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2020-12-31-accounts

GREATER TOGETHER MANCHESTER ANNUAL REPORT TRUSTEES. REPORT & UNAUDITED FINANCIAL STATEMENTS FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31 DECEMBER 2020 COMPANY NUMBER: 09490223 REGISTERED CHARITY NUMBER.. 1167704

Contents

COMPANY INFORMATION .................................................................................................................................... 2 TRUSTEES REPORT ................................................................................................................................................ 3 STRUCTURE, GOVERNANCE AND MANAGEMENT ............................................................................................ 3 OBJECTIVES AND ACTIVITIES ............................................................................................................................ 4 ACHIEVEMENTS, PERFORMANCE AND FUTURE PLANS .................................................................................... 4 FINANCIAL REVIEW ......................................................................................................................................... 12 Independent examiner's report to the trustees of Greater Together Manchester ('the Company') ................ 14 STATEMENT OF FINANCIAL ACTIVITIES .............................................................................................................. 15 BALANCE SHEET .................................................................................................................................................. 16 NOTES TO THE FINANCIAL STATEMENTS ............................................................................................................ 18 DETAILED STATEMENT OF FINANCIAL ACTIVITIES ............................................................................................. 23

COMPANY NUMBER: 09490223

CHARITY NUMBER: 1167704

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COMPANY INFORMATION

TRUSTEES & DIRECTORS

Christopher Bracegirdle Appointed 30.01.2018 Chairperson Tracey Rawlins Appointed 22.04.2015 Vice-Chairperson Hilary Caldwell Appointed 04.10.2019 Treasurer Mark Davies Appointed 21.08.2019 Helen Platts Appointed 21.08.2019 Eleanor Trimble Appointed 24.03.2020 Grace Thomas Appointed 10.06.2020 Douglas Rodger Petch Resigned 24.03.2020 Sibylle Eva Nothhelfer-Batten Resigned 24.03.2020 Alison Peacock Resigned 12.05.2020 COMPANY SECRETARY Lily Axworthy MEMBERS OF STAFF Lily Axworthy Chief Executive Officer Samra Kanwal Near Neighbours Coordinator Craig Savage Homeless Services Manager Lucy McCoulough GTM Night Shelter Administrator REGISTERED OFFICE Church House 90 Deansgate Manchester M3 2GH WEBSITE ADDRESS www.greatertogethermanchester.org INDEPENDENT EXAMINER Jane Cooksey Jane Cooksey Limited FCAA 15/16 Boarshurst Business Park Boarshurst Lane Greenfield Oldham OL3 7ER BANKERS The Co-operative Bank 70-72 Cross Street Manchester M2 4JG INSURERS Aviva Insurance Limited Pithaevlis Perth Scotland PH2 0NH Company Number 09490223 Registered Charity Number 1167704

COMPANY NUMBER: 09490223

CHARITY NUMBER: 1167704

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TRUSTEES REPORT

The Trustees, who are also Directors of the Charity for the purposes of the Companies Act 2006, present their report with the financial statements of the charity for the year ended 31 December 2020. The trustees have adopted the provisions of 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).

The Charitable Company operates from its registered office: Church House, 90 Deansgate, Manchester, M3 2GH. The website address is www.greatertogethermanchester.org .

The Trustees have pleasure in presenting the charitable company’s fourth annual report and the financial statements for the year ended 31 December 2020.

STRUCTURE, GOVERNANCE AND MANAGEMENT

GOVERNING DOCUMENT

The charitable company is a company limited by guarantee and is governed by its Memorandum and Articles of Association dated 14 March 2015. The charity was registered with the Charity Commission on 17 June 2016.

COMPANY MEMBERS

The company members are the Diocesan Board of Finance (DBF) and the Church Urban Fund (CUF).

RECRUITMENT, APPOINTMENT AND TRAINING OF TRUSTEES

The Directors, who are the trustees, are appointed by the company members and are collectively known as ‘the Board’. The number of Trustees should be as near as possible to nine, being five nominated by CUF, being drawn from churches and/or organisations operation in and around the Diocese, and four nominated by the DBF. Each Trustee serves a term of five years and, upon expiry of the term, may be re-appointed for a further five years by either CUF or the DBF.

