## **ear**
**THE MILL @ COPPERMILL DIRECTORS’ REPORT** AND FINANCIAL STATEMENTS For the year ended 31 March 2024
**The Mill @ Coppermill Company No. 7596426 | Registered Charity 1143365**
**Directors’ Report & Financial Statements Year Ended 31 March 2024**
## **TABLE OF CONTENTS**
|**REFERENCE & ADMINISTRATIVE INFORMATION**|**4**|
|---|---|
|**DIRECTORS’ REPORT**|**5**|
|INTRODUCTION|5|
|CHARITABLE OBJECTIVES|5|
|PUBLIC BENEFIT STATEMENT|5|
|STRUCTURE, GOVERNANCE AND MANAGEMENT|6|
|**CHAIR’S REPORT**|**8**|
|OUR PEOPLE|10|
|**OUR STRATEGY 2023 - 2033**|**11**|
|**OUR IMPACT**|**11**|
|THEORY OF CHANGE|11|
||11|
|**FLAGSHIP PROJECTS**||
|GROW YOUR IDEA|12|
|ARTWORKS|12|
|WARM WELCOME|13|
|GROUPS AND ACTIVITIES|15|
|OTHER PROJECTS AT THE MILL|15|
|KEY STATISTICS - THE MILL IN NUMBERS|17|
|**OUR FIVE YEAR PLAN**||
|BUILD A STRONG, REPRESENTATIVE NETWORK OF LOCAL CONNECTIONS|19|
|CLEARER AND MORE MEANINGFUL COMMUNICATIONS|20|
|STRENGTHEN AND GROW A DIVERSE VOLUNTEER COMMUNITY|21|
|MAKE BUILD THE MILL HAPPEN|23|
|PROVE AND IMPROVE|24|
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**The Mill @ Coppermill Company No. 7596426 | Registered Charity 1143365**
**Directors’ Report & Financial Statements Year Ended 31 March 2024**
|FUNDRAISING|26|
|---|---|
|**FINANCIAL REVIEW**|**27**|
|Summary|27|
|Funds and reserves|27|
|Investment policy|28|
|Risk review|28|
|Employees|30|
|Contribution by, and appreciation of, volunteers|30|
|Contribution by, and appreciation of, supporters|30|
|Independent examiner|31|
|Small company provisions|33|
|**INDEPENDENT EXAMINER’S REPORT**||
|**to the trustees of The Mill @ Coppermill**|**32**|
|**Statement of Financial Activities**||
|**(incorporating the income and expenditure account)**|**33**|
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**The Mill @ Coppermill Company No. 7596426 | Registered Charity 1143365**
**Directors’ Report & Financial Statements Year Ended 31 March 2024**
## **REFERENCE & ADMINISTRATIVE INFORMATION**
_**Registered charity name:**_ THE MILL @ COPPERMILL _**Registered office:**_ 7–11 Coppermill Lane, London E17 7HA
_**Charity No.:**_ 1143365 _**Company Reg. No.:**_ 07596426
## _**Directors**_
The trustees who served the charity as directors during the period were:
Mr Richard Bennett
Mr John MacMahon
Ms Sharon Goldman
Ms Alison Griffin Ms Ingrid Abreu Scherer (to 7 September 2023) Ms Sandra Jerome (to 5 July 2023) Ms Pui Cheng (Julie Cheng) (from 11 June 2023) Ms Leanne Wightman (from 7 July 2023) Ms Tolani Oyesana (from 25 September 2023) Ms Bashirat Lawal (from 7 November 2023)
## _**Chair**_
Mr Richard Bennett
## _**Company Secretary**_
Ms Ingrid Abreu Scherer (to 7 September 2023)
Ms Alison Griffin (from 7 September 2023)
## _**Treasurer**_
Mr John MacMahon
## _**Independent examiner**_
## _**Banker**_
Waqas Hussain ACCA 10 Knebworth Avenue, London E17 5AJ
The Co-operative Bank 1 Balloon Street, Manchester M60 4EP
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**The Mill @ Coppermill Company No. 7596426 | Registered Charity 1143365**
**Directors’ Report & Financial Statements Year Ended 31 March 2024**
## **DIRECTORS’ REPORT**
## **INTRODUCTION**
The directors and trustees present their report and financial statements of the charitable company for the year ending 31 March 2024.
The financial statements have been prepared in accordance with the accounting policies set out on page 27 and comply with the requirements of the Companies Act 2006 (‘the 2006 Act’).
## **CHARITABLE OBJECTIVES**
The objectives of THE MILL @ COPPERMILL (“The Mill”) are:
- To further or benefit the residents of Walthamstow and neighbouring areas by associating together the said residents and the local authorities, voluntary and other organisations in a common effort to advance education and the arts and to provide facilities for a varied range of social, educational and recreational services in the interests of social welfare with the objective of improving the conditions of life for the residents.
- To promote and provide for the public benefit the use of a community centre or centres in Walthamstow or neighbouring areas, for purposes including in order to promote social inclusion for the public benefit by preventing people from becoming socially excluded, relieving the needs of those people who are socially excluded and assisting them to integrate into society.
## **PUBLIC BENEFIT STATEMENT**
In shaping The Mill’s objectives and planning activities, the directors have considered the Charity Commission’s guidance on public benefit, including the guidance on public benefit and fee-charging. The directors give careful consideration to the accessibility and benefit of The Mill for all and prioritise openness and inclusivity to enable this to happen. The Mill’s User Charter supports this, as does ensuring a balance of activities takes place, providing free-access communal public space, and encouraging free or low-cost access for activities and groups.
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**The Mill @ Coppermill Company No. 7596426 | Registered Charity 1143365**
**Directors’ Report & Financial Statements Year Ended 31 March 2024**
## **STRUCTURE, GOVERNANCE AND MANAGEMENT**
## GOVERNING DOCUMENT
The charitable company is governed by its memorandum and articles of association, and was incorporated on 7th April 2011 as a company limited by guarantee with no share capital (number 07596426) and, acting entirely as a non-profit making organisation, has a charitable status, registered as a charity with the Charity Commission on 15 August 2011 (charity number 1143365).
## DIRECTORS
The directors, as charity trustees, have control over and responsibility for the charitable company and its property and funds. Subject to the provisions of the Companies Act, the memorandum and articles of association, and to any directions given by special resolution, the business of the charity is managed by the directors, who may exercise all the powers of the charitable company. They are unpaid and are required to declare any conflicts of interest in accordance with the law and best practice. The memorandum and articles of association lay out the terms of directorship (trusteeship). Appointment to directorship is on the basis of eligibility, personal competence and local availability, and is made according to nominations received from interested individuals following an open recruitment process. Directors are inducted through training days and through informal and formal meetings with the Chair and Secretary and established or outgoing directors and are provided with an induction pack and other relevant materials to familiarise themselves with the charity’s operations.
## ORGANISATIONAL MANAGEMENT
The directors are legally responsible for the overall management and control of The Mill. They implement their policies and oversee the day to day management of The Mill through delegated management groups comprising directors, Mill staff and key volunteers. Directors meet each month chaired by their Chair and have regular meetings with the management groups, supported by periodic strategy meetings.
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**The Mill @ Coppermill Company No. 7596426 | Registered Charity 1143365**
**Directors’ Report & Financial Statements Year Ended 31 March 2024**
## MEMBERSHIP
The subscribers to the **Memorandum and Articles of Association** are admitted to membership in accordance with the rules made under Article 10, and shall be members of the charitable company. Membership is open only to the directors and is terminated if the member ceases to be a director.
The form and the procedure for applying for membership is to be prescribed by the directors. No person shall be admitted a member of the charitable company unless his/her application is approved by the directors. Under the Memorandum and Articles of Association each Member is required to contribute an amount not exceeding £1 towards the liabilities of the charitable company in the event of it being wound up whilst they are Members, or within one year of them ceasing to be Members.
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**The Mill @ Coppermill Company No. 7596426 | Registered Charity 1143365**
**Directors’ Report & Financial Statements Year Ended 31 March 2024**
## **CHAIR’S REPORT**
After the struggles of closure and dramatically different ways of working that the Covid-19 pandemic forced on us, this was our first full year of returning to normal operations. The result was a steady growth in the community’s confidence, and with this, growth in the number and range of groups being run by and for our community at The Mill. It is hugely rewarding to see (and be part of) so many people creating and participating in such a wonderful range of activities, and we’re very proud of the contribution this makes to the community’s collective and individual wellbeing.
Our regular ‘in-house’ groups – Knitters, Sociable Sewers, Scrabblers, Book Clubbers and others – were surrounded by a growing mix of other Mill users: parents, carers and toddlers in the Children’s Room, herbal remedy makers, hip hop and Bollywood dancers, stand-up comics and improv performers, writers and readers, quizzers, youth clubbers, artists young and old, laptop repairers, card players, and many others joining groups or in to use the Honesty Library or have a coffee and a chat. All of these and more form the richness of The Mill, which we’re proud to call the community’s living room.
