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2021-12-31-accounts

Company no. 05650155 Charity no. 1115109

Women for Women International (UK)

Annual Report and Financial Statements

31[st] December 2021

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Women for Women International (UK) Trustees’ Annual Report for the year ended 31 December 2021

Our Global Values

Empowerment

We believe every woman is unique and powerful in her own right. Our people are our greatest strength and we will support them to achieve our aims by providing them with the information, rewards and power they need to take the initiative and make decisions to solve problems and improve our delivery and performance. As a learning organisation we encourage our people to take risks and make mistakes - this is how we learn, grow and get better, stronger and smarter.

Respect

We believe every woman has the right to be treated with fairness and dignity. We trust each other implicitly, confident in the knowledge that we are all working towards the same goals. Equally, we hold each other responsible and accountable at all levels of the organisation for the outcomes of our actions. We will be bold, clear and kind in our communication with our colleagues across the organisation and not allow disrespectful behaviour to go unchallenged.

Integrity

We will never communicate in any way that exploits or demeans the women we exist to serve. We will deliver a programme of training that maximises the impact for the women we serve to bring them the biggest benefits and facilitate the greatest long-term positive change in their lives. We do what we say we are going to do, when we say we're going to do it. We act as good stewards of the organisation’s resources.

Resilience

We see every day the strength of women survivors of war and their ability to never lose hope despite having faced the greatest atrocities and horrors of conflict. They inspire us to stay strong, hopeful, focused and committed to our global purpose. We support each other to do the same.

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Trustees’ Annual Report

Contents

Trustees’ Annual Report Trustees’ Annual Report
Contents
Welcome letter from Chair 4
Introduction 6
Our Aims 7
Our Approach 8
Our Programmes 9
Our Impact 10
FundraisingStatement 11
Strategic Report 13
Financial Review 17
Governance 18
Thankyou list 25
Statement of Trustees Responsibilities 28
Independent Auditor’s report 29
Statement of Financial Activities 33
Balance Sheet 34
Statement of Cashflows 35
Notes to the Financial Statements 36
Appendix Strategic Report 45

Advisers

Bankers

Coutts & Co Clydesdale Bank 440 Strand 35 Regent Street London WC2R 0QS London SW1Y 4ND

Solicitors (pro bono)

Simmons & Simmons Baker McKenzie City Point 100 New Bridge Street One Ropemaker Street London EC4V 6JA London EC2Y 9SS

Auditor

Solicitors

Buzzacott LLP Farrer & Co 130 Wood Street 66 Lincoln Inn Fields London London EC2V 6DL WC2A 3LH

The Trustees of Women for Women International (UK) present their report and audited financial statements for the year ended 31 December 2021.

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Women for Women International (UK) Trustees’ Annual Report for the year ended 31 December 2021

Welcome from the co-Chairs of Women for Women International (UK)

2021 has been another huge challenge for Women for Women International, as for so many others, because of the COVID-19 pandemic. For many women, the last 12 months have been a struggle to live with the impacts of COVID-19 whilst trying to maintain a normal life. For many, just surviving has been an achievement. As this report brings out, Women for Women International has seen it as a priority to help women most at risk from the pandemic to protect themselves, their families and, in turn, their communities.

While many women have been able to improve their lives, the unfulfilled needs are enormous and growing. Poverty and hunger in the world have worsened over the past year, with women often most affected. Long-running conflicts continued in Syria and Yemen during 2021, whilst instability broke out or worsened in Myanmar, Afghanistan, Ethiopia, Sudan, and from February 2022, in Ukraine. Gender inequality is worsening, as the World Economic Forum’s Global Gender Gap Report 2021 highlights. The many pressures on the safety and livelihoods of women mean our work is ever more necessary and important.

These pressures have also led us to adapt and innovate, in our programmes and outreach, as well as in our internal processes. For example, when Taliban forces took over Kabul in August 2021, we paused our programmes for safety reasons and worked to secure the evacuation of our most at-risk staff and their family members to the UK. Our colleagues who stayed showed remarkable fortitude in difficult circumstances, leading talks with the de facto government and, after months of discussions, persuading them to allow us to restart our programmes in early 2022. However, the situation is still very delicate. We are constantly working hard not to allow the plight of women in Afghanistan to be forgotten, which is so easy when other disasters hit the news and call for attention and funding.

In Rwanda, women graduates undertook additional economic empowerment training throughout 2021, with an interactive automated instructor developed and tested in early 2020. In Rwanda, Nigeria and the Democratic Republic of the Congo, pilot projects have begun to digitise Village Savings & Loan Associations to simplify record-keeping, earning predictions, goal tracking, and fraud prevention. Using our Conflict Response Fund and linking up with local organisations, Women for Women International has been able to help many women in crisis areas where we are not normally able to work. One example is Ukraine, where the Director of our sister organisation in Bosnia travelled to Poland to lead our support for women affected by the conflict.

In these and other ways we have continued to provide essential services and solidarity to some of the most marginalised women in fragile countries worldwide. Building on our work in 2020, we helped a total of 20,614 women in 2021, bringing us to a total of 540,328 women served since our beginnings 29 years ago.

In a very welcome development, in January 2021, Women for Women Rwanda (WfWR) became an independent national NGO, as a sister affiliate of Women for Women International led by a Rwandan all-women Board of Directors. WfWR has an exciting future with plans to expand into new areas in 2022 and beyond.

Finally, we are deeply grateful that many individuals, groups and companies choose to support

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Women for Women International (UK) Trustees’ Annual Report for the year ended 31 December 2021

Women for Women International by raising vital funds - hosting their own fundraising events or undertaking sponsored challenges. The enthusiasm, tenacity and resilience of our supporters and partners, along with the unremitting efforts of our wonderful staff, are critical to our being able to achieve our ambitious goals.

We would like to extend our profound thanks to all for the resolve and dedication shown throughout 2021, united by our vision of a world in which women achieve equality, are treated with respect and fairness, and are empowered to work together to rebuild their communities after conflict has shattered them.

With sincere gratitude,

Penelope Holmes and Alex Duncan

Co-Chairs, Women for Women International (UK)

Saratu’s story

Since joining our programme in November 2019, Saratu’s life has drastically changed. Saratu’s business dried up and her savings vanished during the COVID-19 lockdown. But she learned goal setting for long-term growth and ways to sustain her business as a participant in our vocational training. The programme led her to explore new markets for her steamed bean paste, including where men gather to watch football.

“After completing the first cycle of the training, my ‘sisters’ and I have agreed that it is our responsibility to train other women in the community who are not in the Women for Women International programme, to help them save and plan for the future, just as we have been taught to do. I have decided to teach my daughter all I learnt, even though she is still quite young – just 7 years old. I have begun to reinforce the importance of completing her education before marriage.

Thank you for giving me the opportunity of a lifetime. I look forward to our graduation day when I will be presented with a certificate of completing the Women for Women International programme. I thank you for the privilege and honour to have been a part of this great programme that has helped us change our lives for the better.”

Saratu is one of 3,600 women from conflict-affected communities in Bauchi state, who is in our training programme as part of a transformative three-year project funded by UK aid from the UK government.

Saratu, Women for Women International – Nigeria programme graduate

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Women for Women International (UK) Trustees’ Annual Report for the year ended 31 December 2021

Introduction

Our Vision

To create a world in which all women determine the course of their lives and reach their full potential.

Our Mission

In countries affected by conflict and war we support the most marginalised women to earn and save money; improve health and well-being; influence decisions at home & in the community; and connect to networks for support. By utilising skills, knowledge and resources, she is able to create sustainable change for herself, her family and community.

About Women for Women International

We believe women have the power to transform their lives, but when women are undervalued and oppressed, their power is undermined. Conflict and war deepen this injustice. At Women for Women International (WfWI), we invest in women who are forgotten—those facing the greatest inequalities in areas of conflict— and support them in learning the social and economic skills they need to rebuild their lives, their families, and their communities. With the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic and related economic crisis, 2021 has been another challenging year. Added to that is the distressing fact that more countries have experienced some form of violent conflict than at any time in the last 30 years.

Since 1993, the organisation has invested in the power of over 500,000 women to use their voices and create a ripple effect of change that makes the world more equal, peaceful, and prosperous. To learn more about the power of women, for women, visit www.womenforwomen.org.uk.

About Women for Women International in the UK

In 2005, Women for Women International established an independent UK – registered charity in London with two main purposes - to raise funds from the UK and Europe for the programme transforming the lives of women survivors of war, and to raise awareness and influence policy by amplifying the voices of the women we work with and sharing our learning. Women for Women International (UK) is legally separate from, but closely affiliated with, Women for Women International, founded in 1993 and headquartered in Washington D.C., with programme offices and partners in eight countries.

Over sixteen years, Women for Women International (UK) has grown to become an organisation raising £5 million each year and hosting high profile events, achieving wide-ranging media coverage, securing funding from governments, institutions, trusts, foundations and individuals. Corporate partnerships have been a key area of growth, and 2021 continued the trend of unprecedented engagement from our partners throughout the year.

Women for Women International (UK) leads the global organisation’s corporate partnership strategy, and Policy & Advocacy work, which is informed and guided by the global organisation’s monitoring and evaluation data and is aimed at sharing learning, amplifying women’s voices and influencing attitudes and policies.

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Women for Women International (UK) Trustees’ Annual Report for the year ended 31 December 2021

Our Aims

Women for Women International (UK) works across the globe in countries affected by conflict; where violence, poverty and gender inequality combine to make life extraordinarily challenging for women. From Afghanistan to Ethiopia to Nigeria, women often bear the brunt of war and crisis. Women for Women International has spent the last 29 years working in conflict-affected areas and we know that women’s specific needs are often overlooked.

High levels of gender-based violence (GBV) against women and girls are prevalent in both conflict and post-conflict zones, including the use of rape as a weapon of war and increased intimate partner violence. Since women and children make up the majority of those fleeing from wars and displacement, it puts women at increased risk of sexual and physical violence, trafficking and abuse. Dislocated from their homes or in a post-conflict setting, women often have to take on new roles alongside their caretaking responsibilities to provide for their families, frequently needing new skills, resources and knowledge to take up these roles.

Conflict often compounds food crises as well when it becomes too dangerous for women to farm the land in rural areas. In Afghanistan, we witnessed the combination of climate crises depressing agricultural yield—a conflict further compounded by it being too dangerous to farm, resulting in an economic collapse that has left the majority of the country dependent on food aid and with alarming rates of starvation. In 2021, the ongoing pandemic has further increased inequity, pushing an estimated 47 million women and girls deeper into poverty.

Maria’s story

“I was born into a Rohingya family. As a government doctor working in war affected areas, I

came to understand the intersectional discrimination against women from ethnic minorities. Now, I’m a local feminist working with an NGO, community workers, and an international donor (Women for Women International) helping girls and women access education otherwise out of their reach.”

Maria Begum, is a medical doctor who works as the Programme Coordinator with the Centre for Social Integrity (CSI), our local partner in Myanmar.

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Women for Women International (UK) Trustees’ Annual Report for the year ended 31 December 2021

Our Approach

Our Stronger Women, Stronger Nations programme supports the most marginalised women in countries affected by conflict and war, helping them earn and save money, improve their health and well-being, influence decisions in their home and community, and connect to networks for support.

We are women-centred and locally powered. Our country staff are from the communities we serve. Our greatest strength is our ability to meet women where they are, centring their voices and experiences and adapting our programmes to meet their needs.

Graduates from our programmes pass on their knowledge to those around them, creating sustainable change for themselves, their families and communities and building a more just world – a world where every woman’s voice, role and contribution is visible and valued.

Our vision is to create a world in which all women determine the course of their lives and reach their full potential.

