Company registrotion number: 04070342 Charity registration number: 1115303 Greater London Volunteering known as London Plus IA company limited by guarantee) Annual Report and Financial Statements for the Year Ended 31 March 202S Field Sullivan Limited 9 Hare & Billet Road Blackheath SE3 ORB Greater London Volunteering known a5 London Plus Contents Reference and Administrative Details Trustees, Report 2to12 Independent Examiner's Report 13to14 Statement of Financial Attivities 15 Balance Sheet 16 Statement of Cash Flow5 17 Notes to the Financial Statements 18to29 Greater London Volunteering known as London Plus Reference and Administrative Details Chalr Sarah Mulley Tru5tee5 Edward Anderton Adwoa Fadahunsi Stephanie Hann Sanjan Haque Annabel Igelhart Renae Mann Sar3h Mulley Dominic Pinkney Penny Wilson Jonathan Winter Charlty Registratlon Number 1115303 Company Reglstratlon Number 04070342 The charity is incorporated in England. 9 Hare & Billet Road Blackheath SE3 ORB Reglrtered Offlce Independent Examiner Field Sullivan Limited 9 Hare & Billet Road Blackheath SE3 ORB Bankers Metro Bank I Southampton Row London WCIB SHA The Co-operative Bank PIC Central Commercial Branch P.0. Box 250 Skelmersdale WN8 6WT Page I Greatsr London Volunteering known as London Plus Trustees, Report The trustees, who are directors for the purposes of company law, present the annual report together with the financial statements of the charitable company for the year ended 31 March 2025. Objectlves and Activities Objertives The objectives of the charity are: To promote the efficiency and effectNeness of voluntary and charitable sector organisations. To promote such other exclusively charitable purpose5 according to the law of En8land and Wales as the Trustees is their absolute discretion from time to time determine. Purpose The 'Purpose" of the charity is to enable community groups and charities to make London thriving, cohesive. nd resilient." Activities There are four key building blocks to the work of London Plus: Networks enable London Plus to connect. provide support to, and gather information from charities and community groups across London. Some of these nthorks are for specific or8ènisations, such as for local charity Infrastructure groups in each London borough. Others address a particular topic such as social prescribing, or emergency resilience and response. London Plus's networks give credibility to its voice and influence when engaging with policy makers and funders across London. Communications help charities and community groups in London to share information and learn from each other. and to collaborote more effectively. London Plus invests time and resources into communications that work for a lar8e and diverse sector. This includes using social media. newsletters, and our website, as well as through our networks. London Plus helps build connections to support the sertor acros5 London. and in particular to enable them to collaborate and engage with policymakers. It has strong links With policymaker5 in the Greater London Authority IGLAI and London Councils, as well as funders lour core funding comes frorn City Bridge Foundation as well as the GLA). Strong connections help build understsnding. partnerships, and develop solution5. Data is the final building block of London Plus's work. There is less analysis of the voluntary and community sector than other parts of the economy and society, which can limit understanding of the sectorfs challenges and impact. London Plus helps fill this gap by gathering data from our networks and beyond. to better understand and serve the needs of the sector. Page 2 Greater London Volunteering known as London Plus Trustees, Report Values The work of London Plus is shaped by the following values: We are open. We welcome idea5, connections and potential collaborations. This helps us gather more useful information to help the sector, as well a5 to connect the right people and organisations to maximise the value of oijr work. We are humble. The impact and value of our work comes through the work of others community groups on the frontline. We aim to highlight. reinforce and support their work. We learn and we adapt continuously. We adapt our views and intelligence as we gather more information, and are open to guidance. to corrections, and to any comments as well as criticisms that help us improve. charities and We are ambltlous for the voluntary and community sector in London. Charities and community groups in London play a vitsl role. We want to help them do more. helping tackle disadvantage and inequalities in the city. Public Benefit In forming and reviewing the chariVs objectives, the Trustees have given due regard to public benefit guidance published by the Charity Commission as required by section 17 of The Charities Act 2011. Achievements and Performance 2024125 https:/llondonplus.org/impact-report/ London Communities Emergencles Partnershlp {LCEP) and Falth and Belief Sector Panel In 2024125, LCEP strengthened collaboration across the sector, improved emergency response. and enhanced community resilience in London. Key achievements.. Hosted a cross-sector conference. bringing together 95 organisations to build relationships and expertise in emergency responses and preparedness. Workshops included qualities in emergencies and climate resilience. Played a crucial role in coordinating responses to 7 emergencies, including the Spectrum block fire and severe weather. During the NIO gas outage, London Boroughs Faiths Network ILBFN) worked with local faith groups to deliver 72 shifts for door-to-door welfare checks involving national volunteers and local faith volunteers Built and deepened trusted connections both within LCEP and with partners sharing important strategic and tartical communication alongside building capabilities and coordinating partner engagement with our 2024 Partner Survey showing 72°A of partners had acted on LCEP insights, 62% improved cross-sertor relationship and 57% gained confidence in emergency plar)ning. Supported wsitive system change representing the VCS on the London Resilience Forum and sharing insights with the London Resilience Partnership following the Grenfell Inquiry, advocating for stronger connections between resilience structure5 and the VCS including the need for joint exercises and boundary spanning leadership. Page 3 Greater London Volunteering known as London Plus Trustees, Report Infrastrudure Networks London CVS Network The network continues to be highly valued by CVSS with 100% of impact suNey respondent5 saying they were sat15fied with the London CVS Network in 2024125 and over two thirds saying they were very satisfied. 