HOfB Accounts y/e 31/12/23
| Date | Credit | Debit | Balance | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 01/01/2023 | Opening Balance | £968.77 | ||
| 15/01/2023 | Bank charges | £5.00 | £963.77 | |
| 15/02/2023 | Bank charges | £5.00 | £958.77 | |
| 15/03/2023 | Bank charges | £5.00 | £953.77 | |
| 20/03/2023 | Enthuse (previously charity checkout) | £716.49 | £1,670.26 | |
| 27/03/2023 | Bank interest | £0.50 | £1,670.76 | |
| 05/04/2023 | HMRC Gift Aid refund | 185 | £1,855.76 | |
| 17/04/2023 | Bank charges | £5.00 | £1,850.76 | |
| 15/05/2023 | Bank charges | £5.00 | £1,845.76 | |
| 31/05/2023 | S. Craig | £200.00 | £1,645.76 | |
| 31/05/2023 | Cheque 004 fee | £0.75 | £1,645.01 | |
| 13/06/2023 | T Roberts | £145.00 | £1,500.01 | |
| 13/06/2023 | Cheque 007 fee | £0.75 | £1,499.26 | |
| 15/06/2023 | Bank charges | £5.00 | £1,494.26 | |
| 26/06/2023 | Bank interest | £0.88 | £1,495.14 | |
| 17/07/2023 | Bank charges | £5.00 | £1,490.14 | |
| 20/07/2023 | Enthuse (previously charity checkout) | £76.87 | £1,567.01 | |
| 02/08/2023 | BACS | £20.00 | £1,587.01 | |
| 15/08/2023 | Bank charges | £5.00 | £1,582.01 | |
| 15/09/2023 | Bank charges | £5.00 | £1,577.01 | |
| 26/09/2023 | Interest | £0.78 | £1,577.79 | |
| 16/10/2023 | Bank charges | £5.00 | £1,572.79 | |
| 26/10/2023 | Enthuse annual payment | £246.95 | £1,325.84 | |
| 08/11/2023 | Dan Shepherd | £600.00 | £725.84 | |
| 08/11/2023 | Cheque 008 fee | £0.75 | £725.09 |
| 15/11/2023 | Bank charges | £5.00 | £720.09 | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 21/11/2023 | S Robbings | £100.00 | £620.09 | |
| 21/11/2023 | Cheque 005 fee | £0.75 | £619.34 | |
| 15/12/2023 | Bank charges | £5.00 | £614.34 | |
| 27/12/2023 | Interest | £0.52 | £614.86 correct to here | |
| Totals | £1,001.04 | £1,354.95 | ||
| Net for yr | -£353.91 |
Charity Name No (if any) Hats Off for Bootsie 1165319 Receipts and payments accounts CC16a For the period Period start date Period end date To from 01/01/2023 31/12/2023
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Section A Receipts and payments
Unrestricted Restricted Endowment
Total funds Last year
funds funds funds
to the nearest £ to the nearest £ to the nearest £ to the nearest £ to the nearest £
A1 Receipts
Donations 813 - - 813 -
Gift Aid 185 - - 185 -
Bank Interest 3 - - 3 1
- - - - -
- - - - -
- - - - -
- - - - -
- - - - -
Sub total (Gross income for
AR) [ 1,001 ] - - 1,001 1
A2 Asset and investment sales,
(see table).
- - - -
- - - - -
Sub total - - - - -
Total receipts 1,001 - - 1,001 1
A3 Payments
Bank Charges 60 - - 60 81
Cheque Fees 3 - - 3 -
Enthuse Gift Aid service (formerly called
Charity Checkout) 247 - - 247 494
Payment to S. Craig Musician at EY
Launch 200 - - 200
T. Roberts Train Fare 145 - 145 -
Dan. Shpherd SNLR Post Production 562 38 - 600 -
S. Robbings Piano Recording 100 100 - 200 -
Payment to Matteo di Cugno SNLR Sound
Services - - - - 350
Tip Cullen for SNLR Acting - - - - 100
Sub total [ 1,172 ] 283 - 1,455 1,025
A4 Asset and investment
purchases, (see table)
- - - -
- - - -
Sub total [ - ] - - - -
Total payments 1,172 283 - 1,455 1,025
Net of receipts/(payments) - 171 - 283 - - 454 - 1,024
A5 Transfers between funds - - - - -
A6 Cash funds last year end - - - - -
Cash funds this year end - 171 - 283 - - 454 - 1,024
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CCXX R1 accounts (SS)
07/11/2024
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| Section B Statement of assets and liabilities at | Section B Statement of assets and liabilities at | the end of the period | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Categories Signed by one or two trustees on behalf of all the trustees B5 Liabilities B3 Investment assets B2 Other monetary assets B4 Assets retained for the charity’s own use B1 Cash funds |
Details None Details Total cash funds (agree balances with receipts and payments account(s)) None Bank Cuirrent Account Details Details None Details None Signature |
Unrestricted funds Restricted funds to nearest £ to nearest £ 615 - - - - - 615 - Agreement Error Agreement Error Unrestricted funds Restricted funds to nearest £ to nearest £ - - - - - - - - - - - - Fund to which asset belongs Cost (optional) - - - - - Fund to which asset belongs Cost (optional) - - - - - - - - - Fund to which liability relates Amount due (optional) - - - - - Print Name |
Endowment funds to nearest £ - - - |
| - | |||
| OK | |||
| Endowment funds to nearest £ - - - - - - Current value (optional) - - - - - Current value (optional) - - - - - - - - - When due (optional) Date of approval |
CCXX R2 accounts (SS)
07/11/2024
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Hats Off for Bootsie
Trustees’ Annual Report 2023
Charitable Incorporated Organisation
Registration no. 1165319.
