Mosaic LGBT+ Young Persons’ Trust Charity Number 1166676
Report of Trustees April 1[st] 2020 – March 31[st] 2021
Registered Address
29-31 Hampstead Rd, London NW1 3JA
Introduction
Welcome to the Annual Report of Mosaic LGBT+ Young Persons’ Trust which we usually just refer to as Mosaic. We are a Charitable Incorporated Organisation and we provide a range of services for teenagers from across London who are LGBT+.
Our objects are
*** TO RELIEVE THE MENTAL AND EMOTIONAL DISTRESS SUFFERED BY YOUNG PERSONS WITHIN GREATER LONDON AND THE SURROUNDING AREA, WHO ARE LESBIAN, GAY, BISEXUAL, AND TRANSGENDER (LGBT) BY THE PROVISION OF ADVICE, EDUCATION AND SUPPORT WITH THE OBJECTS OF INCREASING SELFESTEEM AND POSITIVE IDENTITY AMONGST SAID PERSONS.**
*** TO PROMOTE EQUALITY, DIVERSITY AND COMMUNITY COHESION AS WELL AS TO ELIMINATE DISCRIMINATION IN RELATION TO LESBIAN, GAY, BISEXUAL, AND TRANSGENDER (LGBT) PERSONS BY ADVANCING EDUCATION AND RAISING AWARENESS OF ISSUES AFFECTING SAID PERSONS.**
We summarise our objects into a simple aim: to support, educate and inspire LGBT+ young persons from across London.
Governance
Changes to our Constitution
During the period under review we had two rounds of changing our governing document. In April 2020 we changed our name from Mosaic LGBT Youth Centre to Mosaic LGBT+ Young Persons’ Trust. We felt this reflected several things about how our offerings had developed since Mosaic became a CIO in 2016. Firstly, just as the lesbian and gay community expanded to include bisexual and trans people so it has expanded further to include asexual, polyamorous, non-binary and others who do not define themselves as heterosexual or whose gender is not that shown on their original birth certificate. As is common, we encompassed all of this in the term LGBT+. Secondly, we felt the term “youth” was, and is, often used pejoratively and we prefer “young persons”. While we had used this term for a while internally, when changing the charity’s name for other reasons it seemed like a good time to make this alteration too. Finally, our work has never been centred on a single location. We have always had some services directly in schools and colleges and we planned to expand this. We were also looking at offering youth clubs outside our usual central London location. Removing the term “Centre” ensured that there was no misunderstandings.
In autumn 2020 we decided to bring in some additional trustees to replace three resignations. We were so impressed with five of the candidates that we made a change to our constitution to enable us to have more trustees, and this change was approved on 4th January 2021.
Our Trustees
Mosaic has a very active Board of Trustees and we have tried very hard to ensure we have as diverse a Board as possible and that we listen to what these diverse voices are saying. During the period under review we recruited a significant number of new Trustees and saw several long standing Trustees resign. The process for recruiting Trustees was robust. Roles were advertised widely and candidates were asked to submit a CV. All applicants were interviewed by a panel of three young persons, and it was the same panel for all applicants. They were then interviewed by a panel which included the Chair, the Executive Director and at least two other trustees. The Trustees took into account the views of the young persons and the Executive Director and the recommendations taken to the Board were the unanimous view of all involved in the process. The Board invited those recommended to observe a Board meeting before making the final appointment decision. All Trustees were appointed for a term of three years.
Two trustees served for the full period under review:
Ken Batty Chair Gemma Benton Vice Chair
Two trustees in place at the start of the period left during the period under review:
Charlotte Talbott Resigned 1[st] July 2020 Dinara Zaparova Resigned 10[th] September 2020
Eight trustees were appointed on 17[th] April 2020
Leigh Fontaine Norman Powell Emma Palmer Anand Patel Stephen Oakes Gavin Doyle Harnake Virk
Sahaf Hardouf, who resigned on 1[st] August 2020
Five trustees were appointed on 4[th] January 2021
Christos Papaioannou
Graysen Hall (now Graysen Whittaker) Kieran Ferdinand Sophie McGuirk-Cummings Josie Youd
In total by the end of the period under review we had a Board of 14 trustees. All Trustees received training at induction on the role of the Trustee. During the period covered all Trustees also completed safeguarding training.
The Trustees met as a Board every 6 weeks, and committees of the Board were: Frontline; Finance, Risk and Governance; Marketing and Communications; Fundraising.
