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2024-03-31-accounts

The Media Trust (A charitable company limited by guarantee)

Report and Financial Statements For the Year Ended 31 March 2024

Company number: 02895790 Charity number: 1042733

The Media Trust Contents

Contents

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||| |---|---| |Reference and administrative information ...................................................................................................... 3| |Trustees’ Annual Report .................................................................................................................................. 4| |Independent Auditor’s Report to the Trustees of The Media Trust .............................................................. 20| |Statement of Financial Activities for the year ended 31 March 2024 ........................................................... 24| |Balance Sheet as at 31 March 2024 ............................................................................................................... 25| |Statement of Cash flows for 31 March 2024 ................................................................................................. 26| |Notes forming part of the Financial Statements for the year ended 31 March 2024 .............................. 27-|39|

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The Media Trust Reference and Administrative Information

Charity Details:

Charity name: The Media Trust, also known as Media Trust Registered Charity number: 1042733 Country of Registration: England and Wales Registered Company number: 2895790 Country of Incorporation: United Kingdom Registered office: c/o Sayer Vincent LLP, 110 Golden Ln, London EC1Y 0TG Website: www.mediatrust.org LinkedIn: media-trust YouTube: MediaTrustUK Facebook: MediaTrustCharity Twitter: Media_Trust

Trustees:

Kamal Ahmed David Black Ed Couchman Ete Davies (Vice Chair) Appointed on 28 November 2023 and as Vice-Chair on 23 May 2024 Satyen Dayal Ian Edwards (Chair) Appointed as Chair on 23 May 2024 Mel Exon (Vice-Chair) Appointed as Vice-Chair on 23 May 2024 Tove Okunniwa Claudia Osei-Nsafoah Appointed on 2 February 2023 Dominic Shine Retired on 26 October 2023 Philip Thomas Retired as Chair on 23 May 2024 Sam Tomlinson Chief Executive: Su-Mei Thompson Independent Auditor: Sayer Vincent LLP, 110 Golden Lane, London, EC1Y 0TG Bankers: Co-operative Bank, 1 Islington High Street, London, N1 9TR Lawyers: Keystone Law 48 Chancery Ln, London WC2A 1JF

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The Media Trust

Trustees’ Annual Report for the year ended 31 March 2024

Chair’s Foreword

The work Media Trust does is needed more than ever. Many charities are currently overwhelmed, struggling not only to meet increased demand for their services but also to effectively communicate their impact and generate more support, particularly in a rapidly changing digital landscape.

As the Centre for Social Justice recently reported, “the situation faced by small charities today is perilous. Many are at risk of closure, too many have already been forced to close.”

Recognising this pressure, Media Trust has dedicated itself to empowering charities with the communications skills and support to navigate and thrive in the digital world.

With the help of our media industry partners, we support charities to hone their messaging, reach new audiences, support their communities and raise much-needed funds. Over the past year, we've helped 2,771 charities ranging from organisations supporting women and girls to charities seeking better outcomes for young people, charities supporting refugees and groups creating a safe space for the LGBTQ+ community.

Media Trust has also worked with almost 500 young people and talent from under-represented communities, providing creative digital media skills training, access and mentoring support, as part of our goal to widen participation in the media and creative sector, both on-screen and off-screen.

The generosity of our media industry partners and volunteers is what makes this work possible. This past year, we have engaged 1,192 media professionals as trainers, speakers, mentors and in many other capacities offering 9,029 hours of volunteer engagement.

On behalf of the Board, I want to thank our industry partners for their support. I also want to thank our indefatigable CEO, Su-Mei Thompson, and her team for their passion and dedication. Despite resource constraints in common with other small charities, they are making a real and measurable impact.

Lastly, I’d like to extend our sincere thanks to Philip Thomas, who retired as Board Chair earlier this year, and is staying on as a Trustee. His commitment and ongoing support for Media Trust are deeply appreciated.

We hope you find this report informative and inspiring. If you're interested in getting involved with our work, please reach out. We’d love to hear from you.

Ian Edwards

Media Trust Board Chair

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The Media Trust Trustees’ Annual Report for the year ended 31 March 2024

OBJECTIVES & ACTIVITIES

The Trustees present their Annual Report and the audited financial statements of the charity for the year ended 31 March 2024. Reference and administrative information set out on page 1 forms part of this Report. The financial statements comply with current statutory requirements, the Memorandum and Articles of Association, the requirements of a directors’ report as required under company law, and the Statement of Recommended Practice - Accounting and Reporting by Charities: SORP applicable to charities preparing their accounts in accordance with FRS 102.

Our charitable objects

The objects, for which Media Trust was established, as set out in our Memorandum of Association, are:

Our vision and mission

At Media Trust, we believe it’s by giving everyone an equal voice that we’ll get to a more equal society. That’s why we work charities to strengthen their storytelling, advocacy and campaigning, press engagement and social media. We do this through media, communications and digital skills training delivered with the help of our media and creative industry partners and by matching media industry volunteers with charities looking for communications support because we know non-profit work can’t just be done by non-profits. At the same time, we’re giving young people and under-represented talent the creative digital media skills, access and mentoring support to break into the media because we know talent is everywhere, but opportunities are not.

Our values

Our values are at the heart of all we do. We work to achieve these by:

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The Media Trust

Trustees’ Annual Report for the year ended 31 March 2024

Public Benefit Statement

The Trustees confirm that they have complied with the duty in section 17 of the Charities Act 2011 to have due regard to the Charity Commission’s general guidance on public benefit, ‘Charities and Public Benefit’.

Media Trust provides public benefit by delivering free and low-cost media, communications and digital skills training, mentoring and pro bono support to enable charities, underrepresented communities and young people across the UK to have a stronger voice, access new and different audiences and create positive change in their lives and communities.

The charity also receives grant funding and contracts to provide free or low-cost media, communications and digital skills training, advice and resources to small charities and marginalised communities to enable them to deliver more effectively their own charitable purposes, particularly with respect to disadvantaged and underrepresented individuals and groups.

Significant Activities and Achievements During the Year

This section of the Report summarises our significant activities and achievements for FY 2023/2024 and the progress we made against our main objectives, namely:

The current context

As we look back on the last 12 months, Media Trust’s work has never felt more urgent or relevant.

The cost-of-living crisis and rising energy bills are making pre-existing disparities more pronounced.

Even with the disabled community now making up 24% of the overall UK population, disabled people continue to experience inequality, prejudice and negative attitudes.

The ongoing debate over how and by when the UK is going to phase out fossil fuels and cut emissions underscores just how much work remains to be done by climate and environmental charities.

At the same time, according to the Charity Resilience Index, published by Charities Aid Foundation in December 2023, half of charities are operating at maximum capacity and many are being forced to make difficult

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The Media Trust Trustees’ Annual Report for the year ended 31 March 2024

decisions on who they can help. The same Index shows almost two-thirds (65%) of charities have experienced increased demand for their services compared to a year ago, with nearly a third (32%) saying it has increased substantially.

As a result, at Media Trust, we’ve never been busier. Starting from the premise that it’s when everyone has an equal voice that we’ll get to a more equal society—we’re fiercely committed to giving charities, marginalised communities and under-represented talent a stronger voice and we’re facilitating vital connections between charities and the media to co-produce solutions to the under-representation of certain groups.

Over the past 12 months, all our teams have been working hard to deliver multiple programmes:

Our Signature Programmes for Charities

Stronger Voices

April 2023 saw the completion of Year 5 of Stronger Voices, our signature programme to strengthen the voices of equality organisations across the capital in partnership with Equally Ours and funded by City Bridge Foundation. Following the programme, 100% of participants rated their confidence in communicating effectively with their target audiences as high or very high. We launched Year 6 of the programme in Autumn 2023 which prioritised organisations campaigning for systemic change and/or tackling structural inequality in their work for communities in London.

