2023-12-31-accounts

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Access The Foundation for Social Investment

Annual Report and Accounts

31 December 2023

Charity Registration Number 1159699 Company Registration Number 09153909

Reports

Reports	Reports
Reference and administrative details of
the charity, its trustees and advisers Report)		1 3
Independent	report	18
Accounts
Statement of financial	activities	23
Balance sheet		25
Cash flow statement		26
Principal accounting policies		28
Notes to the accounts		33

Access The Foundation for Social Investment

Reference and administrative details of the charity its trustees and advisers

Trustees Nick Hurd Chair Emilie Goodall Franz Ranero Heather Hilburn Kate Kuper Jane Ide Martin Rich (Senior Independent Trustee) Robert Williamson Susan Cooper Samantha Latouche Senior leadership team Chief Executive Officer Seb Elsworth Director of Programmes Neil Berry Director of Partnerships and Advocacy Chloe Stables Director of Finance and Operations Chris Coghlan, Simon Cottee (job share) Principal office New Fetter Place 8-10 New Fetter Lane London EC4A 1AZ Website access-socialinvestment.org.uk E-mail info@access-si.org.uk Charity registration number 1159699 Company registration number 09153909

Access The Foundation for Social Investment 1

Reference and administrative details of the charity its trustees and advisers

Auditor Buzzacott LLP 130 Wood Street London EC2V 6DL Investment advisors Rathbone Brothers Plc 8 Finsbury Circus London EC2M 7AZ Bankers Triodos Bank UK Limited Deanery Road Bristol BS1 5AS The Charity Bank Limited Fosse House 182 High Street Tonbridge TN9 1BE Reliance Bank Limited, Faith House, 23 - 24 Lovat Lane, London, EC3R 8EB Unity Trust Bank PO Box 7193, Planetary Road, Willenhall WV1 9DG

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report Year to 31 December 2023

The trustees present their statutory report together with the accounts of Access The Foundation for Social Investment for the year ended 31 December 2023.

prepared in accordance with part 8 of the Charities Act 2011 but also have been prepared in accordance with the principal accounting policies set out therein and comply with Reporting by Charities: Statement of Recommended Practice applicable to charities preparing their accounts in accordance with the Financial Reporting Standard applicable in the United Kingdom and Republic of Ireland (FRS 102).

Strategic report

Introduction

We are Access The Foundation for Social Investment

We want to see a social investment eco-system that works for all charities and social enterprises, supporting them to meet the evolving needs of communities across the country. We work to make sure that charities and social enterprises can access the finance they need to sustain or grow their impact.

Through our programmes and our advocacy work, we are building the capacity of the social investment ecosystem to provide blended finance and boosting the resilience of charities and social enterprises through enterprise activity.

communities that were previously excluded, we target those most in need of patient and flexible investment through:

Funding blended finance and enterprise development programmes in England.
Sharing knowledge and data and translating it into practical insight that others can use.
Mobilising others who share our goal of making capital work for communities.

Access was created in 2015, following a realisation that sustained efforts to grow the social investment market had not resulted in meeting the needs of many charities and social enterprises.

Typically, the type of finance that is suitable for most charities and social enterprises has not been readily available either because there was too much risk, or the size of investment was too small.

Equally, support for charities and social enterprises to grow their enterprise models and access investment was patchy, under-resourced, under-developed and uncoordinated. And so, Access was created to grow the reach of social investment.

Our funding has focused on two strategic themes since our inception:

Demonstrating the value of blended finance - By combining grants with repayable finance into a blended package, we enable intermediaries to provide smaller scale, higher risk, more patient and flexible, and affordable finance that meets the needs of a broad range of charities and social enterprises, particularly smaller organisations or those working in disadvantaged areas.

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Strategic report (continued)

Introduction (continued)

We are Access The Foundation for Social Investment (continued)

Championing enterprise development - By supporting charities and social enterprises to develop enterprise models, we help organisations to find a more secure financial footing and build a more sustainable and resilient sector, better placed to meet the evolving needs of communities.

Our impact lies not just in the programmes we fund, but in our influence over the broader social investment ecosystem. Increasingly our focus is on sharing the learning we have generated, and mobilising action with a range of partners including social investors, foundations, and infrastructure bodies.

approach. Most significantly, we are investing our expendable endowment and any other funds received, to achieve positive social impact with a financial return, to fund our grant-making, thereby increasing the total impact made by the endowment over its lifetime.

When reviewing the aims and activities of the charity and the provision by the charity of public benefit, the trustees have had regard to the general guidance provided by the Charity Commission. The trustees believe that the aims of the charity set out above are demonstrably for the public benefit.

Summary of 2023 achievements

Announcement of continued Dormant Assets funding for social investment
Launch of £11 million cost-of-living programme
Rapid development of £20 million support package for energy efficiency
Enabling deployment of £3.5m in smaller scale, unsecured finance
Facilitating the investment of £12m in patient and flexible capital
Deepening knowledge of place-based investment in six area across England
Supporting sector transformation through enterprise
Continued focus on building a market fit for the future
Establishment of new Blended Finance Community of Practice
Driving philanthropic impact through Enterprise Grant making
Delivering social and environment impact and a 7% return through our endowment
Deepening our commitments to equity, diversity and inclusion

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Strategic report (continued)

Review of performance and achievement

Throughout 2023, amidst ongoing economic challenges, there is a growing sense that charities, social enterprises and community groups lack the capacity they need to step up their work at the scale required. With real terms spending reductions in the public sector and the continued squeeze on household incomes, many charities and social enterprises are looking to find new ways of managing rising costs and growing demand for their services.

In this context, Access continues to focus on building resilient organisations that are able to address the needs of communities and weather the ebbs and flows of economic, political and social change. Patient and flexible forms of social investment enable charities and social enterprises to diversify their income streams and increase their resilience. This ensures these vital organisations are more financially independent and better able to plan for the future, so they can handle unexpected events and take advantage of opportunities.

Across 2023, Access deployed funds at a record rate and this looks set to continue into 2024.

Since its inception, Access's commitments have leveraged additional investment from both private and philanthropic sectors, delivering at least an additional £113 million for charities and social enterprises (about £1.41 for every £1 spent).

Announcement of continued Dormant Assets funding for social investment

To date, Access has committed over £71 million from the Dormant Asset scheme into funds and programmes that support charities and frontline social enterprises. In March 2023, the Government announced the outcome of its consultation on the English portion of Dormant Assets funding, confirming that Social Investment Wholesalers would continue to be a cause which could receive Dormant Asset funding in England.

The Government also announced a further distribution of Dormant Assets from the current scheme to Access of £23m to support the sector address challenges related to the Cost-of-Living crisis and support energy resilience. By summer 2023, funds were up and running, enabling social investors to focus on how they can support organisations with their energy resilience and scaling solutions that deliver for the hardest hit communities.

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as originally planned, by 2026. Many stakeholders advocated for a continued role for Access highlighting the value we bring in terms of reputation, stability, relationships, and additional resources for charities and social enterprises. The trustees were clear that this decision does not mean we intend to exist in perpetuity social investment ecosystem continues to evolve, with the long-term desire to close if we can.

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Strategic report (continued)

Review of performance and achievement (continued)

Programme design and delivery

Launch of £11 million cost-of-living programme

Following receipt of a new commitment of Dormant Assets, our £11m Cost of Living programme got underway in Autumn 2023. It is focused on getting support to charities and social enterprises that are using trading models to support those facing the brunt of acute cost of living pressures. 11 partners are now busy distributing funds including £1.7 million over the last quarter of 2023 through blended finance or enterprise development grants. To date, this support has focussed predominantly on those working on food distribution, transport and financial exclusion with a large proportion (41%) going to the most deprived areas (IMD1).

Rapid development of £20 million support package for energy efficiency

Alongside this work, Access worked at pace to understand how Blended Finance could bolster the energy resilience of charities and social enterprises by helping them to reduce energy costs, improve energy efficiency, and promote a just transition towards a greener future. This meant directly supporting energy efficiency measures and other non-financial barriers (such as lack of data and the need to navigate a complex web of suppliers). This culminated in the launch of a £20 million fund (£12 million from Access plus £8 million co-investment from Big Society Capital) in late 2023.

Enabling deployment of £3.5m in smaller scale, unsecured finance

Our Enterprise Growth for Communities programme continues to expand the reach of social investment to smaller organisations or those based in disadvantaged areas. Evidence suggests that charities and social enterprises are typically looking for smaller amounts of unsecured finance. This programme deploys the type of finance that meets the needs of a much wider range of charities and social enterprises: often smaller organisations, based in underserved parts of the country, and led by more diverse groups.

