FIO
Annual Report 2020-21
Charity No. 1166193
(Charitable Incorporated Organisation)
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| Contents | Page No. |
|---|---|
| Legal and administrative information | 3 |
| Trustees Report | 4-8 |
| Independent Examiner’s Report | 9 |
| Income and Expenditure Account | 10 |
| Statement of Assets and Liabilities | 11 |
| Notes | 12 |
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Fio (Charity No. 1166193)
Legal and Administrative Information
Principal Aims & Objects:
The main aims and objects of the organisation is to act as a resource for people of all abilities, by providing professionally led activities, programmes, advice and assistance in all aspects of theatre arts, with a focus on social justice and overcoming social exclusion.
Status and Structure of the Organisation
The organisation is a voluntary charitable organisation and controlled by the Trustees:
Trustees during the period of this report: Alison Woods (appointed as trustee & new Chair on 21[st] April 2020) Chantal Harrison-Lee Edward Wood (Chair until 21[st] April 2020) Joe Redmond Jason Camilleri Nouran Al-Jandali (resigned by the board during this period due to non-attendance) Phil Forder Shavanah Taj Tafsila Khan Registered Address until April: Old Splott Library 2020 Singleton Road Splott Cardiff CF24 2ET Registered Address from April: W2, Wellington House 2020 Wellington St Cardiff CF11 9BE Bankers: The Co-operative Bank PO Box 250 Skelmersdale WN8 6WT Independent Examiners: Llewellyns Certified Chartered Accountants 1[st] Floor Brook House Brook Road Whitchurch Cardiff CF14 1DU
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Fio (Charity No. 1166193)
Report of the trustees for the year ending 31 March 2021
The trustees are pleased to present their annual report, together with the financial statements of the charity, for the year ended 31 March 2021. Fio is a Charitable Incorporated Organisation, Registered in England and Wales (Charity Registration No. 1166193) and Incorporated on the 23[rd] of March 2016.
Changes of Governance
Recruitment of Trustees
Trustees are recruited using advertising or word of mouth. A new chair was appointed on 21st April 2020; Alison Woods, Executive Director of Nofitstate, on of Wales’ most respected touring arts companies. Alison’s decades of experience in leadership and management in performing arts organisations of a variety of scales will be an asset to Fio as we continue to navigate uncertain waters.
Nouran Al-Jandali was resigned from the board by the trustees during this period due to nonattendance and non-communication.
Charitable Purposes
Fio’s charitable purposes which were previously developed and approved at a board away day in 2019 are as follows:
a) To advance the arts, and to encourage and promote involvement in drama and related artistic and creative activities
b) To act as a resource for people of all abilities and backgrounds, by providing professionally-led activities, programmes, advice and assistance in all aspects of theatre arts and related disciplines.
c) To provide recreational and leisure time activity in the interests of social welfare for those who have need by reason of their youth, infirmity, disability, poverty or social exclusion with a view to improving the conditions of life of such persons.
Objectives and Activities during the Year
Organisational Development
Fio continues to be a client under Arts Council Wales’s (ACW) Creative Steps programme which focusses on a handful of key organisations in Wales that ACW know to be doing crucial work around diversity and inclusion in the arts. As such, Fio receives bespoke, project-based support purely for core costs and organisational development. We have continued to prioritise this work over productions this year, particularly in light of the ongoing challenging times presented by Covid-19.
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Fio (Charity No. 1166193)
During 2020-21, Fio’s founder and Artistic Director, Abdul Shayek, stood down to take on the AD role at Tara Arts in London. The board and remaining staff attempted numerous times to appoint a Global Majority Executive Director to lead the organisation during a period of application to Esmee Fairbairn foundation (to support a new AD) and onwards. However, despite the hard work that went into this aim, this was not possible and so Tom Hurley was appointed as interim ED in the Autumn of 2020.
Our Esmee Fairbairn application was returned successful in early 2021 which funds an Artistic Director’s salary and a small amount of unrestricted funds for 3 years; a grant worth £45,696 a year over this period. A grant of this size and over this time will have a huge impact on Fio at this pivotal point, providing some much-needed continuity and stability allowing us to build towards a more resilient future, despite turbulent times. The support of a funder of the calibre of Esmee Fairbairn also demonstrates a deep commitment to and belief in our work beyond the four walls of our office. This has had a boosting impact.
