# India Direct Annual Report 2022-2023
Registered Charity Number 1101839
Introduction
To all our supporters,
Writing our Annual Report is always a time of reflection for our small charity, and this year is no different.
The other consistent theme for our Annual Report writing is that - despite saying every year that we should compete it earlier next year - we are once again finalising this report very close to our January deadline day…
However, this point brings probably the most important reflection I could make for us as a trustee board: everyone who supports India Direct is a volunteer. We have no paid staff in the UK, and each of our four trustees provides their time and work for free. This is what means that we can continue to assure our supporters that every penny you donate is spent directly changing lives .
This remains a substantial achievement for our small charity, and we know is important to our supporters. Our supporter survey in 22/23 demonstrated the value of this loud and clear.
However, while some things stay the same, our charity continues to evolve in the aftermath of the Covid-19 pandemic. The most fundamental change to the charity’s operating model is that the children and families we support now predominantly live in their communities, rather than in the children’s homes, with our support closer to their home than ever before.
This brings new challenges, as we endeavour to ensure that money is spent in India carefully and with appropriate oversight from our trustee partners. We never provide cash to those we support, opting to support families with food and welfare parcels, and funding education places and health clinics.
While there are challenges, I firmly believe that providing care and support within families and communities is the right model of care moving forward. By ensuring children can be supported to live with their relatives wherever possible, we support them to lead happy and healthy family lives in a way we weren’t able to before.
Finally, I must give my personal thanks once again for supporting our work. We really couldn’t do it without you and - as you can see from the financial summary - it really is making the world of difference to our viability as a small charity.
We look to the 23/24 year with confidence and inspiration for an exciting year ahead!
My very best wishes,
Dr. Mark Johnson Chair, India Direct
Our Charity
## About India Direct
India Direct has been a registered charity since January 2004 and is currently run by four volunteer trustees, assisted by several other volunteers.
Money raised in the UK is sent to India, where it is administered by Love & Care Charitable Trust, an Indian charity based in Chennai in Southern India. Their Trustees are Pastor K. Martin, Mrs. A. Martin and Mr. V. Omega.
The trust supports around 130 children and their families, predominantly in their communities, as well as around 30 widows. Where funding allows, it also supports other charitable projects, including feeding programmes and medical camps.
With the help of our supporters and volunteers over the last 20 years, India Direct has changed the lives of over 450 children in its care.
Our Charitable Aims
## Charitable Aims
To alleviate poverty and suffering in Southern India by the provision of financial and practical assistance to locally run projects supporting children and communities, regardless of religion or race. To provide a means for such projects to become self-supporting. To provide those in need with education and training.
Our Trustee Board
## Mark Johnson
Mark is a Doctor and lives in Oxfordshire with Naomi.
He is the Chair of India Direct, having been a fundraiser since 2009 and a Trustee since 2015.
## Ewan Dennis
Ewan is a Maths Teacher in London.
He has been involved as a fundraiser since 2004 and is the Treasurer of India Direct.
## Helen Milligan
Helen is a former teacher at Poynton High School and previously head of the Poynton High School India Project.
She is the Secretary of India Direct.
## Naomi Bullivant
Naomi is a Regional Sales Manager in the travel industry and lives in Oxfordshire with Mark.
She is the Sponsorship Secretary of India Direct.
Our Year in Review
Our Charity in Numbers
450+ Children have been supported and helped by India Direct over the last 20 years
2022/23 Year in Review
## April 2022
It has been another year of significant changes for India Direct. In India, the move to supporting children with their family in homes in the community, initially forced on us by the Covid Pandemic, has brought some unforeseen benefits. One significant advantage is that the children are now far more mindful of their family circumstances and are therefore more motivated than ever to take advantage of the educational opportunities offered by LCCT, funded by India Direct.
The move towards supporting the children in the community led to a question of how to use the land and buildings at both homes, particularly an alternative use for Joy Home.
Following advice from local government officials, LCCT pursued a proposal to establish a fee-paying community college in the main building, offering courses in web development and general nursing assistance. This would involve upfront investment to convert the buildings, purchase equipment and set up the business.
