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2021-03-31-accounts

Company no. 3277032 Charity no. 1076346

mySociety Report and Audited Financial Statements 31 March 2021

mySociety

Reference and administrative details

For the year ended 31 March 2021

Company number 3277032
Charity number 1076346
Registered office and 483 Green Lanes
operational address London
N13 4BS
Trustees Trustees, who are also directors under company law, who served during
the year and up to the date of this report were as follows:
A Adewunmi appointed 1 April 2021
A Brown
C Brown appointed 6 July 2020
A J H Burton
J P Cronin resigned 6 July 2020
J P I Flowers
T Hunt appointed 1 April 2021
M M Hussain resigned 9 December 2020
K L Jones resigned 27 January 2021
J A F Keutgen
R E Rank
C Ross appointed 1 April 2021
S Skelton appointed 1 April 2021
Chief executive officer M Cridge
Company secretary J P Cronin resigned 6 July 2020
Bankers Lloyds Bank
27-31 White Hart Street
High Wycombe
HP11 2HL
Auditors Godfrey Wilson Limited
Chartered accountants and statutory auditors
5th Floor Mariner House
62 Prince Street
Bristol
BS1 4QD

1

mySociety

Report of the trustees

For the year ended 31 March 2021

Reference and administrative information set out on page 1 forms part of this report. The financial statements comply with current statutory requirements, the Memorandum and Articles of Association and the Statement of Recommended Practice - Accounting and Reporting by Charities (effective from January 2019).

Structure, governance and management

mySociety is incorporated as a company limited by guarantee under a Memorandum & Articles of Association, and is registered as a charity in England and Wales (registered charity no. 1076346).

mySociety is governed by a board of volunteer trustees. Trustees serve three-year terms, and may be reappointed for one further three-year term after completion of their first. Trustees are generally recruited through an open call for applications, or may occasionally be directly appointed following a period of service as an observer of one of the board’s committees. Following their appointment trustees participate in a series of briefings with key staff and fellow trustees as part of their induction; which includes briefings on financial procedures, our priority areas of work, ongoing strategy and organisational setup.

mySociety operates a number of civic and democratic websites, and has a wholly owned commercial subsidiary, SocietyWorks Ltd, governed by its own board of directors comprising a combination of trustees from mySociety, executive directors and independent non-executive directors. Trustees and non-executive directors are not remunerated.

Day-to-day management of mySociety and its subsidiaries is delegated to the Chief Executive except for the following matters which are reserved to the trustees:

At any one time, mySociety typically employs around 25 permanent members of staff and a small additional number on temporary contracts. SocietyWorks Ltd employs no staff directly, but buys in labour as required from mySociety.

There is an annual review of pay for all staff members, encompassing two elements:

The Chief Executive makes recommendations to the board of trustees based on performance, affordability and the financial health of mySociety, and changes in averages of salaries for comparable roles (particularly for technical roles), except for the Chief Executive’s own pay which is discussed by the board of trustees alone. The board of trustees either accepts or amends the recommendations, and makes the revised pay offer to the staff.

Salary ranges for new roles are set using both industry benchmarks and salaries of staff members already employed by the organisation in similar roles.

2

mySociety

Report of the trustees

For the year ended 31 March 2021

Objectives and activities

Aims and goals

The objectives of mySociety are “to conduct and promote research into the use and effects of information and communication technologies in the context of the operation of any body or bodies which has or have an electorate, and to disseminate the useful results of such research for the benefit of the public”.

mySociety operates under the mission statement “We help people be active citizens”, using its UK websites and the international websites it supports to undertake active research to explore what is effective in delivering on this mission.

The key objectives over the 2019-2022 strategy period are:

In 2020/21, mySociety's 25 permanent UK staff continued to help citizens in the UK and around the world to meaningfully engage with their government and within their communities - through the running of our established services FixMyStreet.com, TheyWorkForYou.com and WhatDoTheyKnow.com, supporting the work of local organisations in over 40 countries worldwide, and researching the efficacy and impact of digital tools on government accountability, transparency and citizen engagement.

Public benefit

We have referred to the guidance in the Charity Commission’s general guidance on public benefit when reviewing our aims and objectives and in planning our future activities. In particular, the trustees consider how planned activities will contribute to the aims and objectives they have set.

Social investment policies

mySociety's ongoing provision of services via its subsidiary trading company, SocietyWorks Ltd, represents a social investment; projects are chosen based on alignment with the charity’s purposes, as well as with the aim of achieving a financial return.

Achievements and performance

Our work is organised under four interlinked practice areas, all underpinned by research and sectorbuilding:

3

mySociety

Report of the trustees

For the year ended 31 March 2021

Our communications, fundraising, events and administrative personnel support the activities of these practice areas.

In 2020/21, use of mySociety’s flagship services continued to grow. In 2020/21 there were over 9 million visits to our UK parliamentary monitoring site TheyWorkForYou.com. Around 230,000 of those visits were on the day after the Commons vote on free school meals, an issue highlighted by footballer Marcus Rashford. In June, as people took to the streets to protest the murder of George Floyd and systemic racism, we saw 23 times the usual visitors to WriteToThem.com, our service that makes it easy to contact your local or national elected representative. More than 300,000 messages were sent via the service in the course of the year.

Our Freedom of Information site, WhatDoTheyKnow.com, saw a 13% increase in FOI requests sent through the site - and our Pro service for journalists and other professional FOI users was used in several high profile investigations (further information below under Transparency). And we launched a new service: the first searchable database of local council climate action plans in the UK. Our crowdsourced data shows that 322 out of 406 councils (79%) have a current public plan outlining their response to the climate emergency.

Our research team’s expertise in digital democracy was in high demand as parliaments around the world sought to improve their digital infrastructure and offering to citizens - a need brought into sharp focus by the COVID-19 pandemic. And while health and travel restrictions meant that we were again unable to hold our annual TICTeC conference in person, we brought the sector together in a series of online conversations around civic tech and open data’s role in global crises.