How is Women for Women International’s approach transformative? Five components for effectively supporting women’s economic power in conflict: 1. Focus on women. Ensure that ultra-poor communities are reached and that there is inclusivity in the selection of participants to engage the most vulnerable and marginalised women survivors of conflict. 2. Training on rights, gender and health – including the value of women’s work; health and wellness; gender equality, rights and decision-making; conflict, violence and peacebuilding; women’s solidarity and networking; and leadership, citizenship and advocating for change. 3. Economic knowledge and skills, including numeracy; household financial planning; savings channels; goal-setting; business planning; and negotiation, leadership and effective communication. 4. Supporting social networks and connections through safe women-only spaces and sessions delivered in a group setting, bringing together groups of 25 women throughout the 12 months of the programme. 5. Tackling discriminatory gender norms by working with men – including community leaders and influencers – and transforming negative masculine norms.

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Women for Women International (UK) Trustees’ Annual Report for the year ended 31 December 2021

Our Programmes

Stronger Women, Stronger Nations is a 12-month training programme in which women meet in small groups to learn about essential health practices and nutrition, fundamental human and legal rights and household decision making. Women are trained in numeracy, business management basics and bookkeeping. Each programme participant receives a training stipend of $10 per month. Globally, we enrolled 10,350 women in this programme alone in 2021.

In our Change Agent Programme , graduates undertake grassroots advocacy activities, mentored and supported by Women for Women International staff that help women identify problems in their communities and create action plans to challenge them.

Our Men’s Engagement Programme engages men as allies, to be support systems for women’s empowerment. Our programme elevates how liberating it can be for men to share decision-making power with women, to enjoy time caring for their children and sharing in the household chores while supporting the women in their lives to start businesses and contribute to the family economy. This typically involves a “training the trainer” approach in which men learn about gender equality and how to lead discussion groups about women’s rights with other men in their communities. Globally, we reached 4,390 men in our Men’s Engagement Programme in 2021.

Men and women working together is the only way to change traditions and socials norms that discriminate against women and restrict their freedoms. Participants in our men's programme in DRC created a radio show, “Voice of the Male Champions,” where they shared what they learned about gender-based violence and women’s equality. Lawyers, doctors, religious, and traditional leaders were invited to be guests on the show and listeners were encouraged to join the conversation.

While men still hold too much of the power, ending gender-based violence and achieving gender equality will only be possible when more men stand up and support what’s right. We have seen this in the communities we work with. Where our Men’s Engagement Programme is delivered, complementing our Stronger Women, Stronger Nations programme, the women we work with have higher class attendance rates and increased value as decision-makers within the family.

"We're standing up for the rights of women and girls in our communities to create their own independent futures. We encourage men to support women, especially in the home front to bring up their children."

Graduate of our Men's Engagement Programme, Nigeria

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Women for Women International (UK) Trustees’ Annual Report for the year ended 31 December 2021

Our Impact

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Women for Women International (UK) Trustees’ Annual Report for the year ended 31 December 2021

Fundraising Statement

Our Public Fundraising Approach

At Women for Women International (UK) we pride ourselves on delivering best-practice fundraising activities which donors can trust to fully comply with regulatory standards for fundraising. We are registered with the Fundraising Regulator and are committed to the Fundraising Promise and adherence to the Code of Fundraising Practice. This report covers the requirements charities must follow as set out in the Charities Act 2016.

We raised £4.8 million in 2021 through a diverse range of fundraising initiatives.

Our fundraising included: activities and campaigns which inspired donations and gifts from individuals; applying for grants; a sponsorship programme which matches women in our programmes with sponsors from around the world; running special events; and partnerships and collaborations with businesses and brands. Our in-house fundraising team sometimes engages professional service providers to help us deliver fundraising campaigns such as filmmakers and graphic designers. We aim to ensure any agencies we employ also observe the highest standards in terms of fundraising practice. Several of our in-house fundraising team are members of the Institute of Fundraising and regularly attend fundraising trainings to ensure our staff are up to date on fundraising practices, regulations and trends.

This year, for the 3[rd] time, we ran our annual #SheInspiresMe Car Boot sale as a virtual auction event raising over £54,000. During a year that saw continued disruption to events programmes we were proud that this new virtual event concept still engaged our audience, sold 354 items and had more than 100 brands and fashion icons donate pieces.

We were also very excited to hold our first in-person event since before the pandemic in October 2021, our #SheInspiresMe Lunch, held for the first time at The Ned hotel in London.

In 2021 we launched our Power Up Club. Inspired by our Stronger Women, Stronger Nations programme for women survivors of war.The Power Up Club is a space for committed supporters to come together, develop their knowledge and skills, and drive the changes they want to see in the world.

Power Up Club members commit to donating £7 or more per month to our work. At the end of 2021 we had grown our membership to 355 and had held 3 virtual events specifically for the Club.

In the UK our individual donors are currently sponsoring 1,497 women through our Stronger Women, Stronger Nations programme with a further 26 sisters sponsored through our corporate sponsorship package. In addition to this we have 355 Power Up Club members and a further 144 individuals donating a regular gift outside of the club. In 2021 approximately 2,600 individuals gave one or more one-time donations towards our work. In addition, 95 people helped raise money through their own fundraising events and challenges, covering everything from birthday celebrations to marathons and bake sales. We also had 23 runners join our #SheInspiresMe Squad, taking part in a number of events including the Virtual London Marathon, plus our 4 fantastic student societies.

In August we launched an appeal to support our response to the crisis in Afghanistan following the de facto government’s takeover of the country. We were overwhelmed by the outpouring of support from our international community of supporters, receiving over 1,900 donations raising over £115,000 from individual donations as well as an additional £104,000 from corporate donors.

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Women for Women International (UK) Trustees’ Annual Report for the year ended 31 December 2021

Our roster of incredible corporate and brand partners also continued to grow in 2021. We are always so proud to see the many fundraising activities corporate partners undertake for us, from selling products in aid of Women for Women International (UK), to asking their staff and customers to support us through donating to campaigns or undertaking challenges like runs. To maintain fundraising standards and protect our reputation we always aim to have long term, open and honest relationships with these partners. We provide housekeeping rules which outline charity law considerations and brand guidelines and agree approval processes and sign off deadlines to ensure these guidelines are met and maintained. We also sign legal agreements with partners to safeguard the charity and our partners.

A key fundraising moment for many of our corporate partners is International Women’s Day and in 2021 we had 15 partners support us through a range of activations including a number of special products sold in aid of Women for Women International (UK) from t-shirts to mugs to artwork. Not only has this activity raised vital funds but also secured much needed press and PR coverage to raise more awareness of our work.

We are very grateful to the many individuals and third parties who chose to support us in 2021 by raising vital funds hosting their own fundraising events (such as dinner parties and student events) or undertaking sponsored challenges like half marathons that we have bought places for. We have processes in place to support these donors, giving them advice on best practice, our brand guidelines and how to manage their fundraising as well as training guides, branded materials and a dedicated staff member from our fundraising team to speak to if they need additional support.

We are committed to dealing with any, and all, complaints in an open, honest and accountable way. On receipt, all complaints are logged, and an acknowledgement sent within three working days. Wherever possible, we aim to provide a full resolution to complaints at the same time but where we are not able to do this, we aim to give a reply within ten working days, setting out how the problem will be dealt with. Our website outlines our complaints policy for the public and clearly explains how an individual can complain. We also track any Fundraising Preference Service requests, receiving 0 requests for no communications in 2021 which were actioned. We received 11 complaints in 2021. This is marked decrease on the previous years.

We are passionate about providing all our donors and supporters with a level of care and respect that exceeds their expectations, to this end we have a Vulnerable Supporters policy which outlines how we protect vulnerable supporters, how we can identify such persons and what action we take if we suspect a person is vulnerable and all staff are trained on it.

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Women for Women International (UK) Trustees’ Annual Report for the year ended 31 December 2021

Strategic Report (Highlights)

Achievements and Performance

Our intentions for 2021

Last year we said we would focus on a number of priorities against our strategic objectives, including:

SO1
Invest in the social and		 economic empowerment of marginalised women •
•
•		 Strengthen the Stronger Women, Stronger Nations Programme and
increase impact on the lives of women by applying the learning from
Randomised Control Trials and our internal Monitoring and Evaluation
frameworks and strengthening innovation hub.
Increase impact at household and community level by revising our
Men’s Engagement Programme, investing in Change Agents and
increasing support for graduates.
Power Locally, Streamline Globally – build up/transfer skills to Country
Offices to lead the work at every level.
SO2
Work with men		 to change attitudes • Continue to support the delivery of the Men’s Engagement
Programmes in all country offices and continue to improve and expand
learning across countries to find the best approaches and ways to
measure the results of this work and its link to women’s
empowerment.
SO3
Support		 marginalised women survivors of conflict so that they can influence decisions •
•		 Foster strong internal knowledge, processes and capacities towards
the effective delivery and monitoring of advocacy activities at all levels.
Work to finalise a cohesive Theory of Change for Advocacy and
monitoring, evaluation, research and learning (MERL) framework for
our advocacy that enables us to monitor and measure the progress we
are making in key areas.
SO4
Use advocacy to transform the enabling		 environment for women’ s rights at the grassroots, national and global levels to drive systemic change on gender equality for the most marginalised women affected by conflict •
•		 Empower and support women-led and collective grassroots advocacy
to influence change in their communities and beyond, particularly
through:
o
the implementation of the Change Agents programme and
associated grassroots advocacy work.
o
continuing to focus on building the self-sufficiency and
sustainability of existing Change Agents.
Raise the voices of marginalised women and make visible our
experience and learning to influence, including by:
o
maximising key political moments to advocate for changes
and deliver on our key commitments related to the priority
areas set out by our Agenda for Action.
o
prioritising increased external representation from our
Country Offices and share spaces and platforms with other
partners based in the Global South to share their insights and
expertise from working on the frontlines on the issues on
which we advocate for change.

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Women for Women International (UK) Trustees’ Annual Report for the year ended 31 December 2021

Our achievements in 2021

We accomplished a lot together in 2021 and these are discussed in full in the Appendix. Below are just some of our achievements:

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Women for Women International (UK) Trustees’ Annual Report for the year ended 31 December 2021

Our ambitions for 2022

Next year we will focus on the following operational priorities in pursuit of our strategic objectives:

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Women for Women International (UK) Trustees’ Annual Report for the year ended 31 December 2021

•
•
•		 Conduct extensive participatory research with current and former
programme participants - marginalised women living in provinces across
Afghanistan – and Afghan women’s rights activists to better understand
their current experiences, primary concerns and challenges, promising
support mechanisms, and their hopes for their future.
Develop a set of policy briefs based on qualitative and quantitative
research conducted between 2019-2021 to illustrate VAW prevalence,
community attitudes, and community responses and resources in
conflict-affected settings in Afghanistan, South Sudan, Nigeria, and the
Democratic Republic of Congo.
Work with others to conduct an extensive research and mapping project
of the Afghan women’s rights movements now it is dispersed across the
world and co-host convening and advocacy activities with Afghan
women activists in Geneva in June.		 on gender equality for the most global levels to drive systemic change rights at the grassroots, national and rights at the grassroots, national and **enabling environment for women’ s ** Use advocacy to transform the SO4
•
•
•
•		 Raise £2.7m in restricted funds from Institutional, Trusts and Foundation
and Corporate donors by 31stDecember 2022
Raise £1.8m in unrestricted funds from Major Donors, Live and Digital
Events, Sponsorship and Individual Giving, Community Fundraising, and
Corporate Partnerships/Cause Related Marketing Events by 31st
December 2022
Increase our unrestricted income total by 33%
Grow our audience by 30% by investing in a digital advertising strategy
and aligning our community building plans across teams.		 and sponsorships major donors and events, grassroots contributions, corporate partnerships, Raise £6 million from grants, SO5
•
•
•		 Increase the number of people who ‘see’ and ‘think’ about Women for
Women International (UK) by engaging with our owned and paid
channels (website, social media, and digital advertising) to increase
unique website users and social media engagements by 15% year on
year.
Grow our mailing list audience to support fundraising recruitment by
increasing the number of opted-in email subscribers by 30% year-on-
year.
Expand and diversify our community and third-party fundraising. We
will focus on increasing the number and variety of challenge events for
prospective fundraisers, and running our first-ever mass participation
community fundraising event.		 communications visibility through effective International (UK)'s profile /
Raise Women for Women		 SO6
•
•
•		 Establish an inclusive environment for all people who come into contact
with our organisation, evidenced through successful recruitment and
onboarding of new staff; a staff team that reflects the diverse
demographic of our office location and positive feedback from staff
through various means of engagement.
Provide all staff with the opportunity to take part in a holistic
programme of personal development with a focus on good mental
health, phycological safety in the workplace and an inclusive and anti-
racist culture.
Build on our inclusive Board culture, continuing our thoughtful and
comprehensive onboarding of new Trustees and recruiting a new Chair
of our Board.		 sustainable organisation Run an effective and financially SO7

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Women for Women International (UK) Trustees’ Annual Report for the year ended 31 December 2021

Financial Review

The Statement of Financial Activities for the year ended 31 December 2021 shows a net surplus (income less expenditure) for the year of £239k, compared to the previous year where a surplus of £65k was recorded. This was made up of an Unrestricted surplus of £146k, and a Restricted surplus of £93k.

