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2022-12-31-accounts

THE BEARR TRUST ANNUAL REPORT AND UNAUDITED ACCOUNTS 2022

The BEARR Trust Supporting vulnerable people in Eastern Europe, Central Asia and the Caucasus

The BEARR Trust Annual Report and Accounts 2022

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The BEARR Trust Annual Report and Accounts 2022

Contents

Letter from the Chairman

The BEARR Trust’s Objectives and Activities

History of The BEARR Trust Where and how we work Public Benefit The Global Goals

Achievements and Performance in 2022

The BEARR Trust Ukraine Emergency Appeal The BEARR Trust Small Grants Scheme Civil society organisation surveys Annual conference Lectures Publications Website and social media

Planning

Five-year framework 2021-2025 Action plans for 2022 and 2023

Financial Review and Independent Examiner’s Report 2022

Structure, Governance and Management

Constitution and regulation Patrons Trustees Appointment, training and roles of trustees Staff, volunteers and networks

Contact Information

Registered charity number 1011086

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Letter from the Chairman

The BEARR Trust’s activities in 2022 were dominated by Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine and the launch of our Ukraine Emergency Appeal in response. By May 2023 the Ukraine Emergency Appeal fund, including pledges, had passed £500,000. We are still raising funds and we are grateful to donors who have already pledged money for future years. This will help us to develop our support for the community-based organisations that are playing a key role in providing humanitarian aid to vulnerable people.

In the thirty years since The BEARR Trust was established in 1991, and formally registered as a charity in 1992, we have worked only in a context of peace. Like many other organisations active in Eastern Europe, the war has transformed our role and has expanded our operations significantly. It is remarkable that we managed a ten-fold increase in numbers of grants sent to local partners in 2022 without major organisational change and while maintaining our regular Small Grants Scheme for other countries in the region as well as our information and networking services.

That we have done so is testimony to the experience of our Trustee team, who already managed the charity as volunteers and who stepped up their commitment overnight to run the Ukraine Appeal in addition to BEARR’s other activities. In turn, the Trustees could not have done this without the administration and communication skills of our Information Officer – a post that passed from Louisa Long to Alexia Claydon in February 2022. Recognising how integral to BEARR’s operations the Information Officer role had become, we made it a formal part-time employee position from 2023. So far, this is the only administrative adjustment we have made to cope with the scaling-up of our work.

This is not BEARR’s first experience of providing humanitarian aid, because the charity’s initial activities in 1991-2 involved transporting medical supplies following the collapse of the Soviet Union. This time, however, our humanitarian aid is being delivered by the small, local, community-based organisations that were in their infancy thirty years ago. In that sense, our method of providing humanitarian relief is based on the underlying evolution of our approach and is consistent with our core principles – trusting local people to know what is needed and giving them the means to try out new ideas and to cooperate with each other.

I would like to thank my colleagues, the many hundreds of donors who have supported BEARR, and our partners in Ukraine, Moldova and elsewhere for their generosity. In 2022 we deepened our relationships with existing partners and established new contacts. What has been achieved so far demonstrates what small community-based organisations can do. I hope that a strengthening civil society will shape an eventual peace.

Nicola Ramsden, Chairman

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The BEARR Trust’s Objectives and Activities

The BEARR Trust is a UK-based, English-registered charity that helps vulnerable and disadvantaged groups in Eastern Europe, Central Asia and the Caucasus.

History of The BEARR Trust

The BEARR Trust was formed in 1991 in response to healthcare problems in the last years of the Soviet Union’s existence, and to shortages of medical supplies in the economic crisis following its sudden collapse. The founders of The BEARR Trust, led from Moscow by Lady Jill Braithwaite (whose husband, Sir Rodric Braithwaite, had become British Ambassador to the USSR in 1988), coordinated deliveries by lorry of emergency humanitarian and medical supplies from the UK to various cities in Russia, to Dagestan, and to Georgia. BEARR originally stood for British Emergency Aid to Russia and the Republics.

The BEARR Trust was formally constituted in 1992 to act as a bridge between the health and welfare sectors of Britain and the newly independent countries of the former Soviet Union. During the 1990s The BEARR Trust became a pioneering support organisation for new grass-roots voluntary groups in the region, sharing knowledge, skills and contacts with the formal aims of:

Since the 1990s The BEARR Trust has aimed to promote and support cooperation between civil society organisations (CSOs) working to improve health and social welfare within the region, and with those doing similar work in the UK.

In 2006 The BEARR Trust inaugurated its Small Grants Scheme in order to further strengthen support for CSOs in the region. The Small Grants Scheme has developed into one of the key planks of our approach, encouraging local decision-making and autonomy. The network of partnerships established over the years was unexpectedly turned to effective use for the delivery of emergency supplies to Ukraine and Moldova in 2022 following Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine. In contrast to 1991 and 1992, The BEARR Trust does not organise physical deliveries of aid itself but sends funds to local partners to enable them to quickly provide help where it is needed most urgently.

Where and how we work

Until 2022 our work focussed on the following countries of the former Soviet Union: Armenia, Azerbaijan, Belarus, Georgia, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Moldova, Russia, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan, Ukraine, Uzbekistan. In 2022 we stopped offering grants to organisations in Russia or Belarus, although we continue to report on

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health and social welfare developments in those countries in our newsletters and on our website.

The BEARR Trust has two main strands of activity, which we characterise as supporting and sharing . Our supporting activities are based on grants for smallscale health and social welfare projects. Our sharing activities consist of networking and information services, including regular newsletters linked to content on our website, conferences, lectures, and workshops. Our partners include CSOs, academics, research institutions, health professionals, and students.

Our supporting and sharing activities are connected and mutually reinforcing through our system of project reports and evaluation, and follow-up conferences or workshops. They are designed to:

Although The BEARR Trust was not involved in emergency relief for almost three decades until 2022, we have adapted and built on our fundamental principles of supporting and sharing to enable local CSOs to provide emergency supplies and care to vulnerable people within Ukraine and Moldova. As this work continues in 2023 we are encouraging CSOs to work together to improve their effectiveness and increase their influence with local authorities and government.

The BEARR Trust is the only UK-based charity working in this region that combines grant-giving and networking services: BEARR was a pioneer and remains unique.

Public Benefit

When planning our activities for the year, the Trustees have considered the guidance issued by the Charity Commission on public benefit.

