Charity no. 1030945
## **Royal Air Force Widows Association**
## **Report and Unaudited Financial Statements 31 July 2024**
**Royal Air Force Widows Association**
## **Report of the trustees**
## **For the year ended 31 July 2024**
## **Reference and administrative details**
## **For the year ended 31 July 2024**
|**Charity number**|1030945||
|---|---|---|
|**Registered office and**
**operational address**|Royal Air Force Benevolent Fund
67 Portland Place||
||London||
||W1B 1AR||
|**Trustees**|||
||The trustees who served during the year and up to the date of this report||
||were as follows:||
||Mrs A Bull|resigned January 2025|
||Jude Howcroft|resigned May 2024|
||Dr L Lamb|resigned March 2024|
||Mrs S MacLennan-Cookson - Treasurer||
||Mrs L Robbins - Chair||
||Ms E Wright||
|**Bankers**|||
||CAF Bank Ltd||
||25 Kings Hill Avenue||
||Kings Hill||
||West Malling||
||Kent||
||ME19 4JQ||
|**Independent examiners**|Godfrey Wilson Limited||
||Chartered accountants and statutory auditors||
||5th Floor Mariner House||
||62 Prince Street||
||Bristol||
||BS1 4QD||
Reference and administrative information set out on page 1 forms part of this report. The financial statements comply with current statutory requirements, the Trust Deed and the Statement of Recommended Practice - Accounting and Reporting by Charities (effective from January 2019).
## **Objectives and activities**
The Charity's object (the Object) is to relieve the suffering of qualifying persons who are in conditions of need, hardship and distress as a result of their bereavement (including any arising physical or mental illness) by the provision of friendship, practical and emotional support and, where necessary, advice on obtaining medical help or guidance.
Qualifying persons shall mean:
1. Those persons whose deceased spouse, eligible partner or civil partner served in the Royal Air Force (“RAF”);
2. RAF personnel and former RAF personnel whose spouse, eligible partner or civil partner died whilst they were serving in the RAF; and
3. Dependant[1] children of qualifying persons.
Note - An ‘eligible partner’ is someone who meets the criteria of such for pension purposes under the Ministry of Defence regulations or policy .
1
**Royal Air Force Widows Association**
## Statement of public benefit
The RAF Widows’ Association provides public benefit to widows and widowers whose partners died whilst serving, or after serving, in the Royal Air Force. We support the dependent children (21 and under in full time education) of those widows and widowers too.
We provide peer support, with a lived experience of not just of widowhood but also the RAF lifestyle and all that encompasses. We offer friendship and signposting. We meet twice a year nationally, to offer a wider coming together of our members, and we offer in-person local support and friendship to widows/widowers throughout the UK.
We also provide a link between the RAF and the newly bereaved, ensuring, as far as possible, that families are receiving the very best/most appropriate support. We also brief on training within the RAF for those who will meet the bereaved.
We are an independent body away from the structure and formality of the RAF which means the support we provide is the same for all of our widows regardless of rank, age, ethnicity, marital status and sexual orientation.
## Membership of the Association
The Association continues to grow, more slowly than the previous year during which we changed our constitution, nevertheless we continue to grow. In the period of reporting there were 16 in-service deaths. We had 15 new members join us in this reporting period. We also had 6 deaths of members of our Association.
- Our membership numbers stand at: ▪ 290 Members;
- 4 Male & 286 Female; and
- we have 96 dependant children of these members.
We warmly welcome all of you who are new to the Association this year.
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## **Royal Air Force Widows Association**
## **Report of the trustees**
## **For the year ended 31 July 2024**
Sadly in the last 12 months we have lost 6 members of the Association. I spoke about each of these in Harrogate at the Spring Weekend.
## Core activities of the Association
The Royal Air Force Widows' Association offers friendship, support and understanding to qualifying persons. We help them resolve some of the challenges they may encounter following their bereavement through:
## **1. National events**
This financial year we have held two national events.
- **AGM:** The AGM was in London on 2 December, 2023 - this enabled the business of the Association to be conducted and, equally as important, it allowed 28 Members from across the Association and across the country to meet and benefit from peer-to-peer support. We were also able to allow an additional 20 members to attend via Zoom. Use of Zoom was instigated by the disruption caused by train strikes but proved a useful facility that we will be continuing.
The total cost of the AGM weekend was **£1,629** .
