2024-12-31-accounts

The Conroy - Rendon Charitable Trust

Trustees Annual Report and Accounts for the year to 31[st] December 2024

1. Introduction

Full Name of Charity: The Conroy-Rendon Charitable Trust

Registered Address: 6 Walnut Way, Brightlingsea Essex, CO7 0LJ Website www.conroyrendoncharity.co.uk

Registered with the U.K. Charity Commission under charity No: 1114903

Governing Document: The Charity was established by a Trust Deed dated 30[th] March 2006

Trustees: Joanna Conroy (Chair of Trustees) Andrew Conroy (Secretary) Christine Debenham

The trustees are responsible for the day-to-day running of the charity and implementing activities in pursuit of its aims and objectives.

Staff The Charity has no paid employees but has one member of staff engaged as a local representative in the Philippines on a voluntary basis.

2. Aims

The aims of the charity are set out in the trust deed and are summarised as follows:

To relieve poverty among the young, the aged, the homeless and the needy in the Philippines and elsewhere in the world.

To promote and provide for the education of children in the Philippines and elsewhere in the world.

To advance the Christian Faith.

3 Benefit Assessment

In planning the charity’s activities, the trustees have regard to the Charity Commission’s general guidelines on public benefit and in particular with reference to advancing education, relieving poverty and promoting religion for the public benefit. The trustees ensure that all activities are undertaken in line with our charitable objectives and aims.

By enabling people to access education and training we help them to increase their capacity to find better paid employment and break the cycle of poverty. Our philosophy is to empower people to take control of their own future rather than being dependent on ongoing aid. Education improves employment prospects for both children and adults so that they can become self-reliant citizens who are able to make a positive contribution to society.

Providing a home for orphaned, neglected, abused and abandoned children gives them a place of safety and security, away from the abject poverty, and gang culture that prevails amongst street children and gives them the opportunity to obtain a proper education.

1

The Conroy - Rendon Charitable Trust

However, the Trustees firmly believe that there is a lot more to life than just financial security. A society based solely on material values will be morally and spiritually bankrupt. We are all both physical and spiritual beings and need to understand our purpose in creation. We believe that the teachings of the Christian Faith have much to offer in helping men, women, and children to understand who they are and how they are called to relate to God, the universe and their fellow human beings. The benefit of this is hard to demonstrate in quantifiable terms but it is widely acknowledged that the moral foundations of Christian teaching frequently result in higher levels of generosity and service to mankind as an expression and out-working of faith, which consequently benefits public life. This is particularly relevant for the House of Joshua children, many of whom have either experienced life in dysfunctional families or have grown up with little rule or regulation, living rough on city streets where crime, violence, and substance abuse are commonplace, and who are now beginning to learn how to function effectively as members of society, including engaging in aid and service projects within the wider local community. During 2024 we have been able to gauge the effectiveness of this when two of our trustees attended the House of Joshua annual “foundation day” celebrations and were able to talk directly with several former residents of the home who are now successfully living independent adult lives, albeit with varying levels of ongoing support as needed.

4 Area of Operation and Partnership Arrangements

At the present time the Charity's main sphere of operation is in Cagayan De Oro City and the surrounding area of Misamis Oriental in Northern Mindanao, Philippines.

Under the terms of a Memorandum of Agreement signed in September 2009 we are committed to supporting the work of Lifenet Children’s Foundation with orphaned and abandoned children and impoverished communities, and in particular to help fund the operational costs of the House of Joshua Children’s Home in as much as we are able to.

.

From time to time we also partner with other local community groups, welfare organisations, and faith groups to support initiatives in poorer communities, providing tools, training, equipment, teaching and resources according to their needs.

5 Principle Activities and Achievements

The activities carried out by the charity for the public benefit broadly fall into three categories as detailed below:

a) Relieving Poverty

The House of Joshua home for orphaned, neglected, and abandoned children opened in January 2013, operated by our mission partner, Lifenet Children’s Foundation, a Philippines registered not-for-profit Non-Governmental Organisation. We have continued to contribute towards the costs of running the home by facilitating a child sponsorship scheme in conjunction with Lifenet and funding from general donations. This is our primary mission project. Without the House of Joshua these children would probably be living rough on the city streets, begging for a living, vulnerable to abuse, assault and people trafficking. In the last few years, the overall number of children housed has reduced as some children have been reunited with families who are now in a position to care for them and some older ones have now moved on to independent living but remain in contact for pastoral care, guidance and support as well as attending church services at the House of Joshua. We were delighted to catch up with a number of formerly resident children at the home’s annual foundation day celebration and see how well they are getting on with their lives.

b) Advancing Education

All the children who live at the House of Joshua Children’s home are either enrolled in the state school system or an “Alternative Learning Scheme” (ALS) for those who, for whatever reason, cannot be accommodated within the regular school system. Extra-curricular activities

2

The Conroy - Rendon Charitable Trust and learning opportunities for the children are provided by House of Joshua staff and visiting volunteers from the wider local community.

c) Promoting the Christian Faith

Regular devotional times are held at the House of Joshua with some of the older children helping to take the lead in organising and running these activities. Children and on-duty staff gather every week for an all-inclusive, low-key, Sunday worship service. We support this activity through the provision of devotional and study materials.