More examples of key successes and progress over 2020/21 are outlined below, against each of our practice areas:

Democracy

With the Westminster Foundation for Democracy and the United Nations Development Programme, we worked with parliaments in Armenia, Bhutan, Morocco and Myanmar to assist them through the process of digitalisation and identify pathways to enhance parliamentary transparency, engagement and accountability. We also worked with the Inter-Parliamentary Union to produce their biannual report on Youth participation in national parliaments — the main global resource on the topic.

We worked with The Content Creatives to produce training modules that will help young people from disadvantaged backgrounds to understand more about our democracy — including how to write to your MP effectively and making your voice heard with TheyWorkForYou.

Our report on Councillor attitudes towards citizen engagement explored how elected decision makers can and do influence the result of participatory exercises - through decisions around the scope of the exercise, and the ability to selectively accept or reject recommendations - and showed that councillors attitudes towards participatory exercises are based on a mix of political and practical factors.

4

mySociety

Report of the trustees

For the year ended 31 March 2021

Transparency

We continued to develop our open source FOI software Alaveteli that now powers 29 active FOI platforms around the world. With funding from the Nesta Future News Fund we built new capabilities into WhatDoTheyKnow Pro, enabling membership-based newsrooms and campaigning organisations to harness help from their supporters in sorting through FOI responses. And with support from the Joseph Rowntree Charitable Trust, we provided increased support to WhatDoTheyKnow users in taking the next steps when their requests for information are denied - a problem that has reached record levels in recent years.

With support from Adessium and Swedish Postcode foundations, we worked to increase access to and impactful use of FOI across Europe, including bringing Pro functionality (FOI tools for journalists and campaigners) to platforms in Belgium, the Czech Republic, France and Sweden.

In the UK and Europe, our FOI services were instrumental in uncovering information used in several high profile stories and campaigns, including the Give Them Time campaign to ensure funding for deferred school starters in Scotland; the Million Moments for Democracy anti-corruption campaign in the Czech Republic; an investigation into EU lobbying and the practice of ‘revolving doors’; and numerous stories on how governments across Europe have managed the COVID-19 pandemic.

Community

With support from the Legal Education Foundation, we co-launched the FixMyBlock website in August 2020, in partnership with information and advocacy group Tower Blocks UK. Born from the desire for action after the Grenfell disaster, the site is designed to help social housing tenants get problems resolved, and provides advice and tools for advocacy and activism around fire safety and disrepair.

We continued to work on Keep It In The Community (KIITC), the database of assets of community value and community spaces, with funding from Power to Change. We published a report with recommendations for policymakers to improve the Assets of Community Value process and funding provisions for community spaces, in order to support more assets on the path towards community ownership. To ensure the long term future of KIITC, we made the decision to transition the data to Plunkett and Locality - organisations with members who run/own community spaces and who are embedded in the community ownership ecosystem - who will be able to utilise and update the data more effectively than mySociety.

Climate

In November 2020, we launched the alpha service data.climateemergency.uk – the first site to collect UK council climate action plans in a single database, alongside some data on local authority CO2 emissions estimates. The site allows anyone to quickly and easily find out if their council has a plan, and put those plans into context. We developed the service together with Climate Emergency UK, through a discovery and prototyping process that involved input from a range of council climate officers, climate specialists, researchers, journalists and climate campaigners. It’s the first proof of concept that data can accelerate and facilitate action, and we have ambitious plans to help councils, civil society groups and individual citizens to take faster, more informed and effective action to cut emissions at the local level.

5

mySociety

Report of the trustees

For the year ended 31 March 2021

Financial review

Income in 2020/21 was £1.966m, an increase of 35% from the £1.462m received in 2019/20. Significantly, donations increased by 38% to £0.883m (2019/20: £0.642m), and other trading activities increased by 30% to £1.016m (2019/20: £0.784m).

Total expenditure in 2020/21 was £1.487m, a decrease of 13% from £1.715m in 2019/20. This has been reduced due to efficiencies made in staff resourcing allocations against trading and charitable activities in the year.

Net income in 2020/21 was £0.480m, an increase of 289% from the net expenditure of £0.254m in 2019/20. This increase is the combination of an increase in donations, and efficiencies made in staff resourcing allocations across trading and charitable activities.

mySociety's major charitable supporters in 2020/21 have included:

A number of other funders supported specific projects which, without this support, mySociety would have been unable to undertake. These include:

We are also grateful to all the individuals and small private foundations who provide one-off or recurring donations to support mySociety's work.

mySociety’s commercial subsidiary, SocietyWorks Ltd, provides sustainable commercial income streams within each of our practice areas, building on and related to the work we do charitably. In particular, our FixMyStreet Pro business brings in substantial commercial income aligned with our overall mySociety mission and work with local government, and generates profits that are passed on to the charity as unrestricted income.

In 2020/21, SocietyWorks Ltd generated a net profit of £0.346m (2019/20: £0.022m) which has contributed significantly to the net income surplus of mySociety in the year.

Going concern

The trustees consider that the charity will continue as a going concern for a period of at least 12 months from the date on which these financial statements are approved for the following reasons:

6

mySociety

Report of the trustees

For the year ended 31 March 2021

The trustees do not consider that the COVID-19 pandemic will have any severe impact on the activities of the charity at this time. The trustees continue to assess the emerging situation to ensure that all government restrictions and guidelines are met and that the health and welfare of our staff is continually monitored and supported.

The trustees therefore consider it appropriate to adopt the going concern basis of preparation of the accounts, as detailed in note 1(c) to the financial statements.

Risk management

The key risks (and their mitigations) for the organisation are as follows:

Reserves policy

mySociety aims to have sufficient free, unrestricted cash, or known future cash, to cover six months of the group's operational costs. Known future cash includes deferred income from grant monies on hand that will be released within the six-month time frame, and known future grant payments that will be received in the same period.

7

mySociety

Report of the trustees

For the year ended 31 March 2021

At 31 March 2021, 6 months operational costs was estimated at £1.115m. Net current assets (£0.584m) less restricted funds (£0.056m) plus 6 months unrestricted committed income from the 2021/22 budget income pipeline (£0.526m) totalled £1.054m, close to the target unrestricted reserves aim under the current reserves policy.

mySociety has established a separate designated reserves fund which represents a cash fund to be used if a worst case scenario emerged and the charity had to be closed down. These funds would be used to support an orderly close down in this event. These monies are set aside in a ring-fenced bank account, requiring trustee approval to use. At the end of the financial year this designated reserves fund stood at £0.180m (2019/20: £0.180m).