Conversely, as prior to the EF outcome, and because of delays with ACW’s Creative Steps decision making, the board were unable to guarantee work past the end of March 2021 to remaining staff (Assistant Producer, Marketing and Communications Officer and interim Exec Director). As a result, we lost the entire staff at the end of March 2021. At the end of the period of this report, we had secured ongoing ACW funds for a further year (2021-22) under Creative Steps and were mid-way through the recruitment process for our new Artistic and Executive Directors. In the interim, the business of the company was being continued by the Chair of the Board and the freelance Finance Officer engaged by Fio. The decision was taken to move the Fio offices to Riverside in Cardiff due to concerns around staff safety when lone working at Splott Library. The move happened at the start of April 2021. Riverside is one of the most ethnically diverse areas in Wales, close to Cardiff’s city centre and with a host of local community groups, charities and organisations ripe for partnership working.
So, as we reach the end of Financial Year 2020-21, globally perhaps one of the most challenging years in living memory, certainly for the arts, the future actually looks strong for Fio and we look forward to seeing what a fresh leadership team will bring to our exciting and sector-leading organisation here in Wales.
Covid-19
At Fio, we continue to be hyper-aware of the risks presented by the ongoing pandemic, particularly in relation to activities in the arts sector. We are constantly monitoring the situation and using information and Welsh Government guidelines to plan and update our face-to-face activity, and when. Keeping office-based staff safe. This means monitoring home, office and hybrid working, evaluating safety procedures such as mask wearing and office hour limits and scenario planning for project delivery. Details of how projects were affected during the FY year 2020-21 ae included in project updates below. Financially, Fio has been affected indirectly by the diversion of staff attention from core fundraising and onto project re-planning. We hope as 20-21 draws to a close, this situation will begin to ameliorate.
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Fio (Charity No. 1166193)
Regular Activities
During the first 2020 lockdown, Fio Futures (our Young Actors Company) activity moved online. A partnership was quickly pulled together with Ffilm Cymru and Cardiff Animation Festival, and a panWales online animation residential was launched, resulting in animated shorts being made by young people facing barriers to participation. One young man was shortlisted for an animation award as a result of his work with Fio.
Between lockdowns, 22 young people attended various film and acting workshops led by Wales based Global Majority actors and creatives.
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Fio (Charity No. 1166193)
Later in the Spring, when it became clear that Covid wasn’t going away immediately, our Fio Futures group decided to launch the #PenToPaperChalllenge; a project which connected over 30 isolated people through letter writing.
Orchard of Lost Souls
Our long-term project to dramatise Nadifa Mohamed’s acclaimed novel, the Orchard of Lost Souls, unfortunately had to be delayed due to Covid, and then cancelled due to the uncertainty at the time around staffing and the future. In line with the thinking around supporting freelancers during the pandemic, we honoured payments to all engaged staff and for all work which had already been carried out, including rehearsed readings, workshops and sharings in Cardiff, Manchester and
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Fio (Charity No. 1166193)
London. As a result of the underspend on this grant, we will have to repay approximately £7,400 to ACW in the next financial year. We anticipate that our new Artistic Director will be glad to have a clean artistic sheet with which to forge forwards with the company’s new work.
Unheard Voices
During lockdown, a project was dreamt up with partners Women Connect First, with the aim of tackling the disproportionate isolation of older ethnically diverse women. 25 older women, many of whom faced additional barriers such as ill health or no spoken English. A team of Global Majority female professional writers led workshops in spoken word, poetry and creative writing. The 25 women plus the creative team developed a bilingual ‘zine (English and Welsh) and a collection of films that can be viewed on Youtube. This is a partnership we hope to develop and nurture in future months.
Key aims for 2021-22
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Improve evaluation; increasing collection of data and qualitative information and improving our impact presentation and reporting.
