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← Charitycomms

2025-04-30-accounts

REGISTERED COMPANY NUMBER: 06210121 (England and Wales) REGISTERED CHARITY NUMBER: 1138312

REPORT OF THE TRUSTEES AND UNAUDITED FINANCIAL STATEMENTS FOR THE YEAR ENDED 30 APRIL 2025

FOR

CHARITYCOMMS (A COMPANY LIMITED BY GUARANTEE)

Galloways Accounting Limited 15 West Street Brighton East Sussex BN1 2RL

CHARITYCOMMS

CONTENTS OF THE FINANCIAL STATEMENTS FOR THE YEAR ENDED 30 APRIL 2025

Page
Report of the Trustees 1 to 12
Independent Examiner's Report 13
Statement of Financial Activities 14
Balance Sheet 15
Cash Flow Statement 16
Notes to the Financial Statements 17 to 23

CHARITYCOMMS

REPORT OF THE TRUSTEES FOR THE YEAR ENDED 30 APRIL 2025

The trustees who are also directors of the charity for the purposes of the Companies Act 2006, present their report and the financial statements of the charity for the year ended 30 April 2025. The trustees have adopted the provisions of the Statement of Recommended Practice (SORP) "Accounting and Reporting by Charities" in preparing the annual report and financial statements of the charity.

The financial statements have been prepared in accordance with the accounting policies set out in notes to the accounts and comply with the charity's governing document, the Charities Act 2011 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 published in October 2019.

Welcome and introduction

CEO introduction

The past year had been an exciting and challenging time for professional communicators. We have seen unprecedented changes to the communications landscape and to our craft while the pace of change continues to accelerate. Never has CharityComms been more relevant and more needed and we are proud to have helped share good practice and inspiration and to help our professional community feel connected and supported.

Our network has continued to grow, and we extended our reach, working in partnerships to improve our services and strengthen our voice. Acting as a trusted convener, we created safe spaces to respond to the most pressing communications issues from AI to ethical and inclusive comms, the fragmentation of the social media channels, tackling mis- information, countering divisive narratives and creating stories to drive positive change.

The Board's decision to invest some of our reserves allowed us to increase capacity and recruit new skills which enabled us to develop services and be responsive to members' needs and to test new ideas and approaches. We were delighted to be shortlisted as Medium Charity of the Year in the Third Sector Awards 2024 and as Best Professional Body or Learned Society in the Memcom Excellence Awards 2024, a testament to the talent and dedication of the team. But we know that it is the generosity and expertise of our volunteer advisory groups, speakers and trainers, corporate partners, sponsors and freelancers that makes our peer-to-peer learning model possible and is the foundation of success.

Thank you also to CharityComms trustees, who set the course and challenged us to excel. We said goodbye to our Chair Mark Russell who ably led the CharityComms trustee board over the last six years. And were delighted to welcome Jackie O'Sullivan as the new Chair. Jackie will help us build on our achievements and deliver an even better service to our members.

Adeela Warley, CEO CharityComms

It's a real privilege to write my first foreword as Chair of CharityComms. I was delighted to join this wonderful organisation and I'm excited about what lies ahead. I want to begin by thanking Mark Russell for his outstanding leadership over the past six years. Mark's thoughtful stewardship has helped shape CharityComms into the trusted and inclusive organisation it is today. I'm grateful to be building on such strong foundations.

I also want to extend my heartfelt thanks to my fellow trustees and the brilliant CharityComms team. Your passion and dedication shine through everything you do. This year's achievements are a testament to your hard work and creativity.

From championing the voice of charity communicators in the age of AI and social media fragmentation, to responding swiftly to misinformation and supporting the sector through a general election year - CharityComms has been right where it needed to be. We welcomed over 6,600 delegates to 36 events, launched new initiatives like Career Connections and Communicate Change with Confidence, and refreshed our Inspiring Communicator Awards with powerful storytelling and inclusive online experiences.

We've grown our community to over 16,000 professionals, expanded our mentoring scheme, and delivered timely resources and insights that truly reflect the needs of our sector. Financially, we are well positioned to invest in our strategy in 25/26 in order to have an even greater impact.

I am looking forward to realising our strategic intentions and a brand refresh in 2025. I'm proud to be part of this journey. Together, we'll continue to elevate communications and upskill and empower everyone in the charity sector to use it to change the world.

Jackie O'Sullivan, Chair of Trustees

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CHARITYCOMMS

REPORT OF THE TRUSTEES FOR THE YEAR ENDED 30 APRIL 2025

OBJECTIVES AND ACTIVITIES Objectives and aims

Our vision - We enable every charity to value and use effective communications for a better world.

Our purpose - We champion the value of communications and continually improve the quality of communications by connecting and inspiring our community.

Our goals by 2027

  1. Communications will be recognised across the sector as an integral part of the effectiveness of charities.

  2. Charities will have senior management team/senior board representation from communications (i.e. an equal voice at the top table).

  3. More and better resources will be available to help charity communicators improve their skills and the impact of their work.

  4. The planning and delivery of charities' communications is aligned with their brand and organisational strategy.

Our impact - CharityComms' theory of change states that:

Charities create change; communications create change; charities that communicate better, create better change.

Bringing together a community - Memberships

"Just wanted to say how helpful I have found CharityComms events, resources and mentoring over the years! I think you provide excellent, tailored support for comms professionals in the sector."

Whatever their charity size or sector, comms professionals come together as part of the CharityComms community, to share their stories and connect with each other. Our focus this year has very much been on keeping our members engaged - with us and what we offer, and with each other - and we were delighted to be able to provide Career Connections, a new series of in-person networking opportunities.

"The networking event was great! I met some lovely people and made some great connections."

We also hosted a new online Member Meets event, bringing new members together to connect and ask questions. Our community grew to 16,000 people from across the sector and we were delighted to welcome 305 new members, across all membership types.

We ended the year with 535 organisational members, 378 individual members, and 82 corporate partners. We also added almost 2,000 new contacts, bringing the number of comms professionals in our network to over 16,000.