Plans for future periods

We are in the process of developing a new strategy for mySociety to cover the years leading towards 2030. This involves revisiting our vision, mission and theory of change – describing the type of society we want to see and what we need to do to get there. We will set goals that will need to be reached in order to achieve the outcomes we want to see happen, and define the activities that we will undertake to deliver these goals, in each of our core programmes (Climate, Community, Democracy, Transparency).

Alongside this, SocietyWorks Ltd has developed its own three-year impact strategy (2021-2024), setting out how it will increase profitability for reinvestment into mySociety whilst delivering outcomes for clients that are consistent with the charity’s overall aims.

Fundraising

mySociety solicits donations from the public only via its website, and does not engage in any followup activity with donors unless consent has been given for further contact. We do not employ outside fundraisers, and are not bound by any voluntary scheme for regulating fundraising, but will keep this under review as our fundraising work develops. No complaints have been received about our fundraising activity.

Statement of responsibilities of the trustees

The trustees (who are also directors of the charity for the purposes of company law) are responsible for preparing the trustees' report and the financial statements in accordance with applicable law and United Kingdom Accounting Standards, including Financial Reporting Standard 102: The Financial Reporting Standard applicable in the UK and Republic of Ireland (United Kingdom Generally Accepted Accounting Practice).

8

mySociety

Report of the trustees

For the year ended 31 March 2021

The trustees are required to prepare financial statements for each financial year, which give a true and fair view of the state of affairs of the charity and the group and the incoming resources and application of resources, including the net income or expenditure, of the charity and the group for the year. In preparing those financial statements the trustees are required to:

The trustees are responsible for keeping proper accounting records which disclose with reasonable accuracy at any time the financial position of the charity and the group and which enable them to ensure that the financial statements comply with the Companies Act 2006. The trustees are also responsible for safeguarding the assets of the charity and the 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:

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.

Auditors

Godfrey Wilson Limited were re-appointed as auditors to the group and parent charity during the year and have expressed their willingness to continue in that capacity.

Approved by the trustees on 22 October 2021 and signed on their behalf by

Amanda Brown catherine brown A. Brown C. Brown Treasurer Chair

Amanda Brown

9

Independent auditors' report

To the members of

mySociety

Opinion

We have audited the financial statements of mySociety (the 'parent charity') and its subsidiary (the 'group') for the year ended 31 March 2021 which comprise the consolidated statement of financial activities, consolidated and parent charity balance sheets, consolidated statement of cash flows and the related 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 Financial Reporting Standard 102: The Financial Reporting Standard applicable in the UK and the Republic of Ireland (United Kingdom Generally Accepted Accounting Practice).

In our opinion, the financial statements:

Basis for opinion

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

Conclusions relating to going concern

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

Based on the work we have performed, we have not identified any material uncertainties relating to events or conditions that, individually or collectively, may cast significant doubt on the charity'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 trustees are responsible for the other information. The other information comprises the information included in the annual report other than the group and parent charity financial statements and our auditor’s report thereon. Our opinion on the group and parent charity 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.

10

Independent auditors' report

To the members of

mySociety

In connection with our audit of the financial statements, our responsibility is to read the other information and, in doing so, consider whether the other information is materially inconsistent with the financial statements or our knowledge obtained in the audit or otherwise appears to be materially misstated. If we identify such material inconsistencies or apparent material misstatements, we are required to determine whether there is a material misstatement in the financial statements or a material misstatement of the other information. 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.

Opinion 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 charity and their environment obtained in the course of the audit, we have not identified material misstatements in the trustees’ report. We have nothing to report in respect of the following matters in relation to which the Companies Act 2006 requires us to report to you if, in our opinion:

Responsibilities of the trustees

As explained more fully in the trustees’ responsibilities statement set out in the trustees’ report, the trustees 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 they 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 charity’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 charity or to cease operations, or have no realistic alternative but to do so.

11

Independent auditors' report

To the members of

mySociety

Our responsibilities for the audit of the financial statements

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

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

(1) We obtained an understanding of the legal and regulatory framework that the charity operates in, and assessed the risk of non-compliance with applicable laws and regulations. Throughout the audit, we remained alert to possible indications of non-compliance.

(2) We reviewed the charity’s policies and procedures in relation to:

(3) We inspected the minutes of trustee meetings.

(4) We enquired about any non-routine communication with regulators and reviewed any reports made to them.

(5) We reviewed the financial statement disclosures and assessed their compliance with applicable laws and regulations.

(6) We performed analytical procedures to identify any unusual or unexpected transactions or balances that may indicate a risk of material fraud or error.

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. Irregularities that arise due to fraud can be even harder to detect than those that arise from error as they may involve deliberate concealment or collusion.

12

Independent auditors' report

To the members of

mySociety

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

Use of our report

This report is made solely to the charityʼs members, as a body, in accordance with Chapter 3 of Part 16 of the Companies Act 2006. Our audit work has been undertaken so that we might state to the charityʼs members those matters we are required to state to them in an auditorʼs 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 charityʼs members as a body, for our audit work, for this report, or for the opinions we have formed.

Alison Godfrey

Date: 2 November 2021

Alison Godfrey FCA

(Senior Statutory Auditor)

For and on behalf of:

GODFREY WILSON LIMITED

Chartered accountants and statutory auditors 5th Floor Mariner House 62 Prince Street Bristol BS1 4QD

13

mySociety

Consolidated statement of financial activities (incorporating an income and expenditure account)

For the year ended 31 March 2021

Restricted
Unrestricted
Note
£
£
Income from:
Donations
3
417,143
465,963
Charitable activities
4
-
65,529
Other trading activities
5
-
1,016,050
Investments
-
82
Other
-
1,428
Total income
417,143
1,549,052
Expenditure on:
Raising funds: raising charitable donations
-
84,050
Raising funds: trading activity
-
670,501
Charitable activities
432,829
299,211
Total expenditure
6
432,829
1,053,762
9
(15,686)
495,290
Reconciliation of funds:
Total funds brought forward
71,430
135,546
Total funds carried forward
55,744
630,836
Net income / (expenditure) and net
movement in funds		 The group
2021
Total
£
883,106
65,529
1,016,050
82
1,428
1,966,195
84,050
670,501
732,040
1,486,591
479,604
206,976
686,580		 The group
2020
Total
£
641,791
34,805
783,622
255
1,040
1,461,513
86,049
694,996
934,263
1,715,308
(253,795)
460,771
206,976

All of the above results are derived from continuing activities. There were no other recognised gains or losses other than those stated above. Movements in funds are disclosed in note 21 to the accounts.

