## UPSTART PROJECTS 2022 TO 2023 ANNUAL REPORT Charity number: 1157864 59 Trinity street, shrewsbury, sY3 7PQ ## **Contents** **OUR MISSION AND PROJECTS** Pages 3-4 ## **VOICE MAGAZINE** Pages 5-7 ## **CREATIVE PATHWAYS** Pages 8-11 ## **TRAINING AND COMMISSIONS** Pages 12-13 **GOVERNANCE AND FINANCE** Pages 14-23 ## **Welcome** In November 2022, after serving as a board member for three years, I was delighted to be elected as chair of the board by my fellow trustees. We bid farewell to our retiring founder chair, Felicity Woolf, thanking her for her tremendous eight years of leadership. She’s a hard act to follow but I am excited to steer the charity into its next phase, alongside my talented fellow trustees, a number of whom joined us this year, expanding our pool of knowledge and expertise. I am so proud of the work we do with young people, many of whom have previously had little or no access to arts experiences, and that we are able to open up new horizons for them with our opportunities and training. With our support, many have been able to find their first employment in the cultural sector (see pages 9 and 10). During the past year, using our arts magazine Voice as the vehicle, we developed a clear progression model from local projects to cultural jobs. We call this ‘Creative Pathways’ – more info on page 8. As someone who works in the media, I strongly believe in the importance of giving back and am proud to be a patron of the charity. We are an agile organisation, running on a tight budget. As funding for the arts continues to suffer from budget cuts, reducing opportunities and access for young people, our work becomes even more imperative. If, like me, you would also like to help a young person follow a creative path, please consider making a donation or even better, join us as a Friend or Patron of Voice. Your contribution will make a real difference in supporting the critical work we do: **voicemag.uk/support-us** Thank you. **Holly Howe, Chair of Trustees, Upstart Projects** 2 ## **Our mission** **Upstart Projects supports young people aged 13-30 to develop their creativity, skills and confidence by taking part in the arts and media.** Our projects open doors for young people to explore their personal interests and potential jobs. We focus on those with fewer opportunities to take part in the arts or pursue creative careers.. We champion youth voice, leadership and co-production through all our work. 3 ## **Our projects** **Voice magazine** is a cultural publication and an open platform for young people’s views on the arts and society. Voice attracted nearly **300k readers** and **1,500 posts** this year. **Creative Pathways** is our progression programme, which supports young people to explore the arts on their doorstep, become arts reviewers at national festivals and take on work experience and employment as journalists on Voice magazine. We supported **57 Local Reviewers, 22 Voice Reviewers and 8 Voice Contributors** during the year. **Upstart Training** offers courses and services to organisations, helping them embed youth voice in their work. We trained **129 professionals** and worked with **11 organisations,** either running bespoke training or undertaking commissions. _**“Working with Upstart and Voice made the arts world seem much more accessible and the skills I’ve developed have been invaluable.”**_ **Mystaya, 19, Voice Reviewer, Shropshire** 4 ## **VOICE MAGAZINE highlights** ## **Voice magazine is our lead project and the bedrock for our work** . Voice is an online culture magazine, which supports young media-makers, journalists and arts reviewers and provides a platform for young people aged 13+ to showcase their art work and publish reviews or opinions. Voice encourages and supports young audiences and provides skills development and career pathways for those aiming to work in the arts and media. **voicemag.uk** **----- Start of picture text -----**
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**Highlights from 2022/23 include…** Wrapping up Voice’s **Kickstart training programme** . During the past 2 years, we have provided 24 high-quality paid placements to unemployed young people aged under 25, funded by the Department for Work and Pensions Relaunching the **Voice Contributor** programme as a 3-month training programme for 8 aspiring journalists leading to paid commissions Introducing our **summer journalism placements** for 5 interns from 3 universities Supporting **57 Local Reviewers** to explore the arts on their doorstep in Brighton, Burnley, Nottingham, Redditch, Shropshire and Stoke-on-Trent Taking 6 young reviewers to **Edinburgh Festival Fringe** to cover nearly 160 shows – 15% by emerging artists Creating **Media on Voice** , an online hub for all multimedia content published on Voice, popular with users who prefer media to the written word. ## **VOICE MAGAZINE editors’ picks** ## **And some editors’ picks from the year.