Weston Communicating Climate

Autumn 2023 also saw the launch of Year 3 of this award-winning programme, jointly funded by the Garfield Weston Foundation and MG OMD, which aims to aims to empower environmental and climate charities across the UK to influence media discourse, policy and public sentiment on climate and environmental issues. In Year 3, we supported 20 UK environmental and climate charities to enhance the reach, power and impact of their communications, through expert-led training, networking opportunities and one-to-one sessions with media industry professionals. As part of the programme, around 180 MG OMD staff volunteers took part in a Charity Challenge Day in September 2023, working in teams to tackle their designated charity’s creative brief. Charity feedback for the programme has been overwhelmingly positive.

Going forward, the initiative will be solely funded by MG OMD and the programme will be known as Communicating Climate. A new cohort of charities were recruited in Spring 2024 and we look forward to another year of impactful learning opportunities with exceptional industry support.

Digital Communications

In June 2023, we launched Websites Unlocked, a new initiative funded by the WCIT Charity, designed specifically to empower small charities with digital skills and tools for success. Through a combination of expert training, online webinars, drop-in sessions and practical guides, Websites Unlocked has helped nearly 300 organisations improve their websites, enhance accessibility and drive engagement. 900 charities have downloaded the toolkit.

With funding support from Marketing Trust, between January and March 2024, we supported 155 charities across the UK, via online and in person training sessions, to strengthen their digital marketing capabilities through our Digital Marketing Strategy programme.

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The Media Trust Trustees’ Annual Report for the year ended 31 March 2024

Inclusive and Intersectional Reporting

Last year, we continued building on our ground-breaking unique programmes developed to create a more inclusive media by empowering journalists and charities to work collaboratively to tell stories with inclusion and Intersectionality at their heart.

In 2023, thanks to ongoing funding support from the Joseph Rowntree Charitable Trust, we supported a second cohort of 15 small charities across the UK with five months of free training to better understand and communicate the complexities of working with beneficiaries with overlapping social identities like gender, race and disability.

In partnership with NCTJ, we provided whole newsrooms as well as individual reporters with the tools to integrate intersectional storytelling into their reporting practices. We are proud to have delivered this training to leading news organisations like ITN and Reach, as well as to journalists from the BBC, CNN, Hearst and the Metro.

In addition, over 650 charities signed up for our Intersectional Storytellers Toolkit, a five-day email learning series we developed with funding support from Lankelly Chase. Our Toolkit combines short videos, explanations of theory as well as practical tips and templates designed to help charities become more intersectional in their media and communications and media. The feedback has been overwhelmingly positive.

Volunteering

Media Trust is passionately committed to matching good skills with good causes. Media Trust’s volunteering programme continues to provide an essential service to the UK charity sector while helping media organisations and media professionals to use their skills to give back.

March 2024 saw the return of our in -person Women’s Voices event in celebration of International Women’s Day, which brought together 150 cross-industry volunteers who shared their skills and expertise with 30 charities that support, campaign and advocate for women and girls. This year, the event was supported by Google and People’s Postcode Lottery.

We have also delivered many smaller scale charity challenge days, bringing media industry volunteers together with a charity to work on their specific comms brief.

Media Trust Films

Media Trust Films bridges the gap between charities and the screen industries, working with volunteer professional filmmakers to create powerful short films that showcase the work and impact of grassroots organisations. Many of our directors have lived experience of the cause they’re supporting. This year, Media Trust Films produced 20 powerful short films for charities supported by City Bridge Foundation and John Lyon’s Charity.

Since launching in Autumn 2023, the films have garnered six awards and one nomination at the Circle Awards, Smiley Charity Film Awards and the Big Syn Sustainability Film Awards.

The success of our volunteer films projects has led to the launch of three other schemes in partnership with the Mercers’ Company, the Santander Foundation and the Crucible Foundation which going forward will significantly increase the number of charity films that Media Trust is creating with the support of leading trusts and foundations.

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The Media Trust Trustees’ Annual Report for the year ended 31 March 2024

Other Funder-Plus Services

This year, we trained 20 London-based youth organisations selected by funder John Lyons’ Charity to build their communications skills and strategy

Supporting young people and talent from under-represented backgrounds

Over the past 12 months, Media Trust has worked with almost 500 young people and talent from underrepresented communities as part of our goal to widen participation in the media and creative sector, both onscreen and off-screen.

Media Unlocked

Thanks to funding from Kusuma Trust and St Paul’s Girls’ School, this year, we were able to extend our Media Unlocked programme to develop the creative digital media skills and career aspirations of hundreds of students at five maintained secondary schools in the West London Partnership: Cardinal Vaughan Memorial School, Christ’s School, Fulham Boys School, Sacred Heart High School and West London Free School.

Responding to the high demand from schools for more workshops, we devised an ambitious and innovative all-day workshop format which we delivered in the final week of the Summer Term of 2023. With the help of 17 media industry volunteers, we set up a pop-up professional green screen studio in three schools, supporting a total of 340 students with hands-on short-form content creation training. Each group created a film in response to a brief on ‘Good news from the year 2052’, culminating in a screening for students and teachers at the end of the day.

ScreenSkills’ High-end TV Skills Fund

This year, we launched HETV: Building Your Career Portfolio to support mid-career, freelance production management professionals with experience in unscripted entertainment, continuing drama or film to bridge into positions in high-end television (HETV). In selecting the 20 programme participants, we prioritised talent from under-represented communities. The programme delivered expert-led training to help participants market themselves more effectively, network, pitch their professional experience and build a career portfolio to work in HETV. 95% of respondents agreed or strongly agreed that the programme supported them to take the next step in their career.

Reframing Disability Mentoring Programme

This year, we launched exciting new partnerships with Leo Burnett and News UK to move the dial on the representation and access of D/deaf, disabled and/or neurodivergent (DDN) entry-level and early-stage talent in the media and creative industries. In total, these Mentoring Programmes hand-matched 20 DDN mentees at entry level or early-stage in their careers with 20 senior mentors from our partner organisations. These programmes continue our work to ensure the media industry becomes more receptive to and representative of disabled talent. We were delighted that post-programme, two mentees secured full-time paid roles at our partner organisations.

Black Britain Unspoken

In 2023, for the second year running, we partnered with Warner Bros. Discovery to invite Black British storytellers, filmmakers and creatives to pitch their film concepts to the Black Britain Unspoken commissioning panel for the opportunity to release a short film on discovery+ during Black History Month. This year, Media Trust developed and delivered continuing professional development training for the selected filmmakers covering essential topics such as Nailing your Pitch, Interviewing, Ethics and Objectivity, and Film Release

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The Media Trust

Trustees’ Annual Report for the year ended 31 March 2024

Strategy. The three winning films received production support from Warner Bros. Discovery and Bounce Cinema and premiered on discovery+ in October 2023. The three short documentaries offer unique and intimate perspectives on the Black British experience.

KPIs

Media Trust uses a set of KPIs to assess our impact, which are reviewed by the Senior Management Team and Board on an ongoing basis. Alongside this, more detailed performance and impact measurement is carried out on individual projects, based on an outcomes framework of the impact we aim to effect. This includes conducting pre- and post- interviews and surveys with charities and volunteers to gather evidence of the impact we are having.

Overall, in the past year, Media Trust has:

Our people and our infrastructure

Our small and dynamic team of 27 staff come from across the charity and business sectors, bringing a strong mix of experience and knowledge to support our work. There is a close and collaborative team culture, and we take collective pride in the quality of our programmes and how we are empowering charities and advancing representation.

Over the past year, our Board of Trustees saw one Trustee retirement (Dominic Shine). We are extremely grateful to Dominic for his invaluable guidance and support.

After over three years in post, Philip Thomas stepped down as Board Chair in May 2024, and Ian Edwards was unanimously appointed as his successor. We are delighted that Phil is staying on as a Trustee and that Ian will be a point of continuity in the leadership of the Board, having already supported Phil as Board Vice-Chair for several years.