2022/23 Year in Review
## May 2022
As a charity, India Direct did not have the means to support the college project, and as trustees we felt this was outside our remit as a charity to fund a private enterprise. However, we agreed to support the project through allowing the use of the building at no rental cost, and with the proviso that any surplus income from the college would be used to fund some of the charitable projects run by LCCT.
This aligns with our key aim as a charity to increase the selfsustainability of our work in India, which mitigates the fundraising challenges for India Direct in the UK. Given the scale of this project, it was agreed that the development of an alternative use for Bethel Home would be postponed.
Sam Charles (samcharles.com) volunteered to donate the ‘indiadirect.co.uk domain name to India Direct. We were very grateful for this generous gifting!
2022/23 Year in Review
## May 2022
The smaller building at Joy Home, formerly the boys’ dormitory, is now home to 28 girls, which enables them to stay in school. Whilst our focus remains on education, LCCT also provides opportunities for all the supported children in other ways: in September Annie shared news of a group of girls taking karate lessons for exercise and to learn self-defence. At their first competition, one of the girls was selected for the state-wide competition!
India Direct also switched our bank accounts to Metro Bank, as this saved us the equivalent of an annual child sponsorship in bank charges.
2022/23 Year in Review
## July 2022
In the UK, we had circulated a questionnaire to our supporters to gauge their reaction to a permanent change to our operating model in India. The responses we received were universally supportive of this move. However, some supporters expressed concerns about how we would monitor our spending in India, with this less direct model of support.
Our supporters’ feedback was crucial to supporting our next steps as a charity. We discussed their and our concerns at length with the trustees of LCCT. Crucially, we sought assurance that the money spent by our partners would be used directly to benefit our supported children and their families, which has always been a key tenet of our charity. The support provided is never cash-based: LCCT buys groceries and clothing which are distributed in support packages among the supported families. LCCT pays for education directly to specific institutions and medical care to the relevant providers.
2022/23 Year in Review
## September 2022
We were delighted that one of our long-term sponsors, Ian Dix, visited the children at Bethel Home and met Sowmya, who he had sponsored for many years, with her husband!
Mark and Naomi ran our first fundraising event in Oxfordshire, raising over £900 with their pizza night at Naomi’s parents’ house. The pizzas included an Indian-style ‘naanza’ which was a huge hit!
Helen and Christina raised over £730 at a curry night at Thali. This was Christina’s first speaking engagement on behalf of LCCT!
## October 2022
The India Direct website was migrated to a new platform by Mark.
2022/23 Year in Review
## November 2022
In the UK, Christina, who is Indian trustees Annie and Martin’s daughter, visited the UK for a few months.
During this time, she joined us at one of our fundraising curry nights, where she spoke eloquently and movingly about her experience growing up with the Bethel children as her siblings.
She emphasised the quality and life-changing impact of the care our funding provides.
Christina also helped to make our hand-stitched charity Christmas cards and attended our annual India Direct AGM in the autumn of 2022. She experienced her first Christmas market with the India Direct trustees, including her first taste of mulled wine!
2022/23 Year in Review
## December 2022
We were contacted by a legal firm ‘PicRights’ over our inadvertent use of a copyrighted photo on our website.
The photo was originally sent to us by LCCT, and we did not realise it had not been taken personally by one of the LCCT trustees.
Following a period of negotiation, a reduced compensation fee was agreed and paid.
2022/23 Year in Review
## December 2022
Our Christmas fundraising in 2022 was considerably boosted by the support of the Poynton Christian Fellowship, who chose India Direct as their charity of the year. We were hugely grateful for this support, which enabled us to fund the usual celebration meal and annual new outfits for the children. We also continued the much-appreciated donation of live chickens, enabling the families we support to be more self-sufficient.
For the second time, we were delighted that Kent Thodsen and the children from Wilderness Wood in Sussex made and sold reindeer in aid of India Direct at their Christmas Fair.
Jenny Crawford continued her long-standing Christmas fundraising for us by preparing all the Christmas Direct packs.
We were also grateful to our ever-growing card-making team of Helen, Naomi, Angela and Hannah, ably assisted by Mark, Grace, Christina and Ewan.
We were also glad to have the generous support of Ellie Cresswell, a former Poynton India Project student, who conducted the independent examination of our annual accounts on a pro bono basis.
For the second time, Christmas celebrations were impacted by ongoing restrictions due to Covid-19.