The Global Goals

Our work also sits within the broader framework of the UN’s Sustainable Development Goals (the Global Goals), which emphasise collaboration across all sectors of government and society. The seventeen Global Goals are interrelated, and BEARR’s work is relevant to several:

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Achievements and Performance in 2022

The BEARR Trust Ukraine Emergency Appeal

We launched our Ukraine Emergency Appeal on 27 February 2022, just three days after Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine.

Origin of the Appeal: BEARR’s network of contacts in Ukraine and Moldova

The day after the invasion, we published a statement of sadness and solidarity with our partners in Ukraine, their families, and the people they support. One of our partners in Ukraine responded immediately, “You have no idea how important it is for us to feel that we are not alone …” and offered cooperation to distribute aid.

BEARR’s Trustees quickly realised that our network of links with more than 40 civil society organisations in Ukraine and Moldova (which was receiving large numbers of refugees), could be a fast and efficient channel for assistance to people in need. We organised a working group of Trustees and the Information Officer to design an Appeal and start contacting our local partners. Meanwhile, two Trustees prepared to travel to Moldova to support our partners there and to understand what was happening on the ground.

Donations to the Appeal: overwhelming generosity

Donations to the Appeal multiplied in the hours following its launch. BEARR Patron Robert Brinkley had mentioned BEARR’s work with small civil society organisations in a radio interview, which helped to raise our profile. We believe that donations were subsequently encouraged by our commitment to run the Appeal as volunteers and to charge no costs to the Appeal, unless by prior agreement with a specific donor. This meant that we could spend 100% of funds raised on direct emergency aid distributed by our local partners.

In the early months, when very little international aid reached local organisations[1] , our partners told us that BEARR’s money was often the first to arrive and was sometimes the only source of emergency funds. We believe that evidence of our nimble and targeted response, reported on regularly on our website and social media, also encouraged donations.

As the war ground on, and Russian missiles targeted Ukraine’s energy infrastructure, we made a renewed appeal in October 2022 for funds to provide winter support for vulnerable people. By the end of 2022 we had received donations and pledges for future years of some £460,000. Although the initial

1 https://www.humanitarianoutcomes.org/Ukraine_review_June_2022

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surge in donations inevitably did not maintain the same pace, fundraising has continued in 2023. The Appeal fund passed £500,000 in May 2023.

Management of the Appeal: rapid response to local needs

The working group established in February 2022 has maintained regular communication with our partners, who numbered over 50 at end-2022. Trustees and the Information Officer have also made further visits to Moldova to support partners and collect detailed information on local needs.

Initially we worked through organisations we already knew and trusted: former recipients of grants from our Small Grants Scheme and participants in our regional conferences in Lviv (2016) and Chisinau (2019). We then extended our network through recommendations from contacts working in similar fields.

We aim to pass on donations as quickly as possible. We provide our partners with a simple request form for a maximum of £2,500, which can be repeated if needed, and we can react immediately to an emergency. For example, after bombs fell on the city of Zaporizhzhia in the early hours of 6 October 2022, we were contacted at 8am by two partner CSOs in the city who needed bedding, clothes and psychological support for people who had lost their homes. We approved the request and transferred funds by 10am.

Within the first 10 days of the Appeal we had raised over £100,000 and sent half of it to local partners. Thereafter in 2022 we kept up a disbursement rate closer to 70-80% of donations. By the end of 2022 we had sent around £340,000 to partners. This had risen to more than £400,000 by May 2023 and a disbursement rate of over 90%.

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Types of assistance provided by the Appeal

The donations we receive and pass on to our partners are typically spent immediately on food, hygiene packs, basic medical supplies, clothing, bedding, and fuel for transport. Funds are also used for psychological support and trauma counselling. The following table summarises items from reports sent by our partners:

Food packs (long-life) Head torches
Fresh fruit and vegetables Batteries and solar lights
Infant formula Thermos flasks
Water Electric blankets
Hot meals in refugee centres Transport for evacuation of an old people’s
home
Refrigerators for refugee centre and maternity
hospital		 Fuel for distribution of international aid from
warehouses
Hygiene and sanitary supplies Basic refurbishment of refugee support
centres
Medicines Materials for training displaced people in new
skills
First aid kits Gardening tools and plants for displaced
people and their hosts
Bedding Psychological support and trauma
counselling
Clothing Art therapy classes for children
Insulated mats and blankets for bomb
shelters		 Games and colouring books for children in
bomb shelters
Generators and fuel Christmas / New Year gifts for children

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Many of our partners are now providing more psychological support to deal with the effects of trauma and displacement. Some are working on projects to provide displaced people with new skills to help them into eventual employment. Despite the exhausting nature of their work, several of our partner CSOs have built on their experience and extended their activities, sometimes linking up with similar organisations. When their projects grow beyond BEARR’s funding capacity we support them to apply to larger funders and we are delighted that some have been successful in attracting international aid.

Distribution of emergency grants

Our emergency grants are distributed widely across Ukraine and Moldova, as the map below shows (approximate locations only).

Monitoring of Appeal funds

Our approach to monitoring Appeal funds follows the same principles as our Small Grants Scheme. We use an application form that tries to strike a balance between accessibility and simplicity and enough information for us to make decisions and allocate funds. We recognise that, in the circumstances of the war, many CSOs cannot manage complex application and reporting procedures and that even in normal times smaller community organisations find it difficult to access international aid because of onerous due diligence and monitoring requirements. Nevertheless, all recipients send reports on their expenditure, and we publish anonymised stories or summaries on the BEARR website to enable donors to follow the progress of the campaign.

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As the amount of money we handled increased, and the number of partners we work with expanded, we introduced new checks and procedures to meet legal, banking, and donor know-your-client and compliance requirements. We also registered The BEARR Trust with the Fundraising Regulator.

We are indebted to the many hundreds of individual donors who donated to the Appeal, some repeatedly, and to those who organised imaginative fundraising events in 2022.

The BEARR Trust Small Grants Scheme

Since 2006, The BEARR Trust has operated a Small Grants Scheme (SGS) through which we have made awards to small health and social welfare groups in the region. Up to and including 2022, BEARR has awarded 142 small grants throughout the region, totalling just over £365,000.

The SGS aims to support and encourage CSOs to:

Administration of the Small Grants Scheme

Grants are awarded annually. Details of each year’s themes and how to apply, are published on our website (www.bearr.org), on social media and in our newsletter. The BEARR Trust will match-fund up to half of a project’s cost, subject to a maximum decided from year to year depending on available resources.

We are committed to ensuring that our Small Grants Scheme is simple in terms of process, accessible to the smaller community organisations that we aim to support, and open to new organisations with which we have not previously had a relationship.