Trustees are nominated by invitation given that they have the necessary skills and expertise to contribute to the charity’s activities and to be able to discharge their obligations as Trustees.

On appointment, trustees are briefed by key staff and the Chair of Trustees. Trustees may also choose to visit projects supported by the charity.

The Trustees who served during the year, together with any changes up to the date of approving this report are listed on page 2.

ORGANISATION

The Board administers the charitable company and meets as necessary, usually once per quarter. The day-today operations of the charity are managed by the Development Officer, Chief Executive Officer, to whom the trustees have delegated management responsibilities within the overall strategy agreed by the Board of Trustees.

COMPANY NUMBER: 09490223

CHARITY NUMBER: 1167704

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RISK MANAGEMENT

The trustees have a duty to identify and review the risks to which the charity is exposed and to ensure appropriate controls are in place to provide reasonable assurance against fraud and error.

OBJECTIVES AND ACTIVITIES

OBJECTS

The aim of the charity is to support churches, people and community groups (regardless of faith or no faith) who want to engage in social action and tackle issues around poverty and deprivation in and across the Diocese of Manchester.

PUBLIC BENEFIT

Our support activities are centred on developing and strengthening local communities in their efforts to address their own needs, including responding to poverty. The charity helps build the capacity of groups and projects, helping them transform their communities and transform the lives of the most vulnerable people in their communities. By offering support and guidance we help build confidence, restore people’s dignity and enable them to belong to, and contribute towards, a community. In this way and as demonstrated throughout this report, our activities deliver public benefit.

We seek to work with those of any faith and none. The ultimate beneficiaries are not restricted by faith, gender, ethnic origin, disability, age or sexual orientation. We seek to form strategic partnerships with existing groups and organisations who are already engaged with aspects of poverty that are aligned with our core values and purpose, with the understanding that we can achieve far more when working together in partnership than we can apart.

ACHIEVEMENTS, PERFORMANCE AND FUTURE PLANS

We work with communities all over Greater Manchester to tackle poverty and deprivation, and to find ways to support the most vulnerable people in our society. We work with local, grassroots groups to develop their responses to concerns or problems in their community, providing advice, support, infrastructure and support with fundraising.

The charity serves a population of 2.1 million over an area of 416 square miles, and covering 11 local authorities (the 10 Greater Manchester local authorities of Bury, Bolton, Manchester, Oldham, Rochdale, Salford, Stockport, Tameside, Trafford, Wigan, as well as Rossendale) – all of whom have areas of high deprivation and poverty.

We believe we can offer leadership and support to better help local activities, with a focus on: homelessness; food poverty; community cohesion; loneliness and isolation; and other projects that address issues of poverty . The charity’s commitment to an asset-based approach includes inspiring people, encouraging action, building capacity and equipping communities to meet their needs and develop their own people-led solutions.

COMPANY NUMBER: 09490223

CHARITY NUMBER: 1167704

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Our support activities are centred on developing and strengthening local communities in their efforts to address their own wider community needs, including responding to poverty. We help build the capacity of individuals, groups and projects, helping them to transform their communities and change lives. By offering support and guidance we aim to restore people’s dignity and enable them to belong to and contribute towards their community.

We also run our own services when required, helping to provide support and infrastructure to mobilise volunteers from across GM to respond to major issues such as homelessness, food poverty and community cohesion.

Whilst Greater Together Manchester is a charity founded on Christian values, interfaith engagement and working with organisations of all faiths and none is a crucial part of our work and activities, as well as working with organisations across the third sector, public sector and the private sector.

Since the charity’s formation in 2015, our main purpose has been:

We embrace our charity mission undertaking our charitable work to strategically build the capacity of people and local communities because we want to see them all flourish, restore their dignity and improve their wellbeing. We want them to enjoy life in all its fullness, with particularly those in poverty and experiencing vulnerabilities and isolation having a better chance of realising their unique gifts and potential.

COVID-19 PANDEMIC

This annual report has been written whilst we are still in the middle of the global COVID-19 pandemic. Greater Manchester has been in some form of lockdown since March 2020 and as we go into 2021 the future is still very uncertain.

