Report and Financial Statements
For the Period Ended 31 December 2021
Charity number 1153638 Company number 08534364
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Conlidonlial
Contents
Trustee Report for the Period ended 31st December 2021 ................................................................... 3 Consolidated Income Statement ............................................................................................................ 8 Consolidated Balance Sheet.................................................................................................................... 9 Our Finances Notes to the Accounts .................................................................................................... 10 Trustee Declaration ............................................................................................................................... 11 Independent Examiner’s Report. .......................................................................................................... 12
Trustee Report for the Period ended 31st December 2021 2021 Annual Report Narrative
Introduction
2021 was the last year of Xavier Project’s 2019 - 2021 strategic plan. For everyone, these years were defined by the COVID-19 pandemic and this was also the case for our work in East Africa.
The focus of our 2019 strategy was on the growth of our partnerships with refugee-led organisations (RLOs) and community leaders. In 2019, we were working with RLOs in almost everything that we did although there were still numerous examples of projects that were led and implemented by Xavier Project.
By the start of 2020 we had published the first version of our award-winning “Capacity Strengthening and Sharing Course” for RLOs and many of the projects we were working on in partnership with RLOs included a provision for capacity strengthening. When COVID-19 arrived in East Africa in March 2020 this approach was brought to the fore as under strict lockdowns RLOS became more prominent as front-line responders. Xavier Project’s focus shifted from including capacity strengthening as an integrated aspect of larger projects, to using capacity strengthening, funding and co-ordination as a way to help RLOs achieve their own visions.
These monumental shifts in humanitarian response globally, and the increased spotlight on the role of RLOs in emergencies, resulted in a new interest from donors in East Africa intending to support their work. Fortunately, Xavier Project was well placed to play a catalytic role in connecting RLOs with funders, while helping RLOs take more and more ownership of the refugee response.
In 2021, our partners reached 24,479 refugees and host community members with meaningful services that improved their lives. This was up from 21,383 in 2020.
Xavier Project was able to support 21 RLO partners over the course of 2021 to achieve this impact through capacity strengthening and sharing support, funding, co-ordination support and advocacy.
Coming together of Xavier Project and Urban Refugees
At the end of 2021 we joined forces with the French not-for-profit, Urban Refugees. Urban Refugees was founded in 2012 and for the first few years focused primarily on advocating for urban refugees around the world. Over time, like Xavier Project, the organisation’s focus evolved so that by 2018 Urban Refugees was pioneering approaches in working with refugee-led organisations. As most of their partners were also based in East Africa, Xavier Project began close collaboration with their team. With considerable overlaps in our work, and aligned principles, core values and visions, we agreed
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that our work could be more effective and efficient by joining forces. Urban Refugees at this time compromised of four full-time staff and two boards. It was agreed that Xavier Project would take on Urban Refugees’ contracts in Uganda and that two of their team members there would join us fulltime. We believe that our collective efforts will go further in supporting and promoting refugee-led organisations.
Rebranding to Cohere
During the entirety of 2021 Xavier Project was working towards a full rebrand that would go live early in 2022. Rebranding was holistic with everything being refreshed, including our name. We engaged in a collaborative process that called on a wide range of stakeholders to contribute and feedback. Our ambition was to launch a new brand identity that more accurately captured our commitment to working together with refugees, capturing our journey and our vision for the future, as well as incorporating the legacy of Urban Refugees. We were fortunate that from August 2021 onwards we were supported through the process by Crispin Porter Bogusky, a branding agency who generously provided expert consultancy pro bono. It was a fascinating and transformative experience for our team in terms of defining who we are, where we are going and what we want to achieve. Our aim was to launch at the end of 2021, but due to some complications on the name, the final stages of the rebrand were transferred to 2022.
Capacity Strengthening and Sharing
In 2021 we delivered modules of our “Capacity Strengthening and Sharing Course” to 21 RLOs across Kenya and Uganda. 130 RLO leaders in total were trained in modules. We developed new modules for the course, and version two was published. The modules that were tested and launched included:
Financial Accounting Fraud Proposal Writing for Community Projects Managing Community Projects for Donors Gender and Inclusivity Building and Sustaining Partnerships Risk Management Safeguarding
We also developed new procedures for assessment, feedback and module development.
Various donor projects have enabled us to expand the reach of our course. Through our partnership with Open Society Foundations we were able to launch a call for proposals for partnership with Xavier Project for RLOs. Over 150 RLOs applied from 10 locations across Kenya and Uganda and 14 were selected for the project. Porticus, Education Cannot Wait and GIZ were among other donors who directly contributed to course delivery.
