Trustees 2011_Layout 1 - Victoria and Albert Museum

p22Total income for the year amountedto £1,020,589 (2010 £806,046) andconsists mainly of subscriptions andincome from events.Resources expended amounted to£847,738 (2010 £645,393), including£301,304 for grants to the Museumand scholarships and £540,734supporting the Members.When appraising performance, theCommittee considers Membershipnumbers ('Members') which it regardsas the number of people in a positionto visit the V&A through Membership.This figure therefore counts plus-guestmemberships as two, familymemberships as four, etc. TheCommittee also reviews 'Memberships'by which is meant the number ofindividual subscriptions.ReservesThe Trustees do not in generalregard it as necessary ordesirable to hold substantialreserves but to make donationsto the V&A to assist it topurchase items or undertakeprojects as soon as requested.However, for reasons ofprudence, the Trustees’ opinionis that reserves should currentlybe held at around 25% ofincome, with a minimum of£150,000. The reserves policy isreviewed on a yearly basis.Reserves are also increasedtemporarily as necessary tomeet known future fundingrequests from the Museum.Reserves at the end of March2011 stood at £619,961, of which£411,795 has been designatedfor the Postmodernismexhibition, the Magic Lanterninstallation, future acquisitions,the Norfolk House Music Roomconcerts, the MetropolitanMuseum of Art exchangeprogramme, a Designer / MakerCollective residency, and afuture V&A project.Investment policyThe major part of the surplusfunds is held in interestbearingbank accounts, as areamounts waiting distributionto the Museum once approvedby the Committee. The aim isto obtain as high an interestrate as is possible withminimum risk. Accounts withrelatively speedy access areused, as funds for purchasesare sometimes required atshort notice. The Trusteesconsider it appropriate toretain a portion of the reservesin units of the M&G Charifund,a unit trust designed for andwidely used by charities. Thispolicy is regularly reviewed. Thevalue of the units increased by5% during the year.the FRIENDS OF THE V&A REPORT AND FINANCIAL STATEMENTS FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31 MARCH 2011