Trustees’ Annual Report for the period
From 1st April 2024 Period start date To 31st March 2025 Period end date
Charity name: Baby Bank Network
Charity registration number: 1165381
Objectives and Activities
| SORP reference | ||
|---|---|---|
| Summary of the purposes of the charity as set out in its governing document |
Para 1.17 | a. The prevention or relief of poverty in the UK in particular by providing items and services to families with young children and/or to charities or other organisations who also work to prevent or relieve poverty amongst families with young children; and b. for the public benefit, the advancement of health of women who are pregnant or who are mothers of young children and of children in particular by providing advice and support in relation to pregnancy, birth, post- natal health and breast feeding |
| Summary of the main activities in relation to those purposes for the public benefit, in particular, the activities, projects or services identified in the accounts. |
Para 1.17 and 1.19 |
Providing second hand baby and child items to families in need (e.g. families on low incomes, refugees and asylum seekers, victims of domestic violence). We also supply some new items which we buy, such as mattresses and bottle teats (which cannot be passed on second hand). |
| Statement confirming whether the trustees have had regard to the guidance |
Para 1.18 | The trustees have had regard to, and |
| issued by the Charity Commission on public benefit |
discussed in meeting, the Charity Commission’s guidance on public benefit. |
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|---|---|---|---|---|
Additional information (optional) You may choose to include further statements where relevant about:
SORP reference n/a Para 1.38 Policy on grant making n/a Para 1.38 Policy on social investment including program related investment We have approximately 40 volunteers who are key to providing our service. They not only help sort and pack up donated items for Para 1.38 the families we help, but also help with Contribution made by administration, social media etc. volunteers We have four members of staff: a CEO, an office manager, service manager and a part time fundraiser. We are currently recruiting for an Administrative Assistant and a Driver (to start work in FY25/26). Other
Achievements and Performance
| SORP reference | ||
|---|---|---|
| Summary of the main achievements of the charity, identifying the difference the charity’s work has made to the circumstances of its beneficiaries and any wider benefits to society as a whole. |
Para 1.20 | In the past ten years, we have supported 11,000 families with over 460,000 individual items. Approximately 70% of families have more than one child so we estimate that we have supported 2,152 children in the past year, and over 18,000 children overall. |
Additional information (optional)
You may choose to include further statements where relevant about:
Achievements against objectives set |
Para 1.41 |
|
|---|---|---|
| Performance of fundraising activities against objectives set |
Para 1.41 | |
| Investment performance against objectives |
Para 1.41 | |
Other
Financial Review
| Financial Review | ||
|---|---|---|
| Review of the charity’s financial position at the end of the period |
Para 1.21 | Receipts of £104,504 and expenditure of £115,407 |
| Statement explaining the policy for holding reserves stating why they are held |
Para 1.22 | Baby Bank Network aims to maintain free unrestricted reserves: ●to provide a level of working capital that protects the continuity of our core work ●to provide a level of funding for unexpected opportunities ●to provide cover for risks such as unforeseen expenditure or unanticipated loss of income. The level ofunrestricted reservesthat Baby Bank Network wishes to attain is currently expressed asbetween three and six months’ equivalent of fxed and variable costs. This is based on our current service model which, should it be necessary, could cease expenditure on most variable costs immediately. This would include operating the delivery service and purchasing items such as mattresses which we give to the families that we help. The majority of our stock is donated, and we would be able to continue to give this out to families at little cost until it ran out. We are predominantly funded by one-of grants and funding from our own campaigns, meaning that we do not have regular reliable multi-year sources of income. Three months worth of reserves would enable us to pay for our commitments towards our staf (who are on 2 month notice periods) and our rent (paid quarterly) before closing our charity. |
| Holding six months worth of reserves ensures that we are not operating “hand to mouth” and would allow opportunity to plug any funding gaps before having to make a decision to close. We additionally may need to fnd funds for potential additional operational costs such as staf absence for parental leave or sickness. As a very small team, we can not absorb other people’s work and would need to hire temporary cover. Baby Bank Network is currently in a growth phase and our recent strategic plan lays out the need for us to adapt our service and to grow (requiring a larger or additional premises and additional staf) in order to be able to help more families than we can with our current warehouse space and staf level. Using our budget for FY25/26 (which includes the additional costs for the two new members of staf being recruited in April 2025), our target for unrestricted reserves is £35,394 - £70,788. |