- **Spring Weekend:** We were fortunate enough to be able to hold our annual Spring Weekend in Harrogate, in May, this year. This weekend was not about the business of the Association, (although the Chair did give an update before the dinner on Friday evening) but an opportunity for our Members to meet and support one another.
The Spring weekend was attended by 41 Members. We had a delightful weekend in each other’s company - a true reflection of the importance of peer-to-peer support. The weekend began with Trustees greeting Members on Friday evening. We then enjoyed a beautiful meal on the Friday, where the Chair gave an update. On the Saturday morning we enjoyed a wonderful art workshop, which members thoroughly enjoyed and the room came alive, encapsulating everything that the Association, as a peer support organisation, represents. On Saturday evening we enjoyed another lovely meal and good company.
The total cost of our Spring weekend was **£7,886** .
I cannot thank Elizabeth Wright enough for her exceptional organisational skills and her attention to detail for these events. Without Elizabeth’s hard work these events would not happen. So thank you Elizabeth, from us all.
I cannot stress how important the ‘getting’ together **in person** is within our Association. You truly are amongst friends, who, without reservation, support each other through the darkest of times. A survey of our Members, after this weekend, showed that 95% of Members that attended felt much less lonely and isolated as a result of the weekend.
## **2. Regional peer support**
- The Members of our Association span the entire UK (and a few beyond). We have 16 regions within the Association; our two largest being: Lincolnshire with 47 members and Wiltshire with 39 members.
- A huge thank you goes to all of our regional organisers
- Thank you to all our ROs for the contribution to our Association. You are often the first face a new widow sees when they join us and I know that you all give the warmest welcome that you possibly can. You are a vitally important part of our Association.
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## **Royal Air Force Widows Association**
## **Report of the trustees**
## **For the year ended 31 July 2024**
- Our active ROs continued to support our Members locally, with lunches, walks and visits to RAF Stations.
- As the next year progresses, we will be developing and formalising, where necessary, the work all ROs do. This is will see the introduction of RAF Widows official email addresses for ALL RO’s and a training day, centred around GDPR, Safeguarding and Cruse training on working with the Bereaved.
- The Trustees, alongside some ROs, have been working hard to build relationships with other RAF stations to ensure they recognise and remember the widowed communities around them – we have some very exciting work upcoming, not least that the RAF Benevolent Fund has requested that where they fund ‘Christmas’ station activities, that widows be included too.
## **3. National phone number**
We have a dedicated phone number that comes into the Chair’s mobile phone - so that members of the public can easily contact us. Please all remember that we are not an emergency response service and you may occasionally have to leave a message.
## **4. Regular correspondence**
- **Contact Magazine:** Our Magazine, 'Contact', produced by and for RAF Widows. Contact Magazine continues to be sent to **ALL** our members. Caroline Anderson continues to be our editor and for most of this year was ably assisted by Fran; our thanks go to you both. Again, we have experienced a shortage of articles this year and, moving forward, we will have to ensure every edition is full to the brim, to continue to justify rising costs. Following a poll of Members, we will be taking Contact online for those that expressed that preference. For the remainder, Contact will continue to be published as a physical magazine to ensure that we are not excluding anyone due to digital poverty; appropriate arrangements have been made to safeguard all Members having access to Contact.
- Contact’ magazine has cost us ( **£2,181** this financial year as we have had one edition less while we have been undergoing a tendering process) and we have awarded the new contract for the magazine to Simmonds, who were 30% cheaper. The next edition of Contact magazine will go out in January.
- **Chair's Newsletter:** In this reporting period the Chair has sent a Chair’s Newsletter to Members 6 times. For those who do not have an email address this has been printed and posted by mail **.** If you do not receive the newsletters, please get in touch - I cannot monitor if you have all received your newsletter. I always advertise on Facebook that I have sent out an email.
## **5. Working with the RAF and MOD directly**
The Chair has worked extensively in this period to engage more closely with the RAF – meeting directly with Chief of Air staff to discuss how the RAF can best support widows, and us as an Association, to ensure all widows receive the best possible support available, as well as allowing us to report back through these channels if things do not work according to MOD Protocol - we are providing the lived experience to improve the approach of the Royal Air Force to widows/widowers in the future.
- The Chair has delivered the equivalent of 3 days Visiting Officer (VO) training in this reporting period. As an Association we believe we should be funded to provide this service, at least travel and subsistence; discussions are ongoing.