Income for the year of £4.84m was 2% lower than the £4.93m received in 2020. Grants contributed 60% of total income (2020: 66%). The slight fall in income was a result of programme implementation delays resulting from the global pandemic impacting the income pattern of some multi-year grants.

Expenditure for the year of £4.61m represents a 5% decrease from the £4.87m shown in 2020. A detailed breakdown of expenditure for the year is shown within Note 4 to the accounts. This included a direct contribution to our overseas programmes of £2.43m (2020: £2.62m), representing 50% of income, and 53% of expenditure. Charitable expenditure – being overseas programme and policy and outreach – represented 82% of income and 87% of expenditure. Within the UK, Policy and Outreach expenditure amounted to £675k (2020: £667k) representing our continued sustained contribution to policy and outreach work, where the UK plays a key role for the global organisation.

As of 31 December 2021, Women for Women International (UK) had net assets of £1.38m, (2020: £1.14m). Of these funds £388k (2020: £295k) is restricted reserve relating to specific grants, which will be spent on charitable activities during 2022. Unrestricted funds amounted to £995k (2020: £849k).

Reserves Policy

The Trustees aim to maintain the charity’s unrestricted reserves at a level that provides appropriate protection against normal and economic risks and a stable financial foundation to meet current commitments and plans.

At 31 December 2021, the charity held total funds/net assets of £1.38m. These can be sub-divided between a restricted fund of £388k, and unrestricted funds of £995k.

The organisation’s reserve policy is to cover six months of operating expenditure. The current free reserve held of £995k (being equivalent to just over six months reserve based on the revised expenditure budget for 2022) is in line with this reserve target.

Trustees are satisfied, given the performance in the first months of 2022, that the current level of reserves is adequate to cover current financial risks and to meet current commitments and plans.

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Women for Women International (UK) Trustees’ Annual Report for the year ended 31 December 2021

Our Governance

How We Are Run

Women for Women International (UK) is a subsidiary and affiliate of Women for Women International (WFWI) registered in the USA. Together with charities operating under the Women for Women International banner in Kosovo, Bosnia, and Herzegovina, and Women for Women International - Germany, these entities form the Women for Women International organisation worldwide, headquartered in Washington DC in the United States of America.

The US, Germany and UK offices fulfil the role primarily of fundraising, and policy & advocacy. WFWI is also responsible for overseeing the operations of the programmes that are conducted for the benefit of the women we serve.

The staff department for managing the programmes is led from Washington DC.

The primary activity of Women for Women International (UK) is fundraising for our programmes, managing multi-year programme grants, and policy & advocacy. The UK’s Managing Director sits on the Leadership Team which makes decisions about global initiatives, policies and strategy.

In the normal course, monies raised by Women for Women International (UK) are donated to WFWI with the restriction that they must be spent on the implementation and management of our programmes for the women we serve. The US charity reports both formally and informally to the UK charity about how the monies the UK entity has donated are being spent.

Governing document

Women for Women International (UK) is a company limited by guarantee incorporated on 9 December 2005 (company number 05650155), and a registered charity (charity number 1115109). The company was established under a Memorandum of Association, which established the objects and powers of the charitable company and is governed under its Articles of Association.

Governing body

The governing body of the charity is the Board of Trustees (the “ Board ”). The Board meets at least four times per year. Each Trustee serves a three-year term and may stand for re-election according to procedures set out in the Articles of Association, with a maximum term of nine years.

The composition of the Board is regularly reviewed by the Nominations Committee, which oversees the selection of Trustees to fill a vacancy or add skills to the Board in conjunction with the Trustees and the Executive Team. Once appointed, new Trustees are introduced to the charity through meetings with the Board Chair, the Executive Team, and other Trustees, and through a comprehensive introductory pack including background information on the organisation; copies of the latest financial statements; business plan and budget; names of key people and a description of their roles; a summary of a Trustees’ responsibilities; a copy of the governing documents; and a list of global policies.

In 2018, the Board adopted the new Charity Governance Code, benchmarking its governance against sector best practice. Key actions already taken by the Board have included refreshing the Code of Conduct for trustees; receive training on board diversity; and to carrying out open recruitment for new trustees.

In 2021, there were two departures from the Board. The Board committed to prioritise diversity and the lived experience of the settings and context in which we work for our Board replacements. This recruitment was successfully concluded in December 2021 and we have invested time and resource to ensure we onboard our four new Trustees in a thoughtful and inclusive way.

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Women for Women International (UK) Trustees’ Annual Report for the year ended 31 December 2021

We continued to benefit from the time and expertise of our Finance and Audit Committee, Fundraising and Marketing Committee and People and Culture Committee throughout the year.

Public benefit

We follow the Charity Commission’s general guidance on public benefit, and the Trustees ensure that the programmes we undertake are in line with our charitable objects and aims.

The Trustees

The Trustees (who are also directors under company law) who served during the year and to the date of this report are listed below.

Name

Date of appointment or retirement

Martin Thomas Resigned May 2021 Laurie Adams Resigned December 2021 Sally Baden Appointed May 2019 Alex Duncan Appointed August 2015 Tony Gambino Appointed December 2015 Lady Penelope Holmes Appointed October 2012 Jan Rock Zubrow Appointed January 2019 Andres Gomez de la Torre Appointed May 2019 Abi Calver Appointed May 2019 Rachel Corp Appointed December 2019 Nadjia Yousif Appointed January 2022 Nina Patel Appointed January 2022 Vanessa Leung Appointed January 2022 Paula Gay Appointed January 2022

Board committees

The Board has the following sub-committees:

Other working groups may be appointed for specific events, projects or tasks.

19

Women for Women International (UK) Trustees’ Annual Report for the year ended 31 December 2021

Non-Trustee committee members

The Board would like to thank the following non-Trustee members of our committees who served during the year:

Nicola Hanna Kristin Cardwell Hikari Yokoyama Sarah Bedingfield-Shutt Sarah Barclay Tessa Stanley-Price

Ambassadors

Our Ambassadors promote the work of the charity and their support is greatly appreciated.

Gillian Anderson Thomasina Miers Juliet Aubrey Savannah Miller MyAnna Buring Dame Helen Mirren Tom Burke Arizona Muse Elizabeth Debicki Charlotte Olympia Dellal Alex Eagle Zara Martin Emma Grede Niomi Smart Pippa Harris Nadja Swarovski Jasmine Hemsley Alice Temperley Mary Katrantzou Charlotte Tilbury Basma Khalifa Sophie Turner Cherie Lunghi Monica Vinader Clarrisa Ward Jude Wanga

Our Management

Trustees delegated the day-to-day running of Women for Women International (UK) to an Executive Team that was led by the former UK Executive Director Brita Fernandez Schmidt and the former UK Managing Director, Shivonne Graham until the summer. In June 2022, the Directors of Fundraising and of Finance & Operations were promoted to co-Managing Directors and form the Executive team. They continue to lead WFWI-UK with the support of the Senior Manager’s Group and all staff.

The remuneration of Managing Directors is considered annually by the Board, with reference to the annual budget and remuneration levels of similar roles in charities of a similar size. The recommendation of the People and Culture Committee is appreciated by the Board in this area of their work.

In 2021 we bid farewell to both Brita and Shivonne. We wish them luck and thank them for their dedication and hard work over the years. The Trustees would also like to acknowledge the excellent start made by the Co-Managing Directors, Sara Bowcutt and Carrie Brownlee.

20

Women for Women International (UK) Trustees’ Annual Report for the year ended 31 December 2021

Risk Management

The Trustees are responsible for ensuring that the charity has an appropriate system of financial and other controls, designed to safeguard the assets of the charity and maintain the integrity of the accounting records. Internal controls provide only reasonable and not absolute assurance against errors or fraud. Day-to-day controls include accounting procedures, for which the Trustees delegate authority to the Executive Team.

The Trustees take very seriously their legal and ethical duty to maximise the proportion of its income that Women for Women International (UK) uses for charitable purposes, but they balance this with the need to attract and retain the calibre of staff required to maintain and grow that income, and to safeguard all funds that flow through the organisation.

Processes to manage risk include:

The Finance and Audit Committee (FAC) monitors the steps taken by the Executive Team to manage and mitigate the risks to which the organisation is subject and reports to the Board on this.

Key among the risks that Women for Women International (UK) continues to manage, along with the relevant risk mitigation strategies, are:

National and international economies and political and social environments

The global and UK economies have been affected by a number of severe shocks in recent years and the full impact of the pandemic, the war in Ukraine, BREXIT and other significant events is not yet known.

In 2021, we were directly impacted by the cuts to the UK Government’s overseas aid budget having our FCDO-funded programme in Nigeria be cut short by a full 12 months and our recently awarded grant for our vital work in Afghanistan be withdrawn after months of planning and preparation, before we could commence work with the communities we had hoped to serve. The impact of these funding cuts was clear and present in the year and will continue to be felt for many years to come.

We anticipate that our income could be further impaired as the economic impact is felt more acutely in the coming months and years and at a time when our expenses could also increase. In addition, any weakening of the British pound will limit the impact that our income can deliver as it will have less purchasing power.

The situation is volatile, and we know that many of our corporate and major donors will be impacted by a global economic downturn and individuals throughout the UK will struggle to cope with the rising cost of living.

Our ability to create and maintain strong relationships with individual donors, corporate partners and other key supporters has provided Women for Women International channels to continue raising vital funds during these unprecedented times. Our diverse income streams are sustained by an agile and innovative fundraising team, underpinned by a robust fundraising strategy and

21

Women for Women International (UK) Trustees’ Annual Report for the year ended 31 December 2021

monitored through regular Management Accounts and Key Performance Indicator reporting at Executive Team and Board levels.

Safeguarding

It is essential that we protect those individuals that come into contact with the organisation from harm; including but not limited to staff, programme participants, volunteers and supporters. This goes to the root of Women for Women International and therefore is important in its own right.

In addition, in order to retain our ability to operate as a charity within the UK, we must meet the expectations of the Charity Commission and our key donors including the Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office and be mindful of the significant risk of reputational damage which would very likely have a negative financial impact on the organisation and our ability to deliver impact in the immediate and longer-term. The requirements surrounding safeguarding have rightly increased significantly in the past few years and it is essential that we remain compliant with these to the highest standard.

Management of this risk is discussed in more detail below.

