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2022-03-31-accounts

ANNUAL REPORT & FINANCIAL STATEMENTS

For The Year Ended 31 March 2022

“CHANGING LIVES & INSPIRING KINDNESS”

Charity Registration Number (England and Wales) 1166238. Date registered: 29th March 2016. Registered address: PO Box 3154, Reading RG1 9AT www.52-lives.org

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Contents

A Year in Numbers ���������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������2 Report of the Trustees for the Year Ending 31 March 2022 ������������������������������������������������������������������������������4 A Message from our CEO �����������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������4 Our Purpose ������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������7 Our Philosophy ��������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������7 Changing Lives Every Week��� ����������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������8 Special Projects �������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������9 School of Kindness Project ������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������11 Diversity Monitoring ����������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������11 Case Study��� ����������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������12 School of Kindness Project ������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������13 School Kindness Workshops ����������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������14 World Kindness Day Virtual Assemblies ����������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������14 Measuring our Impact �������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������14 Teaching Resources �����������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������16 Kids’ Kindness Club ������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������16 Kindness Fund �������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������16 ‘Kind Schools’ ��������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������18 Inspiring Kindness��������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������18 Kindness Council ���������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������18 Deepening our Impact and Enhancing Wellbeing �������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������20 Building a Strong Foundation to Fulfill our Aims ���������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������21 Plans for the Future �����������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������21 Structure, Governance and Management �������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������23

LIVES A YEAR IN NUMBERS 4,500 People helped ftftftftftftftftftft 1,600 Christmas presents sent to people in need ftftftftft 26010 £3,500 in donations and goods donated by our supporters each week Increase in donations to our weekly appeals Essential support provided to 600 Children 44 Families received brand new school shoes caring for a terminally

WWW.52-LIVES.ORG Funded events for 200 Elderly People 250 Children to help them emerge from lockdown in a way that felt safe received school uniforms Provided reading lamps * and journals for 50 Women in Refuges 100 People in Immigration Detention received rucksacks, so they no longer have to keep their belongings in bin bags English language books provided for 100 People in Immigration Detention 56,000 46,000 Unique Visitors to our School of Kindness website children attended our f ree Kindness Workshops & assemblies 5,000+ Downloads of our free kindness lesson plans and resources And Hundreds of Thousands of People Inspired to be Kind!

RepoRt of the trustees foR the year eNdiNg 31 MArch 2022

The trustees are pleased to present their annual report together with the consolidated financial statements of the charity for the year ending 31 March 2022. The financial statements comply with the Charities Act 2011 and 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 2015).

a message froM our Ceo

As we began the year, the Covid pandemic was still having a significant impact on people’s lives – physically, financially, socially and emotionally. As a charity, we worked throughout the pandemic to do what we could to support people in need� We collaborated with other small charities to maximise our impact, and we raised additional funds from our wonderful community of supporters and corporate partners. Underlying all of the practical help we provided, we also helped people to feel connected to one another� We did this both through our core work helping to change lives, through our communication with our community of supporters and also through our education programme in primary schools, running kindness workshops for tens of thousands of children�

Research has shown that kindness has a significant impact on our mental health and is essential for our collective wellbeing. If the past two years have

shown us anything, it is that we need one other - and we all need kindness� It improves our wellbeing, strengthens communities and ultimately determines what kind of world we have�

From the moment the Covid pandemic hit in 2020, we were expecting it to have an impact on our donation levels. What we were not expecting was that our donations would increase. We saw a rise of almost 30% in our weekly donations during the year. This was largely driven by those who were in a position to give, giving more� We realised this was not the case for all charities and felt enormously grateful to our loyal supporter base for their generosity� It meant we could not only help more people, but also provide practical help to some small frontline charities that were in need of support – for example, we worked in partnership to provide new shoes for hundreds of children living in temporary accommodation, to provide cots and buggies for families living in poverty,

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to provide reading lamps and books for women living in refuges and to fund some emergency support for families caring for a child with a terminal illness�

When normal life is stripped away, we are left with what really matters - community, connection and kindness. There has, without question, been a great deal of hardship, but we have also seen an abundance of kindness. People are good and when times get tough, we want to help each other� We feel incredibly privileged as a charity to be able to give people a very simple, direct and transparent way to do that�

The 52 Lives community has been changing lives for almost ten years and our supporters are at the heart of what we do� Nothing would be possible without them� Thank you to everyone who has supported us this year – whether through donations, gifts, moral support or by sharing our weekly requests� Our online community is almost 100,000 strong and is a true force for good, showing compassion and giving targeted help to people in need�

“There is no power for change greater than a community discovering what it cares about.”

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Jaime Thurston
Founder of 52 Lives
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“You have each taken a piece of us and helped put us back together again. You’ve made me realise there are good people in this world.”

Life # 333 - Paula

“This charity and the people that support it are just so fantastic. You have been the ray of sunshine we needed.”

Life # 337

“It makes me burst to see the difference you’ve made - I don’t know what he would have done without you.”

Jayden’s support worker – Life # 315

“You have made a monumental and lifechanging difference to this family at exactly the point it was so badly needed. They have NEVER had support like this”

The social worker of Melissa – Life # 287

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our purpose

100% of what our individual supporters give goes to the people we help

52 Lives aims to change someone’s life every week of the year and inspire people to be kind. It is based on the simple premise that people are good and when good people work together, we can achieve amazing things�

ChaNgiNg lives...

It’s a very simple but powerful way of charitable giving, which has gained an overwhelming amount of support since launching in 2013. 52 Lives is supported by almost 100,000 people across our social media channels and newsletters, who help us to change lives every single week.

inspirIng kiNdness...