- The Chair continues to sit on the Defence Bereaved Families Group (DBFG)– a vital group of MOD and RAF Policy key players in Casualty and Bereavement policy and protocol.
- The Chair has worked closely with the Casualty and Bereavement team at High Wycombe and we have seen how this joint working, leads to the more seamless notification of death
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## **Royal Air Force Widows Association**
## **Report of the trustees**
## **For the year ended 31 July 2024**
inservice, connecting almost immediately with VOs and then into directly supporting the widow (er). My thanks go to the entire team.
- The chair spoke at the HR Welfare branch Symposium - about the Association.
## **6. Working closely with other service specialist organisations which support military**
## **widows/widowers and their dependants**
- RAF Benevolent Fund: Not only do we receive funding from the RAF Benevolent Fund, but they also support us in so many other ways. As well as the statutory training the Trustees were required to undertake, they are able to advise us on governance and compliance issues and they have worked tirelessly to ensure widows/widowers are remembered at events that both they and the RAF hold. They also offer all of their services to our widows/widowers and are keen for us to ensure all of our Members know this. Quite simply we would not exist and be able to support our Members without their support.
- Other service Associations: The Chair and Trustees continually work alongside the other single service Widows Associations and also the War Widows Association, as well as Scotty’s Little Soldiers and we have collaborated with all of these organisations on events and/or pieces of work in this period. The shared knowledge base between these groups is invaluable and ensures our widows are getting the best, most relevant support.
- Non-Service Organisations: We have also continued to develop relationships with Cruse, who have provided us with training, and Widowed and Young (many of our in-service deaths are eligible to join his peer support organisation).
- Developing a relationship with The Forces Employment Charity: They are committed to supporting the employment and training needs of widows and are keen that widows and widowers know that their services are available to them.
## **7. Armed Forces Covenant**
As a result of the work of the chair and the members of the DBFG- the bereaved as a cohort, now have their own section in the covenant this can be found here:
- Click Here
## **Achievements and performance**
Noteworthy achievements during this financial year:
- We have set up with Reading Force who generously provided our first three books, which runs monthly and has brought together a group of like-minded individuals.
- We have run two courses in association with Isbourne. These are Living Well with Grief Mindfulness Courses. 16 Members have benefited from these courses.
- The development and implementation of all key policies.
- The standardizing of email addresses and methods of contacts - the next phase of this will see all RO’s move to official email addresses.
- Increased and more seamless working with those affected by death in-service.
- Increased working with organisations that can better the lives of our members.
- 98%, when surveyed in this period, reported feeling isolated and lonely as a result of being widowed. We continue to try to reduce social isolation and loneliness by the events that we hold and the peer-to-peer support that we offer.
## **Thank you**
Our thanks go to The RAF Benevolent Fund for not only their financial support but all of the support they offer us, We couldn’t do the work we do without their support.
The Beaverbrook Foundation for their donation.
5
## **Royal Air Force Widows Association**
## **Report of the trustees**
## **For the year ended 31 July 2024**
The Swindon Veteran Breakfast Club for their generous donation.
## **Financial review**
## Reserves policy
This policy aims to lay out the reserves policy for the RAF Widows’ Association (RAFWA). All reserves held will be unrestricted and, as the Association holds no property or investment portfolios nor does it have any paid employees, any reserves would go directly towards upholding the core work of providing peer-to-peer support. The sole plannable income for RAFWA is from the RAF Benevolent Fund (RAF BF) and although the RAF BF has committed to a three-year grant cycle, beginning FY 2022/23, world climates mean there can be no guarantees that this will continue; effectively the RAFWA is in a low-risk period for the near future, with the potential for a higher risk in the medium to long term. The loss of the RAF BF grant would most likely lead to the RAFWA being closed down, or at least put into stasis, until new funding could be found. With that in mind, prudence dictates that the Association identifies essential spending to complete this process in an orderly fashion. This policy will be updated annually, at a minimum to coincide with necessary reporting, or sooner should circumstances change significantly.