** Voice’s Summer Showcase celebrating young artists’ work explored the theme ‘Utopia/Dystopia: Reimagining the climate crisis’ With the advancement of technology, the From how the media influences our views on young artists’ work explored the theme lessons of Covid-19 and the ongoing fight for climate change to the lack of trans visibility, ‘Utopia/Dystopia: more access to the arts industry, what does our trainee Voice Contributors Reimagining the climate crisis’ the future of youth culture look like? explored representation in the media. **Summer Showcase The future of youth culture Media Representation** From how the media influences our views on climate change to the lack of trans visibility, our trainee Voice Contributors explored representation in the media. **This year young people have posted 492** reviews | **346** blogs | **227** interviews | **46** features | **12** How-to guides Voice’s **Creative Careers** area also provides insights into training and jobs with **532 arts careers** items including: **206** _Want My Job?_ interviews with creative professionals **Want my job? 73** _Instaviews -_ live chats on Instagram with young artists about their career path **Instaviews with Voice** 6 ## **VOICE MAGAZINE our users** ## **Voice readers** ★ **336,599 visits** this year ★ **286,871 unique visitors** this year We use Google Analytics to track our reader audience as follows: **Age** 30% are between 18-24, 24% are 25-34, 45% are over 35. We can’t track under 18s **Gender balance** 55% female and 45% male readers **Location** Readers are spread across the UK, with 64% outside London, concentrations in many cities but reach to rural areas too. ## **Voice members, contributors and participants** - ★ **7,874 Voice members,** registered users who post and comment ★ **5,300+ Arts Award participants** using Voice for guidance and to post work for assessment ★ **57 Local Reviewers** exploring the arts where they live - ★ **22 Voice Reviewers** reviewing the arts for Voice at national level ★ **8 Voice Contributors** developing their skills, publishing their work and gaining jobs. See the profile of our members, contributors and project participants on page 11. 7 ## **CREATIVE PATHWAYS the model** **Creative Pathways is our progression programme,** supporting young people to explore the arts as reviewers at local level, before progressing to opportunities, training and paid work with Voice magazine. 8 **Hear from three young people** who have moved through the Creative Pathways programme. ## **CREATIVE PATHWAYS stories** 9 **We’re proud of our trainees and contributors who developed their careers with Voice and have moved into media jobs over the past year!** 70% of our trainees are now working or in training. ## **CREATIVE PATHWAYS jobs** **Here is a sample of what recent alumni have gone on to do** : **Ali** , Voice Trainee Journalist 2022 **Saskia** , Voice Contributor & Deputy Editor 2020-22 **Olivia** , Business and Projects Assistant 2021-22 **Kashmini** , Voice Contributor 2022 **Molly** , Trainee Development Assistant 2021 **Laura,** Voice Internship 2022 **Elle,** Trainee Journalist 2021 **Aneeka,** Trainee Journalist 2021 **Hamish,** Trainee Journalist 2022 **Faith** , Trainee Journalist 2022 **Lauren,** Trainee Journalist 2022 **Hector,** Trainee Development Assistant 2021 Journalist on **Sky Sports** Sub-editor at **LadBible** Project Lead at **Cloud Artisans** Assistant at **Book PR Company** Marketing Assistant at **Stoneseed** Communications Specialist at **KPMG** AI and Tech Journalist **Freelance** Senior Library Assistant at **University of Birmingham** Creative Writing Judge at **NYC Midnight** Journalist and Podcast host **Freelance** Digital Content Producer at **NationalWorld** Content Creator **Freelance** 10 ## **Participants in our projects come from all backgrounds and with different interests** . ## **CREATIVE PATHWAYS stats** We work hard to attract young people who might not usually engage in the arts and to recruit diverse staff and volunteers. ## **Profile of our staff, volunteers and project participants** Participants, volunteers, trainees