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2026-03-31-accounts

CARING IN BRISTOL LIMITED

ANNUAL REPORT AND AUDITED ACCOUNTS FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31 MARCH 2026

CHARITY REGISTRATION NUMBER: 1151645 COMPANY REGISTRATION NUMBER: 8419424

CARING IN BRISTOL LIMITED

INDEX TO THE FINANCIAL ACCOUNTS FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31 MARCH 2026

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CONTENTS PAGE
LEGAL AND ADMINISTRATIVE INFORMATION 1
REPORT OF THE 2
AUDITOR’S REPORT 17
STATEMENT OF FINANCIAL 21
BALANCE SHEET 22
STATEMENT OF CASH FLOWS 23
NOTES TO THE FINANCIAL STATEMENTS 24
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CARING IN BRISTOL LIMITED

LEGAL AND ADMINISTRATION INFORMATION

Constitution

Caring in Bristol Limited is a company limited by guarantee and a registered charity governed by its Articles of Association.

Charity number 1151645 Company number 8419424

Auditors

Trustees and directors

The trustees of the charity who were in office during the year and up to the date of signing the financial statements were:

Felicity Clark Chair Joanna Strong Vice-Chair [to 27.05.26] Raluca Tudor Treasurer & Trustee [from 31.07.25] Matthew Morrison Trustee [to 20.08.25] Philip Parry Trustee Bejide Kafele Trustee Allan Freeman Trustee [to 29.04.26] Sophia Gibbs Trustee Jerry Milton Trustee Emily Hamilton Trustee Alex Milliner Trustee Sian Eddy Trustee [from 31.07.25] Claire Routledge Trustee [from 31.07.25 to 27.03.26]

Staff Management Team Ali Baeta [from April 2026] Claire Coleman Emma Prout [to April 2026] Helen McCartan Mijanou Blech [to July 2025] Robin Adlem Victoria Bell

Registered address 3 Pritchard Street, Bristol, BS2 8RH

Godfrey Wilson Limited Chartered accountants and statutory auditors 2[nd] Floor South, One Castle Park, Tower Hill, Bristol, BS2 OJA

Solicitors

Bevan Brittan 1 Queen Street Bristol, BS2 0HQ

Bankers

Unity Trust Bank plc Nine Brindleyplace Birmingham, B1 2HB

The Affirmative Deposit Fund 9 Bonhill Street London, EC2A 4PE

Triodos Bank Deanery Road Bristol, BS1 5AS

Nationwide Building Society Nationwide House Pipers Way Swindon, SN38 1NW

Monmouthshire Building Society Monmouthshire House John Frost Square Newport, NP20 1PX

CARING IN BRISTOL LIMITED REPORT OF THE TRUSTEES

CHAIR’S INTRODUCTION

Caring in Bristol began in 1987 as Caring at Christmas, when a group of Bristolians responded to urgent need by jumping into action for people facing homelessness at a time when other services were closed. What started as a grassroots act of compassion has grown into a city-wide charity working all year round, but our founding spirit remains the same: to spot gaps in the systems around us and develop practical, innovative ways to respond.

That legacy still shapes everything we do, while the need has grown. Almost 40 years later, our flagship Christmas project now offers safety, care and access to longer term support to hundreds of people, powered by an extraordinary team of volunteers. When temperatures drop and the Severe Weather Emergency Protocol is activated, we jump into action to open night shelters for guests referred to us from the city’s rough sleeping outreach teams. Alongside this, we now focus on homelessness prevention, encompassing direct support for people to avoid or alleviate a housing crisis, community empowerment to build networks to help people access support and influencing system change to tackle the root causes of homelessness and build lasting impact across Bristol.

Our work is rooted in the belief that a safe and secure home is a human right, yet for many people in our city it remains out of reach. Years of underinvestment has left social housing oversubscribed, temporary accommodation stretched, and too many people facing long periods of uncertainty which can escalate into crisis. At the same time, Bristol’s private housing market is among the least affordable in the country, with unaffordable rents, poor conditions, unjust landlord practices and overcrowding affecting those with the fewest options.

As people become frustrated with the broken system, they seek affordable places to live, either relocating to cheaper Bristol suburbs, moving in with family/friends or living in vehicles to avoid rough sleeping. Compounded by the rise of individualised society and divisional narratives in the media, this can lead to tensions and fragmented communities where people experience stigma and isolation, and don’t feel secure. These pressures do not affect everyone equally. We know minoritised groups are disproportionately at risk of homelessness due to discrimination and intersecting disadvantages, while existing channels for support are not easily accessible for all. We have turned our attention in particular to EDI in the past year, identifying where we can do more to build equity and inclusion into our services.

Bristol has always been a city shaped by grassroots activism, creativity and alternative thinking. It is a diverse city with a strong tradition of solidarity, and Caring in Bristol is a product of that spirit. We believe things can be different here, and we want to help Bristol become a model for coordinated, collective action to end homelessness.

As we look ahead to our 40th anniversary and beyond, our focus is on staying true to our refreshed values while growing stronger. We will continue to be agile, compassionate and community-led, stabilising our foundations, empowering our people and evolving with the needs of the city we serve.

Felicity Clark, Chair of the Board of Trustees

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QUOTES FROM THE YEAR

“Oh, the meals we have... The meals, the drinks and the entertainment. The staff are so nice. They are always coming over and asking, ‘Do you need anything?’ They are so caring!”

Caring at Christmas guest

“ It’s my highlight of the year. It’s my favourite week of the year. If I could do it every day, I would. ... It’s such a valuable service and we see so many amazing people who just need a chance.”

Caring at Christmas Volunteer

“I am overjoyed and extremely grateful as Caring in Bristol were the only organisation that would help me or even call me back when I was in need” Early Doors client

“Thank you so much for everything, I honestly don’t know how I would have managed this all by myself- I feel like you’ve been like my guardian angel ” Project Z floating support client

“Attending the food club has also connected me with vital support beyond food. I’ve been able to speak with Jess, the Early Doors Housing Rights Support Worker, who has given me really helpful advice about my housing situation” Bristol Goods food club member

“I’ve learned about topics I knew very little about, and in doing so, I’ve realised that some of my own previous views weren’t fully informed. Most importantly, I feel valued and respected here; it’s a space where my thoughts and opinions are listened to and taken seriously. Thank you to everyone involved. ” Co -production group member

‘No one has treated me as well as I was treated by you guys (Z House staff and PZ). You are not like all the other organisations’ Z House guest

OBJECTIVES AND ACTIVITIES

PURPOSES

The charitable purposes of Caring in Bristol are restricted to the following:

‘The relief of those in need by reason of youth, age, ill-health, disability, financial hardship or other disadvantage.’

THE AIMS OF CARING IN BRISTOL

This year marked the end of our 5-year Blueprint for Change. In the process of creating the new strategy in autumn, we have refined our mission, goals and values.

Our mission is to unite Bristol to end homelessness.

Our approach is defined by four values:

Curiosity

We learn, share and work alongside everyone in our community to create services that achieve our vision. Our clients and communities inform the design, delivery, and evaluation of our work. We collect and apply evidence to build partnerships and embed our impact. We generously share our resources, time, skills and learnings.

Collaboration

We recognise we cannot operate in isolation. Collaboration is the most effective way to end homelessness. We actively build relationships and networks that add strength to our mission. We embrace the power of lived experience and community insight in shaping our activities. We work hard to create and hold safe and meaningful spaces for everyone involved with Caring in Bristol. Diverse backgrounds, experiences, and perspectives elevate our work.

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Creativity

There is not a “one size fits all” approach in our work. We commit to fresh-thinking and creating tailor-made solutions that deliver a better future for both individuals and our city. We maintain an open-minded approach that maintains our agility and leads to innovation and pioneering work.