940A agree that the network helped raise awareness of key issues affecting their organi5ation 8nd the wider sector and 83% of local infrastructure organisations report a strengthened capacity to deliver more effertive services as a result of their enga8ement in the network. Key achievements this year Include.. Publication of a combined CVS and VC Network (local infrastructure overview) impact report infographic and continued promotion of the network impact report published in 2024 which supported LIO'5 to explain and evidence the impact of their work. Taking practical steps to progress key network priorities relating to the challenging funding landscape, social cohesion and community resilience {following the far-right riots in summer), and workforce retention and support. A funding survey, which helped highlight the in5ecurtties faced by the local infrastructure settor in London Responding to sector concerns about skills development by exploring wlth Birkbetk University. the possibility of developing a short course specifically meeting the need of local infrastructure organisations. Representing a collective London perspective in responding to the Civil Soclety Covenant consultation, which was fed back to DCMS, NCVO and ACEVO and also published and promoted widelv Further development of the network's back-office functions/supplier5 directory London Volunteer Centre Network The Network has continued to provide value to London's Volunteer Centres with our partner survey showing that 92% agreed the network provides access to relevant and informative insights and 77% have been able to apply these insi8hts to inforrn action within their own work andlor organisations. Key achievements for the network this year included: Publication of a cornbined CVS and VC Network (local infrasiructure overvlewl described above The Network has focused on key themes, including health volunteerin& social cohesion and community resilience Ifollowing the far-right riots), and have also shared good practice to support volunteer recognition, and contrlbution to advocacy work around infrastrurture funding Contributing to the development of London's Vision for Volunteering Feeding back to 'Simply Volunteer London, about their portal helping to inform improvements for the sector. Showcasing and sharing lessons around innovatlve and specialist volunteering programmes including Greenwich's inclusive volunteering programme and related research Page 4 Greater London Volunteering known as London Plus Trustees, Report LVSG. London's Lifelines & the London Wision lor Volunteerlng We also supported the following initiatives in order to enhance volunteering across London: The London Volunteering Strategy Group ILVSG) which this year= Significantly increased membership to include various specialist and diverse organisations, better reflecting London and its volunteering sector Engaged with a wider group of organisations via the development of a new 'second tierf of membership was through a wider mailing list and Linkedln group Developed and published a London Wision for Volunteering setting out a plan for strengthening and improving volunteering in London. With input from a diverse range of voices within the sector (including volunteers). 489 organisations contributed in 50rne way, and there were voice5 heard from acro55 every London borough. Thi5 work was delivered by Works4U in partnership with the LVSG and wa5 well received by the sector with more than 1500 views in the first month alone. London's Lifelines which this year.. Helped facilitate the promotion of the London Vision for Volunteering consultation and the publication and promotion of the final London Vision for Volunteering. Released three new professional films promoting volunteering Added new Informative content on volunteerin& around key themes such as inclusive volunteerin& family and youth volunteerin& winter volunteering employee volunteering. Volunteers. Week and Mayor of London initiatives and campaigns such as 'Loved & Wanted, and the Mayorfs Community Weekend Ran campaigns promoting London's Lifelines and volunteering in London Continued development of the website as a key resource for London's volunteering community, with a partner reSOUTce hub added Had 15.087 website page view5 from 8.544 users Health Sucial Prescriblne Network The London VCSE Health Inequalities Network (formerly the Social Prescr4bing Network) operated from April 2020 to March 2025, evolving to focus more explicitly on health inequalities. The network supported voluntary. community. and Social enterprise IVCSE) organisations across London by fostering collaboration, information sharing. and strategic engagement with health 5yStem5. The Soclal Prescrlbing Programmes Manager helped arnplify communlty voices in health disCUSsion5, particularly through participation in the Health Equity Group and co-chairing the London Co-production Working Group. Key Achievements for the network included: 11 case studie5, new data tracking tools, and significant online engagement. Preliminary impact survey data showed members valued professional connections