We were delighted to welcome a new Trustee – Ete Davies from Dentsu, a longstanding Media Trust Corporate Partner. In May 2024, Ete and fellow Trustee Mel Exon were appointed as Board Vice-Chairs.

We are continuing to explore how we can add different perspectives and expertise to the Board to complement and strengthen its existing skill set and experience and are currently recruiting additional Trustees.

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The Media Trust Trustees’ Annual Report for the year ended 31 March 2024

Media Trust is committed to diversity and inclusion and to being an equal opportunities employer. Our Chief Executive, Su-Mei Thompson, also serves as a Commissioner to the Equalities & Human Rights Commission.

Future Developments

Media Trust believes we have a huge opportunity to capitalise on our unique position as a connecting force between the media, creative and technology sectors on the one hand and on the other hand, charities, marginalised communities and under-represented talent.

With the guidance and insights of our Board, as well as the wealth of knowledge from the advisory groups that support each of our main programmes, we continue to learn, evolve and forge even closer ties with our industry partners and the funders, charities and under-represented talent we work with.

We will continue to expand how we work with industry partners on their ED&I (Equality, Diversity & Inclusion) agenda and are also excited to build on the growing success of Media Trust Films as well as our newer programmes including Black Britain Unspoken and our mentoring schemes for disabled talent.

REVIEW OF FINANCIAL POSITION

Overview

Restricted Income

For FY 23/24, our restricted reserves are £410k (compared to £450k in FY 22/23). The net movement of restricted funds of £40k (decrease) is due to drawing down on restricted reserves.

Unrestricted Income

Our unrestricted funds are made up of our unrestricted reserves and designated funds. We have increased our unrestricted reserves by £9k to £300k (compared with £291k in FY 22/23).

Our designated funds have decreased from £24k to £9k. The designated funds in FY 22/23 were fully spent as per their purpose. The decrease in designated funds has resulted in a net movement of funds of £15k (decrease).

Overall recognised income was £1,536k - an increase of £266k from FY 22/23. This was in line with expectations in order for Media Trust to continue to deliver our charity objectives. FY22/23 by comparison saw a larger drawing down on our restricted reserves.

Income Summary

Support from the media industry increased from £373k in FY 22/23 to £459k in FY 23/24. With the continued absence of fundraising events, we have continued to see success in our strategy to diversify beyond the corporate partner membership fee and fundraising model. We saw a reduction in Gifts in Kind from £106k to £10k.

The number of corporate partners in FY 23/24 rose to 18, compared with 16 in FY 22/23.

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The Media Trust

Trustees’ Annual Report for the year ended 31 March 2024 Recognised income from Charitable Activities increased to £1.068m in FY 23/24 from £894k in FY 22/23

Expenditure Summary

Costs decreased by £208k (£1,582k in FY 23/24 vs £1,790k in FY 22/23). This reflects the delivery of programmes throughout the year, for both new funding initiatives as well as those from restricted reserves. Overall support costs decreased from £526k in FY 22/23 to £397k in FY 23/24.

Reserves

Media Trust carried forward total funds of £718k at 31 March 2024 (vs £765k at the same point last year). This represents a net deficit movement of funds of £47k. Unrestricted reserves comprised £309k (£315k in FY22/23). This represents a net deficit movement of funds of (£6k) comprised of an additional £9k into the unrestricted reserves and the remaining amount in the movement of designated funds.

Going forward, we will continue to carefully monitor actual and forecast income and expenditure and continue to seek cost efficiencies where possible.

Principal funding sources

Media Trust receives grants and contracts from a range of charitable trusts and foundations, public and corporate sector bodies, to fund specific activities to further our charitable objectives. We are very grateful to our main supporters over the past year:

City Bridge Foundation

Crucible Foundation

Garfield Weston Foundation John Lyon’s Charity Joseph Rowntree Charitable Trust Kusuma Trust Lankelly Chase Marketing Trust Mayor’s Fund for London Santander Foundation ScreenSkills and the BFI The Heritage Alliance The Mercers’ Company WCIT

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The Media Trust

Trustees’ Annual Report for the year ended 31 March 2024

Additionally, we receive corporate membership, sponsorship, ad inventory and ad credit contributions from our media industry corporate partners. These vital funds carried even more importance during a fourth consecutive year when we did not hold any fundraising events.

We were extremely proud to work alongside the following 22 corporate partners in the year up to 31 March 2024:

2024:
Ascential McCann
BBC Meta
BBH MG OMD
Bloomberg News UK
Channel 4 Ogilvy
Dentsu People’s Postcode Lottery
Edelman Sky
Google Talon
Havas Warner Bros. Discovery
Hearst WPP
Kenvue Yahoo

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The Media Trust Trustees’ Annual Report for the year ended 31 March 2024

Media Trust is continuing to focus on diversifying our income mix by growing our revenue from the media industry and to reduce our reliance on grants. We have already had some success in securing donations of advertising inventory from media platforms that we have been able to convert into cash through partnerships with MG OMD and Havas. We have also seen growth in demand for specific programme activity by corporate partners.

Although we sometimes charge charities for training, we aim to deliver an increasing amount of our services at free or at low cost to the charity sector, particularly to smaller charities. Our hope is to be able to persuade more funders to pay for charities to benefit from Media Trust training, film-making and other services.

We do not use professional fundraisers. Some of our corporate partners fundraise on our behalf whether by mobilising donations from their own staff or via their networks. We have undertaken to comply with the latest fundraising guidelines from the Fundraising Regulator and the Charity Commission, including the Code of Fundraising Practice for the UK. In the year to 31 March 2024, we received no complaints in relation to our fundraising activities. Where people or organisations raise funds on our behalf, we require that they also comply with these standards. The Trustees are of the view that during the year to 31 March 2024, we have been compliant with these standards. We are not aware of any instances where those acting on our behalf have failed to comply.

In order to protect vulnerable people and other members of the public, Media Trust is careful to protect the private data of supporters, and we give them clear options to stop being contacted by us. As part of our compliance with the Code of Fundraising Practice, we ensure our approach to fundraising is not unreasonably intrusive or persistent and does not aim to solicit donations by pressurising potential supporters.

Investment policy

Apart from retaining a prudent amount in reserves each year, most of the charity’s funds are to be spent in the short-term, so there are few funds for long-term investment. Having considered the options available, the Trustees have decided to invest excess cash balances in interest bearing deposit accounts with an ethical bank.

Reserves policy

Media Trust’s risk and reserves policies are inter-dependent. Our risk management processes help identify where we might need reserves.

Reserves are currently maintained at a level that enables the organisation to manage operational financial risks and short-term income volatility, ensuing financial commitments can be met as they fall due.

For these purposes, reserves are unrestricted funds which are freely available to be spent on any of the charity’s purposes and exclude funds which are ring-fenced for specific programmes.

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The Media Trust Trustees’ Annual Report for the year ended 31 March 2024

At current levels of activity, the Trustees believe in order to mitigate against risks of significant variations in income and to be able to bridge short-term shortfalls in working capital, target reserves should be £300k (approximately four and a half months of core salaries and overhead costs).

As at 31 March 2024, unrestricted reserves were on target at £300k. The Trustees are considering ways of reducing the charity’s dependence on volatile forms of income and securing more reliable funding streams which has, for example, resulted in the charity applying for more multi-year grant funding. The Trustees review the policy and progress towards meeting the target level of reserves annually and the Finance & Audit Committee meets quarterly to ensure income and expenditure targets are being met in order to reach this goal in future.

Risk management

The Board of Trustees is responsible for overseeing the charity’s risk management activities. Detailed consideration of risk is delegated to the Finance and Audit Committee, which is assisted by the charity’s Senior Management Team in continually reviewing this area and reporting to the Board.

