## **LEWISHAM LOCAL** **ANNUAL REPORT & FINANCIAL STATEMENTS 2022/23** (A company limited by guarantee) Company registration number: 04681564 1 Charity registration number: 1101616 ## **Contents** |**ADMINISTRATIVE DETAILS **|3| |---|---| |**TRUSTEES’ ANNUAL REPORT **|5| |**INDEPENDENT EXAMINER’S REPORT **|32| |**STATEMENT OF FINANCIAL ACTIVITIES **|34| |**BALANCE SHEET **|35| |**NOTES TO THE FINANCIAL STATEMENTS **|37| 2 ## **ADMINISTRATIVE DETAILS** ## **CHAIRMAN** Roy Witter ## **TRUSTEES AND OFFICERS** The trustees and officers serving during the year and since the year end were as follows: Ayesha Gareeboo (appointed 15 May 2023) Joyce Jones Gemma Juma Tina Price-Johnson (appointed 15 May 2023) Mary Pickles (appointed 15 May 2023) Jonathan Prince Susan Ryder Allison Streetly Peter Webb (appointed 15 May 2023) Roy Witter **SECRETARY** Samuel Hawksley **CHARITY REGISTRATION** 1101616 **NUMBER** **COMPANY REGISTRATION** 04681564 **NUMBER** The charity is incorporated in England and Wales. **REGISTERED OFFICE** Unit C Place/Ladywell, 261 Lewisham High Street, Lewisham, London, SE13 6NJ **INDEPENDENT EXAMINER** Field Sullivan Limited, 9 Hare & Billet Road, Blackheath, SE3 0RB **BANKERS** The Co-operative Bank plc, Lewisham, 151 Lewisham High St, London, SE13 6AA 3 Name Role Appointed Committees Serving Roy Witter Company Director and Trustee (Chair) 3011112022 Strategy (Chair) Strategy, Finance & Operations (Chair) Jonathan Prince MBE Company Director and Trustee {Vice Chair) 1910112022 Susan Ryder Company Director and Trustee Finan￿ & Operations 2310112020 Dr Allison Streetly OBE Company Director and Trustee 1910112022 Local Giving "New" (Chair) Gemma Juma Company Director and Trustee 2710112021 Finance & Operations Joyce Jones Company Director and 0510212022 -L-d, 11. I Company Secretary and Chief Executive Officer Sam Hawksley 0111112021 NIA ## **From the Chair** Dear Friends and Partners, Welcome to the Lewisham Local Trustees’ Annual Report for the year 2022-2023. Throughout this year, we have faced new challenges and have celebrated numerous successes as we continued to establish ourselves as Lewisham Local, embracing our refreshed vision, mission, and values. The year commenced with a significant hurdle when we experienced a reduction in our core funding from Lewisham Council. This posed immense pressure on the charity, compelling us to develop a new project-focused delivery model revolving around our key themes. Despite this setback, we managed to secure new funding for our established projects, showcasing the value and impact of our work. Additionally, we embarked on new pilot projects to address previously unmet local needs, such as digital exclusion, supporting individuals in work placements, and partnering with community organisations that specifically serve Lewisham's black and ethnic minority community. I extend my heartfelt gratitude to our dedicated and hardworking staff team, whose collaborative efforts with the Trustees have been integral to our progress over the past year. They have admirably risen to the challenges presented by the cost-of-living crisis, which has placed increased demands on our projects and our local communities as well as our staff team. I would also like to express our gratitude to our funders for their ongoing support and flexibility, as well as our tireless volunteers and project members, whose positivity and unwavering efforts continue to uplift us. Finally, I commend my fellow Trustees for their exemplary commitment and hard work, driving our charity forward. Moving forward, we remain resolute in our commitment to rise to the increasingly challenging circumstances faced by local residents with determination and flexibility. We are excited for the upcoming year, as we prioritise investing in improving our internal systems, including our digital communications and website. Furthermore, we are delighted to have co-opted new Trustees onto our Board, enriching our team with additional skills and expertise. We will continue to support our staff in delivering their incredible work and work towards enhancing Lewisham Local's sustainability by diversifying our funding base. Sincerely, **Roy Witter | Chair of Trustees** ………………………………………. 5 ## **From the Chief Executive** 2022-23 was another year of change and growth for Lewisham Local. Having recently changed our official charity name to Lewisham Local, we adopted a new Vision, Mission and Values and organised our internal structures around key themes: Promoting Local Giving, Strengthening Lewisham’s Voluntary Sector, Promoting Good Healthy Food and Volunteering, Health and Wellbeing. The start of 2022 saw a substantial challenge for the charity as Lewisham Council’s Main Grants programme underwent a 33% cut and moved away from unrestricted core funding to restricted project grants. This marked a change of role for our charity, sharing the responsibility of infrastructure support for Lewisham’s voluntary sector with partner organisations. This meant a loss of core funding towards essential costs such as management, office, overheads and communications. Whilst we were able to adapt our delivery model, the continuing funding reductions from the Local Authority towards the local voluntary sector were felt internally through our oldest project the Time Bank no longer receiving funding. Further funding challenges included grant funding coming to an end for our Wild Cat Wilderness community green space. This was a further reminder we are not immune to the ongoing funding challenges faced by the local voluntary sector, further evidenced by another one of our key partners, Voluntary Services Lewisham (VSL) closing down. The Staff and Trustees of Lewisham Local once again demonstrated that we are a flexible and dynamic local organisation that is able to adapt to changing needs both internally and in the local community. This was particularly noticed in how the charity responded to yet another emerging crisis, the dramatic increases to the cost of living, collaborating with charity partners and the Council to launch the Lewisham Warm Welcomes program, all while still adjusting to life after Covid lockdowns. This provided localised support to residents throughout the Winter of 2022-23 and expanded our charity’s role as a support to local community organisations as well as a connector of local businesses, residents and the statutory sector to inspire positive contributions to meet community needs. As we look to the future, we will be launching a new strategy for the charity, improving our communications and investing in our own sustainability as a local organisation, to make sure we are here for many years to connect the community, and inspire them to give and meet community needs to make Lewisham a happier, healthier place. ## **Sam Hawksley | Chief Executive** 6 ## **Structure, Governance and Management** ## **GOVERNING DOCUMENT** The organisation is a charitable company limited by guarantee as defined by the Companies Act 2006 and registered as a charity with the Charity Commission. The company was established under a Memorandum and Articles of Association which established the objects and powers of the charitable company and is governed by its Articles of Association. ## **RECRUITMENT AND APPOINTMENT OF NEW TRUSTEES** The Charity aims to have a diverse Board of Trustees, made up of residents, professionals and individuals with lived experience of the organisation ’ s projects and issues it is trying to address. The Trustees are a diverse group of people with varied experiences and knowledge in the local area, business, and voluntary sectors. Trustees may be appointed at any time and reappointments are on rotation every year at the AGM. A Trustee eligibility audit is carried out on a yearly basis as well as an audit of the current skills on the Board so that any gaps can be filled through recruiting new Trustees. The Charity ensures that the Board of Trustees represents the diversity of our Borough and the users of the organisation. Due to the charity’s growth and increasing breadth of work, Trustees agreed to increase the number of Trustees on the Board in order to provide increased oversight of our work as well as incorporate new skills and lived experience of our projects and the issues we address through our work, including poverty and isolation. Trustees also aimed to recruit younger Trustees to further enhance the diversity of the Board. 7 ## **MEETINGS** The Board of Trustees meets six times a year and determines strategic direction and policy. The Board met in March 2023 for our annual Strategic Away Day to review performance, analyse the context around the organisation and identify opportunities to enhance the organisation’s work and sustainability. ## **ORGANISATIONAL STRUCTURE** The Chief Executive is accountable to the Board of Trustees and oversees the operations of the organisation and manages staff and freelance workers. We have continued to grow our staff and financial income and therefore our structure of Programme Managers has provided good oversight of our work and brought projects together into key themes. According to funding and project needs, other staff or freelance workers support on project delivery. In 2020-21 there were 15 staff (12.4 full time equivalent). 