## **Trustees ’ Annual Report for the period**
**From** 01/04/2024 **Period start date To** 31/03/2025 **Period end date**
**Charity name:** The Aaron Lewis Foundation
**Charity registration number:** 1151539
## **Objectives and Activities**
||SORP reference||
|---|---|---|
|Summary of the purposes of
the charity as set out in its
governing document|Para 1.17|The transformation of lives through sport,
access to wellbeing and community-based
activities in the Essex area and throughout
the UK (for service and ex-service
personnel).
Wherever possible, the Aaron Lewis
Foundation (herein known asthe‘ALF’)will
make direct contributions to agreed causes
(rather than as a feeder charity for other
organisations) except where specialist skills/
knowledge exists in another organisation
and the addition ofALFfunding will helpa
project reach completion.
TheALFwill collaborate with other charities/
groups where a combined benefit to a
recipient can be realised (provided thatthe
projectfallswithintheALFmandate).|
|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|The majority of grant giving this year wasin
support of veterans and serving members of
theArmed Forces (13/16 grants). Our focus
on sport and outdoor activities dominating
grants across wheelchair rugby, disabled
sailing, adventurous training, sports and
other outdoor pursuits.
Grants in the Essex area were notably less
(compared to 2023-24) but still important
and included tag rugby equipment for a
school expedition to Borneo and a very large
(70+) deliveryof Christmas gifts for a
Southend homeless centre and hospital
ward.A more targeted approach for Essex
recipients was discussedat theAGM,and
this will be expanded in 2025-26.
Following a change of school and rolefor the
ALF linked/supporting teacher, the School
Award Scheme took a revised approachat
itsre-launch;instead ofjust offeringfunding|
|||to school approved overseas event
applicants, a student (without independent
funding) was selected by school staff who
will now be able to attend the next overseas
school expedition in 2026. The wider grant
offer also remained in place, but no
applications were received.
Despite dreadful weather, the ALF 10s
tournament remained the cornerstone ALF
delivered fundraiser with excellent support
from home and overseas teams.A number
of other (privately organised) fundraising
events and donations from supporters
generated very good income (50%from
organised events/50%fromdonors and
private events)thatbolstered grant giving
opportunities and enabled the purchase of
much needed assets including a 2ndevent
gazebo, improved local storage andbetter
(branded) advertising materials.
Every effort was made to keep non-grant
expenditure to a minimum although this was
certainly higher than in previous years for
the reasons outlined above. The cost of
running fundraising events consumed 12%
of overall income and the purchase of new
equipment, liability insurance and storage
the same. The latter expenditure should be
greatly reduced in the next FYwith assets
nowon hand.|
|---|---|---|
|Statement confirming
whether the trustees have
had regard to the guidance
issued by the Charity
Commission on public
benefit|Para 1.18|The Trustees remain aware of their duties in
respect to the Charity Commission’s
guidance on public benefit and have carried
out their duties in accordance with this
guidance.
In addition, all those involved in the
management and leadership of the ALF
were reminded about their collective
responsibilities in this respect (and other key
managementfactors)at the AGM which took
place on 9 Nov 24 and received a copy of
thelatest Constitution, accounts and other
relevant governing documents.|
**Additional information (optional)** You may choose to include further statements where relevant about:
SORP reference
||SORP reference||
|---|---|---|
|Policy on grant making|Para 1.38|There was no change of policy on grant
making and all governing documents were
reviewed to ensure they were compliant with
current guidance/policy.|
|Policy on social investment
including program related
investment|Para 1.38|Not applicable.|
|Contribution made by
volunteers||As an all-volunteer charity, the ALF could not
function without this support andhas been|
> Para 1.38 recognised again by a number of donors (especially corporates) who opted to support us rather than bigger (national) charities for this reason. As part of the AGM Standing Agenda, all volunteers are formally asked if they are happy to remain in role and/or have any ideas for additional volunteers or roles. The recruitment in the previous FY of a new Marketing and PR volunteer quickly proved its worth allowing the ALF website to be transitioned to a new secure platform (for free) and the creation of a Google Collaborative working environment – both of which had been long standing issues. She was also able to rationalise the ALF social media platforms and ensure better content control and championed a better ‘ About the ALF ’ flyer for donors and events. The retention of a dedicated ALF 10s lead also proved beneficial due to his contacts with the host club and attending teams and, his understanding of the event ’ s objectives.
