**Trinity Community Project** **Trustees’ Report** **For the period to end of 31 March 2025** ## REFERENCE AND ADMINISTRATIVE INFORMATION **Registered charity name** Trinity Community Project **Charity registration number** 1164587 **Registered Office** St Albans United Reformed Church Homewood Road St Albans AL1 4BH ## **Board of Trustees** The trustees who served the charity during the period were as follows: ||Nicholas Brown (Chair)| |---|---| ||Sheila Knopp| ||Jenny Roberts (Treasurer – Resigned with effect| ||from 31/01/2025)| ||Michael Sherriff (Company Secretary – Resigned| ||with effect from 30/9/2024)| ||Philip Hinchliff| ||Zaichen Mallace-Lu (Company Secretary with effect| ||from 30/9/2024)| ||Sarah Woolford (Resigned with effect from| ||21/04/2025)| |**Independent Examiner**|Mrs Kate Brown, ACA ATII| |**Bankers**|HSBC| The trustees have pleasure in presenting their report and the financial statements for the charity for the year ended 31st March 2025. The trustees confirm that the financial statements comply with current statutory requirements. ## **OUR AIMS, OBJECTIVES AND ACTIVITIES** ## **Purpose and aims** Our charity’s purpose as set out in the objects contained in the Constitution are: THE ADVANCEMENT OF EDUCATION AND RELIEF OF THOSE IN NEED IN PARTICULAR BY REASON OF THEIR MENTAL HEALTH AND OR LEARNING DIFFICULTIES WITHOUT DISTINCTION OF AGE, EDUCATION, GENDER, SEXUAL ORIENTATION, RACE OR POLITICAL, RELIGIOUS OR OTHER OPINIONS BY THE PROVISION OF SOCIAL AND REHABILITATIVE PROGRAMS TO DEVELOP SKILLS, UNDERSTANDING, SELFCONFIDENCE AND ENCOURAGE SOCIAL INDEPENDENCE The Trustees have developed the charity as an organisation promoting health and well-being, working with vulnerable people to make connections to reduce their social isolation and improve health & well-being through social groups, activities & events. Our work is based on 1 **Trinity Community Project** **Trustees’ Report** ## **For the period to end of 31 March 2025** the Hertfordshire Connected Lives model, enabling, and supporting people with a learning disability and/or mental health concerns. ## **Public Benefit** During the reporting period the trustees have considered section 17 of the Charities Act 2011 and Charity Commission guidance on public benefit. We have sought to ensure that the charity is fulfilling its charitable purpose to benefit the public by offering a range of day services, opportunities and support to people experiencing mental health issues and/or living with a learning disability. We provide services from two locations, the United Reformed Church on Homewood Road, and the Friends Meeting House on Upper Lattimore Road. The two sites are operating well, with access to different parts of St Albans. We continue to aim to encourage people to participate in a range of social activities within the service and out in the community, which offer choice and promote people’s skills, independence, and self-confidence, while maintaining their dignity and safety. We have achieved the following outcomes from our work: - Over 70 people have benefited from the day service and activities, which have enabled people develop their interests and skills, reducing social isolation. Activities have included art, dance, peer support, cookery, yoga, drumming. There has also been a regular lunch club, which has been popular with members. - Feedback from members shows that the beneficiaries of our service feel safe and have good relations with staff, volunteers and other members. One member said “The staff always make you feel welcome and have a genuine interest in you and what you are about.” Another said the groups and courses “have made a difference to me because it has made me get back into the community”. - Feedback from volunteers shows that they like the inclusive atmosphere and being part of a team. They said that relevant training was offered and referred to developing confidence and listening skills. - Our staff and volunteers have received training, including care and manual handling - We have secured new funding to support our work. - We held a successful annual meeting with members and supporters and a wellattended Christmas lunch. ## **Grant making** Trinity Community Project does not currently award grants to others. ## **Volunteers** Volunteers are essential to the delivery and running of Trinity Community Project. In addition to our trustees, during the reporting period we have had a