In addition to the course, Xavier Project were able to strengthen the capacity of RLOs by working in partnership in various funding consortia, whereby Xavier Project and RLOs had shared responsibilities in completing a funding programme. We began 2021 with four examples of these consortia and throughout the year we helped to elevate the role of RLOs within each consortia so that they had increased influence and power. In Uganda, we worked with three RLOs in a project funded by Comic Relief to support 1200 children with disabilities through education. By the end of the year we had added a fourth RLO and all RLOs were playing a more significant role in leading on activities and targets. In Kenya, we started a consortium with two RLOs in Kakuma funded by Open Societies University Network. Through this consortium the RLOs are taking a lead in enabling access to tertiary learning for 57 refugees, while Xavier Project supports with capacity strengthening and plays an
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intermediate fiduciary role for the donor. Also in Kakuma, Porticus have supported Xavier Project and two RLOs to train 120 parents in delivering social and emotional education to 512 children aged 4 - 8.
Other projects in Kakuma have included a project funded by GIZ to deliver life-skills and ICT courses to 5500 young refugees. This was similarly completed with four of our RLO partners who, like in Uganda, took on more responsibility as the project went on. After the completion of the project in April 2021, the donor, GIZ, felt ready to engage these partners directly and transfer funds to them without needing Xavier Project as an intermediary. This is exactly the kind of transition we want to see in our work - creating connections and trust between RLOs and donors so that funds, and as a result, the power sits with the RLOs to lead their own programmes. Lastly, in Nairobi, we partnered with three RLOs to support over 3100 refugees in accessing education opportunities and address barriers created by COVID-19 lockdowns. The donor funding this was Education Cannot Wait, and just as in Uganda and Kakuma, our RLO partners took responsibility for the day-to-day activities and expenses.
Together with the RLOs, we found that these shared projects made a big difference in supporting the RLOs’ capacity and potential to grow. They offered an opportunity for the RLOs to put into practice lessons learned during the capacity strengthening course. It was also encouraging to be able to increasingly step away from leading these projects - in the long term we would hope that Xavier Project would not need to act as a partner in a consortium, especially in terms of being responsible for outcomes at the community level.
Funding RLOs
We also supported RLOs by channelling funds directly to them. In 2021 Xavier Project transferred $90,993 to RLOs and RLOs were able to independently raise $391,423 between them from other donors. The newly developed finance modules of the capacity strengthening course go into depth and support RLOs in a nuanced way. Our finance team began running these modules with each RLO in 2021. We paired the delivery of each module with findings from due diligence assessments of each RLO which were conducted collaboratively early in the year. Later assessments and verification sessions enabled us to increase the amount of funding we were able to transfer directly to RLOs. Consequently RLOs were also in a stronger position to attract funding from other sources.
Co-ordination
RLOs are aware of the importance of co-ordinating their work so that their interventions can be complementary and so that they can learn from each other’s experiences. RLO co-ordination evolved in 2021 at every strata, from the global level, such as the Global Refugee Led Network, to regional, national, settlement/camp level and even within zones of refugee settlements. In parallel ways Xavier Project is able to support RLOs who want to co-ordinate across thematic areas and the consortia mentioned above enables this. In addition, Xavier Project supported a total of 52 co-ordination meetings with our partners.
In 2021, due to our joining forces with Urban Refugees, we took on a project funded by the US government that directly concerned supporting the national co-ordination of RLOs in Uganda. The Uganda Refugee Led Organisation Network (RELON) represents over 100 RLOs in Uganda and our team have provided funding as well as mentoring to their secretariat. We also supported RELON in Kenya with mentoring and funding towards an in-person strategy conference.
Advocacy
In 2021 we refined our approaches in advocacy. We focused our advocacy efforts on forums of stakeholders and promoted defined advocacy targets within these forums. In Kenya for example, we established the Refugee Leadership Sub-Group. This is a group of NGOs, RLOs and other actors who meet monthly to discuss refugee led initiatives in Kenya and joint advocacy is one of the objectives of
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the group. In 2021 we created a target that would see refugee leaders represented at all level of humanitarian co-ordination in Kenya. As a first step RELON Kenya as well as other RLOs were invited to be active members of RLSG and consequently we lobbied for RELON to be given access to the UNHCR Interagency Meetings. This is still pending. We also co-founded the Kenya chapter of the Charter4Change.