To achieve an orderly wind down, the following RAFWA essential expenditure has been identified:
1. Activities that reach the wider membership - to ensure that members continued to be briefed in a timely and appropriate manner on any developing situation: Contact magazine, cards, IT and phone/comms support, stationery and postage would all be supported. Approx £7,000;
2. National and local events – although not specified in the Constitution, it is likely that an AGM/EGM would be required and subsidies should be set aside to ensure maximum attendance. Regional events would have less priority but it is understood that members who had not yet claimed their annual meal subsidy might wish to do so. Between £7,200 and £14,200 - this ranges from the minimum currently planned to an estimate from previous high attended national events;
3. Remembrance - depending on when in the year this process was to take place, it is most likely that attendance at Remembrance events would still be considered essential. Approx £2,800;
4. Administration - also depending on when in the year this process took place, it is possible that certain commitments would still need to be paid and so all have to be planned for: accountants, legal fees, bank charges, insurance and memberships. Approx £5,000; and
5. Official business and committee meetings - as official business would be winding down it is expected that most of this could be managed on-line and so is not included in any essential expenditure; however, it is likely trustees would need to meet in person and so a percentage of that expenditure would be. Approx £1,000.
The total reserves are identified as a band between £23,000 and £30,000, even the upper limit of which is less than less than 50% of total expenditure for FY2023/24 and less than the amount promised in the current round of RAF BF grants. All figures are derived from the FY2024/25 proposed budget.
## **Structure, governance and management**
The charity is an unincorporated association governed by a constitution which was updated in 2023. The trustees carry out the day-to-day running of the organisation.
## **Statement of responsibilities of the trustees**
The trustees are responsible for preparing the trustees' report and the financial statements in accordance with applicable law and United Kingdom Accounting Standards, including Financial
6
## **Royal Air Force Widows Association**
## **Report of the trustees**
## **For the year ended 31 July 2024**
Reporting Standard 102: The Financial Reporting Standard applicable in the UK and Republic of Ireland (United Kingdom Generally Accepted Accounting Practice).
The law applicable to charities in England and 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 the incoming resources and application of resources, including the net income or expenditure, of the charity for the year. In preparing those financial statements the trustees are required to:
- select suitable accounting policies and then apply them consistently;
- observe the methods and principles in the Charities SORP;
- make judgements and accounting estimates that are reasonable and prudent;
- state whether applicable accounting standards and statements of recommended practice have been followed, subject to any material departures disclosed and explained in the financial statements; and
- prepare the financial statements on the going concern basis unless it is inappropriate to presume that the charity will continue in operation.
The trustees are responsible for keeping proper accounting records which disclose with reasonable accuracy at any time the financial position of the charity and which 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 constitution. The trustees 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.
The trustees are responsible for the maintenance and integrity of the corporate and financial information included on the charity's website. Legislation in the United Kingdom governing the preparation and dissemination of financial statements may differ from legislation in other jurisdictions.
The trustees have no beneficial interest in the charity.
## **Independent examiners**
Godfrey Wilson Limited were appointed as independent examiners to the charity during the year and have expressed their willingness to continue in that capacity.
Approved by the trustees on 2 April 2025 and signed on their behalf by
Mrs L Robbins - Chair
7
## **Independent examiner's report**
## **To the trustees of**
## **Royal Air Force Widows Association**
I report to the trustees on my examination of the accounts of Royal Air Force Widows Association (the charity) for the year ended 31 July 2024, which are set out on pages 10 to 21.
## **Responsibilities and basis of report**
As trustees of the charity 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 2011 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;
- (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.