8 Chief Executive (1.0) Local Giving & Food Programme Manager Voluntary Sector Programme Manager Volunteering Programme Manager Food Partnerships Coordinator Community Directory Coordinator Wild Cat Wilderness Coordinator Finance & Office Coordinator Time Bank Coordinator Catford Food Projects Coordinator Fundraising Development Manager- Equalities Volunteerin & Work Placement Coordinator Community Development Worker (Business) Digital Access Project Manager Bank of Things Coordinator Communlty Development Worker RELATED PARTIES There were no related parlies during the financial year. WIDER NETWORK The charity currently does not operate within a wider network. RISK MANAGEMENT The Trustees have a duty to identify and review the risks to which the charity is exposed to and to ensure appropriate controls are in place to provide reasonable assurance against fraud and error. The charity maintains a risk register and has a risk management strategy to identify and mitigate risks. The high risks are brought to the attention of the Board to minimise any potential impact on the charity. The charity carries out monitoring and evaluation and provides reports to its funders. The charity ensures it has financial procedures, health and safety policy and safeguarding procedures in place. They are reviewed annually to reflect changing legislation and to refresh knowledge and practice. ## **Objectives** ## **OBJECTIVES** To promote any charitable purpose for the benefit of the public and particularly, but not limited to, the public who live and work in the London Borough of Lewisham and surrounding boroughs, including: a) to promote volunteering, time banking, the giving of time and skills to engage and support local residents including those considered to be suffering from the disadvantage of social exclusion; b) to promote philanthropy to relieve poverty distress and sickness in the interests of social welfare with the aim of improving the conditions of life of the public; c) to promote and broker partnership working and training within the voluntary and charitable sector, statutory and private sectors in the interests of the furtherance of and achievements of the above purposes. ## **AIM AND ACTIVITIES** The charity uses an asset-based approach and activities to involve people in volunteering and sharing their skills to connect and create community cohesion The charity facilitates stakeholders from the voluntary, statutory, education and business sectors to collaborate and share their assets like resources, training, expertise, time and money to help alleviate poverty and reduce social isolation. ## **OUR VISION** A connected Lewisham community that gives, shares and works together to build happier and healthier communities. ## **OUR MISSION** Connect and collaborate with individuals and organisations, encouraging all to give and share what they can to respond to needs in the community and strengthen Lewisham’s voluntary and community groups. ## **OUR VALUES** - Everyone in the community is an asset and able to contribute, give and share - We are inclusive, welcoming and open to all - We are collaborative and committed to working together with a positive attitude - We are dynamic and responsive to Lewisham’s communities’ needs and willing to innovate - We value the diversity of Lewisham’s communities and are committed to proactively representing Lewisham’s diversity in our Staff, Trustees and projects 10 ## **LIVING WAGE EMPLOYER** The organisation is committed to the Living Wage movement and is an accredited Living Wage Employer by the Living Wage Foundation. ## **MODERN SLAVERY** As Lewisham Local is well below the threshold of £36m set by the Modern Slavery Act 2015, the Company is not legally required to have a policy on modern slavery. However, the Act is a positive piece of legislation aiming to safeguard workers from exploitation and we support the aims of this legislation. Lewisham Local has a zerotolerance approach to modern slavery and human trafficking and is committed to continually improving our policies and procedures to help identify and combat modern slavery and human trafficking. ## **PUBLIC BENEFIT STATEMENT** Lewisham Local’s charitable purpose is enshrined in its objects and the Trustees confirm that they have complied with the duty in Section 4 of the Charities Act 2006 to have due regard to the Charity Commission's general guidance on public benefit 'Charities and Public Benefit'. This charity welcomes all sections of society and is for public benefit. The charity has a strong and consistent track record of service to the public, working with individuals in the community, especially the elderly and vulnerable but also across all generations and ethnicity. The activities of the charity are rooted in valuing, welcoming, including and empowering people. This is evidenced by evaluations, feedback, reports, case studies and photographs that demonstrate the charity’s public benefit. 11 EQUALITY Across our Staff and Trustee team we are committed to being reflective of the diverse community we serve. Below is our annual results from our staff demographics survey: AGE: DISABILITY: ETHNICITY: 20-29. 1$% Yvd. 21% SO.Sg, 29% Bl•¢k, 14% 3049, 21% Whlt•. 57% Mlxod, 21% No, 79% 4049. 35% RELIGION: GENDER: GENDER IDENTITY SAME AS YOUR SEX REGISTERED BIRTH: $ptrituali5WY, 7% 7% Blnary, 7 1. 42% M•l•. 35% F•mal•. 56% 21% C1s￿nd•r, SEXUAL ORIENTATION: MARITAL STATUS: DUE TO TAKE MATERNITYIPATERNITY LEAVE IN THE NEXT 9 MONTHS?: Pr•l•rnot to say. 7% B￿Aual. 7-. Oth•r. 18% Moi marri•d, 42% marr1￿. 42% .15% P40, 93% 12 ## **Achievements and Performance** ## **HIGHLIGHTS FROM THE YEAR** 13 ## **Promoting Local Giving in Lewisham** A key theme across our charity’s projects is encouraging all in Lewisham to give what they can in order to make Lewisham a happier and healthier place. Our projects aim to inspire people to give whatever they can, whether that is time, skills, money, or things in kind. Our work aims to connect local residents, businesses and the statutory sector and increase their awareness of local community organisations meeting diverse needs in the community. We worked with the Lewisham Local Collaborative to launch and facilitate the Lewisham Funders Network, bringing together local and regional funders with a particular interest in the borough. We would like to thank City Bridge Trust for their ongoing funding and the support we receive through the London Funders network, London’s Giving, to share ideas with other charities promoting local giving in their respective London boroughs. We are delighted that City Bridge Trust will be increasing their support for this work, and we look forward to building on our successes, developing our internal governance and expanding our capacity to work with more local people and businesses who are able to give to improve the local community and meet its needs. ## **KEY ACHIEVEMENTS FROM THE YEAR** ## **PUBLIC FUNDRAISING APPEALS** The wider Lewisham population continued to amaze us with their willingness to donate to our Cost-of-Living appeal which, with match funding from the Merchant Taylors Foundation, raised in excess of £50,000. ## **GROWING OUR GRANTS DISTRIBUTION** We continued to raise money through fundraising appeals and to partner with organisations to distribute small grants to community groups meeting Lewisham’s needs . Lewisham Local’s knowledge of community needs and our unique connections with community groups have enabled us to develop this work and direct resources to community needs in an agile and responsive way. We distributed £148,093 in grants to 108 projects. Key themes included food insecurity, supporting local people with energy advice and Lewisham Warm Welcomes, a programme of over 50 local drop-ins with activities and a place to be warm and receive support. Other funds in development include a partnership fund with Lewisham Council, supporting individuals to access essential items and Food Justice Grants, supporting local food projects to meet the need for equitable access to food in Lewisham. _**"Thank you so much for leading and facilitating this funding program. It has made a tangible difference to the people we support.”**_ **- Grant Recipient** 14 ## **FIRST FUND DECIDED THROUGH PARTICIPATORY GRANTS MAKING** _**“It was a pleasure to read about groups doing such great work - often with very limited resources. Unfortunately, we could not fund them all!”**_ **- Grants Panellist** As a charity, we recognise that we are in a position of power, trusted with public funding resources, and that local people with lived experience know what is best for their communities. We were delighted to pilot our first fund that was distributed through Participatory Grant Making, which was delivered in partnership with Lendlease, a housing developer. Local people who live close to the housing development in Deptford were recruited and trained by Lewisham Local and facilitated to make the decisions on the 5 grants that were awarded to local projects. ## **LEWISHAM LOCAL CARD DEVELOPMENT** We continue to invest in our local discount card as it is an effective tool that connects local residents, local businesses and community groups. 73 businesses joined the network over the last year and we had an 80% increase on cards that we sold this year, raising over £2000 with targeted promotional campaigns. With our increased capacity we look forward to promoting the card even more and increasing the number of residents who receive a card, which currently stands at 1 in every 300 residents. _**“ A fantastic scheme in this monetary crisis where we are all watching our pennies, we can all benefit.”**_ _**-**_ **Lewisham Local Card Holder** ## **LEWISHAM COMMUNITY LOTTERY’S FIRST ANNIVERSARY** After one year, 75 community organisations are now actively fundraising using the platform. 