Tenacity

We aim to create lasting change rather than quick fixes, working in a strategic and methodical way, maintaining focus on long term solutions. We show up, build trust, and approach difficult conversations with determination and patience. Whether it applies to advocacy for an individual, a community, or wider campaigning, we show grit and resourcefulness to achieve the best outcome.

ENSURING CARING IN BRISTOL’S WORK DELIVERS OUR AIMS

Trustees consider how planned activities will contribute to our aims and objectives, holding the senior leadership to account. Trustees receive updated reports from senior members of staff at both sub-committees and board meetings, which take place each quarter. Minutes and actions are recorded and circulated to the staff leadership team.

In the past year we have established five new key objectives in collaboration with our staff team, which pull together the elements required to meet our overarching aim of uniting Bristol to end homelessness. This work is moving steadily forward, while our services continue to deliver meaningful support to people experiencing housing insecurity.

HOW OUR ACTIVITIES DELIVER PUBLIC BENEFIT

All charitable activities focus on the prevention or relief of poverty, specifically though directly working with adults and young people at risk of or experiencing homelessness, community advocacy, and influencing change. Many of our projects engage a significant number of volunteers from the local community, and our campaigns and communications work are aimed at changing public perceptions and expectations of homelessness services locally, including increasing the effectiveness of prevention. All Caring in Bristol services are free at the point of access, with the exception of Bristol Goods, that charges £3.50 a week to its members as part of a food club model.

Our Theory of Change sets out five refreshed goals for the charity, within three themes – which set out how our activities seek to deliver public benefit:

DIRECT SUPPORT

  1. People we support have a more secure and better-quality place to live

  2. People we support are better equipped to maintain their living situation

COMMUNITY ADVOCACY & EMPOWERMENT

  1. People in Bristol advocate for themselves and others experiencing housing insecurity

  2. Collective action by people in Bristol drives solutions to homelessness

INFLUENCING CHANGE

  1. Decision makers make more effective and compassionate decisions to improve housing and reduce homelessness in our city

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ACHIEVEMENTS & PERFORMANCE DIRECT SUPPORT

Early Doors

Early Doors is targeted at communities at risk of homelessness, providing interventions that inform and support at an earlier stage than other services. Heading into the fourth year of the service, despite some key staffing changes and a largely new team, Early Doors has become a trusted presence in key communities that are under-resourced and experiencing significant housing insecurity.

In South Bristol, our Outreach Worker continues to attend hundreds of community events and meetings, making sure knowledge of housing rights and how to seek support is shared as widely as possible. We run a weekly drop-in alongside housing advice partners and organize a monthly drop-in specifically for social housing tenants who are dealing with issues that could put their tenancies at risk.

We were invited by Bristol City Council to pilot the Early Doors approach in a new area in 2025, targeting Southmead. This is an area with a recognized lack of housing support services, alongside a pressured housing supply. Our team has built links with several local anchor organisations, identifying spaces to offer support and beginning to work with community members. We know that authentic outreach work in a new community takes time, while we build trust and connections, and we are currently exploring options for the best activities to pilot there in the coming year.

Our second Housing Rights Support Worker became an established part of the team in 2025 and has increased our capacity to support people with early indicators of homelessness risks. The Early Doors team provided direct oneto-one support to 194 clients from April 2025 - March 2026, up from 164 the previous year. This is accompanied by a significant increase in the length of time workers spent directly supporting longer-term clients, demonstrating the increasing depth of the work.

SWEP

For a second winter, Caring in Bristol were the city council’s chosen provider for five “pop up” night shelters for people experiencing rough sleeping during activations of cold weather SWEP.

Working closely with St Mungo’s and Bristol City Council, we continued our commitment to improving the experience for staff, volunteers and service users. We secured provisions to offer a simple breakfast for guests at the shelters and worked to build a regular team of volunteers who could enhance the wrap-around support offered on the nights of an activation.

There was only one activation of SWEP during winter 2025-26, during which we operated two shelters. This work is a vital life-saving intervention which also enables us to build strong foundational relationships with key decision makers in the city and engage our volunteers in our approach.

Project Z

Project Z is our floating support for people aged 16-25 who are disproportionately impacted by Bristol’s housing crisis. The team continues to go from strength to strength, providing support to 86 young people this year, an increase of over 10% from the previous year. Project Z floating support is flexible and holistic, covering all the issues that can contribute towards a young person’s risk of homelessness.

Young people are particularly impacted by the ever-increasing pressure on the local authority where demand for housing and support greatly outstrips supply, and insufficient housing stock leads to decisions we then work to challenge. The young people we work with have been considered outside of statutory “priority need”, so our floating support staff work alongside them to gain access to their entitlements, as well as supporting them with factors that increase the risk of homelessness; ranging from mental health problems, employment and education, substance use, budgeting, access to household essentials, and the skills required to live independently.

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This year we paused our work with university student placements while we assessed their effectiveness and focused our capacity on other work. This has enabled the development of a partnership project with Bristol’s commissioned provider for the statutory youth homelessness pathway, 1625ip. This project creates a dedicated support route for young people staying in Emergency Accommodation in Bristol, through a new role at 1625ip and a priority referral route into Project Z support. This 2-year pilot will help us understand the issues this cohort of young people are experiencing; while ensuring they have access to tailored support to reduce their risk of long-term homelessness.

Z House

This reporting period saw the first full year of our 7-nights-a-week service at our Z House night shelter for 18–25 year-olds. From April 2025 to March 2026, we hosted 24 young people, achieving positive onward outcomes for 90% of them. Feedback from the young people has continued to help shape the evolution of the services and based on the growing risks of homelessness for young people with experience of displacement and seeking asylum, we have built strong links with specialist refugee charities to streamline inter-organisational referrals and support. We commissioned an external expert researcher to conduct an evaluation of the first 12 months of the project and have shared her report to help showcase our successful approach to other organisations.

The service has been evolving ever since launch. To ensure we are providing person-centered wraparound support in addition to the overnight stays, we have tweaked the operational model, drafting in skilled paid nightworkers, a change from the original volunteer-based model. This decision represents a bigger financial investment, but it was felt necessary to greatly improve the safety and efficacy of the service.

Within our youth work and across other services, we are finding an increasing number of the people we work with require a translation service for us to be able to communicate effectively with them. For many people, being able to speak through an interpreter using their preferred language allows us to support them far more effectively. This is an important and growing aspect of our work requiring additional time from staff and financial investment.

COMMUNITY ADVOCACY & EMPOWERMENT

Bristol Goods

Caring in Bristol has delivered 107 food club sessions in South Bristol during the year, serving 349 unique service users. As well as fulfilling a need for people experiencing food insecurity, Bristol Goods food clubs act as an outreach tool for our Early Doors homelessness prevention service.

Our food club at Imperial Apartments has an ongoing membership which has allowed us to build a picture of several ongoing issues that residents experience. We continued to use our position of influence to advocate for these clients, with considerable success in the past year. The building management company is working with us to shape a new facility they are building on site, which will create space for community-building and a purpose-built support hub which will enable us to provide more effective interventions.

Our Hartcliffe food club has seen demand increase in light of the ongoing rise in the cost of living, and the lack of other support available to local people. We are in the process of assessing how to ensure that our work is targeting people resulting in impact in the most meaningful way, whilst remaining a welcoming space for people who would not access support elsewhere.

In addition, our weekly youth-focused food club takes place in our central youth hub, with some young people now on board as peer volunteers, supporting the running of the service. It is an “open door” club, and members include some of the young people staying at our youth accommodation or receiving floating support.

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Caring at Christmas

In December 2025, the Caring at Christmas day centre opened its doors to 508 unique visitors during the week 24[th] -30[th] December. The centre was run by staff from across the organisation alongside almost 500 volunteers, demonstrating Caring in Bristol’s ability to activate the community to create a warm and welcoming space for those who need it the most.