This report outlines the many special events, groups and activities hosted by The Mill during the year; their diversity is testament to the mutual support and activism of so many people in our community.
Our Grow Your Idea scheme continued to provide support to members of the community with great ideas for projects and groups. Our community centre is only as good as the people who make things happen here. We see our role as the space where people are encouraged to take the initiative and put forward their ideas, organising and running activities, with support where needed. That enables many people in our community to contribute to making Walthamstow a better place for themselves and their neighbours.
We were pleased, once again, to participate in the Borough’s response to the cost of living crisis, by being one of several providers of a Community Living Room. Our space is always available for drop-in by those wanting company, warmth or a quiet corner; a grant from the council enabled us to add to the resources and activities they could use, and we were pleased that these were very well used, and brought in new participants to other activities.
We are enormously grateful to our volunteers and staff for their creativity and care in enabling all this. We are consistently told, in our surveys and more informal conversations, that The Mill is a hugely welcoming place to visit, and this is down to the smiles and ready engagement of all our people, as old friends and newcomers cross the threshold. There was just one change to our staff team during the year, and while we said farewell to a few
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**The Mill @ Coppermill Company No. 7596426 | Registered Charity 1143365**
**Directors’ Report & Financial Statements Year Ended 31 March 2024**
volunteers, we were pleased to welcome new volunteers. We estimate that our volunteers contributed a staggering 14,000 hours to making The Mill run effectively; we are very proud to be truly volunteer-run.
Our Build The Mill Steering Group worked with external experts and professionals, as well as members of our community, to revise and refine our plans to overhaul our much-loved but tired old building. By the end of the year we had almost all the data and reports we needed to make confident fundraising bids for this important work on the fabric of our space.
This year we completed the process of refreshing our Strategy. The Planning Together process has involved many members of our community in identifying our core purpose and goals, and enabling us to identify priorities for the coming years. The new Strategy is now shaping our on-going planning and search for resources, and enables us to prioritise clearly as we move forward. We have re-shaped this Directors’ Report to reflect these priorities.
Incorporated into all aspects of the Strategy, and integral to its approach, is the important work we have done to review and plan for our capacity to reflect the diversity of
Walthamstow’s community and ensure inclusion in all that we do. A wide range of plans are included in the Strategy, and these will be used to continue to strengthen and enhance our work with the community. We now have regular Mill Meet-Up sessions, which enable us to involve people from across The Mill’s volunteers and user groups to contribute to plans and developments and to strengthen our work.
We are immensely grateful for the generous support of a range of donors during the year. A complete list appears in this report, but a special mention should be made to the London Borough of Waltham Forest for a number of grants, Clarion Futures, the North London Waste Authority, and Co-op and Tesco community grants. We are especially grateful this year for a legacy from one of the longest-standing members of our community.
The Trustees continued to ensure that we had full oversight of our financial and legal obligations, managed our risks responsibly, and provided appropriate support to The Mill’s staff and volunteers. We reverted to face-to-face meetings after a period of hybrid meeting, which strengthened our interactions and helped to build the team. We welcomed new Trustees while sadly saying goodbye to others; all have been, and continue to be, excellent contributors to our governance, functioning as a collective Board and all supporting Management and Steering Groups, or acting as Officers. I am grateful for the concentration, prudence and creativity they bring to this work despite living often spectacularly busy lives.
## _**Richard Bennett**_
_Chair of Trustees_
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**The Mill @ Coppermill Company No. 7596426 | Registered Charity 1143365**
**Directors’ Report & Financial Statements Year Ended 31 March 2024**
## **OUR PEOPLE**
The Trustees appreciate the contribution made by its people, without which the wonderful spirit and impact of The Mill could not be what it is.
Our small and dedicated staff team continued to provide support in running a volunteer-led organisation, supporting volunteers through the provision of a safe workplace and ensuring visitors and members of the local community can access the activities safely. Our People group continued to review and improve our HR Policies and procedures, updating existing policies and introducing new ones as required.
## EMPLOYEES AND FREELANCERS
Employees and freelance staff who served the charity during the period were:
Natasha McFadzean Centre Manager
Victoria Bureyko Administration Officer Kim Dexter Community Organiser Helen Johnson Communications Coordinator(until 31 August 2023) Richard Ling Communications Coordinator (from 31 August 2023) Helen Hunte Fundraising and Development Associate Andrew Murray Finance Officer Leanne Wightman _Planning Together_ Project Manager (until 31 May 2023) John Dash _Build The Mill_ Project Coordinator (until 13 October 2023) Neesha Badhan _Beyond Appearances_ Project Producer (1 April - 31 July 2023)
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**The Mill @ Coppermill Company No. 7596426 | Registered Charity 1143365**
**Directors’ Report & Financial Statements Year Ended 31 March 2024**
## **OUR STRATEGY 2023-2033**
This marked the first year of our 10 year strategy and was our chance to develop our approaches to making our plans happen. Our strategy document includes our vision and mission statement, values, theory of change and strategic plan.
The new strategy has given us the space to think creatively about how we create impact now, our future ambitions for growing impact and the practical steps we need to take over the next ten years. This section is split in two; the first focuses on the impact areas in our theory of change, this is where you can find out about how The Mill and its people have been making things happen this year. The second section looks at the progress The Mil as an organisation has made towards achieving the priorities and goals set out in our five year plan.
## **Our Impact**
All of our groups, projects, events and activities are developed by local people who want to provide inclusive opportunities for the benefit of the community, this is the heart of The Mill. This is the first year of our journey towards creating space, systems and organisational culture to capture and communicate our impact and we are proud of the work that The Mill has done collectively to take steps forward with this during this year. In this section we will
share how people have made things happen and how we think these activities make a
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**The Mill @ Coppermill Company No. 7596426 | Registered Charity 1143365**
**Directors’ Report & Financial Statements Year Ended 31 March 2024**
contribution to the three impact areas shown in the diagram which surround our overarching vision at the heart.
Our community centre is only as good as the people who keep it going and make things happen. With asset-based community development values at the forefront of our activities and operations, we see our role in the community as a place where people are encouraged to take the initiative and put forward their ideas, and a space to organise and run projects and schemes which facilitate our values to give back to the community. See below for the highlights of what we have done this year as part of our ‘flagship projects’ as well as groups and activities. You can also find some key statistics at the bottom of this section which tell the story of overall visitors to The Mill.
## Flagship projects
## **Grow Your Idea**
_Grow Your Idea_ puts into practice what The Mill is all about: supporting and encouraging people to put forward their ideas for activities and events that benefit the local community and to take action to make them a reality through our twice yearly community competition call out.
Since we opened our doors, one of our missions’ has been to support local groups and individuals to grow, which we have done in the past with various iterations of our Grow Your Idea community competition. Since Autumn 2018, we have been able to embed Grow Your Idea into our core practice.
This year our community call-out for group leaders was very popular and as with previous years, we received more applications than we could host. The selection of projects this year continued our drive to bring new people to The Mill and where possible, those groups that reflected more specific local community needs. The projects selected were: Japanese for kids; Find your Story creative writing group; Mend with Clay for people with PTSD; Transitions Community garden workshops; Parental journaling and Landscape painting for beginners. These five projects attracted a total of 62 participants.
## **Art Works**
The visual arts are at the heart of creative activity at The Mill. From the start, the Art Works volunteer team of creatives has planned and delivered a wide-ranging annual programme of
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**The Mill @ Coppermill Company No. 7596426 | Registered Charity 1143365**
**Directors’ Report & Financial Statements Year Ended 31 March 2024**
events and activities. Central to this is a commitment to inclusion in its widest sense: inviting local people of all ages, abilities and from across our diverse community to take part in creating art together with others.
This volunteer led group curated eight exhibitions over the year with six of those generating a total income £1,693.00 to The Mill. Other volunteers in the group who lead art workshops for children during term time and a weekly Sunday drawing group further raised £2,418 for The Mill through activity donations.
The team were also successful in receiving from London Borough of Waltham Forest Community Ward funding for five holiday art workshops for families.
The Mill is grateful to all volunteers for the hard work that goes into the organisation of exhibitions and preparation and delivery of art workshops.
## **Warm Welcome project**
Community Living Room Funding from London Borough of Waltham Forest enabled us to increase the footfall and attract more diverse visitors to our existing community living room by organising special activities, targeted events, improved signage and promotion of the space. This helped to attract more than 126 people to activities and events.
Over 8 months the funding paid for additional staff time to reach out and build connections with particularly under-represented groups, as well as paying for the costs of facilitators, materials and hire of additional space for 20 special activities and welcome events in the community living room at The Mill. We were able to use our new EDI strategy to improve our offer to reach an even wider range of local people and work towards recommendations to improve accessibility and to reach out to under represented groups.