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|---|---|---|
| Amount of reserves held | Para 1.22 | £118,848 (£62,632 restricted, £56,216 unrestricted) |
| Reasons for holding zero reserves |
Para 1.22 | n/a |
| Details of fund materially in deficit |
Para 1.24 | n/a |
| Explanation of any uncertainties about the charity continuing as a going concern |
Para 1.23 | n/a |
Additional information (optional)
You may choose to include further statements where relevant about:
| The charity’s principal sources of funds (including any fundraising) |
The charity’s principal sources of funds (including any fundraising) |
Para 1.47 | Trusts and foundations, corporate donors, individual donors, events. |
|---|---|---|---|
| Investment policy and objectives including any social investment policy adopted |
Para 1.46 | |
| A description of the principal risks facing the charity |
Para 1.46 | |
| Other |
Structure, Governance and Management
| Description of charity’s trusts: |
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|---|---|---|
| Type of governing document (trust deed, royal charter) |
Para 1.25 | Charitable Incorporated Organisation constitution |
| How is the charity constituted? (e.g unincorporated association, CIO) |
Para 1.25 | CIO |
| Trustee selection methods including details of any constitutional provisions e.g. election to post or name of any person or body entitled to appoint one or more trustees |
Para 1.25 | New trustees are required to complete an application form and are interviewed to assess their suitability. |
Additional information (optional) You may choose to include further statements where relevant about:
Policies and procedures adopted for the induction and training of trustees |
Para 1.51 |
Trustees receive an induction pack on joining. |
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|---|---|---|---|
| The charity’s organisational structure and any wider network with which the charity works |
Para 1.51 | ||
| Relationship with any related parties |
Para 1.51 | As well as building a successful service in Bristol, our co-founders have recently been involved in an exciting national project; four partners ( Baby Bank Network Bristol , Little Village in London, Save the Children and Ark )are working together to create a new national Baby Bank Alliance whose aim is to increase the profle and impact of the vital work undertaken by over 350 baby |
banks run in local communities across the UK. Our hope is that an alliance will help baby banks to share knowledge and resources, attract funding, in kind donations, corporate partners that they couldn’t secure alone and grow the overall baby bank movement. Other
Reference and Administrative details
| Charity name | Baby Bank Network |
|---|---|
| Other name the charity uses | |
| Registered charity number | 1165381 |
| Charity’s principal address | Ground Floor, Unit 5, Stoke View Business Park, Stoke View Road, Bristol BS16 3AE |
Names of the charity trustees who manage the charity
| 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 |
Trustee name | Office (if any) | Dates acted if not for whole year |
Nam e of pers on (or body ) entitl ed to appo int trust ee (if any) |
|
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Karen Houseman | Chair | From April 2025 | |||
| Anna Zawada | Treasurer | ||||
| Stephanie King | |||||
| Cristiana Ruocco | |||||
| Morena Staiano | |||||
| Eva Fernandes | |||||
| Olivia Lawson | |||||
– Corporate trustees names of the directors at the date the report was approved
Director name
Name of trustees holding title to property belonging to the charity
Trustee name Dat85 acted if not for who18 year
Funds held as custodian trustees on behalf of others
Description of the assets n/a held in this capacity
Name and objects of the charity on whose behalf the assets are held and how this falls within the custodian charity’s objects
Details of arrangements for safe custody and segregation of such assets from the charity’s own assets
Additional information (optional)
Names and addresses of advisers (Optional information)
Type of Name Address adviser
Name of chief executive or names of senior staff members (Optional information)
Rebecca Gilbert (CEO)
Exemptions from disclosure
Reason for non-disclosure of key personnel details
Other optional information
Declarations
The trustees declare that they have approved the trustees’ report above.
Signed on behalf of the charity’s trustees
Signature(s) Karen J Houseman Full name(s) Karen J Houseman Position (eg Chair Secretary, Chair, etc) Date 07/10/2025
| Baby Bank Network | Baby Bank Network | Baby Bank Network | No | No | No | 1165381 | 1165381 | |||||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Receipts and payments accounts Period start date Period end date |