14

mySociety

Charity only statement of financial activities (incorporating an income and expenditure account)

For the year ended 31 March 2021

The Charity
2021
Restricted
Unrestricted
Total
Note
£
£
£
Income from:
Donations
3
417,143
811,511
1,228,654
Charitable activities
4
-
65,529
65,529
Other trading activities
5
-
-
-
Investments
-
82
82
Other
-
1,428
1,428
Total income
417,143
878,550
1,295,693
Expenditure on:
Raising funds
-
84,050
84,050
Charitable activities
432,829
299,210
732,039
Total expenditure
7
432,829
383,260
816,089
(15,686)
495,290
479,604
Reconciliation of funds:
Total funds brought forward
71,430
132,791
204,221
Total funds carried forward
55,744
628,081
683,825
Net income / (expenditure) and net
movement in funds		 The Charity
2020
Total
£
661,791
34,805
66,523
255
1,040
764,414
86,049
934,263
1,020,312
(255,898)
460,119
204,221

All of the above results are derived from continuing activities. There were no other recognised gains or losses other than those stated above.

15

mySociety

Consolidated balance sheets

As at 31 March 2021

Note
Fixed assets
Tangible assets
12
Intangible assets
13
Investments
14
Current assets
Debtors
17
Cash at bank and in hand
Liabilities
Creditors: amounts falling due within 1 year 18
Net current assets
Net assets
20
Funds
21
Restricted funds
Unrestricted funds
Designated funds
General funds
Total charity funds		 The group
2021
£
8,262
94,498
-
241,670
699,865
941,535
(357,715)
583,820
686,580
55,744
180,004
450,832
686,580		 The group The charity
2020
2021
£
£
4,468
8,262
-
-
-
1
240,682
374,053
253,484
317,423
494,166
691,476
(291,658)
(15,913)
202,508
675,563
206,976
683,825
71,430
55,744
-
180,004
135,546
448,077
206,976
683,825		 The charity
2020
£
4,468
-
1
95,819
150,687
246,506
(46,753)
199,753
204,221
71,430
-
132,791
204,221

These accounts have been prepared in accordance with the special provisions applicable to companies subject to the small companies' regime.

Approved by the trustees on 22 October 2021 and signed on their behalf by

Amanda Brown

catherine brown

A. Brown Treasurer

C. Brown Chair

16

mySociety

Consolidated statement of cash flows

For the year ended 31 March 2021

Cash used in operating activities:
Net movement in funds
Adjustments for:
Depreciation charges
Dividends, interest and rents from investments
Loss / (profit) on the sale of fixed assets
Decrease / (increase) in debtors
Increase / (decrease) in creditors
Net cash provided by / (used in) operating activities
Cash flows from investing activities:
Dividends, interest and rents from investments
Proceeds from the sale of property, plant and equipment
Purchase of tangible fixed assets
Recognition of intangible fixed assets
Net cash provided by / (used in) investing activities
Increase / (decrease) in cash and cash equivalents in the year
Cash and cash equivalents at the beginning of the year
Cash and cash equivalents at the end of the year		 The group
2021
£
479,604
3,389
(82)
-
(988)
66,057
547,980
82
-
(7,183)
(94,498)
(101,599)
446,381
253,484
699,865		 The group
2020
£
(253,795)
4,079
(255)
(38)
(23,746)
57,473
(216,282)
255
659
(2,525)
-
(1,611)
(217,893)
471,377
253,484

The charity has not provided an analysis of changes in net debt as it does not have any long term financing arrangements.

17

mySociety

Notes to the financial statements

For the year ended 31 March 2021

1. Accounting policies

a) Basis of preparation

The financial statements have been prepared in accordance with Accounting and Reporting by Charities: Statement of Recommended Practice applicable to charities in preparing their accounts in accordance with the Financial Reporting Standard applicable in the UK and Republic of Ireland (FRS 102) (effective 1 January 2019) - (Charities SORP (FRS 102)), the Financial Reporting Standard applicable in the UK and Republic of Ireland (FRS 102) and the Companies Act 2006.

mySociety meets the definition of a public benefit entity under FRS 102. Assets and liabilities are initially recognised at historical cost or transaction value unless otherwise stated in the relevant accounting policy note.

b) Group accounts

These financial statements consolidate the results of the charitable company and its whollyowned (controlled) subsidiary on a line by line basis. 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 presented in addition to that of the group by choice.

c) Going concern basis of accounting

The accounts have been prepared on the assumption that the charity is able to continue as a going concern. The trustees have considered the charitable company’s current and future financial position, particularly in light of the ongoing Covid-19 pandemic and the level of unrestricted, general reserves held at 31 March 2021. The charity also has significant confirmed unrestricted funding for the year ended 31 March 2022. Given the above, the trustees consider that the charitable company has sufficient cash reserves to continue as a going concern for a period of at least 12 months from the date on which these financial statements are approved.

d) Income

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

Income from the government and other grants, whether 'capital' grants or 'revenue' grants, is recognised when the charity has entitlement to the funds, any performance conditions attached to the grants have been met, it is probable that the income will be received and the amount can be measured reliably and is not deferred.

Income received in advance of provision of invoiced consultancy and software services is deferred until criteria for income recognition are met.

Recharges of staff costs between the charitable company and its subsidiary SocietyWorks Ltd have not been recognised as income in the charitable company's statement of financial activities, and are instead netted off against expenditure. This has no impact upon the consolidated figures, in which intercompany transactions are eliminated.