Date: 2 April 2025 **Robert Wilson FCA Member of the ICAEW** For and on behalf of:
**Godfrey Wilson Limited** Chartered accountants and statutory auditors 5th Floor Mariner House 62 Prince Street Bristol BS1 4QD
8
## **Royal Air Force Widows Association**
## **Statement of financial activities**
## **For the year ended 31 July 2024**
|**Income****_(and endowments)_ from:**
Note
Donations and legacies
3
Charitable activities
4
Investments
**Total income****_(and endowments)_**
**Expenditure on:**
Raising funds
Charitable activities|~~-~~
~~41,54~~3
~~-~~
~~28,35~~0
~~-~~
~~-~~
~~Restricted~~ ~~Unrestricted~~
~~£~~
~~£~~
-
38,273
~~-~~
~~2,002~~
-
1,268
-
-
-
28,350|~~-~~
~~41,54~~3
~~-~~
~~28,35~~0
~~-~~
~~-~~
~~Restricted~~ ~~Unrestricted~~
~~£~~
~~£~~
-
38,273
~~-~~
~~2,002~~
-
1,268
-
-
-
28,350||~~**41,54**~~
**3**
~~**28,35**~~
**0**
~~**-**~~
**2024**
~~**Total**~~
~~**£**~~
**38,273**
~~**2,002**~~
**1,268**
**-**
**28,350**||~~54,93~~5
~~64,57~~3
~~-~~
2023
~~Tota~~l
£
35,197
~~19,23~~4
504
-
64,573|
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
||||||||
||||||||
||||||||
||||||||
|**Total expenditure**
6
Net gains / (losses) on investments
**Net income / (expenditure)**
Transfers between funds
**Net movement in funds**
**Reconciliation of funds:**
7
Total funds brought forward
**Total funds carried forward**|-
-
-
-
~~-~~|13,193
-
13,193
39,015
~~52,20~~8||**13,193**
**-**||(9,638)
-|
|||||**13,193**
**39,015**
~~**52,20**~~
**8**||(9,638)
48,653
~~39,01~~5|
||||||||
||||||||
All of the above results are derived from continuing activities. There were no other recognised gains or losses other than those stated above. Movements in funds are disclosed in note 12 to the accounts.
## **Balance sheet**
9
**Royal Air Force Widows Association**
## **As at 31 July 2024**
|**As at 31 July 2024**||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
||||**2024**|2023||
||Note|**£**|**£**|£||
|**Current assets**||||||
|Cash at bank and in hand||**53,528**||45,060||
|||**53,528**||45,060||
|**Liabilities**||||||
|Creditors: amounts falling due within 1 year|10|**(1,320)**||(6,045)||
|**Net current assets / (liabilities)**|||~~**52,20**~~|~~39,01~~||
|**Net assets / (liabilities)**|11||**8**
~~**52,20**~~|5
~~39,01~~||
||||**8**|5||
|**Funds**|12|||||
|Restricted funds|||**-**||-|
|Unrestricted funds||||||
|Designated funds|||**-**||-|
|General funds|||**52,208**|39,015||
|**Total charity funds**|||~~**52,20**~~|~~39,01~~||
||||**8**|5||
Approved by the trustees on 2 April 2025 and signed on their behalf by
Mrs L Robbins - Chair
10
## **Royal Air Force Widows Association**
## **Notes to the financial statements**
## **For the year ended 31 July 2024**
## **1. Accounting policies**
## **a) Basis of preparation**
The financial statements have been prepared in accordance with Accounting and Reporting by Charities: Statement of Recommended Practice applicable to charities in preparing their accounts in accordance with the Financial Reporting Standard applicable in the UK and Republic of Ireland (FRS 102) (effective 1 January 2019) - (Charities SORP (FRS 102)), the Financial Reporting Standard applicable in the UK and Republic of Ireland (FRS 102).
Royal Air Force Widows Association meets the definition of a public benefit entity under FRS 102. Assets and liabilities are initially recognised at historical cost or transaction value unless otherwise stated in the relevant accounting policy note.
## **b) Going concern basis of accounting**
The accounts have been prepared on the assumption that the charity is able to continue as a going concern, which the trustees consider appropriate having regard to the current level of unrestricted reserves. There are no material uncertainties about the charity's ability to continue as a going concern.
## **c) Income**
Income is recognised when the charity has entitlement to the funds, any performance conditions attached to the item of income have been met, it is probable that the income will be received and the amount can be measured reliably.
Income from the government and other grants, whether 'capital' grants or 'revenue' grants, is recognised when the charity has entitlement to the funds, any performance conditions attached to the grants have been met, it is probable that the income will be received and the amount can be measured reliably and is not deferred.
For legacies, entitlement is taken as the earlier of the date on which either: the charity is aware that probate has been granted, the estate has been finalised and notification has been made by the executor(s) to the Trust that a distribution will be made, or when a distribution is received from the estate. Receipt of a legacy, in whole or in part, is only considered probable when the amount can be measured reliably and the charity has been notified of the executor's intention to make a distribution. Where legacies have been notified to the charity, or the charity is aware of the granting of probate, and the criteria for income recognition have not been met, then the legacy is treated as a contingent asset and disclosed if material.
Income received in advance of provision of a specified service is deferred until criteria for income recognition are met.
