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← Heard Organisation Limited

2024-10-31-accounts

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1ST NOVEMBER 2023 - 31ST OCTOBER 2024

Trustees’ annual report & accounts

2023 2024

CREATING CONVERSATIONS THAT REACH MILLIONS

Heard Organisation Limited is a charity registered in England and Wales (1165237) and a limited company (06624806).

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Heard is a charity working with people and the media to inspire content and communication that changes hearts and minds. 16 years We’ve spent constantly developing the best approaches.

Last year, we sparked stories that were seen and heard up to 39 million times — about poverty, climate change, migration, domestic abuse, sexual violence, transgender experiences and children’s palliative care.

We shif public understanding of these issues. We scale our by collaborating impact with others.

Will you join us?

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Contents

Our vision is of a world where communication means change. Our mission

is to create conversations about soc ~~i~~ al issues that change minds and develop the conditions for lasting social change.

Our charitable objects

Te promotion of equality and diversity for the public benefit by:

ntents
How & why we created impact in 2023-24 06
What we did in 2023-24, to create that impact 08
Introduction from our chair 10
Introduction from our co-CEOs 12
Strengthening Heard from within 14
Our programmes 16
All About Trans
Children’s Palliative Care		 18
20
Climate 22
Media Movers 24
Poverty 26
Sexual violence and domestic abuse 28
Finances & statutory information 31
Financial review & reserves policy 32
Structure, governance & management 34
Risk management 37
Plans for the future 38
Statement of trustees’ responsibilities 39
Independent Auditor’s report 40
Financial statements
Balance sheet		 42
43
Statement of cashflow 44
Notes to the financial statements 45

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Docusign Envelope ID". 7C87E24F-CB4A474&A61 &D8OBC4478BOE TRUSTEES, ANNUAL REPORT &ACCOUNTS | 2023-24 TRUSTEES, ANNUAL REPORT & ACCOUNTS | 2023-24 How&wh we created impact in 2023-24 Last year. we tralned a supported_. So that Our approaches are workln¢ whlGh develops the condltlons for lastlng Ghanga. 617 can rr#ye aUth￿tiCIty to stories we're tdling through our show.. - Dan Gaster. Creative Director. Black.:. Do9 Television "It realty will inform our writing of media. pop culture a creative professionals +30 media outcomes. reaching a combined audience of ... torytelling ecomes more mpactful 39 million 286 People with lived experience "feel empowered to share their tories 88Yo derr￿￿strated an increase in confidw)ce specifically arourKI resilience. taking care of ttromselves and sharing their experiences people with lived experienc• PubfJc#ttitLtde 'and norm5 shift, uelling gjpport or policy and systems.than Leaders are compelled to act. Long-term, lasting charge is achieved Well-framed St￿leS repeatedty heard throug, popular culture. media & ' li,. commurrications 563 Charities & sector professionals communicate in ways proven to create change, not just noise charty a eGosyStem communicators, to learn our approaches 89 /0 feel confident applying frarning & communicating strategically Thi5 is nwrative in action We to ￿1r together indimduals ¥J ecos stems to collecti￿tY nanatives We also suppcxt thes8 gfOUPS to work with exh other, in ways that certtre and respect lived experience

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What we did in 2023-24, to create that impact

We created, facilitated and delivered…

91% of our training sessions were co-facilitated by people with lived experience

250+ with lived experience in our peer networks (children’s palliative care, migration, domestic abuse & sexual violence, poverty, trans & non-binary)

14 consultations for sector partners and ecosystem collaborators

100% of people with lived experience developed and/ or increased their skills during workshops with Heard

4 new Heard 500+ media resources professionals engaged

22 consultations for TV, media & celebrities

11 interactions: carefully facilitated spaces where people with lived experience come together with media professionals to share their experiences and inspire more authentic, impactul storytelling

146 relationships with media & creative professionals

We shared our learning and approaches…

4.7 million views of new Heard resources

3 versions of our Communication Tat Works online course: general principles, povertyspecific & migration-specific

18,000+ users on our website

1,400+ LinkedIn followers

16 speaking engagements reaching a combined audience of 1,700+

1,100+ newsleter subscribers

views of 85,000+ our content on Heard.org.uk

We worked directly with and/or had media outcomes featured by… BBC Guardian Service95 BBC Radio 4 Huck Mag Sky Big Issue Instagram Te i Paper Byline Times ITV Te Independent CBBC LBC Te Times Channel 4 Metro UK TikTok Channel 5 S4C

We learnt from…

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Introduction from our chair

K Biswas (Biz)

It is with great pride that I present the Trustees’ Annual Report 2023-24 for Heard. Over the past year, our charity has continued to punch above its weight in terms of impact and reach, despite the many challenges and changes faced across our sector and society more broadly.

Our mission is to create conversations about social issues that change minds and develop the conditions for lasting social change. We do this by shifting the way issues are represented and framed in popular culture and media. Our small team has sparked stories across popular culture that have reached a combined audience of 39 million with well-framed stories proven to change hearts and minds.

we are proud to have walked our talk with our commitment to the wellbeing of our leadership.

The board unanimously agreed to grant Heard’s founder and then-CEO Nathalie McDermott a sabbatical from August to December 2024. This was in recognition of both the incredible achievements and unique burdens involved in leading a small charity for the best part of two decades.

We also trained more than 560 other charity professionals and spoke at 16 sector events. We believe wholeheartedly in sharing our learning and approaches as widely as possible, to maximise our impact. We are always thrilled to see other organisations’ communications, content and campaigns infused with framing and narrative change approaches.

In Nathalie’s absence, Sophie Hobson, then-director of communications & engagement and former trustee, stepped up as acting CEO. We are delighted that, as of January 2025, Nathalie has returned alongside Sophie to become co-CEOs, with both working part-time. We believe this new co-leadership model:

It is these repeated drumbeats of more authentic storytelling that, over time, shift public attitudes and foster more empathy – especially for people with lived experience of issues. Our work centres their voices, offering them agency in storytelling and narratives about them. They are heard.

Fundamental to our approach is a focus on wellbeing – and this extends as much to our team as to the people we support and collaborate with. In the past year,

It feels like an opportune time for Heard to embrace change and look ahead, while strengthening everything that makes our approaches and culture unique. We are nearing the end of our current five-year strategy cycle. It is the right time to reflect on our work. We want to understand which of our approaches has the most impact, and how this shifts when applied to different systemic issues.

Over the past year, in line with the aims we laid out in last year’s report, we are proud to have more robust monitoring, evaluation and learning (MEL) processes in place than ever before. This work has been led by Melissa Murdock, who resigned from the board of trustees (after a rigorous external recruitment process) to accept the role of head of programmes & impact, joining the executive team. Melissa brings expertise in MEL, programme design and delivery, and supporting people from underrepresented backgrounds into the creative arts.

On the board of trustees, we also wished a fond farewell to: our treasurer Kristina Kopic, a UK leader in charity finance, as she reached the end of her three-year term; and (after the end of our financial year) our co-chair Nina Spataru, who has supported Heard for six years with her expertise in the third sector, grant-making and human rights.

We welcomed Kai Grygier as a trustee and as board safeguarding lead. He brings expertise in psychology, trauma and anti-stigma resistance strategies, as well as facilitating collective empowerment for survivors of sexual violence, queer and trans people. We also opened a recruitment round for new trustees, leading to some promising new board appointments in the year ahead.

Our three board sub-committees continued to provide a valuable mechanism for managing risk, acting as advisory groups to the executive team and wider board, and encouraging us to think longer-term about the landscapes we operate within.

As a board, we focus on a robust approach to risk and sustainability, strong governance and leadership, and nurturing the supportive and inclusive team culture that makes Heard so special. These efforts ensure that we are well positioned to strengthen our work in the years ahead, despite a precarious external environment. I am proud that our total income in 2023-24 was just over £1.4m, an increase from the previous year, with our reserves in line with the board’s target range.