700 local people bought tickets to fundraise for the groups and this has raised over £19,000 for Lewisham’s good causes in one year. We look forward to building on this progress over the next year. 15 ## **LEWISHAM COMMUNITY EXCHANGE** A new platform to connect businesses and community groups to share time, skills and resources. A local way for businesses to fulfil their social value commitments and for community groups to benefit from receiving goods and services in-kind such as space, equipment, skills and surplus stock. Anyone can register for free and post offers and requests. Our other giving projects continue to make an impact meeting needs in the community: ## **LEWISHAM COMMUNITY TOILETS** Increased our network to over 70 establishments allowing free access to their toilet facilities for members of the public. We were pleased to be able to promote our achievements at an Age UK London event focusing on toilet provision. We look forward to hosting the first Community Toilet Awards later this year. ## **REFILL LEWISHAM** A network of over 200 local businesses offering free water refills to the public to help reduce single-use plastic waste. ## **TRAINING & WORKSHOPS** Businesses offering free skills-sharing workshops to upskill local charities and other businesses as a way of giving to the community. Mulalley construction company donating 500 high-vis jackets for Borough of Culture Volunteers 16 ## **Strengthening Lewisham’s Voluntary Sector** ## **KEY ACHIEVEMENTS** Launched 4 New Projects to Support: - Black Infrastructure Support Project - Community Directory - Fundraising Development - Digital Access for All The change in funding through Lewisham Council’s Main Grants programme meant an increase in the number of funded partners offering infrastructure support to community organisations in Lewisham. We had to adapt from a model of core funding to support the sector to project funding, with a particular emphasis on communities adversely affected during Covid-19. Despite this cut in funding and change in the Council ’s approach from recognising us as the main infrastructure support organisation to one of several, we remain committed to connecting and strengthening the local voluntary and community sector through the following projects. ## **BLACK INFRASTRUCTURE SUPPORT PROJECT (BISP)** A partnership project with Kinaraa CIC to strengthen and support BAME-led community organisations. BISP identifies and addresses the challenges faced by Black-led voluntary groups, boosting their performance and sustainability. Over the first year of the project over 40 solopreneurs and organisations have benefitted from the programme. Over 50 individuals have engaged directly with the programme, resulting in a notable increase in support capacity in the sector. Through tailored one-to-one advice, workshops, capacity building sessions, and participation in local network tailored to black voluntary sector stakeholders, the Lewisham Black Voluntary Network (LBVN). BISP provides an extensive support system including expert facilitators who stand at the heart of these functions, working directly with groups and organisations in Lewisham. _**"The support programme and especially the LBVN network facilitated by Lewisham Local have been a real lifeline for me. It's more than just a group; it's a family that understands my journey as a black community champion. They've given me the knowhow and boosted my courage to serve Lewisham even better. It's real people making real change." -**_ **Action for Community Development (AfCD)** 17 ## **FUNDRAISING DEVELOPMENT** Our Fundraising Development Manager’s (FDM) support focuses on groups working primarily on race and disability issues. It is a new project which involves working with other FDMs based in three other Lewisham groups. There are two levels of support. Light touch support is open door. It includes one-to-ones, drop-ins around the borough, signposting funding opportunities through newsletters/WhatsApp/LinkedIn and a weekly ‘Friday Fundraising Club’. 265 funding opportunities were shared over WhatsApp or LinkedIn during the period. There were 420 attendances at fundraising events organised by the FDM. In parallel, our in-depth support provides up to six one-to-one sessions over six months, followed by step down support lasting three months. There were two cohorts during this period with a total of 12 groups supported. Support is tailored to the organisation. For example, one wanted to spread the fundraising load so the FDM trained other staff in trust research. Another group received support on a multi-year funding application for £300,000 which was successful. _**‘We were successful and got the £10k funding from National Lottery Awards for All! We are overjoyed and will be using it to host a warm hub with lunch for parents of children with additional needs and disabilities. Thank you for your fundraising support!” -**_ **Lisa, Parent Carers Forum** ## **DIGITAL ACCESS FOR ALL** A new project launched this year in partnership with Catbytes CIC. Catbytes receives donations of digital devices, reconditions them and distributes them through referral partners to individuals in need. In addition, they deliver weekly Digital Drop-Ins at 12 different locations supporting people to increase their digital skills and reduce digital exclusion. Our role includes overseeing the Lewisham Digital Inclusion Alliance and supporting Catbytes CIC to continue to develop their operations. ## **LEWISHAM COMMUNITY DIRECTORY** A new project for this year was to launch and maintain a Directory of community organisations within the borough. After our first year, over 500 community organisations are represented and we have promoted the Directory with statutory and voluntary sector partners and will continue to create new listings and encourage the sector to engage. Groups can benefit from creating a profile on the Directory by increasing their online presence and becoming part of a centralised online platform of VCS organisations and their activities in the borough. This creates an easy avenue for identifying available services in one’s area and potential partners and collaborators. The Directory also serves as a place to refer people who are looking to find out more about what Lewis ham’s VCS has to offer. In year 1 over 500 profiles of community groups were created. 18 ## **COMMUNITY DEVELOPMENT WORK IN RUSHEY GREEN WARD** A pilot project was launched in November 2022 to support Rushey Green residents, organisations and businesses and increase their engagement and understanding of local needs and aspirations for the area. A highlight so far included the Christmas Tree Lights Switch on for Catford bringing together several local choirs for a sing-along with over 100 local residents. We look forward to developing engagement activities to hear from local people, groups and businesses and to support those who want to do something positive in their area over the next year. ## **LEWISHAM WARM WELCOMES** The Cost-of-Living crisis dramatically increased the needs of local residents with many experiencing food insecurity and fuel poverty. Lewisham’s voluntary sector once again showed how dynamic and willing it is to meet a crisis. This included opening local ‘Warm Welcomes’ to provide a warm drop -in space, refreshments, social activities, signposting advice and in some cases community meals. Lewisham Local liaised with statutory partners to design the initiative, apply for statutory funding from South-East London Integrated Care System and distribute small grants to 24 community groups to launch Warm Welcomes. We also created a support network facilitated by Coordinators and marketing materials to promote the scheme to the wider public. Over 10,000 local residents directly benefitted from this project. 84% of users found that the spaces helped them feel more connected and reduced social isolation. This was corroborated through interviews with several residents who visited the spaces. Furthermore, a national study by the Warm Welcome campaign found that “The greatest impact of warm rooms… was in providing a sense of community and tackling loneliness in a safe and welcoming space. Frequent visitors reported positive improvements in their mental health, social wellbeing, and sense of purpose. 19 Why did people come to Warm Welcomes? "It's helped me cope with the hard times" 23 18 16 Warm Welcomes Visitor To Tolk io More People To Keep Warm For Refreshments 23 To Work/Read/Do Homework Oiher Reason Effects of Visiting Warm Welcomes: JIshAM 85 83 , WELC ES To Talk to More People To Keep Worm 14 13 To Talk to More People To Keep Warm 12 8% To Tolk to More People To Keep Warm 20 ## **Volunteering, Health & Wellbeing** ## **KEY ACHIEVEMENTS** ## **VOLUNTEERING PROJECTS** ## **LONDON BOROUGH OF CULTURE (LBoC)** In 2022, Lewisham became the Mayor of London’s Borough of Culture with Lewisham Local acting as the Volunteering Partner to engage local people to become trained and equipped to develop their own cultural exchange events and volunteer at wider LBoC events. Key achievements included: 473 volunteers signing up, 59 volunteers completing training to run their own events, 28 international volunteers supported and 2,763 volunteering hours logged. ## **SUPPORT INTO VOLUNTEERING (VOLUNTEERING BROKERAGE)** This was another new project launched as a result of changes to Lewisham Council’s Main Grants programme. The Council identified a lack of support for individuals with low confidence, self-esteem, learning disabilities and those struggling with their mental health. We launched a new service focused on supporting individuals one-to-one with a skills audit to understand their experience and aims and tailored support applying for different roles. An additional aspect includes support for community organisations to tailor roles and a network of Volunteer Coordinators to share learning, opportunities and ideas. 