Year-on-year we build on the support we can offer at the day centre, through our own housing support workers, as well as bringing in multiple partner organisations including access to vaccinations, a GP service, podiatry, haircuts and mental health support alongside more festive entertainment via the cinema, daily activities, musical programme and the provision of nutritious, healthy food. Much of the food is supplied to us by Bristol restaurants and suppliers and a special thank you goes as usual to Josh Eggleton and his team who cook an amazing Christmas dinner at a temporary kitchen set up in the Trinity Centre car park.

We continued to offer the Christmas pantry and personal shopping experience for clothing, where guests can choose from donated items to fit their needs and taste.

Alongside the day centre, Caring in Bristol’s fleet of volunteer drivers delivered delicious meals and gift hampers to around 200 insecurely housed households, referred to us by our many partners across the city including St Mungo’s, One25, Salvation Army, Addiction Recovery Agency and 1625 Independent People.

Handbooks

We continue to produce our blue crisis handbook, with 2025’s edition seeing more demand than ever. We distributed 8,000 copies to partners across the city who work with those in crisis, or at risk of crisis; including hospitals, job centres, supported housing providers, addiction services, prisons, St Mungos outreach and many more. These handbooks are distributed to people at moments when they are most at risk, opening up knowledge of where and when to access practical support.

Our work to create an online equivalent directory was paused in 2025 due to organizational changes but will be a priority in 2026.

2,500 copies of our yellow homelessness prevention booklet were produced in early 2025, with these increasingly popular among partners who work with those at an earlier stage of housing insecurity, with the goal of preventing homelessness risk before a crisis occurs. Spaces these booklets were supplied include GP practices, food banks, educational settings and community centres in the most disadvantaged areas of Bristol. Requests for these booklets continue to be received and a new edition will launch in summer 2026.

INFLUENCING CHANGE

Bristol Homeless Forum

One of our charity’s Co-Directors sits on the steering groups for the Bristol Homelessness forum with five other key local sector leaders. As a charity we can influence the content and delivery of the cross-agency forum meetings, with our Co-Director’s most recent input being pushing for discussions about increasing instances of hate crime within communities, and designing an entire forum focused on ensuring all sector organisations have access to high quality information about operating trauma-informed services.

Bristol City Council Strategic Review

In 2025 the city council’s new 5-year strategy was confirmed, with our Co-Director being a key member of the strategic steering group, contributing ideas and feedback. Our representative is now a Lead for the resulting action plan with Caring in Bristol taking ownership of selected elements that fit with our own strategic goals, while holding the local authority to account for their own commitments. This year we will hold and push forward on the supply of accessible, good quality and up-to-date information about their rights and support available in the city.

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Community Outreach & Volunteering

Through Caring in Bristol’s extensive network of volunteers who contribute to Caring at Christmas, Bristol Goods and Early Doors co-production and now SWEP, we are able to inform and empower a large number of Bristolians. Our volunteer training covers changing perceptions about homelessness, and our ongoing community outreach empowers members of the public to understand their housing rights and access routes to support.

During this reporting period we developed Community Advocate training, which we will be piloting over the next year. This is designed to educate and empower community members to identify people at risk of homelessness, and signpost them to support at an earlier stage, with the goal of preventing a crisis. We have generated considerable interest in this through our outreach work and sector network, with the aim to train people with roles in their communities where they can make the biggest impact.

Campaigns and Communications Approach

Our communications are intentionally framed to shift mindsets, dismantling stereotypes, and reinforcing that homelessness is not inevitable. This approach strengthens understanding of our solutions-focused service delivery model.

Authentic voices from people with lived experience, alongside those of our volunteers and staff, are central to our communications. This ensures our messaging reflects lived experience, community support, and professional expertise, amplifing voices that are too often unheard.

In summer 2025 we responded to an open letter by a national homelessness charity about a housing development in Bristol where we operate a weekly food club and support service. Our call for clear concise actions, and our relational approach, meant we achieved successful changes to benefit our clients. We have since been meeting with the management of the housing development to ensure they follow through on their promises.

Towards the end of the year, we became a major partner in the activation of the We Rent campaign, ensuring people in our regions understand the changes to the law instigated by the Renters Rights Act.

DEVELOP EVIDENCE TO MOBILISE CHANGE

Research and Impact

This year we strengthened our commitment to Monitoring, Evaluation, and Learning (MEL) by bringing in a dedicated staff member to further develop our MEL strategy, processes, and systems. We have made significant strides in improving our internal systems and data-collection processes, while ensuring linkages with our new organisational strategy and each programme’s new Theory of Change. This includes working to simplify and strengthen impact measures across the organisation and for each of our programmes of work. Our aim for the upcoming year is to continue improving data measurement processes and accuracy, including finalising improved systems that will enable easier data collection and analysis through our internal systems.

Research also plays a key role in our continued learning and growth. This includes commissioning and utilising external research to provide an objective evaluation of our work. This year, an external evaluation of the first 12 months of service for our youth night shelter, Z House, was completed by Dr. Ella Harris. With the launch of the government's new homelessness strategy, we have also been working to continuously evaluate our place within the larger Bristol and national homelessness infrastructure.

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BUILD A BEST PRACTICE CHARITY ORGANISATION

Equity, Diversity and Inclusion

To build on the implementation of the EDI policy last year, we commissioned a full EDI audit to help us identify our biggest areas of focus, risk and priorities. The report from this has now helped us to build a three-year strategy and action plan. The EDI working group continues to have oversight of this and helps to drive it forward while formal responsibility for EDI has been allocated to one of the Co-Directors. The central tenets of our commitment to EDI continue to be to go beyond just our legal responsibilities and take a broader view of inclusion, recognising in particular the multiple and intersectional challenges that are faced by those at risk of or experiencing homelessness.

Our next step is to integrate this 3-year plan into our strategy to ensure it remains a priority across all aspects of our organisation, with the work due to be completed over the summer. We will continue to strive to improve in all areas and know there is still work to be done and continue to seek the voice of lived experience where possible, rather than making assumptions about access to our organisation, whether that be as an employee, a volunteer or someone using our services.

Reflection

Caring in Bristol fosters a culture of reflection to build staff self-awareness and continual improvement. Staff continue to participate in Reflective Practice sessions with a skilled external facilitator, focusing on learning and building trust. Staff also have access to individual clinical supervision on a monthly basis, creating a confidential space for them to discuss their work and its emotional impact outside of the line management chain. This is an important outlet for staff who often deal with vicarious trauma through supporting our clients.

Back Office Support

To improve the strategic reach of the Co-Director (Operations), and ensure we have the right support, resources, processes and systems in place for our teams, this year we have invested in an HR & Operations Manager and will recruit a Finance Manager from April 2026. This has enabled us to significantly improve our HR processes and policies and support our management team in developing their HR knowledge and the support of their teams.

KEEP OUR INCOME SUSTAINABLE AND INDEPENDENT

Income Generation Approach

We continue to develop our diverse fundraising strategy to maximise our return on investment with the aim of maintaining an agile approach to supporting more people experiencing homelessness in our local community.

In an increasingly difficult fundraising climate, we recognise the need to invest in our fundraising capacity. With the introduction of a new part-time Fundraising Manager we hope to free up capacity within the team to focus on the acquisition and stewardship of our higher-lever donors in the coming year. We also recruited a new part-time Grants and Impact Manager to strengthen our fundraising capacity and our ability to evidence outcomes, better understand the impact of our work, and support service development.

We would like to thank all of our donors and supporters for their ongoing support, which enables us to continue to help people experiencing homelessness in Bristol, large or small, their contributions are hugely appreciated.

We take an ethical and non-exploitative approach to fundraising and aim to put the donor and our clients at the heart of our fundraising work. Caring in Bristol is registered with the Fundraising Regulator and adheres to the Fundraising Code of Practice.

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In 2025 Caring in Bristol did not use any external agencies for fundraising. There has been no failures by the charity, or by any person acting on its behalf, to comply with the Fundraising Code of Practice. In the year we have not received any complaints regarding fundraising communications.

