BLIND IN BUSINESS “Helping Sight Impaired People Into Work”
The Blind in Business Charitable Trust
Report and Financial Statements
Year Ended 31 March 2025
Charity Number 1011957
| Contents | Page |
|---|---|
| Legal and Administrative Details | 2 |
| Patrons and Trustees | |
| Independent Examiners | |
| Bankers | |
| Trustees’ Report | |
| Structure, Governance and Management | 3 |
| Objectives and Activities | 4-5 |
| Reserves Policy | 8 |
| Financial Performance | 8 |
| Future Developments | 9 |
| Thanks | 9 |
| Independent Examiner’s Report | 11 |
| Financial Statements | |
| Statement of Financial Activities | 12 |
| Balance Sheet | 13 |
| Notes | 14-24 |
Legal and Administrative Details
| Patrons: | Sir Anthony Cleaver |
|---|---|
| Sir Peter Gershon | |
| Baroness Nicholson of Winterbourne | |
| John Spence OBE | |
| David Watson | |
| Trustees: | Jane Cathrall_(Chair)_ |
| Robert Keller*(Treasurer) | |
| Steve Norton | |
| Daniel Smith* | |
| Rupert Marks | |
| Daniel Hartland* | |
| Alex Hannigan-Train* (Joined October 2024) | |
| * Visually Impaired Members | |
| Directors: | Dan Mitchell |
| James McCarthy | |
| Registered Office: | Blind in Business |
| MBX 102 | |
| 690 London Road | |
| Grays | |
| RM20 3LD | |
| Tel: 020 7588 1885 | |
| Email:info@blindinbusiness.org.uk | |
| Website:www.blindinbusiness.org.uk | |
Charity No: |
1011957 |
| Independent Examiner: | Helen Cain FCA |
| Mercer & Hole LLP | |
| 21 Lombard Street | |
| London | |
| EC3V 9AH | |
| Bankers: | Metro Bank |
| Insignis Asset Management |
Report of the Trustees of the Blind in Business Charitable Trust for the year ended 31 March 2025
The Trustees submit their annual report and the financial statements for the year ended 31 March 2025 prepared in accordance with the provisions of the Statement of Recommended Practice: Accounting and Reporting by Charities (SORP 2019), applicable Accounting Standards in the UK and the Charities Act 2011.
Structure, Governance and Management
Governing Document
The Trust was founded on June 1st 1992.
The Blind in Business Trust, which is a registered charity in England and Wales, is operated under the rules of its Deed of Settlement dated 10 November 2005. This document was updated to refresh the document by Pro-Bono support from Morgan, Lewis & Bockius UK LLP and was approved by the Charity Commission after 20 September 2022.
Appointment of Trustees
The governance of the Trust is the responsibility of the Trustees who are appointed to the Board under the terms of the Deed of Settlement. Appointments to the Board are made on the basis of the skills needed for the operation of the Trust. New Trustees are appointed by the Board at Board meetings.
GDPR
We continue to abide by all Government regulations.
We use back-ups to the cloud which are encrypted.
Our website is GDPR compliant in respect of the data of visitors who get in touch with us and book events through the site.
Safeguarding young vulnerable people
Safeguarding and protecting young vulnerable people has always been our priority. All staff have DBS (Disclosure and Barring Services) checks and accessible safeguarding training.
Trustees are asked to either provide proof of a DBS check or for the charity to reimburse them for this documentation.
Trustees are recommended to have training if they have not previously undertaken such training.
Trustees are given suggestions on further safeguarding by the staff.
All staff are aware of how to work with vulnerable young disabled people and have yearly training provided by the NSPCC.
We produce risk assessments for our face-to-face work and have policies in place to protect everybody we support.
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Organisation
The Board of Trustees administers the charity. The Board meet formally on quarterly basis and Trustees are encouraged to visit the charity, attend events and are made welcome, as both sides discuss present operations and future developments.
The charity also has a Finance Committee and a People Committee that meet prior to Trustee meetings.
Directors are appointed by the Trustees to manage the day to day operations of the charity.
The Directors have been given delegated authority, within the terms of delegation approved by the Trustees, for operational matters including finance, employment and related activities.
Related parties
The Charity has no business relationships with related parties.
