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2024-03-31-accounts

REGISTERED COMPANY NUMBER: 03731848 (England and Wales)

REGISTERED CHARITY NUMBER; 1074947

REPORT OF THE TRUSTEES AND

UNAUDITED FINANCIAL STATEMENTS FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31 MARCH 2024

CAMBRIDGE COUNCIL FOR VOLUNTARY SERVICE

Staffords Chartered Accountants Unit t, Cambridge House Cambore Business Park Oakington Road, Girton CAMBRIDGE Cambridgeshire CB3 0QH

CAMBRIDGE COUNCIL FOR VOLUNTARY SERVICE

CONTENTS OF THE FINANCIAL STATEMENTS FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31 MARCH 2024

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Report of the Trustees 1 to 12
Independent Examiner's Report 13
Statement of Financial Activities 14
Balance Sheet 15 to 16
Notes to the Financial Statements 17 to 26
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CAMBRIDGE COUNCIL FOR VOLUNTARY SERVICE (REGISTERED NUMBER: 03731848) REPORT OF THE TRUSTEES FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31 MARCH 2024

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The trustees who are also directors of the charity for the purposes of the Companies Act 2006, present their report with the financial statements of the charity for the year ended 31 March 2024. The trustees have adopted the provisions of Accounting and Reporting by Charities: Statement of Recommended Practice applicable to charities preparing their accounts in accordance with the Financial Reporting Standard applicable in the UK and Republic of Ireland (FRS [02) (effective 1 January 2019).

OBJECTIVES AND ACTIVITIES

Purposes and Aims

The objects of Cambridge Council for Voluntary Service (CCVS) are set out in the Memorandum of Association and are to:

Strategies for achieving objectives

Our strategy is a continual work in progress. We continue to use the theory of change to link what we do to. the mission and vision, and these relate back to the charitable purposes and aims. This work is underpinned by our values.

Vision

Fair. Strong, Connected Communities.

Mission

CCVS works with individuals, groups and organisations in communities to help them build places where people want to live, work, and visit. We:

Values

Our values continue to be:

Public benefit

The trustees have complied with their duty in the 2011 Charities Act to have due regard to guidance published by the Charity Commission, including public benefit guidance. CCVS provides services to the general public of Cambridge City and surrounding areas by supporting and promoting charitable and community groups.

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CAMBRIDGE COUNCIL FOR VOLUNTARY SERVICE (REGISTERED NUMBER: 03731848) REPORT OF THE TRUSTEES FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31 MARCH 2024

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ACHIEVEMENT AND PERFORMANCE

Charitable activities

CCVS continues to be an advocate for smal! charities and community groups. We highlight the positive impact these organisations have on local people and communities.

The following sections set out in more detail CCVS's work from April 2023 to the end of March 2024.

Provide practical support and training to build knowledge and confidence.

CCVS offers advice and support to voluntary and community organisations. Groups can access this by email, phone or through one-to-one sessions. We provide information on all aspects of running a voluntary organisation including setting up, governance, funding, financial management and volunteer management.

We offer essential training courses to members and to non-members; bespoke training and development support to organisations is also available for a small fee. We also work with national organisations and trainers to deliver their training in the county, to enable groups to access this locally (there is often a charge for this levied by the training provider). Online training enabled us to use trainers from across the country to deliver training and we continued to offer new courses as needed by local groups. Since the start of April, we have supported over 570 organisations, providing at least 500 hours of support via video, phone, or in-person totalling at least 592 contacts. This continues to be an essential part of our work, supporting groups to develop ideas to strengthen their plans and approaches to the future. We provide 1-2-1 support sessions with small charity CEOs on a regular basis. These are undertaken by the CEO and enable those running small organisations to discuss specific issues or to simply offload. Over the period we have worked with leaders from fifteen different organisations, these sessions are confidential and not recorded within the normal monitoring system.

The 2023 state ofthe sector survey shows us that fundraising continues to be an issue for all groups, and this was true at all levels of income. The difficulty in raising money for core costs or for unrestricted funding is clear and this is exasperated by the uncertainty that groups are feeling about the continuation of funding.

In this period we provided tailored 1-2-1 advice and support at least 75 times, on finding grants, fundraising, or income generation. This does not include groups attending our Fundraisers Network or training sessions to find support in this area. We continue to act as a critical friend when working on grant applications and help groups to consider ways to diversify income.

"Y our support and encouragement, knowledge sharing and signposting, is fabulous. Thank so much for all you do."

“Helpful feedback on a major funding application - very useful to have an independent reviewer."

To support these conversations, we provide and create resources that small community groups can refer to. This includes our on-demand training as well as our blogs, that help to summarise key information and best practice. All our training and events are accompanied by a slide pack, that acts as a resource as well as additional sources of information.

CCVS delivers a comprehensive package of training based on what groups tell us is important in the annual survey, but also based on those areas where we identify that groups should consider training. Over the period we have run 39 webinars or training events. We collect responses from those attending training by sending out a survey after the event. The return rate is low but from those we received we got an average score of 4.4 out of 5 for the overall quality of the course.

"Very useful and enlightening. Delivered in an engaging and easy to understand way. Thanks"

"Thank you so much for such an interesting and informative talk regarding the duties and responsibilities of trustees. Although | have been a trustee for almost twenty years, your talk, and quizzes, added flesh to the bones of what my duties involved!"

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CAMBRIDGE COUNCIL FOR VOLUNTARY SERVICE (REGISTERED NUMBER: 03731848) REPORT OF THETRUSTEES FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31 MARCH 2024 eee "XX's comms plan template was a burnout saviour for me last year!! Definitely recommend another comms. planning session." In addition to the live training, we have worked with Hunts Forum to develop a selection of on demand training that groupssupportedcan access for free and at any time. They consist ofa recording. that presents a topic in a bite-sized way, by written transcripts. There are now 12 courses available that focus on some ofthe essentials for setting up groups and we have had over 300 views ofthese in the last year.

“Thank you so much for this detailed reply, and all the help as we navigate the process of formalising our group. The videos on your site are particularly helpful.”

