# **TRUSTEES’ ANNUAL REPORT 01/06/23 – 31/05/24** Kindred Minds - CIO registered in England and Wales (1161849) Kindred Minds, The Activity Room, 1[st] Floor, Lee Valley Millennium Centre, Childwall Valley Road, Liverpool L25 2PR - Email kindredmindsliverpool@gmail.com Facebook Kindred Minds Merseyside. ## **1. INTRODUCTION AND PERFORMANCE/ACTIVITIES** ## **CHARITABLE STATUS AND OBJECTS** The organisation was first constituted in April 2012. The charity was incorporated as a Charitable Incorporated Organisation with the Charity Commission on 27/05/2015, under the terms of the Memorandum and Articles of Association dated 23/03/2015 The objects of the charity are: To relieve the needs and to promote and preserve the good mental and physical health of those suffering from any form of mental ill health resident in the Merseyside area but not exclusively by: A) The provision of help, support, and advice through peer support; B) The promotion of social inclusion by providing access to creative health and wellbeing activities; C) To provide a "safe place" where information, problems and experience can be exchanged and discussed; and D) Promoting a better understanding of mental health and helping to reduce the stigma, oppressive attitudes and behaviours associated with it. ## **PRINCIPAL ACTIVITY** Our organisation was born out of the need to provide a safe place where people with poor mental health could meet to offer each other support. We are based in Liverpool and run activities using space and facilities from our base in Lee Valley Millennium Centre Belle Vale L25. We also deliver from time-to-time activities at other sites across Liverpool and visit various locations as part of the excursions/walking activities. Overall, our work assists our service users with their mental health recovery and wellness, which enables them to lead more positive, confident, and active lives both in society and with their families. ## **REVIEW OF THE BUSINESS/OPERATIONS** ## **Organisation and administration** The charity's board of Trustees meet every 6 weeks. The charity did not have any employees in the year under review however did engage freelancers/self employed workers to support the trustees with the development of the charity and its programme and to provide sessions/workshops/courses as part of the programme of activity. The charity is largely volunteer-led and has in-kind support from various stakeholders including Lee Valley Millennium Centre 2 | P a g e The trustees of the charity during the year under review were: - Ø Kathleen Whitehead (Vice Chair) - Ø Ruth Worthington (Retired May 2024) - Ø Rosemary Kay (Honorary Treasurer) - Ø Paula Harrison – (Retired April 2024) - Ø Liz DuBuisson - Ø Val Jenkins - Ø Julie Johnson - Ø Paul Reid - Chair ## **Members** All Trustees are the members – there is currently no wider membership. The charity is limited by guarantee and does not have share capital, and therefore the trustees have no beneficial interest in the share capital of the charity. All Trustees are members of the Board of Trustees, and do not receive remuneration for their services in this capacity. Training and capacity: In the period, trustees attended training on trustee roles and responsibilities delivered by Momentum Expedite Ltd on site. Going forward, Equality and Employment Law have developed an Employee Handbook with associated policies and a training session on the handbook. Further ongoing training on being an effective trustee and safeguarding training are to be arranged. During this period, we held a Strategic Planning Day on 7[th] November 2023 which resulted in actions including further development of fundraising strategy, continuing development of board skills and expertise, development of business continuity arrangements in the event of disruption to service delivery. Trustees carried out regular review of Kindred Minds’ risk register. Health and Safety, privacy and data protection were all reviewed and updated where necessary. ## **ACTIVITIES AND ACHIEVEMENTS JUN 2023– MAY 2024** Our charitable work and programme in this period were supported by **The National Lottery Community Fund; Liverpool Community Impact Fund; Eleanor Rathbone Charitable Trust and John Moores Foundation. We had a successful application to Suicide Prevention Grant Fund to fund peer support group going forward.