REPORT
and
FINANCIAL STATEMENTS
for
The year ended 30 June 2024
Charity Number 1085472
FOOTSTEPS REPORT AND FINANCIAL STATEMENTS YEAR ENDED 30 JUNE 2024
Contents
Legal and Administrative Information ......................................................................... 1 Report of the Trustees ................................................................................................ 2 Structure, Governance and Management ............................................................... 2 Appointment and Retirement of Trustees................................................................ 2 Objectives and Activities of the Charity for the Public Benefit ................................. 3 Principal Activity ...................................................................................................... 3 Review of the Year ..................................................................................................... 4 Chairman’s Report .................................................................................................. 4 Review of Finances ................................................................................................. 5 Donations ............................................................................................................ 5 Acknowledgements ............................................................................................. 5 Policy for Reserves.............................................................................................. 5 Statutory Requirements ....................................................................................... 5 Statement of Financial Activities ............................................................................. 6 Balance Sheet ..................................................................................................... 7 Accounting Policies .................................................................................................... 8 Income .................................................................................................................... 8 Resources expended .............................................................................................. 8 Trustees .............................................................................................................. 8 Independent Examiner’s Report to the Trustees on the Unaudited Accounts of the Footsteps Charity (No 1085472) ................................................................................. 9 Responsibilities and basis of report ........................................................................ 9 Independent examiner’s statement ......................................................................... 9
FOOTSTEPS REPORT AND FINANCIAL STATEMENTS YEAR ENDED 30 JUNE 2024
Legal and Administrative Information
Trustees Richard Beeston Ruth Creamer Charl van Graan (treasurer) Ryan Jordan (chair) Jacqueline Marsh (secretary/co treasurer) Peter Turner (vice-chair) John Wallis Principal Address Beverley Hall Community Centre 71 Haydon Place Guildford Surrey GU1 4ND Independent Eric Stonham Examiner 26 Windsor Mead Sidford Devon EX10 9SJ Bankers HSBC plc 67 West Street Dorking Surrey RH4 1BW Charity Number 1085472
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FOOTSTEPS REPORT AND FINANCIAL STATEMENTS YEAR ENDED 30 JUNE 2024
Report of the Trustees
The Trustees present their Report for the year ended 30 June 2024. Footsteps (‘the Charity’) is registered with the Charity Commission (Registration No 1085472).
Structure, Governance and Management
The Charity is governed by its Constitution, adopted on the 22 September 1994 (the Constitution).
The Charity is controlled by an executive committee (the Committee) which comprises the Trustees and other co-opted members. The Committee meets at least four times a year, and decisions are passed by a simple majority of those in attendance and voting. The Committee is assisted in running the Charity by volunteers who are the members of the charity.
Membership of the Charity is open to any person over the age of eighteen years interested in furthering the objectives and who have offered to assist with the activities of the Charity as a volunteer, subject to the approval of the Committee.
Appointment and Retirement of Trustees
The appointment of Trustees is governed by the Constitution. Trustees have the power to appoint new trustees, and a Trustee so appointed shall hold office until the next Annual General Meeting when they may be re-elected or re-appointed. At the Annual General Meeting the members elect a chairman, a secretary, a treasurer and not less than six and not more than nine trustees who hold office from the conclusion of that meeting.
The Trustees at 30 June 2024 were: Richard Beeston Ruth Creamer Charl van Graan (treasurer) Ryan Jordan (chairman) Jacqueline Marsh (secretary) Peter Turner John Wallis
No Trustee received remuneration from the Charity in the year. The Charity is governed, managed and run entirely by unpaid volunteers.
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FOOTSTEPS REPORT AND FINANCIAL STATEMENTS YEAR ENDED 30 JUNE 2024
Objectives and Activities of the Charity for the Public Benefit
The objects of the Charity are to relieve poverty, hardship or distress among homeless and needy people, primarily in or near Guildford by the provision of a dropin centre. The Trustees confirm that they have consulted the Charity Commission’s general guidance on public benefit when reviewing the aims and objectives and plans for the future of the Charity. The Charity provides benefit to the general public by working to relieve the effects of homelessness and poverty in the Guildford local area.