The fund intends to leverage £20 million of Dormant Assets funding to deliver over £60 million for charities and social enterprises through co-investment and recycling. With just under £30 million of co-investment to date, the fund was leveraged £1.48 for every £1 spent delivering £2.48 to the frontline. This will increase further when funds are recycled.

With six funds now deploying, the programme made its first investment into a frontline organisation in March 2023, and by the end of year the programme had delivered £3.5 million investment into 45 organisations (an average investment of 78k).

Facilitating the investment of £12m in patient and flexible capital

Flexible Finance aims to address gaps in the supply of more patient and flexible social investment products for charities and social enterprises which are not widely available in the current marketplace. The fund will leverage £22 million of Dormant Assets funding to deliver over £50 million for charities and social enterprises through co-investment and recycling. With just under £40 million of co-investment to date, the fund leverages £1.67 for every £1 spent delivering £2.67 to the frontline. This will increase further when funds are recycled.

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Strategic report (continued)

Review of performance and achievement (continued)

Programme design and delivery (continued)

Facilitating the investment of £12m in patient and flexible capital (continued)

In 2023, the programme saw 9 funds deploy £12.3 million to 76 frontline organisations, with deployment ramping up significantly over 2023.

This included the Lending Equal Access Programme (LEAP) fund launched by Charity Bank a significant departure from their main lending portfolio, it aims to address the demand for flexible social funding, specifically among diverse-led enterprises. The LEAP fund enables organisations to access funding for anything from a new computer to the purchase of a building. The fund has enabled Charity Bank to expand its offering and support more impact led organisations.

Deepening knowledge of place-based investment in six area across England

Gainsborough, Greater Manchester, Southwark and Redcar Cleveland and Hartlepool), where local partnerships are seeking to develop their local social economy. The programme hopes to demonstrate how a combination of enterprise support and blended social investment can help to achieve a step change in a local social economy. Using a £10 million investment from Dormant Assets, the programme is trialling new developed and target underserved communities such as Black and Minoritised communities led social enterprises. The programme is a partnership between Access The Foundation for Social Investment and Big Society Capital, with approximately £33 million of funding consisting of both Access grant and BSC investment capital. The programme has the potential to deliver long-term systemic change and we hope that the programme will deliver in time a better understanding of what works to strengthen the social economy in a place. In 2023, a total of 948 enterprise support interventions were carried out to develop social enterprises and their investment readiness across the Local Access places.

Supporting sector transformation through enterprise

The Enterprise Development Programme is an innovative programme that supports charities and social enterprises to think creatively, become more financially resilient and develop enterprise models. The programme supports charities and social enterprises looking to identify, test, implement or scale trading models, helping them to deliver their mission and become more sustainable. Taking a sector-led approach, the cost-effective programme supports small groups of organisations working in similar areas to establish new enterprise models or grow existing ones. The current cohorts cover six sectors including black and minoritised communities, the environment sector, equality, homelessness, mental health and the youth sector. In total, 325 organisations have been supported since 2018 through the six sectors, deploying a total of £8m in grants.

As the programme draws towards a close, we initiated the evaluation phase by commissioning an external evaluator to help us understand the overall impact of the programme on the organisations and sectors supported, and learn lessons about the design of future enterprise development initiatives.

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Strategic report (continued)

Review of performance and achievement (continued)

Programme design and delivery (continued)

Continued focus on building a market fit for the future

everything we do - our success hinges on working with others to accelerate change and build the social investment ecosystem the sector needs.

The Connect Fund, a partnership between Access and the Barrow Cadbury Trust, provides support to organisations delivering services for charities and social enterprises seeking social investment. This is a £6 million fund for grants and occasionally social investment to build better infrastructure for the social investment landscape in England, particularly for new entrants and markets. With a particular focus on catalysing new networks, products and support from social investment intermediaries, the Connect Fund has looked to support key elements of infrastructure as it enters its final phase. This demonstrates our commitment to building a market fit for the future, as well as delivering finance to the frontline. Key to this has been support for projects that support equity, diversity and inclusion such as the Diversity Forum and the Equality Impact Investing Project. Another highlight was the 2023 Gathering - a two-day event for social investors to come together and figure out how to make social investment better.

Influencing the external environment

Our work in sharing learning and mobilising partners has focussed largely on future supply of grant subsidy throughout 2023. In March, as previously highlighted, the Government announced the outcome of its consultation, confirming that Social Investment Wholesalers would continue to be a cause which could receive Dormant Asset funding in England. The remainder of the year has seen a dedicated workstream to determine further allocations from the expanded Dormant Asset Scheme (covering 202428) and in late September the Government announced their intention to split approximately £350 million across the four causes (social investment, youth, financial inclusion and community wealth funds).

To coincide with the March announcement on Dormant Assets, we hosted Minister for Civil Society, Stuart Andrew MP at a social enterprise in Reading. New Meaning work with young people to help them find their strengths and make a living covering construction, sports, employability and life skills.

We continue to coordinate the Community Enterprise Growth Plan campaign and work alongside key partners to make the case for social investment continuing as a recipient cause of Dormant Assets.

The campaign has support from a broad coalition including key players in the voluntary sector such as NCVO, ACEVO, ACF, CFG and NAVCA, funders such as Esmée Fairbairn, the Barrow Cadbury Trust and the Plunkett Foundation as well as business groups such as the British Chambers of Commerce, the Institute of Directors, and the Federation of Small Businesses.

Alongside our partners, we have continued to highlight the impact of social investment and social enterprise on the local economy, the social impact of the organisations we support and the leverage secured from private and philanthropic funders increasing the impact of the Dormant Asset Scheme

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Strategic report (continued)

Review of performance and achievement (continued)

Influencing the external environment (continued)

In November, working alongside Big Society Capital and a range of partners from across the Community Enterprise Growth Plan coalition, we brought together frontline organisations and the people they support with social investors, others in the Dormant Assets Scheme, government and parliamentarians. With speakers from across the political spectrum, this vibrant and successful event called for more support from current and future governments to help create jobs, boost growth and address social inequalities by unlocking new investment.

Establishment of new Blended Finance Community of Practice

Last year, Access - The Foundation for Social Investment, the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) and Big Society Capital (BSC) organised an initial Blended Finance workshop, which saw blended finance practitioners share case studies about the deal structuring process with peers and stakeholders and led to the launch of the Blended Finance Community of Practice. Since the workshop last year we have grown to a community of over 150 practitioners, and will officially be launching a community

The community is run by and for blended finance practitioners working in the UK and internationally. It is led by a steering group comprised of Access - The Foundation for Social Investment, BSC, and Save the Children, with advisory input from EBRD, and the Global Impact Investing Network (GIIN).

Driving philanthropic impact through Enterprise Grant making

The Enterprise Grants Taskforce also went from strength to strength a group of funders and foundations committed to exploring how enterprise grants can be better utilised to boost enterprise in the voluntary sector. Led by a steering group that includes the School of Social Entrepreneurs (SSE), the Association of Charitable Foundations (ACF) and Access, the task force will look at best practice and efforts to scale the approach. In June, research by the Task Force highlighted the huge potential for enterprise grant making to support charities and social enterprise to generate income increasing the overall impact of philanthropic funds and helping organisations to be more sustainable. While only £2.6m of grants annually meet the definition of enterprise grants, the report highlights there is a much larger sum, between £22m and £115m annually, supporting enterprising activity in a wider sense. With increasingly limited resources to create positive social impact, this new movement of grant making intentionally fills a gap in the funding market that complements unrestricted funding, project-based grant funding and repayable social investment.

Delivering social and environment impact and a 7% return through our endowment

In addition, 2023 saw the acceleration of our advocacy work encouraging other foundations to invest their money in alignment with their mission. Access published an expanded version of their yearly Endowment Impact Report able to deliver social and environmental impact while still achieving a financial return.

directly invested in UK charities and social enterprises. The remainder is invested in organisations which have best-in-class ESG indicators. Despite wider economic challenges, the Access portfolio managed by

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report Year to 31 December 2023

Strategic report (continued)

Review of performance and achievement (continued)

Influencing the external environment (continued)

Delivering social and environment impact and a 7% return through our endowment (continued)

Rathbones has outperformed market benchmarks, achieving a total weighted return (after fees) of 7.37% (to December 2022).