126 people, who attended these activities, filled out an activity evaluation form. (Not everyone filled completed forms due to having to rush off at the end of an activity or forgetting to hand out the forms at the end of their workshop). From this data we learnt :
- Over 23% of attendees to our 20 special activities stated that they had a disability.
- 44% of attendees to our 20 special activities stated that they were White; 13% were of Asian ethnicity; 11% were of Black/African/Caribbean ethnicity; 6% said they were of mixed ethnicity; and 3% were of another ethnic group.
- Over 80% of our attendees to our special activities were women.
- The two largest age categories of attendees to our 20 special activities were aged 35
- 45 (25%) and 45 - 55 (22%). Followed by age 55–64 (17%), 65 - 75 (12%).
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**The Mill @ Coppermill Directors’ Report & Financial Statements Company No. 7596426 | Registered Charity 1143365 Year Ended 31 March 2024**
- The majority of the attendees identified themselves as heterosexual (79%), 2% identified as gay or lesbian, 1% bisexual and 3% identifying as other. 15% preferred not to state their sexuality.
- The activities attracted new people to The Mill with 32% of activity respondents saying that it was their first time at The Mill.
In addition to the 20 free activities, Warm Welcome also included representatives from HEET (advising people on how to save money on fuel bills) and Citizens Advice Bureau regularly held drop-in sessions in the Living room. The Mill also distributed LBWF’s Lower Bills Warmer Homes energy efficiency measures (e.g. draught excluders, reflective radiator panels).
“The workshop was really interactive and fun. The leader was very engaging and made sure everything was accessible to everyone. By the end there was plenty of food for thought. Thank you. “ Attendee of herbal remedy workshop
“ **“Creative, mindful, learnt a new art skill.** Attendee of monoprinting workshop.
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**The Mill @ Coppermill Company No. 7596426 | Registered Charity 1143365**
**Directors’ Report & Financial Statements Year Ended 31 March 2024**
## Groups and Activities
## **The Neurodiversity Social Club**
This club was supported by Grow Your Idea (GYI) and went on to secure its own funding to continue at The Mill. It is a free-to-attend parent/carer led group of Waltham Forest residents with neurodiverse young people aged 10-17. Most of the young people have a diagnosis of autism, ADHD, dyspraxia, dyslexia, etc. are attending mainstream school and finding it difficult. Through peer and parental support, the social club aims to build community and encourage friendships in a safe and understanding space, encouraging interaction using simple board/table-top games, The club meets monthly with 20-25 attendees.
## **Pharmacollagy Arts and Crafts**
The group started in 2022 with initial support from The Mill GYI scheme. It runs monthly, friendly, free drop in arts, craft and talking sessions for those living with side effects/withdrawals of psychiatric medication and more. When GYI funding for the group finished they successfully applied and received funding from London Borough of Waltham Forest and St James Street Big Local.
## **LEGO club**
A weekly drop in after school which began in 2023 when a local mum (Isobel) contacted us about running a LEGO club during school term time. Isobel sourced a variety of LEGO bricks for the group and quickly set up weekly sessions in the Living room, which she runs on a volunteer basis. Participants make a donation towards The Mill to join in. The group has raised over £186.00 towards hire costs for The Mill.
## Other Projects at The Mill
## **Beyond Appearances**
Funded by London Borough of Waltham Forest (LBWF) and led by Neesha Badhan of NBAM, the project Beyond Appearances ran for ten weeks providing creative activities with artists for those suffering from mental health challenges and learning difficulties. Exploring the things inside of ourselves and how we present any hidden disabilities in public through a variety of visual mediums, work was brought together in an exhibition at the end of the project.
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**The Mill @ Coppermill Company No. 7596426 | Registered Charity 1143365**
**Directors’ Report & Financial Statements Year Ended 31 March 2024**
Some of the funding was also used to continue the monthly social group for young neurodiverse people and their families. Training for staff and volunteers in neurodiversity was also provided as part of the project with 13 attendees taking part.
## **Adult Art and Craft Workshops**
The Art Works volunteer team was proud to be chosen by the Co-op Community Fund to be one of their partners for the year 2023-24. Building on a pilot run at The Mill last year aimed to improve local adults well-being and reduce loneliness through art and craft workshops, the funding was used to reach out further to more local people, especially those who were vulnerable, lonely or new to the area. As a Co-op partner project, Co-op customers were encouraged to contribute to the funding, and the final sum awarded to The Mill at the end of 2023 was £2,021.58.
Between May and June, workshops with full attendance were run over seven consecutive weeks. We received positive feedback from those that attended. Asked what they particularly liked, participants’ reactions are summed up by the following two quotes: ‘free, accessible, friendly, fun!’ and ‘learning new skills and socialising helps to reduce stress by forgetting our problems’.
The Art Works team is very grateful for the support offered by the Co-op Community Fund in enabling us to run them.
## **Repair Cafe**
Partnering with The Mill, The Forest Fixers received funding from The North London Waste Authority to set up Repair cafes at The Mill with the aim to divert broken electrical appliances from the waste stream by training and developing a team of fixers, and holding repair cafes and community events where members of the public could get help in fixing their appliances free of charge. Six repair cafes were held throughout the year with an average of 5 fixers and 10 guests at each cafe. Over 100 appliances were fixed, excelling their target of at least 40 appliances, preventing 291kg of waste and saving 3753kg of CO2 from being discharged into the atmosphere (statistics from Restarters.net).
In addition, Forest Fixers provided 19 repair clubs with training and skill sharing sessions, including 3 “special” sessions in upgrading laptops and a fairy light repair session.
The increasing speed at which the repair cafes get booked up indicates that many people are now saving their broken appliances for the next repair café, rather than throwing them away.
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**The Mill @ Coppermill Company No. 7596426 | Registered Charity 1143365**
**Directors’ Report & Financial Statements Year Ended 31 March 2024**
## The Mill in numbers
## **Visits**
The data overleaf shows how many people used our free spaces. This data was collected to provide information to the London Borough of Waltham Forest and Clarion who funded The Mill to be a warm space. This data does not include people who came to The Mill to attend a paid for activity such as a children’s class, foreign language lesson etc.
The data for July - September has been estimated. The data between 10th October 2023 and May 2024 was collected by reception volunteers. The volunteers used a tally chart to count how many people came into The Mill and which part of our space they used the most. This means that someone who primarily came to use the Children’s Room would have been counted under the Children’s Room tally even if they also used the Living Room to visit the exhibition/to make a cup of tea/to feed their child and the Honesty library to browse the books.
|books.||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
|**Month/year**|**Living**
**Room**|**Children's room**|**Honesty Library **|**Other**|**Total**|
|July 2023|||||500|
|August 2023|||||421|
|September 2023|||||600|
|October 2023|204|548|48|225|1,025|
|November 2023|393|658|51|259|1,361|
|December 2023|222|449|41|106|818|
|January 2024|359|577|42|165|1,143|
|February 2024|314|714|50|182|1,260|
|March 2024|348|556|42|168|1,114|
|April 2024|258|600|46|238|1,142|
|May 2024|264|352|34|249|*1,446|
|**TOTAL**|**2098**|**4102**|**320**|**1343**|**10,830**|
This data shows us that there was an average of 50 - 55 visitors per day with more visiting on weekdays than on the weekends (partly due to shorter opening hours at the weekend.
*In May 2024, we held a snapshot survey during one week. In this week, we did not collect data for the tally chart but used figures from the snapshot survey.
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**The Mill @ Coppermill Company No. 7596426 | Registered Charity 1143365**
**Directors’ Report & Financial Statements Year Ended 31 March 2024**
## **Website statistics**
The table below shows that website visits and usage have seen a slight increase in the last year. Facebook following has grown modestly, but reach has expanded significantly, likely due to increased activity at The Mill and more frequent sharing by our community across local groups. Instagram followers have also risen, driven by new visitors, though reach remains low, likely due to the platform’s algorithm favouring more engaging content from others who make Reels. We are working to boost engagement and reach on Instagram by incorporating more people-focused photography and creating more Reels, supported by a recruitment drive for volunteer photographers and storytellers. X remains a low priority as our audience primarily uses Facebook, Instagram, and WhatsApp.