Reflecting these aims, we organised a webinar for prospective applicants ahead of the 2022 application deadline in February 2022. Led by BEARR Trustee Ross Gill, more than 100 CSO representatives were guided through the application process and given advice on how to make a strong application. They also had an opportunity to hear from past grantees about their experience of the scheme. Details of the webinar can be found on BEARR’s website: - - - - - - https://bearr.org/2022/02/11/report bearrs 2022 small grants scheme webinar/.

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Small Grants Scheme themes

Over the years, BEARR grants have covered diverse health and social welfare themes, often building on subjects discussed in our annual conferences. Themes have included mental health; attitudes to disability; drug dependency; homelessness; human trafficking; skills training for refugees and displaced people, prevention of violence to women and children; and reducing the social Isolation of people living with disability.

Reports of completed projects are posted on the BEARR website, and reports of projects in 2022 are given below.

Monitoring and evaluation of projects

BEARR asks grant recipients to complete a simple monitoring form as soon as their project is completed. More detailed project reports are then commissioned as articles for the BEARR newsletter and annual report: these publicise the project and enable others with similar interests to make contact and exchange experience.

We try to avoid mechanical auditing and we ask grantees to be candid about how their projects went — we want to demystify the process and encourage an open and honest approach to learning from things that did not go as well as hoped. We try to encourage an iterative process that helps our grantees to reflect on their projects, recognise their achievements, and adapt to the changing needs of their communities.

BEARR Trustees, the Information Officer, the Small Grants Officer or other contacts use opportunities to visit project partners informally when they are travelling nearby. The Covid pandemic prevented project visits in 2020 and 2021 but in 2022 BEARR Trustee Biljana Radonjić Ker-Lindsay was able to visit one of our project partners in Georgia, Union Women Center in Tbilisi. Trustees Megan Bick and Jane Ebel went to Moldova in March 2022 and supported former grantees who were now providing relief to refugees from Ukraine.

Sources of funding for the Small Grants Scheme in 2022

The principal source of funding for the 2022 Small Grants Scheme was a grant from a private foundation, increased by a grant from Just Trust and donations from individual BEARR supporters.

Themes, applications and awards in 2022

We redesigned the Small Grants Scheme in 2022 in order to include, for the first time, grants to strengthen civil society organisations (CSOs) to enable them to continue supporting vulnerable people. BEARR’s 2021 survey of CSOs had highlighted the pandemic-related problems of CSO staff and volunteer funding and fatigue, and we wanted to respond to the need for core funding.

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We therefore divided the SGS into two strands:

A: Projects to improve the social welfare of migrant workers and the wellbeing of their families

This part of BEARR’s 2022 Small Grants Scheme sought applications from across Eastern Europe, the Caucasus and Central Asia for projects to improve the social welfare of migrant workers and the wellbeing of their families. Labour migration is prevalent across the region, creating risks for the workers themselves and for their families left behind. Migrant workers were particularly affected by the Covid-19 pandemic as they were often the first people to lose their jobs and their ability to provide for their families.

We welcomed applications from new and small CSOs and we asked for projects that would involve partnership with, or extend collaboration to, other organisations in the same country or in another country, and that would take an imaginative or unusual approach to the problems faced by migrant workers and their families.

B: Projects to improve the organisational resilience and support the wellbeing of staff and volunteers in organisations that had previously received grants from The BEARR Trust

Only previous BEARR grantees were eligible to apply for a grant under strand B.

We received a total of 98 applications from 12 countries, with at least one application from each of the countries in BEARR’s region.

We awarded a record 21 grants, totalling £43,725.

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Summary of 2022 Small Grants Scheme projects

A-strand projects

Baku Volunteer Centre, Azerbaijan

Grant awarded: £3,000

Project: To support young migrants and migrant women affected by the economic effects of COVID-19 with a series of training sessions and seminars. The project also seeks to raise awareness about migrant rights and genderbased violence. Read their project report here .

Centre for Initiative Youth, Kyrgyzstan

Grant awarded: £2,930

Project: To provide free mental health support for labour migrants in order for them to improve their resilience and achieve their personal goals abroad.

Dialogue, Trust, Rights, Kyrgyzstan

Grant awarded: £2,954

Project: Training for teachers to provide psychological support for children of migrant workers. The project aims to work with 12 schools and over 800 children in the Batken province, where 14% of minors have at least one parent in migration. Read their project report here .

Gurdofarid, Tajikistan

Grant awarded: £2,500

Project: To support unemployed families of migrant workers, women and girls aged 18-65. Beneficiaries will receive skills training to start their own business or find work in various fields, with the courses ranging from computer science and sewing, to budgeting and time management. Read their project report here .

Insan-Leilek, Kyrgyzstan

Grant awarded: £3,000

Project: To protect the labour rights of vulnerable migrant women in Yekaterinburg by raising public awareness about the legal prohibition, prevention and response to sexual harassment of migrant women at work, and providing psychological support for victims of such violence. Read their project report here .

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Khachmeruk Educational Consulting Centre Foundation, Armenia

Grant awarded: £2,990

Project: Vocational training for the wives of absent migrant workers in the Shirak region, an area of Armenia with high rates of poverty and unemployment. Alongside skills training, the project will provide beneficiaries with social and psychological support.

Legal Analysis and Research Public Union, Azerbaijan

Grant awarded: £2,750

Project: Pro-bono legal support for migrant workers and their families in Azerbaijan. As well as offering free legal advice and representation for migrant workers from India, Iran, Pakistan, Turkey and other countries, the project will also provide training to other NGOs working with migrants in the country. Read their project report here .

Najiba, Tajikistan

Grant awarded: £2,990

Project: To support women and their families abandoned by labour migrants through a series of self-help groups and social business development projects. Beneficiaries will be advised by a professional mentor, and the start-up projects will be presented to Najiba’s board members.

New Generation Humanitarian NGO, Armenia

Grant awarded: £3,000

Project: To improve the social well-being and empowerment of migrants’ families by training wives of Armenian migrant workers in business development, leadership, and women rights and equality. Read their project report here .

Oasis, Kyrgyzstan

Grant awarded: 2,850

Project: An educational program to prepare and support care leavers and migrant children from rural areas involved in internal migration to Osh and Bishkek. The project aims to ensure responsible and safe migration by improving the legal literacy of beneficiaries and providing information about educational opportunities and legal employment. Read their project report here.

