During the past financial year 5 meetings of the trustees were held. Circumstances meant that all of these meetings were conducted using zoom.

Since inception grants totalling $409,207 have been made. $213,315 from the Development Fund and $196,892 from the Scholarship Fund. In the past year only 2 grants were made. A grant supported the STEaM initiative which is directed at supporting young girls to take up the challenge of science and technology at school. The other to support training in the important area of essential services maintenance.

The small number of grants made is a direct result of the Covid pandemic. The 2020 ARBS exhibition was finally cancelled after several attempts to reschedule it. No exhibition meant no financial advance to the Foundation. The August 2022 Exhibition shows every sign of being highly successful and this leads me to be confident an advance to the Foundation will be forthcoming before the end of the year.

Finally, I express my thanks to all of the trustees for the constructive way they have approached their task on the board.

Ian Hopkins

29 September 2022