2023-10-31-accounts

UNAUDITED

REPORT OF THE TRUSTEES AND FINANCIAL STATEMENTS FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31ST OCTOBER 2023

Charity No. 1150204 Company No. 08263265

Contents

Report of the trustees

Administrative details	2
Governance	3
Vision	3
Objectives and activities	3
Performance and financial overview	6
Achievements	7

Financial statements
Independent Examiner’s report on the Financial Statements	13
Statement of Financial Activities	14
Balance Sheet	15
Notes to the Financial Statements	16

Funding for All Annual Report 2023 Registered Company No. 8263265 Registered Charity No. 1150204

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Report of the trustees

The trustees, who are also directors of the charity for the purposes of the Companies Act 2006, present their report with the financial statements of the charity, Funding for All, for the year ended 31st October 2023. The trustees confirm that the annual report and financial statements comply with the current statutory requirements, the requirements of the company’s governing document and in accordance with the Financial Reporting Standard applicable in the UK and Republic of Ireland (FRS 102 SORP).

Administrative details

Registered Charity Number:	1150204
Registered Company Number:	8263265
Registered Office:	Maidstone Community Support Centre
	39-48 Marsham Street, Maidstone
	Kent ME14 1HH
Trustees and directors:	Sarah Avery	resigned 16thFebruary 2023
	Mark Skudder	resigned 16thFebruary 2023
	Bethan Tomlinson
	Foteini-Eleni Oikonomopoulou
	Alan Luke	resigned 16thFebruary 2023
	John Gordon	appointed 10thNovember 2022
	Nigel Turley	appointed 22ndNovember 2023
Staff:	Kerry Donati (Charity Manager)
	Katherine Jary (Operations Manager and Charity Secretary)
	Charlotte Coombes (Events and Marketing Co-ordinator)
Independent Examiner:	Hedley Dunk Limited
	Trinity House
	3 Bullace Lane
	Dartford
	Kent
	DA1 1BB
Website:	www.fundingforall.org.uk
Facebook:	@fundingforall.org.uk
X/Twitter:	@FundingforAll
Instagram:	@fundingforallkent
LinkedIn:	Funding for All

Governance

The charity is a company limited by guarantee with no share capital (registration no. 8263265) and a registered charity (registration no. 1150204). In the event of the charity being wound up, the liability in respect of the guarantee is limited to £1 per member of the charity. The charity’s Memorandum and Articles of Association is the primary governing document of the charity.

Funding for All was registered with the Charity Commission on 17[th] December 2012. The Memorandum and Articles of Association was incorporated on 22[nd] October 2012 as amended by special resolution registered at Companies House on 13[th] December 2012.

The Funding for All Board of Trustees meets quarterly and holds an AGM in late spring each year.

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The Operations Manager and the Charity Manager, in tandem with the Board of Trustees, continue to review the charity’s policies and procedures annually and develop new policies as necessary.

The charity’s Board recognises the need to periodically consider any gaps in knowledge, skills, and experience within the Board and to bring innovative ideas to the organisation. Following ongoing trustee recruitment, new trustees, with suitable and selected skills, have been successfully recruited to Board.

All new trustees receive a full induction to the organisation, are provided with ‘The Essential Trustee’ Charity Commission guidance and they complete an NCVO online e-learning course on: ‘Roles and duties of trustees’.

The directors consider the board of directors, who are the charity’s trustees, and the Charity Manager as the key management personnel of the charity in charge of directing and controlling, running, and operating the charity on a dayto-day basis. All trustees give their time freely and no trustee received remuneration in the year. Staff pay is reviewed annually by the trustees and is benchmarked against pay levels in other local charities of a similar size.

Vision

Funding for All is a registered charity and company limited by guarantee that was established in October 2012 to respond to a recognised charitable need in Kent following the closure of the extremely successful ‘Funding Buddies’ project.

The vision of Funding for All is to inspire and empower community organisations in Kent and Medway to build their fundraising capacity to ensure sustainable projects.

Objectives and activities

Charitable objectives

The purposes of the charity as set out in its governing document are:

To promote the voluntary sector for public benefit by providing services designed to increase the amount of effective resources available to voluntary sector organisations principally but not exclusively in the local government area of Kent, Medway, and its environs.

Public benefit

The charity’s trustees have complied with their duties under the Charities Act 2011 to have due regard to public benefit guidance published by the Charity Commission. Funding for All’s public benefit activities are outlined in the sections below, illustrating the commitment of the charity to strengthening the community organisations of Kent and Medway.

Chair’s introduction

During the year being reported, Funding For All has been at the heart of fundraising and funding support in Kent and Medway. We have been supported by The National Lottery Reaching Communities Fund, in the second of their threeyear delivery period, and by the KCC Infrastructure Fund. During this time the key theme that has come up for us, time and time again, is income "diversification".

We have clearly seen our beneficiaries’ need for new approaches to income generation, and to develop their skills with fundraising. We know that many funders are seeking to support under-represented groups, and we have seen some fantastic support for vital, small, grassroots activities across our 3,500 sq. km area of influence. There are a great many groups on a fundraising journey in what is widely acknowledged to be a very competitive landscape.

We have adapted the way we deliver our work to be ‘fit for the times’ too. By way of an example, in response to the request for more 1-2-1 support, we started to offer our ‘Funding Surgeries’ in person across the region. We were overwhelmed by the response, especially in rural locations where we have seen people travel for 15 miles or more for an in-person conversation. We have been able to meet people where they are, to discuss where they want to be next.

We are extremely proud of our organisation's ability to establish a culture in which groups and individuals have felt comfortable to test our new ways of working, nourishing their onward beneficiaries as a result.

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Meeting the funding needs of the voluntary sector in our region

Funding For All offers free, expert fundraising support to ensure small to medium Voluntary, Community and Social Enterprises (VCSEs) secure a sustainable future with our free fundraising advice, tools, and resources.