"Thanks for everything you do at Charity Comms. You were a real lifeline when I moved from a big team in higher education to being the solo comms person in a small charity."

Learning together - Events Programme

Our model here at CharityComms is peer-to-peer learning and there would be no event programme without the generosity of the comms community in sharing their experiences. Huge thanks to everyone who shared their experiences and insights at our events this year. Together, we're strengthening learning and development in the comms community.

We recognise that communicators remain overstretched and time-poor,and continue to operate with a backdrop of challenges. There continues to be increased competition for their time and attention. We ran 36 events for 6,607 delegates this year, up from 5,169 delegates the previous year.

Our satisfaction rates this year remained at 92%, despite negative feedback with a new conference event platform.

We continued our focus on making our events as accessible and inclusive as possible, and we brought speakers, sponsors and members on the journey with us.

We recognised the need to support our members and the wider sector with timely event content on AI, social media platforms, navigating the misinformation era, successful comms in an election year, putting accessibility at the heart of your brand, fresh digital approaches, and the power of storytelling to connect, unite, inspire and transform.

We launched a new programme of free, in-person networking Career Connections events in London for our members, themed around three key areas:

We also launched a new workshop on Communicate change with confidence which was designed specifically for charity communicators as they play a crucial role in guiding teams through transitions. The workshop bridged the gap between charity communicator expertise in internal communications and the unique demands of change management.

To support small charities in our membership, we partnered with Inside Edge Media Training to develop and deliver a free workshop on What journalists want from charities and their spokespeople.

Our popular Stepping into Comms Leadership workshop series ran its 20th series this year, all expertly facilitated by Griff Griffiths. These workshops continue to support and inspire senior comms professionals looking to embody a new set of skills to be a visionary leader.

We recognised the need to improve our conference experience for everyone and innovated with a new conference platform. But innovation does not come without risk, no matter how much due diligence or preparation you undertake. We worked hard to mitigate these risks and gave a new conference platform a try with the aim of rolling it out across all of our conferences.

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CHARITYCOMMS

REPORT OF THE TRUSTEES FOR THE YEAR ENDED 30 APRIL 2025

Following two disappointing third-party event platform experiences (for reasons outside of our control), we reviewed the risks carefully and flexed back to holding our conferences on Zoom. We're proud of how we rose to meet these challenges and bounced back from the experiences too. We're grateful that our audiences stuck with us through the bumpy transition to the new platform and have been encouraged by all the positive feedback on our return to Zoom. We've improved the delegate experience by introducing two stages, providing more content and greater choice. We learned much along the way, and those learnings are continuing to serve us well.

Being there for members - Content and Engagement

The last financial year has been one of significant changes in the operating landscape for charities, with social media shifts, AI developments, riots, and a general election. We have moved at pace as an organisation and alongside members and partners to deliver content to support charities through these transitions and showcase best practice. This work is part of our continued commitment to listen to our community's needs and respond to what's been taking place in the sector and the wider world.

Our outputs have included timely articles, evergreen advice, tips and trends, templates and benchmarking reports, adding up to 44 pieces of new work during the year. Connecting people with ideas, insights and support, our range of topics has included a popular social media checklist, a collection of content on comms during an election and responding to social media platform changes - and even taking over the ACEVO podcast for a special episode of leadership in comms.

Our website continues to be a place to support members, with a recording of 173,000 page views over the year and our primary social media channels, LinkedIn and Bluesky, seeing strong growth and engagement. Our newsletter continues to be a staple for communicators, ending the financial year with over 10,000 active members.

We have continued to build on the successes of the Inspiring Communicator Awards 2024 and started promotions from 29 April 2025 at our Strategic Communicators Conference, to extend the window and provide more opportunities for engagement with the stories and purpose of the awards through our communications.

Our aim is to build on what we've learned throughout the year, to continue to showcase our members across our platforms, and champion their work in the sector. We have also been laying the groundwork for content and social media auditing, to review our web and social channels and their contents, to develop and deliver on plans based on this strategic insight.

Finance

The year ended better than anticipated and the trustees are pleased to report unrestricted income of £793,628 and a deficit of expenditure over income of £26,688 in the year to 30 April 2025. The income and deficit reported are both better than budgeted. Membership subscription grew 4% compared to the previous year and events by 23%. As a result of the operating deficit our free reserves decreased from £352,132 in 2024 to £325,444 in 2025. We comfortably hold the CharityComms desired minimum reserve policy level of £220,000.

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CHARITYCOMMS

REPORT OF THE TRUSTEES FOR THE YEAR ENDED 30 APRIL 2025

OBJECTIVES AND ACTIVITIES

Charitable Purpose - about CharityComms

At CharityComms, our aim is to connect, inform, empower, and inspire comms professionals in the charity sector. We are working with our members and the wider communications community to raise the standard of communications in not-for-profits, to enable them to deliver their world-changing missions more effectively. From our membership scheme and events to our best practice guides, reports, support for professional development and web and social media content, we aim to listen and respond to our members to deliver a service that meets their needs and exceeds their expectations.

This year over 200 communicators took part in the Organisational Salary and Culture Survey 2024. The report showed that communicators are passionate about their work and the causes they advocate for, but this alone cannot sustain their energy and professional commitment. They need understanding from within their organisations, with senior leadership setting realistic expectations, creating clear and distinct roles and remits, and thinking creatively about how to reward and recognise their skills and safeguard their wellbeing.

The survey provides a unique insight into the working lives of charity communicators and vital benchmarking data to help communicators make a powerful case for investment in strategic communications.

We completed an organisational systems audit to create a phased action plan to improve our ways of working and systems efficiency, implanting these changes will help provide a more seamless experience for our members.

Working in partnerships is central to our approach, extending our reach and influence on behalf of communicators and ensuring we play to our strengths. Examples include:

Public benefit

The trustees confirm that they have complied with the requirement set out in Section 17 of the Charities Act 2011 to report on how they have carried out their charity's purposes for the public benefit and have complied with their duty to have due regard to the Charity Commission's public benefit guidance when exercising any powers or duties to which the guidance is relevant.

