2023-03-31-accounts - The Loss Foundation

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Trustees' Annual Report					for theperiod
From	Period start date			To	Period end date
	01	April	2022		31	March	2023

Section A Reference and administration details

Charity name The Loss Foundation Other names charity is known by Registered charity number (if any) 1147362 Charity's principal address 6 Welbeck Villas Highfield Road London Postcode N21 3HN

Names of the charity trustees who manage the charity

Trustee name	Dates acted if not for whole year	Name of person (or body) entitled to appoint trustee (if any)
Vanessa Babouram - Chair		Deepa Patel and Erin Thompson
Dr Kirsten Smith		Erin Thompson
Shereen Sally		Deepa Patel
Francine Bear	Finished service May 2022	Deepa Patel
Ruth Barnett	Finished service May 2022	Deepa Patel
Rebecca Mahallati		Deepa Patel
Peter Osborn		Deepa Patel
Sarah Barrick		Deepa Patel
Edward Levey		Deepa Patel
Kate Rowlandson	Appointed December 2022	Shereen Sally and Erin Thompson
Colin Ware	Appointed September 2022	Erin Thompson and Peter Osborn

Names of the trustees for the charity, if any, (for example, any custodian trustees)

	Name	Dates acted if not for whole year
	n/a

Name of chief executive or names of senior staff members (Optional information)

Dr Erin Hope Thompson acts as Director of the charity.

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Section B Structure, governance and management

Description of the charity’s trusts

Type of governing document

Constitution

(e.g. trust deed, constitution)

How the charity is constituted

Charity

(e.g. trust, association, company)

Trustee selection methods

(e.g. appointed by, elected by)

New Trustees are appointed by interview with a selection of The Board of Trustees.

Additional governance issues (Optional information)

You may choose to include additional information, where relevant, about:

policies and procedures adopted for the induction and training of trustees;
the charity’s organisational structure and any wider network with which the charity works;
relationship with any related parties;
trustees’ consideration of major risks and the system and procedures to manage them.

Trustees are elected for an initial term of three years and may offer themselves for a further period of three years. The Trustees are a voluntary management committee and have ultimate responsibility for the charity. The Trustees meet 4-6 times a year to plan, control and monitor the overall policy and direction of the charity.

The Trustees understand that they have a duty to identify and review the risks to which the charity is exposed and to ensure appropriate controls are in place to provide reasonable assurance against fraud and error. The Trustees recognise that in the dynamic environment in which the charity operates the risks encountered are continually changing.

No business shall be transacted at any general meeting unless a quorum is present of 4 members. General meetings are chaired by the person who has been elected as Chair (unless the Chair is unavailable and Trustees appoint another attendee).

The charity can elect officers and other Trustees in general meetings. New Trustees are invited on to the Board when; a) an area of need has been recognised and discussed on the Board, b) avenues are explored to secure a new Trustee fitting for that role, c) a meeting is arranged between the potential new Trustee with the Chair and/or Director, d) if all requirements are met, the Board agree to the new membership.

We have paid members of part-time staff who are responsible for the dayto-day running of the organisation, volunteer management, seeking funding, and reporting progress and developments to the Board of Trustees.

The next level of organisation lies within the charity’s volunteers who run the bereavement services. The volunteers are made up of a range of professionals. All volunteers receive bereavement support training and access supervision for their work.

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Section C Objectives and activities

Purpose: To provide UK-wide bereavement support for anyone who loses a loved one to cancer.

The aims and objectives of the charity are to provide support to people experiencing bereavement or loss as a result of cancer in the UK through:

Summary of the objects of the charity set out in its governing document

the provision of peer support groups and other grief support events;
providing spaces for people to connect with others with a similar loss;
offering information and education about the experience of bereavement and associated difficulties;
signposting to other forms of support.

REVIEW OF SERVICES – Local to National Support Growing from local to national provision has been a development in the pipeline for the Charity in recent years.