77 individuals were supported to volunteer over the last year. ## **MAYOR’S AWARDS FOR VOLUNTEERING** We continued to work in partnership with Lewisham Council to recognise the outstanding contribution of volunteers in the community. Following the success of last year’s videos, we will once again make videos to celebrate volunteers’ achievements and promote these widely to different audiences, aiming for an in-person celebration next year. 21 ## **TIMEBANK** Timebank unfortunately started the year with the challenge of losing our long-term unrestricted funding from Lewisham Council. This was difficult news and, following several additional unsuccessful applications, the Trustees took the difficult decision to reduce the coordinator’s hours to 2 days per week, with a focus on fundraising for future sustainability. The 100 Time Bank Members responded admirably with a ‘can - do’ supportive attitude and took to organising various community fundraising activities including sales of hand-made goods from their Tea & Chat group, fundraising events and promoting the Lewisham Community Lottery. We received successful news of small grant applications and are delighted National Lottery Community Fund have agreed a grant from October 2023 for 3 years. The current membership stands at around 100 active Members supporting individuals to increase their health and wellbeing through actively giving and sharing their time and skills. ## **CASE STUDY** Michael became a Member in late 2021 after retiring at the start of the pandemic. With lockdown easing, he was looking to contribute and join a community of likeminded individuals. Having always enjoyed performing he supported the relaunch of the Timebank Choir. He has been instrumental in leading and accompanying the Choir on guitar together with other members and has also supported members who are unable to look after their own gardens. He also got involved in the Warm Welcomes project and our community repair ‘Bring & Fix’ events. From engaging with Timebank activities, he has since branched out to supporting other groups in the community. He is now teaching English to Ukrainian refugees also. _**“Being a member of RGTB has broadened the scope of my social involvement in ways I would have never envisaged, and it has encouraged me to do other new things.” -**_ **Michael, Timebank Member** 22 ## **WILD CAT WILDERNESS** The Wild Cat Wilderness community green space continued to expand and improve. The space is maintained by our volunteers with two regular sessions and lots more skips of rubbish removed. It was a year where we were subjected to some terrible vandalism of our outdoor kitchen, outdoor classroom, sheds and polytunnels, however our positivity and knowledge of how many people enjoy and benefit from the site pulled us through. We started weekly sessions with the Community Payback team who commenced work in the new woodland area – near the Bellingham end of the site which will now be the home of our green social prescriptions project, “Woodland for Wellbeing”. It has developed into a community hub with purpose; being used at least 6 days a week by many different groups, organisations and charities either regularly or for one off visits including the Kids Kitchen, Signal, Refugee Council and the Mud Club. More than 300 children a week had forest school or related outdoor play on-site and we worked closely with local primary and nursery schools. We also provided one-off outdoor learning sessions and summer visits for other local schools. We had a full programme of events during the school holiday periods and the Nature Club activities proved very popular including bug hunts, bushcraft, campfire cooking, fruit picking, nature arts and crafts. The Timebank also started an outdoor art club who exhibited their work as part of the Catford Arts Trail. Our funding with City Bridge Trust ended in December 2022 so we had had to be creative in fundraising through events including our Christmas wreath making workshops being incredibly popular, as were the jams and chutneys which were sold. Hiring out the site was also a focus for income generation during the year where we hosted children’s birthday parties as well as our first wedding! _**“I have enjoyed the social aspect and made friends. It has given me something to do, reducing social isolation. On a personal level, I gained lots of confidence in my own ability to learn new skills and carry out a task.” -**_ **Volunteer** 23 ## **BANK OF THINGS** Bank of Things Lewisham (BoT) supports young people aged 11 to 25 living, working and/or studying in Lewisham with everyday essentials to support education, employment and/or training. We have a shop in a central location in Lewisham Shopping Centre that is open Wednesday and Friday for young people to drop in and receive support. BoT celebrated its first birthday in February 2023 and has served over 700 young people in its first year. We are seeing our young people using the service increase, showing the need in the community but encouraging that we are also becoming recognised and meeting a need. We have continued our outreach engagement working in partnership with local organisations such as Young Women’s Hub, Baseline, Lewisham Works, and Youth First. ## **Key achievements from this year included:** - – - Launching a Community Youth Fridge focused on supporting Young People with surplus food collected from local partners including Co-Op, Greggs and the Felix project. - – - Uniform Swap repurposing second hand uniform, supporting young people and families in need particularly during Summer and return to school. - – - Book Swap text and reference books swapped and shared between pupils, reducing the need to purchase new ones. - We were delighted to receive an award from the Mayor of Lewisham’s annual volunteering award for our project. We are very grateful for Landsec, the owner of Lewisham Shopping Centre, for providing us the space and service charge in such a privileged location. The next year we will be focusing on delivering our funded commitments of pop- up’s at various locations around the borough, including Clarion Orchard Community centre and Bellingham leisure centre. We will be developing our fundraising strategy, increasing our applications to trusts and foundations to build on our initial pilot phase. We also will be looking to build our partnerships with local businesses and sponsorship and individual donations and fundraising opportunities. 24 ## **Promoting Access to Good Healthy Food** ## **GOOD FOOD IMPACT** ## **GOOD FOOD LEWISHAM** Good Food Lewisham, Lewisham’s Food Partnership, is a network of passionate people working together to change the world of food in the London Borough of Lewisham. The vision is to see our home become a diverse and lively community that connects people to healthy, sustainable and affordable food that is grown, produced and prepared locally to promote a vibrant food culture and prospering local economy. Good Food Lewisham (GFL) was founded in 2016 as part of the Sustainable Food Cities project to help Lewisham become an official Good Food Borough in London by achieving a Bronze Award. Lewisham Local took over as the hosts of Good Food Lewisham in April 2022 from GCDA to build on their great work establishing and building the network, with the aim to grow the good food movement in Lewisham and achieve Silver award for the food partnership by 2026. The project is funded by Lewisham Council. The network’s current priorities are: **Food Justice** : Good Food Lewisham supported the development of a Food Justice Action Plan for Lewisham in partnership with Public Health Lewisham. The launch which kicked off the process started at a Good Food Lewisham network event in June 2022. We support a network of local food giving groups, with 175 attendances at our monthly meetings throughout the year, and develop popular resources to direct people to financial support and food provision in the borough, including a regularly updated list of free and cheap food provided by projects. The most popular blog post on the GFL website all year was the Christmas food provision list. We organised an in person roundtable for food giving projects together with Lewisham Homes which was well received. We updated the _Worring About Money?_ leaflet and provided training for groups. Launched a Community Food Justice Fund in partnership with Lewisham Public Health to direct over £100,000 to food giving projects in Lewisham to support 25 them during the cost-of-living crisis and build capacity to engage with the Food Justice Action Plan. **Food Growing** : Supporting the development of a Food Growing Network for Lewisham connecting community gardens and other gardeners, with funding through the Sustainable Food Places programme. With funding from London Challenge Poverty Week and Lewisham Council’s We Are Lewisham programme, we organised a mass foraging and food growing activity programme in line with World Food Day to engage more people in foraging and food growing in Lewisham. 11 foraging and good growing events were organised in October 2022. Around 400 people engaged in the programme. **Good Food Economy** : Developing a new network of Good Food Businesses in Lewisham. In March 2023, we developed a Good Food Lewisham Business Charter to encourage Lewisham businesses to engage with the good food movement. Organisations who can demonstrate their commitment to good food practices by signing up to the charter, and businesses who meet five of the criteri a will be added to a new directory of Lewisham Good Food Businesses. _**“We are thankful for this food network group. This community group is changing the lives of 100’s of people daily. This group also have professionals from various backgrounds who are helping children and youth better future.”**_ _**“Hearing from other local businesses at the network meeting who are working as a positive force for good and not just profit was inspirational and gave me hope. Thank you!” -**_ **Lewin from Homestead Café** 26 ## **FOODCYCLE LEWISHAM** Every week FoodCycle Lewisham serves a three-course vegetarian community meal at the Lewisham Irish Community Centre in Catford that is made from surplus food that may go to waste, saving food from landfill and providing a community dining experience to those who may not have access to cooked food, suitable cooking facilities or who struggle to access nutritious food. The project provides a welcoming space during the winter to get a hot meal and warm drinks. We receive funding from Lewisham Council through Rushey Green’s NCIL fund which provided funding for a Project Coordinator to support our project and our partner project’s Catford Fridge and Catford Soup Kitchen. Guest numbers have doubled since Covid from 40 to 80 guests and there has been a 41% increase between 21/22 to 22/23. While the community meal is open to everyone, since the cost-of-living crisis, the majority of guests are people on low-incomes who are food insecure. 