6 Risk Assessment

1) Financial

2024 has again been a challenging year financially but a Filipino Cultural fund-raising event and a large, one-off, donation towards the end of the year have enabled us to do slightly better than break even. However, unless we can establish new income streams we are likely to face another deficit in 2025.

We still have some £27000 of reserves built up over several years and we continue working towards a more sustainable financial model with our Mission Partners to enable us to continue supporting them in the longer term. In the meantime, children still need to be fed and cared for, the children’s home needs to be staffed and the property maintained. We do, therefore, expect some further depletion of reserves over the next year or two and some tough decisions may need to be taken before much longer.

Funds for child sponsorship and the operating costs of the House of Joshua are held in separate bank accounts for clarity and because they will need to be paid over to our partner organisation in due course. The charity has no significant operational costs or other obligations and, with the exception of the child sponsorship schemes, grants made and other payments are entirely at the discretion of the trustees. Other small projects are undertaken only as funds and opportunities allow so these do not present any additional financial risk. It is therefore considered unnecessary to maintain a general financial reserve.

2) Reputational

We continue to provide advice and support to the House of Joshua on Child Protection arrangements, Health and Safety, and procedural policies as needed. We are satisfied that their policies are robust and go well beyond the requirements of Philippine law. The home is subject to regulation by the Philippines Department for Welfare and Social Development, who have endorsed their operating protocols. During 2024 we have also put a new safeguarding Policy into effect governing all aspects of our own work including visits to the House of Josua by volunteers and staff.

3) Operational

We are a small charity and rely heavily on a small number of key people. At the present time we only have three trustees and, ideally, need to recruit at least one more, to provide a greater spread of experience and allow for succession planning. This is proving challenging at the present time.

We also rely on maintaining good communications with our partner organisations in the Philippines to ensure the effectiveness of our support. We are grateful to our local agent for facilitating this.

We are also very grateful to our small network of “local ambassadors” who continue to represent us in a number of churches across the U.K. and keep their congregations informed about our work and plans.

Our accounting records and important documents are fully backed up using secure ‘cloud’ storage.

3

The Conroy - Rendon Charitable Trust

7 Finances

Examined copies of the financial accounts for the year ended 31[st] December 2024 are attached. In view of the small size of the charity these are prepared as a simple income and expenditure statement under the historic cost convention, having due regard to the recommendations of Charities SORP 2005 and the Charities (Accounts and Reports) Regulations 2008.

Overall income for the year at £29787 is at a similar level to last year despite us having lost one or two longer term sponsors as their circumstances have changed. The difference has been made up by a successful fund-raising event put on by the trustees and a one-off donation of £4400 in December. The amount received by way of gift aid tax rebates is slightly down on 2023 and a further reduction is expected of around £400 in 2025

Grants made to cover the running costs at the House of Joshua have been reduced by just over £9,000 as other sources of funding for the home have come on stream, which has helped us to balance our budget this year.

The Charity continues to benefit from the free use of office and Internet facilities courtesy of its supporters and has no other liabilities.

8 Future Plans:

Rising inflation and the current cost of living crisis continues to have a detrimental financial impact, both here in the U.K. and in the Philippines where food prices continue to rise. The Philippines annual increase in minimum wage will also impact House of Joshua staff costs. Although U.K. inflation has now fallen back to under 3% we expect that fundraising will continue to be difficult for some time yet and we anticipate another funding shortfall for 2025, which may mean we have to make some further cutbacks in outgoings. With this in mind we are looking to try and expand our supporter base and identify other ways to increase income.

Consequently, we need to focus all our efforts on funding the House of Joshua to keep it operating as we cannot let these children down. Until we are able to do so other projects will need to be put on hold’

Our Mission Partners continue to try and establish a more financially sustainable working model, engaging with other NGO’s, Philippines local governmental units, education providers, and commercial organizations with funded social development programs to raise more local and international support for the House of Joshua.

4

The Conroy - Rendon Charitable Trust

Income & Expenditure Account

Period ending 31st December Income note House of Joshua receipts Friends of Lifenet 4 Other Donations Gift Aid Rebates 1 Fund Raising Schemes Bank Interest received Other Income Total Income Expenditure - Grants Made House of Joshua 3 Training Other Grants sub total Other Expenditure Bank transaction charges Postages & Stationery Fund raising costs 2 Other expenditure sub total Total Expenditure Surplus of income over expenditure Balance Sheet as at 31 December Assets Bank General account Bank House of Joshua Fund Bank Friends of HOJ/ Lifenet 4 Paypal Account Debtors, cash & cheques in hand total assets Liabilities Total liabilities Net Assets Balance brought forward Current year surplus / (deficit) Balance Carried Forward	2024 2023 £ £ 11574.27 10385.18 14823.35 13751.54 180.00 2360.00 2802.67 3057.80 406.27 21.04 0.00 83.60 0.00 0.00
	£29,786.56 £29,659.16 29300.00 38400.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 600.00
	£29,300.00 £39,000.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 72.88 2.88 0.00 0.00
	£72.88 £2.88 £29,372.88 £39,002.88
	£413.68 -£9,343.72
	2024 2023 1416.34 394.05 22043.31 19805.89 2692.90 5604.55 1276.29 1210.67 0.00 0.00
	£27,428.84 £27,015.16 0.00 0.00
	£0.00 £0.00
	£27,428.84 £27,015.16
	27015.16 36358.88 413.68 -9343.72
	£27,428.84 £27,015.16

