FEASIBILITY_STUDY , item 14. PDF 1 MB - Meetings, agendas and ...

A feasibility study prepared for the Black Box TrustNovember 2011For the first four years of operation, the company did not make a profit on its operations (exceptfor a very small surplus in the first year). However, losses were small with exception of a largedeficit of over £40,000 incurred in 2008/09. This has been attributed to:an overspend on the renovations to the kitchen area,the new cafe taking a while to bed in resulting in wages increasing faster than income,andthere were a couple of self promoted shows with large outlays which did not do as wellas expected.The company has continued to operate since then as a going concern with the support of thebank and its major creditors.The 2010/11 accounts are not yet available but management accounts for the year show aprofit of just over £2,300.Table 4.1 also demonstrates that the company has steadily increased its self sufficiency from50.5% of self generated income in the first year of operation to 81.8% by 2009/10, despite areduced income from grants in the final year.4.2 Grant incomeThere are currently three main sources of grant income (see Table 4.2 below) – Belfast CityCouncil, Arts Council for Northern Ireland and the Department for Social Development (DSD).Initial funding for the establishment of the Black Box came from the Millennium Commission andamounted to £195,000Table 4.2: Sources of Grant Income, 2006/07 to 2009/102006/07 2007/08 2008/09 2009/10 % of totalBelfast City Council 10,000 15,700 25,300 25,000 38.5%DCAL 50,000 0 0 0Arts Council NI 0 12,125 37,125 25,000 38.5%Laganside 20,000 0 0 0DSD 0 60,275 19,120 15,000 23.1%Total grants 80,000 88,100 81,545 65,000 100.0%Source: Annual AccountsWe understand that total operational grant funding for the Black Box in the current year(20111/12) amounts to £61,000 and comes from the same three sources:Belfast City Council funding is provided under development funding from the CuturalTourism department and is awarded annually. The Black Box was awarded £25,000 forthe current year. In future the Black Box would envisage applying for multi-annualfunding;31