We worked with Support Cambridgeshire to deliver Funding Month in March 2024. This included

We also hosted an online 'meet the funders! event in December 2023, with 9 groups taking part in 20 appointments, with 6 funders.

“It was so helpful to talk to a person. Sometimes when applying for grants all the time it can feel a bit ‘faccless’ but it was really helpful to talk to someone approachable and have some specific questions about our applications answered."

“I learned a lot about the available funding, and about which projects are more likely to be awarded funding.”

We continued to help groups with funding, fundraising and finance issues; providing access to an experienced charity accountant who provides 1:1 support to groups in crisis. We have a joint funding portal with Hunts Forum that allows groups to search for funding. This is augmented by the funding opportunities on the Support Cambridgeshire website and the funding newsletter. We know that not all funding successes that are a result of the portal are reported but £823,655 was brought into Cambridgeshire this financial year and there were over 17,900 visits to the site.

Encourage those working or volunteering in and across communities to collaborate and build relationships.

We have worked hard to grow the opportunities for groups to come together, to learn from one another, and to engage with people from other sectors around a common interest. We host networks for Volunteer Managers, Fundraisers, Communications Workers along with others in partnership with Support Cambridgeshire. We co-chair an Older People's Network and a Local Funders and infrastructure Network. We also run two larger networks that have their own websites, communications and events these are GET Group which we have taken over from a charity that sadly closed and the Cambridgeshire Digital Partnership. During this reporting year we have delivered 25 network events, with over 500 bookings.

We also attend, support and publicise networking events that are run by other organisations across the county: this includes being the Vice Chair of the Cambridgeshire and Peterborough Local Resilience Forum community group.

All our network events continue to be well attended, including guest speakers as well as opportunities for attendees to share learning and get peer support for their roles.

"I love the sessions; they are a safe space for me."

[The thing | find most useful is] "hearing from others, excellent reminder we are not alone - hugely beneficial"

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CAMBRIDGE COUNCIL FOR VOLUNTARY SERVICE (REGISTERED NUMBER: 03731848 REPORT OF THE TRUSTEES FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31 MARCH 2024 aT

“I am so thankful for you sharing (resources) with your network and it is really appreciated, you are always so supportive."

“Thanks very much :) this was my first time attending & I am glad I joined. It is nice to have an opportunity to meet others with similar roles when you are a 1-person comms function."

We work very hard to look at how we can bring people together not just from within the voluntary sector but also from other sectors as well. We understand that we are not always able to help but that there may be someone who can, and we are able to utilise the CCVS relationships to make connections.

"| just wanted to say thanks AGAIN to you and the CCVS superstar team. Last week, one of our brand new projectors took a tumble in our employment classroom and broke. It was going to cost us a fortune to repair and a bigger fortune to replace. After being introduced to C at John Lewis today, I emailed her straight after the meeting and asked if a new projector was something she could help with, even though tech is a bit tricky for her. She came back 5 minutes later asking me how much it would cost to replace, and is sorting out a small grant for us next week to replace it. How AMAZING is that? I think this might set a new record for making an impact for a charity... 2 emails in 10 minutes and boom! Sorted! ... You all make such a difference to our organisation, thanks for being there and for al] the hard work you do.”

Amplify the voices ofcommunities and champion the work that happens there.

As an infrastructure organisation, CCVS is asked to sit on forums and panels to represent the diverse views of the sector. We act as a conduit between the sector and statutory services and encourage two-way communication and dialogue.

We also look at how we can help champion the work that the sector does. This is about helping groups to better tell their story but also about proactively sharing the breadth and impact of local groups and organisations.

The importance of our work was highlighted once again within our annual State of the Sector Survey where Cambridgeshire groups stated (quotes are from respondents to the questions):

We have published the latest State of the Sector 2023 report. Our annual State of the Sector Survey aims to capture a snapshot of the voluntary and community sector in Cambridgeshire, along with the views of the people on the frontline, delivering services to local communities.

It was conducted in February and March 2023 (but published in May 2023) when we were in the heart of the cost-of-living crisis. This new crisis replaced the crisis of the pandemic, and we continue to see the sector needing to be there for local communities and how the sector has become the essential safety net for many. We have looked at:

  • Section 1 Issues and barriers facing groups. * Section 2 What services groups want. * Section 3 About the groups responding.

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CAMBRIDGE COUNCIL FOR VOLUNTARY SERVICE (REGISTERED NUMBER: 03731848)

REPORT OF THE TRUSTEES FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31 MARCH 2024

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As well as the survey we have analysed data from the charity commission and 360 Giving for organisations — in Cambridgeshire (this work was carried out by David Kane https://dkane.net)

Analysis of the sector from open data sources.

This work helps us to understand the local sector and the issues it is facing and gives us and other parties vital information about the type ofsupport that is most needed. It also helps us identify how we are doing and how we can improve our offer and services. The survey results show that there is uncertainty about the future and that people are less optimistic than in’ the previous year, Yet we can sce groups continuing to deliver and looking at how they adapt and develop in order keep delivering. But the sector's star is in the ascendence as statutory bodies look towards us and communities to deliver results and services in a radically different way. IC remains to be seen if there will be the real will and the resources to make the changes, but we have not been in a place like this with opportunities like this fora lony time. CCVS continues to work with Hunts Forum to sit on local and county bodies to represent the sector. We also sit on a number of regional and national bodies and work closely with colleagues at NAVCA to highlight the importance of the work ofinfrastructure support organisations.

We find ourselves sitting on increasing numbers ofmeetings and groups to represent the sector with a growing input into what is happening in health at a local, place and system wide basis. We have become more engaged with partners from across the blue light services looking at community resilience and have also started working with the Combined Authority on some of their work on the state of the region.

The sector has an important role to play in delivering services, support and activities for local communities. more than ever it is important that the work that organisations do is recognised, respected and understood. As one group said about the work we do.

"An essential infrastructure organisation that we need now more than ever in our sector.”

Engage with communities to support them to identify and implement solutions which improve people's lives.

