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2023-03-31-accounts

ANNUAL REPORT 2022–23 Closing the gaps Building knowledge, confidence and skills Priming agency and action

Contents

2022–23 highlights
Message from the Chair and CEO		 2
4
Vision, mission and values 6
Our strategy 8
Our work in action 10
Be in the KNOW 12
Boost 14
Young Africa Live 16
Yaya 17
Project spotlights 18
Connecting, learning and sharing 20
The year ahead 22
Maintaining an effective organisation 23
Financial summary 24

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||| |---|---| |Organisational information|26| |Working in partnership with…|27| |Structure, governance and management|28| |Fundraising and partnerships|29| |Finance report|30| |Statement of Trustee responsibilities|32| |Independent auditor’s report to the|33| |members of Avert| |Statement of financial activities|35| |Balance sheet|36| |Statement of cash flows|37| |Accounting policies|38| |Notes to the financial statements|40|

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Over Over 36.6 81% MILLION PEOPLE OF VISITORS TO empowered through BE IN THE KNOW knowledge on sexual health were more likely to take and HIV action on HIV and sexual health as a result

2022–23 highlights

36 Boost accessed by nearly MILLION FACEBOOK & 35 INSTAGRAM USERS THOUSAND reached with information COMMUNITY HEALTH to support their knowledge, WORKERS/EDUCATORS skills and confidence (web & app)

OVER Boost – our digital job Nearly Information resources for aide for community health primary HIV and sexual workers accessed by health practitioners viewed 12.33 2.6 70 MILLION PEOPLEMILLION FACEBOOK & MILLION THOUSAND PEOPLE INSTAGRAM USERS in sub-Saharan Africa ENGAGEMENTS 1,172 reached through 2022 learned more about sexual empowered through with Avert content across 188 COMMUNITY HEALTH World AIDS Day campaign Be in the KNOW health through Avert’s our project portfolio THOUSAND TIMES WORKERS on Facebook and Instagram content(web & social) in Zimbabwe alone

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HIV still isn’t over, particularly for young women – in 2022 there were over 4,000 new HIV infections among adolescent girls and young women each week.[1] If we are to narrow the HIV knowledge gaps that are holding back faster progress, access to trusted health information must be a reality for all. That’s why Avert continues to focus our efforts so keenly on co-creating high quality, contextappropriate digital content and resources that are designed to directly address the needs of people most affected by HIV and poor sexual health, and those working to support them.

This has been a year of significant progress towards those aims. Two of our central products, Boost and Be in the KNOW , are now firmly established brands, reaching millions of individuals and frontline health workers with engaging, evidence-based resources that are helping them and their communities to take better decisions about their sexual health. Alongside this, we’ve been working hard to share more of the knowledge and expertise that we have built up over the past year from all our products and partnerships.

Projects and campaigns to reach targeted populations undertaken in 10 COUNTRIES across sub-Saharan Africa: Botswana, Eswatini, Lesotho, Malawi, Mozambique, Nigeria, South Africa, Uganda, Zambia and Zimbabwe

Life skills app Yaya Avert learning rolled out to over presented at 70 THOUSAND YOUNG USERS 550 4 in South Africa started LOW LITERACY GIRLS INTERNATIONAL online conversations on the in Mozambique CONFERENCES issues that matter to them through Young Africa Live

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Message from the Chair and CEO

Not everyone is benefiting from the progress that has been achieved in the HIV response. Health information is a right and yet millions of people still do not have the knowledge to make informed choices that protect their health.

‘‘

We have welcomed working with Avert on the Young Africa Live project. They are excellent at developing impactful content that engages young audiences and they know how to make it work on the social channels that young people use.

Lindsay Hayden, Portfolio Lead Young People, Elton John AIDS Foundation

In 2022, women and girls accounted for 62% of new HIV infections in sub-Saharan Africa, yet only 42% of districts with high HIV incidence had dedicated prevention programmes for adolescent girls and young women. HIV prevalence also continues to be many times higher among key populations compared to the general population. The criminalization of marginalised groups, such as the LGBT community in countries like Uganda, continues to fuel stigma and dissuade those most in need from finding support and using services. This has knock on effects on their own health as well as that of their partners and communities. Millions of lives are in jeopardy.

Health literacy matters and can help break down many of the barriers that hold back progress. It can challenge stigma. It can help people to know about new prevention tools like pre-exposure prophylaxis (PrEP) and how to access them. It can act as a lifeline to populations discriminated against based on gender or sexuality by providing confidential guidance and a readymade support group to anyone with access to a smartphone. It can help the 29.8 million people currently receiving life-saving treatment for HIV not only to understand and adhere to their treatment, but also provide additional resources to support their mental health and psychosocial needs.

Developing health literacy resources that not only inform but also dismantle stigma and misinformation can create a new norm, one that values inclusion, evidence, openness

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and clarity. That’s why this year has seen us build on our commitment to support advice seekers, educators and health practitioners, and reach the people who most need trustworthy, accessible and action-oriented information.

We now have a number of co-created tools in our kit box to support our different audiences on their learning journeys. The feedback and engagement analytics from our new digital brand Be in the KNOW , launched in April 2022, have been impressive – with clear evidence the brand is bringing young people into wider discussions on HIV and sexual health and building their knowledge and their agency to make informed choices.

Similarly, through our role developing content for and marketing Young Africa Live , we have brought over 70,000 young people into the conversation and gained valuable insights into the sexual health challenges faced by young people in South Africa. Together with a more detailed understanding of how they are using social media, these insights will inform other strands of our work going forward.

Boost , our app for community health workers and peer educators, has continued to go from strength to strength, with its further integration by a Zimbabwean HIV organisation into its wider work streams, and growing demand from motivated individual peer educators across sub-Saharan Africa. This is an exciting chance for us to take Boost to scale and embed it in community health outreach approaches across the region.

Likewise, Yaya – our life skills app co-designed with a group of adolescent girls and young women in Mozambique – has found its feet and is a model for how digital solutions can be successfully adapted to work for even the most low-literate and rural contexts. Yaya is helping create agency and build self-efficacy among a population that is at particular risk of HIV.

Avert remains committed to working with others across the sector to maximise impact and reduce duplication. We would like to thank our valued partners, funders, co-collaborators, staff and Trustees who all share our vision of ending new HIV infections and ensuring the dignity and wellbeing of those living with HIV.

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Sarah Hand Professor Simon Forrest
Chief Executive Officer Chair of the Board of Trustees
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Vision, mission and values

WHO WE ARE

Avert uses digital communications to build health literacy on HIV and sexual health. With over 30 years’ experience, we are a trusted provider of accessible, accurate and actionable content and resources that support informed choices. Our work supports global efforts to end AIDS and achieve the Sustainable Development Goal for health. Every year, we engage with millions of individuals, community health workers and primary health practitioners living in areas of greatest need. We use our understanding of HIV and sexual health, our expertise in digital marketing, communications and behaviour change, and our network of partnerships to increase their knowledge, skills and confidence, and their ability to act.

OUR VISION

A world with no new HIV infections, where people make empowered sexual health choices, and where those living with HIV do so with dignity, good health and equality.

OUR MISSION

To increase health literacy on HIV and sexual health, among those most affected in areas of greatest need, in order to reduce new infections and improve health and well being.

OUR VALUES

We believe in every person’s right to health and to the information that enables them to make informed choices around sexual health. The following values inform our work:

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‘‘

I so much love this advice thank you Be in the KNOW user

Information is broken down in a way we understand it and it’s not too technical. Thank you!!

Be in the KNOW user, Zimbabwe

I am amazed by how there is so much useful information about sex, consent and safety. Some of us have hardly had sex ed while growing up and without having someone to talk to, having reliable information in such simple, everyday language that is based on research and also feels so empowering to the reader – is a great resource.

Be in the KNOW user, India

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Our strategy From knowledge to action

THE WAY WE WORK

We develop and promote HIV and sexual health content and resources that are accurate, accessible, useful, and actionable. In doing this:

STRATEGIC RESPONSE

OUTCOME

RESULT

‘‘ My questions were answered and my knowledge has increased.

Be in the KNOW user, Zimbabwe

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1

Increase the HIV and sexual health-related knowledge, skills and confidence of those most at risk of HIV and poor sexual health, and those living with HIV.

We will:

2

Expand and deepen the knowledge, skills and confidence of educators and advocates working on local responses to HIV and sexual health.

We will:

3

Support evidence-based practice among primary HIV and sexual health practitioners.

We will:

The people we reach have gained up-to-date knowledge, skills and confidence to make informed choices to support their own and others’ sexual health.

Targeted educators and advocates have gained up-to-date knowledge, skills and confidence to support quality engagement with their clients or target groups.

Targeted practitioners have gained up-to-date knowledge of evidencebased approaches to support local HIV and sexual health responses.

The people we reach take informed action to support their own and others’ sexual health, reducing HIV and other sexual health infections, and improving physical and mental health among those living with HIV.

Educators and advocates are effective at their roles, improving the sexual health of the local population.

Practitioners adopt evidence-based approaches, improving the relevance of primary HIV and sexual health responses.

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‘‘

The information that has been shared I found very interesting because there are so many myths around this things in our societies so I think is information give us clarity.

‘‘

I got to learn some other health topics that I didn’t know about and this makes me able to interact with clients confidently because the information is there.

Boost user, Mpilo Central Hospital, Bulawayo, Zimbabwe

Be in the KNOW user, South Africa

This is an excellent resource for teenagers who are learning how to navigate and regulate themselves, their health as well as relationships with others.

Young Africa Live user, South Africa

Our work in action

The second year of our 2021–24 global strategy From knowledge to action has consolidated Avert’s reputation for quality and expertise. Our audiences’ needs have continued to be at the forefront of everything we do. Their input has played a critical part in shaping the design and content of flagship projects Boost , Yaya and Young Africa Live , and our Be in the KNOW digital brand. User feedback consistently shows that our brands and products improve their knowledge, skills and confidence, leaving users able to make more informed health decisions and more likely to take action.

‘‘

Being educated about consent ’n whatnot is really helpful… I always thought I wrong when I refuse to give my partner sex even if I’m not in that mood.

Be in the KNOW user, Eswatini

It helps me to make positive decision.

Be in the KNOW user, Zambia

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PERSONAL STORY: ELIZABETH

Elizabeth struggled to come to terms with her HIV-positive status at first but learning more about HIV helped her to understand her diagnosis and look after her health.

“I didn’t handle the news well. I thought my life was over.

I went to my follow up appointments, and I am grateful that I had kind and understanding doctors. I received a crash course in HIV and learned what it means to be undetectable. I also learned that my new husband had a very high load, which meant it was more likely he gave it to me. What I didn’t expect was to find out later that he was already aware of his status long before we ever said, ‘I do’. This news destroyed me.

Eventually it was my faith that got me through. I decided this would not ruin me. I returned to my hometown, reconnected with family and friends, started seeing an amazing doctor and met an even more amazing man. He’s negative and 11 years and two kids later, he still makes me glad I didn’t give up on love.

I know there’s still a ridiculous amount of misinformation and stigma around HIV. I’ve even experienced unprofessional behaviour from doctors, but I refuse to let it change who I am. I am living my positive life positively. There’s so much more to life.”