62% of our guests said that they worry about not having enough food over the next few months and 62% are worried about the cost of keeping warm. 38% have indicated that they are on very low incomes and 4% have told us that they are homeless. Shared meals have been shown to promote community resilience and social cohesion, and many of our guests have made new friends of different ages, gender and from different cultural backgrounds. As a result of the coming for a meal, 62% of our guests said that they felt more a part of the community and 77% said that they felt happier. 88% said that they had a new reason to leave the house. _**“Amazing service, friendly staff who are hardworking and kind. Delicious foodalways tasty and a lovely atmosphere.” -**_ **FoodCycle Guest** 27 ## **Financial Review** ## **OUR FUNDERS** ## **OUR FUNDERS** The charity is grateful for the financial support funders have kindly provided. The principal funders were The London Borough of Lewisham, The City Bridge Trust and Merchant Taylors Foundation. Additional funding came from The Lee Charity of William Hatcliffe, London Plus, NAVCA, Sustainable Food places, The Beatrice Laing trust, Children England, Greater London Authority, Tesco Groundwork, Lendlease Foundation, and Hubbub Foundation. Lewisham Local would like to thank members of the community who gave so generously to the organisation and its projects through community fundraising appeals. ## **FINANCIAL RISKS** The ongoing cuts from central government to local government continue to have a deep impact on the local voluntary sector as we continue to see cuts to their grant funding. Few core funds are available, increasing reliance on short-term project funding, and in turn making medium and long-term planning more difficult. Economic challenges look set to stay due to the many challenges created by inflation. We are increasingly seeing valuable local voluntary organisations close down due to funding pressures. Conversely, some new opportunities are emerging with the public sector thinking differently about how it delivers for communities. 28 Key risks: - Loss of core funding through local government cuts and changing focus - Inflation increasing costs and reducing the value of existing charity reserves - Increasing competition from other voluntary sector organisations bidding for reduced funding - Building reserves during an ongoing economic uncertainty. The charity is currently stable, having been able to increase its unrestricted reserves. However, the loss of core funding from Lewisham Council and a shift to project funding presents a challenge for us to cover our overheads. Trustees are financially prudent but are aware that there may be a need at times to use some unrestricted funds to manage this gap. Nevertheless, the charity remains able and willing to trial innovative new ideas for the community and respond quickly to emerging needs through fundraising campaigns and new projects. The charity must continue to attract core funding where possible and will continue to develop income generation activities to raise unrestricted funds and maintain reserves as well as developing new projects that contribute to a share of overhead costs. ## **RESERVES POLICY** The charity aims to retain up to six months of annual expenditure but no less than three months in unrestricted reserves for essential staffing and running costs. This will enable the continuation of its core activity in the case of funding crises or other needs. The Trustees review this policy annually in line with the budget and the adopted projects for the financial year. ## **ENVIRONMENTAL IMPACT** Lewisham Local strives to be an environmentally conscious charity and promote care for the environment through all our activities and interactions with users. The charity aims to use recycled products, avoid plastic, and recycle as much as possible. Items are re-purposed where possible and people are encouraged to donate surplus items like tools and cooking equipment and we share our surplus items with other local organisations too. Printing in the office is kept to a minimum where possible and recycled paper used. A small group of staff have also led an internal action group focused on improving our environmental impact within the office. Achievements include: - Reducing number of waste bins, helping staff to choose to recycle more and think more about the waste - Collecting surplus raw food waste that staff take on lunch breaks to a local community garden where it can be composted - – - Analysis of switching to green energy supplier this was unfortunately not possible due to an industrial meter at our office which was not compatible with alternative energy suppliers. 29 Through the charity’s wider projects, Lewisham Local champions environmental issues including: - – - Cargo bike hosting we partnered with Raleigh to host a bike at our office to support local food projects to reduce carbon emissions when delivering food parcels - – - FoodCycle Lewisham using supermarket surplus food waste to cook a weekly vegetarian community meal - Lewisham Refill – Signing up over 200 local community minded businesses to offer free water refills to reduce the use of single-use plastics. - – - Lewisham Warmer Together Campaign to raise awareness and funds of fuel poverty and to train energy champions to educate others in the community how to reduce their bills - – - Bring & Fix community repair events to fix household items for free ## **FUTURE DEVELOPMENTS** The charity has continued to attract more funding and grown in staff size and impact. It has once again demonstrated its agility in responding to the changing funding landscape after losing core funding from Lewisham Council. It continues to strive to forge new opportunities using the power of its networks to make a difference for local people and community groups. The organisation will continue to adapt to its development, with the necessary internal infrastructure changes to support a growing team such as a new website, digital systems and policies and procedures. Established projects will come to the end of grants with certain funders so the charity will have to adapt to continue to build more funding relationships and increase its community fundraising. The charity will continue to collaborate with others and develop new partnerships to meet community needs that only seem to be increasing for Lewisham’s communities. Launching new funding campaigns and projects to address these needs and support community groups will be a key area of growth whilst furthering our participatory approaches to distributing funding and developing projects. 30 ## **Statement of Responsibilities** The trustees (who are also the directors of Lewisham Local Limited for the purposes of company law) are responsible for preparing the trustees's' report and the financial statements in accordance with the United Kingdom Accounting Standards (United Kingdom Generally Accepted Accounting Practice) and applicable law and regulations. Company law requires the trustees to prepare financial statements for each financial year. Under company law the trustees must not approve the financial statements unless they are satisfied that they give a true and fair view of the state of affairs of the charitable company and of its incoming resources and application of resources, including its income and expenditure, for that period. In preparing these financial statements, the trustees are required to: - Select suitable accounting policies and apply them consistently; - Observe the methods and principles in the Charities SORP; - Make judgements and estimates that are reasonable and prudent; - State whether applicable UK Accounting Standards have been followed, subject to any material departures disclosed and explained in the financial statements; and - Prepare the financial statements on the going concern basis unless it is inappropriate to presume that the charitable company will continue in business. The trustees are responsible for keeping adequate accounting records that are sufficient to show and explain the charitable company's transactions and disclose with reasonable accuracy at any time the financial position of the charitable company and enable them to ensure that the financial statements comply with the Companies Act 2006. They are also responsible for safeguarding the assets of the charitable company and hence for taking reasonable steps for the prevention and detection of fraud and other irregularities. The trustees are responsible for the maintenance and integrity of the corporate and financial information included on the charitable company's website. Legislation governing the preparation and dissemination of financial statements may differ from legislation in other jurisdictions. The annual report was approved by the trustees of the charity on 23 November 2023 and signed on its behalf by: ……………………………………… ## **Roy Witter | Chairman and Trustee** 31 ## **Independent Examiner’s Report to the Trustees of Lewisham Local Limited (‘The Company’)** I report to the charity trustees on my examination of the accounts of the charity for the year ended 31 March 2023 which comprise the Statement of Financial Activities, the Balance Sheet and related notes. This report is made solely to the charity’s trustees, as a body, in accordance with section 145 of the Charities Act 2011. My work has been undertaken so that I might state to the charity’s trustees those matters I am required to state to them in this repo rt and for no other purpose. To the fullest extent permitted by law, I do not accept or assume responsibility to anyone other than the charity and the charity’s trustees as a body, for my work, for this report, or for the opinions I have formed. ## **RESPONSIBILITIES AND BASIS REPORT** As the charity’s trustees of