Readers may have seen our report yesterday about expenditure of the council repairing grant by the Ventnor Botanic Garden (VBG) Community Interest Company (CIC).
Today the Vice Chairman (and past Chairman) of the VBG Friends’ Society, Philip Le May (pictured above with Wendy Jenkins) wrote to all members and Friends clarifying expenditure of the Friends’ reserves.
Must abide by Constitution
He explained the Friends of VBG, which has been a registered charity for 20 years, has to adhere to a Constitution and each year accounts are submitted to the Charity Commission.
These are also provided to all members and have to be accepted at the AGM.
Spending focuses on plants and education
He goes on to say,
“Since the beginning, spending has been primarily on plants and more recently public education as well. This has not changed from the time that the CIC came into being except that more has been spent whilst we improve the botanical experience of the visitors.
“Here are some of the things that we have recently funded in conjunction with funds from the CIC:
- The new Mediterranean Plaza around the pond
- The extension to the Olive Grove (soon to be productive with Olives)
- A grant towards the AONB funding used by the Education Officer last year
- A grant to Island schools to subsidise transport for education at VBG”
Philip finishes by clarifying that,
“The CIC has not requested any funds for anything other than botanical or education supplies or services.”
Image: Community Spaces under CC BY 2.0