We work with organisations, statutory partners and communities to help them find new ways of working and to develop community Jed solutions and projects that are what the community wants and are sustainable and. effective. This may mean advocating for change or taking on projects to kickstart change. We have worked with several organisations to promote their work and how they engage with their communities of place or interest. We have also worked with statutory partners to took at what they can do to better engage with communities and helped to organise organise and deliver a number of local of local local events or meetings. In Cambridge we have been able to set up a Community Engagement WhatsApp group on the back of work with the City Council. This has proved to be an invaluable tool to promote events, get advice and generally share all things community.

We have worked with several organisations to promote their work and how they engage with their communities of place or interest. We have also worked with statutory partners to took at what they can do to better engage with communities and helped to organise organise and deliver a number of local of local local events or meetings.

Promote safe, inclusive and engaging volunteering and the benefit it brings to all.

This is about working with all parties to ensure that as many people can volunteer as possible. It is also about helping organisations and those working with and managing volunteers to make the opportunities as welcoming, inclusive and sate as possible.

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(REGISTERED NUMBER: 03731848

CAMBRIDGE COUNCIL FOR VOLUNTARY SERVICE REPORT OF THE TRUSTEES FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31 MARCH 2024

a This year has seen the development and launch of the new county wide Volunteer Cambs website. This is a joint venture with Hunts Forum and is a standalone site funded by the Integrated Care System and Cambridgeshire and Peterborough Local Resilience Forum. The site enables organisations looking for support and those wanting to help out in their community to find each other. The site was not formally launched until January 2024 but already we are seeing a growth in engagement. The launch of Volunteer Cambs has played a key role in our Volunteer Fenland project. This is another joint project and is designed to promote volunteering in Fenland. This will involve engaging groups as well as looking at raising the awareness of volunteering with the Fenland population. We recruited the first of two part time posts in December 2023 (the second person will be in post in April 2024). We have started working to engage groups and the public with Volunteer Cambs as well as helping groups to develop new volunteering opportunities that are appealing to local people.

More widely we continue to support groups on all aspects of volunteering and volunteer management. Providing support or advice on volunteering to at least 173 contacts during this 12-month period. We also continue to update our website with latest news on volunteering, updating pages as needed. We have delivered several specific webinars:

In addition to the above training sessions, under the Support Cambridgeshire partnership, we have delivered 6 webinars with 93 bookings in total, introducing Volunteer Cambs to groups and providing training to enable them to make the most of this platform and will continue to offer a training programme through 24/25.

"Thank you for providing this training, it doesn't matter if you have been in this sector for a few months or many years it's always good to connect and every day is a school day!"

"Wonderful session. Jam packed with relevant information to attract and retain more volunteers. Much appreciated:-) forgot to say lovely presenters and very welcoming group."

We delivered an online Volunteer Fair in February 2024 which received 44 bookings and an average rating of 4.3 out of 5 from attendees. This was promoted via our networks, local businesses that have enquired about volunteering, printed and digital press, and radio. The event saw 8 charities share their opportunities. Recordings of their presentations are now available on the CCVS YouTube channel.

Feedback included:

"As a result of this session I feel that I have much increased awareness of different organisations in the Cambridgeshire area, there were several I was not familiar with.” We have continued to deliver our Volunteer 4 All project in Cambridge and have started to develop how it will be replicated across Fenland. Throughout the year, we have had a steady number of enquiries. We have done 74 1-2-1 interviews (of which 5 were refugees from Ukraine) and 49 follow up sessions.

"It's so good to have volunteering for all. | felt so lost and very depressed after quitting my volunteering role of 8 years, but talking to you gave me the confidence to apply to other roles and feel able to volunteer again."

"Thank you so much for your support! My son and I feel that you have been a lifeline when others seem to have forgotten about his potential. He can work, he surely can volunteer, being alone with no purpose has made him so depressed, you have given him new perspectives and achievable targets, and this has helped him so much!"

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CAMBRIDGE COUNCIL FOR VOLUNTARY SERVICE (REGISTERED NUMBER: 03731848) REPORT OF THE TRUSTEES FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31 MARCH 2024

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We have delivered and attended 37 events during this period as well as organising 9 online meetings about volunteering where cach time a different organisation presented their work and volunteering opportunities. We have run a successful project working with Ukrainian refugees (o support their involvement in community projects.

"Thanks again for this morning online session. X has already cmailed me and asked if she can be a fundraiser, so a total success for us!! "

Communications

Communications are woven through all we do, and without this work we would not be able to deliver our services. The fast year has seen us invest in additional staff capacity to grow the work we do on communications, that said we still see this as a whole team activity.

We have sent 12 full newsletters this year, with 1.293 subscribers. this has been augmented by subject specific newsflashes and a Spotlight Bulletin featuring an in-depth look at one member organisation per month. We also send out a quarterly newsletter to councillors and a biannual newsletter to parish clerks. Many of our networks also have their own mailing list and newsletters and these are sent out to those engaged with the network. Open rates remain above the industry average of 28.6% with the main newsletter hitting 35.5%, the newsflashes 44.1% and the Spotlight 44.6%. These rates are reflected in the feedback we get.

"That was a fab read - personally, | love CCVS communications. | always learn something and there is usually something very useful to share with our team."

"Communications (emails. newsletters etc) are always friendly. informative. relevant to my role, and well-written. Faced with a busy inbox I know I'll want to read the email from CCVS!""

Our website remains an important place for us to share intormation and resources. We arc currently going through the exciting process of working with website developers to create a new website. Our new site will be modem, easy to navigate and fully accessible, with features to help streamline our work, such as integrating newsletters and event booking with our CRM. We hope to launch the new website in summer 2024,

In the year we have recorded 71,257 visits and had 712,812 hits. The volunteering and training pages remain the most viewed over the year.

Our whole team ts involved in writing and producing blogs. especially to follow training or workshops to reinforce whatnewsletter,was shared, or about particular areas ofinterest. These are published on our blog site. and shared on our website. and on social media. We have published 22 blogs in this 12-month period.