CC16a | |||||||||||||||||||||||
| For the period from |
1-Apr-24 | To | 31-Mar-25 | |||||||||||||||||||||
| Section A Receipts and payments | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Unrestricted | Restricted funds | Endowment | Total funds | Last year | ||||||||||||||||||||
| to the nearest £ | to the nearest | £ | to the nearest £ | to the nearest £ | to the nearest £ | |||||||||||||||||||
| A1 Receipts - Donations, grants, other funding | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Grants | - | 14,675- | - | 53,891- | - | -- | - | 68,566- | - | 102,961- | ||||||||||||||
| Crowdfunding | - | -- | - | -- | - | -- | - | -- | - | -- | ||||||||||||||
| Donations | - | 21,049- | - | -- | - | -- | - | 21,049- | - | 14,464- | ||||||||||||||
| Fundraising Activities | - | 13,792- | - | -- | - | -- | - | 13,792- | - | 13,271- | ||||||||||||||
| Other Earned Income | - | -- | - | -- | - | -- | - | -- | - | -- | 0.13 | |||||||||||||
| Other Income | - | 647- | - | -- | - | -- | - | 647- | - | 5,010- | ||||||||||||||
| Sub total(Gross income for AR) | - | 50,163- | - | 53,891- | - | -- | - | 104,054- | - | 135,706- | ||||||||||||||
| A2 Asset and investment sales, | (see table). | |||||||||||||||||||||||
| not applicable | - | -- | - | -- | - | -- | - | -- | - | -- | ||||||||||||||
| Sub total | - | -- | - | -- | - | -- | - | -- | - | -- | ||||||||||||||
| **Total receipts ** | - | 50,163- | - | 53,891- | - | -- | - | 104,054- | - | 135,706- | ||||||||||||||
| A3 Payments | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Staff | - | 42,428- | - | 29,637- | - | -- | - | 72,065- | - | 66,788- | ||||||||||||||
| Governance Costs | - | 937- | - | 2,744- | - | -- | - | 3,682- | - | 2,434- | ||||||||||||||
| Office / Premises Costs | - | 2,229- | - | 14,113- | - | -- | - | 16,342- | - | 13,306- | ||||||||||||||
| Running Costs | - | 660- | - | 1,066- | - | -- | - | 1,726- | - | 1,695- | ||||||||||||||
| Volunteer Costs | - | 243- | - | 112- | - | -- | - | 355- | - | 436- | ||||||||||||||
| Project Activity | - | -- | - | 20,942- | - | -- | - | 20,942- | - | 17,975- | ||||||||||||||
| Fundraising Costs | - | 115- | - | 180- | - | -- | - | 295- | - | 118- | ||||||||||||||
| Capital Items | - | -- | - | -- | - | -- | - | -- | - | -- | ||||||||||||||
| Other Expenditure | - | -- | - | -- | - | -- | - | -- | - | 3,354- | ||||||||||||||
| **Sub total ** | - | 46,613- | - | 68,794- | - | -- | - | 115,407- | - | 106,106- | ||||||||||||||
| A4 Asset and investment purchases, (see table) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
| not applicable | - | -- | - | -- | - | -- | - | -- | - | -- | ||||||||||||||
| - | -- | - | -- | - | -- | - | -- | - | -- | |||||||||||||||
| **Sub total ** | - | -- | - | -- | - | -- | - | -- | - | -- | ||||||||||||||
| **Total payments ** | - | 46,613- | - | 68,794- | - | -- | - | 115,407- | - | 106,106- | ||||||||||||||
| **Net of receipts/(payments) ** | - | 3,550.00- | - | 14,903- | - | -- | - | 11,353- | - | 29,600- | ||||||||||||||
| A5 Transfers between funds | - | -- | - | -- | - | -- | - | -- | - | -- | ||||||||||||||
| A6 Cash funds last | year end | - | 52,666- | - | 77,535- | - | -- | - | 130,201- | - | 100,601- | |||||||||||||
| Cash | **funds this year end ** | - | 56,216- | - | 62,632- | - | -- | - | 118,848- | - | 130,201- |
Section B Statement of assets and liabilities at the end of the period
| Categories | Details | Unrestricted | Restricted funds | Restricted funds | Endowment | ||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| to nearest £ | to nearest £ | to nearest £ | |||||||||||||
| B1 Cash funds | Bank Balance at end of period | - | 66,564- | - | 62,632- | - | -- | ||||||||
| less payments made but not processed | - | -- | |||||||||||||
| Total cash funds | - | 66,564- | - | 62,632- | - | -- | |||||||||
| (agree balances with receipts and payments account (s)) |
Agreement Error | OK | OK | ||||||||||||
| Unrestricted | Restricted funds | Endowment | |||||||||||||
| funds | funds | ||||||||||||||
| Details | to nearest £ | to nearest £ | to nearest £ | ||||||||||||
| B2 Other monetary assets | - | -- | - | -- | - | -- | |||||||||
| Details | Fund to which asset belongs |
Cost (optional) | Current value (optional) |
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| B3 Investment assets | - | -- | - | -- | |||||||||||
| Details | Fund to which asset belongs |
Cost (optional) | Current value (optional) |
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| B4 Assets retained for the charity’s own use | - | -- | - | -- | |||||||||||
| Fund to which | Amount due | When due | |||||||||||||
| Details | liability relates | (optional) | (optional) | ||||||||||||
| B5 Liabilities | Accounts payable and deferred income on grant | 348.64 | - | 10,000- | |||||||||||
| Signed by one or two trustees on behalf of all the trustees | Signature | Name | Date of approval | ||||||||||||
| Karen J Houseman | Karen J Houseman | 07/10/2025 | |||||||||||||
CCXX R1 accounts (SS)
10/7/2025
1
7/27/25, 9:42 AM
Examiner report June25 signed.jpeg
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