Reserves are funds that are freely available to fund our general operations, but which are identified as the money we would need to wind up the organisation should we need to do so.
If we were to have no members i.e. we decided to stop operating, we would have no expenses and therefore there should be no financial problem. Problems would arise if we suddenly had substantially fewer members which would mean that we would still need to run our operations, but with substantially decreased income. The main cost would be that of public liability insurance, the premium of which is calculated based on the previous year’s membership level.
We intend to maintain our reserves at a level that is roughly equivalent to 12 months expenditure. We will review the amount of reserves on an annual basis to ensure that they are adequate to fulfil our obligations. We will do this by considering the income and expenditure for the last 2 years, any projects which are underway and any designated funds. We will also review the level of membership for the past 2 years.
Having a Reserves Policy helps us to manage our funds and ensures that we allocate enough, but not too much, as reserves.
Last updated: October 2020