Risk Management
The Trustees have a risk management strategy which comprises:
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an annual review of key risks the charity may face;
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the establishment of systems and procedures to mitigate those risks identified in the review;
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the implementation of procedures designed to minimise any potential impact on the charity should those risks materialise.
The Trustees have undertaken a review of major risks, as required under the Statement of Recommended Practice. They have considered and agreed appropriate control processes and developed mitigating actions to manage those risks.
Objectives
The objectives of the Trust are to encourage sight impaired children into further education and apprenticeships, and to support sight impaired university students and graduates into good jobs. Another objective is to work with employers so they become even more willing to take these graduates and apprentices into their early career schemes.
The Trust helps young sight impaired people to develop the confidence to match their qualifications and abilities with employment opportunities. Through employability support, mentoring, work experience, assistive technology and training, the Trust supports sight impaired young people to compete equally with their sighted peers in the job market.
The Trustees have referred to the guidance contained in the Charity Commission’s general guidance on public benefit when reviewing their objectives and in planning future activities. In particular, the Trustees consider how planned activities will contribute to the aims and objectives they have set.
Activities
The Trust operates throughout the UK from an office near Old Street in London. This office is provided by the Rank Foundation at a much-reduced rate, as an offering for charities to share ideas and work in London. The office provides training rooms and hot-desks for staff to use and to deliver some of our services to young people. We use an MBX (mailbox) for correspondence at the Rank Foundation’s request. There were up to six staff during the year, helped by interns and students who undertake work experience with the Trust.
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We have volunteers of the highest calibre, able to guide candidates interested in working in their areas. We are grateful to the many sight impaired people who act as mentors and give enthusiastic, professional and practical help to the new young sight impaired people with whom we work.
We receive a lot of referrals to our services through word-of-mouth recommendations from people who have successfully engaged with the service in the past. In addition, we have an increasing pipeline of referrals through relationships that we have built with the careers and disability services at universities, specialist teachers at schools, colleges, and councils, various charities in the sight loss sector, and contacts at eye hospitals such as Moorfields. We also receive self-referrals through our website and social media channels.
We worked with a range of employers, showing them how straightforward it can be to employ sight impaired people, once the first barriers of anxiety about reasonable adjustments in key areas such as equipment and mobility are overcome. We discuss with the employers the practical adaptations that can be made and can give many examples of where it has been done successfully. We showcase how straightforward these adjustments can be to implement by helping employers to create and run work experience and internship opportunities for the young people that we support.
Employment Service
Paid placements = 46 Voluntary placements = 15
The employment service supports sight impaired young adults (18+) into internships, apprenticeships, and graduate jobs.
In 2024/25 the service supported 41 people into paid placements and 7 into internship and voluntary placements.
The key impact driver of the employment service is the commitment to offering tailored, one-to-one support to every candidate. We know that other organisations offering employability support follow a structured programme focusing on writing CVs and cover letters with a pre-set timeline and clear beginning and end.
The Blind in Business Employment Service takes a holistic approach understanding that the barriers to employment for each of our candidates will always be unique so therefore our support offering must match. This means we do not place any time limits or have any restrictions on how often, or at what stage of their career, our candidates can access the service.
Throughout the year the Employment Service runs a range of events that our candidates can choose to attend. These include:
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Industry insight sessions
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Interview and assessment centre preparation workshops
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Residential Education to Employment events
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Peer support drop in sessions
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Alumni networking evenings
We ran an Education to Employment event to help candidates develop employment search skills in the summer of 2024. The two-day event was generously funded by the Worshipful Company of World Traders. It was based in London and was well attended with 10 students joining from across the UK. The students spent the day developing their team building skills through raft building and attended a networking dinner. On the second day we hosted a practice assessment centre with corporate volunteers joining from KPMG, Goodman Masson, Civil Service, The Worshipful Company of World Traders, Howden, Marlborough Highways and Cadent Gas. All students took part in four practice interviews receiving constructive feedback from each.
We arranged industry insight events with the following employers in 2024/25:
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KPMG, Publicis Sapient, Enterprise Rent A Car, Civil Service, STEM Recruitment, Thames Water
We ran four virtual mock assessment centres and mock interviews for students and graduates. With recruitment now taking place both virtually and face to face, we have continued to support students and graduates with navigating the recruitment process online. We ran online drop-in sessions with 10 universities. We have also contacted all UK universities with details of our website, university newsletter, podcasts, and social media platforms.
