## **Building Malawi Trustee Report 2019/2020** ## **Vision and Mission** ## Vision To help create a Malawi where everyone has access to libraries, sports facilities and educational facilities ## Mission To contribute to access to libraries, educational and sports facilities by raising money to fund their construction, commissioning builders to build them and developing partnerships with Malawian organisations to run them. ## **Key Objectives** Provide capital and management to build school facilities, libraries and sports facilities in Malawi Empower local people and organisations to run these facilities as sustainable projects. Identify and establish ways that the projects can become financially self-sufficient. Organise and run projects in a professional and cost efficient manner ## **Ethos of BM** Small, focussed, flexible, Malawian run projects, experienced, past success, empowering, supportive, benevolent landlord, honest, professional, open & transparent, working as a team, meeting the needs of the community, small, dynamic, sustainable, successful, efficient, value for money, focus on infrastructure, all of the money donated goes to the cause and into tangible items such as libraries and schools with minimal UK running costs. What do we do Raise money through organising charity events, sponsored activities, commercial sponsorship and just giving. Identify projects in Malawi using a robust needs assessment. We employ Malawian builders and locally sourced materials to build infrastructure such as schools, libraries and sports facilities. Establish partnerships with Malawian organisations to run these facilities. The schools, libraries and sports facilities fund their own running costs - they don't depend on our support. This means that they are self sustainable. Raise awareness of BM through the website, social media sites, email marketing and word of mouth Provide information to people that want to visit our projects in Malawi Encourage interested people to visit our projects ## **Stakeholders** National Library Service Ascent Soccer Department of Education Department of Gender Police Lingadzi Academy Directors Churches Schools Teachers Malawi Lodge The Community Children and families Other NGOs Volunteers/ Visitors Beneficiaries UK Donors ## **Our fund raising strategy** Colchester Blues and Rock in the Garden mini festival (average £5,000 income) Multiple just giving pages set up by fundraisers In memoriam donations Application to funding bodies (grants) – Rotary, Lets Build ## **Professional and open financial management** Our treasurer presents accounts at our quarterly trustee meetings as well as submitting them to the Charity Commission annually. ## **Decision making** 5 trustees make decisions with the guidance of a larger committee where appropriate. There must be written confirmation from at least a trustee, the chair and the treasurer that states that they are agreed to an amount of money being released. This can be made in a meeting or in the case where decisions need to be made outside of a meeting, via email. ## **Management Team Roles and Responsibilities** Building Malawi is operated by a UK trustee group of 5 with a further group of meeting attendees that are invited to contribute to discussions about the charity and support with fundraising. All decisions are made by a vote of the 5 trustees Caroline Bowden - Chair - responsible for calling meetings and ensuring due process is followed Keith Fisher - Treasurer - responsible for finances Tom Bowden - Project Manager - responsible for the implementation of projects in Malawi including communication with Malawian partners Mike Dunn - responsible for inbound charity correspondence Rachel Balm - responsible for Marketing and outbound charity correspondence Wider committee Des Bowden Joy Magna Frequency of meetings Quarterly (or more frequently as appropriate) ## **Guidelines for any money that is spent** Full transparency Have a Memorandum of Understanding or contract for each donation with a set term (with review dates) Organisations we work with must demonstrate transparency of their accounts Organisations we work with must demonstrate aptitude That none of our criteria will exclude the illiterate or very poor with no accounting skills To use local builders and resources In each project we must demonstrate an exit strategy In each project we must demonstrate a need for our involvement (needs assessment) Establish a method of measuring the success or failure of the project ## **Guidelines for organisations wishing to partner with us or wishing to donate to us** We do not accept money for projects that are outside our aims and objectives A memorandum of understanding should be in place for all large donations which states the intentions for the money Should it be the case on a building project that has been funded by a single donor that money be used outside of a builder’s contract (for example the costs of a site visit) we shall demonstrate this to the donor. We must issue a thank you letter ## **How do we manage the Malawi end of the operation?** Tom Bowden is the Project Manager and is responsible for the delivery of projects in Malawi and he liaises regularly with our Malawian partners. ## **Partners in Malawi** The National Library Service of Malawi Ascent Soccer The Ministry of Education The Ministry of Sport The Ministry of Gender Directors of Lingadzi Academy ## **Progress 2019/20** A large piece of land on the outskirts of Lilongwe has been purchased by the charity over a period of some years. A library has been built and some good quality soccer pitches have been prepared as well as a hard netball court. The soccer pitches, shower block and classrooms are being utilised by a local charitable organisation, Ascent Soccer for elite sports boys and girls. There are also informal soccer pitches/play areas which are heavily utilised by the local community. In this year a large community hall has been built which has already had a considerable amount of use by the local population. In preparation for further development on the site, a perimeter wall has been completed. A tree project was started up with a large number of trees being purchased, the nursery being carefully managed as a priority. Signed: Caroline Bowden Chair Building Malawi Date: 8 October 2021 To the trustees of Building Malawi As a governor to Alresford Primary School with an experience of record keeping, I have undertaken an independent examination of the following: - I have reviewed the minutes of meetings of charity trustees. - I have compared the accounts with the underlying accounting records. - I have checked a sample of entries in the accounting records to source documentation (e.g. payments checked to invoices or bills that the charity has received) - I have made sure bank reconciliations and petty cash reconciliations have been undertaken including at the year-end and assessed the financial information relating to the year in question. I am satisfied that proper accounting records were kept. I am satisfied that the accounts accord with the accounting records. I have found no matters that I need to highlight in my independent examiners report. Kind Regards, ## David Roscoe David Roscoe (Oct 1, 2021 09:59 GMT+1) ## **David Roscoe** Dallmara Tenpenny Hill Thorrington Colchester Essex CO7 8JG 30[th] September 2021 ## Building Malawi accounts for year ended 31 December 2020 ## **INCOME** |**INCOME**
Just Giving
Ardent
Word wide action
St Edwards Sch
Footprint Digital
Rotary
G Research
Helensburgh
Orwell Offshore
Mike Dunn
Trenchant Ltd
V Hallif DD
CAF
Giving.com SAF
Cash paid in
**Total Income**
**A**
Monies in Bank at 31/12/2020
Cash in Hand
Opening Balance 1/1/2019
Income - Expenditure
Closing balance
**Total Reserves**|£
£
£
£
£
£
£
£
£
£
£
£
£|2020
3,773

1,550

8,000

10,130

13,776

2,239

2,500

1,500

400

120

251

612

80

44,931

**C**
**D**
**A -B**
**=**
**C + D**|£
£
£
£
£
£
£|2019
7,214

5,700

4,200

1,115

120

501

50

18,900

11,527

-

5,164

6,363

11,527

11,527|**EXPENDITURE**
Just Giving fees
Lingadzi Project
Perimeter wall
Hall4 All
Roof and rendering
Corner wall
Tree project
Thatch removal
Roof repairs
Legal fees
Earthbag classroom
Shower block
Netball court
Grading pitch 2
Maguire
**Total Expenditure B**
Honorary Treasurer - Mr K R Fisher
Chair - C Bowden
Date:|£
£
£
£
£
£
£
£
£|2020
216

13,576

10,908

6,384

2,103

2,131

150

100

3,000

38,568
|£
£
£
£
£
£
£|2019
216

275

20,050

570

103

900

550
| |---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---| |||||||£||£|22,664
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£
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