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2024-03-31-accounts

Charity number: 1165512

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TRUSTEES' REPORT AND FINANCIAL STATEMENTS

FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31 MARCH 2024

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CONTENTS

Page
Trustees Report 1 - 58
Independent Auditors' Report on the Financial Statements 59 - 62
Statement of Financial Activities 63
Balance Sheet 64
Statement of Cash Flows 65
Notes to the Financial Statements 66 - 88

ACTION TOGETHER CIO

Annual report 2023/2024

Highlights of our impact in Oldham, Rochdale and Tameside

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Contents

  1. Introduc�on from our Chair

  2. Who we are and what we do

  3. Our year in numbers

  4. Volunteering

  5. Capacity Building

  6. Partnerships and Collabora�on

  7. Leadership and Advocacy

  8. Investment

  9. Our Strategic Objec�ves

  10. Our projects

  11. Our future plans

  12. Ac�on Together in Greater Manchester

  13. Our purpose and values

  14. Structure, Governance and Management

  15. Financial review

  16. Reference and administra�ve details

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1. Introduc�on from our Chair

This has been another year where I’m proud to look back on all the achievements our charity has made. In this report you’ll see a selec�on of our work: how we’ve increased the number of people involved in volunteering, developed new ways to support our member organisa�ons to build their capacity, brought partners together from across sectors and areas to collaborate, advocated for our membership and what’s important to them, and invested in fantas�c ini�a�ves and projects to strengthen our communi�es. If you’re interested in finding out more about anything in this report, please get in touch with us.

As ever, this is just a selec�on of our work. We couldn’t possibly include everything our teams have done to provide vital support to the local voluntary and community sector, but each member of staff contributes to our achievements every day. I’d like to thank all the team at Ac�on Together, who led and delivered the work you’ll read about. It’s fantas�c to see all the praise and posi�ve feedback for our staff in this report and it’s testament to their skills, care, knowledge, and ability to form strong, las�ng rela�onships.

Wellbeing Programme in Tameside was to cease at the end of the year. Despite our six-year track record of excep�onal delivery we were told financial pressures within the NHS would mean the contract would not be renewed.

As well as closing the en�rety of the Tameside Social Prescribing Service and the NHS funded Community Wellbeing grants that went alongside it, it had a knock on to the infrastructure development work we offer in Tameside, reducing our Volunteering and Capacity Building services in the borough. We had to say goodbye to a number of commi�ed team members and although the Board have invested to maintain some capacity this year in Tameside we now need to work alongside local partners to secure investment to build back grant investment for the voluntary and community sector and resource our work in Tameside over the longer term.

I’d like to reiterate our commitment to suppor�ng the local sector in each locality we work, and thank all of those who are commi�ed to working alongside us to protect the vital work of the sector, over what is no doubt going to be some turbulent years.

With that, I’d like to thank all the volunteers and voluntary organisa�ons in our boroughs, including the volunteers who make up the Board of Ac�on Together. It’s an inspira�on to work alongside you all.

Camilla Guereca, Chair, Ac�on Together

2. Who we are and what we do

Ac�on Together is the infrastructure organisa�on for the voluntary, community, faith and social enterprise sector in Oldham, Rochdale, and Tameside.

We connect people with what’s happening in their community, develop community ideas into ac�on, strengthen local organisa�ons, and provide strategic influence for the charity and voluntary sector.

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Membership of Ac�on Together is free and open to any voluntary organisa�on, charity or social enterprise in Oldham, Rochdale, or Tameside.

Ac�on Together supports people to volunteer in their area, and assists local organisa�ons in developing volunteer programmes, policies, and roles.

We provide support for voluntary, community and charity organisa�ons to establish, develop, and build their capacity including specialist informa�on, advice, and training for staff, volunteers and trustees.

Ac�on Together works in partnership with other chari�es, infrastructure organisa�ons and public bodies and collaborates on key thema�c work. We also lead and advocate for the work of organisa�ons locally, and across Greater Manchester and the wider area.

We invest in the sector, and members can apply for funding from our grants programmes. We also provide support for groups seeking and applying for investment, and direct members to appropriate sources of funding.

3. Our Year in Numbers

4. Volunteering

We did it! Volunteer Centre Quality Accredita�on

Following months of hard work from our Volunteering Team, and colleague support from the wider Ac�on Together team we were delighted to achieve Volunteer Centre Quality Accredita�on (VCQA).

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have been recognised for our work in Rochdale, too. We are now the recognised Volunteer Centre for Oldham, Rochdale and Tameside.

About VCQA

Centre func�ons:

It provides assurance to members of the public seeking volunteering opportuni�es, volunteer involving organisa�ons, partners, commissioners and funding organisa�ons, that the holder provides a high quality and effec�ve local service. This recogni�on signifies our commitment to excellence, providing high-quality volunteering services and best prac�ce through transparency, accountability, and con�nuous improvement.

Our journey to accredita�on

We know that volunteering is a vital aspect of building strong and compassionate communi�es in our three locali�es. Volunteer Centres play a crucial role in connec�ng volunteers with groups, organisa�ons and ini�a�ves that need their support. Our Volunteering Strategy outlines our plans and promises for the next five years and further strengthens our charitable purpose:

recogni�on signifies our commitment to excellence, providing high-quality volunteering services and best prac�ce through transparency, accountability, and con�nuous improvement. It will help us to assure our volunteers, communi�es, and stakeholders of our commitment to high standards of excellence.

Following a period of stringent and independent assessment from NAVCA, we have been able to demonstrate that our Volunteer Centre strategically delivers best prac�ce processes through our extensive programme of ac�vi�es and engagement with our members, groups and volunteers.

“We are delighted with the outcome of this award, especially for our teams who are passionate about volunteering and the difference it makes to the individual and our communi�es. With this award, we will con�nue to champion and develop volunteering with our members and partners across Oldham, Rochdale and Tameside, to ensure volunteering is recognised, celebrated and available to all.”

Sian Goodwin, Ac�on Together Tameside Opera�ons Manager

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A few highlights of our feedback and what we’ve learnt:

"The strengths of the Volunteer Centre lie in its good reputa�on with Volunteer Involving Organisa�ons and other external partners and its ability to leverage it at the strategic level. The organisa�on prides itself on being flexible and responsive to the needs of individual volunteers. Vision for Volunteering 2028 is an example of good prac�ce that would be enviable by many counterparts in the country."

"The volunteer centre is very strong in promo�ng volunteering and volunteering roles, including as a way into employment. The Volunteer Centre demonstrated that it listens. One of the interviewees commented: “They have always our interest at heart, and they are mee�ng our priori�es”.”

We are delighted with the outcome of this award, especially for our teams who are passionate about volunteering and the difference it makes. With this award, we will con�nue to champion and develop volunteering with our members and partners, to ensure volunteering is recognised, celebrated and available to all.

Vision for Volunteering 2028 – Our Volunteering Strategy

We were proud to launch our new Volunteering Strategy this year.

We believe that volunteering is at the heart of crea�ng, suppor�ng and maintaining social infrastructure. Our Vision for Volunteering will ensure that we develop and champion volunteering to empower more local people to share their skills, capacity and social capital.

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By 2028 the Boroughs of Oldham, Rochdale and Tameside will be great places to volunteer – places where volunteering is understood and appreciated, appropriately resourced, and volunteers are supported and recognised for their valuable contribu�on to the social infrastructure of our communi�es.

Our new Volunteering strategy, which relates closely to our organisa�onal strategy, features the following three priori�es:

1. Awareness and Apprecia�on

We want volunteering to be integral to the way our communi�es support each other. We want ins�tu�ons to recognise volunteering in all its forms, and for there to be much more flexibility for people to move between volunteering opportuni�es within a place.

2. Power, Leadership, Collabora�on and Experimenta�on

Our priority to advance our approach to social change, relies on us developing and suppor�ng leaders within our communi�es and to support the devolu�on of decisions closer to communi�es.

3. Equality and Inclusion

We know that volunteering is not equally accessible, that people from sec�ons of our communi�es are less likely to volunteer and have varying experiences when they do. We want to change this. We also firmly believe that volunteering is a choice for the individual and understand that volunteering is not for everyone, but that access to it should be.

See our full strategy at h�ps://www.ac�ontogether.org.uk/volunteering-strategy-2023-2028

Developing Volunteer Leaders

Volunteer Manager Zone

As well as making sure that volunteering is an inclusive, high quality and rewarding experience, we want those working with volunteers to have the resources and support they need to make this possible.

We provide extensive support to volunteer-involving organisa�ons to develop their policies and processes, and this year developed a new online Volunteer Manager Zone to offer addi�onal support so our member can find the resources and support they need on our website as well as by contac�ng us in person, over the phone, or by email. The Volunteer Manager Zone hosts informa�on on

Our Volunteer and Community Development team created this video to accompany our Good Prac�ce in Volunteer Management factsheet.

The Good Prac�ce video gives a brief summary of the key points of good volunteer management. From developing your volunteer roles, recrui�ng and induc�ng new volunteers, to ensuring your volunteers feel valued and appreciated.

• Support to Recruit Volunteers

Support from developing appealing and engaging volunteer roles, to sharing on our online directory, to ac�vely promo�ng roles through our community outreach work, to managing roles in our volunteer manager accounts.

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• Volunteer Manager Forum

We host a quarterly online forum bringing together volunteer managers from across Oldham, Rochdale and Tameside. This is a suppor�ve space and opportunity for Volunteer Managers to connect with others doing the same role, share any organisa�onal updates, as well as current successes and challenges rela�ng to volunteering.

• Resources

Downloadable factsheets and templates our members can use to create their policy documents, handbooks, checklists, volunteer agreements, applica�on forms, and other resources essen�al to voluntary organisa�ons. Throughout the year we’ve developed and created new resources in response to feedback from our Volunteer Manager Forums, such as guidance on involving refugees and asylum seekers in volunteering.

• Volunteer Training Videos

Our Volunteer Training playlist features core topics that are important for all volunteers to be aware of. These bitesize videos can be used by our member organisa�ons to provide new volunteers with a basic understanding of some key areas, and also as an annual refresher for long-standing volunteers.

Volunteer Manager Training

effec�ve volunteer adver�sements and upload them onto our website.

As well as prac�cal support, this training also took a much more holis�c approach to what a volunteer opportunity could look like, and asked par�cipants to think about what processes they already have in place to support volunteers, as well as what else they can implement to help create more suppor�ve and meaningful opportuni�es for volunteers. This included prac�cal considera�ons around expenses, equipment and accessibility, as well as more nuanced discussions around environment and crea�ng a sense of support and belonging.

the volunteering journey and to be launched at the start of the next year as part of our refreshed training offer.

Engaging Volunteers

Volunteer eBulle�n

Our regular eBulle�ns are key to communica�ng with our member organisa�ons and partners, with our Funding, Training and locality eBulle�ns going to thousands of people across our communi�es.

Our Volunteering team wanted to develop a volunteer-focused monthly eBulle�n, with the aim of promo�ng local volunteer roles We’d had success during the Covid pandemic in se�ng up Volunteering Facebook groups to engage volunteers with roles local to them, so the eBulle�n built on this.

Each month the team highlight volunteer opportuni�es, events, training, news, resources and job lis�ngs to support people in their volunteer journey. Each month we theme some recommended

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roles, for example highligh�ng outdoor roles in summer, or spotligh�ng roles suppor�ng children and families.

Since launching in April, the Volunteer eBulle�n has become a brilliant addi�on to our engagement ac�vity. By the end of the year, it was our third most popular mailing behind our Funding and Training eBulle�ns, growing from 4,009 recipients in April 2023 to 4,896 in March 2024, a fantas�c increase of 887 people (+22%). The open and click through rates are also high, poin�ng to an engaged volunteer audience, and every open and click through is someone ge�ng involved in volunteering that may not have done so otherwise.

Sharmain, Volunteer Lead at Ha�ersley Projects

Volunteers’ Week

Every year we celebrate Volunteers’ Week, joining in the celebra�ons and following this year’s theme, taking �me to ‘Celebrate and Inspire’. We celebrated all the volunteers in our communi�es who go above and beyond just to 'give something back', and shared some inspiring stories in the hope we could encourage others to get involved.

We relaunched our popular Volunteer Celebra�on Fund , where local groups can apply for grants up to £500 for ac�vi�es that help them recruit, retain and recognise their volunteers.

Our volunteer members, many whom live alone, state that having a lunch together is the highlight of their week. Friendships are formed over the weeks, and even more so over the in�macy of a meal. Thank you so much for your support.” Royton & Crompton Over 60’s, who hosted a celebra�on lunch for 44 of their volunteers.

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“All the volunteers really appreciated ge�ng together to enjoy the barbecue, cake and the good weather.

The applica�on was very simple and straigh�orward - thank you Ac�on Together for all your support. We know we can ring any one of your staff for advice and guidance and this is very much appreciated.”

SAWN, who held a barbeque at GROWE, their community Orchard

"Had a wonderful few hours at the Hunt Lane Tavern being treated to lunch and drinks with fellow volunteers. Thank you Ac�on Together for making it possible. So nice for volunteers to be appreciated in this way."

Chadderton Together, who hosted a celebratory lunch at Lydia’s Tearoom, their community hub and café

Find out about some of the ac�vi�es and groups we supported with the Volunteer Celebra�on Fund.

We heard some Volunteer Voices by interviewing our volunteers and asking them about their mo�va�on to volunteer and how they personally benefit from their efforts and contribu�ons.

“My experience of being a volunteer with Ac�on Together has been a posi�ve one. It has provided me with some structure, kept my administra�on skills up to date and allowed me to maintain connec�ons with people. The thought that I am hopefully giving back and being useful in a small way. I am truly impressed with how inclusive the team is through engaging with volunteers, suppor�ng them and promo�ng volunteer opportuni�es.

with the event volunteering.

Thank you for giving me the opportunity to volunteer."

Sarinah Khaliq, Ac�on Together Administra�on and Event Volunteer

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helped me to improve on my communica�on skills. It also allowed me to experience a different cultural side to Oldham as I had never been to a mosque previously. The free food was a bonus!"

Connor Ross, Community Response and Dr Kershaw’s Hospice Volunteer

The Oldham team hosted our annual Volunteer Fair in August. This event gave local organisa�ons the chance to shout about their fantas�c volunteering opportuni�es and members of the public a chance

Centre, ranging from volunteering with the police, fire service, hospices, gardening, arts and cra�s and even with us at Ac�on Together. Watch this video for a recap of the day and to hear what residents thought of the event and volunteering.

“I a�ended the Volunteer Fair because as well as looking for a part �me job, I am looking to volunteer. It was amazing! I learned a lot of new things about what you can do. I enjoyed mee�ng new people. I didn’t want to go home!”

