2023-07-31-accounts - Acts 435

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ACTS 435

REPORT OF THE TRUSTEES FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31 JULY 2023

The trustees who are also directors of the charity for the purposes of the Companies Act 2006, present their report with the financial statements of the charity for the year ended 31 July 2023. The trustees have adopted the provisions of 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 102) (effective 1 January 2019).

OBJECTIVES AND ACTIVITIES

Objectives and aims

The aim and objectives of Acts 435 is to directly connect those who want to give with those who are in genuine need of their help, through a network of local churches and charities. Each partner church or charity appoints an Acts 435 advocate who meets with the person struggling financially and posts onto the Acts 435 website the specific need they have such as clothes or a piece of furniture. People respond by giving online to that need and the money is transferred to the partner church or charity to purchase the item so desperately needed.

Scotland

We operate in all four countries of the United Kingdom with a growing number of churches and charities in Scotland where we are registered with the OSCR.

ACHIEVEMENT AND PERFORMANCE

Review of Activities

Acts 435 was launched as a pilot in the North Yorkshire and Humber Region in October 2009 and was then launched nationally by the patron, the then Archbishop of York, on the 12th July 2010. It has grown organically since with a small staff team to coordinate the charity’s activities. During the Covid-19 pandemic the charity was able to operate as normal given the employees all work from home. The charity saw immediate growth at the onset of the pandemic, increasing from helping on average 300 people a month to over 500 people a month. This has been sustained in the period since then as donors continue to meet the needs. During this financial year 100% of requests were met within one month, with the average less than two weeks, many met in a matter of days.

The charity continued to fully fund its administration costs through Gift Aid. The surplus of Gift Aid from previous years enabled the charity to have the necessary reserves to invest in a rebuild of the full website which commenced in Spring 2021 and launched in June 2022. This has been capitalised in the accounts and has future-proofed the website for the years to come, placing it on a standardised wireframe rather than being bespoke. In January 2023, in response to the rise of costs due to inflation, the maximum amount a request could be posted for was raised from £150 to £200.

Core Activities for Public Benefit

Acts 435 is a website that directly links those wanting to give with those needing their help. Acts 435 focuses on providing specific practical help for those people locally known to be in need in small but significant ways. For each request there is a limit of £200 and an overall limit per family of three requests in total with additional requests only in exceptional circumstances. 100% of donations to requests go to those in need with no percentage removed for administrative costs. Many individuals helped speak not only of the support of the actual item but also the wonderful experience of receiving the kindness of strangers. The Trustees have given due consideration to the Charity Commission’s published guidance on the Public Benefit requirement under the Charities Act 2011 and they deem the charity to qualify as a public benefit entity.

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ACTS 435

REPORT OF THE TRUSTEES FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31 JULY 2023

External Partnership

Acts 435 works with over 650 churches and charities to help people in need in the community with many new partners joining in this financial year. It also works closely with other charities that work through churches to help people in UK poverty such as Christians Against Poverty, Trussell Trust, Community Money Advice and the St Vincent de Paul Society.

FINANCIAL REVIEW

In its fourteenth year the core activities of Acts 435 have maintained the level of the previous year with over £1,000,000 given to distribute to people in need, representing over 7,500 requests for help being met. Unrestricted funds primarily represent Gift Aid receipts, which cover all administrative costs.

Reserves policy

The Charity's administrative costs were previously funded by a private donor who topped up the funds as needed, and are now met by Gift Aid. Restricted funds are passed onto individual applicants within 7 days of the full donation being received. As such the charity does not have a formal reserves policy at the current time. The model enables requests for help to be met whilst funding the low administrative costs of the charity on an ongoing basis.

At 31 July 2023 the total reserves amounted to £111,380, all of which were unrestricted as all donations received for specific needs are paid out swiftly to those in need. £54,383 of this will cover the cost of amortising the website build over the next three years.