Partnership for Education and Communication, Georgia

Grant awarded: £2,986

Project: To support the integration and socio-economic empowerment of young migrant workers returning to Georgia, primarily those returning from seasonal

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work in Turkey. Activities include mentoring and employment training. Read their project here .

PO MIR, Tajikistan

Grant awarded: £2,993

Project: A micro-enterprise project for women, with mentoring and financial literacy training for wives, daughters, and mothers of migrant workers aged 18-50 in two target jamoats of the Isfara region. Read their project report here .

B-strand projects

Association of Wives and Mothers of Soldiers, Ukraine

Grant awarded: £976

Project: Improving the external and internal communications systems to unite the team, minimise employee burnout and strengthen units on the way to achieving their goals.

Inclusive Studies, Ukraine

Grant awarded: £830

Project: Mediation training for members of staff to help promote the idea of inclusion among the target audience and community members.

KEDEM, Moldova

Grant awarded: £1,000

Project: An educational seminar for long-term volunteers and volunteers active during the pandemic on the themes of online safety, nutrition, volunteering, first aid, psychological security and internal wellbeing. Read their project report here .

League of Polish Women, Moldova

Grant awarded: £998

Project: A training event for the staff of the Playback Theatre conducted by experts in the field, in order to develop and promote the therapeutic benefits of the theatre throughout Moldova. Read their project report here .

NGO Center, Armenia

Grant awarded: £1,000

Project: To update the official website and improve the organisation’s online visibility, as well as increase website security following repeated cyber attacks.

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Partnership for Education and Communication, Georgia

Grant awarded: £998

Project: To conduct resilience training for employees and volunteers, and create an online mentoring platform to integrate the training into the organisation’s long-term strategy.

PO MIR, Tajikistan

Grant awarded: £1,000

Project: A strategic planning session to develop the goals of the organisation over the next two years, alongside conducting a psychological assessment of all staff to identify the levels of stress and emotional burnout.

Public Assessors of the Republic of Tajikistan

Grant awarded: £980

Project: A training session to improve the digital security of our workers and volunteers, as well as medical treatment to maintain the physical wellbeing of staff.

Women’s Fund for Development, Georgia

Grant awarded: £1,000

Project: To support the wellbeing of the staff and volunteers by creating a safe space for relaxation breaks, meditation and therapy. Employees will also take part in integrated wellness workshops, outdoor trips, yoga classes and one-toone psychological sessions.

Civil society organisation surveys

We carried out surveys of CSOs in 2020 and 2021 to find out how their work had been affected by the Covid-19 pandemic and the measures taken to combat it. Responses from 328 CSOs in 2020 and 140 in 2021 gave us a good insight into the problems they were facing and shaped our planning for the Small Grants Scheme in 2022.

We launched our third survey in February 2022, designed to identify best practices and innovative approaches to working with vulnerable groups suffering from social isolation as the Covid-19 pandemic continued. We had planned for the survey results to form the basis of a webinar on social isolation later in 2022. However, Russia’s invasion of Ukraine shortly after the survey launch interrupted this work. We received only 23 responses and postponed the webinar.

Information from the 2022 CSO survey can be found on the BEARR website: https://bearr.org/2023/01/11/2022-cso-survey-results/

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Annual conference

The BEARR Trust Annual Conference held in November 2022 on the theme ‘War in Ukraine: The Civil Society Response’ was a hybrid event, with 65 participants joining online from Ukraine and other countries and 30 meeting at a London venue. Two panels, moderated by BEARR Trustees Michael Rasell and Janet Gunn, discussed lessons learned from their experience over the past nine months and the challenges posed by the winter and the months beyond.

The first panel comprised:

The second panel comprised:

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It was wonderful to be able to see our Ukrainian and Moldovan friends on the screen, even though some of them were in darkness or had to adjust their emergency lighting or internet connection. Despite the terrible times they have been living through, they seemed in good heart and determined to continue their incredibly valuable humanitarian work for as long as it takes. They spoke of the culture of volunteering that has developed in Ukraine, and of how networks of partners established years before the February 2022 invasion had helped everyone to rally together in a humanitarian ‘front line’.

The key insights from the conference, summarised by BEARR Trustee Marcia Levy, as well as links to recordings in English, Ukrainian and Russian, can be - - - - - - found here: https://bearr.org/2022/11/30/report on the bearr trust annual - conference 2022/

Lectures

We organise one or more lectures each year by an eminent speaker to raise funds for BEARR. Encouraged by the response to our first online lectures in 2020 and 2021, which attracted large audiences to the live event and recordings on BEARR’s YouTube channel, we arranged two online lectures in 2022.

In June 2022, trauma surgeon David Nott spoke on ‘Surgery on the Front Line in Ukraine’ . In conversation with Bridget Kendall, the BBC’s former Moscow and Diplomatic Correspondent and a patron of the BEARR Trust, he talked about his inspirational work providing emergency surgical care and training local doctors in Ukraine amid the brutality of war. Donations were divided between BEARR’s Ukraine Appeal and the Nott Foundation.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MDHMDCnMlG8&t=1s

In November 2022, Edward Lucas , former senior editor at The Economist and author of The New Cold War, spoke on ‘Putin’s War: what’s the Endgame?’

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MlANlJNZvCA

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Publications

We published a bi-monthly newsletter to email subscribers throughout 2022, drawing attention to progress of the Ukraine Emergency Appeal, news from the region published on the BEARR website, as well as BEARR’s own news and events. The newsletters highlight project reports and contain longer articles on various topics.

Additional updates on the Ukraine Emergency Appeal were published throughout 2022.

An archive of print newsletters published prior to 2020 is available on the BEARR website. These provide an in-depth chronicle of BEARR’s activities, the projects we have funded, and health and welfare developments in the region.

Website and social media

Online engagement with BEARR’s website increased strongly in 2022. With 20,700 visitors in total, we measured significant growth in returning and new users, page views and longer visits compared with 2021.

Website engagement has been building since 2020. The increase in 2022 was initially driven by the launch of our Ukraine Appeal, when the website was visited by 4,775 users, an increase of 223% over March 2021 and an all-time engagement high. While this naturally dropped down, a pattern of increased engagement continued through the rest of the year.

We saw particular growth in engagement with users in Western Europe and the US in 2022. More users came to the website directly compared with 2021, probably reflecting a greater awareness of BEARR because of campaigning and publicity around the Ukraine Appeal. Users in Kyrgyzstan and Tajikistan also increased.

We observed a decline in some regional audiences, notably in Ukraine and Russia. This is likely to reflect the diversion of our usual CSO audience in Ukraine towards activities in response to the war, and a possible reluctance among Russian users to engage with external organisations.