Like many other charities across the UK, GTM has found its work changing significantly, as our limited resources were put under pressure like never before. As a result of the pandemic, our night shelters have closed, with the government stepping up to house rough sleepers in hotels across the city-region. As such, we have shifted our focus to ensuring that those housed in this new accommodation have access to food, clothing, toiletries, and other material essentials, as well as access to support services and wellbeing activities. The one thing that hasn’t changed is our approach to supporting people. Despite our changes in how we operate, we continue to be person centred and relational, meeting people where they are, supporting them to make positive changes to their lives and their communities.

Many of our planned events and in person training programmes have either been cancelled or moved online,

COMPANY NUMBER: 09490223

CHARITY NUMBER: 1167704

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and we have had to learn a whole new way of communicating with people in a virtual environment. Our team have had to quickly learn the intricacies of how to run large scale events via Zoom. They have had to adapt to working primarily from home, working, and collaborating with our local and national partners remotely wherever possible.

HOMELESSNESS

During 2020, we have continued to be involved in a range of strategic responses to homelessness, playing a leading role in the ongoing work of the Greater Manchester Homelessness Action Network, a multi-agency partnership that brings together a wide range of organisations to focus on ending homelessness in Greater Manchester. This body has the backing on the Greater Manchester Combined Authority and the office of the Mayor of Greater Manchester.

In 2020, we began looking at the issue of families experiencing homelessness and were appointed to a Task and Finish Group to consider how we can better support families in temporary accommodation. We also ran a Greater Manchester Faith Summit, in partnership with the Shared Health Foundation and Methodist Central Hall (Manchester), on the issue of family homelessness, which was attended by 80 representatives from across the faith communities.

Following the outbreak of COVID-19 and the launch of the national government’s ‘Everyone In’ programme we worked closely with colleagues across the sector to support the opening of single room, hotel accommodation with adequate support, including ensuring that all hotels were provided with additional resources (e.g. clothes, toiletries) as well as the provision of 3 meals per day. We also worked with partners to ensure that people living in the hotels had access to activities, advice and support either onsite or remotely – including encouraging people to get involved in the ‘LockdownLIVES’ docu-series, which was co-created by residents in emergency and temporary accommodation during the pandemic.

GTM Night Shelters

At the start of 2020, we were continuing to run two emergency accommodation night shelters at full capacity (27 beds per night). We continued our rolling night shelter model, partnering with churches across Manchester and Salford, and working alongside support staff at many of the city’s day centres. We also continued to run our “static” night shelter thanks to the congregation at St Cuthbert’s Church in Manchester who gave us use of their building 7 days per week. During this time we supported 42 guests and our volunteers contributed 6,443 hours, equating to an economic value of £73,450.

Our night shelter service continued as normal throughout January, February, and into early March, supporting our guests in a relational and person centred way. During this time, we continued to work with a wide range of partners including the Booth Centre, Barnabus, Coffee4Craig, LifeShare, Centrepoint, Reach Out to the Community, Manchester City Council and many others.

As information about COVID-19 began to filter through, preparations were made for both shelters to shift to offering 24-hour provision, and for the rolling shelter to remain in a single location allowing our guests to “shelter in place” and to promote the safety of our guests, staff and volunteers.

Following the announcement of the first national lockdown, the shelters remained open for another 3 weeks, thanks to exemplary dedication from staff and volunteers who implemented all the necessary health and safety procedures and protocols, and thanks to our guests who trusted us to keep them, as well as the staff and volunteers, healthy and safe.

COMPANY NUMBER: 09490223

CHARITY NUMBER: 1167704

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During this time our staff worked with a wide range of agencies to move as many of our guests on from our service as possible, as well as securing appropriate, single room accommodation for anyone remaining, (who were then accommodated as part of the national ‘Everyone In’ programme).

We supported 15 remaining guests to move into a new single room accommodation scheme, arranging COVIDsecure transport and ensuring they had everything they needed to move into this new scheme.

Adam* was made homeless whilst in his final year of university. He was referred to our night shelter at St Cuthbert’s Church and was able to use the evenings with us to complete his part time studies. Whilst staying with us, Adam also secured a part time job as a cleaner. Thanks to the stability the night shelter gave him, along with assistance from our partner day centres and the university, Adam was able to finish his studies, secure a job and move into his own accommodation.

