2025-03-31-accounts - Creating Better Futures

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14 Trustees’ annual report (including Directors’ report) for the period

From: 01.04.2024 To: 31.03.2025

Charity name: Creating Better Futures Charity registration number: 1148929 Company number: 07856205

Objectives and activities

	SORP reference
Summary of the purposes of the charity as set out in its governing document	Para 1.17	To relieve poverty through the advancement of education and through the improvement of basic welfare for the public benefit of orphans and vulnerable children in Zimbabwe and their communities.
Summary of the main activities in relation to those purposes for the public benefit, in particular, the activities, projects or services identified in the accounts.	Para 1.17 and 1.19	Creating Better Futures provides access to education, including school fees, for orphans and vulnerable children in rural communities in Zimbabwe. Creating Better Futures has supported education through the provision of daily nutritional meals to around 5,000 children via three Primary School feeding programs, but due to financial challenges we closed this program in July 2024. Creating Better Futures initiates projects, on an ad-hoc basis, that help support education and benefit the children, schools and/or local community.
Statement confirming whether the trustees have had regard to the guidance issued by the Charity Commission on public benefit	Para 1.18	We confirm the trustees have had regard to the Charity Commission’s guidance on public benefit.

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Additional information (optional) You may choose to include further statements where relevant about:

	SORP reference
Policy on grant making	Para 1.38	Creating Better Futures primarily performs its charitable activities through its sister organisation, Creating Better Futures Zimbabwe. Grants totalling £28,590 were made and the delivery of these activities monitored. Creating Better Futures do not make any other grants.
Policy on social investment including program related investment	Para 1.38	Creating Better Futures have not made any social investments to date.
Contribution made by volunteers	Para 1.38	Creating Better Futures employed one part- time staff member until June 2024. One volunteer has contributed their time and skills to help maintain Creating Better Futures operations throughout the year.
Other		None

Achievements and performance

Summary of the main achievements of the charity, identifying the difference the charity’s work has made to the circumstances of its beneficiaries and any wider benefits to society as a whole.	Para 1.20	Creating Better Futures continued to provide school fees, supporting children at several primary and secondary schools in two main areas: Mutare; and Domboshawa. From January 2025 we have reduced this to focus solely on children individually sponsored. We also delivered the associated feeding program during the first term of the year, but due to financial challenges we closed this program in July 2024. Due to resource challenges, we did not host any fundraising events ourselves during the year, although several supporters raised funds on our behalf by running the Reading Half Marathon and through a local secondary school. Creating Better Futures received a general grant during the year from Reading Family Church. Through these grants we were able to maintain our operations. During the year we delivered a revised sanitary towel project by training six Africa

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based charities to resource and deliver their own sanitary towel projects, as due to several constraints we were unable to deliver this ourselves. During the year Creating Better Futures continued to be provided with free office space in Reading by Centric Community Projects, but this has principally been used for storage.

Additional information (optional) You may choose to include further statements where relevant about:

Achievements against objectives set	Para 1.41	Our finances weakened year on year, with our expenditure continuing to exceed our income, resulting in us needing to scale back our activities. We were able to ensure our sponsored children remained in school throughout the year by paying fees and to deliver a single term of the feeding program. We did, however, deliver a revised sanitary towel project, by upskilling and training six better resourced Africa based charities to deliver their own programs to provide girls with access to sanitary towels.
Performance of fundraising activities against objectives set	Para 1.41	The funds raised by Creating Better Futures during the year continued to reduce year on year. This was due to slight reductions in individual donations, as well as the lack of events and fundraising.
Investment performance against objectives	Para 1.41	Creating Better Futures do not have any investments.
Other		None

Financial review

Review of the charity’s financial position at the end of the period	Para 1.21	Creating Better Futures has had another challenging year, with our expenditure continuing to exceed our income. During the year, we focussed on reducing costs, this included staff redundancy and scaling back our charitable programs. We took the difficult decision to close our feeding program in July 2024 and reduce the fee payments made from January 2025 to focus on sponsored children only.