Trustees review the risks to which the organisation is exposed throughout the year, both at the Finance and Audit Committee and again at full Board meetings. A risk register is regularly reviewed by management and Trustees and updated as appropriate. The risks cover all potential threats to the business including financial, legal, operational, governance and reputational. Mitigating strategies and/or contingency plans, controls and actions are in place for these, and other risks identified.

The Finance and Audit Committee meets ahead of each Board meeting, to assess our financial position and review the principal risks and uncertainties facing the organisation. The Committee continues to work closely with the senior management team to review and agree steps to mitigate any risks.

This year, some of the key risks that were identified, and the steps being taken to mitigate them are as follows:

Financial sustainability – The main risk of not delivering on forecast has been mitigated by building a more conservative forecast for FY 2024/25. In addition, we identified strategies for achieving longer term corporate partner relationships and renewals. At the same time, we will continue to exercise tight cost controls.

New Organisation structure - Guided by the Board, we have looked to re-focus senior roles around new income generation or delivery. We have also created a new senior programme manager level as part of our focus on the professional development of our staff and to provide greater support to the Senior Management Team.

Staff Retention – As with many other small charities, our programme staff are generally on fixed term contracts contiguous with grant funding. We are applying for more longer-term grant funding to provide our staff with greater financial stability. In our pay reviews, we have also prioritised increasing the salaries

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The Media Trust Trustees’ Annual Report for the year ended 31 March 2024

of those at the lowest end of the pay scale.

Organisation-wide collaboration and engagement – We are now remote first and get incredibly good feedback on flexible working at Media Trust. We are also highly committed to ensuring we support any staff who might feel disconnected working from home and that, overall, we are still effectively communicating and collaborating. We have monthly in person all staff meetings. Our flexible working, TOIL and remote first policies are also produced in conjunction with the Health and Well-Being Committee comprising staff from all levels and functional areas of the organisation.

Board Composition – Our goal is to ensure we have the appropriate skills, experience and diversity on our Board, in line with best practice and the needs of our charity. Where there are identified gaps, we will have a formal, rolling plan in place to address them. This year, Mel Exon took over as Chair of our Nominations Committee and has led the recruitment process to grow the Board by up to three roles to fill identified gaps in skills and backgrounds. This process began in April 2024.

Safeguarding - We have a dedicated Board Trustee for Safeguarding, and this is a standing point on all Board agendas. All Trustees are required to undertake training on safeguarding.

Fraud - Our anti-fraud financial procedures have been recently reviewed by the Finance and Audit Committee and discussed by the Board.

Through the risk management process established for the charity, the Trustees are satisfied that the major risks have been identified and processes for addressing them have been implemented. It is recognised that any control systems can only provide reasonable but not absolute assurance that major risks have been adequately managed.

Going concern

Having reviewed the strategic risks facing the charity, the forecasts for the period to 31 March 2024, and the cash and investments committed and forecast over the same period, the Board of Trustees considers that there are sufficient commitments and reserves held at 31 March 2024 to manage those risks successfully, despite the current uncertain economic outlook. The Trustees consider that there is a reasonable expectation that Media Trust has adequate resources to continue in operational existence for the foreseeable future. Accordingly, they continue to adopt the ‘going concern’ basis in preparing this Annual Report and Accounts. The Trustees are of the view that Media Trust’s position should continue to improve, and the charity should have sufficient financial resources for at least the twelve-month period from the date of approval of these financial statements, to enable it to fund its ongoing operations and meet its commitments.

Structure, Governance and Management

Media Trust is a charitable company limited by guarantee, incorporated on 8 February 1994, and registered as a charity on 12 December 1994. The company was established under a Memorandum of Association, which established the objects and powers of the charitable company and is governed under its Articles of Association. The company has no share capital, and in the event of the company being wound up, each

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The Media Trust Trustees’ Annual Report for the year ended 31 March 2024

member is required to contribute an amount not exceeding £1. The members of the Board of Trustees are the Directors of the company.

Media Trust also has a trading company, dormant trading accounts have been submitted since financial year end March 2018 for this entity.

Under the requirements of the Memorandum and Articles of Association, each year at the Annual General meeting, a third of the members of the Board of Trustees retire by rotation and are eligible for re-election. The maximum number of Trustees is 15, which can be changed from time to time by ordinary resolution.

Trustees of Media Trust are invited to stand for election by the Board to ensure a range of media and charity sector skills are represented. The Trustees, from among their number, appoint the Chair and Vice Chair (if any). The Board convenes at least four times each year and there are supporting committees covering Finance, Risk and Audit, and Nominations. Additionally, this year, we established remit and time-bound Strategy and Industry Working Groups.

All Trustees give their time voluntarily and received no benefits from the charity. Any expenses reclaimed from the charity are set out in note 6 to the financial statements.

On appointment, Trustees sign a register of interests, which is renewed annually. Trustees’ induction and ongoing involvement includes visits to the projects and activities delivered by the charity, engagement with beneficiaries, and meetings with project managers, senior staff, volunteers and other stakeholders, including funders and corporate partners.

Trustees receive regular updates, including full reports on activities, targets, impact, research and evaluation reports, and financial information, in advance of each quarterly Board meeting and Board committee meeting. Trustees attend external meetings with funders, donors and partners, as well as a range of the charity’s activities to experience the charity’s services directly and to meet with beneficiaries.

The Trustees are responsible for agreeing the overall strategy and direction of the charity. Business plans and strategic plans are discussed, agreed, amended, and revised by the Trustees at Board meetings and away days. To facilitate effective operations, the Chief Executive has delegated authority, within the terms of delegation approved by the Trustees, for the operational matters of the charity, and reports on the performance against the strategic and operational plans approved by the Board. The Board receives management accounts quarterly. The Chief Executive meets with the Chair on a regular basis.

Board committees and Working Groups:

Finance and Audit Committee: Sam Tomlinson (Chair), David Black and Ian Edwards. The Finance and Audit Committee meets around four times a year and reports to the full Board meeting.

Nominations and Remuneration Committee: Mel Exon (Chair), Ed Couchman, Satyen Dayal, Tove Okunniwa and Claudia Osei-Nsafoah. This committee is responsible for appointing new trustees, the Chief Executive and

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The Media Trust Trustees’ Annual Report for the year ended 31 March 2024

for advising on the recruitment and remuneration of senior staff.

Strategy Working Group: Mel Exon (Chair), Kamal Ahmed, David Black, Ete Davies, Satyen Dayal, Ian Edwards and Tove Okunniwa. This committee is responsible for reviewing and affirming Media Trust’s vision, mission, values and strategic priorities.

Industry Working Group: Ed Couchman (Chair), David Black, Ian Edwards and Sam Tomlinson. This committee is responsible for optimising our corporate partnerships, identifying new prospects and exploring opportunities, including around sponsorships, events and ad inventory donations.

Management structure

The Chief Executive has responsibility for planning and developing the strategies and services for Media Trust within an overall strategic direction agreed by the Board of Trustees. The Chief Executive has responsibility for recruitment and management of the senior staff team to ensure that Media Trust’s services and values are delivered and upheld against plans and priorities agreed by the Board. The Senior Management Team has experience in charity communications and marketing, media and advertising, youth media, finance, HR, and operations and meets on a regular basis with the Chief Executive to discuss strategy and operations.

Volunteer policy

We offer a range of volunteering opportunities both within the Media Trust team, across our services, and with charities, marginalized communities and under-represented talent across the UK. We have a formal volunteering policy, and our programme managers are provided with training, appropriate checks and advice to maximise positive outcomes and impact for our volunteers and for the projects and people they support.

Trustees’ responsibilities

The Trustees (who are also directors of Media Trust for the purposes of company law) are responsible for preparing the Trustees’ Annual Report and the financial statements in accordance with applicable law and United Kingdom Accounting Standards (United Kingdom Generally Accepted Accounting Practice).

