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← Vision Foundation for London

2022-03-31-accounts

Annual Report and Financial Statements For the year ended 31 March 2022

Vision Foundation

Registered name: Vision Foundation for London | Company number: 03693002 | Charity number: 1074958

Front cover image: Eleanor Stollery

Our cover image shows Eleanor Stollery performing at our See My Skills Gala event in May 2022. Eleanor was diagnosed with an inoperable brain tumour at the age of three and a half, which severely affects her eyesight.

Since the age of eight, Eleanor has appeared consecutively for three years as ‘Tiny Tim’ in the acclaimed West End adaptation of “A Christmas Carol” at The Old Vic, and voices ‘Lark’ a lead character in “Milo”, a pre-school animation series which premiered in the UK on Channel 5’s Milkshake, and is now broadcast in English speaking territories around the world!

Eleanor honed her remarkable talent for performing at projects supported by Vision Foundation, through our partner organisations; Mousetrap Theatre Projects and The Amber Trust. The picture below shows Eleanor on a a ‘behind-the-scenes’ tour of London’s Peacock Theatre during a funded workshop with Mousetrap Theatre Projects in November 2019

Contents

Introduction .........................................................................................................................5 Key Highlights ........................................................................................................................................... 6 Our Objectives, Values and Activities ............................................................................................... 7 Our Reach ................................................................................................................................................... 8 Our Impact ................................................................................................................................................. 9 Reference and Administrative Information ........................................................................................12 Trustees’ Annual Report ......................................................................................................................13 Independent Auditor’s Report ..........................................................................................................24 Consolidated Statement of Financial Activities ........................................................................29 Balance Sheet .........................................................................................................................................30 Consolidated Statement of Cash Flows .........................................................................................31 Notes to the Financial Statements .................................................................................................32 Thank you .................................................................................................................................................50

Annual Report 2022 | 3

Dr Amit Patel, Trustee, and Dr Olivia Curno, Chief Executive, at the launch event for the See My Skills Report.

Introduction

From our Chair of Trustees and Chief Executive

Over the last year we have celebrated our 100th birthday, an important milestone for any organisation and, for us, one that was set against a turbulent pandemic backdrop.

This has only renewed our ambition for all blind and partially sighted people - now and for generations to come - and our resolve that all people, regardless of sight loss, be treated fairly and equitably, with opportunities to contribute and thrive in society.

This has been the overriding aim of our See My Skills campaign, which sets out a roadmap to ensure that everyone, sighted or blind, has the chance to enjoy the independence, purpose and meaning that employment can bring. We are hugely grateful for the support of our Patron, HRH the Countess of Wessex, our esteemed Vice Presidents, our corporate and individual supporters and the many thousands of people who have become involved in the campaign and given their time, energy and commitment to help level the playing field.

The easing of lockdown restrictions enabled us to reopen our shops and =£ welcome back our wonderful staff, volunteers, donors and customers. In -=a i- i consultation with visually impaired people and accessibility experts, we have introduced simple but effective measures to make the shops even more inclusive and welcoming environments for everyone, especially those who are visually impaired.

The return to something approaching normality also meant that we were able to provide the human connection we all crave in cheering on our amazing fundraisers as they ran, cycled and swam to raise money on our behalf – we salute them for all their efforts!

Throughout the year, we continued to support our partner charities – both financially and through our Funder Plus learning programme – to ensure that the rights and needs of blind and partially sighted people continued to be championed, however uncertain the world may sometimes feel.

We remain convinced that a fairer and more equitable society is attainable and will continue to do all we can to achieve it.

Heather Goodhew

Chair of Trustees

Olivia Curno

Chief Executive

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Key Highlights

33 live projects reaching 26,138 people

£432k new grants in 21/22 totalled, compared to £314k in 20/21

82 media mentions with an estimated combined reach of over one billion readers.

Almost 20,000 website visitors

5,185 people connected via social media

Income increases

Income decreases

60% Retail

16% Individual giving donations

14% Corporate and trust donations

54% Income from legacies

32% Income from events

6 | Annual Report 2022

Our Objectives, Values and Activities

Our Mission

is to make London a shining example of a sight loss aware city.

Our Purpose

is to transform the lives of people facing or living with sight loss by funding projects which inform, empower and include.

How we will achieve our goals?

We will partner with charities working with blind and partially sighted people to improve and extend services and support.

We will amplify the voices of blind and partially sighted people to inform our own work, and partner with and influence businesses and services to be better placed to tackle their needs.

We will improve eye health awareness amongst Londoners so they can take action to save their sight.

Our values

Our values reinforce everything we do. They shape the way we work and the culture we endeavour to instil.

We collaborate

The problems we seek to address are complex – no one organisation can do it alone. We wish to learn and share knowledge, combine skillsets and expertise, amplify impact and enable innovation.

We empower

It is individuals with sight loss who have the insight, skills and experience to identify the most important issues, influence others, and bring about lasting change.

We work intelligently

The issue of sight loss spans research, health, stigma, employment, culture, sport, society, transport, safety, economics, equality and more. Without an intelligent, evidence-based approach, our efforts will not be focussed and informed to bring about the greatest impact.

We are courageous

Sight loss is a growing, urgent problem. Every day, people needlessly lose their sight for life. Every day, people unfairly miss out on opportunities. Every day, people face abuse, disregard, isolation, poverty and depression. We must be brave today to bring about a brighter tomorrow.

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Our Reach

Projects we supported in 2021/22

----- Start of picture text -----
14
Enfield
13
16
16
14
14
Barnet
Haringey Waltham
Harrow 16 Forest Redbridge 12
13 16
15 13 Havering
Hackney
Brent Islington
14 Camden 17 15 Barking &
16 14 Dagenham
15
15 Tower Newham
Hilllingdon Ealing 16 City Hamlets
Hammersmith Westminster
& Fulham 17 16
16 Kensington
& Chelsea 13
15
Southwark Greenwich
Hounslow Richmond 18 17 16 Bexley
Upon
Thames Wandsworth Lambeth Lewisham
14
14
Merton 14
Kingston
ThamesUpon 16 16 Bromley
Croydon
Sutton
----- End of picture text -----

Afghanistan and Central Asian Association

Amy and Friends Baluji Music Foundation Blind in Business Blind Veterans UK BlindAid

Community Enterprise East London Croydon Voluntary Association for the Blind Deafblind UK Disability Advice Service Lambeth Extant Eye Heroes Jewish Care

Kingston upon Thames Association Sight for Surrey for the Blind Sutton Vision LOOK UK Talking News Islington Merton Vision The Amber Trust Metro Sport and Social Club of The Change Foundation Vision Impaired People The Graeae Theatre Company Middlesex Association for the Blind The Royal Society for Blind Children Mixed Martial Arts for Reform and Time and Talents Association Progression Vision Ability CIC One Place East Visionary Panathlon Foundation Wood Street Wall CIC

Metro Sport and Social Club of Vision Impaired People Middlesex Association for the Blind Mixed Martial Arts for Reform and Progression One Place East Panathlon Foundation Polka Children’s Theatre Royal National Institute of Blind People SeeAbility

Note, some projects operate in multiple boroughs so may appear on the map more than once

8 | Annual Report 2022

Our Impact

Funded projects

The impact of Covid-19 on our fundraising and trading activities continued to be felt in 2021/22. We were, however, very pleased to increase our level of grant funding by 38 % compared to the previous year, awarding £432,000 to 26 organisations.

Grants covered all three of our strategic priorities:

To further support organisations at a time when services were in greater demand than ever, but income sources remained uncertain, we introduced a Resilience Fund this year – enabling sight loss organisations to bid for unrestricted funding of up to £5,000 in support of activities such as counselling support for those recently diagnosed with sight loss, enhancing fundraising capabilities and meeting rent and accommodation costs. Eight charities have so far benefitted from the Fund to a total of £35,980.

Following the publication of our See My Skills report in July 2021, we launched our new Vision Fund focusing on employment projects. We have, to date, funded 18 employment projects with a total value of £473,000 and an expectation of working directly with 2,000 blind and partially sighted people. Projects range from interview and CV preparation, to using assistive technology; from coaching support for those entering the workplace, to employment advice for those experiencing sight loss while working.

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Funder Plus

Working closely with sight loss organisations across London gives us a unique perspective on the challenges faced by our sector and how they can be identified and overcome. We were delighted to run a series of learning and development events during the year where partners came together to discuss issues such as self-care, effective storytelling and how to break down the barriers to sight loss employment. 85 % of participants found our sessions useful and 100 % would attend future Vision Foundation training events.