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CHARITYCOMMS

REPORT OF THE TRUSTEES FOR THE YEAR ENDED 30 APRIL 2025

ACHIEVEMENTS AND PERFORMANCE

Membership Achievement and Performance

"I really enjoy everything that CharityComms does and have enjoyed some great events and learning. Thank you for everything you do to support the sector."

Our unique place in the sector and our peer-to-peer model of learning continues to allow us to provide tailored support and resources for our amazing community of charity communications professionals.

We ended the year with 535 organisational members, 378 individual members, and 82 corporate partners. We also added almost 2,000 new contacts, bringing the number of comms professionals in our network to over 16,000.

Membership products and services

Our hugely popular mentoring scheme continued to grow, with mentors and mentees embracing our digital platform that allows them to create a profile and self-match. We were also delighted to be able to open up the mentoring scheme to individual members, meaning that even more comms professionals can benefit from the expertise of others in the sector.

"If you're in comms and marketing in the charity world, give your career a winter boost today by getting involved in the CharityComms mentoring scheme. Being able to schedule in a regular pause amid the busyness for some outside perspective on your work challenges and goals is priceless!"

Our jobs board remains the most-viewed page on the CharityComms website, with almost 22,000 page views, and we posted 426 roles throughout the year. Our other membership services include AskCharity, which allows journalists to send out media requests directly to the sector, and the Charity Digitial Benchmark, which helps to ensure strategic digital thinking and offers a unique tool to measure impact and performance.

"Love AskCharity - we have a national weekly mag running a feature ahead of Christmas because of it."

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CHARITYCOMMS

REPORT OF THE TRUSTEES FOR THE YEAR ENDED 30 APRIL 2025

ACHIEVEMENTS AND PERFORMANCE Charitable Activities - CharityComms Events STRATEGIC REPORT

Events Achievements and Performance

CharityComms' events continue to bring our mission to life by showcasing examples of innovation and best practice that allow our network to share their successes, challenges, solutions, and ideas with their peers. Our aim is to inform, inspire, and empower delegates to use effective communications to better serve their beneficiaries and supporters.

We use our special insight into the sector and communications issues to ensure content, speakers and resources are what members need. We continued our work to make our events programme as accessible and inclusive as possible, and brought speakers, sponsors and delegates on the journey with us.

We kept our finger on the pulse of our members, bringing them timely and relevant content in a variety of formats. Huge thanks to our member steering groups who helped guide us on topics for our special interest group events. We also provided opportunities for peer-to-peer exchanges and support throughout our events, helping our members stay connected with fellow comms professionals.

We are proud of our achievements this year:

Achievements and performance

We recognise that communicators remain overstretched and time poor, and there's increased competition for their attention. We worked hard to make punchy and practical content for our delegates, and every minute spent with us count. We held 36 events this year, down three from the previous financial year. We welcomed 6,607 delegates to our events, up from 5,169 delegates the previous year. Our satisfaction rate remained steady at 92% despite issues with an external event platform impacting feedback.

We recognised the need to support our members and the wider sector with timely event content on AI, social media platforms, navigating the misinformation era, successful comms in an election year, putting accessibility at the heart of your brand, fresh digital approaches, and the power of storytelling to connect, unite, inspire and transform.

Our most popular events included:

Supporting small charities

To support small charities in our membership, we partnered with Inside Edge Media Training to develop and deliver a free workshop on What journalists want from charities and their spokespeople. This hands-on communications workshop was packed with insights and insider tips on what news producers want from a story. Facilitated by an experienced media trainer and journalist it also explored effective media engagement. The workshop introduced strategies for charity communicators - and the spokespeople they support - to be effective when undertaking broadcast and print interviews.

Improving delegate and sponsor experience

This year we focused on improving delegate and sponsor experience across all events, but with a particular focus in our conference programme.

We opted to run our conferences via a special events platform to achieve these goals. Unfortunately, our use of the conference platform didn't live up to our expectations and the needs of our delegates and sponsors. We ultimately parted ways with the event platform provider, and returned to holding our conferences on Zoom. Zoom remains a platform that our audience knows and loves, and we're continuing to adapt and incorporate new features to give a great experience to all. We've improved the delegate experience by introducing two stages, providing more content and greater choice.

We worked closely with sponsors to better understand their needs and experiences, and how our events could help them achieve their aims.

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CHARITYCOMMS

REPORT OF THE TRUSTEES FOR THE YEAR ENDED 30 APRIL 2025

ACHIEVEMENTS AND PERFORMANCE

Challenges

Here's what some of our delegates had to say about our events this year:

"The content is so relevant for organisations at this time when change keeps happening and is so poorly communicated. It all worked well." "I liked especially hearing from the speakers who were ahead of me in their career journey and to whose level I aspire to get to."

"The presentations were very well delivered, and I really enjoyed the topics covered at this year's conference. I liked the flexibility to choose which breakout room to join - it allowed me to focus on the sessions that interested me most."

"Really slick presentations and the outline for what was expected of us as delegates at the beginning was really good. It was a friendly atmosphere and safe space to talk."

"A really insightful overview of the AI tools available for creatives and lots of new ideas on how these can be applied to optimise processes. I also very much enjoyed the breakout sessions and gaining insight into how peers are using AI tools in their work."

"Excellent content, well-structured and paced, good opportunity to meet people and ask questions."

"The quality and variety of the speakers was excellent. The pacing, depth of content and clear take-aways were just right. Having tangible examples of work and approach, as well as practical guidance was very useful."

"Excellent speakers and the CC team are so slick! Thank you."

"Really good speakers, nice pace for the event, very well organised. Great to have questions in the chat. Well moderated."

"The structured networking was useful to give ideas of topics to speak about, but I liked how there was still a relaxed approach to the whole event. The Q&A sessions really worked well and it was nice to see so many people engaging in this!"

