Trustees' Annual Report for the period

From

Period start date

To

Period end date

1st

Feb

2007

31st

Jan

2008

Reference and administration details

Charity name

Musequality

Registered charity number

1119308

Website

www.musequality.org

Charity's principal address

45 Priory Avenue

London

W4 1TZ

Names of the charity trustees who manage the charity

Trustee name

Office

Dates acted

Notes

1

Sir Humphrey Maud KCMG

Chairman

Whole year

Founding trustee

2

David Juritz

Founder

Whole year

Founding trustee

3

Jeremy Bradshaw

Secretary

Whole year

Founding trustee

4

Rowan Freeland

3^rd July 2007 onwards

5

Annabelle Simmons

23^rd Sept 2007 onwards

6

Joanna Biddolph

11^th Dec 2007 onwards

	Structure, governance and management
Description of the charity’s trusts
Type of governing document		Memorandum of Association
How the charity is constituted		Private limited company, no. 06216146, incorporated 17^th April 2007
Trustee selection method		Appointed by unanimous vote of existing trustees
You may choose to include additional information, where relevant, about: · Policies and procedures adopted for the induction and training of trustees. · The charity’s organisational structure and any wider network with which the charity works. · Relationship with any related parties. · Trustees’ consideration of major risks and the system and procedures to manage them.		Trustees – appointment and induction The trustees have been selected on the basis of: (a) a commitment to the vision of the founder and the objectives of Musequality; (b) a specific set of skills and experience needed by the charity and complementary to that of the other trustees; (c) their ability and preparedness to give time on a regular basis to the running of the charity. Trustees have demonstrated their qualifications amply through their dedicated voluntary work for Musequality prior to being offered the trusteeship. Formal induction takes place at trustees’ meetings, and informally through confronting the many tasks and challenges involved in launching a new charity. All trustees have been provided with copies of the Memorandum of Association. In addition, we all have a copy of “Good Governance – A Code for the Voluntary and Community Sector”, and the related leaflet “Learning to Fly”, published by the National Hub of Expertise in Governance, and use this as our handbook in directing the charity and understanding individual roles and responsibilities. Roles and responsibilities The six trustees constitute the management team and primary workforce of Musequality. Their work is divided as follows: • Sir Humphrey Maud, chairman, ensures that Musequality is effectively governed and that its resources are prudently managed. Through his former diplomatic contacts he has secured the support of many individuals around the world. • David Juritz, the founder, is the architect of Musequality’s strategy and leads in the identification of music projects. He is also the charity’s principal fundraiser and face to the supporting public. He is an internationally-renowned violinist and leader of London’s oldest chamber orchestra, the London Mozart Players. • Jeremy Bradshaw, secretary, manages the charity’s financial affairs and statutory reporting, coordinates and records the trustees’ meetings, and assists with fundraising events. • Rowan Freeland provides legal and regulatory compliance advice and challenge to the trustees. • Annabelle Simmons is developing Musequality’s policy and risk management frameworks, and introduced the highly successful sponsored music practice fundraising project. • Joanna Biddolph is responsible for developing and executing Musequality’s communications strategy, and for fundraising research. In addition, the following people are giving generously of their time: • Jane Davies, wife of David Juritz, does an enormous amount of work in marketing and publicity, and website development and maintenance. She gave 24-hour logistical support to David during his Round the World and Bach busking trip to launch Musequality in 2007. • Philip Pirie, executive coach, has spent time with the trustees to help them frame the objectives of Musequality clearly and allocate their limited resources wisely. • Nicolette Solomon and Margaret Hubing of the Suzuki Institute of Dallas are very kindly acting as Musequality’s agent for fundraising in the USA. Remuneration None of the trustees is being remunerated for his or her work. A total of £2,200 (essentially an expression of thanks, and included in the total expenditure of £3769 in the Financial Summary below) was paid in 2007 to individuals for help with the following: • Translation of publicity text • Administration support • Website content development Joanna Biddolph received £2,050 of this for the considerable work she did prior to becoming a trustee. Since her appointment, her work has continued but no further payments have been made. Risk assessment and crisis management We have established a risk register that sets out the main risks to Musequality’s continuing operation and success, prioritised according to impact and probability. For each risk identified there are actions agreed by the trustees to manage it or mitigate its effects. In our case we need to be especially mindful of the risks to children and our commitment to put child protection at the heart of everything we do. The possibility of loss of financial data or of our database of supporters also requires special attention (such as backing up files at separate locations). We are unusually reliant on our founder, David Juritz, not just as the driving force behind our work but also on his skills as an internationally acclaimed violinist.

