Financial Year 2020/2021
Administrative details
Shift Nation Registered number: 1165932 Office: 15 Bushey Road, Croydon, CR0 8EW
Trustees:
Miss Precious Omoregie (Secretary) Miss Mia Louise Skelly Mr Robert Andrew Colvin Miss Heather McCormick Mr Rowan Alexander Kelsey Jackson-Smith (Treasurer)
Website: www.shift-uk.com
Bank: CAF Bank Ltd, Kings Hill, West Malling, ME19 4TA.
Structure, governance and management
The charity is a CIO and was registered on 8 March 2016. All trustees give their time voluntarily and receive no benefits from the charity. Any expenses reclaimed from the charity are set out in the notes to the accounts.
Appointment of charity trustees
Apart from the first charity trustees, every trustee is appointed for a term of three years by a resolution passed at a properly convened meeting of the charity trustees.
In selecting individuals for appointment as charity trustees, the charity trustees have regard to the skills, knowledge and experience needed for the effective administration of the CIO.
Information for new charity trustees
The charity trustees make available to each new charity trustee, on or before his or her first appointment:
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a. a copy of the current version of the constitution of the CIO; and
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b. a copy of the CIO’s latest Trustees’ Annual Report and statement of accounts.
Financial Year 2020/2021
Retirement and removal of charity trustees
A charity trustee ceases to hold office if he or she:
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a. retires by notifying the CIO in writing (but only if enough charity trustees will remain in office when the notice of resignation takes effect to form a quorum for meetings);
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b. is absent without the permission of the charity trustees from all their meetings held within a period of six months and the trustees resolve that his or her office be vacated;
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c. dies;
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d. in the written opinion, given to the company, of a registered medical practitioner treating that person, has become physically or mentally incapable of acting as a director and may remain so for more than three months;
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e. is disqualified from acting as a charity trustee by virtue of sections 178-180 of the Charities Act 2011 (or any statutory re-enactment or modification of that provision).
Any person retiring as a charity trustee is eligible for reappointment. A charity trustee who has served for three consecutive terms may not be reappointed for a fourth consecutive term but may be reappointed after an interval of at least one year.
Decision-making
Any decision may be taken either:
a. at a meeting of the charity trustees; or
b. by resolution in writing or electronic form agreed by all of the charity trustees, which may comprise either a single document or several documents containing the text of the resolution in like form to each of which one or more charity trustees has signified their agreement.
Delegation of charity trustees
The charity trustees may delegate any of their powers or functions to a committee or committees, and, if they do, they shall determine the terms and conditions on which the delegation is made. The charity’s trustees may at any time alter those terms and conditions, or revoke the delegation.
This power is in addition to the power of delegation in the General Regulations and any other power of delegation available to the charity trustees, but is subject to the following requirements:
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a. A committee may consist of two or more persons, but at least one member of each committee must be a charity trustee;
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b. The acts and proceedings of any committee must be brought to the attention of the charity trustees as a whole as soon as is reasonably practicable; and
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c. The charity trustees shall from time to time review the arrangements, which they have made for the delegation of their powers.
Financial Year 2020/2021
Financial review
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In the financial year ending April 2020, the charity held cash funds at bank of £25,335. In this financial year ending April 2021 (and as explained in the charity’s accounts for this year) the charity was faced with (i) the aftermath of the death of its co-founder and trustee Caleb Meakins (who passed away in February 2020); and (ii) the challenges brought about by the COVID-19 pandemic.
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The COVID-19 pandemic in particular meant that the charity was unable (if it were to follow government guidance and applicable law) to properly plan for and host the two major events that it would normally hold: the Shift Weekend and Shift New Year’s Eve.
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While the charity did (among other things) host a number of online gatherings in pursuit of its objects, it did not (necessarily) incur the sort of costs associated with hosting two large events but nor did it experience the income brought in through ticket sales for those events. As such, the charity’s expenditure for the year was relatively low at £339. Regular giving remained relatively stable through the period at £8,640. The result is that cash funds at bank stand at £36,771 as of the end of the financial year.
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The trustees are mindful of these reserves and consider that the charity is well placed to pursue its objects and in particular, when government guidance and applicable law permit, resume plans for the physical gathering of members of the Shift community.
Public benefit statement
When planning activities for the year, the trustees ensure they have due regard to the public benefit guidance published by the Charities Commission (including but not limited to):
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Public Benefit: the public benefit requirement (September 2013)
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Public Benefit: running a charity (September 2013)
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Public Benefit: reporting (September 2013)
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The Advancement of Religion for the Public Benefit (December 2008)
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The Prevention or Relief of Poverty for the Public Benefit (December 2008)
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CC15b – Charity Reporting and Accounting: The essentials (January 2013)
The majority of events are open to the public and are publicised on our website and by emailed announcements. Those connected to the charity are encouraged to invite friends, as it is a key aim of Shift to attract newcomers into its various activities so that they can participate in and benefit from all that it has to offer.