Our mailing list size is stable, with a slightly lower open rate, however it is still inline with industry standards and many people continue to open the monthly newsletters to find out what is happening at The Mill. We are working on posters to target new visitors who come to our events and groups, encouraging them to sign up and keep in touch. Along with the website update we have also implemented more friendly automated emails to those who sign up, welcoming and introducing them to what The Mill does.
|**Website**|**2022-23**|**2023-24**|**Change**|
|---|---|---|---|
|Users|14,699|15,133|3%|
|Total Page views|56,195|57,595|2%|
|**Facebook**|**2022-23**|**2023-24**|**Change**|
|Page Followers|2887|2,979|3%|
|Reach|20,761|29,144|40%|
|**Instagram**|**2022-23**|**2023-24**|**Change**|
|Followers|2783|3182|14%|
|Reach|9416|5931|-37%|
|**X**|**Mar 23**|**Apr 24 **|**Change**|
|Followers|6580|6540|-1%|
|**Mailchimp**|**Mill News**
**Jan 2023**|**Mill News**
**Jan 2023**|**Growth**|
|Subscribers Mill News|1,007|1022|1%|
|Average open rate Mill News|40%|34.40%|-14%|
|Subscribers Art Works|212|259|22%|
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**The Mill @ Coppermill Company No. 7596426 | Registered Charity 1143365**
**Directors’ Report & Financial Statements Year Ended 31 March 2024**
## **Our Five Year Plan: 2023 - 2028**
Our five year plan includes five Development Priorities (DPs) identified by staff, trustees and volunteers, which guide our operations and enabling activity. We have worked on developing our plans in each of these areas over the last year as well as delivering against some of the goals under each. Below is a summary of our progress against the Development Priorities this year. Each development Priority has a set of goals agreed by Mill People and Trustees which we will work towards between now and March 2028. We have been able to take steps forward with many of our goals in the first year, other goals we have planned activities for in the latter years of our Five Year Plan.
## **DP1: Build a Strong, representative network of local Connections**
The Mill has a very active and engaged network of connections but we want to further build and strengthen the network so that we can reach more people in our community. We are proud of what happens inside the building but want to find ways to bring in more ‘Mill People’ who can make things happen for themselves and their community. During this year we have made progress on the following goals.
## A wider, more diverse range of people visit and are involved at The Mill
Our Equality, Diversity and Inclusion (EDI) review produced an action plan which helped us to plan the changes we need to make to bring in a wider, more diverse range of people to The Mill. We started by providing neurodiversity training to all staff and volunteers in November 2023. We also took steps toward reinstating our Event Planning group (which disbanded during the pandemic) and a timetable of events over the year took place; including our winter event, quiz night, plant sale and jumble trail. We ran a series of repair cafes over this year which attracted a new demographic of older men to The Mill.
A wider more diverse range of activities happen at The Mill that reflect our community We have continued to run our Grow Your Idea scheme which supports group leaders to try out their group work ideas for a limited period of time, usually six weeks. This scheme broadens the opportunity for people to get involved because it is defined by those who want to share a specific interest or skill set which would not necessarily be covered by the usual volunteer roles at The Mill. In this year we have hosted sessions on Community garden workshops, Journaling for new mothers, Landscape art, Japanese for Kids, Creative Writing and Mend With Clay. Not only does this scheme build confidence for the group leaders to try their ideas in a risk free environment but also attracts new people to The Mill increasing its diversity and inclusiveness.
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**The Mill @ Coppermill Company No. 7596426 | Registered Charity 1143365**
**Directors’ Report & Financial Statements Year Ended 31 March 2024**
Influence local decision making through being part of a consistent, collective voice with other voluntary sector organisations
Throughout the autumn and winter, The Mill has made a significant contribution to efforts to create a new Council for Voluntary Service (CVS) in Waltham Forest. Our Chair, Richard Bennett, co-chairs this process and works closely with a range of other voluntary and community organisations in supporting the design and planning for this. This investment of The Mill's time is in the expectation that, with a new CVS in place, we can be an effective part of its work, including development of a clear collective voice for the sector.
## Develop a range of external partnerships, increasing access into The Mill
We have started what we hope will be a new partnership with Soho Theatre. They delivered workshops at The Mill after consultation with us on reaching our regular users. We also hold a continued partnership with Forest Fixers delivering workshops for fixers and the general public at The Mill.
## **DP2: Clearer and More Meaningful Communications**
The Mill makes a positive difference to individuals and together as a community. We want to share how we do this in consistent and practical ways. There are so many stories to be told that share the impact The Mill has, and we have started to implement how we can tell these more frequently. Our goal being to reach, inspire and attract all types of people across E17 and beyond.
Expand The Mill’s capacity and effectiveness in doing external communications To help share The Mill’s story in a clearer, consistent and more meaningful way, we reviewed the roles and responsibilities within our communications team to ensure they better align with our strategic objectives and priorities and in September, we welcomed a new Communications Coordinator. Looking ahead, we’ve started plans to recruit volunteer storytellers and photographers who will help create fresh content, further showcasing The Mill’s story and activities, its impact within the local area and our diverse community.
Better understand and address the specific needs and barriers to engaging with The Mill from our local community
In response to the recent EDI review, the team made a concerted effort to ensure our photography and messaging reflect The Mill’s diverse, inclusive, and welcoming community. This is evident on our website and social media platforms, as well as in our latest ‘You Make The Mill’ leaflet and the Spring Newsletter, which was distributed locally to residents.
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**The Mill @ Coppermill Company No. 7596426 | Registered Charity 1143365**
**Directors’ Report & Financial Statements Year Ended 31 March 2024**
Improve The Mill’s materials and communications content to meet all of our audiences’ needs
Working closely with a volunteer Strategic Communications Adviser to finalise and begin implementing a communications plan, key achievements have included updating the website by restructuring pages and menus, removing outdated content, and refreshing copy and imagery to enhance usability and feel more current.
## **DP3: Strengthen and Grow a Diverse Volunteer Community**
Volunteers are a crucial part of keeping The Mill going as a building and making things happen within the building. We recognise the importance of the contribution that volunteers make and that they have important insights and ideas that will help us to continue to develop and grow. Our goals are about us working more closely with a diverse and growing group of volunteers and we share how we are working towards each goal below.
## Opportunities for volunteers to participate in decision making at The Mill
The Mill Meet Up is a new forum for people who come to The Mill in any capacity to be able discuss and contribute to future developments which was realised following our work on equality, diversity and inclusion. There have been two meetings in this period with lively discussions about Build The Mill and our strategy for the next 10 years. Both meetings were well attended. Mill Meet Ups have now become a regular event where anyone involved in The Mill can come along and share their views on key decisions.
There are also opportunities for volunteers to help run our existing groups such as Sociable Sewing and Mill Makers as well as getting involved in ArtWorks which manages exhibitions and other arts activities at The Mill. We have a number of dedicated reception and front of house volunteers who play a significant role in keeping the building open 6 days a week.
As part of our strategy refresh we have developed new mechanisms for volunteers to be part of a collective responsibility to deliver our Development Priorities. With this in mind we have created new ‘Development Priorities Groups’ who will take responsibility for delivery against the Development Priority goals.
We were pleased to welcome three new trustees to our board this year.
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**The Mill @ Coppermill Company No. 7596426 | Registered Charity 1143365**
**Directors’ Report & Financial Statements Year Ended 31 March 2024**
Have a wider range of opportunities and roles for people to get involved We recognise increasingly that potential volunteers have busy lives and other pressing commitments, especially at a time of economic pressures and turbulence. In response, we have developed some new roles that give volunteers scope to volunteer at a time that works for them, such as on a monthly basis like Ecotots or on an as and when basis like our Handyperson role. We have also built this thinking into our Grow Your Idea project which enables volunteers and social entrepreneurs to deliver activities to the community through The Mill.
Understand our volunteers’ strengths, interests and skills and what support our volunteers need.
We aim to understand these through our volunteer recruitment process and more informal conversations with our volunteers. We also offer a yearly volunteer survey so that our volunteers can tell us more about their volunteering experience with us. Through these and regularly canvassing our volunteers on their training and
development needs, we were able to respond to our volunteers' expressed training and support needs by offering training in Neurodiversity, Google Drive, Making Every Conversation Count (MECC) and our regular in-house Safeguarding Awareness.
## A diverse and engaged volunteer group
Our work on (EDI) has continued throughout the year with a trustee and a volunteer leading a working group, named the Welcoming Committee, to prioritise the suggestions made for development in this area. The group met 4 times in the first half of the year and its work was incorporated into The Mill's 10 year strategy to ensure that EDI was embedded in The Mill's future plans.
Over the next five years we will work towards growing and diversifying our already excellent volunteer community. We will do this through working with volunteers to harness and develop their skills and talents and create opportunities for participation, including in decision making at The Mill.
## Grow the numbers of our volunteers
We have been able to grow the numbers of our volunteers by developing new roles for them that best fit their lifestyles, skills and aspirations. These included three new roles for our Repair cafe project, two handy person roles and a new Strategic Comms management role.
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**The Mill @ Coppermill Company No. 7596426 | Registered Charity 1143365**
**Directors’ Report & Financial Statements Year Ended 31 March 2024**
We also increased the number of volunteer group leaders with new volunteers running weekly/monthly Lego and Eco tots sessions for children. Our Grow Your Idea scheme also provided two volunteers with an opportunity to use their specific skills and experience to run short term participatory projects in creative writing and landscape art. In this year we have attracted 21 new volunteers and 3 trustees.