and actionable insights. Page 5 Greater London Volunteering known as London Plus Trustees, Report Although the network closed in 2025. it left a strong legacy in resources. frameworks, and relationships. Its closure was managed with careful communication and support materials. and London Plu5 continues to build on the hard work ofthe network. Volunteering for trlealth Volunteering for Health is a national 3-year programme that aims to help break down bèrriers to volunteering in health and care, test new volunteering infrasrructure models. and develop guidance and best practice. It seek5 to influence the policy environment and increase our understandin8 of the impact of volunteers and volunteerin8 across the NHS, alongside the potenti31 role of NHS charities in helping the NHS to deliver the best care. It is funded by a partnership between NHS Charities together, NHS England and CW+. London Plus is the lead partner of the North Central London Partnership, one of two funded VoluDteerlng for Health partnerships in London. Together with the Operational Lead, Volunteer Centre Camden, we led on the evelopment phase of the project which ran from July 2024 to March 2025, after whSch the delivery phase began. Key steps this year included developing the partnership agreement, and a collaboratively produced delivery plan. establishing relationships with Integrated Care Board IICBI stakeholders, NHS Trusts and charities, and exploring existing practices around volunteering in the NHS and health-based charsties across the North Central London system. Research and Dats This year we were able to progress our commitment to empowering charitie5 and community groups through the implementation of year l of our Research & Data Str3tegy12024-20271. Significant developments inclvded.. Published of the first LCEP Impact Report Developed Theory of Change models for core programme5 and networks Implemented a Research Data Management Policy, ensuring ethical. legal, and consistent handling of research data Co-designed surveys with the Volunteer Centre Network to support the generation of local and pan-London insights on volunteering infrastructure impact Identified key data gaps and addressed health inequ3lity categories in member outreach for the London Social Prescribing Network Published and shared insights via the Research and Data webpage to empower the sector to acces5 and engage with new learning. Page 6 Greater London Volunteering known as London Plus Trustees, Report Communlcatlons and Engagement Our first Communications Strategy for London Plus was launched in April 2024 aiming to.. Raise awarene55 of the London Plus brand Promote our core programmes of work {local infrastructure networks, LCEP, social prescribing) Promote new programmes of work (value of the sector, policy and engagementl Key achievements this year.. Launch of a new London Plus website with a range of resources for our audiences, including a Jargon Buster, an LCEP Climate Hub and 154 posrs including bloES, case studies and resource5. Thi5 resulted in over 21,000 users visited the London Plus website. 3 74% increase compared to the previous year Refresh of our brand Delivering 10 campaigns, including Tales of Covid develop and 13unch of two LCEP videos and the Creative Health Impact Framework Improving our social media presence with our Facebook reach 8rowing by 223% and our Linkedln followers growin8 by 93A The London plus Impact Re ort 2024L25 IhttPs.-/llondonplu5.prglimpact-report/l, published August 2025, provides further information on our achievements in the period. Financlal Revlew London Plus remain5 crucially dependent on core funding from City Bridge Foundatlon ICBFI and the Greater London Authority IGLAI. This funding allows the charity to maintain our core work with networks and the wider sector as well as to respond to the needs of charities and community Kroup5 in London lincluding in emergencies). Alongside new initiatives and responses to emergencies, this funding enables us to continue to support key infrastructure networks covering all 32 boroughs in London which enables us to be a truly pan London organization. Our networks are independent of any funder. Part of their value lies in this independence. They are owned by the sector and they can be directly shaped by the sector and its need5. At the core of our approach is supporting the sector across the whole breadth of issues it faces. We are able to do this be consistent. reliable, and valuable to the sector- because of multi-year core support from CBF and the GLA. LCEP is funded via separate restricted grants from both CBF and the GLA. LCEP funding for the entire partnership is received by London Plu5, With elements of the funding then distributed to other organisations lincluding British Red Cross who host VCSEP). LCEP funding is also Lssed to support the work of the London Boroughs Faiths Network ILBFNI under this arrangement London Plus acts as employer for one of its members of staff. and pays for the direct costs of activities. Page 7 Greater London Volunteering known as London Plus Trustees. Report Our unrestricted reserves were reduced to £62.776 {2024: £64.4531. Given the expansion of the organisation to include LCEP and LBFN Dur unre5trirted reserves are now slightly below the level that would be needed to completely close the orgarbiS8tion in the case of an unexpected interruptlDn in funding. The Tru5tee5 are keepinB this position under active review. and full fundin8 is in place for the 25126 budget. The nature of London Plus's work and our funding makes it difficult to build further unrestricted reserve5. If we receive fundinE and deliver work that allows us to extend the funding we receive in grant from CBF and others. this remains restricted under the term5 of these grants. LCEP funding is also restricted. It remains an ambition to build up unrestricted reserves. Funding re