Management & leadership diversity and inclusive culture

There is a risk that lack of diversity within the Executive Team and Board will result in poor decision making due to not having enough different perspectives involved. In addition, a lack of diversity or an exclusionary culture may result in higher staff turnover or lower staff engagement.

During the year, our Executive Team was restructured following some staff turnover at the senior level and we have since established a Senior Managers Group made up of our ‘Heads of’ teams who each report to one of our co-Managing Directors. This wider group brings a wealth and breadth of perspectives, experience and expertise to inform decision making within Women for Women International (UK).

While we continue to make progress in this area, we recognise that there is much more to do here and have recently carried out an EDI audit with the support of a collective of consultants with expertise in this area within the sector. We look forward to receiving the results of this audit and taking on board the findings to ensure that we establish and maintain a culture and practice that reflects equity, diversity and inclusion.

In 2021, we adopted a new staff recruitment policy that, at its centre, established talent and potential as the best indicators of future performance, rather than experience and qualifications. In 2022, we will carry out a full review of this process to understand what is working well and identify areas where we can further improve.

At the Board level, we successfully recruited four new Trustees to our Board in December 2021 and have been thrilled to welcome each of them to the organisation through a comprehensive induction process during the first quarter of 2022. We were grateful for the support received from Getting On Board throughout the recruitment process and recently engaged their expertise to deliver an inclusive Board training session for our entire Board of Trustees.

The ways in which we are looking more broadly at Equity, Diversity and Inclusion as part of a global organisation are discussed further below.

22

Women for Women International (UK) Trustees’ Annual Report for the year ended 31 December 2021

Staff capacity, staff turnover & staff well-being

As a values-driven organisation whose success depends wholly on our people, it is essential that we meet not only our duty of care to our staff but also their expectations of us as their employer.

We continue to offer greater flexibility to our staff in order that they can deliver the responsibilities of their role in a way that allows them to achieve a work-life balance that is appropriate for their personal circumstances. We have embraced a hybrid working model that allows staff to create an office to home working ratio that meets their needs and works for their life, while also encouraging all staff to adopt flexible hours to create greater harmony between their work and life outside of work.

As an ambitious organisation, we must be mindful of the impact of our growth and our aspirations on our staff: their well-being, space for reflection, development and innovation. In 2021, we rolled out a comprehensive, tailored development programme for our staff that provided space to consider and discuss the areas of well-being, workload, culture, values, equity and inclusion, and more.

During 2021, Women for Women International, with the support of Women for Women International (UK), continued the implementation of a comprehensive restructuring process designed to unify the global organisation across borders, establish a culture of collaboration and mutual support, reduce duplication of effort and maximise efficiency and effectiveness globally.

Operating in conflict-affected countries

While Women for Women International (UK) does not directly deliver our programme, our mission is to support the most marginalised women in conflict-affected countries to: earn and save money; improve health and well-being; influence decisions at home and in the community; and connect to networks for support. By nature, therefore, we work in fragile and often high-risk contexts.

Country office staff have extensive and current experience of local conditions, customs and risks. Women for Women International employs a full-time manager whose role it is to monitor safety and security. Staff travel only if the organisation establishes that it is reasonably safe to do so, based on a detailed risk assessment. Travelling staff are then well briefed, and a detailed crisis management plan is in place should an emergency arise.

The Trustees are satisfied with the action being taken to mitigate exposure to these risks.

Safeguarding

The basic right of all people to live their lives free from discrimination, sexual harassment and abuse is a core tenet of our work with women survivors of war. Although we see through our daily work that sexual harassment and abusive behaviour can be endemic across all areas of society, we strive to challenge harmful social norms and shift the unequal power dynamics which result in discrimination against women.

Women for Women International works with some of the most marginalised women who live in the world’s most dangerous places. We know that some of these women have experienced sexual violence, intimate partner violence and sexual harassment. We work to empower the women we serve, and to change the attitudes and behaviours of men in communities where we work.

We believe that promoting women’s rights and gender equality is about ensuring equal access to opportunities and women’s ability to live their lives with dignity, no matter the circumstances.

Women for Women International (UK) staff are required to adhere to a strict Code of Conduct which governs both conduct towards the women and men we serve in countries affected by conflict as well

23

Women for Women International (UK) Trustees’ Annual Report for the year ended 31 December 2021

as towards fellow employees. This is renewed and reaffirmed annually and continuously monitored as part of our performance management system. The basic right of living life free from discrimination, sexual harassment and abuse also applies within the workplace. We are committed to the safeguarding and well-being of all Women for Women International (UK) staff; the organisation takes a zero-tolerance approach to sexual harassment and all other forms of harassment. We foster an inclusive and respectful organisational culture and have an active whistle-blowing policy in place to ensure that any potential instances of misconduct can be reported in confidence and dealt with appropriately and decisively with full disclosure.

We constantly strive to improve as an organisation on all fronts. We have policies and practices in place and we never stop thinking about what else we can do to safeguard the women we serve, the communities they live in and our staff around the world.

In 2021, we recruited our first Director of Safeguarding and Security for Women for Women International to ensure this work remains in line with best practice, adherence to our policies and procedures is consistent and monitored, and that issues or concerns are addressed as a priority.

Diversity, Equality and Inclusion

Diversity and inclusion have been a priority for Women for Women International (UK) for some time and we know that we have not yet done enough to achieve our ambitions in this area.

Women for Women International is committed to creating a world in which all women determine the course of their lives and reach their full potential. Within our programmes, we know that our approach to building women’s power must be nuanced and intersectional.

Within our own organisation, we recognise that we will never achieve our vital mission without broad and varied perspectives shaping our strategy and delivering our objectives and so we have directed resources to an internal diversity, equity and inclusion project from 2020 to accelerate our journey to becoming a truly diverse and inclusive workplace. This project progressed in 2021 with an equity, diversity and inclusion audit which began with an externally facilitated listening exercise involving all staff in small, focused group conversations.

In the coming months, we will work with our staff team, alongside external consultants, to develop and embed our equity, diversity and inclusion commitments for the future.

We were grateful for the support received from Getting On Board in the recruitment of four new Trustees to our Board in 2021 and recently engaged their expertise to deliver an inclusive Board training session for our entire Board of Trustees.

We welcome internal and external feedback to challenge us and hold us accountable to progress towards diversity, equity, and inclusion in our workplace. As we listen and learn, we will continually evaluate our commitments, our progress towards them, and how we need to evolve. We believe change happens one woman at a time – and that includes investing in the power of the people within our organisation.

24

Women for Women International (UK) Trustees’ Annual Report for the year ended 31 December 2021

Thank You to

Thank you to all of our amazing Virtual Car Boot Sale booters and contributors!

25

Women for Women International (UK) Trustees’ Annual Report for the year ended 31 December 2021

Our grantors

Our major donors

Other

26

Women for Women International (UK) Trustees’ Annual Report for the year ended 31 December 2021

Subsidiary Undertaking

Women for Women International (UK) has one subsidiary, Women for Women International Services (UK) Ltd (company number 08527316), which was incorporated on 13 May 2013 in England and Wales. Women for Women International (UK) is the sole member of Women for Women International Services (UK) Ltd. As a result, Women for Women International (UK) exercises control over Women for Women International Services (UK) Ltd.

Women for Women International Services (UK) Ltd is a general trading company whose activities include selling the Women for Women International cookbook, Share , and the Share calendar. In 2021 the trading company generated a profit of £2,733 (2020: profit of £400). All profits generated by the trading company are transferred, under Gift Aid, to Women for Women International (UK). The financial statements of Women for Women International Services (UK) Ltd have not been consolidated with those of Women for Women International (UK), as they are not material to the overall group position.

Related parties and connected organisations

Related party transactions are detailed in Note 15 to the financial statements.

27

Wom¢n tof Women Ifrternational (I Try￿tee$. Annual Report for the yea¥ ended 31 December 2021 Statement of Trustees, Responsibilities The Trustees Iwho •r• also dirertors of Women for Womèn Intemational IUKI for the purposes of company lawl are responslble for prepari￿ the TfUStees' Report and fin4ncial Statements In accordancewith applicable law and United ￿ngdorn ACcountI￿Standards Iunited Ki￿￿0M General Accepted Account1￿ Prxtlcel. Company law ￿VIre5 the Trtsstees to prepare firtancial ststements for each flnancial year whlch grve a true and falr vhew of the st*e of affairs of the ¢haritable company and its Income and expenditure for that period. In preparing these financial ststements. thè Trystèes are requlred to.. Select suitsble atcountln8 policies and then apply them consistent￿. obserye the mèthods and prin¢l￿e$ In the Accountln8 and Reportlrq by Charftles.. Statement of Rècommended Pr¥tlce ISORPI applicable to cha(Itles prepar1r￿ thelr xcounts in accordance wlth the Flnanclal Aeportir4 Standard applitable to the United Klnqdom and Republlc of Ireland IFRS 1021,. m3ke lud4ements and estbmates that are reasonable and prudent: slate whether appllcable Unlted Klrvddom Ac£ountln8 StWKlards ha¥e been followed, Sublect to any material departures disdosed and explalned In financlal statements- and prepare the Ilnan¢lal statements on the go1￿ con¢em basis unless it Is knoppropriate to presumt that the charitable tCffipa￿ will continue In operatMIn. The Trustee$ are responslble for keeping proper account1￿ record5 that dlsc105e wlth reasonable accyracy at ary tlme the finantlal positlon of the tharltsble company and enable them to ensure that the finan¢lal statements comply wilh the Cl￿PanIeS Art 2￿6. They are a150 responslble for 5afÈguardin8 the assets of the Charfta￿e company and hence for re450nable 51ep5 for the prevèntlon and detettion of fraud and other Irregular5tle5. Each of the Trustees confirms that.. so far as the Trustee Is aware. there Is rK• relv4ant audit Infom)atlon of whlch the charltable compan￿5 audltor 6 unaware- and the Trustee has taken all the steps that helshe ought to have iaken as a Trustee in order to make hlm5elflherself awart of any relevant audlt Informatlon and to establish that the tharitable companrfs audr¢or is aware of that informatlon. Thls confirmation is alven and should be Interpreted In accordance wlth provlslons of $418 of t Companles A¢t 2006. Approved by the Tfustees on 16" June 2022 and signed on thelr behalf by: Penny Holmes Alex Duncon Co<hair Co-chair 28

Women for Women International (UK) Independent Auditor’s Report for the year ended 31 December 2021

Independent auditor’s report to the members of Women for Women International (UK)

Opinion

We have audited the financial statements of (the ‘charitable company’) for the year ended 31 December 2021 which comprise the statement of financial activities, the balance sheet and statement of cash flows, the principal accounting policies and the notes to the financial statements. The financial reporting framework that has been applied in their preparation is applicable law and in line with 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).

In our opinion, the financial statements:

Basis for opinion

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 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.

Conclusions relating to going concern

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 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.

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

Other information

The other information comprises the information included in the annual report and financial statements, other than the financial statements and our auditor’s report thereon. The trustees are responsible for the other information contained within the annual report and financial statements. Our opinion on the financial statements does not cover the other information and, except to the

29

Women for Women International (UK) Independent Auditor’s Report for the year ended 31 December 2021

extent otherwise explicitly stated in our report, we do not express any form of assurance conclusion thereon.

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.

We have nothing to report in this regard.

Opinions on 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 charitable company and its environment obtained in the course of the audit, we have not identified material misstatements in the trustees’ report. We have nothing to report in respect of the following matters in relation to which the Companies Act 2006 requires us to report to you if, in our opinion:

Responsibilities of trustees

As explained more fully in the trustees’ responsibilities statement, the trustees (who are also the directors of the 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 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 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 charitable company or to cease operations, or have no realistic alternative but to do so.