Elizabeth is one of many Be in the KNOW users who share their stories for publication to provide hope and inspiration to others.

Over 36.6 MILLION PEOPLE empowered through knowledge

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1.8 MILLION ENGAGEMENTS with Be in the KNOW content (web & social)

Be in the KNOW

One year on from its launch, we are delighted that our Be in the KNOW brand – across website and social media – has become a go-to trusted resource on HIV and sexual health in sub-Saharan Africa. It offers fresh, sex-positive content for individuals and for the community health workers and primary practitioners who support them. It is informed by research, high quality data and a rigorous peer review process.

Sex, sexuality and relationships are still subject to cultural taboos and conservative outlooks in many countries on the African continent, but the boom in mobile and digital technology means that more people are searching for judgement-free answers online. Be in the KNOW is there for them with content that builds their knowledge and confidence so that they can take charge of their own sexual health.

In its first 12 months, Be in the KNOW reached over 13 million people in sub-Saharan Africa and engagement rates across our social media channels and the website were high. Over 67% of users said information was very easy to understand and 86% said they found Be in the KNOW useful. As a result, over 77% of users felt more confident to talk about their sexual health and 81% were more likely to take action.

One key learning has been that sex- and pleasure-focused content is a successful way to engage young people and take them on a broader, curated learning journey about HIV and sexual health. We’ve also gained a better understanding of the kind of content that works best on each channel and how best to differentiate these. With over 19 million users in South Asia also exploring our resources, we are looking to develop broader content that is relevant to their contexts too.

‘‘

Yes it is really useful cause I too have a positive HIV lady and she loves me a lot but some times I fear to have sex with her, but this page has made me stronger now.

Be in the KNOW user, Uganda

‘‘

It’s giving me confidence that even though I’m [HIV] positive, I can still live a healthy life.

Be in the KNOW user, Kenya

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ENSURING SUCCESS

In an era when ‘fake news’ and misinformation is giving rise to harmful and stigmatising views, trusted information and a trusted brand are more important than ever. Be in the KNOW is accredited by the independent PIF TICK quality kitemark, providing reassurance to our audiences that we are a provider of accurate, unbiased, and evidence-based information. Over 76% of our users say they fully trust the information on Be in the KNOW .

To be sure that content is hitting its mark, Be in the KNOW has been co-created and developed with the people we are trying to reach at the centre. This has included in person and virtual focus group discussions, user testing, WhatsApp chat groups, and working with in-country focal points in the HIV and sexual health sector in target countries. All of this ensures that our content and brand is relevant and responsive to real needs. We use data from the website and social media to continually iterate and improve.

‘‘ The information helps me to give accurate information to the public since my job also focuses on promoting the health and safety of workers at the workplace.

Part of the reason for the success of Be in the KNOW is because Avert takes a sex-positive and pleasure-inclusive approach to sexual health and rights. There is now clear evidence that bringing sexual pleasure into the way we approach sexual health increases impact.[2] Our content connects with our audiences precisely because it celebrates sexuality and sexual desire and simultaneously outlines how to have sex in ways that will keep users and their partners happy and safe.

Building on Avert’s years of experience in digital communications, we also continue to follow best practice search engine optimisation (SEO) and search marketing techniques to monitor sexual health-related search terms and make sure that our content is getting in front of the people who need it the most. We also maximise our Google charity grant, developing and maintaining effective ads that achieve a strong click-through rate, getting our information in front of thousands of people each month.

13 MILLION PEOPLE reached across sub-Saharan Africa (web & social)

Be in the KNOW user, Zimbabwe

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Boost

Community health workers and peer educators (CHWs) are a crucial first port of call for many people in sub-Saharan Africa – providing health information, countering misinformation, and supporting self-care. But they often lack the up-to-date knowledge and information resources they need to be able to effectively support their communities’ health. Boost was designed as a digital job aide to transform CHWs’ capabilities, build community trust in their roles, and increase the agency of community members to make informed health choices.

Co-created with over 100 CHWs in southern Africa, Boost provides up-to-date visual and interactive information materials on HIV, sexual health and other primary health issues that enhance CHWs’ knowledge, skills and confidence. It is available as a native Android app that works offline and as a web version. We have also continued piloting a chatbot version, the BoostBot .

Over the past year Boost usage continued to grow and deepen with over 1,000 CHWs using the native app in Zimbabwe, and over 33,800 users of the online web version. An evaluation of use in Zimbabwe found 96% of CHWs increased their confidence and improved communication with clients, 96% increased personal knowledge of recent HIV-related evidence, and 100% of CHW supervisors said that using Boost improves CHWs’ quality of service.

Following feedback from CHWs, we added new content on intersecting health topics including female genital schistosomiasis (FGS) and worked on improving Boost ’s offline functionality. We also developed new functionality to embed Boost within CHWs’ daily working practices, expanded local language content, and added back-end functions such as data dashboards to support partner implementation.

‘‘

It’s become easy to communicate with my clients. Community outreach agent, Garanyemba Clinic, Gwanda, Zimbabwe

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WORKING WITH OPHID

Zimbabwean HIV organisation OPHID was one of the first to see the potential in adopting Boost to increase the number of young people accessing HIV, sexual and mental health services. Having been part of the Boost pilot, OPHID believed that integrating Boost into its PEPFAR programme would address a knowledge gap and ultimately improve the overall project outcomes.

Using a tailored version of Boost to guide them, a specialised cadre of 500 community health workers called community outreach agents (COAs) are carrying out screening and referrals among households to increase their uptake of essential health services. The COAs cover six districts in southern Zimbabwe and are linked to community health facilities. Some work

SCALING BOOST

Based on the success of Boost to date, our plans for regional scale-up are ambitious. We want to see Boost in the hands of many thousands more community health workers and peer educators across sub-Saharan Africa. We plan to achieve this in three ways:

‘‘ We now have confident COAs [CHWs] and our programming is improving due to the Boost usage.

specifically with young people. Boost content has been translated into the local Shona and Ndebele languages, along with screening tools that have been locally validated and endorsed by the Ministry of Health and Child Care, and a data management infrastructure that is compliant with Zimbabwe’s new data protection laws.

Early results from the rollout indicate that Boost is enhancing the knowledge, skills and confidence of the COAs, as well as increasing trust with their clients. The screenings that they are carrying out at a household level are supporting young people’s access to HIV, sexual health, family planning, FGS and mental health services.

We want to work with CHW organisations, networks and m-health organisations to maximise the use of the learning, investment, and co-created health content developed so far. This means supporting organisations to adopt and integrate Boost into existing programme work, supporting organisations that are new to digital, and working with those that have specific content, language or operational requirements. We are also looking to collaborate with other m-health organisations that are already supporting CHW organisations to track and evaluate their CHWs’ knowledge needs and activities, and explore opportunities for the Boost content and approach to be integrated into existing tools.

Without the right knowledge resources, CHWs cannot effectively support their communities’ health. Boost equips them with the tools and confidence to become agents of change.

Note: CHWs in this context refers to all non-formally qualified workers such as peer educators, community health advocates, community educators, treatment support workers etc.

96% OF USERS increased knowledge and confidence

District supervisor, Boost outcome evaluation participant

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‘‘ I tried this chatbot. I’d definitely recommend it. Young Africa Live chatbot user

Young Africa Live

A new generation of young people in South Africa need a new approach to engage them on issues around sexual and mental health. Piloted in South Africa from early 2023, Young Africa Live uses a WhatsApp chatbot, Facebook and Instagram to reach young people. It provides judgement-free private conversations and tailored support through the chatbot, and peer engagement and open discussions on Facebook and Instagram, allowing young people to benefit from the advantages of both platforms.

Through its clear, trustworthy and engaging content Young Africa Live is aiming to engage over 100,000 young people during the course of the project, helping them make informed choices to improve their sexual and mental health. The results so far – over 70,000 conversations started with young people by July 2023 – show Young Africa Live is empowering a new generation of young people through digital to make knowledgeable decisions and link up with wider HIV and STI services.

Avert has led content development for the chatbot across a range of issues related to sex and relationships, HIV and STIs, and mental health. We have also led on social media marketing to drive awareness and engagement with the chatbot and to promote and moderate discussions on Facebook and Instagram.

Led by Reach Digital Health, with investment from the Elton John AIDS Foundation and pro-bono support from Meta, the project has been integrated within the national B-Wise sexual health brand through close collaboration with the South African National Department of Health and B-Wise partners.

Working on Young Africa Live has honed our skills in creating conversational chatbot content and provided valuable insights into the social media usage and sexual health challenges faced by young people in South Africa. This in turn has sparked new ideas for sex-positive, pleasurebased content. All this learning is being fed into the ongoing improvement and iteration of Young Africa Live , as well as feeding into Avert’s wider work.

‘‘

It’s been great having Avert’s expertise in developing engaging, sex positive content on the Young Africa Live project.

Erwin Fisser, Social Behaviour Change Communications Lead, Aidsfonds

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‘‘ We like what [Yaya] said… We can trust her because she has a friendly voice and seems like a very knowledgeable person.

Yaya co-creation participant, Mozambique

Yaya

Yaya is a life skills app developed by Avert to engage out-ofschool, low literacy girls in Mozambique. Developed as part of the EAGLE project, a programme funded by Global Affairs Canada and implemented by VSO and Light for the World, Yaya is a tablet-based, user-friendly set of resources on life skills, sex, and relationships, that aims to increase the girls’ knowledge and enable them to make informed sexual health and relationship decisions.

Yaya has now been rolled out to over 550 girls and will reach a total of 3,000 girls across Sofala and Manica provinces by project end. Co-created with end users, Yaya is a demonstration of how digital can be relevant to and make a difference to the most marginalised populations.

Delivered in two local oral languages, Ndau and Sena, Yaya has no text and uses only audio and visuals to provide a resource that is easy to navigate and intuitive for non-literate users. It is a home-based learning solution that provides the flexibility for the girls to keep revisiting the content and absorb the information in their own time and surroundings.

Ongoing user engagement with a cohort of the girls was fundamental in shaping content, design and functionality development, and ensured sex, relationships, contraception and choice were discussed in ways appropriate and relevant to the girls’ context and circumstances. As a result of the girls’ involvement, the app was more readily accepted by their families and wider community.

With VSO, we are now assessing additional language versions, and researching how we could deploy Yaya – and the learning captured through the development process – to support similar initiatives with low literacy communities elsewhere. Other organisations working in Mozambique could also benefit from the app and we look forward to forging new relationships so that many more women and girls gain access to Yaya .

‘‘

The impact of the co-creation process was very positive. It made the application more acceptable to the community because they had participated in its creation … The girls really, in exploring their ideas, developed self-esteem and were able to believe in themselves. They could express their opinions about sexuality and feel that they were important and involved in what was going on.

Nelma, EAGLE project representative in Mozambique

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VOICE+

Over the year we continued to work closely with GNP+ on their Voice+ platform, using our digital content and monitoring and evaluation experience to support content planning, development and delivery, monitoring and evaluation work, and wider strategy for the app. This fed into GNP+’s wider work to improve the look and feel of the app and enhance its performance.

Voice+ was designed to improve communication between network members and is a two-way digital platform that was initially introduced during the COVID-19 pandemic but subsequently adapted as a core network tool. It supports links between networks of people living with HIV and is used by them as a trusted source of information, a place to connect, and a tool to raise local issues.