None of our impact and progress would have been possible without the generous support of our funders and partners. Our team, including our much-valued consultants and long-term freelancers, have shown exceptional commitment and resilience, ensuring that our mission remains at the heart of everything we do. We are deeply thankful to all.

Finally, I want to take this opportunity to thank my fellow trustees for their time, commitment and insights. Their collective leadership and care have been crucial to guiding the charity through another successful year.

Warm regards,

Biz

Chair of the board of trustees

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Introduction from our co-CEOs

This is the first time we’re writing to you as co-CEOs of Heard, and it feels both meaningful and exciting to do so. While our shared leadership began just after the financial year covered in this report, we wanted to acknowledge this new chapter at the outset. We’ll share more about this shift in our next report. For now, we’re glad to be together celebrating and learning from a year full of bold steps, impact and deep collaboration.

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Nathalie
McDermot
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Sophie Hobson

It’s always a privilege to reflect on Heard’s work. This past year in particular, we are proud to highlight how Heard has stepped into new spaces of influence and impact. In a world still grappling with the aftershocks of the pandemic, rising global tensions, and widening inequalities, we have not just responded to challenges - we’ve helped to shape the narrative landscape for meaningful change.

Our work in the television industry has intensified this year. We’ve expanded our reach and influence in shaping content that speaks to our issue areas, with particular success in supporting more climate content on TV. We avoid one-size-fits-all approaches or generic guidance. Instead, we offer tailored conversations and workshops to bring narrative framing to life.

Whether we’re working with commissioning editors shaping long-form documentaries, or campaigners seeking to drive urgent action, we meet each stakeholder where they are. This focus on bespoke, hands-on collaboration is what Heard has always focused on. This work is never about simply sharing framing principles and hoping they stick. It’s about translating those principles into tangible, real-world content, to ultimately reach audiences in transformative ways.

A key ambition in the last year has been to explore what it means to drive “collective impact”. Our work in children’s palliative care (CPC) exemplifies this approach. We’ve gone beyond simply advising communication efforts in the CPC sector. We have embedded ourselves into the complex systems that influence how these deeply human issues are communicated. That has included working alongside hospices, NHS leaders, and other parts of the CPC ecosystem – all of whom hold the keys to changing entrenched narratives. Through this approach, we collectively shift how stories about care, dignity, and children’s lives are told. We foster a shared language and understanding, rooted in our work with families who have experienced CPC.

One of Heard’s great strengths is that we address multiple issue areas and support multiple communities. Over the past year, we have been thinking more deeply about the interconnectedness of these issues, as well as how intersectionality shapes lived experiences. Our new resource exploring the representation of ‘race’ and migration in UK media, created in collaboration with our network of young people and anti-racist organisation The Runnymede Trust, is an example of this learning. Internally, we have held brave conversations about how we can create the antioppressive culture needed to support our work and team (see next pages).

We’ve strengthened our partnerships and collaborations, recognising that narrative change happens through many organisations and individuals aligning efforts. These connections have been fundamental to Heard’s progress. We thank our lived experience consultants, our peers in narrative and pop culture for change, and the funders and partners who share our vision. Your collaboration, support, and challenge make this

work not only possible, but powerful.

Looking inwards, we acknowledge the internal transitions and changes through the past year have created challenges. Yet each has also provided opportunities to reflect and strengthen. Nathalie’s sabbatical, in particular, provided a moment to pause and recalibrate. We embraced a collective “Rest & Replenish” period across the organisation. As a team, we are now coming into the new year feeling more connected, balanced, and energised for the work ahead.

Looking forward, we’re poised to build on the learning and insights gained during the last five years of our strategy cycle. As we embark on a new strategic review, we’re guided by everything we’ve learned - from how narratives can be shifted within complex systems, to how we nurture a team to do this work with both resilience and joy. Our new strategy will be a bold step into the next chapter of Heard’s impact journey.

Thank you to our board, our funders, our partners, and our wider networks for walking alongside us. Most importantly, thank you to our incredible team, whose creativity, commitment, and belief in the power of storytelling make Heard what it is.

With warmth and gratitude,

Nathalie and Sophie Co-CEOs

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Strengthening Heard from within

At Heard, we believe that the strength of our impact is rooted in the care and commitment we bring to our own team. Over the past year, we’ve continued to invest in building an inclusive, equitable, and resilient organisational culture where every voice is heard, and where wellbeing and creativity can thrive.

Strengthening our culture and commitment to anti-oppression

In response to the challenges of the past year, including the racist riots of summer 2024 and the evolving needs of our team, we began working with TING, a specialist people and culture consultancy. This collaboration has helped us deepen our anti-oppression work, explore an intersectional lens across our practices, and develop a stronger foundation for equity and belonging.

We’ve also introduced new ways to listen and act – including anonymous feedback mechanisms, rotating participation in the executive team, and open CEO time. All contributed to more transparent and inclusive decision-making, and more accountability for our executive team. Our team’s willingness to engage, challenge, and co-create has been essential to making these changes meaningful.

In addition, our two-month “Rest & Replenish” period provided space for reflection and renewal. We’ve created regular opportunities for connection, learning, and play, alongside moments of celebration like our July Away Day and December gathering. These times of togetherness remind us that looking after each other is not separate from the work of narrative change – it is the work.

We introduced a new Anti-Bribery & AntiCorruption Policy and Carer’s Leave Policy, and updated our Sick Leave Policy to offer more caring measures, including extended pay for people on longer-term medical leave.

Our new approach to investment ensures that our reserves and other financial deposits meet our ethical standards, balancing high ESG credentials with a reasonable rate of interest and risk. Finally, we are pleased to have made improvements to our cyber and IT security.

Making our policies and systems more robust

Supporting our team’s future

We also strengthened our policies. A major milestone was our new Pay & Progression Policy, a huge piece of work for which we lent on external expertise as well as internal consultations and benchmarking. Equity is at the heart of our new approach, and we are proud to offer generous salaries for a charity of our size, in spite of sudden spikes in UK inflation. We also offer a very supportive package of benefits for all employees, listening closely to the team’s ideas on how Heard can become a sectorleading workplace.

As we move forward, we remain committed to nurturing a culture and organisation where people can do their best, boldest work, and where our collective wellbeing continues to fuel the impact we make in the world.

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Our programmes

We achieve impact through the work of our programmes. Tey create change through our three key strands of expertise:

How we support our network members

At the heart of our work are the people who have experienced the negative impacts of structural inequality – our network members and other collaborators with lived experience. We are continuously learning how to do this work in safe and respectful ways.

We support them through:

The following pages explain more about each programme in depth.

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All About Trans Reflecting the experiences of transgender people.

All About Trans creates space for dialogue and understanding. We build connections and inspire authentic media content that reflects the real-life experiences of transgender people.

Reflecting and looking ahead

In September 2024, we brought network members together to reflect on our work so far, and to think about the next chapter for All About Trans. Together we identified the hopes and dreams for the group collectively.

Building and strengthening media connections

“Please, remember: when you see reporting on a trans story that seems unusually accurate or respectul; or if you watch a comedy or drama with a trans storyline that doesn’t make you want to throw a cushion at the telly, All About Trans and/or one of its network members probably had a hand it that, however big or small. I love these people. I’m so grateful we’re able to do this work.”

As part of our work supporting allies to speak out in support of trans people, All About Trans met with 25 publicists - from places including Cosmopolitan, Channel 4 and LBC.

Following this session, network member Freddy McConnell wrote a powerful testimony reflecting on the work of All About Trans in challenging transphobia within British media. Freddy highlighted the dedication of the network, the emotional toll of the work, and the progress made in creating more accurate and respectful trans representation.

Three years ago, during an interaction with News UK, a journalist engaged with our network member Eva Echo. Maintaining the connection over time, the journalist—now a producer— invited Eva to appear on Radio 4’s Sideways. Eva spoke about the deeply personal significance of names, particularly for trans individuals.