As member of the Fundraising Regulator we strive to protect potentially vulnerable individuals through adhering to the Fundraising Code of Practice.

Partners

We wish to thank every one of our supporters and funders who financially contributed to our work including the following organisations who provided grant funding:

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1625 Independent People Social Bite
29 [th] May 1961 Charitable Trust Singer Foundation
Astley Trust Souter Charitable Trust
Bristol City Council St Martin-in-the-Fields
Building Societies Trust St Pauls Mission House Trust
Desmond Harris Charitable Trust Street Smart
Feeding Bristol Swire Charitable Trust
Garfield Weston Foundation Tesco Strong Starts (Groundwork Grant)
Harkness Family Foundation The Albert Hunt Trust
Henry Smith Foundation The Alchemy Foundation
John James Bristol Foundation The Big Give Trust
Just Life Foundation The Hobson Charity
Mabel Cooper Charitable Trust The Lalonde Trust
Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local The National Lottery Community Fund
Government – NightShelter Transformation Fund
Newby Trust Limited The Nisbet Trust
Oak Foundation The Raindance Charitable Trust
Parry Family Charitable Foundation The Steni Trust
Portishead Nautical Trust The Sunrise Foundation
Quartet Community Foundation Triodos Foundation
Ross Family Trust Zurich Community Trust
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Caring Corporates

Our Corporate and Community Partnerships have continued to grow over the year, including the continued development of our ‘Caring Corporates’ programme, which was updated to strengthen the impact of our collaborations. This year, we partnered with 27 businesses, including five new Caring Corporate partners, two of whom joined at the two highest partnership levels.

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CARING IN BRISTOL LIMITED

We would like to thank:

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Bristol Student Lets / Clifton Rentals MOD Abbey Wood DE&S
Bray Leino Events Modern
Bright Event Management Nexus Planning
Burges Salmon nLighten
Calibro Runway East
Cogito Taylor Wimpey
Cryer & Coe Veezu
JLL Waterman Aspen
Leggwork Woodstock Homes
Miller Independent Property Management
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In June of 2025, Caring in Bristol were unexpectedly required to return the van we had leased which had been essential to Caring in Bristol’s operations. Generously, our partners at Woodstock Homes offered to purchase a van and gift it to Caring in Bristol, ensuring sustainability in our projects and ensuring Caring in Bristol staff focus could remain on making a difference in the community during this period of uncertainty. Thank you to Woodstock Homes for their continued support, partnership and generosity.

Caring Local

Caring Local is an informal partnership programme developed for local independent businesses. Caring Local encompasses support from independent businesses across Bristol, promoting buying local within Bristol in the process.

We would like to thank:

Same Again Box-E

Community Partners

Caring in Bristol is fortunate to have numerous community partners providing outstanding support. From traditional fundraising to community events and generous donations, our community partners have gone above and beyond to help Caring in Bristol.

We would like to thank:

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Rotary Club of Bristol Mothers’ Union Christchurch Hanham
Badminton School PCC St Mary’s Fishponds
Bristol Breakfast Rotary Club Redland Park URC Church
Bristol Choral Society Redmaids’ High School
Bristol Grammar School St. Mary The Virgin Leigh Woods
Bristol Masons The Pink Elephant Club
Christ Church Clifton Thornbury Lions Club
Gasworks Choir Westbury on Trym Church
Gordano School Wrington Women’s Institute
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Press and PR

Our relationship with local media has meant that we have become a trusted and expert voice in our field. Our approach to person-centred, well-framed narratives mean that we are able to influence public mindsets, encouraging people to rethink perspectives on housing insecurity and homelessness, and activating willingness to support change. We have often been the first port of call for journalism students who wish to explore the themes of our work, enabling us to have a formative influence on their work, and to reach student audiences.

Some examples of Caring in Bristol in the press in FY26 include:

FINANCIAL REVIEW

As planned, the financial year ended with a deficit of £125,694. Thanks to a strong fundraising performance and lower expenditure than forecast, the deficit was lower than anticipated, putting the charity in a good position going into the new financial year. We can report net income of £28,779 in our restricted funds and a deficit of £154,473 in unrestricted funds. This represents a planned investment of charity reserves in additional services and back-office support over the last financial year, whilst maintaining strong financial reserves.

The Trustees continue to monitor the Charity’s financial position, and at the time of writing this report, the Board are satisfied that Caring in Bristol can continue operating as a going concern in the long term.

INVESTMENT POLICY

Caring in Bristol seeks to maintain the capital value of its assets, maintain liquidity and produce the best financial return within an acceptable level of risk, whilst acting in accordance with its ethical standards.

As Caring in Bristol has a small asset base, capital volatility cannot be tolerated and therefore all investments are held in the form of cash. Cash deposits are split so that no one institution holds all of the charity’s total cash balance. All cash balances are deposited in institutions regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority and the Prudential Regulation Authority.

The charity manages its own cash deposits. We monitor the cash position and prospective cashflow, reporting this to the Finance and Income Generation Committee, and through them to the board.

RESERVES POLICY

The trustees have considered appropriate levels of reserves retained for safe financial management and are of the continuing view that Caring in Bristol should hold between four and seven months of running costs as a free reserve (£535,418 to 936,982).

This policy is revisited and discussed by the Board every year.

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Reasons for Reserves

The key continuing financial risks facing the charity are decreasing donations and not securing grants to continue existing projects and commitments, as well as the need to secure funds to support our core costs. As a result, the Board continues to be mindful of ensuring adequate reserves are held to cover the following main risks:

A reasonable reserves balance is therefore required to mitigate these risks and to provide flexibility to develop and pilot new areas of work when opportunities and need arise.

Current Reserves position

As shown in the balance sheet to the accounts, the total funds balance at 31 March 2026 is £867,943. Of this £88,022 are restricted fund balances not available for the general purposes of the charity. The balance of free unrestricted reserves within the General Fund is £779,921, which represents 5.8 months’ running costs and is in line with our stated reserve target.

PLANS FOR FUTURE PERIODS

In FY27 we plan the following key pieces of work:

These developments require ongoing financial investment which started in FY26 and continues into FY27, for which we will use free reserves held above our reserves policy level, as agreed with the Trustees. Our reserves built up during a time of staffing changes and the delay in building work for our new youth overnight service. During this year we will be using our forthcoming renewed strategy to aid future financial planning, ensuring the stability of the charity as it grows.

STRUCTURE, MANAGEMENT AND GOVERNANCE

GOVERNING DOCUMENT

Caring in Bristol Limited is a company limited by guarantee and has charitable status. The charity is governed by its Articles of Association (dated 26 February 2013 revised 17 October 2024) Caring at Christmas operated as a registered charity from 1989 until the charity was incorporated in 2013 and the name subsequently changed to Caring in Bristol.

13

CARING IN BRISTOL LIMITED

REPORT OF THE TRUSTEES

BOARD OF TRUSTEES

On 31 March 2026 the trustee board consisted of 11 trustees who have a wide range of skills and experience. A term is three years and trustees can serve two consecutive terms after which they must step down for at least two years, unless the Trustees consider it would be in the best interests of the Charity for a particular Trustee to continue to serve for a third term without stepping down. The Board then votes to extend the term and that Trustee is reappointed in accordance with the Charity’s Articles of Association. The trustees, together with the Co-Directors, identify the skills and experience required of the trustees to ensure that the board reflects the needs of the charity and those it serves.

Induction for prospective board members commences with an invitation to attend a board meeting as an observer. This introduces a candidate to the format of a meeting and typical discussions.

Once co-opted onto the board, they receive documentation laying out the legal responsibilities they take on. Meeting other trustees and staff provides detailed background on the charity. A ‘buddy’ system is used where appropriate. The Chair meets regularly with trustees on a one-to-one basis to encourage feedback and check wellbeing.

