Chairperson’s Report
Amidst all the depressing news from the UK and around the world the wonderful pieces of feedback that we receive from the projects we have supported shine out like jewels in the murk. How wonderful to be able to help make a positive difference to people’s lives. Let me say a big thank you now to the Trustees and all our supporters for making this possible.
Our efforts to recruit new trustees through the University and CVS have not been successful but we are very pleased to welcome Claire Longney as a new trustee and our much needed Minutes Secretary. But we also need to say goodbye to Roy as he has decided that it is time to resign from being a trustee. However we hope and believe that he will continue to be a committed supporter of COAT’s fundraising events.
In 2019 we raised funds through our 100 Club, regular donations and the following events: the quiz on 27th April, Sue’s tea party on 5th May, Cockermouth table top sale on 5th October, and the annual ceilidh on 23rd November. Helen will be reporting on how much we have raised.
The COAT South Lakes group, which was formerly VSO Cumbria, have held a number of events during the year and have contributed £665 to COAT. They are very enthusiastic supporters of COAT particularly because they feel they know where the money they raise goes.
We are grateful to ACORN Coaching and Development who have made COAT their charity of the year for 2020 and have already made a donation to our funds and supported us through printing materials. ACORN have a very good write up about COAT on their website.
We have now received the legacy to fund projects in Burkina Faso – the money received is held in a separate account and allocated to the projects of FCVF through Dialoaga Lankoande. It is wonderful to see how such a legacy can make a real difference to a rural community. So far the money has funded school fees, purchased a motorbike to enable Lankoande to travel around the area and visit the far flung communities, purchased the necessary machines and materials to start making re-usable menstruation kits, and restored building to enable this work to take place.
Helen has produced a table showing how we spent the money raised. In 2019 we have distributed almost £7000 to projects in nine different countries, all with a link to someone in Cumbria. The grants have been used for a wide variety of projects ranging from motorbikes to toilets, from classroom roofs to sanitary kits for girls. But each of these simple actions has a much greater and more significant implication for the community – the motorbike enables mentoring of microfinance users, the sanitary kits enable girls to attend school, the toilet and classrooms increase education in poor areas, the new delivery bed enables safer births, and paying for transport of prosthetics improves mobility. In this way COAT’s tiny contribution is making a very real difference to lives in communities round the world.
Writing this report has filled me with pride to be involved with COAT.
Secretary’s Report
We gave 12 grants in 2019 (compared with 7 grants in 2018), all of which had Cumbrian connections. We gave £6960 compared with £4593 in 2018. We maintained or renewed links with Days for Girls; Dewode; Village Water and Community Action Nepal. All projects reflected our interests in health and education and training. Several of the projects provided support to girls to continue in school during their periods.
We enacted our new policy to provide some support to local young people going on Gap Years where their project is in line with COAT priorities.
The number of applications we receive through our website has rocketed. Unfortunately the vast majority do not fit COAT criteria. Some others are probably scams. However, we have received some enquiries through the website which we have followed up and have led to a grant being made. Hardly anything now arrives by post.
We continue to local identify people and organisations in Cumbria who might benefit from a small COAT grant for their overseas project. By meeting them face to face we learn more about the project and develop a relationship with COAT. For instance, Helen Faulds at Poverty Swap; Paul Moffatt of Future of Taru; John Libby from Five Talents; Iona Palmer-Smith collaborating with Legs4Africa; Sally Denny from Because All Children Matter.
The legal and financial arrangements for the legacy which COAT is managing for Burkina Faso made progress at last towards the end of the year. Happily the first dispersement of funds has now been made. Penny and Ian have now taken on much of the process of liaising with BF re their long term plan and the first spending on sanitary kits.
Claire Longney is now taking and producing COAT meeting minutes and this is much appreciated.