Highlight

“Tank you all for giving us your time and trusting us with your experiences. We know it’s not always easy, especially coming into a big institution like the BBC, so thank you all so very much….We’re already thinking about what we can do to put things into practice.”

First ever trans wedding on a UK soap! Our network member Ash Palmisciano, who plays Matty Barton in Emmerdale, made history starring in the first ever trans wedding on a UK soap.

It’s the culmination of years of work with Emmerdale and is an incredibly important moment.

We trained and formed valuable connections with 70+ media professionals and creatives, and trained 40+ network members and people with lived experience of being trans.

The wedding attracted lots of great coverage, including this piece in Pink News.

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Children’s Palliative Care Changing the way people think, feel and talk about this vital field of care.

Our Children’s Palliative Care programme works with families, healthcare professionals, organisations and the media to improve understanding, and therefore experiences of children’s palliative care together.

Building networks

We started our Narrative Change Hub, a network for professionals in the children’s palliative care (CPC) sector working on content and communications. They all have a shared desire to collectively change public perceptions of CPC in order to improve understanding of, support for and engagement with CPC services.

We recruited 15 new members of our Spokesperson Network with a great variety of experiences and backgrounds, with 12 receiving training in September 2024.

Sparking news stories

Dr Finella Craig, consultant in paediatric palliative medicine at Great Ormond Street Hospital, is featured in The Times’ Letters to the Editor, sharing concerns around a “postcode lottery” regarding hospice access for children and young people needing palliative care.

Dan McEvoy shared his experiences as a parent carer to his disabled child Elisa in four opinion pieces for The i Paper. He is a spokesperson for Together for Short Lives and campaigns for disability rights.

Highlight

We partnered with Together for Short Lives, the UK’s children’s palliative care charity, on their new brand film Childhood Needs Magic, following a successful funding bid to True Colours Trust. Through the perspective of four children

supported by NHS and children’s hospice professionals, the film beautifully illustrates how children’s palliative care supports children and families, provides a team of experts around them, and helps children to be children.

The video has reached a whopping people. 4.6 million

“Your insights on both narratives in children’s palliative care and those things that get in the way of introducing how palliative care can help, were truly enlightening, and I appreciate the time you took to share your expertise.”

We delivered 11 presentations and sessions to over 400 sector partners from across the UK, ranging from community, hospice and acute setings.

We trained and formed valuable connections with 20+ media professionals and creatives.

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Climate Shifing the public mood around climate change action.

Trough the Climate Stories Tat Work programme, we are increasing and improving the climate stories people want to hear. We are building on the growing awareness of the climate and nature crises, shifing the public mood so that societal transformation is possible. Huge thanks to Te Climate Change Collaboration, Children’s Investment Fund Foundation, Calouste Gulbenkian Foundation and Gower Street for enabling this work.

Making an appearance at events

Our TV work is in demand!

The climate team has showcased our work at major events, each reaching hundreds of people: Edinburgh TV Festival, Climate Content Summit, Global Sport Positive Summit & Counterpoints Arts Pop Culture and Social Change retreat.

We have worked in partnership with all the major broadcasters and many indies to weave climate stories across their unscripted and scripted content. Our workshops are bespoke, ensuring all suggestions are true to the show’s audience, tone and format.

all made to watch back the show and properly think about how we can incorporate things into the next series that are planet positive. Also with some fantastic facts I’d never heard before.”

Highlight

We shifted the vibe of what climate content looks like. We created a new resource, Football Needs Our Planet. This is targeted at players, clubs and fans to turn awareness into action by using their voice and platform to speak out. The resource was shared on socials and at events - reaching hundreds of people, organisations and football players.

“What I loved about it is you made lots of suggestions for climate without compromising on the quality of our shows.” - producer at UK broadcaster

We trained 600+ TV, media, and creative professionals

and 121 people in the charity and impact sector

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Media Movers Communicating a fresh story about migration across popular culture.

Tailored online training

In September 2024 we piloted our online migration-focused Communication That Works training. Participants from 14 different migration-sector organisations across the UK took part in the training, which ran over six weeks, combining selfdirected online learning with tailored live online workshops.

Our Media Movers programme works with young people with lived experience of migration. We support them to engage with media professionals and content creators to spark creative, accurate and authentic storytelling about migration.

Supporting the Justice4Windrush campaign

We worked with actor and activist Colin McFarlane, supporting his Justice4Windrush campaign by offering framing and messaging recommendations in preparation for TV interviews.

Highlight

We trained 20 professionals in the migration sector

We brought together nine media professionals and five of our network members to provide insight and inspiration for the upcoming series of CBBC children’s programme Pickle Storm. As a result, the team at Pickle Storm shared that they edited the entire second series. “ It really will inform our writing ,” a producer said. This interaction was part of our initiative to tap into children’s media and directly impact framing of migration in children’s content.

Trained and connected with 42 media and creatives

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REPRESENTING
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“Great training style, engaging, excellent examples and slides. Very clearly presented by people who understand the context we’re working in.”

Launching a new resource and toolkit

Working in collaboration with anti-racist organisation The Runnymede Trust and our brilliant network of young people, we launched a new resource: ‘Representing ‘Race’ and Migration’. This resource explores the impact of ‘race’ on experiences of migration and provides a toolkit for how media professionals can bring this to life in the content they create.

Children’s Media Conference Yearbook reached 950 delegates and 200 conference speakers

“All your young contributors were terrific - articulate, smart, honest and delightul - and it really will inform our writing of the second series.”

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Poverty

Changing the narrative on poverty across the charity sector and media.

Talking About Poverty connects and trains sector organisations, people with first-hand experience of poverty, and the media. Our aims are to grow understanding and activate hope that poverty can be solved. It’s from these spaces where beter stories emerge, and change can happen. With huge thanks to our funders Te Joseph Rowntree Foundation and Trust for London for supporting our work.

Lived experience and co-designing

“Tis Heard training course has been profoundly informative and impactul, not only in reshaping my approach as a communications professional but also in influencing how I think about and discuss social issues in all areas of my life…. Overall, the program was truly transformative.”

Heard’s Communication That Works: Poverty course - aimed at campaigners and communications leads - was co-designed together with eight network members with first-hand experience of poverty.

Our network consultants shaped the content, accessibility and inclusivity of the whole course, ensuring it included training on safe storytelling, and tips on setting boundaries.

100% increase in participants who now feel they deeply understand and use the concepts regularly, and a 200% increase in those who understand it well and use it occasionally.

We worked with Trussell’s Media and Stories team to empower them to better support those with lived experience of using food banks. A key output of this work was a toolkit for reporting on food banks for media professionals, which our communications consultant Nicky Hawkins worked on with the Trussell network.

92% of those with lived experience from Trussell reported feeling confident to very confident to engage with the media following the course.

Connecting with influencers

Heard organised a workshop for TikTok content creators, in collaboration with Comic Relief. Attended by 10 members from across Heard’s programmes, including two from our poverty network, the workshop focused on authentic representation and media collaboration.

This workshop connected our network with influencers who have a combined following of over 50 million.

“Te content was delivered in a concise but thorough way. It was forward-thinking and has provided me with food for thought in my own work”

Highlight

With FrameWorks UK, Heard was invited by CharityComms to share expertise to help charity organisations maximise the impact of their communications during 2024’s important election year. Heard brought a network member to share their perspective on the challenges and opportunities of foregrounding solutions to poverty as opposed to trauma. The event was attended by over 300 people in the charity sector.

Trained and connected with 20 media and creatives

77 people with lived experience supported and trained 27

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Sexual violence and domestic abuse

Supporting survivors to be heard.

Angles supports people who have lived through sexual and domestic abuse to tell their stories effectively and engage with media professionals in a safe and boundaried way.

Heard’s Angles programme comes to an inspiring close

After nine impactful years, the Angles Programme came to an inspiring close. With support from 207 network members, we held training, peer support sessions, and collaborated on media projects to bring survivor stories to new audiences.