It is worth noting that we were in lockdown for much of the period covered and the Board was unable to have any face to face meetings during the period covered. As a result many of the Trustees had never met each other, other than at our regular online meetings. Despite that the Trustees worked well together, carried out their legal duties, and in particular paid attention to the requirement of the Charity Commission that due thought be given to the public benefit aspect of Mosaic’s work. As we detail below the activities carried out you will see that these were carried out in line with our objects.
Staff and Volunteers
Mosaic has two full time members of staff: an executive director who was instrumental in founding the charity, and an assistant director who previously volunteered for us. For part of the period covered we had an intern who, as part of their degree was working with a youth organisation, and was funded through the Erasmus programme. We also had a group of volunteers, all LGBT+ persons, who supported many of the activities we offered. During the period we had around 20 volunteers helping us.
The Trustees believe that Mosaic benefits hugely from the contributions of our staff and volunteers. We would like to put on record our profound thanks for all that they do. Their commitment is hugely impressive.
Review of our work
The country went into a total lockdown on 23[rd] March 2020. We were determined to transition into online delivery within twenty-four hours. Although we are a small organisation with just two paid members of staff, we quickly gathered young persons feedback, as well as applying our own knowledge of young persons personalities, their abilities and needs, in order to not only transition delivery online but to make online delivery truly responsive to the needs of our members.
Social Connection
We knew that some of our members would struggle with a lack of social connection. Combatting isolation is one of the main reasons our members join. 98.4% of young LGBT+ persons who contact us reference feelings of isolation and loneliness. Knowing that being stuck at home was going to have a severe impact on such feelings we felt it was important to create as much
opportunity for our members to connect with each other as possible. We set up a Discord community active 24 hours where members could connect with each other in several different rooms.
The Discord community simulated our members interest groups so that the likeminded persons could exchange ideas and talk to one another. This also allowed for communication between members and our volunteers without additional resource being spent on work mobile phones.
Members took to it instantly suggesting more rooms to be added. We now have:
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members’ lounge where young persons have general conversations that don’t fit into other rooms
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reading room where members talk about what they read and discuss it
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memes which make for innocent fun to keep young persons engaged and smiling throughout the pandemic.
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ideas and suggestions where young persons can put forward things for Mosaic to offer or develop
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a wellbeing-spa where wellbeing tips are being shared and discussed
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media club where films and videos can be discussed
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creative hub where members can share their creativity around things like drawings, writing etc.
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games room where members can connect through gaming
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- food and cooking where vegetarian and healthy eating tips are being shared as well as cooking experiences are being shared
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campaign where our members self-organise for social justice.
Discord also offered opportunity to engage with the services we run through typing when video calling or audio calling isn’t possible. This is vital to create a sense of community when a young person has no privacy or lives in a hostile environment.
Social connection was also fostered through Sunday gaming sessions where our members have had an opportunity to connect in casual activity while having opportunity to make friends and feel like they are doing something collectively. We even set up a Mosaic dedicated Minecraft server.
Procrastination
We knew from having direct conversations with our members that many struggle with procrastination. We predicted that they would struggle with amount of time available to them and the need to self-organise their time. We therefore began a daily coaching session each weekday at 9.30 am allowing young persons to plan their daily goals and get things moving. It was rated as outstanding by our members. As a result even when face to face meetings were
allowed, and we moved onto a blended delivery of services, we still offered this once a week where our young persons received support on Monday to set their goals, but that was framed with a journaling workshop on Friday evening that allowed the young persons to reflect on the week past. These two sessions have been so successful they still continue.
Health
Many of our members struggle with mental health so throughout the lockdown we ran workshops on wellbeing, managing emotions and healthy eating for a healthy mind. We already ran a weekly yoga class and these were immediately offered online. These sessions help our members to connect with their bodies and through gentle stretches release any tensions. This was also paired with Monday evening guided meditation sessions that helped members to relax and form a habit of meditating showing how it is not as difficult as young persons might have thought.
In the summer of 2020 as lockdown eased we bought and distributed bicycles to our members making them more physically active. We then organised a series of group trips. These were very popular and delivered in line with social distancing. Members reported feelings of freedom and safety as they didn’t have to use public transport for home errands or trips to school.
Counselling
Mosaic has always had a group of trained volunteer mentors, who along with our paid staff, were able to listen to our young persons and help them explore options. In November 2020 we took this to the next level when we launched a counselling service. The service offered young LGBT+ persons support they really needed with a short waiting time. We have a team of qualified counsellors and the service is professionally managed by our Head of Therapeutic Services. This service continues and is expanding.