or freelance staff we worked with during the year who submitted anonymous EDI information: **Age** 69% under 30 years **Gender as self-identified** 71% Female | 20% Male | 3% Non binary | 3% Another Gender | 3% Prefer not to say **Sexual Orientation** 69% Heterosexual | 24% Bisexual | 7% Prefer not to say **Disability** 20% Yes | 80% No 11 ## **COMMISSIONS** **Alongside Voice magazine, we run Youth Voice Training,** offering public and in-house courses to support organisations to develop skills and knowledge to engage young people as influencers, decision makers and change makers. In 2022-23 we supported **129 participants** through public courses and ran in-house training for the British Youth Council, Living Sport, Prime Theatre, Nottingham UNESCO City of Literature, and Monkey Baa (Australia). We had **113 participants** in our free online programmes: _Introduction to Youth Voice_ and _Introduction to Facilitatio_ n. **8.3/10** Avg. rating of our courses During the year we further developed our _Having a Voice in your Organisation_ course for and with young people, which is now a popular part of our commissioned projects. **----- Start of picture text -----**
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**Feedback from training participants** _“I thought it was very important to come together and reflect on ways we could develop how we implement youth voice and also about integrating it within our organisation”_ Rebecca _“I really enjoyed the exercises and how the session was organised and handled”_ Claire _“The slides and exercises were really good”_ Irshad _“I enjoyed the use of both theory and models alongside discussion and collaboration in the breakout rooms”_ Zoe _“The presenters were enthusiastic and warm”_ Hannah ## **COMMISSIONS** **We regularly undertake commissions in youth consultation and facilitation** and we expanded the range of partners and clients we worked with this year. ## **Warwickshire Cultural Education Partnership - Shout Out for the Arts** We developed a young trustee development programme to train and support more than 20 young people to join boards across Warwickshire. We delivered an online community and online workshops for six months after the training. ## **Arts Connect - Speak Up!** We worked with the West Midlands Bridge Organisation, Arts Connect, to facilitate a panel of seven young people who led on the evaluation of the SpeakUp! Youth Voice & Leadership conference. The group developed a manifesto and creative assets including illustrations on ‘We believe in the power of imagination’ alongside a poem and film ‘We believe in imagination’. ## **Nottingham’s Cultural Education Partnership - ChalleNGe** We continued to develop the Nottingham Youth Cultural Partnership ‘Connecting Notts’ and supported 28 young people to create events, offer new ideas for the city, evaluate provision for young people, develop a podcast and connect organisations. ## **Leicester & Leicestershire Enterprise Partnership - Careers Hub** We supported the 15 members of the Youth Advisory Board to inform and influence the LLEP’s work, connecting young people and employers and contributing to the Local Skills Improvement Plan among other consultations. ## **Nottingham UNESCO City of Literature** Producing the ‘Young Voices Symposium’ event in Nottingham has been a highlight of the year. We programmed a panel discussion about young people on boards and featured international examples of youth voice. We arranged performances by young people who were also launching their manifesto for Nottingham. We ran workshops with expert facilitators on youth journalism, how to develop a story of change and how to engage young people in evaluation. ## **Trinity College London** Our ongoing partnership with Trinity enables us to support young people working towards an Arts Award, promote arts qualifications and encourage progression into cultural jobs. Thousands of registered young people have used Voice and we consulted over 100 people to develop new resources to inspire young people doing their Arts Award. 