To close, we hosted a reflective event for our network—a moment to honor contributions, share experiences, and celebrate the strength of community.

Huge thanks to our network and the John Ellerman Foundation for making this journey possible. Together, we’ve built a strong community for survivors, amplifying their voices in the media.

Through workshops with soaps, TikTok creators, partnerships with journalists, and peer support for aspiring authors, we met with 150+ media professionals who set a precedent for safe and authentic storytelling of survivors’ experiences.

Highlight

Our collaboration with End Violence Against Women on the Keep Counselling Confidential campaign helped spotlight critical issues around the privacy of therapy notes, leading to media coverage in outlets like The i Paper.

We supported network members in contributing to important articles on sensitive topics, such as smear tests and sexsomnia, further amplifying survivor voices in the media.

As we drew Angles to a close, we brought together our incredible network of survivors to reflect on what our programme and support have meant to them. We like to do things creatively at Heard, so we invited them to form their responses as haiku poems, some of which are shared here.

“It’s been wonderful to have this network as a “safety platorm”, knowing that there’s support in lived experience, and a trauma-informed network advocating for voices to be heard more effectively.” - Elisa

200+ survivors & storytellers supported through our peer network throughout the programme.

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I strongly believe that we need to move towards a world where people who have ‘lived experience’, however you want to term that, have a stronger voice in the things that affect them. Tis is an excellent example of how this can work really well. We all had a chance to help formulate and create something that will help a massive variety of people speak and advocate for people in various situations with a kinder and more effective and inclusive narrative. Tis is how we change the world, by changing minds one by one and evolving our discussions and discourse.

- lived experience consultant, Talking About Poverty programme

Finances & statutory information

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Docusign Envelope ID: 7C87E24F-CB4A-4746-A615-D60BC4476B0E

TRUSTEES’ ANNUAL REPORT & ACCOUNTS | 2023-24

TRUSTEES’ ANNUAL REPORT & ACCOUNTS | 2023-24

Financial review & reserves policy

In the year ending 31 October 2024, Heard generated a surplus in unrestricted funds of £67,791 (2023: £108,771) and increased restricted reserves by £243,948 (2023: £222,363). The large surplus on restricted funds arose because grant funding for several programmes was received during the financial year, but the expenditure relating to these projects will continue in the next financial year as they are ongoing.

Going concern

The trustees have prepared cash flow forecasts for a period of at least 12 months from the date of approval of these financial statements (“the going concern period”). These forecasts considered the risks to the charity’s business model, particularly the reliability of Heard’s fundraising forecasts and costs increases due to high inflation, and analysed how those risks might affect the charity’s financial resources or ability to continue operations over the going concern period. Their planning processes, including financial and cash flow projections, has considered alternative scenarios and they expect to be able to match potential shortfalls of income with a reduction in cost as Heard receives most of its income at the start of projects.

Heard’s total income in the year was £1,412,680, an increase of 13.5% from the previous year (2023: £1,244,529). As in previous years, the charity’s main source of income was grants received from charitable trusts and foundations totalling £1,344,680 (2023: £1,163,518), but our earned income from training and research work reduced to £44,343, a decrease of 40% from the previous year (2023: £75,245). We aim to grow earned income in the coming years to diversify Heard’s income streams and expand our training offer.

The trustees believe that Heard holds sufficient free reserves to provide cover for any unexpected changes in income and expenditure to allow time to adjust the charity’s cost base and continue activities. The charity’s management team and trustees continually monitor the charity’s actual and forecasted financial performance and manage the finances accordingly. Consequently, the trustees have concluded that there are no material uncertainties that could cast significant doubt over the charity’s ability to continue as a going concern for at least 12 months from the date of approval of the financial statements, and therefore, have prepared the financial statements on a going basis.

Our total expenditure in the year was £1,100,941 (2023: £913,395), an increase of 20% from the previous year. This increase is due to the expansion of work on Children’s Palliative Care programme and our climate programme.

Reserves policy

The trustees decided to designate a further £42,000 (2023: £25,000); £nil (2023: £5,000) for capital expenditure, £15,000 (2023: £20,000) for investment in Heard’s fundraising capacity and £27,000 (2023: £nil) for external consultancy work.

The board has set a reserves policy that requires reserves to be maintained at a level that ensures that Heard’s core activity could continue during a period of unforeseen difficulty. A proportion of reserves is maintained in a readily realisable form. The calculation of the required level of reserves in an integral part of the organisation’s planning, budget, and forecast cycle.

For 2024-25, the board agreed that the most appropriate level reserves is an amount that equates to between three (£200,000) and six (£400,000) months running costs for the organisation. Running costs include salaries (excluding freelancers), rent and overheads. Heard’s current level of reserves is within the target range, representing 4.6 months.

It takes into account:

At 31 October 2024, Heard held unrestricted reserves of £376,984 (2023: £309,193) and free reserves of £306,738 (2023: £278,753), representing unrestricted funds excluding those held in tangible fixed assets or designated for specific purposes.

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Docusign Envelope ID: 7C87E24F-CB4A-4746-A615-D60BC4476B0E

TRUSTEES’ ANNUAL REPOR T & ACCOUNTS | 2023-24

TRUSTEES’ ANNUAL REPORT & ACCOUNTS | 2023-24

Team

Structure, governance & management

The charity is controlled by its governing document, Memorandum and Articles of Association dated 19 June 2008, and constitutes a limited company limited by guarantee as defined by the Companies Act 2006. It is also registered as a charity with the Charity Commission.

Anyone over the age of 18 can become a member of the Company, and there are currently six members. Each member promises, if the company is dissolved while they are a member or within twelve months they cease to be a member, to contribute such sum (not exceeding £10) as may be demanded of them towards the payment of the debts and liabilities of the Company and the costs charges and expenses of winding up, and the adjustment of the rights of the contributories among themselves.

The trustees, who are also the directors for the purpose of company law and served during the year and up to the date of signature of the financial statements, were:

Board of trustees

Melissa Murdock Ewan Bennie K Biswas Kai Grygier Kristina Kopic Trustee Co-chair Trustee Treasurer Trustee (joined June 2024) (resigned (resigned April 2024 December 2024) to join as head of programmes & impact)

The following trustees joined after the end of the financial year 2023-24:

Nina Spataru

Princess Ashilokun

Carrie-Ann Wade

Nicole Lai

Co-chair Trustee (resigned April 2025)

Trustee Trustee (joined December 2024) (joined December 2024)

Aishah Amy Andrea Anna Bindu Siddiqa Pearce Suwito Gibson Karnany Senior Executive Programme Programme Head of Programme Assistant Assistant Manager Finance Manager (left 2024) (joined 2024) (left 2025) (left 2024)

Chiara Fikir Jay Kate Madeleine Varè Assefa Davis Llewellyn Ellis-Petersen Senior Head of Operations Head of Senior Programme Operations & Finance Training & Programme Manager & People Coordinator Engagement Manager (left 2024) (left 2024) (left 2024)

Makaela Melissa Nathalie Olivia Sophie Lewis Murdock McDermott Luder Hobson Programme Head of Founder Engagement Formerly Manager Programmes & Co-CEO Coordinator Director of & Impact (left 2025) Communications & Engagement (joined 2024) became Co-CEO in 2025

Tanicha Zino Zoë Toro-Oloto Akaka Speekenbrink Programme Senior Senior Coordinator Programme Programme Manager Manager (joined 2024)

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TRUSTEES’ ANNUAL REPORT & ACC OUNTS | 20 23-24

TRUSTEES’ ANNUAL REPORT & ACCOUNTS | 2023-24

Appointment of trustees

As set out in the Articles of Association the chair of trustees is nominated by the elected trustees. Trustees are elected by the members of the charitable company attending the Annual General Meeting and serve for a period of three years. The trustees have the power to co-opt up to 2 further members to fill specialist roles. All members are circulated with invitations to nominate trustees prior to the AGM advising them of the retiring trustees and requesting nominations for the AGM. When considering co-opting trustees, the board has regard to the requirement for any specialist skills needed.

