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2020-12-31-accounts

ASSOCIATION OF CHARITABLE FOUNDATIONS TRUSTEES’ ANNUAL REPORT AND FINANCIAL STATEMENTS YEAR ENDED 31 DECEMBER 2020

CONTENTS

01 23 CHAIR’S INTRODUCTION ACF THRIVES

02 28 CHIEF EXECUTIVE’S INTRODUCTION GOVERNANCE 04 30 TRUSTEES’ ANNUAL REPORT 2020 ADVISERS AND BANKERS 06 31 ABOUT ACF OUR THANKS

08

32

ACF IN NUMBERS INDEPENDENT AUDITOR’S REPORT TO THE MEMBERS 10 35 ACF SUPPORTS FINANCIAL STATEMENTS

14 ACF ADVOCATES

16 ACF CONNECTS

20 ACF INSPIRES

CHAIR’S INTRODUCTION

I AM WRITING THIS INTRODUCTION EXACTLY ONE YEAR ON FROM THE FIRST CORONAVIRUS LOCKDOWN. OVER THE LAST YEAR, WHAT WOULD SEEM EXCEPTIONAL HAS BECOME THE NORM.

Sadly, the UK has suffered the highest death rate since the Second World War. Much of the economy has been regularly shut down. The state has paid the wages of millions of furloughed workers. There has been a wave of voluntary action to help those in need. And researchers have created new vaccines from scratch which the NHS, partners and volunteers have rolled out at the rate of over a thousand inoculations a minute.

Staff have shown incredible resilience as they have worked from home to maintain the support provided to foundations. And momentum has been maintained, not least in completing publication of all the reports from the Stronger Foundations programme.

And the team have also stepped up with new work to meet the challenge. New support and advice related to Covid-19 and its impacts have been developed, and the new Funders’ Collaborative Hub was launched to enhance the effectiveness of individual and joint responses by funders and philanthropists to maximise their impact.

Foundations have been at the forefront of how the country has responded. From providing funding to arts and heritage organisations facing closure under lockdown rules, to helping in the search for a vaccine (and importantly to ensuring that it is available beyond the richest countries), to supporting local food banks and mutual aid.

It has become a bit of a cliché, but 2020 was truly a year like no other. And I am pleased to say, the response from ACF has been like no other. I am confident that ACF will ensure that foundations continue to be supported to play their part as the country recovers.

But Covid-19 has also caused deep and lasting scarring to many communities and, while it has brought many together to help each other, the direct impact of the pandemic and the associated economic and social impact have deepened inequalities between different groups in society and internationally. Charitable foundations will surely play their part in making building back better a reality and not an empty phrase.

Janet Morrison OBE (Chair) Date 25 May 2021

As Chair of the Association of Charitable Foundations, I am particularly proud of how ACF has worked to support foundations through this crisis. The team have switched the full events programme online.

Annual report 2020[|] 01

CHIEF EXECUTIVE’S INTRODUCTION

‘OURS IS A TIME THAT WILL ASK FOUNDATIONS TO BE MORE AMBITIOUS AND EFFECTIVE THAN EVER BEFORE IN USING OUR INDIVIDUAL AND COLLECTIVE RESOURCES FOR GOOD.’

2020 WAS NOT THE YEAR THAT ANY OF US HAD PLANNED OR HOPED FOR. AS I LOOK BACK AT THE LAST 12 MONTHS, COVID-19 CASTS A LONG, DARK SHADOW OVER THE WHOLE PERIOD – CHANGING ALL OF OUR LIVES IN WAYS WE COULD NEVER HAVE ANTICIPATED.

The impact was felt most keenly by the most vulnerable in society, and the inequalities surrounding this were shockingly visible.

For ACF, our aim is always to support foundations in their work, and this has been our primary concern over the past twelve months. While we rapidly altered our plans to address the impact of Covid-19, this has not blown us off course. Rather the virus has raised the stakes of ACF’s mission to support foundations to be ambitious and effective in the way that they use their resources for good.

Each of our 400 plus members has its own individual mission, that shaped their response to the events of the past 12 months. For some, particularly those working with local communities, the pandemic demanded swift, emergency action. For others, the impact was more indirect and less immediately obvious. And all foundations had to continually adjust the way they worked throughout the year to comply with the latest restrictions on social distancing, at a time when individual staff and trustees were often facing some challenging personal circumstances.

I am generalising from a range of experience, but overall I think one can see four broad responses by foundations.

Firstly – many acted swiftly to provide immediate emergency funding – whether to support the search for a vaccine, or to meet basic community needs – such as food and PPE.

A second broad response was to help existing grantees by being flexible in terms of how grants were used and reported on, adopting as light a touch as possible in terms of processes, and offering additional support where needed.

Thirdly, as the pandemic unfolded, foundations looked for where there are gaps in funding and where new relationships are needed to address them. In the light of the disproportionate impact of Covid-19 on black and minority ethnic people, many funders looked again at how they work with BAME-led organisations and communities.

And fourthly foundations are increasingly thinking about the collective effect of their work and how they can be more than the sum of their parts. We found an unprecedented desire among our members to work more closely together in their response to Covid-19. And to support this aspiration we worked with foundations and with input from broader civil society, to develop the Funders’ Collaborative Hub, a project now hosted by ACF working in partnership with several members.

More broadly, ACF has continued to create opportunities for foundations to make sense of the impact Covid-19 was and is having; to share, identify and promote stronger approaches and responses. We didn’t give up on the ‘day job’ – supporting our members through offering training seminars, briefing events, and opportunities to influence policy. We continued to be vigilant in ensuring that the legal and regulatory environment is supportive to the work of foundations through our policy work. Success in this arena is often invisible and incremental – stopping things from happening, or laying the groundwork for future changes – but is no less important for that.

All of this required us to find new ways of working – not so much ‘digital first’ as ‘only digital’.

We sought out and signposted to useful guidance for foundations on a range of issues from cybersecurity to working from home. We drew on insights from experts, for example, from our four Official Partners on the impact of market turmoil on foundation endowments. And we brought together foundations to highlight aspects of the Covid-19 crisis that demanded a sectoral response, such as the structural racism brought into sharp focus by the #BlackLivesMatter response to the killing of George Floyd.

The past year also saw the culmination of our Stronger Foundations initiative, as we published a series of reports on what ambitious and effective foundation practice looks like, based on the findings of six member-led working groups considering a range of aspects of foundation practice, from Strategy and Governance to Investment. The reports, each containing ‘pillars’ of stronger foundation practice were timely. Our findings on Transparency and Engagement were published in the same week that Edward Colston’s statue was toppled into Bristol harbour, prompting a national debate about the origins of wealth deployed for philanthropic purposes.

In summary, 2020 has been quite a year. None of this work would have been possible without the support of our members, the leadership of our board and staff team, and the commitment of our Official Partners. So I would like to start this annual report by saying a huge thank you to them all, and to everyone who kept the ACF show on the road over the past twelve months.

Covid-19 has tested us all – and it will and Engagement were published in the leave a deep scar and a tough legacy. same week that Edward Colston’s Ours is a time that will ask foundations statue was toppled into Bristol harbour, to be more ambitious and effective prompting a national debate about the than ever before in using our individual origins of wealth deployed for and collective resources for good. The philanthropic purposes. response that we have all made to While the focus of public attention has Covid-19 – and the way that foundations understandably been on Covid-19 and have stepped up to the challenges – do its impact, the climate crisis has not show that we can change much more gone away. With the 26th UN Climate than we dared to believe possible. And Change Conference taking place in as foundations seek to step up to this Glasgow in 2021, we are seeing strong challenge, ACF will be there to support interest from foundations and them every step of the way. philanthropy infrastructure bodies in the ground-breaking UK Funder Commitment on Climate Change, developed by our members and now hosted by ACF. Over 50 foundations have signed thus far, pledging to play a part in addressing the causes of the Carol Mack OBE (Chief Executive) climate crisis and supporting Date 25 May 2021 adaptation to its effects.

02[|] Annual report 2020

Annual report 2020[|] 03

TRUSTEES’ ANNUAL REPORT 2020

We are very pleased to present the 2020 annual report and accounts, demonstrating ACF’s continued achievements as it pursues its mission to support foundations to be ambitious and effective in the way they use their resources for social good.

2020 is the penultimate year of the five-year strategy. We had expected to further embed delivery of our core objectives and to begin to look ahead at how we responded to the changing environment for foundations. Covid-19 instead presented a massive challenge to the organisation. We switched all events to online only – including our conference – and rapidly adapted to new tools to engage with our members. We switched to mainly digital communications by default. Our new office next to Toynbee Hall in London remained largely empty and we have worked with staff to develop new ways of working. As set out in this report, we provided support to help our members adapt to Covid-19, to share experiences and also led new work as part of the response, including the new Funders’ Collaborative Hub.

We surveyed our members on foundation salaries and benefits. We ran over 30 meetings with networks, including the Social Impact Investors Group and Finance, Investment, Resources Management network.

We could not achieve what we have in this exceptional year without the support of our members, and they remain at the heart of our mission to help foundations to be more effective and ambitious in using their resources for social good. Each trustee has a connection to a member organisation, rooting our work in the reality of foundations’ day to day activity.

Our members are generous with their time and expertise and contribute to the work of every team.

We would also like to thank our staff, our Official Partners (Cazenove Charities, CCLA, Mercer and Ruffer) and our funders. Thank you for everything that you do to help ACF achieve its vision of a world that is supported, sustained and strengthened by the effective use of foundation resources.

Despite this new and unexpected work, we have also worked to deliver the core elements of our existing strategy and to move ACF and the foundation sector forward. We completed the set of reports from the Stronger Foundations programme, and launched a new online tool to support the programme as well as a guide for chairs. We took over hosting the Funder Commitment on Climate Change and celebrated our 50th signatory to it. We delivered our annual conference with a wealth of thought-provoking key speeches, panel discussions and Q&A sessions, and ran the annual joint conference with Funders’ Forum for Northern Ireland.

“WE JOINED ACF AS WE COULD SEE THE BENEFITS OF BELONGING TO AN ORGANISATION THAT NOT ONLY BROUGHT FUNDERS TOGETHER, BUT ALSO PROVIDED TRAINING, NETWORKING AND REGULAR UPDATES. THESE BENEFITS PROVED INVALUABLE WHEN OUR WORLDS WERE TURNED UPSIDE DOWN AS THE PANDEMIC HIT.” ACF MEMBER

As we enter 2021, ACF will continue to challenge itself to deliver more for our members. Key programmes of work include continuing progress on the Stronger Foundations initiative, delivery of a refreshed learning and events programme in new ways, the replacement of our CRM system, and preparing ourselves for a further five-year strategic planning horizon.

‘WE COULD NOT ACHIEVE WHAT WE HAVE IN THIS EXCEPTIONAL YEAR WITHOUT THE SUPPORT OF OUR MEMBERS, AND THEY REMAIN AT THE HEART OF OUR MISSION TO HELP FOUNDATIONS TO BE MORE EFFECTIVE AND AMBITIOUS IN USING THEIR RESOURCES FOR SOCIAL GOOD.’

04[|] Annual report 2020

Annual report 2020[|] 05

ABOUT ACF

ACF IS THE MEMBERSHIP BODY FOR FOUNDATIONS AND GRANT-MAKING CHARITIES BASED IN THE UK

Founded in 1989, we have over 400 members who reflect the diversity of the foundation sector, including family trusts, corporate foundations, broadcasting appeals and livery companies, which fund a very wide range of charitable causes.

Our values guide our work

Our vision is a world that is supported, sustained and strengthened by the effective use of foundation resources.

Our strategic objectives

We support foundations by advocating on their behalf and by inspiring and connecting them. To do this ACF itself needs to thrive and be sustainable as an organisation.

• We are open

Our mission is to support foundations to be ambitious and effective in the way that they use their resources for social good.

