1 ## **EMPATHY ACTION CIO** Registered Charity Number: 1162224 **ANNUAL REPORT & ACCOUNTS** # **FOR THE PERIOD ENDED** **31st December 2025** Empathy Action is a registered Charity in England & Wales Registered charity number 1162224 Bukhara House, 28 Church Rd, Tunbridge Wells, Kent, TN1 1JP 01892 576336 | contact@empathyaction.org | www.empathyaction.org 2 |**Index to Annual Report and Accounts**|| |---|---| ||**Page**| |Trustees’ Report|3 to 6| |Independent Examiner's Report|7| |Statement of Financial Activities|8| |Balance Sheet|9| |Notes to the Accounts|10 to 12| Empathy Action is a registered Charity in England & Wales Registered charity number 1162224 Bukhara House, 28 Church Rd, Tunbridge Wells, Kent, TN1 1JP 01892 576336 | contact@empathyaction.org | www.empathyaction.org 3 |**Trustees’ Report**|| |---|---| |**Principal address:**|| |Bukhara House|| |28 Church Road|| |Tunbridge Wells|| |TN1 1JP|| |**Trustees**|**Date of appointment**| |Paul Williams|16 June 2015| |Mike Fawcett|15 March 2016| |Natasha Williams|15 March 2016| |Colin Crisp|5 March 2019| |Laura Cook|22 May 2023| |Isabel Hodgson|22 May 2023| |Nigel Gavin|27 January 2025| |Victoria Mason|27 January 2025| Empathy Action is a registered Charity in England & Wales Registered charity number 1162224 Bukhara House, 28 Church Rd, Tunbridge Wells, Kent, TN1 1JP 01892 576336 | contact@empathyaction.org | www.empathyaction.org 4 ## _**Our Objectives**_ Empathy Action aims to promote the prevention and relief of poverty and to advance education by: providing experiential learning opportunities which enable participants to develop their understanding of poverty, and encourage compassionate action; undertaking research into factors that contribute to poverty and ways to mitigate these; and assisting in the provision of education, training, and healthcare projects to enable individuals to generate a sustainable income. ## _**Our Mission**_ We believe that everyone is able to engage in the battle against poverty and injustice and that we each make a crucial difference. Our mission is to inspire and empower people to work together to improve the lives of others in need. We are motivated by the teaching of Jesus to love our neighbour as ourselves. ## _**Our Core Values**_ CONVICTION: we believe that honouring others above oneself, caring for each other and acting with courage, can change this broken world we live in. COMPASSION: we believe that God lovingly created all people in His image, to live equally and with dignity. COMMUNITY: we believe that acts of collaboration are like ripples, spreading outward, far-reaching and with transformative power. ## _**Our Activities**_ Empathy Action aims to deepen people’s awareness of, and empathy with, global deprivation, leading them to find strategic ways of helping those in need. This is achieved primarily through experiential activities, igniting a desire to help, which we believe will fuel compassionate action. Alongside this, we look to identify communities in need of assistance, working closely with them to establish viable livelihood development schemes, including the production and distribution of handicrafts. This targeted approach has the twofold objective of bringing about positive transformation of such groups whilst providing our partners with opportunities to become part of the solution through the donation of skills or financial resources or the sale of handicrafts. The experiential activities include simulations of the life experiences of disadvantaged and marginalised groups around the world. These simulations are activities that allow participants to walk in the shoes of those living in extreme poverty and need. They aim to help the public better understand the needs of people facing such situations by offering a small glimpse into the reality faced by millions worldwide. The experiences are used to stimulate discussion about how participants can contribute in their personal and professional lives to poverty relief initiatives and respond to humanitarian need through volunteering, or donating goods, skills or financial resources. Core simulations are The Poverty Trap (focusing on global poverty); Desperate Journeys (bringing to life what it's like to be a refugee driven out of your homeland); and The High Life (an online workshop exploring the theme of climate justice), available to use by downloading the material from our website (www.empathyaction.org). Between November 2025 and March 2026 we developed BROKE, an entirely new production highlighting issues of UK poverty. We successfully piloted BROKE across nine performances for 355 people (including school groups) at the end of March 2026. Whilst the focus of Empathy Action is on helping people respond with compassion to others in need and we don’t take political positions on issues of poverty and immigration, nevertheless we are aware that these are subjects which generate strong feelings in