"Thank you for all the hard work you all put into the Volunteer Fair. We met so many lovely people, swapped details with other companies, and dare we say it, despite the downpour, we had a thoroughly good �me! Thank you again for welcoming us."

who had come along purely to a�end the event which was posi�ve. We had some really lovely conversa�ons and Gary (the hopeful gardener) you introduced to us has already been in touch."

"I just want to thank you for the amazing Volunteer Fair. I thoroughly enjoyed myself and received a lot of informa�on that I'm working through. I never realised there was so much going on. I'm spoilt for choice."

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The 2023 Tameside Toy Appeal was another fantas�c success thanks to the work of our amazing volunteers who worked �relessly to collect and drop off toys to our Tameside communi�es, Children’s Centres, local businesses, and of course the generous dona�ons of toys and gi�s from Tameside residents.

Thank you to our partners Tameside Radio and Reporter and Tameside Council’s Children Centres, who work hard to make the Tameside Toy Appeal so successful each year.

1,000 children and young people received a gi� on Christmas Day. In addi�on, our Just Giving page raised a further £2,768!

Councillor Ta�een Sharif, Civic Mayor of Tameside

Harrison Tucker - Age 11

"Incredibly proud of our team! We’ve been working with Ac�on Together for over five years, to help provide a gi� for children in the local community, through the Tameside Toy Appeal. Even as a global organisa�on, we’ll always strive to make a posi�ve impact to those on our doorstep in Greater Manchester.”

Brother UK

Volunteering in Place

We con�nued to deliver our Volunteer Hubs. Our Volunteering teams in Oldham and Tameside are based in the heart of communi�es, with extensive knowledge of local roles that might suit volunteers. By working closely with our Development and Social Prescribing teams, we connected poten�al volunteers with roles that suit them in their local area.

As Ac�on Together works across Oldham, Rochdale and Tameside, if a volunteer is looking for a specific role we can also connect them with a relevant opportunity that might not be in their area. We’ve seen great success with this model in Oldham and Tameside,

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person to explore how to register as a volunteer and find suitable opportuni�es. As a result we con�nue to coordinate regular outreach events across the borough that allow us to connect more meaningfully with individuals and be�er understand their needs, interests and strengths.

with people who may have otherwise been unaware of Ac�on Together. Addi�onally, these events create a space that other organisa�ons can signpost individuals to.

poten�al volunteers can connect with a member of our team and explore all our regularly changing opportuni�es.

Our member organisa�ons and local services can also meet with our teams in place to discuss their volunteering needs. We were approached by Rochdale Advocacy Together Hub who were looking for volunteers. We met with Alex from Rochdale Advocacy Together Hub to go through our offer of support and what they specifically needed. Their roles were added to our website the same day, and roles were shared with our registered volunteers and added to our volunteer eBulle�n.

“As a service we have valued the support from Ac�on Together. We have really struggled to obtain volunteers in the past, however with the support we have seen an influx in interested volunteers. The induc�on process begins again this month and we have at least four volunteers. The Ac�on Together team have kept in regular contact with myself and supported the process and we have really benefited from this.”

Alex, Rochdale Advocacy Together Hub

Volunteering and Employability

In Oldham , we partnered with employability programme providers Ingeus and Get Oldham Working. Their employees were provided with informa�on about our service offer and referrals, and our team delivered a series of volunteer informa�on sessions to clients (engaging with 41 individuals in total). All were offered 1:1 support to register with our service and follow-up appointments in collabora�on with their case workers. Having proven to be a successful model we have agreed with both providers to con�nue to deliver this work on a quarterly basis.

With funding from LocalMo�on and Oldham’s Poverty Ac�on Network we developed and recruited into a partnership Volunteering Officer role with Oldham Job Centre, with collabora�on on a na�onal level through the Poverty Truth Network. Oldham is the first locality to embark on this 12-month pilot focusing on evidencing the importance of volunteering on individuals’ employment journey. With other locality’s exploring funding opportuni�es to trial similar pilots this project has the poten�al to influence on a na�onal level.

In Rochdale , we saw an increase in referrals from Work and Skills and the Jobcentres. We met Job Coaches at Middleton Jobcentre to give them an understanding of the support we can offer their job

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seekers interested in volunteering. This partnership led to us a�ending the Jobcentre one day a month, where work coaches arrange appointments for job seekers to meet with us to discuss volunteering and find poten�al roles. This led to successfully matching people with roles to develop their employability skills, including one person who was matched and placed in a role within one day.

Similarly, in Tameside we have held monthly drop-ins at JobCentre Plus in Ashton on the last Friday of every month, to provide support to people looking to increase their employment prospects.

“We were so pleased we could form a co-opera�ve rela�onship with Ac�on Together’s Volunteering Service. We've long recognised the absolute importance of volunteering within the local community and especially for DWP claimants looking to get back into work. Volunteering is viewed as a safe place to test the waters when someone has been out of work for a sustained period as there is no nega�ve impact on their benefits if it does not work out. It is only ever seen in a posi�ve way for DWP as it gives claimants the confidence to take the next step from volunteering to paid employment.”

JobCentre Plus Ashton

Our teams also created new marke�ng materials around volunteering and employability, to directly target those looking to develop their skills. Student Volunteering Week in February also gave us an opportunity to speak to students about volunteering as a way to develop new skills and enhance their employability. We visited Oldham College, delivered a drop in Student Volunteering Hub, and targeted priority student groups including ESOL students and those retaking Maths and English GCSEs.

Case Study: Meet Abdulrahman

Abdulrahman Mamman volunteers for Oldham-based charity Making Space, which provides health and social care services for adults with mental health condi�ons, learning disabili�es, demen�a and their carers.

Abdulrahman, 17, decided to volunteer because he is hoping to go to university to study medicine. He wanted to volunteer to experience, learn and analyse if the career of his choice was what he wanted as a life�me career. He a�ended an open day at college where he made an appointment with one of our Volunteering Team Project Support Ofcers.

Abdulrahman was referred to Making Space, where he now volunteers three sessions a week, ge�ng involved in quizzes, music and dance. He volunteers to gain experience in a number of life and transferable skills. The ac�vi�es delivered are for those individuals suffering from mental illness, demen�a, mul�ple sclerosis and Parkinsons disease, where the ac�vi�es s�mulate their mind and body. He volunteers to make a posi�ve impact within the community, especially with older people as they are very isolated and in Abdulrahman’s own words he said: “I really enjoy bringing joy to their lives.”

Volunteering has helped him to feel healthier, physically and mentally. He has learnt lots of new skills, gained confidence, improved understanding of different medical issues and barriers which has

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opened up other doors for him. He is star�ng volunteering at Oldham Hospital in the Acute Medical Unit. He added:

“It’s about gaining many skills for myself and making other people happy. Volunteering gave me the ability to try new ac�vi�es, get ac�ve and be more informed. The biggest impact was applying for experience in a hospital, ge�ng an interview and taking up the volunteer role at Oldham Hospital. Once again, through Ac�on Together’s Volunteering Team, I am applying for a third volunteer opportunity working with children and young people so that I have experience in working with a wide spectrum of individuals. I love helping and suppor�ng people from all walks of life and have realised a career in medicine could definitely be for me.”

Employer Supported Volunteering

Employer Supported Volunteering, or corporate volunteering, is where the employees of an organisa�on take �me to volunteer during work hours or organise volunteer ac�vi�es.

Employees might choose to support a charity or community group, or take up an opportunity provided by their workplace.

more workplaces contac�ng us to arrange volunteering ac�vi�es for their staff.

We targeted local businesses to get involved in local volunteering, which led to us working with Na�onal Gas in November. We spoke to a few of our member groups to find a suitable match for the organisa�on, and found The Bond Board could provide what Na�onal Gas were looking for. The Bond Board run coffee mornings from a church in the Rochdale Borough on a Friday morning, and needed volunteers to support in the kitchen as well as front of house.

Na�onal Gas were more than happy to support, and since volunteering in November they have developed a partnership and have returned to volunteer again for The Bond Board.

“I just want to say a big thank you for allowing myself and team to come and volunteer on Wednesday, we had a great �me.

I really enjoyed having an opportunity to understand The Bond Board, the super hard-working team you have there and also meet the people who depend on your services. Also thank you Laura at Ac�on Together for helping set this up for us.”

Emma Bellis, Na�onal Gas

“It was so good to have four Employer Supported Volunteers from Na�onal

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exis�ng volunteers in the kitchen and helping to manage our dona�ons table. They enjoyed it so much they want to come back!!!

A big thank you to Ac�on Together for facilita�ng what will hopefully be a brilliant ongoing partnership.”

The Bond Board

We were approached by Hyde-based Findel Educa�on opportunity for their staff to get involved in volunteering.

We were already suppor�ng our member organisa�on Ha�ersley Projects to recruit new volunteers by adver�sing their volunteer opportuni�es through the volunteering directory on our website, social media and volunteering emails. This quickly found six new volunteers to support their projects, helping them get involved in gardening, woodwork, pain�ng, and learning new skills around sustainability and growing flowers, fruit and vegetables.

with Findel Educa�on, and a team of four employees a�ended for a volunteer day.

" Ac�on Together made the link with Findel Educa�on Ltd and a team of four employees joined us for a volunteer day. They cleared the space beside our entrance and planted flowers to make the area more welcoming. The difference it has made is huge and we have had nothing but compliments about the first impressions walking into our site.

A massive thank you to Ka�e, Maria and Paul who worked �relessly in the heat to make a huge difference to an area of the centre and a big difference for their community. It’s employers and people that volunteer here who make the biggest difference and can help us in many different ways. Thanks also to Ac�on Together who supported us, and who con�nue to do so."

Sharmain, Volunteer Lead at Ha�ersley Projects

Following their volunteer day at Ha�ersley Projects, Findel Educa�on con�nued their drive to support local chari�es, and Ac�on Together connected them with Community Ma�ers.

Community Ma�ers is run through the Ha�ersley Community Hub and helps support families across Tameside. The aim of the campaign was to help families in need by providing pencil cases filled with sta�onery to children to use as part of their learning. For many families the cost of sta�onery is one that very few can afford. This appeal goes a long way in ensuring children have the equipment they need to learn and that they don’t feel that they are missing out because they don’t have some of the things that other children do.

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important to us here at Findel that we support children’s educa�on however we can. Part of our ethos ‘growing educa�on for genera�ons’ is to ensure that everyone gets a fair chance, and that’s why campaigns like these ones really ma�er. Thanks to Jacqueline and Janet for visi�ng and we can’t wait to hear how this campaign makes a difference.

Ac�on Together helps bring people and communi�es together and we simply wouldn’t get to hear about all these amazing chari�es and groups if it wasn’t for you, so thank you!”

Claire Greave, Findel Educa�on

Findel were thrilled to support and, following their ini�al involvement with Community Ma�ers, they have gone on to support them on more occasions - with dona�ons of toys and games at Christmas to distribute across the community, and with another employee volunteer day suppor�ng The Bread and Bu�er Thing in Ha�ersley.

5. Capacity Building

Organisa�on Health Checks

Following development and trial in the previous year, we publicly launched our new Organisa�on Health Checks this year.

and review how their organisa�on is performing.

They are a prac�cal, development tool which allows you, along with help from one of our experienced Community Development Workers, to iden�fy strengths, as well as areas for development, and will support you to:

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There are nine areas of the Organisa�on Health Check:

The Health Check can be completed in stages, and can also be revisited over a period, to track progress and development.

As the support that you may require changes, Health Checks can be completed regularly for us to be�er understand your changing needs to ensure that we are providing the most appropriate support for your group.

The informa�on gathered through the Health Checks will also support us to have a greater understanding of our membership and communi�es across Oldham, Rochdale and Tameside. The next steps are for us to dig deeper into the data from the Health Checks and use this to provide greater insight into the sector and its needs for system partners and the wider sector.

We’d encourage all of our member organisa�ons to arrange a Health Check with their local Community Development Worker. Visit - h�ps://www.ac�ontogether.org.uk/organisa�onh�ps://www.ac�ontogether.org.uk/organisa�on health-checkshealth-checks

We have recently developed a new capacity building tool to use alongside groups to support our work to develop groups and organisa�ons. The Organisa�on Health Check toolkit, enables group leaders, comi�ee members and trustees to work alongside their development worker to reflect on the 'health' of their organisa�on and enables them to priori�se and plan the work that they need to undertake to have a thriving, sustainable, organisa�on that delivers maximum impact against their organisa�ons purpose.

Case Study: Royton and Crompton Over 60’s Club

Uzma, the Community Development Worker for North Oldham, used the Health Check tool with Royton and Crompton Over 60’s club to reflect and review how their organisa�on was performing.

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Uzma moved from working in East Oldham to North Oldham and found that using the Health Check with Royton and Crompton Over 60s Club enabled her to gain great insight into the group and how we can work alongside them to support their development.

It enabled us to:

“Without the help of Ac�on Together, we wouldn’t be here today. The Capacity Building team have given the best support we could expect. It has been a lifeline for us.

come and how many lives you have touched along the way.” Janet, Royton

and Crompton Over 60's Club

Case Study: Tameside Deaf Associa�on

Mandy from Tameside Deaf Associa�on requested support from our Ashton Community Development Worker to help review their organisa�on policies. To understand more about the organisa�on and the type of support they may need, we completed an organisa�on Health Check with the group to establish which areas of development they wanted to focus on.

and support around trustees roles and responsibili�es.

Due to the extra support members of the commi�ee would need to a�end an online training session, our team of development workers developed a bespoke training session for the group.

session which met the needs of the group and help them to think about future sustainability of the group.

Our team will con�nue to work with Tameside Deaf Associa�on, and next steps include incorpora�ng the organisa�on and achieving Quality in Ac�on Award.

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“Thanks for delivering face-to-face Introduc�on to Trustee Role & Responsibili�es training with our trustees, really enjoyed it!” Mandy,

Tameside Deaf Associa�on

Quality in Ac�on

The Quality in Ac�on Award is our recognised framework for voluntary, community, faith and social enterprise (VCFSE) organisa�ons working across Oldham, Rochdale and Tameside to prove their impact. The award is an independent, local seal of approval which publicly demonstrates commitment to safeguarding, quality assurance and con�nuous improvement.

Our dedicated Community Development Workers work alongside our member organisa�ons to help them meet criteria that makes sure they have the right things in place, with prac�cal advice, resources and support to help develop the policies and procedures that are right for each organisa�on. The QiAA is free and open to groups of any size. The award demonstrates to local commissioners, funders, beneficiaries and other stakeholders that organisa�ons are delivering quality ac�vi�es and services.