## **d) Donated services and facilities**
Donated professional services and donated facilities are recognised as income when the charity has control over the item, any conditions associated with the donated item have been met, the receipt of economic benefit from the use by the charity of the item, is probable and the economic benefit can be measured reliably. In accordance with the Charities SORP (FRS 102), general volunteer time is not recognised.
11
## **Royal Air Force Widows Association**
## **Notes to the financial statements**
## **For the year ended 31 July 2024**
On receipt, donated professional services and donated facilities are recognised on the basis of the value of the gift to the charity which is the amount the charity would have been willing to pay to obtain services or facilities of equivalent economic benefit on the open market; a corresponding amount is then recognised in expenditure in the period of receipt.
## **e) 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 bank.
## **f) Funds accounting**
Unrestricted funds are available to spend on activities that further any of the purposes of the charity. Designated funds are unrestricted funds of the charity which the trustees have decided at their discretion to set aside to use for a specific purpose. Restricted funds are donations which the donor has specified are to be solely used for particular areas of the charity's work or for specific projects being undertaken by the charity.
## **g) Expenditure and irrecoverable VAT**
Expenditure is recognised once there is a legal or constructive obligation to make a payment to a third party, it is probable that settlement will be required and the amount of the obligation can be measured reliably.
Irrecoverable VAT is charged as a cost against the activity for which the expenditure was incurred.
## **h) Allocation of support and governance costs**
Support costs are those functions that assist the work of the charity but do not directly undertake charitable activities. Governance costs are the costs associated with the governance arrangements of the charity, including the costs of complying with constitutional and statutory requirements and any costs associated with the strategic management of the charity’s activities. These costs have been allocated between cost of raising funds and expenditure on charitable activities as follows:
|ities as follows:|||
|---|---|---|
||**2024**|2023|
|Raising funds|**0.0%**|0.0%|
|Charitable activities|**100.0%**|100.0%|
**i) Debtors**
Trade and other debtors are recognised at the settlement amount due after any trade discount offered. Prepayments are valued at the amount prepaid net of any trade discounts due.
## **j) Cash at bank and in hand**
Cash at bank and cash in hand includes cash and short term highly liquid investments with a short maturity of three months or less from the date of acquisition or opening of the deposit or similar account.
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## **Royal Air Force Widows Association**
## **Notes to the financial statements**
## **For the year ended 31 July 2024**
## **k) Creditors**
Creditors and provisions are recognised where the charity has a present obligation resulting from a past event that will probably result in the transfer of funds to a third party and the amount due to settle the obligation can be measured or estimated reliably. Creditors and provisions are normally recognised at their settlement amount after allowing for any trade discounts due.
## **l) Financial instruments**
The trust only has financial assets and financial liabilities of a kind that qualify as basic financial instruments. Basic financial instruments are initially recognised at transaction value and subsequently measured at their settlement value with the exception of bank loans which are subsequently recognised at amortised cost using the effective interest method.
## **m) Pension costs**
The charity operates a defined contribution pension scheme for its employees. There are no further liabilities other than that already recognised in the SOFA.
## **n) Foreign currency transactions**
Transactions in foreign currencies are translated at rates prevailing at the date of the transaction. Balances denominated in foreign currencies are translated at the rate of exchange prevailing at the year end.
## **o) Accounting estimates and key judgements**
In the application of the charity's accounting policies, the trustees are required to make judgements, estimates and assumptions about the carrying values of assets and liabilities that are not readily apparent from other sources. The estimates and underlying assumptions are based on historical experience and other factors that are considered to be relevant. Actual results may differ from these estimates.
The estimates and underlying assumptions are reviewed on an ongoing basis. Revisions to accounting estimates are recognised in the period in which the estimate is revised if the revision affects only that period, or in the period of the revision and future periods if the revision affects both current and future periods.