** We held a Summer Fayre in July 2023 and a Christmas Party fundraiser in December 2023. We offered a varied programme of support and activities (a mix of former, adapted and pilot) in the period of reporting. We offered a varied programme of support and activities (a mix of former, adapted and pilot) in the period of reporting. By the end of the reporting period, we had 171 registered service 3 | P a g e users, an increase of over 30% over the 12-month reporting period. 84 unique individuals attended activities. Community Impact Fund from Liverpool City Council enabled a project specifically to provide access to arts and crafts by Kindred Minds services users to continue into the reporting period. ## **Details of our activities are as follows:** - Yoga – delivered by a qualified Yoga instructor in person, 44 weeks x 1.15hrs in person weekly sessions. - Tai Chi – delivered by a qualified Tai Chi instructor online, 44 weeks x 2x1hr weekly sessions - 10 x 2hr creative writing workshops delivered by experienced dramaturg and community theatre specialist - Weekly peer support groups from September onwards providing space for mutual support and problem solving. - Pottery and Arts & Craft – 48 sessions covering a wide range of media including acrylics, glass painting, and pottery, delivered in person and online - Ukulele/Sing-along weekly sessions x 2hrs - Walk & Talk – weekly 34 weeks x 2hrs per walk - Coffee mornings – weekly x 48 weeks x 2hrs per coffee morning - 1 x Kindred Explorers trip to Shrewsbury - 1 x Christmas Party An independent evaluation has been carried out to gauge the positive impact these activities have on the mental health of Kindred Minds service users which can be seen below: **1. Improved mental health recovery and wellness, enabling service users to lead more positive, confident and active lives both in society and with their families.** Kindred Minds does improve my general well-being, I now feel happy to go out and meet my friends and family more often. My mental health feels so much better 4 | P a g e Attending helps me de-stress. It helps my social anxiety. I suffer with anxiety and low mood and I always feel better after attending KM events. Weekly yoga and weekly tai chi have really helped reduce anxiety and depression. Gets me out physically and makes me feel better mentally. It has helped me so much with my mental health issues. ## **2. Reduced boredom, isolation and reduce self-isolation through uptake of activities and support services and the formation of self-help and user led clubs generating a sense of purpose, unity and togetherness.** Nice to connect with people in similar circumstances. Meeting people and enjoying the companionship has helped enormously. I feel less alone. I have met some lovely people who are an inspiration. Having activities in my diary every Wed and Fri gives much needed structure to my week. The social side is important. Service users have formed friendships and "check in" with each other. I can say "I've struggled this week" and others understand immediately and "get" it. **3. Increased energy levels, mood and motivation - Often those with enduring mental health conditions both the medication or the symptoms of their condition can suppress energy levels, activity levels, experience low mood or motivation, anxiety etc.** Something to look forward to My classes make me feel so much better Laughter helps with my anxiety and I laugh a lot with the people who attended Kindred Minds. I do sometimes get anxious but I push myself to attend the activities I wish to participate in. Always lifts my mood. Talking to others who understand alongside trying new activities like art have improved my sense of well being. 