30

Women for Women International (UK) Independent Auditor’s Report for the year ended 31 December 2021

Auditor’s responsibilities for the audit of the financial statements

Our objectives are to obtain reasonable assurance about whether the 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 extent to which our procedures are capable of detecting irregularities, including fraud is detailed below:

We identified areas of laws and regulations that could reasonably be expected to have a material effect on the financial statements for charitable companies operating within this sector, through our own experience as well as through discussion with management and those charged with governance and inspection of regulatory and legal correspondence. We reviewed policies and procedures regarding compliance with laws and regulation and remained alert throughout our audit to any indications of non-compliance, with areas of highest risk communicated to all members of the audit team.

The charitable company is subject to laws and regulations directly affecting the financial statements including financial reporting legislation and taxation legislation which we assessed compliance with as part of our review of related financial statement items. This includes the Charities Act 2011 and Companies Act 2006 as referenced above. Other laws and regulations of which compliance was considered higher risk (as non-compliance could lead to material misstatement of the financial statements) included anti-bribery regulations, employment law, health and safety legislation and data protection regulations and safeguarding.

We considered areas which could be most susceptible to fraud or misstatement, which included the use of journals and suspense accounts and management override of controls. Our audit work has been performed to ensure that these areas have been tested on a sample basis, including the use of data analytics to review for unusual transactions.

Owing to the inherent limitations of an audit, there is an unavoidable risk that we may not have detected a material misstatement within the financial statements while performing our audit in accordance with applicable audit standards. Irregularities may involve a collusion, forgery, intentional omissions, misrepresentations or override of internal controls. We are not responsible for preventing non-compliance and cannot be expected to detect non-compliance with all laws and regulations.

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.

31

Women for Women International (UK) Independent Auditor’s Report for the year ended 31 December 2021

Use of our report

This report is made solely to the 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 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 charitable company and the charitable company's members as a body, for our audit work, for this report, or for the opinions we have formed.

Catherine Biscoe (Senior Statutory Auditor) For and on behalf of Buzzacott LLP, Statutory Auditor 130 Wood Street London EC2V 6DL

13 July 2022

32

Women for Women International (UK)

Statement of Financial Activities to 31 December 2021

Note
INCOME from:
Donations and legacies:
. Donations and Gift Aid
2
. Grants
2
Other trading activities:
. Events
Income from investments:
Other income
Total income
EXPENDITURE on:
Raising funds
4
Costs of charitable activities
Policy & Outreach
Overseas Programmes
Total expenditure
Net income for the year
Net movement in funds
Funds at beginning of year
Funds at end of year		 2021
2021
2021
2020
2020
2020
Restricted
Unrestricted
Total
Restricted
Unrestricted
Total
£000
£000
£000
£000
£000
£000
206
1,580
1,786
1
1,340
1,341
2,835
69
2,904
3,209
68
3,277
-
119
119
-
225
225
-
2
2
6
4
10
37
1
38
52
33
85
3,078
1,771
4,849
3,268
1,670
4,938
-
613
613
-
665
665
546
129
675
600
67
667
2,439
883
3,322
2,622
919
3,541
2,985
1,625
4,610
3,222
1,651
4,873
93
146
239
46
19
65
93
146
239
46
19
65
295
849
1,144
249
830
1,079
388
995
1,383
295
849
1,144

33

WcrfnpThforWry•n (UK} nm SW ￿ •t31 2021 20 Tahwbl#fiy•d a4ots li Lbt¢rs Cash Itbank afid in h• Short termdép>sits 1181 l496 322 1.070 40 L376 1.133 li Fundb Incomtfvnds UnrestriLtid lund5 ES￿n￿e4fUThJ1 Ta￿ ty•d bythetrume￿￿ 16 June behI￿b¥ 2022 ex Dynran Co<hili of bo¥d gfTNlie¢S CtrCh•ir•fbo•￿otTIU1¢￿s

Women for Women International (UK) Statement of Cashflows to 31 December 2021

Cash flows from operating activities:
Net income / (expenditure) for the year
Depreciation of fixed assets
Decrease / (increase) in debtors
(Decrease) / increase in creditors
Net cash used in operating activities
Cash flows from investing activities:
Payments to acquire fixed assets
Dispose of fixed assets
Net cash provided by investing activities
Decrease in cash
Changes in the cash and cash equivalents in the reporting period
Balance at beginning of year
Decrease in cash in year
Balance at end of year		 2021
£000
239
7
385
(1,163)
(532)
(3)
-
(3)
(535)
1,818
(535)
1,283		 2020
£000
65
15
(693)
595
(18)
-
15
15
(3)
1,821
(3)
1,818
Analysis of change in net debt
Cash in hand
Notice deposits (less than 3 months)
Total		 At 1 Jan
2021
£000
1,496
322
1,818		 Movement
in year
£000
(426)
(109)
(535)		 At 31 Dec
2021
£000
1,070
213
1,283

35

Women for Women International (UK) Notes to the Financial Statements to 31 December 2021

1. Accounting policies

a) These accounts have been prepared for the year to 31 December 2021. The accounts are presented in sterling and are rounded to the nearest thousand pounds. The accounts have been prepared under the historical cost convention with items recognised at cost or transaction value unless otherwise stated in the relevant accounting policies below or the notes to these accounts.

The Trustees have assessed whether the use of the going concern assumption is appropriate in preparing the financial statements and have made this assessment in respect to a period of at least one year from the date of approval of these financial statements. The Trustees have concluded that, while we recognise the higher levels of risk facing the organisation as a result of the ongoing economic situation in the UK, there are no material uncertainties related to events or conditions that may cast significant doubt on the ability of the charity to continue as a going concern. This view is based on a detailed forecast of income, expenditure and cash flows to the end of 2022, and more summarised forecasts for 2023 and 2024. The Trustees have paid particular attention to unrestricted income and expenditure, which supports the charity’s day-to-day operations and are satisfied that the charity has sufficient free reserves to manage any unforeseen events impacting income or expenditure.

The charity constitutes a public benefit entity as defined by FRS 102.

b) Preparation of the financial statements requires the Trustees and management to make significant judgements and estimates. The items in the financial statements where these judgements and estimates have been made include:

c) Voluntary income is received by way of grants, donations and gifts and is included in full in the statement of financial activities when receivable.

When material and quantifiable, gifts in kind and donated services are included at a reasonable estimate of their value to the charity. Volunteer time is not included in the financial statements.

Income derived from events is recognised as earned.

d) Grant income is recognised in the period in which the charity is entitled to receipt and the amount can be measured with reasonable certainty.

Income from grants is deferred where the donor has imposed restrictions on the use of funds, which amount to pre-conditions for use that have not been met at the balance sheet date (e.g. the receipt in advance of a grant for expenditure in a future accounting period). Where funding is provided to support a programme of work to be delivered over a period of time, these are considered time-related conditions and the income is spread over the life of the grant agreement. Expenditure is used as a proxy for calculating the time-related adjustment to income.

Where grants are paid in arrears based upon expenditure incurred, income is accrued to the extent that recovery from the funder under a confirmed funding arrangement is considered probable.

e) Expenditure is recognised in the period in which it is incurred. Expenditure includes irrecoverable VAT.

f) Expenditure is allocated to the particular activity where the cost relates directly to that activity. However, the cost of overall direction and administration of each activity, comprising the salary and overhead costs of the central function, is apportioned on the following bases which are an estimate, based on percentage of expenditure incurred, of the amount attributable to each activity.

Overseas programmes 73% (2020 – 73%)
Policy and outreach 14% (2020 – 14%)
Cost of raising funds 13% (2020 – 13%)

Monies raised for overseas programmes are donated as restricted grants to Women for Women International (US). Women for Women International (US) subsequently spends these on programme activities in line with the donors’ wishes and is responsible for monitoring the spending of the grant by the recipient.

Such expenditure relating to the overseas programmes is recognised in these financial statements when the obligation to Women for Women International (US) arises.

36

Women for Women International (UK) Notes to the Financial Statements to 31 December 2021

1. Accounting policies (continued)

In the majority of cases, Women for Women International (UK) retains a proportion of the monies raised for overseas programmes in order to cover the costs of the related administration and support. Such overhead costs are charged to the relevant restricted fund to reflect this expenditure.

Policy costs are incurred in pursuance of the aim of influencing policy and activities of governmental and other institutions that drive the developmental agenda for women worldwide.

Costs of raising funds are those incurred in seeking voluntary contributions and holding fundraising events including the Virtual Car Boot Sale. Support costs are costs relating to the organisational management and administration of the charity in support of its objects, and in compliance with constitutional and statutory requirements.

g) Tangible fixed assets are stated at historic cost less accumulated depreciation. Cost includes the original purchase price of the asset and the costs attributable to bringing the asset to its working condition for its intended use.

Depreciation is provided at rates calculated to write down the cost of each asset to its estimated residual value over its expected useful life. The depreciation rates in use are as follows:

Items of equipment are usually not capitalised unless the purchase price exceeds £250.

h) Debtors are recognised at their settlement amount, less any provision for non-recoverability. Prepayments are valued at the amount prepaid. They are discounted to the present value of the future cash receipt where such discounting is material.

i) Cash at bank and in hand represents such accounts and instruments that are available on demand or have a maturity of less than three months from the date of acquisition. Deposits for more than three months but less than one year have been disclosed as short-term deposits.

j) Creditors and provisions are recognised when there is an obligation at the balance sheet date as a result of a past event, it is probable that a transfer of economic benefit will be required in settlement, and the amount of the settlement can be estimated reliably. Creditors and provisions are recognised at the amount the charity anticipates it will pay to settle the debt. They have been discounted to the present value of the future cash payment where such discounting is material.

k) Restricted funds are to be used for specific purposes as laid down by the donor. Expenditure which meets these criteria is charged to the fund together with a fair allocation of management and support costs, where permitted by the funder.

l) Unrestricted funds are donations and other income receivable or generated for the objects of the charity and comprise general funds and designated funds. The general fund comprises those monies which may be used towards meeting the charitable objectives of the charity and which may be applied at the discretion of the Trustees. Designated funds are monies or assets set aside out of general funds and designated for specific purposes by the Trustees.

m) Rentals payable under operating leases, where substantially all the risks and rewards of ownership remain with the lessor, are charged to the statement of financial activities on a straight-line basis over the lease term.

n) Contributions in respect of employees' personal pension plans are charged to the statement of financial activities in the year in which they are due.

o) Transactions during the year in foreign currencies are translated into sterling at the rate of exchange ruling at the date of the transaction, whilst assets and liabilities are translated into sterling at the rate ruling at the balance sheet date. Exchange differences are recognised through the statement of financial activities.