• We are evidence based

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ACF SUPPORTS
foundations in achieving
their charitable objectives
ACF
CONNECTS ACF INSPIRES
foundations to people, foundations to be
organisations, ambitious and effective
governments and in the way that they use
movements relevant their resources
to their work
ACF
ADVOCATES ACF THRIVES
on behalf of foundations and is sustainable,
for an enabling policy, supporting members
legislative and operating over the longer term
environment
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1 2 3 ACF SUPPORTS foundations ACF ADVOCATES on behalf of in achieving their charitable foundations for an enabling policy, objectives by: legislative and operating

ACF ADVOCATES on behalf of foundations for an enabling policy, legislative and operating environment by:

ACF CONNECTS foundations to people, organisations, governments and movements relevant to their work, by:

4 5

ACF INSPIRES foundations to be ambitious and effective in the way that they use their resources, by:

ACF THRIVES and is sustainable, supporting members over the longer term, by:

06[|] Annual report 2020

Annual report 2020[|] 07

ACF IN NUMBERS

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ACF MEMBERSHIP 1989 – 2020
Year
Total membership
62 120 159 184 192 217 234 250 262 280 295 306 300 291 301 306 306 298 309 305 308 312 319 323 320 305 310 330 351 372 383 407
1989 1990 1991 1992 1993 1994 1995 1996 1997 1998 1999 2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015 2016 2017 2018 2019 2020
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MEMBERS BY GRANT EXPENDITURE

10% 5.0m+ 9% 2.5m–5.0m 16% 1.0m–2.5m

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2.5m–5.0m
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13% 500k–1.0m

29% 0–150k

23% 150k–500k

TWITTER FOLLOWERS

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@ACFOUNDATIONS
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Year Total followers 9500 7241 6763 2018 2019 2020

FUNDER COMMITMENT ON CLIMATE CHANGE SIGNATORIES

SIGNATORIES AT DECEMBER 2020 50

ESTIMATED TOTAL ANNUAL GIVING BY SIGNATORIES £351m ESTIMATED TOTAL ASSETS OF SIGNATORIES £4,773m

08[|] Annual report 2020

Annual report 2020[|] 09

ACF SUPPORTS FOUNDATIONS IN ACHIEVING THEIR CHARITABLE OBJECTIVES

Black Lives Matter protests

The Black Lives Matter movement shone a bright spotlight on structural and systemic racism across society. This incorporated the charity sector, which was subject to analysis and inquiry from both within and beyond.

The foundation sector received direct calls to respond, including that they ringfence parts of grants budgets and improve board diversity. This catalysed an unprecedented level of activity, with funders committing not just to broad principles of flexibility and responsiveness in relation to Covid-19, but specific effort to address racial inequality. Initiatives included the Funders Alliance for Race Equality, which provided tools for foundations to undertake audits of their grant-making.

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ON 31 DECEMBER In the survey, we asked
respondents to say which of
our activities were the most
2020, ACF HAD
important to them:
TOTAL
MEMBERS
52%
ACF’s community and
peer networks
94 3 13
Associate and Full
[407] Affliliate members members
In our annual members’ survey,
80% of respondents felt connected,
very connected or extremely 47%
connected to ACF, rising to 85% for
members operating outside of practical guidance
England.
85%
40%
training and professional
development activities
80%
39%
regular newsletters .
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Covid-19

As the Covid-19 pandemic unfolded, which provided tools for foundations to ACF moved quickly to help our undertake audits of their grant-making. members to respond. We set up a central repository of information on our website Covid-19 – ACF, which we have ‘THE FOUNDATION SECTOR kept updated throughout the crisis. We RECEIVED DIRECT CALLS moved the Funders’ News newsletter online and switched to fortnightly TO RESPOND, INCLUDING mailings from monthly to keep THAT THEY RINGFENCE members up to date. We shared PARTS OF GRANTS initial experiences via Twitter so that members could see how each other BUDGETS AND IMPROVE were responding. We also set up BOARD DIVERSITY.’ events to share experiences, the first of which took place on 19 March 2020.

Future Foundations UK was launched, ‘supporting minoritised racial groups working in the UK Trust and Foundation sector to connect, create and champion a vision of a just future’, which published a statement on how UK foundations could achieve ‘radical change’ in the wake of the pandemic. The DEI Coalition supported more than 15 ACF members through a programme of peer-learning. At the end of the year the Baobab Foundation was established, ‘led by the Black and Ethnic Minority community organisations it supports’.

Following from this initial activity, we ran a survey of members in March and April to see how members were responding, sharing the findings with members and using this to inform our ongoing response: Covid-19: Results of ACF’s survey on foundations’ responses. We continued to use our communications to share the experiences, practice and ideas from members, with a major focus on this in our July and December editions of Trust & Foundation News. We produced briefings and guidance for members throughout the year about issues related to Covid-19, including:

ACF hosted a panel discussion on this urgent issue, attended by 200 foundation representatives. We have signposted members to the work of others mentioned above and prioritised work to tackle racism within our overall diversity, equity and inclusion work, which is described in more detail below.

We switched our monthly Funders’ News to digital only and increased its frequency to fortnightly at the start of the pandemic to ensure members had the most up to date information. The Funders’ News publication is currently distributed to 1,170 recipients.

Trust & Foundation News, Funders’ News and briefings

Our flagship magazine publication Trust & Foundation News (TFN) contributes to our mission to help foundations become more effective and ambitious. This year, we focused on giving space to staff and trustees from foundations to talk about their experience of the pandemic and their response to it, which we know from feedback has been very valued.

We produced regular briefings throughout the year, as mentioned in the Covid-19 section above.

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ACF
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ISSUE 121 APRIL 2020
IMPACT AND LEARNING
ALSO THE STRENGTH FACE-TO-FACE CIVIL SOCIETY & MATCH
OF WEAK TIES GRANT-MAKING BIG TECH TRADING
IN THIS The benefits Adopting an agile, The role of Matching growth
of working in open and engaging foundations in in trading income
ISSUE complementary ways approach forging a new social contract pound-for-pound
ACF Trust &
Foundation News
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10[|] Annual report 2020

Annual report 2020[|] 11

“I THOUGHT THE SEMINARS COVERED A REALLY GOOD RANGE OF TOPICS AND REALLY HELPED ME TO UNDERSTAND WHAT I SHOULD BE FOCUSING ON.”

INVESTMENT SEMINAR PARTICIPANT

As a result of the Covid-19 pandemic, ACF’s professional development programme moved online from the end of March 2020 and continued to remain active throughout the year.

Professional development

Investment Learning Programme (ILP)

Our professional development programme is a series of half or one day seminars that support foundation staff and trustees to develop their understanding of good grant-making practice, the technical aspects of being a foundation, as well as creating space to consider strategic decisions facing foundations today. It includes seminars on leadership both for new foundation directors, and those aspects of being a foundation trustee that are different to those of leading an operational charity.

The ILP encompasses a range of ACF activity focused on providing members with expert insight and thought leadership on foundation investment, with a particular focus on areas of growing interest around responsible, sustainable and impact investment. During 2020 this work included:

The table below shows the level of engagement with our professional development programme. The drop in numbers reflects the impact of the pandemic but also the spinning out of our investment learning, which is outlined separately. We also offered a number of free events for members to support them in their response to Covid-19, which are not included in the table.

• publication of the Stronger

Foundations Investment report ,

with associated learning sessions delivered virtually on the report itself; approaches to responsible, sustainable and impact investing among foundations; and the investment commitment of the Funder Commitment on Climate Change.

Being able to respond to current issues and new areas of learning is a key aspect of the programme. In 2020 we introduced a new course on unconscious bias in grant-making.

“GREAT CONTENT AND SPEAKERS! LOTS OF USEFUL AND SPECIFIC EXAMPLES OF DIFFERENT STRUCTURES”

• sharing of the expertise of ACF’s four Official Partners – Cazenove Charities, CCLA, Mercer and Ruffer – through articles in Funders’ News and Trust & Foundation News; investment seminars for members providing an introduction and overview for senior foundation staff and trustees regarding foundation investment responsibilities and approaches (one two-day live course and five shorter sessions delivered virtually); two sessions at ACF’s annual conference; and two virtual webinars in the early stages of the pandemic on investment approaches.

SIIG LEARNING SESSION PARTICIPANT

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ACF professional development programme 2018 2019 2020
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Number of seminars 31 31 15
Total number of members attending 296 354 204
Total number of non-members attending 94 63 52
Total number of attendees 390 384 256
SIIG MEMBERSHIP
GREW TO		 •facilitating the Social Impact
Investors Group (SIIG)which exists
to support foundations interested in
starting or currently undertaking
social impact investing. Membership
grew to 35 foundations or
organisations with philanthropic
assets. Supported by an active
steering group, SIIG delivered
monthly learning sessions and
35 catch-ups, and organised a series of
market information days where
foundations heard from social
purpose funds, enterprises and
charities. The SIIG member toolkit
was furnished with further templates,
exemplars and practical resources on
social investment. The SIIG continued
to monitor diversity, equity and
inclusion, delivering a balanced roster
of presenters based on gender and
ethnicity, and giving a platform to


those with lived experience of the
FOUNDATIONS social issues via specially flmed
commentary or participation at SIIG
events.
SIIG events 2020
Seven learning sessions 154+ participants
Four Market information days 141+ participants
Six member update calls 43+ participants
17 events 338+ participants

• the Finance, Investment &

Investors Group (SIIG) which exists Resources Management (FIRM) to support foundations interested in network for large foundations starting or currently undertaking continued to flourish, with regular social impact investing. Membership communication between members, grew to 35 foundations or and more formal meetings featuring organisations with philanthropic speakers on home working and the assets. Supported by an active future of work, using data to help steering group, SIIG delivered charities increase their impact, monthly learning sessions and sustainable investment, staff catch-ups, and organised a series of resilience and tax. market information days where foundations heard from social purpose funds, enterprises and charities. The SIIG member toolkit was furnished with further templates, exemplars and practical resources on social investment. The SIIG continued to monitor diversity, equity and inclusion, delivering a balanced roster of presenters based on gender and ethnicity, and giving a platform to those with lived experience of the social issues via specially filmed commentary or participation at SIIG events.

network for large foundations continued to flourish, with regular communication between members, and more formal meetings featuring speakers on home working and the future of work, using data to help charities increase their impact, sustainable investment, staff resilience and tax.

“WE ARE ABOUT TO REVIEW OUR INVESTMENT POLICY, SOMETHING I HAVE NOT BEEN INVOLVED IN BEFORE, AND I FEEL THAT THE INFORMATION OBTAINED IN THESE SEMINARS WILL BE A GREAT HELP.”

INVESTMENT SEMINAR PARTICIPANT

12[|] Annual report 2020

Annual report 2020[|] 13

ACF ADVOCATES ON BEHALF OF FOUNDATIONS FOR AN ENABLING POLICY, LEGISLATIVE AND OPERATING ENVIRONMENT

A key priority for ACF is our advocacy work, which aims to proactively influence the operating environment for foundations. In doing so, ACF seeks to protect and enhance foundations’ ability to fulfil their individual charitable missions and make their irreplaceable collective contribution to a vibrant civil society.

The campaign called for emergency support for those charities affected by the loss of income as lockdown and social distancing rules meant charities were unable to fundraise or trade in their usual way. The Chancellor announced a £750m emergency package in April 2020, and mentioned in his statement the way that foundations were playing their part in supporting charities: Chancellor’s - statement on coronavirus (COVID 19) – GOV.UK. We have continued to support calls from the Never More Needed campaign for additional funding, but these have not been successful.

Covid-19

The pandemic and the measures to contain it have had a damaging effect on many organisations and causes. While there was a wave of voluntary action around local mutual aid efforts and in efforts closely linked to Covid-19, for many established organisations the pandemic has hit their funding while demand for their services has grown.

We were aware early on that the scale of need from organisations and causes went beyond the ability of foundations to fill the gap. Our survey of members on Covid-19 showed that ACF members were quick to step up and we communicated the ways in which they were helping to policy-makers, politicians and the media.

Establishing the narrative about the role of foundations laid the framework for our involvement with the Never More Needed campaign, organised by a group of charity umbrella bodies.