5 | P a g e ## **4. Facilitating the forging of new friendships and building of relationships** Part of a new friend group through attending Kindred Minds events Meeting with the same people regularly means being easy with them and can share worries. I have made friends through Kindred Minds, we have trust and understanding of each other. Belonging to a group is what helps make my mental health improve. Meeting new people has helped me feel less intimidated. ## **5. Increased self-confidence and self-worth** I have met people who understand me. I feel accepted. I find Kindred Minds has built my confidence as there is no one who is judging me. Even when I'm depressed or anxious I can show this. I don't have to pretend to be happy if I'm not. A lot of like-minded people attend which makes it easier to open up and be myself. I feel I can definately be open about my issues without judgement from staff and members. Very different from my day to day life.. My self esteem has improved....particularly after participating in the art courses. I suggested creative writing and this has been organised to start in a week or so. 6 | P a g e ## **VOLUNTEERS & BENEFICIARIES** In total we had 3 volunteers delivering support to members alongside workshop facilitators and offering self-led creative writing and needlework opportunities to fellow members. 100% of our beneficiaries where people living with a mental health condition or have/are experiencing mental ill health. We have captured most of the ages of our service users, the majority are over 55 years of age. Promotion and sharing of our work: we have maintained our relationships with sector organisations, including local NHS commissioners, LCVS, Healthwatch, Richmond Fellowship, and PSS amongst others. We’ve engaged with social prescribers and take referrals through this pathway, including Citizen’s Advice Liverpool, Life Rooms, and local GP practices. This is enabling us to reach new service users which is evident in the increase in engaged service users. Kindred Minds continues to promote our work via targeted mailings, Facebook, and Twitter. Our own dedicated website has been updated and flyers, posters, word of mouth, health directories and informal community feedback networks are used to reach out to our beneficiaries. ## **THANKS & ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS** We would like to thank all the people involved in keeping the charity relevant and successful at meeting the needs of our beneficiaries. Andy Kerr (Programme Manager) and Carol Soutar (Activity and Volunteer Coordinator) have provided continuity and insightful support to our offer. We also give thanks to all the brilliant team of sessional workers that have successfully and productively provided services throughout the year, including Cath (Yoga), Angela (Tai Chi), Narissa (Arts & Crafts), Marc (mindfulness), Kath (Pinto Arts) **,** Alex (Pottery) Jane (Sketch Club), Altar Pottery Thanks also goes to Denise Bernard (Momentum Expedite Consultancy LTD) who continues to support Kindred Minds in a consultancy capacity, following 4 years spent as our development worker. Her support, insight and continued commitment to the charity has been invaluable in moving the charity forward. We’d like to give thanks to Christine (Belle Vale centre manager) and Viv, Joe, Ryan, Gill, Shirley and all the team (Valley Community Food hub) for their support, in particular regarding supporting our coffee mornings and positive promotion of our work. Our sincere thanks also go to our funders for their continued support of our mission and core work: The National Lottery Community Fund; John Moore’s Foundation and Eleanor Rathbone Charitable Trust, without whom we could not have supported our service users 7 | P a g e throughout this year. Additional thanks to Liverpool City Council Community Impact Fund and Suicide Prevention Grant for supporting additional add-on projects. Finally, our thanks go to our fellow trustees for their tireless efforts, commitment, and tenacity. 8 | P a g e ## **2. 