Future Plans

Going forwards the charity plans to continue expanding its network of church and local charity partners. With the constant pressure on the cost of living, many more churches and local charities are reaching out to the charity to see if they can partner with us. New donors are giving through the website each week and to support the increased need, the charity is also exploring grant funding.

STRUCTURE, GOVERNANCE AND MANAGEMENT

Governing document

Acts 435 was established by a Memorandum and Articles adopted on 29 May 2009, which has subsequently been amended by Special Resolutions dated 31 July 2009, 1 July 2011 and 21 January 2019. The Charity registered with the Charity Commission in England and Wales on 24 August 2009 and with the Office of the Scottish Charity Regulator (OSCR) on 31 August 2011.

Organisational structure

During the financial year the charity had a part-time Executive Director reporting to the Trustees, and three part-time officers covering Operations and Communications. Collectively the FTE is 2.2.

The work was supported by over 650 volunteer Advocates based in local churches and Christian charities.

Risk management

The Trustees have a duty to identify and review the risks to which the charity is exposed and to ensure appropriate controls are in place to provide reasonable assurance against fraud and error. The Trustees have identified and assessed the major risks to which the charity is exposed, in particular those related to the operation and finances of the charity. They are satisfied that the charity's exposure to these risks is minimal.

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ACTS 435

REPORT OF THE TRUSTEES FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31 JULY 2023

Management of the charity

The Executive Director of the charity has been in post since it was launched and key decisions are delegated to her by the trustees. She is also a chartered accountant so leads on the financial decisions, including when to apply Gift Aid to requests and all information reported to the trustees and analysed by them. The trustees receive both weekly and monthly reports.

Salaries of the small team are set by the Executive Director and approved by the trustees, and the Executive Director is line managed by the Chair of Trustees who sets her salary. As a small, unique charity, it is difficult to find clear benchmarks but all salaries are compared to general data available through charity recruiting websites.

REFERENCE AND ADMINISTRATIVE DETAILS

Registered Company number

6919051 (England and Wales)

Registered Charity number

1131305 (England and Wales) SC042550 (Scotland)

Registered office

The Gateway Centre Front Street Acomb York YO24 3BZ

Patron

Archbishop of York, Dr. John Sentamu

Trustees

Julian Richer (Chair) Peter Warry Jonathan Day Alison Tsang Claire Daniels

Trustees shall serve in office for a period of three years but after that may be reappointed for two further terms of three years. At the end of their third term in office and in subsequent years a Trustee may be reappointed subject to a rigorous review, taking into account the need for progressive refreshing of the board.

The election of trustees is made with unanimous agreement of the other trustees and is based on skills as well as having a Christian faith. Each trustee completes an eligibility form and Charity Commission induction materials are made available to them. The charity is committed to having at least one advocate on the board to ensure the voice of the church and charity advocates is heard.

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ACTS 435

REPORT OF THE TRUSTEES FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31 JULY 2023

Company Secretary

Jennifer Herrera

Auditor Bankers HPH Chartered Accountants Virgin Money 54 Bootham 46 Coney Street York York YO30 7XZ YO1 9NQ

Approved by order of the board of trustees on 12 March 2024 and signed on its behalf by:

................................................................. Julian Richer – Chair of Trustees

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INDEPENDENT AUDITOR’S REPORT TO THE MEMBERS AND TRUSTEES OF ACTS 435

Opinion

We have audited the financial statements of Acts 435 for the year ended 31 July 2023 which comprise Statement of Financial Activities, Balance Sheet, Statement of Cash Flows and notes to the financial statements, including a summary of significant accounting policies. The financial reporting framework that has been applied in their preparation is applicable law and United Kingdom Accounting Standards, including Financial Reporting Standard 102 The Financial Reporting Standard applicable in the UK and Republic of Ireland (United Kingdom Generally Accepted Accounting Practice).

In our opinion the financial statements:

give a true and fair view of the state of the charitable company’s affairs as at 31 July 2023 and of its incoming resources and application of resources, including its income and expenditure for the year then ended;
have been properly prepared in accordance with United Kingdom Generally Accepted Accounting Practice; and
have been prepared in accordance with the requirements of the Companies Act 2006, the Charities and Trustee Investment (Scotland) Act 2005 and Regulation 8 of the Charities Accounts (Scotland) Regulations 2006.