www.hatsoffforbootsie.org.uk
The Summit, 2 Castle Hill Terrace, Maidenhead, SL6 4J
Hats Off for Bootsie - Trustees’ Annual Report 2023
Report of the Trustees for the year ending 31 December 2023
The Trustees are pleased to present their annual report together with the consolidated financial statements of the charity for the year ending 31 December 2023.
Chair’s Report
Hats Off for Bootsie (HOfB) was incorporated as a Charitable Incorporated Organisation (CIO) on 26[th] January 2016 under registration no. 1165319.
HOfB’s objects are ‘to promote and protect the good health of Combat Veterans who are homeless or who are overcoming mental trauma, in particular but not exclusively, by providing them with opportunities to rehabilitate using the arts as a medium.’
Between 01/01/2023 and 31/12/2023 HOfB secured a total income of £1,001.04 and expenditure of £1,355.50. As in previous years, it was pro-bono services and provision of a number of not income, that was the major enabler in 2023.
2023 was a year when much of our preparation over the last seven years started to bear fruit. Tip Cullen introduced Lucinda Howland and Nigel Fair to a number of valuable contacts, several of which became partners, and all of whom were principally enablers rather than donors.
‘Rock 2 Recovery’ (R2R), through its Secretary, Charlie Hobson, suggested a number of changes to the slates of our nearly completed film, and analysed HOfB’s overall strategy. This resulted in some very positive feedback and endorsements which we are able to quote publicly. R2R also provided us with a key speaker at our film launch in May. Charlie also put us in touch with a major military supporter and donor. Most generously, he has offered us use of his conference room in the heart of the West End, to stage a publicity and fundraising event, and to put us in touch with a number of those he considers would help us.
‘No Laughing Matter’ (NLM) are supporting us by means of providing access to TV personalities who would invite veterans onto their shows. NLM have also given us access to theatres and rehearsal space which they would provide to us as part of their pro-bono help. One of their number, Stuart Croll, donated money to cover travel expenses for our May film launch, which enabled us to be bold when asking speakers, and to welcome a fine guitarist, who played throughout the evening.
Ernst and Young (EY) generously gave us the wonderful facility of their principal conference room, which overlooked Tower Bridge. EY refreshed and fed our sixty or so guests with a splendid finger buffet and an appetising selection of wines and other drinks. They also staffed the event generously, so there were EY staff to welcome guests, to escort guests to the venue, and waiting staff who were attentive at all times. This was entirely pro-bono.
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Hats Off for Bootsie - Trustees’ Annual Report 2023
We are most grateful to Iain Burgess, the senior partner at EY, who not only approved of all the expenditure, but also spoke from the heart as to why he was involved in veteran charities.
We would also like to thank Stuart Christie, who was most helpful at all stages., and who coordinated the different departments at EY, helping greatly to make a success of the evening..
Iain warmly welcomed our guests to what was a memorable and productive evening. We had engaged a number of speakers which included Dr Cathy Sloan of University of West London (UWL) who spoke about Atmospheres of Recovery, and a Naval Lieutenant who preferred to be anonymous, and who was brave enough to let us into the trauma she experienced, and the unwillingness she felt to do anything about it.