Delivery context

Funding for All covers the geographic county of Kent, which includes the Kent County Council (KCC) area and all its twelve districts, and the borough, city, and parish councils within, and the Medway unitary council area. These administrative areas include an extensive rural population, significant areas with high indices of deprivation, as well as a large number of coastal communities.

Kent’s rural areas make up 85% of the county; rural communities continue to experience social isolation, transport issues and rising challenges from the cost-of-living crisis (Framing Kent’s Future, KCC, 2022).

Kent’s Coastal Areas face challenges of isolation and intensive deprivation. Kent is a county with over 350 miles of coastline (Framing Kent’s Future, KCC, 2022).

According to KCC’s most recent analysis, there are currently 3,051 sector organisations in the administrative area of Kent (Headline analysis of the voluntary and community sector in Kent, KCC, Dec 2023). This statistic follows the ‘general charities’ definition provided by the Charity Commission, and only includes organisations based in the area, not regional or national organisations that are based elsewhere but which operate in the area. This statistic shows an additional 206 organisations when compared to the figure provided in the equivalent report in September 2021.

However, in 2020, Medway Council reported that there were 930 Voluntary, Community and Social Enterprises (VCSEs) known to them (The Voluntary Sector Task Group, 2020).

From the statistics provided for Kent, 1,172 organisations are of ‘micro’ size, 1,183 are ‘small’, and 335 are of ‘medium’ size (Dec 2023). Similar figures are not currently available for Medway.

Funding for All prioritises its support to micro and small organisations and, as a result, continues to offer targeted support to these organisations in this region. We offer a range of help to the people in these organisations tasked with seeking funds. We do this through fundraising training, fundraising advice and 1-2-1 mentoring.

Challenges in the funding landscape

These groups, according to KCC’s report (Dec 2023), have seen the greatest loss of income over time. The report states that ‘when adjusted for inflation, micro, small and medium organisations saw a combined cash decrease of £5.4 million, while large and major organisations saw a combined increase of £39.1 million. This statistic is based on organisations that have submitted financial reports for five years. It clearly highlights that smaller VCSEs in the region have faced real funding challenges in the period. It estimates their decrease in income to be 31.8%, compared with an overall decrease in income of 8.9% for the voluntary sector since 2016/17 (KCC, Dec 2023).

The decline in income for these groups reflects a difficult period in funding for VCSEs nationally. The voluntary sector continues to find it hard to secure the financial sustainability necessary to enable it to meet the many diverse needs it addresses. According to The National Council for Voluntary Organisations (NCVO), the decrease results from a drop in individual giving, which continues to account for 51% of the sector’s income, a decrease in legacy income, and continued reductions in public sector income compared to a decade ago (The Road Ahead 2023, NCVO, July 2023). There are a large number of micro and small VCSEs in the region and an additional 206 new groups seen since 2021. Some of these groups have already engaged with us; our ability to upskill volunteers and employees remains in high demand.

The decline in income in the sector coincides with a national cost-of-living crisis and a period of high inflation. As a result, as funded income has reduced, the costs to the voluntary sector have increased. According to NCVO, the cost-of-living crisis impacts specifically through increased staff costs, increased energy costs, increased cost of materials and consumables, and increased fuel costs (The Road Ahead 2023, NCVO, July 2023).

In addition to these challenges, our region also faces the specific challenge of an increase in the demand for services provided by the voluntary sector. This has been driven by an increase in poverty and deprivation, increased demand on mental health services, and by an increase in population. According to the Kent Analytics Statistical Bulletin (KCC, Dec 2023), Kent’s population has grown by 0.93% in the last year, making growth statistically high for the Southeast. Kent’s

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population is now estimated to be 1,593,000, the largest of any UK county. Kent County Council continues to be the largest non-metropolitan local authority area in England.

Both Kent and Medway have a great diversity of communities, the needs of which are often very specific, with local challenges requiring local solutions. The wide array of voluntary organisations, amenity societies and community groups reflect this diversity. Kent has an ageing population, and relatively high living costs combined with lower earnings, both of which exacerbate the cost-of-living crisis currently faced in the UK.

Funding For All response to sector needs

This year, Funding for All has directed its efforts to increase access to our services, and we can evidence success with this, however, we remain proactive and vigilant in order to increase that accessibility further.

Funding for All remains passionately committed to supporting the voluntary sector in the region. We do this by training and mentoring VCSEs in all aspects of funding and fundraising, and by helping groups to access a more diverse range of funding sources so that they can continue to serve their communities with greater resilience.

Diversification of funding sources remains a fundamental component of a successful response by organisations to the current funding climate, and yet it requires a wider range of skills and knowledge than is typically found within the staff and volunteer teams of micro to medium organisations.

Diversification can enable groups to meet unexpected costs and to bridge the gap between the funding they receive and the funding they need, without impacting the continuity of their service. Research published by the Pro Bono and Nottingham Business School indicates that, nationally, 55% of UK charities are encountering a gap between funding and costs, and in response they are relying on their reserves to fund the service that they provide (Breaching the Dam, Dec 2022).

Occasionally, funders and local authorities see VCSE’s reserves as income that is dormant and therefore a source of funding (Headline analysis of the voluntary and community sector in Kent, KCC, Dec 2023), however, because VCSEs have no reliable continuous source of funding, reserves that are understood and clearly outlined in a reserves policy, enable VCSEs to bridge funding gaps; Funding for All has offered specific training on this subject this year.

The KCC Civil Society Strategy for Kent, 2021-2024 emphasises the ‘importance of organisations being able to access funding through a diverse range of sources’ but acknowledges that in the sector ‘diversifying income requires the time, capacity and skills of people’ and that access to the right expertise to support this is invaluable. Funding for All is uniquely placed to provide that expertise because of the wide range of funding specialisms represented in our expert team of mentors. This allows us to offer directed mentoring in different fundraising skills to the groups that we support.