India Direct and LCCT again gifted practical items for children, families and widows. Families were provided with food & hygiene supplies, although the usual cards, gifts and new outfits were gifted to the children.
Importantly many families were gifted items to promote self sufficiency. The most common item we gifted was a chicken – perfect for daily eggs!
•.
Christmas
Fundraising
in the UK
Christmas
Celebrations
in India
MERRyMa
11
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APP
EAR
And lots of chickens.. !
2022/23 Year in Review
## February 2023
After a very protracted process, in February 2023 LCCT finally received the official renewal of their FCRA licence, which is the Indian government’s licence to receive foreign contributions. This is essential for the operation of our charity, as it enables us to transfer money raised in the UK to the Indian bank account of LCCT. It is valid for five years.
Annie confirmed the courses to be offered at the community college, including training in Web Development and Graphic Design, and qualifications to become a Medical Lab Technician and a Nursing Assistant.
2022/23 Financial Summary
Financial Summary 2022/23
In 2022-23, the uncertain economic situation and challenging fundraising climate in the UK meant that India Direct remained prudent with our funds. However, our regular donations remained steady after the decline in the previous year, with a 2.4% increase in regular monthly donations. Our one-off donations were sadly a lot lower than the year prior, with a 50% decline. This can be mostly attributed due to a large donation in the previous year, which covered two years of tertiary education.
We ended this year with a decrease in funds of £8,692. This resulted in a total remaining reserve of £41,873. The reduction in funds is not something the charity takes lightly. However, we feel that it is important to try to keep supporting our partners in India while encouraging them to increase the self-sufficiency of the programmes in India. Notably, we did not make a gift aid claim within this financial year, which would have reduced the size of this deficit.
We have been able to continue to send our regular monthly support to India of £4,500. We have also been able to send an additional £3,500 for the children’s education and £4,000 for the maintenance of the two children’s homes. We also sent £3,166 for Christmas celebrations, opting to send the total of our Christmas fundraising rather than a specific requested amount. We also sent a specific donation of £5,000 towards a specific self-sufficiency project in India, which a supporter wished to contribute towards directly. It is a testament to our approach of controlled spending over many years that we have been able to continue our commitment to supporting our beneficiaries in India, despite the financial challenges.
This financial year has continued to be a difficult one for the charity, with a challenging economic climate in the UK making fundraising difficult. We have continued to monitor our finances and projected spending for the future. We are glad to have continued to sustain same level of support to our partners in India that we have for many years. However, we know that this may not be the case for ever, so we continue to be prudent with our finances and assess the level of support we can sustainably provide.
Ewan Dennis India Direct Treasurer
Financial Summary
£2,472 Monthly regular giving to India Direct
£1,629 Monthly one-off donations (average of annual donations)
£4,500 Monthly regular expenditure to India
£16,366
Annual one-off expenditure to India e.g. maintenance, education
Financial Summary
2.4% Increase in regular giving
£3,166 Total Christmas giving, including selfsufficiency gifts for families
17.5%
Decrease in annual income compared to 2021/22
50% Decrease in one-off donations
Financial Summary
## Income
|Income||
|---|---|
|Regular Donations|£29,659|
|Fundraising/One-Off Donations|£26,940|
|100 Club|£1,935|
|Total|£58,534|
|Expenditure||
|Monthly Payments to LCCT|£54,000|