Alongside this, we run a comprehensive education programme through our School of Kindness. It aims to inspire more kindness in young people by teaching them about the importance of kindness, the science of kindness and the impact it has not just on the world around them but also on their own wellbeing�

our phIlosophy

52 Lives gives people tangible help, but our philosophy goes much deeper than that. The people we help often say the same thing: that it wasn’t just the ‘things’ we gave them that changed their life – it was the kindness, and the fact that people cared about them� They felt less alone�

We believe our collective actions determine the kind of world we live in – so if we are kind, it will inspire others to be kind and ultimately create a kinder world. We just need to choose kindness at every opportunity.

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chaNgiNg lives every week...

During the year, we helped approx. 4,500 people. This figure has remained steady since last year. This included our core work helping one individual / group each week, 1,600 people helped through our Christmas project, and thousands more helped through special projects we ran in partnership with other small charities.

52 Lives raised an average of £2,949 for each of our weekly lives, representing a 26% increase on the previous year (£2,330). We have an incredibly loyal supporter base which continued to grow during the year, both in the number of people supporting us and in the number of people holding fundraisers in support of our charity� We were also fortunate to secure the support of two major donors, who contributed large amounts to our weekly appeals�

But as well as the direct financial donations shown in the charity accounts, we also helped to generate more than £600 a week (£29,357 annually) in goods and services donated by our supporters directly to the people we help�

Just a few examples of how we helped include providing carpets, beds, clothes and toys for children living in extreme poverty, providing financial support to a family caring for a terminally ill child so their dad could continue to take time off work, providing furniture for a man who had been homeless and living in a tent, providing cookers and fridges for women and children leaving refuges, and creating a safe sensory garden for a young boy with disabilities who sadly lost his dad to cancer�

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special projeCts

With extra funding we received, we were also able to help a greater number of people through special projects, working in partnership with some small charity partners�

EMERGENCY GRANTS FOR FAMILIES CARING FOR A CHILD WITH A TERMINAL ILLNESS

SHOES FOR CHILDREN

Working with the Batten Disease Family Association, we provided support to families who are caring for a child with Batten disease, which is a degenerative, terminal illness. The support we provided meant that 44 families who were in financial need were able to receive help� That support came in a variety of ways, for example, through the provision of a cooker for a family who had been living without one�

Working with the Magpie Project in London, which supports homeless mums with children under five, we helped to fund new shoes for more than 600 children� Most of these children

had never had their feet measured before, and for the first time, they visited a shoe shop and were able to walk away in comfy, properly fitting shoes.

SCHOOL UNIFORMS

During the Summer of ’21, we worked with several small charities (First Days in Wokingham, The Cowshed in Reading and the Uniform Exchange in Huddersfield) to provide school uniforms for more than 250 children who were living in poverty�

“I’ve sacrificed paying for food to cover the cost of uniforms, I don’t want my daughter to feel like the odd one out.”

SUPPORTING ELDERLY PEOPLE LEAVING ISOLATION

The end of lockdown was a big relief for many of us – but for others, it brought fear and anxiety. In our discussions with other small charities and community groups working with elderly people, we learned there was a great deal of concern about the physical and mental health of those who were alone, isolated and afraid� We wanted to do something to help and so funded a range of events designed to help elderly people emerge from lockdown and begin socialising in a way that felt safe for them – with smaller numbers and Covid-

safe measures in place� The events helped more than 200 people in Berkshire and North Yorkshire�

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SUPPORTING WOMEN AND CHILDREN LIVING IN REFUGES

SUPPORTING REFUGEES IN DETENTION

We provided lamps and wellbeing journals for 50 women staying at a women’s refuge in Manchester� The rooms were poorly lit, which had been making it difficult for the women staying there to read or write in the evenings� The refuge workers said these small things made a big difference to the wellbeing of their residents�

We provided English language books and rucksacks for 100 people being held in immigration detention. It means they no longer have to keep their belongings in bin bags, restoring a sense of dignity, and also enabled them to study English during their time in detention.

SUPPORTING FAMILIES LIVING IN POVERTY

Working with several baby banks, we provided cotbeds and buggies for 20 families living in poverty� The baby banks were receiving many of the smaller items they needed but were short of larger items� The support we gave means 20 children now have a warm, safe bed, as well as a buggy to help their families get out and about more easily�

“This has been a lifeline for my family. Thank you so much.”

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sChool of kiNdness project

The achievements of our school project during 21/22 were phenomenal� We ran free Kindness Workshops and Kindness Assemblies for more than 55,000 primary school children from more than 200 schools (an increase of more than 800% from 6,000 children in the previous year)� Our lesson plans were downloaded more than 5,000 times and we attracted

more than 46,000 visitors to our School of Kindness website� We also launched a new monitoring form to help us better understand the impact these workshops and assemblies are having on children, and early data shows a positive impact on children’s relationships and behaviour. More comprehensive information about this project can be found on page

diveRsItY MoNitoRiNg

In order to ensure we are doing our best for our community, we realise that we first need to know more about the people we are helping� In May 2021, we began gathering data through an online anonymous, optional diversity monitoring survey

sent to the people we help. The response rate is still relatively low, but as the sample size increases, we hope this information will also help us to identify any potential obstacles to people receiving help from us.

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SChoOl Of KinDneSs
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CAse study...

We heard about a family from Bristol that has a terminally ill child�

Their daughter is seven years old and has a degenerative, terminal illness. She had been in intensive care for the last month. Her mum was pregnant and had been having some complications. She was also caring for their other two children, so the dad had been at the hospital - day and night - for weeks�

The dad usually works for the NHS but had to take a lot of time off. As a result, the family was under a lot

of financial strain and hadn’t been able to cover their rent or bills for several months� It was causing him so much worry, at a time when he really just needed to focus on his family�

With the help of our supporters, we not only paid their rent arrears, but also covered the next 10 weeks of rent, council tax and utilities. We also provided weekly food vouchers for several months and set up a wishlist filled with Christmas gifts for their children. Our kind supporters bought every single gift from their wishlist�

This is what their family support worker said:

“To say this family kept me awake at night is an understatement and it broke my heart to tell the dad that he had been denied help again and again. Then I was introduced to the lovely team at 52 Lives and there you all were – guardian angels.”