‘BEYOND COVID-19, WE CONTINUED TO FOCUS ON INFLUENCING THE OPERATING ENVIRONMENT FOR FOUNDATIONS SO THAT THEY CAN ACHIEVE MORE FOR THE PUBLIC GOOD.’

Influencing the operating environment

We have engaged with the Charity Commission for England and Wales, including in their review of guidance on charity investment and we look forward to the process for the appointment of their new chair.

Beyond Covid-19, we continued to focus on influencing the operating environment for foundations so that they can achieve more for the public good. We have engaged heavily with work related to the Statement of Recommended Practice (SORP) for charity accounts, both as a member of the SORP Committee and in its engagement strand of work on funders and donors as part of the review being carried out by the charity regulators for England and Wales, Scotland, Northern Ireland and Ireland.

The UK government has had less of a focus on the role of charities and community groups than previous administrations, but the Prime Minister personally commissioned backbench MP Danny Kruger to review what role they might play in the Government’s levelling up agenda.

We responded to the review and Danny Kruger spoke at ACF’s conference in November, alongside the civil society minister Baroness Barran and Rushanara Ali MP, chair of the All Party Parliamentary Group on Philanthropy and Social Investment. The review was positive about the role of foundations and recommended a number of funds to be distributed by independent foundations, though the Government has subsequently decided that government departments will choose successful bids.

We have developed a more formal relationship with the Charity Commission for Northern Ireland, acting as a critical friend to their work.

THE FORUM NOW HAS

NEARLY 200 MEMBERS

Members’ Policy Forum

Our Members’ Policy Forum is an initiative that aims to increase opportunities for all our members to engage directly with ACF’s policy work, raise issues of interest and concern, and regularly engage with policymakers in government. We have continued to develop it and in 2020 we shifted the Forum online with monthly email newsletters and online events. The Forum now has nearly 200 members.

14[|] Annual report 2020

Annual report 2020[|] 15

ACF CONNECTS FOUNDATIONS TO PEOPLE, ORGANISATIONS, GOVERNMENTS AND MOVEMENTS RELEVANT TO THEIR WORK

We do this through our networks, online via social media and our Funder Network website, and outreach to other networks. We are also increasingly connecting with European and international networks to share good practice and thought leadership.

Our community and peer networks were rated in the top three reasons for membership by 52% of respondents to our annual survey (see page 10).

In 2020 we supported 17 member-led networks led by a team of volunteer convenors from ACF membership. The majority of the networks focus upon funding themes (eg children and young people, or criminal justice), while others explore elements of grant-making (eg good practice in monitoring and evaluation). Two support specific job roles in foundations (eg finance staff, run in partnership with Charity Finance Group), one is for funding in Northern Ireland, and one is for senior leaders concerned with social justice.

Networks

As a result of the Covid-19 pandemic, all of ACF’s networks were moved online from the end of March 2020 and continued to remain active throughout the year.

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2017 2018 2019 2020
Number of networks 19 19 17 17
Number of network meetings 30 34 32 27
2017 2018 2019 2020
Attendance 379 494 362 388
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“THE MOST BENEFICIAL ASPECT OF MEMBERSHIP IS THE ABILITY TO CONNECT WITH AND LEARN FROM COLLEAGUES IN OTHER TRUSTS AND FOUNDATIONS.”

ACF MEMBER

In Scotland and Wales, we primarily work with Wales Funders Forum and Scottish Grantmakers. Our Chief Executive chairs the Wales Funders Forum. We have presented to the Scottish Grantmakers on our work on climate change in 2020 and we continue to develop our relationship.

Countries and regions

International networks

ACF works across all four nations of the UK and has members based and funding in each nation. A member of staff based in Northern Ireland provides a point of contact for stakeholders and supports local foundations and those in Great Britain with an interest in Northern Ireland, in order to enhance their knowledge and effectiveness. The ACF NI Network and conference held in November 2020 with the Northern Ireland Funders’ Forum offered spaces for engagement, learning and identification of opportunities for collaboration.

ACF remains committed to sharing expertise and knowledge with similar organisations working in other countries. We have a close relationship with the Donors and Foundations Networks in Europe (Dafne). We have contributed to their Philanthropy Advocacy Project which maps activity in each European country. We have also worked with Dafne and with colleagues from France and Spain in particular to develop an international Funder Commitment on Climate Change, drawing on our experience of working on this. We have contributed to other European level discussions and initiatives, for instance sharing our work on diversity, equity and inclusion and tackling racism with European colleagues.

In England, we also engage with regional funding forums and presented on Stronger Foundations at a number of meetings, as well as starting to engage with them and other regional funders through the Funders’ Collaborative Hub, which features their work on its website.

Active ACF networks

Geographically based networks

Funding theme networks

Asylum, refugee and migration Children and young people Criminal justice

Northern Ireland

Funding practices networks Monitoring and evaluation

Housing and homelessness International funders Mental health (inactive) Tackling poverty

Place based learning

SIIG – Social Impact Investors Group

Job role networks

FIRM – Finance, Investment, Resources Management network for Finance and Investment Directors of large foundations

Violence against women and girls

Woburn Place Collaborative which brings together larger foundations working on social justice issues

Finance in grant-making, run with Charity Finance Group

Foundation type networks

Smaller funders

Corporate foundations

16[|] Annual report 2020

Annual report 2020[|] 17

Funders’ Collaborative Hub

Funder Network

One of the outcomes from the initial meetings with members we organised in response to Covid-19 was to explore how we could support more collaboration. This led to our Trustee Board in April approving the development of a Funders’ Collaborative Hub, hosted by ACF but working closely with partners in the foundation sector.

ACF’s Funder Network is an online knowledge sharing platform, enabling members and other funders to contribute queries, concerns and expertise about policies and practices relating to foundations.

The Network at present has just over 900 registered users. In 2020 there were 78 questions posted on the Network, and a total of 203 answers commented in response to these. The most answered questions this year were on developing a safeguarding policy, using Salesforce, and responding to Covid-19.

The aim of the Hub was to enable foundations to make a collective contribution to the recovery and renewal of civil society, through a time-limited, evidence-based and strategic response. The vision was that the recovery and renewal leads to a sector that is effective, informed, inclusive and resilient in the new circumstances.

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THE FUNDER
NETWORK HAS
JUST OVER
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900
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REGISTERED
USERS
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In May ACF held the first meeting of the initial strategy group, comprised of representatives from foundations and civil society. The Hub brought together the activity and intelligence developed in specialist ‘spokes’ – which are existing and developing collaborations of organisations in the field working on the funding of particular areas. The strategy group agreed that it would aim to answer four primary questions:

In addition to the resources on the web platform, the Hub actively brings together existing collaborations, funders and philanthropists with new ideas, and civil society organisations. A Twitter account @FunderHub was launched, which has already attracted several hundred followers.

A small project group, involving foundation representatives and ACF staff, was established to take forward the concept and strategic vision. More than 50 organisations have expressed an interest in being involved to date, including a range of prospective ‘spokes’. Twenty foundations took part

in user testing interviews and design workshops delivered with colleagues from Shift and the National Lottery Community Fund.

In October, ACF convened a webinar about funder collaboration, attended by more than 60 members and a wider programme of events was launched, which will deliver a variety of content to foundations and philanthropists. The Hub was also the subject of a plenary session at the ACF and Northern Ireland Funders’ Forum conference, and a number of regional funder forums.

To date, funding has been secured from Lloyds Bank Foundation for England and Wales, Henry Smith Charity, John Lyon’s Charity and Esmée Fairbairn Foundation. Additional in kind support was also provided by Esmée Fairbairn Foundation for the web platform and staff time. ACF is now developing plans for the future of the Hub through 2021, which will involve additional fundraising to cover the costs of delivering the project longer term.

“GREAT NEW INITIATIVE FOR ANY FUNDER WHO WANTS TO MAXIMISE IMPACT AND CHANNEL SUPPORT TO WHERE IT’S MOST NEEDED.”

@FUNDERHUB TWITTER FOLLOWER

18[|] Annual report 2020

Annual report 2020[|] 19

ACF INSPIRES FOUNDATIONS TO BE AMBITIOUS AND EFFECTIVE IN THE WAY THAT THEY USE THEIR RESOURCES

Over the past few years, mandated by our membership, ACF has become more deliberate in this aspect of our work, through our flagship annual conference, speaking and writing publicly on a wider range of issues and also instituting a major work stream specifically aimed at identifying what ‘excellent’ practice looks like for foundations.

An internal evaluation of Stronger Foundations and its impact to date found that members involved in the initiative were overwhelmingly enthusiastic for both the process and the products of the initiative, and that the project had achieved attributable and substantive impact on foundation practice across the UK and internationally. As well as six final reports from the working groups, ACF produced a report tailored specifically to chairs of foundation boards, launched at an event for this group attended by more than 60 member chairs. A ‘cross-cutting themes’ report was launched in time for ACF’s national conference, drawing together some of the golden threads of the initiative.

In addition, digital delivery hugely increased our reach to members and others, meaning that opportunities for engagement were significantly increased, particularly for those based beyond England.

Stronger Foundations 2020

2020 saw the culmination of the Stronger Foundations project, with the conclusion of its member-led working groups, publication of seven reports, delivery of more than 20 engagement events, a national conference, and the launch of a self-assessment tool for members. Falling against the backdrop of Covid-19 meant that most of this activity was delivered in different ways to how we had originally planned. Yet the impact of the pandemic on foundations and the communities they care about meant that the project’s aim to support foundations to be ambitious and effective with all their resources was more relevant and urgent than ever.

Across the year more than 600 ACF member representatives were directly involved in Stronger Foundations activities – from participating in a working group, to speaking at or attending a report launch event, to joining practical sessions about implementing its recommendations. Stronger Foundations was featured in more than a dozen media pieces, and was the focus of international conferences and sessions in the wider UK sector – from the Northern Ireland Funders Forum annual conference to the Small Charities Coalition. Its methodology was also presented to sister associations in Spain, Italy and Switzerland, as well as to the Wales Funders Forum.

In December, a self-assessment benchmarking tool was launched, enabling members to choose the thematic area they would like to prioritise and support them to take action in pursuing excellent practice in this area.

DIVERSITY, EQUITY AND THE PILLARS OF STRONGER FOUNDATION INCLUSION:PRACTICE

FIVE CROSSSTRONGER FOUNDATIONS CU ~~TT~~ ING THEMES:

ACF Stronger Foundations Reports

MISSION KNOWLEDGE POWER ACCOUNTABILITY CONNECTION

STRONGER FOUNDATIONS

It provides a mechanism through which foundations can consider the example actions and behaviours for each pillar, reflect on and score their own performance, record examples of how and to what extent the foundation is meeting each pillar and summarise planned future actions.

Feedback from members told us that the results were helpful in a variety of contexts, such as board meetings, staff away days, strategic reviews and team discussions. A blog summarising the first month of the tool’s use found that the most action was being taken in relation to diversity, equity and inclusion, but that this was also the area where foundations reported the least confidence and progress.

Supporting members to implement the learning and recommendations from Stronger Foundations is now a cross-organisational priority. It will be incorporated into ACF’s activities and form the basis of our content in the years ahead.

20[|] Annual report 2020

Annual report 2020[|] 21

ACF annual conference

ACF’s first virtual conference took place on 25 and 26 November 2020. The conference theme, Stronger Foundations: Reflect. Recover. Renew, aimed to provide delegates with a platform to consider what impacts the Covid-19 crisis had on the sector, what was learnt in the first nine months of the pandemic and what future considerations should be.

The circumstances meant that the conference needed to be very different from the one we had initially planned for (450+ delegates for one full day at QEII Conference Centre). The team are incredibly proud of what they achieved in challenging circumstances, as we also switched from our original preferred software for the conference to Zoom to deliver the range of content we looked for. We sold a total of 247 tickets. The conference was positively received by members, who were sympathetic to the limitations of the format. Speakers included outgoing chair of the Wellcome Trust Dame Eliza Manningham-Buller, Minister for Civil Society Baroness Diana Barran and sessions with a diverse range of speakers from foundations and wider civil society.