“Achieving the award has been great! It has ensured we have the correct policies and processes in place to help safeguard our service users, volunteers, staff and the charity.”

Rehana Begum, Diversity Ma�ers North West

"It gives me a great sense of joy to have achieved the Quality in Ac�on Award. It will show that Posi�ve Steps not only provides an excellent service to clients, it shows we have quality systems in place.

needed alongside my day-to-day work du�es. The support from Ac�on Together was excellent.”

Mar�n Su�on, Service Lead at Posi�ve Steps

"We decided to undertake the Quality in Ac�on Award as we had started the process to become a charity. We wanted to grow and ensure we have good governance in place and the QiAA was the perfect approach for us.

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We believe we are now in a posi�on to apply for funding, sta�ng we have the Quality in Ac�on Award, which will give us an advantage."

Become United

"It feels great to have achieved the Quality in Ac�on Award from Ac�on Together!

lot of support available to help you through the process and it can help you to iden�fy areas of improvement.

I would like to give a special shout out to Jane! She helped us every step of the way and was there to answer any ques�ons we had. She went above and beyond to make sure we achieved the award."

Zaheen, Oldham Boxing

"Many thanks to Ac�on Together for helping us to achieve our QiAA!

It’s good to know that our commitment to what we are doing as a Community Group is recognised. I’m sure it will help us when we apply for funding."

Sandra Kiy, St Gabriel's Community Group

"We are really pleased to have achieved the Quality in Ac�on Award. It was really easy to follow, the guidance that Ac�on Together provide and the support you receive is excellent. We would recommend it. It really helps you look at what you’re doing and highlights any changes you need to make." Donna

Calverly, Support Manager for KeyRing Living Support Networks

“The support from Ac�on Together was amazing! We learnt so much about our business and about our service users, our principles and our strengths and the areas we need to develop to reach our aspira�ons - as a direct result of the process we have a new board member and lots of volunteers. I cannot thank Ac�on Together enough!”

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Erica Ma�hews, Crea�ve Health and Wellbeing

“We've learnt so much during this process and shall display our award with pride! What a pleasure it was to work with Adele from Ac�on Together. You've been kind, generous with your �me and a massive support to us. It really has felt like we’ve been working with a friend.”

Emma and Alison, Raise Tui�on CIC

“We would like to extend a huge thank you to the team at Ac�on Together!

We would recommend all the organisa�ons out there complete the Quality in Ac�on Award. I can assure you it will be worth it, and it will drama�cally enhance and help your organisa�on."

Nicky Iginla, Caring and Sharing Rochdale

“I am really proud of the team working hard to gain this award and thankful of Nayan at Ac�on Together who has supported us all the way. It has been a great journey in achieving this as we have involved the volunteers and team.

This will really help our organisa�on as we now have everything in one place when looking for funding or taking on new volunteers, it has made us stronger as an organisa�on and stronger in our plans to support our community.”

Kim Rogers, Community Engagement Coordinator at the Salva�on Army

"We're delighted to have received the Quality in Ac�on Award!

sustainability and las�ng impact.

Thank you to Jonathan for all of his support with this too."

Live Great Adventures

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“We are extremely proud of the organisa�on in achieving the Quality in Ac�on Award.

organisa�on!

Many thanks to the team at Ac�on Together for always being there when we need help with anything! We value and appreciate you all."

Audrey Murphy and the SAWN Team

"We are so pleased to have been awarded Ac�on Together's Quality in Ac�on Award. We were able to put all the correct policies and procedures in place, meaning we can ensure the ac�vi�es and services we offer to our local community are run safely and effec�vely. It will also stand us in good stead for accessing resources for any future developments.

Thank you Ac�on Together!"

Jo Saunders - Community Development Worker, New Life Church

Community Focused, Community Based

We developed our capacity building model over the last few years to more closely integrate into place – the local neighbourhoods where our member organisa�ons are based.

We invite local organisa�ons and members of the public to drop-in and see us at our placebased hubs to find out about local volunteering, funding for their ideas, making connec�ons in the community, support for their community group, and community wellbeing.

cross-sector partners. We promote our a�endance online and in-place, with regular weekly bases meaning we can build up familiarity with the venues in which we’re working and the communi�es they support. Community bases cover a range of different venues including community libraries, wellbeing hubs, places of worship, and VCFSE owned and led spaces.

This model has led to deepening rela�onships as well as the development of new local ini�a�ves. This year we rolled the model out in Rochdale, so all three of our locali�es now have dedicated place-based Community Development leads, suppor�ng groups in capacity building in the community where they are based.

The reduc�on in capacity of our Tameside team means we will need to change our model in the borough, but we plan on con�nuing our place-based model while reviewing the areas and frequency with which we can a�end.

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"It has been amazing working in partnership with Ac�on Together Community Development and Social Prescribing Team over the last few years. They have been able to support the group formalise into a legal structure which has allowed them to open their own bank account giving them the opportunity to successfully gain funding to help them keep delivering their session for the next 12-18 months."

Craig Meredith, Irwell Valley Homes

Training and Workforce Development

Training con�nued to be a popular source of support for our members.

Across the year, we delivered 147 training sessions, with 1,507 a�endees at these sessions. This is alongside bespoke training we offer to individual member organisa�ons.

Our regular training eBulle�n con�nued to be popular, reaching 4,822 people every fortnight and leading to high uptake of our training offer, par�cularly our core training such as bid wri�ng and safeguarding.

at ways to improve the offer for our members.

making the training flexible and available to a wide range of people. We've also improved the processes around our training, with more detailed reminders and support available for a�endees before and a�er sessions.

a new interac�ve Training Calendar so members can see when training is coming up across the year. This will help our members a�end future sessions in the event they can’t make a date or places are booked up.

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We con�nued to record and upload selected training sessions to our YouTube channel, with over 10,000 views of our training videos across the year.

"It's really good Ac�on Together put on events like this!"

Case Study: Fi�on Hill ABCD Mapping

During Quarter 3, Commissioned by ForHousing, Ac�on Together worked in partnership with Unlimited Poten�al to conduct an asset based community development mapping project on Fi�on Hill, this was a part of a wider North West Commission focussing also on communi�es in Salford and in Merseyside.

The use of the Asset Based methodology was agreed to iden�fy assets and support ForHousing and partners. As well as to empower and support communi�es based on their strengths and poten�al. It also served to iden�fy any gaps and support the community to iden�fy the resources they require.

The project supports ForHousing to understand who its tenants are, the communi�es they live in and how best to work alongside communi�es and tenants, by:

Ac�on Together’s Community Development Worker worked in partnership with ForHousing to engage with the community using several methods including one to one conversa�ons, holding focus groups, visi�ng local groups and working in partnership with ForHousing to develop and deliver a survey to residents to gain their views.

We facilitated a number of steering groups which were very successful and enabled people to collaborate in various ac�vi�es and projects. Examples include joint carol service between Salva�on Army, local primary schools, Local Food First CIC who helped with lantern making sessions, choir from primary schools.

Following discussions with local parents and carers, Ac�on Together arranged discussions between Forhousing and district staff, along with local residents and other stakeholders to renovate the St Mar�ns pocket park which had stalled since June 2023. A focus group has been arranged in February to consult local residents about what they may want in the pocket park and £30,000 has been iden�fied and secured for this work, along with funding from Forhousing for consulta�on.

The project has successfully achieved its goals of producing an indepth ABCD mapping report which ForHousing can use to build upon their offer to its residents, a physical asset map for Fi�on Hill which

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clearly details the assets in the area. Along with the enhanced partnership working which has occurred as a result of this project.

Case Study: LADS (Lads Against Depression and Suicide)

Tameside Community Development Worker Dawn was approached by Dez, who works for Tameside South Foodbank. Through his work at the Foodbank, Dez is mee�ng males who need further support. This, along with Dez’s own life experiences has led him to set up a project called LADs (Lads Against Depression & Suicide).

The project will provide peer support and befriending to males over 18 who may be struggling with anxiety, anger management and general mental health issues. They will do this by using fishing, gardening, woodwork, etc as a tool to help men.

in the area and have said that they would work with LADs and refer into a service like this.

Dawn supported LADS in a number of ways:

"Working with Dawn has been a pleasure, and she is very easy to work with. She knows her stuff. Dawn has gone above and beyond to help us get the things in place to set up LADS".

Dez, LADS

Case Study: KaskoSan

KaskoSan is a local community group who aims to empower Gypsy, Roma and Traveller communi�es and other vulnerable U.K. migrant groups living in isola�on and/or with mental health issues. They support their community by providing informa�on, helping to cope with discrimina�on and boos�ng their social inclusion through one on one, group support, regular and one-off ac�vi�es.

Juice and Maria from KaskoSan contacted Ac�on Together seeking help with sourcing and wri�ng funding for the organisa�on and for support with connec�ng with likeminded organisa�ons across

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the borough. They realised a�er ini�al conversa�ons that they needed help with working out the best legal structure for the organisa�on to grow and develop with.

sessions and other members of KaskoSan faced language barriers whilst a�ending.

one support at a pace suitable for their needs.

funding to deliver a pilot project working with Roma families, sharing their culture with host families using the medium of dance. The project has been very successful and KaskoSan are now working with their community development worker to develop a larger Reaching Communi�es bid to extend the project.

“We're ge�ng help with se�ng up the right structure, trustee recruitment, cons�tu�on, strategic planning, fundraising, networking, partnership building and management, CIO registra�on, facilita�on of trustees mee�ngs, polishing out all of our policies and ge�ng signed up to the training we need.

KaskoSan

Case Study: Wonderfully Made Women

Wonderfully Made Woman support women predominantly from the African diaspora. Some have traumas rela�ng to their home background or their journey to the UK, some have issues caused by trauma within the UK, some feel isolated and do not know others from their culture, and some are afraid of s�gma if they disclose they need help.

In early September, Community Development Worker Fi met with the Director of Wonderfully Made Woman. They already work in Manchester and Bolton, but were keen to open a Hub in Middleton in response to hearing from the community that there was no central space for women to meet and get support with their confidence and self-esteem.

Due to her rela�onships in the neighbourhood, Fi was able to quickly connect them with the perfect loca�on for their hub. They launched at the Lighthouse Project a few weeks later.

Their women-only space provides a safe and comfortable environment where a woman can ask for support if she needs it, or just relax and enjoy some �me with friends. There is a trained host who will be available to speak with privately or if the women wish, they can share any of their stories within the group.

A�er they established, Fi had further discussions about their policies and other necessary documents for an Organisa�on Health Check to make sure they are opera�ng safely and effec�vely.

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“I am so glad these women have secured a place where they feel comfortable to come in and seek company of other women going through the same or similar issues.”

Case Study: MyColdhurst

its incep�on in 2018. Their mission is mul�faceted, encompassing community li�er picking, environmental clean-up ac�vi�es, and support for young people. At the heart of their vision lies a commitment to encourage community empowerment and a genuine love for the place they call home. Ac�on Together’s Community Development Worker supported MyColdhurst by:

Securing Funding:

Policies and Procedures (Quality in Ac�on Award):

and safety measures in place to deliver its programs and achieve its goals within the community.

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years and Jane has been at the forefront of all our success. At every situa�on we encountered a challenge she has been there at the end of a phone call or WhatsApp message giving sound knowledgeable advice, which we have always acted upon. She is a gem in the community for suppor�ng young community groups such as ours in order to make a huge difference in the community. She has a�ended many of our events and delivered essen�al training (most outside of work �me) and we cannot truly thank her for doing that.

Thanks Jane for all your hard work and pa�ence and understanding!" Sadrul

Alam, Treasurer of MyColdhurst

6. Partnerships and Collabora�on

Across our three locali�es, we hosted 127 separate network mee�ngs and forums, with 1,824 a�endees.

We con�nued to play an ac�ve role in the facilita�on and development of thema�c networks across Oldham, Rochdale and Tameside.

We develop our networks based on the focus and needs of each borough, bringing together voluntary and community organisa�ons, system partners, public sector representa�ves and local exper�se to collaborate and address barriers and challenges in communi�es of place, iden�ty and experience. Find out more.

Developing our networks

In Tameside, capacity and changes to the team led to us reviewing and relaunching our networks. We engaged our members through surveying and a series of workshops, and fed back our findings to Network members through a report summarising their responses.

On average, the overall sa�sfac�on rate for the networks was 4/5 which suggests that the networks are serving a purpose and groups are benefi�ng. However, there are some sugges�ons throughout both the consulta�on and survey which would suggest that more impact could be achieved.

Overall, the mee�ngs serve as a valuable space for building partnerships and staying informed. The responses highlight various beneficial aspects of network mee�ngs, including engagement, informa�on sharing, networking opportuni�es, forming rela�onships, joint workshops, mee�ng other organiza�ons, linking up, in-person interac�on, access to support services, updates on current situa�ons and challenges, knowledge expansion, collabora�on, professional development, access to resources, and maintaining awareness of developments and joint ac�ons.

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Issues and shor�alls from the networks

We have suggested these changes in our redeveloped Tameside networks:

Rochdale Neighbourhood Networks

In September we relaunched the Preven�on Networks in Heywood, Middleton, Rochdale and the Pennines. We asked the ques�on, What have you no�ced in your Neighbourhood? which gave a variety of interes�ng insights.

These spaces will allow us to build rela�onships between people who care about their neighbourhoods, whether they are in grassroots community groups or frontline workers, so that we can influence local decisions and tackle issues together. Ac�on Together acts as the link between the Networks and emerging neighbourhood governance, with a manager and a Community Development Worker aligned to each of the five newly formed Neighbourhood Mee�ngs.

Following the networks we presented at the Neighbourhood Mee�ngs about the Preven�on Networks and how the insight could be used to influence local priori�es.

We also published the insight reports to be shared with a�endees, stakeholders and to be presented at the Neighbourhood Mee�ngs. We used this opportunity to announce changes to the name of the Networks, rebranding them as Neighbourhood Networks to further forge �es with Neighbourhood Mee�ngs and to broaden the scope of the Networks.

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The focus will absolutely s�ll be on preven�on, but in its broadest sense including strengthening community power and connec�on as well as addressing health inequali�es.

"It was a great morning, I really felt like there was lots of really good discussion with lots of people I have never met before. So so valuable. Thanks to you and the team for a really good conversa�on, mapping exercise and chance to network."

Children & Families Locality Lead

Oldham Poverty Truth Commission

The Oldham Poverty Truth Commission brought together the experiences of people who have been in poverty alongside people who work in the council and health services, business, and chari�es to make deep changes to causes of poverty in Oldham.