||||||2023|
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
|**3. **|**Income from:**|Restricted|Unrestricted||Total|
||Donations and legacies||£|£|£|
||Charitable activities|||||
||Investments|-|-|35,197|35,197|
|||||19,234|19,234|
||**Total income**|||504|504|
||**Expenditure on:**|||||
||Raising funds|-|-|||
||Charitable activities|||||
|||||-|-|
||**Total expenditure**|||64,573|64,573|
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## **Royal Air Force Widows Association**
## **Notes to the financial statements**
|**For the year ended 31 July 2024**|**For the year ended 31 July 2024**|||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
||**Net income / (expenditure)**||-||(9,638)||(9,638)|
||Transfers between funds||-|||-|-|
||**Net movement in funds**|||||||
||**Income from donations and legacies**|||||||
||||||||**2024**|
||||||||**Total**|
||||||||**£**|
||Royal Air Force Benevolent Fund|Restricted Unrestricted|||||**35,580**|
||Donations|£|||£||**2,185**|
||Other||||||**508**|
|||-|35,580||- 2,185|||
||**Total income from donations and legacies**||-|508||||
||**Prior period comparative:**||||||2023|
||||||||Total|
||||||||£|
|||Restricted Unrestricted||||||
|||£|||£|||
||Royal Air Force Benevolent Fund||||||34,015|
||Donations||||||538|
||Other||-|34,015|||644|
|||-|538 -||644|||
|**2.**|**Prior period comparatives: statement of financial**|**activities**||||||
||**Total income from donations and legacies**||~~-~~||~~35,19~~||~~35,19~~|
||||||7||7|
||||~~-~~||~~54,93~~||~~54,93~~|
||||||5||5|
||||~~-~~||~~64,57~~||~~64,57~~|
||||||3||3|
||||~~-~~||~~(9,638~~)||~~(9,638~~)|
14
~~38,27~~ ~~**38,27**~~ 3 **3**
## **Royal Air Force Widows Association**
## **Notes to the financial statements**
## **For the year ended 31 July 2024**
## **4. Income from charitable activities Total income from charitable activities**
|**Total income from charitable activities**
~~-~~
~~19,23~~
4
~~19,23~~
4
Spring meeting
Joining fees
**Total income from charitable activities**
**Prior period comparative:**
Annual general meeting
Spring meeting
Joining fees|~~-~~
~~2,002~~
~~**2,00**~~
**2**
**2024**
Restricted Unrestricted
£
£
-
1,852
~~-~~
~~150~~
Restricted Unrestricted
£
£
-
8,682 - 10,312
-
240
**Total**
**£**
**1,852**
~~**150**~~
2023
Total
£
8,682
10,312
240|
|---|---|
## **5. Government grants**
The charity received no government grants in this or the prior period.
15
## **Royal Air Force Widows Association**
## **Notes to the financial statements**
## **For the year ended 31 July 2024**
## **6. Total expenditure**
|**otal expenditure**|||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
|30th anniversary
National event
Annual general meeting
Spring meeting
Regional meetings
Christmas cards
Contact magazine
Wreaths
VO training
Committee meetings
Official business
Accountancy
Legal fees
Insurance
Information technology costs
Other costs
**Sub-total**
Allocation of support and governance costs
**Total expenditure**|Raising
funds
£
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
~~**-**~~|Charitable
activities
£
-
269
1,629
7,886
484
457
2,181
675
94
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
13,675
14,675
~~**28,35**~~**0**||Support and
governance
costs
£
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
1,895
4,985
1,455
2,230
640
1,349
2,121||**2024 Total**
**£**
**-**
**269**
**1,629**
**7,886**
**484**
**457**
**2,181**
**675**
**94**
**1,895**
**4,985**
**1,455**
**2,230**
**640**
**1,349**
**2,121**
**28,350**
-
~~**28,35**~~**0**||Raising
funds
£
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-||Charitable
activities
£
1,493
-
17,568
17,528
779
515
6,442
120
635
-
-
-
-
-
-
-||Support and
governance
costs
£
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
808
6,022
2,025
2,980
617
5,951
1,090||2023 Total
£
1,493
-
17,568
17,528
779
515
6,442
120
635
808
6,022
2,025
2,980
617
5,951
1,090|
|||||14,675
(14,675)
~~**-**~~||||-
-
~~**-**~~||45,080
19,493
~~**64,57**~~**3**||19,493
(19,493)
~~**-**~~||64,573
-
~~64,573~~|
||||||||||||||||
||||||||||||||||
Total governance costs were £8,201 (2023: £8,091)
## **Royal Air Force Widows Association**
## **Notes to the financial statements**
## **For the year ended 31 July 2024**
## **7. Net movement in funds**
This is stated after charging:
|||**2024**|2023|
|---|---|---|---|
|||**£**|£|
|Trustees' remuneration||**Nil**|Nil|
|Trustees' reimbursed expenses||**9,934**|4,399|
|Independent|examiner's remuneration:|||
|▪|Statutory audit (including VAT)|**1,320**|1,260|
|▪|Other services|**135**|765|
## **8. Staff costs and numbers**
The key management personnel of the charity comprise the Trustees. The total employee benefits of the key management personnel were £nil (2023: £nil).
||**2024**|2023|**No.**||
|---|---|---|---|---|
|||No.|||
|Average head count|**-**|||-|
## **9. Taxation**
The charity is exempt from corporation tax as all its income is charitable and is applied for charitable purposes.