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In 2022 BEARR used its Twitter, Facebook and Instagram accounts to publicise the Ukraine Emergency Appeal, to promote events, and to share news of past and present grantees’ projects and work. Twitter and Instagram followers roughly doubled between 2021 and 2022, with more modest growth in Facebook followers. By October 2023 we had 699 followers on Twitter, over 1,400 followers on Facebook, and 299 followers on Instagram.

We continued to use YouTube to store recordings of all our online events and to ensure that they remain easily accessible to the public. By October 2023 BEARR’s YouTube recordings had received over 2,300 views and the account had 45 subscribers.

The trustees hope to build on the wider audience and name recognition that was gained by the Ukraine Appeal in 2022 to engage more users throughout the region.

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Planning

All the Trustees participate in planning. We use a broad framework of objectives established for a five-year period, and then set an action plan for each year.

Five-year framework for 2021-2025

The Trustees agreed a new five-year framework for BEARR’s activities, coinciding with the 2021-2025 period of our principal multi-year grant. This takes account of the global challenges arising from the Covid-19 pandemic and climate change, and the specific challenges and opportunities for grassroots CSOs focusing on health and social welfare.

Action plan for 2022

Despite the impact of Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine most of the plan for 2022 was achieved. A webinar on social isolation, planned in conjunction with the 2002 CSO survey, did not go ahead. Some work on grants analysis remains to be completed when possible. The 30[th] anniversary lecture was postponed to 2023 to enable it to be held in person.

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Action plan for 2023

At the end of 2022 the Trustees agreed an action plan for 2023, adding further actions to reflect BEARR’s work in Ukraine and Moldova.

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Financial Review

The financial statements have been prepared in accordance with the current statutory requirements and comply with the Charity’s governing document and the Statement of Recommended Practice (SORP) ‘Accounting and Reporting by Charities’ issued in January 2019.

Financial performance

The financial performance of the Charity for the year are set out in the Statement of Financial Activities.

Total income for the Charity was £450,617 (2021: £83,278): a substantial increase accounted for by the Ukraine Appeal started in February 2022. Income consisted of:

Total expenditure for the year was £415,881 (2021: £70,587). This consisted of:

Consequently, the Charity made an overall surplus of £34,735 in the year (2021: £12,692). This consisted of a deficit in unrestricted funds of £12,968; and a surplus on the restricted Ukraine Appeal of £47,704.

Cash in the bank and at hand on 31 December 2022 was £88,285 (2021: £54,226).

Reserves policy

The Trustees seek to maintain an adequate level of reserves to enable the Charity to carry on its activities in the event of financial difficulties, to enable restructuring if necessary and the avoidance of unplanned closure. To support this, the Trustees seek to hold unrestricted reserves equivalent to at least six months of annual General Fund expenditure, excluding grant payments. Based on expenditure in 2022, this would equate to £18,884.

This level of reserves had been achieved at the end of the year. Total funds on 31 December 2022 were £89,077 (2021: £54,342). This includes £41,373 held in unrestricted funds. No funds were held as fixed assets.

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The view of the Trustees at the end of 2022 was that the overall position of the Charity and the balance of funds were sufficient to enable the Charity to operate, and that there were sufficient liquid assets to enable restricted and unrestricted funds to be applied as necessary.

Fundraising

The BEARR Trust is reliant on grants and donati0ns from a wide range of charitable trusts, philanthropic organisations and private individuals. To support our efforts, we operate a Friends scheme, to encourage regular donations, and we run an annual conference and a programme of lectures, which also encourages donations. In 2022, all lecture and conference proceeds were allocated to the Ukraine Appeal.

The Charity is registered with the Fundraising Regulator; consequently, everyone who supports us may be assured that we comply with the regulatory standards for fundraising. All our fundraising activities are managed in-house, and we do not pay for fundraising advice.

In 2022, £56,672 was received from a large charitable donor as the second instalment of a five-year unrestricted annual grant. The Trustees would also like to acknowledge the generous support of the following organisations, all of which have provided larger donations:

Many other donors and benefactors have also supported the Charity, including church groups, private donors and charitable trusts which have asked that we respect their anonymity by not including them in this report. Many private donations were enabled by a link to CAF Donate via our website. £206,557 was secured in donations to the Ukraine Appeal via CAF Donate.

Of grants and donations received in 2022, £16,000 was specifically designated for future years. In addition, we secured a commitment of £15,000 from the Mulberry Trust for a grant to the Ukraine Appeal in 2023.

The Trustees are very grateful for the generosity of all our donors, especially at a time when the need to support humanitarian assistance in Ukraine and Moldova was so great.

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The BEARR Trust Annual Report and Accounts 2022

Statement of Trustees' responsibilities

The Trustees are responsible for preparing the Trustees' report and the financial statements in accordance with applicable law and United Kingdom Accounting Standards (United Kingdom Generally Accepted Accounting Practice).

The law applicable to charities in England & Wales requires the Trustees to prepare financial statements for each financial year which give a true and fair view of the state of affairs of the Charity and of its incoming resources and application of resources, including its income and expenditure, for that period. In preparing these financial statements, the Trustees are required to:

The Trustees are responsible for keeping adequate accounting records that are sufficient to show and explain the Charity's transactions and disclose with reasonable accuracy at any time the financial position of the Charity and enable them to ensure that the financial statements comply with the Charities Act 2011, the Charity (Accounts and Reports) Regulations 2008 and the provisions of the Trust deed. They are also responsible for safeguarding the assets of the Charity and hence for taking reasonable steps for the prevention and detection of fraud and other irregularities.

Approved by order of the members of the board of Trustees on 31 October 2023 and signed on their behalf by:

Ross Gill Treasurer

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The BEARR Trust Annual Report and Accounts 2022

Statement of Financial Activities

Statement of financial activities (including income and expenditure account) for the year ending 31 December 2022

Note
Income from:
3
Donations and legacies
Charitable activities
Investments
Expenditure on:
4
Raising funds
Charitable activities
Reconciliation of funds:
Net movement in funds
Net movement in funds
Total funds brought forward
Total funds carried forward
Total expenditure
Total income		 2022 2021
Total funds
Total funds
£
£
448,713
80,922
1,571
2,353
332
3
450,617
83,278
3,353
2,032
412,528
68,555
415,881
70,587
34,735
12,692
54,342
41,650
34,735
12,692
89,077
54,342
Unrestricted
funds
£
68,192
-
332
68,524
3,353
78,140
81,493
12,968
-
54,342
12,968
-
41,373		 Restricted
income
funds
£
380,521
1,571
-
382,093
-
334,389
334,389
47,704
-
47,704
47,704

All funds in 2021 were unrestricted.