In the autumn, Access co-hosted a well-attended conference, with Eiris Foundation and Friends Provident

Deepening our commitments to equity, diversity and inclusion

Hosted by Bates Wells, we also brought together a range of stakeholders to consider our respective roles in facilitating and advocating for change in relation to impact investing. We also spoke at several sector events to showcase the approach Access has taken to managing its endowment, including the investment series hosted by the Impact Investing Institute and the Association of Charitable Foundations.

In early 2023 Access undertook a comprehensive externally facilitated diversity audit covering the composition of the board, investment committee and staff team. Our internal diversity audit was delivered by the consultancy Small Change, who were chosen for their experience delivering these kinds of projects, and their knowledge of how we work as an organisation.

Our EDI work is an ongoing process that involves ongoing commitment, which is why we have developed a traffic light system to indicate how we are performing against each of our commitments in our equity, diversity and inclusion policy and action plan.

Co-created by a working group of staff and trustees, and supported by external partners, the policy sets out our vision of a truly equitable, diverse and inclusive social investment market and the action plan sets out the steps we think are necessary to deliver this vision. We are planning to review the traffic lights annually, with our board also holding us to account for these commitments.

Alongside our diversity audit another major piece of work has been the Black and Minoritised Communities Investment Business to support 49 organisations to identify, test, implement or scale trading models to deliver their missions and help them become more sustainable.

Future outlook

As Access approaches the end of its 2022-2025 strategy and as we begin to understand more about the parameters of the funding environment, such as the expected commitment from Dormant Assets across 2024-28, it is right to pause and reflect on our strategic priorities to ensure we are delivering against our mission in the best possible way. This will undoubtedly retain a focus on the role of Access in the broader ecosystem rather than simply the impact of our programmes, and the measures of success include the securing of long-term sources of subsidy for blended finance.

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Governance, structure and management

Governance

The names of the trustees who served during the period are set out as part of the reference and administrative details on page one of this annual report and accounts. Brief biographical details on each of the current trustees can be found on our website.

The trustees are committed to ensuring that the Board has the combination of skills necessary to support the effective provision of access to capital to charities and social enterprises.

In particular, the Board of Trustees includes skills and expertise in the following areas: social investment, community regeneration and social enterprise, business, and financial and risk management.

The Board has fully adopted the Charity Governance Code and ensures compliance through regular review. The Board of Trustees reviews its own performance regularly and acts on any feedback received as a result of the evaluation process.

An independent review of governance occurred during the year which concluded that the Board is highly effective and demonstrates a rigorous and congruent approach to governance and leadership. The Board is currently reviewing the recommendations in the independent review.

Key management personnel

The key management personnel of Access comprise the trustees, the Chief Executive and senior leadership team. Remuneration is overseen by the Audit, Risk and Compliance Committee (ARCC). In order to ensure that the remuneration policy reflects the charitable sector that it serves, Access staff receive no more than an annual inflationary increase, subject to affordability and in line with relevant benchmarks and reflective of the conditions in the social sector. An exception will be made if a role has materially changed or the market rate has increased (as confirmed by external benchmarking), in which case a pay increase beyond the rate of inflation may be considered.

The trustees (who are also directors of the charitable company for the purposes of company law) are and United Kingdom Accounting Standards (United Kingdom Generally Accepted Accounting Practice).

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 charitable company and of the income and expenditure of the charity for that period.

In preparing these financial statements, the trustees are required to:

select suitable accounting policies and then apply them consistently
observe the methods and principles in 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);
make judgements and estimates that are reasonable and prudent;

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Governance, structure and management (continued)

(continued)

state whether applicable United Kingdom Accounting Standards have been followed, subject to any material departures disclosed and explained in the financial statements; and
prepare the accounts on the going concern basis unless it is inappropriate to presume that the charitable company will continue in operation.

The trustees are responsible for keeping proper accounting records that disclose with reasonable accuracy at any time the financial position of the charitable company and enable them to ensure that the accounts comply with the Companies Act 2006. They are also responsible for safeguarding the assets of the charitable company and hence for taking reasonable steps for the prevention and detection of fraud and other irregularities.

Each of the trustees confirms that:

auditor is unaware; and
the trustee has taken all the steps that he/she ought to have taken as a trustee in order to make auditor is aware of that information.

This confirmation is given and should be interpreted in accordance with the provisions of s418 of the Companies Act 2006.

The trustees are responsible for the maintenance and integrity of the corporate and financial information n and dissemination of financial statements may differ from legislation in other jurisdictions.

Structure and management reporting

Access is a charity and company limited by guarantee, with one legal member, the Oversight Trust. The Oversight Trust is also the majority shareholder of Big Society Capital, and the sole legal member of Fair4All Finance and the Youth Futures Foundation. As the sole legal member, the Oversight Trust agrees to contribute £1 in the event of the charity winding up.

Access is governed by the Board of Trustees. The Board of Trustees has six scheduled meetings a year, including an annual strategic away day. Other meetings are called as required. The trustees delegate the day-to-day management of Access to the Executive team.

The Audit, Risk and Compliance Committee (ARCC) is one of two formal subcommittees of the Board, comprising four trustees. The ARCC is responsible for the relationship with the auditors, ensuring the examining and reviewing all systems and methods of control including financial and risk management, all HR matters and policies and ensuring that Access complies with all aspects of the law, relevant regulation and good practice. The ARCC has four scheduled meetings a year and other meetings are called as required.

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Governance, structure and management (continued)

Structure and management reporting (continued)

The Endowment Investment Committee (EIC) comprises two trustees and two external members. The EIC is responsible for the relationship with our investment managers (Rathbones), and its role is to monitor both the social impact and financial performance of the social investments that are being managed on funds provided by DCMS and the treasury management of the dormant account funds. The EIC has four scheduled meetings a year and other meetings are called as required.

Risk management

To ensure that risks are managed and mitigated, a risk register is in place, which enables Access to identify and evaluate both strategic and operational risks, and the actions needed to mitigate these risks, taking into account existing and proposed controls. The ARCC reviews the risk register on a quarterly basis.

The key strategic risks which the organisation is currently managing relate to the longer-term legacy of Access and that, in order to achieve its mission, the foundation needs to ensure that it is influencing the broader social investment ecosystem so that key aspects of its work can continue once the organisation strategy and the renewed focus on learning and advocacy work are a key mitigant. A major focus of the finance.

The ARCC is also reviewing risks relating to specific programmes, and their ongoing impact on the

Grant making policy

Access is able to award grants in a variety of ways, namely via the blended finance programmes, Capacity Building programmes or for research work as part of the Learning, Listening and Sharing Knowledge strand. In awarding grants, we apply the following principles:

The ultimate objective of the grant should be to increase access to finance for charities and social organisations and/or to support the growth of the social investment market.
The grant may be used by recipients to fund or support charities and social organisations directly or to enable other intermediaries to provide appropriate funding or support to such charities or social organisations.
The applicant will need to evidence the use of grant in increasing the efficiency and effectiveness of charities and social organisations.

We do not consider applications for any activities which are outside the Access objects; any activities which are not considered charitable in accordance with the laws of England and Wales; any political or commercial appeals; and any to the benefit of the trustees or anyone related to the trustees.

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Grant making policy (continued)

Applications must be submitted in accordance with our stated programme areas and will be subject to due diligence and a multi-stage decision making process. Grant recipients will be subject to monitoring, feedback requirements and evaluation. The terms of such monitoring and evaluation will vary depending on the type of funding and the programme area funded and details will be set out in the agreement between the recipient and Access.

Investments and Treasury

Endowment

The Capacity Building programmes, Listening, Learning and Sharing Knowledge (Market Championing) are funded via an expendable endowment, granted by DCMS. Our mandate is to invest our expendable endowment to achieve positive social impact with a financial return to fund our grant making, thereby increasing the total impact made by the endowment over its l with that policy.

set managers in early 2016 and at 31 December 2023, they had £17.7m (2022 - £22.3m) of its assets under management. Rathbones manages our endowment in accordance with the endowment IPS. The IPS details the financial and social objectives of the portfolio, as well as any constraints that Rathbones needs to adhere to. It includes guidance on the permitted investments, liquidity requirements, risk management, benchmarking considerations, roles and responsibilities and reporting requirements.

In terms of the impact that the portfolio will seek to achieve, we have adopted a tiered view of the varying degrees of impact. In descending order, Access invests in:

Charities and social enterprises delivering social impact in the UK at 31 December 2023 this was 35.14%
Charities and social enterprises delivering social impact elsewhere at 31 December 2023 this was 0.68% of total investments (Tier 2)
Other organisations delivering social impact at 31 December 2023 this was 16.75% of total investments (Tier 3)
Other organisations that have best in class Environmental, Social and Governance (ESG) indicators at 31 December 2023 this was 37.47% of total investments (Tier 4)
Cash 9.96%

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Investments and Treasury (continued)

Endowment (continued)

This is best represented by a diagram shown below:

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Note : not to scale

Impact reports are published on our website. The latest report is for the period to December 2022. Future reports will be published annually for each calendar year.