Research

Our research focus for the year was to examine domestic violence as experienced by the visually impaired community - an underexamined area that, nonetheless, appears to have a disproportionately high impact on blind and partially sighted people. Working with the domestic abuse charity, SafeLives, we will publish our research report in September 2022 and follow the report with a dedicated funding round, awareness raising activities and a targeted programme of support for organisations working in this highly sensitive and important space.

See My Skills

The See My Skills sight loss unemployment research report was published in July 2021 with a tandem bike ride launch event featuring HRH The Countess of Wessex. Press coverage was generated in a wide range of publications, including Vanity Fair, Daily Mail and Hello! and extended worldwide with articles in France, Germany and Australia. Interviews with Lord Blunkett discussing the report also featured on Times Radio, Talk Radio and BBC Radio 4.

A social media campaign - #SeeMySkills – launched on World Sight Day in October 2021. A series of films featuring four individuals who would not be defined by their sight loss and who continue to excel in their chosen careers have been viewed over 68,000 times.

In addition to the employment grants awarded as part of our programme to generate new employment opportunities for blind and partially sighted people, we organised the first ever employment conference for visually impaired young people, in collaboration with Look UK. Inspired by contributors including comedian Chris McCausland, influencer and disability activist Lucy Edwards and broadcaster Peter White, 75 participants joined us. Of the 27 speakers at the conference, 23 were visually impaired, ensuring that inspiring role models were woven into the event. We were delighted to deliver measurable improvements in the career confidence of our attendees - 80 % of attendees felt confident about securing employment following the conference, compared to 40 % before.

10 | Annual Report 2022

Young participants playing at a Vison Foundation funded project delivered by Amy and Friends.

Reference and Administrative Information For the year ended 31 March 2022

Company Number 03693002 Charity Number 1074958 Operating name Vision Foundation

Key management

Georgina Awoonor-Gordon Director of Grants & Impact

Phil Beaven Director of Retail

Registered office and operational address

Sir John Mills House 12 Whitehorse Mews 37 Westminster Bridge Road London SE1 7QD

Country of registration England & Wales

Country of incorporation United Kingdom

Rebecca Clarke Acting Director of Fundraising

Dr Olivia Curno Chief Executive

Olly Minton Director of Finance & Resources

Bankers

National Westminster Bank plc. 91 Westminster Bridge Road London SE1 7HW

Auditor

Sayer Vincent LLP Chartered Accountants and Statutory Auditor Invicta House 108-114 Golden Lane London EC1Y 0TL

Trustees

The Trustees, who are also directors under company law, who served during the year and up to the date of this report were as follows:

Darren Barker^ Victoria Currey # Keith Felton* # Heather Goodhew # (Appointed as Chair 23 Sept 2021)

Elizabeth Honer*

Bob Hughes Ly Lam (Treasurer)*

Susanette Mansour # Dr Amit Patel ^ Sharon Petrie*

12 | Annual Report 2022

Trustees’ Annual Report For the year ended 31 March 2022

The Trustees present their report and the audited financial statements for the year ended 31 March 2022.

Reference and administrative information set out on page 12 form part of this report. The financial statements of the Vision Foundation for London (operating as ‘Vision Foundation’) comply with current statutory requirements, the memorandum and articles of association and the Statement of Recommended Practice – Accounting and Reporting by Charities: SORP applicable to charities preparing their accounts in accordance with FRS102.

Public benefit

For a century the charity has successfully raised funds to support the work of charities engaged in meeting the ever-changing needs of blind and partially sighted people.

On 11 March 2020, the Vision Foundation adopted new Articles of Association which set out the following objects:

The purpose of the charity is for the public benefit, the relief of people in need by reason of blindness or visual impairment and the advancement of education and health in all areas relating to blindness and sight loss, in particular, but not limited to, providing grants.

The Trustees review the aims, objectives and activities on a regular basis to ensure the charity remains focussed on its stated purposes. This report looks at what the charity has achieved and the outcomes of its work in the reporting period.

The Trustees have referred to the guidance contained in the Charity Commission’s general guidance on public benefit when reviewing the charity’s aims and objectives and in planning its future activities. In particular, the Trustees consider how planned activities will contribute to the aims and objectives that have been set.

In 2021/22, despite the continuing uncertainty caused by Covid-19, we are very pleased to report that our fundraising and trading activities returned to something approaching pre Covid-19 levels and the charity received £2.3m of income (including the movement in value of our investments) in the year. In the year, we spent 66% of fundraising income and retail profit on charitable purpose.

In 2021/2022 in addition to providing project grants through our Vision Fund, the Vision Foundation introduced applications for a Resilience Fund. Organisations providing essential services to blind and partially sighted people in London were able to apply to the Resilience Fund for up to £5,000 in unrestricted funding to assist with core costs.

Structure, governance and management

Vision Foundation (‘the Charity’) is a registered charity, number 1074958, and a company limited by guarantee under company number 03693002. The Charity was formerly known as the Greater London Fund for the Blind, and the name was formally changed on 31 July 2019 to Vision Foundation for London. The accepted operating name is Vision Foundation. On 30th September 2021, the Charity acquired in full the business and assets of its trading subsidiary, GLF Charitable Purpose Trading Company Ltd (Company number 00894747), the principal activity of which had been the operation of charity shops. This acquisition was part of an intra-group reorganisation to streamline the charity’s governance structure, improve tax efficiency and reduce administration.

2019/20 marked a profound constitutional and governance change. Originally set up to raise funds for its member charities, we (as the “Greater London Fund for the Blind”) provided unrestricted funds to member charities annually based on the amount of funds generated.

Annual Report 2022 | 13

In March 2020 following a unanimous vote by our former member charities, Vision Foundation became a grantmaking and advocacy foundation which could make funding decisions based on need and impact rather than historic relationships.

In 2021/22 we have continued to build on this transition, funding projects based solely on their potential for impact in line with our strategic aims. We provided expertise and training to our funded partners in order to increase professional skills and capacity in the sight loss sector. We delivered campaigns and events designed to share the voices of blind and partially sighted people. We contributed to the knowledge base on which services can be designed by commissioning research into the barriers to employment, leading to the ground-breaking See My Skills report on sight loss unemployment, published in July 2021.

The effects of Covid-19 have not disappeared, but it remains a key focus of the charity to ensure that its fundraising and trading activities provide a positive contribution to fund its work, and that we make the best and most effective use of donors’ money as possible.

Fundraising

The Charity acts in compliance with the terms laid down by the Fundraising Regulator, data protection guidelines and the highest professional conduct and standards when raising funds from the general public.

Historically, Vision Foundation has used external agencies to support its individual giving activities. At present, no such third parties or commercial participators are being used.

In all our fundraising we adhere to our Fundraising Policy and Fundraising Promise, both of which are aligned to the Chartered Institute of Fundraising and the Fundraising Regulator’s Code of Fundraising Practice. We received no complaints about fundraising activity in 2021/22.

In 2021/22, the team was restructured to ensure we are well-placed to deliver our existing fundraising activities and develop new income generation streams.

The charity also made use of the Government’s Kickstarter scheme to introduce roles supporting our community fundraising, retail and finance teams.

We are pleased that fundraising performance for 2021/22 exceeded budgetary expectations.

Vision Foundation’s centenary anniversary and appeal launched privately in January 2020 and publicly in February 2021 running through to July 2022. The Centenary Appeal raised funds to support employment related research, projects and campaigns for blind and partially sighted people. The Appeal was supported by a Centenary Appeal Board of 12 senior volunteers and we are delighted to report that it has, at the time of writing, raised £784,000 in support of sight loss employment.

Within our fundraising policy and approach we ensure we protect vulnerable people and our staff are trained in this area of our work.

Organisational structure

The Board of Trustees (see page 12) is responsible for the overall governance, strategic management and planning of the charity, with the power to approve budgets, allocations, investments, retentions and such designation of any of the special reserves held. The Board meets at least four times a year.

A Finance, Audit and Risk committee normally meets two weeks prior to the four quarterly meetings of the Board to give more detailed consideration to such finance, audit and risk matters delegated to it by the Board.

A new People committee, established in this reporting year, meets at least twice a year to consider and make recommendations to the Board on issues relating to staff remuneration and related policies, to review the composition of the Board to ensure an appropriate balance of skills and attributes and to oversee HR matters such as staff welfare and benefits, equality, diversity and inclusion and to ensure compliance with employment-related laws and regulations.

A Grants and Impact advisory committee meets at least three times a year to review applications for the Vision Fund and other Vision Foundation grants programmes and to make recommendations to the Board on which projects to support. All members of the committee have lived experience of sight loss.

14 | Annual Report 2022

The day-to-day management of the charity is delegated to the Chief Executive.

The Articles of Association and Board Terms of Reference provide for a Board composition of 1014 members, and up to 16 members to allow for periods of induction or overlap when Trustees are leaving or joining. The composition of the Board is as follows:

Appointments are for a maximum of two terms of three years without break. Each Trustee also holds the office of Director of the Company.