Robert* had a long history of alcohol and drug misuse when he was referred to our rolling shelter. All guests at our shelters have to agree to not use drugs or alcohol whilst in our care. Robert was able to stay clean and sober for the 3 months he was with us. Towards the end of his stay, Robert successfully interviewed for a full time job in a café and received the keys to his own flat at the start of the pandemic.

*names of our guests have been changed to protect their privacy.

Whilst we are not expecting our night shelter project to re-open in 2021, we are developing new ways to support people experiencing homelessness, using our learning, and applying our understanding of the importance of person centred, relational approaches to help people move on from homelessness and towards a more stable form of home.

On-site Wellbeing Support

In the new single room accommodation scheme, we continued to support our night shelter guests (along with the other residents) by delivering weekly volunteer-led, COVID-safe, socially distanced sessions in the grounds of the new accommodation scheme. These sessions aimed to support the mental and physical wellbeing of the residents. Our volunteers ran these sessions every week, as well as supplying clothing, toiletries, snacks and other essentials. We knew that the transition into single room accommodation, where socialising was discouraged for COVID safety reasons, and where there was no inside communal spaces, would be a big change for our guests, this coupled with the fear and uncertainty of the pandemic made this schedule of COVID-secure activities even more vital.

We delivered these sessions to 335 attendees from April to July 2020 and feedback was excellent.

‘ Everyone In’ Meal Provision

During the early days of the pandemic, it became apparent that food was not being provided to all of the residents of the new ‘Everyone In’ hotels, and that even if the residents could get to the shops, there were no cooking facilities in many of the hotel rooms.

As an organisation with experience of providing good quality meals to our guests, and with a large pool of volunteers who were eager to help, we joined forces with two other local charities as well as the Church of the Apostles in Miles Platting to provide three meals per day for the residents the ‘Everyone In’ hotels. This included at least one hot meal every day, along with a breakfast and a packed lunch. Our volunteers worked every evening and most weekends, making sandwiches and preparing good quality, nutritious, individually packaged meals for hundreds of people each day. In total, this partnership provided over 114,000 meals between April and October 2020.

COMPANY NUMBER: 09490223

CHARITY NUMBER: 1167704

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Clothing Provision

Following the start of the ‘Everyone In’ programme, we were getting an increasing number of requests from individuals and organisations for clothing. Many people who had been sleeping rough prior to the pandemic had come inside with one set of clothes and the new hotel provision did not have any way of getting hold of clothing. During this time, most cheap clothing stores were closed, as well as charity shops and so access to low-cost clothing was limited. As such, we established a clothing bank that could supply these new projects with good quality, clean clothing in bulk, as well as responding to requests from individuals in the wider community. Thanks to 100s of hours of work from a small, dedicated team of volunteers, we were able to sort through huge volumes of clothing donations and get them out to where they were needed.

This service was particularly useful when the Home Office established a hotel for 255 Asylum Seekers in South Manchester. Manchester City Council reached out to GTM to ask us to look at how the faith sector could support the material needs of individuals and families housed in this hotel, many of whom were new arrivals in the UK and some of whom didn’t even have shoes. As such, we created a system whereby residents of this hotel could complete a form (or a form could be completed by a staff member on their behalf) with which clothing and other essential items they needed, in what sizes and quantities, and we could pack the order up and deliver it to the hotel.

GTM Lifeskills

The pandemic highlighted to us the lack of community-based wellbeing provision for people experiencing homelessness, and in particular for those living in single room emergency and temporary accommodation. From August 2020, our Homeless Services Manager has led on the development of a new programme we have named ‘Lifeskills’.

The purpose of this new programme is to create a number of welcoming spaces that can also provide holistic and therapeutic wellbeing in the form of:

This programme is built on our learning from running the night shelters for the past few years and our success in offering relational support for people experiencing homelessness. This programme has taken those aspects of our night shelter programme that made us unique (in particular our focus on volunteer led hospitality and activities) and has created a new programme that can be accessed by anyone who is or has experienced homelessness. We have created this programme to complement existing services as well as ensuring places of safety, refuge and welcome for those in need of them.