2023-24 TREASURER’S FINANCIAL REPORT INCLUDING INDEPENDENT EXAMINERS REPORT AND RECEIPTS AND PAYMENTS ACCOUNTS** ## **FINANCE** Income/funds are generated through: - Applying for grants to support the delivery of our activity programme - We hold an annual fund raiser with our members and stakeholders which contributes - towards core costs - We accept donations ## **YEAR UNDER REVIEW** The Receipts and Payments Accounts appended show a total income for the year of £50,159, a total expenditure of £57,211. At 31/05/2024 the charity carries forward £19,752 which represents a restricted fund balance of £19,311, all of which is for committed spend in the 24/25 financial year; and an unrestricted fund balance of £441. ## **FUTURE STRATEGY** The charity holds a planning event annually. Our annual planning event usually focuses on the needs of our beneficiaries, evaluation of our work and our ability to manage the charity effectively and income generation and fundraising plan. In order to deliver our activities, we are reliant on securing grants and donations. The charity was successful in being awarded grant funding for 5 years for the period Apr 20 – Mar 25. A plan for succession funding beyond March 25 has been devised and applications for succession funding are underway. ## **RESERVES POLICY** The charity’s reserves policy is to build up the equivalent of 3-months’running costs. Since the charity has no trading income, the focus is on donations and our own fundraising events (Summer Fair and Christmas Party) to assist in achieving this policy. The trustees are continuing to review this strategy and to identify additional ways in how this can be achieved over the next 3 years. ## **RISK REVIEW** The charity can only deliver its activity programme if grants or donations are secured. Our 5- year grant funding award from The National Lottery Community Fund expires in March 2025. With current funding the Charity can deliver its full programme until 31/3/25 and a scaled back programme for April and May 2025. An application for a small grant has been applied for which would enable us to deliver our full programme until the end of the financial year being 31/5/25. In tandem, all applications for succession funding will have been submitted to 3 identified funders by the end of June 2024 with outcomes expected by 31/3/25. 9 | P a g e The charity will continue to identify alternative funders in the event any of the applications for succession funding, are unsuccessful. The priority in 2024 is therefore to secure funding for the continuation of core programme and not on add-on projects. 10 | P a g e CHAAifY (OMMISSION Fok EF*IMD WALES Mlrth 1161t4* ayments accounts Recelpts and For Ihtr poliod D111W2Q3 ¥*KVJfdQ24 Section A Recelpt5 and paymonts Restyl¢t¢d fundg Ev￿OW￿￿t Tol•l lundg La$tys#t A1 Rwel . P4a14Y￿￿oII￿￿CcThrnU￿1y ftrt -JMF Jts 35AO - P F¢Athd•iii .LCC . EL.R*knnE .LCL Cumm￿¥LY Su& tDtal(GtbXs lor AR? 447 an 18oe . ¢" 49.759 46,Qll.•_:,:" eGtco4 11,0 J55 144 E4ent¢L*la Pqlnd . fl A4As*fytand IENqSkn zotsl CCXX Rl IS81 AS Trnn¥leYs bowieen l￿d8 A8 Cash lttndg la81 warend fvnrf* Ihis ypor eml ffO$2) 19.311 Section B Statement of asset$ and liabilit105 at tlie end of the p¢riod VnrF5trtctwJ Rgstiietèd nd& D¢ts¥l75 EndowrneTrl rMI8 ntaf*s¢£ Bl CaBh funi 19,J%l Totslush furtds 441 UnMtrt¢i•d Reglrfct•d eq¢lwMint funds fun41$ F4ndlo Y•1 Deta B4A•&Bi¥ r¥tsln•d for th• tharws own . P4Aai1s 35 LiBtyIIII•s s￿¢4 by onb aifrjf Ill the tMs¢* Pr4* Nam D818 of CCXX A3 Boo)io￿ls8} CHARITY COMMISSION FOR ENGLAND AND WALES Independent examinerfs report on the accounts Section A Independent Examinerfs Report Report to the trustees Kindred Minds On accounts for the year ended 31105124 Charity no (if any) 1161849 Set out on pages {reff￿er lo ￿E1￿1￿ the page num￿￿ of addrtional sheetsi I report to the twstees on my examination of the accounts of the above charity (7he Trusf) for the year ended 3110512024. Responsibilities and basls of report As the charity's trustees, you are responsible for the preparation of the arxounts in aG￿rdance wrth the requirements of the Charities Act 2011 {Ihe Acr). I report in respect of my examination of the Trust's acoounts carried out under section 145 of the 2011 Act and in carying out my examinalion. I have followed all the applicable Directions given by the Chartty Commission under section 145(5)(b) of the Act. Independent I have completed my examination. I confimi that no material matters have axamlner's statement Gome to my attention in connection with the examination (other than that disclosed below ') whith gives me cause to believe that in, any material respect: the a¢¢ounting records were not kept in accordan￿ with seGtion 130 of the Charities Act. or the accounts did not accord with the accounting records,. or the accounts did not comply with the applicable requirements conceming the fomi and content of accounts set out in the Charities (Accounts and Reports) Regulations 2008 other than any requirement that the accounts give a Irue and fair, view which is not a matter considered as part of an independent examination. I have no COn￿mS and have come across no other matters in connection with the examination to which attention should b8 dravm in this report in order to enable a proper understanding of the accounts to be reached. Signad: Date: 1910612024 Name: Paul Taylor Relevant professional qualification(s) or body (if any): ACG4 IER Oct 2018 Address: 74 Brook Vale Liverpool L22 3YB Section B Disclosure Only complete if the examiner needs lo highlight material matters of concern (see CC32, Independent examination of charity accounts.. directions and guidance for examiners). Give here brlef detsils of any Items that the examiner wishes to disclose. IER Oct 2018 CHAAifY (OMMISSION Fok EF*IMD WALES Mlrth 1161t4* ayments accounts Recelpts and For Ihtr poliod D111W2Q3 ¥*KVJfdQ24 Section A Recelpt5 and paymonts Restyl¢t¢d fundg Ev￿OW￿￿t Tol•l lundg La$tys#t A1 Rwel . P4a14Y￿￿oII￿￿CcThrnU￿1y ftrt -JMF Jts 35AO - P F¢Athd•iii .LCC . EL.R*knnE .LCL Cumm￿¥LY Su& tDtal(GtbXs lor AR? 447 an 18oe . ¢" 49.759 46,Qll.•_:,:" eGtco4 11,0 J55 144 E4ent¢L*la Pqlnd . fl A4As*fytand IENqSkn zotsl CCXX Rl IS81 AS Trnn¥leYs bowieen l￿d8 A8 Cash lttndg la81 warend fvnrf* Ihis ypor eml ffO$2) 19.311 Section B Statement of asset$ and liabilit105 at tlie end of the p¢riod VnrF5trtctwJ Rgstiietèd nd& D¢ts¥l75 EndowrneTrl rMI8 ntaf*s¢£ Bl CaBh funi 19,J%l Totslush furtds 441 UnMtrt¢i•d Reglrfct•d eq¢lwMint funds fun41$ F4ndlo Y•1 Deta B4A•&Bi¥ r¥tsln•d for th• tharws own . P4Aai1s 35 LiBtyIIII•s s￿¢4 by onb aifrjf Ill the tMs¢* Pr4* Nam D818 of CCXX A3 Boo)io￿ls8} CHARITY COMMISSION FOR ENGLAND AND WALES Independent examinerfs report on the accounts Section A Independent Examinerfs Report Report to the trustees Kindred Minds On accounts for the year ended 31105124 Charity no (if any) 1161849 Set out on pages {reff￿er lo ￿E1￿1￿ the page num￿￿ of addrtional sheetsi I report to the twstees on my examination of the accounts of the above charity (7he Trusf) for the year ended 3110512024. Responsibilities and basls of report As the charity's trustees, you are responsible for the preparation of the arxounts in aG￿rdance wrth the requirements of the Charities Act 2011 {Ihe Acr). I report in respect of my examination of the Trust's acoounts carried out under section 145 of the 2011 Act and in carying out my examinalion. I have followed all the applicable Directions given by the Chartty Commission under section 145(5)(b) of the Act. Independent I have completed my examination. I confimi that no material matters have axamlner's statement Gome to my attention in connection with the examination (other than that disclosed below ') whith gives me cause to believe that in, any material respect: the a¢¢ounting records were not kept in accordan￿ with seGtion 130 of the Charities Act. or the accounts did not accord with the accounting records,. or the accounts did not comply with the applicable requirements conceming the fomi and content of accounts set out in the Charities (Accounts and Reports) Regulations 2008 other than any requirement that the accounts give a Irue and fair, view which is not a matter considered as part of an independent examination. I have no COn￿mS and have come across no other matters in connection with the examination to which attention should b8 dravm in this report in order to enable a proper understanding of the accounts to be reached. Signad: Date: 1910612024 Name: Paul Taylor Relevant professional qualification(s) or body (if any): ACG4 IER Oct 2018 Address: 74 Brook Vale Liverpool L22 3YB Section B Disclosure Only complete if the examiner needs lo highlight material matters of concern (see CC32, Independent examination of charity accounts.. directions and guidance for examiners). Give here brlef detsils of any Items that the examiner wishes to disclose. IER Oct 2018