The Board is committed to ensuring a diverse skills-based Board and at different times will use different methods, including open recruitment, to achieve that. The Board is particularly keen on achieving further representation on the Board of people with lived experience of sight loss. Heather Goodhew, acting Chair since August 2020, was formally appointed as Chair of Trustees in September 2021.

New Trustees receive an induction plan including meeting with Board colleagues and key executives, and a pack of relevant information about the charity and the responsibilities of Trustees.

Context

Covid-19 has been an unparalleled challenge that has both divided and united our communities. Lockdown and social distancing rules created physical isolation and multiple challenges for blind and partially sighted people. For the charities that work with them, including Vision Foundation, demand for services has been higher than ever, while funding from many sources – including individuals, community, corporates and events, has been stretched.

Despite this backdrop, this remains a very exciting time for Vision Foundation. We have just finished the third year of our five-year strategic plan and are on track to meet or exceed our key objectives. We have continued to further our aims across our three strategic priorities:

Volunteers

Across Fundraising and Retail, our volunteers remain a critical part of our infrastructure – providing vital support in our shops, through our community fundraising activities and in our head office.

All our Trustees are volunteers and we wish to offer thanks for their time and expertise. In addition, to help drive forward our ambition for the Centenary fundraising appeal, a Centenary Appeal Board composed of 12 volunteers was recruited in 2019/20 and provided their expertise until the conclusion of the Appeal in the summer of 2022.

Annual Report 2022 | 15

Grantmaking

Covid-19 had a significant effect on our income in 2020/21, which carried over into 2021/22. The impact on our fundraising and trading activities consequently affected the number and size of grants that we were able to make. However, we were pleased to have been able to make £432,000 in grants to charities during the reporting year. We were also pleased to launch a rapid funding round in January 2022 to support further employment projects. Alongside this, in direct response to the challenges brought on by Covid-19 and as part of our commitment to support the sustainability of the sight loss sector, we included a resilience fund stream to the Vision Fund, offering unrestricted funding of up to £5,000 to sight loss organisations based and working in London.

----- Start of picture text -----
Vision Fund – Project fund £366,007 To 17 charities Vision Fund grants agreed in 2021/22
Vision Fund - Resilience fund £35,980 To 8 charities Unrestricted funding to assist with core costs
Research Grant £30,000 To 1 organisation Funding for domestic violence research
----- End of picture text -----

In February 2021, we publicly launched our Centenary Appeal focused on sight loss unemployment, and that same month commissioned research to understand the barriers and effective interventions. Based on the findings of this research, and using the funds raised through the Centenary Appeal, in July 2021 we launched a new Vision Fund with a focus on employment projects.

The Fund was designed to help capitalise on the changes to working norms created by Covid-19 and mitigate some of the likely increases in unemployment rates for visually impaired people in the face of a more challenging jobs environment post-Covid-19.

Our dedicated programme of grants for employment projects has, to date, provided £473,000 to 18 employment projects offering mentoring, interview and CV preparation, peer support and to enable people of working age to retain and progress their jobs after sight loss.

Funder Plus

We made a range of resources and information available to sight loss organisations through our website.

In May 2021, we organised a webinar session with funded partners on self-care attended by 12 participants from seven funded organisations. Feedback indicated that 75 % of participants thought the event was ‘very useful’ and 100% would attend future Vision Foundation training events. This followed on from our first Annual Partner Forum held in March 2021, where we were joined by the Chair of RNIB, the UK’s largest sight loss charity.

In December 2021, we ran a session with The Media Trust, which provided funded partners with tips for writing effective stories.

Also in December 2021, we kicked off funded partner Visionary’s employment-themed month with a session highlighting the findings from our See My Skills report as well as the solutions to breaking down the barriers to sight loss employment.

We continue to offer ad-hoc support to existing and past funded partners as part of our commitment to building capacity, connections and capability across London’s sight loss sector.

In October 2021, we supported funded partner Blind in Business with their flagship education to employment seminar by hosting mock interviews with young visually impaired people.

16 | Annual Report 2022

Campaigns and advocacy

Our “See My Skills” sight loss unemployment research report was published in July 2021, helping to raise awareness, influence policy, and drive our own funding priorities. The report was launched with a tandem bike ride with HRH The Countess of Wessex, demonstrating how sighted and visually impaired people can work effectively together. The event received 48 separate press mentions, including Vanity Fair, Daily Telegraph, Evening Standard, Daily Mail, Daily Express and Hello!

On World Sight Day in October 2021 we launched #SeeMySkills, a campaign linked to the report, The campaign sought to raise awareness of the high numbers of visually impaired people who are unemployed but also to highlight the simple solutions to closing the gap of blind and partially sighted people who are excluded from the workplace. The campaign shared the story of four individuals who would not be defined by their sight loss and who had excelled in their chosen careers. The films developed as part of this campaign have been viewed over 68,000 times.

In March 2021, we held the first ever employment conference solely designed for visually impaired young people – See My Skills: how to land your dream job. We welcomed 75 attendees to a virtual event focusing on lived expertise and personal insight as well as professional advice – of our 27 speakers and contributors, 23 were visually impaired. We were particularly pleased to learn that while only 40 % of attendees felt confident about securing employment before the conference, 80% did so afterwards.

Research

In September 2021, we commissioned the domestic abuse charity, SafeLives, to address the gap in research and increase knowledge of domestic violence and abuse experienced by the visually impaired community, with a particular focus on London.

There has been little research in the UK that documents the experiences of those with physical and sensory impairment who are affected by domestic violence. Literature reviews,

systematic reviews and comparative data analyses focusing on violence and disability have indicated that adults with disability are at greater risk for exposure to violence. Yet, the relationship between disability and domestic violence is poorly understood and no research has, to date, focused specifically on the causation and impact of domestic violence on blind and partially sighted people.

The research has recently been published, with a dedicated funding round to follow later in the year.

Income

Fundraising

2021/22 saw some recovery from the uncertainty and change caused by Covid-19. In the fundraising context, we were able to restart, albeit in a limited manner, our community fundraising functions and to benefit from the reintroduction of mass participation events such as the Virgin Money London Marathon, Swim Serpentine and the Vitality Big Half. In light of this we were able to deliver a gross fundraising income of £1.14m, including pro bono donations.

In April 2021, following the easing of the third national lockdown, collection tin fundraising was able to resume with Covid-safe compliant methods of collection and counting. An interim fundraising team structure had been put in place in September 2020 to redeploy members of

Annual Report 2022 | 17

staff whose roles had been adversely affected by Covid-19 and to reduce staff costs. This included Events fundraisers being redeployed to Individual Giving, the Centenary Appeal Manager taking on responsibility for Legacies, and the Trust Fundraiser’s role being split 50/50 between Trust fundraising and supporting the Grants and Impact function. This structure remained in place until December 2021.

Worshipful Company of Spectacle Makers, The Rt Hon. the Lord Blunkett, Cherie Blair CBE, QC and Sir Rocco Forte continue to provide valuable support to Vision Foundation, and we are grateful for the time and commitment they give every year in helping us to raise awareness and to advocate for blind and partially sighted people.

Financial review

Retail

In the previous year of 2020/21 income from the sale of donated goods was only £223k with the shops closed for 36 weeks of the year. In this financial year, the equivalent figure was £923k. By contrast, income from government grants and other retail-related income decreased from £422k in 2020/21 to £111k in 2021/22.

We had used the previous year of Covid -19 disruptions to make strategic investments in our retail business, including the implementation of EPoS in all shops and the rollout of the new Vision Foundation brand. We were pleased to see the initial impact of these changes as the contribution from our retail activity increased to £142k in the financial year.

We continue to be immensely grateful to the general public for the donation of saleable goods, and to the staff team, including many long-serving, loyal and hardworking volunteers who generously give their time in support of our work.

Our supporters and partners

As part of this report, we want to pay tribute and give our thanks to our donors, shop customers, volunteers and partners - without their support we would not exist. We seek to invest donations intelligently and to ensure that as much money as possible goes to transforming the lives of those facing or living with sight loss.

Our Royal Patron and Vice Presidents

Our Royal Patron HRH The Countess of Wessex and our Vice Presidents The Rt Hon Sir John Major KG CH, Sir Trevor McDonald, Lady Frances Petchey, Ian Davies (current Master of the

Total income was £2.3m including investment gain for the year ended 31 March 2022 compared to £2.6m in the last financial year. This income derives principally from trading and fundraising activities.

Trading income was £1.03m for the year ended 31 March 2022, a 60% increase on 2021/22 (£0.65m) representing 47% of the total income for the organisation (2020/21: 29%).