Pathways Service (Previously named Training Service)
The 2024/25 was a period of development within the Pathways Service with focus placed on evolving training content, promoting closer relationships with sector partners, exploring relationships with new employers, growing participation across the service, as well as expanding the service in person offering.
As a result, we can celebrate a growth in participation, a healthy pipeline of candidates and a calendar of exciting events for the year ahead.
Through our training workshops, in person events and work experience project, Pathways served 350 young people and their families in 2024/25, supporting them on their journey through education towards employment.
Training workshops
Building Prospects (BP) continues to be our flagship online event. We continue to promote curiosity, encourage agency and aim to empower our young service users to be ambitious in their career choices. We have evolved the course content through the year, and the programe now provides participants a 10-week experience in two separate blocks (BP1 & BP2) which is delivered in each of the three academic terms. Students are encouraged to compose their first CV, practice disclosing their disability to employers and participate in a virtual mock interview with one of our professional volunteers. The course concludes with a 1:1 interview feedback meeting where students future support needs and aspirations are captured and an action plan agreed. In a new initiative for this year, Pathways partnered with New College Worcester to deliver a BP series to some of their students and we hope to be able to replicate this with other education providers in the year ahead. 71 young people successfully completed the Building Prospects programs in the 24/25 period. We welcomed participants from around the UK.
Expectations Exceeded, (EXE) our role model workshop, has continued to be well received. 35 families and sight loss professionals joined us to learn from the lived experiences of some of our alumni. In addition, Pathways collaborated with VICTA to deliver an EXE to a cohort of their families, which was incredibly well received and has contributed to closer a working relationship with this organization. All EXE workshops over the last 12 months were delivered virtually. The ambition for the coming year is to create more opportunities to host these wonderful experiences in person, across the regions. Work is already underway with sector partners and employers to support with this goal. Throughout the year, the Pathways Service has been privileged to deliver several in person workshops where we have been able to create bespoke sessions based on self-advocacy and reasonable adjustments. Included in this work, we have strived to facilitate role model interactions, where young people learn from the lived experiences of young adults from within their local communities. This work has seen us partner specialist schools (New College Worcester, Joseph Clarke) and numerous councils including Nottingham City Council, East Sussex County Council, City of Bradford Metropolitan District Council, Lambeth Council, Hackney Council and Croydon Council. 134 young people attended Pathways Service in person events across the year and we with several similar such events already booked for 25/26. To broaden our impact and reach, Pathways Service has embraced networking opportunities with sight loss organisations and sensory services teams. We have presented at several virtual events with QTVI Networks including Manchester Sensory Service, Bedford Council, Hertfordshire County
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Council, SENJIT and Guide Dogs. Additionally, we have delivered content to TPT’s Transition service workshops.
Work Experience
Our mission to give our service users their first taste of the work of work has continued to expand. We have facilitated work experience (WEX) participation in the following this year:
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21 people have undertaken BIB WEX projects, 14 in our office and 7 virtually. Participants worked both individually and within teams problem solve real life commercial challenges that the charity experience.
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25 people have participated in our corporate virtual WEX events. These were supported by Fortem & Dolphin Computer Access and gave students experience of remote working with a national organisation. Participants were presented with workplace tasks, individual feedback and received some career coaching advice.
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35 people in-person WEX in Tesco stores up and down the country. Each individual’s experience was shaped around their needs which allowed participates to gain meaningful experiences in different departments.
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20 people undertook bespoke WEX placements with a breath of employers including The National Robotarium, The Co-op, Winckworth Sherwood, Tipton Primary School, TFL, Avery Healthcare, Cadent Gas, St Andrews University, Sing Education, CBRE, FAB, Marks & Spencer, Fortem, Dolphin Computer Access, Edentree, Japan House, and Fen Drayton Primary.
We also hosted 5 families to our first Parents & Professionals work experience Webinar. The conversion from sign up to participation was a little disappointing and something for us to work on next year, however, those that did attend fed back that they found it a useful conversation.