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sChool of kiNdness project

56,000 children from 200+ schools attended our kindness workshops and assemblies.

2021/22 marked the sixth year of our School of Kindness� This project aims to spread kindness and empower children by helping them to realise that the little choices they make every day have the power to change people’s lives, improve their own health and wellbeing, and ultimately change the world.

We do this by running free Kindness Workshops in primary schools, developing teaching resources, and providing small grants through our Kindness Fund and our Kids’ Kindness Club activities.

We teach children about the importance of kindness, the science of kindness and the impact it has on their communities, as well as their own wellbeing. Research[123] has shown that kindness can not only help to prevent bullying, but also have a positive impact on our physical and mental health, and help us to form strong relationships.

As we began to emerge from the pandemic, schools were understandably still concerned about children’s mental health� A survey published in 2021 by the Anti-Bullying Alliance (which we are a core member of) found that more than two thirds of young people said they felt less connected to their friendships than before the pandemic. We saw a significant increase in demand for our school workshops and a rise in the number of teachers using our lesson plans and resources�

Through our Kindness Workshops, Kids’ Kindness Club, Kindness Fund and teaching resources, we helped thousands of children to understand the importance of kindness and helped to create a sense of community during a time of uncertainty and isolation.

1 Curry OS, Rowland LA, Van Lissa CJ, Zlotowitz S, McAlaney J, Whitehouse H. Happy to help? A systematic review and meta-analysis of the effects of performing acts of kindness on the well-being of the actor. J Exp Soc Psychol. 2018;76:320–9.

2 Post S. It’s Good To Be Good: 2014 Biennial Scientific Report. Int J Pers Cent Med. 2014;2:1–53

3 Jenkinson CE, Dickens AP, Jones K, Thompson-Coon J, Taylor RS, Rogers M, et al. Is volunteering a public health intervention? BMC 13 Public Health. 2013;13(1).

sChool kiNdness workshops

We run free Kindness Workshops in primary schools all over the UK� As well as discussing the social, emotional and physical benefits of kindness, the workshops give the children a practical task. They are told the story of a real child in need of help, and they work together on the day to do something to help that child� Our Kindness Workshops help schools to meet the requirements outlined in the PSHE curriculum, including building and maintaining healthy relationships, mental wellbeing and physical health, while also supporting the wider work of developing children’s personal attributes of kindness, honesty and integrity. The inspirational stories,

messages and pictures are showcased on our website and social media pages�

In order to be able to continue to work with schools, we began offering virtual workshops during lockdowns, which proved to be very successful� We have added it as a permanent offering for schools, so now run our workshops both face to face and virtually depending on a school’s location and needs.

We ran free Kindness Workshops for more than 16,000 children from 115 schools.

world kindness dAY virtual asseMblies

After a successful pilot in 2020 , we significantly expanded our virtual World Kindness Day Assemblies. The assemblies are held in mid-November in celebration of World Kindness Day and involve a live virtual webinar that schools can join� The assemblies follow a similar format to our normal Kindness Workshops, but also featured special guests - Paralympian Anne Usher and our founder,

Jaime Thurston. We hosted live virtual Kindness Assemblies for more than 40,000 children from 150 schools (up from 1,200 during the pilot). A number of these schools also ran special fundraising events for us on the day, either encouraging children to wear purple and donate £1 or taking part in sponsored ‘52 themed’ activities, such as baking 52 cupcakes or running 52 laps of the field.

measurIng our impact

The response we had from children and teachers from our Kindness Workshops has been incredibly positive. We conduct follow up surveys and 100% of the schools we worked with said they would recommend the workshop to other schools, and 100% said they felt the children benefited from the workshop�

We introduced a second survey during the year to help measure the impact our workshops have on the children we work with� 87% of teachers said children’s

relationships with their friends and classmates improved after our kindness workshop. The surveys also revealed that our workshops are helping teachers themselves as well - 90% of teachers said they felt more confident talking to children about how to deal with unkind people after our Kindness Workshops.

We were fortunate to secure another year of support from our sponsor - NBB Recycled Furniture - which has enabled us to continue offering our workshops and resources to schools for free�

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“I have been teaching for 17 years and I can honestly say that the impact your visit has had on us has been far more than anything I have experienced before.”

Tony Wheat, West Pennard School

“These excellent workshops are ideal for schools looking to put kindness at the heart of their ethos. This is such an important aspect of education, and 52 Lives are experts at teaching it.” Jonnie Noakes, Director of Teaching & Learning, Eton College

teachiNg resources

To grow the sustainable impact of our work, we also produce a range of teaching resources� This enables schools we have run workshops for to continue the work after we leave, embedding a culture of kindness in the classroom� It also means that schools we are unable to run workshops for can still use our resources, which include video lesson plans, regular class ‘Kindness Challenges’ and a range of other games and activities. Our resources focus on the importance of being kind to yourself, to others and to the planet�

All of these resources are developed in collaboration with teachers and are available to download for free from our School of Kindness website – which has become a hub for teachers wanting tools to educate children on kindness, empathy, citizenship and emotional wellbeing. The site had 46,000 unique visitors during the year (up from 11,000 the previous year) and 5,621 downloads of our lesson plans (this was the first full year measuring our downloads).

