2021-03-31-accounts - Invisible Palace

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Invisible Palace Charity Commission Report to end March 2021

Registered Charity 1165888 Trustees’ Report

For the period from: 1[st] April 2020 To: 31[st] March 2021

Charity name: Invisible Palace

Charity registration number: 1165888

Registered/principal address: 23 Dulwich Wood Avenue London SE19 1HB

Invisible Palace

Trustees: Initial period of appointment (years from 7[th] March 2016):

Michael George Sylvester Doiley	3	resigned & reappointed 24th February 2020
Rosalind (Rosie) Hunter	2	resigned & reappointed 2nd January 2019
Julianne (Jules) Hussey	3	resigned & reappointed 26th August 2020
Sonia Rai	3	resigned & reappointed 24th February 2020
Helen Forde	3	appointed 26th August 2020
Gail Rowe	3	appointed 26th August 2020

The Trustees have pleasure in presenting their Report for the charity’s fifth full year of operation.

Invisible Palace

Introduction

Invisible Palace is a charity based in South East London which brings people from a whole range of backgrounds together through shared interests for collective activity. Working across the five boroughs of Bromley, Croydon, Lambeth, Southwark and Lewisham, in the neighbourhoods that surround Crystal Palace Park, the charity focuses on:

The advancement of education in and appreciation and understanding of the arts, culture, heritage, history and sciences for the public benefit.
The promotion of equality and diversity and the promotion of social inclusion for the public benefit by preventing people from becoming socially excluded, relieving the needs of those people who are socially excluded and assisting them to integrate into society.

These objectives are achieved by:

Offering a programme of arts, cultural, heritage and educational activities and events, working with the local community, for individuals who live, work or study in the area whatever their background, and for the general public, with the aim of enabling people from diverse backgrounds to interact with each other.

Invisible Palace prioritises working with those who are excluded or at risk of being excluded from society. They promote a broad definition of social exclusion, including those being excluded from society, or parts of society, as a result of one of more of the following factors:

Unemployment
Financial hardship
Youth or old age
Disability
Ill health (physical or mental)
Substance abuse or dependency including alcohol and drugs
Discrimination on the grounds of sex, race, disability, ethnic origin, religion, belief, creed, sexual orientation or gender re-assignment
Poor educational or skills attainment
Relationship and family breakdown
Poor housing (that is housing that does not meet basic habitable standards)
Crime (as a victim of crime or as an offender rehabilitating into society).

The work of Invisible Palace takes a participant led approach, with the small team developing and running activities championing the needs of those taking part and creating programmes which respond to this need on a local and individual level. By targeting people who may be marginalised from what is already happening in the local area across age groups and backgrounds, people are brought together in a community of interest rather than having their demographic background or life stage be the main factor in defining them.

Invisible Palace

Covid delivery context and approach

Early 2020 was consumed with the unfolding Covid pandemic and by 23 March the country was in lockdown. Invisible Palace responded to this by trying to keep channels of communication open with project participants and partner organisations. Nothing was fixed or predictable with Covid guidelines and funding opportunities constantly evolving. Open communication and collaboration led to new work with clearer purpose as well as new and strengthened partnerships for Invisible Palace.

Partnership with Paxton Green Time Bank

During the early part of the Covid pandemic Invisible Palace worked in partnership with Paxton Green Time Bank (PGTB) and local business Eastern Cuisine. Eastern Cuisine have supported our work in the past, but this was a new partnership with PGTB. Through this collaboration we were able to support local people experiencing food poverty, isolating or shielding. We achieved:

550 hot meals delivered over a 9-week period
8 volunteers donated 79 hours
deliveries to 71 local people primarily in Southwark but also Lewisham, Bromley and Southwark
£1500 was raised to support this work by local people and from Southwark Council

PHOTO © LOUISE HAYWOOD-SCHIEFER

Invisible Palace

Defy Gravity Social Circus in partnership with My Aerial Home Invisible Palace is a delivery partner with Crystal Palace Community Trust (CPCT) on a 3-year Mayor’s Young Londoners Fund project. During 2020 this project was severely affected by Covid and it was not possible to develop consistent work with new partner Saffron Valley Collegiate School although 7 pupils from the school were able to take part in one circus session.