Updates of information on governance, training opportunities etc. are circulated by the Chair to trustees as they become necessary. Training sessions are also held which can be face to face or run as online sessions. Whilst the trustees are responsible for governance, they have delegated day-to-day running of the charity to the Co-Directors.

The board meets regularly (each quarter), with additional sessions as needed.

The board delegates certain responsibilities to the Finance and Income Generation [FING] Committee, whose remit includes detailed review and monitoring of the annual budget and management accounts; monitoring of income generation performance; and approval of any annual salary increases. The FING Committee meets quarterly and reports back to the board.

The Board took the decision to create several new sub committees: HR, EDI, and Services, Impact & Learning Committee (SILC). These sub committees will meet regularly, report to the board, consist of at least two trustees and members of staff and will work of specific areas which impact the charity.

The board delegates the day-to-day management of the charity to the two Co Directors. The Co-Directors and members of the Senior Leadership Team submit written reports and attend all board meetings. The Co-Directors are held to account through regular reports on progress against objectives and through one-to-one meetings with the Chair.

STAFFING & HR

The team (end of March 2026) comprised 25 members of staff.

The Co-Directors oversee all Caring in Bristol’s work and line manage the senior managers of the organization.

The Co-Director leadership model was put in place as an interim structure following the departure of the previous Chief Executive in July 2025. These roles were filled by Claire Coleman Co-Director and Emma Prout during the FY26 year. Emma has since moved on to a new role, and the trustees thank her for her years of service. The trustees believe the Co-Director model is well suited for Caring in Bristol and has been made permanent and recruitment is underway for a permanent Co-Director to work alongside Claire. Ali Beata joined in April 2026 as an interim director to support Claire and the staff team through the recruitment process to ensure important operation work is held.

Thanks to the ongoing work of staff and trustees, Caring in Bristol has a robust structure, and all services, projects, and plans were unaffected, continuous, and will remain so, into the future.

14

CARING IN BRISTOL LIMITED

REPORT OF THE TRUSTEES

VOLUNTEER SUPPORT

We were delighted to welcome a new Volunteering Manager during this period, who has brought a wealth of community development and volunteering scheme management experience to the organisation.

Once again, our incredible community of volunteers stepped up in December—with nearly 500 people generously giving their time to support those experiencing homelessness during one of the toughest times of the year. The high number of returning volunteers shows the safe, welcoming, and rewarding environment we’re proud to offer. This year we focused on building a base of support volunteers, with enhanced experience and training. This elevates the service we can provide the day centre guests, by offering increased support and more opportunities to access longer term services.

We have built a solid foundation of volunteers at the Bristol Goods foods clubs, many of whom are from the local community and have accessed the service themselves. Volunteering is a key way to ensure the service is shaped by its members and local people.

Within SWEP and Z House, volunteers bring additional value to the projects, supporting staff and enhancing the offer to our clients.

Our Volunteering Manager is now working on building up a solid foundation of year-round volunteers who can support us with office tasks, outreach and campaigns alongside operational services.

RISK MANAGEMENT

The trustees continue to monitor the risk register as a standing item and make improvements. The trustees seek to manage such risks to an acceptable level, and this remains an important area for attention.

The senior management team reviews the risks to which the charity is exposed before board meetings. Risks are highlighted in papers to board. This allows the board to focus their attention on the most relevant and strategic risks.

Particular risks the organisation faced this year include the ongoing challenge to achieve sustainable income growth to match increased expenditure commitments; and the recruitment and retention of staff with the expertise and skills needed to thrive in a challenging sector.

The trustees will continue to review the major risks to which the charity is exposed, and systems will continue to be evolved, adapted and reviewed to manage those risks.

CHARITY GOVERNANCE CODE 2017

Whilst not a legal requirement to be compliant, the trustees aim to follow the seven principles of the Code and are committed to good governance and a desire to contribute to the charity’s continued improvement.

RESPONSIBILITIES OF THE TRUSTEES

Statement of responsibilities of the trustees

The trustees (who are also directors of the charity for the purposes of company law) are responsible for preparing the trustees' report and the financial statements in accordance with applicable law and United Kingdom Accounting Standards, including Financial Reporting Standard 102: The Financial Reporting Standard applicable in the UK and Republic of Ireland (United Kingdom Generally Accepted Accounting Practice).

15

CARING IN BRISTOL LIMITED

REPORT OF THE TRUSTEES

Company law requires the trustees to prepare financial statements for each financial year, which give a true and fair view of the state of affairs of the charity and of the income and expenditure of the charity for that period. In preparing those financial statements the trustees are required to:

The trustees are responsible for keeping proper accounting records which disclose with reasonable accuracy at any time the financial position of the charity and which enable them to ensure that the financial statements comply with the Companies Act 2006. The trustees 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.

In so far as the trustees are aware:

The trustees are responsible for the maintenance and integrity of the corporate and financial information included on the charitable company's website. Legislation in the United Kingdom governing the preparation and dissemination of financial statements may differ from legislation in other jurisdictions.

Members of the charity guarantee to contribute an amount not exceeding £1 to the assets of the charity in the event of winding up. The trustees are members of the charity but this entitles them only to voting rights. The trustees have no beneficial interest in the charity.

Auditors

Godfrey Wilson Limited were re-appointed as auditors to the charitable company during the year and have expressed their willingness to continue in that capacity.

Approved by the trustees on 20 August 2026 and signed on their behalf by

Felicity Clark

Chair of Trustees Caring in Bristol Limited

16

Independent auditors' report

To the members of

Caring in Bristol Limited

Opinion

We have audited the financial statements of Caring in Bristol Limited (the 'charity') for the year ended 31 March 2026 which comprise the statement of financial activities, balance sheet, statement of cash flows and the related notes to the financial statements, including a summary of significant accounting policies. The financial reporting framework that has been applied in their preparation is applicable law and United Kingdom Accounting Standards, including Financial Reporting Standard 102: The Financial Reporting Standard applicable in the UK and Republic of Ireland (United Kingdom Generally Accepted Accounting Practice).

In our opinion, the financial statements:

Basis for opinion

We conducted our audit in accordance with International Standards on Auditing (UK) (ISAs (UK)) and applicable law. Our responsibilities under those standards are further described in the Auditor’s responsibilities for the audit of the financial statements section of our report. We are independent of the charity in accordance with the ethical requirements that are relevant to our audit of the financial statements in the UK, including the FRC’s Ethical Standard, and the provisions available for small entities, in the circumstances set out in note 7 to the financial statements, and we have fulfilled our other ethical responsibilities in accordance with these requirements. We believe that the audit evidence we have obtained is sufficient and appropriate to provide a basis for our opinion.

Conclusions relating to going concern

In auditing the financial statements, we have concluded that the trustees’ use of the going concern basis of accounting in the preparation of the financial statements is appropriate.

Based on the work we have performed, we have not identified any material uncertainties relating to events or conditions that, individually or collectively, may cast significant doubt on the charity's ability to continue as a going concern for a period of at least twelve months from when the financial statements are authorised for issue.

Our responsibilities and the responsibilities of the trustees with respect to going concern are described in the relevant sections of this report.

Other information

The trustees are responsible for the other information. The other information comprises the information included in the annual report other than the financial statements and our auditor’s report thereon. Our opinion on the financial statements does not cover the other information and, except to the extent otherwise explicitly stated in our report, we do not express any form of assurance conclusion thereon.

17

Independent auditors' report

To the members of

Caring in Bristol Limited

In connection with our audit of the financial statements, our responsibility is to read the other information and, in doing so, consider whether the other information is materially inconsistent with the financial statements or our knowledge obtained in the audit or otherwise appears to be materially misstated. If we identify such material inconsistencies or apparent material misstatements, we are required to determine whether there is a material misstatement in the financial statements or a material misstatement of the other information. If, based on the work we have performed, we conclude that there is a material misstatement of this other information, we are required to report that fact.

We have nothing to report in this regard.