team of 7 volunteers assisting with the delivery of our services. Volunteers have been recruited through networks including the local Volunteer Centre, churches, and word of mouth. Some volunteers are people who themselves have experienced mental health issues. ## **OUR ACHIEVEMENTS AND PERFORMANCE** Our achievements are monitored at regular trustee meetings at which a report on progress is considered. During the reporting period we have given particular attention to resilience and 2 **Trinity Community Project** **Trustees’ Report** ## **For the period to end of 31 March 2025** future sustainability, increasing membership, fundraising, increasing integration with wider community, recruiting new trustees, and updating banking arrangements. From trustee visits to the centre, compliments and complaints from users, and questionnaires we received feedback about volunteer and service user experience. Service users reported that the centre provides a friendly safe environment and that they enjoy the activities they take part in. Volunteers reported that the service provides a friendly and inclusive atmosphere and that they have gained new skills through volunteering. ## **FINANCIAL REVIEW** The Statement of Financial Activities shows total income for the reporting period of £79,157 and total expenditure of £87,609. Our total funds stand at £33,024. The charity is dependent on the support of its funders and income from the fees paid by service users. We also raise some funds from donations. We have successfully applied for grants for our work including from Hertfordshire Community Foundation and Hertfordshire County Councils’ Community Opportunities Programme (extended for a fourth year), helping us cover costs related to Support Workers and our programme of activities. The charity reported a deficit of £8,452, which was in line with our expectations and decisions taken for the reporting period. We have continued to make successful applications to local funders, and we again took the decision to not increase member fees in order to maintain affordability for members and beneficiaries, and not add to the pressures from increased cost of living. We plan to keep this under review and to continue to try to increase the number of fee-paying service users and raise additional funds from grant applications, donations, and fundraising events. We are continuing to apply to regional and national funders, for longer-term sustainability. ## **Reserves** The charity currently holds free reserves of £29,719, or approximately 4 months of operating costs **.** Trinity Community Project’s reserves policy is to aim for free reserves between 5 to 6 months of annual expenditure in the long term. The current free reserves level is below the desired level as a result of the budget deficits in the previous and current reporting years. However, there are still sufficient funds to enable us to deal with unforeseen emergencies or other circumstances e.g. employing temporary staff to cover a long-term sickness absence. Our reserves enable us to manage the consequences of less predictable income sources such as one- off grant funding. In the event of us having to close or reduce the level of service provided we aim to be able to give our service users sufficient notice to enable alternative arrangements to be put in place and give our staff and volunteers reasonable notice that their services are no longer required and cover any associated costs related to termination of staff employment contracts. ## **Going concern** The trustees confirm that Trinity Community Project is a going concern. ## **Principal risks and uncertainties** During the year, the trustees kept under review the risks faced by the charity in relation to service delivery and development, personnel, finance, property, health and safety, governance, and management. Plans to mitigate these risks were developed and reviewed 3 **Trinity Community Project** **Trustees’ Report** ## **For the period to end of 31 March 2025** including regular discussion of health and safety, service user feedback, and safeguarding concerns at trustee meetings. We collected feedback from service users and volunteers to ensure that these risks had been managed effectively. The most significant risk however, is the future sustainability of the charity. Cost pressures have increased in recent years, as have the constraints in the funding environment. The charity is