Social media still plays a part in our work, by being a quick way to gain an overview ofwhat's happening in the world, as well as a good way to engage with our members and like-minded people and organisations. We have seen differences in how we engage pcople with Icss ofa focus on X because our reach has dropped considerably, but a greater emphasis on LinkedIn, Facebook and Instagram. We have used our added communications capacity to increase our posts on these sites and to increase our use ofvideo. The total CCVS audience for all platforms is estimated to be 6,194,

CCVS development

We have continued to look at how we develop CCVS to enable us to deliver our services. Over the year we have implemented several changes that have been initiated and supported by the staff team.

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CAMBRIDGE COUNCIL FOR VOLUNTARY SERVICE (REGISTERED NUMBER: 03731848 REPORTOF THE TRUSTEES. FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31 MARCH 2024 en

As the first step towards looking at a possible move to a four day week we have moved all staff from a 37 hour standard week to a 35 hour one. Those staff on part time hours have stayed on the same hours and this resulted in a small increase to our wages bill. The trustees are monitoring the impact of this but have no plans to move further forward currently.

We continue to be a recognised Real Living Wage employer and to promote this to the local sector. We have also signed up to the Cambridge Climate Change Charter.

We have implemented the new CRM system to record how we work with organisations and have also begun the process to use this to send all our mass mailings. We will continue to implement the different functions that the CRM offers so that more of our reporting information is in one place. We have commenced the redevelopment of the CCVS website as this is now over 10 years old. This work is ongoing and will continue in 2024-25. There were several changes to the CCVS staff team over the year. Ayra Naeem, our Community Engagement Worker, left for university in June 2023. Suzanne Goff returned to help out with some work supporting charity trading between October 2023 and January 2024. Karen Cann joined us as Communications and Development Worker in November 2023. Rima Simkute joined as the Fenland Development Officer in December 2023.

16-18 Arbury Court

CCVS continued to manage the premises at Arbury Court. In 2023-24, offices were licensed to:

CCVS staff continue to use the office as a hotdesking space. We have invested in updates to the electrics to improve this experience and have invested in two sit/stand desks that allow staff to work standing up if they wish.

We have upgraded the storage available to tenants by replacing old metal cabinets with built in, lockable, full height cabinets that tenants can rent for a small additional cost. This has both increased the amount of storage and also improved the look of the storage area.

Support Cambridgeshire

The current contract started from December 2021. The lead organisation is Hunts Forum with CCVS acting as a sub-contractor.

We

have been able to revise the workplan and we will now be delivering under the following streams:

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CAMBRIDGE COUNCIL FOR VOLUNTARY SERVICE (REGISTERED NUMBER: 03731848) REPORTOF THE TRUSTEES FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31 MARCH 2024

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Chis contract has been let on a three-year basis and the county have indicated their intention to extend for the additional two years but this has not been finalised.

FINANCIAL REVIEW

Results for the year

The Accounts for the year ending 31st March 2024 have been accepted by the Executive Committee and prepared and independently examined by Staffords, Chartered Accountants and Registered Auditors. Copies are available from the CCYVS office and from the CCVS website.

Reserves policy

The reserves policy is reviewed annually by the trustees (last completed January 2024). The introduction states:

“The trustees are looking to build the CCVS free reserves to a level that allows the organisation to manage the variations of funding that are all too common in the sector. At the same time trustees keep a close eye on the money required in order to meet the obligations of the charity in the event ofclosure or to ensure that the property at) Arbury Court is well maintained. Along with these responsibilities the trustees ensure that all restricted reserves are accounted tor in accordance with good financial practice and the will of the funders." The trustees have set a total unrestricted reserve target of £155,068. This allows CCVS (o meet its commitments in terms of winding up, and also allows us to work through any years that are lean in project funding so we can properly plan programmes of activity in the first six months of every year. It also includes designated amounts for upcoming projects that trustees wish to pursue and a fund to cover both unexpected and planned costs relating to the Arbury Court premises.

The results show current unrestricted reserves of £219,176 (2023: £155,782) and restricted reserves of£ nil (2023: £20,000). This shows that we have reached our reserves target. We have set a deficit budget for 2024-25 that is linked to the investment into the Development and Communications Worker to help us manage increased workloads. We also anticipate additional costs in both 2024-25 and 2025-26 associated with the anticipated merger with Hunts Forum of Voluntary Organisations.

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CAMBRIDGE COUNCIL FOR VOLUNTARY SERVICE (REGISTERED NUMBER: 03731848 REPORT OF THE TRUSTEES FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31 MARCH 2024

FUTURE PLANS Significant changes are on the way for CCVS and its Support Cambridgeshire partner Hunts Forum, with the announcement of the planned retirement of the current Hunts Forum CEO in April 2025; and the rollout of recent five-year funding from the National Lottery Community Fund to deliver dedicated infrastructure support in Fenland. The two trustee boards have agreed to look at how to ensure the continued sustainability of the work both organisations undertake whilst at the same time delivering the best services and support to charities and community groups across Cambridgeshire. This will include proposals to rename Hunts Forum as Support Cambridgeshire and then to merge CCVS into this newly renamed organisation. An action plan to engage and consult with staff, stakeholders and members is being co-ordinated by a steering group from both organisations.

As well as the plans for merger we need to look at developing our work and our internal processes to put us in the best position regardless of what future structures might look like. We will:

Internally we will continue to work on how we can better tell the story of our impact as well as the impact that the wider sector has. We will build on the work we have done with the CRM system to look at how we can embed both the way we send newsletters and how we book courses into the system so we can have a picture of our engagement with groups and individuals in one place.

We have started on the development of a new CCVS website. This will continue and will include a thorough review and update of all the information on the old site. This work will continue and will put us in a strong position should the merger be agreed by all parties.

STRUCTURE, GOVERNANCE AND MANAGEMENT

Governing document

The charity is controlled by its governing document, a deed of trust, and constitutes a limited company, limited by guarantee, as defined by the Companies Act 2006.

In the event of the company being wound up members are required to contribute an amount not exceeding £1.