Here's what some of our speakers and sponsors had to say about working with us:

"It was such a fantastically well-run event and I really enjoyed all the sessions. Since speaking, I've actually been inundated with LinkedIn requests and messages about my training courses which has been wonderful too!" - speaker

"It was a great event, as always and your support and guidance was fab, really helpful. Our team were talking today about how good the content was this year. We were delighted to be part of it." - sponsor

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CHARITYCOMMS

REPORT OF THE TRUSTEES FOR THE YEAR ENDED 30 APRIL 2025

ACHIEVEMENTS AND PERFORMANCE Charitable Activities - Communications and engagement Sharing stories and championing comms

We're proud to continue to champion our members and the work that they do, all the while focusing on the vital role of comms and its strategic place in the sector.

We co-created 44 pieces of content across our website throughout the year, highlighting a range of topics and sharing stories and insights from our network and beyond. Some key pieces we're particularly proud of have included:

Behind the scenes we are laying the groundworks for a new content strategy - to introduce new formats, streamline existing formats and processes, and amplify voices.

Listening and acting on member insights

Comms doesn't stand still and keeping up with what our members are experiencing means that we can offer them the most timely and useful resources possible. Using our own data, through social listening and keeping connected with the wider sector allows us to produce a wide array of resources, including:

During the year, we also took some time to step back and reflect on our own use of social media, resulting in us scaling back our activity on X, increasing our investment on LinkedIn and joining Bluesky. We're excited to see what the future holds, as we continue to test and learn in how we're engaging with members in new ways, underpinned by a new social media strategy.

Our comms in numbers

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CHARITYCOMMS

REPORT OF THE TRUSTEES FOR THE YEAR ENDED 30 APRIL 2025

FINANCIAL REVIEW

Financial Performance

The good financial performance of the year as reported masked the tough conditions under which the team worked to deliver the results. As a membership organisation, we experienced first hand, the impact the current economic climate is having on the sector. Our members continue to make hard choices about renewing their membership by finding the budget to continue to support us and access our services.

In this tight economic reality, we were pleased to record an increase in the number of joiners and subscription renewals in the individual and corporate segments of our membership, and continued to work hard on the organisational segment. Year on year subscription income was up by 4%, lower than the 11% reported the previous year. All three categories of membership recorded an increase over the previous year: with organisational membership recording an increase of 3%, corporate 11% and individual membership 15% respectively.

Income from events also showed growth. Events takings were 23% better than previous year and 11% better than budgeted. Although sponsorships fell slightly short of target, bookings to conferences and workshops were encouraging..

The charity continued its restructuring plan which started in 2022-23. However, capacity issues in staffing, coupled with a mid-term review of the original business strategy meant that the business development budget remained unspent at the end of the financial year. This unspent budget mainly accounted for the better performance reported against the budget deficit planned. In pursuit of the revised development plan for 2025-27, we plan to flex headcount and ways of working in line with operational demand. Over the planning period, we will continue to draw on our reserves to finance our investment commitment to improve on deliverables to our membership network and significant spend (circa £221,000) is planned for an audience audit, brand development website revamp and systems and processes review.

We are a people-based organisation and staff costs took an 79% share of our total costs this year, the same as the previous year. We continue to review how the team works, adapting to newer ways of working to improve productivity, efficiency and talent retention in a challenging landscape, In the new year we will launch our new staff handbook and an in-house interactive HR platform.

In summary, our unrestricted income was up from £764,582 (2024) to £793,628 (2025). Although costs were up from £714,761 (2024) to £820,316 (2025), they were below budget. A deficit of £26,688 was reported at the end of the year due mainly to a dip below forecast in membership income and a disappointing performance of our ethical investment funds during the international trade tariff episode .

The charity holds significant amounts of cash at £585,798. Roughly half of this (£295,212) represents deferred income mostly from the unearned portion of membership subscriptions paid in advance. Standard accounting practice requires us to hold this money on the balance sheet and not to take it to reserves as it hasn't yet been earned. We invest the bulk of this money with CCLA in their COIF Charities Ethical Investment Fund.

The remainder of the cash £206,726 is held with the Co-operative bank, mostly in a savings account. Our new strategic plan 2024-2027, see below, will see us expand our services and invest in new areas and this surplus will enable us to run deficit budgets for the next two years while we build these services up.

Reserves Policy

CharityComms reserves policy did require we maintain a minimum level of £175,000 in unrestricted reserves. This level takes account of the risks and variability of our sources of income, current and future staff contracts and employment costs, funding requirements of planned investments and business development plans and some allowance to enable quick response to mitigate unforeseen operational threats.

The Trustees have increased this reserves threshold to reflect our increased size and we will now seek to maintain at least £220,000 in free reserves. Unrestricted net assets of the charitable company at 30 April 2025 were £325,744. The reserves policy of the charity is therefore met.

Going concern

CharityComms remains a going concern for the foreseeable future. As an annual exercise, as part of its budgetary process, it carries out detailed review of development projects within its strategic business plan with funding available from its cash reserves.

The strength of our balance sheet on 30th April 2025 puts us in a healthy financial position to fund the proposed investments in our three-year development plan 2025 to 2027. In this development period, we forecast to dip slightly below our current reserves policy of £220,000 and to achieve breakeven budgets by 2028-29. We can therefore state that the charity is a going concern.

STRUCTURE, GOVERNANCE AND MANAGEMENT Governance

The charity is controlled by its governing document, the Memorandum and Articles of Association, and constitutes a limited company, limited by guarantee, as defined by the Companies Act 2006.

The governing document was reviewed in 2022 to ensure it remains fit for purpose, in line with changing regulations and to ensure our key objects are being met. Changes to our Articles of Association were achieved in liaison with our legal advisers and approved at our EGM on 9 September 2022.

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CHARITYCOMMS

REPORT OF THE TRUSTEES FOR THE YEAR ENDED 30 APRIL 2025

STRUCTURE, GOVERNANCE AND MANAGEMENT Changes to our trustee board

The following changes have been made to our trustee board during the year:

The following joined as trustees during the year:

Decision making

The charity is run by the board of trustees, which sets and monitors strategy and policy. The board receives quarterly reports of all the activities of the charity through its Finance and Resources Committee. The Committee meets quarterly ahead of the Board to consider financial and operational matters presented to it by the management team. The committee provides steers to the management team and recommendations to the board.