Capital Preservation Funds

A fund is managed for capital preservation when the Board is of the view that the funds should only be placed on deposit with suitable banks and that it is not appropriate to invest these funds partly or fully in a bond portfolio or other financial products.

As 31 December 2023 there were two Capital Preservation Funds:

The Local Access Dormant Accounts Fund; and
The General Dormant Accounts Fund.

An Investment Policy Statement (IPS) has been approved specifically for capital preservation funds and these funds are managed in line with that policy. The primary investment objective is to invest each Fund financial and social impact, in line with how Access invests its expendable endowment. The investment of these funds is managed in house.

The financial objective is to preserve the capital of each fund prior to expenditure. A financial return in line with the appropriate cash deposit rates is targeted over the period that the capital is invested and with a liquidity profile that is appropriate for the time horizon. This was met during the year. The capital is held set and consideration of risk factors.

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Investments and Treasury (continued)

Investment performance - Endowment

Rathbones continued to act as our asset manager throughout 2023. At 31 December 2023, the market value of these investments stood at £17.7m (2022 - £22.3m) which included cash held of £1.79m (2022 - £0.06m). The cost of these investments amounted to £21m, and there was an unrealised loss on the change in market value of £4.3m. Income from this investment portfolio amounted to £9.9m.

The investment portfolio achieved a Time Weighted Return (TWR) for 2023 of 5.13%. (2022 5.68%) The target TWR per year is 2-3%. With the backdrop of Covid and rising interest rates affecting the bond market, the trustees are satisfied with the performance of the investments, both in terms of financial return and social impact generated.

In relation to the management of the spend-down endowment, the Endowment Investment Committee those risks.

To mitigate credit risk during the last year the EIC worked closely with Rathbones to monitor the health of the underlying holdings in the portfolio, including through reviewing reports directly from the bond issuers and analysing wider market information.

Liquidity risk has also been closely monitored during the course of the year through regular reforecasting of anticipated programme spend, and modelling of any future sales of bonds required to meet that spend. The EIC and board have discussed strategies for reducing illiquidity in the portfolio towards the end of the life of the endowment (from 2024 onwards) and continue to monitor the holdings to reduce liquidity risk in the longer term.

Financial review

Results for the period

The Statement of Financial Activities (SOFA) shows that Access's result for the year, before investment gains and losses, was a net expenditure of £7.9m (2022 - net expenditure £6.2m). The result reflects the spend-down of our endowment in accordance with our mission and the utilisation of restricted grants received, offset by grants received and investment income from the endowment.

Income from grants in 2023 was £10.5m (2022 - £2.15m). As explained in the notes to the financial statements, income from Dormant Asset funding is being released on a performance basis - i.e., in the period in which it is expensed. The 2022 grant income includes recognition of £2.15m of Dormant Asset income.

Other sources of income include investment income of £1.31m (2022 - £1.21m)

years on our Capacity Building and Listening, Learning and Sharing Knowledge work. It will also be used to part fund the running costs of Access.

The Local Access Fund covers part of the cost of the Local Access (place-based) Blended Finance programme developed with Big Society Capital. The balance of that programme is funded by £8m of

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Financial review (continued)

Results for the period (continued)

years. The relevant portion of support costs are being charged to the £10m fund.

During the year to 31 December 2023 expenditure on charitable activities totalled £19.7m (2022 - £9.5m) made up as follows:

	2023 £m	2022 £m
Capacity Building Blended Finance Listening Learning and Sharing knowledge	6.4 12.9 0.4 19.7	4.7 4.2 0.6 9.5

In addition to grants, these costs include project management costs which relate to the functioning of robust and effective programmes and include the costs of partner organisations administering the programmes on our behalf.

Our office running costs are relatively low due to the fact that we are a lean organisation and work through partnerships. The average FTE increased in 2023 to 9.5 (2022 - 8.3).

Staff costs for the year were £736k (2022 - £634k).

Costs were incurred of £61k (2022 - £79k) on raising funds, which relate to the fees paid for the management of the short term deposit accounts and fees paid to investment managers, Rathbones, for the management of the investment portfolio.

Reserves policy and financial position

The balance sheet shows total funds of £27.9m (31 December 2022 - £35.7m).

These funds include expendable endowment funds of £10.2m (2022 - £18.2m). Whilst the income from these funds may be used for general purposes of the charity and is held as unrestricted reserves, the to fund our Capacity Building programmes, and to part-fund the running costs of Access.

As detailed in note 11, the market value of the (2022 - £22.6), with the fall in value being split between unrealised losses on mark-to-market valuations of the investments, and amounts drawn down during the year for programmes.

Included in total funds is an amount of £7.9m (2022 - £8.9m) which is restricted. Because the General Dormant Asset Fund only recognises income when it is committed (expensed) there is no balance. and therefore this restricted balance only relates to the local Access Fund

The Local Access Fund: Created from the receipt in 2018 of £10m of Dormant Asset funds for a Place Based Blended Finance programme (known as Local Access). Income recognised on receipt.
The General Dormant Assets Fund: Created from receipt of the £30m Dormant Assets funding provided to Access in 2020 to grow our blended finance work and £23m of the additional Dormant Asset funding awarded in 2022 to fund the Cost of Living and Green Energy programmes. (Income only recognised on expenditure, therefore as at 31 December 2023 £31.6m of the £53m is treated as deferred income).

Access The Foundation for Social Investment 17

report Year to 31 December 2023

Financial review (continued)

Reserves policy and financial position (continued)

Full details of restricted funds can be found in note 15 to the accounts together with an analysis of movements in the period.

No funds have been designated, or set aside, by the trustees for specific purposes. General funds of the charity at 31 December 2023 total £9.7m (2022 - £8.5m). These funds are represented by tangible fixed assets with a net book value of £11k and with the

The core of Access' grant making programmes and running costs are funded via an expendable endowment of £60.65m from DCMS. The endowment will in turn continue to be spent over the next three years in the delivery of Access' programmes. Given that the endowment fund is essentially an income fund rather than that of a capital nature, a traditional reserves policy is not considered necessary. Access will receive all funding ahead of when these resources will be committed and therefore the funds are considered adequate to meet the running costs of Access as well as the grant funding of our programmes.

managed to ensure that the remaining expendable endowment is available and sufficient to fund these commitments.

The assets

Acquisitions and disposals of fixed assets during the period are recorded in the notes to the accounts.

Fundraising statement

Access does not actively solicit donations directly from the public and therefore is not registered with the Fundraising Regulator and does not subscribe to any fundraising codes of practice. Were donations from individuals or trusts and foundations to be received, Access would ensure personal data is appropriately protected.

Auditors

Each of the trustees confirms that:

auditor is
unaware; and
the trustee has taken all the steps that he ought to have taken as a trustee in order to make himself aware of that
information.

This confirmation is given and should be interpreted in accordance with the provisions of s418 of the Companies Act 2006.

Approved by the trustees and signed on their behalf by:

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Trustee

Approved by the trustees on: 18[th] April 2024

Access The Foundation for Social Investment 18

Year to 31 December 2023

The Foundation for Social Investment

Opinion

We have audited the financial statements of Access The Foundation for Social Investment (the for the year ended 31 December 2023 which comprise the statement of financial activities, the balance sheet, and statements of cash flows, the principal accounting policies and notes to the financial statements. The financial reporting framework that has been applied in their preparation is applicable law and United Kingdom Accounting Standards, including Financial Reporting Standard Generally Accepted Accounting Practice).

In our opinion, the financial statements:

give a true and fair view of the state of the charitable affairs as at 31 December 2023 and of its income and expenditure for the year then ended;
have been properly prepared in accordance with United Kingdom Generally Accepted Accounting Practice; and
have been prepared in accordance with the requirements of the Companies Act 2006.

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 responsibilities for the audit of the financial statements section of our report. We are independent of the charitable company in accordance with the ethical requirements that are relevant to our audit of the Standard, 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

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 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.

Access The Foundation for Social Investment 19

Year to 31 December 2023

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 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.

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.

Opinions on other matters prescribed by the Companies Act 2006

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

year for
which the financial statements are prepared is consistent with the financial statements; and
applicable
legal requirements.