We are continuing to explore ways in which more of Avert’s existing sexual health content can be made available to Voice+ users to avoid duplication of effort between our two organisations. GNP+ is a highly valued partner and we are looking forward to new opportunities to develop our work together.

Project spotlights

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SUPPORTING A HOLISTIC APPROACH TO WOMEN’S HEALTH

As a founding member of the Female Genital Schistosomiasis (FGS) Integration Group (FIG), which was created in 2022, Avert brought our wealth of knowledge not only of HIV and sexual health to the coalition, but also our experience of making complex health information accessible to populations most impacted by these conditions.

FGS is a neglected tropical disease that is preventable and treatable, but affects 56 million women and girls across Africa and can lead to years of suffering and stigma. Often misdiagnosed as a sexually transmitted infection, if left untreated FGS puts women at risk of serious reproductive health issues, including infertility and cervical cancer. It also makes women and girls more vulnerable to HIV.

During the year we used our platforms to reach those who need information and resources about FGS and integrating FGS with SRH practices. This included adding a new module on FGS to our community health worker job aide Boost , and new resources to the Be in the KNOW website highlighting the need for a holistic person-centred approach that recognises the interlinkages between FGS, HIV and sexual and reproductive health.

Systematically addressing the prevention, diagnosis and treatment of FGS in a comprehensive way has the potential to increase women’s and girls’ overall health outcomes, quality of life and wellbeing. Avert will continue to work with FIG partners on FGS health literacy to make this a reality.

HIV AND MPOX

A global outbreak of mpox, renamed from monkeypox by the World Health Organization to lessen stigma, was declared a public health emergency in July 2022. Although not sexually transmitted, it is passed on through close contact and, in this instance, has mainly affected gay men and other men who have sex with men. People with HIV who are not yet diagnosed or on treatment, and with compromised immune systems, have also been at greater risk of serious infection.

Taking the learning from our work during the COVID-19 pandemic, Avert had a very clear role to play disseminating time-critical and dependable information to the communities accessing our content and channels across web and social – countering stigma and helping to combat vaccine hesitancy.

With support from Gilead, we created new mpox content to use across our channels and linked this new content to existing materials on HIV and sexual health. The aim was to enable individuals and practitioners to increase their knowledge and protect themselves and others against mpox, and also encourage continuity of HIV treatment and prevention services.

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Connecting, learning and sharing

Working in partnership with like-minded organisations to exchange expertise and add value to each other’s activities is core to Avert’s approach. Over the year we increased our engagement with a broad range of organisations across the HIV, sexual health, digital and behaviour change sectors to support collaboration, avoid duplication, and enhance our wider understanding and effectiveness. We also worked harder to share the evidence and learning generated through our own work at conferences and through other networks and events.

‘‘

I recently tested positive and the information that I read reassured me that HIV is not a death sentence. That HIV is a manageable disease if I adhere to my medication as prescribed, and that I can have a meaningful and loving relationship with a negative person. Disclosure will be important to build trust between me and my partner.

A few highlights of this work to connect, learn and share include:

Be in the KNOW website user, South Africa

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We aspire to continually improve our practice and see connecting, learning and sharing as the foundations for this. We look forward to engaging with more organisations, networks and learning events in the year ahead.

EVIDENCE SHARING LEARNING PARTICIPATING IN DISCUSSION COLLABORATING

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The year ahead

Following a successful year demonstrating the value and impact of our work, our focus for the year ahead will be on scaling up to reach more people.

We will continue to align our work to the needs of the epidemic, with a particular focus on women and girls in sub-Saharan Africa, as highlighted in the latest UNAIDS report. This means providing information on HIV and broader sexual and reproductive health that is integrated, targeted and effective.

We will continue to follow evidence-based approaches, including ensuring all content is sex-positive, as we know pleasure-inclusive sexual health is more effective at encouraging safe sexual choices.

Our work also relies on maintaining a sustainable funding base. In a challenging funding environment, we will continue to explore new ways to support and expand our work.

BUILDING ON EXISTING PRODUCTS

We will implement a programme of iterative testing and learning on Be in the KNOW , across the website and social media, to improve the health learning journeys of our audiences and maximise the brand’s overall impact.

On Boost we will expand partnerships with organisations whose work Boost can strengthen by equipping their community health workers and peer educators (CHWs) with the knowledge resources they need. The free web version of Boost will be promoted to self-motivated CHWs, through online marketing and a new CHW ambassadors scheme.

We will host a webinar for potential partners, funders and Boost implementers, sharing the learnings from its roll out in Zimbabwe. Through engagement with other organisations, we will continue to explore how Boost best complements existing digital CHW resources.

We will build on the success of our Yaya life skills app by securing partnerships to expand its range of content and languages, to reach and benefit more low-literacy communities inside and outside Mozambique.

NEW STRATEGY DEVELOPMENT

We look forward to carrying out a review of our progress and achievements against our current strategy, in consultation with partners and leaders across the sector. This will help inform our next strategic framework.

We will monitor closely the fast-paced evolution of the social media landscape, responding thoughtfully so we remain visible and relevant to our core audiences. We will also explore ways to sustainably expand Be in the KNOW to meet the needs of audiences in new geographical regions, such as South Asia.

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Maintaining an effective organisation

Maintaining our commitment to evidence and independence sits at the core of our organisation and ensures we are the trusted, go-to HIV and sexual health organisation for millions of people globally.

We continue to operate as a small, but highly effective organisation reaching millions. Our talented and committed staff, based in the UK, Zimbabwe and South Africa work hard to maintain our reputation and the trust we have from our global audiences. Investing in our knowledge management systems ensures that we are always up-to-date and accurate, while taking a human centred design approach ensures we understand what our audiences want to know. These working principles are at the core of our sustainability strategy, alongside our ability to be agile and responsive to changing digital platforms and audience behaviours.

We are committed to using with good stewardship and care the enormous opportunities that our understanding of digital communication platforms and search marketing brings. Digital platforms give new opportunities for people to enquire, explore and learn in the privacy of their own homes and in their own time on the health issues that matter most to them. The digital literacy and rights of our key audiences are crucial in ensuring we can use social media platforms and the web to the best advantage to support improved health outcomes.

Our committed partners and funders have supported us to grow and to maintain our standards and the effectiveness of our organisation as we continue to stay flexible to the changing HIV, sexual health and digital landscapes.

We look forward to a challenging year ahead as we work hard to be sustainable, reach more people, and close the knowledge gap. This will be the final year in our current strategy and will contribute greatly to the direction we take in the coming years. We know that whether it’s creating demand for PrEP, being informed about HIV transmission, or understanding HIV treatment, that health literacy matters. We remain committed to play our part towards achieving the UNAIDS Global Goals to end AIDS by 2030.

‘‘

Gilead is pleased to support Avert’s work across key populations to lessen the healthcare divide through up-to-date, innovative, online resources and tools, so that, people can support their own self-care. We welcome their expertise in taking complex health information and making it accessible to people who need to know.

Gilead Sciences

Note: Avert receives grant funding from Gilead Sciences; Gilead has no input or influence into grantee activities.

24 |[AVERT ANNUAL REPORT 2022–23]

Financial summary

TOTAL INCOME FOR THE YEAR

----- Start of picture text -----
£8,359 £5,789 £325 £7,052
other donations and legacies other donations and legacies
£41,726 £42,779
investment income investment income
2022–23 2021–22
£373,488 £1,041,072
grants grants
----- End of picture text -----

----- Start of picture text -----
TOTAL INCOME: £429,362
----- End of picture text -----

TOTAL INCOME: £1,091,228

Avert would like to acknowledge and thank all the individual donors who continue to support our work as well as thanking the Vitol Foundation, Mercury Phoenix Trust, Gilead Sciences, ViiV Healthcare, VSO, The Elton John AIDS Foundation, Sentebale, the Risk Pool Fund, and the Global Network of People Living with HIV, for their grant support and partnership.

----- Start of picture text -----
AVERT ANNUAL REPORT 2022–23 | 25
----- End of picture text -----

----- Start of picture text -----
TOTAL £906,740
EXPENDITURE charitable
FOR THE activities
YEAR
2022–23
£72,471
seeking donations,
grants and legacies
£8,870
managing investments
----- End of picture text -----

TOTAL EXPENDITURE: £988,081

----- Start of picture text -----
£610,592
charitable
activities
2021–22
£78,988
seeking donations,
grants and legacies
£10,675
managing investments
----- End of picture text -----

TOTAL EXPENDITURE: £700,255

£560,056

£305,593

£352,261

£232,410

Strategic Result 1: Strategic Result 2: Promoting knowledge Promoting knowledge of those at risk of community educators

Strategic Result 1: Strategic Result 2: Promoting knowledge Promoting knowledge of those at risk of community educators

----- Start of picture text -----
2022–23 2021–22
£41,091
Strategic Result 3:
£25,921
Supporting practitioners
Strategic Result 3:
Supporting practitioners
----- End of picture text -----

BREAKDOWN OF EXPENDITURE AGAINST OUR CHARITABLE ACTIVITIES

26 |[AVERT ANNUAL REPORT 2022–23]

Organisational information

AVERT (LIMITED BY GUARANTEE)

TRUSTEES

Professor Simon Forrest ( Chair ) Anna Becker Emily Hughes Carole Leach-Lemens

Beryl Mutonono-Watkiss (resigned 27 July 2023) Andrew Walker Max Cuvellier Sam Avrett ( resigned 2 November 2023 ) Carol Sherman

PRINCIPAL AND REGISTERED OFFICE

Platf9rm, Tower Point, 44 North Road Brighton BN1 1YR UK

Registered charity number 1074849 Registered company number 03716796

COMPANY SECRETARY Professor Simon Forrest

BOARD SECRETARY Kerry Pike

KEY MANAGEMENT PERSONNEL

Sarah Hand, Chief Executive Officer (CEO) Simon Moore, Director of Communications & Digital Health Strategy

Kate Harrison, Director of Partnerships and Fundraising (left August 2022)

Jon Edgell, Director of Finance and Operations

BANKERS

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

Barclays Bank Plc Leicester LE87 2BB

INVESTMENT MANAGERS J M Finn & Co 25 Copthall Ave, London EC2R 7AH

SOLICITORS Irwin Mitchell Belmont House, Station Way Crawley, West Sussex RH10 1JA

AUDITORS

Blue Spire Limited, Chartered Accountants Cawley Priory, South Pallant Chichester PO19 1SY

AVERT ANNUAL REPORT 2022–23 | 27

Working in partnership with…

28 |[FINANCIAL STATEMENTS FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31 MARCH 2023]

Structure, governance and management

The organisation is a charitable company limited by guarantee, incorporated on 16th February 1999 and registered as a charity on 25th March 1999.

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 Trustees and Senior Management Team recently updated the charitable objects following review to ensure they remained aligned to the organisation’s strategy and new Articles of Association were adopted on 21st October 2021.

All Trustees give their time voluntarily and receive no benefits from the charity. Any expenses reclaimed from the charity are set out in note 12 to the accounts.

We refer to Trustees throughout but for the purposes of the Companies Act the Trustees are also the Directors.