Trustee induction and training

New trustees undergo an orientation to brief them on their legal obligations under charity and company law, the Charity Commission guidance on public benefit, content of the Memorandum and Articles of Association, the committee and decision-making processes, the business plan and recent financial performance of the charity. During the induction day, they meet key employees and other trustees. Trustees are encouraged to attend appropriate external training events where these will facilitate the undertaking of their role.

Organisation

The board of trustees, which can have up to 15 members, administers the charity. The board meets on a quarterly basis. A Chief Executive is appointed by the trustees to manage the day-to-day operations of the charity. To facilitate effective operations, the Chief Executive has delegated authority, within terms of delegation approved by the trustees, for operational matters including finance, employment and project specific related activity.

Board sub-commitees

Reputation & External Affairs Committee (previously Social Affairs Committee)

Melissa Murdock, Princess Ashilokun and K Biswas are members of this sub-committee,

founded in 2022 and renamed in 2023. It focuses on Heard’s reputation (inc. crisis communications, engagement, comms, brand), broader horizon & context (e.g. impact of AI, general election), current affairs & trends and relationships to develop long-term influence

Human Resources Committee

K Biswas, Melissa Murdock and Ewan Bennie are members of the Human Resources SubCommittee. They take delegated responsibility on behalf of the board for overseeing Heard’s human resources (HR) strategy, policies and implementation.

Finance Committee

The Finance Committee was established in September 2022. It meets quarterly before board meetings to discuss matters related to all financial aspects to ensure Heard’s short- and longterm financial viability. The Committee’s remit includes oversight of Heard’s financial and income generation strategy, financial risk management, auditor appointment, and treasury management.

The Finance Committee makes recommendations to the board on these matters, but decisions are taken by trustees at the board meeting.

Meetings are chaired by the Treasurer, and the Finance Committee consists of:

Related parties

One of our trustees, K Biswas, occasionally works for us as a guest journalist consultant on a number of our projects. He receives remuneration from the charity for this. All conflicts of interest are declared at the beginning of board meetings, and we track these to monitor remuneration. Additionally, any trustees with conflicts are not involved in discussions where a conflict arises. We have a Conflict of Interests policy which is reviewed yearly.

No other trustee receives remuneration or any other benefit from their work with the charity.

Risk management

The trustees have a risk management strategy which comprises:

The additional measures we are putting in place in 24-25 are:

Below are the principal risks that Heard currently faces, and some of the key activities we undertake to mitigate these risks:

Inadequate income: The potential risk of inadequate income for a small charity is always a factor but particularly acute in an economic downturn with a cost of living crisis, all of which means demands on funders are greater than ever. The mitigating actions we have in place are the following:

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TRUSTEES’ ANNUAL REPORT & ACCOUNTS | 2023-24

TRUSTEES’ ANNUAL REPORT & ACCOUNTS | 2023-24

Plans for the future

In the year ahead, we will reflect on all we have learnt so far about doing this work, and ready ourselves for the next chapter of impact at Heard.

In 2024-25, we plan to:

Undertake a strategic review, so we can reflect on our work to date and start shaping the next chapter of Heard. Our current strategy runs to the end of 2025. We will work with our team and board to deep-dive our impact, successes and learnings over the past five years. With more robust impact data than ever before (see below), we will feel ready to evaluate which aspects of our work create most impact. With this knowledge, we will begin developing our new strategy. With oversight from our board, we plan to engage: our team and consultants, our lived experience consultants, peers in the sector, and subject experts (e.g. in AI and social media). Together, they will help us understand where Heard can have most impact in the years to come, and the value we can uniquely bring to the narrative change field and other ecosystems we work within. We want to think long-term, as well as addressing the needs we see now in the world around us.

• Become more strategic and knowledgeable about our impact. The impact of narrative change work can be difficult to measure, but we feel increasingly confident in how to evidence our approaches. We will look at the work of our peers in the UK and US, ensuring we align approaches to impact measurement where we can, for richer learning across the narrative change field. We will make our monitoring, evaluation & learning more robust, and deep-dive our theory of change. We want to get to a place where everyone in our programmes & delivery team feels well-versed in our theory of change, so they can clearly see how our activities drive our outcomes. This will help us understand where our work has most impact and why. In time, this will also mean we feel comfortable letting go of work that isn’t driving our outcomes, freeing up resource to become more strategic.

• Continue delivering programmes with excellence, and embracing new opportunities with creativity. We will strive to continuously improve the quality of our work and the ways in which our programmes create impact. We will deepen our co-design approach, centring the voices and perspectives of people with lived experience to enrich our work and make it more impactful and relevant. We will lean into the opportunities we are discovering in TV, giving our work the potential to reach audiences of millions with well-framed stories that change hearts and minds. We will also explore with open minds the new opportunities offered by AI, social media and newer forms of storytelling and media. Continue to share our learning, to maximise our impact. We will explore ways to bring our learning and training to wider audiences. For example, we are interested in creating a self-led version of our Communication That Works course, to make this learning as scalable and accessible as possible. We want to share framing and narrative change approaches as widely as possible with other charities, campaigners and communicators, while ensuring the learning is robust and long-lasting. We believe we can scale our impact by sharing our expertise widely. Collectively, the impact sector will be far better-equipped to create lasting change when more organisations adopt joined-up narrative change approaches.

Statement of trustees’ responsibilities

The trustees (who are also the directors of Heard Organisation Limited for the purposes of company law) are responsible for preparing the Report of the Trustees and the financial statements in accordance with applicable law 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 incoming resources and application of resources, including the income and expenditure, of the charitable company for that period. In preparing those financial statements, the trustees are required to

The trustees are responsible for keeping proper accounting records which disclose with reasonable accuracy at any time the financial position of the charitable company and to enable them to ensure that the financial statements 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.

In so far as the trustees are aware:

Auditors

The auditors, Sedulo Audit Limited, will be proposed for re-appointment at the forthcoming Annual General Meeting.

Report of the trustees, incorporating a strategic report, approved by order of the board of trustees, as the company directors, on 19 June 2025 and signed on the board’s behalf by:

K Biswas – Chair

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TRUSTEES’ ANNUAL REPORT & ACCOUNTS | 2023-24

TRUSTEES’ ANNUAL REPORT & ACCOUNTS | 2023-24

INDEPENDENT AUDITOR’S REPORT

Opinion

We have audited the financial statements of Heard Organisation Limited (the ‘charity’) for the year ended 31 October 2024 which comprise the statement of financial activities, the balance sheet, the statement of cash flows and notes to the financial statements, including significant accounting policies. The financial reporting framework that has been applied in their preparation is applicable law and United Kingdom Accounting Standards, including Financial Reporting Standard 102 The Financial Reporting Standard applicable in the UK and Republic of Ireland (United Kingdom Generally Accepted Accounting Practice).

In our opinion, the financial statements:

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 Auditor’s responsibilities for the audit of the financial statements section of our report. We are independent of the charity in accordance with the ethical requirements that are relevant to our audit of the financial statements in the UK, including the FRC’s Ethical 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

In auditing the financial statements, we have concluded that the trustees’ use of the going 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 charity’s 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.

Other information

The other information comprises the information included in the annual report other than the financial statements and our auditor’s report thereon. The trustees are responsible for the other information contained within the annual report. Our opinion on the financial statements does not cover the other information and we do not express any form of assurance conclusion thereon. 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 course of 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 this gives rise to a material misstatement in the financial statements themselves. 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.

Matters on which we are required to report by exception

We have nothing to report in respect of the following matters in relation to which the Charities (Accounts and Reports)

Regulations 2008 requires us to report to you if, in our opinion:

Responsibilities of trustees

As explained more fully in the statement of trustees’ responsibilities, the trustees, who are also the directors of the charity for the purpose of company law, 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 charity’s 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.