kids’ kindness club

Our Kids’ Kindness Club is free to join and provides members with a fortnightly newsletter filled with kindness challenges, competitions, kind stories, selfkindness tips and activities. It is designed as a way to keep children engaged in being kind to others, to themselves and to the planet� During the year, we introduced a new segment to our Kids’ Kindness Club – Kind News, with host ‘Ned Kindelbottom’. The new segment is designed to help children focus on the good news that is happening in the world, and to also encourage them to notice kind things happening around them and send in their own kind stories�

Our Kindness Challenges reflect different values that we encourage the children to focus on, for example,

we ran a Recycling Week Challenge during September to encourage them to be kind to the planet, a SelfKindness Challenge around World Mental Health Day to encourage them to be kind to themselves, and a Back to School Challenge to encourage them to create a kind classroom culture at the beginning of a new school year�

Although the club was set up with children in mind, teachers have also been joining and using the fortnightly Kindness Challenge as a regular activity for their entire class. As a result, we now have around 350 members (up from 200 in the previous year), but reach well over 1,000 children through the club each fortnight�

the kiNdness fuNd

This was the third year of running our small grant scheme for children� The Kindness Fund provides small grants of up to £250 to children who have amazing ideas for spreading kindness in their school or community, to help bring their ideas to life� Funds are granted via the school and applications are open to children from year 3 up to sixth form.

During the period of this report, The Kindness Fund awarded five grants. Some examples of the children’s projects we funded include:

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BE KIND ALHAYS scthooLOf %ithQ¥E$6

‘kiNd sChools’

We have a network of 90 ‘Kind Schools’ (up from 30 last year) – these are schools that have taken part in one of our Kindness Workshops, and then signed our ‘Kind School Pledge’, reflecting their commitment to creating a culture of kindness in their school. Kind Schools receive regular Outstanding Kindness Awards

from us to present to students of their choice, ideas for encouraging kindness in their school community, and can also use our ‘Kind School’ logo� This network has grown significantly during the past year and we aim to continue that growth.

iNspiring kiNdness

We continued to expand the reach of the project through our School of Kindness Newsletter and dedicated School of Kindness Facebook page and Twitter account, which enabled us to reach thousands of teachers and parents every month� We also launched a School of Kindness page on Instagram during the year� We used key events, such as Children’s Mental Health Week, Anti-Bullying

Week and Friendship Week, to promote the link between kindness and wellbeing, and also ran various half-term / holiday kindness challenges during the year to give teachers a resource to embed kindness in their class culture� Our sponsor, NBB Recycled Furniture, kindly donated prizes (buddy benches ) as an incentive for schools to get involved.

kindness couNCil

We value the input of children in our work, and always seek ideas and feedback from the children we work with� During the year, we launched a Kindness Council, made up of a number of children who

will help to inform our work. This is still in its early stages, but has already proven to be a valuable tool in developing ideas for the Kids’ Kindness Club and School Workshops�

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deepenIng our impact and enhancIng wellbeing

52 Lives has a loyal community of supporters, some of whom regularly tell us the positive impact that being part of our community has on their wellbeing� We know that kindness has a positive impact on people’s physical and mental health, which many people may be unaware of. We want to continue to explore how we can deepen the impact we have on our community, and help more people to understand the effects kindness has on our well-being, so they see kindness not only as something that they can do for others, but something that will also benefit them. We also know that kindness has a ripple effect

– research has shown that one kind act can positively affect up to 125 people.

We have actively developed and shared more content on the science of kindness and the impact of kindness on our website and social media channels, with the support of our scientific advisor (Dr David Hamilton) and specific research to help add depth and substance to our work� A wellbeing / science section for the website has also been launched and we have formed strong relationships with several academics and universities to expand this further.

“Absolutely love what you do…so special and heartwarming.”

“I really love supporting when I can. It is just magical to read about the positive impact your work has.”

“How lovely it is to know it makes such a difference. A little bit of kindness goes a long way.”

“It’s great to be part of this life-enhancing initiative.”

“I have loved and supported 52 Lives ever since I read about it in a magazine. It is very special and quite unique, with an amazing community of supporters that helps change people’s lives.”

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always wins!
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buildiNg a stRoNg fouNdatioN to fulfil our aIMs

52 Lives is a small charity with a tiny team, but the system and processes we have in place mean we are able to help a large number of people without high overheads�

We are very grateful to have the support of a major sponsor for our core work, which has enabled greater security for the charity and more forward planning. The sponsorship will be renewed in June 2022 for two years, however, the trustees continue to explore other potential funding sources for our work, so we are not so reliant on one major sponsor� We have secured additional corporate funding from other sources and will continue to build on these relationships. We are also fortunate to have secured a sponsor for our School of Kindness, which will be renewed in 2022/23 for another year�

Facebook continues to be where the majority of our supporters engage with us (73k+), but we are seeing a steady growth on our other social media platforms as well. While ‘followers’ are positive for our charity and enable us to reach more people, the ultimate goal is to create a community of engaged, loyal supporters – quality over quantity, so that is what our social media strategy focuses on�

52 Lives was once again selected as one of the charities being supported by the Advent of Change range of advent calendars and products, sold in John Lewis, Waitrose and direct from Advent of Change� Behind every door of the calendar are details of a charity being supported, so as well as providing funds for the charity, this also helped us to reach new audiences�

To meet our financial objectives and provide adequate support to the people we help, continuing to promote the work of 52 Lives is essential. We have a large, loyal social media following and will work on growing our presence on platforms where we have less support, and also converting our social media followers to our newsletter to give us more ownership and control (so we are less reliant on platform algorithms to speak to our supporter base).