Climate change

The Funder Commitment on Climate Change was launched by a group of funders at ACF’s 2019 conference. ACF took on the role of hosting the Commitment in June 2020 and it now has over 50 signatories. With financial support from the Esmée Fairbairn Foundation, we also developed a package to support signatories and encourage new foundations to sign.

Diversity, equity and inclusion

2020 exposed and amplified many pre-existing structural and societal inequalities, from poverty to disability, from gender to ethnicity. Covid-19 had a disproportionate impact on some groups of people more than others, particularly those with existing health problems, older people, those living in poverty and people from Black, Asian or other communities that have been marginalised because of their race or ethnicity. It was particularly impactful on people experiencing an intersectionality of these.

At ACF, we pursued DEI as a priority both internally and externally. We reviewed our first DEI policy, published on our website, as ‘a framework for our members and the wider sector to hold us to account’, covering board and staff diversity, recruitment practices, data management and processes. We made changes to how we recruit our board, which is elected from and by our members. We found that encouraging and actively engaging all our members to promote ACF trusteeship is resulting in a board that is more diverse and representative not only of our broad membership but society itself.

We also changed the way in which we appoint our staff. We now shortlist with the BeApplied platform that enables anonymised applications, we don’t ask for unnecessary qualifications and experience, and we’ve introduced flexible working arrangements. But we still have a long way to go before our staff team reflects the diversity of the population of the UK, and this will be something we will need to continue to work at. To strengthen our internal efforts and accountability, our CEO signed ACEVO’s Eight principles to address the diversity defcit in charity leadership. We also became an active member of Dafne’s working group on racial equity.

We prioritised promoting our Stronger Foundations report on Diversity, Equity and Inclusion, which had been published in October 2019, and highlighted ACF members pursuing its nine pillars of stronger practice.

DEI was a major strand of our annual conference in November, with speakers addressing a wide range of topics including governance, disability, gender and racial inequality. We also delivered sessions on DEI to foundations and others at more than 20 national and international events, including the Chartered Institute of Fundraising’s Equality, Diversity and Inclusion Committee and the Scotland Funders’ Forum.

ACF established a DEI resources page featuring recent blogs, resources, toolkits and video content for members looking to enhance their understanding and improve their practice. An ACF event for members in June on racial disparity and Covid-19 was attended by more than 200 foundation representatives. It has since been viewed more than 450 times.

In 2020, we and our members made some progress to address issues related to DEI. But we cannot, and must not, stop there. As our CEO said in a public blog in November:

“Becoming a more diverse, equitable and inclusive organisation, sector and society is a journey not a destination. And it is a journey that demands us all to move at speed. As with all journeys, the critical point is to make a start, to head in the right direction and continue to ask hard questions about progress. And that is something we all can do.”

Carol Mack, ACF Chief Executive

ACF THRIVES AND IS SUSTAINABLE TO SUPPORT MEMBERS OVER THE LONGER TERM

In order for ACF to effectively support and connect foundations, to inspire the sector and to raise its influence and profile, it is essential that we have effective systems and processes and are financially stable.

Ensuring ACF is financially robust

The trustees have given careful consideration to any need to change the financial statements as a result of the Covid-19 pandemic and have determined that no changes are necessary.

through until the end of 2021 and ACF’s intention is to seek to renew the programme with the current partners.

ACF was not immune to the impacts of Covid-19, and required us to balance available resources to deliver our ambitious programme. We are grateful to the continued support of our members, including providing additional grants in 2020, to enable ACF to maintain progress on key activities. Our financial position continues to be stable with the continuation of the Official Partner Programme (OPP). The OPP continues

Recent years have seen a steady growth in membership and networks, supported by the greater profile of our advocacy for the foundation sector, and new opportunities to contribute to our Social Impact Investors Group, Members’ Policy Forum, and the Stronger Foundations initiative.

GROUP INCOME TRENDS 2016–2020

----- Start of picture text -----
Member subscriptions Conferences and meetings Networks
Partnership income Fees and grants Earned income
1,400,000
1,200,000
1,000,000
800,000
600,000
400,000
200,000
0 2016 2017 2018 2019 2020
----- End of picture text -----

22[|] Annual report 2020

Annual report 2020[|] 23

“ACF OFFERS US A CHANCE TO ACCESS GOOD PRACTICE IN A CAREFULLY THOUGHT OUT WAY, WHICH HAS REALLY ADDED TO MY KNOWLEDGE.”

ACF MEMBER

While the pandemic forced a substantial change to the way ACF delivers its membership benefits and policy work, we were able to maintain a stable financial position as evidenced by the financial statements.

Income and expenditure forecasts for a three-year period are reviewed annually and in-year performance is monitored at each trustee meeting to ensure the impacts of Covid-19 and the investment in the new CRM are assessed and remedial action agreed if necessary.

Going concern

In view of the foregoing it is the view of the ACF board at the time this annual report and the annual accounts are signed, that both ACF and ACF Conferences and Seminars Limited are going concerns. In view of Covid-19 the trustees have given additional consideration to the going concern status of the charity and ACF Conferences and Seminars Limited and do not consider there to be any additional concerns to report.

The audited financial position shows a £12,474 unrestricted operating deficit for the year. This deficit reduced our total general fund to £536,888. Of this, £88,577 represents fixed assets, leaving free reserves of £448,311.

Status

ACF is both a registered charity, registration number 1105412, and a company limited by guarantee incorporated on 27 July 2004 and registered in England and Wales, registration number 5190466. Its governing document is a Memorandum and Articles of Association. ACF’s registered office is Fourth Floor, 28 Commercial Street, London E1 6LS.

The trustees have considered the unrestricted reserves that ACF requires to sustain its operations with reference to the Charity Commission for England and Wales’ guidance on charity reserves as set out in CC19. Trustees have agreed a long-term aim of balancing income and expenditure to deliver a level of reserves that is between four and six months’ operating expenditure. The current free reserves balance is towards the lower end of this range at 31 December 2020. During the year ACF commenced work on replacement of its CRM system, which will become operational in 2021, streamlining processes and enhancing member engagement.

Income to support our services to members

ACF’s principal sources of funding are membership subscriptions, grants and fees for its charitable activities, and the Official Partner Programme. Members pay an annual subscription on a sliding scale, which is based on their grant expenditure in the previous year. In 2020 ACF received four restricted grants, further detailed in Note 5 to the financial statements. ACF does not set a target to raise income from its cash reserves, nor does it have an investment policy.

ACF has a wholly owned trading subsidiary, ACF Conferences and Seminars Limited. This is a company incorporated on 5 January 2000, registration number 3902450, and limited by a single share held by ACF. The directors of the company are listed at the end of this report. ACF manages its commercial relationships which generate trading income via this company. This includes the Official Partner Programme and commercial activities linked to the annual conference. ACF Conferences and Seminars Limited has agreed a deed of covenant that obligates it to pass all its profits to the charity at the end of each financial year. The accounts that accompany this report show the consolidated financial information for the ACF and ACF Conferences and Seminars Limited. The narrative in this report covers the operations of the charity and the subsidiary company.

ACF’s approach to fundraising from the public

ACF does not seek funds directly from the public, nor do we use commercial or professional fundraisers. As a result, we are not signed up to a voluntary fundraising regulation scheme or standard. ACF has complaints and whistleblowing procedures and these can be found on our website. We have received no fundraising related complaints.

The board has determined that the current level of reserves is sufficient to mitigate operating deficits before we begin to rebuild reserves again in 2022. The board considers that the use of reserves and their movement below the target range is acceptable in order to manage the impact of the coronavirus pandemic and the cost of implementing the new CRM system while continuing to deliver ACF’s strategic plans.

The highest paid member of staff was the Chief Executive, receiving a salary in the year of £87,323 (an increase of 1.7% on 2019: £85,863) and a non-consolidated performance-related payment of £5,000 (2019: £5,000). The Chief Executive’s total financial benefit (including employer pension) was £101,055 (an increase of 1.6% on 2019: £99,449).

Improvements have been made, with the females’ median hourly wage at 5 April 2021 14.9% lower than the males’ median hourly wage, compared to 21.1% at the same date in 2020. When comparing mean hourly wages, the females’ hourly wage is 12.9% lower than the males’ hourly wage at 5 April 2021. The differences between males’ and females’ hourly wage averages are primarily because two of the five male employees are Directorlevel posts. ACF’s executive and senior management has an equal balance of male and female staff.

Remuneration policy

All trustees give of their time freely and no trustee remuneration was paid in the year.

ACF provides a competitive employment offer, which is designed to attract and retain staff with the appropriate skills. Budgetary constraints, external environment, wider job market, values of the organisation and the morale of staff will all be factors in deciding any employment offer. ACF is a London Living Wage employer.

ACF is not required to publish its gender pay gap information given its relatively small size, however, chooses to do so voluntarily.

This year, we have followed the UK Government guidelines for disclosure of this data using the prescribed formulae.

During 2019 ACF developed, and continues to administer, a pay policy that enables us to ensure that we continue to attract, retain and motivate our talented staff team, while providing more clarity and transparency about pay differentials between staff.

----- Start of picture text -----
Females Males Total
----- End of picture text -----

Top quarter
Upper middle quarter
Lower middle quarter		 2
2
3		 2
2
1		 4
4
4
Lower quarter 4 0 4
Total 11 5 16

The current full-time equivalent salary differential between the highest and lowest paid staff member is 3.2 (2019 3.9).

MEDIAN

MEAN

----- Start of picture text -----
April 20 April 20
April 21 April 21
120 120
100 100 100 100
100 85.1 100 84.2 87.1
78.9
80 80
60 60
40 40
20 20
0 FEMALE MALE 0 FEMALE MALE
----- End of picture text -----

Female hourly wage rates are presented as a percentage of male hourly wage rates to indicate the relative gender pay gap more easily than the raw data.

24[|] Annual report 2020

Annual report 2020[|] 25

Balance sheet liabilities

ACF is carrying a Pensions Trust Growth Plan liability on its balance sheet, which represents the net present value of the deficit reduction contributions payable by ACF. This year has again seen a reduction in ACF’s liability leaving the balance at £50,918 (2019: £61,050).

The Pensions Trust Growth Plan has put in place arrangements to assist Plan members who have difficulty meeting payments as a result of the pandemic. ACF does not expect to need this assistance.

The Plan invests for the long term and monitors its investment strategy and funding position. We understand that the scheme is in the process of completing a triennial review and at the conclusion of the review the deficit funding is likely to be reviewed.

ACF holds no funds as a trustee on behalf of others.