Poverty Truth Commissions are a na�onal model pioneered by the Poverty Truth Network. They

rela�onships, and humanising people as well as systems. Download the full Oldham Poverty Truth Commission Report

Overview of journey

The Poverty Truth Commission was a result of several social jus�ce projects coming together in Oldham. These efforts by community champions, chari�es like Ac�on Together, as well as Oldham Council and NHS, were star�ng to look at poverty differently when the COVID pandemic highlighted just how deep and significant inequali�es in the borough were.

The resul�ng project has blossomed into a number of ongoing workstreams, not least the Oldham Poverty Ac�on Network which has been able to draw in more people, more perspec�ves, and more experiences to maintain the focus on poverty in the borough.

Watch this video produced in collabora�on with the NHS Build Back Fairer ini�a�ve for an overview of the PTC journey.

More on the stages of the PTC:

  1. Drivers

  2. Route

  3. Des�na�on

Watch our Commissioners’ stories

These videos tell the story of the Commission through it’s most important component: the people involved. Each one highlights the importance of one of the key themes the Commission iden�fied, why it’s relevant to people’s experience of poverty, and how it can be applied in different contexts:

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Oldham Poverty Ac�on Network

The Oldham Poverty Ac�on Network builds on the exis�ng poverty work of ini�a�ves including the Poverty Ac�on Group, Poverty Truth Commission, OCAN, MoVE, and Cost of Living Crisis Summit. Using an innova�ve and long-term funding opportunity from Local Mo�on, we are collabora�ng across sectors and communi�es in Oldham to learn how to achieve our vision of: Strengthening community spirit, aligning efforts to tackle poverty, and crea�ng good jobs and social enterprise.

Watch this video to fnd out more about Local Mo�on Oldham.

The Network is ac�on driven based on perspec�ves and insights from key VCFSE, public and private sector organisa�ons and those with lived experience. The ac�ons led by the network will be evidence of best prac�ce, and develop projects which address the root causes of the three themes in the vision. Ac�on Together facilitate and act as a coordinator for the network, however the network is led and owned by the members of the Oldham Poverty Ac�on Network.

Lived experience of poverty and hardship is increasingly recognised as equal to ‘learnt’ experience of professional and decision makers in addressing it. At the heart of the network will be members with lived experience who will play an ac�ve role in everything the Network does.

OPAN consists of Task Groups and a Founda�on Group. Tasks Groups focus on Building out from Crisis; and, Hope and Aspira�ons, crea�ng routes out of poverty.

To support those with lived experience to feel able to play an ac�ve part in the network, a separate Peer Support group has been established, crea�ng a space where people can build their confidence, support each other, grow into the space. This is coordinated by a dedicated person who will offer one-to-one support to all the lived experience members, as well as facilitate the peer support group. Learning and development sessions are also provided to those wishing to enhance their skills.

Achievements include:

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Violence Reduc�on Unit

We were the recruitment organisa�on for the Greater Manchester Violence Reduc�on Unit, recrui�ng staff members to fill the roles of Violence Reduc�on Unit Facilitators in Oldham, Rochdale and Tameside. The Greater Manchester Combined Authority hosts the Violence Reduc�on Unit, which seeks to address the underlying causes of violence and work together with communi�es to prevent it. The role included building rela�onships with partner organisa�ons in the boroughs that are working in communi�es to reduce violence in the boroughs.

The community-led approach to violence reduc�on, means the Violence Reduc�on Unit (VRU) works closely with communi�es to understand the strengths, challenges, and needs of the community and determine how local investments will be made.

In Oldham , the Community-Led Approaches project is a violence reduc�on pilot funded by the GM Violence Reduc�on Unit which priori�ses investment in community led approaches to tackling violence amongst young people aged 10-25 and their families. The model is to work with communi�es to iden�fy strengths, challenges and ideas for solu�on in each area. In Oldham Ac�on Together have been working with the 10GM and the Violence Reduc�on Unit to support members of 'Develop Glodwick' to form an Alliance to deliver this work.

On Thursday 31 August, Andy Burnham (Mayor of Manchester) and Kate Green (Deputy Mayor of Manchester) visited Oldham to see the progress which the Alliance has been making.

The programme in Oldham provides mentoring, youth work and sports programmes for young people at risk of or vulnerable to serious youth violence and exploita�on, programmes that empower young females, and projects that engage young people and their parents.

The alliance came together to share projects they have been working on using VRU funding and how they have been making a posi�ve impact on reducing crime in their area.

The Mayor and Deputy were impressed to hear about all the work which has been taking place!

In Rochdale , the focus of the VRU work has been on Darnhill estate in Heywood.

Our aims:

Judith is our VRU lead for Rochdale, and spent the six months engaging with schools, local people, young people, VCFSE groups, councillors and many more in order to build up a picture of local strengths, challenges and priori�es. She is now working her findings into a list of priori�es which will be checked with the community.

A grant fund of £100,000 is available in both 2024 and 2025 for local VCFSE groups to collabora�vely respond to the needs and challenges of the community, with the aim of these responses being led by groups that are already locally embedded and trusted.

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the Serious Violence Strategy.

In Tameside , the Violence Reduc�on Unit successfully bid for £100,000 investment for the St Peters, Holy Trinity Ward as part of the Community-led Approaches Programme. The Ashton St Peters Youth Alliance will work with Ac�ve Tameside, Leap, Lindley Youth Project and PAC to deliver the project for children and young people, offering targeted and universal provision, including detached youth work.

The Alliance will work with a wider mul� agency partnership of statutory and voluntary sector organisa�ons including Change Grow Live, Posi�ve Steps, Youth Service, Tameside Oldham and Glossop Mind, Complex Safeguarding Team, Kooth, Family Hub, Groundwork, Crime and Community Safety and Youth Jus�ce.

Live Well

Live Well is a GM programme to address inequali�es through strengthening community-led approaches to health and wellbeing. For everyone to Live Well – with a good place to live, caring communi�es and enough to live on – we need systems and approaches to change.

Oldham, Rochdale and Tameside are three of the four ‘accelerator locali�es’ to receive funding from the Na�onal Lo�ery, where we will be tes�ng out ways of shi�ing the rela�onship between the statutory and VCFSE sector, how we make decisions together and how we measure our success.

In Rochdale our ambi�on is to look at:

Ac�on Together will be exploring how we can use the An�-Poverty Strategy to shi� power and decision-making, so that communi�es are working together with those in posi�ons of power. To do this we recruited a Systems Change Facilitator and established an An�-Poverty Network and Founda�on group to sit at the heart of the decision-making process. We were supported by the Innova�on Unit in this work, who offer coaching and learning sessions as well as specialist support and helped us develop a Theory of Change for the network.

To start this work we held an event called ‘The Future We Deserve: a summit for economic equity – Rochdale’ to offer the opportunity for interested organisa�ons to connect and discuss the root causes of poverty, but also the intersec�onality of poverty in Rochdale. We also looked at the characteris�cs and quali�es needed for the founda�on group and talked what that opportunity would look like.

conversa�ons around the room.

27 people applied to be on the founda�on group, so to ensure we got the right people for the group we conducted 1-2-1 catch ups where we asked ques�ons around the themes of:

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availability/commitment, understanding the intersec�onality of poverty, enthusiasm to tackle this together in partnership, and being solu�ons focused.

This allowed us to gain deeper insight into each person and their mo�va�ons and allow us to understand if they would be a ‘good fit.’ For example, one person highlighted their wishes ‘to build a new system - and put it back together differently.’ Another discussed the idea of ‘fixing problems at the source.’ These comments showed an understanding that this was about ge�ng to the root of problems, not necessarily just working within exis�ng avenues or providing emergency support.

13 people were selected to be on the Founda�on Group through this process. They were selected to provide representa�on across the borough and cover a range of subjects, exper�se and experiences. These include mental health services, youth work, community centres, food solu�ons, debt solu�ons, violence against women and girls, homelessness, work and skills, community repor�ng, lived experience, health and wellbeing of the over 60’s community, the asylum seeker experience, and private ren�ng among others.

The recruitment process demonstrated that people had been drawn to the group because of its influence and posi�oning close to power. One person stated, ‘this is a higher level than we’ve had access to before... it sounds very a�rac�ve’. Another pointed out that this was a great opportunity ‘to speak into power’ .

In Oldham , we are co-leading the Live Well Accelerator Site work, which is focussed on how funds and resources can be aligned at district neighbourhood level to invest in community-led health approaches? The work planned includes:

We are tes�ng this in the East Oldham District.

The Outcomes and Impact were hoping to achieve includes:

In Tameside , there are numerous organisa�ons focused around suppor�ng people’s health and wellbeing, and making a huge contribu�on to keeping residents healthy and well. Live Well and the Na�onal Lo�ery Community Fund grant will help systems partners make this the basis of a boroughwide approach to doing more together to maintain good health and prevent ill health for all our residents and find ways to resource this for the longer term.

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We plan to bring together system partners, including adult social care, Popula�on Health, housing providers and representa�ves from the voluntary sector, to understand what preven�on looks like. We will iden�fy a pilot site in Tameside, combining the data we hold with externally available data and the insight from these partners and key Community Anchor organisa�ons. Our aims will be to:

Big Local

year of their plan and the legacy that Big Local will leave behind. Feedback, case studies and the monitoring informa�on were collected from funded groups and ac�vi�es and work began to prepare an end of plan report highligh�ng the variety of ac�vi�es, projects and groups that were supported by Big Local and the impact this had.

We con�nued to work with Big Local funded organisa�ons to support them with planning to be able to con�nue to be sustainable once the funding comes to an end, and ensuring the legacy that Big Local will leave behind.

A mul�-use games area is due to be built at Arundel Street Park in partnership with Oldham Council, who will provide match funding. The detailed proposal was approved in March 2024 and it is expected that work will be completed over the coming months.

A three-month extension to the current plan had been granted with a monthly review a�er that – this will enable exis�ng ac�vi�es to be wound up and the mul�-use games area to be completed.

Case Study: Community Explorers

On a regular basis, our Community Development Workers facilitate the Community Explorers Forums in each district.

At one Community Explorers event, Ac�on Together had 29 people a�end the early evening Community Explorers gathering, held at Saddleworth Spiritualist Church, Uppermill. Individuals represen�ng themselves, groups, organisa�ons from the VCFSE and public sector a�ended.

In a�endance was a new group, YOU. The aim of YOU is to provide a community group where people can come together to get involved in ac�vi�es and tasks.

However, by taking part in these tasks, they would like the outcome for people to be focussed on wellbeing and posi�ve mental health, rather than the emphasis being on learning a skill. Instead, they hope the ac�vi�es are a vehicle for communica�on with others, building connec�ons and gaining a sense of achievement in collabora�on with others while feeling a sense of belonging as part of a group.

Ul�mately, they want to help people in the community who may be struggling with aspects of their life by using the skills and life experience they have, prac�cally and therapeu�cally, to provide a place for people to connect, share, laugh, learn and heal.

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Ac�on Together’s Community Development Worker and YOU worked together to determine the best legal structure for the group, a Community interest Company (CIC). They were invited to the Community Explorers to make connec�ons. They were able to make some links and were introduced to a couple of other organisa�ons, who had very recently become a CIC or were a CIC. Contacts were exchanged, as they felt they could support and take guidance from each other.

7. Leadership and Advocacy

Stronger Together

organisa�ons with informa�on, advice, workshops and the chance to speak directly to funders.

Our members also had the opportunity to speak to Ac�on Together’s team about the support we can offer their organisa�on, and hear about the impact we’ve made in Oldham, Rochdale and Tameside.

We hosted some fantas�c speakers and workshops at the event. Thank you to all the speakers and stall holders who joined us on the day:

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part of our fundraising strategy. They were all there in one room which was a pleasant surprise."

See highlights of the event in this video.

Oldham Coliseum

Ac�on Together was asked to complete an independent evalua�on of the governance risks that were factors in the closure of the Oldham Coliseum Theatre. This involved interviewing key stakeholders: Oldham Council, Arts Council England, a senior staff member of Oldham Coliseum, the new theatre Project Director, and the Independent Partnership Chair.

Responding to interna�onal crises

humanitarian crisis in Gaza and conflict in Israel and Pales�ne, as we too have been affected.

We compiled na�onal and interna�onal appeals on our website to support people in Gaza.

Equity, Diversity and Inclusion

This year we recruited a Workforce and Inclusion Coordinator to lead on our internal and external Equity, Diversity and Inclusion (EDI) work.

This dedicated role has helped us focus on EDI and internal workforce development across Ac�on Together, including crea�ng an EDI strategy and reviewing our current recruitment and EDI policies to recommend changes and improvements.

We’ve also increased our focus on celebra�on and awareness days, weeks and months relevant to our members and communi�es. We’ve used these celebra�ons as an opportunity to hear from our members, sharing our pla�orm and the experiences of those who make up the organisa�ons we support across Oldham, Rochdale and Tameside.

We celebrated Black History Month and its 2023 theme ‘Salu�ng Our Sisters’ by sharing the personal stories of some women from our membership who are championing their organisa�ons and achieving brilliant things in their communi�es every day. These women make outstanding contribu�ons, challenging systems and paving the way for change. We wanted to acknowledge and celebrate their leadership and amplify their voices.

Hear from some of our members:

In February, we celebrated LGBT+ History Month by celebra�ng the amazing achievements and stories of just a few LGBTQ+ members and partners of Ac�on Together:

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We linked into other recogni�on dates by sharing advice and guidance for our members, such as sharing resources and guidance on making your organisa�on more inclusive for UK Disability History Month, promo�ng groups and ac�vi�es to support Interna�onal Men’s Day, sharing local services, ac�vi�es and resources for Interna�onal Women’s Day, and ac�ons on developing a trans-inclusive workplace and how we are embedding them at Ac�on Together for Interna�onal Transgender Day of Visibility.

In March, we hosted our frst I�ar share food and learn more about one another’s experiences. Nasim Ashraf from the European Islamic Centre gave a presenta�on on the significance of Ramadan, and a�endees discussed their experiences of fas�ng and the commonali�es between our many varied belief systems.

8. Investment

This year we directed over £2,000,000 into the sector, suppor�ng 549 local organisa�ons to get started, develop their ideas, try new projects, and respond to the needs of their communi�es.

Funding remains the number one focus for our membership. We con�nued to deliver our fortnightly funding ebulle�n, leading to increased engagement and applica�ons both for our own and for external funding, while our Find Funding page remained the most popular on our website with 48,344 visits, a 152% increase on the previous year.

Our Capacity Building teams con�nued to support groups with bid wri�ng, advice on funds to apply for, and help in demonstra�ng the impact that funding had made, as well as arranging for funders to speak directly to our members through Meet The Funder.

“It’s really good Ac�on Together put on events like this, it gives an opportunity to speak to funders and get to know people!”