Lewisham Local Limited (and also its directors for the purposes of company law) you are responsible for the preparation of the accounts in accordance with the requirements of the Companies Act 2006 (‘the 2006 Act’). Having satisfied myself that the accounts of Lewisham Local Limited are not required to be audited under Part 16 of the 2006 Act and are eligible for independent examination, I report in respect of my examination of your charity’s accounts as carried out u nder section 145 of the Charities Act 2011 (‘the 2011 Act’). In carrying out my examination I have followed the Directions given by the Charity Commission under section 145(5)(b) of the 2011 Act. An independent examination does not involve gathering all the evidence that would be required in an audit and consequently does not cover all the matters that an auditor considers in giving their opinion on the financial statements. The planning and conduct of an audit goes beyond the limited assurance that an independent examination can provide. Consequently I express no opinion as to whether the financial statements present a ‘true and fair’ view and my report is limited to those specific matters set out in the independent examiner’s statement. ## **INDEPENDENT EXAMINER’S STATEMENT** Since Lewisham Local Limited's gross income exceeded £250,000 your examiner must be a member of a body listed in section 145 of the 2011 Act. I confirm that I am qualified to undertake the examination because I am a member of Field Sullivan Limited, which is one of the listed bodies. I have completed my examination. I confirm that no matters have come to my attention in connection with the examination giving me cause to believe: 32 1. Accounting records were not kept in respect of Lewisham Local Limited as required by section 386 of the 2006 Act; or 2. The accounts do not accord with those records; or 3. The accounts do not comply with the accounting requirements of section 396 of the 2006 Act other than any requirement that the accounts give a ‘true and fair view' which is not a matter considered as part of an independent examination; or 4. The accounts have not been prepared in accordance with the methods and principles of the Statement of Recommended Practice for accounting and reporting by charities applicable to charities preparing their accounts in accordance with the Financial Reporting Standard applicable in the UK and Republic of Ireland (FRS 102). I have no concerns and have come across no other matters in connection with the examination to which attention should be drawn in this report in order to enable a proper understanding of the accounts to be reached. ## **Kirsty Nicholls** FCCA Field Sullivan Limited 9 Hare & Billet Road Blackheath SE3 0RB 23 November 2023 33 Statement of Financial Activities for the Year Ended 31 March 2023 (Including Income and Expenditure Account and Statement of Total Recognised Gains and Losse5} Total 2023 Unrestricted Restricted Unrestricted Restricted Total 2022 Note Donations and legacies Charitable activities 125,802 730,459 856,261 477,260 240,283 717,543 32,438 570 33,008 31,894 31,894 Other trading ctivities 2,491 2,491 2,765 2,765 Other income 25,554 30 25,584 10,154 10,154 Total income 186,285 731,059 917.344 522.073 240,283 762,356 Expenditure on: Charitable Activities (229,175) (571,124) (800.299) (386.878) (214,047) (600,925) Total Expenditure (229,175) (571,124) (800.299) (386.878) (214,047) {600,925) Net expenditure)linc me (42,890) 159,935 117,045 135,195 26,236 161,431 Transfers Between Funds 500 (500) Net movement in funds (42,390) 159,435 117,045 135.195 26,236 161,431 Reconciliation of funds Total funds brought forward Total funds rried foNard 340,901 101,395 442,296 205.706 75,159 280,865 16 298,511 260,830 559,341 340,901 101,395 422,296 All of the charity's activities derive from continuing operations during the above two periods. The funds breakdown for 2022 is shown in note 16. The notes on pages 22 to 38 form an integral part of these financial statements. 34 (Registration Number: 046815641 Balance Sheet as at 31 March 2023 2023 2022 Note Current assets Debtors 12 58,053 45,897 Cash at bank and in hand 13 520.000 417.167 578.053 463.064 Creditors.. Amounts falling due within one year 14 (18,712) (20,768) Net assets 559,341 442,296 Funds of the charity: Restricted income funds Restricted funds 260.830 101.395 Unrestricted income funds Unrestricted funds 298.511 340,901 Total funds 16 559,341 442,296 For the financial year ending 31 March 2023 the charity was entitled to exemption from audit under section 477 of the Companies Act 2006 relating to small companies. Directors, responsibilities.. The members have not required the charity to obtain an audit of its accounts for the year in question in accordance with section 476., and The directors acknowledge their responsibilities for complying with the requirements of the Act with respect to accounting records and the preparation of accounts. The financial statements on pages 18 to 38 were approved by the trustees, and authorised for issue on 23 November 2023 and signed on their behalf by: Roy Witter I Chairman and trustee The notes on pages 22 to 38 form an integral part of these financial statements. 35 Statement of Cash Flows for the Year Ended 31 Mar¢h 2023 2023 2022 Note Cash flows from operating activities Net cash income 117,045 161.431 Working capital adjustments Increase in debtors 12 (12.156) {21.126) (Decrease)lincrease in creditors (2,056) 16,939 Decrease in defferred income {20.000) Net cash flows from operating activities 102,833 137,244 Net increase in cash and cash equivalents 102,833 137.244 Cash and cash equivalents at 1 April 417,167 279.923 Cash and cash equivalents at 31 March 520,000 417.167 Reconciliation of net cash flow to movement in net funds Increase in cash 102,833 137.244 Net funds at 1 April 2022 417,167 279,923 Net funds at 31 March 2023 520,000 417.167 All of the cash flows are derived from continuing operations during the above periods. The notes on pages 22 to 38 form an integral part of these financial statements. 36 ## **Notes to the Financial Statements for the Year Ended 31 March 2023** ## **CHARITY STATUS** The charity is limited by guarantee, incorporated in England and Wales , and consequently does not have share capital. Each of the trustees is liable to contribute an amount not exceeding £1 towards the assets of the charity in the event of liquidation. The address of its registered office is: Unit C Place/Ladywell 261 Lewisham High Street Lewisham London SE13 6NJ These financial statements were authorised for issue by the trustees on 30 November 2023. ## **ACCOUNTING POLICIES** ## **SUMMARY OF SIGNIFICANT ACCOUNTING POLICIES AND KEY ACCOUNTING ESTIMATES** The principal accounting policies applied in the preparation of these financial statements are set out below. These policies have been consistently applied to all the years presented, unless otherwise stated. ## **STATEMENT OF COMPLIANCE** The financial statements have been prepared in accordance with Accounting and Reporting by Charities: Statement of Recommended Practice applicable to charities preparing their accounts in accordance with the Financial Reporting Standard applicable in the UK and Republic of Ireland (FRS 102) (effective 1 January 2019) - (Charities SORP (FRS 102) - Second edition October 2019), the Financial Reporting Standard applicable in the UK and Republic of Ireland (FRS 102). They also comply with the Companies Act 2006 and Charities Act 2011. ## **BASIS OF PREPARATION** Lewisham Local Limited 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 notes. 37 ## **GOING CONCERN** The trustees consider that there are no material uncertainties about the charity's ability to continue as a going concern nor any significant areas of uncertainty that affect the carrying value of assets held by the charity. ## **JUDGEMENTS AND KEY SOURCES OF ESTIMATION UNCERTAINTY** In the application of the charity’s accounting policies, the trustees are required to make judgements, estimates and assumptions about the carrying amount of assets and liabilities that are not readily apparent from other sources. The estimates and associated 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 periods in which the estimate is revised where revisions affects only that period, or in the period of the revision and future periods where the revisions affects both current and future periods. ## **INCOME AND ENDOWMENTS** All income is recognised once the charity has entitlement to the income, it is probable that the income will be received and the amount of the income receivable can be measured reliably. ## **DONATIONS AND LEGACIES** Donations are recognised when the charity has been notified in writing of both the amount and settlement date. In the event that a donation is subject to conditions that require a level of performance by the charity before the charity is entitled to the funds, the income is deferred and not recognised until either those conditions are fully met, or the fulfilment of those conditions is wholly within the control of the charity and it is probable that these conditions will be fulfilled in the reporting period. ## **GRANTS RECEIVABLE** Grants are recognised when the charity has an entitlement to the funds and any conditions linked to the grants have been met. Where performance conditions are attached to the grant and are yet to be met, the income is recognised as a liability and included on the balance sheet as deferred income to be released. ## **EXPENDITURE** All expenditure is recognised once there is a legal or constructive obligation to that expenditure, it is probable settlement is required and the amount can be measured reliably. All costs are allocated to the applicable expenditure heading that aggregate similar costs to that category. Where costs cannot be directly attributed to particular headings they have been allocated on a basis consistent with the use of resources, with