The majority of our support services continued to be held online during this period in time, alongside some In Memory walks that we hosted inperson. We continued to be a charity focused on providing bereavement support to those who have experienced the death of a loved one to cancer, however, we continued to provide a small provision of support groups to those bereaved by coronavirus. We provided these in line with Summary of the main demand. activities undertaken for the public benefit in relation to To meet the main aims and objectives of the charity whilst continuing to these objects (include within work towards a growing model of national support, we have carried out this section the statutory the following activities: declaration that trustees have had regard to the guidance Support Groups issued by the Charity Over the course of the year we have provided peer bereavement support Commission on public groups free of charge to individuals who are bereaved by cancer or benefit) coronavirus. We ran a total of 88 peer support groups over the course of the year. This included continuing to run specific themed support groups, e.g. parent loss to cancer, partner loss to cancer, as well as one-off support groups and support group bubbles (meeting with the same collection of people on a monthly basis). Social Events We continued to provide social events for people to access informal peer support outside of a facilitated event with online get togethers. We ran 7 online social get togethers over the course of the year, providing opportunities for people to come together for peer support both online and in-person. We also hosted an online social get together on Christmas

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Day, which is a particularly difficult time of year for people who are grieving.

Therapeutic Workshops

We continued to run our online therapeutic workshops, led by our Clinical Psychologists and aimed at helping people to cope with grief related difficulties. We ran 12 online workshops. The workshop design came from our evidence based therapeutic groups, and we are continuing to evaluate the benefits of the workshops. These have been a highly beneficial service, offering a lot of support and psychoeducation in a short windows of time, and bringing people together.

Connect Service

We have continued to provide our buddy service, Connect. The goal of Connect is to pair up individuals with similar losses for supportive conversations, meaningful connections, and perhaps the start of a friendship.

Walk and Talks

We launched a new service this year, Walk and Talks, which are informal walks hosted for people who want to connect to others in loss. The aim is to create communities across the UK bringing people together in loss and creating friendships and connections, alongside the therapeutic benefits of nature.

Training

We continued to provide training across the year, to both organisations and individuals. This largely included training mental health professionals and providing continued professional development. This is an area of development for the charity that we plan to extend over the coming year. Our aim is to provide more training to share our knowledge of bereavement experiences and evidence-based support for it, whilst creating a stable avenue of income for the charity.

Information

In addition to our in-person support, many people have continued to benefit from information, articles and videos on our website that focus on the experience of bereavement. Our plan is to launch a new website in the coming year.

Social Media

We extended our support more widely on our social media channels, offering articles, quotes, advice, event info and pictures. Our main social media avenues are Facebook, Twitter and Instagram. We hired a parttime Social Media Officer at the end of the current period to expand our social media presence with the aim of helping more people hear about our services. This is an area we will evaluate in the coming year.

Signposting

We have been able to signpost people to other services and make referrals to other professionals when necessary for their benefit and mental health. We have noticed that as our organisation continues to grow, we receive increasing numbers of emails and calls regarding

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support. As a peer-support service that is not available 24-hour support, we regularly signpost to other support services, such as Samaritans.

Campaigning

Following on from previous years, we have continued to advertise our IWontGoQuiet, campaign, encouraging people to say something rather than nothing when someone is bereaved. We have not been able to host a campaigning event during the past year, but aim to do so in the coming year.

Research

Over the course of the year we continued to collect information from people taking part in our support events (with permission and all made anonymous). This allows us to learn more about peoples’ authentic experiences of grief and associated difficulties, as well as the benefits of the support we provide. Feedback from users also allows to gauge which elements of our support are being well received and which elements need tweaking, and we use this type of feedback to inform our volunteer training. We are committed to continuously improving our support and resources.

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Additional details of objectives and activities (Optional information)

POLICIES

We have a Charity Policy Handbook that houses all of our policies and is regularly updated.

All volunteers receive the Policy Handbook as well as a Volunteer’s Handbook, outlining their role and responsibilities.

STRATEGY

We have been working towards our 3-year strategy, created last year, with the aim of accomplishing our target goals, including;

UK wide access to cancer bereavement support;
Providing connection geographically for those with similar losses;

You may choose to include further statements, where relevant, about:

policy on grant making;
policy programme related investment;
contribution made by volunteers.
Continuously develop research and therapeutic interventions;
Become a go-to organisation for grief support training;
Create national recognition of TLF brand;
Establish diverse and sustainable fundraising/income portfolio.