5

The Conroy - Rendon Charitable Trust

Notes to the Accounts

Note

• These accounts are prepared under the historic cost convention. As the gross income of the charity is below £100,000 the trustees are of the opinion that the charity meets the Charity Commission requirements for exemption from audit.

• 1 Gift Aid tax rebates received during the year relate to donations received in the previous accounting year. A further £2504 is due on donations received in the period covered by these accounts, which will be claimed after the end of the next tax year.

• 2 Fundraising costs include account charges deducted from donations received via Paypal and other donation handling agencies. 2024 also includes venue hire for a fundraising event.

• 3 The House of Joshua is a joint project with the Lifenet Children's Foundation Inc, a Philippines registered charity. Mary Conroy-Rendon (daughter of TCRCT Trustees Andrew & Joanna Conroy) and her husband Ramil are full time, unpaid, missionary workers. Mary Rendon is a trustee of Lifenet Foundation and a voluntary member of staff of TCRCT. Ramil Rendon is also a trustee of Lifenet Foundation. The Rendons receive no remuneration from either charity but rely on gifts from personal supporters and other paid work for their living costs in order to remain in the mission field.

• 4 Friends of The House of Joshua is a separate fund established to receive regular donations and subscriptions to help with the running costs of the House of Joshua Children's home and sponsorship of children living in the house and "Growing Hope", a community outreach and child education initiative operated by the House of Joshua. These funds are held on behalf of Lifenet Children's Foundation and are paid over to them periodically as part of our ongoing support of that project.

Signed by the trustees 24 June 2025

6

The Conroy - Rendon Charitable Trust

Independent examiner's report on the accounts

Section A Independent Examiner ~~8~~ ’s Report 9

Report to the trustees/ members of

The Conroy Rendon Charitable Trust

31[st] December 2024 ended

On accounts for the year

Charity no 1114903

Set out on pages

5 and 6

Respective responsibilities of trustees and examiner

The charity's trustees are responsible for the preparation of the accounts.

The charity’s trustees consider that an audit is not required for this year under section 144 of the Charities Act 2011 (“the Charities Act”) and that an independent examination is needed.

• It is my responsibility to:

• examine the accounts under section 145 of the Charities Act,

• to follow the procedures laid down in the general Directions given by the Charity Commission (under section 145(5)(b) of the Charities Act, and

• to state whether particular matters have come to my attention.

Basis of independent My examination was carried out in accordance with general examiner’s statement Directions given by the Charity Commission. An examination includes a review of the accounting records kept by the charity and a comparison of the accounts presented with those records. It also includes consideration of any unusual items or disclosures in the accounts, and seeking explanations from the trustees concerning any such matters. The procedures undertaken do not provide all the evidence that would be required in an audit, and consequently no opinion is given as to whether the accounts present a ‘true and fair’ view and the report is limited to those matters set out in the statement below.

7

The Conroy - Rendon Charitable Trust

In connection with my examination, no matter has come to my attention (other than that disclosed below *)

Independent In connection with my examination, no matter has come to examiner's my attention (other than that disclosed below *) 1. which gives me reasonable cause to believe that in, any statement material respect, the requirements:

• to keep accounting records in accordance with section 130 of the Charities Act; and

• to prepare accounts which accord with the accounting

• records and comply with the accounting requirements of the Charities Act have not been met; or

• 1. to which, in my opinion, attention should be drawn in order to enable a proper understanding of the accounts to be reached.

• Please delete the words in the brackets if they do not apply.

PN Hockett Date: Signed: 20/3/25 Name: Philip Neil Hockett Relevant professional Chartered Management Accountant qualification(s) or body (if any): Address: 3 Turnberry Drive, Fornham St Martin Bury St Edmunds, Suffolk, IP28 6TP 10

Section B Disclosure

Only complete if the examiner needs to highlight material problems.(E.g. accounting records have not been kept in accordance with s132 of the Charities’ Act 2011 and those accounts do not comply with the requirements of the 2008 Regulations setting out the form and content of charity accounts; any material expenditure or action which appears not to be in accordance with the trusts of the charity; any failure to be provided with information and explanations by any past or present trustee, officer or employee; and any material consistency between the accounts and the trustees’ annual report.)

Give here brief details of any items that the examiner wishes to disclose .

8

The Conmy - Rendon Charitable Trust