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2025-07-31-accounts

GRIEF TO GRACE

(Registered Charity No: 1156807) (Registered Company No: 08915103)

TRUSTEES’ REPORT AND

FINANCIAL STATEMENTS

31 JULY 2025

GRIEF TO GRACE

REPORT OF THE TRUSTEES

FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31 JULY 2025

REFERENCE AND ADMINISTRATION DETAILS

TRUSTEES / DIRECTORS Rev Dominic John Allain Mr Blaise Bradley Dr Samantha Duggan Dr Matthew Hawkins Fr Peter Mario Luciano Sebastian Mrs Henia Louisa Whiteman (appointed 20 March 2026) PASTORAL DIRECTOR Rev Dominic John Allain REGISTERED OFFICE 60 Webbs Road London SW11 6SE GOVERNING INSTRUMENT Memorandum and Articles of Association incorporated on 27 February 2014 CHARITY REGISTRATION NUMBER 1156807 COMPANY REGISTRATION NUMBER 08915103 INDEPENDENT EXAMINER Olayinka Tomori ACA, DChA Longmeade Consult Ltd The Old Rectory Springhead Road Northfleet DA11 8HN BANKERS CAF Bank Ltd 25 Kings Hill West Malling Kent ME19 4JQ SOLICITORS Stone King Boundary House 91 Charterhouse Street London EC1M 6HR

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GRIEF TO GRACE

REPORT OF THE TRUSTEES (continued)

FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31 JULY 2025

The Trustees, who are also Directors of the charity for the purposes of the Companies Act 2006, present their report with the financial statements of the Charity for the year ended 31 July 2025. The Trustees have adopted the provisions of Accounting and Reporting by Charities: Statement of Recommended Practice applicable to charities preparing their accounts in accordance with the Financial Reporting Standard applicable in the UK and Republic of Ireland (FRS 102) (second edition effective 1 January 2019).

Grief to Grace is a private charitable company limited by guarantee. The Directors of the charitable company are its Trustees for the purpose of charity law. None of the Trustees has any beneficial interest in the company.

STRUCTURE, GOVERNANCE AND MANAGEMENT

Constitution

Grief to Grace is a registered charity and registered company incorporated under a Memorandum and Articles of Association registered on 27 February 2014.

Appointment of Directors/Trustees

The trustees shall be members of the charity. The number of trustees shall not be less than three. The trustees have the power to appoint and remove trustees by resolution.

Management

The Board of Directors meets at least three times a year as required to manage the affairs of the charity. The charity has one full-time paid administrator.

Governance

The trustees review our aims and objectives each year in accordance with our articles of association. Grief to Grace’s priority is to ensure a safe environment for all who come into contact with us.

Safeguarding is essential to all that we do, especially given our client group. We continually evaluate our policies and procedures in the light of lived experience to ensure a culture of Safeguarding.

There are five trustees. One - the Pastoral Director – has operational responsibility for every aspect of the charity’s day-today activity both administrative and therapeutic and reports to the board. He is paid a consultancy fee.

OBJECTIVES AND ACTIVITIES

The charity’s Articles of Association state:

The objects of the charity shall be for the public benefit and charitable in law to promote and protect the physical and mental health of anyone who has suffered degradation or violation by physical, emotional, sexual or any other form of abuse through psychological treatment and spiritual direction primarily through residential courses and to educate the general public about the effects of abuse.

The charity principally pursues its aims by means of residential programmes run by a team of healthcare professionals, priests and trained volunteers. Although attendance fees are charged to participants, the cost of the programmes are subsidised and inability to pay is not a bar to participation.

Grief to Grace is a specialist programme of spiritual and psychological healing for those who have suffered emotional or physical abuse in childhood or adolescence, or violation in adulthood, including the victims of clergy abuse. It was created by Dr Theresa Burke, founder of Rachel’s Vineyard. It uses an expert understanding of the psychology of trauma to reveal how shame, compulsive and recurrent patterns of behaviour, self-harm or self-sabotage, as well as flashbacks, intrusive thoughts, anxiety and panic attacks all have their roots in an abusive past. The history is then opened to the healing of Christ, the Divine Physician, through specially designed scriptural meditations, prayer and sacraments. We walk the way of Christ’s Sorrowful Mysteries to his resurrection.