Risk management

ACF actively manages the risks it faces. Key risks are identified and reviewed at the quarterly Finance and Risk Committee and annually by the Board. Measures to manage all risks are in place. Key risks being actively managed are as follows:

“GENEROUS KNOWLEDGE SHARING, OPPORTUNITIES TO MEET AND COLLABORATE WITH OTHER ORGANISATIONS, GUIDANCE ON BEST PRACTICE, AND CONSIDERED ADVOCACY FOR THE SECTOR ARE JUST A FEW OF THE BENEFITS ACF MEMBERSHIP HAS GIVEN US.” ACF MEMBER

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Key risk Implications Mitigations Impact Likelihood Key risk Implications Mitigations Impact Likelihood
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Key risk
Implications
Mitigations
Impact
Likelihood		 Key risk
Implications
Mitigations
Impact
Likelihood
ACF staff’s capacity to
deliver 2021 workplan
ACF is unable to deliver impact in
the sector, having a negative
infuence on reputation and
membership in the medium term
1. Ensure that workplan is prioritised
based on impact and resources
released for priority elements
2. Ensure all programmes of work
have detailed plans, success
criteria and milestones
3. Increase staff engagement
through consistent
communication of priorities /
progress using RAG ratings
High
Low
Covid-19 continues to
have a destabilising effect
on member engagement
Members become more inward
looking, leading to ACF programmes
(Stronger Foundations, climate
action, collaborative Hub) losing
relevance and reduction in
attendance at learning and events
programme
1. Proactively engage across the
membership to ensure ACF is
meeting member needs
2. Analyse events programme
attendances, comparing with
2020 and prior in-person
performance
3. Monitor engagement of core
policy programmes at each
touchpoint, documenting
member engagement trends over
time
Medium
Medium
Staff physical and mental
wellbeing negatively
impacted by Covid-19
Staff (or family) become unwell and/
or well-being compromised,
impacting ACF’s ability to service
members, increasing ACF costs to
backfll and potentially increasing
staff turnover
1. Ensure directors have fexibility to
balance work output to personal
circumstances
2. Managing workplan to account
for variable staff capacity levels
3. Ramp up well-being activities
to ensure ACF has support
programmes for all staff
4. Ensure 121 process captures
work progress and personal
wellbeing
High
Medium		 Poor membership
renewals
Financial defcit compromising
ACF’s ability to deliver work plan
and core services
1. Regular reporting of 2021 renewal
status notices to senior leadership
2. Maintain and update new
members target list, reviewed at
each monthly leadership team
meetings
3. Senior leadership contact across
the membership to ensure ACF
benefts in step with needs
High
Low
CRM delivered over
time and budget
Inability to deliver the benefts
proposed, additional costs incurred
in development and potential
reliance on ThankQ and resulting
higher support costs
1. Ensure a complete project plan is
detailed, milestones noted and
project governance is maintained
2. Critically evaluate suppliers’
resource availability to ensure
adequacy
3. Manage internal work programme
to allocate appropriate internal
resource, especially for testing
and training
Medium
Low
Offcial Partners do not
renew during 2021 for
2022 and beyond
Lack of securing contracts for 2022
and beyond would have a long-term
impact on the support ACF can
provide the sector
1. Secure renewals for 2022 and
beyond during Q2 2021
2. Continue to provide high quality
learning events where Offcial
Partners can share their expertise
with members
3. Enhance our virtual conference
delivery for 2021
Medium
Low

26[|] Annual report 2020

Annual report 2020[|] 27

GOVERNANCE

Board of trustees of the charity

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Name Position Committee membership(s) Appointed or Member
during the year resigned date
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Janet Morrison OBE Chair Offcers The Baring Foundation*
Jessica Brown Vice Chair Offcers Appointed Vice Chair Trusthouse Charitable Foundation
09.02.21
David Renton Treasurer Offcers, Finance & Risk, Guy’s and St Thomas’ Foundation*
ACF Conferences and
Seminars Limited
Nick Acland Trustee Nominations & Remuneration Reappointed Henry Smith Charity
23.09.20
Andrew Barnett OBE Trustee Nominations & Remuneration Calouste Gulbenkian Foundation
(UK branch)
Michelle Molyneux Trustee Finance & Risk The Worshipful Company of Grocers
Klara Skrivankova Trustee Finance & Risk, Trust for London
ACF Conferences and
Seminars Limited
Anthony Tomei CBE Trustee Finance & Risk The Bell Foundation
Edward Walden Trustee Nominations & Remuneration Power to Change
Sufna Ahmad MBE Trustee Appointed John Ellerman Foundation
23.09.20
Sarah Benioff Trustee Appointed Cripplegate Foundation
23.09.20
Aanchal Clare Trustee Nominations & Remuneration Appointed Peter Minet Trust
23.09.20
Síofra Healy Trustee Appointed Community Foundation Northern
23.09.20 Ireland
Kenneth Ferguson Vice Chair Offcers Resigned The Robertson Trust
23.09.20
Fozia Irfan Trustee Nominations & Remuneration Resigned Bedfordshire and Luton Community
23.09.20 Foundation
Joanne Knight Trustee Finance & Risk, Resigned British and Foreign School Society
ACF Conferences and 23.09.20
Seminars Limited
Sheila Jane Malley Trustee Nominations & Remuneration Resigned The Co-op Foundation
23.09.20
James Wragg Trustee Nominations & Remuneration Resigned Esmée Fairbairn Foundation
23.09.20

Under the Companies Acts 1985 and 1989, ACF is limited by guarantee and does not have share capital. Its memorandum and articles of association were fully reviewed and revised in 2004 and amended in 2018. The trustees have had regard to the Charity Commission for England and Wales’ guidance on public benefit in considering what work the charity should undertake and in the performance of their duties.

The Trustee Board

The Board is responsible for the general management and supervision of the work of ACF. The trustees of ACF meet quarterly to set the strategic direction of the charity and monitor its effectiveness.

ACF’s trustees are elected by our membership for a term of three years, may be re-elected, but cannot serve for more than six successive years. At least four trustees retire at each AGM.

The Chief Executive, the directors and heads of departments are the key managers in charge of directing and controlling the charity on a day-to-day basis operating under a trustee approved scheme of delegation.

All elected trustees must at the time of their appointment be connected to a member of ACF, for example as a trustee or as a member of staff. In addition, the board may co-opt a further five members to the board. ACF’s members are non-governmental organisations in the UK, whose functions or activities include grantmaking for charitable purposes, and endowed charitable foundations.

The trustees (who are also directors of the Association of Charitable Foundations for the purposes of company law) are responsible for preparing the Trustees’ Report and the financial statements in accordance with applicable law and United Kingdom Accounting Standards (United Kingdom Generally Accepted Accounting Practice).

Trustee induction

New trustees are invited to a half day induction where they meet key ACF staff and discuss ACF’s objectives, activities and budgets. They normally receive an information pack as part of their induction which includes the relevant guidance for trustees from the Charity Commission for England and Wales, together with papers from recent Board meetings. Trustees individually also attend ACF’s member events and thereby widen their awareness of current issues and concerns amongst ACF’s membership.

Company law requires trustees to prepare financial statements for each financial year which give a true and fair view of the state of the affairs of the charitable company and of the incoming resources and application of resources, including the income and expenditure, of the charitable company for that period. In preparing these financial statements, the trustees are required to:

ACF’s objects and public benefit

ACF’s objects are to further the work of charitable grant-making trusts and institutions for the public benefit by:

The trustees are responsible for keeping proper accounting records that 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.

In so far as the trustees are aware:

The trustees are responsible for the maintenance and integrity of the corporate and financial information included on the charity’s website. Legislation in the United Kingdom governing the preparation and dissemination of financial statements may differ from legislation in other jurisdictions.

ACF Conferences and Seminars Limited

Directors

Gemma Instrall Carol Mack OBE David Renton Klara Skrivankova (appointed 23.10.20) Kevin Nunn (resigned 21.07.20) Dr Joanne Knight (resigned 23.09.20)

Company Secretary

Natasha Kousseff (appointed 07.09.20) Kevin Nunn (resigned 21.07.20)

28[|] Annual report 2020

Annual report 2020[|] 29

ADVISERS AND BANKERS

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Bankers Solicitors Auditors
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Cater Allen Private Bank Stone King Saffery Champness LLP
2 Triton Square, Boundary House 71 Queen Victoria Street
Regent’s Place 91 Charterhouse Street London, EC4V 4BE
London, NW1 3AN London, EC1M 6HR
Unity Trust Bank Russell-Cooke
Four Brindley Place 2 Putney Hill
Birmingham, B1 2JB London, SW15 6AB

CCLA Investment Management Limited

COIF Charity Funds 85 Queen Victoria Street, London, EC4V 4ET

Close Brothers Limited

10 Crown Place London, EC2A 4FT

OUR THANKS

ACF’s work would not be possible without support and encouragement from many members and other supporters. We would like to express our particular thanks for these as follows:

ACF’s Official Partners:

For serving on the FIRM steering group:

For additional core support of ACF’s activities:

We would also like to thank all those many members who have generously hosted meetings on behalf of ACF or given their time to convene our networks or to speak at our events.

In preparing this report the trustees have taken advantage of the small companies exemption provided by section 415A of the Companies Act.

Approved by the Board and signed

on its behalf by:

…………………………………..………

Janet Morrison OBE (Chair)

Date 25 May 2021

…………………………….………………… David Renton (Treasurer)

Date 25 May 2021

For additional financial support for:

For participating in the Steering Group of the SIIG (Social Impact Investors Group of foundations):

For in kind support for:

30[|] Annual report 2020

Annual report 2020[|] 31

INDEPENDENT AUDITOR’S REPORT TO THE MEMBERS

Other information

Basis for opinion

Opinion

We have audited the financial statements of Association of Charitable Foundations (the ‘parent charitable company’) and its subsidiary (the ‘group’) for the year ended 31 December 2020 which comprise the consolidated statement of financial activities, the consolidated and charity only balance sheets, the consolidated statement of cash flows and notes to the financial statements, including significant accounting policies. The financial reporting framework that has been applied in their preparation is applicable law and United Kingdom Accounting Standards, including Financial Reporting Standard 102, the Financial Reporting Standard applicable in the UK and Republic of Ireland (United Kingdom Generally Accepted Accounting Practice).

The trustees are responsible for the other information. The other information comprises the information included in the annual report, other than the financial statements and our auditor’s report thereon. Our opinion on the financial statements does not cover the other information and, except to the extent otherwise explicitly stated in our report, we do not express any form of assurance conclusion thereon.

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

Our responsibility is to read the other information and, in doing so, consider whether the other information is materially inconsistent with the financial statements or our knowledge obtained in the course of the audit or otherwise appears to be materially misstated. If we identify such material inconsistencies or apparent material misstatements, we are required to determine whether this gives rise to a material misstatement in the financial statements themselves. If, based on the work we have performed, we conclude that there is a material misstatement of this other information; we are required to report that fact.

Conclusions relating to going concern

In our opinion the financial statements:

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

Based on the work we have performed, we have not identified any material uncertainties relating to events or conditions that, individually or collectively, may cast significant doubt on the parent charitable company’s ability to continue as a going concern for a period of at least twelve months from when the financial statements are authorised for issue.

We have nothing to report in this regard.

Our responsibilities and the responsibilities of the trustees with respect to going concern are described in the relevant sections of this report.

Other matters prescribed by the Companies Act 2006

In our opinion, based on the work undertaken in the course of the audit:

Matters on which we are required to report by exception

In the light of the knowledge and understanding of the group and the parent charitable company and their environment obtained in the course of the audit, we have not identified material misstatements in the Trustees’ Annual Report.

We have nothing to report in respect of the following matters where the Companies Act 2006 require us to report to you if, in our opinion:

Responsibilities of trustees

As explained more fully in the Statement of Trustees’ Responsibilities set out on page 29, the trustees (who are also the directors of the parent charitable company for the purposes of company law) are responsible for the preparation of the financial statements and for being satisfied that they give a true and fair view, and for such internal control as the trustees determine is necessary to enable the preparation of the financial statements that are free from material misstatement, whether due to fraud or error.

In preparing the financial statements, the trustees are responsible for assessing the parent charitable company’s ability to continue as a going concern, disclosing, as applicable, matters related to going concern and using the going concern basis of accounting unless the trustees either intend to liquidate the parent charitable company or to cease operations, or have no realistic alternative but to do so.

Auditor’s responsibilities for the audit of the financial statements

We have been appointed as auditors under the Companies Act 2006 and report in accordance with regulations made under that Act.

Our objectives are to obtain reasonable assurance about whether the group and parent financial statements as a whole are free from material misstatement, whether due to fraud or error, and to issue an auditor’s report that includes our opinion.

Reasonable assurance is a high level of assurance, but is not a guarantee that an audit conducted in accordance with ISAs (UK) will always detect a material misstatement when it exists. Misstatements can arise from fraud or error and are considered material if, individually or in the aggregate, they could reasonably be expected to influence the economic decisions of users taken on the basis of these financial statements.

Irregularities, including fraud, are instances of non-compliance with laws and regulations. We design procedures in line with our responsibilities, outlined above, to detect material misstatements in respect of irregularities, including fraud. The specific procedures for this engagement and the extent to which these are capable of detecting irregularities, including fraud are detailed below.

Identifying and assessing risks related to irregularities:

We assessed the susceptibility of the group and parent charitable company’s financial statements to material misstatement and how fraud might occur, including through discussions with the trustees, discussions within our audit team planning meeting, updating our record of internal controls and ensuring these controls operated as intended. We evaluated possible incentives and opportunities for fraudulent manipulation of the financial statements.