society at large. An incident during a Desperate Journeys simulation in April 2025 emphasised the associated risks in this area and led to a helpful review of our security procedures and training for cast members and volunteers. Empathy Action is a registered Charity in England & Wales Registered charity number 1162224 Bukhara House, 28 Church Rd, Tunbridge Wells, Kent, TN1 1JP 01892 576336 | contact@empathyaction.org | www.empathyaction.org 5 ## _**Our Structure, Governance and Management**_ Empathy Action is a Charitable Incorporated Organisation. The only voting members are its charity trustees, who are appointed by the existing trustees. The charity was registered on June 16th 2015. Empathy Action is managed by its founder Director Ben Solanky and run by its full-time and part-time volunteers who receive no financial remuneration except for expenses properly incurred in the course of their voluntary activity that fall within the guidelines laid down in its expenses policy. There is one part-time employee. ## _**Financial Review**_ The net outcome for the year was a surplus of £27,040 made up of a surplus of £16,555 on General Funds, an outflow of £400 on Designated Funds and a positive timing difference of £10,885 on Restricted Funds. ## _Incoming resources_ Incoming resources of £77,477 were double the previous year total (£38,650). The increase includes a single large grant of £15,500 which enabled significant organisational strengthening (facilitation and administrative support), and £10,885 of advance funding for BROKE set-up costs. ## _Resources expended_ Expenditure of £50,437 represents an increase of 65% over 2024 (£30,463). Simulation costs increased to £27,165 (2024 - £12,791) due to facilitation fees of £13k (professional services). Office, administration and governance costs increased by 28% to £20,772 following the employment of a part-time employee for administrative support. ## _Balance sheet_ Fixed assets consist of one computer, partly depreciated. Stock of handicrafts has decreased by 12% over the previous year to £1,722. Bank and cash balances increased by 72% to £62,705 during the year due to strong fundraising performance and BROKE funds received in advance. ## _Funds_ General funds increased to £38,739 (2024 - £22,184), an increase of 75%. Designated Funds (£16,382) consist of the Livelihood Development Fund, to which 10% of the income from simulations, fundraising and donations is transferred to fund projects to alleviate poverty and suffering. The Trustees are currently reviewing this with a view to increasing its effectiveness. There is one Restricted Fund amounting to £10,885 (2024 - £0), which has been created to finance BROKE set-up costs (a new production focused on UK poverty). Empathy Action is a registered Charity in England & Wales Registered charity number 1162224 Bukhara House, 28 Church Rd, Tunbridge Wells, Kent, TN1 1JP 01892 576336 | contact@empathyaction.org | www.empathyaction.org empathy Action Il•m• ) lh• TN•lM• 28 Juty 2026 TuntKk*Je Welll TN11 @mDathy Action Ind•p•nd•nt Examln•r's R•port on the Accounts fof th• y•ar •nd•d 31 D•c•mb•r 2025 I r8p(Kt on the acx£unts of thé Chanty for the year ended 31 Decemtsr 2025, ￿lch afft set out on pages 8 10 12. Resp•ctlvg Rgsponslbllltles of Trustees and ExamlD•r The charity'5 IruslEE¥ are resp￿*bI& for the wopafation of th8 8coxJnl8 The charity's Iru5',ees consider I￿al ar. a￿d[l is nol requirvd IiJr thi¥ year under section 14412} ol the cl￿riti￿S Act 2011 (the 2011 Act) and that an indeperwjenl eXaminalK￿ Is needed. It 15 my respon&bility to.. 8xamin8 Ihe a(￿lInIS under 145 01 the 2011 Act,, lo folluw the gfoiyJdur8s laKI down in the general Directions given by the Chanty c￿Tri5510n uvder section 14515)Ibl of the 2011 Acl. and Stale whether particular mallers have cryne lo my #tt8niion. Bas15 of Independenl Examinerfs Statement My ex8fTIITiaDori V¥8¥ C8rrie¢ oul In acX¢ydan￿ witr the genergl dire(*ons glven ty tr Charity Comrnisston. Ari exaVni￿al￿n include8 8 review ol the 8ccounling r*cofds kept by the charity and a comparison of the accounts presented wth those records. 118180 indud88 considvralicjr of any unusual item5 or disclosufes in Ibe acc£wnts. and seeking explAnations Irom yw as 1rus.ees conceming any such malter5. The procedures under.ak&n do not pro%ice all the ewdence that would be requirod In an audit. Inde￿ndIn1 Examlner'5 Statement In connethop with my examinatscn, no m8tters have come to my attention". 111 which qives me r8a80n8b18 C8use lo belleve that in any m8teriAI r05P8Ct the re4uiremenls'. lo keep ac￿￿nIng records In accC￿ance wilh secti￿ 130 01 Ihe 2011 Ad. 8nd lo prer>Af8 8craunls that accord with Ihe accounw.ng rewrds and compty wrth the 8c71 io 21184 io io 1QllJS. .Y* 10 empathy Action 11 empathy Action T•thl XJJJ T*1 11Lb) 2.1fy] T• 1210 2.IlX 11 17,1 Tol•l 20,7T2 12 empathy Action • Cv•dh•v• I• Fwbth Andy•l• T•tsl Vyra• 21144 11.712 10. Aojn 1gOAfl