**Charity registration number 1092031 (England and Wales) Company registration number 04394724** ## **SUNNYSIDE COMMUNITY GARDENS** # **ANNUAL REPORT AND UNAUDITED FINANCIAL STATEMENTS FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31 MARCH 2025** ## **SUNNYSIDE COMMUNITY GARDENS** ## **LEGAL AND ADMINISTRATIVE INFORMATION** |**Trustees**|M Bourke| |---|---| ||J Crisp| ||Z Gani| ||A Swann| ||A Weir| |**Charity number (England and Wales)**|1092031| |**Company number**|04394724| |**Registered office**|Sunnyside Ecology Centre| ||Hazelville Road| ||London| ||N19 3LX| |**Independent examiner**|Frances Wilde FCCA DChA| ||Warner Wilde Limited| ||Chartered Certified Accountants| ||4 Marigold Drive| ||Bisley| ||Surrey| ||GU24 9SF| ## **SUNNYSIDE COMMUNITY GARDENS** ## **CONTENTS** ||**Page**| |---|---| |Trustees' report|1 - 8| |Independent examiner's report|9| |Statement of financial activities|10| |Balance sheet|11| |Notes to the financial statements|12 - 19| Sunnyside Community Gardens Trustee’s Report April 2024 - March 2025 _Co-Chair of Trustees Zena Gani signing our new 50 year peppercorn rent lease, supported by volunteers_ 1 ## **Our Year** 2024-25 was another busy and successful year for Sunnyside. We increased our work of combating isolation, community building and improving the wellbeing of our volunteer gardeners. Whilst providing a beautiful garden always open for the residents of Hillrise, an area of high density social housing where homes have no or very small gardens. Our volunteer gardeners are the core of Sunnyside. Our volunteer numbers have continued to grow, we delivered more and reached more people than last year. The number of days we were open for gardening, the number of volunteers involved in our activities, and the total number of days volunteers came to garden all increased compared with the previous year. After three years of relative stability in terms of funding in October we came to the end of our National Lottery, Community Fund “Outdoor Hub” grant. We successfully applied for 5 new grants to cover our running costs. These, plus a generous donation from a local business, ensured our financial viability to the end of the 25-25 year and well into the next. A big milestone for us this year was that we were granted a 50 year lease at a peppercorn rent for the land Sunnyside Community Gardens is on, from the Mayor and Burgesses of the London Borough of Islington. Negotiating appropriate legal terms for the lease was considerable work and we are very grateful to Cara Beveridge from Bryan Cave Leighton Paisner LLP and Greg Fox-Smith (a local independent solicitor) for their pro-bono work and support to get it signed. With the security of tenure provided by the lease, we are now better able to progress the plans for our new building through the planning process, and to make more bids for funding. Our architects, Cooke and Fawcett, continued to liaise with our community to develop plans for our volunteer building to ensure that it will meet the needs of our volunteers and the local community in Hillrise. Another milestone was the evaluation survey and report from Shepherds and Moyes, the findings of which are outlined below. This demonstrates the value of our work and provides us with a strong benchmark for future evaluation of our impact. **==> picture [452 x 82] intentionally omitted <==** 2 ## **Our people** ## **Our Volunteers** Our volunteer numbers continue to rise while at the same time we have a strong settled volunteer community. In 2024-25 we were open for 196 days and had a total of 296 volunteers. Over the year they gave the community 2438 days of volunteering with an average of 12.44 volunteers per day. The following graphs show how these numbers compare against previous years. Our drop-in model continues to attract a diverse and friendly group of people to join our volunteer community. One of Sunnyside’s strengths is how diverse its volunteers are. From the evaluation we know 16% of those who completed our survey are young people (16-24 years) and 55% are working age adults. 