## **Achievements and Performance**
||SORP reference||
|---|---|---|
|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|The Beacon Homeless Veterans Centre in
Catterick has benefited from a good level of
grant fundingso the Trustees visited while in
Yorkshire supporting former beneficiary,Lexi
Chambers,during her latestWorld Record
event. The work of thecentre really struck a
chord allowing more support to be agreed
during the visit and the development of some
fundraising ideasby themin response. It
was agreed they would attend the 2025 ALF
10s and bring some of their beneficiaries.
Aside from the benefits of the eventitself,
the rugby 10sTournament provided the
perfect platform once again to formally
present a granted item (a rugby wheelchair
to a veteran from Cornwall) and to announce
the World Record attempt plans by Lexi
Chambers (including the intent to raise funds
for us).Thefree10s programme now forms
the basis of a popular‘year in review’
documentforattendees and is handed out at
all other events and opportunities.
The provision of drysuits for 2 para-athletes
competing in the RS Venture Para Dinghy
World Championships was an excellent
outcome for all involved and led directly to a
major funding commitmentforadaptive|
alpine skiing equipment (sit-skis) for injured veterans to use under the tutelage of the Army Adventurous Training Group. Unfortunately, only 1 sit-ski was delivered in year and the other will be completed in FY25-26. Being able to touch a number of lives at both the St Vincents Homeless Centre and Southend Hospital Children ’ s Ward brought great comfort to Aaron ’ s family and the wider ALF Team, especially in light of the lack of other local opportunities. The latter also allowed for collaboration with a local business. Finally, we were able to play a small part in the rehabilitation journey of an injured veteran as she used her ALF gifted rugby wheelchair as part of the Silver Medal winning GB Team at the Invictus Games in Canada. This was an inspiration for the whole team (and for the donors who had helped make it possible).
## **Additional information (optional)**
You may choose to include further statements where relevant about:
|Achievements against
objectives set|Para 1.41|1. Re-launch of a secure website and
collaborative working environment –
success.
2. Rationalisation and greater control of
messaging on social media platforms –
success.
3.Re-launch of the School Award Scheme –
success.
4. Identification of suitable beneficiaries–
partial success.
5. Maintaining better contact with former
beneficiaries to offer further support and to
get updates on their outcomes; this saw
some productive engagement with 2 former
beneficiaries but not as much as was hoped
–partial success.
6. In-person support to Lexi Chambers
World Record event (JOGLE)–success.
7. More efficient grant request-review-
approval-payment-publicity process; this was
improved greatly with the latter action (timely
publicity of outcomes) achieved by
broadening teampermissions to publish
articles directly to thewebsite – success.|
|---|---|---|
|Performance of fundraising
activities against objectives
set|Para 1.41|Income exceeded expenditure by £9,591
which was a marked improvement on the
previous FY (where excess of income over
expenditure was£24,179).Ifthe final sit-ski
payment had been processed by the bank
on time, the year-end I&E position would
have been almost balanced in accordance
with Treasurer guidance.|
|||50%ofincome being generated by donors
rather than planned fundraising activities is
comforting butit isrecognisedthat this
cannot be relied upon,and more planned
events may be required. A possible change
of fundraising lead was discussed by the
Trustees,and this is expected to occur in the
next reporting period.|
|---|---|---|
|Investment performance
against objectives|Para 1.41|Despite concluding research into a suitable
investment platform and providing written
authority (and policy) on investments to the
Treasurer, ongoing banking issues (see
below) hampered attempts to transfer funds
to the agreed investment platform. This will
be completedinthenextreporting period.|
## **Financial Review**
|Review of the charity’s
financial position at the end
of the period|Para 1.21|Given the higher-than-expected level of
income over expenditure, the ALF ended the
year £9,591 up on the previous year with
£118,221 inavailable funds (not including
assetsvalued on the Asset Register). This
reflects a very consistent balance position
before and including the C19 period where
income versus expenditure has generally
been close to parallel since the charity was
created in 2011.