Matters on which we are required to report by exception

In the light of the knowledge and understanding of the charitable company and its environment obtained in the course of the audit, we have not identified material misstatements in the the strategic 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:

adequate accounting records have not been kept, or returns adequate for our audit have not been received from branches not visited by us; or
the financial statements are not in agreement with the accounting records and returns; or
certain disclosures of remuneration specified by law are not made; and
we have not received all the information and explanations we require for our audit

Access The Foundation for Social Investment 20

Year to 31 December 2023

Responsibilities of trustees

As explained more fully in the responsibilities statement, 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 the trustees 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 charitable 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 charitable company or to cease operations, or have no realistic alternative but to do so.

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 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 extent to which our procedures are capable of detecting irregularities, including fraud, is detailed below:

We obtained an understanding of the legal and regulatory frameworks applicable to the charity and the sector in which it operates. We determined that the following laws and regulations were most significant: 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), the Companies Act 2006 and the Charities Act 2011.
We understood how the charity is complying with those legal and regulatory frameworks by making enquiries of management and those responsible for legal and compliance procedures. We corroborated our enquiries through our review of Board minutes and papers provided to the Audit, Risk and Compliance Committee.
We assessed the susceptibility of the financial statements to material misstatement, including how fraud might occur. Audit procedures performed by the engagement team included:
Identifying and assessing the design effectiveness of controls in place to prevent and detect fraud;
Understanding how those charged with governance considered and addressed the potential for override of controls or other inappropriate influence over the financial reporting process;
Challenging assumptions and judgements made by management in its significant accounting estimates;

Access The Foundation for Social Investment 21

Year to 31 December 2023

responsibilities for the audit of the financial statements (continued)

Identifying and testing journal entries, in particular any journal entries posted with unusual account combinations; and

Assessing the extent of compliance with the relevant laws and regulations as part of our procedures on the relevant financial statement item to which they relate.

A further description of our responsibilities for the audit of the financial statements is located on the ebsite at www.frc.org.uk/auditorsresponsibilities. This description forms part

Use of our report

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 charitable company's members those matters we are required to state to them in an auditor's 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 charitable company and the charitable company's members as a body, for our audit work, for this report, or for the opinions we have formed.

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8 May 2024

Edward Finch (Senior Statutory Auditor) For and on behalf of

Buzzacott LLP, Statutory Auditor 130 Wood Street London EC2V 6DL

Access The Foundation for Social Investment 22

Statement of financial activities Year to 31 December 2023

Notes	Unrestricted funds	Restricted funds	Endowment funds	2023 Total funds	2022 Total funds
Income and endowments from: Grants and other sources for charitable activities 1 Investments 2 Total income Expenditure on: Raising funds 3 Charitable activities 4 . Capacity Building . Blended Finance . Listening, Learning & Sharing Knowledge Total expenditure Net income (expenditure) for the year before losses on investments 6 Net investment gains (losses) 11 Net expenditure and net movement in funds Reconciliation of funds: Total funds brought forward Total funds carried forward	1,311	10,520		10,520 1,311	2,156 1,209
	1,311	10,520		11,831	3,365
	53	11,482	61 6,415 1,336 429	61 6,415 12,871 429	79 4,777 4,156 560
	53	11,482	8,231	19,766	9,572
	1,258	(962)	(8,231) 224	(7,935) 224	(6,207) (2,667)
	1,258	(962)	(8,007)	(7,711)	(8,874)
	8,485	8,922	18,247	35,654	44,528
	9,743	7,960	10,240	27,943	35,654

The statement of financial activities includes all gains and losses recognised in the period.

All of the activities derived from continuing operations during the above financial period.

Access The Foundation for Social Investment 23

Prior year statement of financial activities Year to 31 December 2022

Notes	Unrestricted funds	Restricted funds	Endowment funds	2022 Total funds
Income and endowments from: Grants and other sources for charitable activities 1 Investments 2 Total income Expenditure on: Raising funds 3 Charitable activities 4 . Capacity Building . Blended Finance . Listening, Learning & Sharing Knowledge Total expenditure Net income (expenditure) for the year before losses on investments 6 Net investment (losses) gains 11 Net income and net movement in funds Reconciliation of funds: Total funds brought forward Total funds carried forward	1,209	2,156		2,156 1,209
	1,209	2,156		3,365
	(7) 121	2,830	79 4,784 1,205 560	79 4,777 4,156 560
	114	2,830	6,628	9,572
	1,095	(674)	(6,628) (2,667)	(6,207) (2,667)
	1,095	(674)	(9,295)	(8,874)
	7,390	9,596	27,542	44,528
	8,485	8,922	18,247	35,654

Access The Foundation for Social Investment 24

Balance sheet as at 31 December 2023

Notes	2023	2023	2022	2022
Fixed assets Tangible assets 10 Investments 11 Current assets Debtors due within one year 12 Short-term deposits Cash at bank and in hand Creditors: amounts falling due within one year 13 Net current assets Total net assets The funds of the charity: Endowment funds 14 Restricted funds 15 Unrestricted funds . General fund . Tangible fixed assets fund	267 20,494 20,705	11 18,597	164 11,645 12,214	9 22,579
		18,608 9,335		22,588 13,065
	41,466 (32,131)		24,023 (10,958)

		27,943		35,653
		10,240 7,960 9,732 11		18,247 8,922 8,476 9
		27,943		35,654

Approved by the trustees and signed on their behalf by:

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Trustee

Approved by the trustees on: 18[th] April 2024

Access The Foundation for Social Investment: A company limited by guarantee.

Company Registration No. 09153909 (England and Wales)

Access The Foundation for Social Investment 25

Statement of cash flows Year ended 31 December 2023

Notes	2023	2022
Cash (used in) provided by operating activities A Cash provided by investing activities B Change in cash and cash equivalents in the year C Cash and cash equivalents at 1 January 2023 Cash and cash equivalents at 31 December 2023	11,829 (1,630)	(11,495) 6,224
	10,199 12,297	(5,271) 17,568
	22,496	12,297

Notes to the statement of cash flows for the year to 31 December 2023

A Reconciliation of net movement in funds to net cash provided by operating activities

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----- Start of picture text -----
2023 2022
Net movement in funds (7,711) (8,874)
Depreciation charge 5 7
(Gains) losses on investments (224) 2,570
Investment income (1,311) (1,209)
(Increase) decrease in debtors (103) 9
Increase (decrease) in creditors 21,173 (3,998)
Net cash provided by operating activities 11,829 (11,495)
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B Gross cash flows from investing activities

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----- Start of picture text -----
2023 2022
Investing activities
Payments to acquire tangible fixed assets 7
Investment income 1,311 1,209
Purchase of investments (600) (301)
Proceeds from disposals of investments 6,502 5,395
Purchase of short-term deposits (8,836) (80)
Net cash provided by investing activities (1,630) 6,224
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Access The Foundation for Social Investment 26

Statement of cash flows Year ended 31 December 2023

C Analysis of changes in cash and cash equivalents

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----- Start of picture text -----
At 31 At 31
December Cash December
2022 Flows 2023
Cash held by investment managers 83 1,708 1,791
Cash at bank and in hand 12,214 8,491 20,705
Total 12,297 10,199 22,496
At 31 At 31
December Cash December
2021 Flows 2022
Cash held by investment managers 1,241 (1,158) 83
Cash at bank and in hand 16,327 (4,113) 12,214
Total 17,568 (5,271) 12,297
----- End of picture text -----

Access The Foundation for Social Investment 27

Principal accounting policies Year ended 31 December 2023

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

Basis of accounting

These financial statements have been prepared for the year to 31 December 2023.

The financial statements have been prepared under the historical cost convention with items initially recognised at cost or transaction value unless otherwise stated in the relevant accounting policy notes.

The financial statements have been prepared in accordance with 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 9 Standard applicable in the UK and Republic of Ireland (FRS 102), the Companies Act 2006 and the Charities Act 2011.

The charity constitutes a public benefit entity as defined by FRS 102.

The accounts are presented in sterling and are rounded to the nearest thousand pounds.

Critical accounting estimates and areas of judgement

Preparation of the accounts requires the trustees and management to make significant judgements and estimates.

The items in the accounts where these judgements and estimates have been made include:

Determining the value of investment holdings, where these are unlisted.

Going concern

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

The trustees 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. This is because they consider the cash and reserves position of Access to be sufficient to support the charity for at least 12 months from the date of signing these financial statements.