Company law 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 charitable company and of the incoming resources and application of resources, including the income and expenditure, of the charitable company for that period. In preparing these financial statements, the Trustees are required to:

Page: 18

The Media Trust

Trustees’ Annual Report for the year ended 31 March 2024

The Trustees are responsible for keeping adequate accounting records that disclose with reasonable accuracy at any time the financial position of the charitable company and enable them to ensure that the financial statements comply with the Companies Act 2006. They are also responsible for safeguarding the assets of the charitable company and hence for taking reasonable steps for the prevention and detection of fraud and other irregularities.

As far as the Trustees are aware:

The Trustees are responsible for the maintenance and integrity of the corporate and financial information included on the charitable company's website. Legislation in the United Kingdom governing the preparation and dissemination of financial statements may differ from legislation in other jurisdictions.

Members of the charity guarantee to contribute an amount not exceeding £1 to the assets of the charity in the event of winding up. The total number of such guarantees at Year End was 11 (2023:11). The Trustees are members of the charity, but this entitles them only to voting rights. The Trustees have no beneficial interest in the charity.

Auditor

At the last Annual General Meeting, the Trustees approved the re-appointment of Sayer Vincent as the Charity's auditor.

A resolution for the re-appointment of Sayer Vincent will be proposed at the forthcoming Annual General Meeting.

The directors’ Annual Report has been prepared in accordance with the special provisions applicable to companies subject to the small companies' regime.

On behalf of the Board of Trustees

Ian Edwards Chair

Sam Tomlinson

Chair of Finance and Audit Committee

Date 24 September 2024

Page: 19

The Media Trust Independent Auditors' Report to the Trustees' for the year ended 31 March 2024

Opinion

We have audited the financial statements of The Media Trust (the ‘charitable company’) for the year ended 31 March 2024 which comprise the statement of financial activities, balance sheet, statement of cash flows and notes to the financial statements, including significant accounting policies. The financial reporting framework that has been applied in their preparation is applicable law and United Kingdom Accounting Standards, including FRS 102 The Financial Reporting Standard applicable in the UK and Republic of Ireland (United Kingdom Generally Accepted Accounting Practice).

In our opinion, the financial statements:

Basis for opinion

We conducted our audit in accordance with International Standards on Auditing (UK) (ISAs (UK)) and applicable law. Our responsibilities under those standards are further described in the Auditor’s responsibilities for the audit of the financial statements section of our report. We are independent of the charitable company in accordance with the ethical requirements that are relevant to our audit of the financial statements in the UK, including the FRC’s Ethical Standard and we have fulfilled our other ethical responsibilities in accordance with these requirements. We believe that the audit evidence we have obtained is sufficient and appropriate to provide a basis for our opinion.

Conclusions relating to going concern

In auditing the financial statements, we have concluded that the trustees' use of the going concern basis of accounting in the preparation of the financial statements is appropriate.

Based on the work we have performed, we have not identified any material uncertainties relating to events or conditions that, individually or collectively, may cast significant doubt on The Media Trust’s ability to continue as a going concern for a period of at least twelve months from when the financial statements are authorised for issue.

Our responsibilities and the responsibilities of the trustees with respect to going concern are described in the relevant sections of this report.

Other Information

The other information comprises the information included in the trustees’ annual report, other than the financial statements and our auditor’s report thereon. The trustees are responsible for the other information contained within the annual report. Our opinion on the financial statements does not cover the other information and, except to the extent otherwise explicitly stated in our report, we do not express any form of assurance conclusion thereon. Our responsibility is to read the other information and, in doing so,

Page: 20

The Media Trust Independent Auditors' Report to the Trustees' for the year ended 31 March 2024

consider whether the other information is materially inconsistent with the financial statements or our knowledge obtained in the course of the audit, or otherwise appears to be materially misstated.

If we identify such material inconsistencies or apparent material misstatements, we are required to determine whether this gives rise to a material misstatement in the financial statements themselves. If, based on the work we have performed, we conclude that there is a material misstatement of this other information, we are required to report that fact.

We have nothing to report in this regard.

Opinions on other matters prescribed by the Companies Act 2006

In our opinion, based on the work undertaken in the course of the audit:

Matters on which we are required to report by exception

In the light of the knowledge and understanding of the charitable company and its environment obtained in the course of the audit, we have not identified material misstatements in the trustees’ annual report. We have nothing to report in respect of the following matters in relation to which the Companies Act 2006 requires us to report to you if, in our opinion:

Responsibilities of trustees

As explained more fully in the statement of trustees’ responsibilities set out in the trustees’ annual report, the trustees (who are also the directors of the charitable company for the purposes of company law) are responsible for the preparation of the financial statements and for being satisfied that they give a true and fair view, and for such internal control as the trustees determine is necessary to enable the preparation of financial statements that are free from material misstatement, whether due to fraud or error.

In preparing the financial statements, the trustees are responsible for assessing the charitable company’s ability to continue as a going concern, disclosing, as applicable, matters related to going concern and using the going concern basis of accounting unless the trustees either intend to liquidate the charitable company or to cease operations, or have no realistic alternative but to do so.

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The Media Trust Independent Auditors' Report to the Trustees' for the year ended 31 March 2024

Auditor’s responsibilities for the audit of the financial statements

Our objectives are to obtain reasonable assurance about whether the financial statements as a whole are free from material misstatement, whether due to fraud or error, and to issue an auditor’s report that includes our opinion. Reasonable assurance is a high level of assurance but is not a guarantee that an audit conducted in accordance with ISAs (UK) will always detect a material misstatement when it exists. Misstatements can arise from fraud or error and are considered material if, individually or in the aggregate, they could reasonably be expected to influence the economic decisions of users taken on the basis of these financial statements.

Irregularities, including fraud, are instances of non-compliance with laws and regulations. We design procedures in line with our responsibilities, outlined above, to detect material misstatements in respect of irregularities, including fraud. The extent to which our procedures are capable of detecting irregularities, including fraud are set out below.

Capability of the audit in detecting irregularities

In identifying and assessing risks of material misstatement in respect of irregularities, including fraud and non-compliance with laws and regulations, our procedures included the following:

Page: 22

The Media Trust

Independent Auditors' Report to the Trustees' for the year ended 31 March 2024

Because of the inherent limitations of an audit, there is a risk that we will not detect all irregularities, including those leading to a material misstatement in the financial statements or non-compliance with regulation. This risk increases the more that compliance with a law or regulation is removed from the events and transactions reflected in the financial statements, as we will be less likely to become aware of instances of non-compliance. The risk is also greater regarding irregularities occurring due to fraud rather than error, as fraud involves intentional concealment, forgery, collusion, omission or misrepresentation.

A further description of our responsibilities is available on the Financial Reporting Council’s website at: www.frc.org.uk/auditorsresponsibilities . This description forms part of our auditor’s report.

Use of our report

This report is made solely to the charitable company's members as a body, in accordance with Chapter 3 of Part 16 of the Companies Act 2006. Our audit work has been undertaken so that we might state to the charitable company's members those matters we are required to state to them in an auditor’s report and for no other purpose. To the fullest extent permitted by law, we do not accept or assume responsibility to anyone other than the charitable company and the charitable company's members as a body, for our audit work, for this report, or for the opinions we have formed.