We launched our short film, ‘Service No Longer Required’ (SNLR), which had a profound effect on its audience. Additionally, a pivotal scene from’ The Terminus’ was presented in a rehearsed readthrough by Tip Cullen and Shaun Johnson, two of Hats Off for Bootsie’s Ambassadors, and leading actors. A number of other speakers and items were featured, all of which were particularly relevant to HOfB’s work, its personnel and its goals.
Nigel Fair presented the evening. He would like to take this opportunity to thank everyone who contributed to a first-class evening which challenged, informed and entertained. He is also grateful for the discipline and brevity of all the speakers. This enabled our ambitious programme to be delivered well within EY’s timeframe, and without the evening dragging on at any stage.
Other partners joined us through different routes. Our third Ambassador, Tom Stimpson, arranged for us to be partners with the fine arts charity ‘Outside In’. They facilitated Tom’s display of paintings at the EY launch.
Later in the year, Nigel arranged for a partnership between Hats Off for Bootsie and Mesh Theatre. Mesh have been presenting high-quality WWI plays in Belgian battlefield sites which resonate with the horror of mass-slaughter. Nigel and Lucinda have had three meeting with its Founder and Director, Sally Woodcock and her Assistant, Tom Kaye. All we need now is the funds to make possible the plans we have made to perform ‘The Terminus’.
There were also two opportunities which came from the film launch at EY. First, Nigel Fair was asked to write a four page article in Performing Recovery magazine about HOfB. This got us lots of hits on our website, and contained a lot of home truths about setting up a charity, what positively and negatively affects veterans, and what we have managed to achieve so far, whether part of headline activities or not.
Secondly, Nigel was asked to be on two steering committee for UWL’s forthcoming provision for veterans. UWL were planning to provide music lessons free of charge to veterans, in songwriting and Electronic Dance Music (EDM). Nigel’s professional music background was useful in determining the final ‘product’.
Nigel was also asked to be on the steering committee for a Knowledge Sharing event at UWL in 2024, with other veterans’ arts organisations across the South of England.
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Hats Off for Bootsie - Trustees’ Annual Report 2023
Both these opportunities, particularly the latter, indicate just how much HOfB is becoming respected and valued. As Brig. (ret) Charlie Hobson RM remarked, ‘The idea is sound, the aim and ethos selfless.’
May I thank Supporters and Friends, as well as Trustees and Ambassadors for the generous help they have given us this year. Most of our enablement was made possible by pro-bono work undertaken by them in support of our aims and activities.
Lucinda Howland
Chair
Governance
During 2023, our board consisted of five Trustees, except when the outgoing and incoming Trustee and Chair, Chris and Lucinda, overlapped from October ’22 to February ’23, during which time there were six. The Trustees have a variety of backgrounds and experience pertinent to both our proposed activities and the high standards of governance of a CIO. HOfB’s decisions are reached either through a majority vote at Trustees’ Meetings or, as our constitution allows, through a majority vote online. The Trustees met three times in 2023.
Objectives and Activities
HOfB’s objects are ‘to promote and protect the good health of Combat Veterans who are homeless or who are overcoming mental trauma, in particular but not exclusively, by providing them with opportunities to rehabilitate using the arts as a medium.’
HOfB was established on 26 January 2016. During 2023, the initial objectives continued to be developed and pursued:
-
Establishing a plan of activities to support the longer term objective of putting on a theatrical production using military veteran actors.
-
Developing the relationships required to deliver item 1
-
Developing relationships, including our network of volunteer ambassadors, to promote a positive perception of veterans overcoming mental trauma and homelessness
-
Raising grants or other sizeable funding to deliver item 1.
Achievement and Performance
Objective 1
A costed plan previously developed continues to apply. The plan is to stage a play, The Terminus , which has as its central character a homeless war veteran suffering from PostTraumatic Stress Disorder and the onset of Alzheimer’s Disease.
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Hats Off for Bootsie - Trustees’ Annual Report 2023
The cast and crew will consist mostly or entirely of former servicemen and women. Objective 1 is the main plank of HOfB’s strategy to achieving its charitable objects. For further details, specifically how this will be delivered and who will be involved, see Objective 2.
HOfB finished its short film, Service No Longer Required (SNLR) The film raises issues facing veterans overcoming mental trauma and homelessness, particularly issues concerning their value to society. A more positive public perception of such veterans will not just be for those involved in the project, but also for thousands of others with similar challenges.
Objective 2
HOfB are most grateful to Tip Cullen, a RM ex-Serviceman at the end of thirty-seven year military career who had re-trained as an actor. As detailed in Lucinda’s Chair Report and elsewhere, Tip managed to replace our previous partners, Stoll, at relatively short notice with EY, enabling our launch to go ahead in May 2023. Tip also put us in touch with a number of his valued contacts who became our partners. This is in addition to his performances as Boney (The Terminus) and Bootsie, in our short film, SNLR.