|Education|£3,500|
|Christmas (December 2020)|£3,166|
|College Fees|£700|
|Maintenance (August 2020)|£4,000|
|Other One-Off Donations to LCCT|£5,000|
|Other|£1,401|
|Total|
£71,767|
## Financial Summary
£58,534 Total Income
£71,767 Total Expenditure
Financial Summary
£55,105 March 2022 Year End
£41,873 March 2023 Year End
-£13,233 Decrease in India Direct financial reserves
+£51,498 Increase on our projected year end (March 2023) compared to our three-year forecast in March 2021
## Thank You
## Thank You
On behalf of India Direct, Love & Care Charitable Trust and all the children and families we support in India
Annual Report 2022/23
India Direct 2022/23 Annual Report signed by:
Dr. Mark Johnson Chair, India Direct
Mrs. Helen Milligan Secretary, India Direct
**India Direct No (if any) Receipts and payments accounts For the period** Period start date Period end date **To from** 4/1/2022 3/31/2023
**CC16a**
## **Section A Receipts and payments**
|**Section A Receipts and payments**|||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
|**A1 Receipts**
Donations and Fundraisingevents
**58,535**
**-**
**-**
**-**
**-**
**-**
**-**
**-**
**58,535**
**-**
**-**
**_Sub total_ -**
**_Total receipts_ 58,535**
**A3 Payments**
Moneysent to India from GBP accounts
**70,366**
Reimbursement for expenses incurred
**505**
Bank Charges
**64**
100 clubprizes
**832**
**-**
**-**
**-**
**-**
**-**
**_Sub total_ 71,767**
**-**
**-**
**_Sub total_ -**
**_Total payments_ 71,767**
**_Net of receipts/(payments)_ - 13,233**
**A5 Transfers between funds**
**-**
**A6 Cash funds last year end**
**55,105**
**_Cash funds this year end_ 41,873**
**Unrestricted**
**funds**
**to the nearest £**
**_Sub total_**_(Gross income for AR)_
**A2 Asset and investment sales,**
**(see table).**
**A4 Asset and investment**
**purchases, (see table)**|**to the nearest £**
**-**
**-**
**-**
**-**
**-**
**-**
**-**
**-**
**-**
**-**
**-**
**-**
**-**
**-**
**-**
**-**
**-**
**-**
**-**
**-**
**-**
**-**
**-**
**-**
**-**
**-**
**-**
**-**
**-**
**-**
**-**
**Restricted**
**funds**|**to the nearest £**
**Endowment**
**funds**|**Total funds**
**to the nearest £**
**58,535**
**-**
**-**
**-**
**-**
**-**
**-**
**-**
**58,535**
**-**
**-**
**-**
**58,535**
**70,366**
**505**
**64**
**832**
**-**
**-**
**-**
**-**
**-**
**71,767**
**-**
**-**
**-**
**71,767**
**- 13,233**
**-**
**55,105**
**41,873**|**Last year**
**to the nearest £**|
|||**-**
**-**
**-**
**-**
**-**
**-**
**-**
**-**
**-**|**58,535**|**70,991**|
||||**-**|**-**|
||||**-**|**-**|
||||**-**|**-**|
||||**-**|**-**|
||||**-**|**-**|
||||**-**|**-**|
||||**-**|**-**|
||||**58,535**|**70,991**|
||||||
|||**-**
**-**
**-**|**-**||
||||**-**|**-**|
||||**-**|**-**|
||||||
|||**-**|**58,535**|**70,991**|
||||||
|||**-**
**-**
**-**
**-**
**-**
**-**
**-**
**-**
**-**
**-**|**70,366**|**61,228**|
||||**505**|**54**|
||||**64**|**32**|
||||**832**|**985**|
||||**-**|**-**|
||||**-**|**-**|
||||**-**|**-**|
||||**-**|**-**|
||||**-**|**-**|
||||**71,767**|**62,299**|
||||||
|||**-**
**-**
**-**|**-**||
||||**-**||
||||**-**|**-**|
||||||
|||**-**|**71,767**|**62,299**|
||||||
||**-**|**-**
**-**
**-**
**-**|**- 13,233**|**8,692**|
||**-**||**-**|**-**|
||**-**||**55,105**|**-**|
||**-**||**41,873**|**8,692**|
## **Section B Statement of assets and liabilities at the end of the period**
|**Categories**
**B1 Cash funds**
**B2 Other monetary assets**
**B3 Investment assets**
**B5 Liabilities**
**B4 Assets retained for the**
**charity’s own use**
Signed by one or two trustees on
behalf of all the trustees|**Details**
**Metro Account 1**
**Metro Account 2**
**100 Club Account**
**Details**
**Details**
**Details**
**Details**
Signature
E Dennis
**_Total cash funds_**
(agree balances with receipts and payments
account(s))|**to nearest £**
**to nearest £**
**22,682**
**-**
**13,797**
**-**
**5,394**
**-**
**41,873**
**-**
OK
OK
**to nearest £**
**to nearest £**
**-**
**-**
**-**
**-**
**-**
**-**
**-**
**-**
**-**
**-**
**-**
**-**
**Cost (optional)**
**-**
**-**
**-**
**-**
**-**
**Cost (optional)**
**-**
**-**
**-**
**-**
**-**
**-**
**-**
**-**
**-**
**-**
**-**
**-**
**-**
**-**
Print Name