central staff costs allocated on the basis of time spent, and depreciation charges 38 allocated on the portion of the asset’s use. Other support costs are allocated based on the spread of staff costs. ## **CHARITABLE ACTIVITIES** Charitable expenditure comprises those costs incurred by the charity in the delivery of its activities and services for its beneficiaries. It includes both costs that can be allocated directly to such activities and those costs of an indirect nature necessary to support them. ## **GRANT PROVISIONS** Provisions for grants are made when the intention to make a grant has been communicated to the recipient but there is uncertainty about either the timing of the grant or the amount of grant payable. ## **SUPPORT COSTS** Support costs include central functions and have been allocated to activity cost categories on a basis consistent with the use of resources, for example, allocating property costs by floor areas, or per capita, staff costs by the time spent and other costs by their usage. ## **TAXATION** The charity is considered to pass the tests set out in Paragraph 1 Schedule 6 of the Finance Act 2010 and therefore it meets the definition of a charitable company for UK corporation tax purposes. Accordingly, the charity is potentially exempt from taxation in respect of income or capital gains received within categories covered by Chapter 3 Part 11 of the Corporation Tax Act 2010 or Section 256 of the Taxation of Chargeable Gains Act 1992, to the extent that such income or gains are applied exclusively to charitable purposes. ## **TRADE DEBTORS** Trade debtors are amounts due from customers for merchandise sold or services performed in the ordinary course of business. Trade debtors are recognised initially at the transaction price. They are subsequently measured at amortised cost using the effective interest method, less provision for impairment. A provision for the impairment of trade debtors is established when there is objective evidence that the charity will not be able to collect all amounts due according to the original terms of the receivables. ## **CASH AND CASH EQUIVALENTS** Cash and cash equivalents comprise cash on hand and call deposits, and other shortterm highly liquid investments that are readily convertible to a known amount of cash and are subject to an insignificant risk of change in value. 39 ## **TRADE CREDITORS** Trade creditors are obligations to pay for goods or services that have been acquired in the ordinary course of business from suppliers. Accounts payable are classified as current liabilities if the charity does not have an unconditional right, at the end of the reporting period, to defer settlement of the creditor for at least twelve months after the reporting date. If there is an unconditional right to defer settlement for at least twelve months after the reporting date, they are presented as non-current liabilities. Trade creditors are recognised initially at the transaction price and subsequently measured at amortised cost using the effective interest method. ## **FUND STRUCTURE** Unrestricted income funds are general funds that are available for use at the trustees discretion in furtherance of the objectives of the charity. Designated funds are unrestricted funds set aside for specific purposes at the discretion of the trustees. Restricted income funds are those donated for use in a particular area or for specific purposes, the use of which is restricted to that area or purpose. ## **PENSIONS AND OTHER POST RETIREMENT OBLIGATIONS** The charity operates a defined contribution pension scheme which is a pension plan under which fixed contributions are paid into a pension fund and the charity has no legal or constructive obligation to pay further contributions even if the fund does not hold sufficient assets to pay all employees the benefits relating to employee service in the current and prior periods. Contributions to defined contribution plans are recognised in the Statement of Financial Activities when they are due. If contribution payments exceed the contribution due for service, the excess is recognised as a prepayment. 40 3. INCOME FROM DONATIONS AND LEGACIES Unrestricted Dasignatgd General Ro$lrictod Total 2023 Total 2022 Donations and legacies; Appeals and donations Grants, including capital grants; London Borough of Lewisham - London Borough Culture London Borough of Lewisham - Building People Changing Minds London Borough of Lewisham - Every Rushey Green Resident Deserves a Voice 11,865 23,369 393 35.627 1,260 5,000 5,000 45.000 33,333 33.333 19,124 19,124 London Borough of Lewisham - Catford Food Projects London Borough of Lewisham - Food Growing London Borough of Lewisham - Volunteering Brokerage London Borough of Lewisham - Community Directory London Borough of Lewisham - Fundraising Development London Borough of Lewisham - Black Infrastructure Support London Borough of Lewisham - Digital Inclusion 6,538 6,538 1,920 1,920 30,000 30,000 40,000 40,000 59,998 59,998 60,000 60,000 60,000 60,000 London Borough of Lewisham - Covid Support London Borough of Lewisham - Builder Fund London Borough of Lewisham - Good Food Lewisham 76,095 25,000 43,956 43.956 London Borough of Lewisham - Food Justice London Borough of Lewisham - Warm Welcomes 121.350 121.350 85,208 85,208 Contractual income - London Borough of Lewisham 49,000 49,000 49,000 41 Contractual income - London Borough of Lewisham (Food Network) Contractual income - Lewisham Council 40,000 126,000 London Borough of Lewisham: Main Grants London Borough of Lewisham - Bank of Things City Bridge Trust= Cost of Living Core costs London Catalyst The Lee Charity of William Hatcliffe - Bank of Things The Lee Charity of William Hatcliffe- Time Bank 216,000 10,000 6,343 6,343 2,500 1.300 1.300 5.000 5.000 London Plus- Community Emergency Resilience 5.000 5,000 NAVCA - Warm Welcomes 5.000 5.000 NAVCA - Core costs 5,000 5,000 Sustainable Food Places - Good Food Lewisham 8.000 8,000 The Beatrice Laing Trust- Foodcycle Lewisham 5,000 5,000 Children England - Food Growing Greater London Authority - Food Roots London Borough of Lewisham - NCIL Community Festival Hubbub Foundation - Bank of Things Lendlease Foundation 1,100 1,100 13,200 13,200 4,060 4,060 3.000 3,000 25,225 25,225 Lewisham Foodbank 10,000 Small Charities Coalition 14,238 London Borough of Lewisham: Small Grants City Bridge Trust: Lewisham Local City Bridge Trust- Wild Cat Wilderness Merchant Taylors Foundation . Cost of Living Tesco Groundwork- Bank of Things Marchant Taylors Foundation - Bank of Things 4,600 64,700 64,700 64,700 11,050 11.050 33,150 37,500 37,500 1.000 1,000 3.729 3.729 11,865 113,937 730,459 856,261 717,543 42 4. INCOME FROM CHARITABLE ACTIVITIES Unrestricted Designalgd Ggngrai Restricted Total 2023 Total 2022 Fees and supplies 25,972 n 570 6,043 26,542 16,736 6,4661 15.158 Fundraising 423 423 32,015 570 33,008 31.894 5. INCOME FROM OTHER TRADING ACTIVITIES Unrestricted Funds Genoral Total Funds Total 2022 Local card sales 2,491 2,491 2,765 2.491 2,491 2,765 6. OTHER INCOME Unrestricted Designated General Restricted Total 2023 Total 2022 Other income 2,965 30 2,995 6,051 Rental income 9,495 13,094 22,589 4,103 9,495 16,059 30 25,584 10,154 43 7. EXPENDITURE ON CHARITABLE ACTIVITIES Total 2023 Total 2022 Covid-19 emergency supplies Project costs Computer So￿are and maintenance Events and Hospitality Room hire 446 82,403 22.543 43,137 25,163 9,168 3,730 5,160 3,850 Cost of trustee meetings Marketing and publicity Facilitators and project management Management Legal and professional Volunteer expenses Grant funding of activities 126 408 7,359 6,626 9,736 9,757 1,875 8,500 3,399 1,511 1,463 119 149,513 149,882 Support costs 486,960 368,390 800,299 600,925 8. ANALYSIS OF GOVERNANCE AND SUPPORT COSTS Total 2023 Total 2022 Staff costs Wages and salaries Social security costs Pension costs 375,657 266,619 31.181 20,641 22,540 30,930 Other staff costs 2,581 9,211 Rent and rates 14,629 13,670 Light, heat and power Insuran 16,289 4,721 2,205 1.900 Printing, postage and stationery Trade subscriptions Sundries 7,188 11,312 779 1,487 229 Cleaning Travel and subsisten 4,454 2,108 1,227 134 Accountancy and bokkeeping Independent examination 1,685 3,660 3,288 Bad debts written off 4,000 Bank charges 72 91 Private health insurance 498 364 486,960 368,390 9. TRUSTEES REMUNERATION AND EXPENSES No trustees have received any reimbursed expenses or any other benefits from the charity during the year. 45 10. STAFF COSTS The aggregate payroll costs were as follows.. Total 2023 Totsl 2022 Staff costs during the year were: Wages and salaries Social security costs Pension costs 375,657 266,619 31,181 20,641 22,540 30,930 Other staff costs 2,581 9,211 431,959 327,401 The monthly average number of persons (including senior management / leadership team) employed by the charity during the year expressed as full time equivalents was as follows: 2023 No 2022 No Charitable activities 13 10 13 {2022 - 10) of the above employees participated in the Defined Contribution Pension Schemes. Contributions to the employee pension schemes for the year totalled £22,540 (2022 - £30,930). No employee received emoluments of more than £60,000 during the year. The total employee benefits of the key management personnel of the charity were £50,750 (2022 - £45,640). I I. TAXATION The charity is a registered charity and is therefore exempl from taxation. 46 12. DEBTORS 2023 2022 Trade debtors 53,138 41,609 Prepayments 4,915 4,288 58,053 45,897 13. CASH AND CASH EQUIVALENTS 2023 2022 Cash at bank 520,000 417,167 14. CREDITORS: AMOUNTS FALLING DUE WITHIN ONE YEAR 2023 2022 |Trade creditors Other taxation and social security Other creditors 1,539 143 52 68 Accruals 18,660 19,018 18,712 20,768 15. PENSION AND OTHER SCHEMES Defined contribution pension scheme The charity operates a defined contribution pension scheme. The pension cost charge for the year represents contribulions payable by the charity to the scheme and amounted to £22,540 (2022 - £30,930). 