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GRIEF TO GRACE

REPORT OF THE TRUSTEES (continued)

FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31 JULY 2025

REVIEW OF THE YEAR AND ACTIVITIES

Aims

Our work aims to relieve the psychological and spiritual damage resulting to an individual from a history of abuse. In particular, we aim to alleviate the distress of those who have been sexually abused whilst in the care of priests, religious brothers and sisters or other office holders in the Roman Catholic Church. The principal activity and primary task is the provision of 5- night residential group experience programmes integrating psychological and spiritual means to grieve historical wounds, express this grief in different forms, to examine and correct the ways in which abuse impacted on selfidentity and to explore new identities no longer controlled by past defences and instinctual survival responses. We offer some remedial counselling to prepare and embed the work of the programme. We also aim to educate the Church and wider society in the chronic legacy caused by abuse and the kinds of specialist care and treatment which survivors of such abuse need.

Significant Developments

In April we relocated from our residential facility to a new office and consulting space approximately 3 miles away in Battersea, SW London. The relocation did impact our ability to maintain the same frequency of our residential programmes as in previous years but this was unavoidable given the proposed rent-hike on the previous premises. Relocation should result in reduced overheads longer- term, but this year’s financial return reflects the cost of this relocation.

Activities

The Grief to Grace programme or ‘retreat,’ offers a unique integration of spiritual and psychological healing for those who have suffered from sexual physical, emotional abuse or neglect in childhood or violation in adulthood. The programme is group-based and facilitated by a team comprised of professional psychotherapists, clergy spiritual directors and trained volunteers. We ran two residential programmes during this time and our counselling support team of credentialed therapists engaged in 675 hours of contact with users during the year. Our therapists continue to offer advocacy and support to those making disclosures to Safeguarding authorities or reporting historical offences to the Police.

Outreach

The Charity’s educational outreach continues with workshops given at the Carmelite Spirituality Centre, Boars Hill, Oxford, and several different parishes.

The UK Team now runs a second site in Scotland. A Spanish language version of the programme is being advertised for summer 2026 in Scotland.

PUBLIC BENEFIT

The trustees confirm that they have referred to the guidance contained in the Charity Commission’s general guidance on Public Benefit when reviewing the charity’s aims and objectives and in planning future activities. In particular, the trustees consider how planned activities will contribute to the aims and objectives they have set.

For the sake of public benefit, we continue to offer our Grief to Grace residential programme at heavily subsidised cost to users who pay £500 for a 5-night residential stay with full board and the equivalent of forty hours therapy, materials and aftercare. We also offer our remedial counselling at no cost to clients. The unwaged are offered an even further discount, according to their means.

FINANCIAL REVIEW

During the year the charity generated income of £292.4k (2024: £357.7k) including voluntary income of £264.9k (2024: 327.1k) and retreat fees of £21.4k (2024: £23.4k). Voluntary income included grants of £250.0k (2024: £314.3k) all of which was unrestricted.

Retreats are subsidised by voluntary income and direct costs of charitable activities amounted to £103.4k (2024: £138.2k) with additional costs of £175.4k (2024: £231.1k), arising mainly from additional staffing and rising costs of maintaining and running the retreat centre premises. Governance costs were £2.6k (2024: £2.3k).

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GRIEF TO GRACE

REPORT OF THE TRUSTEES (continued)

FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31 JULY 2025

FINANCIAL REVIEW (continued)

The net result was a surplus of £11.0k (2024: £13.8k deficit) all of which was unrestricted funds.

The activities of the charity continue to grow and additional support has been taken on to aid the process.

RESERVES POLICY

At the end of July 2025, free reserves stood at £331.8k (2024: £332.5k). It is the policy of the Trustees to hold the equivalent of six to twelve months’ expenditure in free reserves equivalent to £170.0k - £300.0k. The level of reserves at the year-end exceeds the upper limit of the policy.

Plans to continue putting the additional resources to use in the future require a commensurate growth in staffing and the number of retreats provided which can only grow organically as suitable people can be recruited and demand increases.

PLANS FOR THE FUTURE

We are supporting the formation of a Grief to Grace site in Cluj, Romania in May 2026 with team members from the UK travelling there to mentor a Romanian team who will eventually become autonomous.