Throughout the year our advocacy work and messaging became more prominent in our communications. This increased our engagement on platforms like Twitter and LinkedIn. Our participation in networks and conferences such as the Charter4Change conferences in Kenya and Uganda gave us an opportunity to showcase and promote this work. We also held an event in a hotel in Nairobi for 30 partners which enabled us to showcase our work while exploring topics on capacity strengthening with a broad selection of partners. As part of an advocacy group we launched an anonymous Twitter account called Amplify Local which delivered advocacy messages around localisation and served to amplify the voices of local organisations.
Reframe
In 2021 we launched the prototype of the RLO platform www.reframe.network in collaboration with other RLOs. By the end of the year 50 RLOs had registered their profiles on the site. Reframe is already achieving one of its objectives - to profile the work of RLOs in a way that can be easily accessed, is consistent and easy to digest. RLOs are able to describe their work, their partnerships, their scope and budgetary needs, accompanied with images, videos and links. We also created a page for “submitting opportunities” that RLOs can use to see opportunities that could benefit them, from funding to networking, jobs, internships and panels. In addition, we established a “resource repository” for learning resources that might be useful for RLO leaders. We have been grateful for the funding we have received to develop the platform, which is enabling us to recruit a lead web-developer. The foundations are now in place for additional initiatives around project management software and financial transactions on the platform among other initiatives.
Monitoring and Evaluation
In 2021 we put steps in place to better measure the impact of our work in terms of the capacity of refugee leaders to take ownership of humanitarian aid. We developed methodologies for assessing activities within our four strategic objectives of capacity, funding, co-ordination and advocacy. These included due diligence assessment tools, observational assessment tools used by our teams in each location, and self-reporting progress tools conducted by RLO leaders themselves. With support from consultants from UNHCR’s Humanitarian Education Accelerator we also developed methodologies for assessing our scaling strategies.
Meanwhile, we were able to support our RLO partners in their own monitoring and evaluation methodologies. Predominantly this was achieved via our module on “proving impact” which many of our RLO partners completed. This module is especially helping them to measure their reach at the output level in a way that can be easily communicated. As we go into 2022 we are working on ways for RLOs to also measure their impact at the outcome level and communicate this information persuasively and consistently.
Fundraising
We are very grateful to all the donors who rallied behind our mission to support refugees in 2021. It was a year in which the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic continued to impact communities across the world, bringing with it unspeakable challenges and vast repercussions. These challenges were very real to refugees in East Africa. It was very touching that people from all over the world continued to support Xavier Projecr and continue to stand in solidarity with refugees during such uncertain times. We are grateful to the people who made one-off or regular donations throughout 2021, and to those
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individuals and groups who campaigned and raised funds on our behalf. A huge thanks to the donors and staff of foundations and institutional donor agencies who worked extra hard with us to pivot and adapt ways of working to ensure that their funding was spent effectively, efficiently and in a way that affords dignity to vulnerable populations. It was a challenging year, but our partners and our team have continued to make great strides. Thank you to everyone involved.
EDMUND PAGE
CEO
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Consolidated Income Statement
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Consolidated Income statement (GBP)
2021 2020
Total Unrestricted Restricted Total Unrestricted Restricted
Income
Donations and Legacies 720,462 137,700 582,761 640,865 199,279 441,585
Income from Charitable Activities 1,788 1,788 - - - -
Income from Other Activities 2,843 2,843 - 13,875 13,875 -
Intercompany transfers 0 - 0 (0) - (0)
Total Income 725,093 142,331 582,761 654,740 213,155 441,585
Expenses
- -
Costs of raising funds 54,628 54,628 42,975 42,975
Expenditure on charitable activities 679,811 88,320 591,491 556,302 105,297 451,005
General & Administrative costs 34,139 34,139 - 10,560 10,560 -
Total Expenses 768,579 177,088 591,491 609,837 158,832 451,005
Net Income(Expenses) and Net Movement
in Funds for Year (43,486) (34,756) (8,730) 44,903 54,323 (9,420)
Reconciliation of Funds
Total Funds B/F 108,598 108,598 70,672 70,672
Total Funds C/F 65,112 73,842 (8,730) 115,575 124,995 (9,420)
Other comprehensive income:
FX Impact on B/S Net Assets 4,282 4,282 (8,801) (8,801)
FX Impact on P&L - -
Total FX Impact: 4,282 4,282 - (8,801) (8,801) -
Total Funds C/F 69,394 78,123 (8,730) 106,775 116,195 (9,420)
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Consolidated Balance Sheet
