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Income is generated through

which enables the charity to cover 60% approx. of the overheads, staffing and running costs of the building. The remainder is aided by grant support.

KEY ACHIEVEMENTS/ACTIVITIES UP TO JAN 06 ARE:

  • The charity has 10 Trustees and 1 advisor
  • The charity currently has 27 member organisations
  • User Groups who have registered with us to date is 55
  • There are a total of 11 projects based in the building
  • The charity is now approx. 60% self sustainable
  • Sustained development of the expansion of the charity's activities into the field of a form of "community consultancy" - refer to such in the "Future Plans" section of my report
  • Review and revision of our 5-year Strategic Plan
  • Completion of the refurbishment & restoration of Toxteth Town Hall whilst remaining fully operational.
  • The formation of a Long Term Maintenance Plan for the centre and an Interpretation Strategy to assist with the charity's publicity & promotional activities
  • Pursuing with the feasibility of the formation of a Community Centre Network resulting from our Regional Networking Excursion last year around Liverpool
  • Speaking at 3 National Conferences & 1 Regional as a result of the charity being announced as the Winner of the BURA Charitable Trust Award for Community Regeneration (category B) for 2004.
  • Successfully hosted 12 networking meetings and events with existing and new partners in our respective fields

TOXTETH TOWN HALL - BENEFICIARY STATISTICS UPTO OCT 2005

In the last 12 months the community hall was booked 294 times however the were times at which the hall was not accessible owing to refurbishment & restoration works. 37% of these bookings were by User Groups and the remaining bookings were internally by the centre-based organisations. In total there have been 15,910 direct beneficiaries from all of the projects within the centre including beneficiaries of Dingle Multi Agency Centre Ltd, during that year.

  • Breakdown of the 15,910 beneficiaries: -
    Attendees at events/courses etc. held in the community hall 3,676 (individuals
  • Visitors signed in for meetings etc not included in the figures 215 (individuals)

above or below:

Note: The figures above are an accrual of our own - DMAC Ltd, CBO's and user groups events/meetings.

Beneficiaries for the year unless otherwise stated from the centre-based organisations (CBO's) were as follows:

  • Dingle Multi Agency Centre Ltd 119 (organisations/groups)
  • Toxteth CAB (Citizens Advice Bureau) 9,172 (individuals)
  • REMISUS 1,242 (individuals)
  • The Chara Trust 303 (individuals & orgs - 50/50 split)
  • Motor Waste 40 (individuals)
  • Merseyside's' Hazards & Environmental Centre 200 (individuals)
  • Family Refugee Support Project 80 (individuals)
  • Liverpool Somali Youth Association 170 (individuals)
  • Somali Umbrella Group 200 (individuals)
  • Team Oasis 220 (individuals)
  • SOLA ARTS 250 (individuals)

Weekly User Groups (separate to events etc)

  • Jujitsu 15 (individuals)
  • Martial Arts 10 (individuals)

      Total beneficiary breakdown:

      Individuals 15,641

      Organisations: 269

The actual number of total individual people who have benefited cannot be fully ascertained. This is due to the fact that the number of people involved in the organisations that have benefited was not monitored.

This does not represent the number of visits by people to the centre. In some cases the beneficiaries visit weekly or monthly. Our estimate is 63,640 based on an average beneficiary visiting the centre 4 times per annum.

Those these figures give a quantitative view, they show not the qualitative view. However, throughout this website you will hopefully be able to grasp the flavour, the value and the difference that we all at Toxteth Town Hall make to the people we involve and serve, and the difference the people make to us.

QUOTATION: In the words of Albert Einstein "Not everything that can be counted counts, and not everything that counts can be counted".

FUTURE PLANS:

QUOTATION: In the words of Alan Kay "The best way to predict the future is to invent it"

UPDATE ON THE DEVELOPMENT OF 14 LETITIA ST SITE: - The charity is currently 60% self-sustainable via its income generation streams. The primary strategy to becoming fully sustainable within the next 2 years was via the progression of the expansion project. This was to create an additional community resource by developing a derelict adjacent building to Toxteth Town Hall. Via economies of scale the overall activities and income generated from both sites would have enabled the charity to become more sustainable.

However, owing to changes in the funding environment - particularly in relation to capital funds and ERDF, this project has not come to fruition. The charity is to undertake a further option appraisal on the scheme incorporating a mapping exercise and current profiling of the area taking into account other developments. This would be with a view to deciding on the potential for the scheme to progress. It is envisaged the Trustees will make a decision by end of Mar 06.

ii) FEASIBILITY STUDY ON COMMUNITY CONSULTANCY SUPPORT & FACILITY MANAGEMENT SERVICES - The charity undertook a feasibility study into the possibility of expanding its activities into the above fields. Graduate students from Liverpool University undertook the survey - for which we are truly grateful - and the conclusions were as follows:

CONCLUSIONS

The conclusions that have been drawn from this survey are somewhat tentative because of the low overall response rate (33%) and the fact that some questionnaires were not fully completed. Nevertheless, distinct themes did appear to emerge in the findings. Our conclusions should be considered in conjunction with the other elements of the feasibility study in order to obtain a fuller picture of the potential for DMAC to expand its range of activities into the areas of community consultancy and/or facility management.