Trustees strategy review meetings are held each year to appraise the board's governance effectiveness, to ensure the board meets more frequently to discuss and steer the charity on its chosen business development path and to continue to review the situation against set KPIs. The board also aims to provide necessary support to the team to ensure that the team's working culture is supportive, effective, and efficient.

Induction and training of new trustees

New trustees receive an induction pack drawing information from the various Charity Commission publications signposted through the Commission's guide "the Essential Trustee".

Trustees receive the following governing documents: our Governance manual, Memorandum and Articles and the latest financial statements and management accounts, the organisational strategy and annual business plan including the financial budget. The respective documents cover:

Key management remuneration

The board of directors, who are the charity's trustees, together with the senior management team constitute the key management personnel of the charity and oversee directing, controlling, running, and operating the charity on a day-to-day basis. All directors give of their time freely and no director received remuneration in the year. The pay of the senior staff is reviewed annually and normally increases in accordance with average earnings. In view of the nature of the charity, the trustees also benchmark against pay levels in other charities of a similar size and nature.

Risk management

The trustees have a risk management strategy which comprises:

A major risk highlighted in our register is the threat posed by falling membership, particularly in the organisational segment of our business. The drop in membership subscription renewal and joiners in the later quarters of the financial year attracted trustees and management attention. We are working actively on membership campaigns and initiatives to restore growth in this segment as we recognise the sensitivity of this income stream to the sustainability of our development plan.

Another key element in the management of financial risk is a regular review of available liquid funds to pay salaries, settle debts as they fall due, daily review of banking activities, and active management of membership and events debtors and creditors balances to ensure sufficient working capital. Further mitigation has involved the monthly review of prepaid subscriptions of membership fees and events places to ensure that the receipts are accrued prudently as deferred income and provided for as current liabilities in the accounts.

An equivalent sum to the deferred income is invested in an Ethical investment fund with CCLA Investment Management with a low risk and a consistent growth record. This is to avoid a depreciation in its cash value.

We reviewed staff working hours to help spread workload and to mitigate against the risk of staff burn-outs and absenteeism and finally, as a measure to ensure the health and safety of staff at work.

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CHARITYCOMMS

REPORT OF THE TRUSTEES FOR THE YEAR ENDED 30 APRIL 2025

STRUCTURE, GOVERNANCE AND MANAGEMENT Developments in 2024 - 2025

This year it has been very challenging to balance delivery of our current portfolio of activities alongside our ambitions to take forward new and innovative areas of work. There were many live issues impacting charity communications and we moved quickly to respond and provide practical support our members in a timely way.

We hope that the investment in additional capacity and skills in the team will help us create momentum in the year ahead.

Key achievements include:

Championing the voice of charity communicators to influence and inform the debates and changes driven by AI technology and the fragmentation of social media channels.

Working with expert partners, we continued to demonstrate the power of framing to create stories with impact in a very busy General Election year, running our seminar "Framing comms for success in an election year and beyond."

The riots across the UK in summer 2024, thew a spotlight on the of role social media in spreading misinformation and online hate. We rapidly showcased charities work to communicate messages of solidarity and embed learning into anti-racist communications. We have continued to speak out and to engage and empower communicators with practical tools and guidance.

We refreshed our flagship Inspiring Communications Awards, working with our agency partners at Creative Concern, to create a suite of short films to share the stories behind the winning work. We successfully tested a new online platform to screen the event and enhance the online experience and make it more inclusive for our UK wide community.

This year, we laid the foundations for the development of the CharityComms brand and website which will help clarify the offer and value we bring to our members and help create more structured pathways to learning and development.

REFERENCE AND ADMINISTRATIVE DETAILS Registered Company number

06210121 (England and Wales)

Registered Charity number

1138312

Registered office

15 West Street Brighton East Sussex BN1 2RL

Trustees

Mark Russell (Chair) (Resigned 18/03/2025) Jacqueline O'Sullivan (Chair) (Appointed 18/03/2025) Kirsty Marrins Curtis-James Marshall (Vice Chair) Vishnee Sauntoo Nicholas Radmore Sarah Welsh (Treasurer) Lauren Ambrose Ipek Candan Saskia Konynenburg Gary Mazin

Company Secretary

J O Fadahunsi

Independent Examiner

Galloways Accounting Limited 15 West Street Brighton East Sussex BN1 2RL

Legal Advisers

Hempsons 100 Wood Street London EC2V 7AN

COMMENCEMENT OF ACTIVITIES

The company was incorporated and registered in England and Wales on 12 April 2007 and registered as a charity with the Charity Commission in England and Wales on 7 October 2010.

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CHARITYCOMMS

REPORT OF THE TRUSTEES FOR THE YEAR ENDED 30 APRIL 2025

This report has been prepared in accordance with the special provisions of Part 15 of the Companies Act 2006 relating to small companies.

16/10/2025

Approved by order of the board of trustees on ............................................. and signed on its behalf by:

J K O'Sullivan

..............................................................................

J K O'Sullivan (Chair) - Trustee

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INDEPENDENT EXAMINER'S REPORT TO THE TRUSTEES OF CHARITYCOMMS

Independent examiner's report to the trustees of Charitycomms ('the Company')

I report to the charity trustees on my examination of the accounts of the Company for the year ended 30 April 2025.

Responsibilities and basis of report

As the charity's trustees of the Company (and also its directors for the purposes of company law) you are responsible for the preparation of the accounts in accordance with the requirements of the Companies Act 2006 ('the 2006 Act').

Having satisfied myself that the accounts of the Company are not required to be audited under Part 16 of the 2006 Act and are eligible for independent examination, I report in respect of my examination of your charity's accounts as carried out under Section 145 of the Charities Act 2011 ('the 2011 Act'). In carrying out my examination I have followed the Directions given by the Charity Commission under Section 145(5) (b) of the 2011 Act.

Independent examiner's statement

Since your charity's gross income exceeded £250,000 your examiner must be a member of a listed body. I can confirm that I am qualified to undertake the examination because I am a member of the Institute of Chartered Accountants in England and Wales, which is one of the listed bodies.