37

Women for Women International (UK) Notes to the Financial Statements to 31 December 2021

2. Voluntary income

Donations and Gift Aid
Donations from individuals and corporations
Sponsorship Income
Gift aid
Grants receivables
Governments
Saferworld CSSF
Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Government of the Netherlands
Department for International Development - Jo Cox - DRC
Department for International Development - NGA
German Embassy
FCDO COVID-19 - WfWI
FCDO WRO - WfWI
UN-Women - WfWI
Leap 4 Peace - GAPS
FCDO COVID-19 - GAPS
FCDO WRO - GAPS
UN-Women - GAPS
Trusts and Foundations
The Medlock Family
The McLain Foundation
The Millby Foundation - Women for Women
The Millby Foundation - GAPS
Polden Puckham - GAPS
Postcode Equality Trust
Joseph Rowntree Charitable Trust - GAPS
Stavros Niarchos Foundation
The O'Sullivan Family Charitable Trust
The Swarovski Foundation
Julius Baer
The Syncona Foundation (formerly The BACIT Foundation)
Vovos Better World Fund
Spindrift donation
The Olwyn Foundation
Charlotte Tilbury Beauty
The Forte Charitable Trust
Other Trusts and Foundations
Grants from Major Donors
Total Income		 2021
2021
2021
2020
2020
2020
Restricted
Unrestricted
Total
Restricted
Unrestricted
Total
£
£
£
£
£
£
187
1,020
1,207
-
834
834
2
463
465
-
423
423
17
97
114
1
83
84
206
1,580
1,786
1
1,340
1,341
166
-
166
-
-
-
-
-
-
1,043
-
1,043
354
-
354
292
-
292
297
-
297
425
-
425
25
-
25
23
-
23
7
-
7
7
-
7
-
-
-
72
-
72
7
-
7
4
-
4
42
-
42
-
-
-
99
-
99
80
-
80
-
-
-
17
-
17
4
-
4
7
-
7
-
-
50
-
50
50
-
50
-
-
-
100
-
100
75
-
75
100
-
100
25
-
25
25
-
25
12
-
12
11
-
11
900
-
900
525
-
525
40
-
40
34
-
34
50
-
50
-
-
-
-
5
5
-
8
8
21
-
21
49
-
49
240
-
240
-
-
-
50
50
100
50
50
100
-
3
3
-
4
4
4
-
4
4
-
4
-
-
-
5
-
5
220
-
220
175
-
175
-
5
5
-
-
-
104
6
110
103
6
109
43
-
43
8
-
8
2,835
69
2,904
3,209
68
3,277
3,041
1,649
4,690
3,210
1,408
4,618

3. Gifts in kind and donated services

We were grateful to receive support in the form of gifts in kind and donated services, the estimated value of gifts and services which was received by the charity during the year ended 31 December 2021 was £104,900 (2020: £6,211). Of this amount, £62,050 (2020: £nil), relating to pro-bono professional services has been recognised as income and expenditure within the Statement of Financial Activities. The remaining balance of £42,850 (2020: £6,211) has not been recorded within the Statement of Financial Activities. The donated items to which these amounts relate were provided to the charity as donations for fundraising events, and the charity does not consider that they would have purchased the items at the market price had not been provided free of charge. Given that the estimated value attahced to these items is immaterial, the charity has therefore elected not to acount for the value of these goods as income and expenditure.

38

Women for Women International (UK) Notes to the Financial Statements to 31 December 2021

4. Resources expended

Resources expended
Staff costs (Note 6)
Overseas Programmes funding
Premises and other office costs
Marketing and events
Consultancy and other professional costs
Travel and other staff costs
Grants to other organisations
Support costs allocated to grants management
Support costs
Total
2020 Resources expended
Staff costs (Note 6)
Overseas Programmes funding
Premises and other office costs
Marketing and events
Consultancy and other professional costs
Travel and other staff costs
Grants to other organisation (incl. WfWI Germany)
Support costs allocated to grants management
Support costs
Total		 Cost of
Generating Funds
£000
351
-
14
82
44
10
-
501
-
501
112
613
Cost of
Generating Funds
£000
407
-
51
42
64
1
-
565
-
565
100
665		 Policy & Outreach
£000
449
-
11
12
78
1
-
551
-
551
124
675
Policy & Outreach
£000
468
-
7
9
62
3
17
566
-
566
101
667		 Overseas
Programmes
£000
386
2,439
1
3
65
1
-
2,895
(182)
2,713
609
3,322
Overseas
Programmes
£000
395
2,622
5
-
131
1
-
3,154
(148)
3,006
535
3,541		 Support Costs
£000
244
-
132
2
27
80
-
485
182
667
(667)
-
Support for
Global
organisation
£000
229
-
218
-
18
20
-
485
148
633
(633)
-		 Governance Costs
£000
73
-
-
-
105
-
-
178
-
178
(178)
-
Support costs
£000
79
-
-
-
24
-
-
103
-
103
(103)
-		 2021 Total
£000
1,503
2,439
158
99
319
92
-
4,610
-
4,610
-
4,610
2020 Total
£000
1,578
2,622
281
51
299
25
17
4,873
-
4,873
-
4,873

39

Women for Women International (UK) Notes to the Financial Statements to 31 December 2021

5. Net incoming resources for the year

This is stated after charging:

Depreciation
Auditor's remuneration
- Statutory audit
- Non-audit services
Operating lease rentals: equipment
Operating lease rentals: property		 2021
2020
£000
£000
7
15
13
11
8
10
29
127
3
3

6. Staff costs and numbers

Staff costs were as follows:

Pension costs
Redundancy / severance payments
Salaries and wages
Social security costs		 2021
2020
£000
£000
1,233
1,311
139
141
66
73
65
53
1,503
1,578

Key management personnel during the year and the previous year were the Executive Director, Managing Director, Director of Finance and Operations, Director of Fundraising, Director of Programme Funding and Partnerships and Head of Communications. Their staff costs were as follows:

Pension costs
Redundancy / severance payments
£60,001 - £70,000
£70,001 - £80,000
£81,000 - £90,000
£90,001 - £100,000
£100,001 - £110,000
£110,001 - £120,000
£120,001 - £130,000
The number of employees who earned more than £60,000 during the year were as follows:
Salaries and wages
Social security costs		 2021
2020
£000
£000
363
380
47
46
22
24
65
44
497
494
2021
2020
No.
No.
1
-
1
2
2
-
-
1
-
-
-
-
1
1

The average weekly number of employees (full-time equivalent) during the year was as follows:

Support costs
Cost of generating funds
Charitable activities		 2021
2020
No.
No.
7.0
8.8
15.3
17.2
6.2
6.4
28.5
32.4

No trustee received any remuneration in respect of their services as a trustee during the year (2020: £nil).

Expenses of £2,667 (2020: £1,263) were incurred by trustees in relation to their role and were either reimbursed to the trustees or paid directly to third parties by WFWI-UK .

40

Women for Women International (UK) Notes to the Financial Statements to 31 December 2021

7. Tangible fixed assets

Additions in year
Depreciation
Cost
At 1 January 2021
At 1 January 2021
Charge for the year
At 31 December 2021
Net book value at 1 January 2021
At 31 December 2021
Net book value at 31 December 2021		 Furniture &
fittings
Equipment
Total
£000
£000
£000
7
45
52
-
3
3
7
48
55
4
37
41
1
6
7
5
43
48
3
8
11
2
5
7

8. Trading Subsidiary

On 13th May 2013, the Trustees of Women for Women International (UK) established a company, WfWI Services (UK) Ltd. Women for Women International (UK) is the sole member of WfWI Services (UK) Ltd, a general trading company which sells Women for Women International’s Share cookbooks and a calendar containing Share recipes.

In 2021 the trading company generated a profit of £2,730 on turnover of £3,271 (2020: Profit of £401 on turnover of £2,622). The aggregate reserves of the company at 31 December 2021 and 31 December 2020 were £nil.

The financial statements of WfWI Services (UK) Ltd have not been consolidated with those of Women for Women International (UK), as they are immaterial to the overall group position.

The registered office of the company is 7-14 Great Dover Street, London, SE1 4YR.

9. Debtors

Grants Receiveable
Accrued Income
Other Debtors
- profit for the year (note 8)
- other amounts due
Prepayments and rental deposit
Due from trading subsidiary		 2021
2020
£000
£000
416
709
344
388
20
46
1
21
3
-
12
17
796
1,181

41

Women for Women International (UK) Notes to the Financial Statements to 31 December 2021

10. Creditors: amounts due within 1 year

Creditors: amounts due within 1 year
Trade creditors
Accruals
Pension creditor
Commitments to overseas programmes
Taxation and social security
Deferred income		 2021
2020
£000
£000
48
68
553
1,019
41
38
34
241
7
-
20
500
703
1,866

11. Analysis of net assets between funds

Analysis of net assets between funds
Tangible fixed assets
Net current assets
Net assets at
31 December 2021		 2021
2020
Restricted
Total
Total
funds
funds
funds
£000
£000
£000
£000
-
7
7
11
388
988
1,376
1,133
General funds
388
995
1,383
1,144

11a. Movement on deferred income

2021
Fresh Leaf Foundation
Stavros Niarchos
Postcode Equality Trust
2020
Stavros Niarchos
Postcode Equality Trust		 Beginning
Funds
Income
End of
of year
received
released
year
£000
£000
£000
£000
-
20
-
20
50
-
(50)
-
450
-
(450)
-
500
20
(500)
20
Beginning
Funds
Income
End of
of year
received
released
year
£000
£000
£000
£000
-
50
-
50
450
450
(450)
450
-
500
(450)
500

42

Women for Women International (UK) Notes to the Financial Statements to 31 December 2021

12. Movements in funds

2021
Restricted funds:
Grants & donations with programme specific restrictions
Millby Foundation
Charlotte Tilbury
Saferworld CSSF
Players of the People's Postcode Lottery
CSSF Grants - Co-Lead with GAPS
Gender and Policy Network (GAPS)
Grants & donations with geographical restrictions
Afghanistan
DRC
KRI
Nigeria
Rwanda
Total restricted funds
Unrestricted funds:
Designated Funds
Programme development
General funds
Total funds
2020
Restricted funds:
Grants & donations with programme specific restrictions
FLOW
Millby Foundation
Charlotte Tilbury
McLain Foundation
Players of the People's Postcode Lottery
CSSF Grants - Co-Lead with GAPS
Gender and Policy Network (GAPS)
Grants & donations with geographical restrictions
Afghanistan
DRC
KRI
Nigeria
Rwanda
Total restricted funds
Unrestricted funds:
Designated Funds
Programme development
General funds
Total unrestricted funds
Total funds
Total unrestricted funds		 £000
£000
£000
£000
£000
-
75
(75)
-
-
-
220
(220)
-
-
-
166
(166)
-
-
56
900
(936)
-
20
-
15
(15)
-
-
106
259
(261)
-
104
-
271
(271)
-
11
354
(365)
-
-
50
108
(158)
-
-
22
320
(342)
-
-
50
390
(176)
-
264
1 January 2021
Incoming
resources
31 December
2021
Transfers
Outgoing
resources
295
3,078
(2,985)
-
388
-
-
-
-
-
849
1,771
(1,625)
-
995
849
1,771
(1,625)
-
995
1,144
4,849
(4,610)
-
1,383
£000
£000
£000
£000
£000
65
1,049
(1,114)
-
-
-
100
(100)
-
-
-
175
(175)
-
-
100
100
(200)
-
-
-
325
(269)
-
56
-
83
(83)
-
-
73
225
(192)
-
106
-
55
(55)
-
8
492
(489)
-
11
3
85
(38)
-
50
-
525
(503)
-
22
-
54
(4)
-
50
31 December
2020
1 January 2020
Incoming
resources
Outgoing
resources
Transfers
249
3,268
(3,222)
-
295
-
-
-
-
-
830
1,670
(1,651)
-
849
830
1,670
(1,651)
-
849
1,079
4,938
(4,873)
-
1,144

43

Women for Women International (UK) Notes to the Financial Statements to 31 December 2021

13. Operating lease commitments

The charity had commitments at the year end under operating leases expiring as follows:

2021 2020
£ £
Property - less than 1 year 8 7
Other- less than 1 year 3 3
Other - 1 year to 5 years 5 8
16 18

14. Related parties

Women for Women International (US) (“ WfWI-HQ ”) is the sole member of Women for Women International (UK) (“ WfWI-UK ”). During the year:

Laurie Adams was a Trustee of WfWI-UK during the financial year and is the Chief Executive Officer of WfWI-HQ

The aggregate amount donated by the Trustees to WfWI-UK during the year was £3,268 (2020: £3,214).

15. Events after the reporting period

From 14th April 2022, Gender and Policy Networks (GAPS) ceased to be hosted by Women for Women International (UK). Income and expenditure pertaining to these activities are shown in Note 12 to the financial statements.