13 ## **Upstart Projects board** ## **GOVERNANCE** We are grateful for the expertise and commitment of our board members who bring a wide range of skills and perspectives to the charity, including activism, arts education, environmental awareness, fundraising, HR, journalism, marketing and youth participation. This year we said goodbye to two of our founder trustees after nine years of dedicated support and welcomed four new trustees to the board. **Meet our trustees** ## **Upstart and Voice staff team** Our team this year has consisted of five core part-time roles plus freelance associates running projects and courses, supported by paid young trainers. **Meet the Upstart team | Meet the Voice team** **Trustees serving during 2022/23** Felicity Woolf (outgoing Chair, Nov 2022) Holly Howe (incoming Chair, Nov 2022) Martin Russell (Deputy Chair) Amy Clewlow (appointed Jan 2023) Tom Edwards Phoebe Hill Frances Perraudin (appointed March 2023) Olivia Porritt Beth Troakes Maddy Ryle (resigned Jan 2023) Nikeria Tannis (appointed Jan 2023) Michael Zdanowski (appointed March 2023) ## **CIO Governing Document** **Reserves policy** To build reserves of 3 months of core running costs (£24,935) At 31 March 2023 our reserves were £18,019 The CIO Foundation Constitution Trustees are appointed through recruitment and invitation ## **Charity number** 1157864 **Registered office** 59 Trinity Street, Shrewsbury SY3 7PQ **Independent examiner** Community360, Winsley's House, High Street, Colchester, Essex CO1 1UG **Bankers** The Co-operative Bank, P.O. Box 250, Skelmersdale WN8 6WT ## **Note to accounts (overleaf)** The substantial carryforward from 2021/22 is due to several projects running across years and surplus income generated through training and services. This surplus underpinned our charitable projects in 2022/23 when fundraising became challenging after the Covid pandemic. Our DWP grant for Kickstart in 2021-2022 doubled our turnover which has now re-settled at sustainable pre-pandemic levels. 14 ## **INDEPENDENT EXAMINERS REPORT** For the Year Ended 31 March 2023 I report on the accounts of Upstart Projects for the year ended 31 March 2023 which are set out on pages 15 to 23. ## **Independent examiner’s statement** In the course of my examination, no material matters have come to my attention which gives me cause to believe that in, any material respect: ## **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 (2) of the Charities Act 2011 (The Act) but 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 Commissioners (under section 145(5)(b) of the Charities Act, and - To state whether particular matters have come to my attention. - the accounting records were not kept in accordance with section 130 of the Charities Act; or - the accounts did not accord with the accounting records; or - the accounts did not comply with the applicable requirements concerning the form and content of the accounts set out in the Charities (Accounts and Reports) Regulations 2008 other than any requirement that the accounts give a true and fair' view which is not a matter considered as part of an independent examination. - I have 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. ## **Basis of independent examiner’s Statement** My examination was carried out in accordance with the General Directions given by the Charity Commissioners. 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 considerations of any unusual items or disclosures in the accounts, and seeking explanations from you as trustees concerning any such matters. The procedures undertaken do not provide all the evidence that would be required in an audit and consequently I do not express an audit opinion on the view given by the accounts. Signed: Shelley-Marie Rudling FMAAT AATQB For and on behalf of Community360 Winsley’s House, High Street, Colchester, Essex CO1 1UG Date: 30th August 2023 15 ## **Statement of Financial Activities** For the Year Ended 31 March 2023 Signed: Holly Howe Chair of Upstart Projects’ board of trustees Date: 29th August 2023 16 Balance Sheet As at 31 March 2023 Upstart projects Note 2023 2022 Current assets Debtors Cash at bank and in hand 3.029 52,546 55,575 15.569 102.740 118,309 Currant Ilabllltles Creditors: amounts falling due within one year 10 19,546 13,750 Net current assets 36.030 104.560 Total assets less totsl liabilities 36,030 104 $60 Income funds Designated funds Restricted funds Unrestricted funds 11 18,019 10,806 31,874 61,880 18,011 36,030 104,560 17 Notes to the financial statement Upstart projects 1. Accounting pollclas Basis of accounting The financial statements have been prepared in accordance with Accounting arNJ Reporting by Charities: Statement on Recommended practi￿ applicable to charities preparing their accounls in accordance with the Financial Re￿)rtIng Standard applicable in the UK arKJ Republic of Ireland (FRS 102) (effective 1 January 2019). (Charities SORP (FRS 102)), the Financial Retx)rting Standard applicable