Chairman’s Report for the 2014 Annual General Meeting of the National

Council of Voluntary Organisations (NCVO)

Good afternoon ladies and gentlemen. Welcome to the 2014 NCVO Annual General Meeting.

This year has seen a variety of challenges to our abilities to provide dedicated and stable services while endeavoring to comply with the complex requirements of the newly enacted Children’s laws. With considerable hard work from our administrative and Pre-school staff, we resolved all these difficulties by the beginning of this new school year.

Last year we saw a decline in our overall funding but, this year, I am pleased to report that we are back on track with our fund raising although some of it was very ‘last minute’ and from non traditional sources. The lackluster performance of the economy still persists and it is a credit to the staff and the Executive Committee team that we have brought in so many significant new promoters / sponsors to provide the financial support which our other major donors have been unable to sustain. Not only have we increased the cash contributions but there has been a marked increase in contributions of time and effort from many sectors of the community.

The accounts before you will show our strong position at the end of our last financial year and, assuming no major expenses over the next four months, our position will be even stronger. However, I caution

that we still face difficulties in raising sufficient funds to cover our increasing range of services in 2015 and beyond. In addition to the continuing economic stagnation, we see further competition from other charities and not-for-profit organisations in the health, welfare and sporting areas.

Although the new Charities Bill will undoubtedly remove a number of these from the list, their marketing/ fund raising efforts continue to increase and we need to keep N.C.V.O. well to the forefront in this race.

With the receipt of some last minute pledges, this year’s Radio Telethon event raised over CI$ 140,000 (up nearly 9.4% from 2013 and matching our 2012 result).These monies are the basis for our sustaining income, covering our day to day expenses through all our operations through 2015 and beyond. I will elaborate on the individual services and their respective projects and activities a little later in this report.

There has been one significant project that has been implemented throughout all buildings on the compound and that is the installation of new lighting. The system is now both environmentally friendlier (healthier) and cheaper to run.

At the Foster Home upgrades, refurbishment, renovations and equipment replacement have continued to take place. In particular all residents’ rooms have been redecorated and refurbished which gives them a more personal and family feel. New furniture for the front porch has been donated and provides an inviting area for residents to relax and socialise. Once again the children had a very enjoyable and educational 2 week vacation in Jamaica. They continue with their extra-curricular recreational and club activities plus additional tuition where required.

We currently have 7 children in residential care (3 girls, 4 boys – ages 9 to 16) and 3 other non-resident children in our Aftercare Programme who continue to receive our support and guidance. A new facet of our Foster Care programme is the emergency placement facility which provides emergency care for one boy and one girl as and when needed by DCFS.

The Pre-school and Nursery continue to receive specific sponsorship for the provision of educational supplies, furniture, equipment and Arts & Crafts materials. The playground and recreational facilities are continuously being upgraded, specifically with the children’s health and safety in mind. As with the Foster Home we will need to concentrate our efforts to bring in additional funds to support our ever increasing day to day running costs. The Pre-school has 65 students and the Nursery 14 babies. Both are currently full with waiting lists for all age groups.

Our Caring Cousins Scheme continues to provide lunch support for 31 children at a cost of some CI$

35,000 and we are looking to possibly fund additional students should we receive additional funding.

The John Gray Fund provided 16 tertiary education students with US$ 22,000, allowing them to pursue first degree courses at colleges and universities overseas.

The New to You Bargain Shop continues to receive donations of clothing, furniture and other household goods and appliances. Most items are sold to provide additional income for N.C.V.O. but we continue to donate some of these to those in need throughout the community.

We have named and thanked the various organisations and individuals involved in our successful 2014

Radio-Telethon on our web site but, I would also like to thank our major sponsors, without whom we would have been unable to maintain, upgrade and expand our services to the children of Cayman. These are: Aall Foundation C.I., Andreas Foundation, Hedge Funds Care Cayman, HSBC and CIBC Trust. We are also very grateful to PKF (Cayman) Ltd for once again donating their services for the audit for the 2013-

14 financial year. A huge thank you to all of these companies for your support.

And finally my most grateful thanks and congratulations to my incredible team of fellow Executive Committee members, our CEO, Janice Wilson, NCVO Coordinator Alta Solomon and the hard working staff within the N.C.V.O. who have toiled tirelessly throughout another busy year’s programme. Last but not least to my Deputy Chairman, Mike Donnelly, for more than adequately filling in for me during my sometimes prolonged absences during the year: great job! I look forward to another busy and successful year in 2015 and know that I can rely on the total dedication and drive that you have already demonstrated.

From

Garry Wilkins, Chairman