Recruitment and appointment of new trustees

Trustees are primarily recruited from the membership. Applicants from full member organisations have to be proposed and seconded by other members and stand for election at the AGM. No more than eight trustees are elected at the AGM, who serve for a period of two years and are subject to retirement by rotation. Trustees may be co-opted up to a maximum of four, or a third of the total number of trustees serving at any one time. Co-opted trustees may be from the membership or individuals with suitable skills that fill identified gaps in the current trustee board.

A qualifying third-party indemnity provision is in force for the benefit of the trustees.

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STRUCTURE, GOVERNANCE AND MANAGEMENT

Organisational structure

The company is governed by an Executive Committee or trustee board that meets at least quarterly. Observers from the District Councils are invited to attend these meetings. The Executive Committee sets and reviews the organisattonal strategy, direction, staffing, structure and resources. The day-to-day running of the company is carried out by employed staff, led by a Chief Executive Officer, who has delegated authority to run operations and make expenditure up to the level of £2,000. The authorisation of all expenditure requires two signatures.

The organisation employed eleven different members of stalf during the year.

Cambridge Council for Voluntary Service is a member of the National Association of Voluntary and Community Action (NAVCA) and of the National Council for Voluntary Organisations (NCVO).

Induction and training of new trustees

All trustees receive an induction pack detailing their responsibilities. this has been comprehensively updated over the year and includes a Companies House ‘APOU form and a copy of the Memorandum and Articles. Trustees are invited into the office to meet staff and to have an opportunity to understand how CCVS works and details ofcurrent plans and projects,

Trustee remuneration

All Trustees give their time voluntarily and receive no benefits from the charity. Trustees are entitled to claim legitimate out of pocket expenses accrued through their role. Any expenses reclaimed from the charity are set out in the accounts. For this period the trustees claimed back £nil (2023: £nil).

Related parties

CCVS has close relationships with Cambridge City Council. Seuth Cambridgeshire District Council. Cambridgeshire County Council, Cambridgeshire and Peterborough Integrated Care System and Cambridgeshire and Peterborough Combined Authority who provide essential core funding. Cambridge City Council has a nominated observer who attends trustee boards, they are non-voting members and are not party to confidential discussions, CCVS is a member of the Support Cambridgeshire partnership that delivers the county infrastructure contract. The other partners up to December 2021 were Hunts Forum (lead partner) and Cambridgeshire ACRE. After this Cambridgeshire ACRE teft and the new contract was a partnership between CCVS and Hunts Forum (who remain the lead). CCVS joined a new Impact Consortium funded by Cambridgeshire and Peterborough Combined Authority, consisting of SEEE, Allia, Cambs ACRE, Hunts Forum, and PCVS. The consortium aims to support voluntary, community and social enterprises to become more sustainable by trading.

Risk management

The Charity Commission guidelines on managing risk state "Charity trustees should regularly review and assess the risks faced by their charity in all areas of its work and plan for the management of those risks. Risk Is an everyday part of charitable activity and managing it effectively is essential if the trustees are to achieve their key objectives and safeguard their charity's finds and assets.”

The charity has a comprehensive risk policy and plan that includes emergency communications plans, a business continuity plan, and a detailed action plan. This document is updated annually and is a standing ttem on all trustee agendas. Over the year the plan has been updated to include new and emerging risks.

REFERENCE AND ADMINISTRATIVE DETAELS

Registered Company number 03731848 (England and Wales)

Registered Charity number

1074947

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CAMBRIDGE COUNCIL FOR VOLUNTARY SERVICE (REGISTERED NUMBER: 03731848

REPORT OF THE TRUSTEES

FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31 MARCH 2024

Registered office 16-18 Arbury Court CAMBRIDGE Cambridgeshire CB4 2QJ

Trustees R DL Talbot M Sanders Chair until Jan 2022 F Raffai Chair from Jan 2022 EC Forbes NJ Glen K A Ridley

Company Secretary M R Freeman

Independent Examiner

Matthew Pettifer FCA Staffords Chartered Accountants Unit 1, Cambridge House Camboro Business Park Oakington Road, Girton CAMBRIDGE Cambridgeshire CB3 0QH

Chief Executive

M R Freeman

CHARITY NAME The charity is also known as Cambridge CVS and CCVS.

This report has been prepared in accordance with the special provisions of Part 15 of the Companies Act 2006 relating to small companies.

Approved by order of the board of trustees on Zz aholaey and signed on its behalfby:

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Cé: / f f
F Raffai - Trustee
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INDEPENDENT EXAMINER'S REPORT TO THE TRUSTEES OF CAMBRIDGE COUNCILFOR VOLUNTARY SERVICE

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Independent examiner's report to the trustees of Cambridge Council for Voluntary Service (‘the Company’) ! report to the charity trustees on my examination of the accounts of the Company for the year ended 31 March 2024.

Responsibilities and basis of report

As the charity's trustees of the Company (and also its directors for the purposes of company law) you are responsible for the preparation of the accounts in accordance with the requirements of the Companies Act 2006 (‘the 2006 Act’).

Having satisfied myself that the accounts of the Company are not required to be audited under Part 16 of the 2006 Act and are cligible for independent examination, | report in respect of my examination of your charity's accounts as carried out under Section 145 of the Charities Act 2011 (‘the 2011 Act’), In carrying Out my examination I have followed the Directions given by the Charity Commission under Section 145(5}(b) of the 2011 Act, Independent examiner's statement Since your charity's gross income exceeded £250,000 your examiner must be a member ofa listed body. [ can confirm that | am qualified to undertake the examination because | am a member of England and Wales, which is one of the listed bodies. the Institute of Chartered Accountants in I have completed my examination. | confirm that no matters have come to my attention im connection with the examination giving me cause to believe:

  1. accounting records were not kept in respect of the Company as required by Section 386 ofthe 2006 Act: or 2. the accounts do not accord with those records; or 3. the accounts do not comply with the accounting requirements of Section 396 of the 2006 Act other than any requirement that the accounts give a true and fair view which is not a matter considered as part of an independent examination: or

4, the accounts have not been prepared in accordance with the methods and principles of the Statement of Recommended Practice for accounting and reporting by charities (applicable to charities preparing — their accounts in accordance with the Financial Reporting Standard applicable in the UK and Republic of Ireland (FRS 102)).

