2020-12-31-accounts - Transforming Lives Together

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Transforming Lives Together (A Company Limited by Guarantee)

Trustees’ Annual Report and Financial Statements Year ended : 31[st] December 2020

Company Number: 08419285 Charity Number: 1157348

Transforming Lives Together

Board of Trustees during the Year to 31[st] December 2020

Venerable Ian Bishop Ms Sibylle Eva Nothhelfer-Batten (resigned 19 February 2020) Victoria Wells Mr Corniel Quak-Winslow (resigned 20 October 2021) Rev Christina Phoebe Upton Rev Dr Andrew Knight Myrtle Lacey Rev Dr Margaret Jones (appointed 7 September 2020) Canon Jane Brooke (appointed 4 December 2020)

Company Secretary

Victoria Wells

Registered Office

Chester Cathedral 9 Abbey Square Chester CH1 2HU

Transforming Lives Together

Trustees’ Report for the Period ended 31[st] December 2020

The Trustees, who are also Directors for the purposes of the Companies Act, present their Annual Report and Financial Statements for the period to 31[st] December 2020. The Trustees have adopted the provisions of the Statement of Recommended Practice (SORP) Accounting and Reporting by Charities in preparing the Annual Report and financial statements of the charitable company, which also comply with the charity’s governing document and applicable law.

The Charity

Transforming Lives Together (TLT) is constituted as a company limited by guarantee and not having a share capital. The company is registered with Companies House in England and Wales – number 08419285. The principal governing document is the Company Memorandum and Articles of Association as amended after the end of this accounting year on 14 January 2021. The charity is registered with the Charity Commission – number 1157348.

For the period covered by these accounts the charity is a joint venture between the Church Urban Fund (CUF) and the Chester Diocesan Board of Finance.

Objects

The charity’s objects are for the benefit of the public:

To promote the efficiency and effectiveness of Christian based charities in the furtherance of their objects or any one of them, mainly but not exclusively, by the promotion of information, advice, support and infrastructure provision; and
The relief of financial hardship, either generally or individually, through the provision of grants, goods or services.

Activities and Performance

TLT operates within the geographical area covered by the Diocese of Chester, which spans the Victorian county of Cheshire and includes Wirral, parts of Greater Manchester and the edges of Flintshire and Derbyshire. This is a very diverse area of over 1000 square miles, which includes dense urban populations, rural heartlands and prosperous suburbs, and has a population of 1.6 million people.

TLT is part of Church Urban Fund’s Together Network of similar joint ventures around England, which are working to transform the lives of the poorest and most marginalised.

In setting out our objectives and planning our activities, the Trustees have given careful consideration to the Charity Commission’s general guidance on public benefit.

Transforming Lives Together

Trustees’ Report for the Period ended 31[st] December 2020 continued

Outreach work is made possible by focussing on Asset Based Community Development (ABCD). This encourages local churches to engage with their communities by knowing who they are and responding to local social needs. These fulfil our aim to bring about community engagement and change through mobilisation of people within local churches over the diverse urban and rural diocesan footprint.

During 2020 the work of TLT was facilitated by the employment of one parttime worker. In 2019 our aim was to continue to develop the objectives we set ourselves and to making a real difference as we bring people together to engage across communities, however this was deflected slightly as the work undertaken was overwhelmingly dominated by the Covid pandemic. Applications for funding resulted in £20,900 being distributed throughout the diocese. In addition to donations from individuals and churches we received the majority of this money from the Albert Gubay Charitable Foundation Forever Manchester, Action Tameside, the Steve Morgan Foundation and the Cheshire Community Fund.

We have recently made improvements in our communications and social media which was particularly important during the pandemic as everyone was forced to isolate.

We are very thankful that so many people volunteered and at times put themselves at risk of infection in order to deliver the much needed food parcels and school meals. In order to do this in a safe and socially distant manner many places had to become creative and change the way they had delivered food in the past.