32[|] Annual report 2020

Annual report 2020[|] 33

We identified laws and regulations that are of significance in the context of the group and parent charitable company by discussions with trustees and management and updating our understanding of the sector in which the group and parent charitable company operate.

Laws and regulations of direct significance in the context of the group and parent charitable company include The Companies Act 2006 and guidance issued by the Charity Commission for England and Wales.

Audit response to risks identified:

We considered the extent of compliance with these laws and regulations as part of our audit procedures on the related financial statement items including a review of financial statement disclosures. We reviewed the parent charitable company’s records of breaches of laws and regulations, minutes of meetings and correspondence with relevant authorities to identify potential material misstatements arising. We discussed the parent charitable company’s policies and procedures for compliance with laws and regulations with members of management responsible for compliance.

During the planning meeting with the audit team, the engagement partner drew attention to the key areas which might involve non-compliance with laws and regulations or fraud. We enquired of management whether they were aware of any instances of noncompliance with laws and regulations or knowledge of any actual, suspected or alleged fraud.

We addressed the risk of fraud through management override of controls by testing the appropriateness of journal entries and identifying any significant transactions that were unusual or outside the normal course of business. We assessed whether judgements made in making accounting estimates gave rise to a possible indication of management bias. At the completion stage of the audit, the engagement partner’s review included ensuring that the team had approached their work with appropriate professional scepticism and thus the capacity to identify non-compliance with laws and regulations and fraud.

Use of our report

This report is made solely to the parent charitable company’s members, as a body, in accordance with Chapter 3 of Part 16 of the Companies Act 2006. Our audit work has been undertaken so that we might state to the parent charitable company’s members those matters we are required to state to them in an auditor’s report and for no other purpose. To the fullest extent permitted by law, we do not accept or assume responsibility to anyone other than the parent charitable company and the parent charitable company’s members as a body, for our audit work, for this report, or for the opinions we have formed.

There are inherent limitations in the audit procedures described above and the further removed non-compliance with laws and regulations is from the events and transactions reflected in the Cara Turtington (Senior Statutory financial statements, the less likely we Auditor) for and on behalf of Saffery would become aware of it. Also, the Champness LLP risk of not detecting a material Chartered Accountants misstatement due to fraud is higher Statutory Auditors than the risk of not detecting one 71 Queen Victoria Street resulting from error, as fraud may London EC4V 4BE involve deliberate concealment by, for example, forgery or intentional Date 25 May 2021 misrepresentations, or through Saffery Champness LLP is eligible to collusion. act as an auditor in terms of section 1212 of the Companies Act 2006

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

FINANCIAL STATEMENTS

Association of Charitable Foundations

Consolidated statement of financial activities (incorporating an income and expenditure account) For the year ended 31 December 2020

----- Start of picture text -----
2020 2019
Unrestricted Restricted Total Total
Note £ £ £ £
Income from:
Charitable activities:
Members' subscriptions 766,338 - 766,338 783,645
Network subscriptions 55,213 - 55,213 54,455
Conferences and meetings 77,244 - 77,244 114,613
Fees and grants 5 60,500 89,580 150,080 48,200
Earned income 225 - 225 698
Other trading activities 2 200,000 200,000 200,000
Investment income 1,339 - 1,339 2,588
Other income including rental income 38,004 - 38,004 20,143
Total income 1,198,863 89,580 1,288,443 1,224,342
Expenditure on:
Charitable activities:
Members' services 4 1,141,938 - 1,141,938 1,080,805
Conferences and meetings 4 69,399 - 69,399 114,084
Project expenditure 4, 5 - 61,819 61,819 82,361
Total expenditure 1,211,337 61,819 1,273,156 1,277,250
Net income/(expenditure) (12,474) 27,761 15,287 (52,908)
Actuarial gains/(losses) on defined benefit 12 (876) - (876) 4,271
pension schemes
Net movement in funds 13 (13,350) 27,761 14,411 (48,637)
Reconciliation of funds:
Total funds brought forward 13 559,320 - 559,320 607,957
Total funds carried forward 13 545,970 27,761 573,731 559,320
----- End of picture text -----

All of the above results are derived from continuing activities.

There were no other recognised gains or losses other than those stated above.

The attached notes form part of these financial statements.

34[|] Annual report 2020

Annual report 2020[|] 35

Association of Charitable Foundations Consolidated balance sheet For the year ended 31 December 2020

Association of Charitable Foundations Consolidated statement of cash flows For the year ended 31 December 2020

----- Start of picture text -----
2020 2020 2019 2019
Group Charity Group Charity
Note £ £ £ £
Fixed assets:
Tangible assets 7 88,577 88,577 112,753 112,753
Investments 8 - 2 - 2
88,577 88,579 112,753 112,755
Current assets:
Debtors 9 147,877 331,399 125,935 293,581
Cash at bank and in hand 275,014 88,555 328,805 96,954
Short term deposits 394,253 394,253 322,196 322,196
817,144 814,207 776,936 712,731
Liabilities:
Creditors: amounts falling due within one year 10 (266,032) (263,097) (213,318) (149,115)
Net current assets 551,112 551,110 563,618 563,616
Total assets less current liabilities 639,689 639,689 676,371 676,371
Creditors: amounts falling due after one year 10a (15,040) (15,040) (56,001) (56,001)
Net assets excluding pension liability 624,649 624,649 620,370 620,370
Defined benefit pension scheme liability 12 (50,918) (50,918) (61,050) (61,050)
Total net assets 573,731 573,731 559,320 559,320
Funds
Restricted funds 13 27,761 27,761 - -
Unrestricted funds:
Designated funds
Pension Trust deficit reduction fund 13 60,000 60,000 50,000 50,000
Pension liability reserve 13 (50,918) (50,918) (61,050) (61,050)
General fund 13 536,888 536,888 570,370 570,370
Total unrestricted funds 545,970 545,970 559,320 559,320
Total funds 573,731 573,731 559,320 559,320
----- End of picture text -----

As permitted by Section 408 of the Companies Act 2006, no separate Statement of Financial Activities for the

Approved by the trustees and authorised for use on 25 May 2021 and signed on their behalf by:

charity alone has been presented. The net surplus of the standalone charity for the year was £15,287 (2019: net deficit

£52,908) before transfers between funds.

These financial statements have been prepared in accordance with the provisions applicable to companies subject to the small companies’ regime.

…………………………………..……… …………………………….…………………

Janet Morrison OBE (Chair)

David Renton (Treasurer)

Company registration no. 5190466

----- Start of picture text -----
Note 2020 2020 2019 2019
£ £ £ £
Net cash provided by operating activities
14 36,548 (112,943)
Cash flows from investing activities:
Purchase of fixed assets (19,618) (129,944)
Purchase of investments - -
Interest income 1,339 2,588
Cash provided by investing activities (18,279) (127,356)
18,269 (240,299)
- -
Cash flows from financing activities
Change in cash and cash equivalents in the year 18,269 (240,299)
Cash and cash equivalents at the beginning of the year 651,001 891,300
Cash and cash equivalents at the end of the year 15 669,270 651,001
----- End of picture text -----

Association of Charitable Foundations

Notes to the Financial Statements For the year ended 31 December 2020

Basis of preparation

Critical estimates and areas of judgement

1A ACCOUNTING POLICIES

These financial statements have been prepared in accordance with the Accounting and Reporting by Charities Statement of Recommended Practice applicable to charities preparing their accounts in accordance with Financial Reporting Standards applicable in the UK and Republic of Ireland (FRS102) (effective 1 March 2018), Charities SORP (FRS102) and the Companies Act 2006. The functional currency of the charity is £.

The following principal accounting policies have been consistently applied in preparing the financial statements.

Judgements and estimates are continually evaluated and are based on historical experience and other factors, including expectations of future events that are believed to be reasonable under the circumstances. In making these estimates the Association makes assumptions concerning the future. The Trustees do not believe that there is a significant risk of a material adjustment being made to the carrying amounts of assets and liabilities included in these financial statements within the next financial year. Key estimates include the useful economic life of fixed assets, the recoverability of debtors and the assumptions made by the actuary in valuing the pension liability.

Group accounts

The financial statements present the consolidated Statement of Financial Activities (SOFA), consolidated Statement of Cash Flows and the consolidated and Charity Balance Sheets comprising of the consolidation of the Charity with its wholly owned subsidiary ACF Conferences & Seminars Limited (company registration number 03902450).

Public benefit entity

The Association of Charitable Foundations (‘the Association’) meets the definition of a public benefit entity under FRS102.

36[|] Annual report 2020

Annual report 2020[|] 37

Association of Charitable Foundations Notes to the Financial Statements For the year ended 31 December 2020

Fund accounting

Unrestricted funds comprise both the General Fund and any Designated Funds. The General Fund comprises membership subscriptions and other incoming resources received or generated for the objects of the Association without further specified purpose.

Going into 2020, trustees had designated two funds, the Pensions Deficit Reduction Fund, and the Pension Liability Reserve Fund. Both represent funds that the trustees have put aside from General Funds to fund particular expenditure and are restricted in an administrative rather than a legal sense. For further details of designated funds, see note 13.

Restricted funds are to be used for specified purposes as expressed in grant agreements. Restricted grants are recognised in full in the Statement of Financial Activities in the period in which they are received or receivable whichever is the earlier, unless they are for a specified period in which case they are deferred. These funds and movements in them are described in note 5.

Tangible fixed assets

Expenditure on office equipment of less than £500 is charged to the Statement of Financial Activities when incurred. Expenditure greater than £500 is capitalised and depreciated. Depreciation is provided on capitalised fixed assets at rates calculated to write off the cost of each asset over their expected useful lives as follows (less estimated residual value where this is readily available):

Office Furniture, IT and telecommunications equipment 3 years

Software development 5 years

Leasehold improvements – Acorn House 5 years Toynbee Hall 3 years

For office equipment and Acorn House leasehold improvements, a full year’s depreciation is charged in the year an asset is purchased. For Toynbee Hall leasehold improvements, depreciation is charged on a monthly basis from November 2019 (beginning of occupation). For software development, depreciation is charged on a monthly basis from the month in which asset is usable, with ongoing expenses such as licences and maintenance to be expensed when incurred.

Incoming resources

All incoming resources are included in the Statement of Financial Activities (SOFA) when the charity is legally entitled to receipt, any performance conditions attached have been met, it is probable that the income will be received and the amount can be measured reliably. Deferred income is income received or recorded before it is earned, and shown in the income statement only when it can be matched with the period in which it is earned.

Resources expended

All expenditure is accounted for on an accruals basis and has been classified under headings that aggregate all costs related to the category. Wherever possible costs are directly attributed to these headings. Costs common to more than one area are apportioned using a suitable basis.

Allocation of support costs

Indirect costs are those costs incurred in support of the charitable objectives and governance of the Association. These have been allocated to the charitable activities on a basis that fairly reflects the true use of those resources within the organisation.

Financial assets/liabilities

The charity has financial assets/ liabilities of a kind that qualify as basic financial instruments. Basic financial instruments are initially recognised at transaction value, unless otherwise stated in the relevant account policy note(s), and subsequently measured at their settlement value with the exception of bank loans which are subsequently measured at amortised cost using the effective interest method.

The investment in the subsidiary is stated at cost.

Going concern

The trustees consider that there are no material uncertainties about the Association’s ability to continue as a going concern. In view of Covid-19 the trustees have given additional consideration to the going concern status of the charity and ACF Conferences and Seminars Limited and do not consider there to be any additional concerns to report.

Pension arrangements

Now:Pensions

ACF participates in a defined contribution pension scheme, Now:Pensions. The amounts charged to the statement of financial activities for the defined contribution scheme represent the contributions payable in the period.

TPT Retirement Solutions ACF also participates in the TPT Retirement Solutions (formerly Pensions Trust) Growth Plan Scheme. This is a multi-employer scheme where ACF’s share of the underlying assets and liabilities cannot be identified on a consistent and reasonable basis. In accordance with FRS 102, it is therefore accounted for as a defined contribution scheme. A deficit funding arrangement is in place for the scheme. A liability is recognised for the net present value of the deficit reduction contributions payable by ACF. Actuarial gains/losses are separately classified on the statement of financial activities.