## **10. Creditors : amounts due within 1 year**
|Accruals|**2024**
**£**
**1,320**
~~**1,32**~~
**0**|2023
£
6,045
~~6,04~~
5|
|---|---|---|
18
## **Royal Air Force Widows Association**
## **Notes to the financial statements**
## **For the year ended 31 July 2024**
## **11. Analysis of net assets between funds**
|Current assets
Current liabilities
**Net assets at 31 July 2024**
**Prior year comparative**
Current assets
Current liabilities
**Net assets at 31 Jul 2023**|Restricted
funds £
-
Restricted
funds £
-
~~**-**~~
~~-~~|Designated
funds £
-
Designated
funds £
-
~~**-**~~
~~**-**~~|General
funds
£
53,528
(1,320)
General
funds
£
45,060
(6,045)
~~**52,20**~~**8**
~~3901~~5|**Total**
**funds**
**£**
**53,528**
**(1,320)**
Total
funds
£
45,060
(6,045)
~~**52,20**~~**8**
~~3901~~5|
|---|---|---|---|---|
19
## **Royal Air Force Widows Association**
## **Notes to the financial statements**
## **For the year ended 31 July 2024**
## **12. Movements in funds**
|**Restricted funds**
**Total restricted funds**
**Unrestricted funds**
Designated funds:
Total designated funds
General funds
**Total unrestricted funds**
**Total funds**
**Prior year comparative**
**Restricted funds**
**Total restricted funds**
**Unrestricted funds**
Designated funds:
Total designated funds
General funds
**Total unrestricted funds**
**Total funds**|At 1 August
2023
£
-
-
At 1 August
2022
£
-
-
~~-~~
~~-~~
~~-~~
~~39,01~~5
~~39,01~~5
~~39,01~~5
~~-~~
~~48,65~~3
~~48,65~~3
~~4865~~3|Income
£
-
-
Income
£
-
-
~~-~~
~~-~~
~~-~~
~~41,54~~3
~~41,54~~3
~~41,54~~3
~~-~~
~~54,93~~5
~~54,93~~5
~~5493~~5|Expenditure
£
-
-
Expenditure
£
-
-
~~-~~
~~-~~
~~-~~
~~(28,350~~
~~(28,350~~
~~(28,350~~
~~-~~
~~(64,573~~
~~(64,573~~
~~(64573~~||Transfers
between
funds £
-||**At 31 July**
**2024**
**£**
**-**|
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
||||||~~-~~|||
||||||||~~**-**~~|
||||||-
Transfers
between
funds £
-
~~-~~
~~-~~
~~-~~
~~-~~|||
||||||||**-**
At 31 July
2023
£
-
~~**-**~~
~~**52,20**~~**8**
~~**52,20**~~**8**
~~**52,20**~~**8**|
|||||||||
|||||||||
|||||||||
|||||||||
|||||||||
||||||~~-~~|||
||||||||~~-~~|
||||||-
~~-~~
~~-~~
~~-~~
~~-~~|||
||||||||-
~~-~~
~~39,01~~5
~~39,01~~5
~~3901~~5|
|||||||||
|||||||||
|||||||||
|||||||||
## **13. Related party transactions**
The following trustees were reimbursed for expenditure, incurred in fulfilling their duties:
20
## **Royal Air Force Widows Association**
## **Notes to the financial statements**
## **For the year ended 31 July 2024**
|Jude Howcroft
Mrs M Inglis-Lawrie
Mrs S MacLennan-Cookson
Mrs K McNally
Mrs L Robbins
Mrs G Spacey
Ms E Wright|**2024**
**£**
**230**
**-**
**886**
**-**
**7,148**
**186**
**1,484**
~~**9,93**~~
**4**|2023
£
-
248
388
938
2,713
112
-
~~4,39~~
9|
|---|---|---|
21