We continued to promote our work to the local and national press as well as through our CEO speaking at conferences and events during the year�

The trustees confirm that they have complied with the duty in Section 17 of the Charities Act 2011 to have due regard to public benefit guidance published by the Charity Commission in determining the activities undertaken by the charity.

plaNs for the future

As 2022 begins, it is clear that the cost of living crisis is going to have a significant impact on people’s lives during the coming year� As a charity, we want to do what we can to support vulnerable people, while also strengthening communities and helping people to feel connected�

During 2022/23, we will continue to target resources at helping our weekly ‘lives’, while also helping

additional people where we can. We plan to run further special projects this year to help refugees, to help families with the cost of school shoes and uniforms, and to help keep people warm during what is likely to be a very tough winter� Our aim is to provide direct practical and emotional support to at least 4,000 people during the year� As a small charity, we have found that the more efficient way for us to run these additional projects is to partner with other

21

small charities, to pool resources and maximise our impact, so we will continue to do that during the year.

We are aware that the cost of living is likely to have an impact on our donations from individual supporters, so will focus our efforts on expanding our supporter base, encouraging a larger number of fundraisers, and strengthening our relationship with existing corporate donors while also seeking new partnerships with schools and other companies�

During difficult times, a sense of community is crucial to people’s wellbeing. We will continue to share stories of kindness and positivity on our website and social media pages, and in our weekly newsletter, to help people see the good in the world and let them know they are not alone�

“During difficult times, a sense of community is crucial to people’s wellbeing.”

Our School of Kindness has seen rapid growth over the past year in the number of children we are working with, the number of visitors to our School of Kindness website and the number of teachers using our resources� Looking ahead, demand from schools is already strong with our workshops fully booked up to six months in advance. Thanks to the sponsorship of NBB Recycled Furniture, we have been able to provide our workshops for free, and we are thrilled that they have committed to supporting us again in 2022/23. However, we will be looking to secure some additional funding to enable us to take on an extra workshop facilitator in the North West. That facilitator will work with schools running face-to-face workshops in that area, as well as running virtual workshops�

the different needs of schools, and to enable us to continue to work with a large number of children in an effective but cost efficient way.

We have identified some gaps in our lesson plan provision for early years and key stage 1, so will be creating new content and resources for these age groups� We also plan to develop more self-kindness resources, aimed at supporting children’s mental health�

As our School of Kindness grows, we will be looking for new ways to engage with schools and encourage a culture of kindness� We plan to pilot an awards scheme in a small number of schools in January 2023, with a view to expanding this nationally in 2023/24.

The virtual World Kindness Day Assemblies we ran during 2021/22 were hugely successful, reaching more than 40,000 children, so we also plan to run that event again, with a few small revisions to make it even more engaging for children and as simple as possible for schools to get involved�

The digital marketing strategy we implemented during the year reaped huge rewards, with a significant increase in traffic to our sites. As part of our digital strategy, we plan to conduct a review of our websites to determine if there are improvements and updates (in both the design and functionality) that could be made to make the sites more efficient, more engaging and to encourage more cross-pollination between 52 Lives and the School of Kindness websites.

We will focus on growing our social media presence to help us reach as many people as possible, while also deepening our relationship with existing supporters. We will also continue to work with companies, individuals and brands who can help to promote our work to wider audiences� This is in line with the charity’s mission to inspire people globally to be kind to each other�

This is a crucial time to be helping children focus on their wellbeing and so we will continue to run our workshops both virtually and face to face to meet

22

WWW.52-LIVES.ORG

STRUCTURE, GOVERNANCE AND MANAGEMENT

52 Lives is a charitable incorporated organisation, registered on 29 March 2016 with the Charity Commission under charity number 1166238. It is governed by a foundation CIO constitution.

The 52 Lives movement was founded in 2013 by Jaime Thurston (now CEO). The CEO and staff comprise the key management personnel of the charity, with the trustees taking responsibility for the strategy oversight and accountability for delivering the organisation’s objectives.

Although we began the year with six trustees, we sadly lost our wonderful trustee and friend, Graham Spivey, who passed away at the end of 2021� Graham embodied all of the values of kindness and compassion that the charity holds dear and we are enormously grateful to him for his service. He will be greatly missed by all of us�

There were five trustees as of March 2022, who bring a wealth of skills and experience to fit the needs of the charity. Potential trustees are interviewed by existing trustees and a proposal made to the Board. If all agree, they are then appointed by a resolution passed at a properly convened meeting of the trustees. New trustees are taken through an induction and introduction to the charity that includes a briefing on their legal obligations, the Charity Commission guidance on public benefit, and the content of the constitution, decisionmaking processes, the strategic plan and recent financial performance of the charity.

To enable the executive team to operate effectively, the trustees have put in place a schedule of delegated responsibilities which clearly set out where the CEO is authorised to act without recourse to the trustees. Any item of expenditure, contractual term or commitment that is outside the scope of this schedule must be put before the board of trustees for their approval�

Trustees positions are reviewed regularly, and each is elected on straddled three-year engagements.

23

INTERNAL CONTROLS AND RISK MANAGEMENT

The trustees have responsibility for the oversight of risk management within 52 Lives and review risk on an annual basis� The trustees implement risk management procedures, so each review will incorporate an assessment of the impact and likelihood of individual risk, the actions that have been taken to mitigate or control risks, the effectiveness of our risk management controls and whether there are new risks for the charity that need to be considered�

RELATED PARTIES AND CONFLICTS OF INTEREST

None of our trustees receive remuneration or other benefit for their work with the charity. Any potential or perceived connection between a trustee or the CEO and any party that could impact decision-making is disclosed to the full Board of Trustees and steps are taken to mitigate or eliminate any conflict. A conflicts of interest register is maintained and updated if necessary. Greig Trout (a sibling of trustee Barry Trout) is a Co-Director of company Be Kind Ltd� Be Kind Ltd provided services to the charity running School of Kindness Workshops and our Kids’ Kindness Club� Barry Trout was not involved in any discussions related to the decision to use the services of this company or the amounts paid� Be Kind Ltd is contracted to provide these services and offers a reduced charitable rate to do so. The fees paid to Be Kind Ltd during the year were £18,547.67. The trustees conducted a market comparison during the year to ensure the rate that was paid to Be Kind Ltd represents good value for money and to ensure transparency in the remuneration process.