I have completed my examination. I confirm that no matters have come to my attention in connection with the examination giving me cause to believe:

  1. accounting records were not kept in respect of the Company as required by Section 386 of the 2006 Act; or 2. the accounts do not accord with those records; or

  2. the accounts do not comply with the accounting requirements of Section 396 of the 2006 Act other than any requirement that the accounts give a true and fair view which is not a matter considered as part of an independent examination; or

  3. the accounts have not been prepared in accordance with the methods and principles of the Statement of Recommended Practice for accounting and reporting by charities (applicable to charities preparing their accounts in accordance with the Financial Reporting Standard applicable in the UK and Republic of Ireland (FRS 102)).

I have no concerns and have come across no other matters in connection with the examination to which attention should be drawn in this report in order to enable a proper understanding of the accounts to be reached.

Colin Young BA FCA

Galloways Accounting Limited 15 West Street Brighton East Sussex BN1 2RL

17/10/2025 Date: .............................................

Page 13

CHARITYCOMMS

STATEMENT OF FINANCIAL ACTIVITIES (INCORPORATING AN INCOME AND EXPENDITURE ACCOUNT) FOR THE YEAR ENDED 30 APRIL 2025

Unrestricted
Restricted
fund
funds
Notes
£
£
INCOME AND ENDOWMENTS FROM
Charitable activities
5
Events
204,813
-
Membership benefits & services
586,347
-
Other trading activities
3
15
-
Investment income
4
53
-
Other income
6
2,400
-
Total
793,628
-
EXPENDITURE ON
Charitable activities
7
Events
456,939
-
Membership benefits & services
363,377
-
The Paul Hamlyn Trust
-
-
Total
820,316
-
NET INCOME/(EXPENDITURE)
(26,688)
-
RECONCILIATION OF FUNDS
Total funds brought forward
352,132
-
TOTAL FUNDS CARRIED FORWARD
325,444
-		 2025
2024
Total
Total
funds
funds
as restated
£
£
204,813
166,309
586,347
566,080
15
345
53
31,848
2,400
-
793,628
764,582
456,939
399,764
363,377
313,861
-
1,136
820,316
714,761
(26,688)
49,821
352,132
302,311
325,444
352,132		 2025
2024
Total
Total
funds
funds
as restated
£
£
204,813
166,309
586,347
566,080
15
345
53
31,848
2,400
-
793,628
764,582
456,939
399,764
363,377
313,861
-
1,136
820,316
714,761
(26,688)
49,821
352,132
302,311
325,444
352,132
764,582
399,764
313,861
1,136
714,761
49,821
302,311
352,132

The notes form part of these financial statements

Page 14

CHARITYCOMMS

BALANCE SHEET 30 APRIL 2025

Unrestricted
Restricted
fund
funds
Notes
£
£
FIXED ASSETS
Intangible assets
14
3,093
-
Tangible assets
15
14,291
-
17,384
-
CURRENT ASSETS
Debtors
16
82,838
-
Cash at bank and in hand
585,798
-
668,636
-
CREDITORS
Amounts falling due within one year
17
(360,576)
-
NET CURRENT ASSETS
308,060
-
TOTAL ASSETS LESS CURRENT LIABILITIES
325,444
-
NET ASSETS
325,444
-
FUNDS
19
Unrestricted funds
TOTAL FUNDS		 2025
2024
Total
Total
funds
funds
as restated
£
£
3,093
4,124
14,291
12,214
17,384
16,338
82,838
75,976
585,798
649,682
668,636
725,658
(360,576)
(389,864)
308,060
335,794
325,444
352,132
325,444
352,132
325,444
352,132
325,444
352,132

The charitable company is entitled to exemption from audit under Section 477 of the Companies Act 2006 for the year ended 30 April 2025.

The members have not required the company to obtain an audit of its financial statements for the year ended 30 April 2025 in accordance with Section 476 of the Companies Act 2006.

The trustees acknowledge their responsibilities for

These financial statements have been prepared in accordance with the provisions applicable to charitable companies subject to the small companies regime.

16/10/2025

The financial statements were approved by the Board of Trustees and authorised for issue on ............................................. and were signed on its behalf by:

J K O'Sullivan

.............................................

J K O'Sullivan (Chair) - Trustee

The notes form part of these financial statements

Page 15

CHARITYCOMMS

CASH FLOW STATEMENT FOR THE YEAR ENDED 30 APRIL 2025

2025 2024
as restated
Notes £ £
Cash flows from operating activities
Cash generated from operations 21 (57,644) 39,661
Net cash (used in)/provided by operating activities (57,644) 39,661
Cash flows from investing activities
Purchase of tangible fixed assets (6,293) (5,679)
Interest received 53 31,848
Net cash (used in)/provided by investing activities (6,240) 26,169
Change in cash and cash equivalents in the
reporting period (63,884) 65,830
Cash and cash equivalents at the beginning of
the reporting period 649,682 583,852
Cash and cash equivalents at the end of the
reporting period 585,798 649,682

The notes form part of these financial statements

Page 16

CHARITYCOMMS

NOTES TO THE FINANCIAL STATEMENTS FOR THE YEAR ENDED 30 APRIL 2025

1. STATUTORY INFORMATION

Charitycomms is a limited-by-guarantee company incorporated in England and Wales . In the event of the charity being wound up, the liability in respect of the guarantee is limited to £1 per member of the charity. The address of the registered office is given in the Trustees' Report on pages 1 to 14 of these financial statements. The nature of the charity's operations and principal activities are the promotion of efficiency and effectiveness of charities, not for profit organisations and voluntary organisations, for the benefit of the public throughout the UK, by the provision of resources to optimise their communications.

The financial statements are presented in sterling (£).

2. ACCOUNTING POLICIES

Basis of preparing the financial statements

The charity constitutes a public benefit entity as defined by FRS 102. The financial statements have been prepared in accordance with 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 issued in October 2019, the Financial Reporting Standard applicable in the United Kingdom and Republic of Ireland (FRS 102), the Charities Act 2011, the Companies Act 2006 and UK Generally Accepted Accounting Practice.