## **DP4: Make ‘Build The Mill’ happen**
Our building is our most important resource: it is where people get connected, get involved, get creative and make things happen. Hiring out our space also provides us with essential income. We want it to be welcoming, well-equipped, comfortable and safe for all our users, and be available for a wide range of uses.
## We have made progress with our refurbishment project
Since last year we have made progress with our capital refurbishment project. Our project steering group made up of staff, trustees and expert volunteers (structural engineer and retired architect) appointed a new architect, John Stack, to further refine the plans. With the support of Locality, through the UK Government’s Community Ownership Fund Support Programme, the steering group commissioned a range of essential surveys and an up to date cost plan and agreed an overall refurbishment plan.
## Community and stakeholders have buy in
During this year we worked with The Mill Meet Up group to discuss accessibility requirements. Important feedback included the need for; more toilets including accessible and baby change facilities; an automatic entrance door; designated buggy park; more comfortable furniture; better kitchen facilities and better storage. We also consulted with a wider group of staff, volunteers and users of The Mill during a strategy event in September 2023 via a presentation and feedback session on the latest plans for the building led by John Dash.
We would like to thank all groups for sharing their valuable thoughts in insights.
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**The Mill @ Coppermill Company No. 7596426 | Registered Charity 1143365**
**Directors’ Report & Financial Statements Year Ended 31 March 2024**
We have started to think about how we measure how changes to the building will improve diversity and inclusion of beneficiaries
During this time we have worked together with staff and volunteers leading Prove and Improve at The Mill to develop approaches to data collection which will enable us to measure impact of the changes to the building on our existing and future beneficiaries.
## We have worked towards achieving our funding targets
The realisation of the project is dependent on significant funding from the UK Government’s Community Ownership Fund which at the time of writing this report is on hold due to the recent change of government, so plans are on hold for now, until an alternative large capital fund becomes available.
## **DP5: Prove and Improve**
We are committed to developing and improving our impact practice and recognise that as well as practical tasks such as reviewing our data collection approaches, we also need to create a learning culture across The Mill. We have taken initial steps forward in the first year.
We are being continually curious about what The Mill and the local community does so that we can all learn and change where needed
We have reviewed our current data collection approaches such as our snapshot survey and volunteer survey so that we can learn more about our community. We have taken initial steps this year towards making changes which reflect our theory of change and evaluation framework. We have done this alongside users and volunteers at The Mill through The Mill Meet Ups.
We are working towards creating evaluation tools and processes that are right for The Mill and the infrastructure and confidence needed to implement them.
Over this year we worked with Tim Bidey Consulting on the development of the evaluation framework to help us to explore and prioritise the current and future outcomes measurement tools we use throughout the strategy. We will use this knowledge to improve our data competency and confidence, so that we can improve existing measurement tools and develop new ones.
We are working towards routinely evaluating our impact across our priority areas
The staff, trustees and volunteers steered by the strategy group have worked on developing a delivery plan for each of our five DPs which is one of the ways in which we are creating a learning culture. Each DP has a group of individuals responsible for planning and delivery
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**The Mill @ Coppermill Company No. 7596426 | Registered Charity 1143365**
**Directors’ Report & Financial Statements Year Ended 31 March 2024**
with representation from a member of staff, a trustee and volunteer in each. The plans will enable us to continuously learn and develop.
Share what we learn from our evaluation with internal and external stakeholders even if we find that something didn't work.
Throughout this year we have focussed on planning what we need in order to effectively evaluate our impact though our DPs and the evaluation framework. We have identified the resources we need to effectively and efficiently prove and improve, this is our focus in year two. We have made some changes to the format of the directors report so that we can start to show progress against our strategic priorities and outcomes.
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**The Mill @ Coppermill Company No. 7596426 | Registered Charity 1143365**
**Directors’ Report & Financial Statements Year Ended 31 March 2024**
## **FUNDRAISING**
Thank you to all our generous funders including North London Waste Authority, London Borough of Waltham Forest, Clarion Futures, UK Government, Co-op and Tesco. In addition, we would like to acknowledge and thank those who give their time and money to contribute to The Mill’s fundraising efforts through the Friends of The Mill scheme, one-off donations, Art Works exhibitions, events, such as the annual Mill Quiz, and knitting and craft sales.
This year grant fundraising has made the following projects possible:
**North London Waste Authority - North London Community Fund** - Repair cafes project led by Forest Fixers
**London Borough of Waltham Forest - Community Living Rooms Fund -** Warm Welcome project
## **Clarion Futures - Warm Spaces Grants Programme -** Community Living Room
**London Borough of Waltham Forest - Community Chest -** Beyond Appearances adult mental health art project led by NBAM
**UK Government - Community Ownership Fund Revenue Support Grant** - Build The Mill project development
**Co-op Local Community Fund** - Adult art workshop programme run by Art Works
**London Borough of Waltham Forest - Community Ward Funding** - Holiday art club
## **Tesco Community Grants** - Children’s Room
A special mention to our fabulous **Friends of The Mill** , whose regular giving is greatly appreciated as a reliable source of unrestricted income for us to use to keep The Mill going!
This year we have successfully focussed on increasing our individual giving donations and regular giving, which are immensely valuable for supporting the ongoing running costs of The Mill.
A special thank you for the very generous donation we received of £13,955.00 from the estate of one of The Mill knitters.
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**The Mill @ Coppermill Company No. 7596426 | Registered Charity 1143365**
**Directors’ Report & Financial Statements Year Ended 31 March 2024**
## **FINANCIAL REVIEW**
## **Summary**
In the year 2023-2024, the charitable company had a total income of £116,697 (2022-23: £119,957), and a total expenditure of £155,249 (2022-23: £135,942). There was a deficit of £38,551 (2022-23 was a deficit of £15,985).
The 2023/24 financial year was a successful year of fundraising, business development, and operations, in what proved to be continuing challenging economic conditions for The Mill and our community.
The Mill started the year during a period of significant inflation alongside a challenging fundraising environment. This combination of factors put a strain on its financial position, and given The Mill has always executed exceptional prudence in managing spend, this situation required an increased focus on planning. In parallel, The Mill continued to progress both designs and fundraising efforts on the “Build the Mill” initiative. The Build the Mill initiative remained a central part of The Mill’s plans to ensure future financial sustainability.
Whereas we ended this year in a deficit, this was controlled and steered throughout the year as an appropriate use of some of our reserves. Our overall financial position, the generosity of our funders, and the incredible dedication and hard work of our staff and volunteers have enabled us to absorb/offset increases in operational costs while remaining within the terms of our reserves policy, and be overall in a good financial position as we continue to look forward to maximising our impact against our core objectives.
## **Funds and reserves**
Total funds carried forward at the end of this year were £100,630 (for the year 2022-2023 the total was £139,181). This comprised of £12,885 restricted funds and £87,745 unrestricted funds, of which £74,366 were designated reserves and £13,379 were general reserves (for the year 2022-2023 there were £45,258 restricted funds and £93,923 unrestricted funds of which £68,500 were designated and £25,423 were general reserves).
## RESERVES POLICY
It is the policy of the charitable company to maintain reserves at a level to provide sufficient funds to cover unforeseen circumstances. The Reserves Policy of the company, as reviewed by the trustees (directors) is:
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**The Mill @ Coppermill Company No. 7596426 | Registered Charity 1143365**
**Directors’ Report & Financial Statements Year Ended 31 March 2024**
- The trustees believe that, in order to remain financially secure and viable, they should seek to hold three to six months’ running costs in reserve. This should mean that The Mill is able to continue to deliver its objectives in a climate of fluctuating funding. In previous years, The Mill has at times exceeded its reserves target due to the support it has received through donations together with a successful business development focus on increasing earned income and pursuing a diverse range of income streams, enabling the trustees to invest some of the reserves in projects that have both delivered the strategic aims of The Mill for our beneficiaries and helped to secure long term sustainability.
- Additionally, since 2019, alongside delivering the work of the charity, a designated reserve equivalent to six months operating costs was also created. This is in anticipation of proposed building development works ( _Build The Mill_ ) that may reduce the operational capacity of the building for up to 3-6 months in the coming years, depending on the needs of a capital project and in consultation with users and the community. The trustees are particularly keen to ensure any level of closure should not affect the delivery of The Mill’s charitable objectives or staff retention. Fundraising will also need a commitment from the charity and trustees in the form of match funding, and to that end the trustees are now seeking to increase the designated reserve to be equivalent to twelve months of operating costs, so that the redevelopment of the building might be realised, together with all the benefits that that can bring to the community. This building development project was delayed by the pandemic but is anticipated once again to happen in the coming years.
The free, undesignated reserves at the end of the year were £13,379 (2022-2023: £25,423), which fell below the amount required to support three and six months of core running costs. However we did have sufficient funds in our “Designated Build the Mill reserve” that could have been diverted if additional unrestricted reserves were required. Our reserves position continues to have the attention of the Trustees and of staff, recognising The Mill’s need to continue to be prudent with spend, and to continue to monitor our reserves going forward.