REMUNERATION POLICY FOR KEY MANAGEMENT PERSONNEL

The pay and remuneration of the charity’s key management personnel is established through job evaluation, sector benchmarking, availability of funding, recruitment advertising, individuals’ skills, knowledge and experience, and relevant salary surveys comparison. The CEO, together with the Board, reviews budget availability for all appointments. The Chair of the Board reviews the remuneration of the CEO.

The charity has a staff handbook that contains all necessary human resource and employment policies, including a remuneration policy. The handbook is reviewed and updated regularly by external employment law specialists. The charity takes the safeguarding of its employees and the people we work with seriously. All staff are asked to sign a code of conduct when joining the organisation and are provided with regular training on safeguarding. The charity’s safeguarding policy is available to the public.

APPOINTMENT OF TRUSTEES

The charity has a single management body, the Board of Trustees, elected by its members. The charity continues to benefit greatly from a talented committed Board. New Trustees are recruited through social media, recruitment advertising or networking. In accordance with the charity’s Articles of Association, the Board may by ordinary resolution appoint a person who is willing to act as a Director.

All new Trustees undertake a full induction programme ensuring that they are aware of their legal obligations under charity and company law. They receive copies of the Articles of Association and the Charity Commission Booklet “CC3 The Essential Trustee”.

The Board of Trustees meets quarterly with the CEO and other management staff to review finances, progress and performance, consider risk, strategy and going concerns. Trustee attendance at quarterly meetings remains high at 84%. In addition individual Trustees with specific skill sets from time-to-time work directly with the CEO and members of the management team on specific projects that require their expertise such as the Fundraising and Partnerships Technical Working Group. This group meets to provide support and strategic direction to the Fundraising and Partnerships Team.

Once a year, Trustees come together with the Senior Management Team for an away day – providing an opportunity for more detailed work and training. This year the Trustees carried out a stock-take review taking into consideration the charity’s business model, funding base and projects. Trustees regularly consider the latest guidance from the Charity Commission and other relevant bodies on good practice. Trustees are committed to personal development through their careers and voluntary work, and a record of training is maintained.

ORGANISATION AND DECISION-MAKING

The CEO is responsible for the day-to-day operations, compliance and delivery of the charity’s strategy and is accountable to the Board of Trustees. Working closely with the Senior Management Team, decisions are taken to ensure the successful delivery of the agreed annual work plans, budgets, fundraising priorities and activities. Income, spend and performance are reviewed on a quarterly basis and any corrective actions taken are shared with the Trustees to keep projects on track and spend within budget. Staff are recruited into roles identified as key to the organisation’s current strategic focus. Any additional skills required to support short-term activity, such as digital web development and design are hired in on a consultancy/contractor basis. In line with our current income strategy additional capacity was added to the Fundraising and Partnerships team at Manager level following the resignation of the Director of Partnerships and Fundraising in August 2022.

OBJECTIVES

The objects of the charity are advancement of health worldwide in all areas specific to HIV and related conditions and to address the social determinants. The charity does this by providing activities that will include, but not limited to, improving knowledge, awareness, attitudes, practice and ability through informing, educating, motivating and influencing.

In pursuance of the objects, for the public benefit, the staff and Trustees have undertaken the activities outlined in this report and with regard to the Charity Commission’s guidance on public benefit.

In line with the organisational Conflict of Interest policy, all Trustees are required to complete the Conflict of Interest, Related Party Transaction and Annual Declaration form for each year that they are in office.

FINANCIAL STATEMENTS FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31 MARCH 2023 | 29

Fundraising and partnerships

Working in partnership with those committed to the UNAIDS

Global Goals is a core organisational value for Avert. We are proud to be working alongside many of the funders who are ranked among the top 10 investors supporting efforts to end AIDS by 2030 and those committed to supporting improved sexual and reproductive health and rights.

Our designated fundraising staff take responsibility for delivering our well aligned fundraising and partnership strategy. Over the last 3 years of this strategy we have managed to grow the number of funders supporting our work by 150%.

Our fundraising and partnership strategy is based around three central routes: trusts and foundations, institutional donors, and building partnerships with other organisations we aim to either sub to or bid for new work together on.

This year we were delighted to engage ViiV Healthcare as a new funder. With our shared commitment to ensure people have access to information on HIV prevention options, ViiV Healthcare are supporting us to grow our work on Be in the KNOW, adding specific content on prevention choices for health seekers.

Both Gilead Sciences and the Mercury Phoenix Trust grew their investments, also supporting the development and scale of Be in the KNOW during its first year of launch. Gilead Sciences also provided a specific grant to help us deliver targeted content on mPox during the 2022 outbreak.

We were pleased to receive a vital grant from the Risk Pool Fund to address an unforeseen roadblock in our Youth Boost Project, funded by The Vitol Foundation. The Risk Pool Fund allowed us to make changes to the technical development of Boost that would ensure Boost would stay compliant with new data protection laws introduced in Zimbabwe.

We were pleased to have carried out a scoping exercise for Sentebale to explore the feasibility of them adopting and adapting Boost for use in their youth programmes. The findings helped inform our wider Boost scale and fundraising plans.

During the year we worked with the Elton John AIDS Foundation to deliver the Young Africa Live project with the funds secured the previous year. We also continued our work with the Vitol Foundation delivering on the Youth Boost project which saw the launch of the new Youth Boost application in Zimbabwe.

We were pleased to continue our partnership with VSO to support their programme in Mozambique with a second contract to expand the Life Skills app YAYA.

Ensuring that the work we start and do is sustainable and good value for money is central to our fundraising work. We are pleased to have grown the number of multi-year investors which help ensure that we can scale and grow our core products.

Avert continues to benefit from the kind donations from a small but committed number of individual donors who have supported us now for a number of years.

Avert’s fundraising activities adhere to the following principles:

30 |[FINANCIAL STATEMENTS FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31 MARCH 2023]

Finance report

The charity’s key financial objective for the year was to continue work to raise our income from existing and new funders and to reduce the level of expenditure required from the charity’s reserves.

The total income for the year was £429,362 (2022: £1,091,228). This was nearly 60% less than what the charity had bid for over the year, reflecting the highly competitive fundraising environment. The total cost for raising funds was £81,341 (2022: £89,663) and includes the costs related to managing the charity’s expendable endowment fund which supports its reserves. Restricted income is identified as such and managed in accordance with the donor’s terms and conditions of grant. No compliance issues arose in the management and handling of restricted funds.

Total expenditure for the year was £988,081 (2022: £700,255) which is a 41% increase on last year (and a 49% increase in charitable activities expenditure). 73% of the charitable expenditure was from restricted funds (2022: 54%).

The Trustees continue to review the operational plans for the year and the value of the work planned against the wider vision and financial security of the charity before committing unrestricted reserves. They understand that investment in certain activity, including supporting restricted grants is necessary when working with trusts and foundations. Trustees also appreciate that either explicit or implicit co-funding from the charity’s unrestricted reserves is a strategic investment that will hopefully lead to higher and more long term investments from funders in the future.

The charity adopts a prudent financial policy that aims to ensure that all activities undertaken are efficiently managed in accordance with approved budgets and good practice. All expenditure is monitored and payments processed through a system that endeavours to ensure that any possibility of error is minimised.

Financial KPIs are in place that are monitored and reported on quarterly. They include tracking the percentage of cost share required on grants, salary recovery from restricted funds, and deficit percentage.

PRINCIPAL RISKS AND UNCERTAINTIES

The Trustees perform a review to identify the major risks to which the charity is exposed on an annual basis and have established systems and procedures to mitigate these risks. These risks include the possibility of volatility in the investment market affecting the charity’s endowment fund which forms its reserves; funder commitment to the HIV response; a serious technology failing in the hosting of our digital products and platforms; negative external publicity affecting how our users engage in our digital materials; failing to deliver on contractual obligations to donors; a diverse donor portfolio; and retention and development of staff.

As we enter the new financial year we have a strong pipeline which we hope will maintain our successful fundraising in the coming year. We have introduced strong programme management practices to

guide the implementation of all our work and ensure strong donor reporting and compliance.

INVESTMENTS AND RESERVES

The charity holds flexible relevant reserves and investment policies that are reviewed annually during budget setting. The charity continues to hold a small expendable endowment, the original purpose of which was to support the charity to deliver on its charitable objects. This endowment was gifted to the charity by its founding Directors at the time of the charity’s formation in 1999. Over the years the endowment has allowed the charity to grow and transition towards being sustainable through donor funds.

The Trustees have taken the decision to ensure all funds held by the charity are well invested to ensure a maximum return approach whilst maintaining a low to medium risk investment portfolio.

Avert’s assets are invested in line with its aims and values. The Trustees do not wish to adopt an exclusionary policy, but individual investments may be excluded if perceived to conflict with the charity’s purpose. Specific restrictions can be imposed upon the Investment Fund Manager at any time by the Trustees. The current restrictions are:

The Investment Fund Manager manages the assets on a discretionary basis in line with this policy. The Investment Fund Manager provides a detailed monthly valuation statement including all investments bought and sold and meets with the Board at least once a year to review the overall strategy and portfolio. Performance of the portfolio and the Investment Fund Manager is monitored annually against agreed market benchmarks as below.

The performance benchmarks used are RPI +2%, and the 75% FTSE All Share Index/25% FTSE UK Gilt Index. Despite a falling value this year the Board is satisfied the Investment Fund Manager has consistently exceeded these performance benchmarks over the long term. The fund ended the year valued at £930,840.

The charity operates with a growing diverse and sustainable financial model supported by reserves. The Trustees have agreed a set of financial cut-off points to which the reserves can be used to support the annual operational costs – supporting growth and investment without jeopardizing financial security and SORP compliance.

At 31st March 2023 the charity’s total funds amounted to £1,176,212 with unrestricted reserves in deficit of £158,649. The deficit on free reserves at the balance sheet date arises due to the timing of the recognition of liabilities and the transfer of funds from the endowment fund. A restricted funds total of £396,948 represented by 7 outstanding grants (2022: £687,799 represented by 8 outstanding grants) will be carried forward into the new year.

FINANCIAL STATEMENTS FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31 MARCH 2023 | 31

The charity has a free reserves target equivalent to 3 months of expenditure (as measured in the previous year’s annual accounts). The charity will take steps to work towards achieving the free reserves target and, in the event that this is achieved, budgets will be set to ensure reserves are maintained within a range of +/- 33% of target on an annual basis (i.e. equivalent to 2 to 4 months of expenditure).

LIABILITIES AND GRANT COMMITMENTS

Avert has a sub-agreement in place with OPHID in Zimbabwe funded under the Vitol Foundation. All funds to date have been transferred in accordance with the sub-agreement and will be reported and closed out on in March 2024. There are no accrued liabilities at the year-end on grant commitments.

Avert has an office rental agreement in place with co-working office provider Platf9rm. The agreement runs on a renewable 12 month fixed basis and was last renewed in April 2023.

32 |[FINANCIAL STATEMENTS FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31 MARCH 2023]

Statement of Trustee responsibilities

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

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:

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.

In so far as the Trustees are aware:

The Trustees are responsible for the maintenance and integrity of the charity 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.

APPOINTMENT OF AUDITORS

The charity reappointed Blue Spire Limited as the charity’s auditors for the year under review.