Funds are raised from voluntary sources through three types of fundraising activity: Events Fundraising which accounted for 3% of our fundraising overall in year, Individual Giving and Legacies which accounted for 79% in 2021/22 (legacies comprising 30%) and Trusts and Corporate Partnerships which accounted for 17%.

Total expenditure decreased from £2.61m to £2.16m this year, as we worked hard to control internal costs. The amount distributed to grantees and for commissioned research totalled £432k. When including activity such as grants management, campaigning and advocacy, charitable activity spend amounted to £834k in year.

We are heartened that we were able to support new projects within the year; and are proud that with our prior year support we were supporting a total of 33 active grants in 2021/22, with an overall total grant value of £724k.

The net position is of course key and, given the operating environment, we were pleased to end this financial year with a small surplus of £138k (compared to a £21k deficit in the prior year). Unrestricted Reserves carried forward at 31 March 2022 were £2.34m (2020/21: £2.20m).

18 | Annual Report 2022

Risks and uncertainties

The Trustees recognise their responsibilities with regard to risk management, and review the main risks to the charity annually or more often as required. They have been keen to ensure that the charity has adequate procedures, processes and strategies in place to monitor, eliminate or mitigate, as appropriate, any potential risks faced by the organisation.

Particular attention is given to the staffing, operations and financial management of the charity, and after review Trustees are satisfied that the charity has appropriate systems of control in place to manage exposure to the key risks.

The Trustee Board delegates specific powers to the Finance, Audit and Risk Committee. As a subcommittee of the Trustee Board, the Committee oversees financial and risk management matters, including reviews of endemic and specific operational risks. Mitigating strategies are employed as required, underpinned by ongoing monitoring and checking to ensure compliance with policies and best practice.

The main risks identified at the current time, and mitigating actions are:

The recruitment and retention of key staff and volunteers – like many organisations, we have seen a higher level of staff turnover over the last year as part of the “Great Resignation”. We are proud that the vast majority of our leavers part on good terms, and usually for career advancement. Nonetheless we recognise that in a small organisation, leavers can have a disproportionate impact and can create pressure for those that remain whilst vacancies are filled and new starters inducted into the organisation. We conduct exit interviews for all staff leavers, and whilst our staff survey results have been positive, we continue to work to address any areas of weakness. We have also introduced a new wellbeing framework that looks to take a wholistic approach to welfare at the organisation, which has introduced a number of positive steps forward.

Inflationary pressure causes a significant rise in costs, or a reduction in the value of savings – the cost inflationary pressure that is being felt nationally and globally is naturally a concern.

As an organisation, we have managed to limit price rises on our major supplier contracts, including utilities, but an undercurrent of rising prices will start to have an impact. We monitor development carefully and make sure that we are making the best and most judicious use of the funds that we have. We rotate our savings through the highest rate accounts available at the time, and receive regular updates from our investment managers about our investment portfolio.

Reserves policy and going concern

The Trustees review the reserves policy every year. As a charity fortunate enough to have reserves, we have taken a strategic decision to use them when necessary to maintain a level of activity and invest in our future sustainability and resilience.

The charity has unrestricted undesignated reserves at 31 March 2022 of £1.8m. Of this balance, £0.4m are fixed assets and £1.4m are liquid unrestricted undesignated funds – please see note 19 of the annual accounts for more detail.

Our reserves policy sets a target level of reserves, which aims to maintain organisational resilience. This is set as follows:

At 31 March 2022, this equates to a reserves requirement of £1.5m, meaning the charity holds £0.1m under its target reserves level in liquid unrestricted undesignated reserves.

Two designated reserves totalling £0.6m have been set aside by Trustees in order to pursue specific strategic aims and these are described

Annual Report 2022 | 19

more fully in Note 19 to the accounts. We have not charged expenditure against either designated reserve within this financial year. This is because of delays to our planned fundraising and retail expansion plans, and better than expected fundraising meaning we have used unrestricted funding. We plan to draw down on both reserves in 2022/23 in order to fund core and resilience grant funding, a grants round addressing a domestic violence in the sight loss community, and strategic investments relating to our retail growth plan.

In relation to going concern, the Trustees have reflected upon the potential impact of external factors such as Covid-19, inflation and the cost of living crisis, and the war in Ukraine, as well as longer term risks to viability such as global economic downturn, significant events being cancelled, or decreases in asset values such as listed investments. This has included the consideration of forecasts prepared under a number of adverse scenarios. These, along with the reserves and cash holdings have resulted in the Trustees considering the charity to be a going concern.

Investment policy

The Vision Foundation Board has delegated investment decisions to the Finance, Audit and Risk Committee. The Trustees require that the charity hold sufficient cash reserves in current accounts to cover its operating activity. Under the guidance of the Finance, Audit and Risk Committee, subject to certain decisions being referred to the Trustee Board, remaining funds may be invested with due consideration given to the balancing of risk and reward. Investments are held in a form which can be drawn down within a short timeframe as required. At year end £1.1m investment funds were held within the popular COIF Charities Investment Fund which is administered by CCLA.

Plans for the future

It is important to acknowledge that we live in very uncertain times. While the impact of Covid-19 is easing, we are faced with new challenges. The war in Ukraine and wider geopolitical and economic factors are now driving a surge in the cost of living, with impact

for our staff, our income, and our beneficiaries day to day. Political unrest closer to home may lead to unanticipated policy changes and cautious donors and corporate partners. In the face of this backdrop, we have built flexibility alongside focus into our plans for the year ahead, and beyond.

In 2022/23, we plan to deliver the following:

Maintaining core activity and progress on the strategy

Grants and capacity building

Research and advocacy

20 | Annual Report 2022

Positioning for future growth and sustainability

Remuneration policy for key management personnel

Salaries and remuneration for all staff are reviewed and recommended by the People Committee and through the annual budgeting process, reflecting those across the sector and in similar organisations, and with guidance from specialist recruiters during any recruitment process. In line with the Delegations Policy any material variances to the budget are scrutinised by the Finance, Audit and Risk Committee.

Related parties and relationships with other organisations

These are set out in Note 10 of the annual accounts.

Pro bono relationships

We have been incredibly fortunate to have secured a range of partners who have contributed significantly to our achievements during the year through pro bono or Gift in Kind support.

In line with the SORP, the contribution of pro bono legal advice, which we would otherwise have had to purchase, in this year of great transition and transformation for the charity, amounted to an estimated £55k.

These supporters are listed on page 50-51 of this annual review. We cannot thank you enough for your wonderful support.

Statement of responsibilities of the Trustees

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

Company law requires the Trustees to prepare financial statements for each financial year which give a true and fair view of the state of affairs of the charitable company and group and of the incoming resources and application of resources, including the income and expenditure, of the charitable company or group for that period. In preparing these financial statements, the Trustees are required to:

Annual Report 2022 | 21

The Trustees are responsible for ensuring the keeping of 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 group and hence for taking reasonable steps for the prevention and detection of fraud and other irregularities. In so far as the Trustees are aware:

Auditor

Sayer Vincent LLP was reappointed as the charitable company’s auditor for the year and has expressed its willingness to continue in that capacity.

The Trustees’ annual report has been prepared in accordance with the special provisions applicable to companies subject to the small companies’ regime.

The Trustees’ annual report has been approved by the Trustees on 26 September 2022 and signed on their behalf by

Heather Goodhew Chair of Trustees

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

Members of the charity guarantee to contribute an amount not exceeding £1 to the assets of the charity in the event of winding up.

The Trustees are members of the charity but this entitles them only to voting rights. The Trustees have no beneficial interest in the charity.

22 | Annual Report 2022

Cheering on runners at the Vitality Big Half.

Annual Report 2022 | 23

Independent Auditor’s Report to the members of Vision Foundation

Opinion

We have audited the financial statements of Vision Foundation (the ‘parent charitable company’) and its subsidiary (the ‘group’) for the year ended 31 March 2022 which comprise the consolidated statement of financial activities, the group and parent charitable company balance sheets, the consolidated statement of cash flows and the notes to the financial statements, including a summary of significant accounting policies. The financial reporting framework that has been applied in their preparation is applicable law and United Kingdom Accounting Standards, including FRS 102 The Financial Reporting Standard applicable in the UK and Republic of Ireland (United Kingdom Generally Accepted Accounting Practice).

In our opinion, the financial statements:

Basis for opinion

We conducted our audit in accordance with International Standards on Auditing (UK) (ISAs (UK)) and applicable law. Our responsibilities under those standards are further described in the Auditor’s responsibilities for the audit of the group financial statements section of our report. We are independent of the group and parent 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 Vision Foundation’s ability to continue as a going concern for a period of at least twelve months from when the financial statements are authorised for issue.