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		Despite limited donor communication and fundraising activity, we still have a committed base of regular donors, with our income only reducing sightly year on year. With minimal volunteer resource in the UK, we have limited opportunity to generate additional funds. The trustees continue to keep a close eye on our financial position to enable us to continue to support the sponsored children with school fees during the coming year.
Statement explaining the policy for holding reserves stating why they are held	Para 1.22	Creating Better Futures aims to retain reserves equal to a month’s expenditure, based on a rolling 12-month average. This should be sufficient to meet any unforeseen expenditure or to be able to continue, in the short term, funding planned activities in the event of unexpected drops in income. Reserves will be utilised at the Trustees discretion. It is necessary to hold sufficient working capital to enable the termly payment of school fees.
Amount of reserves held	Para 1.22	£9,294
Reasons for holding zero reserves	Para 1.22	Not applicable
Details of fund materially in deficit	Para 1.24	None noted.
Explanation of any uncertainties about the charity continuing as a going concern	Para 1.23	The trustees have considered Creating Better Futures ability to continue as a going concern. While we are experiencing increased operating costs, a challenging fundraising environment and reductions in our human resources, the trustees have reviewed all our activities and have worked to reduce costs during the year to ensure our continuing operation as a going concern.

Additional information (optional) You may choose to include further statements where relevant about:	Additional information (optional) You may choose to include further statements where relevant about:	Additional information (optional) You may choose to include further statements where relevant about:
The charity’s principal sources of funds (including any fundraising)	Para 1.47	Creating Better Futures has four principal funding types: individual donations, funding from organisations, individuals fundraising on our behalf and funds raised during our own events.
Investment policy and objectives including any social investment policy adopted	Para 1.46	Creating Better Futures does not have any investments.

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A description of the principal risks facing the charity	Para 1.46	Creating Better Futures is exposed to several risks and the trustees are focussed on mitigating these risks where possible. The principal risks facing Creating Better Futures are: - Challenges to fundraising activities, due to the economic cost of living challenges in the UK and reduced number of volunteer team resource; - Heavy reliance on key team members both in the UK and Zimbabwe; - Continued high costs both in the UK and Zimbabwe, due to general global inflation and unfavourable GBP/USD exchange rates; and - Continued political, economic, and infrastructural instability in Zimbabwe challenging our ability to deliver our charitable activities efficiently.
Other		The expenditure in the UK relating to supporting the charitable activities, running costs, fundraising activities, and governance.

Structure, governance and management

Description of charity’s trusts:
Type of governing document: for example,trust deed, memorandum and articles of association etc	Para 1.25	Memorandum and Articles
How is the charity constituted? for example limited company, unincorporated association, CIO	Para 1.25	Charitable Company Limited by Guarantee
Trustee selection methods including details of any constitutional provisions e.g. election to post or name of any person or body entitled to appoint one or more trustees	Para 1.25	Appointed by Board of Trustees

Additional information (optional) You may choose to include further statements where relevant about:

Policies and procedures adopted for the induction and training of trustees	Para 1.51	All new trustees are briefed by the other trustees on the key activities of Creating Better Futures and are also required to read the range of guidance produced by Charity Commission, including The Essential Trustee (CC3)

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The charity’s organisational structure and any wider network with which the charity works	Para 1.51	Creating Better Futures is governed by the Board of Trustees. The day-to-day management was performed by the Chief Executive Officer on a part-time basis, but during the year we needed to scale back our activities and reduce our costs. As a result, this role as made redundant in June 2024 and Creating Better Futures no longer employees any staff. One of the trustees oversees operations on an ad-hoc volunteer basis. Creating Better Futures is not part of a wider network.
Relationship with any related parties	Para 1.51	Creating Better Futures delivers its charitable activities in Zimbabwe through its sister organisation, Creating Better Futures Zimbabwe.
Other		None

Reference and administrative details

Charity name	Creating Better Futures
Other name the charity uses	CBF or CBF UK
Registered charitynumber	1148929
Charity’s principal address	First Floor Unit 4 Beacontree Plaza Gillette Way Reading Berkshire RG2 0BS

Names of the charity trustees who manage the charity

Trustee name	Office (if any)	Name of person (or body) entitled to appoint trustee (ifany)
Samantha Bramwell		CBF Board of Trustees
Michael John Dix	Treasurer	CBF Board of Trustees

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– Corporate trustees names of the directors at the date the report was approved.