Working with other training organisations as well as volunteer input these sessions will allow guests to tailor a programme that matches their own interests and abilities. We are excited to work with MCRActive, GLL, Michelle Hay Training, MHFA England and others to deliver this programme. We are currently targeting our existing activities at adults experiencing homelessness but are also keen to develop a programme of activities for families

COMPANY NUMBER: 09490223

CHARITY NUMBER: 1167704

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who are experiencing homelessness and we are involved in a task and finish group looking at provision for this cohort across Greater Manchester.

The pilot of this programme began in December 2020 and we look forward to expanding this in 2021.

PLACES OF WELCOME

Our Places of Welcome continued to operate as normal in the time prior to the first national lockdown in late March 2020.

As a result of the pandemic, and the national and local lockdown rules in Greater Manchester, our Places of Welcome were not able to operate any in person sessions from March 2020 onwards.

Some of our Places of Welcome set up online services or created systems that saw regular attendees of Places of Welcome phoning each other throughout the week to help reduce feelings of isolation.

In response to the lockdown in March 2020, the Church of England in Wythenshawe Team knew that they needed to find a way to continue the vital work of their four weekly Places of Welcomes. They moved their physical Places of Welcome online and created “Spaces of Welcome”, an online provision that still embraced the vision and values of Places of Welcome. The Wythenshawe Team were able to secure some additional funding to provide everyone with a mug to decorate as well as a supply of tea, coffee and biscuits.

They met on zoom, and linked participants with local training and support to upskill them and access equipment to allow them to take part. The team provided activity kits every few weeks to keep people engaged and connected, the activities included a wellbeing calendar, learning to knit (led by a participant), cooking instructions & ingredients, mini-garden kits, Christmas themed activities, journaling, pizza-making kits, and many others.

This new way of working was a lifeline for many of the Place of Welcome participants and visitors, many of whom were vulnerable and had to shield for the first lockdown.

The group are continuing to meet online but are looking forward to when they might be able to meet up in person.

Many of our Places of Welcome continue to find new ways to support vulnerable people in their community and are very much looking forward to the opportunity to re-open in 2021.

FOOD POVERTY

GTM continued to look strategically at the issue of food poverty, linking together groups and organisations working on the ground to offer better support for people, and helping to connect food banks with advice services.

During the first few weeks of the pandemic, GTM was made aware of a shortage of emergency food providers and so worked alongside partners to set up a brand-new emergency food provision, supporting communities across Manchester. Working alongside Manchester City Council, who were a central point for referrals, we provided food deliveries for 30 households per day, 5 days per week between April and September 2020. The project ran from the Church of the Resurrection in Beswick for the first four months, after which it moved to the Church of the Apostles in Miles Platting. During these 6 months we provided food for 5,591 people across 2,477 households made up of 3,582 adults, 1,870 children and 136 infants.

COMPANY NUMBER: 09490223

CHARITY NUMBER: 1167704

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The funding from Manchester City Council for this project ended in September 2020, however thanks to some additional funding from the Albert Gubay Foundation we were able to allocate some resources to allow us to continue supplying emergency food to local residents. As a result, we provided an additional 1,912 households with emergency food provisions between September and December 2020, as well as providing Christmas Dinners to 192 households. We are now working with Church of the Apostles to establish a sustainable model of low cost and no cost food for the local community and are looking forward to allowing people into the building to choose their food when it is safe to do so.

We are particularly thankful for the support of FareShare Greater Manchester, Princes Group (Manchester), Iceland and Tesco for their continuing support of this project.

We have also worked in partnership with Human Appeal to support the provision of over 1,000 food parcels in Bury, Oldham, Rochdale and Manchester. We used our network of grassroots groups (via our Near Neighbours programme) to work with 13 groups who were able to respond to food needs on the ground and allocate resources quickly and efficiently.

NEAR NEIGHBOURS

We continued to host the Near Neighbours Programme for Greater Manchester during 2020. In 2020, we supported 11 grassroots organisations to access the Near Neighbours Small Grants programme, generating a total of £23,611 for local organisations.

During 2020, our Near Neighbours Coordinator received a recognition certificate from the High Sherriff of Greater Manchester for her work in supporting grassroots groups during the pandemic.