1B. CONSOLIDATED STATEMENT OF FINANCIAL ACTIVITIES 2019 INCLUDED FOR COMPARATIVE PURPOSES

2019
Unrestricted Restricted Total
Note £ £ £
783,645
54,455
114,613
-
698
200,000
2,588
20,143		 -
-
-
48,200
-
-
-		 783,645
54,455
114,613
48,200
698
200,000
2,588
20,143
1,176,142 48,200 1,224,342
1,080,805
114,084
-		 -
-
82,361		 1,080,805
114,084
82,361
1,194,889 82,361 1,277,250
(18,747)
4,271
(14,476)
573,796		 (34,161)
-
(34,161)
34,161		 (52,908)
4,271
(48,637)
607,957

Expenditure of £25,011 has been reclassified from Conferences and meetings to Members’ services. This reclassification is also reflected in prior year totals on the Statement of Financial Activities, Note 3, and Note 4.

38[|] Annual report 2020

Annual report 2020[|] 39

Notes to the Financial Statements For the year ended 31 December 2020

Association of Charitable Foundations

2. ANALYSIS OF OTHER TRADING INCOME

----- Start of picture text -----
2020 2019
£ £
Official Partnership Programme fees 200,000 200,000
----- End of picture text -----

3. ANALYSIS OF STAFF COSTS, TRUSTEE REMUNERATION AND EXPENSES, AND THE COST OF KEY MANAGEMENT PERSONNEL

----- Start of picture text -----
2020 2019
£ £
Salaries and wages 661,664 601,594
Social security costs 66,454 60,974
Pension contributions 63,364 61,152
Pension Trust finance cost 619 1,128
Recruitment & training 15,555 32,734
Temporary staff, consultancy & all other staff costs 88,789 69,064
896,445 826,646
----- End of picture text -----

Staff costs were incurred in the following way:

----- Start of picture text -----
2020 2019
£ £
Unrestricted funds
Members’ services 835,373 793,616
Restricted funds
Effective Foundations Initiative - 27,330
Funders’ Collaborative Hub 38,571 -
Members’ Policy Forum 14,383 -
UK Funders’ Commitment on Climate Change 6,038 -
International Philanthropy Commitment on Climate Change 2,080 -
Foundation Giving Trends - 5,700
61,072 33,030
Total 896,445 826,646
The above salaries and wages for 2020 include aggregate termination payments totalling £20,750.
The following number of employees received benefits (excluding employer pension) during the year between:
2020 2019
£90,000 and £99,999 1 1
----- End of picture text -----

The total employee benefits including The average number of staff employed pension contributions of key in the delivery of charitable activities in management personnel were £304,975 the year was 15.5 (2019: 15.7); FTE 12.8 (2019: £266,780). In addition, one (2019: 13.4) interim position was filled via an agency, resulting in further key management personnel costs in the year of £24,475 (2019: £16,500 for one consultant).

The highest paid member of staff was the Chief Executive, receiving a salary in the year of £87,323 (2019: £85,863) and a non-consolidated performancerelated payment of £5,000 (2019: £5,000). The total financial benefit (including employer pension) awarded to the Chief Executive was £101,055 (2019: £99,449).

4. ANALYSIS OF TOTAL RESOURCES EXPENDED

4.1 Current year

Staff Costs Indirect
Costs		 Governance
Costs		 2020
£ £ £ £
Unrestricted Funds
Members’ Services
Conferences and Meetings
Total Unrestricted Resources Expended
Restricted Funds
Project Expenditure
Total Restricted Resources Expended
Total Resources Expended		 835,373
-		 286,725
68,133		 19,840
1,266		 1,141,938
69,399
835,373 354,858 21,106 1,211,337
61,072 747 - 61,819
61,072 747 - 61,819
896,445 355,605 21,106 1,273,156
(Note 4 and 5b) (Note 5a) (Note 5c)
4.2 Prior year
Staff Costs Indirect
Costs		 Governance
Costs		 2019
£ £ £ £
Unrestricted Funds
Members’ Services
Conferences and Meetings
Total Unrestricted Resources Expended
Restricted Funds
Project Expenditure
Total Restricted Resources Expended
Total Resources Expended		 793,616
-
793,616
33,030		 271,094
111,679
382,773
49,331		 16,095
2,405
18,500
-		 1,080,805
114,084
1,194,889
82,361
33,030 49,331 - 82,361
826,646 432,104 18,500 1,277,250
(Note 4 and 5b) (Note 5a) (Note 5c)

40[|] Annual report 2020

Annual report 2020[|] 41

Association of Charitable Foundations Notes to the Financial Statements For the year ended 31 December 2020

4B. ANALYSIS OF STAFF COSTS

4A. ANALYSIS OF INDIRECT COSTS

4a.1 Current year

Members’
Services
Conf &
Meetings
Project
Expenditure
2020
£
£
£
£
ICT & communications
Publications & printed matter
Meetings & events
Other & staff expenses
Property-related expenditure		 38,590
5,766
30
44,386
45,504
-
-
45,504
-
51,961
717
52,678
39,612
-
-
39,612
163,020
10,406
-
173,425
286,725
68,133
747
355,605

Indirect costs, where relevant, have been allocated based on actual expenditure. IT & property costs have been apportioned between Members’ Services and Conferences & Meetings based on income percentages.

4a.2 Prior year

Members’
Services
Conf &
Meetings
Project
Expenditure
2019
£
£
£
£
ICT & communications
Publications & printed matter
Meetings & events
Other & staff expenses
Property-related expenditure		 38,738
5,789
-
44,527
35,057
270
32,782
68,109
-
87,999
-
87,999
79,372
-
-
79,372
117,927
17,621
16,549
152,097
271,094
111,679
49,331
432,104

4b.1 Current year

Members’
Services
Project
Expenditure
2020
£
£
£
Salaries and wages
Social security costs
Pension contributions
Pension Trust defcit contributions
Recruitment and training
Temporary staff, consultancy & all other staff costs		 627,892
33,772
661,664
66,454
-
66,454
63,364
-
63,364
619
-
619
15,555
-
15,555
61,489
27,300
88,789
835,373
61,072
896,445

4b.2 Prior year

Members’
Services
Project
Expenditure
2019
£
£
£
Salaries and wages
Social security costs
Pension contributions
Pension Trust defcit contributions
Recruitment and training
Temporary staff, consultancy & all other staff costs		 568,564
33,030
601,594
60,974
-
60,974
61,152
-
61,152
1,128
-
1,128
32,734
-
32,734
69,064
-
69,064
793,616
33,030
826,646

4C. ANALYSIS OF GOVERNANCE COSTS

2020 2019
£ £
Auditor remuneration – audit fee for current year
Auditor remuneration – VAT review
Auditor remuneration – tax compliance
Internal & External Meetings
Trustee expenses
Sundries		 10,910
12,545
5,148
-
800
800
3,345
2,934
877
1,241
26
980
21,106
18,500

Governance cost apportioned based on income percentages.

42[|] Annual report 2020

Annual report 2020[|] 43

Association of Charitable Foundations Notes to the Financial Statements For the year ended 31 December 2020

5. RESTRICTED FUNDS – GROUP AND CHARITY

5.1 Current year

Project Funders’
Collaborative Hub		 UK Funders’
Commitment on
Climate Change		 International
Philanthropy
Commitment on
Climate Change		 Members’ Policy
Forum		 2020
£ £ £ £ £
Grant income
50,000
22,500
2,080
15,000
89,580
Expenditure
Staff & consultancy
38,571
6,038
2,080
14,383
61,072
Direct project costs
130
-
-
617
747
Overheads
-
-
-
-
-
Total Expenditure
38,701
6,038
2,080
15,000
61,819
Net Income
11,299
16,462
-
-
27,761
As at 1 January 2020
-
-
-
-
-
As at 31 December 2020
11,299
16,462
-
-
27,761

5.2 Prior year

----- Start of picture text -----
Project Effective Foundations Foundation Giving 2019
Trends
£ £ £
----- End of picture text -----

Grant income - 48,200 48,200
Expenditure
Staff & consultancy 27,330 5,700 33,030
Direct project costs - 32,782 32,782
Overheads 6,831 9,718 16,549
Total Expenditure 34,161 48,200 82,361
Net Income (34,161) - (34,161)
As at 1 January 2019 34,161 - 34,161
As at 31 December 2019 - - -

Funders’ Collaborative Hub

UK Funders’ Commitment on Climate Change

International Philanthropy Commitment on Climate Change

Funding from the Henry Smith Charity, John Lyon’s Charity, and Lloyds Bank Foundation for England and Wales, to support the Funders’ Collaborative Hub, an initiative to enable increased understanding, closer alignment, and opportunities for funder collaboration in response to Covid-19.

Funding from Esmée Fairbairn Foundation to support ACF’s hosting of the UK Funder Commitment on Climate Change, to promote the commitment and support signatories to implement the pledges.

Funding from Daniel and Nina Carasso Foundation towards ACF’s role in supporting Dafne (Donors and Foundations Networks in Europe) and other organisations to develop an international equivalent of the above UK Commitment.

Effective Foundations Initiative

Foundation Giving Trends

Members’ Policy Forum

Prior year only.The Effective Foundations Initiative is legacy funding from The Diana, Princess of Wales Memorial Fund and the Tubney Charitable Trust.

Prior year only. Funding from the Pears Foundation to support research by Professor Cathy Pharoah resulting in the annual publication by ACF of Foundation Giving Trends.

Funding from the Barrow Cadbury Trust to support the work of the Members’ Policy Forum, an initiative that increases opportunities for our members to engage directly with ACF’s policy work, raise issues of concern, and regularly engage with policymakers in government.

6. TRUSTEE BOARD EXPENSES

The Trustee Board members received no remuneration.

All trustees must be a trustee, employee or other representative of a member of the Association at the time of their election to the Board.

The amount of travel and other time of their election to the Board. expenses reimbursed to, or paid on behalf of three Trustee Board members There were no related party was £877 (2019: seven members transactions requiring disclosure at £1,241). in the year.

7. TANGIBLE FIXED ASSETS

----- Start of picture text -----
Group and charity Leasehold Office Software Total
Improvements Furniture, IT Development
and telecoms
equipment
£ £ £ £
----- End of picture text -----

Cost
At 1 January 2020
Additions in the year
Disposals in the year
At 31 December 2020
Depreciation
At 1 January 2020
Disposals in the year
Charge for the year
At 31 December 2020
Net Book Value
At 31 December 2020
At 31 December 2019		 94,059
-
-		 76,060
1,440
-		 -
18,178
-		 170,119
19,618
-
94,059 77,501 18,178 189,737
(5,226)
-
(31,353)		 (52,140)
-
(12,443)		 -
-		 (57,366)
-
(43,796)
(36,579) (64,583) - (101,162)
57,480 12,918 18,178 88,575
88,833 23,920 - 112,753

All tangible fixed assets are used for direct charitable purposes.

44[|] Annual report 2020

Annual report 2020[|] 45

Association of Charitable Foundations Notes to the Financial Statements For the year ended 31 December 2020

9. DEBTORS

8. INVESTMENT IN SUBSIDIARY UNDERTAKING

----- Start of picture text -----
2020 2019
£ £
2 2
The charity holds 100% of the issued ordinary share capital of the following company:
Subsidiary ACF Conferences and Seminars Limited
Country of registration England and Wales
Class Ordinary
Shares held 100%
----- End of picture text -----

The aggregate amount of capital and reserves and result of this undertaking for the last relevant financial year were as follows:

Subsidiary ACF Conferences and Seminars Limited ACF Conferences and Seminars Limited ACF Conferences and Seminars Limited
Principal activity Conferences
Capital and reserves £2
Proft for the year £nil
2020 2019
£ £
Turnover for the period 200,163 213,060
Cost of sales (96,474) (81,659)
Gross proft 103,689 131,401
Proft on ordinary activities before taxation 103,689 131,401
Tax on proft on ordinary activities - -
Proft for the year, transferred to the charity at year end 103,689 131,401
Group Charity Group Charity
2020 2020 2019 2019
£ £ £ £
Amounts due from subsidiary undertaking
Prepayments and accruals
Taxation
Other debtors		 -
210,826
82,980
79,676
135
135
64,761
40,761		 -
194,388
82,532
75,925
-
-
43,403
23,268
147,876 331,398 125,935 293,581

£5,000 of the total owed by ACF Conferences and Seminars Limited is a loan and is repayable at the option of the charity and is non interest-bearing.