In addition, a 14-year (FY2011-2025)
analysis by the Trustees revealed the
following data:
-Total income: £508,933
-Total expenditure: £388,277
- Grantspaid: £300,206 (77% oftotal
expenditure)
-Average (annual) account balance:
£104,386|
|---|---|---|
|Statement explaining the
policy for holding reserves
stating why they are held|Para 1.22|Although £20,000 has been ringfenced for a
higher interest investment opportunity, this
will be placed in an easy access account
and, with no fixedassets orliabilities, the
policy remains that no reserve is required
above the value of the (current) average
annual outgoings value of £27,734.|
|Amount of reservesheld|Para 1.22|Nil.|
|Reasons for holding zero
reserves|Para 1.22|TheALFhas nofixed assets orliabilities
associated with winding up if this were ever
to occur.|
|Details of fund materially in
deficit|Para 1.24|None.|
|Explanation of any
uncertainties about the
charity continuing as a going
concern|Para 1.23|With average annual outgoings totalling
£27,734 and a bank balance of £118,221 the
charity remains a‘going concern’with more
than 12 months funding available and no
liabilities to be considered should it be forced
towind down.|
## **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|1.OneTrusteedirected fundraising
event/year(rugby 10stournament).
2.One regular supporter organised
event/year (golf matchor bar sports
marathon).
3.Donations/sponsorship fromindividualsor
groups.|
|---|---|---|
|Investment policy and
objectives including any
social investment policy
adopted|Para 1.46|£20,000 to be invested in an easy access,
low risk account.
No social investment intentions.|
|A description of the principal
risks facing the charity|Para 1.46|1. Barclays Bank continue to indiscriminately
block payments despite sufficient funds
being available in the Community Account
and Saver Account even if the Treasurer is
attempting to pay a legitimate business or a
previous payee.The bank will normally
release funds if a‘faster payment’process is
used (but thisgenerates a £15 fee for every
transaction).Face to face engagement with
the bank has not resolved the issues so a
formal complaint has been submittedto
Barclays. Action will be taken to transferthe
majority of funds to a different bank in the
coming FY.
2. If the current fundraising lead steps down,
a replacement will be needed to offset any
risk that the level of un-prompted supporter
or ad-hoc donor contributions fall and more
emphasis needs to be placed on planned
events. However, the Trustees feel confident
(giventheaccount balance and history of
outgoings) that the selection process does
notneed to berushed.|
|---|---|---|
## **Structure, Governance and Management**
|Description of charity’s
trusts:|||
|---|---|---|
|Type of governing document
(trust deed, royalcharter)|Para 1.25|Trust Deed|
|How is the charity
constituted?
(e.g unincorporated
association, CIO)|Para 1.25|Trust|
|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|Endorsement, agreement and unanimous
election by the existing Trustees in
accordance with Roles & Responsibilities
(Trustees) sectionof theFoundation
Constitution.|
## **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|None. The current Trustees have been in
role since the ALF was created (no time limit
has been set for Trustee rotation). If a new
Trustee is appointed at any stage, a Charity
Commission recommended induction
pathwaywillbe sought andimplemented.|
|---|---|---|
|The charity’s organisational
structure and any wider
network with which the
charity works|Para 1.51|The 3 Trustee format is extremely effective
for decision making. To date, there has been
no cause to invoke a majority vote on any
issue, requestorproposal.
The creation of a Beneficiary Outreach role
has provided some benefit this year but
needsfurtherdevelopment by theTrustees|
and post holder. Publicity brought through free advertising in Gunner Magazine (the Journal of the Royal Artillery) and several business forums in Essex (attended by the Marketing and PR lead) have all led to applications for support. None. Relationship with any related Para 1.51 parties
## **Reference and Administrative details**
|Charityname|TheAaron LewisFoundation|
|---|---|
|Other name the charity uses|ALF|
|Registered charitynumber|1151539|
|Charity’s principal address|37 Rectory Avenue
Rochford
Essex
SS43AW|
## **Names of the charity trustees who manage the charity**
|**Trustee name**
**Office (if any)**
**Dates acted if not for whole**
**year**
**Name of person (or body) entitled**
**to appoint trustee(if any)**
1
Mrs Helen Lewis
Archivist
2
Mr Steven Fraser
Secretary and Chair
of Trustees
3
MrSimon Jones
Corporate trustees –names ofthe directors at the date thereportwas approved
**Director name**
None.|**Trustee name**|**Office (if any)**|**Office (if any)**|**Dates acted if not for whole**