Auditor’s responsibilities for the audit of the financial statements

We have been appointed as auditor under section 144 of the Charities Act 2011 and report in accordance with the Act and relevant regulations made or having effect thereunder.

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 auditor’s 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 specific procedures for this engagement and the extent to which these are capable of detecting irregularities, including fraud is detailed below:

Because of the inherent limitations of an audit, there is a risk that we will not detect all irregularities, including those leading to a material misstatement in the financial statements or non-compliance with regulation. This risk increases the more that compliance with a law or regulation is removed from the events and transactions reflected in the financial statements, as we will be less likely to become aware of instances of non-compliance. The risk is also greater regarding irregularities occurring due to fraud rather than error, as fraud involves intentional concealment, forgery, collusion, omission or misrepresentation.

A further description of our responsibilities is available on the Financial Reporting Council’s website at: https://www.frc.org.uk/auditorsresponsibilities. This description forms part of our auditor’s report.

Use of our report

This report is made solely to the charity’s trustees, as a 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 charity’s trustees 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 charity and the charity’s trustees as a body, for our audit work, for this report, or for the opinions we have formed.

Katelyn Dutton (Senior Statutory Auditor)

For and on behalf of Sedulo Audit Limited, Statutory Auditor

Chartered Accountants 5th Floor Walker House Exchange Flags Liverpool Merseyside L2 3YL

United Kingdom

Date:

Sedulo Audit Limited is eligible for appointment as auditor of the charity by virtue of its eligibility for appointment as auditor of a company under section 1212 of the Companies Act 2006.

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TRUSTEES’ ANNUAL REPORT & ACCOUNTS | 2023-24

Financial statements

Statement of Financial Activities (including Income and Expenditure account)

Balance sheet

As at 31st October 2024

For the year ended 31st October 2024

Unrestricted
funds
2024
Notes
£
Income from:
Donations and legacies
3
219,059
Charitable activities
4
44,343
Investments
5
7,498
Total income
270,900
Expenditure on:
Raising funds
6
3,475
Charitable activities
7
199,634
Total expenditure
203,109
Net income and movement in
funds
67,791
Reconciliation of funds:
Fund balances at 1 November
2023
309,193
Fund balances at 31 October 2024
376,984		 Restricted
funds
2024
£
1,141,780
-
-
1,141,780
-
897,832
897,832
243,948
342,700
586,648		 Total
Unrestricted
funds
2024
2023
£
£
1,360,839
287,777
44,343
75,245
7,498
1,957
1,412,680
364,979
3,475
13,337
1,097,466
242,871
1,100,941
256,208
311,739
108,771
651,893
200,422
963,632
309,193		 Restricted
funds
2023
£
879,550
-
-
879,550
-
657,187
657,187
222,363
120,337
342,700		 Total
2023
£
1,167,327
75,245
1,957
1,244,529
13,337
900,058
913,395
331,134
320,759
651,893

The statement of financial activities includes all gains and losses recognised in the year. All income and expenditure derive from continuing activities.

The notes on pages 45-55 form part of these financial statements.

Notes
Fixed assets
Tangible assets
13
Current assets
Debtors
14
Cash at bank and in hand
Creditors: amounts falling due within one year
15
Net current assets
Total assets less current liabilities
The funds of the charity
Restricted income funds
18
Unrestricted funds
19		 2024
£
76,296
934,877
1,011,173
(55,787)		 £
8,246
955,386
963,632
586,648
376,984
963,632		 2023
£
59,928
806,967
866,895
(220,442)		 £
5,440
646,453
651,893
342,700
309,193
651,893

The directors acknowledge their responsibilities for complying with the requirements of the Companies Act 2006 with respect to accounting records and the preparation of financial statements.

These financial statements have been prepared in accordance with the provisions applicable to companies subject to the small companies regime.

The notes on pages 45-55 form part of these financial statements.

The financial statements were approved by the trustees on 19 June 2025

K Biswas

Trustee

Company registration number 06624806 (England and Wales)

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TRUSTEES’ ANNUAL REPORT & ACCOUNTS | 2023-24

Statement of Cashflows

For the year ended 31st October 2024

Notes to the Financial Statements

For the year ended 31st October 2024

1. Accounting policies

Charity information

Notes
Cash flows from operating activities
Cash generated from operations
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Investing activities
Purchase of tangible fixed assets
Investment income received
Net cash used in investing activities
Net cash generated from financing activities
Net increase in cash and cash equivalents
Cash and cash equivalents at beginning of year
Cash and cash equivalents at end of year		 2024
£
(7,856)
7,498		 £
128,268
(358)
-
127,910
806,967
934,877		 2023
£
(3,734)
1,957		 £
182,020
(1,777)
-
180,243
626,724
806,967

The notes on pages 45-55 form part of these financial statements.

Heard Organisation Limited is a private company limited by guarantee incorporated in England and Wales. The registered office is The Green House, Cambridge Heath Road, London, E2 9DA, United Kingdom.

1.1 Accounting convention

The financial statements have been prepared in accordance with the charity’s governing document, the Companies Act 2006, FRS 102 “The Financial Reporting Standard applicable in the UK and Republic of Ireland” and the Charities SORP “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 charity is a Public Benefit Entity as defined by FRS 102.

The financial statements are prepared in sterling, which is the functional currency of the charity. Monetary amounts in these financial statements are rounded to the nearest £.

The financial statements have been prepared under the historical cost convention. The principal accounting policies adopted are set out below.

1.2 Going concern

The trustees have prepared cash flow forecasts for a period of at least 12 months from the date of approval of these financial statements (“the going concern period”). These forecasts considered the risks to the charity’s business model, particularly the reliability of fundraising forecasts and costs increases due to high inflation, and analysed how those risks might affect the charity’s financial resources or ability to continue operations over the going concern period. Their planning processes, including financial and cash flow projections, has considered alternative scenarios and they expect to be able to match potential shortfalls of income with a reduction in cost as the charity receives most of its income at the start of projects.

The trustees believe that the charity holds sufficient free reserves to provide cover for any unexpected changes in income and expenditure to allow time to adjust the charity’s cost base and continue activities. The charity’s management team and trustees continually monitor the charity’s actual and forecasted financial performance and manage the finances accordingly. Consequently, the trustees have concluded that there are no material uncertainties that could cast significant doubt over the charity’s ability to continue as a going concern for at least 12 months from the date of approval of the financial statements, and therefore, have prepared the financial statements on a going basis.

1.3 Charitable funds

Unrestricted funds are available for use at the discretion of the trustees in furtherance of their charitable objectives.

Restricted funds are subject to specific conditions by donors or grantors as to how they may be used. The purposes and uses of the restricted funds are set out in the notes to the financial statements.

1.4 Income

Income is recognised when the charity is legally entitled to it after any performance conditions have been met, the amounts can be measured reliably, and it is probable that income will be received.

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TRUSTEES’ ANNUAL REPORT & ACCOUNTS | 2023-24

Notes to the Financial Statements

For the year ended 31st October 2024

Accounting policies (continued)

Cash donations are recognised on receipt. Other donations are recognised once the charity has been notified of the donation, unless performance conditions require deferral of the amount. Income tax recoverable in relation to donations received under Gift Aid or deeds of covenant is recognised at the time of the donation.

Service income is recognised when the service has been carried out by the charity. If a service has been invoiced in advance, income is deferred until the work has been completed.

1.5 Expenditure

Expenditure is recognised once there is a legal or constructive obligation to transfer economic benefit 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.

Expenditure is classified by activity. The costs of each activity are made up of the total of direct costs and shared costs, including support costs involved in undertaking each activity. Direct costs attributable to a single activity are allocated directly to that activity. Shared costs which contribute to more than one activity and support costs which are not attributable to a single activity are apportioned between those activities on a basis consistent with the use of resources. Central staff costs are allocated on the basis of time spent, and depreciation charges are allocated on the portion of the asset’s use.