Impact for mentees

We asked the groups that we mentored during this accounting period how they perceive the need for Funding for All in this current climate. Their responses clearly show that we enhance the sustainability of the VCSE groups we support:

• I think there is a great need, the early intervention from a funding mentor can prevent mistakes and a lot of time being wasted. The mentoring was instrumental in pushing the charity forwards, it has improved our confidence and ability to be more targeted in our approach to fundraising ( Dover Smart Project )

• There are thousands of small charities in Kent and Medway that would benefit from this kind of support. Having access to a free resource is invaluable and, I imagine for those just starting out, would have a huge impact on their sustainability and success. ( The Family Trust )

• Having a free service to upskill small voluntary organisations is invaluable. So often training is expensive and time consuming, and so out of reach of organisations such as ours but having a bespoke mentoring service has allowed us (and I'm sure many groups like us) to increase our income and so improve/make more sustainable the services we provide to our vulnerable clients. ( The Princess Project )

• It was invaluable to talk to someone who was knowledgeable in fundraising, and it provided the opportunity to strengthen areas of knowledge where I lacked confidence. Although not completely resolving all the questions that I had, the mentoring session did provide a really good foundation to work from. ( Medway Food Bank )

• Funding for All enables Kent and Medway organisations to thrive in fundraising and understand the fundraising climate and culture within the county. ( Dads Unlimited )

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• It's more and more vital that VCSE groups can get support and guidance with funding. In the past two years, I have seen a noticeable increase (from 25% to 75%) of service users identifying as a family on universal credit. Because of the cost-of-living crisis they tell me they are unable to contribute very much if anything financial to the community mental health support they need. FFA is helping the support for the public to be more wide reaching by helping more organisations receive the grant funding they need to survive and serve. ( My Birth Support )

• There is a great need for this kind of support, as getting funding feels hard for small groups until you have the knowledge and skills for it. ( Napier Friends)

• We need FFA's support more than ever. With a growing need for our services, and increasing competition for funds, the guidance and support given by FFA is essential. The time and energy given to fundraising, to keep operations running, can be exhausting. Having FFA to turn to, for advice and direction, is invaluable. ( Broadstairs Town Shed )

• It's vital! Small charities simply do not have the funds to pay professional funder writers yet sourcing funding is an integral part of their survival. To be able to access information, mentoring and support and it be free is a huge benefit. ( Kidenza )

Performance overview

This year, the trustees are delighted to report a further successful year delivering the ‘That’s the way we do it’ project funded by The National Lottery Reaching Communities Fund (TNLRC) (April 2021). We would like to express our gratitude to TNLRC who have encouraged, supported, and worked with us throughout the funded period. We are delighted that TNLRC has agreed to extend elements of delivery until August 2024.

TNLRC funding has enabled us to continue to provide tailored support in funding and fundraising for individual VCSE groups through our funding mentoring programme. It has also enabled us to develop and deliver a broader range of webinars and to deliver training on a wide range of fundraising skills. In addition, the funding has enabled us to deliver 1- 2-1 funding advice days, a face-to-face training event.

In May 2023, Funding for All was also successful in securing two years of funding from the KCC Infrastructure Support Fund. This funding will enable us to continue providing mentoring and webinars beyond the period funded by TNLRC. We will deliver Funding Conferences in each of the 12 administrative districts within Kent, apart from two where provision was already in place, and Funding Surgeries in each district in each of the two years. We are very grateful to KCC for this support, it will enable us to increase the reach of our work, taking it right to where the people of Kent need it.

We measure the impact of our support using self-reported confidence ratings. This measure endeavours to capture increases in the beneficiary’s confidence when fundraising and sourcing funding for the group(s) they support. As an approach, it focuses on measuring the impact on the individual, which will, in turn, impact the sustainability of the group. This year, we have supported both the employees and the volunteers who support groups by fundraising. For another consecutive year, 100% of the mentees and attendees at webinar training who have fed back to us have reported an increase in their confidence as a result of engagement with our support.

Financial review

The financial results for Funding for All for the financial year were therefore pleasing, with income of £192,930 in the year (2022: £141,319) and closing funds of £203,272 at 31st October 2023 (2022: £151,622). The closing funds include £65,091 of unrestricted funds (2022: £43,746), equivalent to six months’ current staff and core overhead costs in accordance with the charity’s reserves policy. As a result and having secured funding encompassing all the charity’s costs until March 2025, the trustees are confident that the charity remains a going concern. Funding for the period thereafter will be sought by the trustees in due course and unrestricted reserves will be retained at current levels until then.

The trustees regularly review the charity’s finances and consider the risks relevant to the charity’s operation, implementing policies and procedures to minimise risk and manage impact should those risks materialise.

In the financial year the charity did not actively fundraise from the public or undertake similar fundraising activities. The trustees were pleased to receive donations from supporters.

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Achievements

In this financial year, Funding for All has continued to provide and develop its support for VCSEs with their funding and fundraising.

It has done this by:

• Providing mentoring for 222 organisations between April 2021 and October 2023.

• Building expertise within the mentor team to add new specialisms in environmental funding, legacy income, and charity shops to our already extensive range. Mentoring now supports organisations with the development of their skills in 16 different fundraising specialisms.

• Continuing to deliver and extend the range of fundraising webinars that provide professional advice, insights, and practical steps on a broad range of areas within funding and fundraising, and which support groups with the diversification of their income, thereby increasing their likelihood of remaining financially sustainable.

• Supporting groups, enabling them to bring in the income they need to provide their services. At the end of this financial period, we can evidence that £2.9 million has been raised by VCSE groups with our support since April 2021.

• Increasing the reach of our services through our newsletter and new social media channels to draw in a wider demographic and increase access to our service.

• Rebuilding our website to increase its ease of use for people who may need text adaptations, and to provide more support and information for VCSEs. This investment has helped us to broaden the range of people who can access our services and we are pleased to evidence that the diversity of mentees and VCSEs accessing our services has increased this year.