Blue Spire Limited have expressed their willingness to stand for reappointment and a resolution proposing their reappointment will be put forward at the annual general meeting of the charity.

SMALL COMPANIES PROVISIONS

This report has been prepared in accordance with the small companies regime under the Companies Act 2006. Approved by the Trustees and signed on their behalf.

Professor Simon Forrest Chairman

2 November 2023

FINANCIAL STATEMENTS FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31 MARCH 2023 | 33

Independent auditor’s report to the members of Avert

OPINION

We have audited the financial statements of Avert (the ‘charitable company’) for the year ended 31 March 2023 which comprise 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 Financial Reporting Standard 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 charitable company’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’ report, other than the financial statements and our

auditor’s report thereon. The Trustees are responsible for the other information contained within the 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, 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 directors’ 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:

34 |[FINANCIAL STATEMENTS FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31 MARCH 2023]

RESPONSIBILITIES OF TRUSTEES

As explained more fully in the statement of Trustees responsibilities, 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.

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 is detailed below.

Based on our understanding of the charity and the industry in which it operates, we identified the principal laws and regulations that directly affect the financial statements to be the Charities Act, Employment Act and Trustee Act. We assessed the extent of compliance with these laws and regulations as part of our procedures on the related financial statement items.

In addition, the charity is subject to many other laws and regulations where the consequences of non-compliance could have a material effect on amounts or disclosures in the financial statements, for instance through the imposition of fines or litigation. As an investment, grant and donation funded charity providing advocacy and education directly or through the supporting of other entities there is a limitation to areas most likely to have such an effect. Auditing standards limit the required audit procedures to identify non-compliance with these laws and regulations to enquiry of the Trustees and other management and inspection of regulatory and legal correspondence if any.

Audit procedures performed by the engagement team included:

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 noncompliance 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: https://www.frc.org.uk/ Our-Work/Audit/Audit-and-assurance/Standards-and-guidance/ Standards-and-guidance-for-auditors/Auditors-responsibilitiesfor-audit/Description-of-auditors-responsibilities-for-audit.aspx. 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.

Geoffrey Frost BSc (Hons) FCA (Senior Statutory Auditor) For and on behalf of Blue Spire Limited, Statutory Auditor

Cawley Priory, South Pallant Chichester, West Sussex PO19 7UY

FINANCIAL STATEMENTS FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31 MARCH 2023 | 35

Statement of financial activities

(INCLUDING INCOME AND EXPENDITURE ACCOUNT)

2023) 2022)
Unrestricted) Restricted) Endowment) Total) Total)
Funds) Funds) Funds) Funds) Funds)
Note £) £) £) £) £)
INCOME AND ENDOWMENTS FROM:
Donations and legacies 1 5,789) 373,488) –) 379,277) 1,048,124)
Charitable activities 2 8,359) –) –) 8,359) –)
Investments 3 41,726) –) –) 41,726) 42,779)
Other income 4 –) –) –) –) 325)
———————— ———————— ———————— ———————— ————————
Total 55,874) 373,488) –) 429,362) 1,091,228)
———————— ———————— ———————— ———————— ————————
EXPENDITURE ON:
Raising funds – Investment management 5 –) –) 8,870) 8,870) 10,675)
Raising funds – Seeking funds 5 72,471) –) –) 72,471) 78,988)
Charitable activities 6 242,401) 664,339) –) 906,740) 610,592)
———————— ———————— ———————— ———————— ————————
Total 314,872) 664,339) 8,870) 988,081) 700,255)
———————— ———————— ———————— ———————— ————————
Net gains/(losses) on investment assets –) –) (193,383) (193,383) 65,249)
———————— ———————— ———————— ———————— ————————
Net Income/(expenditure) (258,998) (290,851) (202,253) (752,102) 456,222)
Transfers between funds 19 183,445) -) (183,445) –) –)
———————— ———————— ———————— ———————— ————————
Net movement in funds (75,553) 290,851) (385,698) 752,102) 456,222)
RECONCILIATION OF FUNDS
Total funds brought forward 19 (76,024) 687,799) 1,316,539) 1,928,314) 1,472,092)
———————— ———————— ———————— ———————— ————————
Total funds carried forward 19 (151,577) 396,948) 930,841) 1,176,212) 1,928,314)
————————
————————		 ————————
————————		 ————————
————————		 ————————
————————		 ————————
————————

The charity has no recognised gains or losses other than those dealt with in the Statement of Financial Activities. All of the above results are derived from continuing activities.

36 |[FINANCIAL STATEMENTS FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31 MARCH 2023]

Balance sheet

BALANCE SHEET AS AT 31 MARCH 2023

2023 2022
Note £) £) £) £)
FIXED ASSETS
Intangible assets 13 88,924) 118,565)
Tangible assets 14 7,073) 2,883)
Investments 15 930,840) 1,316,539)
———————— ————————
1,026,837) 1,437,987)
CURRENT ASSETS
Debtors 16 157,367) 414,991)
Cash at hand and in bank 56,421) 118,999)
———————— ————————
Total current assets 213,788) 533,990)
CURRENT LIABILITIES
Creditors: amounts falling due within one year 17 64,413) 43,663)
———————— ————————
Net current assets/(liabilities) 149,375) 490,327)
———————— ————————
Net assets/(liabilities) 1,176,212) 1,928,314)
————————
————————		 ————————
————————
THE FUNDS OF THE CHARITY
Endowment funds 19
Expendable endowment 673,127) 775,113)
Fair value reserve 257,714) 541,426)
———————— ————————
930,841) 1,316,539)
Restricted funds 19 396,948) 687,799)
Unrestricted funds
Designated Funds 7,072) 2,883)
General Funds (158,649) (78,907)
———————— ————————
Total unrestricted funds 19 (151,577) (76,024)
———————— ————————
Total charity funds 1,176,212) 1,928,314)
————————
————————		 ————————
————————

The financial statements have been prepared in accordance with the provisions applicable to companies subject to the small companies regime. The financial statements were approved and authorised for issue by the Trustees on 2 November 2023 and signed on their behalf by:

Professor Simon Forrest Chairman Avert

Registered Charity Number 1074849 Registered Company Number 03716796

FINANCIAL STATEMENTS FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31 MARCH 2023 | 37

Statement of cash flows

2023 2022
£) £) £) £)
Net cash fow from operating activities (see below) (288,978) (71,839)
Cash fow from investing activities
Purchase of intangible fxed assets –) (118,565)
Purchase of tangible fxed assets (8,134) –)
Purchase of investments (110,477) –)
Proceeds from sales of investments 230,183) 183,869)
Receipts from sale of tangible fxed assets 492) 495)
Investment income 41,726) 42,779)
———————— ————————
Net cash fow from investing activities 153,790) 108,578)
———————— ————————
Net increase/(decrease) in cash and cash equivalents (135,188) 36,739)
Cash and cash equivalents at 1 April 2022 205,354) 168,615)
———————— ————————
Cash and cash equivalents at 31 March 2023 70,166) 205,354)
————————
————————		 ————————
————————
Cash and cash equivalents consist of:
Cash at bank and in hand 56,421) 118,999)
Cash held within investments 13,745) 86,355)
———————— ————————
Cash and cash equivalents at 31 March 2023 70,166) 205,354)
————————
————————		 ————————
————————
Reconciliation of net income to net cash fow from operating activities
2023 2022
£) £) £) £)
Net income for the period (752,102) 456,222)
Adjusted for:
Investment income (41,726) (42,779)
(Gains)/losses on investments 193,383) (65,249)
Depreciation and impairment of tangible fxed assets 33,093) 1,273)
Loss/(gain) on disposal of fxed assets –) 156)
Decrease/(increase) in debtors 257,624) (406,078)
Increase/(decrease) in creditors 20,750) (15,384)
———————— ————————
463,124) (528,061)
———————— ————————
(288,978) (71,839)
———————— ————————
Analysis of changes in net debt
2023) 2022)
Cash and cash) Cash and cash)
equivalents) equivalents)
£) £)
Total net debt brought forward 205,354) 168,615)
Cash fows (135,188) 36,739)
———————— ————————
Total net debt carried forward 70,166) 205,354)
————————
————————		 ————————
————————

38 |[FINANCIAL STATEMENTS FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31 MARCH 2023]

Accounting policies

GENERAL INFORMATION, SCOPE AND BASIS OF THE FINANCIAL STATEMENTS

Avert is an incorporated charity, limited by guarantee, incorporated in England with the company number 03716796. In the event of the charity being wound up, the liability in respect of the guarantee is limited to £10 per member of the charity. The address of the registered office is given in the charity information page of these financial statements. The nature of the charity’s operations and principal activities are outlined in the Trustees’ report.

The charity constitutes a public benefit entity as defined by FRS 102. 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 issued in October 2019, the Financial Reporting Standard applicable in the United Kingdom and Republic of Ireland (FRS 102), the Charities Act 2011, the Companies Act 2006 and UK Generally Accepted Accounting Practice.

The financial statements are prepared on a going concern basis under the historical cost convention, modified to include certain items at fair value. The financial statements are presented in sterling which is the functional currency of the charity and rounded to the nearest £.

The significant accounting policies applied in the preparation of these financial statements are set out below. These policies have been consistently applied to all years presented unless otherwise stated.

INCOMING RESOURCES

All incoming resources are included in the Statement of Financial Activities (SoFA) when the charity is legally entitled to the income after any performance conditions have been met, the amount can be measured reliably and it is probable that the income will be received.

For donations to be recognised the charity will have been notified of the amounts and the settlement date in writing. If there are conditions attached to the donation and this requires a level of performance before entitlement can be obtained then income is deferred until those conditions are fully met or the fulfilment of those conditions is within the control of the charity and it is probable that they will be fulfilled.

For legacies, entitlement is the earlier of the charity being notified of an impending distribution or the legacy being received. At this point income is recognised. On occasion legacies will be notified to the charity however it is not possible to measure the amount expected to be distributed. On these occasions, the legacy is treated as a contingent asset and disclosed.

conditions have been met, it is probable that the income will be received and the amount can be measured reliably. If entitlement is not met then these amounts are deferred.

Investment income is earned through holding assets for investment purposes such as shares and cash deposits. It includes dividends and interest. Where it is not practicable to identify investment management costs incurred within a scheme with reasonable accuracy the investment income is reported net of these costs. It is included when the amount can be measured reliably. Interest income is recognised using the effective interest method and dividend income is recognised as the charity’s right to receive payment is established.

RESOURCES EXPENDED

All expenditure is accounted for on an accruals basis and has been classified under headings that aggregate all costs related to the category. Expenditure is recognised where there is a legal or constructive obligation to make payments to third parties, it is probable that the settlement will be required and the amount of the obligation can be measured reliably. It is categorised under the following headings:

Grants payable to third parties are within the charitable objectives. Where unconditional grants are offered, this is accrued as soon as the recipient is notified of the grant, as this gives rise to a reasonable expectation that the recipient will receive the grants. Where grants are conditional relating to performance then the grant is only accrued when any unfulfilled conditions are outside of the control of the charity.

Support cost allocation

Support costs are those that assist the work of the charity but do not directly represent charitable activities and include office costs, governance costs and administrative payroll costs. They are incurred directly in support of expenditure on the objects of the charity. Where support costs cannot be directly attributed to particular headings they have been allocated to cost of raising funds and expenditure on charitable activities on a basis consistent with use of the resources.