In Person Networking
One notable achievement for Pathway Service this year was the delivery of our inaugural “Celebration of Achievement” event. The objective of this new initiative was to provide an opportunity for our young service users who had successfully undertaken one of our programs, to enjoy a confidence boosting, in person experience, where friendships can form and experience shared.
We arranged our daylong event to coincide with the first week for the English summer holiday, which enabled people to join us from across the country. Nine young people enjoyed a morning of rock climbing, then after lunch we ran several activities designed to boost soft skills and the confidence to use them.
As a result of this successful event, we have planned two further Celebration events for 2025 and envisage being able to host these quarterly throughout the year ahead.
Finance
We have continued to work hard to raise the grants needed to maintain the operation.
Fundraising has been challenging as it always was. It is carried out successfully by Dan Mitchell, and we have benefited from our applications complying with the grant makers' policies, and by reporting on our uses of their grants on time and in detail.
The charity has no formal or contractual links, partnerships or subsidiary agreements with any other charities, and relies entirely on funding from grant-making bodies, companies and individuals.
Reserves Policy
The Trustees aim to ensure that reserves of at least six months of expenditure are maintained. We are
fortunate in having at least nine months' reserves at the end of the financial year. The level of reserves required is reviewed and agreed annually by the Trustees based on a recommendation from the Treasurer. In considering the appropriate level the Treasurer and the Trustees have regard to the current and expected operating expenses of the Trust and will seek to maintain sufficient funds to cover these expenses.
This will enable the Charity to:
(a) operate in a sound manner as a going concern even during any temporary slow-down in fundraising; and/or
(b) be operated and wound up in an orderly fashion in the event of a decision by the Trustees to cease operations.
Investment powers and policy
The charity has the power to invest in any way the Trustees see fit. In practice, in view of the size of the charity and therefore the relatively low level of reserves, assets are held in cash at bank including on short term deposits at banks.
In 2024 the Trustees researched and agreed upon using the Insignis investment platform. This combines accessing a variety of saving accounts on with market-based interest rates, so the Charity can benefit from higher interest rates on reserves. These deposits are covered by the UK Government FSCS scheme.
Financial performance
Income and expenditure
Our total income this year was £341,973 (2024: £398,775) and our total expenditure was £306,496 (2024: £335,139). This is a surplus of £35,477. In the 2024/2025 fiscal year the Trust raised £341,973, a decreased amount of income on the previous year (2024: £398,775).
Restricted reserves were £277,346 (2024: £286,529). Unrestricted reserves were in a deficit of - £39,732 (2024: -£84,392).
The Trust will look for opportunities to increase its activities through new projects as they arise and where there are committed grant-makers. There is a concentrated effort to remove the historic unrestricted reserves deficit by seeking long term funding from respected Trusts and Foundations throughout the UK.
Future Developments in the Charity
The Trust will continue to work in the various ways we have described above.
School leavers, students and graduates have continued to seek our help by email and phone and face to face.
We will continue to draw on our large numbers of past candidates, and our professional volunteers and alumni to offer mentoring and support to new candidates.
We will continue to visit universities or work virtually to attract students to our services, particularly when they graduate. We ask all we work with to tell others about our work, as word of mouth continues to be a strong introduction to our services.
We will continue to work with school aged children and school-leavers, including their families to develop their confidence and aspirations of employment.
We will explore new ways to attract sight impaired students and encourage them to work with our free employment service. This will include developing our social media, marketing and PR strategy to support the Trust’s activities.
Thanks
We were fortunate to be selected with a legacy gift from the Edward Gostling Foundation, which has been classed as an endowment fund.
We are grateful for generous donations from Children in Need, City Bridge Foundation, The Powell Family Foundation and the Thomas Pocklington Trust.
We are particularly grateful to the Worshipful Company of World Traders for their generous grant, one of their largest ever donations, which allowed the charity to run the Education to Employment residential event.
Also other Livery Companies in the City of London have been generous in their donations. They are the Insurers, Lightmongers, Grocers, Coopers and the Brewers companies.