VOLUNTEERS

We are extremely grateful to our dedicated team of volunteers, which has increased in size over the past year. Over the course of the year they have donated a huge amount of time collectively and helped support hundreds of people during their bereavement.

In this time period we have taken on a new cohort of volunteers specifically targeted at our new support service, Walk and Talks. We recruited 11 volunteers and trained them specifically for this role. We will aim to evaluate the service and recruit further volunteers if the project is successful.

We will aim to steadily increase numbers of volunteers each year, and to continuously provide training and continued professional development.

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Section D Achievements and performance

Summary of the main achievements of the charity during the year

SUPPORT EVENTS

Over the course of the year we provided 132 support events, the majority of which were hosted remotely. This includes our peer support groups, workshops, therapy groups, online social events and in-person walks. We also continued to develop our Connect service further, allowing us to provide more 1-2-1 support for our beneficiaries.

BOARD DEVELOPMENT AND RESTRUCTURE

We have continued to benefit from a Board with varied expertise to help guide our discussions around supporting people and growing nationally.

We had two Board members step down from their roles after a full six years of service, and we had two new Trustees join the Board with expertise around data management and volunteer management.

PAID STAFF DEVELOPMENT

We have continued with our part time staff roles of Director, Charity Administrator and Fundraiser, and took on a part-time Social Media Officer during this period too. We aim to continue raising money to be able to expand our team.

VOLUNTEERS

We are extremely grateful to our dedicated team of volunteers. Over the course of the year they have donated a huge amount of time collectively and helped support hundreds of people during their bereavement.

RESEARCH AND EVALUATION

Carrying out research and evaluation has enabled us to better measure the need for support, the benefit of our support and to collect tangible outcomes for our work. We continue to evaluate our support so that we can be sure we are providing gold standard support at all times.

FUNDRAISING

In addition to the support services we have provided to individuals who have lost a loved one to cancer, we have undertaken activities to generate funds for the charity. This has mainly been through the seeking of grants to cover our maintenance and development costs, as well as donations raised through sporting and sponsored events.

We did not host a large fundraiser during this time but aim to do so in the coming year.

We largely applied for grants over the year to help fund our increased support.

Our income reduced in the current year compared to the previous financial year, largely due to two larger grants in the previous year. We continue to explore how we can invest into benefitting from more avenues of income.

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Section E Financial review

Brief statement of the charity’s policy on reserves

The Trustees have agreed that the charity is currently not of sufficient size to justify a formal reserves policy, however, this will be reviewed on an annual basis. We work to always having three months average monthly spend available at all times.

Details of any funds materially in deficit

n/a

Further financial review details (Optional information)

You may choose to include additional information, where relevant about:

the charity’s principal sources of funds (including any fundraising);
how expenditure has supported the key objectives of the charity;

We secured a small amount of income from small grants, individual donations and fundraising. We expect that these avenues will continue into next year.

Our expenditure has been allocated to key objectives of the charity.

Our main expenditure over the past year has been related to the core costs of running and developing our support services and charity. The costs of running our support services are low but remain a priority.

investment policy and objectives including any ethical investment policy adopted.

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Section F Other optional information

Future plans

Our main plans for the year 2023/24 are as follows:

To continue developing our national reaching service, focusing on in-person support specifically with our Walk and Talk events.
To increase awareness for our charity’s brand and services, and linking with services and organisations across the UK.
Continue with research and evaluation.
To secure a Patron/s to help raise awareness of our charity.
Expand our pool of volunteers.
Expand our corporate training support programme.
Launch a new website.
Carry out activities in line with our three-year strategy.
To continue providing covid loss support where there is demand.