The analysis of these costs is included in Note 7 and has been included on the following basis

cluded on the following basis
Promoting knowledge of those at risk 40%
Promoting knowledge of community educators 40%
Supporting practitioners 20%

Income from government and other grants are recognised at fair value when the charity has entitlement after any performance

FINANCIAL STATEMENTS FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31 MARCH 2023 | 39

EMPLOYEE BENEFITS

When employees have rendered service to the charity, shortterm employee benefits to which the employees are entitled are recognised at the undiscounted amount expected to be paid in exchange for that service.

FIXED ASSET INVESTMENTS

Investments are recognised initially at fair value which is normally the transaction price excluding transaction costs. Subsequently, they are measured at fair value with changes recognised in ‘net gains/(losses) on investments’ in the SoFA if the shares are publicly traded or their fair value can otherwise be measured reliably.

PENSION COSTS

The charity operates a defined contribution pension scheme. Contributions to the scheme are charged to the Statement of Financial Activities on a payable basis.

VAT

The charity is not registered for VAT and is unable to recover VAT incurred. On this basis costs are recorded inclusive of VAT within the SoFA.

TAXATION

The charity is considered to pass the tests set out in sections 466 to 493 Corporation Tax Act 2010 (CTA 2010), as such no income tax is payable on the charity’s activities.

DEBTORS AND CREDITORS RECEIVABLE/ PAYABLE WITHIN ONE YEAR

Debtors and creditors with no stated interest rate and receivable or payable within one year are recorded at transaction price. Any losses arising from impairment are recognised in expenditure.

CASH AND CASH EQUIVALENTS

Cash and cash equivalents comprise cash on hand and call deposits, and other short-term highly liquid investments that are readily convertible to a known amount of cash and are subject to an insignificant risk of change in value. In addition it includes cash at bank and in hand and cash balances within the investment portfolio available for investment transaction purposes.

FUND ACCOUNTING

INTANGIBLE ASSETS

Identifiable development expenditure on the website is capitalised to the extent that the technical, commercial and financial feasibility can be demonstrated.

Intangible assets are amortised on a straight line basis over their useful lives. The useful lives of intangible assets are as follows: Website 25% Straight line

No amortisation has been included in the year ended 31 March 2022 as the new website was not fully completed and in use at the balance sheet date.

FIXED ASSETS

Tangible fixed assets are stated at cost less accumulated depreciation and accumulated impairment losses. Cost includes costs directly attributable to making the asset capable of operating as intended.

Depreciation is provided on all tangible fixed assets, at rates calculated to write off the cost, less estimated residual value, of each asset on a systematic basis over its expected useful life as follows:

Office equipment 25% straight line

Unrestricted funds are available for use at the discretion of the Trustees in furtherance of the general objectives of the charity and which have not been designated for other purposes.

Restricted funds are funds which are to be used in accordance with specific restrictions imposed by donors or which have been raised by the charity for particular purposes. The cost of raising and administering such funds are charged against the specific fund. The aim and use of each restricted fund is set out in the notes to the financial statements.

Endowment funds represent those assets which were gifted to the charity to be held for income generation and applied in furtherance of the charity’s objects. Income arising on the endowment funds can be used in accordance with the objects of the charity and is included as unrestricted income. Any capital gains or losses arising on the investments form part of the fund. Investment management charges and legal advice relating to the fund are charged against the fund.

Further details of each fund are disclosed in Notes 19 and 20.

GOING CONCERN

The financial statements have been prepared on a going concern basis as the Trustees believe that no material uncertainties exist. The Trustees have considered the level of funds held and the expected level of income and expenditure for 12 months from authorising these financial statements. The budgeted income and expenditure is sufficient with the level of reserves for the charity to be able to continue as a going concern.

40 |[FINANCIAL STATEMENTS FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31 MARCH 2023]

Notes to the financial statements

1. Donations and legacies
1. Donations and legacies 2023
Unrestricted Restricted Endowment Total
Funds Funds Funds Funds
£ £ £ £
Donations 5,789 – – 5,789
Grants – 373,488 – 373,488
———————— ———————— ———————— ————————
5,789 373,488 – 379,277
————————
————————		 ————————
————————		 ————————
————————		 ————————
————————
2022
Unrestricted Restricted Endowment Total
Funds Funds Funds Funds
£ £ £ £
Donations 7,052 – – 7,052
Grants – 1,041,072 – 1,041,072
———————— ———————— ———————— ————————
7,052 1,041,072 – 1,048,124
————————
————————		 ————————
————————		 ————————
————————		 ————————
————————
2. Charitable activities 2023
Unrestricted Restricted Endowment Total
Funds Funds Funds Funds
£ £ £ £
Earned income 8,359 – – 8,359
———————— ———————— ———————— ————————
8,359 – – 8,359
————————
————————		 ————————
————————		 ————————
————————		 ————————
————————
2022
Unrestricted Restricted Endowment Total
Funds Funds Funds Funds
£ £ £ £
Earned income – – – –
———————— ———————— ———————— ————————
– – – –
————————
————————		 ————————
————————		 ————————
————————		 ————————
————————
3. Investments 2023
Unrestricted Restricted Endowment Total
Funds Funds Funds Funds
£ £ £ £
Bank interest 172 – – 172
Income from investment holdings 41,554 – – 41,554
———————— ———————— ———————— ————————
41,726 – – 41,726
————————
————————		 ————————
————————		 ————————
————————		 ————————
————————
2022
Unrestricted Restricted Endowment Total
Funds Funds Funds Funds
£ £ £ £
Bank interest 4 – – 4
Income from investment holdings 42,775 – – 42,775
———————— ———————— ———————— ————————
42,779 – – 42,779
————————
————————		 ————————
————————		 ————————
————————		 ————————
————————

FINANCIAL STATEMENTS FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31 MARCH 2023 | 41

4. Other income
4. Other income 2023
Unrestricted Restricted Endowment Total
Funds Funds Funds Funds
£ £ £ £
Other income – – – –
Furlough receipts – – – –
———————— ———————— ———————— ————————
– – – –
————————
————————		 ————————
————————		 ————————
————————		 ————————
————————
2022
Unrestricted Restricted Endowment Total
Funds Funds Funds Funds
£ £ £ £
Other income – – – –
Furlough receipts 325 – – 325
———————— ———————— ———————— ————————
325 – – 325
————————
————————		 ————————
————————		 ————————
————————		 ————————
————————
5. Raising funds 2023
Unrestricted Restricted Endowment Total
Funds Funds Funds Funds
£ £ £ £
Investment management
Investment management fees – – 8,870 8,870
———————— ———————— ———————— ————————
– – 8,870 8,870
Cost of seeking donations, grants and legacies
Staff costs 64,660 – – 64,660
Other costs 7,811 – – 7,811
———————— ———————— ———————— ————————
72,471 – – 72,471
———————— ———————— ———————— ————————
72,471 – 8,870 81,341
————————
————————		 ————————
————————		 ————————
————————		 ————————
————————
2022
Unrestricted Restricted Endowment Total
Funds Funds Funds Funds
£ £ £ £
Investment management
Investment management fees – – 10,675 10,675
———————— ———————— ———————— ————————
– – 10,675 10,675
———————— ———————— ———————— ————————
Cost of seeking donations, grants and legacies
Staff costs 69,661 – – 69,661
Other costs 9,327 – – 9,327
———————— ———————— ———————— ————————
78,988 – – 78,988
———————— ———————— ———————— ————————
78,988 – 10,675 89,663
————————
————————		 ————————
————————		 ————————
————————		 ————————
————————

42 |[FINANCIAL STATEMENTS FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31 MARCH 2023]

6. Charitable activities 2023
Unrestricted Restricted Endowment Total
Funds Funds Funds Funds
£ £ £ £
Promoting knowledge of those at risk
Staff costs – 277,029 – 277,029
Other direct costs 115,166 113,135 – 228,301
Support and governance costs 35,539 19,187 – 54,726
———————— ———————— ———————— ————————
150,705 409,351 – 560,056
———————— ———————— ———————— ————————
Promoting knowledge of community educators
Grants (see note 8) – 82,424 – 82,424
Staff costs – 92,343 – 92,343
Other direct costs 38,389 37,711 – 76,100
Support and governance costs 35,539 19,187 – 54,726
———————— ———————— ———————— ————————
73,928 231,665 – 305,593
———————— ———————— ———————— ————————
Supporting practitioners
Staff costs – 4,235 – 4,235
Other direct costs – 9,494 – 9,494
Support and governance costs 17,768 9,594 – 27,362
———————— ———————— ———————— ————————
17,768 23,323 – 41,091
———————— ———————— ———————— ————————
242,401 664,339 – 906,740
————————
————————		 ————————
————————		 ————————
————————		 ————————
————————
2022
Unrestricted Restricted Endowment Total
Funds Funds Funds Funds
£ £ £ £
Promoting knowledge of those at risk
Staff costs 75,504 125,811 – 201,315
Other direct costs 41,228 60,716 – 101,944
Support and governance costs 49,002 – – 49,002
———————— ———————— ———————— ————————
165,734 186,527 – 352,261
———————— ———————— ———————— ————————
Promoting knowledge of community educators
Grants (see note 8) – 82,321 – 82,321
Staff costs 25,168 41,937 – 67,105
Other direct costs 13,743 20,239 – 33,982
Support and governance costs 49,002 – – 49,002
———————— ———————— ———————— ————————
87,913 144,497 – 232,410
———————— ———————— ———————— ————————
Supporting practitioners
Staff costs – 1,421 – 1,421
Other direct costs – – – –
Support and governance costs 24,500 – – 24,500
———————— ———————— ———————— ————————
24,500 1,421 – 25,921
———————— ———————— ———————— ————————
278,147 332,445 – 610,592
————————
————————		 ————————
————————		 ————————
————————		 ————————
————————

FINANCIAL STATEMENTS FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31 MARCH 2023 | 43

