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← Her Equality Rights And Autonomy

2023-12-31-accounts

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Her Equality Rights & Autonomy (HERA UK)

Annual Report and unaudited financial statements for year ended 31[st] December 2023

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Her Equality Rights and Autonomy (HERA UK)

LEGAL AND ADMINISTRATIVE INFORMATION

Trustees

Gili Coston (reappointed 1/1/24)

Michelle Hammersley

Maninder Paul (appointed June 2023)

Stuart Newstead (appointed December 2023)

Charity Number 1115628 Company Number 05401337

Registered Office 184 Bath Rd, Worcester, WR5 3ER

Independent examiner Craig Muncaster, Albany, Port Isaac, Cornwall, PL29 3RF

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Her Equality Rights and Autonomy (HERA)

CONTENTS

Trustee Report 3
Financial and governance review 12
Independent Examiner's Report 15
Statement of Financial Activities 17

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Trustee Report

Objectives and Activities

a. Policies and Objectives

The objectives of the charity are

b. Activities for achieving objectives

HERA UK staff, volunteers, and trustees organised the following programmes to address our objectives:

c. Public benefit

The Trustees confirm that due regard has been given to the Charity Commission’s guidance on public benefit and in particular confirm that the charity provides the public benefit for the advancement of education and, training and well-being and the relief of those in need.

d. Main activities undertake to further the charity’s purpose for public benefit

The main activities undertake to further the charity’s purposes for public benefit are synonymous with the activities for achieving objectives detailed above.

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Vision & Mission

HERA empowers women survivors of modern slavery & exploitation to achieve a better life, working with business and academic mentors, to become financially independent.

Our mission is built on 5 core values: Trust, Autonomy, Empowerment, Collaboration and Compassion.

We focus on three key deliverables:

In order to deliver this, we have 5 foundation stones, each of which is owned by one of our trustees:

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2023 review

2023 was a year of great change for HERA. In December, Jo Chidwick, our longstanding chair, decided to step back from the charity. Jo was very closely involved with HERA and her impact and contribution was huge. Her departure saw a period of change in which the board, supported by returning volunteers, refocussed on a small number of key priorities to ensure stability in the short term and continuity in the longer term:

HERA Team

At the end of the year, HERA was supported by the following team:

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Achievements and performance

Review of activities

This year’s training programme was the 15th programme hosted in the UK by HERA. The programme saw 18 women survivors graduate from the three week hybrid training course and present their individual plan for their next 100 days.

For the second time, the training programme was taught Hybrid – with 6 in person sessions and the remainder hosted over Zoom with some pre-recorded videos from speakers and partners, including Presentation skills from American Express and in person sessions at Natwest Bank, Marriott and Salesforce. The programme ended with a graduation ceremony and presentation of certificates for the course.

The training ran from Monday 03 July to Friday 11th August 2023 and was predominantly taught between 10am and 3pm. Total attendance for the programme was 95.70% with all students, except one, who couldn’t attend in person classes because she was pregnant. This year there were six students with university degrees and most students above the age of 25 years old.

We collaborated with our supporters and educational partners to create regular online campaigns, events, and workshops for our students allowed us to minimise costs by receiving in-kind donations such as free office space for in person sessions plus food & beverages.

The year 2023 for HERA was a year of positive change and innovation to our programme offering various methods of support, including the addition of a new format and structure for the program, based on our focus on giving our students a clear path to ‘becoming financially independent’. We also started working with patterns offering work experience and training for our students to enable them further towards their goals and aspirations.

In addition to the new structure, we wanted to bring in some innovation around the students’ wellbeing and we worked with Athena Herd Foundation, an organisation that strives to improve the emotional health and wellbeing of their clients. Since setting up the foundation, they have positively influenced the lives of over one thousand young people and adults via their horse-assisted personal development and wellbeing programmes.

