ANNUAL REPORT FOR THE 12 MONTHS ENDING 31MARCH 2006

Introduction

The Gay Line Wellington Trust was formed on Wednesday 24 May 2000. This Annual Report covers the Trusts fifth financial year - that is, 01 April 2005 up to and including 31 March 2006.

The Group operates a web site for people to visit and explore information on:

• Sexual orientation.
• Gay life in Wellington and further a field with a main focus on the wider Wellington region.
• Listings of Gay and Gay Friendly Doctors, Dentists, Councillors, etc.

Aims and Goals

The aims and goals of the Group are:

• To enable every Gay male to reach his full potential.
• To provide a Web site which lists gay businesses, organisations and information in the wider Wellington region.
• To develop a series of articles which promote a healthy gay lifestyle.
• To provide a link between clients and counsellors.
• To provide an interactive web based information and support service.
• To cater for a wide range of people while protecting those under 16 years of age.
• To provide for other organisations a facility to publish promotional material, provided that material complies with the values of this Group.

Funding

The Gay Line Wellington Trust is funded by an anonymous trust.

On behalf of the group I would like to take this opportunity to thank the Trustees who administer that trust for their support during this period. Without this support it may not have been possible for The Gay Line Wellington Trust to continue to administer its operations and to make donations to others.

Members

The Group has a membership of five gay men with an intention to increase the number of members. One new member joined and left consequent on moving from Wellington.

Our previous Chairman, Derek Catley, resigned at the last AGM after successfully steering the group through its first five formative years.

I assumed chairmanship duties after election at the 2005 AGM held on 24 November, 2005.

Statistics

The number of visits to the Web site has increased over the reporting period to approximately 142 each day. At the beginning of the reporting period visits to the Web site were approximately 82 each day.

Emails handled. The following is a categorised count of emails sent and received in the last two financial years.

Category	1/4/04 – 31/3/05	1/4/05 – 31/3/06
Accounts	35	28
AIDS	7	2
Counselling	84	74
Events	26	60
Forum	58 (from Oct 2004)	48
Grants	-	9 (Mar 2006 only)
Health	3	6
Help Offers	14	32
Human Rights	39	12
Immigration	9	0
Internal Organisation	99	77
Listings	262	149
Media	18	15
Misc	19	4
Organisations	40	68
Publications	9	15
Web Site admin	52	21
TOTAL	774	620

Financial Statements

Financial statements are presented separately.

Achievements

During this reporting period the following are some of the achievements made by the Trust:

• The number of listings on the site has progressively increased.
• Our pamphlet was reprinted and a copy inserted in Tearaways distributed to the Wellington Region early in 2006. This resulted in a marked increase of site visits.
• A grant was made to SS4Q in aid of travel for students to attend.

Acknowledgments

The Group can only operate because of the skills, enthusiasm and commitment of its members. I would like to thank you all for the time, energy and commitment you give to providing this important service to Wellington and beyond. Any listing of individuals is difficult. One of the strengths of the Group is the support and effort its entire membership offers.

Conclusion

This reporting period, as was the last, has been full and busy. Considerable effort has been required to continually develop the Web site and the Group.

There is still considerable work remaining to increase the content of the Web site and this will always be an ongoing task. I would like to take this opportunity to thank the membership as a whole for the effort and time they have given to the Group, and the support which has been given to me in my role as Chairman. I look forward to working with you all again over the next period.

John Mayes