Transforming Lives Together Trustees’ Report for the Period ended 31[st] December 2020 continued

Our Vision

To transform lives and communities through every church in every community tackling poverty.

Our Aims

Our aims are to achieve the Vision by:

partnering with churches to catalyse a movement to tackle poverty and loneliness
providing a framework for good practice
building relationships with churches and other organisations and charities to foster local engagement within communities.

This how we intend to meet our Aims :

provide long term and sustainable partnerships and guidance for churches and Christians working alongside people profoundly affected by poverty
enable churches to recognise and utilise the community assets available to them
enable churches to articulate and celebrate what they’re doing
use the diversity within the diocese to connect church communities to encounter each other and work collaboratively
provide resources, for example for theological reflection, and tool kits that equip churches for action.
raise awareness of poverty by providing information about the nature and impact of poverty and sharing stories of transformation and models of good practice.
advocate for churches and tell the truth about poverty and wealth and promote a new way of living and acting.

Finance Review

Until 2020 the main funding source for Transforming Lives Together has been from the Church Urban Fund (CUF). However during 2019, CUF decided to withdraw funding and were only able to provide a grant of £3,750. As a result of this the trustees had to make the difficult decision to make the community worker redundant at the end of 2020.

There was an excess of expenditure over income of £25,618 for the year. This was funded from reserves brought forward.

The year was focussed on the effect the Covid pandemic had on our communities and funds of £27,855 were raised. £20,900 was distributed to relieve food poverty in the Diocese.

It is to the credit of the community worker that this was achieved despite the threat of the winding up of the charity

Transforming Lives Together

Trustees’ Report for the Period ended 31[st] December 2020 continued

Post Balance sheet event

As a result of losing the CUF funding and being unable to access other funds, the directors considered it was going to be necessary to move to the responsible winding up of the charity. Following this decision notice of redundancy was issued to the community worker 17 September 2020 making her last day 26 November 2020.

However in December 2020 an anonymous donor agreed to provide annual funding over the following three years. The first of these donations was received in January 2021. The directors have agreed to pursue other sources of funding in order to ensure the longevity of the charity.

This funding enabled the charity to continue. With the legal support of CUF the companies within the Together Network were reorganised and are no longer joint ventures. New Articles of Association were adopted on 14 January 2021.There is a maximum of nine Trustees who are also company members, one being the CUF representative and one is the Chester Diocese representative.

Transforming Lives Together

Trustees’ Report for the Period ended 31[st] December 2020 continued

Directors’ Responsibilities

The directors are responsible for preparing the Annual Report and Financial Statements in accordance with applicable law and regulations.

Company law requires the directors to prepare financial statements each financial year. Under that law the directors have elected to prepare financial statements in accordance with United Kingdom Generally Accepted Accounting Practice (United Kingdom Accounting Standards and applicable law). Under company law the directors must not approve the financial statements unless they are satisfied that they give a true and fair view of the state of affairs of the company and of the profit or loss of the company for that period. In preparing these financial statements, the directors are required to:

Make suitable accounting policies and then apply them consistently;
Make judgements and accounting estimates that are reasonable and prudent;
Prepare the financial statements on the going concern basis unless it is inappropriate to presume that the company will continue in business;

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

Small Company Exemptions

This report has been prepared in accordance with the special provisions relating to companies subject to the small companies regime within Part 15 of the Companies Act 2006.