also facing changes to commissioning, care provision, as well as availability of other service provision in the local area. Although the trustees can confirm the charity is a going concern, the longer term viability is uncertain. The trustees have determined that the best way to secure and continue our charitable purposes is to merge with another registered charity delivering similar work. ## **PLANS FOR FUTURE PERIODS** 2024/25 was our ninth full year of operation as an independent charitable incorporated organisation. The service continues to be strongly valued by beneficiaries as well as their families and carers. Given the significance of the risks around future sustainability however, the trustees have prioritised arrangements for an orderly merger with another registered charity. The trustees will ensure this complies with our governing document, and meets our legal duties and the expectations of funders, regulators, and stakeholders. ## **STRUCTURE, GOVERNANCE AND MANAGEMENT** The charity is constituted as a charitable incorporated organisation and is governed by its constitution. The charity was registered on 26[th] November 2015. The provisions of the governing document have been complied with during the reporting period under review. The trustees serve on a Board of Trustees. They consist of at least four and no more than seven appointed trustees, of which a minimum of two are to be Elders or members at St Albans United Reformed Church. Apart from the first charity trustees, every appointed trustee must be appointed for a term of three years by a resolution passed at a properly convened meeting of the charity trustees. At present there are 4 trustees. The trustees keep under review gaps in experience and expertise represented on the board. Trustees have completed Hertfordshire County Council safeguarding vulnerable adults training. The charity is organised through the Board of trustees to whom the Service Manager is accountable. The Chair and Secretary are appointed from amongst the trustees. The Service Manager is responsible for the management of staff and during the reporting period this has included the Activities Coordinator, 2 Part-Time Support Workers, sessional staff providing activities, and an active team of volunteers. The Service Manager during this reporting period was Kama Langham. The Charity is a member of Communities First. This membership provides information and resources that help us with our work and support us with volunteer and trustee recruitment. 4 **Trinity Community Project** **Trustees’ Report** ## **For the period to end of 31 March 2025** The salaries of the charity’s paid staff are determined by the trustees, taking account of salaries paid by charities undertaking similar work. ## **STATEMENT OF THE TRUSTEES’ REPONSIBILITIES** The trustees are responsible for preparing the Trustees Annual Report and the financial statements in accordance with UK law, Charities Act 2011, Generally Accepted Accounting Practice and Accounting Standards. The Charities Commission required the trustees to prepare financial statements for each financial year. These must give a true and fair view of the state of affairs of the charity at the end of the year and of its Income and Expenditure 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 the Charities Statement of Recommended Practice (SORP) (FRS102); - make judgements and estimates that are reasonable and prudent; - state whether applicable Accounting Standards and SORP (FRS102) have been followed. Ensure that any material departures disclosed and explained in the financial statements; - prepare the financial statements on the going concern basis unless it is inappropriate to presume that the charity 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 charity and enable them to ensure that the financial statements comply with requirements of the Charities Act 2011. The trustees are also responsible for safeguarding the assets of the charity and hence for taking reasonable steps for the prevention and detection of fraud and other irregularities. The trustees are responsible for the maintenance and integrity of the corporate and financial information included on the charity’s website. Legislation in the United Kingdom governing the preparation and dissemination of financial statements may differ from legislation in other jurisdictions. The trustees have no beneficial interest in the charity. ## **STATEMENT AS TO THE DISCLOSURE TO OUR INDEPENDENT EXAMINER** In so far as the trustees are aware: - there is no relevant information of which the charity's Independent Examiner is unaware; and - the trustees have taken all steps that they ought to have taken to make themselves aware of any relevant information and to establish that the Independent Examiner is aware of that information. 