Helping HEART Thrive: a message from the Centre Manager

 

As we welcome in 2024, it is clear we have weathered much of the turbulence of the pandemic and post-pandemic period, and are steadily returning to the bustling HEART of previous years. The last half of 2023 shows an upward trend in the levels of room hire, attendance at events, and café traffic. Thanks to everyone for this fantastic support! Our income though, while slowly climbing back up, is still struggling to keep pace with our outgoings. We are tussling with a complex bundle of issues: trying to reduce our environmental impact, treating all staff and local suppliers fairly, while always ensuring we deliver the best and warmest – in both senses of the word – experience for our customers.

If we are to continue being the HEART the community loves and wants, we have to keep in balance our ethos as an affordable, welcoming, inclusive hub for the widest range of activities, with the reality of our being a business, and all that means in terms of sustainability, viability, and, in audit language, being a going concern. We think it is important to be candid about the position we are in, and the choices we are having to make.

From 2011 when HEART opened its doors, we either made a smallish loss or broke even. It wasn’t until 2017 that we began to show a surplus, and in 2018 that surplus was around £8,000. In February 2020 HEART had its best ever month in terms of financial performance, and we were on course to improve even on 2019’s stellar outturn which was close to £20,000. Covid knocked us off-course – and was followed in rapid succession by that perfect storm of crises that has affected everyone. As just one example of this, our energy costs have trebled over the period 2022-2023. We also, as custodians of a much-loved but elderly building, face a daily battle to keep up repairs and maintenance. We have invested on average £14,000 a year on this alone – and it is never quite enough!

We are doing a lot of things already to bridge the gap between income and outgoings. Here are just some of them:

• We have made a bid for a grant/loan to the Key Fund’s Energy Resilience Fund to support boiler upgrades, better insulation, a smart building management system and other energy saving measures. Our Energy Group is always looking for ideas and support, so please speak to John Chandler [email protected] or Atam Verdi [email protected] with any suggestions.

• HEART has never chased down grants, but we are working hard to explore what is out there in the grant making world to make some of our projects and ambitions happen. If you can help with this please speak to [email protected]

• While we benefit greatly from the more affordable line of credit the Headingley Investment Fund provides – that you, as investors, provide – we are beginning to develop a fund-raising/donations programme. Look out for this in the New Year but, again, if you would like to be part of any work on this please speak to [email protected]

Inevitably though, we are also having to look hard at our pricing and will be making changes that will come into effect next year.

Events and ticket prices

This will take effect from January 2 2024 and will mean Gigs @heart Advance tickets at £7, £6 concessions (NHS, NUS, Senior citizens), and Tickets on the door £10 with £8 concessions (NHS, NUS and Senior citizens). Films @heart £6.50/£5.50

Room hire rates

This will take effect from 1st April 2024 and will mean a rise of 5% across all our tiered rates. Our standard rate will increase by 8%.

I know this maybe unwelcome news for some, and I am happy to have individual conversations with users and customers to get a deeper sense of needs and requirements, so do please talk to me about any of this.  Wishing us all continued recovery and success at HEART in 2024!

Pam, Centre Manager