Opinion on other matters prescribed by the Companies Act 2006

In our opinion, based on the work undertaken in the course of the audit:

Matters on which we are required to report by exception

In the light of the knowledge and understanding of the charity and its environment obtained in the course of the audit, we have not identified material misstatements in the trustees’ report. We have nothing to report in respect of the following matters in relation to which the Companies Act 2006 requires us to report to you if, in our opinion:

Responsibilities of the trustees

As explained more fully in the trustees’ responsibilities statement set out in the trustees’ report, the trustees are responsible for the preparation of the financial statements and for being satisfied that they give a true and fair view, and for such internal control as they determine is necessary to enable the preparation of financial statements that are free from material misstatement, whether due to fraud or error.

In preparing the financial statements, the trustees are responsible for assessing the charity’s ability to continue as a going concern, disclosing, as applicable, matters related to going concern and using the going concern basis of accounting unless the trustees either intend to liquidate the charity or to cease operations, or have no realistic alternative but to do so.

18

Independent auditors' report

To the members of

Caring in Bristol Limited

Our responsibilities for the audit of the financial statements

Our objectives are to obtain reasonable assurance about whether the financial statements as a whole are free from material misstatement, whether due to fraud or error, and to issue an auditor’s report that includes our opinion. Reasonable assurance is a high level of assurance, but is not a guarantee that an audit conducted in accordance with ISAs (UK) will always detect a material misstatement when it exists. Misstatements can arise from fraud or error and are considered material if, individually or in the aggregate, they could reasonably be expected to influence the economic decisions of users taken on the basis of these financial statements.

Irregularities, including fraud, are instances of non-compliance with laws and regulations. We design procedures in line with our responsibilities, outlined above, to detect material misstatements in respect of irregularities, including fraud. The procedures we carried out and the extent to which they are capable of detecting irregularities, including fraud, are detailed below:

(1) We obtained an understanding of the legal and regulatory framework that the charity operates in, and assessed the risk of non-compliance with applicable laws and regulations. Throughout the audit, we remained alert to possible indications of non-compliance.

(2) We reviewed the charity’s policies and procedures in relation to:

(3) We inspected the minutes of trustee meetings.

(4) We enquired about any non-routine communication with regulators and reviewed any reports made to them.

(5) We reviewed the financial statement disclosures and assessed their compliance with applicable laws and regulations.

(6) We performed analytical procedures to identify any unusual or unexpected transactions or balances that may indicate a risk of material fraud or error.

Because of the inherent limitations of an audit, there is a risk that we will not detect all irregularities, including those leading to a material misstatement in the financial statements or non-compliance with regulation. Irregularities that arise due to fraud can be even harder to detect than those that arise from error as they may involve deliberate concealment or collusion.

19

Independent auditors' report

To the members of

Caring in Bristol Limited

A further description of our responsibilities for the audit of the financial statements is located on the Financial Reporting Council’s website at: www.frc.org.uk/auditorsresponsibilities. This description forms part of our auditor’s report.

Use of our report

This report is made solely to the charityʼs members, as a body, in accordance with Chapter 3 of Part 16 of the Companies Act 2006. Our audit work has been undertaken so that we might state to the charityʼs members those matters we are required to state to them in an auditorʼs report and for no other purpose. To the fullest extent permitted by law, we do not accept or assume responsibility to anyone other than the charityʼs members as a body, for our audit work, for this report, or for the opinions we have formed.

Date: 20 August 2026

Robert Wilson FCA (Senior Statutory Auditor)

For and on behalf of:

GODFREY WILSON LIMITED

Chartered accountants and statutory auditors 5th Floor Mariner House 62 Prince Street Bristol BS1 4QD

20

Caring in Bristol Limited

Statement of financial activities (incorporating an income and expenditure account)

For the year ended 31 March 2026

Restricted
Note
£
Income from:
Donations and legacies
3
23,192
Charitable activities
4
819,483
Other
5
-
Total income
842,675
Expenditure on:
Raising funds
-
Charitable activities
813,896
Total expenditure
7
813,896
9
28,779
Reconciliation of funds:
Total funds brought forward
59,243
Total funds carried forward
88,022
Net income / (expenditure) and net
movement between funds		 Unrestricted
£
489,126
-
27,201
516,327
367,785
303,015
670,800
(154,473)
934,394
779,921		 2026
Total
£
512,318
819,483
27,201
1,359,002
367,785
1,116,911
1,484,696
(125,694)
993,637
867,943		 2025
Total
£
475,557
701,121
34,238
1,210,916
314,636
1,014,041
1,328,677
(117,761)
1,111,398
993,637

All of the above results are derived from continuing activities. There were no other recognised gains or losses other than those stated above. Movements in funds are disclosed in note 16 to the accounts.

21

Caring in Bristol Limited

Balance sheet

As at 31 March 2026

----- Start of picture text -----
2026 2025
Note £ £ £
Fixed assets
Tangible assets 12 28,440 40,645
Current assets
Debtors 13 53,872 48,504
Cash at bank and in hand 838,782 958,998
892,654 1,007,502
Liabilities
Creditors: amounts falling due within 1 year 14 (53,151) (54,510)
Net current assets 839,503 952,992
Net assets 15 867,943 993,637
Funds 16
Restricted funds 88,022 59,243
Unrestricted funds
General funds 779,921 934,394
Total charity funds 867,943 993,637
----- End of picture text -----

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

Approved by the trustees on 20 August 2026 and signed on their behalf by

Felicity Clark Chair of Trustees

22

Caring in Bristol Limited

Statement of cash flows

For the year ended 31 March 2026

Cash used in operating activities:
Net movement in funds
Adjustments for:
Depreciation charges
Dividends, interest and rents from investments
(Increase) / decrease in debtors
Increase / (decrease) in creditors
Net cash provided by operating activities
Cash flows from investing activities:
Dividends, interest and rents from investments
Purchase of tangible fixed assets
Net cash provided used in investing activities
Increase in cash and cash equivalents in the year
Cash and cash equivalents at the beginning of the year
Cash and cash equivalents at the end of the year		 2026
£
(125,694)
37,445
(13,188)
(5,368)
(1,359)
(108,164)
13,188
(25,240)
(12,052)
(120,216)
958,998
838,782		 2025
£
(117,761)
34,713
(16,736)
(35,358)
(40,265)
(175,407)
16,736
(8,940)
7,796
(167,611)
1,126,609
958,998

The charity has not provided an analysis of changes in net debt as it does not have any long term financing arrangements.

23

Caring in Bristol Limited

Notes to the financial statements

For the year ended 31 March 2026

1. Accounting policies

a) Basis of preparation

Caring in Bristol Limited is a charitable company limited by guarantee registered in England and Wales. The registered office address is:

3 Pritchard Street

Bristol, BS2 8RH

The financial statements have been prepared in accordance with Accounting and Reporting by Charities: Statement of Recommended Practice applicable to charities in preparing their accounts in accordance with the Financial Reporting Standard applicable in the UK and Republic of Ireland (FRS 102) (effective 1 January 2019) - (Charities SORP (FRS 102)), the Financial Reporting Standard applicable in the UK and Republic of Ireland (FRS 102) and the Companies Act 2006.

Caring in Bristol Limited meets the definition of a public benefit entity under FRS 102. Assets and liabilities are initially recognised at historical cost or transaction value unless otherwise stated in the relevant accounting policy note.

b) Going concern basis of accounting

The accounts have been prepared on the assumption that the charity is able to continue as a going concern, which the trustees consider appropriate having regard to the current level of unrestricted reserves. There are no material uncertainties about the charity's ability to continue as a going concern.

c) Income

Income is recognised when the charity has entitlement to the funds, any performance conditions attached to the item of income have been met, it is probable that the income will be received and the amount can be measured reliably.

Income from the government and other grants, whether 'capital' grants or 'revenue' 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.