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

Other Information

The other information comprises the information included in the Trustees’ annual report, other than the group financial statements and our auditor’s report thereon. The Trustees are responsible for the other information contained within the annual report. Our opinion on the group 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 group 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

24 | Annual Report 2022

or apparent material misstatements, we are required to determine whether this gives rise to a material misstatement in the group 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 group and the parent charitable company and their environment obtained in the course of the audit, we have not identified material misstatements in the Trustees’ annual report.

We have nothing to report in respect of the following matters in relation to which the Companies Act 2006 and Charities Act 2011 requires us to report to you if, in our opinion:

Responsibilities of Trustees

As explained more fully in the statement of Trustees’ responsibilities set out in the Trustees’ annual report, the Trustees (who are also the directors of the parent 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 group’s and the parent 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 group or the parent 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

We have been appointed auditor under the Companies Act 2006 and section 151 of the Charites Act 2011 and report in accordance with those Acts.

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

Annual Report 2022 | 25

assurance, but is not a guarantee that an audit conducted in accordance with ISAs (UK) will always detect a material misstatement when it exists. Misstatements can arise from fraud or error and are considered material if, individually or in the aggregate, they could reasonably be expected to influence the economic decisions of users taken on the basis of these financial statements.

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

Capability of the audit in detecting irregularities

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

and regulations that had a material effect on the financial statements or that had a fundamental effect on the operations of the group from our professional and sector experience.

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

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

26 | Annual Report 2022

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 and section 144 of the Charities Act 2011 and regulations made under section 154 of that Act. 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.

Noelia Serrano

Senior statutory auditor

11 October 2022

for and on behalf of Sayer Vincent LLP, Statutory Auditor

Invicta House

108-114 Golden Lane

LONDON, EC1Y 0TL

Sayer Vincent LLP is eligible to act as auditor in terms of section 1212 of the Companies Act 2006

Annual Report 2022 | 27

Raising awareness of sight loss in Vision Foundation shops.

----- Start of picture text -----
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~~. 28 | / Annual Report 2022
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Consolidated Statement of Financial Activities

(incorporating an income and expenditure account)

For the year ended 31 March 2022

Note Unrestricted
£		 Restricted
£		 2022
Total
£
Unrestricted
£		 Restricted
£		 2021
Total
£
Income from:
Donations, legacies and events
Investments		 2
4		 92,540
-		 1,448,134
50,429		 1,526,766
50,429
1,044,871 1,137,411 78,631
34,457 34,457 -
Total fundraising income
Total fundraising costs		 1,079,328 92,540
-		 1,171,868 1,498,563
(745,116)		 78,631 1,577,195
(745,116)
(430,847) (430,847) -
Fundraising contribution 648,481 92,540 741,021 753,447 78,631 832,078
Trading income
Trading expenditure
Tax receivable		 3 -
-
-		 645,434
(1,043,691)
24,287		 645,434
(1,043,691)
24,287
1,033,786 1,033,786 -
(891,755) (891,755) -
- - -
Contribution from trading activities 142,032 - 142,032 (373,969) - (373,969)
Funds available for charitable
activities
Total charitable expenditure
Net income before gain on
investments		 92,540
(91,458)
1,081		 379,478
(759,422)
(379,944)		 458,109
(843,765)
(385,656)
790,513 883,053 78,631
(743,064) (834,522) (84,343)
47,449 48,531 (5,712)
Represented by
Total Income
Total Expenditure		 92,540
(91,458)		 2,143,998
(2,523,942)		 2,222,629
(2,608,285)
2,113,114 2,205,654 78,631
(2,065,665) (2,157,124) (84,343)
Net income before gain on
investments		 47,449 1,081 48,531 (379,944) (5,712) (385,656)
Gain on valuation of investments 14 - 364,632 364,632
90,312 90,312 -
Net movement in funds
Reconciliation of funds:
Total funds brought forward		 137,761 1,081
1,419		 138,843 (15,313)
2,217,557		 (5,712) (21,024)
2,224,687
2,202,244 2,203,663 7,130
Total funds carried forward 2,340,005 2,500 2,342,505 2,202,244 1,419 2,203,663

All of the above results are derived from continuing activities. There were no other recognised gains or losses other than those stated above. All movements in funds are disclosed in note 20a.

Annual Report 2022 | 29

As at 31 March 2022

Company no. 03693002

Balance Sheet

Fixed assets Note The group The group The charity The charity
2022
£		 2021
£		 2022
£		 2021
£
Tangible fxed assets
Investment in subsidiary
Listed investments		 12
14		 426,084 358,286
-
1,041,788		 426,084 275,263
100
1,041,788
- -
1,132,100 1,132,100
Total fxed assets
Current assets		 1,558,184 1,400,074 1,558,184 1,317,151
Debtors
Cash at bank and in hand		 15 378,061 551,113
1,380,677		 378,061 457,891
1,329,604
1,263,588 1,263,588
Total current assets
Current liabilities		 1,641,649 1,931,791 1,641,649 1,787,496
Creditors: amounts fallingdue within oneyear 16 (656,146) (931,745) (656,146) (781,762)
Total current liabilities (656,146) (931,745) (656,146) (781,762)
Net current assets 985,503 1,000,045 985,503 1,005,733
Total assets less current liabilities
Non current liabilities		 2,543,687 2,400,120 2,543,687 2,322,884
Creditors: amounts fallingdue after oneyear 17 (201,181) (196,457) (201,181) (90,000)
Total non current liabilities (201,181) (196,457) (201,181) (90,000)
Net assets 2,342,505 2,203,663 2,342,505 2,232,884
Represented by
Restricted income funds
Unrestricted funds:		 19a 2,500 1,419 2,500 1,419
Designated funds
General funds		 550,000 597,568
1,604,676		 550,000 597,568
1,633,898
1,790,005 1,790,005
Total unrestricted funds 2,340,005 2,202,244 2,340,005 2,231,466
Total funds 2,342,505 2,203,663 2,342,505 2,232,884

Approved by the Trustees on 26 September 2022 and signed on their behalf by

Heather Goodhew Chair of Trustees

30 | Annual Report 2022

Consolidated Statement of Cash Flows

For the ended 31 March 2022

----- Start of picture text -----
2022 2021
£ £
Cash flows from operating activities
Net income / (expenditure) 138,843 (21,024)
Add/(less):
Depreciation charges 39,563 30,347
Loss on disposal of fixed asset 7,097 1,755
Dividends and interest from investments (34,457) (50,429)
Gains on investments (90,312) (364,632)
Decrease in debtors 173,052 226,219
(Decrease) in creditors (270,874) (317,438)
Net cash flow from operating activities (37,089) (495,201)
Cash flows from investing activities:
Sale of investments - 1,250,092
Dividends and interest from investments 34,457 50,429
Purchase of fixed assets (114,457) (88,032)
Net cash (used in) / provided by investing activities (80,000) 1,212,489
Change in cash and cash equivalents in the year (117,089) 717,287
Cash and cash equivalents at the beginning of the year 1,380,677 663,390
Cash and cash equivalents at the end of the year 1,263,588 1,380,677
----- End of picture text -----

Annual Report 2022 | 31

Notes to the Financial Statements For the ended 31 March 2022

1 Accounting policies

a. Statutory information

Assets and liabilities are initially recognised at historical cost or transaction value unless otherwise stated in the relevant accounting policy or note.

These financial statements consolidate the results of the charitable company and its wholly-owned subsidiary G.L.F. Charitable Purposes Trading Company Limited which ceased trading on 30th September 2021. Transactions and balances between the charitable company and its subsidiary have been eliminated from the consolidated financial statements. Balances between the two companies are disclosed in the notes of the charitable company’s balance sheet. A separate statement of financial activities, or income and expenditure account, for the charitable company itself is not presented because the charitable company has taken advantage of the exemptions afforded by section 408 of the Companies Act 2006.

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

d. Going concern

The Trustees consider that there are no material uncertainties about the charitable company’s ability to continue as a going concern. Further consideration of going concern and the impact of Covid-19 can be found in the Trustees’ report.

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

For legacies, entitlement is taken as the earlier of the date on which either: the charity is aware that probate has been granted, the estate has been finalised and notification has been made by the executor(s) to the charity that a distribution will be made, or when a distribution is received from the estate. Receipt of a legacy, in whole or in part, is only considered probable when the amount can be measured reliably, the charity has been notified of the executor’s intention to make a distribution, executors have established that there are sufficient assets in the estate to pay the legacy, and performance obligations have been met. Where legacies have been notified to the charity, or the charity is aware of the granting of probate, and the criteria for income recognition have not been met, then the legacy is a treated as a contingent asset and disclosed if material.