	Objectives and activities
Summary of the objects of the charity set out in its governing document		Charitable objectives Musequality’s charitable objectives are set out as follows in the Memorandum of Association: For the benefit of the public overseas, particularly but not exclusively children and young people: • the advancement of education in music; • the promotion of the development of young people in achieving their full physical, mental and spiritual capacities to enable them to participate in society as responsible citizens; and • the provision or assistance in the provision of facilities for recreation or other leisure time occupation in the interests of social welfare, with the object of improving the conditions of life for the inhabitants of the area of benefit without distinction of sex or of political, religious, or other opinions. Aims Musequality was set up to take music projects to some of the poorest children in the developing world. Our aim is not to produce professional musicians but to give vulnerable children the chance to learn skills that offer them a route out of poverty, lifting them off the streets and away from the risks of drug culture, violence and crime. Anyone who has played a musical instrument, or sung in a choir or group, knows that it teaches skills that are valuable in other aspects of life. In particular it: • enhances education – teaching numeracy, pattern recognition, goal setting, problem-solving;   • builds social skills – discipline, working in a team, leadership, negotiating, compromise, making conversation; • develops personal qualities – self-belief, self-confidence, self-esteem, ambition, a sense of identity; • demonstrates the benefits of working hard – individual effort brings individual rewards and benefits the group as a whole; • challenges prejudices – in societies where gender inequalities exist, it gives girls a chance to demonstrate equality. The developing world desperately needs qualified and able teachers, doctors, farmers, lawyers, scientists, business people, decision-makers and leaders – drawn from their own communities. If it is to have those people in the future it needs – today – to help its young people develop the essential skills and qualities that will enable them to turn their lives around and fill these and other important roles. Communal music-making teaches those skills and qualities. By setting up and supporting community music projects, we give children the chance to change their lives. And there is plenty of evidence, from countries such as Venezuela which runs a national music scheme, that it works.
Summary of the main activities in relation to these objects		What we do We support music projects (groups which want to come together to make music) for underprivileged young people in the developing world, helping teachers over the first and biggest hurdle: buying instruments and establishing a new project or organisation. We work in partnership with established organisations, setting up new music projects or developing existing music projects, and we work with new organisations and individuals who are keen to set up new projects, or run pilot projects to assess what would work in the longer term. We also facilitate partnerships between our projects and music ensembles, schools and teachers including through exchange programmes and training. We believe we are the first, and only, UK charity to support music projects in the developing world. What we do not do We cannot support projects in the UK. We also do not support projects where the prime focus is on individuals, rather than on a group. What we provide We provide the means to enable groups which want to come together to make music. Those means might include: • musical instruments; • sheet music; • music stands; • training materials; • transport for children or teachers to travel to the project; • refurbishing or building a space or premises for rehearsals or performances; • basic equipment; • training courses for teachers; • performance expenses. In time we hope to provide teacher exchanges so that teachers in our projects can visit music schools or colleges to enhance their skills - and teachers from other countries can visit our projects, bringing new skills and information to widen horizons for the children in our projects. We provide support, at varying levels, for three years, after which we expect the project to be well-established and self-supporting. In exceptional circumstances, we will consider providing support for up to two additional years, depending on our own resources. “Disadvantaged children often lack social skills as they miss out on social training within the family. Music is a powerful influence in the fulfilment of these children’s development and this training programme will help them develop the life skills to become a holistic person.” Simon Yiga, Project Director Tender Talents, Kampala
Additional details of objectives and activities (Optional information)
You may choose to include further statements, where relevant, about: · Policy on grant making · Policy programme related investment · Contribution made by Volunteers		Making a real difference Many underprivileged children do not have the benefit of a secure family environment in which to develop their education and learn social skills. For them, the challenge and fulfilment of performing music in a group offers an opportunity to learn how to integrate socially and express and assert themselves in a way that enhances not just their own characters but also the group’s performance, as a whole. They are thus far more likely to have the self-belief, ability and will to build a successful career than those who never have such an opportunity. Our first three projects are in Africa – identified during David Juritz’s Round the World and Bach busking tour in 2007. We have ambitions to run projects in other countries and are currently exploring possibilities in India and Thailand. A flexible approach There is no one solution that works for all; every project needs different forms of help depending on where it is and the resources it already has. We are flexible in our approach and are as likely to fund the purchase of musical instruments and sheet music as we are to help hire, renovate or equip a hall so that children can put on performances – so important in setting goals and building self-esteem. What we ask projects and project leaders to do: • Demonstrate they can run a project to the benefit of the children. Project leaders must demonstrate they have a basic understanding of how to run a project and manage its finances. We aim to keep bureaucracy to a minimum but ask project leaders to complete our standard application form; project leaders who have done so tell us it helped them focus their minds on what was possible and achievable, not just on what was desirable. • Prove they have spent our funding appropriately. Project leaders must provide evidence that our funding has been spent as intended. Shortfalls cannot be compensated for by later funding. • Show that the project is sustainable beyond the time of our involvement. Our support is for three years. We would not be keen to support a project which is unlikely to last beyond that time. We hope projects will become self-sustaining. • Put child protection at the heart of everything they do. One member of staff in each project must have special responsibility for child protection. UK residents working in our projects must submit a current Enhanced Disclosure certificate from the Criminal Records Bureau (CRB). If there are no such checks in other countries, we require our projects to adopt the Keeping Children Safe Coalition’s standards to the letter. (Full details are at www.keepingchildrensafe.org.uk) • Acknowledge Musequality’s support. We would like others to know how Musequality can help; equally we would like Musequality’s donors to know where their donations have been spent. We will supply notices and logos (to be printed locally) for display throughout the term of our sponsorship. Where we have been instrumental in establishing a project, but if our sponsorship term has ended or if the project was funded by another organisation or organisations, we would expect our role to be acknowledged appropriately. Similarly, we expect organisations with which we collaborate to acknowledge our role in their projects. • Inform us of anything that might have an impact on our involvement as sponsors or our relationship with the project. Welcoming project ideas As we set out to raise more funds – launching new initiatives and seeking sponsorship – we welcome approaches from people with projects which might benefit from Musequality’s involvement. On our website, we encourage people thinking about a project to call us to discuss their ideas. If the project appears to have promise, we will direct them to the application form, which is available for downloading. The form is comprehensive and detailed, with a set purpose: completing it in full is designed to help potential project directors to test the viability of their project, address the tasks necessary to make it a success, and consider and manage the risks associated with such a venture. At this early stage in the charity’s life, with limited funds at our disposal, we are seeking to identify and mature specific projects via this approach, then present them to potential donors as a project they can adopt. “The first Lady of the Republic of Germany came and donated some old trumpets to us yesterday and she really loved our music. We just pray that someday we get a chance to make outside concerts and show the world that even street children when they reform they can do something better to make everyone happy.” Bosco Segawa M-LISADA Brass Band Kampala, Uganda

