Chairman's Report, Embroiderers' Guild Annual General Meeting
5th April 2003

Part One/ Part Two

My report for the Guild year September 2001- August 2002 has been published and every Guild Member has received a copy. I will review the year by illustrating how the Guild achieved its charitable objectives during the year and I will also give you a brief update on some of the activities.

The Guild year 2001-2002 is notable for two key decisions taken by the Executive.

- to restructure the membership of the Embroiderers' Guild so that everyone is a full and equal member of the Guild
- to work with the Ancoats Buildings Preservation Trust, the owners of St Peter's Church to establish the Guild's new Centre in Ancoats in Manchester

These decisions are two vital steps on the road to creating a sustainable unified Guild in a
new Centre for embroidery by the Guild's centenary in 2006.

The first decision - the restructuring of the Membership to single-tier was an important step forward requested by Members. It had previously been thought an impossible task as a realistic subscription was likely to result in the unacceptable loss of Branch Members.

The voluntary option of becoming a Friend of Embroidery was seen as a way forward. I am very disappointed to have to report to you that from the 1,626 Individual members less than 400 to date have become Friends of Embroidery, a possible loss of income of £18 -19,000. Achieving the charitable objects of the Guild is not cheap and the loss of income on this scale will be damaging to the Guild's future activities. When you return to your Branches please remind your fellow Members of the Friends option and encourage them to consider becoming a Friend to support the objectives of the Guild.

The second decision - and this is good news - was to use an existing building, St Peters in Ancoats, as part of a new Centre for embroidery and home for the Embroiderers' Guild. I can now confirm that Ancoats Buildings Preservation Trust has been awarded grants of over £1.6 million to restore St Peters to a usable state from which the Guild can take it on. Linked to St Peters will be a new building two and a half times larger. The design brief integrates the Collection into all the public spaces of the whole design so that our magnificent collection of embroideries will be seen to its best advantage.

This is a complex project and the Executive are continually aware that it must work financially for the Guild in the short, medium and long term. The vital next step is to set up a Development Company to oversee the project and separate it from the Guild's finances.

This new Centre will enable the Guild to carry out much more effectively its charitable objectives,
- by sharing and extending opportunities for discovery and creativity
- by promoting and encouraging the art of embroidery
- by providing a resource centre for the Collection and study of embroidery

Fundraising for the new Centre by the Members and Branches was launched last May with a target of £250,000. All Branches received a video showing the difficulties of running the Guild, of achieving the Guild's charitable objectives, from the current premises at Hampton Court, the need to relocate and the relocation choice of Manchester. Many Branches have had a free illustrated talk about the Guild and the importance of a new Centre. These talks will continue until April 2004. My thanks to the Trustees and all the other volunteer speakers for their enthusiasm and commitment to this project.

Throughout the year, many of you been busy raising money for the new Centre and at the end of the financial year you had raised £43,088.84. Two days ago, on Thursday the total stood at just over £107,000. The more money we can say our Members and Branches have raised the more credible will be our applications to charitable trusts later this year. Only £143,000 to go!
On behalf of the Executive Committee thank you so much for all your hard work and effort thus far. Will you please take back my thanks to your Branches? Some of your activities have been featured in Contact. The Guild's web site also shows a variety of your fundraising schemes. This will be updated so please continue to send in your photographs of events.

Everything the Embroiderers' Guild does, all its events, all its activities, everything is governed by its charitable objectives. These form part of the constitution of the Guild and are at the very heart of the Guild. In brief they are to promote the art of embroidery, to educate the public in the art of embroidery and to collect, document, preserve and interpret examples of embroidery.

Part Two