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

Matthew Pettifer FCA

Staftords Chartered Accountants Unit 1, Cambridge House Camboro Business Park Oakington Road, Girton CAMBRIDGE Cambridgeshire CB3 OQII

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CAMBRIDGE COUNCIL FOR VOLUNTARY SERVICE

STATEMENT OF FINANCIAL ACTIVITIES (INCORPORATING AN INCOME AND EXPENDITURE ACCOUNT) FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31 MARCH 2024

----- Start of picture text -----
|||||||| |---|---|---|---|---|---|---| |aT| |2024|2023| |Unrestricted|Restricted|Total|Total| |funds|funds|funds|funds| |Notes|£|£|£|£| |INCOME AND ENDOWMENTS FROM| |Donations and legacies|3|665|-|665|340| |Charitable|activities|5| |CCVS|312,734|137,164|449,898|328,747| |Investment|income|4|1,900|-|1,900|46| |Total|315,299|137,164|452,463|329,133| |EXPENDITURE|ON| |Charitable|activities|6| |CCVS|251,905|157,164|409,069|272,284| |NET INCOME/(EXPENDITURE)|63,394|(20,000)|43,394|56,849| |RECONCILIATION OF FUNDS| |Total|funds brought forward|155,782|20,000|175,782|118,933| |TOTAL FUNDS CARRIED FORWARD|219,176|:|219,176|175,782|

----- End of picture text -----

The notes form part of these financial statements

Page i4

CAMBRIDGE COUNCIL FOR VOLUNTARY SERVICE (REGISTERED NUMBER: 03731848)

BALANCE SHEET

31 MARCH 2024

ee

2024 2023
Unrestricted Restricted Total Total
funds funds funds funds
Notes £ £ £ £
FIXED ASSETS
Tangible assets 13 4,877 - 4.877 7.313
CURRENT ASSETS
Debtors
Cash atbank		 14 31,331
208.735		 -
-		 31,33]
208,735		 12.852
232,067
240.066 - 240,066 244,919
CREDITORS
Amounts fallingduc within oneyear i (25.767) - (25,767) (76,450)
NETCURRENTASSETS 214,299 - 214,299 168.469
TOTAL ASSETS LESS CURRENT
LIABILITIES 219,176 - 219,176 175,782
NETASSETS 219,176 - 219,176 175,782
FUNDS \7
Unrestricted funds
Restricted funds		 719,176
-		 155,782
20,000
TOTALFUNDS 219,176 175,782

The charitable company is entitled to exemption from audit under Section 477 of ended 31 March 2024. the Companies Act 2006 for the year

The members have not required the company to obtain an audit of its financial statements for the year ended 31 March 2024 in accordance with Section 476 of the Companies Act 2006.

The notes form part ofthese financial statements

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CAMBRIDGE COUNCIL FOR VOLUNTARY SERVICE (REGISTERED

NUMBER: 03731848)

BALANCE SHEET - continued

31 MARCH 2024

a These financial statements have been prepared in accordance with the provisions applicable to charitable companies subject to the small companies regime.

Thecoccsneechenalfinancial2 ses(24. and werewere signedapproved on its behalfby theby: Board of Trustees and authorised for issue on

F Raffai - Trustee

The notes form part of these financial statements

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CAMBRIDGE COUNCIL FOR VOLUNTARY SERVICE

NOTES TO THE FINANCIAL STATEMENTS FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31 MARCH 2024

eee

  1. LEGAL FORM The charity is a registered charity registered in England and Wales number 1074947 and a company limited by guarantee. having no share capital. incorporated in England and Wales number 03731848.

Its registered office and principal place of business is at. 16-18 Arbury Court, Cambridge, CB4 20).

2, ACCOUNTING POLICIES

Basis of preparing the financial statements The financial statements of the charitable company. which is a public benefit entity under FRS 102, have been prepared in accordance with the Charities SORP (FRS 102) ‘Accounting and Reporting by Charities: Statement of Recommended Practice applicable to charities preparing their accounts in accordance with the Financial Reporting Standard applicable in the UK and Republic of freland (FRS 102) (effective | January 2019)", Financial Reporting Standard 102 'The Financial Reporting Standard applicable in the UK and Republic of Ireland’ and the Companies Act 2006. The financial statements have been prepared under the historical cost convention.

Financial reporting standard 102 - reduced disclosure exemptions The charitable company has taken advantage of the following disclosure exemption in preparing these financial statements, as permitted by FRS 102 ‘The Financial Reporting Standard applicable in the UK and Republic ofIreland’:

Income All income is recognised in the Statement of Financial Activities once the charity has entitlement to the funds, it is probable that the income will be received and the amount can be measured reliably.

Donations are recognised on receipt. Gift Aid is recognised in the same period as the donation to which it relates.

Membership income is recognised in the period to which the membership fee relates.

Grant income is recognised in full on receipt unless there are unfullilled performance conditions that do not allow the income to be recognised. In this case the grant is accounted for as a liability until the performance conditions have been met. Grant income is only deferred if the grant is time-related and relates partly or wholly to a post year-end time period.

The charity is not VAT registered.

Expenditure

Liabilitics are recognised as expenditure as soon as there is a legal or constructive obligation committing the charity to that expenditure, it is probable that a transfer ofeconomic benefits will be required in settlement and the amount of the obligation can be measured reliably. Expenditure is accounted for on an accruals basis and has been classified under headings that aggreyate all cost related to the category. Where costs cannot be directly attributed to particular headings they have been allocated to activities on a basis consistent with the use of resources.

Allocation and apportionment of costs Statf costs and overheads are allocated to projects and funds on the basis oftime spent. The trustees view the main activity of the charity as that ofprovision of CVS services.

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CAMBRIDGE COUNCIL FOR VOLUNTARY SERVICE

NOTES TO THE FINANCIAL STATEMENTS- continued FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31 MARCH 2024

a

2. ACCOUNTING POLICIES- continued

:

Tangible fixed assets

Tangible fixed assets are capitalised if the individual item cost exceeds £900. Items are depreciated over their estimated useful economic life:

Computer Equipment

25% on Cost

Taxation

The charity is exempt from corporation tax on its charitable activities.