32% of volunteers have a disability or long-term health condition and 50% are from ethnic minority communities. ## **Our Staff** After three years of a stable part-time staff team, Robert Bradshaw, one of our community gardeners, left to take up a full-time position in the gardening team at Kenwood House. We were fortunate to be able to fill the vacancy this created from within the team. 3 ## **Our Impact** The Shepherd and Moyes evaluation report gave us a valuable insight into the difference we make to our volunteers and community. Volunteers report extremely high levels of satisfaction with the volunteer experience at Sunnyside. - 100% of volunteers agree that: - Volunteering at Sunnyside is enjoyable and provides a worthwhile experience - The volunteer experience is welcoming and inclusive - They feel part of the Sunnyside Community 98% of volunteers agree that: - Volunteering activities fit with my abilities and interests - They feel valued and appreciated as a volunteer And 94% agree they receive appropriate training and support. In terms of improvements, - volunteers would like to see: - A new/larger building, better facilities - More community activities - More opportunities for learning about food growing - Visitors to Sunnyside also report high levels of satisfaction: - The vast majority (90%+) of visitors agree that the gardens are safe, well maintained and attractive - The majority (88%) agree that volunteers are friendly and welcoming, with the remainder (12%) neither agreeing nor disagreeing, suggesting that they had not met one of our volunteers. ## **The key learning of the report:** **Inclusive and diverse:** people from a wide range of ages, backgrounds and abilities are involved. People are treated as individuals, with a strong ethos that everyone is able to contribute in some way. **Flexible and reliable:** no need to pre-book or navigate any complicated online booking systems, volunteers can just drop in on the days that suit them, no prior experience is needed and everyone is able to get involved, regardless of ability/experience/confidence etc. The gardens are always open for volunteering on the days advertised, and are always open to the public 24/7. 4 **Strong sense of community:** the strong communal ethos of working, eating and supporting each other builds strong connections (to others and nature), belonging and ownership. This has a significant impact on people’s health and wellbeing. **Everyone’s ‘back garden’:** a beautiful, relaxing, well maintained greenspace in a densely populated area where many people lack their own private gardens Balancing the needs of people and nature: a focus on biodiversity, supporting the council’s biodiversity action plan and maintaining SINC status ## **Quotes from the Shepherd and Moyes report:** _It helps me meet kind welcoming people and feel part of a community. It helps me to NOT feel lonely. It cheers me up.’ (Volunteer)_ _‘It supports me when I feel isolated with nobody to connect with. It lifts me when I have low mood and anxiety to work with nature and eat with others.’ (Volunteer)_ _‘Sunnyside Community Gardens has helped me feel more connected to my local area. It is a great way to spend time outdoors, close to nature, and to meet new people. I feel better mentally since I volunteer every week!’ (Volunteer)_ _‘What I’ve learnt doing this job and working with different people, is that actually, everybody's the same. Whether they need support workers or not, some people need a little bit more time. You’ve just got to find them the right job, and sometimes be a bit patient. It’s just about getting to know people’ (Community Gardener)_ _‘Coming to Sunnyside has been a bit of a haven for me. It is so valuable to have structure and_ _a space to be given a reason and a purpose to do something. For me the being amongst plants and trees, and hoping to make a positive impact upon the local environment is