Achievements and performance

Summary of the main achievements of the charity during the year

Establishing projects We have already set up or supported four projects, identified during the Round the World and Bach busking tour. • Tender Talents Magnet School, Kampala, Uganda – for teenaged AIDS orphans and children from the poorest of Kampala’s community the school has recently begun taking children escaping the Northern Conflict. With our support they have renovated a derelict hut to provide teaching, rehearsal and storage space. They now provide piano, guitar, percussion and music-theory lessons as well as choral training and music workshops for between 50 and 70 children. The choir, which will give six concerts a year, gave their first performance to the First Lady of the German Republic during her official visit to Africa in February 2008. This is our largest and most innovative project to date. • Hout Bay Strings, Cape Town, South Africa – while in Cape Town on his Round the World and Bach busking tour, David Juritz played a concert to raise money for this music project that takes children from the squatter camps. We raised £700 and would like to continue to support them. • The Melodi Music Project, Soweto – also while busking round the world, David Juritz visited Soweto and was impressed by the work of this project, run by Nimrod Moloto, which provides education, musical instruments and professional tuition to a large group of disadvantaged children. Musequality donated £500. • M-Lisada Brass Band, Kampala, Uganda – we have given this group a small, one-off grant specifically to repair some of its musical instruments, many of which had holes which had been plugged with chewing gum. While this is resourceful, we thought they deserved better. We would like to extend our support of this particularly deserving group. We hope soon to help other groups, in other countries around the world. “I want to be a journalist so I can write about the problems of children and help them”. A student at M-Lisada Brass Band Monitoring performance against plans For smaller grants (£500 or less) we ask for a simple confirmation that the money has been spent as budgeted, and that the organisation is complying with our child protection policy. For larger and longer-term commitments, it is vital to ensure that (a) the funding is being appropriately spent, (b) progress is being made towards the project goals, and (c) important data is being gathered that will enable the project director to make the case for further funding with other potential sponsors at the end Musequality’s direct support. This will ensure the project’s long-term sustainability. We have realised that we need to define precisely what information we require, while encouraging project directors to draw out attention to factors that we may not have anticipated. We will therefore be designing a progress reporting form as a matter of urgency.

Financial review
Brief statement of the charity’s policy on reserves	Reserves Policy Why we need reserves When agreeing to fund a project, Musequality is making a commitment to meeting the start-up costs and operating expenditure for 3 years. We will not make this commitment without corresponding funds in reserve or guarantees from donors.