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

We have nothing to report in respect of the following matters in relation to which the ISAs (UK) require us to report to you where:

the trustees’ use of the going concern basis of accounting in the preparation of the financial statements is not appropriate; or
the trustees have not disclosed in the financial statements any identified material uncertainties that may cast significant doubt about the charitable company’s ability to continue to adopt the going concern basis of accounting for a period of at least twelve months from the date when the financial statements are authorised for issue.

Other information

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

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INDEPENDENT AUDITOR’S REPORT TO THE MEMBERS AND TRUSTEES OF ACTS 435

In connection with our audit of the financial statements, 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 audit or otherwise appears to be materially misstated. If we identify such material inconsistencies or apparent material misstatements, we are required to determine whether there is a material misstatement in the financial statements or a material misstatement of the other information. 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 our audit

the information given in the trustees’ report, which includes the directors’ report prepared for the purposes of company law, for the financial year for which the financial statements are prepared is consistent with the financial statements; and
the directors’ report included within the trustees’ report have been prepared in accordance with applicable legal requirements.

Matters on which we are required to report by exception

In 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 directors’ report included within the trustees’ report.

We have nothing to report in respect of the following matters in relation to which the Companies Act 2006 and the Charities Accounts (Scotland) Regulations 2006 require us to report to you if, in our opinion:

adequate and proper accounting records have not been kept; or
the financial statements are not in agreement with the accounting records and returns; or
certain disclosures of trustees' remuneration specified by law are not made; or
we have not received all the information and explanations we require for our audit; or
the trustees were not entitled to prepare the financial statements in accordance with the small companies regime and take advantage of the small companies exemption in preparing the trustees’ report.

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.

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INDEPENDENT AUDITOR’S REPORT TO THE MEMBERS AND TRUSTEES OF ACTS 435

Auditor’s responsibilities for the audit of the financial statements

We have been appointed as auditor under section 44(1)(c) of the Charities and Trustee Investment (Scotland) Act 2005 and under the Companies Act 2006 and report in accordance with the Acts and relevant regulations made or having effect thereunder.

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.

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

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, and to the charitable company’s trustees, as a body, in accordance with Regulation 10 of the Charities Accounts (Scotland) Regulations 2006. Our audit work has been undertaken so that we might state to the charitable company’s members and trustees 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, the charitable company’s members as a body and the charitable company’s trustees as a body, for our audit work, for this report, or for the opinions we have formed.

Adrian. Kodaway

Adrian Rodaway, Senior Statutory Auditor

For and on behalf of HPH, Statutory Auditor

17 April 2024

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£ £ £ £
INCOME AND ENDOWMENTS FROM
Donations, legacies and grants 3 155,374 993,617 1,148,991
Investment income 4 136 - 136
TOTAL INCOME 155,510 993,617 1,149,127
EXPENDITURE ON
Raising funds 5 24,951 - 24,951
Charitable activities
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The notes on pages 12 to 21 form part of these financial statements.

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£ £
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The notes on pages 12 to 21 form part of these financial statements.

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£ £
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The notes on pages 12 to 21 form part of these financial statements.

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£ £

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30,107
£ 30,107 £
related to restricted funds.
Cash Flow At
£ £ £
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ACTS 435 NOTES TO THE FINANCIAL STATEMENTS FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31 JULY 2023 - continued

3. DONATIONS AND LEGACIES Donations Gift Aid	Unrestricted Funds £ - 155,374	Restricted Funds £ 993,617 - £ 993,617	2023 2022 £ £ 993,617 889,291 155,374 157,668 £ 1,148,991 £ 1,046,959 Total Funds	2023 2022 £ £ 993,617 889,291 155,374 157,668 £ 1,148,991 £ 1,046,959 Total Funds
	£ 155,374			£ 1,046,959

In 2022 the amount of donations and legacies which related to restricted funds was £889,291.

