Other Reports – Overeaters Anonymous Region 9 Charitable Incorporated Organisation
The Assembly will be held on the 18th of May from 2 pm to 7 pm UK time
Overeaters Anonymous Region 9 CIO
Charitable Incorporated Organisation
Reg No: 1202723
Reg Address: B D B PITMANS LLP
1 Bartholomew Close, London, EC1A 7BL
Annual Report
2023 – 2024
Presented on behalf of the Board of Trustees (Imelda MacDougall and Jonathan Brinsden)
by Rev Alexandra Wilson, Chair of Trustees
About Overeaters Anonymous Region 9 Charitable Incorporated Organisation
This is the first year that this new Charitable Incorporated Organisation is reporting to the Charities Commission and submitting accounts. Here is some background; Overeaters Anonymous is a global 12 Step recovery fellowship for people who suffer from food addiction and all forms of eating disorders. The administration of the fellowship is distributed to autonomous bodies depending on geography and / or shared characteristics. All of these administrative bodies adhere by a moral code set out in the 12 Traditions of the fellowship which ensures consistency of operations and good relations between these different bodies. Region 9 is a very large administrative body that covers operations in Africa, Europe, Middle East and Western Asia.
The language of business for OA Region 9 is English and the banking is in the United Kingdom.
The governance of the Region is undertaken entirely by volunteer members of Overeaters Anonymous, which meets twice annually at a Region Assembly. There is a democratic system of representation of all the smaller service bodies that make up the Region and these members vote for the Region Board which oversee the governance and operations of the Region between Assemblies. The activities of the Region are entirely funded through the voluntary contributions of its own members and with grants made by the World Service Office, based in the United States of America.
The OA Region 9 Charitable Incorporated Organisation has been established in order to provide due diligent administration of the bank account for the Region. The Charitable Incorporated Organisation itself is solely concerned with the administration of the funds and does not engage with any of the activities of the Region itself. The Trustees for the Charitable Incorporated Organisation are appointed by the Board of the Region to manage the finances on their behalf and the relationship between the Region Board and the Charitable Incorporated Organisation is set out in Policy. The Charitable Incorporated Organisation oversees the running of the business bank account that is held with NatWest and also PayPal. Essentially the Charitable Incorporated Organisation makes grants to service bodies and members of OA Region 9 to enable these individuals and groups to “carry the message” of recovery, undertake the necessary work and service of the organisation for the purpose of: “Advancement of Health and the Saving of Lives.
Structure and Management
OA Region 9 is the appointing body and appoints trusted servants of the fellowship to be Trustees of the Charitable Incorporated Organisation. The founding trustees Alexandra Wilson and Imelda MacDougall were instrumental in the formation of the Charitable Incorporated Organisation in their previous positions as first Treasurer (2017 – 2020 Alexandra) then Chair of the Region (2020 – 2023 Alexandra) and Banker to the Region (Imelda 2019 – 2024) and were considered the ideal candidates to be the founding trustees by the Region 9 Board. Jonathan Brinsden is a lawyer and BDB Pitmans the firm that acted as consultants in the establishment of the Charitable Incorporated Organisation; Jonathan agreed to act as an interim trustee at the foundation stage and is set to be replaced in early 2025 by a member of the Region 9 Board, Natasha.
In order to avoid conflicts of interest only one member of the board of trustees for the Charitable Incorporated Organisation may also serve on the Region 9 board.
The expenditure for the year is approved at the Autumn Assembly of OA Region 9 by the membership body in the Budget. This Budget is submitted to the trustees of the Charitable Incorporated Organisation in the form of a submission to make grants and payments. The trustees of the Charitable Incorporated Organisation adhere to the approved budget and cannot make decisions themselves to make payments that are not listed on the budget. Expenditure is instigated on a weekly basis by the Treasurer of the Region with the Region Board’s approval; the Treasurer sends a request to the trustees of the Charitable Incorporated Organisation who check the expenditure is in alignment with the pre-approved budget and execute the transaction accordingly.
The trustees of the Charitable Incorporated Organisation work together with the Region Board to ensure accurate record maintenance and transparency of financial transactions.
Note: Important to note that this report covers the first year of operations for the Overeaters Anonymous Region 9 Charitable Incorporated Organisation and covers a period of transition from the old system to the new.
Activities and Objectives in the Year
The biggest expenditures for this year include grant making for Representatives to attend the Annual Region Assembly, funding for delegates to attend the World Service Business Conference and the expenses of the Region Board to attend Annual Assembly. Additionally major expenses included the cost of the lawyers in the establishment of this Charitable Incorporated Organisation and also a radical redesign and relaunch of the OA Region 9 website www.oaregion9.org
Achievements and Performance (Include report on Public Benefit)
Although the public benefit of a 12 Step recovery fellowship is hard to measure due to the need to protect the anonymity of the membership at large, its value cannot be overstated. Anyone in world who suffers from eating disorders, food addiction, can find recovery if they want it and the work of the Region to ensure that Overeaters Anonymous literature and resources are available in multiple languages and are culturally appropriate is an incredible achievement.
The important thing is to not confuse the OA Region 9 Charitable Incorporated Organisation with the activities of the Region at large. The Charitable Incorporated Organisation exists to administer the bank account and to provide due diligence to the Charities Commission to ensure that our banking procedures are within United Kingdom law, as the bank account is held with a United Kingdom bank. So the achievements of the Charitable Incorporated Organisation alone is limited to making the financial transactions possible for the Region at large to most effectively do its work.
Financial Review (Including debts and details of Reserves Policy)
(The reserve policy for OA Region 9 is to keep a prudent reserve of one years running expenses)
Moving Forwards
As previously stated this report for our financial year 2023 – 2024 covers the period of transition between the old system and the new Charitable Incorporated Organisation so in the coming year we will be working internally and with the Region 9 Board to refine and apply the protocols and systems of communication and banking. A review of policies for both the Charitable Incorporated Organisation and of the bylaws and policies for the Region at large will be in order, to ensure that the governance documents best reflect our working practices. A new trustee will be added and Jonathan Brinsden removed.
The Trustees of the OA Region 9 Charitable Incorporated Organisation would like to thank the outgoing treasurer to OA Region 9, Ricki I, who was fundamental in the organisation’s formation, the Region Board and the members of OA Region 9 who have provided scrutiny and support in ensuring that we do the best job possible.