44

Women for Women International (UK) Appendix to Trustees’ Annual Report for the year ended 31 December 2021

Appendix

Strategic Report

Achievements and Performance

Strategic Objective 1: Invest in the social and economic empowerment of marginalised women

Last year, we said we would aim to achieve the following during 2021:

Programme impact in figures

We believe women have the power to transform their lives, but when women are undervalued and oppressed, their power is undermined. Conflict and war deepen this injustice. At Women for Women International (WfWI), we invest in women who are forgotten—those facing the greatest inequalities in areas of conflict— and support them in learning the social and economic skills they need to rebuild their lives, their families, and their communities. With the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic and related economic crisis, 2021 has been another challenging year. Added to that is the distressing fact that more countries have experienced some form of violent conflict than at any time in the last 30 years.

More than 20,600 women were served through our programme in 2021.

Strengthening our Stronger Women, Stronger Nations Programme

Women for Women International is committed to constantly improving the Stronger Women, Stronger Nations programme to best support women’s growth and power. We do this through a rigorous process of evaluation that demonstrates the impact of WfWI’s programming on women’s lives and businesses.

Earnings and savings

82% of women report saving a portion of their earnings by the time they graduate, compared to 24% at enrolment.

Health and Well-being

Women’s confidence in their ability to reach their goals increased by 94% overall.

Knowledge of Rights

45

Women for Women International (UK) Appendix to Trustees’ Annual Report for the year ended 31 December 2021

Globally, 31% of women report having publicly spoken against women’s abuse in the last 6 months, compared to 10% at the beginning of the programme.

Connection to groups and social networks

By graduation, 57% of women report being a member of other social groups (outside of WfWI), an overall increase of 104% from the beginning of the programme.

Increase revenue from grants

We adjusted our target income from grants in the year due to the loss of FCDO funding. Income from grants in 2021 was therefore broadly in line with the amount raised in 2020.

Of the 34 grants awarded, 50% of grants secured were corporate foundations; 28% were foundations; 21% were institutional grants; 1% grants from major donors in the UK.

In 2021 we expanded our granting partnership with donors that gave to us for the first time like De Rigo Corporation and CSSF (UK Conflict Stability and Security Fund).

Increased impact at community and household level

We know that the transformation that women experience in our programme can have a ripple effect, building change for their families and communities as well. In our strategy we seek to better understand how to design programs for and measure our impact at the community and household levels. We see our Change Agent programme, Men’s Engagement programme and our work with graduates as all contributing towards this end.

In 2021 we also worked to standardize and update our global MEP curriculum by drawing out the best practice from each of the country office MEP approaches/materials and having a sector expert lead a participatory review process with WfWI staff, male and female programme participants and other stakeholders in each country to define an MEP Theory of Change and new curriculum with associated M&E tools. This work continued into the first half of 2022. Parallel to this we continued a multi-year project in Rwanda with ICRW and Hand in Hand International to create an MEP toolkit for use by the broader sector. The programme approach being implemented for this research project included expansion of facilitated couple’s dialogues (now used in both DRC and Rwanda) following MEP and SWSN for women and their partners/spouses/male relatives, as well as training for Male Champions and Change Agents to develop community action plans. This approach has been used in DRC for several years and in 2021 led to specific agreements with local government to address unfair taxation of women in markets and to agreements with local communities to fix roads that inhibit women reaching markets, among other community level actions. In Nigeria, Change Agents continue to be active in their communities 1,2 and 3 years post-graduation and spent time in 2021 organizing community response to issues such as ending impunity for rape and mobilizing support for schools to be established in remote communities.

WfWR uses the gradate network to connect women to new technologies such as a chatbot for entrepreneurship and digital savings tools for VSLAs, as well as passing information about various government programmes available for women.

Power Locally, Streamline Globally

In 2021 we advanced two elements of our strategic commitment to “Streamline Globally, Power Locally”. The Country Power Steering Committee, chaired by Aram Shakerm, Country Director for Iraq and Afghanistan, created a Country Power Baseline Assessment Tool that enables Country Offices and GSC functional teams to assess their current roles and responsibilities and state of

46

Women for Women International (UK) Appendix to Trustees’ Annual Report for the year ended 31 December 2021

decision-making power, authority, responsibility, capacities and capabilities across all functional areas. Nigeria and Iraq agreed to be the first two countries to pilot the tool. Each GSC functional area contributed to both the tool itself and the initial assessment of both countries. Nigeria completed some of the initial conversations between the CO and the functional technical support area to identify barriers to increased Country Power (policies, processes, behaviours, skills/capacities etc.) to begin charting a pathway to shifting greater amounts of power, authority, responsibility and accountability to Country Offices. The process is also helping us refine the tool for use in other countries. This process was stalled for Iraq due to the Afghanistan crisis, but will resume in 2022.

Also in 2021 the Global Board and UK Trustees agreed to a unification process that brought all global Business Development and Grants Management teams together in the Global Programs Unit. Advocacy staff also joined the Global Programmes Unit. These decisions have helped WfWI to streamline these functions globally.

Contribute to aligned organisations

Our Conflict Response Fund (CRF) allows us to adapt quickly to emerging conflicts, including some of those that displaced an additional 82.4 million people in 2020. Working with local partners on the ground, this fund enables us to meet the urgent and ongoing needs of women and girls who are often disproportionately affected by conflict.

In Ethiopia , our CRF funds enabled Mums for Mums in Tigray to provide counselling and safe houses for up to 1,000 women and girl survivors of sexual violence, train 110 community first-responders in medical and psychological first-aid, raise community awareness around the importance of protecting women’s rights and preventing violence against women, and provide vocational and business skills training for up to 400 women and girls survivors. The Hilton Foundation awarded WfWI $250,000 in 2021 to expand our CRF funding in Ethiopia, opening up the opportunity for both deeper investment in Mums for Mums and bringing on two new partners in 2022.

In Myanmar , we partnered with the Centre for Social Integrity to train 75 adolescent girls (aged 1117) in basic life and vocational skills, and to offer basic numeracy and literacy skills to 30 adult women. The project targeted women and girls from the Rohingya Muslim community in Northern Rakhine State, but also included women and girls from Rakhine and Hindu ethnic groups in the area – to reinforce the need for better understanding and cohesion across diverse communities.

In Syria , over the period 2020-21 we funded Women Now for Development to provide 398 Syrian women and adolescent girls in the war-torn areas of Idlib and Aleppo with educational and health resources, as well as vocational skills. We also funded spaces to foster social networks to alleviate the isolation of displacement, within the constraints of COVID-19.

Next year, we will focus on:

47

Women for Women International (UK) Appendix to Trustees’ Annual Report for the year ended 31 December 2021

Hivi’s Story

My husband deprived me of everything and violated me many times. I never defended myself. When WfWI staff knocked at my door, I decided to participate. The programme opened my eyes to the world. I got legal help and started a business at home. I even taught my children about savings.

After I joined WfWI's programme I started to feel like a woman. I started to think of improving my life by learning new skills and knowledge from my programme. I was motivated to start establishing my business at home. I started baking bread and selling it to my neighbours and started working as a cleaner, washing and cleaning houses near my home. I even received a sewing machine to practice what I have been learning from the WfWI programme.

I also try to save a little for good times and to improve my business at home as I know want to be a

designer. I would love to design different types of clothes and also have a small bakery shop to sell and make bread. I even taught my children about savings, and I continue to teach them to understand the need to buy items since I have learned so many saving skills.

Hivi is a 31 year old mother of 6 living in the district of Shekhan, Iraq.

Strategic Objective 2: Work with men to change attitudes

Last year, we said we would aim to achieve the following during 2021:

Globally, we reached 4,390 men in our Men’s Engagement Programme in 2021.

In 2021 we finalized our DRC RCT, which looked at the impact of our Men’s Engagement Programme alongside our SWSN core program. The RCT affirmed again that while our core programme is achieving significant results, the MEP is not achieving the level of positive impact that we desire to see for the women we serve. We launched a process to elaborate our MEP theory of change, bringing on a consultant to consolidate the experience and learning from each CO and to support the design of programme adaptations that we seek to roll out in 2022.

48

Women for Women International (UK) Appendix to Trustees’ Annual Report for the year ended 31 December 2021

Next year, we will focus on:

Strategic Objective 3: Support marginalised women survivors of conflict so that they can influence decisions

Last year we said we would focus on the following in 2021:

Throughout 2021, we built on our internal processes by expanding the Global Policy and Advocacy team. As global advocacy and policy work is integral to the achievement of our 2030 vision and strategic goals, captured in Women for Women International’s Power of Women strategy, our ambitions have been to grow the Global Policy and Advocacy team. To this end, the Global Policy and Advocacy Team has continued to grow and is now a team of 5 members of staff spread across 3 continents. We look forward to continuing to invest in our policy and advocacy capacity and resource to enable us to achieve more impact.

We have also looked to improve our internal knowledge sharing mechanisms. In December 2021 we launched our new ‘roundup’, an internal newsletter which spotlights activities and success stories across the global organisation with a bumper edition focusing on the highlights of 2021. We have already received positive feedback from colleagues across the organisation, particularly within country offices who appreciated their achievements being celebrated. From 2022, this will be shared on a monthly basis and create the foundation for a new external newsletter to share our policy and advocacy work with our wider supporters.

Change Agents raising their voices in Nigeria, including through their ‘Voice of Change Agents’ Radio

Change Agents in Nigeria have continued to air their regular ‘Voice of the Change Agents’ radio programme on Albarka Radio and Globe FM, discussing topics such as violence against women and early marriage in order to influence community norms and attitudes toward these practices. The airing of the programme tends to conclude by calling on listeners and stakeholders to join in the fight to prevent and end violence against women, and to support the efforts of the Change Agents, in general. Several callers pleaded with the organisation to expand their work to other local government areas. The radio stations estimated that about 2 million listeners tune in weekly across Bauchi, Plateau, Gombe, Yobe, Jigawa, Kaduna and Kano States. The Change Agents marked International Women’s Day on 8 March 2021 by conducting six ‘special’ interactive radio shows where they interviewed guests from a range of organisations including the Federation of Women Lawyers (FIDA), National Human Right Commission (NHRC), National Association of Women Journalist (NAWOJ) and Federation of Muslim Women Association of Nigeria (FOMWAN).

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Women for Women International (UK) Appendix to Trustees’ Annual Report for the year ended 31 December 2021

Internal planning has been underway for a project to consolidate a theory of change and develop a monitoring, evaluation and learning framework to better measure and convey the outcomes and impact of our global policy and advocacy work. This will enable us to set indicators for our advocacy and influencing work to monitor and measure the progress we are making in key areas. We had hoped that this process would be complete by the end of 2021 but was unfortunately delayed slightly as a result of needing to respond to the crisis in Afghanistan. However, we are pleased to report that this has been re-prioritised for the first two quarters of 2022 and a Terms of Reference drawn up for an external consultant.

Training and providing follow up support to core graduates in advanced advocacy:

Our Global Policy and Advocacy Team continued to provide ongoing technical support to country offices advocacy leads in their implementation of the Change Agents programme and associated grassroots advocacy work. This included continuation of ongoing mentorship and support to our network of over 500 Change Agents to advocate to decision-makers for their self-defined priorities and goals.

Building our advocacy capacity (knowledge and skills) to ensure that Change Agents (and others) are effectively supported in their advocacy work:

The Global Policy and Advocacy Team has continued to build advocacy capacity, knowledge and skills. For example, in 2021, we finalised the revisions to the new and improved Global Change Agents curriculum which incorporates all the learnings identified so far through the delivery of the Change Agent programme over the past three years. Over the course of 2021, we have been working with country teams to prepare for the wider roll out and implementation of this new curriculum. We have also continued to build partnerships with civil society and women’s rights organisations to share learnings and provide consultation and development opportunities for Change Agents to amplify their voices with community, state and national decision-makers. In Afghanistan, during the first quarter of the year (and before the fall of Kabul in August), four Change Agents attended a one-day awareness raising workshop with the Ministry of Women’s Affairs. During the workshop, they discussed women’s economic empowerment and Change Agents advocated for the role of women in decision-making to be formalised by increasing the percentage of women represented in governmental organisations to 50%.