Poverty
Our membership is drawn from across London and from a range of different backgrounds. It was very clear to us that some of our young persons were struggling financially during the pandemic. We offered an ‘Expression of need form’ for members to voice the needs that they identified. We distributed fifteen laptops to those affected by digital poverty as well as art materials for creative sessions and wireless headphones for those young persons who needed more privacy at home. We also sent out oyster cards for those young persons who couldn’t afford to come to sessions when those where permitted.
Environment
Mosaic is very concerned about environmental impact. Part of our work with young LGBT+ persons is to reduce that impact to a minimum and make young LGBT+ person agents of change. During the bike trips organised by Mosaic members were involved with litter picking making a positive contribution to wider community and environment. Members commented how much the enjoyed doing this and felt it was a fulfilling use of their time.
Mosaic team also organised a clothes swap to help young LGBT+ persons pick up a new wardrobe of clothes in a safe, gender
affirming, queer space. While young persons could bring clothes they no longer wanted that was a small part of it. We arranged to receive donations of clothes from companies and so we had a lot of choice and this made it equitable to access for all.
Culture
Culture Club has traditionally been one of the most popular of Mosaic’s activities. Before lockdown we would have regular trips to LGBT+ theatre performances, museums, galleries and exhibitions. This was greatly restricted due to the lockdowns and is one of the main reasons that our spending reduced in the year. But whenever guidelines permitted we organised socially distanced outings to see shows and screenings. A film night for Halloween was a great success as well as an outing to see the West end musical ‘Everybody’s Talking about Jamie’.
Mosaic also ran a socially distanced “COVID-19 secure” event with the pop star Adam Lambert at the Rich Mix cinema especially booked for them by Adam’s Feel Something Foundation. Members were able to ask him questions, had some pizza, and watched a ‘The Rocky Horror Picture Show: Let's Do the Time Warp Again’ It was a truly spectacular evening especially since for many it was the very first social function they had been able to go to since lockdown started
Knowing that our members are very creative a Saturday session was established originally to get our members to work on the annual Zine that Mosaic produces with diverse contributions from members from drawings to poetry, but this evolved into a general creative session each week allowing the more creative young persons an outlet and structure as well as a supportive environment where they could bounce around ideas.
We ran an online Drag Academy where young LGBT+ persons could learn more about drag art in its diverse range of expression as well as explore their own drag alter ego. In addition to the Drag Academy we also offered a series of make-up tutorials for young persons who wanted to explore their own expression through make-up. It was run over several weeks and allowed young persons to play with make-up as a tool of reclaiming power. To ensure no one was excluded because they could not afford the materials all participants received a make-up set.
Inspiration and sense of purpose
We have traditionally installed a sense of purpose in our members and this became especially important in face of Black Lives Matter movement and growing transphobia. Our members were part of our online
TogetherAgianstHate campaign delivered in partnership with Galop, Hidayah and Micro-Rainbow which popularised the use of gender pronouns and challenged transphobic attitudes.
Our members also wrote to their MPs asking for Gender Recognition Act to be more inclusive and self-directed by the Trans community.
Some Mosaic members decided to become Discord Pros and support new members in becoming familiar with the platform and making them feel ‘at home’.
Inclusion
A discussion with some of our young persons revealed an interest in faith and spirituality. We responded by arranging an Inter Faith Week dialogue between representatives of key religious faiths. Professor Rusi Jaspal opened up with a summary of his research into sexuality and faith. Our panel for discussion was Rabbi Mati Kirschenbaum, Imam Dr. Ludovic-Mohamed Zahed - the founder of the first European inclusive mosque, Catholic priest Fr. Bernárd Lynch – the founder of Dignity USA, Harpreet Singh a Sikh, and Humanist chaplain Christopher Geake.
This was so popular that it was organised again for LGBT+ History Month with a theme of Mind, Body, Spirit and this time included guests Rev Jide Macaulay, Om Dhumatkar, Imam Daaylee Abdallah, Jayne Ozanne and Shraddha Siddhi.
Summary of our work
The period under review was difficult for everyone but LGBT+ young persons faced some specific challenges. We believe we responded to those in new and innovative ways. You can see the summary of our weekly activities below. In total, over a period of 4 weeks we would offer around 160 hours of services. While not all of these hours are offered to everyone, an hour of counselling for example is for one young person, this is a significant amount of time.