**year**|**Dates acted if not for whole**
**year**|**Name of person (or body) entitled**
**to appoint trustee(if any)**|
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
||Mrs Helen Lewis|Archivist|||||
||Mr Steven Fraser|Secretary and Chair
of Trustees|||||
||MrSimon Jones||||||
|**Director name**|||||||
|None.|||||||
Name of trustees holding title to property belonging to the charity
**Trustee name Dates acted if not for whole year** None.
**Funds held as custodian trustees on behalf of others**
Description of the assets None. held in this capacity Name and objects of the N/A. charity on whose behalf the assets are held and how this falls within the custodian charity ’ s objects Details of arrangements for N/A. safe custody and segregation of such assets from the charity ’ s own assets
## **Additional information (optional)**
## **Names and addresses of advisers (Optional information)**
**Type of Name Address adviser** None. **Name of chief executive or names of senior staff members (Optional information)**
## **Exemptions from disclosure**
Reason for non-disclosure of key personnel details
None.
## **Other optional information**
None.
## **Declarations**
**The trustees declare that they have approved the trustees ’ report above.**
**Signed on behalf of the charity ’ s trustees**
**Signature(s) Full name(s)** Steven David Fraser MBE **Position (eg Secretary,** Chair of Trustees and Secretary **Chair, etc) Date** 31 December 2025
||**The Aaron Lewis Foundation**|**The Aaron Lewis Foundation**|**The Aaron Lewis Foundation**|||||||**1151539**|||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
|**Section A Receipts and payments**
**Unrestricted**
**funds**
**Restricted**
**funds**
**Endowment**
**funds**
**Total funds**
**to the nearest £**
**to the nearest £**
**to the nearest £**
**to the nearest £**
**A1 Receipts**
**Receipts and payments accounts**
01/04/2024
31/03/2025
**To**
**For the period**
**from**
**e**e
e
ee||||||||||||**Last year**
**to the nearest £**
**CC16a**|||
|Fundraising events|**24,034**||**-**|**-**|**-**||**-**|**-**|**-**|**24,034**||**29,596**|**29,596**||
|Donations|**23,634**||**-**|**-**|**-**||**-**|**-**|**-**|**23,634**||**19,956**|**19,956**||
|Bank interest|**1,410**||**-**|**-**|**-**||**-**|**-**|**-**|**1,410**||**1,035**|**1,035**||
||**-**||**-**|**-**|**-**||**-**|**-**|**-**|**-**||**-**|**-**||
||**-**||**-**|**-**|**-**||**-**|**-**|**-**|**-**||**-**|**-**||
||**-**||**-**|**-**|**-**||**-**|**-**|**-**|**-**||**-**|**-**||
||**-**||**-**|**-**|**-**||**-**|**-**|**-**|**-**||**-**|**-**||
||**-**||**-**|**-**|**-**||**-**|**-**|**-**|**-**||**-**|**-**||
|**_Sub total_**_(Gross income for_
_AR)_|_AR)_
**49,078**||**-**|**-**|**-**||**-**|**-**|**-**|**49,078**||**50,587**|**50,587**||
|**A2 Asset and investment sales,**
**(see table).**
**-**
**-**
**-**
**-**
**-**
**-**
**-**
**-**
**-**
**_Sub total_ -**
**-**
**-**
**-**
**-**
**_Total receipts_**
**49,078**
**-**
**-**
**49,078**
**50,587**
**A3 Payments**
————~~——~~|||||||||||||||
|Cost of fundraising events|**5,712**||**-**|**-**|**-**||**-**|**-**|**-**|**5,712**||**7,022**|**7,022**||
|Grants and donations paid|**27,873**||**-**|**-**|**-**||**-**|**-**|**-**|**27,873**||**18,227**|**18,227**||
|Bank charges|**216**||**-**|**-**|**-**||**-**|**-**|**-**|**216**||**244**|**244**||
|Stationery and sundries|**5,686**||**-**|**-**|**-**||**-**|**-**|**-**|**5,686**||**915**|**915**||
||**-**||**-**|**-**|**-**||**-**|**-**|**-**|**-**||**-**|**-**||