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Develop a 2-year Business Plan initial draft led by the new Executive Team, by the end of January 2022
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Develop a response to ACW’s Cultural Contract Framework for Fio to work by, by end Jan 2022
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Assess, evaluate and decide on a potential name change for the charity
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Re-launch ongoing and uninterrupted, quality programs of work for young people and for Global Majority creative professionals
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Maintain ACW Creative Steps status for a 4[th] year of core support
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Increase income from a wider range of Trusts and Foundations with a view to increasing diversity of income streams more generally in 2022-23
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Recruit at least one new board member with a focus on HR skills/expertise
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Fio (Charity No. 1166193)
Trustees
The trustees are for the purpose of charity law. The trustees serving during the year were as follows:
Fio nominated Chair: Edward Wood Chantal Harrison-Lee Joe Redmond Jason Camilleri Nouran Al-Jandali Phil Forder Shavanah Taj Tafsila Khan Alison Woods (from 21[st] April 2020)
Structure, Governance and Management Governing Document
Fio is a Charitable Incorporated Organisation governed by its Constitution dated the 25[th] of February 2016. It is registered as a charity with the Charity Commission.
Appointment of Trustees
As set out in the Constitution, new trustees are voted in and serve for a period of three years. All trustees can serve a maximum of 3 terms, after which they must stand down for at least one full year before being re-elected.
Organisation
The board of trustees, which can have up to 9 members, administers the charity. A Chief Executive is appointed by the trustees to manage the day-to-day operations of the charity. To facilitate effective operations, the Chief Executive has delegated authority, within terms of delegation approved by the trustees, for operational matters including finance, employment and artistic performance related activity.
Related Parties
None of the trustees receive remuneration or other benefit from their work with the charity. Any connection between a trustee or senior manager of the charity with a production company, contracted actor, performer or exhibitor must be disclosed to the full board of trustees in the same way as any other contractual relationship with a related party. In the current year, no such related party transactions were reported.
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Fio (Charity No. 1166193)
Financial Review
The charity had a total income for the year of £155,034.60 and total expenditure was £95,832.69. On paper this appears to be an excess of £51, 201.91 however, this is because our Esmee Fairbairn year 1 grant was paid into our bank at the ned of the 20-21 period but covers spend in the FY 21-22. In addition, in that income appears above also includes the full Orchard of Lost Souls grant, some of which will be returned, as explained above, due to the project being cancelled as a result of the Covid-19 pandemic. Finally, Fio were holding donations of £9,100 which had been collected by arts organisations across Wales in the wake of George Floyd’s murder, which are to be used to address systemic issues of racism in the arts in Wales. These donations have been handed, since the end of March 2021, to National Dance Company Wales to administer; an organisation with a full finance department and capacity to handle affairs of such complexity. As such, at the close of the FY 202021, Fio had unrestricted funds of £50,178 and restricted funds of £29,201.
Risk Management
The trustees have a risk management strategy which comprises an annual review of the risks the charity may face, the establishment of systems and procedures to mitigate those risks identified in the plan, and the implementation of procedures designed to minimise any potential impact on the charity should those risks materialise. Fio’s Organisational Risk Register can be found here.
Responsibilities of the Trustees
The charity’s trustees have responsibilities to prepare financial statements for each financial year, which give a true and fair view of the state of affairs of the charity, as at the balance sheet date; and of its incoming resources and application of resources, including income and expenditure, for the financial year. In preparing those financial statements, the trustees should follow best practice and:
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Select suitable accounting policies and then apply them consistently;
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Make judgements and estimates that are reasonable and prudent; and
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Prepare the financial statements on the going concern basis, unless it is inappropriate to assume that the company will continue on that basis.
The trustees are responsible for maintaining proper accounting records, which disclose with reasonable accuracy at any time the financial position of the charity and to enable them to ensure that the financial statements comply with charity law. Trustees are also responsible for safeguarding the assets of the charity and hence for taking reasonable steps for the prevention and detection of fraud and other irregularities.
Approved by the trustees and signed on their behalf by:
Alison Woods (Chair)
Date December 17[th] 2021
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Fio (Charity No. 1166193)
Independent Examiner's Report to the Trustees of FIO
Respective responsibilities of trustees and examiner
The charity's trustees (who are also the directors for the purposes of company law) are responsible for the preparation of the accounts. The charity's trustees consider that an audit is not required for this year (under Section 144(2) of the Charities Act 2011 (the 2011 Act)) and that an independent examination is required. Having satisfied myself that the charity is not subject to audit under company law and is eligible for independent examination, it is my responsibility to:
Examine the accounts under Section 145 of the 2011 Act to follow the procedures laid down in the General Directions given by the Charity Commission (under Section 145(5)(b) of the 2011 Act); and to state whether particular matters have come to my attention.