• Building upon the foundations laid with a large number of partner organisations in the region (and building new partnerships with others) through the coordination of training and support for VCSEs in the region.

• Developing stronger Safeguarding policies and procedures, including the tailoring of our mentoring for adults who may be vulnerable or who may need additional support, and by introducing DBS checks for all staff, trustees, and mentors.

• Commissioning and delivering a tailored fundraising training day for one KCC Borough Council, which included a ‘marketplace’ for VCSEs to generate income as well as a forum to enable groups to be introduced to local trusts.

• Developing our team by working with an external consultant to review and build our structures, and by using Department of Social Change (DSC) documentation to update our HR policies and procedures.

• Providing CPD training for mentors, staff, and trustees, to strengthen our EDI, Safeguarding and the communication of information and guidance to mentees.

• Further developing our Mentee and Mentor Handbooks to provide clear guidelines so that mentees get the most out of their mentoring experience.

• Commissioning and recording a suite of webinars to offer as downloadable training tools.

Funding for All continues to strive to provide an exciting, accessible, and impactful offer for VCSEs in Kent and Medway. In the current climate, Funding for All’s impact is evident across the sector.

For more information on our key outputs, please see below.

Mentoring programme

Our key aim is to build the confidence of the individuals who fundraise for the region’s VCSEs. We do this most effectively by offering them a tailor-made fundraising mentoring programme. Our definition of mentoring is: ‘to cascade the skills of our mentors to our mentees’, giving mentees the opportunity to build skills, understanding and expertise in fundraising.

Our mentees come with a diverse range of backgrounds, lived experiences, and a wide range of knowledge in fundraising. Last year we sought feedback and organised focus groups to better understand how we can increase this diversity, and we took steps to address the barriers to access to our programme. We did this by training mentors in information dissemination and EDI, and by sharing feedback from mentees. We took care to understand whether mentees were volunteers or employees and to explore the support they had within their organisations to implement the advice from mentors. We discovered that approximately 75% of our mentees are volunteers.

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As a result, we have adapted the delivery of our mentoring service to ensure that mentees can access mentoring easily, providing support with the way that information is disseminated, and offering face-to-face support when it is necessary. We have improved the accessibility of the information on our website and of our face-to-face training for neurodivergent people, and we have trained our mentors so they understand the ways in which we can adapt the provision of mentoring.

Our mentors are experienced fundraisers and charity professionals who provide advice and guidance to groups to help them fundraise efficiently and effectively, diversify their income, and access a wider range of support for the voluntary sector.

We aim to ensure that once mentoring has finished, groups have greater confidence and skills so that they can continue fundraising effectively. Our post mentoring evidence indicates that, once again, 100% of our mentees report an increase in confidence in the areas in which they have been mentored. Feedback from mentees also shows that mentoring has enabled both the individuals, and the organisations they support, to move forwards with their funding goals.

• “It has been hugely useful for me as an individual and transformative for our organisation. I have learnt so much about fundraising and it's also given me the confidence to apply for more grants and diversify our income.”

• “The mentoring was instrumental in pushing the charity forwards, it has improved our confidence and ability to be more targeted in our approach to fundraising.”

• “For us, mentoring was invaluable. We had a big target and absolutely zero fundraising experience. We work with young people, and our mentor was great at suggesting ways to engage with them, as well as helping me to tailor my grant applications to showcase our need. We are thrilled to have smashed our target and couldn't be more grateful for your support.”

• “Mentoring helped me to hone our fundraising strategy, and identified some new grant funders I hadn't heard of/thought of applying to (with one successful application already as a result!). It also helped me to organise my grant application/reporting process to make it more strategic and less haphazard. It was great to make the time to actually think and talk through funding issues, which otherwise just get fitted in as and when I have time.”

• “The mentoring process has helped set us up to succeed. Through the sharing of the mentor's knowledge and experience, and brilliant constructive feedback, we've been able to create a rounded fundraising strategy and well-constructed targeted bids. Most importantly, the support, and a fresh perspective, is truly motivating. Especially at the moment, with such competition for funding, it's hard to know how to move forward; the whole process has helped give us direction and confidence.”

• “It increased my confidence that I can actually write quite a good grant application. This in turn helped me feel motivated to write more.”

Funding advice days, 1-2-1s

For some VCSEs, the immediate impact of a 1-2-1 funding advice meeting can be pivotal, allowing them to explore fundraising options and receive detailed signposting and information.

In this financial period, we delivered 4 days of 1-2-1 sessions, rotating our venues around the region to bring our service to the people who need them, visiting Tunbridge Wells in West Kent, Maidstone in Mid Kent, and Margate and Canterbury in East Kent.

We continue to offer 45-minute sessions for these events, with slots between 10am and 5pm. We found that a longer period of availability can be particularly important for a volunteer working in their day-job during the working day. If groups have not been able to make slots during advertised times, we have arranged additional times for them.

Groups can attend in-person, or via an online meeting, taking our service directly to the communities we serve and reducing the carbon footprint of our service.

For one of these days in this period, we were proud to partner with TNLRC officers, who offered 1-2-1 advice sessions for Kent and Medway VCSEs alongside our advisors. Our groups fed back that they found the advice invaluable. TNLRC fed back that, once again, they had been able to talk to groups that had not previously come to them. This is some of the feedback that we received from groups who attended those 4 events:

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• “This session helped me to write better funding bids to help the charity, as I’m not very good at writing them at the moment.”

• “This session provided support e.g., funding applications and funding advice, so we can start developing our service and offering more services.”

• “Just helps me be able to apply for community funding and know where to look. Helps improve my confidence in applying for funding.”

• “To gain more funding to meet beneficiary need. Generate more income.”

• “It was a good discussion. We will need more help as our organisation is growing quickly and we would appreciate mentoring as we go through the planned stages of expansion.”

• “Very thorough, friendly, and professional.”