in the UK and Republic of Ireland (FRS 102} and the Companies Act 2006. The charity meets the definition of a public benefit enb.ty under FRS102. Assets and liabilities are initially recognised at historical cost unless otherwise stated in the ielevant accounting policy notes. Cash flow The financial statements do not include a cash fiow statement because the charity, as a small reporting ents'ty, is exempt from the requirement to prepare such a statement under Financial Reporb"ng Standard 1 "Cash flow slatemenls". Assessment of going concem Preparation of the accounts is on a going COn￿M basis. The trustees consider that there are no material uncertanties about the Chantys ability to conts.nue as a goiro concem. Incoming rnsources Grants receivable are recognised in the accounts when conditions f(￿ their receipt are sats'sfied. Grants with conditions attached to Iheir use are induded in restricted funds. Donations. legacies and other fonns of voluntary income are recognised as incoming resources when receNable. 18 Notes to the financial statement Upstart projects Tax reclaims on donations and gifts Incoming resources from tax reclaims are included in the SOFA in the same financial period as the grft to which they relate. Resources expended All expenditure is accounted for on an accruals basis and is recognised when there is a legal or constructive obligation to pay. Expenditure has been dassified under headings that aggregate all costs related to the category. Where costs canrK)t be directly attributed to a particular heading they have been allocated to actsvibes on a basis consistent with the use of the resources. Fund accounting Unrestricted Funds are funds received which have no restrictions placed on their use and are available to spend on activitses that further any of the putposes of the charity. Designated funds are unrestricted funds of the charity which the trustees have decided to set aside to use for a specific purpose. Restricted Funds are funds which are to be used for purposes as specified by the funder. 19 Notes to the financial statement (cont.) Upstart projects Taxatlon As a registered charity, the organisation is exempt from income and corporation tax to the extent that its income and gains are applicable to charitsble purposes only. Value Added Tax is not recoverable by the company and is, therefore, induded in the relevant costs in the Statement Of Financial Acts'vities. 2. Donations & legacios Unrestrictod Restricted 2023 2022 Donations 2,302 2,302 2,302 2.302 12,174 2022 12,174 12,174 3. Charitablo activiti Unrostrictod Restricted 2023 2022 Commissions to run activities Grants 18.555 18,555 100,818 119.373 47,584 219,956 267,540 100,818 100.818 18,555 2022 67,837 199,703 267,540 20 Notes to the financial statement (cont.) Upstart projects 4. Investment income Unrestricted Restricted 2023 2022 Interest 105 105 105 105 20 2022 20 20 5. Total resources expended Staff costs Other costs 2023 2022 Charitable activities Management team Delivery of activities Accountancy Trustee expenses Administration 24,205 79.721 2.156 70.532 26,361 150.254 18,306 185.565 750 802 1.681 207,104 900 1.337 75,770 900 11.951 190,310 10.614 114,541 2022 120,065 87,039 207,104 6. Staff costs The average number of employees for 2023 was 9 {2022 - 9). No employee eamed more than £60,000 in the financial years being reported on in these accounts. 21 Notes to the financial statement (cont.) Upstart projects 7. Trustees The trustees were reimbursed £163.23 (2022 - £45.80) for travel expenses. 8. Related partios There were no related parties during the period. 9. Debtors 2023 2022 Trade debtors 3,029 3,029 15,569 15,569 10. Creditors: amounts falling due within one year 2023 2022 Trade creditors Accruals and deferred income 4,070 15,476 19.546 13,330 420 13,750 22 Notes to the financial statement (cont.) Upstart projects 11. Stat•mant of funds Brought Ineomlng R•sourc•s Transf•rs Carrl•d Forward R•sourc•s Expendod Forward UnrnStrlCt￿ funds 61.880 20.962 (102.391 37.560 18.011 Reslrictod funds Arts Council - Outreach Tnnity College The Mighty Creatives Queen Margaret Universty The Mighty Creatives - Employer NetI￿rk Subtotal 11,924 5,609 14,341 19,790 27.080 52.674 774 (29,071) (2,643) 16.862) (25.827 (50.712) (16,303) (774) 1500) 31.874 100.818 (87.919) (44,773) Dasignatsd funds Reserves 7.213 10,019 Subtotal 10.806 7,213 18,019 Total 104.560 121,780 (190.310) 36.030 Transfers fmm restricted to unrestricted funds covers the core costs attri￿ted to the grant projects. 23