||**-**||**-**|**-**|**-**||**-**|**-**|**-**|**-**||**-**|**-**||
||**-**||**-**|**-**|**-**||**-**|**-**|**-**|**-**||**-**|**-**||
||**-**||**-**|**-**|**-**||**-**|**-**|**-**|**-**||**-**|**-**||
||**-**||**-**|**-**|**-**||**-**|**-**|**-**|**-**||**-**|**-**||
|**_Sub total_ **|**39,487**||**-**|**-**|**-**||**-**|**-**|**-**|**39,487**||**26,408**|**26,408**||
|**A4 Asset and investment**
**purchases, (see table)**
**-**
**-**
**-**
**-**
**-**
**-**
**-**
**-**
**_Sub total_ -**
**-**
**-**
**-**
**-**
**_Total payments_**
**39,487**
**-**
**-**
**39,487**
**26,408**
**_Net of receipts/(payments)_**
**9,591**
**-**
**- 9,591**
**24,179**
**A5 Transfers between funds**
**-**
**- -**
**-**
**-**
**A6 Cash funds last year end**
**108,630**
**- -**
**108,630**
**84,451**
**_Cash funds this year end_**
**118,221**
**-**
**- 118,221**
**108,630**
————~~——~~
=====>>|||||||||||||||
CCXX R1 accounts (SS)
1
## **Section B Statement of assets and liabilities at the end of the period**
**----- Start of picture text -----**
||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
|Unrestricted|Restricted|Endowment|
|Categories|Details|funds|funds|funds|
|to nearest £|to nearest £|to nearest £|
|B1 Cash funds|Cash accounts|118,221|-|-|
|-|-|-|
|-|-|-|
|Total cash funds|118,221|-|-|
|—====|
|(agree balances with receipts and payments|
|account(s))|OK|OK|OK|
|Unrestricted|Restricted|Endowment|
|funds|funds|funds|
|Details|to nearest £|to nearest £|to nearest £|
|B2 Other monetary assets|-|-|-|
|-|-|-|
|-|-|-|
|-|-|-|
|-|-|-|
|-|-|-|
|—=——|
|Fund to which|Current value|
|Details|asset belongs|Cost (optional)|(optional)|
|B3 Investment assets|-|-|
|-|-|
|-|-|
|-|-|
|-|-|
|a|
|Fund to which|Current value|
|Details|asset belongs|Cost (optional)|(optional)|
|B4 Assets retained for the|-|-|
|charity’s own use|-|-|
|-|-|
|-|-|
|-|-|
|-|-|
|-|-|
|-|-|
|-|-|
|iss|
|Fund to which|Amount due|When due|
|Details|liability relates|(optional)|(optional)|
|B5 Liabilities|-|
|-|
|-|
|-|
|-|
|Signed by one or two trustees on|Date of|
|behalf of all the trustees|Signature|Print Name|approval|
|S Fraser|08/11/2025|
|——|
|CCXX R2 accounts (SS)|2|
**----- End of picture text -----**
## **Independent examiner's report on the accounts**
## **Section A Independent Examiner’s Report**
**Report to the trustees/** Charity Name The Aaron Lewis Foundation **members of On accounts for the year** 31/03/2025 **Charity no** 1151539 **ended (if any) Set out on pages** 1-2 (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 trustees of the Trust, you are responsible for the preparation **basis of report** of the 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 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 (other than that disclosed below *) in connection with the examination which gives me cause to believe that in, any material respect:
- accounting records were not kept in accordance with section 130 of the Act or
- the accounts do not accord with the accounting records
- 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 order to enable a proper understanding of the accounts to be reached.
* _Please delete the words in the brackets if they do not apply._
**Signed: Date:** 29/12/2025 ~~|~~
**Name:** Louise Renaut ~~Ce~~ **Relevant professional** FCCA **qualification(s) or body (if any): Address:** 18 Earls Hall Avenue Southend-on-Sea Essex SS2 6PD
**October 2018**
1
**IER**
## **Section B Disclosure**
Only complete if the examiner needs to highlight 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** .
**October 2018**
2
**IER**