At the start of the pandemic, there was a clear disconnect between community groups working on the ground responding to need and the statutory services. As a result, we set up the Rochdale Borough Community and Faith Engagement Forum. This forum is now officially recognised by Rochdale Borough Council and has nominated two co-chairs from the community. We are now working alongside Rochdale Council to continue to provide administrative support for this forum and Action Together (the local CVS) are using the forum as an advisory group for their organisation.

Following the start of the pandemic, we supported a number of groups to move their activities online, including a virtual Coffee Morning ‘Chit, Chat and Chai’ where more than 20 women from Bury came together to discuss difficult issues including domestic violence, hate crime, forced marriages, honour-based violence, FGM and Black Lives Matter.

Real People, Honest Talk

Our Near Neighbours Programme started the year with Real People, Honest Talk. This project aims to bring people together to talk about the tough issues around how we live together well. Through Real People, Honest Talk we facilitate open and honest conversation about issues of concern to everyday people in local communities that could otherwise be difficult to talk about.

Real People, Honest Talk is about creating safe spaces in which difficult issues associated with living together well amidst differences in outlook, culture, attitudes and beliefs can be discussed openly and constructively, at city-wide level, and in local communities. Everyone is welcome to join these safe spaces as we discuss issues in local neighbourhoods that people want to address, eat together and get to know each other.

Real People, Honest Talk aims to provide a springboard for further conversations, interactions or collaborative action, strengthening local civil society.

COMPANY NUMBER: 09490223

CHARITY NUMBER: 1167704

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From January to March 2020 we delivered RPHT in South Manchester, working with advice from City council. Our partnerships included, faith centres, grassroots organisations and statuary organisations. We had 61 participants take part from Benchill, Northern Moor, Didsbury and Northenden. The project ended with a ‘Big Conversation’ where participants presented their ideas and experiences to local officials and policy makers.

Events

We ran 18 Near Neighbours events during 2020, and quickly adapted to running events online via Zoom following the announcement of the national lockdown. In total over 680 individuals attended our events, from a huge range of cultural and religious backgrounds. We continued working in partnership with local groups and associations, supporting them to build networks and celebrate their communities.

A highlight of the year was our virtual Interfaith Iftar, which we ran in partnership with the Naz Legacy Foundation. The Mayor of Greater Manchester, Andy Burnham, was the guest speaking for the evening and our Near Neighbours Coordinator co-chaired the event with the founder of Youth Interfaith.

Mentoring and Capacity Building

We mentored and supported 9 project leads across Greater Manchester by providing one hour every fortnight to each group to support with bid writing, confidence building, writing constitutions and safeguarding policies, effective project management, business plans, building partnerships, networking and finance and budgeting.

We have also supported these groups to access an additional £30,300 of funding from local grant funders.

Women Growing Together (WGT) brings together women of different ethnic and religious backgrounds from across Oldham. The group supports women to come together and take part in activities and social events, creating opportunities to learn about each other’s faiths and cultures. WGT helps to challenge stereotypes and prejudice through friendship, knowledge, and fun.

Through our Near Neighbours programme, we have coordinated and supported many of WGT events and initiatives. Prior to the pandemic, the group always met in person and when the first lockdown happened, they were unsure as to how they were going to be able to continue their work.

Our Near Neighbours Coordinator was able to work with the group to help move them onto an online platform so that they could continue meeting and deliver their vital initiatives. If it wasn’t for our support, this group would not have met through the course of the pandemic.

Doreen Haigh, Coordinator of WGT said: “The support of Near Neighbours (NN) has been indispensable in helping WGT to achieve our ‘friendship first’ and community priorities. Our local NN Coordinator has not only been at the forefront of developing ideas and putting them into practice, but also has been vital and pivotal in the smooth and efficient running of our routine Zoom planning meetings as well as our large online special events.

In addition to her technical expertise, her awareness of current issues and her network of contacts have ensured that the progress of our work has not been held back during the pandemic.”

PROJECT SUPPORT & TRAINING

In 2020 we continued to offer support to individual projects as part of our core work and via our Near Neighbours programme. We supported a number of new projects, including a Community Kitchen at St George’s Church in Stalybridge, as well as offering continuing support to projects including Re:dish and the Church of England in Wythenshawe.