one of my main incentives’ (Volunteer)_ 5 ## **Our Garden** We were open for drop-in volunteering gardening four days a week (Monday, Tuesday, Friday and Sunday), for 50 weeks this year. Each day is led by a Community Gardener who ensures everyone is welcome and leads the gardening. Volunteers do not need to pre-book or bring any equipment. Refreshments and a free home-made lunch cooked by one of our volunteers or staff are always provided. This free and relaxed model means that gardening is accessible to a wide range of people. In addition to the four volunteer gardening days, Sunnyside hosted 11 social events on the first Sunday of each month. These events include a sale of volunteer grown plants and a stall selling cakes made by volunteers, plus a seasonal activity in addition to the opportunity for volunteers and our supporters to socialise. Both the main Sunnyside Gardens and the Peace Garden continue to flourish under our care. We further developed the planting around the Morris Family Garden, and the management plan for the meadow resulted in a dramatic increase in the amount of wildflowers. Sunnyside started to benefit from the compost produced by our partnership with the Sustainable Nutrition Academy. In the Peace Garden, we completed the underplanting of the rose beds, and they flourished. It was a shimmering carpet of flowers for months and brought a wealth of bees and other insects. After many years of disruption, this year we were able to start developing our plant nursery. The importance of having this space has been demonstrated by the amount of plants volunteers produced for use in our gardens and for sale at our plant sales. Over the year we constructed new beds for vegetables and laid paths across the site. One of our volunteers designed and built a pergola for the space. 6 ## **Our Funding** The National Lottery Grant that covered 80% of our costs came to an end in October 2024. Our running cost continued to grow, due to our increasing number of volunteers and increases in the cost of living. Therefore, the Sunnyside management team and fundraising sub-committee had to devote a lot of time to applying for grants from other funding bodies to cover our ongoing running costs. Despite a challenging fundraising environment Sunnyside was successful in being awarded five grants plus an £8,000 un-ringfenced donation from Marigold Health Foods Ltd that enabled us to continue running our full programme of four volunteer days a week for the remainder of the financial year. Grants awarded were: 1. The Co-op local community fund donated £1,739.24 so that we could run community activities at our monthly Sunday social event. 2. We received £5,000 from Islington Council's Community Chest grant (Cripplegate) towards Tuesday Gardening for adults referred to us with extra support needs. 3. We were also awarded an additional £2,000 from Islington Council’s LIF (Local Initiative Fund) grant. 4. We received a £25,000 un-ringfenced grant from the Postcode Lottery which meant that we could fill in all the gaps between grants, and maintain a reliable service for our volunteers. 5. The Trusthouse Charitable foundation match-funded the Postcode Lottery grant with an additional £10,000 At the end of this financial year we received two additional grants. These include the first of three annual £30,000 grants from Mercers (which came with an additional £5,000 for staff wellbeing) and £20,000 National lottery Awards for All grant. These are being carried over to contribute towards our running costs in the 25-26 financial year. Whilst the management committee were primarily focused on fundraising for running costs our community continued to fundraise for a new building with a sponsored run and donations to our GoFundMe page. 7 SUNNYSIDE COMMUNITY GARDENS TRUSTEES. REPORT (INCLUDING DIRECTORS. REPORT) (CONTINUED) FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31 MARCH 2025 Flnanclal revlew Income for Ihe year was £134,319 (2024: £98,581), of which £42,90212024: £73,332) was restricted. Expenditure totalled £102,09912024: £97.010). The reserves at the end of the accounting period were general fvnds £90,301 12024: £44,435) and restricled rese￿eS £35.842(2024: £49.488). It is the policy of the charity that unrestricted funds which have not been designated for 3 specific use should be maintained at a level equNalent to between three and six month's expenditure. The trustees considers that reserves at this level will ensure that. in the event of a 5ignifThnt drop in funding, they will be able to continue the charity's current activities while consideration is given to ways in which additional funds may be raised. This level of reserves has been maintained throughout the year. The trustees have assessed the major risks to which the charity is exposed. and are satisfied that systems are in place to mitigate exposure to the major risks. Structure. govemanc8 and management The Charity is a ￿MpanY limited by guarantee incorporated 14 March 2002. The trustees. who are also the directors for the Purpose of company law. and who seNed during the year and up to the date of signature of Ihe financial statements were: C Bourke {Resigned 24 May 2024) M Bourke J Crisp Z Gani J Pearson B Pavitt Aswann A Weir (Resigned 14 July 2025) IResvJned 24 May 2024) The trustees are recruited from recommendations of local people with the mix of sktlls required by the Board. None of the Iruslees has any ben8ficial interest in the company. All of the trustees are members of the company and guaranlee to ¢onlrtbute £1 in the event of a winding up. The trustees delegate the day-to4ay management of the chaiity to a manager. The trustees, report was approved by the Board of Trustees. Z Gani Co4hair Aswann Co**Restricted**
**funds**
**funds**
**2025**
**2025**
**Notes**
**£**
**£**
**Income and endowments from:**
Donations and legacies
**3**
26,222
4,163
Charitable activities
**4**
65,174
38,739
Other income
**5**
21
-
**Total income**
91,417
42,902
**Expenditure on:**
Charitable activities
**6**
45,551
56,548
**Total expenditure**
45,551
56,548
**Net income/(expenditure)**
45,866
(13,646)
Transfers between
funds
-
-
**Net movement in**
**funds**
**8**
45,866
(13,646)
**Reconciliation of funds:**
Fund balances at 1 April 2024
44,435
49,488
**Fund balances at 31 March**
**2025**
90,301
35,842|**Total**
**Unrestricted**
**Restricted**
**funds**
**funds**
**2025**
**2024**
**2024**
**£**
**£**
**£**
30,385
20,382
5,710
103,913
3,959
67,622
21
908
-
134,319
25,249
73,332
102,099
28,046
68,964
102,099
28,046
68,964
32,220
(2,797)
4,368
-
(140)
140
32,220
(2,937)
4,508
93,923
47,372
44,980
126,143
44,435
49,488|**Total**
**2024**
**£**
26,092
71,581
908| |---|---|---| |||98,581
97,010| |||97,010| |||1,571
-| |||1,571
92,352| |||93,923| The statement of financial activities includes all gains and losses recognised in the year. All income and expenditure derive from continuing activities. - 10 - SUNNYSIDE COMMUNITY GARDENS BALANCE SHEEr ASAT 31 MARCH 2025 2025 2024 Notes Current assets Cash al bank and in hand 127.777 97,338 Creditors: amounts falling due wlthin ono year 12 (1.634) 13.415) Net curront assets 126,143 93,923 The funds of the charity Restricted income fvnds Unrestricted funds 14 15 35,842 90,301 49.488 44,435 126,143 93,923 The company is entiued to the exemption from the audit requirement contained in section 477 of the Companies Act 2006, for the year ended 31 March 2025. The directors aCkn￿edge their responsibilities for complying with the requirements of the Companies Act 2006 wtth respect to accounting records and the preparation of financial statements. The members have not required the company to obtain an audit of its financial statements for the year in question in accordan￿ with section 476. These financial statements have been prepared in accordance with the provisions applicable to cornpanies subject to the small companies regime. The financial ststements were approved by the trustees on . Z Gani Co￿haIr A Swann Co**Restricted**