We are also extremely grateful to individuals who have kindly raised funds through the London Marathon and sponsored walks. Some funders remain anonymous and at their request, their names have been removed from this list.
| 29th May 1961 Charitable Trust Arnold Clerk Community Fund Baron Davenport’s Charity Benefact Group Bentley Motors Big lottery Awards For All Scotland Big Lottery Awards For All England Cadent Gas Charles S French Christopher Rowbotham Charitable Trus Doris Field Charitable Trust Dorothy Hay-Bolton Charitable Trust Dumbreck charity Eveson Charity Garfield Weston Foundation |
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The Blind in Business Charitable Trust rndepeodent Ex3minerfs Reprt to theTTUStees of The Btind iD Business (JwitableTrustfor the yeat¢nded 31 Marth 15 l Teport b) thecharity trUSe$ OnYeXarnin4tIonof thexcounts theyearthjed 31 March2025. ,hich are set outon pages 12 to 24. Re8POn8ibilities aJtd basis of Yeport As thecharity's trStE$YoU are reSPO51btef9T the preparationof theaccout)ts in (0rdae with the r4u1rents of the Charities Aei2011 rthe Acgl. I report in re4pectof my examinats.on of the charity's Kcounts carrd out under section 14i ofthè Act and in carryins oul my examination I have followed all the applicable Directions given by the Charity Commission under section 14¥il(b} of the ACL Independent examinds statement I have completed my exatninatÈon. I CQTthTnl that no rnalerial matters have come to my atiention in connertion with the examination gtving mecause to telieve that in any mhter1 res. accounting tecords We notkÈpt in r&wtof the ¢haTity a5 Tequired by section IYJ of the ACL or Z the atcDunls do notattord with th05e record5." or thc do not comply wtth th¢ appli(rLble wuurnicnts con(crnins the foTm fuid contenlof accounts set out in thechaiities IAttounts and Reports) Rwlatiors 2(A)8 other than any requirernent that the accounts give a.tn and fair vie¥v' which is notk uwtter consideEed &$ part of an irnlependent examination I have no corKems and have CO a¢r(s5 no other nwtters tn connection ivith the examinatio to which attention should drawn in thi5 Tew>rt in order to enable a proper understandin8 01 the accounts to ee Hejen Cain FCA Mercer & Hole LLP 21 Lombard Stt Lnndon EC3V 9AH li liilis
The Blind An Busines8 Charitable Trust Statemettt of FinanctaI Adivitie5 forthe ended 31 March 2025 Totaj funds funds 2024 Noles Income fro DOrtIor. legxies and other income 127.892 3)6) ,]22 7.87) 78.062 319.498 397,0 1.215 Investttnts 7B51 1,215 Total income 135.743 341,973 319.498 398,775 Expenditure on Raising funds 18,T34 18,734 178 17827 ChaTitable artivities 71349 215AIY 287,762 118 1.724 317212 Total ertpendjtu 215,413 )6.496 136.415 335,139 Net incomel (expenditure) TrdnsfeT5 between funds p.1) 35,477 (57.138) 120.774 63W6 Net ement in £und5 9.183 35A77 57.138 120.774 63,636 Recon¢Uiation 0£ fuTrd&' Total funds broughtforwatd 14 {84292) 286529 2TI.137 (27254) 165.755 138.5(n Tolal funds carried Éon¥ard 14 39.732 Z77246 217,614 84392 286.529 201137 Alt iome and exEthliture are derivsi frorn c[bnu1S operation The Trustha8 no T&ognised sai or105se5 for year ended 31 March 25. There isno material dIfferKe Eetween the results stKJwn alx)ve and the tesults on an historicat costbBSi> 12-
The Bliod in Busine56 Chazitable Trnst BaIance Sheet as al 31 March 1125 2024 Fixed assets THJwib]e a55ets its 5.175 Currenl assets Debtors li 8.323 L78,689 Cash atlxLnk and in hand Totrj cuirent assets 387Atr/ 247,012 Creditt>rs: 8mounts fauing due withtn one year 12 154.968 52. Net(urrEnt assets T31439 194,114 237.614 20L137 Total Charity Funds Unrestricted lunds 14 139.732) (84y21 Reslricted fund5 The Edward Gosdin8 Fund IEndowment Fund) Other restrKteJ fu15 14 14 187J16 86.529 237h14 2Qly7 Approved by the BoaTd 0fTnt5 On.... -15110125............ And sd on its behalf by." Tntsiee.. Jane Cathral] -13-