STATEMENT OF TRUSTEES’ RESPONSIBILITIES

Company law requires the Trustees to prepare financial statements for each financial period which give a true and fair view of the state of affairs of the charitable company as at the balance sheet date and of its incoming resources and resources expended (including income and expenditure) for that period. In preparing these financial statements, the Trustees are required to:

The Trustees are responsible for the keeping of proper accounting records which disclose with reasonable accuracy at any time the financial position of the charitable company and which enable them to ensure that the financial statements comply with the Charities Act 2011 and Companies Act 2006. They have general responsibility for taking such steps as are reasonably open to them to safeguard the assets of the charitable company and to prevent and detect fraud and other irregularities.

The financial statements have therefore been drawn up to comply with the above statutory requirements, with the Memorandum and Articles of Association and the Accounting and Reporting by Charities: Statement of Recommended Practice applicable to charities preparing accounts in accordance with the Financial Reporting Standard applicable in the UK and Republic of Ireland (FRS102) (Second Edition effective 1 January 2019) – Charites SORP (FRS102).

Approved by the Trustees on 27[th] April 2026 and signed as authorised on their behalf by:


Fr Peter Mario Luciano Sebastian Director and Trustee

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INDEPENDENT EXAMINER’S REPORT TO THE TRUSTEES OF

GRIEF TO GRACE

FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31 JULY 2025

I report to the charity trustees on my examination of the accounts of the charitable company for the year ended 31 July 2025.

Responsibilities and basis of report

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

Having satisfied myself that the accounts of the charitable company are not required to be audited under Part 16 of the 2006 Act and are eligible for independent examination, I report in respect of my examination of your charity’s accounts as carried out under section 145 of the Charities Act 2011 (‘the 2011 Act’). In carrying out my examination I have followed the Directions given by the Charity Commission under section 145(5) (b) of the 2011 Act.

Independent examiner's statement

Since the charitable company’s gross income exceeded £250,000, your examiner must be a member of a body listed in section 145 of the 2011 Act. I confirm that I am qualified to undertake the examination because I am a member of the Institute of Chartered Accountants in England and Wales, which is one of the listed bodies.

I have completed my examination. I confirm that no matters have come to my attention in connection with the examination giving me cause to believe:

  1. accounting records were not kept in respect of the Company as required by section 386 of the 2006 Act; or

  2. the accounts do not accord with those records; or

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

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

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

Olayinka Tomori ACA, DChA

Longmeade Consult Ltd The Old Rectory Springhead Road Northfleet DA11 8HN

27[th] April 2026

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GRIEF TO GRACE

STATEMENT OF FINANCIAL ACTIVITIES (including Income & Expenditure Account)

FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31 JULY 2025

2025 2024
Notes Total Total
£ £
Unrestricted Unrestricted
INCOME
Donations 1 264,902 327,053
Investments income – bank interest 6,036 7,218
Income from Charitable Activities:
Retreat fees 21,418 23,424
---------------- ----------------
Total Income 292,356 357,695
---------------- ----------------
EXPENDITURE
Charitable activities 281,380 371,534
----------------- -----------------
Total expenditure 2 283,380 371,534
----------------- -----------------
Net income/(expenditure) 10,976 (13,839)
Fund balances brought forward
at beginning of period 332,455 346,294
------------------- -------------------
Fund balances carried forward
at end of period £343,431 £332,455
========= ==========

No separate summary income and expenditure account has been prepared because all the required information is given in the above statement.

All recognised gains and losses in the current period are included in the income and expenditure account.

All operations are continuing activities.

All funds held in the current and prior year are unrestricted.

The accompanying notes form part of these accounts.

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GRIEF TO GRACE

COMPANY NUMBER: 08915103

BALANCE SHEET

AS AT 31 JULY 2025

Notes 2025 2024
£ £ £ £
CURRENT ASSETS
Debtors – prepayments & accrued income 10,300 6,835
Cash at bank and in hand 341,114 351,538
------------------ ------------------
351,414 358,373
CURRENT LIABILITIES
Creditors: amounts falling due
within one year 5 (7,983) (25,918)
----------------- -----------------
NET CURRENT ASSETS 343,431 332,455
-------------------- --------------------
NET ASSETS £343,431 £332,455
========== ==========
Represented by:
FUNDS
Unrestricted 343,431 332,455
-------------------- --------------------
£343,431 £332,455
========== ==========

For the year ended 31 July 2025 the company was entitled to exemption from audit under section 477 of the Companies Act 2006 relating to small companies.