Principal Activity
The Charity works by raising funds from grant-making bodies and a range of private donations and voluntary sources. The funds are applied to operate the Footsteps drop-in centre in Guildford town centre in order principally to give relief to those who are homeless or at risk of homelessness. The Footsteps drop-in centre is open on Sunday evenings and Christmas Day; these are times when other organisations serving similar client groups in Guildford do not operate.
Most of our beneficiaries are men and women who are night shelter and hostel users, rough sleepers, of no fixed abode, in supported housing or at risk of homelessness. Our service provides an opportunity for these people to obtain a free simple meal, access showers, relax in a warm, sheltered environment and interact socially on Sunday evenings when other facilities are closed. All services are delivered free of charge by teams of volunteers.
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FOOTSTEPS REPORT AND FINANCIAL STATEMENTS YEAR ENDED 30 JUNE 2024
Review of the Year
Chairman’s Report
A big thank you to all of our volunteers and donors. We have continued to receive support from a number of people providing time, monetary donations and also from cooks who provide food donations, which we are extremely grateful for.
Thank you to the committee for their support this year. And a special thank you to Pete Turner, our Vice Chairman, who is stepping down from Footsteps after 20 years. We thank Pete for his time as keyholder, as Chairman and as Vice Chairman for the past 4 years. Pete has made a tremendous impact on Footsteps over those years and will have helped so many from Guildford. Pete will be missed but we wish him all the best in his retirement.
Our guest numbers have started to increase for the first time since the pandemic. We were at a point at the back-end of 2023 when we were wondering if the charity was still needed. After the record inflation figures and fuel costs, we rapidly attracted more guests and we now average around 15 guests per week. As of today, I believe that we help between 30 and 40 individuals via Footsteps. On some occasions we see over 20 guests per session. While inflation is still coming down, food prices remain high, but we have been budgeting well over the last few years and should have plenty of funds to sustain us. We have seen less of a trend towards regular weekly attendees, but more frequent visits from familiar faces once or twice a month.
Last year we had also been concerned about low volunteer numbers but we have been on a recruitment drive and are now able to sustain 4 volunteers per week. Thanks to the new volunteers for coming onboard - we really appreciate the support. We have 28 active volunteers (including key holders and cooks) and will look to expand that further in 2024/25.
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FOOTSTEPS REPORT AND FINANCIAL STATEMENTS YEAR ENDED 30 JUNE 2024
Review of Finances
The financial statements for the year ending 30 June 2024 are set out on pages 6 to 8. Income for the year exceeded expenses by £5,611. Expenditure, at £6,817 was more this year than in 2023-4 (£4,157) largely because we donated £1000 to the St John’s Community Support and £1000 to the North Guildford Food Bank
Income from donations at £12,055 was more than the amount received last year (£5,467 in 2023-24). The Charity did not benefit from a grant from Guildford Borough Council Voluntary Grants Panel.
Donations
Accordingly, the Charity is most grateful to all its donors for their great generosity, received from the following:
| Anne Kinchin | £ 9.66 |
|---|---|
| Anonymous | £ 641.29 |
| Charities Trust | £ 36.00 |
| David Creamer | £ 166.50 |
| David Hutchins | £ 240.00 |
| Guildford Number Five Project | £ 10,000.00 |
| HMRC Charities | £ 75.77 |
| Mark Shepherd | £ 200.00 |
| Norman Barber | £ 100.00 |
| Peter Downie | £ 300.00 |
| T E & A Whittall | £ 50.00 |
| UK Connect Ltd | £ 200.00 |
| Zendesk | £ 35.80 |
Acknowledgements
The Charity gratefully acknowledges the facilities for on-line giving provided by the Charities Trust which enabled £36 respectively of the donations listed above. A special note of thanks for the one-off donation from Guildford Number Five Project.
Policy for Reserves
The Trustees aim to maintain reserves at a minimum level equivalent to estimated costs for the next six months.
Statutory Requirements
The report is prepared in accordance with the requirements for the Trustees’ Annual Report set out in The Charities (Accounts and Reports) Regulations 2008.
