constitution for the society, establish
financial procedures, book lecturers, sign up members, set up a website, create publicity materials
– and much more, to be ready in time for our first lecture. Our thanks go to Matthew Broadhurst
who chaired the Steering Group.
Our Inaugural meeting was held in October 2014 and we have enjoyed a diverse range of
lectures. Our members and visitors have had the opportunity to socialise over a glass of wine and
view a new exhibition or item of special interest in the gallery before attending the lecture. We also
enjoyed our first Special Interest Day in April, ‘Richard Wilson: The Father of British Landscape?’
led by Paul Spencer-Longhurst, and our first trip in June to Tyntesfield, with a special introduction
on the coach by Derek Clarke RIBA, who was the project architect leading the restoration team.
We have invested time in reaching a consensus about which elements of NADFAS we were going
to focus on and what was going to be unique about BEDFAS. For us this has led to the
development of our ‘Bite Size Brum’ programme. Short evening and weekend events followed by
an informal gathering at a nearby public house – both drawing on the cultural, artistic and crafts
heritage of Birmingham.
Since our Inaugural lecture we have actively sought feedback from members and visitors both
face to face during events and via questionnaires. We value your feedback and build it into the
planning processes for the continuing development of our new society. During the year we have
welcomed three new committee members. We have taken one big step thanks to the enthusiasm,
creativity and energy of our committee. We would encourage any members who wish to become
more involved to join us on our next steps towards a vibrant society.
Treasurer Sue Macfarlane
Our first year’s budget was estimated by Carol Austin the West Midlands Area Treasurer. We are
grateful to Carol for her help. We are grateful also to Tony Timberlake who has acted as our
financial examiner.
The first year annual membership was set at £50 with a £5 joining fee. We operate an electronic
business account with Lloyds Bank as well as receiving paper statements. We have free banking
as long as we have a turnover of less than £50,000.
We accept cheques, cash or on line payments and pay bills either by cheque or electronic
transfer. Detailed records of all transactions are kept. All expenditure is authorised by a minimum
of two people. There are three signatories on our account who are all committee members.
The Barber Institute is a high quality venue which is reflected in the cost. The Barber Institute has
been very supportive of our activities both financially and in the excellent service provided. They
have kindly given us a 10% discount on catering.
In addition to our lecture programme we have provided special interest days and “Bite Size Brum”.
These extra activities are priced to break even.
We received £650 in grants from NADFAS for our first year which is non-recurring. We pay
NADFAS £12.20 per member to give them affiliation.
In our second year we hope to attract a core membership of 150-200. Our financial position has
been significantly enhanced by non-members paying £10 on the door. As a result of this initiative
we end our first year with a reasonable financial surplus.
Membership and Guest Secretary Lisa Gillespie
We have come a long way from the meeting of a few people deciding to set up the new Society to
having 210 members by the end of the year. From the outset we wanted to attract people of all
ages, whether they were students, working or retired, feeling that everyone would appreciate our
venue and evening meetings. We needed about 150 members to be financially viable, and our
only limit is the seating capacity of the Barber institute’s Concert Hall which is 349.
For students who were Barber Association members, membership is free, whilst for others the
subscription was reduced to £10. At most lectures a few attendees have been students, but we
await our first student member.
However the number of working and retired members has steadily grown, and our membership’s
age range is unusually large for a NADFAS society. We have been able to accommodate many
who were waiting to join the Birmingham DFAS which meets in the day. We find people enjoy the
convivial atmosphere of our evening lectures, the opportunity to view the Barber’s galleries and
the extra insight relating to the subject of our lectures which the Barber is often able to provide.
Our Bite Size Brum events (organised in the evenings or at the weekend to enable those who are
working to attend ), and forthcoming day trips and special interest days are all offered at a
discount to members.
We aim to increase our membership further in the coming year using social media, leaflets and
other publicity, but, as always, word of mouth recommendations is the most effective
advertisement.
Programme Secretary Lesley Peat
The quality of NADFAS lecturers is exceptionally high and the range of topics available is
outstanding so starting a new society has given us the opportunity to design the range of lectures
we offer ... to inform, challenge and amaze our audience. Topics from Ancient Egypt, Art Deco,
Art Therapy in Prisons and Nazi Looted art from our year one programme have been well received
by our membership.
The current BEDFAS Programme Secretaries (Carole Gumbley and Lesley Peat) work as a team
to select and book the lectures we offer, starting with the yearly Directory Day in London - a
chance to hear presentations on the range of available topics. This is augmented by a ‘Fair’ where
you can go and talk about your NADFAS group and discuss possibilities with lecturers. This year
with John Pogmore (Visits Secretary) we split responsibilities for making contact with speakers so
on the train home decided on our future lecture programme for years two and three.
The administration of contacting the lecturers, booking them at an agreed price and confirming the
copy and photographs for our publicity then takes place over a few months. The final part of the
process is to look after those lecturers ‘on the day’ making sure they are met from the station and
taken round our amazing lecture venue.
Birmingham Evening Decorative & Fine Arts Society
Accounts - 21 October 2014 to 31 August 2015
(The first year of the Society's operations)
Income and Expenditure Account
£
Income Members' annual subscriptions to the Lecture programme
Attendance fees for individual Lecture meetings
Additional Events:
Income
Expenditure
Surplus on Additional Events
Total Income
Expenditure Lecturers' fees and expenses
Venue and equipment hire
Other Lecture meeting expenses
NADFAS levy & expenses, net of grants
Printing and stationery
Committee travel expenses
Total Expenditure
Surplus of Income over Expenditure for the year
£
10,920
2,880
2,304
-2,050
254
£
14,054
2,759
3,489
1,873
1,580
783
395
£
10,879
£
3,175
£
9,249
£
5,255
819
6,074
£
3,175
Balance Sheet at 31 August 2015
Current Assets Bank balance at 31 August 2015
Current Liabilities Prepaid annual subscriptions for 2015/16
Accrual for 2014/15 unbilled expenditure
Net Assets at 31 August 2015
The above accounts were approved by the Society's committee on 9 September and signed on their
behalf by the Society's Treasurer, Susan Macfarlane
Treasurer: Susan Macfarlane
Date: 15 September2015
Auditor's Report
I have examined the above accounts of the Birmingham Evening Decorative and Fine Arts Society
for its initial period of operations ending on 31 August 2015, and have obtained all the
information and explanations I required.
In my opinion the accounts accurately reflect the financial position of the Society at 31 August 2015
and its income and expenditure for the period then ended.
Auditor: Tony Timberlake MA FCA
Date: 15 September 2015