Section G Declaration

The trustees declare that they have approved the trustees’ report above. Signed on behalf of the charity’s trustees

Signature(s) Erin Thompson

Full name(s) Erin Thompson Position (e.g. Secretary, Chair, Director etc) Date 24/01/2024

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THE LOSS FOUNDATION 1147362

Receipts and payments accounts For the period 01-Apr-22 3/31/2023 To from

CC16a 3/31/2023 To

Section A Receipts and payments

A1 Receipts	Unrestricted funds to the nearest £	Restricted funds to the nearest £	Endowmen t funds to the nearest £	Total funds to the nearest £	Last year
					to the nearest £

Donations, legacies, grants	37,609	12,745	-	50,354	74,042
Fundraising and fundraising events	-	-	-	-	5,418
Fees for charitable services	7,947	-	-	7,947	-
Gift Aid	1,444	-	-	1,444	1,594
Interest on deposit accounts	-	-	-	-	-
Training	7,868	-	-	7,868	4,152
Other	51	-	-	51	363
	-	-	-	-	-
*Sub total*(Gross income for AR)	54,919	12,745	-	67,664	85,569

A2 Asset and investment sales, (see table).
	-
	-				-
*Sub total*	-				-
*Total receipts* A3 Payments
					85,569
					Lastyear
Fundraising costs	5,063.57	-	-	5,064	3,051
Wages / salaries / NI / pension	55,802.47	5,000.00	-	60,802	68,087
Consultancy / professional fees	-	-	-	-	-
Bank interest / charges / Insurance	533.10	-	-	533	429
Office rent	623.00	-	-	623	34
Training / Conferences	-	-	-	-	522
Telephone	431.89	-	-	432	603
Research	140.00	-	-	140	-
Internet/website/email	270.70	-	-	271	449
Printing/postage/stationary/tech tools	896.12	-	-	896	3,815
Membership	261.80	-	-	262	648
Equipment	108.90	-	-	109	1,197
Cost of charitable activities	14,900.92	7,595.00	-	22,496	8,289
Volunteer expenses	105.56	150.00	-	256	377
Advertising	2,192.37	-	-	2,192	2,852
Merchandise	-	-	-	-	73
Board / governance	1,149.87	-	-	1,150	1,821
Team expenses / wellbeing	130.31	-		130	197
Other	-	-		-	155
**Sub total **	82,611	12,745	-	95,356	92,598

A4 Asset and investment purchases, (see table)

	-	-	-	-
	-	-	-	-
**Sub total **	-	-	-	-	-
*Total payments* *Net of receipts/(payments)* A5 Transfers between funds A6 Cash funds last year end *Cash funds this year end*
					92,598

	- 27,691				- 7,029
	-				-
	92,006				99,035
	64,314				92,006

Section B Statement of assets and liabilities at the end of the period

Categories Signed by one or two trustees on behalf of all the trustees B5 Liabilities B4 Assets retained for the charity’s own use B3 Investment assets B2 Other monetary assets B1 Cash funds	Signature Shereen Sally Details Details Details Details *Total cash funds* (agree balances with receipts and payments account(s)) Details	Unrestricte d funds to nearest £ - - - 64,314 OK Unrestricte d funds to nearest £ - - - - - - Fund to which asset belongs Fund to which asset belongs Fund to which liability relates Print
	Shereen Sally	Shereen Sally

Independent examiner’s report to the trustees of ‘The Loss Foundation’

I report on the accounts of the Charity for the year ended 31 March 2023.

Respective responsibilities of trustees and examiner

The charity’s trustees are responsible for the preparation of the accounts. The charity’s trustees consider that an audit is not required for this year under section 144(2) of the Charities Act 2011 (the 2011 Act) and that an independent examination is needed.

It is my responsibility to:

examine the accounts under section 145 of the 2011 Act;
to follow the procedures laid down in the general Directions given by the commission under section 145(5)(b) of the 2011 Act;
to state whether particular matters have come to my attention.

Basis of independent examiner’s report

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

Independent examiner’s statement

In connection with my examination, no matter has come to my attention:

(1) which gives me reasonable cause to believe that in any material respect the requirements:
a) to keep accounting records in accordance with section 130 of the 2011 Act and
b) to prepare accounts which accord with the accounting records and comply with the accounting requirements of the 2011 Act have not been met or
(2) to which, in my opinion, attention should be drawn in order to enable a proper understanding of the accounts to be reached.

Name: Mr Ribhu Agrawal

Relevant professional qualification or body: FCCA (Association of Chartered Certified Accountants) Address: Flat 20 Best House, Matthews Close, Wembley, HA9 8FE

Date: 31/01/2024