FINANCIAL REVIEW

The following paragraphs provide the highlights of the financial position for the charity for the period ending 31st March 2022�

In 2021-2022, 52 Lives saw steady growth in its sixth full financial year. Income for the year stood at £357,383, which is slightly up on last year. This was a combination of a material increase in donations directly to our beneficiaries, which was largely as a result of higher average donation per ‘life ’, and a decrease in nonbeneficiaries income largely as a result of a decrease in the GalaBingo.com donation from £86,000 to £65,674 due to lower volumes on the 52 Lives games on their platform. It is worth noting that the Gala contract has now been extended until May 2024. The unrestricted / non beneficiaries income also included £42,942 of other one-off donations from companies including Provide Securities, GOSH Food, Advent of Change and Space Station Storage.

Expenditure stood at £408,461 of which £291,645 went directly to our beneficiaries. In keeping with 52 Lives’ values and ethos, administrative expenses are kept to a minimum. During the year, the total cost for administration (with all administration type costs allocated fully) was £67,225 which is up on last year (£54,595). This is due to inflation as well as a change in the contract we have with our CEO, to employ her at a set number of hours per week, which has brought additional costs of NI and pension.

Around 66% of the administration cost was on salary costs with the remainder being largely IT, professional fees, fundraising fees, insurance, bank fees and advertising.

24

WWW.52-LIVES.ORG

We have also calculated a split of charitable activities and other expenditure, with cost items split and allocated, which showed the charitable activities costs were 93% of total costs (up from 90% last year).

Net income stood at a loss (£51,078), down materially from last year as a result of a conscious decision from the Trustees to increase expenditure so as not to leave 52 Lives with excess reserves.

The cash balance was reduced by less than the Net Income number shown above as a result of lower debtors and higher creditors than the last financial year. Total cash at year end is a healthy £90,501.

No set of accounts can fully recognise the work of the charity as much of the work is to co-ordinate peer to peer help which can be financial, take the form of services delivered free of charge or even simple acts of kindness� A more comprehensive note regarding these intangibles can be found later in the accounts�

52 Lives continues to be reliant on the kindness of its supporters and the voluntary income they donate to help our work, as well as unrestricted funding from our corporate sponsor, Gala Bingo, without whom the charity would struggle to function.

We continue to be acutely aware of the current reliance on a single large major corporate donor for unrestricted income and have been building relationships to expand our corporate supporter base. Gala has committed to renewing the contract in June 2022.

RESERVES

The trustees have agreed that an appropriate reserves policy is for the Charity to maintain six to nine months of expected expenditure at any time. This policy is subject to review annually by the trustees.

Net assets at year end were £130,671, with £27,365 restricted for our beneficiaries, across the General Lives pot and designated for specific Lives. This gives us £103,306 in unrestricted funds at year end. Of that, £31,000 was designated for the School of Kindness to ensure we can meet our commitment to schools in 2022/23 and six months of running costs of £26,000 to a Business Continuity Fund in order to provide some element of resilience due to our reliance on one source of funding for core costs� As such our free reserves at March ‘22 are £46,306.

STATEMENT OF TRUSTEE’S RESPONSIBILITIES IN RESPECT OF THE TRUSTEE’S ANNUAL REPORT AND THE FINANCIAL STATEMENTS

Under the trust deed and rules of the charity and charity law, the trustees are responsible for preparing the Trustees’ Annual Report and the financial statements in accordance with applicable law and regulations. Charity law requires the trustees to prepare financial statements for each financial year. The trustees have elected to prepare the financial statements in accordance with FRS 102 the Financial Reporting Standard applicable in the UK and Republic of Ireland�

The charity and charity’s financial statements are required by law to give a true and fair view of the state of affairs of the charity and of its incoming resources and application of resources of the charity for that period.

25

In preparing these financial statements, generally accepted accounting practice entails that the trustees:

The trustees are required to act in accordance with the trust deed and the rules of the charity within the framework of trust law. They are responsible for keeping proper accounting records, sufficient to disclose at any time, with reasonable accuracy, the financial position of the charity at that time, and to enable the trustees to ensure that, where any statements of accounts are prepared by them under section 132(1) of the Charities Act 2011, those statements of accounts comply with the requirements of regulations under that provision� They have general responsibility for taking such steps as are reasonably open to them to safeguard the assets of the charity and to prevent and detect fraud and other irregularities. The trustees are responsible for the maintenance and integrity of the financial and other information included on the charity’s website. Legislation in the UK governing the preparation and dissemination of financial statements may differ from legislation in other jurisdictions.