Directors’ responsibilities:

The members have not required the company to obtain an audit of its accounts for the period in question in accordance with section 476 of the Companies Act,

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

These accounts have been prepared in accordance with the provisions applicable to small companies subject to the small companies’ regime and in accordance with FRS102 SORP.

Approved by the Trustees on 27[th] April 2026 and signed on their behalf by


Fr Peter Mario Luciano Sebastian Director and Trustee

The accompanying notes form part of these accounts

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GRIEF TO GRACE

NOTES TO THE FINANCIAL STATEMENTS

FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31 JULY 2025

The principal accounting policies adopted, judgements and key sources of estimation uncertainty in the preparation of the accounts are laid out below.

Basis of preparation

The financial statements have been prepared in accordance with Accounting and Reporting by Charities: Statement of Recommended Practice applicable to charities preparing accounts in accordance with the Financial Reporting Standard applicable in the UK and Republic of Ireland (FRS102) (Second Edition effective 1 January 2019) – Charites SORP (FRS102)), the Financial Reporting Standard applicable in the UK and Republic of Ireland (FRS102) and the Companies Act 2006.

The accounts have been prepared under the historical cost convention with items recognised at cost or transaction value unless otherwise stated in the relevant accounting policies below or the notes to these accounts.

Critical accounting estimates and areas of judgement

Preparation of the accounts may require the trustees and management to make significant judgements and estimates. The principal matter is the assessment of the recoverability of sums treated as owing to or prepaid by the charity.

Assessment of going concern

The trustees have assessed whether the use of the going concern assumption is appropriate in preparing these accounts. The trustees have made this assessment in respect to a period of one year from the date of approval of these accounts.

The trustees of the charity have concluded that there are no material uncertainties related to events or conditions that may cast significant doubt on the ability of the charity to continue as a going concern. The trustees are of the opinion that the charity will have sufficient resources to meet its liabilities as they fall due. With regard to the next accounting period, the year ending 31 July 2026, the most significant factor likely to affect the financial future of the charity is the uncertainty of the general economic outlook and the potential effect on income levels if there were to be a significant downturn.

Funds

General funds represent those monies which are freely available for application towards achieving any charitable purpose that falls within the charity’s charitable objects.

Restricted funds comprise monies raised for, or their use restricted to, a specific purpose, or contributions subject to donorimposed conditions.

Financial instruments

The charity only has financial assets and financial liabilities of a kind that qualify as basic financial instruments. Basic financial instruments are initially recognised at transaction value and subsequently measured at their settlement value with the exception of bank loans which are subsequently measured at amortised cost using the effective interest method.

Taxation

The Company is a registered charity and its activities are mainly exempt from Corporation Tax. Thus, no taxation falls to be provided for in the financial statements.

Statement of Cash Flows

As a small charity, Grief to Grace is exempt from the requirement to produce a Statement of Cash Flows.

Operating lease commitments

Operating lease rentals are charged to the statement of financial activities on a straight-line basis over the period of the lease.

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GRIEF TO GRACE

NOTES TO THE FINANCIAL STATEMENTS

FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31 JULY 2025

Income

Income is recognised in the period in which the charity has entitlement to the income, the amount of income can be measured reliably, and it is probable that the income will be received.

Voluntary income, including legacies and donations, are recognised when receivable or when the charity becomes legally entitled to them. Investment income is recognised on a receivable basis.

Income received in advance of a Retreat or the provision of another specified service is deferred until the criteria for income recognition are met.

Donated services and facilities

Donated professional services and donated facilities are recognised as income when the charity has control over the item, any conditions associated with the donated item have been met, the receipt of economic benefit from the use by the charity of the item is probable and that economic benefit can be measured reliably. In accordance with the Charities SORP (FRS 102), general volunteer time is not recognised. 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.

Expenditure

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. Expenditure is classified under the following activity headings:

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

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.

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.

Creditors and provisions

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.