The Blind in Business Charitable TTht Notes foTmin artof the financial $tstements for the ear ended 3151 March 2025 l. Accounting polR¢ies The principal accounting policies which aJe adoMed cor6i5kndy An the preparatioa) of the FLnanciaL statements aTr t out Edow. Basts of#rli1% The financial Statets have ten prepared in cOrdar w'ith Accounting and Reporting by Charities.. Staten of Recommended Ptxtttt applicable to charitie5 prepar their accounts in accordance with thp Financiaj Rep)rting Standard appb¢able in the UK and Republic of Ireland ued tn CktobÈr 2019, the final[al Reportin8 Slhndard applitable in the Unld Kin8dom and Republic of Ireland (FR5 1021, Charitie5 Act 2011. and UK Cenerally AcCepd Accounting Practite. fitwKi& 5tatErnEnts do not include a ca%h flow statemtt)t because the alariry. as a small reportingentity is exetnptfrom the requirenl iopreparesuth aslate0nInder Update Bullelin I, Charities RP (FPS 10?). The financiaj slaternents have ixen pyepayed to wve a 'true and FaTrf eW arKI have therefor recessarily departed from the tartt Chartties IAccounts al Rep)rt5) RelatiOnS 200S only to the exient required to pivvide a'trne and fairf view. Thi% departure has involved following the Statetnent of RecomrnendÉxl P1. Accounting and Rew>rting by Charities applicable to th•jr stat•m4aits X¢0tdare with the Fityan¢1 Reyrtins Strandard applicable tn the UK and RepublÉc of Ireland IFRS I1) issued 2 (ktotEr 2019 rather than the gatementof Recornmended PrtICe.. Ac¢ounting a¥Ld RertIngbY Charitieseflective fTornI ApriI . which has sie been widMfTaw The Finrtial Statements are prepared tn swlin& which is the fuKtional curtEW of the charity. Monetary amountsare rollnded to the TEasest£ Incoryie Inco¥ne is aLrounted foron an wuals bvsi5 in Feriod in which thecharity TS entitled tr) reoipt and the atnountc¥nEE aSured with reasonablecertainty. The main caie8ories ofitKome Donations and Ie8acies whith are in resrKTrn5e to fllndity tÉyuÉsts Grants receivabEe which have iwi awarded to pay forswifK ccGts Fees for services and of equipment Donation5 for the use of Blind in BusinEss consulhng serYiLE5 Invest[ttIEOE {intutslottly) Govenrli1II gmists Governrnent grants tec01$£¥] at the fatr value c4 the a55et IVed or re1vable when there is reasonable &ssuratKe that the grant conditions will be met and the gtaftts will reEeived. A grant that swifies TfOrmale conditiorts is recOlSed in other income w the peTforinarte conditiOll5 are meL Where a grant dots not sFcify l£0M3[(0dJtinS it is rwsed when the Proceedsorere1Ved or receivabld A 8Tant received l*fo the TÉrognition triieriaare satisfLed ts re(08nised as a liabAJity. -14-
The Blind in Business Charitable Trust Deftrred iNcoJn¢ Restsicted income received during the year is only daerred Ef the dO)r has sPlficallY requested that it is for a Feri(Kl or xtivity beyond thecurtentyeai. It is then btQU8ht Ènto the accounts in the appropriats FYUOd. Accnitd incDnie Income is ac£rued whe funditig has agTEed for a period and the exsEndIre incurred but donor yet to release Eund& This 1CUrS in sotne in51ance5 when a rthrn is required aster ]Mnie5 have }en 5FEnt to etwElefunds to be releaEe lnlrtiible iir knlid Fixed assets donated to tIE charity are i]uded a5 donation ir£or£ at valuation at the time of receipt. Donated f&ilitie5 and service5 are irKluded in income at a valuation Mthich is an estimate of the finwial c05t tK>rne by