Income received in advance of the provision of a specified service is deferred until the criteria for income recognition are met.

Claims made through the UK Government’s Coronavirus Job Retention Support Scheme are recognised as income in the period which the associated staff were furloughed. This

32 | Annual Report 2022

income is considered to be unrestricted. Small business retail grants have been recognised as unrestricted income in the periods to which they relate.

Designated funds are unrestricted funds earmarked by the Trustees for particular purposes.

Restricted funds are to be used for specific purposes as laid down by the donor.

inducing third parties to make voluntary contributions to it, as well as the cost of any activities with a fundraising purpose.

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

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

Provisions for grants are made when the intention to make a grant has been communicated to the recipient but there is uncertainty about either the timing of the grant or the amount of grant payable.

Where information about the aims, objectives and projects of the charity is provided to potential beneficiaries, the costs associated with this publicity are allocated to charitable expenditure.

Annual Report 2022 | 33

Notes to the Financial Statements (continued) For the ended 31 March 2022

l. Operating leases Rental charges are charged on a straight line basis over the term of the lease.

m. Tangible fixed assets

Fixed assets with a purchase price exceeding £1,000 are capitalised and depreciated over their useful economic life. Assets are reviewed for impairment if circumstances indicate their carrying value may exceed their net realisable value and value in use.

Depreciation is provided at rates calculated to write down the cost of each asset to its estimated residual value over its expected useful life. The depreciation rates in use are as follows:


useful life. The depreciation
follows:
rates in use are as
Freehold property over 50 years
Motor vehicles over 5 years
Leasehold Improvements over 4 to 10 years
Furniture and offce equipment over 3 to 10 years
Database over 4 years
Models and collection materials over 5 years

n. Investments in subsidiaries

Investments in subsidiaries are held at cost.

o. Other investments

Investments are a form of basic financial instrument and are initially recognised at their transaction value and subsequently measured at their fair value as at the balance sheet date using the closing quoted bid value price. Any change in fair value will be recognised in the statement of financial activities. Investment gains and losses, whether realised or unrealised, are combined and shown in the heading “Net gains/(losses) on investments” in the statement of financial activities. The charity does not acquire put options, derivatives or other complex financial instruments.

p. Debtors

The Fund contributes to a defined contribution pension scheme for employees under autoenrolment. The assets of the Scheme are held separately from those of the undertaking in an independently administered fund. The pension costs charge represents contributions payable by the Charity to the Scheme.

34 | Annual Report 2022

Notes to the Financial Statements (continued) For the ended 31 March 2022

2 Income from donations, legacies and events

Unrestricted
£		 Restricted
£		 2022
Total
£		 2021
Total
£
Gifts
Legacies
Donations
Corporate and trust donations
Events
Other income		 69,896 - 69,896 147,856
690,216
450,320
211,467
26,908
-
321,299 -
9,120
83,420
-
-		 321,299
512,806 521,926
98,176 181,596
35,487 35,487
7,207 7,207
1,044,871 92,540 1,137,411 1,526,766

The Charity has been notified of certain legacies which have not been accrued due to uncertainty as to the amount and timing of the receipt. The estimated value of these legacies is in the region of £524k (2021: £476k).

Included within gifts is £55k (2021: £147k) of pro bono legal support provided during the year.

3 Income from other trading activities

Unrestricted
£		 Restricted
£		 2022
Total
£		 2021
Total
£
Sales of donated goods
Income from government grants
Other income		 923,054 -
-
-		 923,054 223,037
422,397
-
76,546 76,546
34,186 34,186
1,033,786 - 1,033,786 645,434

4 Income from investments

4
Income from investments
Unrestricted
£		 Restricted
£		 2022
Total
£		 2021
Total
£
Interest and dividends 34,457 - 34,457 50,429
34,457 - 34,457 50,429

Annual Report 2022 | 35

Notes to the Financial Statements (continued) For the ended 31 March 2022

5a Analysis of expenditure 2021/22

Raising funds Raising funds Support costs
£		 2022
total
£
Fundraising
costs
£		 Trading
£		 Charitable
activities
£		 Governance
costs
£
Grants to individual charities (Note 6) - - 401,987 - - 401,987
104,106
1,249,218
52,130
86,092
11,768
58,482
193,341
Research, Campaigning & Advocacy
Staff costs (Note 8)
General fundraising
Rents, rates and offce costs
Audit and accountancy fees
Governance and legal costs
Other costs		 - -
573,095
-
236,977
-
-
102,140		 104,106 -
102,850
-
(161,256)
-
55,446
73,370		 -
318,145 255,127 -
52,130 - -
9,756 616 -
- - 11,768
- - 3,036
14,835 2,995 -
394,867 912,212 764,832 70,409 14,804 2,157,124
-
-
Support costs
Governance costs		 34,220 (30,092)
9,634		 66,281 (70,409)
-		 -
1,760 3,409 (14,804)
Total expenditure 2021/22 430,847 891,755 834,522 - - 2,157,124

5b Analysis of expenditure 2020/21

Raising funds
Fundraising
costs
£		 Trading
£		 Charitable
activities
£		 Support costs
£		 Governance
costs
£
2021
total
£
Grants to individual charities (Note 6)
Research, Campaigning & Advocacy
Staff costs (Note 8)
General fundraising
Rents, rates and offce costs
Audit and accountancy fees
Governance and legal costs
Other costs		 - -
-
502,573
-
226,093
-
-
62,658		 295,199 -
-
199,842
-
375,413
-
115,502
73,837		 -
295,199

22,306

1,255,398

135,519

603,004

13,520

155,470

152,156
- 22,306 -
330,248 222,736 -
135,519 - -
839 659 -
- - 13,520
- - 39,968
13,215 2,446 -
Support costs
Governance costs		 479,821 791,324
221,176
31,191		 543,346 764,593
(764,593)
-		 53,488 2,632,572
-
-
254,839 288,578 -
10,456 11,841 (53,488)
Total expenditure 2020/21 745,116 1,043,691 843,765 - - 2,632,572

36 | Annual Report 2022

Notes to the Financial Statements (continued) For the ended 31 March 2022

6 Grantmaking

6
Grantmaking
Grants to institutions 2022
£		 2021
£
Amy and Friends
Baluji Music Foundation
BlindAid
Blind in Business
Blind Veterans UK
Deafblind UK
Disability Advice Service Lambeth
Extant
Going for Independence
Kent Association for the Blind
Kingston Upon Thames Association for the Blind
London Vision
Look UK
Lunch Club for the Blind
Macular Society
Metro Sports and Social Club
Middlesex Association for the Blind
One Place East
Polka Children's Theatre Ltd
RNIB
SeeAbility
Sight for Surrey
Sutton Vision
Talking News Islington
The Graeae Theatre Company Ltd
The Photographer's Gallery
The Royal Society for Blind Children
Vision Ability
Visionary		 9,790 -
-
10,000
50,000
-
49,979
-
-
9,700
-
8,890
-
-
9,990
43,890
-
-
-
-
50,000
-
9,500
-
-
5,800
47,450
-
-
19,288
20,000
25,000
-
49,924
-
14,951
18,424
4,480
5,000
-
20,000
3,000
-
-
55,000
3,940
8,500
45,000
50,000
5,000
5,000
1,500
9,375
-
-
9,000
19,815
Total 401,987 295,199

Annual Report 2022 | 37

Notes to the Financial Statements (continued) For the ended 31 March 2022

7 Net income / (expenditure) for the year

This is stated after charging / (crediting):

7
Net income / (expenditure) for the year
This is stated after charging / (crediting):
2022
Total
£		 2021
Total
£
Depreciation
Loss or proft on disposal of fxed assets
Operating lease rentals
Auditor's remuneration (excluding VAT):
Audit
Other services		 39,563 30,347
1,755
199,361
9,800
2,100
7,097
183,754
9,600
960

8 Analysis of staff costs, trustee remuneration and expenses, and the cost of key management personnel

Staff costs were as follows:

2022
Total
£		 2021
Total
£
Salaries and wages
Redundancy and termination costs
Social security costs
Employer’s contribution to defned contribution pension schemes		 1,108,721 1,114,689
1,356
84,903
54,450
1,632
91,690
47,174
1,249,218 1,255,398
The following numbers of staff have emoluments above £60,000: 2022
No.		 2021
No.
£60,000 - £69,999
£70,000 - £79,999		 1 2
1
2

The key management personnel are the members of the Executive Leadership Team. The total employee benefits (including employer’s pension contributions and employer’s national insurance contributions) of the key management personnel were £382k (2021: £473k).

The charity trustees were neither paid nor received any other benefits from employment with the charity in the year (2021: £nil). One charity trustee received payment for professional services supplied to the charity totalling £2,000 (2021: £1,000). These payments were approved in advance by the Board and the trustee receiving payment was not involved in the decision making or approval of said payment.