Fleur Holden (Senior statutory auditor)

24 October 2024 Date

for and on behalf of Sayer Vincent LLP, Statutory Auditor 110 Golden Lane, LONDON, EC1Y 0TG

Page: 23

The Media Trust

Statement of Financial Activities for the year ended 31 March 2024 (incorporating Income and Expenditure Statement)

Notes Unrestricted Restricted Total Funds Total Funds
2024 2024 2024 2023
Income from: £ £ £ £
Donations 2 419,968 38,739 458,707 372,720
Charitable activities: 3
Communication Services 289,369 707,189 996,558 633,974
Youth Media 32,849 - 32,849 138,213
Engagement of Media Industry 38,350 - 38,350 121,990
Investment income 9,126 - 9,126 2,347
Total income 789,662 745,928 1,535,590 1,269,244
Expenditure on:
Raising funds - - - 12,355
Charitable activities 4
Communication Services 393,550 710,417 1,103,967 1,105,539
Youth Media 230,525 57,518 288,043 353,128
Engagement of Media Industry 172,119 18,288 190,407 318,750
Total expenditure 796,194 786,223 1,582,417 1,789,772
Net income/(expenditure) for the
year (6,532) (40,295) (46,827) (520,528)
Transfers between funds - - - -
Net movement of funds (6,532) (40,295) (46,827) (520,528)
Reconciliation of funds
Total funds brought forward 14 315,301 449,914 765,215 1,285,743
Total funds carried forward 308,769 409,619 718,388 765,215

The statement of financial activities includes all gains and losses in the year. All incoming resources and resources expended derive from continuing activities.

Page: 24

The Media Trust (02895790) Balance Sheet as at 31 March 2024

2024 2023
Notes £ £
Fixed Assets
Tangible fixed assets 9 - -
Intangible fixed assets 10 3,781 6,806
Current Assets
Debtors 11 270,196 344,645
Cash at Bank and in Hand 685,388 614,761
955,584 959,406
Creditors
Amounts falling due with one year 12 (240,977) (200,997)
Net Current Assets 714,607 758,409
Total Assets Less Current
Liabilities 718,388 765,215
Funds
Restricted 14a 409,619 449,914
Unrestricted 14a 299,483 291,367
Designated 14a 9,286 23,934
Total Funds 718,388 765,215

Approved by the Board of Directors on 24 September 2024 and signed on their behalf by:

Ian Edwards Chair

Sam Tomlinson Chair of Finance and Audit committee

Page: 25

The Media Trust

Statement of Cash Flows for the year ended 31 March 2024

2024 2023
£ £
Cash flows from operating activities:
Net cash provided by / (used in) operating activities 61,501 (278,254)
Cash flows from investing activities:
Payment to purchase intangible fixed asset - (9,075)
Interest received 9,126 2,347
Net cash provided by / (used in) investing 9,126 (6,728)
Change in cash and cash equivalents in the reporting
period 70,627 (284,982)
Cash and cash equivalents at the beginning of the reporting
period 614,761 899,743
Cash and cash equivalents at 31 March 2024 685,388 614,761
Analysis of Cash and Cash Equivalents 2024 2023
£ £
Cash in hand and at bank 685,388 614,761
Total cash and cash equivalents 685,388 614,761

Reconciliation of net income/(expenditure) to net cash flow from operating activities

2024 2023
£ £
Net expenditure for year (46,827) (520,528)
Amortisation for the year 3,025 2,269
Interest from investments (9,126) (2,347)
Decrease in debtors 74,449 232,631
Increase in creditors 39,980 9,721
Net cash flow from operating activities 61,501 (278,254)

Page: 26

The Media Trust

Notes to the Financial Statements for the year ended 31 March 2024

1) Accounting Policies

The Media Trust is a charitable company limited by guarantee and is incorporated in England and Wales. The registered office is c/o Sayer Vincent LLP, Invicta House, 108-114 Golden Lane, London EC1Y 0TL and the principal place of business is WeWork, 123 Buckingham Palace Road, London SW1W 9SH.

The financial statements have been prepared in accordance with 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) - (Charities SORP FRS 102), The Financial Reporting Standard applicable in the UK and Republic of Ireland (FRS 102) and the Companies Act 2006/Charities Act 2011.

The trustees consider that there are no material uncertainties about the charity's ability to continue as a going concern.

The trustees do not consider that there are any sources of estimation uncertainty at the reporting date that have a significant risk of causing a material adjustment to the carrying amounts of assets and liabilities within the next reporting period.

Income is recognised when the charity has entitlement to the funds, any performance conditions attached to the income have been met, it is probable that the income will be received and that the amount can be measured reliably.

Income from 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.

Income received in advance of the provision of a specified service is deferred until the criteria for income recognition are met. This is with the exception of corporate partner membership income which is usually recognised in the period it has been invoiced in. The reason for this is due to the bespoke packages for each partner, the timing of the delivery of any benefits can vary greatly and so it is deemed to be more appropriate to recognise the income when due, and not when the benefits are provided. Corporate partner membership income is treated as a donation to further the work of Media Trust, whereas any income received to deliver activities carried out to directly benefit the charitable organisations Media Trust works with is included within income from charitable activities.

Donated professional services and donated facilities are recognised as income when the charity has control over the item or received the service, any conditions associated with the donation have been met, the receipt of economic benefit from the use by the charity of the item is probable and that economic benefit can be measured reliably. In accordance with the Charities SORP (FRS 102), volunteer time is not recognised so refer to the trustees’ annual report for more information about their contribution.

On receipt, donated gifts, 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.

Restricted funds are to be used for specific purposes as laid down by the donor. Expenditure which meets these criteria is charged to the fund.

Unrestricted funds are donations and other incoming resources received or generated for the charitable purposes.

(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.

Page: 27

The Media Trust

Notes to the Financial Statements for the year ended 31 March 2024

Expenditure is classified under the following activity headings:

Irrecoverable VAT is charged as a cost against the activity for which the expenditure was incurred.

(h) Allocation of support costs

Support costs represent general management costs (including finance and human resources) and premises and facilities costs (including IT). These are allocated by reference to the resources allocated to the staff and volunteers for each area and the percentage of time spent by the relevant employees.

(i) Operating lease

Rental charges are charged on a straight-line basis over the term of the lease.

(j) Tangible fixed assets

Assets at a cost in excess of £5,000 intended to be ongoing use in carrying out activities are capitalised as fixed assets. Depreciation charged on tangible fixed assets is calculated to write off the cost of fixed assets on a straight-line basis over the useful economic lives of the assets concerned which are predominately 3 years.

(k) Debtors

Trade and other debtors are recognised at the settlement amount due. Prepayments are valued at the amount prepaid net of any trade discounts due.

(l) 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.

(m) Creditors and provisions

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.

The charity 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.

2) Donations

Unrestricted Restricted 2024 Total 2023 Total
£ £ £ £
Corporate Donations 397,926 - 397,926 259,639
Fundraising Events 4 - 4 19
Other Donations 9,559 - 9,559 1,653
Grants - 38,739 38,739 -
Other income 2,290 - 2,290 5,523
Gifts in Kind 10,189 - 10,189 105,886
419,968 38,739 458,707 372,720

All income from donations in the prior year was unrestricted.

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The Media Trust

Notes to the Financial Statements for the year ended 31 March 2024

3) Income from Charitable Activities

Unrestricted Restricted Total 2024 Unrestricted Restricted Total 2023
£ £ £ £ £ £
City Bridge Foundation - 116,447 116,447 - 96,852 96,852
Crucible Foundation - 75,000 75,000 - - -
Dentsu International Limited - - - 4,167 - 4,167
Garfield Weston Foundation - 66,000 66,000 - 126,000 126,000
Gamesys - - - - 6,648 6,648
John Lyon’s Charity - 130,000 130,000 - 137,500 137,500
Joseph Rowntree Charitable Trust - - - - 9,999 9,999
Lankelly Chase - 7,000 7,000 - - -
Marketing Trust - 33,693 33,693 - 30,720 30,720
National Heritage Lottery Fund - - - - 66,945 66,945
Santander Foundation - 132,065 132,065 - - -
ScreenSkills - 50,000 50,000 - 118 118
The Mercers’ Company - 96,984 96,984 - - -
WCIT - - - - 10,000 10,000
Gifts in Kind 3,050 - 3,050 4,500 - 4,500
Other grants and contracts 286,319 - 286,319 129,525 11,000 140,525
Charitable income for
Communication Services 289,369 707,189 996,558 138,192 495,782 633,974
Mayor's Fund for London - - - - 45,000 45,000
ScreenSkills - - - - 15,431 15,431
Other grants and contracts 32,849 - 32,849 77,782 - 77,782
Charitable income for Youth
Media 32,849 - 32,849 77,782 60,431 138,213
Other grants and contracts 38,050 - 38,050 121,990 - 121,990
Gifts in Kind 300 - 300 - - -
Charitable income for
Engagement of Media Industry 38,350 - 38,350 121,990 - 121,990
Total income from charitable
activities 360,568 707,189 **1,067,757 ** 337,964 556,213 894,177