Going concern

At the time of approving the accounts, the trustees have a reasonable expectation that the charity has adequate resources to continue in operational existence for the foreseeable future Further details are included in the Trustees' Report. The trustees continue to adopt the going concern basis of accounting in preparing the accounts.

Income

All income is recognised in the Statement of Financial Activities once the charity has entitlement to the funds, it is probable that the income will be received and the amount can be measured reliably.

Donations

Donated facilities are included at the value to the charity where this can be quantified and a third party is bearing the cost. No amounts are included in the financial statements for services donated by volunteers.

For donations to be recognised the charity will have been notified of the amounts and the settlement date in writing. If there are conditions attached to the donation and this requires a level of performance before entitlement can be obtained, then the income is deferred until those conditions are fully met or the fulfilment of those conditions is within the control of the charity and it is probable they will be fulfilled.

Trading activities

Income from trading activities includes income earned from sponsorship of events. Income is received in exchange for supplying services in order to raise funds and is recognised when entitlement has occurred.

Grants including government grants

Income from grants are recognised at fair value when the charity has entitlement after any performance related conditions have been met, it is probable that the income will be received and the amount can be measured reliably. If entitlement is not met then these amounts are deferred.

Membership fee income

Membership income is recognised on a straight line basis over the period to which it relates.

Event income

Event income is recognised at the point that the event takes place.

Expenditure

Liabilities are recognised as expenditure as soon as there is a legal or constructive obligation committing the charity to that expenditure, it is probable that a transfer of economic benefits will be required in settlement and the amount of the obligation can be measured reliably. Expenditure is accounted for on an accruals basis and has been classified under headings that aggregate all cost related to the category. Where costs cannot be directly attributed to particular headings they have been allocated to activities on a basis consistent with the use of resources.

Fund-raising costs are those incurred in seeking voluntary contributions and do not include the costs of disseminating information in support of the charitable activities.

Governance costs

Included in governance costs are the costs associated with the governance arrangements of the charity. Costs include independent examination, legal advice for trustees and costs associated with constitutional and statutory requirements.

Allocation and apportionment of costs

Support and governance costs are recharged to charitable activities based on estimated usage, dependent on the type of expenditure.

Intangible fixed assets

Amortisation is provided at the following annual rates in order to write off each asset over its estimated useful life.

Website - 25% on reducing balance

Page 17

continued...

CHARITYCOMMS

NOTES TO THE FINANCIAL STATEMENTS - continued FOR THE YEAR ENDED 30 APRIL 2025

2. ACCOUNTING POLICIES - continued

Intangible fixed assets

Intangible fixed assets are initially measured at cost and subsequently measured at cost less accumulated amortisation

Tangible fixed assets

Depreciation is provided at the following annual rates in order to write off each asset over its estimated useful life.

Computer equipment - 25% on reducing balance

Tangible fixed assets are initially measured at cost and subsequently measured at cost less accumulated depreciation.

Taxation

The charity is exempt from corporation tax on its charitable activities.

Fund accounting

Unrestricted funds can be used in accordance with the charitable objectives at the discretion of the trustees.

Restricted funds can only be used for particular restricted purposes within the objects of the charity. Restrictions arise when specified by the donor or when funds are raised for particular restricted purposes.

Further explanation of the nature and purpose of each fund is included in the notes to the financial statements.

Pension costs and other post-retirement benefits

The charitable company operates a defined contribution pension scheme. Contributions payable to the charitable company's pension scheme are charged to the Statement of Financial Activities in the period to which they relate.

Debtors and creditors receivable/ payable within one year

Debtors and creditors with no stated interest rate and receivable or payable within one year are recorded at transaction price. Any losses arising from impairment are recognised in expenditure.

3. OTHER TRADING ACTIVITIES

Web-based & digital income
Publications income
4.
INVESTMENT INCOME
Deposit account interest
5.
INCOME FROM CHARITABLE ACTIVITIES
Events
Membership benefits and services		 2025
£
-
15
15
2025
£
53		 2024
as restated
£
300
45
345
2024
as restated
£
31,848
2025 2024
£ £
204,813 166,309
586,347 566,080
791,160 732,389

Page 18

continued...

CHARITYCOMMS

NOTES TO THE FINANCIAL STATEMENTS - continued FOR THE YEAR ENDED 30 APRIL 2025

6. OTHER INCOME

2025 2024
as restated
£ £
Management fees 2,400 -
7. CHARITABLE ACTIVITIES COSTS
Support
Direct costs (see
Costs note 8) Totals
£ £ £
Events 407,345 49,594 456,939
Membership benefits & services 303,009 60,368 363,377
710,354 109,962 820,316
8. SUPPORT COSTS
Information
Management Finance technology
£ £ £
Events 5,699 1,744 13,342
Membership benefits & services 6,964 2,132 16,307
12,663 3,876 29,649
Governance
Other costs Totals
£ £ £
Events 24,381 4,428 49,594
Membership benefits & services 29,796 5,169 60,368
54,177 9,597 109,962
9. NET INCOME/(EXPENDITURE)
Net income/(expenditure) is stated after charging/(crediting):
2025 2024
as restated
£ £
Independent examiner's remuneration 1,037 1,037
Other non-examination services 3,413 3,413
Depreciation - owned assets 4,216 4,206
Website amortisation 1,031 1,374

10. TRUSTEES' REMUNERATION AND BENEFITS

There were no trustees' remuneration or other benefits for the year ended 30 April 2025 nor for the year ended 30 April 2024.

Trustees' expenses

During the year, £103 (2024: £50) of expenses were reimbursed to two trustees, for travelling expenses.

11. STAFF COSTS

Wages and salaries
Social security costs
Other pension costs		 2025
as
£
560,745
53,843
35,523
650,111		 2024
restated
£
480,341
45,779
31,606
557,726

Page 19

continued...

CHARITYCOMMS

NOTES TO THE FINANCIAL STATEMENTS - continued FOR THE YEAR ENDED 30 APRIL 2025

11. STAFF COSTS - continued

The average monthly number of employees during the year was as follows:

12.