5 **Trinity Community Project** **Trustees’ Report** **For the period to end of 31 March 2025** ## **INDEPENDENT EXAMINER** Mrs Kate Brown was re-appointed as the independent examiner of the charity for the current year and has expressed her willingness to continue in that capacity. The trustees’ report has been approved by the trustees on 20 January 2026 and signed on their behalf by: Zaichen Mallace-Lu Company Secretary Registered office: St Albans United Reformed Church Homewood Road St Albans AL1 4BH 6 ## **TRINITY COMMUNITY PROJECT** ## **ACCOUNTS** **year ended 31 March 2025** ## **TRINITY COMMUNITY PROJECT** ## **ACCOUNTS** **year ended 31 March 2025** |CONTENTS|| |---|---| |Independent Examiners Report|1| |Income and Expenditure|2| |Balance Sheet|3| |Notes to the accounts|4-6| TRIINITY COMMUNITY PROJECT Report of the Independent Examiner to the Trustees ofthe Trinity Community Project I report on the Accounts for the year to 31 March 2025 Respective Responsibilities of Trustees and Independent Examiner The Charity's Trustees are responsible for the preparation of thL aLLounts. The Charity's Trnslces consider that an audit is not required for the year under review undcr S144(2) of the Charities Aet 201 I, and that an independcnl LxamLnation is r¢quired. It is my responsibility to.. l ExaJnine the accounts under S145 of the Charities Act 2011. 2 To follow the proLedures laid down in Ihc g¢neral directions given by the Charity Commtssion undcr S145(5)(b) of the Charities Act 2011. 3 To state whether there any matters of concern that need be highlighted Basis of Independent Examiners Report My examination was carried out in accordance with the general dircctions given by the Charity Commis.8ion. An exarninalion Includ¢s a review of the acLounting records kept by the Charity and a compari50n of the accounts to those records. It also includes consideration of any unusal items OT disclosures in the accounts and seeking explantions from the Trustees on Ihcse matters. The procedures undertaken do not provide all the evidence Ihal would be required of any audit and consLquLntly no opinon is given as to whether the accounts present a true and fair view and the report is limited to Lhoso matters Set out below. Independent examiners Statement In ihe course of my examination no material matters l)ave come to my attention which gives cause to believe that in any material respect the following3 requirements havc not been rnet: To kcep proper accounting reLords in accordance with Sl 30 of the Charities Act2011. To prepare aecounts which are in accordancc with the accouting records and comply with the accounting requirements of ihL Charitie5 Act 2011. To coinply with tlie applicable requirements concerning the fom) and content of the accounts sct out in the Charilies (ALLounts and reports) Regulations 2008, otlier than the requirement that ihc accounts should give a true and fair view which is not a matter considered as part of an independent examination. I have no concerns and have com¢ across no matters in conncclion with the examination to which attention sho d bFd¥awm in this report to enable a propcr undcrstanding of the accounts. Kate Brown nde dent Examiner 81 Gurney Court Roa , St Albans ALI 4 QX Dated 21101 ItDL ## 2 **TRINITY COMMUNITY PROJECT INCOME & EXPENDITURE ACCOUNT FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31 MARCH 2025** |||||2025|2024| |---|---|---|---|---|---| ||**NOTES**|UnrestricteRestricted||Total|Total| |||Funds|Funds|Funds|Funds| |**INCOME**|||||| |**Fees from charitable activities**|||||| |Client fees less refunds||45,129|0|45,129|36,195| |Course contribution||6,983|0|6,983|7,553| |**Other income**|||||| |Grants|**2**|0|24,291|24,291|16,219| |Interest||342|0|342|280| |Donations|**3**|2,412|0|2,412|2,245| |**TOTAL**|**INCOME**|**54,866**|**24,291**|**79,157**|**62,492**| |**EXPENDITURE**|||||| |**Staffing Cost**|||||| |Salaries, NI & pensions||49,003|14,107|63,110|57,925| |Training, mentoring &Subscriptions||90|1,500|1,590|1,088| |HR