Access The Foundation for Social Investment 28

Principal accounting policies Year ended 31 December 2023

Income

Income is recognised in the period in which the charity is entitled to receipt, the amount can be measured reliably, and it is probable that the funds will be received.

Income is deferred only when the charity has to fulfil performance related conditions before becoming entitled to it or where the donor or funder has specified that the income is to be expended in a future accounting period.

Grants from government for Capacity Building are expendable funds that are specifically restricted to such activity. These income funds are put on deposit and invested prior to expenditure and have been included as endowment funds. In the year ended 31 December 2018 the charity received £10m of cash from dormant account funds, which was recognised in full in that year and presented within restricted funds, on the basis that it should be used to create a specific Blended Finance Programme.

In the year ended 31 December 2020 the charity became entitled to £30m of funding from the National Lottery Community Fund (NLCF). In line with the underlying grant agreement, amounts are drawn down by the charity periodically based on requests to the NLCF to support cash requirements for the subsequent period. As the funding is provided to support future activity it is initially recognised as deferred income in the balance sheet and taken to the statement of financial activities in the period in which it is applied. The income is conditional on it being used to fund expenditure furthering the social purposes or for the purpose of helping charities and social enterprises respond and recover from the Covid-19 outbreak. Income and expenditure are therefore shown in the restricted fund.

The National Lottery Community Fund Grant Budget for Growth Fund is considered a performance related grant on account of the service level agreement in place with the National Lottery Community Fund. This is included as a restricted grant on the basis that it is refundable if not applied for the purposes intended.

The Growth Fund itself is not recognised as income within the financial statements as the income is not under the direct control of the charity.

In accordance with the Charities FRS 102 SORP volunteer time is not recognised.

Interest on funds held on deposit is recognised as accrued interest when the amount can be measured reliably by the charity; this is normally upon notification of the interest paid or payable by the bank.

Access The Foundation for Social Investment 29

Principal accounting policies Year ended 31 December 2023

Expenditure and the basis of apportioning costs

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

All expenditure is accounted for on an accruals basis. Expenditure comprises direct costs and support costs. Direct costs are allocated to a specific activity. The classification between activities is as follows:

a. Expenditure on raising funds includes all expenditure associated with raising funds for the charity. This includes investment management fees, staff costs associated with fundraising, and an allocation of support costs.
b. Expenditure on charitable activities includes all costs associated with furthering the charitable purposes of the charity through the provision of its charitable activities. Such costs include grants payable, other direct costs and support costs.
c. Other expenditure includes all expenditure that cannot be analysed into the above two headings.

Support costs represent indirect charitable expenditure. In order to carry out the primary purposes of the charity it is necessary to provide support in the form of personnel development, financial procedures, provision of office services and equipment and a suitable working environment. Office costs and property related costs are apportioned on the basis of the headcount related to the activity. Staff related costs are allocated in the same proportion as directly attributable staff costs. Included within support costs are governance costs which comprises audit fees, legal fees, recruitment expenses and remuneration and expenses reimbursed. All expenditure is inclusive of irrecoverable VAT.

Tangible fixed assets

All assets (other than IT equipment) costing more than £1,000 and with an expected useful life exceeding one year are capitalised. IT equipment costing more than £350 and with an expected useful life exceeding one year is capitalised.

Tangible fixed assets are capitalised and depreciated at the following annual rates in order to write them off over their estimated useful lives:

Computer and similar equipment

33.3% per annum based on cost

Access The Foundation for Social Investment 30

Principal accounting policies Year ended 31 December 2023

Fixed asset investments

Investments are a form of basic financial instrument and are initially recognised at their transaction value and subsequently measured at their fair value. The fair value of fixed asset investments quoted in an active market is determined by reference to the official exchange or clearing house settlement prices at the close of business on the balance sheet date. For fixed asset investments that do not have official exchange settlement prices, the fair value is determined by reference to third party market values on the balance sheet date, determined by independent brokers. Those holdings for which there is no active market are valued at cost less any impairment.

The charity does not acquire put options, derivatives, or other complex financial instruments.

The main risks are credit risk and liquidity risk. The exposure to market risk is mitigated by the investment strategy which is to hold the majority of bonds to maturity, so gains or losses in the valuation of the holdings will largely remain unrealised. All gains (or losses) on investments are taken to the statement of financial activities as they arise. Unrealised gains and losses are calculated as the difference between the fair value at the year end and their carrying value, or the difference between sales proceeds and their opening carrying value or their purchase value if acquired subsequent to the first day of the financial year. Unrealised investment gains and losses are credited (or debited) to the statement of financial activities in the year in which they arise.

Debtors

Debtors are recognised at the settlement amount, less any provision for non-recoverability. Prepayments are valued at the amount prepaid. They have been discounted to the present value of the future cash receipt where such discounting is material.

Cash at bank and in hand and short-term deposits

Cash at bank and in hand represents such accounts and instruments that are available on demand or have a maturity of less than a month from the date of acquisition. Deposits for more than one month but less than one year have been disclosed as short-term deposits. Cash placed on deposit by our investment managers Rathbones is disclosed as a fixed asset investment.

Following a review of cash at bank and in hand balances during the year, a decision was made to represent balances between cash at bank and in hand and short-term deposits in line with the above policy. The balance sheet and statement of cash flows as at 31 December 2023 and 31 December 2022 have been re-presented, with deposits for more than one month but less than one year being disclosed as short term deposits. As the total reported results remain unchanged, the re-presentation is not considered to be a restatement of prior year results.

Creditors and provisions

Creditors and provisions are recognised when there is an obligation at the balance sheet date as a result of a past event, it is probable that a transfer of economic benefit will be required in settlement, and the amount of the settlement can be estimated reliably. Creditors and provisions are recognised at the amount the charity anticipates it will pay to settle the debt. They have been discounted to the present value of the future cash payment where such discounting is material.

Access The Foundation for Social Investment 31

Principal accounting policies Year ended 31 December 2023

Fund accounting

Expendable endowment funds comprise monies which the trustees have the power to convert into income. Investment income therefrom is credited to unrestricted funds and applied for general purposes in line with the requirements of the donor.

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

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

Pension costs

The charity operates a defined contribution pension scheme. The amounts charged represent the contributions payable to the scheme in the period.

Access The Foundation for Social Investment 32

Notes to the accounts Year ended 31 December 2023

1 Income from grants and other sources for charitable activities

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----- Start of picture text -----
2023
Restricted Endowment Total
funds funds funds
The National Lottery Community Fund 76 76
Dormant Assets 10,444 10,444
2023 Total funds 10,520 10,520
2022
Restricted Endowment Total
funds funds funds
The National Lottery Community Fund 110 110
Dormant Assets 2,046 2,046
2022 Total funds 2,156 2,156
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2 Income from investments

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----- Start of picture text -----
2023
Unrestricted Restricted Endowment Total
funds funds funds funds
Investment income receivable 859 859
Interest receivable 452 452
2023 Total funds 1,311 1,311
2022
Unrestricted Restricted Endowment Total
funds funds funds funds
Investment income receivable 1,054 1,054
Interest receivable 155 155
2022 Total funds 1,209 1,209
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Access The Foundation for Social Investment 33

Notes to the accounts Year ended 31 December 2023

3 Expenditure on raising funds

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----- Start of picture text -----
2023
Endowment Total
funds funds
Deposit bank account management 1 1
Investment manager fees 60 60
2023 Total funds 61 61
2022
Endowment Total
funds funds
Deposit bank account management 1 1
Investment manager fees 78 78
2022 Total funds 79 79
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4 Expenditure on charitable activities

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----- Start of picture text -----
2023
Unrestricted Restricted Endowment Total
funds funds funds funds
Capacity Building
. Grants 4,075 4,075
. Project management costs 2,074 2,074
Support costs (note 5)
.. Office costs 65 65
.. Staff costs 184 184
. Governance costs 17 17
6,415 6,415
Blended Finance
Grants 10,960 1,197 12,157
Project management costs 64 139 203
Support costs (note 5)
.. Office costs 13 113 126
.. Staff costs 37 316 353
. Governance costs 3 29 32
53 11,482 1,336 12,871
Listening, Learning and Sharing Knowledge
. Research costs 131 131
. Support costs (note 5)
.. Office costs 71 71
.. Staff costs 199 199
Governance costs 18 18
2023 Total funds 419 419
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Access The Foundation for Social Investment 34

Notes to the accounts Year ended 31 December 2023

4 Expenditure on charitable activities (continued)

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2022
Unrestricted Restricted Endowment Total
funds funds funds funds
Capacity Building
. Grants (7) 2,989 2,982
. Project management costs 1,600 1,600
Support costs (note 5)
.. Office costs 53 53
.. Staff costs 133 133
. Governance costs 9 9
(7) 4,784 4,777
Blended Finance
Grants 2,291 1,202 3,493
Project management costs 147 3 150
Support costs (note 5)
.. Office costs 33 106 139
.. Staff costs 82 267 349
. Governance costs 6 19 25
121 2,830 1,205 4,156
Listening, Learning and Sharing Knowledge
. Research costs 336 336
. Support costs (note 5)
.. Office costs 61 61
.. Staff costs 152 152
Governance costs 11 11
560 560
2022 Total funds 114 2,830 6,549 9,493
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Capacity Building:

Capacity building comprises work involving the consultation, design, implementation, monitoring and evaluating of grant-based programmes to build the capacity of charities and social enterprises. This support helps charities and social enterprises to earn more of their own income and specifically develop business models which can be further supported through utilising social investment. This will help organisations become robust, competitive and sustainable by helping them to participate in the social investment market and become better-equipped to be investmentready and secure new forms of investment.