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The Media Trust

Notes to the Financial Statements for the year ended 31 March 2024 4a) Analysis of expenditure on charitable activities (current year)

Direct and Support
Staff Costs costs 2024 Total 2023 Total
£ £ £ £
Raising Funds - - - -
12,355
Communication Services 989,012 114,955 1,103,967 1,105,539
Youth Media 182,384 105,659 288,043 353,128
Engagement of Media Industry in Voluntary Section 13,584 176,823 190,407 318,750
1,184,980 397,437 1,582,417 1,789,772

4b) Analysis of expenditure on charitable activities (prior year)

Direct and Support
Staff Costs costs 2023 Total
£ £ £
Raising Funds 2,517 9,838 12,355
Communication Services 955,147 150,392 1,105,539
Youth Media 208,303 144,825 353,128
Engagement of Media Industry in Voluntary Section 97,848 220,902 318,750
1,263,815 525,957 1,789,772

5a) Analysis of support costs (current year)

Engagement
of Media
Industry in
Raising Comm Youth Voluntary
Funds Services Media Sector 2024 Total 2023 Total
£ £ £ £ £ £
Governance - 11,969 11,969 12,332 36,270 37,150
General management - 91,748 82,452 146,831 321,031 337,997
Premises & facilities - 11,238 11,238 17,660 40,136 150,807
- 114,955 105,659 176,823 **397,437 ** **525,954 **

* Support cost allocation is based on staff time

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The Media Trust

Notes to the Financial Statements for the year ended 31 March 2024 5b) Analysis of support costs (prior year)

Engagement
of Media
Industry in
Raising Comm Youth Voluntary
Funds Services Media Sector 2023Total
£ £ £ £ £
Governance 9,289 9,288 9,288 9,288 37,153
General management (1,491) 97,861 93,926 147,701 337,997
Premises & facilities 2,040 43,243 41,611 63,913 150,807
9,838 150,392 144,825 220,902 525,957

6) Governance Costs

Unrestricted Restricted Total 2024 Total 2023
£ £ £ £
Staff costs 23,240 - 23,240 25,637
Audit fees 12,164 - 12,164 9,516
Bank Charges 840 - 840 966
Other 26 - 26 1,031
36,270 - 36,270 37,150

All governance costs are unrestricted for the current and prior year.

7) Net income for the year is stated after charging

2024 2023
£ £
Amortisation 3,025 2,269
Auditor's remuneration 10,500 9,100

8) Staff costs

2024 2023
£ £
Salaries 952,193 1,075,852
Social security 104,476 104,322
Pension costs 25,927 27,348
Redundancy costs - 1,507
1,082,596 1,207,522

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The Media Trust

Notes to the Financial Statements for the year ended 31 March 2024

2024 2023
No. No.
The average number of staff employed during the year was: 26 31
The number of employees whose salaries for the year fell within the following
bands were:
£60,000 - £70,000 1 1
£70,000 - £80,000 - -
£80,000 - £90,000 1 1

The total emoluments (including pension contributions and employer’s national insurance) received by key management personnel were £229,119 (2023: £216,837).

Key management personnel consists of 3 employees (2023 - 3).

No remuneration was paid or expenses reimbursed to the Trustees during the year (2023 - £Nil).

9) Tangible Fixed Assets

Office
Equipment Total
£ £
Cost
At 1 April 2023 25,165 25,165
Additions - -
At 31 March 2024 25,165 25,165
Accumulated Depreciation
At 1 April 2023 25,165 25,165
Depreciation - -
At 31 March 2024 25,165 25,165
Net book value
At 1 April 2023 - -
-
At 31 March 2024 - -

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The Media Trust

Notes to the Financial Statements for the year ended 31 March 2024

10) Intangible Fixed Assets

Database
CRM System system Total
£ £
Cost
At 1 April 2023 9,075 39,068 48,143
Additions - - -
At 31 March 2024 9,075 39,068 48,143
Accumulated Depreciation
At 1 April 2023 2,269 39,068 41,337
Amortisation 3,025 - 3,025
At 31 March 2024 5,294 39,068 44,362
Net book value
At 1 April 2023 6,806 - 6,806
At 31 March 2024 3,781 - 3,781
11) Debtors
2024 2023
£ £
Trade Debtors 144,455 128,861
Other debtors 1,957 8,196
Prepayments and accrued income 123,784 207,588
270,196 344,645
12) Creditors
2024 2023
£ £
Trade Creditors 39,732 19,541
Other creditors 1,163 1,812
Taxation and social security 15,865 16,167
Accruals & deferred income 184,217 163,477
240,977 200,997

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The Media Trust

Notes to the Financial Statements for the year ended 31 March 2024

13) Deferred Income

13) Deferred Income
2024 2023
£ £
Balance at the beginning of the year 96,890 75,700
Amount released to income in the year (96,890) (75,700)
Amount deferred in the year 123,357 96,890
Balance at the end of the year **123,357 ** 96,890

Deferred income relates to income received from Corporate Partners including Edelman (Volunteering), Amazon (Mentoring) and PHD (membership) as well as Tik Tok (Summer School) and a small number of charities for bespoke training to be delivered in FY 24/25.

14a) Movement in Funds (current year)

At 1 April Income & Expenditure At 31 March
2023 Gains & losses Transfers 2024
£ £ £ £ £
Restricted Funds
Communication services
City Bridge Foundation 84,375 116,447 164,385 - 36,437
Crucible Foundation - 75,000 18,294 - 56,706
Garfield Weston Foundation 89,102 66,000 105,410 - 49,692
Gamseys 21,213 - 21,213 - -
Google 18,413 - 15,968 - 2,445
John Lyon’s Charity 101,559 130,000 123,093 - 108,466
Joseph Rowntree Charitable Trust 52,167 - 52,167 - -
Lankelly Chase - 7,000 7,000 - -
Marketing Trust 20,927 33,693 54,620 - -
The Mercers’ Company - 96,984 36,342 - 60,642
Santander Foundation - 132,065 55,228 - 76,837
ScreenSkills - 50,000 35,060 - 14,940
WCIT 10,000 - 10,000 - -
397,756 707,189 698,780 - 406,165
Youth Media
Mayor’s Fund for London 25,266 - 25,266 - -
Kusuma Trust 20,614 - 20,614 - -
45,880 - 45,880 - -
Support costs
Fidelity Foundation 6,278 38,739 41,563 - 3,454

Page: 34

The Media Trust Notes to the Financial Statements for the year ended 31 March 2024

6,278 38,739 41,563 - 3,454
Engagement of Media industry
Meta - - - - -
- - - - -
-
Total Restricted Funds 449,914 745,928 786,223 - 409,619
Unrestricted 291,367 723,942 715,826 - 299,483
Designated 23,934 65,720 80,368 - 9,286
Total Unrestricted Funds 315,301 789,662 796,194 - 308,769
Total Funds 765,215 1,535,590 1,582,417 - 718,388

Purpose of restricted funds:

Communication services:

City Bridge Foundation - Volunteer films and capacity building. Costs restricted to programme costs, programme staff costs, department costs and contribution to core.

Crucible Foundation - Volunteer films and capacity building. Costs restricted to programme costs, programme staff costs, department costs and contribution to core.