the donor where such a c05t is quantifiable and measurable. No irtDtnE is rerognized where there ts no financial cost by a third party. No amounts are ilUded in the hnarKialstaiements for Ser¥S donatÈd by vo]ufttr&r> EPenditu is recognd in the Feri in which it is ir[red on an aC(nlS b&sis. Othntable opciithliire Include5 all costs re]ating deliverITthecOu emploYmentseice5. lTeqUipntaTrd raisin8 awareness of everyorE to the nceds and opporturntjes of VlY mipairÉd childien anfl graduate5. IvenlJCt costs All c(6ts that directly relate to govern81e of the charity. Thts tnclude5 the examiner's fee and tE proportion of acCOntaY work that relates to governing charity. cost0f¢IlnSfvdS These indude the salarie5. direcl exrndE and overhead costs d the staff and voltsnteers who undertrke fund.raising xtrivitie& Sliprt costs Support costs repre*nt the costs of offLce and the costs itrTed by staff direcdy Providing SUPPQTt to Proj b and other activitits in fijrtherance of the owts of the charity. [lUding mat]ageThenL SUrVisIo[l traintngand tec1ut SLkPPTrrt ttsis ofAllcrfitioii Basis of allo¢ation reflecLs the methrMI used to all(teL7)Sts. ACtity cost All(Kated for individual transathns FIOOT Spa Allocated on the flcx)r se used by that attivity sITeAm fTiD Allated on the basts of 5tÈff ttme5pent Usage Allocaitd on a fixed % basi5 atra for eath ye. Stfiffc05ts zdail011¥•I1tJits Blind in Bus1T contriiHttions to staff Fersonal FEnsions. These costs are char8ed in the -15-
The Blind in Business Charitable Trnst Fiimds ResincledfiiiJds Restricted funds Compr theanKJunt of donation I0)e whh. at the rUest of the donor. may IE appLi&l only for a siRt purFW The furmts thus TrVed will iE Teled only to mt expeAses iLKurred lor thai purpw or where the donor consents to a diffent application of the funts. UnrestlTCtedfiinds Geneial fund5 aTe unrEStricted funds K'hirh ate available for use at the dir of the Trustees infurtherance ofthe sereraj obFtive5 of (harity. The TTusIEe5 monitOT the size of the fuTrJ5 lo erTe they remain in proportion to the tIvItIeS of the Trusl 011¥ leG5e Reuta15 applicable to operating leasts are char8ed kn the slat•Mt of Fmla1 activities on a straight-11 basis over the le lernL Fsxed rt55e15 Assets with a puychase price than a(Kl) art eaptrlised attt6t tkpreciation is chaT8ed on a 5trai8ht-line basis $0 as to Write off eh asset over its tstiTnalgJ useful lrfe- t)'pically 4 years for fixtures aftd fitting5. and 3 years forcomputer equiprnent Wheie assets are puKhased as partof a pr4ecr ttte assets are WnLten offf tn the year of purchase The Ttustees bekneve thts polKy is Prudent given the nale of the asset putehased and potiaI for loss of control oveT pfoFCt a55ets, for example where they donated to schools. other orgausations or individua]s. VAT Value Added Tax by Blind An B1$5 is 0Verable and is dwged to the FA or capitsi]sed as part of £0St of fixed as appropria I Income from donation$ and legacieg funds 2025 nds 2(125 TotaI 2025 funds 2024 fund5 224 Total 3J24 Individuals 3504 1,061 I67 Charitable loundations 124288 2£.14) 3)18 319.498 J%A99 127J92 kn.2 3Sg122 78.062 319.498 3975 16-
The Blind in Business Charitable Trust I lrtwme from investments J24 UK intere51 r£reiwdble 7A51 1215 Expenditure on raisins fund5 25 JJ24 Staff 18.438 17JF 732 18.T34 17I17 5. ExpenditUTe thaEitsble arttvit5es 2025 )24 StslE costs 228? 5.:.00 216A16 Travel cosLs 17.113 Office costs 57188 4A12 lQ.119 5182 Equipment Costs Piufe55ivnat fees D.186 9A)78 Lkpreciation ExFendittue on charitsble tivitses. exdtsdins8ovemarKe cos15 281.617 311J32 }vernare costs: Independent eXaMiS remunerabon 3,980 1,6(N) 317,312 ALrountr4ncy Services zi -17-