The Statement of Financial Activities includes all gains and losses recognised in the year.

The notes on the following pages form part of these financial statements.

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The BEARR Trust Annual Report and Accounts 2022

Balance sheet at 31 December 2022

----- Start of picture text -----
2022 2021
Unrestricted Restricted Total this Total
funds income year (Unrestricted)
funds
Note £ £ £ £
Fixed assets - - - -
Current assets
Debtors 10 1,086 4,093 5,179 721
Cash at bank and in hand 12 44,675 43,611 88,285 54,226
Total current assets 45,761 47,704 93,465 54,947
Creditors: amounts falling due within one year 11 4,387 - 4,387 605
Net current assets/(liabilities) 41,373 47,704 89,077 54,342
Total assets less current liabilities 41,373 47,704 89,077 54,342
Total net assets or liabilities 41,373 47,704 89,077 54,342
Funds of the Charity
Restricted income funds 1 47,704 47,704 54,342
Unrestricted funds 41,373 41,373 -
Total funds 41,373 47,704 89,077 54,342
----- End of picture text -----

The financial statements were approved and authorised for issue by the Trustees on 31 October 2023 and signed on their behalf by:

Ross Gill Treasurer

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The BEARR Trust Annual Report and Accounts 2022

Notes to the financial statements for the year ending 31 December 2022

Note 1: Accounting policies

Basis of preparation of financial statements

The financial statements have been prepared in accordance with the Charities SORP (FRS 102) - Accounting and Reporting by Charities: Statement of Recommended Practice applicable to charities preparing their accounts in accordance with the Financial Reporting Standard applicable in the UK and Republic of Ireland (FRS 102) (effective 1 January 2019).

The BEARR Trust meets the definition of a public benefit entity under FRS 102.

Going concern

The financial statements have been prepared on a going concern basis as the trustees believe that no material uncertainties exist. The trustees have considered the level of funds held for 12 months from authorising these financial statements.

Change in accounting policy

2022 is the first year in which the Charity’s accounts have been prepared in accordance with FRS 102. In previous years, the accounts have been prepared on a receipts and payments basis. The 2021 accounts have therefore been revised to enable comparison with these accounts. These are reconciled in Note 2.

Income

All income is recognised once the charity has entitlement to the income, it is probable that the income will be received and the amount of income receivable can be measured reliably.

Grants are included in the Statement of Financial Activities on a receivable basis. The balance of income received for specific purposes but not expended during the period is shown in the relevant funds on the Balance Sheet.

No material item of deferred income has been included in the accounts.

No Government grants or legacies were received during the accounting period.

Gift Aid

Gift Aid receivable is included in income when there is a valid declaration from the donor. Any Gift Aid amount recovered on a donation is considered to be part of that gift and is treated as an addition to the same fund as the initial donation unless the donor or the terms of the appeal have specified otherwise.

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The BEARR Trust Annual Report and Accounts 2022

In practice, most donations from private individuals are received via CAF Donate, which processes Gift Aid on the Charity’s behalf. CAF Donate Gift Aid receipts are therefore included within the overall donation value.

Donated goods and services

No donated goods or services were received in the accounting period.

Voluntary help

The value of any voluntary help received is not included in the accounts.

However, the Charity relies on significant in-kind support from volunteers and trustees. Volunteer time is estimated at around 100 hours per year. Trustee time is substantially in excess of this, although we do not formally maintain timesheet records.

Expenditure

Expenditure is recognised once there is a legal or constructive obligation to transfer economic benefit to a third party, it is probable that a transfer of economic benefits will be required in settlement and the amount of the obligation can be measured reliably.

Expenditure is classified by activity. Support costs have been allocated between governance costs and other support. Governance costs comprise all costs involving public accountability of the charity and its compliance with regulation and good practice.

Expenditure on raising funds includes all expenditure incurred by the charity to raise funds for its charitable purposes and includes costs of all fundraising activities.

Expenditure on charitable activities is incurred on directly undertaking the activities which further the charity’s objectives, as well as any associated support costs.

All expenditure is inclusive of irrecoverable VAT.

Interest receivable

Interest on funds held on deposit is included when receivable and the amount can be measured reliably by the charity; this is normally upon notification of the interest paid or payable by the institution with whom the funds are deposited.

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The BEARR Trust Annual Report and Accounts 2022

Tangible fixed assets

Tangible fixed assets costing £2,000 or more are capitalised and recognised when future economic benefits are probable and the cost or value of the asset can be measured reliably. However, the Charity held no tangible fixed assets in 2022.

Debtors

Debtors are recognised at the settlement amount.

Cash in bank and in hand

Cash at bank and in hand includes cash and short-term highly liquid investments with a short maturity of three months or less. In practice, this applies to all of the Charity’s cash assets.

Fund accounting

The General Fund is an unrestricted fund which is available for use at the discretion of the Trustees in furtherance of the general objectives of the charity and which is not designated for other purposes.

Designated funds comprise unrestricted funds that have been set aside by the Trustees for particular purposes. There were no designated funds in 2022 or 2021.

Restricted funds are funds which are to be used in accordance with specific restrictions imposed by donors or which have been raised by the charity for particular purposes. The only restricted fund in 2022 was the Ukraine Appeal fund. The aim and use of this is set out in the notes to the financial statements. There were no restricted funds in 2021.

Note 2: Reconciliation with previous accounting policy

The accounts for 2021 were prepared on a receipts and payments basis. The tables below reconcile the accounts for 2021:

Reconciliation of funds per receipts and payments to funds determined under FRS 102

102
Fund balances as previously stated
Adjustments:
Creditor
Debtor
Fund balance as restated		 01/01/2021
31/12/2021
£
£
41,650
54,226
0
-605
0
721
41,650
54,342

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The BEARR Trust Annual Report and Accounts 2022

Reconciliation of net income/ expenditure per receipts and payments to funds determined under FRS 102

----- Start of picture text -----
At 31/12/2021
£
Net income/(expenditure) as previously stated 12,575
Adjustments:
Creditor -605
Debtor 721
Previous period net income/(expenditure) as restated 12,692
----- End of picture text -----

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The BEARR Trust Annual Report and Accounts 2022

Note 3: Analysis of income

----- Start of picture text -----
2022 2021
Unrestricted Restricted
funds funds Total funds
£ £ £ £
Donations and legacies
Donations and gifts 6,655 270,174 276,829 18,927
Gift Aid 365 - 365 4,517
General grants provided by other charities 61,172 110,348 171,520 57,478
Total 68,192 380,521 448,713 80,922
Charitable activities
Lectures and conferences - 1,571 1,571 2,353
Total -
1,571 1,571 2,353
Investments
Interest income 332 - 332 3
Total 332 - 332 3
Total income 68,524 382,093 450,617 83,278
----- End of picture text -----

All restricted income in 2022 relates to the Ukraine Appeal.