Lynn, Infnity Ini�a�ves, about our Meet The Funder event hos�ng The Na�onal Lo�ery Community Fund

Case Study: Prime Ac�ve Communi�es (PAC) secure £68,000 to con�nue ac�vi�es for young people in Tameside

Prime Ac�ve Communi�es CIC is a community interest company that specialises in youth and community engagement. They are based in Ha�ersley but also work in other areas of Tameside (Hyde, Ashton, Stalybridge).

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PAC had lost local authority funding and were looking to widen their funding opportuni�es in order to con�nue providing their services which include: detached youth work, Jam Pot Music project (Ha�ersley and Hurst Cross Ashton), Crea�ve youth group, Podcas�ng, and general youth work.

moving forward to enable PAC to con�nue delivering their services. We provided a grants search, and

PAC received £19,000 from Awards for All to con�nue the Crea�ve Club which is a weekly club for young people living in Ha�ersley. They also received £49,000 from the Million Hours Fund to deliver detached youth work and youth ac�vity in the area of Ashton. They recently submi�ed an applica�on to Children in Need to increase their future sustainability.

"Ac�on Together's vital support has been indispensable for Prime Ac�ve Communi�es in accessing crucial funding opportuni�es, without which our projects benefi�ng vulnerable young people would be unfeasible. Their assistance in naviga�ng funding sources, introducing us to partner agencies, and providing guidance on wri�ng funding bids has resulted in be�er outcomes for the youth we serve.

knowledge, ensuring we iden�fy and apply for the most suitable funding opportuni�es.

Through consistent support, Ac�on Together has enabled us to access opportuni�es that posi�vely impact our young people and future genera�ons."

Mark Turton, PAC

Case Study: Spoons Neonatal Family Support raise £190 through the Oldham Community Lo�ery

The Oldham Community Lo�ery is fantas�c fundraising channel, which voluntary and community organisa�ons based in Oldham have been taking advantage of through registering as a 'Good Cause', allowing supporters to give regularly and with ease!

Supporters who sign up to play the Oldham Community Lo�ery will be given the opportunity to select which registered Good Causes they would like to support, and these organisa�ons will receive proceeds from the �cket sales. One Good Cause is Spoons Neonatal Family Support.

Spoons Neonatal Family Support are an incredible asset to the community, as they aim is to alleviate stress and reduce the isola�on of families who experience neonatal care.

Since joining the Oldham Community Lo�ery in August 2023, Spoons Neonatal Family Support have raised £190! (Figure dated December 2023)

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We caught up with Amy Town, Fundraising and Communica�ons at Spoons, to share their experience of the Oldham Community Lo�ery and how the funds have been used to support them.

community of supporters another way to help Spoons, and something we'd not tried before. A�er speaking to a couple of other organisa�ons involved we thought we would trial it as simple way of genera�ng some regular income.

The funds raised have gone towards our services suppor�ng families in Greater Manchester who are experiencing neonatal care. Spoons’ team of skilled staff and volunteers help to reduce the stress, isola�on and worry felt by families going through neonatal care. Through our advice and informa�on, peer support, resource packs, trauma therapy, support groups, advocacy, community ac�vity groups and much more, Spoons offers the prac�cal and emo�onal support needed by families experiencing neonatal care.

The registra�on process is very simple and straigh�orward.

rela�vely low resource. It does require promo�on via social media and newsle�ers, but can be successful with an engaged pool of supporters."

Oldham Community Lo�ery is one example of ways in which we’re ac�ng on our Strategic Objec�ve to Grow and Transform as a Local Funder. We con�nue to work with partners Gatherwell to promote and co-ordinate the Community Lo�ery and for organisa�ons to register as Good Causes.

Case Study: Seed Funding for Blossom North West CIC

With an interest in comba�ng food waste and working with communi�es, Paula wanted to develop an organisa�on that brought together her lifelong ambi�on of providing cooking demonstra�ons and teaching local communi�es to cook both nutri�ous and environmentally friendly meals using surplus food.

It can be really challenging to get funding for the ini�al stages of a new organisa�on, but through the new Seed Fund Julie from Ac�on Together was able to offer a more hands on process tailored to what they needed.

The £500 funding will help her formally register as a CIC, purchase some start-up equipment and pay for Public Liability insurance, which the group will need to ensure they are opera�ng within Health & Safety guidelines.

Julie will con�nue to work with Paula throughout this project – and has already suggested some poten�al links to both the Food Solu�ons Network, as well as other member organisa�ons who use food and cooking as a method to connect communi�es and empower individuals.

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"The support that I have received from Julie has been amazing from the beginning. Julie's warmth, pa�ence and passion has helped me throughout and I cannot thank her enough for making my dream of Blossom NW be a reality."

Paula, Director of Blossom North West CIC

Case Study: One Oldham Fund Cost of Living Crisis Support Grant funds Christmas Day Celebra�on for Oldham Chapel

In December, Oldham Chapel held a hugely successful Christmas Day Celebra�on for more than forty people in their community which was made possible, in part, with funding from our One Oldham Fund Cost of Living Crisis Support Grant.

Rev. Bob Pounder contacted Ac�on Together with a funding applica�on as Oldham Chapel wanted to support the members of their community who they knew were facing isola�on, loneliness, or struggling to afford a fes�ve meal. Their project idea aimed to alleviate these issues by providing a Christmas Day Celebra�on where everyone was welcome, which would counter the issues around social isola�on, increase confidence and self-esteem, and provide friendship to the a�endees.

The funding applica�on was successful, and Oldham Chapel received £1,000 to ensure that, not only could they provide a Christmas lunch, but Christmas gi�s as well. The event was a great success with more than forty local people a�ending and benefi�ng from the communityfocused celebra�on.

Case Study: Cra�y Spooners Make an Impact

Cra�y Spooners are a social cra� group. The group meets every Monday at 10am – 12pm at The Society Rooms in Stalybridge, and group members bring their own cra� ac�vi�es to complete and share with others.

Sue, the organiser of Cra�y Spooners, thought that they should carry out a group ac�vity to support local fundraising. The group came up with the idea of making jewellery pieces which could be put together in different crea�ve ways, and make costume jewellery to sell at an open event at Willow Wood Hospice. Cra�y Spooners have always worked closely with Willow Wood Hospice, suppor�ng their many fundraising ideas and working with the team to help generate dona�ons. The idea was taken to the fundraising lead at Willow Wood Hospice who said it would be fantas�c to have a Cra�y Spooners stand at the event.

decora�ve pieces to sell. Jonathan from Ac�on Together a�ended a mee�ng to discuss ideas and advised the ac�vity could be funded by our Seed Fund, where up to £150 was available for groups to test ideas and ac�vi�es.

All 30 of the Cra�y Spooners came together to work on their design ideas, and over six weeks the group turned the £150 investment into 1,000 items to sell at and raise funds for Willow Wood Hospice. Find out more here on our website.

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Case Study: Food Solu�ons Grant “as a way of caring and sharing with one another”

Our Rochdale Communi�es Fund Food Solu�ons Grants have been fuelling innova�ve community projects across the borough to address food insecurity.

One recipient of the funding was Caring and Sharing Rochdale. Their mission is to empower disadvantaged groups and make a posi�ve difference to the lives of the less privileged in their community.

culturally appropriate food to refugees, asylum seekers, and other disadvantaged groups and is a vital lifeline for many in the area.

“The Food Solu�on Grant has been an ac�ve means of lowering hardship in our community, which automa�cally enhances social cohesion. As an inclusive community, we have been able to maximise our poten�al of be�ering the wellbeing of the people in our community, by provision of healthy cultural appropriate foods, as a way of caring and sharing with one another. Feedback from the people in the various communi�es we serve has shown that the radiance of your generous support goes beyond the smile, happiness and self-worth of the people, to building a community support system.

Our Food Solu�on Program supports both low-income earners and unemployed individuals. Thank you greatly Ac�on Together for your

con�nuous support in making a posi�ve impact in our community.”

Nicky Iginla, Founder and CEO, Caring and Sharing Rochdale

9. Our strategic objec�ves

The strategy will cover all of our core work in Oldham, Rochdale and Tameside, with these shared strategic priori�es:

  1. Strengthen social infrastructure for connected communi�es

  2. Advance our approach to social change

  3. Grow and transform as a local funder

1. Strengthen social infrastructure for connected communi�es

We will do this by:

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2. Advance our approach to social change

We will do this by:

How have we done this in 2023/24?

networks and their par�cipants

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3. Grow and transform as a local funder

We will do this by:

Find our full strategy at this link: Ac�on Together Strategy 2023 - 28

10. Our projects

Social Prescribing

Social Prescribing is a free way to access support for a range of physical, mental and social health needs.

Ac�on Together works in partnership with voluntary organisa�ons, community services, healthcare providers, GPs, local authori�es and the Greater Manchester Integrated Care Partnership to deliver Social Prescribing in Oldham, and un�l 31 March 2024 in Tameside.

Through Social Prescribing, we connect people with local services and ac�vi�es that can help them become healthier, happier and be�er-connected to their community.

This could involve a Social Prescriber helping people join a social group to meet new people, linking someone with free ac�vi�es in their area, or connec�ng someone to a support service for a par�cular life challenge or health condi�on.

4,169 people were referred through our Social Prescribing services in Oldham and Tameside last year.

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Oldham Social Prescribing is delivered by a consor�um of Oldham chari�es including Age UK Oldham, Posi�ve Steps and Tameside, Oldham and Glossop Mind, led by Ac�on Together.

We saw another increase in year-on-year take up of the service in Oldham, with a 22% rise in referrals from the previous year and a 37% increase in contacts. Half of all referrals were due to loneliness and social isola�on, with 48% also men�oning mental health and emo�onal wellbeing as a factor. Welfare and money management (29%) and Housing (21%) were also significant reasons for referral.

for the majority of people who engage with the service. 76% of people reported an improvement in their overall wellbeing following referral to Social Prescribing, with 67% repor�ng they felt more sa�sfac�on with their life and 65% feeling more worthwhile a�er working with our Oldham team.

Service users have a variety of ways to engage with Social Prescribing, with 51% of referrals coming from Primary Care or Adult Social Care services. 15% of service users took the opportunity to selfrefer into Social Prescribing.

At the start of the year we based a Link Worker in Oldham’s Adult Referral Contact Centre (ARCC), to build on the connec�on with Adult Social Care and more quickly respond to referrals coming through that route. This joint working led to the direct referral of 208 people into Social Prescribing, as well as improving the user journey and be�er connec�ng the ARCC team with sources of wider community support.

"Oldham Social Prescribing are a key support service that work alongside ourselves to promote the wellbeing of our residents.

The Social Prescribers that we work with get the most important basics right: compassion, empathy and a person-centred approach to walking hand-inhand alongside residents with the challenges of daily living that can arise in these difficult �mes. They are our community experts that support the residents to re-connect with the great resources we have in our community.

As the front door of Adult Social Care, we respond to a range of situa�ons for those residents whose wellbeing may be being impacted. This can range from just a chat and advice, to suppor�ng with urgent care plans. Social Prescribing supports ourselves to promote the holis�c wellbeing of residents that we encounter.

Since Oldham Social Prescribing have been as involved as they are with the ARCC, I have seen the difference that is has made in terms of preventa�ve work.

SP service always try their best to get posi�ve outcomes for their service users and they look at other alterna�ves that may be required. Having them on the team has improved my own skills and awareness.

Keep up the great work”

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Oldham Adult Referral Contact Centre

Case Study: Anne-Marie’s Social Prescribing Story

Anne-Marie was referred to our Oldham Social Prescribing team a�er losing her mum and becoming quite isolated and low in mood. She has learning difficul�es and needed support to improve her socialisa�on and mood.

She met with her Social Prescriber as she needed support with benefits, independent living/housing informa�on, social groups, employment support and educa�on.

Anne-Marie shared a bit about her journey with Oldham Social Prescribing:

"My name’s Anne-Marie Jones, I’m 28 years old and I live in Oldham.

I started having problems with my mental health and it got to the point where I couldn’t cope anymore. So, I went to the GP and got referred over to Oldham Social Prescribing.

Once I got referred, Debra from Oldham Social Prescribing phoned me up and invited me to have a chat. We’ve had lots of regular catch ups since then.

I’d been applying for PIP and with the help of the Social Prescribing, I’ve been able to get it! They’ve also helped me look into more social groups get and out of the house more.

I get a lot of support though Social Prescribing, and it’s nice to have someone to

talk to.

Debra has been a great, and such a big help to me.

My hopes for the future are to get myself into a job in retail, or maybe even youth

work.

I feel a lot be�er than I was a few months ago, now I’m ge�ng the right support and help.

For anyone who’s been in a similar posi�on to me, I’d say get in touch with your GP. I’m not sure where I’d be without the help of Oldham Social Prescribing."

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Social Prescribing has helped Anne-Marie access local groups and ac�vi�es and educa�on classes. She also regularly visits Oldham Leisure Centre and she now a�ends mul�ple sessions at MENCAP in Drama, Dancercise, Music Therapy. She is also par�cipa�ng in English, Maths, Dyslexia classes at Lifelong Learning.

A�er accessing a referral from her GP, Anne-Marie is in the process of being fully assessed as this is something that she was never able to do. She is now receiving the appropriate benefits.

Anne-Marie has made lots of progress thanks to her commitment and the services she was able to engage with.

In Tameside , we were informed in January by NHS Tameside and Glossop Integrated Care Founda�on Trust (ICFT) that funding for our Tameside Community Wellbeing Programme would end on 31 March 2024. The programme included Tameside Social Prescribing, meaning we stopped taking referrals from 26 January in order to support those we were already working with and manage the closure of the service for our staff, partners and the people we supported.

The Tameside Social Prescribing service successfully delivered support to over 9,000 people over the six years it was delivered by Ac�on Together, with 94% of our clients repor�ng improvements in their health and wellbeing a�er working with the service.

We would like to thank our dedicated team of Social Prescribers and Link Workers, our Community Development Team, our partners and the 796 Tameside groups and services we have worked alongside and connected people to over the years.

We produced this video with a selec�on of quotes from some of the people we’ve worked with over the years.

Miles of Smiles

Miles of Smiles is a community transport scheme where volunteer drivers take people to and from health appointments in Tameside. Ac�on Together administers the scheme and recruits volunteer drivers.

69% of our passengers are aged over 76, and our volunteer drivers act as both transport and a support for people who may be suffering from poor health and isola�on.

In total this year, Miles of Smiles completed 4,171 journeys, across a total of 38,069 miles.