costs||1,573|0|1,573|1,443| |||50,666|15,607|66,273|60,456| |**Activities Costs**|||||| |Education||258|8,359|8,617|9,805| |Household support||0|3,000|3,000|0| |Fundraising fee||234|0|234|0| |Equipment||212|0|212|0| |Refreshments||763|0|763|332| |||1,467|11,359|12,826|10,137| |**Property**|||||| |Rental of Church||3,631|0|3,631|2,798| |**Administration**|||||| |Telephone||454|0|454|742| |Insurance||1,414|0|1,414|1,314| |Printing, postage & stationery||221|0|221|19| |Repairs and Renewals||6|0|6|1,046| |Subscriptions||116|0|116|0| |||2,211|0|2,211|3,121| |**Finance and IT costs**|||||| |Accountancy & payroll||1,772||1,772|1,600| |Computer Equipment||0||0|1,010| |Bank charges||160||160|159| |||1,932|0|1,932|2,769| |**Miscellaneous**|||||| |Xmas Meals||236|500|736|216| |||236|500|736|216| |**TOTAL EXPENDITURE**||**60,143**|**27,466**|**87,609**|**79,497**| |**DEFICIT for the year**||-(5,277)|-(3,175)|-(8,452)|-(17,005)| TRINITY COMMUNITY PRO.IFCT BALANCE SHF.ET AS AT 31 ,MARCH 2025 NOTE 2025 2024 Current assets Bank account no I Bank Reserve account 17,349 26,274 16,816 16.474 Total Funds at Bank 34,105 42,748 Pctty cash 23 34.166 42,771 Current Assets Prcpdyments and Debtors 1,251 Current Liabilities Creditors and Accrnals -2,393 _1,295 NET ASSETS 33,024 41,476 Reprc.sented by Funds- 2025 Restrieti Total 2024 Total Free Bought fonvard 34,996 6,480 41,476 58,481 Deficit for the year -5,277 -3,175 -8,452 -17,005 ca￿led fonvard 29,719 3,305 33024 41476 APPROVED Trnstee: S KNOPP Sccretary........ Z MALLACE-LU Date.. 4 ## **TRINITY COMMUNITY PROJECT NOTES TO THE ACCOUNTS FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31 MARCH 2025** ## 1 **ACCOUNTING POLICIES** ## **Accounting Convention** The accounts have been prepared under the historical cost convention and in accordance with The Charities Statement of Recommended Practice (SORP) (FRS102) Charities Act 2011. ## **Income Recognition** Income from fundraising, donatins, legacies and one off grants are not recognised until the amount is known and receipt is reasonably certain, consequently recogniton is generally on receipt. Statutory funding and grants are recognised in the year in which they are made, except where the awarding body designates them to a specific fund, when the part relating to future accounting periods will be deferred. Any grants, donations, and other income that is received for a specific designated purpose is allcoated to the appropriate restricted fund in the Charity's accounts and is only subsequently used to fund activities that meet the designated objectives. Income that is provided to support the Charity's overall objectives, without any specifc restrictions is allocated to the general unrestricted fund. ## **Restricted Funds and Reserves** There are shown in more detail in note 4 to the accounts. ## **Pension cost and post retirement benefits** The charity operates a defined contribution pension scheme. Contributions payable to the Charity's pension scheme are charged to the profit and loss in the period to which they relate. **5** ## **TRINITY COMMUNITY PROJECT NOTES TO THE ACCOUNTS CONT'D FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31 MARCH 2025** |**2025**
2 **Grants**
Herts Comm No 1
13,391
Herts Comm
6,000
HCC Household
3,000
HCF Training 1
1,050
HCF Training 2
450
HCC Xmas
400
HCC Social
0
Beds and Luton Community Foundatio
0
Herts No 1 additional amount
0
DWP - R Liddle
0
Total Restricted Funds
24,291
3 **Donations**
Golden Giving
S Knopp
120
Eskmuir
250
Savvides
2,000
Giving machine
42
Communities First
0
Jackman
0
2,412
4 **Prepayments and Debtors**
Rent
296
March Fees
955
1,251
5 **Creditors and Accruals**
Accountancy
975
Peoples Pension
273
Activities and Counselling
1,145
2,393|**2024**
6,180
0
0
0
0
500
300
7,060
1,179
1,000
16,219
120
0
2,000
0
25
100
2,245
0
0
0
1,100
195
0
1,295| |---|---| 6 ## **TRINITY COMMUNITY PROJECT NOTES TO THE ACCOUNTS CONT'D FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31 MARCH 2025** ## **6 Restricted Funds** |HCC Social
Herts Community No 1
Herts County No1 Account
Herts Community Activity
HCC Household
HCF Training
HCF Training
Herts Xmas|Bought AdditionsSupport ActivitiesTraining HouseholdCarried
forward in year
workers in year
Support
forward
300
0
-180
0
0
120
0
13,391 -14,107
0
0
-716
6,180
0
0
-6,180
0
0
0
6,000
0
-2,179
0
3,821
0
3,000
0
0
0
-3,000
0
0
1,050
0
0
-1,050
0
0
450
0
0
-450
0
0
400
0
-320
0
80
6,480
24,291 -14,287
-8,679
-1,500
-3,000
3,305| |---|---|