Funding Surgeries

As well as offering the longer sessions above, we also offer briefer sessions through our Funding Surgeries. We were able to trial this format thanks to our TNLRC funding, and we will be able to continue this format thanks to the support of the KCC Infrastructure Support Fund. Unlike the 1-2-1 advice sessions described above, surgeries take place each month and offer groups 20-minute sessions which they can access in-person, by telephone, or via an online meeting. Offering these shorter sessions has proved extremely effective for signposting groups to mentoring, to funders, and to other infrastructure organisations for support with matters like governance that sit outside our remit.

In response to feedback, we have delivered surgeries in rural locations throughout the county to address access challenges for those living in rural locations because of transport costs or because travel is difficult for other reasons. Our KCC funding has also enabled us to develop our team of funding mentors through additional training so that they now deliver the surgeries instead of the Charity Manager, thereby increasing capacity within the team.

This year we delivered 7 Funding Surgeries funded by KCC, and 6 during the pilot period where the costs were covered by our TNLRC funding. Queries from groups ranged from the types of funding available to fundraising strategy and included issues of governance related to funding options. We were able to signpost groups to our mentoring programme for more funding support and to partner organisations for assistance with other issues like governance. During this period:

• 55 groups booked appointments at Funding Surgeries, more than a 100% increase from the 26 groups seen last period

• 17 groups joined our mentoring programme following their surgery session, and

• 9 groups who had already received mentoring at some point in the past 5 years, were able to gain updated information and further funding advice.

The feedback we received indicates that this directed information is valuable to the groups who attend:

• “The information I received will help us as a charity to grow, especially in regard to our wider community.”

• • “I think the information will enable my organisation to get more funding.”

• “Help to troubleshoot a grant application we are struggling with .”

Fundraising webinars

In this period, we delivered 24 webinars on 14 different topics of funding and fundraising. All the webinars were offered for free to VCSE groups, and in this period there were 235 attendees.

We asked attendees about the training needs they have that we do not yet meet with our webinars, and, in response to this feedback, we commissioned three further webinars to meet the need identified. The new webinars cover:

• Better Bid Writing

• Getting it Covered (Full Cost Recovery)

• • Fundraising for Capital Appeals.

The first title provides structured support for those new to bid writing. The second addresses the need that our attendees and the NCVO, and indeed the Pro Bono and Nottingham Business School, identified, that organisations are struggling to get their running costs fully covered with their funding. The third title reflects the large number of fundraising appeals

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for buildings and renovations that we have seen in the region post pandemic. These new webinars are now included in our rolling programme, with ‘Better Bid Writing’ and ‘Getting it Covered’ particularly highly attended so far.

As part of our webinar offer, we have taken time this year to record our webinars to make them available online. We are grateful to Wildwood Media for their help in adding subtitles to these recordings. The subtitles will increase access to our webinars for those with hearing loss or whose learning style is benefited from subtitles, and they will better enable the content to be transcribed into other community languages.

This is a sample of the webinar feedback that we have received in this period:

• “Really useful information on fundraising strategy development, also links to grant lists and further training.”

• “It helps me to clarify what we need to do, what we are already doing and just helps to take time to step out of the day to day and focus. I will be pushing on with updating my strategy, I will also be going forward with our promotional documents and updating the website.”

• “Very useful for someone who has little experience in this field.”

• “It will help me fundraise more effectively for the different projects we run, increasing our impact for the communities we serve.”

• “It's a good overview of how social media can help us with our fundraising.”

• “Inform our social media usage and methods to maximise the time available to create, chat and post.”

• “This webinar has given us the info we need to get started on building a donor base.”

Virtual ‘First Steps to Fundraising’ Conferences

Included in our suite of webinars is our innovative ‘First Steps’ virtual webinar, designed to provide tailored support for people and groups who are new to fundraising. We have adopted this format to increase accessibility and lessen our environmental impact.

These webinars are open to both groups and individuals in an overt attempt to provide support to volunteers who are new to funding and fundraising and who are considering new ventures to meet a specific community need. They cover the essential steps that must be taken to set up a new group with advice on collecting evidence of need, opening bank accounts, putting together a management group and how to formally constitute. There is an introduction to the support that Funding for All can offer, and Kent and Medway based funders are invited to present an overview of the funding they have available and how to apply for it. We are delighted to have partnered with TNLRC, Kent Community Foundation, and the KCC Spacehive Crowdfunding initiative in the delivery of these events this period.

Following the various presentations, breakout rooms are offered where groups can meet with funders or have introductory sessions on fundraising skills. Thanks to our mentor team, we have been able to deliver breakout room training on EDI, building funding budgets, community fundraising, risk assessments for community fundraising events, fundraising through challenge events, recording in-kind giving, and social media fundraising.

This is a sample of some of the feedback we have received this year:

• “It has given fundraising advice that can be discussed and passed on with other members of my organisation.”

• “The information will help me to share the good practices from today to shape our future work.”

• “Was great to hear advice from those who have met the pitfalls before to save us time! In particular, advice on policy and making connections across Kent. It is very useful to see what it would be like to interact with funders. Just the chat intro to yourself was good practice.”

• “Help to fill funding request forms, design and apply fund raising events, know key documents and how to conduct myself.”

In person training days

In this period, we delivered two ‘Kent and Medway Funding Advice Days’ in Gravesham and Medway funded by TNLRC, and a third in Maidstone, funded by Maidstone Borough Council.

To deliver these events we worked in partnership with Gravesham Borough Council, Medway Voluntary Action, Kent Volunteers Partnership, Safer Kent, Maidstone Borough Council, Kent Community Foundation, Colyer Ferguson, TNLRC and the Worley Day Trust. The funders attended to present to attendees and to meet with groups individually to answer questions.

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These training days provided face-to face opportunities for groups to help them develop their fundraising skills, meet with funders and other support organisations, have face-to-face funding advice sessions, and network with and receive peer to peer support from other organisations meeting similar funding challenges. The range of support available on one day is appreciated by the attendees and is reflected in a sample of the feedback from this year’s events:

• “Fantastic day! Thank you, benefits are difficult to quantify as they will be far-reaching.”