During the summer holidays Invisible Palace worked in partnership with My Aerial Home (MAH) to deliver social circus activities. A four-week programme of sessions were scheduled as part of CPCT's Summer Programme in Betts Park, Anerley. Twenty-eight children and young people took part across eight sessions. Many participants had spent the summer term at home, and this was an important time for children to come together and work in small groups. Covid guidelines were followed throughout our programmes.

https://invisiblepalace.org.uk/summer-circus-skills-2020

Invisible Palace

Vicar’s Oak gardening activities

During full lockdown we were able to undertake essential gardening activity of watering and weeding. The public location of the Vicar’s Oak at one of the main entrances to the park made meeting in groups very difficult and volunteering activities were paused.

Thanks to grants from the National Lottery and the City Bridge Trust through the London Community Response Fund, full gardening activity resumed in June. Staff tending the flower beds during lockdown had experienced higher than usual numbers of people stopping to chat. Therefore, one aim of the newly funded sessions was to offer regular social opportunities for both garden volunteers and passers-by. A new project support role was created to ensure that the needs of participants could be adequately met.

The sessions were run in different ways in order to maintain activity within the Government Guidelines. For example, during Autumn 2020 sessions were staggered and volunteers worked in pairs.

Across 26 sessions between June 2020 and the end of February 2021

11 people volunteered 152 hours
a further 24 people grew pansy seedlings on at home
over 40 people attended a plant share and swap event
over 200 conversations took place with passers-by

https://invisiblepalace.org.uk/vicars-oak-flowerbeds-april-2020-21

Invisible Palace

Short Walks from the Vicar's Oak

During summer 2020 Invisible Palace created three short walks inspired by the built and natural environment. This included exploring interesting buildings, street signs and green spaces. The aim was to promote connectedness to local culture, heritage, and nature though observation, discovery and conversation. Invisible Palace collaborated with The Norwood Society in order to develop two walks and made use of existing research by Friends of Crystal Palace Subway for the third walk. Designer Marianne Noble worked with this content to create printed leaflets that were distributed at the Vicar's Oak gardening sessions and whenever possible though local venues and businesses. Leaflets were also available for download. By Autumn these walks were available in person for groups of 6, including the guide.

over 500 leaflets were distributed, there was clear demand for the printed version
less than 100 copies of leaflets were downloaded by March 2021
5 guided walks with 5 walkers on each took place in Autumn 2020 before winter and further lockdowns
these walks restarted in April 2021 and have been run by both The Norwood Society and Invisible Palace

PHOTOS KATE WILLMAN

Invisible Palace

Digital Delivery

Following feedback and conversations with regular participants, we placed an emphasis on faceto-face delivery of activities at the Vicar’s Oak. Autumn 2020 brought tougher Covid measures and as quickly as Invisible Palace could adapt activities the rules changed. Finally, all activities were brought online including the Local History Reading Group which was a new session on offer for winter 2020 and a new walk planned for Crystal Palace Park which became a digital series called Sculpture Saturdays.

Members of the Reading Group had enjoyed meeting in person specially for short walks linked to the reading material, however this group did not work well on zoom. We kept in touch via email and new materials were sent out but the inability to meet in person proved very difficult for this group.

What did work surprisingly well was delivery on social media, particularly Facebook where it was possible to reach older people in their homes. 14 Reading Group posts across three channels attracted 2799 engagements and sparked 31 conversations.

Sculpture Saturdays took the form of a weekly message or postcard from Crystal Palace Park, each message could be read as a stop on a walking tour of the remaining sculptures in the park. Digital postcards were sent to those not on social media. The series continued into March 2021. 13 Sculpture Saturday posts across three channels attracted 7244 engagements and sparked 134 conversation. The strength of this engagement led to a successful funding application to the National Lottery Heritage Fund for the Sculptures of Crystal Palace Park project.

Invisible Palace

Summary

Across the whole year face-to-face delivery was greatly reduced. For example, cancellation of social circus work within schools reduced participant numbers by 50-60 people.

Between March 2020 and the end of February 2021

91 people took part in regular face-to-face activity
a further 250 people took part in a one-off face-to-face activity or conversations
heritage and arts content on social media attracted 7218 engagements and 107 conversations
3 people received digital devices, 2 of which have been kept and actively used. In one case this has led to a person receiving regular training with Clear Community Web
4 people received Mental Health First Aid training
9 freelancers were employed
local amenity the Vicar’s Oak flower beds were maintained

Being a very small charity that deliberately works in a socially inclusive way has presented a number of difficulties and learning opportunities.