Healthwatch Oldham

Publica�on of Healthwatch Oldham’s annual report has been delayed by the UK General Elec�on, following the below guidance from Healthwatch England:

The statutory requirement for your annual report is “provision requiring each such report to be prepared by 30th June a�er the end of the financial year concerned.” We therefore recommend that:

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Healthwatch Oldham annual report will be included in this report when available.

Healthwatch Tameside

Healthwatch Tameside’s annual report highlights their accomplishments over the past year, which includes the impact they have achieved working with communi�es, the projects they have undertaken and a look forward to their future priori�es.

Highlights from the year include:

Read Healthwatch Tameside’s annual report.

“Healthwatch Tameside remains commi�ed to listening to the local community and does so in a variety of ways, including face-to-face engagement events, telephone calls and surveys. All contacts with the Healthwatch Tameside team are recorded and the details of what you tell us are shared (anonymously) with the leaders of our health and social care services to inform their decision making.

Over the course of the past 12 months, Healthwatch Tameside has worked together with the wider Healthwatch in Greater Manchester network to bring the details of your posi�ve comments and concerns together to analyse themes and trends. We have shared this informa�on with the NHS Greater Manchester Integrated Care System and told them that our community is unhappy with the changes to services for people with Au�sm and ADHD. We have also made local leaders aware of your concerns about access to GP appointments and your difficul�es in accessing an NHS den�st. It is important that we also feedback on posi�ve experience and whilst you have

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told us that you have concern about access to a GP, you have also very o�en praised the individual GPs and other primary care staff a�er your contacts with them.

uncertainty around the service contract, which was only resolved at the end of March 2024. We are delighted to have been awarded a 6-year contract by the Tameside Metropolitan Borough Council, and with the support of the Advisory Board and Ac�on Together we have promptly started to develop our plans for the next 3 years.

It has also been a very sad year following the illness of our Deputy Chair, Miss Jyo� Rao, and her passing in February 2024.

I would like to ask each person that reads this report to tell someone else about the work of Healthwatch. If you have completed one of our surveys or spoken to a member of our team, please tell others about us in your community.”

Tracey McErlain-Burns. Chair, Healthwatch Tameside

11. Our future plans

Our focus next year will be to:

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12. Ac�on Together in Greater Manchester

Ac�on Together is one of the founding partners of 10GM, and Ac�on Together’s CEO is one of the four Directors. 10GM is a joint venture to support the voluntary, community and social enterprise (VCSE) sector in Greater Manchester (GM). We’re a collec�on of local infrastructure organisa�ons (LIOs) opera�ng strategically and collabora�vely as an integral part of the wider GM strategy.

The partner organisa�ons that make up 10GM are Ac�on Together h�ps://www.ac�ontogether.org.uk/, Bolton CVS h�ps://www.boltoncvs.org.uk/, Macc h�ps://www.macc.org.uk/ and Salford CVS h�ps://www.salfordcvs.co.uk/.

10GM is supported by a central team and works closely with Local VCSE Infrastructure Organisa�ons (LIOs) in all the boroughs of Greater Manchester. We deliver a wide range of collabora�ve projects and ac�vi�es rooted in place through LIOs and connect them at a GM level. As well as our vast collec�ve network of VCSE connec�ons across GM, we have strong rela�onships with colleagues in the GM Integrated Care Partnership, the GM Combined Authority, and the Mayor’s office. We have a longstanding record of collabora�ve work with GM Moving, including developing local pilots and engagement ac�vi�es to reach the diverse communi�es of Greater Manchester.

all of 10GM’s work here

13. Our purpose and values

Our purpose and charitable objects

'To strengthen the voluntary, community, faith and social enterprise sector, maximising opportuni�es to create posi�ve social change, promote social jus�ce and harness social benefit.'

Our charitable objects are to:

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Our mission is to strengthen the voluntary, community, faith and social enterprise sector, increase individual social ac�on, and work across organisa�onal and sector boundaries to maximise every opportunity to harness social good and create social change. There are an es�mated 3,788 voluntary, community, faith and social enterprise groups in Oldham, Rochdale and Tameside according to our State of the Sector research.

Our values

Ac�on Together's values underpin all our ac�vi�es including our strategy, opera�onal plan, workforce development and recruitment. We want to be held to account on our values, as ways of working that we will always strive for.

Believe it's possible communi�es and strive to release their poten�al to create the widest possible benefits whilst promo�ng social jus�ce.

Strengthen others - we work in ways that strengthen people, places, and partnerships. We achieve this by working collabora�vely, sharing skills, and developing rela�onships between people, groups and agencies.

Be true - we are brave enough to share construc�ve insight to make progress. Our unique insight comes from our connec�ons with, and amplifica�on of, the diverse range of voices of people and groups that we work with.

14. Structure, Governance and Management

Governance

The Board of Trustees is the governing body of Ac�on Together and is ul�mately responsible for everything the incorporated charity does. Ac�on Together's board can have a maximum of 14 Board

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members, 12 of which are elected from its membership, with the ability to co-opt a further two people.

A full list of the trustees can be found at h�p://www.ac�ontogether.org.uk/our-trustees

Board members are supported in their role by receiving an induc�on and support from the CEO and other trustees. Trustees are encouraged to take up our training and development opportuni�es, as well as external training that is of interest.

Ac�on Together has two standing commi�ees that steer the work of Healthwatch Oldham and Healthwatch Tameside. These have their own terms of reference but ul�mate accountability of the contracts and employment is with Ac�on Together.

Structure and management

The day to day running of the charity is handled through a scheme of delega�on to the Chief Execu�ve, Liz Windsor-Welsh. The Chief Execu�ve leads the Senior Leadership Team, which consists of the Chief Execu�ve, Director of Finance and Opera�ons, and the three Directors responsible for the management of our locality teams in Oldham, Rochdale and Tameside.

Our systems

we employ best prac�ce and have robust controls in place. It is paramount that we remain compliant with legisla�on and Charity Commission rules and we have internal processes and subgroups that monitor our ac�vity to ensure that this is the case.

This year we founded an opera�ons network where we meet with opera�ons directors and senior managers from other organisa�ons within our sector. The aim of the network is to share knowledge and learning in rela�on to internal processes/systems and we work together to refine approaches to challenges that we face. This has proved to be an extremely useful resource and membership of the network is growing.

Our CiviCRM database is currently going through a major update process to further enhance our internal systems and to support the new website pla�orm which will be rolling out later this year.

Our website

We have con�nued to develop h�ps://www.ac�ontogether.org.uk to meet the needs of our members.

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Our website saw another year-on-year increase in visits, with a total of 783,238 hits. This con�nues the trend of our website a�rac�ng more visitors each year, with an increase of 34,426 (+5%) on the previous year.

Volunteering overtook Find Funding to become our most popular page, with a high propor�on of repeat visitors poin�ng to an engaged local audience and the impact of our new Volunteering outreach and engagement such as monthly Volunteer eBulle�n and local Hubs. Our Community Ac�vi�es Directory also grew in popularity to become the third most visited page, following focused promo�on through our communica�ons.

The upcoming move to a new website pla�orm in 2024/25 has given us the opportunity to review our site, its content, naviga�on, and design. The refresh of our website will make it easier to use and bring addi�onal features/support for our members, such as increased self-service opportuni�es to manage their accounts in a more accessible way. We sought insights from staff and guidance on accessibility from our Inclusion and Workforce Coordinator, and acquired a free non-profit licence to Hotjar, a website behaviour tool which gives us detailed insights into how users interact with our site, and which will help us in designing the new site. We plan on holding focus groups with our members on the website to gather addi�onal feedback, ahead of the final design and build of the site for launch in 2024.

Our internal development

first step in development of this internal process. This year will see this data collated and used in management informa�on dashboards further improving our knowledge across the organisa�on and improving governance further.

allowance, so staff can choose to work bank holidays or book those days off.

We had a team which averaged a headcount of 88.75, and FTE was 77.24

We delivered Chats That Ma�er coaching training for line managers in October. This training was designed to give line managers the tools to have suppor�ve coaching conversa�ons during supervision and one-to-ones, to ensure they are able to understand their staff’s strengths and what mo�vates them to improve their performance, development and wellbeing.

Our HR team led a strengths mapping project to gain insight into the current skills within the organisa�on and to inform the learning and development plan for the coming year. The first phase of the surveys was held over March and April , with the second phase due to commence in summer 2024.

in Flow, and neurodiversity awareness training from Starling CIO, with addi�onal neurodiversity training also being offered to line managers.

Data protec�on is an area of great importance and growing complexity and we ensure that our approach in this area is equally priori�zed. We remain vigilant at all �mes and we have successfully renewed our Cyber Essen�als accredita�on and NHS Data Security and Protec�on Toolkit. Our inhouse data protec�on training is mandatory for all staff and is informed by our knowledge of incidents and near misses in VCFSE organisa�ons over the previous year. Our Data Protec�on Officer

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ACTION TOGETHER CIO

represents the VCFSE Sector on the Greater Manchester Informa�on Board and is an ac�ve par�cipant in a number of relevant Informa�on Governance ini�a�ves in the City Region.

Ensuring the Health and Safety of our employees, volunteers and members of the community with whom we interact is of paramount importance to us. We have recently undergone a complete review of our Health and Safety policies and prac�ces aided by a specialist consultant in this area who also acts as our registered “competent person” in Health and Safety ma�ers. This saw the upda�ng and introduc�on of some new Risk Assessment templates as well as a new Health and Safety manual and updated policy. Health and Safety training is mandatory for our employees and is maintained on a regular basis. It also forms part of our onboarding process shortly a�er recruitment of any new employee.

Risk management

We hold a detailed risk management document which is submi�ed to the Board of trustees of an annual basis. This risk register iden�fies poten�al risks to the organisa�on over a broad base of elements covering, governance, strategic, reputa�onal, opera�onal, safeguarding, financial and informa�on governance. In addi�on it sets out mi�ga�ons and controls that are in place to reduce the risk of such incidents as far possible. Where incidents do occur, each is logged and any subsequent learning reflected in a change to process and prac�ce where appropriate. In addi�on to the risk register and incident log, a compliance report details controls in place over our internal systems and this is submi�ed to the Board of trustees on an annual basis.

15. Financial review

Funds at 31 March 2024 amounted to £5,015,867of which £3,638,604 were restricted. Expenditure in the year met the objec�ves that were required by the principal funding sources, as described in their funding agreements.

Restricted funds held at the end of the year have been carried forward for the future support of specific projects. Ac�on Together recognises that it is responsible and accountable for public funds. It further recognises that it needs clarity and transparency in demonstra�ng how these funds are managed and, in par�cular, the level of funds that it judges appropriate to hold in reserve.

The Trustees have established a reserves policy which requires:

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ACTION TOGETHER CIO

The calculated reserves fund will be reviewed quarterly to ensure it takes account of changing circumstances.

The reserves posi�on as at 31 March 2024 is as follows:

Total requirement of six months running costs, redundancy and commi�ed core costs: £692,250

current ac�vity, projec�ons, cash flows and reserves and have concluded that the charity is a going concern.

16. Reference and administra�ve details

Registered charity name: Ac�on Together CIO

Charity registra�on number: 1165512

Principal ofce:

80 Union Street Oldham OL1 1DJ

Trustees:

Auditor:

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ACTION TOGETHER CIO

Feltons Chartered Accountants

1 The Green Richmond Surrey TW9 1PL

Bankers:

Unity Trust Bank PLC 9 Brindley Place Birmingham B1 2HP

CCLA Investment Management

Senator House 85 Queen Victoria Street London EC4V 4ET

Blackrock Investment Management (UK) Ltd

12 Throgmorton Avenue London EC2N 2DL

9th Floor 111 Piccadilly Manchester M1 2HY

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Trustees’ responsibili�es statement

accordance with applicable law and United Kingdom Accoun�ng Standards (United Kingdom Generally Accepted Accoun�ng Prac�ce).

statements for each year which give a true and fair view of the state of affairs of the charity, and of the incoming resources and applica�on of resources of the charity for that period.

explain the charity’s transac�ons and disclose with reasonable accuracy at any �me the financial posi�on of the charity and enable them to ensure that the financial statements comply with the Chari�es Act 2011, the applicable Chari�es (Accounts and Reports) Regula�ons, and the provisions of the Trust Deed. They are also responsible for safeguarding the assets of the charity and hence for taking reasonable steps for the preven�on and detec�on of fraud and other irregulari�es.

The trustees’ annual report was approved by Camilla Guereca on behalf of the board of trustees on: 5th September 2024.

Chair Action Together CIO

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INDEPENDENT AUDITORS' REPORT TO THE MEMBERS OF ACTION TOGETHER CIO

Opinion

We have audited the financial statements of Action Together CIO (the 'charity') for the year ended 31 March 2024 which comprise the Statement of Financial Activities, the Balance Sheet, the Statement of Cash Flows and the related notes, including a summary of 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).

The financial statements have been prepared in accordance with Accounting and Reporting by Charities preparing their accounts in accordance with the Financial Reporting Standards applicable in the UK and Republic of Ireland (FRS 102) in preference to the Accounting and Reporting by Charities: Statement of Recommended Practice issued on 1 April 2005 which is referred to in the extant regulations but has been withdrawn.

This has been done in order for the accounts to provide a true and fair view in accordance with the Generally Accepted Accounting Practice effective for reporting periods beginning on or after 1 January 2015.

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 Auditors' 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 United Kingdom, including the Financial Reporting Council'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.

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INDEPENDENT AUDITORS' REPORT TO THE MEMBERS OF ACTION TOGETHER CIO (CONTINUED)

Other information

The other information comprises the information included in the Annual Report other than the financial statements and our Auditors' 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, except to the extent otherwise explicitly stated in our report, 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 where 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 Trustees' Responsibilities Statement, the Trustees are responsible for the preparation of the financial statements which 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 charity or to cease operations, or have no realistic alternative but to do so.

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INDEPENDENT AUDITORS' REPORT TO THE MEMBERS OF ACTION TOGETHER CIO (CONTINUED)

Auditors' 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 Auditors' 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 extent to which our procedures are capable of detecting irregularities, including fraud is detailed below:

.- We addressed the risk of fraud through management override by reviewing the appropriateness of a sample of journal entries and other adjustments; assessing whether the judgements made in making key accounting estimates are indicative of a potential bias; and evaluating the business rationale of any significant transactions that are unusual or outside the normal course of business that we come across throughout the audit.

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 for the audit of the financial statements is located on the Financial Reporting Council's website at: www.frc.org.uk/auditorsresponsibilities. This description forms part of our Auditors' Report.