## **Investment policy**
There are no restrictions on the charitable company’s power to invest. Investment is not part of The Mill’s current financial strategy.
## **Risk review**
The trustees (directors) are aware of their obligations to make a statement in respect of the management of risks faced by The Mill. A risk register has been established, is regularly
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**The Mill @ Coppermill Company No. 7596426 | Registered Charity 1143365**
**Directors’ Report & Financial Statements Year Ended 31 March 2024**
reviewed, and steps are taken to mitigate the risks identified. Funding risk is continuously addressed through a fundraising strategy that seeks to achieve funding spread, by monitoring reserve levels and by ensuring controls over key financial systems. The trustees engage experts to support this process, including financial accounting and reporting.
## **Financial**
The key risks in this year have been the operational, financial, community and strategic risks around inflation and rising costs. The impact of price increases and the increased challenges in securing income via fundraising continued from the previous year, and they remained the focus of trustee and staff decision making throughout the year. Careful financial management is in place with frequent review of budget and expenditure, and we are grateful for the financial expertise of our Finance Officer and the governance work of our board supplementing the work of the staff team in this regard. GIven our reserves and end of year deficit, these risks will continue to be closely monitored in the coming year.
## **Build The Mill**
Looking forward, we aim to progress in our Build the Mill initiative in 2024/25. The size of this project and its potential to impact on our operations give rise to it being prominent in our risk register, risks are being managed and mitigated through ongoing dialogues between the Build The Mill steering group, Centre Manager, and Trustees. As mentioned in “our five year plan” section of this report, the realisation of the project is dependent on significant funding from the UK Government’s Community Ownership Fund which at the time of writing this report is on hold due to the recent change of government, so the plans are on hold for now, until an alternative large capital fund becomes available.
## **Safeguarding of vulnerable adult service users and our staff members**
Our Safeguarding policy is in place and we will continue to review it regularly. We have had a focus on making sure that our volunteers are up-to-date by offering safeguarding awareness sessions and our staff continue to undergo training.
## **GDPR**
Training has been undertaken by staff and the appropriate policies are in place. These policies are reviewed regularly and will be updated when appropriate.
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**The Mill @ Coppermill Company No. 7596426 | Registered Charity 1143365**
**Directors’ Report & Financial Statements Year Ended 31 March 2024**
## **Employees**
The Mill strives to be an equal opportunities employer and applies objective criteria to assess merit. It aims to ensure that no job applicant or employee receives less favourable treatment on the grounds of age, race, colour, nationality, religion, ethnic or national origin, gender, marital status, sexual orientation or disability.
Selection criteria and procedures are in place to ensure that individuals are selected, promoted and treated based on their relevant merits and abilities. The Mill is extremely grateful to its team of employees for all their excellent work.
## **Contribution by, and appreciation of, volunteers**
The trustees would like to place on record the significant contributions of the volunteers of The Mill in securing further funding and in the delivery of the community centre activities, which will help the local community and future generations. The Mill would not operate without its volunteers.
Volunteers are involved in several innovative ways to enable The Mill to make the most of the skills and willingness of a wide range of people, from experts in fundraising and communications who work in special teams. For every person who wants to gain new work experience, there is someone who is happy to share theirs. Some run groups and others provide a friendly face at reception, and each and every person who has volunteered and volunteers with The Mill has made a positive contribution to The Mill achieving its aims.
## **Contribution by, and appreciation of, supporters**
The trustees appreciate the support of:
- North London Waste Authority
- London Borough of Waltham Forest
- Clarion Futures
- UK Government
- Co-op Local Community Fund
- Tesco Community Grants
- Friends of The Mill
towards the achievement of the set goals and objectives of the charitable company. The trustees appreciate all contributions from the local voluntary, community, public and business sectors and our community of Friends and supporters.
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**The Mill @ Coppermill Company No. 7596426 | Registered Charity 1143365**
**Directors’ Report & Financial Statements Year Ended 31 March 2024**
## **Independent examiner**
Waqas Hussain ACCA has been appointed as independent examiner for this accounting period.
## **Small company provisions**
This report has been prepared in accordance with the provisions applicable to companies entitled to the small companies’ exemption.
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**The Mill @ Coppermill Company No. 7596426 | Registered Charity 1143365**
**Directors’ Report & Financial Statements Year Ended 31 March 2024**
## **INDEPENDENT EXAMINER’S REPORT to the trustees of The Mill @ Coppermill**
I report to the charity trustees on my examination of the accounts of The Mill @ Coppermill (“The Mill”) for the year ended 31 March 2024.
## **Responsibilities and basis of report**
As The Mill’s trustees (who are also the directors of the company 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 Mill are not required to be audited for this year 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**
I have completed my examination. I confirm that no material matters have come to my attention which gives me cause to believe that:
- accounting records were not kept in accordance with section 386 of the Companies Act 2006; or
- the accounts do not accord with such records; or
- the accounts do not comply with relevant accounting requirements under section 396 of the Companies Act 2006 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
- the accounts have not been prepared in accordance with the Charities SORP (FRS102).
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.
Name: Waqas Hussain FCCA
Address: 10 Knebworth Avenue, Walthamstow, London, E17 5AJ Date: 10/11/2024
Signed:
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**The Mill @ Coppermill Company No. 7596426 | Registered Charity 1143365**
**Directors’ Report & Financial Statements Year Ended 31 March 2024**
## **Statement of Financial Activities (incorporating the income and expenditure account) Statement of Financial Activities (incorporating the income and expenditure account) For the year ended 31 March 2024**
|**r the year ended 31 March 2024**|||
|---|---|---|
|**Note**
**INCOMING**
**RESOURCES**
**Incoming resources**
**from generated funds**
**Voluntary Income**
**2**
**Activities for**
**Generating Funds**
**Incoming resources**
**from charitable**
**activities**
**2**
**TOTAL INCOMING**
**RESOURCES**
**2**
**RESOURCES**
**EXPENDED**
**Fundraising Costs**
**Charitable**
**Expenditure**
**Community Centre**
**Programmes**
**3**
**Governance Costs**
**Total Resources**
**Expended**
**3**
**Net Incoming**
**Resources**
**- Net Income for the**
**Year**
**Total Funds at the start**
**of the year**
**Total Funds at the end**
**of the year**|**2024**
**Unrestricted**
**Funds**
**Restricted**
**Funds**
**Total**
**Funds**
**£**
**£**
**£**
**19,494**
**40,258**
**59,753**
**9,984**
**-**
**9,984**
**46,961**
**-**
**46,961**
**76,439**
**40,258**
**116,697**
**103,043**
**50,606**
**153,649**
**1,600**
**-**
**1,600**
**104,643**
**50,606**
**155,249**
**(28,203)**
**(10,348)**
**(38,551)**
**93,922**
**45,259**
**139,181**
**65,719**
**34,911**
**100,630**|**2023**
**Total Funds**
**£**
**69,685**
**7,221**
**43,051**
**119,957**|
|||**135,442**
**500**
**135,942**|
|||**(15,985)**
**155,166**|
|||**139,181**|
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**The Mill @ Coppermill Company No. 7596426 | Registered Charity 1143365**