The Blind in Business Charitable Trust & Total resouTfe5 expended Dit pFrt Total Staff DiTKt Support costs Costs Total 2024 Notes Raising fund5 Charitable activities GoverrwKe costs IS.8 2283)1 18.734 17,095 2ffl.617 216,416 8,719 6.145 17,827 86597 311.732 5580 15.Q78 6.ItL5 Total 246.739 21519 38238 96 15.tSI 867 .139 7. Nel Incon{expendI1[e) This is stad after ch81 20 J24 AccoUntaY services Deprlation on disposal 11,n9 S2 19569 23567 -18-
The Blind in Business ChaTitable Trnst 8. Emoluments oEemploye¢s No employee emoluments during the yw. ag deflld for t&tion purposts. amounted to over £(4J,IMXJ12024- £60.txK)i. TheTTUStees have Tereived no temuneration or Teiml)ursement ofexpew IUn in the course of their duties. average numEer ofemployeas analysed by fuTYbon on a fvIl tin equiva]ent IFfE) basis was as follos 2024 Generating funds Charitsble activity %)24 214524 17.785 209 Employer sttiai security yentS Etnployer pension coThtnbutior 11,641 11,989 246,739 233y 9. PenBioll For quaiityill8 employee5 Itlw with more than six mont, setvicel thecharRiI' contribuies to the emplo5 chosen personal FensÈon fuTrA, up lo IO% of their grrASS salary on condition that the employee contribution5 of his or own. thL5 basts the chatit), doe5 not Tun an (Kcupational pension scheme. -19-
The Blind in Business Charitable Trust IQ Tangibk fixed assets equIpnt AtC05t AtO]/04124 AdditioAS during theyear AI31103125 1.498 1,498 At 01104124 Charge for the year At31103125 135 I377 182Y3 18223 Net book value at31103125 Net book value at (n/04124 5.175 5,175 8,023 All fixed a95ets are ld foTdiTertcharitsble PUrE$. All d>]) ¥¥ al>FL*l ui yven to Ehailty- disposajs. 11. DebtOT5 2024 Trade debtors 193 £126 Other debtOTS 8.(G5 IiA57 8JZ3 -20-
The Blind in Busine&8 Charitable Trust 11 cTedito. amounts falling duewithtn one year 2024 CredÈtors Trade ¢ilDr$ 2214 Taxation and Sla1 security OthercrtditOT5 5A61 17,762 7.142 17.749 Accrua15 7.917 120 154. fErred income Balan brought foTward Income deferred Én theyear 29,L 51,Tr> 158.41 195Hé (97.1rn 120522 J3. Commitmen. operalins lease5 At the reporting end dat¢ the charity had oulstanding commitsnents for future minimum leas yments under nOr(anCeab1e operating leases, which Fall due as follows.. 20 2024 WithrnoTE year Betsveen two and five years -21-
The Blind in Business Charitable Trnst Itk A<cumulated fun¢b Analysis of mova))ertEg in nd5- current year. aosingba]an LEfore transfers BaJa[e at 01104124 IJKOtning Oulgoi 31103125 135,743 9.TJ2 277.N6 Restricted funds 286.529 215,413 201137 7,614 Transfer beet fund5 Closing balance fore tratksfers Closing balance after trarL%fers oming £tgoing UnTestrKted fund 39.73 ,732 2T7346 Restiicted funds 237.614 237.614
The Blind in Business CEwitable Trnst Analysi5 01 m0vents in furtds- previ¢)us year. Clrtstngbaia]Ke before transfers BaJan¢e at 104/Z4 I0118 {lE0n% 311(B124 Unrestricied fund 136,41 198.724 S4292 286.529 Restsicted fthnds 165755 319,4 1383)1 1335.139) 201137 TraTLsFer between Eun¢ts C]osing balance after transfets tthre traTsfet5 ITKDming <tS01n8 Unre5tr1cd fund 842 286529 Restricted Mnds 286529 201137 202,13?
The Blind in Business Charitable Trust 15. Balan Sheet analysis by fund Total 2024 fund fund 224 (und fund Fixed Assets 5,175 5,175 7ffi5 358 tkbtors C&%h at and in hand Total current 8223 0.114 44Y 283m 238,&9) (3261) 39),668 387.407 I41Al 1885M 247.012 Cutrattliabi]ities CTeditor5 41*46 113JZ2 505& SU Netcurrent aSsets/0bIIItIe$1 144,gm I{54 286.ln 194114 Net 277316 J7ffj14 286,529 201137 16. Retsted party transacttons REiJiunffrnlroii o A ofEB9.767 I24.. £721776) io key marym¢ Fwsorn durins the year.