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ACTION TOGETHER CIO INDEPENDENT AUDITORS. REPORT TO THE MEMBERS OF ACTION TOGETHER CIO ICONTINUEDI Use ofour report This report is made solely lo the charity'5 Iruslees, as a body, in accordance with Part 4 of the Charities (Accounts and Reports) Regulations 2008. Our audit work has been undertaken SD that we might slate to the charity's trustees those matters we are required to slate lo them in an Auditors, Report and for no Dlher purpose. To the fullest extent permitted by law, we do not accept or assume rèsponsibility lo anyone other than the charity and ils trustees. as a body. for our audit work, for this report, Dr for the opinions we have forrned. Feltons Chartered Accountants Chartered Accounlanls & Slatulory Auditors 1 The Green London TW9 1PL Date.. Feltons Chartered Accounlanls are eligible to act as audftors in terms of section 1212 of the Companies Act 2006. Page 62

ACTION TOGETHER CIO

STATEMENT OF FINANCIAL ACTIVITIES FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31 MARCH 2024

Note
Income from:
Charitable activities
4
Other trading activities
5
Investments
6
Total income
Expenditure on:
Raising funds
7,8
Charitable activities
10
Total expenditure
Net income before net gains on
investments
Net gains on investments
Net movement in funds
Reconciliation of funds:
Total funds brought forward
Net movement in funds
Total funds carried forward		 Unrestricted
funds
2024
£
-
45,006
96,949
141,955
19,788
62,712
82,500
59,455
1,039
60,494
1,316,769
60,494
1,377,263		 Restricted
funds
2024
£
6,190,669
-
28,583
6,219,252
910
6,160,937
6,161,847
57,405
6,992
64,397
3,574,207
64,397
3,638,604		 Total
funds
2024
£
6,190,669
45,006
125,532
6,361,207
20,698
6,223,649
6,244,347
116,860
8,031
124,891
4,890,976
124,891
5,015,867		 Total
funds
2023
£
6,410,244
69,522
41,374
6,521,140
26,669
6,379,212
6,405,881
115,259
31,679
146,938
4,744,038
146,938
4,890,976

The Statement of Financial Activities includes all gains and losses recognised in the year.

The notes on pages 66 to 88 form part of these financial statements.

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ACTION TOGETHER CIO

BALANCE SHEET AS AT 31 MARCH 2024

Note
Fixed assets
Tangible assets
15
Investments
16
Current assets
Debtors
17
Investments
18
Cash at bank and in hand
Creditors: amounts falling due within one
year
19
Net current assets
Total assets less current liabilities
Net assets excluding pension asset
Total net assets
Charity funds
Restricted funds
20
Unrestricted funds
20
Total funds		 158,870
907,595
3,093,096
4,159,561
(218,232)		 2024
£
18,238
1,056,300
1,074,538
3,941,329
5,015,867
5,015,867
5,015,867
3,638,604
1,377,263
5,015,867		 200,481
865,519
2,782,808
3,848,808
(186,215)		 2023
£
22,130
1,206,253
1,228,383
3,662,593
4,890,976
4,890,976
4,890,976
3,574,207
1,316,769
4,890,976

The financial statements were approved and authorised for issue by the Trustees on 9th September 2024 and signed on their behalf by: Anne Parkes (Treasurer)

The notes on pages 66 to 88 form part of these financial statements.

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STATEMENT OF CASH FLOWS FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31 MARCH 2024

Cash flows from operating activities
Net cash used in operating activities
Cash flows from investing activities
Dividends, interests and rents from investments
Proceeds from the sale of tangible fixed assets
Purchase of tangible fixed assets
Proceeds from sale of investments
Purchase of investments
Net cash provided by investing activities
Cash flows from financing activities
Net cash provided by financing activities
Change in cash and cash equivalents in the year
Cash and cash equivalents at the beginning of the year
Cash and cash equivalents at the end of the year
The notes on pages 66 to 88 form part of these financial statements		 2024
£
58,313
104,308
-
(10,317)
164,885
(6,901)
251,975
-
310,288
2,782,808
3,093,096		 2023
£
194,629
41,374
265,000
(14,297)
84,402
(5,222)
371,257
-
565,886
2,216,922
2,782,808

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ACTION TOGETHER CIO

NOTES TO THE FINANCIAL STATEMENTS FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31 MARCH 2024

1. General information

The charity is a public benefit entity and a registered charity in England and Wales and is unincorporated. The address of the principal office is 80 Union Street, Oldham, OL1 1DJ.

2. Accounting policies

2.1 Basis of preparation of financial statements

The financial statements have been prepared in accordance with the Charities SORP (FRS 102) - 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) (effective 1 January 2019), the Financial Reporting Standard applicable in the UK and Republic of Ireland (FRS 102) and the Charities Act 2011.

The financial statements have been prepared to give a 'true and fair' view and have departed from the Charities (Accounts and Reports) Regulations 2008 only to the extent required to provide a 'true and fair' view. This departure has involved following the Charities SORP (FRS 102) published in October 2019 rather than the Accounting and Reporting by Charities: Statement of Recommended Practice effective from 1 April 2005 which has since been withdrawn.

Action Together CIO meets the definition of a public benefit entity under FRS 102. Assets and liabilities are initially recognised at historical cost or transaction value unless otherwise stated in the relevant accounting policy.

2.2 Going concern

There are no material uncertainties about the charity's ability to continue.

2.3 Income

All income is recognised once the Charity has entitlement to the income, it is probable that the income will be received and the amount of income receivable can be measured reliably.

Grants are included in the Statement of Financial Activities on a receivable basis. The balance of income received for specific purposes but not expended during the period is shown in the relevant funds on the Balance Sheet. Where income is received in advance of entitlement of receipt, its recognition is deferred and included in creditors as deferred income. Where entitlement occurs before income is received, the income is accrued.

Income from contracts for the supply of services is recognised with the delivery of the contracted service. This is classified as unrestricted funds unless there is a contractual requirement for it to be spent on a particular purpose and returned if unspent, in which case it will be regarded as restricted.

Receipts received during the year which are not to be expended until after the balance sheet date are not recognised as income for the year and are included in income deferred.

Income tax recoverable in relation to investment income is recognised at the time the investment income is receivable.

Other income is recognised in the period in which it is receivable and to the extent the goods have been provided or on completion of the service.

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NOTES TO THE FINANCIAL STATEMENTS FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31 MARCH 2024

2. Accounting policies (continued)

2.4 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.

Expenditure on raising funds includes all expenditure incurred by the Charity to raise funds for its charitable purposes and includes costs of all fundraising activities events and non-charitable trading.

Expenditure on charitable activities is incurred on directly undertaking the activities which further the Charity's objectives, as well as any associated support costs.

Grants payable are charged in the year when the offer is made except in those cases where the offer is conditional, such grants being recognised as expenditure when the conditions attaching are fulfilled. Grants offered subject to conditions which have not been met at the year end are noted as a commitment, but not accrued as expenditure.

All expenditure is inclusive of irrecoverable VAT.

2.5 Government grants

Government grants relating to tangible fixed assets are treated as deferred income and released to the Statement of Financial Activities over the expected useful lives of the assets concerned. Other grants are credited to the Statement of Financial Activities as the related expenditure is incurred.

2.6 Interest receivable

Interest on funds held on deposit is included when receivable and the amount can be measured reliably by the Charity; this is normally upon notification of the interest paid or payable by the institution with whom the funds are deposited.

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NOTES TO THE FINANCIAL STATEMENTS FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31 MARCH 2024

2. Accounting policies (continued)

2.7 Tangible fixed assets and depreciation

Tangible fixed assets are initially recognised at cost. After recognition, under the revaluation model, tangible fixed assets whose fair value can be measured reliably shall be carried at a revalued amount, being their fair value at the date of revaluation less any subsequent accumulated depreciation and subsequent accumulated impairment losses.

Revaluations are made with sufficient regularity to ensure that the carrying amount does not differ materially from that which would be determined using fair value at the end of the reporting date.

Fair values are determined from market-based evidence by appraisal that is normally undertaken by professionally qualified valuers. If there is no market-based evidence of fair value because of the specialised nature of the tangible fixed asset and it is rarely sold, except as part of a contributing business, a Charity may need to estimate fair value using an income or depreciated replacement cost approach.

Gains and losses on revaluation are recognised in the Statement of Financial Activities, with a separate revaluation reserve being shown in the Statement of funds note.

An increase in the carrying amount of an asset as a result of a revaluation, is recognised in other recognised gains and losses, unless it reverses a charge for impairment that has previously been recognised as expenditure within the statement of financial activities. A decrease in the carrying amount of an asset as a result of revaluation, is recognised in other recognised gains and losses, except to which it offsets any previous revaluation gain, in which case the loss is shown within other recognised gains and losses on the statement of financial activities.

Depreciation is charged so as to allocate the cost of tangible fixed assets less their residual value over their estimated useful lives, using the straight-line method.

Depreciation is provided on the following basis:

Motor vehicles - 25% straight line
Fixtures and fittings - 25% straight line
Office equipment - 25% straight line

2.8 Investments

Fixed asset investments are a form of financial instrument and are initially recognised at their transaction cost and subsequently measured at fair value at the Balance Sheet date, unless the value cannot be measured reliably in which case it is measured at cost less impairment. Investment gains and losses, whether realised or unrealised, are combined and presented as ‘Gains/(Losses) on investments’ in the Statement of Financial Activities.

2.9 Debtors

Trade and other debtors are recognised at the settlement amount after any trade discount offered. Prepayments are valued at the amount prepaid net of any trade discounts due.

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NOTES TO THE FINANCIAL STATEMENTS FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31 MARCH 2024

2. Accounting policies (continued)

2.10 Cash at bank and in hand

Cash at bank and in hand includes cash and short-term highly liquid investments with a short maturity of three months or less from the date of acquisition or opening of the deposit or similar account.

2.11 Liabilities and provisions

Liabilities are recognised when there is an obligation at the Balance Sheet date as a result of a past event, it is probable that a transfer of economic benefit will be required in settlement, and the amount of the settlement can be estimated reliably.

Liabilities are recognised at the amount that the Charity anticipates it will pay to settle the debt or the amount it has received as advanced payments for the goods or services it must provide.

Provisions are measured at the best estimate of the amounts required to settle the obligation. Where the effect of the time value of money is material, the provision is based on the present value of those amounts, discounted at the pre-tax discount rate that reflects the risks specific to the liability. The unwinding of the discount is recognised in the Statement of Financial Activities as a finance cost.

2.12 Financial instruments

A financial asset or a financial liability is recognised only when the entity becomes a party to the contractual provisions of the instrument.

Basic financial instruments are initially recognised at the amount receivable or payable including any related transaction costs, unless the arrangement constitutes a financing transaction, where it is recognised at the present value of the future payments discounted at a market rate of interest for a similar debt instrument.

Current assets and current liabilities are subsequently measured at the cash or other consideration expected to be paid or received and not discounted.

Where investments in shares or preference shares are publicly traded or their fair value can otherwise be measured reliably, the investment is subsequently measured at fair value with changes in fair value recognised in income and expenditure. All other such investments are subsequently measured at cost less impairment.

Financial assets that are measured at cost or amortised cost are reviewed for objective evidence of impairment at the end of each reporting date. If there is objective evidence of impairment, an impairment loss is recognised under the appropriate heading in the statement of financial activities in which the initial gain was recognised.

For all equity instruments regardless of significance, and other financial assets that are individually significant, these are assessed individually for impairment.

Any reversals of impairment are recognised immediately, to the extent that the reversal does not result in a carrying amount of the financial asset that exceeds what the carrying amount would have been had the impairment not previously been recognised.

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NOTES TO THE FINANCIAL STATEMENTS FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31 MARCH 2024

2. Accounting policies (continued)

2.13 Pensions

The Charity operates a defined contribution pension scheme and the pension charge represents the amounts payable by the Charity to the fund in respect of the year.

2.14 Fund accounting

General funds are unrestricted funds which are available for use at the discretion of the Trustees in furtherance of the general objectives of the Charity and which have not been designated for other purposes.

Designated funds comprise unrestricted funds that have been set aside by the Trustees for particular purposes. The aim and use of each designated fund is set out in the notes to the financial statements.

Restricted funds are funds which are to be used in accordance with specific restrictions imposed by donors or which have been raised by the Charity for particular purposes. The costs of raising and administering such funds are charged against the specific fund. The aim and use of each restricted fund is set out in the notes to the financial statements.

Investment income, gains and losses are allocated to the appropriate fund.

3. Critical accounting estimates and areas of judgment

Estimates and judgments are continually evaluated and are based on historical experience and other factors, including expectations of future events that are believed to be reasonable under the circumstances.

Critical accounting estimates and assumptions:

The Charity makes estimates and assumptions concerning the future. The resulting accounting estimates and assumptions will, by definition, seldom equal the related actual results. The estimates and assumptions that have a significant risk of causing a material adjustment to the carrying amounts of assets and liabilities within the next financial year are discussed below.

(i) Recoverability of receivables

If necessary, the Charity establishes a provision for receivables that are estimated not to be recoverable. When assessing the recoverability the trustees consider factors such as aging of receivables, past experience of recoverability, and the credit profile of an individual or groups of customers.

Critical areas of judgment:

(i) Assessing indicators of impairment

In assessing whether there have been any indicators of impairment of assets, the trustees have considered both external and internal sources of information such as market conditions, counterparty credit ratings and experience of recoverability. There have been no indicators of impairment identified during the current financial year.

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NOTES TO THE FINANCIAL STATEMENTS FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31 MARCH 2024

4. Income from charitable activities

Core Infrastructure
Healthwatch
Grants & investments in the VCFSE
Social Prescribing/Community wellbeing
LTO
Other projects & consultancy
Total 2023		 Restricted
funds
2024
£
814,232
285,550
2,045,889
1,689,308
114,561
1,241,129
6,190,669
6,410,244		 Total
funds
2024
£
814,232
285,550
2,045,889
1,689,308
114,561
1,241,129
6,190,669
6,410,244		 Total
funds
2023
£
1,141,251
295,276
2,890,912
1,412,084
253,457
417,264
6,410,244

5. Income from other trading activities Income from fundraising events

Activities for generating funds
Total 2023		 Unrestricte
d funds
2024
£
45,006
69,522		 Total
funds
2024
£
45,006
69,522		 Total
funds
2023
£
69,522

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ACTION TOGETHER CIO

NOTES TO THE FINANCIAL STATEMENTS FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31 MARCH 2024

6. Investment income and bank interest

Income from listed investments
Investment income - bank interest
Total 2023		 Unrestricte
d funds
2024
£
6,218
90,731
96,949
34,473		 Restricted
funds
2024
£
28,583
-
28,583
6,901		 Total
funds
2024
£
34,801
90,731
125,532
41,374		 Total
funds
2023
£
11,320
30,054
41,374

7. Expenditure on raising funds

Support costs - fundraising expenses

Centrally incurred support costs less those recovered from
restricted funds
Total 2023		 Unrestricte
d funds
2024
£
19,788
25,594		 Total
funds
2024
£
19,788
25,594		 Total
funds
2023
£
25,594

The centrally incurred support costs amounted to £752,238 (2023: £637,247) of which £732,450 (2023: £611,653) were recovered from the administration and management of restricted costs.