For legacies, entitlement is taken as the earlier of the date on which either: the charity is aware that probate has been granted, the estate has been finalised and notification has been made by the executor(s) to the Trust that a distribution will be made, or when a distribution is received from the estate. Receipt of a legacy, in whole or in part, is only considered probable when the amount can be measured reliably and the charity has been notified of the executor's intention to make a distribution. Where legacies have been notified to the charity, or the charity is aware of the granting of probate, and the criteria for income recognition have not been met, then the legacy is treated as a contingent asset and disclosed if material.

24

Caring in Bristol Limited

Notes to the financial statements

For the year ended 31 March 2026

1. Accounting policies (continued)

d) Donated services and facilities

On receipt, donated professional services and donated facilities are recognised on the basis of the value of the gift to the charity which is the amount the charity would have been willing to pay to obtain services or facilities of equivalent economic benefit on the open market; a corresponding amount is then recognised in expenditure in the period of receipt.

e) Interest receivable

Interest on funds held on deposit is included when receivable and the amount can be measured reliably by the charity: this is normally upon notification of the interest paid or payable by the bank.

f) Funds accounting

Unrestricted funds are available to spend on activities that further any of the purposes of the charity. Designated funds are unrestricted funds of the charity which the trustees have decided at their discretion to set aside to use for a specific purpose. Restricted funds are donations which the donor has specified are to be solely used for particular areas of the charity's work or for specific projects being undertaken by the charity.

g) Expenditure and irrecoverable VAT

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

Irrecoverable VAT is charged as a cost against the activity for which the expenditure was incurred.

h) Allocation of support and governance costs

Support costs are those functions that assist the work of the charity but do not directly undertake charitable activities. Governance costs are the costs associated with the governance arrangements of the charity, including the costs of complying with constitutional and statutory requirements and any costs associated with the strategic management of the charity’s activities. These costs have been allocated between cost of raising funds and expenditure on charitable activities based on the proportion of staff time as follows:

2026 2025
Raising funds 27.3% 28.8%
Charitable activities 72.7% 71.2%

25

Caring in Bristol Limited

Notes to the financial statements

For the year ended 31 March 2026

1. Accounting policies (continued)

i) Tangible fixed assets

Depreciation is provided at rates calculated to write down the cost of each asset to its estimated residual value over its expected useful life. The depreciation rates in use are as follows:

Motor vehicles 5 years
Office equipment 3 years
Other equipment 3 years
Leasehold improvements 3 years

Items of equipment are capitalised where the purchase price exceeds £1,000.

j) Intangible fixed assets

Amortisation is provided at rates calculated to write down the cost of each asset to its estimated residual value over its expected useful life. The amortisation rates in use are as follows:

Website 3 years

k) Debtors

Trade and other debtors are recognised at the settlement amount due after any trade discount offered. Prepayments are valued at the amount prepaid net of any trade discounts due.

l) Cash at bank and in hand

Cash at bank and cash 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 opening of the deposit or similar account.

m) Creditors

Creditors and provisions are recognised where the charity has a present obligation resulting from a past event that will probably result in the transfer of funds to a third party and the amount due to settle the obligation can be measured or estimated reliably. Creditors and provisions are normally recognised at their settlement amount after allowing for any trade discounts due.

n) Financial instruments

The charitable company 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 with the exception of bank loans which are subsequently recognised at amortised cost using the effective interest method.

o) Pension costs

The company operates a defined contribution pension scheme for its employees. There are no further liabilities other than that already recognised in the SOFA.

26

Caring in Bristol Limited

Notes to the financial statements

For the year ended 31 March 2026

1. Accounting policies (continued)

p) Accounting estimates and key judgements

In the application of the charity's accounting policies, the trustees are required to make judgements, estimates and assumptions about the carrying values of assets and liabilities that are not readily apparent from other sources. The estimates and underlying assumptions are based on historical experience and other factors that are considered to be relevant. Actual results may differ from these estimates.

The estimates and underlying assumptions are reviewed on an ongoing basis. Revisions to accounting estimates are recognised in the period in which the estimate is revised if the revision affects only that period, or in the period of the revision and future periods if the revision affects both current and future periods.

The key sources of estimation uncertainty that have a significant effect on the amounts recognised in the financial statements are depreciation and amortisation as described in note 1(i) and 1(j) above.

2. Prior period comparatives: statement of financial activities

Income from:
Donations and legacies
Charitable activities
Other
Total income
Expenditure on:
Raising funds
Charitable activities
Total expenditure
Net expenditure and net movement in funds		 Restricted
£
£
24,379
451,178
701,121
-
-
34,238
725,500
485,416
-
314,636
823,825
190,216
823,825
504,852
(98,325)
(19,436)
Unrestricted		 2025
Total
£
475,557
701,121
34,238
1,210,916
314,636
1,014,041
1,328,677
(117,761)

27

Caring in Bristol Limited

Notes to the financial statements

For the year ended 31 March 2026

3. Income from donations and legacies

Donations and gifts
Gift aid
Grant income
Donated goods
Total income from donations and legacies
Prior period comparative:
Donations and gifts
Gift aid
Grant income
Donated goods
Total income from donations and legacies		 Restricted
£
£
23,192
344,593
-
50,225
-
52,601
-
41,707
23,192
489,126
Restricted
£
£
24,379
345,196
-
47,917
-
45,150
-
12,915
24,379
451,178
Unrestricted
Unrestricted		 2026
Total
£
367,785
50,225
52,601
41,707
512,318
2025
Total
£
369,575
47,917
45,150
12,915
475,557

28

Caring in Bristol Limited

Notes to the financial statements

For the year ended 31 March 2026

4. Income from charitable activities

2026
Total
£
Income from SWEP (Sever Weather Emergency Protocol)
23,918
Grants
795,565
819,483
All income from charitable activities in the current and prior year was restricted.
Included within charitable activities grant income are the following major funders:
2026
Total
£
In support of Prevention Services
Bristol City Council
24,936
Oak Foundation
175,000
Henry Smith Foundation
54,700
In support of Project Z
The Sunrise Foundation Grant Fund
40,000
In support of Z House (youth accommodation)
80,000
Other grants
The National Lottery Community Fund
135,000
Garfield Weston
50,000
5.
Other income
2026
Total
£
Interest received
13,188
Other income
14,013
27,201
Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local
Government – Night Shelter Transformation Fund		 2025
Total
£
62,474
638,647
701,121
2025
Total
£
24,936
165,000
-
40,000
80,000
112,500
-
2025
Total
£
16,736
17,502
34,238

All other income in the current and prior year was unrestricted.

6. Government grants

The charitable company receives government grants, defined as funding from Bristol City Council, The National Lottery Community Fund and the Ministry of Housing Communities and Local Government to fund charitable activities. The total value of such grants in the period ending 31 March 2026 was £239,936 (2025: £217,436). There are no unfulfilled conditions or contingencies attaching to these grants in 2025/26.