• “Hearing it from the horse’s mouth really demystifies the process. Today has explained, opened up and made available many more funding opportunities.”

• “For a first-time person applying for funding, it has made it seem manageable, clear routes to success have been laid out.”

• “Well-rounded and excellent targeting of topics.”

• “I have a much better idea of the areas we need to focus on before making an application, e.g., involving the community.”

• “I will book a mentor; I feel more confidence as now I know where to get help.”

• “Just so helpful, tons of advice, ideas, thought-provoking. A wealth of information for those of us with no formal skills yet responsible for such an important part of running a charity.”

• “Straight and to the point, great opportunity to network, plenty of speakers.”

• “Well organised and friendly, great chance to find out about current funding climate and opportunities.”

Website and social media

In this financial period, we planned, redesigned, and launched our new website with support from a website building specialist. This decision was made because feedback had shown that our previous website did not set out information as clearly as we would like, specifically for people who need adaptations with text, contrast, and colour.

The new website includes a number of features designed to enhance legibility through font size, colour, highlighted links, contrast, and light. Events are easier to book, and the ‘Find Funds’ pages are easier to navigate, with far more filters now available to enable a more directed search. We have also included case studies, added links, and made it easier to support us with a donation. In this period, 65,605 visits have been made to our website, representing 43,188 users. The ‘Find Funds’ page had the highest number of visits, with 10,555 users accessing information about funding opportunities.

We took time to ensure that our Events and Communications Officer was upskilled through the process, to ensure we could maintain the new site in-house with greater ease and lower cost in the years ahead. We are grateful for the support of Kate Williamson, our web designer, who, in addition to the work commissioned, supported us with £450 of her time on this project as in-kind support.

Funding Guide

Throughout this period, we have continued to provide copies of the ‘Funding for All Guide to Fundraising’, free of charge and as needed, to the groups that we mentor.

An updated hard copy of the Guide was last produced by us in April 2022, and represents more than 100 hours of volunteer time given by a former trustee of the charity. It was conceived as an additional resource and reference point, something that our mentees can have in front of them when they’re putting a bid together, and something they can refer to after they have finished our mentoring program. It has been referred to as an ‘essential toolkit’ for small to medium sized VCSEs and continues to be a relevant and practical guide for mentees. It is a welcome resource for mentees with a wide fundraising remit for their groups.

Funding for All as an integrated partner in the infrastructure provision for the Kent and Medway Voluntary Sector

Funding for All works collaboratively with a wide range of partners and supporters. We believe that partnership work benefits the groups that we serve. It does this by promoting effective signposting, avoiding duplication of service delivery, and enabling us to extend our reach and let more people know about the support that we offer.

Within this period, we worked hard to initiate and build relationships with partner organisations across Kent and Medway. The Charity Manager attended 12 key local events, giving presentations about the service that Funding for All provides as well as delivering funding and fundraising training. Partnership work has been undertaken with the following groups:

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• Kent Community Foundation

• Medway Voluntary Action

• Dover District Council

• Gravesham District Council

• Maidstone District Council

• Ashford Borough Council

• Folkestone and Hythe District Council

• Swale CVS

• Kent Volunteer Partnership

• Active Kent and Medway

• Imago

• Involve

• MSCS Network

• Kent Coastal Volunteering

• Kent County Council VCSE Steering Group

• Romney Marsh Business Hub

• Charity Mentors Kent

• Safer Communities Alliance

• Stronger Kent Communities

• Social Enterprise Kent

• West Kent Mind

• CVS NWK

• • CAP Enterprise

The charity remains grateful for the support of funders, partners, mentors, trustees, staff, volunteers, and mentees, all of whom make it possible for the charity to deliver its services to the VCSEs of Kent and Medway.

Statement of Trustees' responsibilities

The trustees (who are also the directors of the charity for the purposes of company law) are responsible for preparing the Report of the trustees and the financial statements in accordance with applicable law and United Kingdom Accounting Standards (United Kingdom Generally Accepted Accounting Practice).

Company law requires the trustees to prepare financial statements for each financial year. Under company law, the trustees must not approve the financial statements unless they are satisfied that they give a true and fair view of the state of affairs of the charity and of its incoming resources and application of resources, including its income and expenditure, for that period. In preparing these financial statements, the trustees are required to:

• select suitable accounting policies and then apply them consistently;

• observe the methods and principles of the Charities SORP (FRS 102);

• make judgments and accounting estimates that are reasonable and prudent;

• state whether applicable UK Accounting Standards (FRS 102) have been followed, subject to any material departures disclosed and explained in the financial statements;

• prepare the financial statements on the going concern basis unless it is inappropriate to presume that the charity will continue in business.

The trustees are responsible for keeping adequate accounting records that are sufficient to show and explain the charity's transactions and disclose with reasonable accuracy at any time the financial position of the charity and enable them to ensure that the financial statements comply with the Companies Act 2006. They are also responsible for safeguarding the assets of the charity and hence for taking reasonable steps for the prevention and detection of fraud and other irregularities.

Approved by the Board of Trustees on 13[th] May 2024 and signed on its behalf by:

Bethan Tomlinson (Acting Chair of Trustees )

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Independent Examiner's Report to the Trustees of Funding for All (‘the charity’)

I report to the charity trustees on my examination of the financial statements of the company for the year ended 31st October 2023.