**funds**
**funds**
**2025**
**2025**
**£**
**£**
Donations and gifts
22,398
4,163
Donated goods and
services
3,824
-
26,222
4,163
**Income from charitable activities**
**Unrestricted**
**Restricted**
**funds**
**funds**
**2025**
**2025**
**£**
**£**
**Charitable activities**
Sale of goods
5,174
-
Performance related
grants
60,000
38,739
65,174
38,739|**Total**
**Unrestricted**
**Restricted**
**funds**
**funds**
**2025**
**2024**
**2024**
**£**
**£**
**£**
26,561
15,182
5,710
3,824
5,200
-
30,385
20,382
5,710
**Total**
**Unrestricted**
**Restricted**
**funds**
**funds**
**2025**
**2024**
**2024**
**£**
**£**
**£**
5,174
3,959
-
98,739
-
67,622
103,913
3,959
67,622|**Total**
**2024**
**£**
20,892
5,200| |---|---|---| |||26,092| |||**Total**
**2024**
**£**
3,959
67,622| |||71,581| ## **4 Income from charitable activities** ## **5 Other income** ||**Unrestricted**|**Unrestricted**| |---|---|---| ||**funds**|**funds**| ||**2025**|**2024**| ||**£**|**£**| |Other income|21|908| - 14 - ## **SUNNYSIDE COMMUNITY GARDENS** ## **NOTES TO THE FINANCIAL STATEMENTS (CONTINUED)** ## _**FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31 MARCH 2025**_ ## **6 Expenditure on charitable activities** |||**Charitable**|**Charitable**| |---|---|---|---| |||**activities**|**activities**| |||**2025**|**2024**| |||**£**|**£**| ||**Direct costs**||| ||Staff costs|49,585|55,417| ||Charitable Projects|9,217|10,514| |||58,802|65,931| ||**Share of support and governance costs (see note 7)**||| ||Support|40,594|29,614| ||Governance|2,703|1,465| |||102,099|97,010| ||**Analysis by fund**||| ||Unrestricted funds|45,551|28,046| ||Restricted funds|56,548|68,964| |||102,099|97,010| |**7**|**Support costs allocated to activities**||| |||**2025**|**2024**| |||**£**|**£**| ||Staff costs|-|3,822| ||General support costs|11,155|9,439| ||Light and heat|-|964| ||Subcontractors|27,526|11,320| ||Printing, postage and stationery|-|956| ||National Lottery Evaluation|1,913|1,913| ||Christmas bonus honararium|-|700| ||Charity birthday celebration (gift in kind)|-|500| ||Governance costs|2,703|1,465| |||43,297|31,079| ||**Analysed between:**||| ||Charitable activities|43,297|31,079| - 15 - ## **SUNNYSIDE COMMUNITY GARDENS** ## **NOTES TO THE FINANCIAL STATEMENTS (CONTINUED)** ## _**FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31 MARCH 2025**_ |**7**
**Support costs allocated to activities**
**Governance costs comprise:**
Audit fees
Legal and professional
**8**
**Net movement in funds**
The net movement in funds is stated after charging/(crediting):
Fees payable for the independent examination of the charity's financial
statements|**(Continued)**
**2025**
**2024**
**£**
**£**
1,263
1,465
1,440
-
2,703
1,465
**2025**
**2024**
**£**
**£**
1,263
1,465|**(Continued)**
**2025**
**2024**
**£**
**£**
1,263
1,465
1,440
-
2,703
1,465
**2025**
**2024**
**£**
**£**
1,263
1,465| |---|---|---| |||1,465| |||**2024**
**£**
1,465| ## **9 Trustees** None of the trustees (or any persons connected with them) received any remuneration or benefits from the charity during the year. ## **10 Employees** Expressed as full-time equivalent, the average monthly number of employees during the year was: ||**2025**|**2024**| |---|---|---| ||**Number**|**Number**| ||2|3| |**Employment costs**|**2025**|**2024**| ||**£**|**£**| |Wages and salaries|48,675|50,525| |Social security costs|-|6,877| |Other pension costs|910|1,837| ||49,585|59,239| The charity employs 3 part-time staff comprised of one manager and two gardeners. There were no employees whose annual remuneration was more than £60,000. - 16 - ## **SUNNYSIDE COMMUNITY GARDENS** ## **NOTES TO THE FINANCIAL STATEMENTS (CONTINUED)** _**FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31 MARCH 2025**_ |**10**|**Employees**||**(Continued)**| |---|---|---|---| ||**Remuneration of key management personnel**||| ||The remuneration of key management personnel was as follows:||| |||**2025**|**2024**| |||**£**|**£**| ||Aggregate compensation|31,915|31,137| ## **11 Taxation** The charity is exempt from taxation on its activities because all its income is applied for charitable purposes. ## **12 Creditors: amounts falling due within one year** |Other creditors