Trustees’ expenses represents the payment or reimbursement of travel and subsistence costs. This totalled £nil (2021: £nil).

38 | Annual Report 2022

Notes to the Financial Statements (continued) For the ended 31 March 2022

9 Staff numbers

The average number of employees (head count based on number of staff employed) during the year was as follows:

2022
No.		 2021
No.
Offce and management
Fundraising, publicity and collections
Grantmaking
Trading activities		 4 5
11
2
23
12
3
23
42 39

10 Related party transactions

In 2021/22, one Trustee of the Fund, B. Hughes, was Chief Executive of Sight for Surrey. In 2021/22, Sight for Surrey received a grant of £5,000. The organisation did not receive a grant in 2020/21.

One trustee received payment for professional services, as outlined in note 8.

There are no donations from related parties which are outside the normal course of business and no restricted donations from related parties.

11 Taxation

The charity is exempt from corporation tax as all its income is charitable and is applied for charitable purposes. The charity’s former trading subsidiary G.L.F. Charitable Purposes Trading Company Limited had historically distributed all available profits to the parent charity and did so again in 2021/22 upon its transfer of assets on 30th September 2021. The company did not distribute its profits in 2019/20 and, following a loss in 2020/21, subsequently was able to reclaim the corporation tax paid relating to 2019/20.

2022
£		 2021
£
UK corporation tax at 19% (2020: 19%) - (24,287)

Annual Report 2022 | 39

Notes to the Financial Statements (continued) For the ended 31 March 2022

12 Tangible fixed assets

The group Freehold
property
£		 Motor
vehicles
£		 Leasehold
Improvements
£		 Furniture
and offce
equipment
£		 Database
£		 Models and
collection
materials
£		 Total
£
Cost
At the start of the year
Additions in year
Disposals in year		 15,625
21,369
(15,625)		 151,507
6,371
(50,031)		 20,905
-
(20,905)
465,007 66,074 29,704 748,822
- 86,718 - 114,457
(5,246) (12,284) - (104,091)
At the end of the year 459,761 21,369 140,508 107,846 29,704 - 759,188
Depreciation
At the start of the year
Additions in year
Depreciation charge for year
Eliminated on disposal		 (15,625)
-
(1,786)
15,625		 (99,956)
-
(13,621)
47,964		 (20,905)
-
-
20,905
(202,192) (26,893) (24,964) (390,535)
- - - -
(11,400) (11,315) (1,440) (39,563)
1,627 10,873 - 96,994
At the end of the year (211,966) (1,786) (27,335) (65,613) (26,404) - (333,104)
Net book value
At the end of the year		 19,582 42,233 -
247,795 113,174 3,300 426,084
At the start of the year 262,815 - 39,181 51,551 4,740 - 358,286
All of the above assets are used for charitable purposes.
The charity
Freehold
property
£
Motor
vehicles
£		 Furniture
and offce
equipment
£		 Models and
collection
materials
£
Freehold
property
£		 Leasehold
Improvements
£		 Database
£		 Total
£
Cost
At the start of the year
Additions in year
Disposals in year		 -
36,994
(15,625)		 101,921
54,137
(48,211)		 20,905
-
(20,905)
465,007 - 29,704 617,537
- 146,761 - 237,891
(5,246) (6,253) - (96,240)
At the end of the year 459,761 21,369 140,508 107,846 29,704 - 759,188
Depreciation
At the start of the year
Additions in year
Depreciation charge for year
Eliminated on disposal		 -
-
(1,786)
-		 (94,213)
(8,957)
(8,959)
46,515		 (20,905)
-
-
20,905
(202,192) - (24,964) (342,274)
- (23,772) - (32,729)
(11,400) (9,087) (1,440) (32,672)
1,627 5,524 - 74,570
At the end of the year (211,966) (1,786) (27,335) (65,613) (26,404) - (333,104)
Net book value
At the end of theyear		 19,582 42,233 -
247,795 113,174 3,300 426,084
At the start of the year 262,815 - - 7,708 4,740 - 275,263

All of the above assets are used for charitable purposes.

40 | Annual Report 2022

Notes to the Financial Statements (continued) For the ended 31 March 2022

13 Subsidiary undertaking

The charity owned the whole of the issued ordinary share capital of G.L.F. Charitable Purposes Trading Company Limited, a company registered in England. The subsidiary was used for non-primary purpose trading activities. Keith Felton, Heather Goodhew and Sharon Petrie were directors of the subsidiary as well as trustees of Vision Foundation. On 30th September 2021, the subsidiary ceased trading and transferred all its assets to Vision Foundation.

All activities have been consolidated on a line by line basis in the statement of financial activities. Available profits are distributed to the charitable company. A summary of the results of the subsidiary is shown below:

6 months to Sept
2022
£		 12 months to Mar
2021
£
Turnover
Cost of sales		 525,309 645,341
(754,519)
(411,918)
Gross proft
Administrative expenses		 113,392 (109,178)
(56,027)
(27,112)
Proft / (loss) on ordinary activities before interest and taxation
Interest receivable		 86,279 (165,205)
93
5
Proft on ordinary activities
Distribution to parent		 86,284 (165,111)
-
(57,062)
Proft / (loss) before taxation
Taxation on proft on ordinary activities		 29,222 (165,111)
24,287
-
Proft / (loss) for the fnancial year 29,222 (140,824)
The aggregate of the assets, liabilities and funds was:
Assets
Liabilities		 229,529
(258,651)
-
-
Funds - (29,122)

Expenditure

Included within above is a management charge of £70k (2021: £124k) from the parent entity which covers relevant salary costs.

Annual Report 2022 | 41

Notes to the Financial Statements (continued) For the ended 31 March 2022

14 Investments

14
Investments
The group The charity
2022
£		 2021
£		 2022
£		 2021
£
Listed investments brought forward
Disposal proceeds
Purchases
Net gain on change in fair value		 1,041,788 1,927,248
(1,250,092)
-
364,632		 1,041,788 1,927,248
(1,250,092)
-
364,632
- -
- -
90,312 90,312
Fair value of listed investments at the end of the year 1,132,100 1,041,788 1,132,100 1,041,788
Historic cost 895,739 895,739 895,739 895,739
15 Debtors
The group The charity
2022
£		 2021
£		 2022
£		 2021
£
Amounts due from subsidiary undertaking
Other debtors
Prepayments
Accrued income		 - -
61,981
52,907
436,226		 - 2,211
2,080
17,374
436,226
73,973 73,973
91,674 91,674
212,414 212,414
378,061 551,113 378,061 457,891
16 Creditors: amounts falling due within one year
The group
2022
£
2021
£
The group The charity
2022
£		 2021
£		 2022
£		 2021
£
Trade creditors
Taxation and social security
Other creditors, accruals and deferred income
Grants payable		 52,325 54,706
30,854
487,682
358,504		 52,325 48,038
30,668
344,553
358,504
10,733 10,733
233,823 233,823
359,266 359,266
656,146 931,745 656,146 781,762
16 Creditors: amounts falling due within one year due within one year due within one year due within one year due within one year
The group The charity
2022 2021 2022 2021
£ £ £ £
Trade creditors 52,325 54,706 52,325 48,038
Taxation and social security 10,733 30,854 10,733 30,668
Other creditors, accruals and deferred income 233,823 487,682 233,823 344,553
Grants payable 359,266 358,504 359,266 358,504
656,146 931,745 656,146 781,762

42 | Annual Report 2022

Notes to the Financial Statements (continued) For the ended 31 March 2022

17 Creditors: amounts falling due after one year

17 Creditors: amounts falling due after one year
2022
£		 2021
£
Grants payable within 1-2 years
Grants payable within 2-5 years
Dilapidationprovision		 90,000
-
106,457
90,332
21,038
89,811
201,181 196,457
Dilapidation provision
Balance brought forward
(Decrease) in provision		 133,166
(26,709)
106,457
(16,646)
Balance brought forward and carried forward 89,811 106,457

18 Vision Foundation Flexible Retirement Plan

The Charity participates in an occupational defined contribution scheme, which is open to staff and is a qualifying pension scheme for auto-enrolment purposes. All eligible employees joined this scheme from the staging date of 1 March 2016. The Charity performed a statutory re-enrollment staging date at 1st April 2019 and 1st April 2022.