1.9 Financial instruments

The charity has elected to apply the provisions of Section 11 ‘Basic Financial Instruments’ and Section 12 ‘Other Financial Instruments Issues’ of FRS 102 to all of its financial instruments.

Financial instruments are recognised in the charity’s balance sheet when the charity becomes party to the contractual provisions of the instrument.

Financial assets and liabilities are offset, with the net amounts presented in the financial statements, when there is a legally enforceable right to set off the recognised amounts and there is an intention to settle on a net basis or to realise the asset and settle the liability simultaneously.

Basic financial assets

Basic financial assets, which include debtors and cash and bank balances, are initially measured at transaction price including transaction costs and are subsequently carried at amortised cost using the effective interest method unless the arrangement constitutes a financing transaction, where the transaction is measured at the present value of the future receipts discounted at a market rate of interest. Financial assets classified as receivable within one year are not amortised.

Basic financial liabilities

Basic financial liabilities, including creditors and bank loans are initially recognised at transaction price unless the arrangement constitutes a financing transaction, where the debt instrument is measured at the present value of the future payments discounted at a market rate of interest. Financial liabilities classified as payable within one year are not amortised.

Trade creditors are obligations to pay for goods or services that have been acquired in the ordinary course of operations from suppliers. Amounts payable are classified as current liabilities if payment is due within one year or less. If not, they are presented as non-current liabilities. Trade creditors are recognised initially at transaction price and subsequently measured at amortised cost using the effective interest method.

Derecognition of financial liabilities

1.6 Tangible fixed assets

Tangible fixed assets are initially measured at cost and subsequently measured at cost or valuation, net of depreciation and any impairment losses.

Depreciation is recognised so as to write off the cost or valuation of assets less their residual values over their useful lives on the following bases:

over their useful lives on the following bases:
Fixtures and fittings
Computers		 33% on cost
33% on cost
Telephones 50% on cost

The gain or loss arising on the disposal of an asset is determined as the difference between the sale proceeds and the carrying value of the asset, and is recognised in the statement of financial activities.

Financial liabilities are derecognised when the charity’s contractual obligations expire or are discharged or cancelled.

1.10 Employee benefits

The cost of any unused holiday entitlement is recognised in the period in which the employee’s services are received.

Termination benefits are recognised immediately as an expense when the charity is demonstrably committed to terminate the employment of an employee or to provide termination benefits.

1.11 Retirement benefits

Payments to defined contribution retirement benefit schemes are charged as an expense as they fall due.

1.7 Impairment of fixed assets

At each reporting end date, the charity reviews the carrying amounts of its tangible assets to determine whether there is any indication that those assets have suffered an impairment loss. If any such indication exists, the recoverable amount of the asset is estimated in order to determine the extent of the impairment loss (if any).

1.8 Cash and cash equivalents

Cash and cash equivalents include cash in hand, deposits held at call with banks, other short-term liquid investments with original maturities of three months or less, and bank overdrafts. Bank overdrafts are shown within borrowings in current liabilities.

2 Critical accounting estimates and judgements

In the application of the charity’s accounting policies, the trustees are required to make judgements, estimates and assumptions about the carrying amount of assets and liabilities that are not readily apparent from other sources. The estimates and associated assumptions are based on historical experience and other factors that are considered to be relevant. Actual results may differ from these estimates.

The estimates and underlying assumptions are reviewed on an ongoing basis. Revisions to accounting estimates are recognised in the period in which the estimate is revised where the revision affects only that period, or in the period of the revision and future periods where the revision affects both current and future periods.

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Docusign Envelope ID: 7C87E24F-CB4A-4746-A615-D60BC4476B0E

TRUSTEES’ ANNUAL REPORT & ACCOUNTS | 2023-24

TRUSTEES’ ANNUAL REPORT & ACCOUNTS | 2023-24

Notes to the Financial Statements

For the year ended 31st October 2024

3. Income from donations and legacies

Unrestricted
funds
2024
£
Donations and gifts
16,159
Grant income
202,900
219,059
Grants
Esmée FairbairnFoundation
-
Paul Hamlyn Foundation
20,000
City Bridge Trust
-
Unbound Philanthropy
-
Joseph Rowntree
Foundation
-
Trust for London
-
Barrow Cadbury Trust
-
Gower Street Trust
-
Oak Foundation
7,900
The True Colours Trust
-
Climate Change
Collaboration
-
John Ellerman Foundation
-
Tudor Trust
-
The Roddick Foundation
-
The Lankelly Chase
Foundation
-
Garfield Weston Foundation
-
Mewbum Ellis Law Firm
-
National Lottery Awards
-
Children Investment Fund
Foundation
-
Murmur
-
Blue Thread Foundation &
Partner
-
A B Charitable Trust
25,000
Comic Relief
110,000
Calouste Gulbenkian
Foundation
-
CAF Keystone Fund
40,000
Trussell Trust
-
202,900		 Restricted
funds
2024
£
-
1,141,780
1,141,780
-
50,000
-
-
47,935
-
24,000
-
-
246,725
45,000
26,000
-
-
155,933
-
-
-
419,053
24,157
50,989
3,900
-
40,000
-
8,088
1,141,780		 Total
Unrestricted
funds
2024
2023
£
£
16,159
3,809
1,344,680
283,968
1,360,839
287,777
-
31,000
70,000
88,000
-
1,000
-
62,500
47,935
-
-
-
24,000
-
-
-
7,900
15,634
246,725
-
45,000
-
26,000
-
-
20,000
-
2,500
155,933
-
-
13,334
-
-
-
-
419,053
-
24,157
-
50,989
-
28,900
-
110,000
50,000
40,000
-
40,000
-
8,088
1,344,680
283,968
-		 Restricted
funds
2023
£
-
879,550
879,550
-
95,833
6,666
-
53,290
107,767
33,013
52,500
-
202,578
97,500
20,834
6,800
25,000
69,562
-
12,500
1,500
17,377
5,842
50,988
20,000
-
-
-
879,550
-		 Total
2023
£
3,809
1,163,518
1,167,327
31,000
183,833
7,666
62,500
53,290
107,767
33,013
52,500
15,634
202,578
97,500
20,834
26,800
27,500
69,562
13,334
12,500
1,500
17,377
5,842
50,988
20,000
50,000
-
-
-
1,163,518

Notes to the Financial Statements

For the year ended 31st October 2024

4. Income from charitable activities

ome rom carae acves Unrestricted Unrestricted
funds funds
2024 2023
£ £
Other services
Training income 25,320 23,500
Research income 19,023 51,745
44,343 75,245
come from investments Unrestricted Unrestricted
funds funds
2024 2023
£ £
Interest Income 7,498 1,957
penditure on raising funds Unrestricted Unrestricted
funds funds
2024 2023
£ £
Fundraising and publicity
Fundraising costs 3,475 13,337
penditure on charitable activities Media Media
Support and Support and
Publications Publications
2024 2023
£ £
Direct costs
Staff costs 442,959 378,855
Programme costs 383,883 209,301
826,842 588,156
Share of support and governance costs (see note 8)
Support 259,019 297,165
Governance 11,605 14,737
1,097,466 900,058
Analysis by fund
Unrestricted funds 199,634 242,871
Restricted funds 897,832 657,187
1,097,466 900,058

5. Income from investments

6. Expenditure on raising funds

7. Expenditure on charitable activities

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Docusign Envelope ID: 7C87E24F-CB4A-4746-A615-D60BC4476B0E

TRUSTEES’ ANNUAL REPORT & ACCOUNTS | 2023-24

TRUSTEES’ ANNUAL REPORT & ACCOUNTS | 2023-24

Notes to the Financial Statements

For the year ended 31st October 2024

8. Support costs allocated to activities

Staff costs
Depreciation
Other staff costs
Marketing
HR, recruitment and training
Accountancy and payroll
Insurance
Telephone, IT and printing
Other expenses
Rent and rates
Consulting
Bank charges
Governance costs
Analysed between:
Media Support and Publications