Responsibilities and basis of report

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

Having satisfied myself that the accounts of the company are not required to be audited under Part 16 of the 2006 Act and are eligible for independent examination, I report in respect of my examination of your company’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 matters have come to my attention in connection with the examination giving me cause to believe that in any material respect:

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

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

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

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

Jack Fryer ACA

Hedley Dunk Limited Trinity House 3 Bullace Lane Dartford Kent DA1 1BB

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Funding for All Statement of Financial Activities (Incorporating Income and Expenditure Account) for the year ended 31st October 2023

Income from: Donations and gifts Charitable activities 2 Interest received Total income Expenditure on: Charitable activities 3 Total expenditure Net income Transfers between funds Net movement in funds Reconciliation of funds: Total funds brought forward 8 Net movement in funds 8 Total funds carried forward Note	£ £ £ 11,989 - 11,989 854 178,842 179,696 1,245 - 1,245 14,088 178,842 192,930 699 140,581 141,280 699 140,581 141,280 13,389 38,261 51,650 7,956 (7,956) - 21,345 30,305 51,650 43,746 107,876 151,622 21,345 30,305 51,650 65,091 138,181 203,272 Unrestricted Funds 2023 Restricted Funds 2023 Total Funds 2023	£ £ £ 397 - 397 2,243 138,631 140,874 49 - 49 Unrestricted Funds 2022 Restricted Funds 2022 Total Funds 2022
		2,688 138,631 141,319
		2,242 117,267 119,509
		2,242 117,267 119,509
		446 21,364 21,811 12,521 (12,521) -
		12,967 8,843 21,811
		30,779 99,033 129,812 12,967 8,843 21,811
		43,746 107,876 151,622

The notes on the following pages form part of these financial statements.

All amounts derive from continuing activities.

There are no recognised gains or losses other than the net movement in the funds included above.

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Funding for All Balance Sheet as at 31st October 2023

Current assets Debtors 6 Cash at bank and in hand Creditors: amounts falling due within one year 7 Net current assets Total assets less current liabilities Net assets Charity funds Unrestricted funds 9 Restricted funds 9 Total funds Note	£ £ £ - - - 65,091 152,129 217,220 65,091 152,129 217,220 - 13,948 13,948 65,091 138,181 203,272 65,091 138,181 203,272 65,091 138,181 203,272 65,091 - 65,091 - 138,181 138,181 65,091 138,181 203,272 Unrestricted Funds 2023 Restricted Funds 2023 Total Funds 2023	£ £ £ 1,709 192 1,901 44,280 108,242 152,522 Unrestricted Funds 2022 Restricted Funds 2022 Total Funds 2022
		45,989 108,434 154,422 2,243 558 2,800
		43,746 107,876 151,622 43,746 107,876 151,622
		43,746 107,876 151,622
		43,746 - 43,746 - 107,876 107,876
		43,746 107,876 151,622

For the financial year in question the company was entitled to exemption under section 477 of the Companies Act 2006 relating to small companies.

No members have required the company to obtain an audit of its accounts for the year in question in accordance with section 476 of the Companies Act 2006.

The directors acknowledge their responsibility for complying with the requirements of the Act with respect to accounting records and for the preparation of accounts.

These accounts have been prepared in accordance with the provisions applicable to companies’ subject to the small companies’ regime.

The financial statements were approved and authorised for issue by the Board of Trustees on 13[th] May 2024 and signed on its behalf by:

Bethan Tomlinson (Acting Chair of Trustees)

The notes on the following pages form part of these financial statements.

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Funding for All Notes to the Financial Statements Year ended 31st October 2023

1. Accounting Policies

a) Basis of preparation

The financial statements are prepared under the historical cost convention and include the results of the charity's operations which are described in the Report of the trustees.

The accounts have been prepared in accordance with applicable accounting standards and the Companies Act 2006 and follow the recommendations in the Statement of Recommended Practice (SORP FRS 102) - Accounting and Reporting by Charities, issued by the Charity Commission, the Charities Act 2011, and the requirements of the charity's Memorandum and Articles of Association.

As funding encompassing all the charity’s costs other than its governance costs has been secured until mid 2025, the financial statements have been prepared on a going concern basis.

b) Income

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

The income from fundraising ventures is shown gross, with the associated costs included in fundraising costs.

Income from grants is recognised when the charity has entitlement to the funds, any performance conditions attached to the grants have been met, it is probable that the income will be received, and the amount can be measured reliably and is not deferred.

Other income is recognised in the period in which it is receivable and to the extent that the goods have been provided or on completion of the service.

c) Expenditure

Expenditure is recognised once there is a legal or constructive obligation to transfer economic benefit to a third party, it is probable that the transfer of economic benefits will be required in settlement and the amount of the obligation can be measured reliably.

Expenditure is classified by activity. Wherever possible costs are allocated directly to the appropriate activity; other costs common to all activities are apportioned between activities on a basis consistent with the use of resources.

Fundraising expenditure comprises costs incurred in encouraging people and organisations to contribute financially to the work of the charity. This includes the cost of advertising for donations and the staging of fundraising events.

Expenditure on charitable activities is incurred in the delivery of the objects of the charity, including any associated support costs.

Support costs, which are the costs incurred in the overall direction and administration of each activity that are not directly attributable to charitable activities, are apportioned on a basis consistent with the use of resources.

Donated goods are measured at fair value (the amount for which the asset could be exchanged) unless impractical to do so. Donated services and facilities are included when received at the value of the gift to the charity provided the value of the gift can be measured reliably. Where the gift is consumed immediately, it is recognised as income with an equivalent amount recognised as an expense under the appropriate heading in the Statement of financial activities. The value of trustee volunteer activity is not included in the accounts but is described in the trustees’ annual report.

Expenditure on governance includes all audit and accountancy fees.

In accordance with the Charities SORP (FRS 102), the general volunteer time of the charity’s trustees is not recognised in the financial statements.

All expenditure is stated inclusive of irrecoverable VAT.