18

mySociety

Notes to the financial statements

For the year ended 31 March 2021

1. Accounting policies (continued)

e) Donated services and facilities

Donated professional services and donated facilities are recognised as income when the charity has control over the item, any conditions associated with the donated item have been met, the receipt of economic benefit from the use by the charity of the item, is probable and the economic benefit can be measured reliably. In accordance with the Charities SORP (FRS 102), general volunteer time is not recognised.

On receipt, donated professional services and donated facilities are recognised on the basis of the value of the gift to the charity which is the amount the charity would have been willing to pay to obtain services or facilities of equivalent economic benefit on the open market; a corresponding amount is then recognised in expenditure in the period of receipt.

f) Interest receivable

Interest on funds held on deposit is included when receivable and the amount can be measured reliably by the charity: this is normally upon notification of the interest paid or payable by the bank.

g) Funds accounting

Unrestricted funds are available to spend on activities that further any of the purposes of the charity. Designated funds are unrestricted of the charity which the trustees have decided at their discretion to set aside to use for a specific purpose. Restricted funds are donations which the donor has specified are to be solely used for particular areas of the charity's work or for specific projects being undertaken by the charity.

h) Expenditure and irrecoverable VAT

Expenditure is recognised once there is a legal or constructive obligation to make a payment to a third party, it is probable that settlement will be required and the amount of the obligation can be measured reliably.

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

i) Allocation of support and governance costs

Support costs are those functions that assist the work of the charity but do not directly undertake charitable activities. Governance costs are the costs associated with the governance arrangements of the charity, including the costs of complying with constitutional and statutory requirements and any costs associated with the strategic management of the charity’s activities. These costs have been allocated between cost of raising funds and expenditure on charitable activities on the basis of direct costs, as follows:

2021 2020
Raising funds: raising charitable donations 10.3% 8.4%
Charitable activities 89.7% 91.6%

19

mySociety

Notes to the financial statements

For the year ended 31 March 2021

1. Accounting policies (continued)

j) Tangible fixed assets

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:

Computer equipment

3 - 5 years straight line basis

k) Intangible fixed assets

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

Software development

3 years straight line basis

l) Investments

Investments in subsidiaries are held at cost less impairment.

m) 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.

n) Cash at bank and in hand

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

o) Creditors

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

p) Financial instruments

The charitable company only has financial assets and financial liabilities of a kind that qualify as basic financial instruments. Basic financial instruments are initially recognised at transaction value and subsequently measured at their settlement value with the exception of bank loans which are subsequently recognised at amortised cost using the effective interest method.

q) Pension costs

The charitable company operates a defined contribution pension scheme for its employees. There are no further liabilities other than that already recognised in the SOFA.

r) Foreign currency transactions

Transactions in foreign currencies are translated at rates prevailing at the date of the transaction. Balances denominated in foreign currencies are translated at the rate of exchange prevailing at the year end.

20

mySociety

Notes to the financial statements

For the year ended 31 March 2021

1. Accounting policies (continued)

s) Accounting estimates and key judgements

In the application of the charity's accounting policies, the trustees are required to make judgements, estimates and assumptions about the carrying values of assets and liabilities that are not readily apparent from other sources. The estimates and underlying assumptions are based on historical experience and other factors that are considered to be relevant. Actual results may differ from these estimates.

The estimates and underlying assumptions are reviewed on an ongoing basis. Revisions to accounting estimates are recognised in the period in which the estimate is revised if the revision affects only that period, or in the period of the revision and future periods if the revision affects both current and future periods.

The key sources of estimation uncertainty that have a significant effect on the amounts recognised in the financial statements are described below.

Depreciation

As described in note 1j to the financial statements, depreciation is provided at rates calculated to write down the cost of each asset to its estimated residual value over its expected useful life.

Amortisation

As described in note 1k to the financial statements, amortisation is provided at rates calculated to write down the cost of each asset to its estimated residual value over its expected useful life.

Work in progress

Work in progress is calculated by comparing progress on a project against the budgeted cost. The work in progress element of trade debtors in these accounts in relation to the group figures is £3,075 (2020: £28,065).

21

mySociety

Notes to the financial statements

For the year ended 31 March 2021

2. Prior period comparatives: statement of financial activities

Income from:
Donations
Charitable activities
Other trading activities
Investments
Other income
Total income
Expenditure on:
Raising funds: raising charitable donations
Raising funds: trading activity
Charitable activities
Total expenditure
Net income / (expenditure) and net
movement in funds		 Restricted
£
£
471,452
170,339
-
34,805
-
783,622
-
255
-
1,040
471,452
990,061
-
86,049
-
694,996
464,646
469,617
464,646
1,250,662
6,806
(260,601)
Unrestricted		 2020
Total
£
641,791
34,805
783,622
255
1,040
The group
1,461,513
86,049
694,996
934,263
1,715,308
(253,795)

22

mySociety

Notes to the financial statements

For the year ended 31 March 2021

3.
Income from donations
The group
Adessium Foundation
Columbia University
The Legal Education Foundation
The Joseph Rowntree Charitable Trust
Nesta Future News Fund
The Paragon Trust
Esmée Fairbairn Foundation
The William and Flora Hewlett Foundation
Other donations
Total income from donations
The charity
Total income from donations as above:
Add: gift aid distribution from SocietyWorks Ltd
Total income from donations		 2021
Restricted
Total
£
£
£
157,880
-
157,880
71,703
-
71,703
90,000
-
90,000
56,560
-
56,560
41,000
-
41,000
-
733
733
-
100,000
100,000
-
320,892
320,892
-
44,338
44,338
417,143
465,963
883,106
2021
Restricted
Total
£
£
£
417,143
465,963
883,106
-
345,548
345,548
417,143
811,511
1,228,654
The group
The charity
Unrestricted
Unrestricted		 2021
Total
£
157,880
71,703
90,000
56,560
41,000
733
100,000
320,892
44,338
The group
883,106