Blended Finance:

Access manages and promotes blended finance models, which bridge the gap between charities and social enterprises on one side and social investors on the other. These include:

The Growth Fund - a wholesale finance facility for social investors. It is operated by Access which provides support and operational services, with finance from Big Society Capital and the National Lottery Community Fund. The objective is to provide access to capital that charities and social enterprises need when they are at early stages of growth or diversifying their business models by providing loans of less than £150,000. The programme was fully committed by the end of 2022 and is now in portfolio management .Access is represented on the Joint Investment Committee which reviews and approves applications for this funding.

Access The Foundation for Social Investment 35

Notes to the accounts Year ended 31 December 2023

4 Expenditure on charitable activities (continued)
Local Access: The Local Access programme uses £10m from dormant assets received by Access in 2018 to blend with circa £15m of Big Society Capital funds. Access has also committed a further £8m from its endowment. At the start of 2020 partnerships six places were chosen to use these funds to create place based blended finance and enterprise development programmes to help grow their local social economies.
Dormant Asset funded Blended Finance programmes: Access has been allocated £73m in Dormant Assets since 2020 to develop a run a range of blended finance programmes supporting access to finance for charities and social enterprises. These include the Flexible Finance programme, Enterprise Growth for Communities, the Cost of Living Social Investment programme and the Energy Efficiency Social Investment Programme.

Listening, Learning and Sharing Knowledge:

These activities enable Access to learn from our programmes and listen to the changing investment needs of the sector in order to influence our future work and that of others who support charities and social enterprises.

5 Support costs

Support costs comprise governance costs and other support costs:

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Charitable activities
Listening,
Learning and 2023
Capacity Blended Sharing Total
Building Finance Knowledge funds
Staff costs 184 353 199 736
Governance costs 17 32 18 67
Office costs 65 126 71 262
266 511 288 1,065
Charitable activities
Listening,
Learning and 2022
Capacity Blended Sharing Total
Building Finance Knowledge funds
Staff costs 133 349 152 634
Governance costs 9 25 11 45
Office costs 53 139 61 253
195 513 224 932
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Access The Foundation for Social Investment 36

Notes to the accounts Year ended 31 December 2023

5 Support costs (continued)

Governance costs include recruitment and legal fees. For details of trustee remuneration for their services and reimbursement of their travel costs see note 7.

Support costs	2023 Total funds	2022 Total funds Basis of apportionment
Staff costs Governance costs Office costs	736 677 262 1,065	634 Estimated time spent on activities 45 253 932

6 Net income

This is stated after charging:

	Unrestricted funds 37 19 3 5	Restricted funds 316	Endowment funds	2023 Total funds
Staff costs (note 7) remuneration . Statutory audit assurance . Other services Depreciation			383	736 19 3 5
	Unrestricted funds 82 17 3 5	Restricted funds 267	Endowment funds	2022 Total funds
Staff costs (note 7) remuneration . Statutory audit assurance . Other services Depreciation			285	634 17 3 5

Access The Foundation for Social Investment 37

Notes to the accounts Year ended 31 December 2023

7 Employee and key management remuneration

Summary

Staff costs during the period were as follows:

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2023 2022
Wages and salaries 590 511
Social security costs 68 62
Other pension costs 78 62
736 635
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Staff numbers

The average number of employees during the period, calculated on a full time equivalent basis, analysed by function, was as follows:

	2023 Number	2022 Number
Charitable activities . Capacity Building . Blended Finance . Listening, Learning and Sharing Knowledge	2.4 4.5 2.6 9.5	1.8 4.6 1.9 8.3

The average number of employees employed during the year to 31 December 2023 was 9.5 (2022 - 8.3).

Higher paid employees

The number of employees earning more than £60,000 (including taxable benefits but excluding pension contributions) on an annualised basis are as follows:

	2023 Number 1 1	2022 Number 1 1
£70,001 - £80,000 £90,001 - £100,000 £100,001 - £110,000

The Chief Executive received actual salary of £106k (2022 - £102k) in the financial year.

Access The Foundation for Social Investment 38

Notes to the accounts Year ended 31 December 2023

7 Employee and key management remuneration (continued)

Key management personnel

Key management personnel comprise the trustees, the Chief Executive and the Senior Leadership Team.

The total cost of employment of the key management personnel of the charity was £410,083 (2022 - £373,501). One trustee received remuneration in respect of their services during the period totalling £6,000 (2022 - £6,000). During the period out of pocket travelling expenses amounting to £306 (2022 - £631) were reimbursed to three (2022 - four) trustees.

8 Insurance

The charity has purchased insurance to protect the charity from any loss arising from the neglect or defaults of its trustees, employees and agents and to indemnify the trustees or other officers against the consequences of any neglect or default on their part. The insurance premium paid by the charity during the year totalled £20,988. (2022 - £40,797) and provides cover of up to a maximum of £2m for professional indemnity insurance and up to £5m for directors and officers liability.

9 Taxation

Access The Foundation for Social Investment is a registered charity and therefore is not liable to income tax or corporation tax on income derived from its charitable activities, as it falls within the various exemptions available to registered charities.

10 Tangible fixed assets

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Plant,
vehicles &
IT
equipment Total
Cost or valuation
At 31 January 2023 23 23
Additions 7 7
At 31 December 2023 30 30
Depreciation
At 31 December 2022 14 14
Charge for period 5 5
At 31 December 2023 19 19
Net book values
At 31 December 2023 11 11
At 31 December 2022 9 9
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Access The Foundation for Social Investment 39

Notes to the accounts Year ended 31 December 2023

11 Investments

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2023 2022
Market value of listed investments at 1 January 21,675 29,640
Additions at cost
Proceeds from disposals (6,516) (5,395)
Net investment gains (losses) 226 (2,570)
Market value of listed investments at 31 December 15,385 21,675
Value of unlisted investments 1,421 821
Cash held by investment managers 1,791 83
18,597 22,579
Cost of investments at 31 December 2023 20,970 25,823
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Investments held a 31 December 2023 comprised the following:

	2023
UK fixed interest UK equity	15,775 1,031
	2022
UK fixed interest UK equity	21,758 821

At 31 December 2023 investments included the following holdings, which represented material holdings relative to the market value of the total investment portfolio held at that date:

London & Quadrant Housing Aegon Ethical Corporate Bond B Edentree Inv Mgmt Severn Trent Utilities Finance Blue Orchard Investment Mgrs Hightown Praetorian Places for People (2.875% Snr) Royal London Ethical Bond Fund Aberdeen Standard OEICV-ASI	2023 Market value of holding	2023 Percentage of portfolio
	1,815 1,372 1,304 1,275 1,236 1,123 966 955 927	10.3% 7.7% 7.4% 7.2% 7.0% 6.4% 5.5% 5.4% 5.2%

Access The Foundation for Social Investment 40

Notes to the accounts Year ended 31 December 2023

11 Investments (continued)

Investments(continued)
	2022 Market value of holding	2022 Percentage of portfolio
Places for People (4.25% bonds) London & Quadrant Housing Places for People (5.09% Sec Bonds) Severn Trent Utilities Finance Aegon Ethical Corporate Bond F Edentree Investment Management Royal London Ethical Bond Fund Blue Orchid Investment Mgrs Hightown Praetorian	1,994 1,764 1,624 1,297 1,295 1,261 1,195 1,174 1,173	9.0% 7.9% 7.3% 5.8% 5.8% 5.7% 5.4% 5.3% 5.3%

All investments were dealt in on a recognised stock exchange where listed.