Governance costs comprise:
Audit fees
Other expenses		 2024
2023
£
£
156,573
192,196
5,050
4,325
8,817
12,777
-
22,291
3,106
3,813
22,292
3,978
1,264
333
12,107
8,525
7,922
6,724
36,005
36,564
3,650
8,160
1,933
1,461
11,905
10,755
270,624
311,902
270,624
311,902
9,500
10,000
2,405
755
11,905
10,755		 2023
£
192,196
4,325
12,777
22,291
3,813
3,978
333
8,525
6,724
36,564
8,160
1,461
10,755
311,902

9. Net movement in funds

Net movement in funds
Net movement in funds 2024 2023
£ £
The net movement in funds is stated after charging/(crediting):
Fees payable to the charity's auditor:
- for the audit of the charity's financial statements 9,500 10,000
- for other assurance services 6,000 1,000
Depreciation of owned tangible fixed assets 5,050 4,325

10. Trustees

Notes to the Financial Statements

For the year ended 31st October 2024

11. Employees

The average monthly number of employees during the year was:

The average monthly number of employees during the year was:
2024 2023
Number Number
14 15
Employment costs 2024 2023
£ £
Wages and salaries 491,701 484,200
Social security costs 53,585 43,456
Other pension costs 54,246 43,395
599,532 571,051
The number of employees whose annual remuneration was
more than £60,000 is as follows: 2024 2023
Number Number
£70,001 to £80,000 1 1

Remuneration of key management personnel

The charity considers its key management personnel to compromise the Trustees (who are not remunerated) and the Chief Executive and Co-Chief Executive (who are remunerated).

The remuneration of key management personnel was as follows:

y g p
2024 2023
£ £
Aggregate compensation 108,564 93,646

12. Taxation

The charity is exempt from taxation on its activities because all its income is applied for charitable purposes.

None of the trustees (or any persons connected with them) received any remuneration or benefits from the charity during the year.

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Docusign Envelope ID: 7C87E24F-CB4A-4746-A615-D60BC4476B0E

TRUSTEES’ ANNUAL REPORT & ACCOUNTS | 2023-24

TRUSTEES’ ANNUAL REPORT & ACCOUNTS | 2023-24

Notes to the Financial Statements

Notes to the Financial Statements

For the year ended 31st October 2024

13. Tangible fixed assets

Tangible fixed assets
Fixtures and Computers Total
fittings
£ £ £
Cost
At 1 November 2023 9,021 14,303 23,324
Additions 756 7,100 7,856
At 31 October 2024 9,777 21,403 31,180
Depreciation and impairment
At 1 November 2023 6,716 11,168 17,884
Depreciation charged in the year 1,001 4,049 5,050
At 31 October 2024 7,717 15,217 22,934
Carrying amount
At 31 October 2024 2,060 6,186 8,246
At 31 October 2023 2,305 3,135 5,440
Debtors
2024 2023
Amounts falling due within one year: £ £
Trade debtors 1,002 290
Other debtors 2,379 3,693
Prepayments and accrued income 72,915 55,945
76,296 59,928

14. Debtors

15. Creditors: amounts falling due within one year

For the year ended 31st October 2024

16. Deferred income
Deferred income 2024 2023
£ £
Other deferred income 13,410 187,351
Deferred income is included in the financial statements as follows:
2024 2023
£ £
Deferred income is included within:
Current liabilities 13,410 187,351
Movements in the year:
Deferred income at 1 November 2023 187,351 287,838
Released from previous periods (187,351) (287,838)
Resources deferred in the year 13,410 187,351
Deferred income at 31 October 2024 13,410 187,351

Deferred income relates to grant income where performance obligations have not been met at the year end.

17. Retirement benefit schemes

Retirement benefit schemes
2024 2023
Defined contribution schemes £ £
Charge to profit or loss in respect of defined contribution schemes 54,246 43,395

The charity operates a defined contribution pension scheme for all qualifying employees. The assets of the scheme are held separately from those of the charity in an independently administered fund.

18. Restricted funds

The restricted funds of the charity comprise the unexpended balances of donations and grants held on trust subject to specific conditions by donors as to how they may be used.

Notes
16
Other taxation and social security
Deferred income
Trade creditors
Other creditors
Accruals		 2024
£
12,332
13,410
7,856
4,646
17,543
55,787		 2023
£
-
187,351
-
5,819
27,272
220,442
At 1 November
2023
£
342,700
At 1 November
2022
£
120,337
Restricted funds
Previous year:
Restricted funds		 Incoming
resources
Resources
expended
At 31 October
2024
£
£
£
1,141,780
(897,832)
586,648
Incoming
resources
Resources
expended
At 31 October
2023
£
£
£
879,550
(657,187)
342,700

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Docusign Envelope ID: 7C87E24F-CB4A-4746-A615-D60BC4476B0E

TRUSTEES’ ANNUAL REPORT & ACCOUNTS | 2023-24

TRUSTEES’ ANNUAL REPORT & ACCOUNTS | 2023-24

Notes to the Financial Statements

For the year ended 31st October 2024

19. Unrestricted funds

The unrestricted funds of the charity comprise the unexpended balances of donations and grants which are not subject to specific conditions by donors and grantors as to how they may be used. These include designated funds which have been set aside out of unrestricted funds by the trustees for specific purposes.

At 1 November Incoming Resources Transfers At 31 October
2023 resources expended 2024
£ £ £ £ £
Designated funds 25,000 - - 37,000 62,000
General funds 284,193 270,900 (203,109) (37,000) 314,984
309,193 270,900 (203,109) - 376,984
Previous year: At 1 November Incoming Resources Transfers At 31 October
2022 resources expended 2023
£ £ £ £ £
Designated Funds - - - 25,000 25,000
General funds 200,422 364,979 (256,208) (25,000) 284,193
200,422 364,979 (256,208) - 309,193

20. Analysis of net assets between funds

Unrestricted
Restricted
funds
funds
2024
2024
£
£
8,246
-
368,738
586,648
376,984
586,648
Unrestricted
Restricted
funds
funds
2023
2023
£
£
5,440
-
303,753
342,700
309,193
342,700
At 31 October 2024:
Tangible assets
Current assets/(liabilities)
At 31 October 2023:
Tangible assets
Current assets/(liabilities)		 Total
2024
£
8,246
955,386
963,632
Total
2023
£
5,440
646,453
651,893

Notes to the Financial Statements

For the year ended 31st October 2024

21. Operating lease commitments

Lessee

At the reporting end date the charity had outstanding commitments for future minimum lease payments under noncancellable operating leases, which fall due as follows:

2024 2023
£ £
Total commitment 10,321 29,637

22. Related party transactions

During the year, £150 (2023: £300) was paid to Kuntal Biswas, Trustee and Co-Chair at the charity, for his services as a guest journalist on our training courses.

During the year, £210 (2023: £nil) was paid to K Grygier, Trustee at the charity, for his services relating to programme support. This service was provided before he was appointed as a trustee.

There were no amounts owing or owed at the year end.

23. Members’ liability

The charitable company is limited by guarantee and does not have share capital. In the events of a winding up, each of the members undertakes to contribute an amount not exceeding £10.

24. Cash generated from operations

. Cash generated from operations
2024 2023
£ £
Surplus for the year 311,739 331,134
Adjustments for:
Investment income recognised in statement of financial activities (7,498) (1,957)
Depreciation and impairment of tangible fixed assets 5,050 4,325
Movements in working capital:
(Increase) in debtors (16,368) (49,568)
Increase/(decrease) in creditors 9,286 (1,427)
(Decrease) in deferred income (173,941) (100,487)
Cash generated from operations 128,268 182,020

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Docusign Envelope ID: 7C87E24F-CB4A-4746-A615-D60BC4476B0E

TRUSTEES’ ANNUAL REPORT & ACCOUNTS | 2023-24

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