E Dennis
##
**Unrestricted**
**funds**
**Restricted**
**funds**
**Unrestricted**
**funds**
**Restricted**
**funds**
**Fund to which**
**asset belongs**
**Fund to which**
**asset belongs**
**Fund to which**
**liability relates**
**Amount due**
**(optional)**|**to nearest £**
**Endowment**
**funds**|
|---|---|---|---|
||||**-**|
||||**-**|
||||**-**|
||||**-**|
||||OK|
||||**to nearest £**
**Endowment**
**funds**|
||||**-**|
||||**-**|
||||**-**|
||||**-**|
||||**-**|
||||**-**|
||||**Current value**
**(optional)**|
||||**-**|
||||**-**|
||||**-**|
||||**-**|
||||**-**|
||||**Current value**
**(optional)**|
||||**-**|
||||**-**|
||||**-**|
||||**-**|
||||**-**|
||||**-**|
||||**-**|
||||**-**|
||||**-**|
||||**When due**
**(optional)**|
|||||
|||||
|||||
|||||
|||||
|||||
||||Date of
approval|
||E Dennis|E Dennis
#||
|||||
## **Independent examiner's report on the accounts**
|**Section A**
**Independent Examiner’s Report**|**Section A**
**Independent Examiner’s Report**|**Section A**
**Independent Examiner’s Report**|**Section A**
**Independent Examiner’s Report**|**Section A**
**Independent Examiner’s Report**|
|---|---|---|---|---|
||||||
|**Report to the trustees/**
**members of**
**On accounts for the year**
**ended**
**Set out on pages**
**Responsibilities and**
**basis of report**|||||
||Charity Name
India Direct||||
||||||
||2023|**Charity no**
**(if any)**|1101839||
||||||
||||||
||(remember to include the page numbers of additional sheets)
I report to the trustees on my examination of the accounts of the above
charity (“the Trust”) for the year ended**31 / 03 / 2023**.
As the charity's trustees, you are responsible for the preparation of the
accounts in accordance with the requirements of the Charities Act 2011
(“the Act”).||||
I report in respect of my examination of the Trust’s accounts carried out under section 145 of the 2011 Act and in carrying out my examination, I have followed all the applicable Directions given by the Charity Commission under section 145(5)(b) of the Act.
|**Independent**
**examiner's statement**|~~[The charity~~’~~s gross income exceeded £250,000 and I am qualified to~~
~~undertake the examination b bein a ualified member of [insert name of~~|
|---|---|
||~~y g q~~
~~applicable listed body]].~~~~_Delete_[ ]~~~~_if not applicable._~~|
I have completed my examination. I confirm that no material matters have come to my attention in connection with the examination (other than that disclosed below *) which gives me cause to believe that in, any material respect:
- the accounting records were not kept in accordance with section 130 of the Charities Act; or
- the accounts did not accord with the accounting records; or
- the accounts did not comply with the applicable requirements concerning the form and content of accounts set out in the Charities (Accounts and Reports) Regulations 2008 other than any requirement that the accounts give a ‘true and fair’ view which is not a matter considered as part of an independent examination.
I have no concerns and have come across no other matters in connection with the examination to which attention should be drawn in this report in order to enable a proper understanding of the accounts to be reached.
* _Please delete the words in the brackets if they do not apply._
|**Signed:**
**Name:**
**Relevant professional**
**qualification(s) or body**
**(if any):**||||
|---|---|---|---|
|||||
||Eleanor May Cresswell|||
|||||
||ICAEW ACA|||
1
**Oct 2018**
**IER**
**Address:** Apartment 9, 33 Royal Engineers Way London, NW7 1UX
**Section B Disclosure**
Only complete if the examiner needs to highlight material matters of concern (see CC32, Independent examination of charity accounts: directions and guidance for examiners).
**Give here brief details of any items that the examiner wishes to disclose** .
**----- Start of picture text -----**
N/A
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2
**Oct 2018**
**IER**