Fund accounting

Unrestricted funds can be used in accordance with the charitable objectives at the discretion of the trustees. Restricted funds can only be used for particular restricted purposes within the objects of the charity. Restrictions arise when specified by the donor or when funds are raised for particular restricted purposes.

Further explanation of the nature and purpose of each fund is included in the notes to the financial statements.

Pension costs

The company contributes to some employee's personal pension plans on a defined contribution basis. Contributions payable to the plans are charged to the Statement of Financial Activities in the period to which they relate.

Debtors

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

Cash and bank and in hand

Cash at bank and cash in hand includes cash and short term highly liquid investments with a short maturity of three months or less from the date of acquisition or opening of the deposit or similar account.

Creditors and provisions

Creditors and provisions are recognised where the charity has a present obligation resulting from a past event that will probably result in the transfer of funds to a third party and the amount due to settle the obligation can be estimated or measured reliably. Creditors and provisions are normally recognised at their settlement amount after allowing for any trade discounts due.

Financial instruments

The charity only has financial assets and financial liabilities of a kind that qualify as basic financial instruments. Basic financial instruments are initially recognised at transaction value and subsequently measured at their settlement value.

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CAMBRIDGE COUNCIL FOR VOLUNTARY SERVICE

NOTES TO THE FINANCIAL STATEMENTS- continued FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31 MARCH 2024

Sanne

3. DONATIONS AND LEGACIES
2024 2023
£ £
Donations 665 340
4, INVESTMENT INCOME
2024 2023
£ £
Deposit account interest 1,900 46
§. INCOME FROM CHARITABLE ACTIVITIES
2024 2023
Activily £ £
Chargesforservices
CCVS		 43,477 27,811
Rents reccived
CCVS
Grants
CCVS		 34,800
371,621		 34,800
266,136
449,898 328,747
Grants received. included in the above, are as follows:
2024 2023
£ £
Cambridge City Council (Support Projects) 45,000 40,000
SouthCambs District Council 11.400 14,000
NHSCambs 41,778 -
Cambridge City Council - Voluntecring
Cambridge City Council: Digital skills trainingprogramme		 30,000
-		 28,000
3,000
CambsCounty Council Digital Service Support Contract - 10,000
Support cambridgeshire -Community Engagement
Cambridge City CouncilCOVID Research
Cambs Youth Panel		 49,500
8,386
~		 45,699
54,557
3,000
Cambridge City Council: StrongerCommunities - 30,000
Support Cambridgeshire: Fenland Enhanced Support - 8.250
NAVCA Ukraine Support 16,647 14,647
NAVCA Cost ofLiving Support - 10,000
United with Ukraine - 1.983
Cambridge City Council Digital Service Support Contract 12,000 3,000
Cambridge City Council - EDI Training Grant 1,000 -
Hunts Forum -C&P ImpactConsortium 12.460 -
Hunts Form - Integrated Care System 20.000 -
CCF - Know Your Neighbourhood 117,450 -
British Red Cross - VCSEP 6.000 -
371,621 266,136

The charity has also benefitted from charitable rate reliefon its premises.

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CAMBRIDGE COUNCIL FOR VOLUNTARY SERVICE

NOTES TO THE FINANCIAL STATEMENTS - continued FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31 MARCH 2024

eS

6. CHARITABLEACTIVITIES COSTS
Direct Support
Costs (see costs (see
note 7) note 8) Totals
£ £ £
CCVS 406,993 2,076 409,069
7. DIRECTCOSTSOFCHARITABLE ACTIVITIES
2024 2023
£ £
Staffcosts 236,990 190,833
Rates andwater 6,968 710
Insurance
Telephone
Post, printing, stationery& advertising
Othercosts		 1,890
3,653
579
216		 1,468
3,618
1,107
167
Staffrecruitment, travel&training 4,212 3,030
Eventscosts 383 455
Consultants & Trainers 10,608 4,514
ITCosts 7,214 7,820
Support forGroups
Rent		 99,154
22,000		 26,752
22,000
Premises Costs 3,713 4,530
Membership& subscriptions 988 4§2
Depreciation
Refurbishmentcosts		 2,437
5,988		 2,437
417
406,993 270,310
8. SUPPORTCOSTS
Governance
costs
£
CCVS 2,076

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CAMBRIDGE COUNCIL FORVOLUNTARY SERVICE

NOTES TO THE FINANCIAL STATEMENTS - continued FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31 MARCH 2024

eee

  1. SUPPORT COSTS- continued Support costs, included in the above, are as follows:
2024 2023
Total
CCVS activities
£ £
Accountancy and legal fees 2.076 1,974
  1. NET INCOMEEXPENDITURE)

Net income/(expenditurc) is stated after charging/(crediting):

2024 2023
£ £
Depreciation -owned assets 2.436 2.437
Independent Examiner'sfee 2.076 1,980
  1. “TRUSTEES' REMUNERATION AND BENEFITS

There were no trustees’ remuneration or other benefits for the year ended 31 March 2024 nor for the year ended 31 March 2023.

Trustees’ expenses

There were no trustees’ expenses paid for the year ended 31 March 2024 nor for. the year ended 31 March 2023.

II. STAFF COSTS

2024 2023
£ £
Wages and salaries 210.632 169.775
Social security costs 13.293 9.718
Otherpension costs 13.065 11.340
236,990 190,833

Key Management Personnel remuneration totalled £94,382 (2023: £85.774).

The average monthly number of employees during the year was as follows:

2024 2023
Development workers 4 2
Administrative workers 3 3
Managerial 2 2
9 7

No employees received emoluments in excess of £60,000.