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NOTES TO THE FINANCIAL STATEMENTS FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31 MARCH 2024

8. Investment management costs

Investment management fees
Total 2023		 Restricted
funds
2024
£
910
1,075		 Total
funds
2024
£
910
1,075		 Total
funds
2023
£
1,075

9. Analysis of grants

Grants, Grants & investments in the VCFSE
Grants, Social Prescribing/Community wellbeing
Grants, Other projects & consultancy
Total 2023		 Grants to
Institutions
2024
£
1,515,286
-
72,069
1,587,355
2,041,132		 Total
funds
2024
£
1,515,286
-
72,069
1,587,355
2,041,132		 Total
funds
2023
£
1,798,710
242,422
-
2,041,132

Information relating to grants made to institutions by the Charity can be accessed at https:www.actiontogether.org.uk.

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NOTES TO THE FINANCIAL STATEMENTS FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31 MARCH 2024

10. Analysis of expenditure on charitable activities

Summary by fund type

Core Infrastructure
Healthwatch
Grants & investments in the VCFSE
Social Prescribing/Community wellbeing
LTO
Other projects & consultancy
Governance costs
Total 2023		 Unrestricte
d funds
2024
£
-
-
-
-
-
47,933
14,779
62,712
23,676		 Restricted
funds
2024
£
752,419
294,284
1,625,144
1,866,772
129,799
1,492,519
-
6,160,937
6,355,536		 Total
2024
£
752,419
294,284
1,625,144
1,866,772
129,799
1,540,452
14,779
6,223,649
6,379,212		 Total
2023
£
800,490
299,406
3,242,051
1,520,975
226,063
282,560
7,667
6,379,212

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ACTION TOGETHER CIO

NOTES TO THE FINANCIAL STATEMENTS FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31 MARCH 2024

11. Analysis of expenditure by activities

Core Infrastructure
Healthwatch
Grants & investments in the
VCFSE
Social Prescribing/Community
wellbeing
LTO
Other projects & consultancy
Governance costs
Total 2023		 Activities
undertaken
directly
2024
£
610,099
232,284
49,911
1,665,356
125,399
1,209,429
-
3,892,478
3,718,760		 Grant
funding of
activities
2024
£
-
-
1,515,286
-
-
72,069
-
1,587,355
2,041,132		 Support
costs
2024
£
142,320
62,000
59,947
201,416
4,400
258,954
14,779
743,816
619,320		 Total
funds
2024
£
752,419
294,284
1,625,144
1,866,772
129,799
1,540,452
14,779
6,223,649
6,379,212		 Total
funds
2023
£
800,490
299,406
3,242,051
1,520,975
226,063
282,560
7,667
6,379,212

12. Auditors' remuneration

The auditors' remuneration amounts to an auditor fee of £8,667 (2023 - £6,279) , and accountancy fees of £4,000 ( 2023 - £3,500 ).

13. Staff costs

Wages and salaries
Social security costs
Contribution to defined contribution pension schemes		 2024
£
2,665,904
254,492
154,975
3,075,371		 2023
£
2,281,490
218,084
128,030
2,627,604

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ACTION TOGETHER CIO

NOTES TO THE FINANCIAL STATEMENTS FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31 MARCH 2024

13. Staff costs (continued)

The average number of persons employed by the Charity during the year was as follows:

2024 2023
No. No.
Total employees 89 81

The number of employees whose employee benefits (excluding employer pension costs) exceeded £60,000 was:

2024 2023
No. No.
In the band £60,001 - £70,000 1 -
In the band £70,001 - £80,000 1 1

Key management personnel include all persons that have authority and responsibility for planning, directing and controlling the activities of the charity. The total compensation paid to key management personnel for services provided to the charity including employer's national insurance was £157,638 (2023:£152,530).

14. Trustees' remuneration and expenses

During the year, no Trustees received any remuneration or other benefits (2023 - £NIL) .

During the year ended 31 March 2024, expenses totalling £ NIL were reimbursed or paid directly to Trustee (2023 - £6 to 1 Trustee) for meeting expenses.

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ACTION TOGETHER CIO

NOTES TO THE FINANCIAL STATEMENTS FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31 MARCH 2024

15. Tangible fixed assets

Cost or valuation
At 1 April 2023
Additions
At 31 March 2024
Depreciation
At 1 April 2023
Charge for the year
At 31 March 2024
Net book value
At 31 March 2024
At 31 March 2023		 Motor
vehicles
£
24,299
-
24,299
24,299
-
24,299
-
-		 Fixtures and
fittings
£
9,000
872
9,872
7,497
1,604
9,101
771
1,503		 Office
equipment
£
51,936
9,445
61,381
31,309
12,605
43,914
17,467
20,627		 Total
£
85,235
10,317
95,552
63,105
14,209
77,314
18,238
22,130

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ACTION TOGETHER CIO

NOTES TO THE FINANCIAL STATEMENTS FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31 MARCH 2024

16. Fixed asset investments

Cost or valuation
At 1 April 2023
Additions
Disposals
Revaluations
At 31 March 2024
Net book value
At 31 March 2024
At 31 March 2023
17.
Debtors
Due within one year
Trade debtors
Other debtors
Prepayments and accrued income
18.
Current asset investments
Unlisted investments		 Listed
investments
£
1,187,467
6,901
(163,034)
7,495
1,038,829
1,038,829
1,187,467		 Unlisted
investments
£
18,786
-
(1,315)
-
17,471
17,471
18,786
2024
£
135,840
3,336
19,694
158,870
2024
£
907,595		 Total
£
1,206,253
6,901
(164,349)
7,495
1,056,300
1,056,300
1,206,253
2023
£
175,606
3,267
21,608
200,481
2023
£
865,519

Unlisted investments represents investment in a charity short term common deposit fund. It is considered that the amounts should be shown as current asset investments rather than cash and the amount for the prior year of £865,519 has been reanalysed accordingly.

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ACTION TOGETHER CIO

NOTES TO THE FINANCIAL STATEMENTS FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31 MARCH 2024

19. Creditors: Amounts falling due within one year

Trade creditors
Other taxation and social security
Other creditors
Accruals and deferred income
Grants accrued - institutional		 2024
£
15,778
123,092
1,240
78,122
-
218,232		 2023
£
19,631
89,036
1,114
62,562
13,872
186,215

Page 79

ACTION TOGETHER CIO

NOTES TO THE FINANCIAL STATEMENTS FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31 MARCH 2024

20. Statement of funds

The separate analysis of restricted funds overleaf shows the movements on the material restricted funds, with the balance of the funds shown as other restricted funds.

Statement of funds - current year

Balance at 1
April 2023
£
Unrestricted funds
Designated funds
Development of the database
68,018
Research and capacity fund
-
68,018
General funds
General Funds - all funds
1,248,751
Total Unrestricted funds
1,316,769		 Income
£
-
-
-
141,955
141,955		 Expenditure
£
(21,013)
-
(21,013)
(61,487)
(82,500)		 Transfers
in/out
£
-
47,000
47,000
(47,000)
-		 Gains/
(Losses)
£
-
-
-
1,039
1,039		 Balance at
31 March
2024
£
47,005
47,000
94,005
1,283,258
1,377,263

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ACTION TOGETHER CIO

NOTES TO THE FINANCIAL STATEMENTS FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31 MARCH 2024

20. Statement of funds (continued)

Balance at 1
April 2023
£
Restricted funds
Action Oldham Fund
535,229
Tameside 4 Good
289,339
Tameside Robin Estill Fund
152,280
Thriving Communities Social Prescribing
141,873
One Oldham Fund
19,609
Restricted Funds - other
2,435,877
3,574,207
Total of funds
4,890,976		 Income
£
19,420
10,389
-
619,790
301,100
5,268,553
6,219,252
6,361,207		 Expenditure
£
(120,224)
(13,200)
-
(449,060)
(121,277)
(5,458,086)
(6,161,847)
(6,244,347)		 Transfers
in/out
£
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-		 Gains/
(Losses)
£
10,524
(3,532)
-
-
-
-
6,992
8,031		 Balance at
31 March
2024
£
444,949
282,996
152,280
312,603
199,432
2,246,344
3,638,604
5,015,867

Page 81

ACTION TOGETHER CIO

NOTES TO THE FINANCIAL STATEMENTS FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31 MARCH 2024

20.
Statement of funds (continued)
Statement of funds - prior year
Unrestricted funds
Designated funds
Designated Funds -Development of the database
General funds
General Funds - all funds
Total Unrestricted funds		 Balance at
1 April 2022
£
90,487
1,081,274
1,171,761		 Income
£
-
103,995
103,995		 Expenditure
£
(22,469)
(26,801)
(49,270)		 Gains/
(Losses)
£
-
90,283
90,283		 Balance at
31 March
2023
£
68,018
1,248,751
1,316,769

Page 82

ACTION TOGETHER CIO

NOTES TO THE FINANCIAL STATEMENTS FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31 MARCH 2024

20. Statement of funds (continued)

Restricted funds
Action Oldham Fund
Community Wellbeing
Tameside 4 Good
Oldham Local Motion
Tameside Robin Estill Fund
Thriving Communities Social Prescribing
Rochdale RRR Fund
Restricted Funds - other
Total of funds		 Balance at
1 April 2022
£
605,716
313,507
305,201
350,000
157,113
137,174
274,986
1,428,580
3,572,277
4,744,038		 Income
£
20,616
875,697
10,235
1,199
-
413,423
-
5,095,975
6,417,145
6,521,140		 Expenditure
£
(54,797)
(791,618)
(3,799)
(74,525)
(4,833)
(408,724)
(256,758)
(4,761,557)
(6,356,611)
(6,405,881)		 Gains/
(Losses)
£
(36,306)
-
(22,298)
-
-
-
-
-
(58,604)
31,679		 Balance at
31 March
2023
£
535,229
397,586
289,339
276,674
152,280
141,873
18,228
1,762,998
3,574,207
4,890,976

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ACTION TOGETHER CIO

NOTES TO THE FINANCIAL STATEMENTS FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31 MARCH 2024

21. Summary of funds

Summary of funds - current year

Balance at 1
April 2023
£
Designated funds
68,018
General funds
1,248,751
Restricted funds
3,574,207
4,890,976		 Income
£
-
141,955
6,219,252
6,361,207		 Expenditure
£
(21,013)
(61,487)
(6,161,847)
(6,244,347)		 Transfers
in/out
£
47,000
(47,000)
-
-		 Gains/
(Losses)
£
-
1,039
6,992
8,031		 Balance at
31 March
2024
£
94,005
1,283,258
3,638,604
5,015,867

Restricted funds held at the end of the year have been carried forward for the future support of specific projects. Action Together recognises that it is responsible and accountable for public funds. It further recognises that it needs clarity and transparency in demonstrating how these funds are managed and, in particular, the level of funds that it judges appropriate to hold in reserve.

A balance in designated funds exists for the development of our database system and cost of the relaunch of our website later in 2024. In addition a further £47,000 has been designated from reserves to be spent on state of the sector research and report along with costs associated with Local Infrastructure Quality Accreditation.

Page 84

ACTION TOGETHER CIO

NOTES TO THE FINANCIAL STATEMENTS FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31 MARCH 2024

21. Summary of funds (continued)

Summary of funds - prior year

Designated funds
General funds
Restricted funds		 Balance at
1 April 2022
£
90,487
1,081,274
3,572,277
4,744,038		 Income
£
-
103,995
6,417,145
6,521,140		 Expenditure
£
(22,469)
(26,801)
(6,356,611)
(6,405,881)		 Gains/
(Losses)
£
-
90,283
(58,604)
31,679		 Balance at
31 March
2023
£
68,018
1,248,751
3,574,207
4,890,976

Page 85

ACTION TOGETHER CIO

NOTES TO THE FINANCIAL STATEMENTS FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31 MARCH 2024

22. Analysis of net assets between funds

Analysis of net assets between funds - current period

Tangible fixed assets
Fixed asset investments
Current assets
Creditors due within one year
Total		 Unrestricte
d funds
2024
£
18,238
329,923
1,247,334
(218,232)
1,377,263		 Restricted
funds
2024
£
-
726,377
2,912,227
-
3,638,604		 Total
funds
2024
£
18,238
1,056,300
4,159,561
(218,232)
5,015,867

Analysis of net assets between funds - prior period

Tangible fixed assets
Fixed asset investments
Current assets
Creditors due within one year
Total		 Unrestricted
funds
2023
£
22,130
329,537
1,151,317
(186,215)
1,316,769		 Restricted
funds
2023
£
-
876,716
2,697,491
-
3,574,207		 Total
funds
2023
£
22,130
1,206,253
3,848,808
(186,215)
4,890,976

Page 86

ACTION TOGETHER CIO

NOTES TO THE FINANCIAL STATEMENTS FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31 MARCH 2024

23. Reconciliation of net movement in funds to net cash flow from operating activities

Net income for the period (as per Statement of Financial Activities)
Adjustments for:
Depreciation charges
Gains/(losses) on investments
Loss/(profit) on the sale of fixed assets
Decrease in debtors
Increase in creditors
Other interest receivable
Increase in current asset investments
Net cash provided by operating activities
24.
Analysis of cash and cash equivalents
Cash in hand
Total cash and cash equivalents
25.
Analysis of changes in net debt
At 1 April
2023
£
Cash at bank and in hand
2,782,808
Liquid investments
865,519
3,648,327		 2024
£
124,891
14,209
(8,031)
-
41,611
32,017
(104,308)
(42,076)
58,313
2024
£
3,093,096
3,093,096
Cash flows
£
310,288
42,076
352,364		 2023
£
146,938
13,343
83,321
(115,000)
89,463
33,016
(41,374)
(15,078)
194,629
2023
£
2,782,808
2,782,808
At 31 March
2024
£
3,093,096
907,595
4,000,691

Page 87

ACTION TOGETHER CIO

NOTES TO THE FINANCIAL STATEMENTS FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31 MARCH 2024

26. Pension commitments

The group operates a defined contribution pension scheme. The assets of the scheme are held separately from those of the group in an independently administered fund. The pension cost charge represents contributions payable by the group to the fund and amounted to £154,975 (2023 - £128,030). contributions totalling £Nil (2023: £Nil) were payable to the fund at the balance sheet date and are included in creditors.

27. Related party transactions

There are no related party transactions.

Page 88