23

mySociety

Notes to the financial statements

For the year ended 31 March 2021

3. Income from donations (continued) Prior period comparative: The group

Adessium Foundation
Columbia University
The Democratic Society
Indigo Trust
The Involve Foundation
The Legal Education Foundation
The John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation
Nesta Future News Fund
Norwegian Unix User Group Foundation
Power to Change Trust
Access - The Foundation for Social Investment
TheyWorkForYou crowdfunding donations
The Paragon Trust
Esmée Fairbairn Foundation
The David Family Foundation
Nesta
Other donations
Total income from donations
The charity
Income from donations as above:
Add: gift aid distribution from SocietyWorks Ltd
Total income from donations		 Restricted
£
£
128,792
-
72,119
-
45,585
-
19,250
-
36,600
-
51,315
-
3,089
-
29,000
-
1,450
-
40,000
-
26,777
-
17,475
-
-
6,500
-
100,000
-
10,000
-
10,000
-
43,839
471,452
170,339
Restricted
£
£
471,452
170,339
-
20,000
471,452
190,339
Unrestricted
Unrestricted		 2020
Total
£
128,792
72,119
45,585
19,250
36,600
51,315
3,089
29,000
1,450
40,000
26,777
17,475
6,500
100,000
10,000
10,000
43,839
641,791
2020
Total
£
641,791
20,000
661,791

24

mySociety

Notes to the financial statements

For the year ended 31 March 2021

4. Income from charitable activities

Income from charitable activities
Charitable consultancy
Event ticket sales
Total income from charitable activities		 Restricted
£
£
-
65,529
-
-
-
65,529
Unrestricted		 2021
2020
Total
Total
£
£
65,529
30,430
-
4,375
65,529
34,805
The group and charity
34,805

All income from charitable activities in the prior period was unrestricted.

5. Income from other trading activities

Sponsorship
Sale of software and IT consultancy
Total other trading activities		 Restricted
£
£
-
-
-
1,016,050
-
1,016,050
Unrestricted		 2021
Total
£
-
1,016,050
1,016,050
The group		 2020
Total
£
66,523
717,099
The group
783,622

All income from other trading activities in the prior period was unrestricted. Income from other trading activities in the charity (only) in the prior period comprise £66,523 relating to sponsorship.

25

mySociety

Notes to the financial statements

For the year ended 31 March 2021

6. Total expenditure (the group)

Total expenditure (the group)
£
£
Staff costs (note 10)
68,714
617,909
Servers and subscriptions
-
24,493
Team meetings and retreats
-
3,391
Legal, financial and insurance
-
7,479
General administration costs
-
1,691
Partner payments (note 8)
-
-
TICTeC and TICTeC local events
-
-
UK travel and subsistence
-
99
Desk rentals and meeting rooms
-
3,957
Depreciation
-
-
Training
-
-
Marketing
-
11,482
Sub-total
68,714
670,501
15,336
-
Total expenditure
84,050
670,501
Prior period comparative:
£
£
Staff costs (note 10)
66,858
616,010
Servers and subscriptions
-
19,886
Team meetings and retreats
-
6,380
Legal, financial and insurance
-
11,062
General administration costs
-
2,905
Partner payments (note 8)
-
-
TICTeC and TICTeC local events
-
-
AlaveteliCon event
-
-
Other events
-
-
UK travel and subsistence
-
16,941
International travel
-
-
Desk rentals and meeting rooms
-
7,289
Depreciation
-
-
Marketing
5,085
14,523
Sub-total
71,943
694,996
14,106
-
Total expenditure
86,049
694,996
Raising funds:
trading
activity
Raising funds:
trading
activity
Allocation of support and
governance costs
Allocation of support and
governance costs
Raising
funds: raising
charitable
donations
Raising
funds: raising
charitable
donations		 Charitable
activities
£
517,458
21,621
-
-
-
63,013
(3,620)
-
-
-
-
-
598,472
133,568
732,040
Charitable
activities
£
686,376
25,708
-
-
-
27,042
21,272
14,279
2,500
-
3,934
-
-
-
781,111
153,152
934,263		 Support
and
governance
costs
£
113,400
-
3,391
12,156
6,786
-
-
98
3,957
3,389
5,727
-
148,904
(148,904)
-
Support
and
governance
costs
£
96,013
-
8,526
38,710
2,288
-
-
-
-
10,367
-
7,275
4,079
-
167,258
(167,258)
-		 The group
2021 Total
£
1,317,481
46,114
6,782
19,635
8,477
63,013
(3,620)
197
7,914
3,389
5,727
11,482
1,486,591
-
1,486,591
The group
2020 Total
£
1,465,257
45,594
14,906
49,772
5,193
27,042
21,272
14,279
2,500
27,308
3,934
14,564
4,079
19,608
1,715,308
-
1,715,308

Total governance costs were £9,660 (2020: £9,300).

26

mySociety

Notes to the financial statements

For the year ended 31 March 2021

7. Total expenditure (the charity)

Total expenditure (the charity)
Staff costs
Servers and subscriptions
Team meetings and retreats
Legal, financial and insurance
General administration costs
Partner payments (note 8)
TICTeC and TICTeC local events
UK travel and subsistence
Desk rentals and meeting rooms
Depreciation
Training
Sub-total
Allocation of support and governance costs
Total expenditure
Prior period comparative:
Staff costs
Servers and subscriptions
Team meetings and retreats
Legal, financial and insurance
General administration costs
Partner payments (note 8)
TICTeC and TICTeC local events
AlaveteliCon event
Other events
UK travel and subsistence
International travel
Desk rentals and meeting rooms
Depreciation
Marketing
Sub-total
Allocation of support and governance costs
Total expenditure		 Raising
funds
£
68,714
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
68,714
15,336
84,050
Raising
funds
£
66,858
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
5,085
71,943
14,106
86,049		 Charitable
activities
£
517,459
21,619
-
-
-
63,013
(3,620)
-
-
-
-
598,471
133,568
732,039
Charitable
activities
£
686,376
25,708
-
-
-
27,042
21,272
14,279
2,500
-
3,934
-
-
-
781,111
153,152
934,263		 Support and
governance
costs
£
113,400
-
3,391
12,156
6,786
-
-
98
3,957
3,389
5,727
148,904
(148,904)
-
Support and
governance
costs
£
96,013
-
8,526
38,710
2,288
-
-
-
-
10,367
-
7,275
4,079
-
167,258
(167,258)
-		 The charity
2021 Total
£
699,573
21,619
3,391
12,156
6,786
63,013
(3,620)
98
3,957
3,389
5,727
816,089
-
816,089
The charity
2020 Total
£
849,247
25,708
8,526
38,710
2,288
27,042
21,272
14,279
2,500
10,367
3,934
7,275
4,079
5,085
1,020,312
-
1,020,312