All income was unrestricted in 2021.

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The BEARR Trust Annual Report and Accounts 2022

Note 4: Analysis of expenditure

----- Start of picture text -----
2022 2021
Unrestricted Restricted Unrestricted Restricted
funds funds Total funds funds funds Total funds
£ £ £ £ £ £
Expenditure on raising funds
Incurred seeking donations 1,162 - 1,162 1,635 - 1,635
Incurred seeking grants 1,162 - 1,162 1,635 1,635
Staging fundraising events 1,029 - 1,029 - - -
Total 3,353 - 3,353 3,269 - 3,269
Expenditure on charitable activities
Small Grants Scheme 44,473 - 44,473 44,411 - 44,411
Ukraine Appeal 718 334,389 335,107 - - -
Information and Networking 4,067 4,067 3,051 - 3,051
Administration and Governance 28,882 - 28,882 19,855 - 19,855
Total 78,140 334,389 412,528 67,317 - 67,317
Total expenditure 81,493 334,389 415,881 70,587 - 70,587
----- End of picture text -----

Note 5: Funds received as agent

In 2022, the Charity agreed to administer a grant of £5,000 on behalf of another charity, Street Child (Charity Registration No. 1128536).

This was because Street Child had a pre-existing relationship with the Donetsk Youth Debate Centre (DYDC), a civil society organisation in Ukraine, which The BEARR Trust had also funded. Street Child wished to transfer a grant of £5,000 to DYDC, but was unable to do so. The BEARR Trust therefore received payment from Street Child and processed the transfer on its behalf.

As The BEARR Trust acted as an agent in this case, income from Street Child is not recognised in the Statement of Financial Activities or the Balance Sheet, nor is the expenditure to DYDC.

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The BEARR Trust Annual Report and Accounts 2022

Note 6: Analysis of support costs

Support costs are apportioned as follows:

2022

Small Grants Ukraine Appeal Information & Admin & Total Basis of allocation
Scheme networking governance
£ £ £ £ £
Small Grants Scheme -
Monitoring & Evaluation
 748 - - 748 Actual costs of monitoring and
evaluation incurred
Ukraine Appeal - Finance
costs
 - 718 - - 718 Actual costs incurred in
transferring funds to Ukraine
Appeal beneficiaries
Website and IT costs 624 - 624 Actual costs incurred on website
and IT costs
Est. 10% of Information &
Administration Officer time to
Fundraising; 90% to Admin &
Administration and
governance
 1,680 - 27,202 28,882 Governance. SGS Support time
100% support costs to SGS.
Remaining workstation rent,
insurance and governance costs
as actual.
Total
 2,428 718 624 27,202 30,972
2021
Small Grants Ukraine Appeal Information & Admin & Total Basis of allocation
Small Grants Scheme -
 Scheme
£
384		 £ networking
£
-		 governance
£
-		 £
384		 Actual costs of monitoring and
monitoring and
evaluation
Website and IT costs		 3,051
-		 -
19,855		 3,051
19,855		 evaluation incurred
Actual costs incurred on website
and IT costs
Est. 10% of Information &
Administration and
governance
Total
 384 - 3,051 19,855 23,290 Administration Officer time to
Fundraising; 90% to Admin &
Governance. Remaining
workstation rent, insurance and
governance costs as actual

Note 7: Fees for the examination of the accounts

The cost of independent examination of the accounts for 2022 is estimated at £1,980 including VAT. This will be paid in 2023 and is included in the accounts as a creditor.

There were no fees payable for independent examination in 2021. Independent examination on this occasion was carried out on a pro bono basis.

Note 8: Payment of officers

The charity did not have any employees in the accounting period. However, it did have contracts with a freelance Information and Administration Officer and Small Grants Scheme Officer.

Total payments were £21,815 in 2022 (2021: £14,835).

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The BEARR Trust Annual Report and Accounts 2022

Note 9: Grants

In 2022, the Charity paid £377,114 in grants to third party organisations. These were made up of:

The charity incurred support costs of £748 in relation to the Small Grants Scheme and £718 in relation to the Ukraine Appeal.

Note 10: Debtors

Total debtors were £5,180 in 2022 (2021: £721). These were made up of Gift Aid claims due (£1,086) and reimbursements due on grant payments that had not been processed by the bank (£4,093).

Note 11: Creditors

Total creditors were £4,387 in 2022 (2021: £605). These were made up of payments to freelance workers for work done in 2022 and the costs of independent examination.

Note 12: Cash in bank and at hand

Cash in the bank and at hand was as follows:

----- Start of picture text -----
2022 2021
£ £
Cash at bank and on hand 87,940 53,880
Other 345 345
Total 88,285 54,226
----- End of picture text -----

‘Other’ cash relates to £345 held in a dormant PayPal account.

Note 13: Exposure to financial risk

The Charity’s exposure to financial risk is assessed as follows:

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The BEARR Trust Annual Report and Accounts 2022

Note 14; Transactions with Trustees and related parties

No Trustees have been paid any remuneration or received any other benefits from an employment with the Charity or a related entity.

£145,524 was received by Trustees in reimbursements (2021: £1,848). This consisted of:

purchased:
2022 2021
£ £
Travel 656 -
Subsistence 75 -
Accommodation 297 -
Other 2,313 1,848
Total 3,341 1,848

Note 15: Donations to the Charity by Trustees

In 2022, Trustees of the Charity donated £14,095, principally to support the Ukraine Appeal (2021: £80). These donations were to fund the work of the Charity and were entirely separate from reimbursements and expenses paid to Trustees.

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The BEARR Trust Annual Report and Accounts 2022

Report of the Independent Examiner

Independent Examiner's Report to the Trustees of The BEARR Trust I report to the charity trustees on my examination of the accounts of the charity for the year ended 31 December 2022.