Several of Tip’s contacts not only proved to be of direct value to HOfB, but they also attracted many people who found what we were doing worth supporting. Tip’s contacts gave HOfB a much wider reach and, I think, has provided us with relationships that will, sooner or later, enable us to achieve Objective 1, the main plank of HOfB’s strategy to achieving its charitable objects.
Objective 3
HOfB’s wider network of volunteer ambassadors continues to be valued. HOfB is most grateful for their enthusiasm and dedication to impact their own home and work communities – mainly by conversations and social media, but also speaking to small, local groups. Tip, who is our third major Ambassador, has given a considerable boost to the numbers of our volunteer ambassadors. Despite Covid, when numbers of ambassadors fell away due to the lack of opportunity to talk to people, it now appears that the reach, effectiveness and enthusiasm of our volunteer ambassadors is more than it was pre-Covid.
Objective 4
A major dependency for achieving Objective 1 was and continues to be the ability to raise the necessary funding. The Veterans’ Foundation’s initial grant made our short film, SNLR possible. We will be approaching them again.
The public’s response to Service No Longer Required will be considered by the Trustees in order to determine what course of action should be taken going forwards in order to support Objective 1. (SNLR was finally launched in May of 2023 at EY.)
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Hats Off for Bootsie - Trustees’ Annual Report 2023
The Trustees had previously made two decisions that have a strong bearing on the fundraising activities:
-
1 Not to pursue actively funding from the public in general until such time that a sufficiently large grant/donation had been secured to give a realistic prospect of achieving Objective 1.
-
2 Until such time that such grant/corporate donation had been secured to cover a high proportion of the cost of Objective 1, no commercial commitments would be made to any partner or supplier. Specifically, the box office revenues would largely be discounted from the funds required for Objective 1.
The impact of these decisions was that a ‘high entry bar to start’ was created. Whilst the grant from The Veterans’ Foundation covered most of the costs of producing Service No Longer Required the above ethos still applies and therefore a funded step-by-step approach will continue to be adopted.
A variation of Objective 1 will be discussed among the Trustees and those with practical experience and advice. Instead of a fully staged run of performances, the idea of producing a radio play with a professional podcast has been muted. The same criteria of employing a cast and crew of mostly or entirely former servicemen and women would apply. The level of artistic achievement and opportunity to develop the cast as artists is comparable.
The great advantages are the budget for a radio recording would be a fraction of that required for a staged production, and that we are more likely to raise the money for a fully staged run, if we had a high quality sound recording that was, in effect’ publicising our original objective far and wide .
We would also discuss the merits and otherwise of crowd funding, something we have yet to try but comes highly recommended by our web designer, Adrian Scarbrough MA MSc, who has considerable experience of this method of raising funds.
Financial Review
2023 saw a total income of £1,001, and a total expenditure of £1,355 Spending the grant HOfB obtained in November of 2020 had been delayed on account of the Covid-19 pandemic lockdown. The amount that remained at the start of 2023 was spent on postproduction work on the film before its release. HOfB continues to be volunteer lead and therefore carries minimal overheads.
The pro-bono work we receive, such as legal advice, research work and the improvement, hosting and maintenance of our website (www.hatsoffforbootsie.org.uk), the work of our wider network of ambassadors has gone ahead unhindered by budgetary constraints.
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Hats Off for Bootsie - Trustees’ Annual Report 2023
Trustees and Friends of HOfB have continued to abide generously to HOfB’s principle that, at all times, any expenses incurred should be borne by the individuals themselves. In the early part 2023, Tip, Lucinda and Nigel travelled to Exeter, Portsmouth and, on several occasions, to London. During this period, Nigel also went to Plymouth and Portsmouth twice. For this and other such expenditure, nothing was withdrawn from our account.
The Trustees continue to be of the opinion that a major source of funding is required in order for its activities to accelerate, but consider the grant funding secured at the end of 2020, the filming in 2021 and release of the film in our launch at EY, May 2023, to be good progress.
Given the ‘start-up’ circumstances of HOfB (and given decision 2 under Objective 4) the Trustees have not felt the need to have a reserves policy at this time.
Outlook
The making and launching of SNLR is good progress, albeit against an interim objective.
The delay caused by Stoll pulling out of our partnership, worked in our favour. It gave us the time to spend the remaining grant from the Veterans Foundation on post-production with a highly skilled RN Naval cameraman. His work made a considerable improvement to the film’s impact.