Accruals and deferred income
**13**
**Retirement benefit schemes**
**Defined contribution schemes**
Charge to profit or loss in respect of defined contribution schemes|**2025**
**£**
11
1,623
1,634
**2025**
**£**
910|**2024**
**£**
-
3,415| |---|---|---| |||3,415| |||**2024**
**£**
1,837| The charity operates a defined contribution pension scheme for all qualifying employees. The assets of the scheme are held separately from those of the charity in an independently administered fund. - 17 - ## **SUNNYSIDE COMMUNITY GARDENS** ## **NOTES TO THE FINANCIAL STATEMENTS (CONTINUED)** _**FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31 MARCH 2025**_ ## **14 Restricted funds** The restricted funds of the charity comprise the unexpended balances of donations and grants held on trust subject to specific conditions by donors as to how they may be used. |**At**
National Lottery
National Lottery- Awards for All
Trusthouse
LIF
Coop Grant
Cripplegate Foundation 2024
Cripplegate Foundation 2023
New Building fund
**Previous year:**
**At**
National Lottery
Coop Grant
Cripplegate Foundation 2022
Cripplegate Foundation 2023
New Building fund|**1 April**
**2024**
**Incoming**
**resources**
**Resources**
**expended**
**Transfers**
**At 31 March**
**2025**
**£**
**£**
**£**
**£**
**£**
40,533
-
(43,872)
-
(3,339)
-
20,000
-
-
20,000
-
10,000
(5,018)
-
4,982
-
2,000
(357)
-
1,643
1,115
1,739
(1,952)
-
902
-
5,000
(2,831)
-
2,169
2,251
-
(2,518)
-
(267)
5,589
4,163
-
-
9,752
49,488
42,902
(56,548)
-
35,842
**1 April**
**2023**
**Incoming**
**resources**
**Resources**
**expended**
**Transfers**
**At 31 March**
**2024**
**£**
**£**
**£**
**£**
**£**
-
-
-
-
-
44,176
61,507
(65,150)
-
40,533
-
1,115
-
-
1,115
804
-
(944)
140
-
-
5,121
(2,870)
-
2,251
-
5,589
-
-
5,589
44,980
73,332
(68,964)
140
49,488| |---|---| National Lottery: to support volunteer gardeners. New Building: donations for costs towards the new building. Cripple Gate Foundation: a grant towards Tuesday supported Gardening. Co-op Grant: a grant for local cause, i.e. supporting the community garden. - 18 - ## **SUNNYSIDE COMMUNITY GARDENS** ## **NOTES TO THE FINANCIAL STATEMENTS (CONTINUED)** _**FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31 MARCH 2025**_ ## **15 Unrestricted funds** The unrestricted funds of the charity comprise the unexpended balances of donations and grants which are not subject to specific conditions by donors and grantors as to how they may be used. These include designated funds which have been set aside out of unrestricted funds by the trustees for specific purposes. ||**At**|**1 April**|**Incoming**|**Resources**|**Transfers**|**At 31 March**| |---|---|---|---|---|---|---| |||**2024**|**resources**|**expended**||**2025**| |||**£**|**£**|**£**|**£**|**£**| |General funds||44,435|91,417|(45,551)|-|90,301| |**Previous year:**|**At**|**1 April**|**Incoming**|**Resources**|**Transfers**|**At 31 March**| |||**2023**|**resources**|**expended**||**2024**| |||**£**|**£**|**£**|**£**|**£**| |General funds||47,372|25,249|(28,046)|(140)|44,435| |**Analysis of net assets between**|**funds**|||||| |||||**Unrestricted**|**Restricted**|**Total**| |||||**funds**|**funds**|| |||||**2025**|**2025**|**2025**| |||||**£**|**£**|**£**| |**At 31 March 2025:**||||||| |Current assets/(liabilities)||||90,301|35,842|126,143| |||||90,301|35,842|126,143| |||||**Unrestricted**|**Restricted**|**Total**| |||||**funds**|**funds**|| |||||**2024**|**2024**|**2024**| |||||**£**|**£**|**£**| |**At 31 March 2024:**||||||| |Current assets/(liabilities)||||44,435|49,488|93,923| |||||44,435|49,488|93,923| ## **16 Analysis of net assets between funds** ## **17 Related party transactions** There were no disclosable related party transactions during the year (2024 - none). - 19 -