**Directors’ Report & Financial Statements Year Ended 31 March 2024**
**The statement of financial activities includes all gains and losses in the year.**
**All of the above amounts relate to continuing activities.**
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**The Mill @ Coppermill Company No. 7596426 | Registered Charity 1143365**
**Directors’ Report & Financial Statements Year Ended 31 March 2024**
## **Statement of Financial Position**
**31 March 2024**
|**31 March 2024**|||
|---|---|---|
|**Note**
**Fixed assets**
**Tangible fixed assets**
**8**
**Current assets**
**Debtors & Prepayments**
**9**
**Bank & Cash at hand**
**Creditors: amounts falling due within**
**one year**
**10**
**Net current assets**
**Net assets**
**12**
**Funds**
**Restricted funds**
**Unrestricted funds**
**TOTAL FUNDS**
**12**|**2024**
**£**
**2,100**
**11,084**
**98,3571**
**109,441**
**(10,911)**
**98,530**
**100,630**
**12,885**
**87,745**
**100,630**|**2023**
**£**
**2,800**
**15,160**
**129,541**|
|||**144,701**
**(8,320)**
**136,381**|
|||**139,181**|
|||**45,259**
**93,922**
**139,181**|
**For the year ended 31 March 2024 the charity was entitled to exemption from audit under section 477 of the Companies Act 2006 relating to small companies. The members have not required the charity to obtain an audit of its accounts for the year in question in accordance with section 476.**
**The trustees acknowledge their responsibilities for complying with the requirements of the Act with respect to accounting records and the preparation of accounts.**
**These accounts have been prepared in accordance with the provisions applicable to small companies subject to the small companies regime and in accordance with FRS102 SORP.**
**These financial statements were approved by the members of the directors and authorised for issue on the 12 November 2024 and are signed on their behalf by:**
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**The Mill @ Coppermill Company No. 7596426 | Registered Charity 1143365**
**Directors’ Report & Financial Statements Year Ended 31 March 2024**
## **ACCOUNTING POLICIES**
**The financial statements have been prepared under the historical cost convention, and in compliance with ‘The Financial Reporting Standard applicable in the UK and Republic of Ireland’ (FRS 102), the Statement of Recommended Practice: Accounting and Reporting by Charities preparing their accounts in accordance with FRS 102 (Charities SORP) and the Companies Act 2006.**
## **(b) Going Concern**
**There are no material uncertainties about the charity’s ability to continue**
## **(c) Fund Accounting**
**- Unrestricted funds are available for use at the discretion of the trustees in furtherance of the general objectives of the charity. Unrestricted funds include a revaluation reserve representing the restatement of investment assets at market values.**
**- Designated funds are unrestricted funds earmarked by the Management Committee for particular purposes.**
**- Restricted funds are subjected to restrictions on their expenditure imposed by the donor or through the terms of an appeal.**
## **(d) Incoming resources**
**All incoming resources are included in the statement of financial activities when the charity is entitled to the income and the amount can be quantified with reasonable accuracy. The following specific policies are applied to particular categories of income:**
**- Voluntary income is received by way of grants, donations and gifts and is included in full in the Statement of Financial Activities when receivable. Grants, where entitlement is not conditional on the delivery of a specific performance by the charity, are recognised when the charity becomes unconditionally entitled to the grant.**
**- Donated services and facilities are included at the value to the charity where this can be quantified. The value of services provided by volunteers has not been included in these accounts.**
**- Investment income is included when receivable.**
**- Incoming resources from charitable trading activity are accounted for when earned.**
**- Incoming resources from grants, where related to performance and specific deliverables, are accounted for as the charity earns the right to consideration by its performance.**
## **(e) Resources expended**
**Expenditure is recognised on an accrual basis as a liability is incurred. Expenditure includes any VAT which cannot be fully recovered, and is reported as part of the expenditure to which it relates:**
**- Costs of generating funds comprise the costs associated with attracting voluntary income and the costs of trading for fundraising purposes.**
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**The Mill @ Coppermill Company No. 7596426 | Registered Charity 1143365**
**Directors’ Report & Financial Statements Year Ended 31 March 2024**
**- Charitable expenditure comprises those costs incurred by the charity in the delivery of its activities and services for its beneficiaries. It includes both costs that can be allocated directly to such activities and those costs of an indirect nature necessary to support them.**
**- Governance costs include those costs associated with meeting the constitutional and statutory requirements of the charity and include the audit or examination costs, and costs linked to the strategic management of the charity.**
**- All costs are allocated between the expenditure categories of the SoFA on a basis designed to reflect the use of the resource. Costs relating to a particular activity are allocated directly, others are apportioned on an appropriate basis e.g. floor areas, per capita or estimated usage as set out in the notes to the accounts.**
## **(f) Fixed assets**
**Fixed assets (excluding investments) are stated at cost less accumulated depreciation, which is provided on a reducing balance basis over the useful life of the asset at 25% per annum for all assets, except when purchased with a capital grant whose terms and conditions specify otherwise. Full depreciation is provided in the year of purchase. The costs of minor additions or those costing below £2,000 are not capitalised.**
## **(g) Operating lease agreements**
**Rentals payable under operating leases, where substantially all the risks and rewards of ownership remain with the lessor, are charged to the statement of financial activities on a straight line basis over the life of the lease.**
— 37 —
**The Mill @ Coppermill**
**Directors’ Report & Financial Statements Year Ended 31 March 2024**
**Company No. 7596426 | Registered Charity 1143365**
|**2.**
**TOTAL INCOMING RESOURCES**
**Grant**
**Activity**
**Other**
**2024**
**Analysis of Incoming Resources**
**Income**
**Income**
**Income**
**Total**
**£**
**£**
**£**
**£**
**Community Centre**
**Programmes**
**40,258**
**56,945**
**19,494**
**116,697**
**Unres**
**tricted**
**Restrict**
**ed**
**2024**
**Total**
**Voluntary Income**
**£**
**£**
**£**
**Grants & Donations**
**L&Q Foundation**
**-**
**-**
**National Lottery Community Fund – 10**
**Years On**
**-**
**-**
**-**
**National Lottery Awards for All - Chill**
**Out Zone**
**-**
**-**
**-**
**LBWF - Community Living rooms Warm**
**Welcome**
**-**
**8,600**
**8,600**
**LBWF Community Ward Funding - St**
**James ward (little free library)**
**-**
**125**
**125**
**LBWF High St ward funding (Digital**
**Buddies)**
**-**
**-**
**-**
**Clarion Futures - Warm Welcome**
**-**
**5,000**
**5,000**
**St James Adult Art Workshop**
**-**
**-**
**-**
**Tesco - Children's Room at The Mill**
**-**
**500**
**500**
**Adult Art Workshop - Co-op Local**
**Community Fund**
**2,022**
**2,022**
**Repair cafe - NLWA North London**
**Community Fund**
**7,535**
**7,535**
**LBWF Community Chest - Beyond**
**Appearances income**
**6,722**
**6,722**
**Holiday Art Club - LBWF CWF**
**1,334**
**1,334**
**COF Revenue Support Grant**
**8,421**
**8,421**
**Total Grants**
**-**
**40,258**
**40,258**
**Other Donations**
**19,494**
**-**
**19,494**
**Total Voluntary Income**
**19,494**
**40,258**
**59,753**
**Activities for Generating Funds and income from Charitable Activities**
**Fund Generation**
**9,984**
**-**
**9,984**
**Hiring Income**
**46,961**
**-**
**46,961**
**Total Incoming from Charitable Activities**
**56,945**
**-**
**56,945**
**Total Income**
**76,439**
**40,258**
**116,697**|**2.