10. CREDITORS: AMOUNTS FALLING DUE WITHIN ONE YEAR

----- Start of picture text -----
Group Charity Group Charity
2020 2020 2019 2019
£ £ £ £
----- End of picture text -----

Group
2020
£		 Charity
2020
£		 Group
2019
£		 Charity
2019
£
Accruals
Meeting fees received in advance
Subscriptions received in advance
Trading income received in advance
Staff leave carried forward
Staff wages
Other taxation and social security
Staff pensions
Dilapidations provision
Other creditors		 38,144
3,333
56,830
-
20,648
3,922
3,759
7,693
53,501
78,202		 37,427
3,333
56,830
-
20,648
3,922
3,759
7,693
53,501
75,984		 29,834
4,815
52,366
50,000
11,376
2,900
27,632
6,056
-
28,339		 40,471
4,815
52,366
-
11,376
2,900
2,790
6,056
-
28,341
266,032 263,097 213,318 149,115

In both years, meeting fees, subscriptions, and trading income received in advance entirely relate to the next financial year.

From 2013, the Trustees adopted an The charge for the dilapidations annual dilapidations provision to reflect provision in 2020 is £6,000 (2019: the estimated cost of future expenditure £8,000). where the Association has contractual obligations for reinstatement relating to any property lease.

10A. CREDITORS: AMOUNTS FALLING DUE AFTER ONE YEAR

Group Charity Group Charity
2020 2020 2019 2019
£ £ £ £
Dilapidations provision
Subscriptions received in advance		 8,500
6,540		 8,500
6,540		 56,001
-		 56,001
-
15,040 15,040 56,001 56,001

Subscriptions received in advance relate entirely to 2022 financial year and beyond.

11. TAXATION

The Association is exempt from tax as all its income is charitable and is applied for charitable purposes.

46[|] Annual report 2020

Annual report 2020[|] 47

Association of Charitable Foundations Notes to the Financial Statements For the year ended 31 December 2020

The scheme is classified as a ‘last-man standing arrangement’. Therefore the company is potentially liable for other participating employers’ obligations if those employers are unable to meet their share of the scheme deficit following withdrawal from the scheme. Participating employers are legally required to meet their share of the scheme deficit on an annuity purchase basis on withdrawal from the scheme.

The recovery plan contributions are allocated to each participating employer in line with their estimated share of the Series 1 and Series 2 scheme liabilities.

12. PENSION LIABILITY

The Association participates in the Pensions Trust Growth Plan scheme, a multi-employer scheme which provides benefits to some 1,300 non-associated participating employers. The scheme is a defined benefit scheme in the UK. It is not possible for the company to obtain sufficient information to enable it to account for the scheme as a defined benefit scheme. Therefore it accounts for the scheme as a defined contribution scheme.

A full actuarial valuation for the scheme is carried out every three years, the most recent of which was carried out at 30 September 2017. This valuation showed assets of £795m, liabilities of £926m and a deficit of £132m (data from the 2020 valuation is expected in mid-late 2021). To eliminate this funding shortfall, the Trustee has asked the participating employers to pay additional contributions to the scheme.

The scheme is subject to the funding legislation outlined in the Pensions Act 2004 which came into force on 30 December 2005. This, together with documents issued by the Pensions Regulator and Technical Actuarial Standards issued by the Financial Reporting Council, set out the framework for funding defined benefit occupational pension schemes in the UK.

Reconciliation of opening and closing liabilities

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Group and charity 2020 2019
£ £
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Group and charity 2020
£		 2019
£
Provision at 1 January
Unwinding of the discount factor
Defcit contribution paid in year to the Pensions Trust
Impact of changes in the Pensions Trust's fund valuation assumptions
Amendments to the contribution schedule
Provision at 31 December		 61,050
619
(11,627)
876
-		 75,377
1,128
(11,184)
1,086
(5,357)
50,918 61,050

Where the scheme is in deficit and where the Association has agreed to a deficit funding arrangement the company recognises a liability for this obligation. The amount recognised is the net present value of the deficit reduction contributions payable under the agreement that relates to the deficit. The present value is calculated using the discount rate detailed in these disclosures. The unwinding of the discount rate is recognised as a finance cost.

Under the Association’s recovery plan, £11,975 deficit contributions are due in the coming year, with the balance (subject to annual adjustments) to be paid in regular instalments ending 31 January 2025.

13A. UNRESTRICTED FUNDS GROUP AND CHARITY

Current year General fund Pension Trust
Defcit Fund		 Pension
Liability
Reserve Fund		 2020
£ £ £ £
Balances at 1 January 2020
Net income before transfers
Actuarial gains/(losses) on defned beneft
pension schemes
Transfer from/(to) General Fund
Balance at 31 December 2020		 570,370
50,000
(61,050)
559,320
(12,474)
-
-
(12,474)
-
-
(876)
(876)
(21,008)
10,000
11,008
-
536,888
60,000
(50,918)
545,970

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Prior year General Pension Trust Pension Office Move Member Web 2019
fund Deficit Fund Liability Fund Services Fund Developments
Reserve Fund Fund
£ £ £ £ £ £ £
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Prior year General
fund
£
Pension Trust
Defcit Fund
£
Pension
Liability
Reserve Fund
£

Offce Move
Fund
£
Member
Services Fund
£
Member
Services Fund
£
Web
Developments
Fund
£

2019
£
Balances at 1 January
2019
Net income before
transfers
Actuarial gains/
(losses) on defned
beneft pension
schemes
Transfer from/(to)
General Fund
Balance at 31
December 2019		 491,504
15,700
-
63,166		 40,000
-
-
10,000		 (75,377)
-
4,271
10,056		 60,000
(27,343)
-
(32,657)		 50,000
(5,088)
-
(44,912)		 7,669
(2,016)
-
(5,653)		 573,796
(18,747)
4,271
-
570,370 50,000 (61,050) - - - 559,320

Member Services Fund

General Fund

Pension Liability Reserve Fund

To reflect the very low probability that the liability is crystallised in one go a corresponding negative designated reserve fund has been created to show the true level of general funds.

The general fund is the value of unrestricted funds after future pension liabilities have been accounted for and comprises fixed assets, current assets and liabilities.

Prior year only. In 2018, the trustees designated £50,000 to cover the costs of one-off activities in 2019 to strengthen member services. Work on selecting and implementing a new CRM system using this fund began in 2019 and was expected to be completed in 2020 but is now planned to take place in 2021. The balance remaining at the end of 2019 was transferred to the general fund and the costs incurred in 2020 and 2021 will be capitalised and depreciated across the useful life of the system.

Pension Trust Deficit Reduction Fund

Office Move Fund

Prior year only. In 2017 the trustees designated £60,000 for the costs of an office move, initially expected to take place in 2018 but which then took place in 2019. The balance remaining at the end of 2019 was transferred to the general fund.

In 2015 trustees decided to create a designated fund to build a reserve fund to cover ACF’s Pension Trust liability. It is the trustees’ current intention to designate £10,000 into this fund per year. The first transfer was made in 2015 and £10,000 has been transferred every year from 2015–2020. This policy will continue until the fund is sufficient to cover ACF’s share of the liability. The amount transferred will be reviewed every few years.

Web Developments Fund

Prior year only . In 2017 the trustees designated £20,000 to cover the costs of a rebuild of the Funder Network website and developments to the ACF website. Most of this work took place in 2018, with the remainder completed in 2019 and the balance transferred to the general fund at the end of 2019.

48[|] Annual report 2020

Annual report 2020[|] 49

Association of Charitable Foundations Notes to the Financial Statements For the year ended 31 December 2020

14. RECONCILIATION OF NET EXPENDITURE TO NET CASH FLOW FROM OPERATING ACTIVITIES

13B. ANALYSIS OF NET ASSETS BETWEEN FUNDS GROUP AND CHARITY

Current year Fixed Assets &
Investments		 Current
Assets		 Creditors Pension Defcit
Liability		 2020
£ £ £ £
Restricted Funds
Project Funds
-
27,761
-
-
Unrestricted Funds
Designated Funds
Pension Trust defcit reduction fund
-
60,000
-
-
Pension Liability reserve
-
-
-
(50,918)
General Fund
88,577
729,383
(281,072)
-
Total unrestricted funds
88,577
789,383
(281,072)
(50,918)
Total funds
88,577
817,144
(281,072)
(50,918)
After fxed assets have been accounted for, ACF’s general fund is £448,311 which forms ACF’s free reserves.
This is calculated as follows:
Total general fund
536,888
Less fxed assets & investments
88,577
448,311
(£457,617 in 2019)		 -
-
-
88,577		 27,761
60,000
-
729,383		 -
-
-
(281,072)		 -
-
(50,918)
-		 27,761
60,000
(50,918)
536,888
88,577 789,383 (281,072) (50,918) 545,970
88,577 817,144 (281,072) (50,918) 573,731
Prior year Fixed Assets &
Investments		 Current
Assets		 Creditors Pension Defcit
Liability		 2019
£ £ £ £
Restricted Funds
Project Funds
Unrestricted Funds
Designated Funds
Pension Trust defcit reduction fund
Pension Liability reserve
General Fund
Total unrestricted funds
Total funds		 -
-
-
50,000
-
-
112,753
726,936		 -
-
-
-
-
(61,050)
(269,319)
-		 -
50,000
(61,050)
570,370
112,753
776,936		 (269,319)
(61,050)		 559,320
112,753
776,936		 (269,319)
(61,050)		 559,320

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2020 2019
£ £
Net income for the reporting period as per the statement of financial activities 15,287 (52,908)
Depreciation charges 43,796 18,383
Interest income (1,339) (2,588)
(Increase)/decrease in debtors (21,942) (33,772)
Increase/(decrease) in creditors 11,753 (32,002)
Non-cash movement on defined benefit pension liability (11,008) (10,056)
Net cash provided by operating activities 36,548 (112,943)
15. ANALYSIS OF CHANGES IN NET DEBT
At 1 January Cash flows At 31 December
2020 2020
£ £ £
Cash in hand 328,805 (53,791) 275,014
Notice deposits (less than three months) 322,196 72,057 394,253
Total cash and cash equivalents 651,001 18,266 669,267
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16. OPERATING LEASE COMMITMENTS GROUP AND CHARITY

2020 2020 2019 2019
£ £ £ £
L&B Offce Equipment L&B Offce Equipment
Within one year
Between 2 and 5 years
5 years +		 76,800
3,016
115,200
3,016
-
-
76,800
3,016
-
-
-
-
76,800 3,016
192,000
6,032

All amounts above include VAT, a portion of which will be recoverable under partial recovery. Operating lease rental payments during the year were £107,136 (2019: £55,953)

Bidirectional recharges have also been made between the charity and the trading subsidiary relating to trading activities (the trading subsidiary was charged £92,439 [2019: £57,988] by the charity and the charity was charged £1,182 [2019: £14,984] by the trading subsidiary).

At the year end the subsidiary owed the charity a total of £210,826 (2019: £194,388) inclusive of gift aid, and the charity owed the trading subsidiary £1,182 (2019: £14,984).

17. RELATED PARTY TRANSACTIONS

The charity has a wholly owned subsidiary, ACF Conferences and Seminars Limited. For the year ended 31 December 2020 the subsidiary declared a gift aid distribution of £103,689 to the charity (2019: £131,401).

There were no other related party transactions requiring disclosure in the year.

50[|] Annual report 2020

Annual report 2020[|] 51

Association of Charitable Foundations is a company limited by guarantee, registered in England and Wales.

Registered Company No. 5190466. Registered Office: 28 Commercial Street, London, E1 6LS. Registered Charity Number: 1105412.

acf.org.uk acf@acf.org.uk