Responsibilities and basis of report

As the charity’s trustees you are responsible for the preparation of the accounts in accordance with the requirements of the Charities Act 2011 (‘the Act’). I report in respect of my examination of the charity’s accounts carried out under section 145 of the Act and in carrying out my examination I have followed all the applicable Directions given by the Charity Commission under section 145(5)(b) of the Act.

Independent examiner's statement

I have completed my examination. I confirm that no material matters have come to my attention in connection with the examination giving me cause to believe that in any material respect:

  1. accounting records were not kept in respect of the charity as required by section 130 of the Act; or

  2. the accounts do not accord with those records; or

  3. the accounts do not comply with the applicable requirements concerning the form and content of accounts set out in the Charities (Accounts and Reports) Regulations 2008 other than any requirement that the accounts give a ‘true and fair view’ which is not a matter considered as part of an independent examination.

I have no concerns and have come across no other matters in connection with the examination to which attention should be drawn in this report in order to enable a proper understanding of the accounts to be reached.

This report is made solely to the company's Trustees, as a body, in accordance with Part 4 of the Charities (Accounts and Reports) Regulations 2008. My work has been undertaken so that I might state to the company's Trustees those matters I am required to state to them in an Independent examiner's report and for no other purpose. To the fullest extent permitted by law, I do not accept or assume responsibility to anyone other than the company and the company's Trustees as a body, for my work or for this report.

Signed: Dated: 31 October 2023 Lucy Hammond BSc FCA Kreston Reeves LLP, Chartered Accountants 9 Donnington Park 85 Birdham Road Chichester PO20 7AJ

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The BEARR Trust Annual Report and Accounts 2022

Structure, Governance and Management

Constitution and regulation

The BEARR Trust is constituted by a Declaration of Trust dated 27 April 1992 and Supplemental Deed of Variation dated 14 December 1995.

The BEARR Trust is regulated by the Charity Commission of England and Wales. Its registered charity number is 1011086.

The BEARR Trust is registered with the Fundraising Regulator.

Patrons

The BEARR Trust has a number of distinguished Patrons:

Vladimir Ashkenazy, Elena Bashkirova Barenboim Robert Brinkley CMG Lady Ellen Dahrendorf Myra Green OBE Bridget Kendall MBE Sir Roderic Lyne KBE CMG Michael McCulloch Mike Simmonds Dr Robert van Voren, PhD, FRCPsych (Hon), Sir Andrew Wood GCMG

Trustees

The board of Trustees reflects a wide range of experience and relevant expertise. There were no changes in the trustee body in 2022.

Trustees who have served at any time during the period from 1 January 2022 until the date of the approval of this report are:

Megan Bick Jane Ebel Ross Gill Janet Gunn Ali Lantukh Marcia Levy Ann Lewis Biljana Radonjić Ker-Lindsay Nicola Ramsden (Chairman) Michael Rasell Charlie Walker

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The BEARR Trust Annual Report and Accounts 2022

Appointment and training of Trustees

Trustees are appointed by a resolution of the Trustees. Potential Trustees are sought through recommendation by existing Trustees, or through advertising. Since 2014, new Trustees have been appointed for a period of three years, renewable by mutual agreement.

All Trustees are given a copy of the Charity Commission publication, ‘The Essential Trustee: An Introduction’, and are referred to the full version of this document on the Charity Commission website and to The BEARR Trust’s annual report and accounts. New Trustees are given an induction pack consisting of The BEARR Trust’s governing documents, minutes of the most recent meetings of Trustees, and policies and process notes prepared by Trustees and volunteers, describing all aspects of BEARR’s operations.

Trustee meetings and roles

Meetings of the full trustee board are held every two months. Sub-groups of Trustees meet more often to manage specific tasks such as the Ukraine Emergency Appeal, conferences, workshops, publications, and the Small Grants Scheme. Individual Trustees take responsibility for different functional areas, such as fundraising, finance, volunteer management, digital development, and data security.

Independent examiner

Lucy Hammond Kreston Reeves LLP 9 Donnington Park 85 Birdham Road Chichester West Sussex PO20 7AJ

Bankers

CAF Bank 25 Kings Hill Avenue Kings Hill West Malling Kent ME19 4JQ

Governance policies

The BEARR Trust’s governance policies and internal process notes cover:

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The BEARR Trust Annual Report and Accounts 2022

The BEARR Trust maintains a register of interests and declarations relating to automatic disqualification, in line with Charity Commission recommendations, that all Trustees are required to sign. Policies are reviewed annually at Trustee meetings and updated as necessary. .

.

Risk management

The Trustees have considered the main risks that might prevent BEARR from fulfilling its charitable objectives. Our approach has been reviewed and updated in the light of the increase in BEARR’s activities since the full-scale Russian invasion of Ukraine. A consolidated risk register is in place and is regularly reviewed by the Trustees.

Administrative support and volunteers

A significant amount of BEARR’s work is done by volunteers, including by Trustees who manage operations pro bono in addition to their trustee duties. The Information Officer, the Small Grants Officer, and the Russian-language website assistant were the only people who received fees for their work in 2022. At the beginning of 2023 the Information Officer role became a part-time employee post.

In 2022, as in previous years, we relied on volunteers for many important tasks: preparing and examining BEARR’s financial accounts, translating for publications, interpreting on the webinars, and supporting social media. Volunteers regularly give over 100 days in total to BEARR each year, and their efforts, as well as additional time given by Trustees, help to keep overhead costs low.

We aim to ensure that all volunteers have clear roles and feel supported by their managers, whether a Trustee or the Information Officer. BEARR provides interesting opportunities for volunteers of any age and at any stage of their career, including students and recent graduates. We particularly welcome volunteers with knowledge of the region and/or of its languages.

Networks

Networking is a key aspect of BEARR’s charitable work, which depends on maintaining an active network of Trustees, Patrons, supporters and volunteers. We connect with other charities involved with countries in our area of interest through our website, newsletters, annual and regional conferences, and

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The BEARR Trust Annual Report and Accounts 2022

workshops. Online events since 2020 have enabled participation from a much wider area than was possible previously.

We aim to develop cooperation with the academic community in the UK and in the region, including organising joint events where possible. Our academic trustees help to design our CSO surveys and are able to use some of the findings in their own research and publications. We were pleased to welcome several academics to our London conference in 2022, and continued to maintain contact at seminars in 2023.

Contact Information

CAN Mezzanine 7-14 Great Dover Street London SE1 4YR

Tel: +44 (0)20 7922 7849 Email: info@bearr.org Website: www.bearr.org

Registered charity number 1011086

44