The questionnaire responses, together with the additional comments and suggestions that were made, indicate that there is a need for a wide range of consultancy and support services for voluntary organisations in the Toxteth area. These types of service are already being accessed by organisations but there appear to be significant unfulfilled needs, particularly in the areas of finance and management, and a general desire for knowledgeable and friendly support from an organisation that is familiar with local issues.

DMAC has a proven record of success in the business fields that would be covered by the proposed community consultancy, as well as strong links with other voluntary organisations in Liverpool. The company's Managing Director has extensive knowledge of the voluntary sector in Toxteth and this would be a considerable asset with regard to the operation of consultancy services in the area. She also has experience providing consultancy advice on an informal basis.

The replies to the survey suggest that there is relatively little demand for facility management services on the part of local voluntary groups and organisations, except in the case of organisations that are based at Toxteth Town Hall and already use DMAC as a provider of some of these services. It would appear, therefore, that there is far greater potential for DMAC to expand its activities in the area of community consultancy and support services.

Development of Community Consultancy and Facility Management Services

EXTRACT FROM SURVEY REPORT MAY 2005

Linda Middleton, Chuan-Ying Liu and Stephanie Barnicle - The University of Liverpool

This secondary strategy for sustainability has now become the main focus, which is the expansion of services by the charity. The Charity Commission has given formal consent for the charity to add an Object. This Object would enable the charity to diversify its activities and which would enable the charity to be commissioned, enter contracts and make grant applications to deliver this "community consultancy" style support to the Community & Voluntary Sector groups. I am glad to report that The Members at the AGM in DEC 05 voted FOR the proposed additional Object to Clause 3 of the Memorandum of Association. This can now be viewed as Object 3C in the Charitbale Status & Objects section.

EXTRACT FROM  CHAIRS REPORT (ANNUAL REPORT DEC 2005)

Leave 'Em with a Poem...

And that's it, folks! I'm stepping down now after a magic 5 years in the Chair (7 on the Board). This is to be my last Chair's Annual Report. It's my turn for rotation anyway, and as I made great show of last year, it really is time for someone else to take the Hot Seat. As this is the 8th AGM, and 8 being not so much my lucky number as way of life, maybe I was meant to be here. Election to the Chair will be a matter for the new Board, and I wish my successor nothing but the best. This is a unique and special project you will head, in an historic part of an extraordinary city. One day and soon, Allen Ginsberg's celebrated comment:

"Liverpool is at the present moment the centre of the consciousness of the human universe"

will resonate again. When it does, Toxteth Town Hall will be there.

In conclusion, we hope we've done you all proud. In our opinion, we have created a unique model, a shining beacon of community regeneration for others to follow. What we've done together will outlive us all, and improve the lives of our children. If only for that reason, I commend this Annual Report to the meeting.

And now, this:

Heart As Big As Toxteth Park

Wonder through Toxteth Park one day (follow the stag...),

To the top of the hill, and you'll find your way

To the Heart of L8.

Capital of the Capital of Culture, 2008. Get that straight.

You'll come across a place, in a sacred space.

I remember it as a child of 5, Mount Carmel-bound

Built years before I was alive, she was: 1865!

When Toxteth Park was a Township of its own reknown,

A full 30 years before we joined Lyverpool Town;

And got down to the nitty-gritty

Of boosting the borders of a Singular City

(Worst mistake we ever made, incidentally.

But that's another what-if story...)

Toxteth Town Hall! Ahh....

You mean more to me than I can recall...

I wore short shorts on Chipping Street

Site of the Old School, just across the street

And after school and even university

I signed on inside you, so you were a part of me,

For 8 years, on and off, signing box 4,

Made to feel small, when I walked through the door

Scratching for a living, can't afford to be proud,

Song on the tannoy? "I'm In With The In-Crowd...".

But when the dole stopped, an opportunity

Opened up for the community

And y'know what, yep: we took it,

Grabbed the apple tree and we shook it.

The best known building in the area,

Came under OUR control

Lemmee hear yiz say: "yeah!"

Lemmee hear yiz say: "oh, yeah!"

Well, we called ourselves DMAC, coz you got to have a name

To make it in this Regeneration Game,

Dingle Multi Agency Centre Ltd became

A mean's to an end, and an end all the same.

We had hard times, hope we'll never see again,

Fought so much fire, you could call us Firemen.

Lost so many friends, likes we'll never see again,

Wrote so many bids, became welded to the pen.

Driven, we were, like Ahab and that Whale,

Determined like a shopper at a January Sale,

To restore the Public Offices to better than before,

And what do you know? We won awards

THIS is what we told The House of Lords:

(ahem)

"Thanks to the good taste of the BURA Board,

DMAC has scooped a top award,

So here we are, my friends and I,

At The Other Place, to tell you why:

Tenacity's the key,

And a generous helping of humanity,

And an understanding of the needs of the community,

Shaping services accordingly.

From scabby-head to thoroughbred in just 10 years

Toast of the Nation, echoing for years,

So raise your glasses to Leyland's team

Who dreamt, once upon a time, a dream.

A Town Hall, for the TPT,

A People's Place, for you and me,

A Civic heart of the Township on Mersey's shore,

Home to Horrocks, and many many more,

This poem is from the heart

And your heart knows that's true

This is only the start,

Just see us when we're through!"

Yours, in peace, love and unity

Tom Calderbank

Toxteth Park

December 2005

This Chair's report is dedicated to the memory of Margaret Simey, one of the best friends this area ever had.