THE CENTRAL APPEALS COMMITTEE met for its final meeting at the Royal Festival Hall on Thursday, May 8, following the annual general meeting.

The CAC had been formed at a time when income was not balancing expenditure.

From 1966 to 1968 the Institution incurred deficits totalling £550,000. The financial position was therefore serious and an immediate change in the financial trend was essential. All concerned rallied to give immediate help but the longer-term problem of recovering the deficit remained. This needed new money.

R. Norman Crumbie conceived the plan that this new money could be raised by mounting centrally organised appeals, preferably with the sponsorship of outside bodies but involving theactive support of branches, guilds and staff to the absolute minimum.

The Committee of Management approved that a central appeals committee be formed for the purpose of raising £550,000 of new money over a period of five years. The hope was expressed that, through its existing means, on average, the Institution's accounts could be kept in balance over this period so that, at the end of five years the financial position would be recovered.

At the same time, the Committee of Management also asked the CAC to assume a fund-raising advisory responsibility apart from the functional work and this responsibility continued until the formation of the fund raising committee as a sub-committee of the Committee of Management.

The CAC's area of working comprised England, Wales, the Isle of Man and the Channel Islands.

Representatives of each fund raising district in England and Wales were nominated, generally by the District Office, to become members of the committee.

Other people were invited for their special connections and skills. The Committee of Management was also represented and the Director became a member.

Circumstances of working were extremely difficult at the outset because the Institution's staff was also fully engaged in the immediate problem of raising additional funds and branchesand guilds were fully committed with their own events.

The CAC organised or helped to organise the following events: 1971 National sponsored walk, No. 1 £33,949.50 National balloon race 2,587.81 Robert Brothers Circus tour, collections 1,160.80 1972 National sponsored walk, No. 2 22,311.60 Robert Brothers Circus tour, collections 520.47 Tesco/Green Shield Stamps project, extending into 1973 4,126.60 National sponsored swim, organised with the Amateur Swimming Association and Wales ASA 20,286.50 1973 Schools walks at the request of Jimmy Savile, extending into 1974 3,350.65 Civic heads appeal 31,630.00 Robert Brothers Circus tour, collections 388.10 1974 International swimmers project sponsored by ASA 596.41 Sponsored knit-in 1,956.00 'Operation Lifeboat', Scout Association 93,000.00 Guides project, the Guide Friendship Fund ' 25,326.00 Although the CAC did not raise the full amount of its target the Institution's financial position has, nevertheless, been restored.

Apart from the money raised, the CAC may be said to have also been responsible for pointing the way to raising new money through centrally organised appeals on a national or district basis; and encouraging branch and guild participation in certain events, particularly national sponsored walks, thus enabling them to raise larger sums of money, to which end co-ordination on a wider basis materially assisted.

The committee expressed its appreciation and thanks to the numerous organisations which either sponsored events or gave material help and advice; the many branches and guilds for their help, either directly, in organising events, or in giving support to local committees of national organisations running projects in aid of RNLI funds; the staff of the Institution and particularly to Mrs E. Magee, the secretary of the committee whose hours of working have far exceeded the part-time nature of her employment and whose enthusiasm and efficiency have done much towards the success of projects; and to the Committee of Management for being given the opportunity to be of service.

The CAC hopes that the achievements and the lessons learned may be of use in the future. It has been a privilege to its members to have played some small part in helping the Institution's work..