4. INVESTMENT INCOME Deposit account interest Other income	Unrestricted Funds £ 123 13	Restricted Funds £ - - £ -	2023 2022 £ £ 123 26 13 - £ 136 £ 26 Total Funds	2023 2022 £ £ 123 26 13 - £ 136 £ 26 Total Funds
	£ 136			£ 26

In 2022 the amount of investment income which related to restricted funds was £Nil.

5. RAISING FUNDS Staff costs Public relations, marketing	Unrestricted Funds £ 23,426 1,525	Restricted Funds £ - - £ -	2023 2022 £ £ 23,426 17,264 1,525 5,512 £ 24,951 £ 22,776 Total Funds	2023 2022 £ £ 23,426 17,264 1,525 5,512 £ 24,951 £ 22,776 Total Funds
	£ 24,951			£ 22,776

In 2022 the amount of expenditure on raising funds which related to restricted funds was £Nil.

6. GRANTS PAYABLE Grants payable to individuals	Unrestricted Funds £ -	Restricted Funds £ 1,013,950 £ 1,013,950	2023 £ 1,013,950 £ 1,013,950	2022 £ 930,480
	£ -			£ 930,480

Grants to individuals comprises £1,013,950 (2022: £874,556) given to meet specific requests - limited to £150 - listed on the Acts 435 website and £Nil (2022: £55,924) for the Larger Gifts programme run in partnership with Stewardship.

In 2022 the amount of grants payable which related to restricted funds was £930,480.

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£ £ £ £ 105,426 8,413 113,839 £8,413 £113,839 Restricted Total Funds Funds 2023 £ £ £ £ 56,597 - 56,597 1,172 - 1,172 460 - 460

£ £ £ £

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£ £ -

£ £

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£ £ £
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Charitable activities

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£ £
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£
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£ £ 41,816 38,308 38,031 37,096 £75,404 2022 £ £ 894 983 340 256 6,427 5,352 45,296 42,958 52,957 £ 49,549 Balance c/f at 31/07/2023 £ £ 111,380 20,333 - £- £111,380 Balance c/f at 31/07/2022 £ £ 114,993 27,897 - - - 27,897 -

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ACTS 435 NOTES TO THE FINANCIAL STATEMENTS FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31 JULY 2023- continued

16. MOVEMENT IN FUNDS - continued

Restricted funds

Donations

Restricted donations are those given towards requests posted online. Where a specific request has been donated to, the funds will go to that specific individual. Where a general donation towards requests has been given, Acts 435 allocates these funds to specific requests. Each request is a maximum of £200.

As at 31 July 2023 there was £3,480 (2022: £4,650) of donations given to specific requests pending receipt of the full amount before sending to the appropriate church or local charity, and a further £41,816 (2022: £38,308) held by, or in the process of being transferred to, different churches or local charities to dispense to applicants.

Transfers between funds

Where requests are expiring and the full amount has not been met by external donors, the Acts 435 team applies general funds to make up these amounts, using a debit card and making the donation online in the same way external donors do. This is shown as a transfer from unrestricted to restricted funds which is considered to most accurately reflect the substance of these transactions.

17. ANALYSIS OF FUNDS

Tangible fixed assets £ - -	Intangible fixed assets £ 54,383 -	Current assets £ 64,658 45,296	Current liabilities £ (7,661) (45,296)	Total £ 111,380 -
£ -	£ 54,383	£ 109,954	£ (52,957)	£ 111,380
- -	68,303 -	53,281 42,958	(6,591) (42,958)	114,993 -
£ -	£ 68,303	£ 96,239	£ (49,549)	£ 114,993

18. RELATED PARTY DISCLOSURES

There were no related party disclosures relating to the year. During the previous year, 2022, Acts 435 received a charitable grant of £20,000 from The Fairness Foundation, a charity of which Julian Richer is also a Trustee.

There have been no transactions with related parties in the current year.