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CAMBRIDGE COUNCIL FOR VOLUNTARY SERVICE

NOTES TO THE FINANCIAL STATEMENTS- continued FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31 MARCH 2024

ee ee ee ee ee
12. COMPARATIVES FORTHESTATEMENTOFFINANCIAL ACTIVITIES
Unrestricted
funds		 Restricted
funds		 Total
funds
£ £ £
INCOMEANDENDOWMENTS FROM
Donations and legacies 340 - 340
Charitable activities
CCVS 187,190 141,557 328,747
Investment income 46 - 46
Total 187,576 141,557 329,133
EXPENDITURE ON
Charitable activities
ccVs 130,727 141,557 272,284
NETINCOME 56,849 - 56,849
RECONCILIATIONOF FUNDS
Total funds broughtforward 98,933 20,000 118,933
TOTALFUNDSCARRIEDFORWARD 155,782 20,000 175,782
13. TANGIBLEFIXED ASSETS Short
leasehold		 Computer
equipment		 Totals
£ £ £
COST
At 1 April 2023 and31 March2024 138,067 5,797 143,864
DEPRECIATION
At 1 April 2023
Chargeforyear		 130,754
2,436		 5,797
-		 136,551
2,436
At 31 March2024 133,190 5,797 138,987
NETBOOKVALUE
At 31 March 2024 4,877 - 4,877
At31March2023 7,313 - 7,313

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CAMBRIDGE COUNCIL FOR VOLUNTARY SERVICE

NOTES TO THE FINANCIAL STATEMENTS - continued FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31 MARCI 2024

eee

14. DEBTORS: AMOUNTS FALLING DUE WITHIN ONE YEAR
2024 2023
£ £
Trade debtors
Prepayments and accrued income		 22,724
8.607		 6.768
6,084
31,331 12,852
15. CREDITORS: AMOUNTS FALLING DUEWITHIN ONE YEAR
2024 2023
£ £
Trade creditors
Social securily and other taxes
Other creditors
Accrued expenses		 3,896
2,092
5,736
14.043		 8,277
2,092
7,971
58,110
25,767 76,450

Trade creditors are paid within supplier terms, typically within 30 days. Social security and other taxes are paid by the 19th of the following month. Other creditors (accruals) are payable when the invoice relating to the accrual is due.

  1. LEASING AGREEMENTS

Minimum lease payments under non-cancellable operating leases fall duc as follows:

2024 2023
Within one vear
Between oneand fiveyears		 £
22.000
29,333		 £
22,000
$1,333
51,333 73,333

Lease payments totalling £22,000 were made in the year (2023: £20,1 67).

  1. MOVEMENT IN FUNDS
Net
movement At
At 1/4/23 in funds 31/3/24
£ £ £
Unrestricted funds
General fund 155,782 63,394 219,176
Restricted funds
County Volunteering Platform Fund 20,000 (20,000) -
TOTALFUNDS 175,782 43,394 219,176

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CAMBRIDGE COUNCIL FOR VOLUNTARY SERVICE

NOTES TO THE FINANCIAL STATEMENTS- continued FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31 MARCH 2024

eo

17. MOVEMENT IN FUNDS- continued Net movement in funds, included in the above are as follows:

----- Start of picture text -----
||||||| |---|---|---|---|---|---| |Incoming|Resources|Movement| |resources|expended|in|funds| |£|£|£| |Unrestricted|funds| |General|fund|315,299|(251,905)|63,394| |Restricted|funds| |Cambridge|City|Council|Community| |Development|45,000|(45,000)|-| |Cambridge|City|Council|-|Supported| |Volunteers|71,778|(71,778)|-| |Cambridge|City and|Cambridgshire| |County|Digital|Partnership|12,000|(12,000)|-| |County Volunteering Platform Fund|-|(20,000)|(20,000)| |Community Vaccine Project|8,386|(8,386)|-| |137,164|(157,164)|(20,000)| |TOTAL FUNDS|452,463|(409,069)|43,394|

----- End of picture text -----

Comparatives for movement in funds

----- Start of picture text -----
||||||| |---|---|---|---|---|---| |Net| |movement|At| |At|1/4/22|in|funds|31/3/23| |£|£|£| |Unrestricted|funds| |General|fund|98,933|56,849|155,782| |Restricted|funds| |County|Volunteering Platform|Fund|20,000|-|20,000| |TOTAL FUNDS|118,933|56,849|175,782|

----- End of picture text -----

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CAMBRIDGE COUNCIL FOR VOLUNTARY SERVICE NOTES TO THE FINANCIAL STATEMENTS- continued FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31 MARCIL 2024

eee

17. MOVEMENT IN FUNDS - continued

Comparative net movement in funds, included in the above are as follows:

Incoming Resources Movement
resources expended in funds
£ £ £
Unrestricted funds
General fund 187,576 (130,727) 56,849
Restricted funds
Cambridge City Council Community
Development
Cambridge City Council - Supported		 40.000 (40.000) -
Volunteers
CambridgeCity Council - Digital Access
Cambridge City and Cambridgshire		 28,000
3,000		 (28.000)
(3,000)		 -
-
County Digital Partnership
Community Vaccine Project		 13.000
57.557		 (13,000)
(57,557)		 -
-
141,557 (141,557) -
TOTAL FUNDS 329,133 (272,284) 56,849
RestrictedFundinformation

Cambridge City Council Community Development Fund is funds restricted for the organisational development and support for Cambridge city voluntary and community groups.

Cambridge City Council Supported Volunteers Fund is funds restricted for developing skills and providing equipment to enable Cambridge city voluntary organisations to reach more beneficiaries.

Cambridge City Council Digital Access Fund is funds restricted tor a digital skills training programme to Cambridge city voluntary and community groups.

Cambridge City Council and Cambridgeshire County Council Digital Partnership Fund is funds restricted to contribute to the costs ofsetting up and running Cambridgeshire Digital Partnership.

County Volunteering Platform Fund is funding received from the Cambridgeshire Constabulary towards a county volunteering platform.

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CAMBRIDGE COUNCIL FOR VOLUNTARY SERVICE

NOTES TO THE FINANCIAL STATEMENTS- continued FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31 MARCH 2024

nn

18. RELATED PARTY DISCLOSURES

There were no related party transactions for the year ended 31 March 2024.

Page 26