COMPANY NUMBER: 09490223

CHARITY NUMBER: 1167704

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We have also been involved in the GM Movement for Recovery, bringing together churches and Christian charities to respond to the increasing needs of our communities as a result of the pandemic, and creating a vehicle whereby we can be better coordinated in our response to the changing situation on the ground.

Prior to the pandemic, we ran several face-to-face training sessions including Suicide First Aid, Mental Health First Aid and Spice Awareness Training. Following the national lockdown, we were able to continue delivering Mental Health First Aid Training via zoom, as well as delivering the shorter Mental Health Awareness course. In total we delivered this training to 88 people.

FUTURE PLANS

As we move into 2021, the world is still in the midst of an international pandemic and what the world will look like beyond COVID-19 is not clear. We already know that the impact of the pandemic has not been felt equally by all, and that communities who were struggling prior to the outbreak of COVID-19 are likely to be struggling even more. The pandemic has caused financial stress and uncertainty for a huge number of people, many of whom have never had to reach out for support before, as such the demographics of those needing help is likely to have shifted.

As the pandemic continues, Greater Together Manchester will continue to identify areas of need and respond accordingly. We will also continue to work strategically with our networks and partners on issues such as homelessness and food poverty, helping to influence and shape local and national policy, and create new sustainable solutions.

FINANCIAL REVIEW Financial Position

The charity’s incoming resources for the period ended 31 December 2020 were £370,368.

The charity’s expenditure for the period ended 31 December 2020 was £340,871.

The charity moves into 2021 with unrestricted funds of £82,457, which will give a firm base to deliver a full programme of development activities. The charity also has £166,421 of funds restricted for use on the running and development of specific projects and services.

We are extremely grateful to the Diocese of Manchester who continue to provide office space, access to meeting rooms, Wi-Fi and phone access, printing and reception support as a gift in kind. We are also incredibly grateful to those members of staff at the Diocese who continue to support us with advice and guidance.

We are also extremely grateful to the Church of the Apostles (Miles Platting), St Cuthbert’s Church (Manchester), the Church of the Resurrection (Beswick), and St Christopher’s Church (Withington) who have given us a range of spaces within their buildings including, office space and space from which to run our projects. We are particularly grateful to those churches who allowed us use of their buildings during the pandemic, allowing us to respond to the huge increase in need amongst vulnerable people and communities.

COMPANY NUMBER: 09490223

CHARITY NUMBER: 1167704

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Reserves Policy

The trustees are constantly reviewing the charity’s activities and aim to maintain liquid reserves to the equivalent of at least six months (but no more than one year) unrestricted cash expenditure. The unrestricted reserves as at 31 December 2020 show £82,457.

Approved by order of the board of trustees on 17 September 2021 and signed on its behalf by:

Tracey Rawlins Vice-Chair of Trustees

COMPANY NUMBER: 09490223

CHARITY NUMBER: 1167704

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Independent examiner's report to the trustees of Greater Together Manchester ('the Company')

I report to the charity trustees on my examination of the accounts of the Company for the year ended 31 December 2020.

Responsibilities and basis of report

As the charity's trustees of the Company (and also its directors for the purposes of company law) you are responsible for the preparation of the accounts in accordance with the requirements of the Companies Act 2006 ('the 2006 Act').

Having satisfied myself that the accounts of the Company are not required to be audited under Part 16 of the 2006 Act and are eligible for independent examination, I report in respect of my examination of your charity's accounts as carried out under section 145 of the Charities Act 2011 ('the 2011 Act'). In carrying out my examination I have followed the Directions given by the Charity Commission under section 145(5) (b) of the 2011 Act.

Independent examiner's statement

Since your charity's gross income exceeded £250,000 your examiner must be a member of a listed body. I can confirm that I am qualified to undertake the examination because I am a registered member of FCCA which is one of the listed bodies.

I have completed my examination. I confirm that no matters have come to my attention in connection with the examination giving me cause to believe:

  1. accounting records were not kept in respect of the Company as required by section 386 of the 2006 Act; or

  2. the accounts do not accord with those records; or

  3. the accounts do not comply with the accounting requirements of section 396 of the 2006 Act other than any requirement that the accounts give a true and fair view which is not a matter considered as part of an independent examination; or

  4. the accounts have not been prepared in accordance with the methods and principles of the Statement of Recommended Practice for accounting and reporting by charities (applicable to charities preparing their accounts in accordance with the Financial Reporting Standard applicable in the UK and Republic of Ireland (FRS 102)).