Basis of the independent examiner's report
My examination was carried out in accordance with the General Directions given by the Charity Commission. An examination includes a review of the accounting records kept by the charity and a comparison of the accounts presented with those records. It also includes consideration of any unusual items or disclosures in the accounts and seeking explanations from you as trustees concerning any such matters. The procedures undertaken do not provide all the evidence that would be required in an audit, and consequently no opinion is given as to whether the accounts present a 'true and fair view ' and the report is limited to those matters set out in the statements below.
Independent examiner's statement
In connection with my examination, no matter has come to my attention:
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which gives me reasonable cause to believe that, in any material respect, the requirements to keep accounting records in accordance with Section 386 and 387 of the Companies Act 2006; and to prepare accounts which accord with the accounting records, comply with the accounting requirements of Sections 394 and 395 of the Companies Act 2006 and with the methods and principles of the Statement of Recommended Practice: Accounting and Reporting by Charities have not been met; or
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to which, in my opinion, attention should be drawn in order to enable a proper understanding of the accounts to be reached.
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Date 25[th] January 2022
Llewellyns Chartered Certified Accountants 1[st] Floor, Brook House, Brook Road Whitchurch, Cardiff CF14 1DU
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Fio (Charity No. 1166193)
Income and Expenditure Account for the year ended 31 March 2021
| Unrestricted Unrestricted Restricted Funds Funds Funds 2021 2020 2021 Income ACW Lottery £0 £0 £82,200 Community Foundation Wales £0 £0 £5,000 Esmee Fairbairn £45,969 £0 £0 Donations £610 £4,450 £0 Expenditure recharge £40 £0 £0 Film Cymru £0 £0 £1,546 Royal Exchange Manchester £0 £0 £0 Theatre Tax Relief £0 £15,151 £0 Wales Culture Taskforce £0 £0 £9,100 Women Connect First £0 £0 £10,570 Total Income £46,619 £19,601 £108,416 Expenditure Sessional Workers 1,728 £1,765 £45,845 Rent £0 £2,200 £1,550 Performers costs £0 £0 £750 Production costs £0 £0 £8,251 Depreciation £184 £0 £0 Staff Salaries £0 £0 £24,940 Advertising/Publicity £768 £652 £0 Accountancy £492 £582 £0 Travel £0 £187 £0 Consultancy £0 £0 £2,050 Sundries £4,770 £2,715 £4,507 Total Expenditure £7,941 £8,101 £87,893 Net Income/(expenditure) £38,678 £11,500 £20,523 |
Restricted Funds 2020 £96,901 £0 £0 £0 £0 £4,638 £2,570 £0 £0 0 £104,109 £55,472 £2,000 £4,000 £31,995 £0 £0 £0 £0 £0 £11,306 £1,087 £105,859 (£1,750) |
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Fio (Charity No. 1166193)
Balance Sheet as at 31 March 2021
| 2021 | 2020 | |
|---|---|---|
| Fixed Assets | £734 | £1,728 |
| Current Assets | ||
| Cash in hand | £76,857 | £1,504 |
| Accrued income | £5,285 | £15,151 |
| Prepayments | £1,344 | £2,500 |
| £83,486 | £19,155 | |
| Current Liabilities | ||
| Amounts payable | £2,875 | £705 |
| Other Creditors | £1,966 | £0 |
| £4,841 | £705 | |
| Net Current Assets | £78,645 | £18,450 |
| Total Assets Less | ||
| Total Liabilities | £79,379 | £20,178 |
| Funds and reserves | ||
| Unrestricted Funds | £50,178 | £11,500 |
| Restricted Funds | £29,201 | £8,678 |
| £79,379 | £20,178 |
These financial statements were approved by the charity by:
Alison Woods (Chair)
Date: January 2022 11
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Fio (Charity No. 1166193)