Although the film itself and the evening of its launch (24[th] May at EY) were both great successe s, the funds raised were disappointing. However, we were able to make a number of important connections, most of whom have become friends of HOfB. We are in discussions with some as to how they could help us.
HOfB is committed to paying its veterans industry standard fees, plus travel, food and overnight stays where appropriate. This, therefore, obliges us to step up our efforts to obtain grants and increase monetary contributions from individuals, in order to fund our next steps.
However, it should also be noted that the pro-bono generosity of individuals and organisations reduces the sum we need to raise for projects by a considerable amount. For example, SNLR would cost between £20K to £25K, were it not for pro-bono contributions. Stoll contributed rehearsal space in the Community Hall and unlimited access to film on their property. A number of individuals waved their fees entirely, some reduced their fees to a bare minimum. So, a grant of under £5K proved sufficient to make a film which would otherwise have cost 4 or 5 times that amount .
Should the Trustees decide to produce a radio play and professional podcast, paid for principally by crowdfunding (see last three paragraphs of Objective 4 on page 6), the outlook will, necessarily change, and I surmise will change for the better.
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Hats Off for Bootsie - Trustees’ Annual Report 2023
Public Benefit Statement
The Trustees believe the benefits of HOfB’s activities are:
-
First, for both ex-servicemen and women, who have suffered mental trauma or experienced homelessness as a result of their service to their country, and who wish to engage with the performing arts to assist in their rehabilitation, for engagement with the wider community, to provide professional opportunities to those who have retrained in film and theatre. It would be a profound mistake not to include those with good mental health whose involvement will enable them to keep it so.
-
To the wider community, initially family and friends of such veterans, but also the public in general benefiting from the knowledge that veterans who have served their country are being supported in their rehabilitation in an engaging, appropriate way ;
-
The veterans themselves are combatting the stigma surrounding mental trauma and homelessness, not only in military circles, but also where it exists in the public at large. Their efforts and ours help to create a climate of two-way approachability, which is often the starting point for veterans suffering with mental trauma and homelessness to receive help and support.
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Hats Off for Bootsie - Trustees’ Annual Report 2023
Reference and administrative details
Charity number: 1165319 Principal Office: The Summit, 2 Castle Hill Terrace, Maidenhead, SL6 4JP Web site: www.hatsoffforbootsie.org.uk
Our advisers
Auditors N/A Bankers CAF Bank Ltd, 25 Kings Hill Avenue, Kings Hill, West Malling, Kent ME19 4JQ Legal Advice Ashleigh Harding
Trustees
The Trustees serving during the year and since the year-end were as follows: Nigel Fair Robin Vickers Rachael Odeniyi Ishmael Carboo Christopher Greenslade (retired 13/02/2023) Lucinda Howland (appointed 11/10/2022)
Structure, Governance and Management
During 2023, our board consisted of five Trustees, except when the outgoing and incoming Trustee and Chair, Chris and Lucinda, overlapped from October ’22 to February ’23, during which time there were six. The Trustees have a variety of backgrounds and experience pertinent to both our proposed activities and high standards of governance of a CIO. HOfB’s decisions are reached either through a majority vote at Trustees’ Meetings or, as our constitution allows, through a majority vote on-line. The Trustees met three times in 2023
NB Lara Fair attended Trustees’ Meetings twice .(She was 17 for most of 2023). Her involvement is part of our awareness that in order to be equipped for the future, one must prepare in the present.
Governing Document
HOfB is a Charitable Incorporated Organisation governed by its Constitution dated 17 December 2015. It is registered as a charity with the Charity Commission.
Approved by the Trustees of HOfB on 30[th] October 2024 and signed on their behalf by Lucinda Howland (chair)
…………………………………………
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Hats Off for Bootsie - Trustees’ Annual Report 2023
Hats Off For Bootsie
Financial Statements for the year ended 31[st] December 2023
| Total 2023 | Total 2022 | |
|---|---|---|
| £ | £ | |
| Income and Expenditure Statement | ||
| Income | 1,001. | 1 |
| Expenditure | 1,355 | 1,025 |
| ---------------------------------------------------- | ||
| Excess of Income over Expenditure | (354) | (1,024) |
| Opening balance 1stJanuary | 968 | 1,992 |
| Closing balance 31stDecember | 614 | 968 |
| Assets and Liabilities Statement | ||
| Total assets | 614 | 968 |
| Total liabilities | 0 | 0 |
Approved by the Trustees of HOfB on 30[th] October 2024 and signed on their behalf by Lucinda Howland (chair)
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