During this pandemic Invisible Palace has learnt that there is real value in incredibly simple activities such as walking, gardening, being visible in the same place every week, and having enough appropriately trained staff to welcome and support everyone who would like to take part.

One adaptation that was made as a result of the pandemic that Invisible Palace will keep is the idea of working in small groups. It is clear that working in small groups increases value for each participant significantly and allows each group to accommodate individual needs.

During this year it became evident how Invisible Palace works in a way that is very responsive to participants’ needs, but there was no formal recording of this process or method. During 2021 Invisible Palace has invested in naming and formalising that process.

Fundraising will always be difficult when working with multiple groups in a socially inclusive way as this leads to complex project narratives. However, this approach is at the core of what Invisible Palace strives to achieve and will remain at the heart of the organisation.

Invisible Palace

Registered Charity no. 1165888

Receipts & Payments Account

for the period 1st April 2020 to 31st March 2021

The charity holds no endowment funds at present

There are were no sales or purchases of assets or investments.

Receipts Cash donations Donations thru CAF bank City Bridge Trust Power of One project / CPCT partnership - Mayor's Young Londoners Fund Local Giving Magic Little Grant Southwark Council Coronavirus Community Support Fund - National Lottery Community Fund	Restricted Funds £ 0 10,276 4,155 500 1,000 9,800	Unrestricted Funds Total £ £ 699 699 1,050 1,050 10,276 4,155 500 1,000 9,800
	25,731	1,749 27,480
Payments Artists' and project management fees Equipment and materials Volunteers' Expenses Publicity & promotion Bank charges	£ 18,114 6,412 450 45	£ £ 18,114 6,412 450 45 69 69
Total netpayments for theperiod	25,021	69 25,090
Openingbalance	Restricted Funds £ 715	Unrestricted Funds Total £ £ 1,839 2,555
Cash funds at end ofperiod	1,426	3,519 4,945

Invisible Palace Registered Charity no. 1165888

Statement of Assets and Liabilities for the period 1st April 2020 to 31st March 2021

Assets Restricted Funds held Other monetary assets Investment assets Assets retained for the charity's own use Liabilities any invoices outstanding at 31 March 2021	Restricted Funds £ 1,426 0 0 0 0	Unrestricted Funds Total £ £ 3,519 4,945 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
Total Assets at end ofperiod	1,426	3,519 4,945
Bank reconciliation bank closing balance 31/3/21 4,945 APPROVED BY THE TRUSTEES ON Signed Rosalind Hunter, trustee date Signed Julianne Hussey, trustee date 30th Jan 2022 30/1/22

Invisible Palace

Financial Review

The charity's Financial Statements form page 10 of this report.

The Receipts and Payments accounts show total receipts of £27,480 during the financial year reported on; total payments of £25,090 and a year-end position of £4,945 held in assets (cash at bank).

This year for the first time the charity received trust funding of £11,276 from two trusts including the City Bridge Trust.

Overall there was a nearly 50% increase in funding over previous year however virtually all of this funding was in relation to pandemic support. Funding for longer projects, core costs or to contribute towards the sustainability of the charity proved unattainable this year as the pandemic continued.

Applications which had been developed for larger projects were destroyed by the pandemic and it was essential for the focus to shift to simpler, quicker projects that could adapt as Covid restrictions changed.

Furthermore, income and project funding from the charity’s partner status in the Young Londoners Project was vastly reduced because of school closures and pandemic restrictions.

The total restricted funds receipts by the Charity for the year were £ 25,731 . Of this £25,021 of restricted funds payments were made during the period. At the end of this period £1,426 of restricted funds are held.

The total unrestricted funds received by the charity was £1,749 with £69 being spent this financial year and £3,519 of unrestricted funds held at the end of the year.

The finances this year were independently examined by Stefan Bort a Chartered secretary for Bort Corporate solutions Ltd.

Declarations

The trustees declare that they have approved the Trustees' Report above and the Financial report on page 10.