2025
as
Staff
14
The number of employees whose employee benefits (excluding employer pension costs) exceeded £60,000 was:
2025
as
£60,001 - £70,000
1
COMPARATIVES FOR THE STATEMENT OF FINANCIAL ACTIVITIES AS AT 30 APRIL 2024
Unrestricted
Restricted
fund
funds
as
£
£
INCOME AND ENDOWMENTS FROM
Charitable activities
Events
166,309
-
Membership benefits & services
566,080
-
Other trading activities
345
-
Investment income
31,848
-
Total
764,582
-
EXPENDITURE ON
Charitable activities
Events
399,764
-
Membership benefits & services
313,861
-
The Paul Hamlyn Trust
-
1,136
Total
713,625
1,136
NET INCOME/(EXPENDITURE)
50,957
(1,136)
RECONCILIATION OF FUNDS
Total funds brought forward
301,175
1,136
TOTAL FUNDS CARRIED FORWARD
352,132
-		 2024
restated
13
2024
restated
1
Total
funds
restated
£
166,309
566,080
345
31,848
764,582
399,764
313,861
1,136
714,761
49,821
302,311
352,132

13. PRIOR YEAR ADJUSTMENT

The prior year was restated to correctly reflect website costs from tangible assets to intangible assets. This reclassification has no financial impact.

14. INTANGIBLE FIXED ASSETS

INTANGIBLE FIXED ASSETS
Website
£
COST
At 1 May 2024 and 30 April 2025 59,953
AMORTISATION
At 1 May 2024 55,829
Charge for year 1,031
At 30 April 2025 56,860
NET BOOK VALUE
At 30 April 2025 3,093
At 30 April 2024 4,124

Page 20

continued...

CHARITYCOMMS

NOTES TO THE FINANCIAL STATEMENTS - continued FOR THE YEAR ENDED 30 APRIL 2025

15. TANGIBLE FIXED ASSETS

TANGIBLE FIXED ASSETS
Computer
equipment
£
COST
At 1 May 2024 25,479
Additions 6,293
At 30 April 2025 31,772
DEPRECIATION
At 1 May 2024 13,265
Charge for year 4,216
At 30 April 2025 17,481
NET BOOK VALUE
At 30 April 2025 14,291
At 30 April 2024 12,214

16. DEBTORS: AMOUNTS FALLING DUE WITHIN ONE YEAR

Trade debtors
Prepayments and accrued income
CREDITORS: AMOUNTS FALLING DUE WITHIN ONE YEAR
Trade creditors
Social security and other taxes
VAT
Other creditors
Accrued expenses
Deferred income		 2025
as
£
63,856
18,982
82,838
2025
as
£
7,357
10,515
37,955
5,387
4,150
295,212
360,576		 2024
restated
£
63,180
12,796
75,976
2024
restated
£
7,177
7,780
33,994
4,727
6,917
329,269
389,864

17. CREDITORS: AMOUNTS FALLING DUE WITHIN ONE YEAR

Deferred income refers to advance payments received by the charity for products or services that are to be delivered or performed in the future.

Membership income is invoiced annually and recognised in the period to which it relates. Deferred income in relation to membership fees total £289,473 (2024: £326,309).

Also included in deferred income are amounts of £3,239 (2024: £2,960) which relate to events that had not taken place before the year-end.

Additionally included in deferred income are amount of £2,500 (2024: £Nil) which relate to sponsorships for events that had not yet taken place before the year-end.

Page 21

continued...

CHARITYCOMMS

NOTES TO THE FINANCIAL STATEMENTS - continued FOR THE YEAR ENDED 30 APRIL 2025

18. LEASING AGREEMENTS

Minimum lease payments under non-cancellable operating leases fall due as follows:

Within one year
19.
MOVEMENT IN FUNDS
Unrestricted funds
General fund
TOTAL FUNDS
Net movement in funds, included in the above are as follows:

Unrestricted funds
General fund
TOTAL FUNDS
Comparatives for movement in funds
Unrestricted funds
General fund
Restricted funds
The Paul Hamlyn Trust
TOTAL FUNDS
Comparative net movement in funds, included in the above are as follows:

Unrestricted funds
General fund
Restricted funds
The Paul Hamlyn Trust
TOTAL FUNDS		 2025
2024
as restated
£
£
9,350
7,980
Net
movement
At
At 1/5/24
in funds
30/4/25
£
£
£
352,132
(26,688)
325,444
352,132
(26,688)
325,444
Incoming
Resources
Movement
resources
expended
in funds
£
£
£
793,628
(820,316)
(26,688)
793,628
(820,316)
(26,688)
Net
movement
At
At 1/5/23
in funds
30/4/24
£
£
£
301,175
50,957
352,132
1,136
(1,136)
-
302,311
49,821
352,132
Incoming
Resources
Movement
resources
expended
in funds
£
£
£
764,582
(713,625)
50,957
-
(1,136)
(1,136)
764,582
(714,761)
49,821

Page 22

continued...

CHARITYCOMMS

NOTES TO THE FINANCIAL STATEMENTS - continued FOR THE YEAR ENDED 30 APRIL 2025

20. RELATED PARTY DISCLOSURES

There were no related party transactions for the year ended 30 April 2025.

21. RECONCILIATION OF NET (EXPENDITURE)/INCOME TO NET CASH FLOW FROM OPERATING ACTIVITIES

Net (expenditure)/income for the reporting period (as per the Statement of
Financial Activities)
Adjustments for:
Depreciation charges
Interest received
Increase in debtors
(Decrease)/increase in creditors
Net cash (used in)/provided by operations		 2025
2024
as restated
£
£
(26,688)
49,821
5,247
4,206
(53)
(31,848)
(6,862)
(12,398)
(29,288)
29,880
(57,644)
39,661

22. ANALYSIS OF CHANGES IN NET FUNDS

At 1/5/24 Cash flow At 30/4/25
£ £ £
Net cash
Cash at bank and in hand 649,682 (63,884) 585,798
649,682 (63,884) 585,798
Total 649,682 (63,884) 585,798

Page 23