Director name
None	None

Name of trustees holding title to property belonging to the charity

Trustee name	Dates acted if not for whole year
None	None

Funds held as custodian trustees on behalf of others

Description of the assets held in this capacity	N/A
Name and objects of the charity on whose behalf the assets are held and how this falls within the custodian charity’s objects	N/A
Details of arrangements for safe custody and segregation of such assets from the charity’s own assets	N/A

Additional information (optional)

Names and addresses of advisers (optional information)

Names and addresses of advisers (optional information)	Names and addresses of advisers (optional information)	Names and addresses of advisers (optional information)
Type of adviser Name Address
None	N/A	N/A

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

N/A – We no longer employee any staff.

Exemptions from disclosure

Reason for non-disclosure of key personnel details

N/A

Other optional information

None

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Declarations

The company has taken advantage of the small companies’ exemption in preparing the report above.

The trustees declare that they have approved the trustees’ report (including directors’ report) above.

Signed on behalf of the charity’s trustees/directors

----- Start of picture text -----
Signature(s)
Full name(s) Michael Dix Sam Bramwell
Position (for example
Treasurer & Trustee Trustee
Secretary, Chair, etc)
Date
31/01/2026
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Creating Better Futures	Creating Better Futures	Charity No	1148929	1148929
		Company No	07856205
Annual accounts for the period
Period start date	01.04.2024	To	Period end date	31.03.2025

Section A Statement of financial activities (including summary income and expenditure account)

Unrestricted funds Restricted income funds Endowment funds £ £ £ F01 F02 F03	Unrestricted funds Restricted income funds Endowment funds £ £ £ F01 F02 F03	Unrestricted funds Restricted income funds Endowment funds £ £ £ F01 F02 F03	Total funds Prior year funds £ £ F04 F05	Total funds Prior year funds £ £ F04 F05
14,410	16,040	-	30,450	30,144
975	-	-	975	1,150
-	-	-	-	-
-	-	-	-	-
-	-	-	-	1,663
2,400	-	-	2,400	10,000
17,785	16,040	-	33,825	42,957

256	-	-	256	1,654
17,582	27,410	-	44,992	69,784
	-	-	-	-
2,400	-	-	2,400	10,000
20,238	27,410	-	47,648	81,438

2,453 -	11,370 -	-	13,823 -	38,481 -
-	-	-	-	-
2,453 -	11,370 -	-	13,823 -	38,481 -
-	-	-	-	-
2,453 -	11,370 -	-	13,823 -	38,481 -
-	-	-	-
-	-	-	-	-

-	-	-	-	-
-	-	-	-	-
2,453 -	11,370 -	-	13,823 -	38,481 -

11,747	11,440	-	23,187	61,668
9,294	70	-	9,364	23,187

Independent examiner's report on the accounts

Section A Independent Examiner’s Report

Report to the trustees Charity Name Creating Better Futures On accounts for the year 31 March 2025 Charity no 1148929 ended (if any) Set out on pages In CC17a SOFA and Balance Sheet, and accompanying notes. (remember to include the page numbers of additional sheets)

I report to the trustees on my examination of the accounts of the above charity (“the Trust”) for the year ended 31 / 03 / 2025 .

Responsibilities and As the charity's trustees, you are responsible for the preparation of the basis of report accounts in accordance with the requirements of the Charities Act 2011 (“the Act”).

I report in respect of my examination of the Trust’s accounts carried out under section 145 of the 2011 Act and in carrying out my examination, I have followed all the applicable Directions given by the Charity Commission under section 145(5)(b) of the Act.

Independent I have completed my examination. I confirm that no material matters have examiner's statement come to my attention in connection with the examination which gives me cause to believe that in, any material respect:

the accounting records were not kept in accordance with section 130 of the Charities Act; or
the accounts did not accord with the accounting records; or
the accounts did not comply with the applicable requirements concerning the form and content of accounts set out in the Charities (Accounts and Reports) Regulations 2008 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.

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.

Date: 31/01/2026

Signed: Name: William B. Offei, FCA Relevant professional Chartered Member, Institute of Chartered Accounts in England & Wales. qualification(s) or body (if any):

Address: 79 Yardley, Bracknell, RG12 8QT, UK

Oct 2018

IER

Section B Disclosure

Only complete if the examiner needs to highlight material matters of concern (see CC32, Independent examination of charity accounts: directions and guidance for examiners).

Give here brief details of any items that the examiner wishes to disclose .

none

Oct 2018

IER