7. Support and governance costs
7. Support and governance costs 2023)
Unrestricted) Restricted Endowment Total)
Funds) Funds Funds Funds)
£) £ £ £)
Staff costs 51,676) – – 51,676)
Premises 45,582) – – 45,582)
Recruitment and training 5,235) – – 5,235)
Travel, conference and events 608) – – 608)
Security including Legal and HR 7,970) – – 7,970)
Printing, postage and stationery 4,955) – – 4,955)
Telephone (127) – – (127)
Computer costs and equipment hire 2,265) – – 2,265)
General offce and offce moving expenses 2,559) – – 2,559)
Insurance 1,868) – – 1,868)
Subscriptions 3,340) – – 3,340)
Depreciation 3,452) – – 3,452)
Governance:
Audit fee 5,370) – – 5,370)
Trustee training and expenses 2,048) – – 2,048)
Strategic Development 13) – – 13)
———————— ———————— ———————— ————————
136,814) – – 136,814)
Overhead allocation to Restricted Funds (47,968) 47,968 –)
———————— ———————— ———————— ————————
88,846) 47,968 136,814)
Allocation of support costs ————————
————————		 ————————
————————		 ————————
————————		 ————————
————————
Promoting knowledge of those at risk 35,539) 19,187 – 54,726)
Promoting knowledge of community educators 35,539) 19,187 – 54,726)
Supporting practitioners 17,768) 9,594 – 27,362)
———————— ———————— ———————— ————————
88,846) 47,968 – 136,814)
————————
————————		 ————————
————————		 ————————
————————		 ————————
————————
2022)
Unrestricted) Restricted Endowment Total)
Funds) Funds Funds Funds)
£) £ £ £)
Staff costs 61,386) – – 61,386)
Premises 34,485) – – 34,485)
Recruitment and training 2,391) – – 2,391)
Travel, conference and events 329) – – 329)
Security including Legal and HR 3,362) – – 3,362)
Printing, postage and stationery 4,367) – – 4,367)
Telephone 1,233) – – 1,233)
Computer costs and equipment hire 2,561) – – 2,561)
General offce and offce moving expenses 1,700) – – 1,700)
Insurance 1,456) – – 1,456)
Subscriptions 2,698) – – 2,698)
Depreciation 1,273) – – 1,273)
Governance:
Audit fee 5,250) – – 5,250)
Trustee training and expenses –) – – –)
Strategic Development 13) – – 13)
———————— ———————— ———————— ————————
122,504) – – 122,504)
Allocation of support costs ————————
————————		 ————————
————————		 ————————
————————		 ————————
————————
Promoting knowledge of those at risk 49,002) – – 49,002)
Promoting knowledge of community educators 49,002) – – 49,002)
Supporting practitioners 24,500) – – 24,500)
———————— ———————— ———————— ————————
122,504) – – 122,504)
————————
————————		 ————————
————————		 ————————
————————		 ————————
————————

44 |[FINANCIAL STATEMENTS FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31 MARCH 2023]

8. Analysis of grants
8. Analysis of grants 2023 2022
Total Total
Funds Funds
£ £
Grants to institutions
Zimbabwe – OPHID 82,424 82,321
———————— ————————
82,424 82,321
————————
————————		 ————————
————————

Future commitments

The charity budgets for instalments of multi year grants that have not yet been approved. These future commitments are not contractual as the amounts are not part of the charity’s formal grant offer, and are subject to the grantee satisfying the charity’s monitoring requirements and showing that they are making satisfactory progress towards meeting the grant’s objectives. At the balance sheet date the charity had no obligations for future instalments of grants.

9. Auditors’ remuneration

Auditors’ remuneration – audit

Auditors’ remuneration – audit

2023
Unrestricted Restricted Endowment Total
Funds Funds Funds Funds
£ £ £ £
5,370 – – 5,370
————————
————————		 ————————
————————		 ————————
————————		 ————————
————————
2022
Unrestricted Restricted Endowment Total
Funds Funds Funds Funds
£ £ £ £
5,250 – – 5,250
————————
————————		 ————————
————————		 ————————
————————		 ————————
————————

FINANCIAL STATEMENTS FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31 MARCH 2023 | 45

10. Wages and salary cost
10. Wages and salary cost 2023 2022
Total Total
Funds Funds
£ £
Gross wages 388,585 333,751
Employer’s national insurance costs (inclusive of employer national insurance allowance) 38,101 30,666
Employer’s pension contributions 30,322 26,657
———————— ————————
457,008 391,074
————————
————————		 ————————
————————

One employee (2022: No employee) received employee benefits excluding social security contributions and employer pension costs in the range £60,000 to £70,000.

The average number of employees was:
Administration of charitable activities 10 9
———————— ————————
10 9
————————
————————		 ————————
————————

11. Pension scheme

The charity operates a defined contribution pension scheme for its employees. The total payable for the year under review was £30,322 (2022: £26,657). £4,597 (2022: £4,169) was outstanding at the end of the financial year.

12. Related party transactions

None of the Trustees received any remuneration during the year under review (2022: £nil). £2,048 (2022: £nil) was reimbursed to or paid on behalf of the Trustees.

No donations (2022: £nil) were received from the charity’s Trustees in the year under review.

During the year under review the charity reimbursed or paid expenses on behalf of the four (2022: four) key management personnel incurred in the performance of their duties totalling £4,416 (2022: £5,301).

At the end of the reporting year the charity had three (2022: four) key management personnel comprising the CEO, Director of Communications and Digital Health Strategy, Director of Finance and Operations with the Director of Partnerships and Fundraising leaving at the end of August 2022. Avert hired a new recruit in Partnerships and Fundraising at project management level. The total employee benefits, inclusive of employer’s national insurance and pension contributions, received by those key management personnel amounted to £212,427 (2022: £220,491).

46 |[FINANCIAL STATEMENTS FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31 MARCH 2023]

13. Intangible fixed assets
13. Intangible fxed assets Website) Total)
£) £)
Cost
At 1 April 2022 118,565) 118,565)
Additions –) –)
Disposals –) –)
———————— ————————
At 31 March 2023 118,565) 118,565)
———————— ————————
Amortisation
At 1 April 2022 –) –)
Charge for the year 29,641) 29,641)
On disposals –) –)
———————— ————————
At 31 March 2023 29,641) 29,641)
———————— ————————
Net book value at 31 March 2023 88,924) 88,924)
————————
————————		 ————————
————————
Net book value at 31 March 2022 118,565) 118,565)
————————
————————		 ————————
————————
14. Tangible fxed assets Offce)
equipment) Total)
£) £)
Cost
At 1 April 2022 7,296) 7,296)
Additions 8,134) 8,134)
Disposals (788) (788)
———————— ————————
At 31 March 2023 14,642) 14,642)
———————— ————————
Depreciation
Accumulated at 1 April 2022 4,413) 4,413)
Charge for the year 3,452) 3,452)
On disposals (296) (296)
———————— ————————
At 31 March 2023 7,569) 7,569)
———————— ————————
Net book value at 31 March 2023 7,073) 7,073)
————————
————————		 ————————
————————
Net book value at 31 March 2022 2,883) 2,883)
————————
————————		 ————————
————————

FINANCIAL STATEMENTS FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31 MARCH 2023 | 47

15. Fixed assets investments
15. Fixed assets investments 2023) 2022)
Listed) Total) Total)
investments) Cash) Funds) Funds)
£) £) £) £)
Reconciliation of movement on investments
Carrying (market) value brought forward 1,230,184) 86,355) 1,316,539) 1,369,190)
Additions at cost 110,477) –) 110,477) –)
Disposals at carrying value (140,484) –) (140,484) (127,092)
Gain/(Loss) on revaluation (283,082) –) (283,082) 8,472)
Net increase/(decrease) in cash –) (72,610) (72,610) 65,969)
———————— ———————— ———————— ————————
Carrying (market) value carried forward 917,095) 13,745) 930,840) 1,316,539)
————————
————————		 ————————
————————		 ————————
————————		 ————————
————————
Gains/(losses) on investments
Unrealised (from above) (283,082) –) (283,082) 8,472)
Realised on disposal of fxed asset investments 89,699) –) 89,699) 56,777)
———————— ———————— ———————— ————————
(193,383) –) (193,383) 65,249)
————————
————————		 ————————
————————		 ————————
————————		 ————————
————————
The investments above are analysed as follows:
Listed investments 917,095) –) 917,095) 1,230,184)
Cash or cash equivalents –) 13,745) 13,745) 86,355)
———————— ———————— ———————— ————————
917,095) 13,745) 930,840) 1,316,539)
————————
————————		 ————————
————————		 ————————
————————		 ————————
————————

16. Debtors
16. Debtors 2023) 2022)
Total) Total)
Funds) Funds)
£) £)
Trade debtors –) 133,392)
Other debtors 7,560) 7,164)
Prepayments 2,969) 7,628)
Accrued income receivable within one year 146,838) 266,807)
———————— ————————
157,367) 414,991)
————————
————————		 ————————
————————

Accrued income consists of £146,787 (2022: £266,748) of grant income receivable and £51 (2022: £59) of gift aid recoverable. In the comparative year a further £133,392 of grant funding was included in trade debtors

17. Creditors: amounts falling due within one year
17. Creditors: amounts falling due within one year 2023) 2022)
Total) Total)
Funds) Funds)
£) £)
Trade creditors 23,058) 5,892)
Accruals 26,294) 23,356)
Other creditors 4,596) 4,169)
Taxation and social security 10,465) 10,246)
———————— ————————
64,413) 43,663)
————————
————————		 ————————
————————

48 |[FINANCIAL STATEMENTS FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31 MARCH 2023]

18. Analysis of net assets between funds
18. Analysis of net assets between funds 2023) 2022)
Unrestricted) Restricted) Endowment) Total) Total)
Funds) Funds) Funds) Funds) Funds)
£) £) £) £) £)
Intangible fxed assets 88,924) –) –) 88,924) 118,565)
Tangible fxed assets 7,073) –) –) 7,073) 2,883)
Fixed asset investments –) –) 930,840) 930,840) 1,316,539)
Current assets (183,160) 396,948) –) 213,788) 533,990)
Current liabilities (64,413) –) –) (64,413) (43,663)
———————— ———————— ———————— ———————— ————————
(151,576) 396,948) 930,840) 1,176,212) 1,928,314)
————————
————————		 ————————
————————		 ————————
————————		 ————————
————————		 ————————
————————

19. Analysis of net movement in funds
19. Analysis of net movement in funds Year ended 31 March 2023
——————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————
Total funds) Total) Total) Gains and) Transfers) Total funds)
brought) incoming) resources) (losses) on) between) carried)
forward) resources) expended) investments) funds) forward)
£) £) £) £) £) £)
Endowment funds
Expendable endowment 775,113) –) (8,870)
90,329)		 (183,445) 673,127)
Fair value reserve 541,426) –) –) (283,712) –) 257,714)
———————— ———————— ———————— ———————— ———————— ————————
Total endowment funds 1,316,539) –) (8,870)
(193,383)		 (183,445) 930,841)
———————— ———————— ———————— ———————— ———————— ————————
Restricted funds
Vitol Foundation – Youth Boost 60,391) 137,320) (140,240) –) –) 57,471)
ViiV Healthcare – Technical support to 2,400) –) (2,400) –) –) –)
Umunthu project
ViiV – Prevention –) 58,554) (11,329) –) –) 47,225)
Gilead Sciences Inc – Knowledge to Action 35,446) –) (35,446) –) –) –)
Gilead Sciences Inc – Support for practitioners
20,676)		 –) (20,676) –) –) –)
Gilead Sciences Inc – Zeroing in 175,135) –) (82,287) –) –) 92,848)
Gilead Sciences Inc – Mpox –) 43,359) (1,980) –) –) 41,379)
Mercury Phoenix Trust – Be in the KNOW 18,120) –) (18,120) –) –) –)
Risk Pool Fund – Youth Boost –) 39,694) (12,816) –) –) 26,878)
VSO/Eagle – Mozambique project 31,651) –) (31,651) –) –) –)
VSO/Eagle – Sena and Chiute –) 60,783) (46,089) –) –) 14,694)
Reach (previously Praekelt) (EJAF) – 343,980) 19,632) (247,159) –) –) 116,453)
Young Africa Live)
Sentebale –) 14,146) (14,146) –) –) –)
) ———————— ———————— ———————— ———————— ———————— ————————
Total restricted funds 687,799) 373,488) (664,339)
–)		 –) 396,948)
———————— ———————— ———————— ———————— ———————— ————————
Unrestricted funds
Designated funds
Fixed asset reserve 2,883) –) (3,452)
–)		 7,641) 7,072)
———————— ———————— ———————— ———————— ———————— ————————
2,883) –) (3,452)
–)		 7,641) 7,072)
General Fund (78,907) 55,874) (311,420)
–)		 175,804) (158,649)
———————— ———————— ———————— ———————— ———————— ————————
Total unrestricted funds (76,024) 55,874) (314,872)
–)		 183,445) (151,577)
———————— ———————— ———————— ———————— ———————— ————————
Total funds 1,928,314) 429,362) (988,081)
193,383)		 –) 1,176,212)
————————
————————		 ————————
————————		 ————————
————————		 ————————
————————		 ————————
————————		 ————————
————————