One effect of reducing the face to face meetings is that we were trying to attract young persons to take part in even more online screen time – when they were exhausted and bored with it. Our normal large party events, Homoween and Pride Prom, act as great recruiting tools for us, but these were not available. With the result that we attracted only 123 new members through the year. We normally expect to attract at least double that number of new members. As we write this in January 2021 we are already seeing that numbers are picking up as we return to regular, face to face, meetings and our usual richer and more varied range of events.
Financial Report
Mosaic is financially well managed. We have clear financial controls and proper budgeting. We went into the period with £106,000 in reserves and debtors. We had expected to raise £120,000 and to spend a similar amount, leaving us with similar reserves. Our policy is to keep between 9 and 12 months full expenditure in reserve and this figure falls within that range.
The pandemic saw money spent in very different ways than planned in our budget. We offered more activities than ever before but we had few space costs and we had almost no theatre outings through our Culture Club. As a result we spent £111,000 instead of the planned £120,000.
At the same time our planned funders proved very helpful and several of them gave us additional funds to enable us to cope with the effects of Covid. We did not apply for additional funds to help us cope, as we knew we could, but a couple of funders increased what they planned to give us through a formula based on their original grant. Furthermore, our voluntary
donations increased as individuals and businesses saw all the extra things we were doing and donated to support.
As a result while our planned expenditure declined our income increased from a planned £120,000 to £141,000. This has given us an unplanned surplus of c£30,000 and taken us above the 12 months top limit on reserves. However, the year 2021 – 22 has a planned expenditure of £141,000 while the income is still planned at £120,000 so our reserves will fall back within the limits and we will also have offered additional services.
The full accounts are attached to this report, as approved, without qualification, by our Independent Examiner.
Summary
2020 – 21 was a very different period than anyone could have imagined. Mosaic adapted very quickly to the demands of lockdown, school closures, increased family stress, worsening mental health among our beneficiaries and many other challenges. We launched new services, we extended our offerings and we raised more money than ever before. We refreshed our Board of Trustees, bringing in a much more diverse set of experiences and skills than previously. We also continued to recruit volunteers who enable Mosaic, under the direction of our staff, to provide support, education and inspiration to a generation of LGBT+ young persons.
Ken Batty Chair of Trustees
Gemma Benton Vice Chair of Trustees
| Charity Name Mosaic LGBT+ Young Persons Trust |
Charity Name Mosaic LGBT+ Young Persons Trust |
Charity Name Mosaic LGBT+ Young Persons Trust |
Charity Name Mosaic LGBT+ Young Persons Trust |
Charity Name Mosaic LGBT+ Young Persons Trust |
No (if any) | No (if any) | No (if any) | CC16a | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| For the period from |
01 April 2020 Period start date |
To | Period end date 31 March 2021 |
||||||
| Section A Receipts and payments | |||||||||
| A1 Receipts | Unrestricted funds to the nearest £ - 14,868 29,088 39,926 235 - - - 84,117 - - - 84,117 |
Restricted funds to the nearest £ - 57,250 - - - - - - 57,250 - - - 57,250 |
Endowment funds to the nearest £ - - - - - - - - - - - - - |
Total funds to the nearest £ - 72,118 29,088 39,926 235 - - - 141,367 - - - 141,367 3,759 7,723 8,216 - 74,826 - 6,532 3,614 - 6,334 111,004 - - - 111,004 30,363 |
Last year to the nearest £ |
||||
| LGBT Futures Fund | - | 18,558 | |||||||
| Grants | 14,868 | 34,819 | |||||||
| Donations | 29,088 | 24,197 | |||||||
| Contracted Income | 39,926 | 41,054 | |||||||
| Investment Income | 235 | - | |||||||
| - | - | ||||||||
| - | - | ||||||||
| - | - | ||||||||
| Sub total(Gross income for AR) | 84,117 | 118,628 | |||||||
| A2 Asset and investment sales, (see table). |
|||||||||
| - | - | ||||||||
| - | - | ||||||||
| Sub total | - | - | |||||||
| Total receipts A3 Payments |
|||||||||
| 118,628 | |||||||||
Advertisingand Promotion |
3,759 | - | - | 3,759 | 4,620 | ||||
| Administration | 7,723 | - | - | 7,723 | 5,589 | ||||
| Culture Club & Events | 8,216 | - | - | 8,216 | 10,428 | ||||