This report was approved by the Board on 12 November 2021 and signed on their behalf. Signed by:

Ven Ian Bishop Chair

Transforming Lives Together

Statement of Financial Activities

(including Income and Expenditure account)

For the Year ended 31[st] December:

		2020	2019
INCOMING RESOURCES		£	£
Grants and Donations	note 4	27,855	33,926
Total Incoming Resources		27,855	33.926
RESOURCES EXPENDED
Cost of charitable activities	note 5	53,473	29,476
Total Expended Resources		53,473	29,476
Net (Deficit) / Income for the Year		(25,618)	4,450
NET MOVEMENT IN FUNDS		(25,618)	4,450
Total Funds at 1st January 2020		25,776	21,326
Total Funds at 31st December 2020		158	25,776

Transforming Lives Together

Balance Sheet As at 31[st] December

Balance Sheet As at 31st December
2020 £ Current Assets Cash at Bank and in hand 158 158 Current Liabilities Creditors – falling due within one year 0 Net Current Assets 158 Net Assets 158 FUNDS Unrestricted Funds 158 Total Funds 158	2019 £ 25,776 25,776
	0 25,776 25,776
	25,776 25,776

The accompanying accounting policies and notes form part of these financial statements.

For the year ended 31[st] December 2020, the company was entitled to exemption from audit under section 477 of the Companies Act 2006 relating to small companies. Responsibilities of directors/trustees:

The members have not required the charitable company to obtain an audit of its financial statements for the year in question in accordance with section 476 of the Companies Act 2006.
The directors acknowledge their responsibilities for complying with the requirements of the Act with respect to accounting records and the preparation of accounts.

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

Approved by the Board of Directors and Trustees on 12 November 2021and signed on their behalf:

Ven Ian Bishop Chair

Transforming Lives Together

Notes to Financial Statements For the Year Ended 31[st] December 2020

1. Basis of Accounting

The financial statements are prepared on the historical cost and accruals basis of accounting. The financial statements are also prepared in accordance with the applicable Accounting Standards and the Statement of Recommended Practice “Accounting and Reporting by Charities”.

2. Accounting Policies

a. Grants and Donations

All incoming funds are only included in the Statement of Financial Activities when the charity has unconditional entitlement to the resources and the amount can be quantified with reasonable accuracy. b. Resources Expended

All expenditure is accounted for on an accruals basis and has been classified under headings that aggregate all costs related to that category. Governance costs are those costs incurred in connection with the compliance with constitutional and statutory requirements. c. Unrestricted Funds

Current funds under management are all unrestricted.

3. Company Limited by Guarantee

The company is limited by guarantee and consequently does not have share capital.

4 . Grants and Donations

4.	Grants and Donations
		2020	2019
		£	£
	Grant from Church Urban Fund	3,750	20,000
	Donations	22,900	4,626
	Lottery Fund grant	0	9,300
	Gift Aid refund	1,205	0
		27,855	33,926
5.	Cost of Charitable Activities
		2020	2019
		£	£
	Distribution of Donations	20,900	0
	Employee Salaries	31,496	26,077
	Employee travel and subsistence	541	1,609
	Office and administration costs	536	1,790
		53,473	29,476
	Employees salaries in 2020 include	redundancy pay

Independent Examiner’s Report to the Trustees and Directors of Transforming Lives Together for the Year ended 31[st] December 2020

Respective The charity's trustees are responsible for the preparation of the responsibilities of accounts. The charity’s trustees consider that an audit is not required trustees and examiner for this year under section 144 of the Charities Act 2011 (the 2011 Act) and that an independent examination is needed. It is my responsibility to:

examine the accounts under section 144 of the 2011 Act,
to follow the procedures laid down in the general Directions given by the Charity Commission (under section 145 of the 2011 Act, and
to state whether particular matters have come to my attention.

Basis of independent examiner’s statement

My examination was carried out in accordance with general Directions given by the Charity Commission. An examination includes a 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 explanations from the trustees concerning any such matters. The procedures undertaken do not provide all the evidence that would be required in an audit, and 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 In connection with my examination, no matter has come to my examiner's statement attention

which gives me reasonable cause to believe that in, any material respect, the requirements:
to keep accounting records in accordance with section 130 of the 2011 Act; and
to prepare accounts which accord with the accounting records and comply with the accounting requirements of the 2011 Act
have not been met; or
to which, in my opinion, attention should be drawn in order to enable a proper understanding of the accounts to be reached.

Signed by: R Dean FCA Dated: 4 December 2021