47 16. FUNDS Current period Balance at Incoming resource5 Resources expended Balance at 31 Ma￿h 2023 Tran$fgrs 2022 Unrestricted General General Funds 325,210 164,502 (211,650) 278,062 Designated Wild Cat Wilderness 11,473 9,60311 (12,678) 12.180 (4,847) 8.398 Foodcycle Lewisham 3,239 500 11,072 Fun food 'n' Fun in the Fields Festival 979 979 15,691 21,783 (17,525) 500 20,449 Total unrestricted 340,901 186,285 {229,175} 500 298,511 Restricted London Borough of Lewisham: Inclusion Growth Builder 24,892 (9,034) 15,858 Tesco Groundwork - Bank of Things Local Giving.. Wcw Bees Appeal Town Centre Small Grants 1,000 1,000 1.840 1,840 1,000 1,000 The Lee Charity of William Hatcliffe - Time Bank 5,000 5.000 The Lee Charity of William Hatcliffe - Bank of Things London Plus - Community Emergency Resilience 1,300 (1,804) (504) 5,000 5,000 London Catalyst London Borough of Lewisham: Launchpad 12,517 Merchant Taylors Foundation - Bank of Things Lendlease 2,500 (2,000) (500) 12,517 3,729 3.729 600 (600) (66,707) (10,600) City Bridge Trust.. Lewisham Local Lewisham Foodbank 7,981 64,700 5,974 10,000 (600) City Bridge Trust- Wild Cat Wilderness Merchant Taylors Foundation - Cost of Living London Borough of Lewisham: Bank of Things NAVCA - Warm Welcomes 14,960 11,050 (26,010) 37,500 (23,440) 14,060 25.105 (18,489) 6,616 5,000 (5,000) Sustainable Food Places - Good Food Lewisham 51,956 (38,096) 13,860 The Beatrice Laing Trust - Food Cycle Lewisham 5,000 (2,000) 3.000 Children England Food Growing London Borough of Lewisham - Food Justice 1,100 (600) 500 121.350 (4,395) (15,000) 101,955 London Borough of Lewisham - Warm Welcomes 85,208 (82,097) 15,000 18,111 Greater London Authority - Food Roots London Borough of Lewisham - Food Growing London Borough of Lewisham - Catford Food Projects London Borough of Lewisham - Volunteering Borkerage London Borough of Lewisham - Building People Changing Minds London Borough of Lewisham - Every Rushey Green Resident Deserves a Voice London Borough of Lewisham - Community Directory London Borough of Lewisham - Fundraising Development London Borough of Lewisham - Black Infrastructure Support London Borough of Lewisham - Digital Inclusion 13.200 13,200 1,920 1,920 6,538 (5,306) 1.232 30,000 (30,000) 33.333 (24,064) 9.269 19,124 (15,813) 3,311 40,000 (37,301) 2,699 59,998 (52,291) 7.707 60,000 (51,489) 8.511 60,000 (58,332) 1,668 Hubbub Foundation - Bank of Things 3,000 3.000 Fun Food 'n' Fun in the Fields Festival 5,053 (5,656} (603) 101,395 731,059 (571,124) 1500) 260,830 Total Funds 442,296 917,344 (800,299) 559,341 49 Previous period Balan¢e at 1 April 2021 Balance at 31 March 2022 Incoming resourc8$ Resources gxpended Transfers ted General General Funds 185,187 522,073 (370,339) (11,711) 325,210 Designated Volunteer Centre Lewisham - Redundancy fund 8,069 (8,069) Wild Cat Wilderness 4,155 (947) (7.502> (21) T (16,539) 205,706 522,073 1386,878) 8,265 11,473 Foodcycle Lewisham 7,295 3,446 3,239 Fun Food 'n' Fun in the Fields Festival 1,000 979 20,519 11,711 T 15,691 Total unrestricted 340,901 Restricted London Borough of Lewisham.. Lewisham Inclusive Gr0￿h Builder Fund 25.000 (108) 24,892 London Borough of Lewisham.. Covid Supporl Small Charities Coalition 76.095 (76,095) 14.238 (14,238) Local Giving.. Wcw Bees Appeal Prudential= Foodcycle 1,840 1,840 364 (364) Town Centre Small Grants 4,600 (3.600) (500) (2,808> (1,400> (63,293) 1,000 London Catalyst London Borough of Lewisham.. Launchpad 15,325 Lendlease 2,000 500 2,500 2,500 12,517 600 City Bridge Trust: Lewisham Local Lewisham Foodbank 6,574 64,700 7,981 10,000 10,000 City Bridge Trust: WCW London Borough of Lewisham.. Bank of Things 22,448 33,150 (40,638) 14,960 24,900 10,000 (9.795) 25,105 Co-op Local Community Fund 1,208 (1,208> 75,159 240,283 1214,047) 101,395 Total funds 280,865 762.356 (600,925) 442,296 50 ## **THE SPECIFIC PURPOSES FOR WHICH THE FUNDS ARE TO BE APPLIED ARE AS FOLLOWS** **London Borough of Lewisham** : Lewisham Inclusive Growth Builder Fund - funds for digital costs, promotion and marketing. **London Borough of Lewisham** : Covid Support - covid measures funding, infection control and testing. **Small Charities Coalition** : funds for Kickstart project; to create six month jobs for young people. **Local Giving** : Wild Cat Wilderness bees appeal. **Prudential** : for FoodCycle Lewisham to provide a weekly meal for isolated people affected by food poverty. Town Centre Small Grants - funds for bank of things and to promote Lewisham Local Card. **London Catalyst** : Launchpad seedcorn funding for Health and Wellbeing Projects **London Borough of Lewisham:** Launchpad grants for distribution Lendlease - Grant distribution projects addressing the impacts of Covid-19 on BAME communities in Lewisham **The City Bridge Trust (Lewisham Local)** : towards a Director of Lewisham Local plus associated running costs for the development and consolidation of Lewisham Local Lewisham Foodbank - funds to be shared with other food projects through Lewisham Local **The City Bridge Trust (Wild Cat Wilderness)** : for salaries and associated direct costs of the Wild Cat Wilderness project **London Borough of Lewisham** : resource for young people for educational and other wellbeing supplies, and support and additional activities **Co-op Local Community Fund** : to run arts and crafts workshops in Bellingham NAVCA - Warm welcomes - supporting our Warm Welcomes initiative distributing grants to local groups **Tesco Groundwork** : Bank of Things - Distributing hygiene and educational supplies to young people in need **Lee Charity of William Hatcliffe** : Time Bank - Coordinator and activity costs supporting local people to improve their health and wellbeing through sharing time and skills **Lee Charity of William Hatcliffe** : Bank of things - Activity costs distributing hygiene and educational supplies to young people in need 51 **London Plus:** Community Emergency Resilience - Building a network of local organisations and partnering with Lewisham Council to increase our preparedness for future emergencies **Merchant Taylors Foundation** : Bank of Things - Activity costs distributing hygiene and educational supplies to young people in need. **Merchant Taylors Foundation** : Cost of Living - Match funding our Cost of Living campaign to give small grants to community organisations supporting residents through the cost of living crisis with food, energy advice, signposting to additional support **Sustainable Food Places** : Good Food Lewisham - Strengthening networks between food growing groups, growers, related organisation and increasing food growing and awareness of different food cultures. a partnership with Grow Lewisham CIC **The Beatrice Laing Trust** : Food Cycle Lewisham - Core costs for our project and to launch a new second community meal **Children England** : Food Growing - Small grants for local people to start food growing activities in their communities **London Borough of Lewisham** : Food Justice - In partnership with Lewisham Council develop the Food Justice Action Plan and the Food Justice Alliance **London Borough of Lewisham** : Warm welcomes - Coordinate a programme of local community organisations supporting residents through the Cost of Living crisis. Warm Welcomes would offer a safe, warm space with social activities and refreshments as well as additional signposting support. **Greater London Authority** : Food Roots Winter Crisis Grants - Expanding our food partnership work to help improve the sustainability and resilience of local efforts to address food insecurity **London Borough of Lewisham** : Catford Food Projects - Coordination support for our FoodCycle Project and wider support for other food projects in Catford **London Borough of Lewisham** : Volunteering Brokerage - Supporting individuals into volunteering roles and working with voluntary sector organisations to promote roles to the wider public **London Borough of Lewisham** : Building People Changing Minds - Pilot project to **London Borough of Lewisham** : Every Rushey Green Resident Deserves a Voice - Pilot project to build the connections of local businesses, residents and community groups to understand the needs and aspirations for the local community **London Borough of Lewisham** : Community Directory - Maintaining a digital directory of community organisations within Lewisham 52 **London Borough of Lewisham** : Fundraising Development - Providing fundraising development support to equalities focused organisations, initially focused on organisations led by and for black and/or disabled communities in Lewisham **London Borough of Lewisham** : Black Infrastructure Support - Providing capacity building support for organisations led by and for black communities in Lewisham, a partnership with Kinaraa CIC. **London Borough of Lewisham** : Digital Inclusion - Increase access to digital devices and digital support across Lewisham, facilitating a network of partners focused on digital inclusion, in partnership with Catbytes CIC. **London Borough of Lewisham** : Warm Welcomes - Coordinate a project of 50+ local community spaces allowing free access to warm space, hot refreshments and signposting support, including distributing grants and facilitating a network of organisations. 53 17. ANALYSIS OF NET ASSETS BETWEEN FUNDS Current period Unrestrlcted funds Restrlcted Total funds at 31 March General Deslgnated Funds 2023 Current assets 296,774 20.449 260,830 578,053 Current liabilities {18,7121 (18,712) Total net assets 278,062 20,449 260,830 559,341 Previous period Unrostricted funds Restrictsd Total funds at 31 March General Designated Funds 2022 Current assets 345,978 15.691 101,395 463,064 Current liabilities (20,768) {20,768) Total net assets 325,210 15,691 101,395 442,296 54 EWI Lewisham Local 0208 488 9224 hello@lewishamlocal.com www.lewishamlocal.com Unit C, PLACEILadywell, 261 Lewisham High Street, SE13 6AY Charity No: 1101616 Company No: 04681564