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Consolidated Balance Sheet (GBP)
2021 2020
Total Total
Fixed Assets
PPE- Land
Land 37,800 36,000
Accumulated Dep
PPE- Land Total 37,800 36,000
PPE- Building
Cost 16,675 -
- -
Accumulated Dep
PPE- Building Total 16,675 -
PPE- Furniture
Cost 1,925 1,508
Accumulated Dep (896) (778)
PPE- Furniture Total 1,028 730
PPE-Computer
Cost 21,308 14,867
Accumulated Dep (13,181) (9,483)
PPE-Computer Total 8,127 5,384
PPE-Motor Vehicle
Cost 18,286 22,620
Accumulated Dep (10,654) (14,838)
PPE-Motor Vehicle Total 7,632 7,782
Fixed Assets Total: 71,262 49,896
Current Assets
Cash and Cash Equivalents 487,209 156,259
Cash in Transit - -
Receivables 35,362 4,506
Other Current Assets 5,451 5,659
Current Assets Total: 528,022 166,424
Current Liabilities
Payables 13,988 6,423
Deferred Income 509,555 95,946
- -
Intercompany
Staff Loans - -
Other Current Liability 6,347 7,177
Current Liabilities total: 529,890 109,545
Total Net Assets 69,394 106,775
The Funds of the Charity:
Unrestricted Income Fund 78,123 116,195
Restricted Income Fund (8,730) (9,420)
Total Charity Funds 69,394 106,775
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Our Finances Notes to the Accounts
Accounting basis
These financial statements have been prepared on an accruals basis.
Accounting convention
The financial statements have been prepared under the historical cost convention and in accordance with the Statement of Recommended Practice (SORP March 2005).
Incoming resources
All incoming resources are included in the Consolidated Income Statement when the charity is legally entitled to the income and the amount can be quantified with reasonable accuracy.
Resources expended
Expenditure is recognised on an accruals basis as a liability is incurred. Expenditure includes VAT which is reported as part of the expenditure to which it relates.
Corporation Tax
The charity is exempt from taxation in respect of Income and Capital Gains under section 505 of the Taxes Act 1988 and Section 256 of the Taxation of Chargeable Gains Act 1992 to the extend that such income or gains are applied exclusively to charitable purposes.
Trustee remuneration
Trustees received no remuneration.
Fund accounting
Restricted funds are subject to specific conditions by donors as to how they may be used.
Trust constitution
The Governing Document is the Articles of Association made on 17th May 2013. New Trustees are appointed by the existing Trustees.
Policy on reserves
The charity aims to have unrestricted funds of between £20,000 and £50,000 on deposit at all times to meet unforeseen expenses that may occur in meeting its aims, and to bridge any temporary gaps in income.
Deferred Income
The deferred income is income that was received in 2021 for a program that was started in 2022.
Financial Audit
The Xavier Project Financial statements have been audited by Geoffe & Associates in Kenya and Richard Charles & Partners in Uganda, who have both issued an unqualified audit opinion.
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Trustee Declaration
The trustees declare that they have approved the trustees report above.
Signed on behalf of the charity’s trustees
Signature
Full name: HAMISH REID
Position: TRUSTEE Date: 27/05/2022
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Independent Examiner’s Report.
I report on the accounts of Xavier Project for the year ended 31 December 2021.
Respective Responsibilities of trustees and examiner
The charity’s trustees are responsible for the preparation of the accounts. The charity’s trustees consider that an audit is not required for this year under section 144 of the charities act 2011(the charities act) and that an independent examination is needed.
It is my responsibility to:
- Examine the accounts under section 145 of the Charities Act.
• To follow the procedures laid down in the general directions given by the charity Commission (under section 145(5) (b) of the charities Act, and
- State whether particular matters have come to my attention
Basis of the Independent Examiner’s Statement
My examination was carried out in accordance with general directions given by the charity commission. An examination includes review of the accounting records kept by the charity and a comparison of the accounts presented with those records. It also includes consideration of any unusual items or disclosures in the accounts, and seeking explanation from the trustees concerning any such matters. The procedures undertaken do not provide all the evidence that would required an audit, consequently no opinion is given as to whether the accounts present a “true and fair” view and the report is limited to those matters set out in the statement below.
Independent Examiners Statements
In connection with my examination with my examination, no matter has come to my attention:
- Which gives me reasonable cause to believe that, in any material respect, the requirements
(i) to keep accounting records in accordance with section 130 of the Charities act; and (ii) to prepare accounts which accord with the accounting records and comply with the accounting requirements of the charities act have not been met; or
(ii). To which, in my opinion, attention should be drawn in order to enable a proper understanding of the accounts to be reached.
Neil Grogan
23[rd] May 2022
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