2023 also saw new additions to the staffing team, who all brought experience and energy to their roles, enabling productive strategy meetings regarding the future of HERA as we move into 2023 and beyond. A key initiative was to bring in our alumni to function as volunteers and HERA ambassadors, this really helped our students as they could see themselves reflected in these women who were happy to ‘play it back’ and share their positive experiences with HERA and the program.

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HERA UK summer programme Team

The 2023 summer training programme was developed and coordinated by Uhanan Mimi, Programme Manager. The content and teaching was overseen by Joanne Chidwick, CEO and Trustee, and Stuart Newstead, Academic Director. The programme was also supported by:

Speakers for the 2023 Business Training Programme

Events

During 2023 we saw all our activities continue to grow along with the number of supporters, partners and volunteers at HERA.

After the summer business training programme, our students, mentors and volunteers enjoyed outdoor events. We had a Christmas party at Natwest Angel for the class of 2023. Those in attendance exchanged gifts, pleasantries and enjoyed some Christmas games and quizzes.

We were delighted to join Adobe on the 8th of March to celebrate International women’s day. The event was absolutely fantastic and a great opportunity for our students to meet with their mentors, catch up with other students and network with HERA Alumni.

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We held eight Wednesday Wisdom Workshops so far this year building on each student’s 100 day plan, and we are planning a farewell party in June for the class of 2023 before welcoming the new cohort starting the programme in July.

Mentoring Program

During 2023, the mentoring programme has been strengthened and reformulated. This has a number of aims:

Partnerships &Collaborations

2023 has been another strong year in the development of our corporate partnerships. We continue to be supported by our longstanding partners in Vodafone, Salesforce and American Express, and have developed partnerships with Marriott and Adobe. Our corporate partners support us with:

During the year we have also benefitted from the Women of Impact partnership providing us special access to experts in the field of legal, governance and strategy

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Monitoring & Evaluation

To ensure the continued effectiveness and suitability of our programs, HERA employs three core processes for gathering and assessing student well-being and overall satisfaction.

1) Student Feedback:

Following the first part of the HERA programme i.e. the Summer Business & Entrepreneurial 3 Week training course, we gather feedback from the students,

2) Student Engagement:

We maintain ongoing interactions with our students through social events, workshops, and WhatsApp

Our Trustees and Program Director also maintain regular contact with students to ensure their safety and well-being.

3) Mentor Feedback:

HERA now organises an online gathering for mentors to connect, reflect, and exchange best practices to better support both one another and their mentees throughout the year. Subsequently, we introduced regular monthly "catch-up" sessions, allowing mentors to share their experiences within the HERA mentor community and collaboratively identify areas for improvement.

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Fundraising

HERA continues to operate, like many other UK charities, within a challenging funding environment. The cost of living crisis and general economic climate have created a difficult environment, particularly for small charities, with some reports suggesting that fundraising performance is now worse than at the peak of the Covid crisis. HERA has recognised that we need to resource and plan to meet these challenges for our future success. Alongside these challenges we are also thrilled to share the remarkable fundraising successes that have propelled our mission forward over the last twelve months. The incredible generosity and unwavering commitment of our supporters have enabled us to make a real difference and directly impact the lives of the women we serve. Here are some of the key highlights:

We are profoundly grateful for the continued support and partnership. There are some challenging times ahead but together, we are making a difference and creating lasting change. Thank you for being an integral part of our journey and for your unwavering commitment to our mission.

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Her Equality, Rights and Autonomy (HERA)

Report of the Trustees and Unaudited Financial Statements for the year ended 31 December 2023 for Her Equality Rights and Autonomy

Financial Review

The financial statements have been prepared in accordance with the accounting policies set out in note 1 to the financial statements and comply with charity’s memorandum of association, the Companies Act 2006 and “Accounting and Reporting by Charities: Statement of Recommended Practice applicable to charities preparing their accounts in accordance with the Financial Reporting Standard applicable in the UK and Republic of Ireland (FRS” (as amended for accounting periods commencing from 1 January 2016)

Reserves Policy

The Reserves Policy is set to ensure there is no disruption of HERA’s services in the event of an unforeseen reduction in income or increase in expenditure. It also allows for contingencies aimed at the mitigation of any major risks identified that would have a financial impact should they materialise.