**
**TOTAL INCOMING RESOURCES**
**Grant**
**Activity**
**Other**
**2024**
**Analysis of Incoming Resources**
**Income**
**Income**
**Income**
**Total**
**£**
**£**
**£**
**£**
**Community Centre**
**Programmes**
**40,258**
**56,945**
**19,494**
**116,697**
**Unres**
**tricted**
**Restrict**
**ed**
**2024**
**Total**
**Voluntary Income**
**£**
**£**
**£**
**Grants & Donations**
**L&Q Foundation**
**-**
**-**
**National Lottery Community Fund – 10**
**Years On**
**-**
**-**
**-**
**National Lottery Awards for All - Chill**
**Out Zone**
**-**
**-**
**-**
**LBWF - Community Living rooms Warm**
**Welcome**
**-**
**8,600**
**8,600**
**LBWF Community Ward Funding - St**
**James ward (little free library)**
**-**
**125**
**125**
**LBWF High St ward funding (Digital**
**Buddies)**
**-**
**-**
**-**
**Clarion Futures - Warm Welcome**
**-**
**5,000**
**5,000**
**St James Adult Art Workshop**
**-**
**-**
**-**
**Tesco - Children's Room at The Mill**
**-**
**500**
**500**
**Adult Art Workshop - Co-op Local**
**Community Fund**
**2,022**
**2,022**
**Repair cafe - NLWA North London**
**Community Fund**
**7,535**
**7,535**
**LBWF Community Chest - Beyond**
**Appearances income**
**6,722**
**6,722**
**Holiday Art Club - LBWF CWF**
**1,334**
**1,334**
**COF Revenue Support Grant**
**8,421**
**8,421**
**Total Grants**
**-**
**40,258**
**40,258**
**Other Donations**
**19,494**
**-**
**19,494**
**Total Voluntary Income**
**19,494**
**40,258**
**59,753**
**Activities for Generating Funds and income from Charitable Activities**
**Fund Generation**
**9,984**
**-**
**9,984**
**Hiring Income**
**46,961**
**-**
**46,961**
**Total Incoming from Charitable Activities**
**56,945**
**-**
**56,945**
**Total Income**
**76,439**
**40,258**
**116,697**|**2023**
**Total**
**£**
**119,957**
**2023**
**Total**
**£**
**5,000**
**35,000**
**10,000**
**5,000**
**375**
**1,250**
**5,800**
**996**
**-**
**-**
**-**
**-**
**-**
**-**
**63,421**
**6,264**|
|---|---|---|
|||**69,685**|
|||**7,221**
**43,051**|
||**56,945**
**-**
**56,945**
**76,439**
**40,258**
**116,697**|**50,271**|
||||
|||**119,957**|
— 38 —
**The Mill @ Coppermill**
**Directors’ Report & Financial Statements Year Ended 31 March 2024**
**Company No. 7596426 | Registered Charity 1143365**
## **3. TOTAL RESOURCES EXPENDED**
|**Charitable Expenditure**
**Community Centre**
**Programmes**
**Total Charitable Expenditure**
**Governance**
**Total Costs**
**3(a) Governance Costs**
**These comprise the following:**
**Independent Examiner's Fees**
**Professional Fees**
**3(b) Direct Costs**
**Fundraising Costs**
**Wages**
**Other Staff Costs**
**Volunteer Costs**
**Health & Safety**
**Projects & Consultancy**
**Expenditure**
**Merchandise for Resale Cost**
**Activities Costs**
**Other Costs**
**Total Direct Costs**
**3(c) Support Costs**
**Rent and Rates**
**Heat & Light**
**Printing & Stationery**
**Telephone & Computer Consumables**
**Building Maintenance & Cleaning**
**Insurance**
**General Expenses**|**Direct**
**Support**
**2024**
**Costs**
**Costs**
**Total**
**£**
**£**
**£**
**126,195**
**27,453**
**153,649**
**126,195**
**27,453**
**153,649**
**-**
**1,600**
**1,600**
**110,201**
**25,741**
**135,942**
**2024**
**Total**
**£**
**1,000**
**600**
**1,600**
**2024**
**£**
**2,254**
**69,261**
**483**
**661**
**47**
**50,606**
**953**
**1,649**
**281**
**126,195**
**2024**
**£**
**6,050**
**7,593**
**245**
**2,127**
**5,752**
**899**
**143**|**2023**
**Total**
**£**
**135,442**|
|---|---|---|
|||**135,442**|
|||**500**|
|||**125,576**|
|||**2023**
**Total**
**£**
**500**
**-**|
|||**500**|
|||**2023**
**£**
**6,245**
**61,225**
**892**
**516**
**5**
**39,143**
**700**
**1,210**
**265**
**103,954**
**2023**
**£**
**6,550**
**5,480**
**279**
**2,173**
**5,744**
**1,431**
**69**|
— 39 —
## **The Mill @ Coppermill**
**Company No. 7596426 | Registered Charity 1143365**
**Directors’ Report & Financial Statements Year Ended 31 March 2024**
|**Depreciation**
**Accountancy**
**Total Support Costs**|**700**
**3,945**
**27,453**|**-**
**3,515**|
|---|---|---|
|||**25,241**|
## **4. EXPENDITURE ANALYSIS**
|**Restricted**
**Tudor Trust**
**L&Q Foundation**
**LBWF Support for Vulnerable residents**
**LBWF Community Ward Funding - High**
**Street ward (Grow your Idea)**
**Coop Community Fund - Grow your Idea**
**The National Lottery Community Fund -**
**10 years on**
**The National LotteryCommunity Fund**
**Awards for All - Chill Out Zone**
**LBWF - Community Living rooms fund**
**LBWF Community Ward Funding - St**
**James ward (little free library)**
**LBWF Community ward funding - High St**
**ward (Digital Buddies)**
**Clarion Futures - Warm Welcome**
**Saint James Street Big Local - Adult Art**
**Workshops**
**Adult Art Workshop - Co-op Local**
**Community Fund**
**Repair cafe - NLWA North London**
**Community Fund**
**LBWF Community Chest - Beyond**
**Appearances**
**Holiday Art Club - LBWF CWF**
**COF Revenue Support Grant**
**Total Restricted**
**Unrestricted**
**General**
**Total Unrestricted**
**Total Expenditure**|**Wages**
**Other**
**2024**
**£**
**£**
**£**
**-**
**20,609**
**20,609**
**-**
**-**
**-**
**-**
**-**
**-**
**-**
**25**
**25**
**-**
**-**
**-**
**-**
**15,619**
**15,619**
**-**
**1,200**
**1,200**
**3,500-**
**2,333**
**5,833**
**-**
**-**
**-**
**-**
**-**
**-**
**2,750**
**2,250**
**5,000**
**-**
**-**
**-**
**-**
**500**
**500**
**300**
**6,804**
**7,104**
**-**
**6,918**
**6,918**
**-**
**904**
**904**
**-**
**951**
**951**
**6,550**
**58,112**
**64,662**
**62,711**
**27,876**
**90,587**
**62,711**
**27,876**
**90,587**
**69,261**
**85,988**
**155,249**|**2023**
**£**
**6,304**
**7,025**
**8,616**
**2,724**
**1,421**
**19,694**
**8,100**
**5,000**
**375**
**1,250**
**5,606**
**996**
**-**
**-**
**-**
**-**
**-**|
|---|---|---|
|||**67,110**|
|||**68,832**|
|||**68,832**|
|||**135,942**|
— 40 —
**The Mill @ Coppermill**
**Directors’ Report & Financial Statements Year Ended 31 March 2024**
**Company No. 7596426 | Registered Charity 1143365**
|**.**
**5.**
**NET INCOMING RESOURCES**
**This is stated after charging:**
**Independent Examiner's Fees**
**6.**
**STAFF COSTS AND EMOLUMENTS**
**Total staff costs were as follows:**
**Gross pay**
**Employer’s National Insurance**
**Employer’s Pension Costs**
**Total**
**No employee received emoluments of more than £60,000 in this or**
**Average number of employees during the year was:**
**7.**
**DIRECTORS AND RELATED PARTY TRANSACTIONS**||
|---|---|
|||
**There were no payments made during the year to Directors and related parties (2023: nil)**
— 41 —
**The Mill @ Coppermill Company No. 7596426 | Registered Charity 1143365**
**Directors’ Report & Financial Statements Year Ended 31 March 2024**
## **8. TANGIBLE FIXED ASSETS**
|**Cost:**
**At 1 April 2022**
**Additions**
**Disposals**
**At 31 March 2023**
**Depreciation:**
**At 1 April 2022**
**Charge for the year**
**Disposals**
**At 31 March 2023**
**Net book value:**
**At 1 April 2023**
**At 31 March 2024**|**Plant &**
**Machinery**
**_£_**
**7,998**
**-**
**(7,998)**
**-**
**7,998**
**-**
**(7,998)**
**-**
**-**
**-**|**Fixtures**
**and fittings**
**_£_**
**-**
**2,800**
**2,800**
**-**
**700**
**700-**
**2,800**
**2,100**|**Total**
**_£_**
**7,998**
**2,800**|
|---|---|---|---|
||||**(7,998)**|
||||**2,800**|
||||**7,998**
**700**|
||||**(7,998)**|
||||**700**|
||||**2,800**|
||||**2,100**|
## **9. DEBTORS AND PREPAYMENTS**
|**Trade debtors**
**Prepayments**
**Other debtors**|**2024**
**£**
**9,375**
**1,697**
**12**
**11,084**|**2023**
**£**
**8,969**
**1,702**
**4,488**|
|---|---|---|
|||**15,160**|
— 42 —
## **The Mill @ Coppermill**
**Company No. 7596426 | Registered Charity 1143365**
**Directors’ Report & Financial Statements Year Ended 31 March 2024**
|**.**||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
|**10. CREDITORS**||||||
|**Amounts falling due within one year:**|||**2024**||**2023**|
|||||**£**|**£**|
|**Trade creditors**|||**7,180**||**5,114**|
|**Accruals and deferred income**|||**1,750**||**1,808**|
|**Deposits**|||**845**||**342**|
|**Taxation and Social Security Costs**|||**599**||**679**|
|**Pension**|||**360**||**377**|
|**Other Creditors**|||**178**||**-**|
||||**10,911**||**8,320**|
|**11. COMMITMENTS UNDER OPERATING LEASES**||||||
|**At 31 March 2024, the Charity had annual commitments**|||**under non-cancellable**|**operating leases**|**as set**|
|**out below:**||||||
|**Commitments under operating leases**|||**2024**||**2023**|
|**Expiring after more than 5 years**|||**6,788**||**6,788**|
|**12. ANALYSIS OF MOVEMENT IN FUND**||||||
|**Total Funds**|**At**|**1 April**|**Incoming**|**Outgoing**|**At 31**|
|||**2023**|||**March**|
||||||**2024**|
|**Analysis of Movement in**||**£**|**£**|**£**|**£**|
|**Funds**||||||
|**Restricted Funds**||||||
|**General**||**45,259**|**40,258**|**(72,632)**|**12,885**|
|**Total Restricted Funds**||**45,259**|**40,258**|**(72,632)**|**12,885**|
|**Unrestricted**||||||
|**Designated Emergencies**||**5,000**|**-**|**-**|**5,000**|
|**Designated Dilapidations**||**3,500**|**-**|**-**|**3,500**|
|**Designated Capital fund**||**60,000**|**-**|**-**|**60,000**|
|**General**||**25,422**|**76,439**|**(82,617)**|**13,379**|
|**Total Unrestricted Funds**||**93,922**|**76,439**|**(82,617)**|**87,745**|
|**Total Funds**||**139,181**|**116,697**|**(155,249)**|**100,630**|
**END OF DOCUMENT**
— 43 —