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GRIEF TO GRACE

NOTES TO THE FINANCIAL STATEMENTS

FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31 JULY 2025

1. VOLUNTARY INCOME
2025 2024
Total Total
£ £
Unrestricted Unrestricted
Grants
The Pontoon Trust 250,000 250,000
The Jesuits in Britain - 58,333
Catholic Bishops’ Conference of Scotland - 6,000
----------------- -----------------
250,000 314,333
Donations
General donations 12,142 10,260
Gift Aid donations 2,610 2,460
Appeals 150 -
----------------- -----------------
14,902 12,720
----------------- -----------------
£264,902 £327,053
======== ========

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GRIEF TO GRACE

NOTES TO THE FINANCIAL STATEMENTS (continued)

FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31 JULY 2025

2. 2025 2025 2025 2024
£ £ £ £
Unrestricted Restricted Total Total
Retreat expenses
Venue costs 29,889 - 29,889 46,664
Therapeutic services 68,023 - 68,023 83,288
Equipment 339 - 339 3,404
Volunteer costs 1,481 - 1,481 1,782
Training 542 - 542 617
Other direct costs 3,146 - 3,146 2,415
----------------- ----------------- ----------------- -----------------
103,420 - 103,420 138,170
----------------- ----------------- ----------------- -----------------
Staff cost 48,513 - 48,513 44,746
Premises 74,802 - 74,802 132,436
Legal and professional costs 28,248 - 28,248 33,084
Other support costs 23,837 - 23,837 20,838
----------------- ----------------- ----------------- -----------------
175,400 - 175,400 231,104
----------------- ----------------- ----------------- -----------------
Governance costs 2,560 - 2,560 2,260
----------------- ----------------- ----------------- -----------------
£281,380 £ £281,380 £371,534
======== ======== ======== ========
----------------- ----------------- -----------------
Total 2024 £371,534 £ £371,534
======== ======== ========
Included in Governance Costs are Independent Examiners fees (inc VAT) for:
Independent examination 1,260 1,140
Other services (including corporation tax returns) 960 720
--------------- ---------------
£2,220 £1,860
======= =======
Governance costs also include honoraria payments of £nil (2024: £3,100).
3. STAFF COSTS 2025 2024
£ £
Wages and salaries 44,296 43,475
Social security costs 4,217 1,271
Pension costs - -
---------------- ----------------
£48,513 £44,746
======== ========

No employee received emoluments of more than £60,000 in the year (2024: Nil)

The charity had two employees in the year (2024: Two).

The trustees who constitute the key management personnel did not receive any remuneration in the year (2024: £Nil).

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GRIEF TO GRACE

NOTES TO THE FINANCIAL STATEMENTS (continued)

FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31 JULY 2025

4. TRUSTEE REMUNERATION & RELATED PARTY TRANSACTIONS

No trustee received any form of remuneration in the period under review (prior year: Nil).

2025 2024
£ £
No expenses incurred on behalf of the charity were reimbursed
During the year (2024: None) £- £-
======== ========

Father Dominic Allain (Trustee/Director of the charity is also a trustee of the Pontoon Trust (registered charity number 1172421). During the year the charity received grants of from the Pontoon Trust of £250,000 (2024: £250,000) See Note 1.

Father Dominic Allain received consultancy fees of £45,000 in the year (2024: £60,000), in accordance with a contract for services commencing in April 2023 (£15,000 of the £60,000 in 2024 relates to April 2023 – July 2023 retrospectively).

No Trustee/Director received any honorarium during the year (2024: none).

5.

CREDITORS
2025 2024
£ £
Other taxes and Social Security 959 881
Other creditors and Accruals 7,024 25,037
---------------- ----------------
£7,983 £25,918
======== ========

6. MEMBERS' GUARANTEE

Grief to Grace is a company limited by guarantee and has no share capital. The liability of each member in the event of a winding-up is limited to £1.

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GRIEF TO GRACE

NOTES TO THE FINANCIAL STATEMENTS (continued)

FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31 JULY 2025

7. OPERATING LEASES

The charity has the following non-cancellable lease commitments:

Property Property Other
2025 2024 2025 2024
£ £ £ £
Due within one year 32,202 - 324 648
Due within two to five years 83,188 - - 324
----------------- ----------------- ----------------- -----------------
£115,390 £- £324 £972
========= ======== ========= ========

The property lease relates to the new office premises which the charity moved into in March 2025.

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