Statement as to disclosure to our auditors

In so far as the trustees are aware at the time of approving our trustees’ annual report:

By order of the board of trustees

Signed: Jane Cockerell Position: Chair Date: 26/1/2023

26

52 LIVES

LEGAL AND ADMINISTRATIVE INFORMATION

Trustees

J Cockerell G Spivey L Britland Furness C H Welham J.P Thurston B Trout

Charity number

1166238

52 LIVES

STATEMENT OF FINANCIAL ACTIVITIES INCLUDING INCOME AND EXPENDITURE ACCOUNT FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31 MARCH 2022

Unrestricted
Restricted
funds
funds
2022
2022
Notes
£
£
Income from:
Donations and legacies
3
127,615
229,768
Expenditure on:
Raising funds
4
10,054
102
Charitable activities
5
99,622
298,683
Total expenditure
109,676
298,785
Net incoming/(outgoing)
resources before transfers
17,939
(69,017)
Gross transfers between
funds
(57,538)
57,538
Net (expenditure)/income for
the year/
Net movement in funds
(39,599)
(11,479)
Fund balances at 1 April 2021
142,905
38,844
Fund balances at 31 March
2022
103,306
27,365
Total Unrestricted
Restricted
funds
funds
2022
2021
2021
£
£
£
357,383
175,940
174,513
10,156
5,618
-
398,305
110,402
199,887
408,461
116,020
199,887
(51,078)
59,920
(25,374)
-
(32,157)
32,157
(51,078)
27,763
6,783
181,749
99,222
47,981
130,671
126,985
54,764
Total
2021
£
350,453
5,618
310,289
315,907
34,546
-
34,546
147,203
181,749

The statement of financial activities includes all gains and losses recognised in the year.

All income and expenditure derive from continuing activities.

52 LIVES

BALANCE SHEET

AS AT 31 MARCH 2022

Notes
Current assets
Debtors
9
Cash at bank and in hand
Creditors: amounts falling due within
one year
10
Net current assets
Income funds
Restricted funds
Unrestricted funds
2022
£
44,333
90,501
134,834
(4,163)
£
130,671
27,365
103,306
130,671
2021
£
54,354
127,956
182,310
(561)
£
181,749
54,764
126,985
181,749

The financial statements were approved by the Trustees on 26/1/2023

.............................. J Cockerell Trustee

NOTES TO THE FINANCIAL STATEMENTS FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31 MARCH 2022

52 LIVES

1 Accounting policies

Charity information

52 Lives is a Charitable Incorporated Organisation (CIO) operating throughout England and Wales.

52 Lives aims to change someone's life every week of the year and inspire people to be kind. People nominate someone in need of help and every week we choose someone to help, share their story and request what they need. It's about spreading kindness and changing lives. We also run Kindness Workshops in schools, which aim to empower children by helping them to realise that their choices matter.

1.1 Accounting convention

The financial statements have been prepared in accordance with the charity's governing document, the Charities Act 2011, FRS 102 “The Financial Reporting Standard applicable in the UK and Republic of Ireland” (“FRS 102”) and the Charities SORP "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 is a Public Benefit Entity as defined by FRS 102.

The financial statements 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 Statement of Recommended Practice for charities applying FRS 102 rather than the version of the Statement of Recommended Practice which is referred to in the Regulations but which has since been withdrawn.

The financial statements are prepared in sterling, which is the functional currency of the charity. Monetary amounts in these financial statements are rounded to the nearest £.

The financial statements have been prepared under the historical cost convention. The principal accounting policies adopted are set out below.

1.2 Going concern

At the time of approving the financial statements, the charity has a reasonable expectation that the charity has adequate resources to continue in operational existence for the foreseeable future. Thus the charity continues to adopt the going concern basis of accounting in preparing the financial statements.

1.3 Charitable funds

Unrestricted funds are available for use at the discretion of the charity in furtherance of their charitable objectives.

Restricted funds are subject to specific conditions by donors as to how they may be used. The purposes and uses of the restricted funds are set out in the notes to the financial statements.

Endowment funds are subject to specific conditions by donors that the capital must be maintained by the charity.

1.4 Income

Income is recognised when the charity is legally entitled to it after any performance conditions have been met, the amounts can be measured reliably, and it is probable that income will be received.

Cash donations are recognised on receipt. Other donations are recognised once the charity has been notified of the donation, unless performance conditions require deferral of the amount. Income tax recoverable in relation to donations received under Gift Aid or deeds of covenant is recognised at the time of the donation.

Legacies are recognised on receipt or otherwise if the charity has been notified of an impending distribution, the amount is known, and receipt is expected. If the amount is not known, the legacy is treated as a contingent asset.

52 LIVES

NOTES TO THE FINANCIAL STATEMENTS (CONTINUED) FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31 MARCH 2022

1 Accounting policies

(Continued)

1.5 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. Central staff costs are allocated on the basis of time spent, and depreciation charges are allocated on the portion of the asset’s use.

1.6 Cash and cash equivalents

Cash and cash equivalents include cash in hand, deposits held at call with banks, other short-term liquid investments with original maturities of three months or less, and bank overdrafts. Bank overdrafts are shown within borrowings in current liabilities.

1.7 Financial instruments

The charity has elected to apply the provisions of Section 11 ‘Basic Financial Instruments’ and Section 12 ‘Other Financial Instruments Issues’ of FRS 102 to all of its financial instruments.

Financial instruments are recognised in the charity's balance sheet when the charity becomes party to the contractual provisions of the instrument.

Financial assets and liabilities are offset, with the net amounts presented in the financial statements, when there is a legally enforceable right to set off the recognised amounts and there is an intention to settle on a net basis or to realise the asset and settle the liability simultaneously.

Basic financial assets

Basic financial assets, which include debtors and cash and bank balances, are initially measured at transaction price including transaction costs and are subsequently carried at amortised cost using the effective interest method unless the arrangement constitutes a financing transaction, where the transaction is measured at the present value of the future receipts discounted at a market rate of interest. Financial assets classified as receivable within one year are not amortised.

Basic financial liabilities

Basic financial liabilities, including creditors and bank loans are initially recognised at transaction price unless the arrangement constitutes a financing transaction, where the debt instrument is measured at the present value of the future payments discounted at a market rate of interest. Financial liabilities classified as payable within one year are not amortised.

Debt instruments are subsequently carried at amortised cost, using the effective interest rate method.