Next year we will:

Strategic Objective 4: Use advocacy to transform the enabling environment for women’s rights at the grassroots, national and global levels to drive systemic change on gender equality for the most marginalised women affected by conflict

Last year, we said we would achieve the following in 2021:

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Women for Women International (UK) Appendix to Trustees’ Annual Report for the year ended 31 December 2021

Despite the long-term consequences of COVID-19 and changes to the domestic environment through UK Aid cuts, Women for Women International have continued to make great strides throughout 2021 using advocacy to transform the enabling environment for women’s rights at the grassroots, national and global levels to drive systemic change on gender equality for the most marginalised women affected by conflict.

Increasing the organisation’s profile, credibility and influence

We have continued to focus on amplifying the voices of women we serve through raising our profile, credibility and influence with key stakeholders, networks and coalitions.

Throughout 2021, as global virtual events and fora continued to be the norm, we were able to take advantage of a number of high-profile external engagement opportunities – with a focus on amplifying the voices and experiences of marginalised women affected by conflict, raising our profile and pushing forward the priorities identified in our Agenda for Action:

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Women for Women International (UK) Appendix to Trustees’ Annual Report for the year ended 31 December 2021

Women for Women International has also worked to engage a wide range of formal and informal partnerships to enable us to expand the scope, breadth and reach of our advocacy to maximise our influence and impact. We continued to maximise on key political moments to advocate for change and deliver on the key commitments related to the priority areas set out by our Agenda for Action.

In partnership with the UK GAPS Network and ‘Now and the Future’ project partners, we were successful in securing an official virtual side-event at UN Women’s Generation Equality Forum in Paris to highlight the findings from our joint COVID-19, Peace, Security and Gender Equality Research Project. This took place in June 2021, and Bukola Onyishi - the Country Director for Women for Women International-Nigeria – represented Women for Women International as one of four speakers

Responding to the crisis in Afghanistan

The 2021 Afghanistan context has meant that the Global Policy and Advocacy Team have played a central role working with colleagues across the organisation and external partners to respond to the situation. This included leading joint advocacy action in the UK. For example, Women for Women International coordinated the drafting of a joint letter - in partnership with GAPS and other GAPS members - to the UK Prime Minister, demanding support for Afghan women. The letter had three key asks:

This letter was shared with various UK Government officials and decision makers, shared with members of the UK Parliament ahead of an emergency debate and published as an opinion piece in the Guardian. It was later used by the GAPS network as a public letter and used as the basis for a response to the UK Parliament’s Foreign Affairs Committee Inquiry into Afghanistan.

We have also continued to meet with a number of key decision-makers to highlight our insight and experience, including with our colleagues who were evacuated from Afghanistan by the UK Government and are now residing in the UK. This has included regular meetings with the FCDO NGO Coordination Group, a private briefing with Lisa Nandy MP, a private briefing to the UK DirectorGeneral, officials in the FCDO’s Violence Against Women and Girls and Women, Peace and Security Teams, as well as a private briefing with the UK Parliament’s Foreign Affairs Committee. We have also signed onto various network and coalition joint letters across the UK, US and Germany.

The Global Policy and Advocacy Team were also able to use strong existing relationships to seek safe evacuation routes for Women for Women International-Afghanistan staff. In August 2021, four of our colleagues and their families were evacuated from Afghanistan and are now residing in the UK. Since August, we are pleased to share that two additional colleagues and their families, along with the Director of one of our Afghan partner organisations, have been able to safely leave Afghanistan. A further 10 colleagues have received confirmation that they have been added to a German list for future resettlement and are awaiting information on next steps. While it seems unlikely that all colleagues who have demonstrated interest in leaving Afghanistan will be able to, we submitted lists of further members of our Afghanistan Team to the Governments of the UK, Germany, Netherlands, the US and Canada and will monitor their eligibility for future resettlement schemes.

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Women for Women International (UK) Appendix to Trustees’ Annual Report for the year ended 31 December 2021

Ensuring timely, tailored and strategic technical support and advice is provided to country offices Throughout 2021 the Global Policy and Advocacy Team continued to provide ongoing technical support to colleagues across the global organisation, to ensure that country-based advocacy work meets its objectives. During this reporting period, this has included supporting with recruitment for an advocacy position in Women for Women International-Iraq and advising Women for Women International-DRC on the next phase of work for the newly formed Advocacy Alliance.

Having laid the foundations for building an Advocacy Alliance in the eastern Democratic Republic of the Congo throughout 2020, the Alliance members and partners built on this to conduct community analysis to identify priorities and inform their strategy. Since then, the Alliance has been implementing activities to achieve those self-identified strategic objectives. For example, in November 2021 the Advocacy Alliance conducted a sensitisation session for local authorities, customary chiefs, other local leaders to galvanize collective, united support toward eliminating violence against women and girls in the communities of Bwirembe and Luberizi.

We have continued building supplemental strategic partnerships with civil society organisations and women’s rights organisations at the community, regional and national levels through the implementation of our Conflict, Stability and Security Fund (CSSF) funded project – ‘Resourcing Change’ – in consortium with Saferworld and the Women’s International League for Peace and Freedom (WILPF). This partner project seeks to build, tailor and implement a capacity-strengthening process, grant scheme and network and alliance-building model that puts the needs of grassroots and women’s rights organisations at the centre of advancing a localised women, peace and security agenda within Nigeria, South Sudan and Yemen.

Next year we will:

Strategic Objective 5: Raise £6 million from grants, corporate partnerships, grassroots contributions, major donors and events, and sponsorships

Last year we said we would achieve the following in 2021:

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Women for Women International (UK) Appendix to Trustees’ Annual Report for the year ended 31 December 2021

Grants

Restricted grants, providing resources for programming, totalled £2.8 million this year which was slightly below our target income. We were significantly impacted by the government’s aid cuts in 2021 with a reduction in contracted income for the year of £700,000.

Our particular thanks go to players of the People’s Postcode Lottery for their continued support via the Postcode Equality Trust which allowed us to maintain our commitment to the women we serve in spite of the loss of critical funding from the Foreign and Commonwealth Office.

Corporate partnerships

Income from corporate partnerships in 2021 was £772,809 (2020: 654,536), which is an 18% increase and exceeded our target of the year by 68%. Key highlights in 2021 included our long-term partners Charlotte Tilbury’s Christmas Stocking product being sold in aid of Women for Women International UK raising £34,260 and Jimmy Choo undertaking activities which raised additional funds including the auction of an NFT.

Once again, we leveraged both the holidays and Giving Tuesday to raise money and our profile at the end of the year and had 12 partners fundraising for us. We raised £123,446 through this annual campaign.

Grassroots

As we are every year, we were so grateful for the ongoing support of our grassroots and community supporters who, despite ongoing Covid restrictions continued to raise funds for our work. Key highlights include the incredible outpouring of support to our Afghanistan campaign, which was supported by a staggering 1,821 first-time donors.

Our Matched Giving campaign in November that saw us hit our target in record time, raising £12,629. In addition, we had some incredibly imaginative and committed fundraisers come up with their own fundraising events and challenges. From our student societies such as Hertfordshire RAG, who raising over £6,000 skydiving to the 40 strong #500for500 challenge team, who raised over £7,000 walking and running 500 miles to commemorate the 500,000 women we have served since 1993.

Major Donors and Events

In 2021 we raised £207,601 through events and major donors (2020: £327,592).

Our flagship live event the #SheInspiresMe Car Boot Sale was once again held as a virtual auction in May which raised £54,355.

Our first live event post-Covid lockdowns was our #SheInspiresMe Lunch which brought together major donors, corporate partners and Ambassadors to celebrate sisterhood in support of women affected by war and raised £47,746. Over 70 guests joined the event, which was sponsored by Jimmy Choo and Romilly Wilde, to hear guest speaker Waad al-Kateab, in conversation with our host BBC journalist and presenter Tina Daheley.

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Women for Women International (UK) Appendix to Trustees’ Annual Report for the year ended 31 December 2021

Sponsorship and Regular Giving

In 2021 we raised over £540,000 through sponsorship and regular giving (2020: £500,937) and launched our new regular giving product the Power Up Club. We were able to recruit 364 new sponsors for sisters in our Stronger Women, Stronger Nations programme, as well as an additional 262 regular donors.

Next year, we will focus on:

Strategic Objective 6: Raise Women for Women International (UK)'s profile / visibility through effective communications

Last year we said we would achieve the following:

Integrating the team

Creating an integrated UK marketing and communications team has led to a more cohesive shared strategy; as a result, we have seen successful results for our fundraising efforts and growing engagement across our digital and offline channels. Sponsorship & Regular Giving finished the year £30k over target hitting £540k against a target of £510k. Community Fundraising closed 2021 £59k over the July reforecast, reaching £158k which was ultimately £25k over the original target for the year of £133k. All those figures are for budgeted unrestricted income only. In addition, the combined lines realised a further £98k in restricted income in response to the Afghanistan crisis.

Working with the Global Communications Team to roll-out our new brand

We used the launch of the International Women's Day #PowerToChange campaign on 1st February 2021 to launch the new global brand. The new brand included a new logo, colour palette, typeface, brand narrative, messaging, programme name (Stronger Women, Stronger Nations). The website, email signatures, email templates, social media images, letterhead, PPT templates, boilerplate copy were all updated as well. The new brand – which embodies the message of empowerment even more boldly – has been well received by our global audiences and we are continuing to weave this

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Women for Women International (UK) Appendix to Trustees’ Annual Report for the year ended 31 December 2021

narrative into all communications and campaigns. We have also continued to integrate global ways of working in campaigns for International Women’s Day, 16 Days of Activism, and the Afghanistan emergency appeal.

Building on what we learned in 2020

Despite its many challenges, the COVID-19 pandemic has creating countless opportunities for the growth and innovation of our digital channels. One of the key ways we have continued to build our community is through the Power Up Club, which is our newest digital regular giving product. Members pledge to donate £7 or more a month and in return receive invitations to bi-monthly events, inspiring updates, impact reports and can join a Facebook group dedicated to members. We currently have more than 370 Power Up Club members and the numbers are continuing to grow – highlighting the appetite to engage with our work online even as COVID-19 restrictions ease.

Next year, we will focus on:

Strategic Objective 7: Run an effective and financially sustainable organisation

Last year we said we would aim to achieve the following during 2021:

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Women for Women International (UK) Appendix to Trustees’ Annual Report for the year ended 31 December 2021

During the year we created Our People Programme, a holistic curriculum of development and engagement opportunities focused on well-being, inclusion, equity, culture and values and offered to all WFWI-UK staff. Motivated in part by what we were hearing from our staff (through surveys, meetings, exit interviews etc.), but also by what we were feeling and observing ourselves within WFWI-UK and inspired by our Stronger Women, Stronger Nations programme and all of the incredible women who realised and embraced their power to be change makers within their families, their communities and their countries.

We continue to strive for a nurturing and enabling organisational culture; this was a key focus of the co-Managing Directors, Staff Culture Committee and newly convened Senior Managers Group during the year. We remain committed to listening to our staff and encourage their meaningful participation in the ongoing development of a culture of inclusion, trust, mutual respect, and empowerment.

We also rolled out our new Working from Home Equipment Policy to support our staff to work effectively, safely and comfortably from home while also establishing a new office space in the Borough area. We now offer a flexible hybrid working to all our staff.

We recruited four new Trustees to our Board in December 2021 and are thrilled to have had the opportunity to welcome these passionate, committed and talented women to WFWI-UK.

Next year, we will focus on:

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