12 Debtors

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2023 2022
Due within one year
Accrued income 107
Prepayments 160 164
267 164
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13 Creditors: amounts falling due within one year

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2023 2022
Trade creditors 402 415
Accruals 104 381
Deferred income 31,625 10,068
Taxation and social security 6
Money held as agents (see below) 88
32,131 10,958
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The movement in deferred income was as follows:

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2023 2022
Deferred income brought forward 10,068 12,114
Amounts released in the year (10,443) (6,051)
Amounts deferred in the year 32,000 4,005
Deferred income carried forward 31,625 10,068
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The movement in deferred income relates to distributions from the Dormant Asset scheme to support the work of Charities and Social Enterprises drawn down in the year.

Access The Foundation for Social Investment 41

Notes to the accounts Year ended 31 December 2023

13 Creditors: amounts falling due within one year (continued)

The movement on money held as agents during the year ended 31 December 2023 was as follows:

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2023
Funds held as agents as at 1 January 2023 88
Funds received from the National Lottery Community Fund 246
Fund distributed to investors (82)
Funds returned to the National Lottery Community Fund (252)
Funds held as agents at 31 December 2023
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2022
Funds held as agents as at 1 January 2022 685
Funds received from the National Lottery Community Fund 1,272
Fund distributed to investors (2,045)
Funds held as agents at 31 December 2022 88
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Access held money received from the National Lottery Community Fund in order to distribute it to social investors who are delivering the Growth Fund. The grant income and expenditure does not belong to Access, and it is therefore not included within the SOFA. As the programme concludes any unspent funds have been returned to the NLCF reducing the balance to zero.

14 Endowment funds

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At 31 Expenditure, At 31
December gains, losses December
2022 Income and transfers 2023
DCMS 18,247 (8,007) 10,240
18,247 (8,007) 10,240
At 31 Expenditure, At 31
December gains, losses December
2021 Income and transfers 2022
DCMS 27,542 (9,295) 18,247
27,542 (9,295) 18,247
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The funds were established as follows:

DCMS donated an expendable endowment fund to Access to support its charitable activities, including Capacity Building, Listening, Learning and Sharing Knowledge and a contribution to running costs. The funds may be invested in order to achieve a financial and as such are recognised as unrestricted income each year.

Access The Foundation for Social Investment 42

Notes to the accounts Year ended 31 December 2023

15 Restricted funds

The income funds of the charity include restricted funds comprising the following unexpended balances to be applied for specific purposes:

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At
31 Expenditure, At 31
December gains, losses December
2022 Income and transfers 2023
Local Access 8,922 (962) 7,960
The National Lottery Community Fund 76 (76)
Dormant Assets 10,444 (10,444)
Investments
8,922 10,520 (11,482) 7,960
At 31 Expenditure, At 31
December gains, losses December
2021 Income and transfers 2022
Local Access 9,596 (1,222) 8,374
The National Lottery Community Fund 110 (110)
Investments
Dormant Assets 2,046 (2,046)
9,596 2,156 (6,523) 8,374
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The specific purposes for which the funds are to be applied are as follows:

National Lottery Community Fund Income

This is funding for the administration and servicing of the Growth Fund. This includes the portfolio management of Growth Fund investees, provision of support and guidance to social investors including fostering a community of investees and promotion of awareness of the Programme.

Access The Foundation for Social Investment 43

Notes to the accounts Year ended 31 December 2023

16 Analysis of net assets between funds

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Unrestricted Restricted Endowment Total
funds funds funds 2023
Fund balances at 31 December 2023
are represented by:
Tangible fixed assets 11 11
Investments 8,357 10,240 18,597
Net current assets 1,375 7,960 9,335
Total net assets 9,743 7,960 10,240 27,943
Unrestricted Restricted Endowment Total
funds funds funds 2022
Fund balances at 31 December 2022
are represented by:
Tangible fixed assets 9 9
Investments 4,332 18,247 22,579
Net current assets 4,691 8,374 13,065
Total net assets 9,032 8,374 18,247 35,653
2023 2022
Total unrealised gains included above:
On investments (3,271) (2,570)
Total unrealised gains at 31 December 2023 (3,271) (2,570)
Reconciliation of movements in unrealised gains
Unrealised losses at 1 January 2023 (2,570) (844)
Less: in respect to disposals in the year (927)
(844)
Add: net gains arising on revaluation in the year 226 (1,726)
Total unrealised (losses) gains at 31 December 2023 (3,271) (2,570)
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17 Ultimate parent undertaking

The Oversight Trust a company incorporated in the UK with registration no. 07611016, is considered to be the ultimate parent undertaking of the charity.

Access The Foundation for Social Investment is a charity and company limited by guarantee, with one legal member, The Oversight Trust which is also the majority shareholder of Big Society Capital.

In the event of the charity being wound up The Oversight Trust would be required to contribute an amount not exceeding £1.

Access The Foundation for Social Investment 44

Notes to the accounts Year ended 31 December 2023

18 Related party transactions

Access leases office space from Big Society Capital, whose majority shareholder is The Oversight Trust. Rent is paid under an operating lease at a rate of £6,533 per month and this lease can be cancelled with one month notice.

Other than those transactions described above and detailed in note 7, there were no other related party transactions during the period (2022 - none). There were no donations from trustees in the year (2022 - none).

19 Financial instruments

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2023 2022
Financial assets
Financial assets measured at fair value through profit or loss 58,375 45,617
Financial assets measured at cost less impairment 1,421 821
59,796 46,438
Financial liabilities
Financial liabilities measured at amortised cost (506) (884)
(506) (884)
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Financial assets measured at fair value through profit or loss comprise the majority of investments and cash at bank and in hand.

Financial assets measured at cost less impairment comprise investments which are not traded in an active market.

Financial liabilities measured at amortised cost comprise trade creditors, money held as agent and accruals.

Risks faced by financial instruments which are investments are that of volatility in fixed income markets and investment markets due to wider economic conditions, the attitude of investors to investment risk, and changes in market sentiment within particular sectors or sub sectors.

Risks faced by financial instruments that are debt instruments and financial liabilities include counterparty risk.

20 Post-balance sheet events

There are no post balance sheet events to report.

Access The Foundation for Social Investment 45

Access The Foundation for Social Investment

Annual Report and Accounts

31 December 2023

Contents

Reports

Strategic report

Introduction

We are Access The Foundation for Social Investment

Introduction (continued)

We are Access The Foundation for Social Investment (continued)

Summary of 2023 achievements

Strategic report (continued)

Review of performance and achievement

Programme design and delivery

Launch of £11 million cost-of-living programme

Rapid development of £20 million support package for energy efficiency

Enabling deployment of £3.5m in smaller scale, unsecured finance

Facilitating the investment of £12m in patient and flexible capital

Programme design and delivery (continued)

Facilitating the investment of £12m in patient and flexible capital (continued)

Deepening knowledge of place-based investment in six area across England

Supporting sector transformation through enterprise

Strategic report (continued)

Review of performance and achievement (continued)

Programme design and delivery (continued)

Continued focus on building a market fit for the future

Influencing the external environment

Strategic report (continued)

Review of performance and achievement (continued)

Influencing the external environment (continued)

Establishment of new Blended Finance Community of Practice

Driving philanthropic impact through Enterprise Grant making

Delivering social and environment impact and a 7% return through our endowment

Strategic report (continued)

Review of performance and achievement (continued)

Influencing the external environment (continued)

Delivering social and environment impact and a 7% return through our endowment (continued)

Deepening our commitments to equity, diversity and inclusion

Future outlook

Governance, structure and management

Governance

Key management personnel

Governance, structure and management (continued)

Structure and management reporting

Governance, structure and management (continued)

Structure and management reporting (continued)

Risk management

Grant making policy

Grant making policy (continued)

Investments and Treasury

Endowment

Investments and Treasury (continued)

Endowment (continued)

Note : not to scale

Capital Preservation Funds

Investments and Treasury (continued)

Investment performance - Endowment

Financial review

Results for the period

Financial review (continued)

Results for the period (continued)

Reserves policy and financial position

Financial review (continued)

Reserves policy and financial position (continued)

The assets

Fundraising statement

Auditors

The Foundation for Social Investment

Opinion

Basis for opinion

Conclusions relating to going concern

Other information

Opinions on other matters prescribed by the Companies Act 2006

Matters on which we are required to report by exception

Responsibilities of trustees

responsibilities for the audit of the financial statements

Use of our report

Statement of financial activities Year to 31 December 2023

Prior year statement of financial activities Year to 31 December 2022