Signed on behalf of the charity's trustees:

Signature(s) Full name(s) Position (e.g. Secretary, Chair) Date


Julianne Hussey	Rosalind Hunter
Trustee	Trustee
30th Jan 2022	30/1/22

Independent examiner's report on the accounts

Section A Independent Examiner’s Report

Report to the trustees/ members of Invisible Palace On accounts for the year Charity no 2021 ended (if any) 1165888 Set out on pages 10 and 11 of the annual report for the year ending 2021 I report to the trustees on my examination of the accounts of the above charity (“the Trust”) for the year ended DD / MM / YYYY 31 03 2021 . Responsibilities and As the charity's trustees, you are responsible for the preparation of the basis of report accounts in accordance with the requirements of the Charities Act 2011 (“the Act”) .

I report in respect of my examination of the Trust’s accounts carried out under section 145 of the 2011 Act and in carrying out my examination, I have followed all the applicable Directions given by the Charity Commission under section 145(5)(b) of the Act.

Independent The charity’s gross income exceeded £25,000 and I am qualified to examiner's statement undertake the examination by being a chartered secretary.

I have completed my examination. I confirm that no material matters have come to my attention in connection with the examination which gives me cause to believe that in, any material respect:

I have no concerns and have come across no other matters in connection with the examination to which attention should be drawn in this report in order to enable a proper understanding of the accounts to be reached.

Signed: Date: 30th Jan 2022 Name: Stefan Bort ACG Relevant professional qualification(s) or body Chartered Secretary

Oct 2018

IER

(if any): The Chartered Governance Institute UK & Ireland

(if any):	The Chartered Governance Institute UK & Ireland
Address:	registered company address:
	BORT CORPORATE SOLUTIONS LTD
	20-22 Wenlock Road, London, England, N1 7GU

Section B Disclosure

Only complete if the examiner needs to highlight material matters of concern (see CC32, Independent examination of charity accounts: directions and guidance for examiners).

Give here brief details of none any items that the examiner wishes to disclose .

Invisible Palace

Registered Charity no. 1165888

Receipts & Payments Account

for the period 1st April 2020 to 31st March 2021

The charity holds no endowment funds at present

There are were no sales or purchases of assets or investments.

Receipts Cash donations Donations thru CAF bank City Bridge Trust Power of One project / CPCT partnership - Mayor's Young Londoners Fund Local Giving Magic Little Grant Southwark Council Coronavirus Community Support Fund - National Lottery Community Fund	Restricted Funds £ 0 10,276 4,155 500 1,000 9,800	Unrestricted Funds Total £ £ 699 699 1,050 1,050 10,276 4,155 500 1,000 9,800
	25,731	1,749 27,480
Payments Artists' and project management fees Equipment and materials Volunteers' Expenses Publicity & promotion Bank charges	£ 18,114 6,412 450 45	£ £ 18,114 6,412 450 45 69 69
Total netpayments for theperiod	25,021	69 25,090
Openingbalance	Restricted Funds £ 715	Unrestricted Funds Total £ £ 1,839 2,555
Cash funds at end ofperiod	1,426	3,519 4,945

Invisible Palace Registered Charity no. 1165888

Statement of Assets and Liabilities for the period 1st April 2020 to 31st March 2021

Assets Restricted Funds held Other monetary assets Investment assets Assets retained for the charity's own use Liabilities any invoices outstanding at 31 March 2021	Restricted Funds £ 1,426 0 0 0 0	Unrestricted Funds Total £ £ 3,519 4,945 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
Total Assets at end ofperiod	1,426	3,519 4,945
Bank reconciliation bank closing balance 31/3/21 4,945

APPROVED BY THE TRUSTEES ON

Signed Rosalind Hunter, trustee date Signed Julianne Hussey, trustee date

Independent examiner's report on the accounts

Section A Independent Examiner’s Report

Independent The charity’s gross income exceeded £25,000 and I am qualified to examiner's statement undertake the examination by being a chartered secretary.

I have completed my examination. I confirm that no material matters have come to my attention in connection with the examination which gives me cause to believe that in, any material respect:

Signed: Date: 30th Jan 2022 Name: Stefan Bort ACG Relevant professional qualification(s) or body Chartered Secretary

Oct 2018

IER

(if any): The Chartered Governance Institute UK & Ireland

(if any):	The Chartered Governance Institute UK & Ireland
Address:	registered company address:
	BORT CORPORATE SOLUTIONS LTD
	20-22 Wenlock Road, London, England, N1 7GU

Section B Disclosure

Only complete if the examiner needs to highlight material matters of concern (see CC32, Independent examination of charity accounts: directions and guidance for examiners).

Give here brief details of none any items that the examiner wishes to disclose .