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FOOTSTEPS REPORT AND FINANCIAL STATEMENTS YEAR ENDED 30 JUNE 2024
Statement of Financial Activities
| Notes | 2024 | 2023 | |
|---|---|---|---|
| INCOMING RESOURCES | £ | £ | |
| Donations (including Gift Aid) | 1 | 12,055 | 5,467 |
| Grants receivable - unrestricted | 1 | 0 | 0 |
| Bank interest | 373 | __ _91 | |
| TOTAL INCOMING RESOURCES | 12,428 | 5,558 | |
| RESOURCES EXPENDED | |||
| Direct charitable expenditure | 2 | 6,206 | 3,546 |
| Management and administration | 3 | 611 | 611 |
| 6,817 | 4,157 | ||
| NET INCOMING RESOURCES FOR THE YEAR | 5,611 | 1,401 | |
| NET MOVEMENT IN FUNDS | |||
| Funds brought forward | 14377 | 12,976 | |
| FUND BALANCES carried forward | 19,988 | 14,377 |
The notes on page 8 form part of these accounts.
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FOOTSTEPS REPORT AND FINANCIAL STATEMENTS YEAR ENDED 30 JUNE 2024
Balance Sheet
| 2024 | 2023 | |
|---|---|---|
| £ | £ | |
| CURRENT ASSETS | ||
| Debtors and prepayments | 0 | 0 |
| Cash at bank | 19,988 | 14,377 |
| 19,988 | 14,377 | |
| CREDITORS | ||
| (Amounts falling due within 1 year) | 0 | 0 |
| TOTAL ASSETS | 19,988 | 14,377 |
| RESERVES | ||
| Unrestricted funds | 19,988 | 14,377 |
| 19,988 | 14,377 |
Approved by the Trustees on x October 2024 and signed as authorised on their behalf by:
The notes on page 8 form part of these accounts.
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FOOTSTEPS REPORT AND FINANCIAL STATEMENTS YEAR ENDED 30 JUNE 2024
Accounting Policies
These financial statements have been prepared under the historical cost convention in accordance with applicable accounting standards and the Charities Accounting Statement of Recommended Practice (SORP).
Income
Donations and grants are accounted for on a receipts basis unless a grant has been approved before the year end in which case it is accounted for on an accrual’s basis (note 1). Donations in kind which are capable of financial measurement are included at estimated valuation.
Resources expended
The purpose of the charity is to run a drop-in centre for the homeless and needy in the Guildford area. All costs incurred in the provision of this service are therefore treated as direct charitable expenditure (note 2). Other costs are allocated under the heading management and administration (note 3).
| 2024 | 2023 | ||
|---|---|---|---|
| DIRECT CHARITABLE EXPENDITURE (note 2) | £ | £ | £ |
| Hire of community hall | 2,205 | 1,969 | |
| Food supplies | 1,723 | 1,441 | |
| Website | 204 | 68 | |
| Bank charges | 63 | 68 | |
| Sundry food storage, sleeping bags | 11 | 0 | |
| Gift (other charities) | 2,000 | 0 | |
| 6,206 | 3,546 | ||
| MANAGEMENT AND ADMINISTRATION (note 3) | |||
| Insurance | 611 | 611 | |
| Trustee training | 0 | 0 | |
| Charity trustee and annual meetings – room hire charges | 0 | 0 | |
| 611 | 644 |
Trustees
No Trustee received any remuneration or any other form of emoluments or any expenses during the period.
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FOOTSTEPS
YEAR ENDED 30 JUNE 2024
Independent Examiner’s Report to the Trustees on the Unaudited Accounts of the Footsteps Charity (No 1085472)
I report to the trustees on my examination of the accounts of the charity for the year ended 30 June 2024 which are set out on pages 6-8 above.
Responsibilities and basis of report
As the charity's trustees, you are responsible for the preparation of the accounts in accordance with the requirements of the Charities Act 2011 (“the Act”).
I report in respect of my examination of the Trust’s accounts carried out under section 145 of the 2011 Act and in carrying out my examination, I have followed all the applicable Directions given by the Charity Commission under section 145(5)(b) of the Act.
Independent examiner’s statement
I have completed my examination. I confirm that no material matters have come to my attention in connection with the examination which gives me cause to believe that in, any material respect:
-
the accounting records were not kept in accordance with section 130 of the Charities Act; or
-
the accounts did not accord with the accounting records; or
-
the accounts did not comply with the applicable requirements concerning the form and content of accounts set out in the Charities (Accounts and Reports) Regulations 2008 other than any requirement that the accounts give a ‘true and fair’ view which is not a matter considered as part of an independent examination.
I have no concerns and have come across no other matters in connection with the examination to which attention should be drawn in this report in order to enable a proper understanding of the accounts to be reached.
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