| Rent | - | - | - | - | 5,920 | ||||
| Staffing Costs | 17,576 | 57,250 | - | 74,826 | 54,362 | ||||
| Staff Costspaid byLGBT+ Futures fund | - | - | - | - | 18,558 | ||||
| CounsellingServices | 6,532 | - | - | 6,532 | - | ||||
| Staff & Vols Training,Travel & Support | 3,614 | - | - | 3,614 | 4,864 | ||||
| Young Persons Support & Travel Youth Group Equipment/Supplies **Sub total ** |
- | - | - | - | 5,267 | ||||
| 6,334 | - | - | 6,334 | 3,144 | |||||
| 53,754 | 57,250 | - | 111,004 | 112,752 | |||||
| A4 Asset and investment purchases, (see table) |
|||||||||
| - | |||||||||
| - | |||||||||
| **Sub total ** | - | - | |||||||
| Total payments Net of receipts/(payments) A5 Transfers between funds A6 Cash funds last year end Cash funds this year end |
|||||||||
| 112,752 | |||||||||
| 30,363 | 30,363 | 5,876 | |||||||
| - | - | - | |||||||
| 106,172 | 106,172 | 100,296 | |||||||
| 136,535 | 136,535 | 106,172 |
CCXX R1 accounts (SS)
1
27-01-22
| Section B Statement of assets and liabilities at the end of the | Section B Statement of assets and liabilities at the end of the | Section B Statement of assets and liabilities at the end of the | period | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Categories Signed by one or two trustees on behalf of all the trustees B5 Liabilities B4 Assets retained for the charity’s own use B3 Investment assets B2 Other monetary assets B1 Cash funds |
Signature Details Details Details Details Lloyds: 30-98-90 15729968 Total cash funds (agree balances with receipts and payments account(s)) Details |
Unrestricted funds Restricted funds to nearest £ H57 136,535 - - - - - 136,535 - OK OK Unrestricted funds Restricted funds to nearest £ to nearest £ - - - - - - - - - - - - Fund to which asset belongs Cost (optional) - - - - - Fund to which asset belongs Cost (optional) - - - - - - - - - Fund to which liability relates Amount due (optional) - - - - - Print Name Ken Batty |
Endowment funds to nearest £ |
|
| - | ||||
| - | ||||
| - | ||||
| - | ||||
| OK | ||||
| Endowment funds to nearest £ |
||||
| - | ||||
| - | ||||
| - | ||||
| - | ||||
| - | ||||
| - | ||||
| Current value (optional) |
||||
| - | ||||
| - | ||||
| - | ||||
| - | ||||
| - | ||||
| Current value (optional) |
||||
| - | ||||
| - | ||||
| - | ||||
| - | ||||
| - | ||||
| - | ||||
| - | ||||
| - | ||||
| - | ||||
| When due (optional) |
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| Date of approval |
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| Ken Batty | 29/11/21 |
CCXX R2 accounts (SS)
2
27-01-22
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Gemma Benton 29/11/21
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CCXX R3 accounts (SS)
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27-01-22
CHARITY (OMMISSIO FOR ENGLAND ANO WALE Independent examiner's report on the accounts Section A Independent Examiner's Report Report to the trusteesl members of Moswc LGBT+ Youth Centre On accounts for the year ended 31 March 2021 Charity no. 1166676 Sel out on pages Receipts and Payments Accounts pages l and 2 I rep lo trustees on emInation of the accounts of the above charity rthe Trusf) for the year ended 3U0312021 Respon$lbllttle8 and bas18 of As the dwrity trustees of the TrusL you are responsible for the report preparation of the accounts in a¢cord8nce wlth the requirements of the Charf(ies Act 2011 (Yhe W. I rep)rt in respett ot my examinaiion of the Trust's accounts carried OLrt undeT section 145 of the 2011 Act and in carrying out ry examination, I have followed the applicable Directions given by the Charity Commission under section 145(5)(b) of the Act. I have completed rrry examinats'on. I confirm that no malerial matters have come to my attenlion in connection th the examinalion which gives me cause to lIeVe Ihai in, any material respect.. l. accounD'ng records were not kept in accordance with seth'on 130 of the Act or 2. the accounts do not accord with the accounting records Independent examiners statement I have no concerns and have conE across no other matters in connection Nmth the examination to which allention should be drawn in order to enable a proper understanding of ihe accounts to be reached. Slgned: Date: 14 September 2021 Howard Lane Relevant professlonal quallllcation{s) or body {If any): FFF1pA Address: ProvFiling Ltd 68 Canterbury Grove London SE27 OPA IER
Section B Disclosure Onty complete if the examiner needs to highlighi matters ol concern (see CC32. Independent examination of charity accounts: directions and guidance for examiners). Give here brief details ot any items that the examiner wishes to disclose.