The Trustees have determined a requirement for freely available funds in order to fund the following:

The Trustees believe that, in line current commitments the level of free reserves should be sufficient to cover four months’ costs, being the approximate equivalent of delivering the summer programme. At 2023 prices this equates to approximately £25,000

The level of reserves is continually monitored by the Trustees and the policy is reviewed at least every three years (next review due 2025)

The Charity works to build its reserves to the level required to meet the policy to remain sustainable, build a safer future and protect the Charity in the long term.

Income and Expenditure

In the period total income to the charity including grants, donations (both cash and in kind) and Gift Aid totalled £69,101 whilst expenditure was £105,738

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Structure and governance

The charity is registered as a company limited by guarantee and was set up by a memorandum of association on 22[nd] March 2005.

The trustees who are also directors of the charity for the purposes of the Companies Act2006, present their report with the financial statements of the charity for the year ended 31 December 2023.

Trustees

Statement of Trustees Responsibilities

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

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

The trustees are responsible for keeping proper accounting records, which disclose with reasonable accuracy at any time the financial position of the charitable company and to enable them to ensure that the financial statements comply with the Companies Act 2006. They are also responsible for safeguarding the assets of the charitable company and hence for taking reasonable steps for the prevention and detection of fraud and other irregularities.

The trustees have adopted the provisions of the Statement of Recommended Practice (SORP) ʻAccounting and Reporting by Charitiesʼ issued in January 2015.

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Reference and Administrative Details

Registered Company number: 05401337 Registered Charity number: 1115628

Registered office:

184 Bath Rd, Worcester, WR5 3ER

Method of appointment and election of trustees

Trustees (as listed by the Charities Commission) and Directors (as listed at Companies House) are elected and serve according to the provisions laid down in paragraphs 19 through 37 of the memorandum of association as lodged at Companies House. In brief:

The trustees report was approved by the Board of Trustees

Michelle Hache (Hammersley)

Interim Chair of the Board of Trustees

02/08/2024

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Her Equality, Rights and Autonomy (HERA)

Independent Examiner’s Report

TO THE TRUSTEES OF HERA – CHARITY NUMBER 1115628

I report on the Accounts and accompanying notes of the company for the year ended 31December 2023

Respective Responsibilities of trustees and examiner

The trustees (who are also directors of the company for the purposes of company law) are responsible for the preparation of the accounts. The trustees consider that an audit is not required for this year under section 144(2) of the Charities Act 2012 (the 2012 Act) and that an independent examination is needed.

Having satisfied myself that the charity is not subject to an audit under company law and is eligible for independent examination, it is my responsibility to:

Basis of independent examiner’s statement

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

Independent examiner’s statement

In connection with my examination, no matter has come to my attention which gives me reasonable cause to believe that, in any material respect, the requirements below have not been met.

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Craig Muncaster

Date

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Her Equality, Rights and Autonomy (HERA)

Statement of financial activities (Income and expenditure and balance sheet)

For year ended 31 December 2023

Income and expenditure

In Kind funding 43,664
Grant Income 25,437
Total income 69,101
less Cost of Sales 57,485
Other summer program costs 32,171
Consulting, speakers and trainers 7,500
Materials and supplies for summer program 5,670
Student travel and expenses 11,030
Computer Hardware for students 1,114
less Administration Expenses 7,934
Fundraising costs 5,246
Computer Software 681
Internet & Telephone 203
Legal and Professional Fees 1,253
Subscriptions 289
Bank/Finance Charges 153
Insurance 108
less Staff Costs 40,414
-
Operating Profit 36,731
-
Retained Profit this period: 36,731
Retained Profit brought forward: 67,510
Distributable Reserves / Retained Profit carried forward: 30,779

Balance Sheet

Opening bank balance 67,510
-
Retained Profit this period: 36,731
Closing bank balance: 30,779