27

mySociety

Notes to the financial statements

For the year ended 31 March 2021

8. Grants payable

Included within 'partner payments' in notes 6 and 7 are sub-grant 'partner payments' made to the following institutions:

Shift Foundation
Association Open Knowledge Foundation France ('OKF France')
Informace pro Všechny, o.s.
Orrudden Konsult AB
Liset Hamming
Vereniging van Onderzoeksjournalisten
Access Info Europe
Other grants payable <£1,000		 2021
2020
£
£
50,010
13,465
4,048
-
2,273
-
1,883
-
1,500
-
-
7,246
-
5,403
3,299
928
63,013
27,042
The group and charity		 2021
2020
£
£
50,010
13,465
4,048
-
2,273
-
1,883
-
1,500
-
-
7,246
-
5,403
3,299
928
63,013
27,042
The group and charity
27,042

No grants were paid to individuals in the current or prior period, and no support costs have been allocated to grant-making activities.

9.
Net movement in funds
This is stated after charging:
Depreciation
Trustees' remuneration
Trustees' reimbursed expenses
Foreign exchange gains / (losses)
Auditors' remuneration:
▪Statutory audit (including VAT)
▪Other services (including VAT)		 The group
2021
£
3,389
Nil
Nil
1,428
9,360
300		 The group
2020
£
4,079
Nil
484
1,265
8,700
600

In the prior year, trustees' reimbursed expenses comprised payments to 2 trustees for travel costs.

28

mySociety

Notes to the financial statements

For the year ended 31 March 2021

10.
Staff costs and numbers
Staff costs were as follows:
Salaries and wages
Social security costs
Pension costs
Contractors
Less: capitalised product development within SocietyWorks Ltd
The number of employees whose annual emoluments were £60,000 or more
£60,001 to £65,000
£65,001 to £70,000
£70,001 to £75,000
£80,001 to £85,000
£85,001 to £90,000		 The group
2021
£
1,232,511
145,665
25,936
7,868
(94,498)
1,317,482
were:
The group
2021
No.
1
2
2
-
1		 The group
2020
£
1,277,286
140,538
27,251
20,182
-
1,465,257
The group
2020
No.
-
2
1
-
1

The key management personnel of the charitable company comprise the Trustees and the Chief Executive Officer. The total employee benefits of the key management personnel were £99,765 (2020: £96,284).

Average number of employees (full-time equivalent) The group
2021
No.
25		 The group
2020
No.
25

In the prior year, redundancy and termination payments relating to three employees were paid amounting to £33,530. This figure included both statutory and ex gratia elements. No further amounts were owed as of 31 March 2020.

11. Taxation

The charity is exempt from corporation tax as all its income is charitable and is applied for charitable purposes. The charity's trading subsidiary, SocietyWorks Ltd, has gift aided its available profits to the charity.

29

mySociety

Notes to the financial statements

For the year ended 31 March 2021

12. Tangible fixed assets
Group and charity Computer
equipment
£
Cost
At 1 April 2020 8,992
Additions in year 7,183
Disposals in year (1,331)
At 31 March 2021 14,844
Depreciation
At 1 April 2020 4,524
Charge for the year 3,389
On disposal (1,331)
At 31 March 2021 6,582
Net book value
At 31 March 2021 8,262
At 31 March 2020 4,468
13. Intangible fixed assets
The group (only) Software
development
£
Cost
At 1 April 2020 -
Additions in year 94,498
At 31 March 2021 94,498
Amortisation
At 1 April 2020 -
Charge for the year -
At 31 March 2021 -
Net book value
At 31 March 2021 94,498
At 31 March 2020 -

Software development costs relating to three software projects have been recognised as intangible assets during the year. Amortisation will begin on 1 April 2021.

30

mySociety

Notes to the financial statements

For the year ended 31 March 2021

14. Investments

Investment in subsidiary company 2021
2020
£
£
-
-
The group		 2021
2020
£
£
1
1
The charity

The investment represents 100% of the ordinary share capital of SocietyWorks Ltd, whose principal activity is to carry out trading activities in support of the charity. A summary of the financial results and position of SocietyWorks Ltd is given below (see note 15).

15. Subsidiary undertakings

SocietyWorks Ltd

SocietyWorks Ltd (company number 05798215) is a wholly owned trading subsidiary of mySociety. It trades in software and IT consultancy.

Turnover
Cost of sales
Gross profit
Administrative expenses
Profit on ordinary activities
Corporation tax
Profit for financial year after taxation
Changes in equity
Total retained profit brought forward
Total comprehensive income for the year
Gift aid distribution to parent charity
Total retained profit carried forward
The aggregate of the assets, liabilities and funds was:
Assets
Liabilities
Funds		 2021
£
1,016,050
-
1,016,050
(670,501)
345,549
-
345,549
2,755
345,549
(345,549)
2,755
2021
£
709,741
(706,985)
2,756		 2020
£
717,099
-
717,099
(694,995)
22,104
-
22,104
651
22,104
(20,000)
2,755
2020
£
270,638
(267,882)
2,756

31

mySociety

Notes to the financial statements

For the year ended 31 March 2021

16. Parent charity

The parent charity's gross income and results for the year are disclosed in the charity only Statement of Financial Activities.