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Funding for All Notes to the Financial Statements Year ended 31st October 2023

d)

Tangible fixed assets

Tangible fixed assets costing £1,500 or more are capitalised and recognised when the future economic benefits are probable and the cost of the or value of the asset can be measured reliably.

e)

Debtors

Trade and other debtors are recognised at the settlement amount after any discount offered.

f) Cash at bank and in hand

Cash at bank and in hand includes cash and short-term highly liquid investments with a short maturity of three months or less from the date of acquisition or the opening of the deposit or similar account.

g) Liabilities

Liabilities are recognised when there is an obligation at the balance sheet date as a result of a past event, it is probable that a transfer of economic benefit will be required in settlement, and the amount of the settlement can be estimated reliably. Liabilities are recognised at the amount that the charity anticipates it will pay to settle the debtor the amount it has received as an advance payment for the goods or services it must provide.

h) Financial instruments

The charity only has financial assets and financial liabilities of a kind that qualify as basic financial instruments. Basic financial instruments are initially recognised at transaction value and subsequently measured at their settlement value.

i) Pension

The charity contributes to a defined contribution group personal pension scheme (NEST) and the pension charge represents the amounts payable by the charity to the fund in respect of the year.

j) Funds

General funds are unrestricted funds which are available for use at the discretion of the trustees in furtherance of the general objects of the charity and have not been designated for other purposes.

Restricted funds are funds which are to be used in accordance with specific restrictions imposed by donors or which have been raised by the charity for particular purposes. The costs of raising and administering such funds are charged against the specific fund. The aim and use of each restricted fund is set out in the notes to the financial statements.

k) Direct taxation

The company is a registered charity and is therefore not liable for income tax or corporation tax on its charitable activities as it falls within the various exemptions available to registered charities.

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Funding for All Notes to the Financial Statements Year ended 31st October 2023

2. Income from charitable activities

Income from charitable activities Grant income Event income	£ £ £ - 178,842 178,842 854 - 854 854 178,842 179,696 Unrestricted Funds 2023 Restricted Funds 2023 Total Funds 2023	£ 138,631 2,243 Total Funds 2022
		140,874

3. Analysis of expenditure on charitable activities

£ £ £ Analysis of expenditure on charitable activities Service delivery 699 140,581 141,280 699 140,581 141,280 £ £ £ Analysis of expenditure on charitable activities Staff costs (924) 84,040 83,116 Mentoring, events and funding guide (217) 39,799 39,582 Mentor training and CRM - 6,111 6,111 IT and overheads - 6,271 6,271 Website development - 3,161 3,161 Governance - 768 768 Consultancy 1,841 432 2,273 699 140,581 141,280 Restricted Funds 2023 Unrestricted Funds 2023 Total 2023 Unrestricted Funds 2023 Restricted Funds 2023 Total Funds 2023	As restated £ 119,509 Total Funds 2022
	119,509
	£ 83,245 20,324 3,316 10,740 613 1,272 - Total 2022
	119,509

Fees payable to the charity’s independent examiner for the independent examination of the charity’s annual financial statements totalled £768 in the year (2022: £1,272).

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Funding for All Notes to the Financial Statements Year ended 31st October 2023

4. Staff costs

Staff costs Wages and salaries Pension contributions	£ £ £ (924) 77,717 76,793 - 6,323 6,323 (924) 84,040 83,116 Unrestricted Funds 2023 Restricted Funds 2023 Total Funds 2023	£ 76,855 6,389 Total Funds 2022
		83,245

The average weekly number of full-time equivalent employees during the year was 2 (2022: 2).

No employee earned more than £60,000 in the year.

All the charity’s employees are involved in the delivery of the objects of the charity and have unique roles and responsibilities. As such all employees are key personnel.

5. Trustees' remuneration and related party transactions

The trustees were neither paid nor voted any remuneration, other benefits, or expenses during the year (2022: £1,722).

The charity has not entered into any other related party transaction during the year, nor are there any outstanding balances owing between related parties and the charity at 31st October 2023 (2022: nil).

6. Debtors

Debtors due within one year Other debtors	2023 2022 £ £ - 1,901
	- 1,901

7. Creditors: Amounts falling due within one year

Creditors : Amounts falling due within one year Other creditors and accruals	2023 2022 £ £ 13,948 2,800
	13,948 2,800

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Funding for All Notes to the Financial Statements Year ended 31st October 2023

8. Movements in funds

Unrestricted funds General fund Restricted funds National Lottery Community Fund Kent County Council / Kent Community Foundation Fund Total funds Current year	£ £ £ £ £ 43,746 14,088 (699) 7,956 65,091 Balance at 1 November 2022 Income 2023 Expenditure 2023 Transfers in / (out) Balance at 31 October 2023
	107,876 141,655 (138,046) (7,956) 103,529 - 37,187 (2,535) - 34,652
	107,876 178,842 (140,581) (7,956) 138,181
	151,622 192,930 (141,280) - 203,272
Unrestricted funds General fund Restricted funds National Lottery Community Fund Total funds Prior year	£ £ £ £ £ 30,779 2,688 (2,242) 12,521 43,746 Transfers in / (out) Balance at 31 October 2022 Balance at 1 November 2021 Income 2022 Expenditure 2022
	99,033 138,631 (117,267) (12,521) 107,876
	129,812 141,319 (119,509) - 151,622

The charity is grateful for generous grants from:

National Lottery Community Fund via its Reaching Communities Fund: “RC London and South East Region” and Kent County Council, with the support of Kent Community Foundation, Infrastructure Fund for the delivery of funding and fundraising conferences, mentoring and training programmes to VCSEs in Kent.

9. Analysis of net assets between funds

Cash at bank and in hand Other net current (liabilities) / assets	£ £ £ 65,091 152,129 217,220 - (13,948) (13,948) 65,091 138,181 203,272 Unrestricted Funds 2023 Restricted Funds 2023 Total Funds 2023	£ £ £ 44,280 108,242 152,522 (534) (366) (900) Total Funds 2022 Unrestricted Funds 2022 Restricted Funds 2022
		43,746 107,876 151,622

10. Ultimate controlling party

The directors listed in the Report of the trustees are the ultimate controlling parties being trustees and members of the company.

All charity policies and executive decisions are determined by the board of trustees unless delegated to trustees or employees within the terms of the charity’s Memorandum and Articles of Association.

The day to day running of the charitable company has been delegated to the Charity Manager.

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