Objectives and activities
The objects of the charity are to advance the Christian religion for the benefit of the public through the holding of prayer meetings, lectures, religious festivals, producing literature and media on Christianity to enlighten others, especially but not exclusively young adults in the 20/30 age group, about the Christian religion.
Financial Year 2020/2021
Achievement and performance
In light of the Coronavirus pandemic, the charity made the difficult decision to cancel the Shift Weekend 2020 event. All guests were refunded and the charity continued to maintain communication with the network via social media and on the website.
With the ongoing restrictions in place due to the Coronavirus pandemic, Shift New Year’s Eve was also unable to take place.
The team continued to meet and hold regular monthly/quarterly gatherings to pray and strategise. Both the board of trustees and planning team were in regular communication throughout this period.
Future plans
The trustees resolved, in consultation with core members of the shift community, to (in the first half of the FY 2021) hold several online gatherings to test appetite within the community for physical gatherings (COVID-19 restrictions permitting) in Q4 2021 and to thereafter develop a plan for further physical and online gatherings in furtherance of the charity’s objectives.
Financial Year 2020/2021
Shift Nation Financial Statement for the Year ended 5 April 2021 Charity Commission number: 1165932
Notes on Accounting Approach:
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The period summarised here was the first full year of the COVID-19 pandemic. This meant the two major events normally run by Shift (the Shift Weekend and Shift New Year’s Eve) did not take place. Instead small online gatherings were held to encourage core Shift community members emotionally and spiritually through these tough circumstances.
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This period also includes donations made to Shift Nation to support its work.
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The basis of accounting selected is the ‘Receipts and Payments’ method.
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An independent examination of these accounts has been completed and after approval of the Board they will be submitted to the Charity Commission.
Notes in respect of Activities in the Year:
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In February 2020 the founder and a trustee of Shift, Caleb Meakins, sadly passed away. Caleb’s passing was a big loss for Shift due to his key role in the team and community. Throughout the year the trustees worked with the core team to provide pastoral care as well as guidance on options for the charity moving forwards.
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In March 2020 the COVID-19 pandemic began to hit the UK in earnest with a lockdown being called by the Prime Minister on the 26[th] March 2020. This brought a great deal of uncertainty and limited the activities Shift could undertake.
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It was agreed with the trustees that in light of the significant upheaval caused by these two events the best action was for small online gatherings to be held by the Shift core team as well as basic messaging via the website and social media. This allowed the charity’s objects to be met as well as creating space for the team to grieve the loss of Caleb and incubate fresh ideas for Shift moving forwards.
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Over the period, we have been delighted to attract donations (both regular giving and oneoff donations) amounting to £8,640. While these are lower than in the previous year, our healthy reserves provide Shift with a secure platform from which to consider offering larger events and engagement as the COVID-19 pandemic becomes more controlled and government guidance and applicable law permits the gathering of larger groups of people of the size that the charity has traditionally gathered at its physical events.
Financial Year 2020/2021
1 – Summary of Activity for the Year ended 5 April 2021
| Y/E 5 Apr 21 | Y/E 5 Apr 20 | |
|---|---|---|
| Receipts | ||
| Income from event activities(1) | £0 | £24,972 |
| Income from donations | £8,640 | £11,232 |
| Income from merchandise sales(1) | £0 | £232 |
| TOTAL RECEIPTS for the period | £8,640 | £36,437 |
| Payments | ||
| Costs incurred in running events(1) | £0 | £30,817 |
| Other Costs(2) | £339 | £21,161 |
| TOTAL COSTS for the period | £339 | £51,978 |
| Net Cashflow for the period | £8,301 | **(£15,541) ** |
(1) Due to COVID-19 the Shift Weekend and Shift NYE events were not held in FY21. Activities were online and unticketed and therefore no income or costs were incurred
(2) FY20 included £15,124 of staff costs relating to a full time staff member whose services finished in October 2019. Additionally there were £3,500 worth of consultancy costs with media firm Roundtable to help with branding and online presence.
Financial Year 2020/2021
2 – Statement of Assets and Liabilities as at 5 April 2021
| Y/E 5 Apr 21 | Y/E 5 Apr 20 | |
|---|---|---|
| Fixed Assets(3) |
£1,750 |
£1,750 |
| Current Assets (stock) | ||
| (4) |
£1,385 |
£1,385 |
| Cash Funds |
£33,636 |
£25,335 |
| Liabilities | - |
- |
| TOTAL FUNDS |
£36,771 |
£28,470 |
(3) Storage container acquired to store equipment used for summer event. The expected life of the asset is 15 years and the expected residual value at this date is considered to be materially the same as today. Therefore, depreciation has not been included on grounds of immateriality.
(4) Inventory held at cost for future sale