17. Debtors

Trade debtors
Prepayments
Amounts owing by group undertakings
Other debtors		 2021
2020
£
£
232,800
220,980
4,782
14,677
-
-
4,088
5,025
241,670
240,682
The group		 2021
2020
£
£
-
82,725
4,782
8,069
365,183
-
4,088
5,025
374,053
95,819
The charity		 2021
2020
£
£
-
82,725
4,782
8,069
365,183
-
4,088
5,025
374,053
95,819
The charity
95,819

18. Creditors : amounts due within 1 year

Trade creditors
Accruals
Other taxation and social security
Amounts owed to group undertakings
Other creditors
Deferred income (see note 19)
Deferred income
At 1 April 2020
Deferred during the year
Released during the year
At 31 March 2021		 2021
2020
£
£
-
9,639
9,180
10,092
75,199
56,065
-
-
7,721
3,658
265,615
212,204
357,715
291,658
2021
2020
£
£
212,204
117,016
265,615
212,204
(212,204)
(117,016)
265,615
212,204
The group
The group		 2021
2020
£
£
-
7,119
6,780
8,042
1,412
4,956
-
22,978
7,721
3,658
-
-
15,913
46,753
2021
2020
£
£
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
The charity
The charity		 2021
2020
£
£
-
7,119
6,780
8,042
1,412
4,956
-
22,978
7,721
3,658
-
-
15,913
46,753
2021
2020
£
£
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
The charity
The charity
-

19. Deferred income

Deferred income relates to contract income invoiced by SocietyWorks Ltd in advance of provision of services.

32

mySociety

Notes to the financial statements

For the year ended 31 March 2021

20. Analysis of group net assets between funds

Tangible fixed assets
Intangible fixed assets
Current assets
Current liabilities
Net assets at 31 March 2021
Prior period comparative:
Tangible fixed assets
Current assets
Current liabilities
Net assets at 31 March 2020		 £
-
-
55,744
-
55,744
£
-
71,430
-
71,430
Restricted
funds
Restricted
funds		 Designated
funds
£
-
-
180,004
-
180,004
Designated
funds
£
-
-
-
-		 £
8,262
94,498
705,787
(357,715)
450,832
£
4,468
422,736
(291,658)
135,546
General
funds
General
funds		 Total
funds
£
8,262
94,498
941,535
(357,715)
686,580
Total
funds
£
4,468
494,166
(291,658)
206,976

33

mySociety

Notes to the financial statements

For the year ended 31 March 2021

21. Movements in funds

Restricted funds
Columbia University
The Legal Education Foundation
Nesta Future News Fund
Power to Change Trust
The Joseph Rowntree Charitable Trust
Total restricted funds
_Designated fund:_Reserve fund
General funds
Total unrestricted funds
Total funds
Adessium Foundation / Swedish
Postcode Foundation
Unrestricted funds		 At 1 April
2020
£
41,893
7,939
-
-
21,598
-
71,430
-
135,546
135,546
206,976		 Income
£
157,880
71,703
90,000
41,000
-
56,560
417,143
-
1,549,052
1,549,052
1,966,195		 £
(155,313)
(79,642)
(78,716)
(41,000)
(21,598)
(56,560)
(432,829)
-
(1,053,762)
(1,053,762)
(1,486,591)
Expenditure		 £
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
180,004
(180,004)
-
-
Transfers
between
funds		 £
44,460
-
11,284
-
-
-
At 31
March
2021
55,744
180,004
450,832
630,836
686,580

Purposes of restricted funds

Adessium Foundation Grant to launch new FOI services across Europe, and provide support to / Swedish Postcode investigative journalists to use FOI in their stories. Also funds the general Foundation administration and support of our UK FOI service WhatDoTheyKnow.com. Cofunded.

Columbia University

Grant to cover the costs of a seconded employee.

The Legal Education “FixMyBlock” - a collaboration with advocacy group Tower Blocks UK, looking Foundation into the potential for an online tool to help residents address safety and maintenance concerns in their buildings.

Nesta Future News Grant to develop a new ‘Projects’ feature in WhatDoTheyKnow, which will allow Fund teams of journalists, citizen investigators and others to collaborate on FOI requests and analyse the information released.

Power to Change Grant towards the development and piloting of an online open directory of Trust community assets - “Keep It In The Community”.

The Joseph Rowntree Grant to add context-specific advice and guidance to WhatDoTheyKnow Charitable Trust (including the Pro service used by journalists, researchers and campaigners) to support users to more effectively challenge FOI refusals.

34

mySociety

Notes to the financial statements

For the year ended 31 March 2021

21. Movements in funds (continued)

Purposes of designated funds

Reserve fund A target level of unrestricted funds to enable mySociety to: cover emergency cash flow shortfalls; respond to an extraordinary event, campaign or project; or wind down the organisation in an orderly fashion should this become necessary.

Prior period comparative
Restricted funds
Adessium Foundation
Columbia University
The Democratic Society
Indigo Trust
The Involve Foundation
The Legal Education Foundation
MacArthur
Nesta Future News Fund
The NUUG Foundation
Open Society Foundation London
Power to Change Trust
Reach Fund
TheyWorkForYou crowdfunder
Total restricted funds
General funds
Total unrestricted funds
Total funds
Unrestricted funds		 At 1 April
2019
£
-
6,909
51,155
-
-
3,300
-
-
-
2,843
417
-
-
64,624
396,147
396,147
460,771		 Income
£
128,792
72,119
45,585
19,250
36,600
51,315
3,089
29,000
1,450
-
40,000
26,777
17,475
471,452
990,061
990,061
1,461,513		 £
(86,899)
(71,089)
(96,740)
(19,250)
(36,600)
(54,615)
(3,089)
(29,000)
(1,450)
(2,843)
(18,819)
(26,777)
(17,475)
(464,646)
(1,250,662)
(1,250,662)
(1,715,308)
Expenditure		 £
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
Transfers
between
funds		 £
41,893
7,939
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
21,598
-
-
At 31
March
2020
71,430
135,546
135,546
206,976

22. Operating lease commitments

The group and charity had operating leases at the year end with total future minimum lease payments as follows:

Amount falling due:
Within 1 year
Within 1 - 5 years		 2021
2020
£
£
360
13,829
-
360
360
14,189
Group and charity

35

mySociety

Notes to the financial statements

For the year ended 31 March 2021

23. Related party transactions

mySociety has a wholly owned subsidiary SocietyWorks Ltd, a company limited by shares (company no. 05798215). At 31 March 2021, SocietyWorks Ltd owed mySociety £365,183 (2020: £22,978 owed to Societyworks Ltd from mySociety).

There were no other related party transactions in the current or prior reporting period.

36