29

Caring in Bristol Limited

Notes to the financial statements

For the year ended 31 March 2026

7. Total expenditure

Staff costs (note 10)
Fundraising costs, marketing and promotion
Food, travel, accommodation and support for beneficiaries
Premises
Office and admin costs
On call provision: SWEP and Nightshelter
Grants payable (note 8)
Consultancy and evaluation
Project delivery costs
Depreciation
Resources for beneficiaries
Other staff costs recruitment etc
Volunteers
Clinical supervision
Trustee expenses and governance costs
Repairs and renewals
Travel and subsistence
Sub-total
Allocation of support and governance costs
Total expenditure		 Raising funds
£
187,439
82,241
-
-
-
-
-
12,400
-
-
-
2,467
-
1,657
-
-
548
286,752
81,033
367,785		 Charitable
activities
£
625,874
1,818
87,175
8,122
19,203
27,450
18,333
41,176
46,115
-
1,609
8,074
1,904
10,047
-
2,039
2,180
901,119
215,792
1,116,911		 Support and
governance
costs
£
125,059
-
5,506
52,427
36,435
-
-
6,004
-
37,445
-
17,330
-
2,402
10,058
4,024
135
296,825
(296,825)
-		 2026 Total
£
938,372
84,059
92,681
60,549
55,638
27,450
18,333
59,580
46,115
37,445
1,609
27,871
1,904
14,106
10,058
6,063
2,863
1,484,696
-
1,484,696

30

Caring in Bristol Limited

Notes to the financial statements

For the year ended 31 March 2026

7.
Total expenditure (continued)
Prior period comparative
Staff costs (note 10)
Fundraising costs, marketing and promotion
Food, travel, accommodation and support for beneficiaries
Premises
Office and admin costs
On call provision: SWEP and Nightshelter
Grants payable (note 8)
Consultancy and evaluation
Project delivery costs
Depreciation
Resources for beneficiaries
Other staff costs recruitment etc
Volunteers
Clinical supervision
Trustee expenses and governance costs
Repairs and renewals
Travel and subsistence
Sub-total
Allocation of support and governance costs
Total expenditure		 Raising funds
£
169,271
74,706
-
-
96
-
-
-
-
-
-
2,672
51
1,045
-
20
368
248,229
66,407
314,636		 Charitable
activities
£
551,937
462
61,211
6,899
10,696
42,419
41,000
37,636
36,537
-
25,336
6,647
12,652
9,160
-
6,073
1,305
849,970
164,071
1,014,041		 Support and
governance
costs
£
85,694
-
-
39,906
42,651
-
-
-
-
34,713
-
10,608
-
1,924
11,289
3,499
194
230,478
(230,478)
-		 2025 Total
£
806,902
75,168
61,211
46,805
53,443
42,419
41,000
37,636
36,537
34,713
25,336
19,927
12,703
12,129
11,289
9,592
1,867
1,328,677
-
1,328,677

31

Caring in Bristol Limited

Notes to the financial statements

For the year ended 31 March 2026

8. Grants payable

During the year, 1 (2025: 1) onwards grant was awarded to 1 institutions (2025: 1). Grants payable to institutions are included within the total expenditure note 7.

To institutions:
Housing Matters		 2026
£
18,333
18,333		 2025
£
41,000
41,000

9. Net movement in funds

This is stated after charging:

Depreciation
Operating lease payments
Trustees' remuneration
Trustees' reimbursed expenses
Auditors remuneration:
Statutory audit (excluding VAT)
Other services		 2026
£
37,445
67,704
Nil
Nil
8,000
Nil		 2025
£
34,713
550
Nil
Nil
7,500
1,260

In common with other charities of our size and nature we use our auditors to assist with the preparation of the financial statements.

10. Staff costs and numbers

Staff costs were as follows:

Salaries and wages
Social security costs
Pension costs		 2026
£
807,722
91,265
39,385
938,372		 2025
£
706,968
65,182
34,752
806,902

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

The key management personnel of the charitable company comprise the Trustees, the Chief Executive Officer, and the Senior Leadership Team. The total employee benefits of the key management personnel were £305,530 (2025: £302,115).

32

Caring in Bristol Limited

Notes to the financial statements

For the year ended 31 March 2026

10. Staff costs and numbers (continued)

Average head count
Raising funds
Charitable activities
Support		 2026
No.
6
15
3
24		 2025
No.
6
13
3
21

11. Taxation

The charity is exempt from corporation tax as all its income is charitable and is applied for charitable purposes.

12. Tangible fixed assets

Cost
At 1 April 2025
Additions in year
Disposals
At 31 March 2026
Depreciation
At 1 April 2025
Charge for the year
On disposals
At 31 March 2026
Net book value
At 31 March 2026
At 31 March 2025		 -
22,000
-
22,000
-
3,300
-
3,300
18,700
-
Motor
vehicles		 £
48,296
3,240
-
51,536
35,216
6,580
-
41,796
9,740
13,080
Office
equipment		 £
£
1,500
82,695
-
-
-
-
1,500
82,695
1,500
55,130
-
27,565
-
-
1,500
82,695
-
-
-
27,565
Other
equipment
Leasehold
improvements		 Total
£
132,491
25,240
-
157,731
91,846
37,445
-
129,291
28,440
40,645

33

Caring in Bristol Limited

Notes to the financial statements

For the year ended 31 March 2026

13. Debtors

Trade debtors
Prepayments and accrued income
Other debtors
Creditors : amounts due within 1 year
Trade creditors
Accruals
Taxation and social security
Other creditors		 2026
£
-
52,327
1,545
53,872
2026
£
11,188
35,739
447
5,777
53,151		 2025
£
3,746
42,663
2,095
48,504
2025
£
9,469
22,638
18,644
3,759
54,510

14. Creditors : amounts due within 1 year

15. Analysis of net assets between funds

Tangible fixed assets
Current assets
Current liabilities
Net assets at 31 March 2026
Prior period comparative
Tangible fixed assets
Current assets
Current liabilities
Net assets at 31 March 2025		 £
-
88,022
-
88,022
£
-
59,243
-
59,243
Restricted
funds
Restricted
funds		 £
28,440
804,632
(53,151)
779,921
£
40,645
948,259
(54,510)
934,394
General
funds
General
funds		 Total
funds
£
28,440
892,654
(53,151)
867,943
Total
funds
£
40,645
1,007,502
(54,510)
993,637

34

Caring in Bristol Limited

Notes to the financial statements

For the year ended 31 March 2026

16. Movements in funds

Restricted funds
Prevention Services
Winter Provision
Young People Services
St Martin in the Field
Other grants
Total restricted funds
General funds
Total unrestricted funds
Total funds
Unrestricted funds		 At 1 April
2025
£
13,168
-
46,075
-
-
59,243
934,394
934,394
993,637		 Income
£
171,920
36,114
255,141
17,000
362,500
842,675
516,327
516,327
1,359,002		 £
(163,834)
(36,114)
(248,773)
(4,675)
(360,500)
(813,896)
(670,800)
(670,800)
(1,484,696)
Expenditure		 £
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
Transfers
between
funds		 £
21,254
-
52,443
12,325
2,000
88,022
779,921
779,921
867,943
At 31 March
2026

Purposes of restricted funds

Prevention Services

Funds received to run a homelessness prevention service, including food insecurity service, finding new ways to reach people at risk of becoming homeless and provide the support they need to keep their home, comprising Bristol Goods and Early Doors.

Winter Provision

Funds received towards providing day support, including food, warmth, community and activities alongside professional support over the Christmas period, comprising Caring at Christmas funding and SWEP.

Young People Services

Funds received to assist with our service providing tailored support for young people who are experiencing or at risk of homelessness, including Z House, innovative night shelter accommodation for young people.

Other grants

Other grants consist of funds received in the year for supporting the salaries of project/service delivery staff and service costs across projects.

35

Caring in Bristol Limited

Notes to the financial statements

For the year ended 31 March 2026

16. Movements in funds (continued)

Restricted funds
Prevention Services
Winter Provision
Young People Services
Other grants
Total restricted funds
General funds
Total unrestricted funds
Total funds
Unrestricted funds
Prior period comparative		 At 1 April
2024
£
17,107
-
140,461
-
157,568
953,830
953,830
1,111,398		 Income
£
123,793
96,940
224,267
280,500
725,500
485,416
485,416
1,210,916		 £
(127,732)
(96,940)
(318,653)
(280,500)
(823,825)
(504,852)
(504,852)
(1,328,677)
Expenditure		 £
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
Transfers
between
funds		 £
13,168
-
46,075
-
59,243
934,394
934,394
993,637
At 31 March
2025

17. Operating lease commitments

The charity had operating leases at the year end with total future minimum lease payments as follows:

Amount falling due:
Within 1 year
Within 1 - 5 years		 2026
£
56,420
-
56,420		 2025
£
68,254
56,420
124,675

18. Related party transactions

In the current period there were donations of £3,610 from 6 trustees. There no related party transactions in the prior period.

36