Garfield Weston Foundation - Volunteering programme - cost restricted to programme

Gamesys – Capacity Building for Mental Health Charities - Costs restricted to programme costs, programme staff costs, department costs and contribution to core.

Google - Digital Skills - training charity in digital skills. Costs restricted to programme costs, programme staff and department staff plus contribution to core.

John Lyon’s Charity - Volunteer films and capacity building. Costs restricted to programme costs, programme staff costs, department costs and contribution to core.

Joseph Rowntree Charitable Trust – Intersectional reporting training for Equalities organisations and Newsrooms/Journalists. Costs restricted to programme costs, programme staff costs, department costs and contribution to core

Lankelly Chase - Intersectional Toolkit - Costs restricted to programme costs, programme staff costs, department costs and contribution to core.

Marketing Trust - Marketing Skills Training - training decision makers. Costs restricted to programme costs, programme staff, department staff plus contribution to core.

The Mercers’ Company - Volunteer films. Costs restricted to programme costs, programme staff costs, department costs and contribution to core.

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The Media Trust

Notes to the Financial Statements for the year ended 31 March 2024

Santander Foundation - Volunteer films and capacity building. Costs restricted to programme costs, programme staff costs, department costs and contribution to core.

ScreenSkills – Mentoring matching programmes. Costs restricted to programme costs, programme staff costs, department costs and contribution to core.

WCIT - Website training for Charities - Costs restricted to programme costs, programme staff costs, department costs and contribution to core.

Youth Media:

Mayor’s Fund for London – Intensive 10 week training programme, twice a year for young people. Costs restricted to programme costs, programme staff costs, department costs and contribution to core.

Kusuma Trust – Creative Digital Media Training for young people. Costs restricted to programme costs, programme staff costs, department costs and contribution to core

Support Costs (restricted):

Fidelity Foundation – Funding of core staff. Costs restricted to salaries and equipment

Engagement of Media Industry:

Meta – Intersectional reporting training for Newsrooms and Journalists. Costs restricted to programme costs, programme staff costs, department costs and contribution to core

Purpose of designated funds:

Digital Skills_3 - Digital Skills - training charity in digital skills. Costs restricted to programme costs, programme staff and department staff plus contribution to core.

ENG_News UK disabled talent mentoring programme - Mentoring matching programmes. Costs restricted to programme costs, programme staff costs, department costs and contribution to core.

YTH_Black Britain Unspoken Year 2 - Filmmaking initiative aimed at Black British storytellers. Costs restricted to programme costs, programme staff costs, department costs and contribution to core

Communicating Climate Y4 - Capacity Building for Climate Charities - Costs restricted to programme costs, programme staff and department staff plus contribution to core.

TikTok Charity Academy 2024 - training charities in Tik Tok - Costs restricted to programme costs, programme staff and department staff plus contribution to core.

News UK Speed Pitching - a series of Speed Pitching events for underrepresented groups in preparation for upcoming awareness activities - Costs restricted to programme costs, programme staff and department staff plus contribution to core.

Leo Burnett Disabled Talent Mentoring Programme - Mentoring matching programme - Costs restricted to programme costs, programme staff and department staff plus contribution to core.

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The Media Trust

Notes to the Financial Statements for the year ended 31 March 2024 14b) Movement in Funds (prior year)

At 31
At 1 April Income & Expenditure March
2022 Gains & losses Transfers 2023
£ £ £ £ £
Restricted Funds
Communication services
Garfield Weston Foundation 89,537 126,000 126,435 - 89,102
City Bridge Foundation 151,476 96,852 163,953 - 84,375
John Lyon’s Charity 106,816 137,500 142,757 - 101,559
Google 92,423 - -
74,010		 - 18,413
Gamseys 114,660 6,648 100,095 - 21,213
Marketing Trust - 30,720 9,793 - 20,927
National Heritage Lottery Fund 21,643 66,945 88,588 - -
ScreenSkills (12,178) 12,296 118 - -
Joseph Rowntree Charitable Trust 100,000 9,999 57,832 - 52,167
The Mercers’ Company 57,524 - -
57,524		 - -
WCIT - 10,000 - -
-		 10,000
Edelman 624 11,000 11,624 - -
722,525 507,960 832,729 - 397,756
Youth Media
ScreenSkills 31,978 3,253 35,231 - -
Mayor’s Fund for London 44,998 45,000 64,732 - 25,266
Kusuma Trust 50,000 - 29,386 - 20,614
126,976 48,253 129,349 - 45,880
Support Costs
Fidelity Foundation 74,106 - 67,828 - 6,278
74,106 - 67,828 - 6,278
Engagement of Media industry
Meta 12,458 - 12,458 -
12,458 - 12,458 - -
-
Total Restricted Funds 936,065 556,213 1,042,364 - 449,914
Unrestricted 289,277 664,086 661,996 - 291,367
Designated 60,401 48,943 85,410 - 23,934
Total Unrestricted Funds 349,678 713,029 747,406 - 315,301
Total Funds 1,285,743 1,269,242 1,789,770 - 765,215

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The Media Trust

Notes to the Financial Statements for the year ended 31 March 2024 15a) Analysis of net assets between funds (current year)

Unrestricted Designated Restricted Funds
funds funds funds Total
£ £ £
Fund balances at31 March 2024are represented by:
Fixed Assets 3,781 - - 3,781
Net Current Assets 295,702 9,286 409,619 714,607
299,483 9,286 409,619 718,388

15b) Analysis of net assets between funds (prior year)

Unrestricted Designated Restricted Funds
funds funds funds Total
£ £ £
Fund balances at31 March 2023are represented by:
Fixed assets 6,806 - - 6,806
Net Current Assets 284,561 23,934 449,914 758,409
**291,367 ** **23,934 ** 449,914 765,215

16) Taxation

The company, as a registered charity, is not liable for Income Tax or Corporation Tax because its income falls within the various exemptions available to registered charities.

17) Subsidiary Companies

Media Trust Trading Limited, a wholly owned subsidiary, was incorporated on 1 September 2017 (company no. 10942812 England & Wales) and remained dormant during the period to 31 March 2024. Dormant accounts will be filed at Companies House in due course.

Consolidated accounts have not been prepared as the only subsidiary controlled by The Media Trust as at 31 March 2023 was dormant.

18) Industry Contributors

The Media Trust is supported by a number of major media organisations. The non-executive directors of The Media Trust include directors and senior managers of some of these media organisations, who have been appointed because of their experience and knowledge of the sector. The directors do not believe that these organisations are related to The Media Trust and absent themselves from any financial transaction involving their media organisations, other than corporate partnerships and donations which are on arm's length terms consistent with other media organisations that support The Media Trust.

19) Related Party Transactions

There were no related party transactions for the year (2023: Nil)

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The Media Trust

Notes to the Financial Statements for the year ended 31 March 2024

22) Comparatives for the statement of financial activities

Unrestricted Restricted Total Funds
2023 2023 2023
Income and endowments from: £ £ £
Donations and legacies 372,720 - -
372,720
Investment income 2,347 - -
2,347
Charitable activities: -
Communication Services 138,192 495,782 633,974
Youth Media 77,782 60,431 138,213
Engagement of Media Industry 121,990 - 121,990
Total income and endowments 713,031 556,213 1,269,244
Expenditure on:
Raising funds 11,438 917 12,355
Charitable activities
Communication Services 253,360 852,179 1,105,539
Youth Media 205,063 148,065 353,128
Engagement of Media Industry 277,547 41,203 318,750
Total expenditure 747,408 1,042,364 1,789,772
Net income/(expenditure) (34,377) (486,151) (520,528)
Transfers between funds - - -
-
Net movement of funds (34,377) (486,151) (520,528)
Reconciliation of funds
Total funds brought forward 349,678 936,065 1,285,743
Total funds carried forward 315,301 449,914 765,215

Page: 39