Trade creditors are obligations to pay for goods or services that have been acquired in the ordinary course of operations from suppliers. Amounts payable are classified as current liabilities if payment is due within one year or less. If not, they are presented as non-current liabilities. Trade creditors are recognised initially at transaction price and subsequently measured at amortised cost using the effective interest method.

Derecognition of financial liabilities

Financial liabilities are derecognised when the charity’s contractual obligations expire or are discharged or cancelled.

52 LIVES

NOTES TO THE FINANCIAL STATEMENTS (CONTINUED) FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31 MARCH 2022

2 Critical accounting estimates and judgements

In the application of the charity's accounting policies, the charity is required to make judgements, estimates and assumptions about the carrying amount of assets and liabilities that are not readily apparent from other sources. The estimates and associated assumptions are based on historical experience and other factors that are considered to be relevant. Actual results may differ from these estimates.

The estimates and underlying assumptions are reviewed on an ongoing basis. Revisions to accounting estimates are recognised in the period in which the estimate is revised where the revision affects only that period, or in the period of the revision and future periods where the revision affects both current and future periods.

3 Donations and legacies

Unrestricted Restricted Total Unrestricted Restricted Total
funds funds funds funds
2022 2022 2022 2021 2021 2021
£ £ £ £ £ £
Donations and gifts 127,615 229,768 357,383 175,940 174,513 350,453

4 Raising funds

Unrestricted
Restricted
funds
funds
2022
2022
£
£
Fundraising and publicity
Other fundraising costs
10,054
102
10,054
102
Total
Unrestricted
funds
2022
2021
£
£
10,156
5,618
10,156
5,618
Total
Unrestricted
funds
2022
2021
£
£
10,156
5,618
10,156
5,618
5,618

52 LIVES

NOTES TO THE FINANCIAL STATEMENTS (CONTINUED) FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31 MARCH 2022

5 Charitable activities

Charitable Charitable
Activities Activities
2022 2021
£ £
Staff costs 34,634 14,237
Beneficiary Payments 291,645 231,554
Consultants fees 21,719 38,865
Advertising 379 2,753
Artwork, design and printing 628 3,857
Web design and computer costs 7,806 8,860
Postage 1,673 1,731
Fundraising - 1,934
School resources 6,600 3,159
Travel 1,366 -
Facilitator Fees 6,535 -
Admin Support 6,299 1,218
Sundry - 167
Other charitable expenditure - 1,954
379,284 310,289
Share of support costs (see note 6) 18,151 -
Share of governance costs (see note 6) 870 -
398,305 310,289
Analysis by fund
Unrestricted funds 99,622 110,402
Restricted funds 298,683 199,887
398,305 310,289

52 LIVES

NOTES TO THE FINANCIAL STATEMENTS (CONTINUED) FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31 MARCH 2022

6 Support costs

Support costs
Support
costs
Governance
costs
£
£
Staff costs
9,207
-
Non-charitable admin
8,944
25
Non-charitable
governance costs
-
845
18,151
870
Analysed between
Charitable activities
18,151
870
2022Support costs Governance
costs
£
£
£
9,207
-
-
8,969
-
-
845
-
-
19,021
-
-
19,021
-
-
2021
£
-
-
-
-
-

7 Trustees

None of the trustees (or any persons connected with them) received any remuneration or benefits from the during the year.

8 Employees

The average monthly number of employees during the year was:

2022 2021
Number Number
2 2
Employment costs 2022 2021
£ £
Wages and salaries 40,739 13,340
Social security costs 2,449 629
Other pension costs 653 213
43,841 14,182

There were no employees whose annual remuneration was more than £60,000.

9 Debtors
2022 2021
Amounts falling due within one year: £ £
Trade debtors 44,333 54,354

52 LIVES

NOTES TO THE FINANCIAL STATEMENTS (CONTINUED) FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31 MARCH 2022

10 Creditors: amounts falling due within one year

Other taxation and social security
Other creditors
Accruals and deferred income
11
Analysis of net assets between funds
Unrestricted
funds
Restricted
funds
2022
2022
£
£
Fund balances at 31
March 2022 are
represented by:
Current assets/(liabilities)
103,306
27,365
103,306
27,365
Total
Unrestricted
funds
2022
2021
£
£
130,671
126,985
130,671
126,985
2022
£
762
2,451
950
4,163
Restricted
funds
2021
£
54,764
54,764
2021
£
69
492
-
561
Total
2021
£
181,749
181,749

12 Related party transactions

Please see the Trustees Report for a full list of Related Party Transactions in the year.

Independent examiner's report on the accounts

Section A Independent Examiner’s Report

Report to the trustees/ Charity Name 52 Lives members of On accounts for the year 31[st] March 2022 Charity no 1166238 ended (if any) Set out on pages 30-37

Respective The charity's trustees are responsible for the preparation of the accounts. responsibilities of The charity’s trustees consider that an audit is not required for this year trustees and examiner under section 144 of the Charities Act 2011 (“the Charities Act”) and that an independent examination is needed.

It is my responsibility to:

Basis of independent examiner’s statement

My examination was carried out in accordance with 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 the 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 statement below.

1

IER

Independent examiner's statement

In connection with my examination, no material matters have come to my attention (other than that disclosed below *) which gives me cause to believe that in, any material respect:

I 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.

----- Start of picture text -----
Date: 18/01/2023
Signed:
Name: Dan Devonald
CTA FMAAT
Relevant professional
qualification(s) or body
(if any):
Address: 59 Dukes Wood Avenue
Gerrards Cross
SL9 7JY
----- End of picture text -----

Section B Disclosure Give here brief details of N/A any items that the examiner wishes to disclose .

2

IER

Charity Registration Number (England and Wales) 1166238. Date registered: 29th March 2016. Registered address: PO Box 3154, Reading RG1 9AT www.52-lives.org

© 2023, 52 Lives