FINANCIAL STATEMENTS FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31 MARCH 2023 | 49

  1. Analysis of net movement in funds (continued) Year ended 31 March 2022
19. Analysis of net movement in funds(continued)
Year ended 31 March 2022		 19. Analysis of net movement in funds(continued)
Year ended 31 March 2022		 19. Analysis of net movement in funds(continued)
Year ended 31 March 2022		 19. Analysis of net movement in funds(continued)
Year ended 31 March 2022		 19. Analysis of net movement in funds(continued)
Year ended 31 March 2022		 19. Analysis of net movement in funds(continued)
Year ended 31 March 2022		 19. Analysis of net movement in funds(continued)
Year ended 31 March 2022
——————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————
Total funds) Total) Total) Gains and) Transfers) Total funds)
brought) incoming) resources) (losses) on) between) carried)
forward) resources) expended) investments) funds) forward)
£) £) £) £) £) £)
Endowment funds
Expendable endowment 837,033) –) (10,675) 55,980) (107,225) 775,113)
Fair value reserve 532,157) –) –) 9,269) –) 541,426)
———————— ———————— ———————— ———————— ———————— ————————
Total endowment funds 1,369,190) –) (10,675) 65,249) (107,225) 1,316,539)
———————— ———————— ———————— ———————— ———————— ————————
Restricted funds
Vitol Foundation – Youth Boost –) 181,686) (121,295) –) –) 60,391)
ViiV Healthcare – Technical support to 1,200) 2,621) (1,421) –) –) 2,400)
Umunthu project
Gilead Sciences Inc – Knowledge to Action –) 126,408) (46,438) –) (44,524) 35,446)
Gilead Sciences Inc – Support for practitioners
–)		 36,531) (15,855) –) –) 20,676)
Gilead Sciences Inc – Zeroing in –) 175,135) –) –) –) 175,135)
Mercury Phoenix Trust – Young Voices 7,169) –) (7,169) –) –) –)
Mercury Phoenix Trust – PrEP 9,890) –) (9,890) –) –) –)
Mercury Phoenix Trust – Be in the KNOW –) 18,120) –) –) –) 18,120)
Risk Pool Fund – Be in the Know (Zambia) 5,437) –) (5,437) –) –) –)
VSO/Eagle – Mozambique project –) 96,360) (64,709) –) –) 31,651)
Reach (previously Praekelt) (EJAF) – –) 404,211) (60,231) –) –) 343,980)
Young Africa Live)
———————— ———————— ———————— ———————— ———————— ————————
Total endowment funds 23,696) 1,041,072) (332,445) –) (44,524) 687,799)
———————— ———————— ———————— ———————— ———————— ————————
Unrestricted funds
Designated funds
Fixed asset reserve 4,807) –) (1,273) –) (651) 2,883)
———————— ———————— ———————— ———————— ———————— ————————
4,807) –) (1,273) –) (651) 2,883)
General Fund 74,399) 50,156) (355,862) –) 152,400) (78,907)
———————— ———————— ———————— ———————— ———————— ————————
Total unrestricted funds 79,206) 50,156) (357,135) –) 151,749) (76,024)
———————— ———————— ———————— ———————— ———————— ————————
Total funds 1,472,092) 1,091,228) (700,255) 65,249) –) 1,928,314)
————————
————————		 ————————
————————		 ————————
————————		 ————————
————————		 ————————
————————		 ————————
————————

50 |[FINANCIAL STATEMENTS FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31 MARCH 2023]

20. Description of funds

Expendable endowment

Expendable endowment funds comprise an expendable endowment donated to the charity in 1989.

Fair value reserve Representing the variance between cost and fair value of the charity’s investment assets. Vitol Foundation – Youth Boost Funds received for the Youth Boost project and Boost evaluation. ViiV Healthcare – Technical support to Umunthu project Funds received from ViiV Healthcare’s Positive Action for Children Fund to support Umunthu’s Prevention of Mother-to-Child Transmission project. Gilead Sciences Inc – Knowledge to Action Funds received to support digital communications to build health literacy among those most impacted by HIV through our Be in the KNOW website. Gilead Sciences Inc – Support for practitioners Funds received to support provision of COVID-19 information. Gilead Sciences Inc – Zeroing in Funds received to support communications work with young adults and community health workers. Gilead Sciences Inc – Mpox Funds received to support knowledge and action for populations who need to know. Mercury Phoenix Trust – Be in the KNOW Funds received to support the development of our Be in the KNOW website. Risk Pool Fund – Youth Boost Funds received to upgrade our Youth Boost app in Zimbabwe. VSO/Eagle – Mozambique project Funds received to support the empowerment of adolescent girls to learn and earn in Mozambique. VSO/Eagle – Sena and Chiute Funds received to support the empowerment of adolescent girls to learn and earn for people of Sena and Chiute origins. Sentebale Funds received to support a scoping trip to Botswana and Lesotho to present Boost. Reach ( previously Praekelt ) (EJAF) – Young Africa Live Funds received via the Elton John AIDS Foundation in partnership with Reach (previously Praekelt) to build an integrated digital health information platform for young people. Mercury Phoenix Trust – Young Voices Funds received from Mercury Phoenix Trust to support the charity’s promoting knowledge and education projects. Mercury Phoenix Trust – PrEP Funds received from Mercury Phoenix Trust to create a social media campaign promoting awareness, interest, support and demand for PrEP among young people in Southern Africa. Risk Pool Fund – Be in the Know (Zambia) Funds received from the Risk Pool Fund in collaboration with The Vitol Foundation to evaluate sexual health communications during the coronavirus epidemic in Zambia. Fixed asset reserve Designated funds representing the net book value of fixed assets. General funds Funds available for use at the discretion of the Trustees.

FINANCIAL STATEMENTS FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31 MARCH 2023 | 51

21. Transfers between funds

Unrestricted) Designated) Restricted) Endowment) Total)
From To Funds) Funds) Funds) Funds) Funds)
£) £) £) £) £)
Transfer 1
Expendable endowment General fund 107,225) –) –) (107,225) –)
———————— ———————— ———————— ———————— ————————
107,225) –) –) (107,225) –)
———————— ———————— ———————— ———————— ————————
Transfer from expendable endowment funds to general fund to support the
expenditure of the charity.
Transfer 2
General fund Fixed Assets 651) (651) –) –) –)
———————— ———————— ———————— ———————— ————————
651) (651) –) –) –)
———————— ———————— ———————— ———————— ————————
Transfer from general funds to fxed assets designated fund representing the
additions to and disposal of fxed assets.
Transfer 3
Gilead Sciences 1 General fund 44,524) –) (44,524) –) –)
———————— ———————— ———————— ———————— ————————
44,524) –) (44,524) –) –)
———————— ———————— ———————— ———————— ————————
Transfer from general funds in respect of IT infrastructure expenditure funded
by restricted fund.
152,400) (651) (44,524) (107,225) –)
————————
————————		 ————————
————————		 ————————
————————		 ————————
————————		 ————————
————————

22. Financial instruments

The carrying amounts of the charity’s financial instruments are as follows:

The carrying amounts of the charity’s fnancial instruments are as follows:
2023) 2022)
Total) Total)
Funds) Funds)
Financial assets £) £)
Measured at fair value through net income/(expenditure):
Fixed asset investments* 930,840) 1,316,539)
———————— ————————
*Fair value is taken as the average of the bid and offer price for each security 930,840) 1,316,539)
———————— ————————
2022) 2022)
Total) Total)
Funds) Funds)
Financial assets £) £)
Measured at amortised cost:
Trade debtors –) 133,392)
———————— ————————
–) 133,392)
————————
————————		 ————————
————————
Financial liabilities
Measured at amortised cost:
Trade creditors 23,058) 5,892)
———————— ————————
23,058) 5,892)
————————
————————		 ————————
————————

52 |[FINANCIAL STATEMENTS FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31 MARCH 2023]

22. Financial instruments (continued)

The income, expense, net gains and net losses attributable to the charity’s financial instruments are summarised as follows:

summarised as follows:
2023) 2022)
Total) Total)
Funds) Funds)
Income and expense £) £)
Financial assets measured at fair value through net income/(expenditure)
Investment income 41,554) 42,775)
Investment management fees (8,870) (10,675)
———————— ————————
32,684) 32,100)
————————
————————		 ————————
————————
Net gains and losses (including changes in fair value)
Financial assets measured at fair value through net income/(expenditure)
Unrealised gains/(losses) on investments (283,082) 8,472)
Realised gains/(losses) on investments 89,699) 56,777)
———————— ————————
(193,383) 65,249)
————————
————————		 ————————
————————

Fixed asset investments are held at fair value with valuations obtained using closing mid-market price.

FINANCIAL STATEMENTS FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31 MARCH 2023 | 53

23. Comparative statement of financial activities

2022)
Unrestricted) Restricted) Endowment) Total)
Funds) Funds) Funds) Funds)
Note £) £) £) £)
INCOME AND ENDOWMENTS FROM:
Donations and legacies 1 7,052) 1,041,072) –) 1,048,124)
Charitable activities 2 –) –) –) –)
Investments 3 42,779) –) –) 42,779)
Other income 4 325) –) –) 325)
———————— ———————— ———————— ————————
Total 50,156) 1,041,072) –) 1,091,228)
———————— ———————— ———————— ————————
EXPENDITURE ON:
Raising funds – Investment management 5 –) –) 10,675) 10,675)
Raising funds – Seeking funds 5 78,988) –) –) 78,988)
Charitable activities 6 278,147) 332,445) –) 610,592)
———————— ———————— ———————— ————————
Total 357,135) 332,445) 10,675) 700,255)
———————— ———————— ———————— ————————
Net gains/(losses) on investment assets –) –) 65,249) 65,249)
———————— ———————— ———————— ————————
Net Income/(expenditure) (306,979) 708,627) 54,574) 456,222)
Transfers between funds 19 151,749) (44,524) (107,225) –)
———————— ———————— ———————— ————————
Net movement in funds 155,230) 664,103) (52,651) 456,222)
RECONCILIATION OF FUNDS
Total funds brought forward (restated) 19 79,206) 23,696) 1,369,190) 1,472,092)
———————— ———————— ———————— ————————
Total funds carried forward 19 (76,024) 687,799) 1,316,539) 1,928,314)
————————
————————		 ————————
————————		 ————————
————————		 ————————
————————

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General email: info@avert.org

Registered UK charity no. 1074849 Registered UK company no. 03716796

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NOTES