Annual Report 2022 | 43

Notes to the Financial Statements (continued) For the ended 31 March 2022

19a Analysis of group net assets between funds (current year)

General
unrestricted
£		 Designated
funds
£		 Restricted
funds
£		 Total
funds
£
Tangible fxed assets
Investments
Net current assets
Long term liabilities		 426,084
582,100
983,003
(201,181)		 - -
-
2,500
-		 426,084
550,000 1,132,100
- 985,503
- (201,181)
Net assets at 31 March 2022 1,790,005 550,000 2,500 2,342,505

19b Analysis of group net assets between funds (prior year)

General
unrestricted
£		 Designated
funds
£		 Restricted
funds
£		 Total
funds
£
Tangible fxed assets
Investments
Net current assets
Long term liabilities		 358,286
444,220
998,627
(196,457)		 - -
-
1,419
-		 358,286
597,568 1,041,788
- 1,000,045
- (196,457)
Net assets at 31 March 2021 1,604,676 597,568 1,419 2,203,663

44 | Annual Report 2022

Notes to the Financial Statements (continued) For the ended 31 March 2022

20a Movements in reserves (current year)

At 1 April 2021
£		 Income &
gains
£		 Expenditure &
losses
£		 Transfers
£		 At 31 March
2022
£
Restricted funds:
Employment Research
West Norwood Refurbishment
Domestic Violence Research
Digital Connect
See My Skills
Big Give		 -
6,250
30,000
5,000
7,391
43,899		 -
-
-
-
1,419 (1,419) -
- (6,250) -
- (27,500) 2,500
- (5,000) -
- (7,391) -
- (43,899) -
Total restricted funds 1,419 92,540 (91,458) - 2,500
Unrestricted reserves:
Designated reserves:
Centenary Reserve
Strategic Grants Reserve
Strategic Purposes Reserve		 -
-
-
47,568 (47,568)
350,000 - 350,000
200,000 - 200,000
Total designated reserves 597,568 - (47,568) - 550,000
General reserves
Trading reserves		 1,633,898 1,678,112
525,314		 (1,579,067) 57,062
(57,062)		 1,790,005
(29,222) (439,030)
Total reserves 2,203,663 2,295,966 (2,157,124) - 2,342,505

The narrative to explain the purpose of each reserve is given at the foot of the note below.

Annual Report 2022 | 45

Notes to the Financial Statements (continued) For the ended 31 March 2022

20b Movements in reserves (prior year)

At 1 April
2020
£		 Income &
gains
£		 Expenditure &
losses
£		 Transfers
£		 At 31 March
2021
£
Restricted funds:
Centenary Appeal
BlindLockdownLife
COVID-19 Bromley Telephone Support Service
Vision Fund
Employment Research
Laptops for Grantees		 31,406
3,000
5,000
19,400
18,871
954		 -
-
-
-
-
-
7,130 (38,536) -
- (3,000) -
- (5,000) -
- (19,400) -
- (17,452) 1,419
- (954) -
Total restricted funds 7,130 78,631 (84,343) - 1,419
Unrestricted reserves:
Designated reserves:
Centenary Reserve
Partner Support Reserve
Strategic Grants Reserve
Strategic Purposes Reserve		 -
-
-
-		 (70,000)
(250,000)
350,000
22,000
250,000 (132,432) 47,568
250,000 - -
- - 350,000
178,000 - 200,000
Total designated reserves 678,000 - (132,432) 52,000 597,568
General funds
Trading funds		 1,427,954 1,863,195
645,434		 (1,605,251) (52,000)
-		 1,633,898
111,603 (786,259) (29,222)
Total unrestricted reserves 2,224,687 2,587,261 (2,608,285) - 2,203,663

46 | Annual Report 2022

Notes to the Financial Statements (continued) For the ended 31 March 2022

Purposes of restricted funds

2021/22

Employment Research - investigation into factors contributing towards positive employment outcomes for visually impaired people

West Norwood Refurbishment - for refurbishment of our West Norwood shop and warehouse

Domestic Violence Research - investigation into domestic violence and abuse that visually impaired people can face

Digital Connect - supporting digital development in the organsiation

See My Skills - funding projects linked to our See My Skills employment campaign

Big Give - funding projects linked to employment through funds raised via Big Give

20/2021

Centenary Appeal - For our Centenary Appeal, funding employability programmes.

BlindLockdownLife - information campaign about social isolation

COVID-19 Bromley Telephone Support - assistive technology support services

Vision Fund - funding projects in our Vision Fund

Employment Research - investigation into factors contributing towards positive employment outcomes for visually impaired people

Laptops for Grantees - gifts in kind for specific grantees

Purposes of designated reserves

Designated reserves have been set aside by trustees in order to pursue specific strategic aims.

The Centenary Reserve designates a legacy gift to kick start our Centenary Appeal in 2021. The Grants Reserve has been designated to ensure we can maintain a grants programme focused on achieving impact for blind and partially sighted people and organisational sustainability. The Strategic Purposes Reserve has been designated for investment in the Retail activities and this will produce benefits in the longer term.

Annual Report 2022 | 47

Notes to the Financial Statements (continued) For the ended 31 March 2022

21 Operating lease commitments

The group’s total future minimum lease payments under non-cancellable operating leases are as follows for each of the following periods:

following periods:
2022
£		 2021
£
Less than one year
One to fve years
Over fve years		 216,200 242,325
711,065
427,416
538,182
359,916
1,114,298 1,380,807

22 Contingent liaibilities

As part of the transfer of operations from the subsidiary undertaking (see note 13), it was assessed that there could be possible additional liabilities of £295k not included in the accounts. We have assessed these liabilities and consider their realisation to be unlikely.

23 Legal status of the charity

The charity is a company limited by guarantee and has no share capital. The liability of each member in the event of winding up is limited to £1.

48 | Annual Report 2022

HRH The Countess of Wessex , Vision Foundation Patron, and Monica Smith, Philanthropy Manager, taking part in the tandem bike launch event for the See My Skills report.

Thank you

We would like to thank the following partners and supporters who have contributed significantly to our work this year through donations, pro-bono support or gifts in-kind. We cannot thank you enough for your support and commitment:

Argus Media Aspen Insurance UK Barclays Barry and Maureen Minton BlackRock Investment Management The Clayson Williams Charitable Trust Chubb Insurance Cubitts Deloitte E F & M G Hall Charitable Trust Gavin Prentice Ian Davies Insurance Industry Charitable Foundation UK Kathryn Powley Koch Metal Industries Legal & General Investment Management Lions Club of Chichester Lorraine Lee

The McGrath Trust The Murphy Family Foundation Ofenheim Charitable Trust Portner Rayne Foundation Redbrain Richard E Farr Serena Hesmondhalgh Sidley Austin LLP The Tides Foundation Tokio Marine Kiln Tom Morgan The Worshipful Company of Cutlers

With special thanks to our legacy donors this year. Their generous decision to remember Vision Foundation in their Will has enabled us to continue our vital work at a time when it’s most needed:

Abina Woodcock Alan Ray Eileen Harris Irma Austin John Hewson Kathleen Dukelow Lillian Sherburn

Margaret Johnson Mrs M Gonzy Rita Brown Rob Steel Robert Burton Sheila Tuft

50 | Annual Report 2022

Lastly, we would like to thank our Royal Patron, Vice Presidents, Trustees, Appeal Board and Advisory Committee members, who give their time, expertise and profile in support of ensuring change for blind and partially sighted people. We could not exist without your support:

Royal Patron:

HRH The Countess of Wessex

Our Vice Presidents:

Cherie Blair CBE, QC The Rt Hon. the Lord Blunkett Sir Rocco Forte The Rt Hon Sir John Major KG CH Frances Segelman (Lady Petchey) Sir Trevor McDonald Ian Davies

Our Trustees:

Darren Barker Victoria Currey Heather Goodhew (Chair) Keith Felton Elizabeth Honer Bob Hughes Ly Lam (Treasurer) Susanette Mansour Dr Amit Patel Sharon Petrie

Our Grants and Impact Advisory Committee:

Darren Barker (Chair) Natalie Doig Dr Amit Patel Keith Valentine

Special advisor on inclusive employment:

Steph Cutler

Our Centenary Appeal Board:

Lisa Binks Ian Davies Richard Farr David Gold Heather Goodhew (Co-Chair) Harry Harris Mariza Jurgens Alan Pickering Gavin Prentice Naqi Rizvi (Co-Chair)

Annual Report 2022 | 51

The blindness in our eyes don’t mean that we should be confined Together let us change the way that blindness is defined

Reproduced with the kind permission of Dave Steele (#TheBlindPoet) , from a poem read at the Vision Foundation See My Skills Gala in May 2022.

Connect with us

Call us: 020 7620 2066 Email us: hello@visionfoundation.org.uk Website: www.visionfoundation.org.uk

@Vision_Fdn @VisionFdn @Vision_Fdn

Registered charity number 1074958

12 Whitehorse Mews 37 Westminster Bridge Road London SE1 7QD

Vision Foundation