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

Jane Cooksey FCCA Jane Cooksey Limited 15/16 Boarshurst Bus. Park, Boarshurst Lane, Greenfield Oldham OL3 7ER

Date: 31 August 2021

COMPANY NUMBER: 09490223

CHARITY NUMBER: 1167704

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STATEMENT OF FINANCIAL ACTIVITIES

FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31 DECEMBER 2020

INCOMING RESOURCES

INCOMING RESOURCES INCOMING RESOURCES
Notes
Donations & Legacies
Management Fees
Total
RESOURCES EXPENDED
Charitable Activities
GTM Night Shelter
Near Neighbours
Places of Welcome
COVID Food Response
Core Programme Costs
Project Management
Total
NET INCOME
RECONCILIATION OF FUNDS
Total Funds Brought Forward
TOTAL FUNDS CARRIED FORWARD		 Restricted
Unrestricted
2020 Total
Funds
2019 Total
Funds
£
£
£
£
281,139
60,098
341,237
378,360
-
29,131
29,131
26,355
281,139
89,229
370,368
404,715
199,514
-
199,514
250,567
48,569
-
48,569
60,350
-
178 178 766
18,716
21,437
40,153
-
-
23,326
23,326
20,884
-
29,131
29,131
26,355
266,799
74,072
340,871
358,992
14,340
15,157
29,497
45,793
152,081
67,300
219,381
173,588
166,421
82,457
248,878
219,381

COMPANY NUMBER: 09490223

CHARITY NUMBER: 1167704

16

AT DECEMBER 2020

BALANCE SHEET

Notes
CURRENT ASSETS
Debtors
5
Cash at Bank
CREDITORS: AMOUNTS FALLING DUE WITHIN ONE
YEAR
Amounts falling due within one year
6
Total Creditors
NET CURRENT ASSETS
TOTAL ASSETS LESS CURRENT LIABILITIES
NET ASSETS
FUNDS
7
Unrestricted Fund
Restricted Funds
TOTAL FUNDS		 Restricted
Unrestricted
£
£
0
1,665
167,005
81,757		 2020
Total
Funds
2019 Total
Funds
£
£
1,665
35,160
248,762
197,569
167,005
83,422
(584)
(965)		 250,427
232,729
(1,549)
(13,348)
(584)
(965)		 (1,549)
(13,348)
166,421
82,457		 248,878
219,381
166,421
82,457		 248,878
219,381
166,421
82,457		 248,878
219,381
82,457
67,300
166,421
152,081
248,878
219,381

COMPANY NUMBER: 09490223

CHARITY NUMBER: 1167704

17

BALANCE SHEET - CONTINUED

AT DECEMBER 2020

The charitable company is entitled to exemption from audit under Section 477 of the Companies Act 2006 for the year ended 31 December 2020.

The members have not required the company to obtain an audit of its financial statements for the year ended 31 December 2020 in accordance with Section 476 of the Companies Act 2006.

The trustees acknowledge their responsibilities for

These financial statements have been prepared in accordance with the special provisions of Part 15 of the Companies Act 2006 relating to charitable small companies.

The financial statements were approved by the Board of Trustees on 17[th] September 2021 and were signed on its behalf by:

T Rawlins

E Trimble

COMPANY NUMBER: 09490223

CHARITY NUMBER: 1167704

18

NOTES TO THE FINANCIAL STATEMENTS

FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31 DECEMBER 2020

1. ACCOUNTING POLICIES

Basis of preparing the financial statements

The financial statements of the charitable company, which is a public benefit entity under FRS 102, have been prepared in accordance with the Charities SORP (FRS 102) '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)', Financial Reporting Standard 102 'The Financial Reporting Standard applicable in the UK and Republic of Ireland' and the Companies Act 2006. The financial statements have been prepared under the historical cost convention.

Income

All income is recognised in the Statement of Financial Activities once the charity has entitlement to the funds, it is probable that the income will be received and the amount can be measured reliably.

Expenditure

Liabilities are recognised as expenditure as soon as there is a legal or constructive obligation committing the charity to that expenditure, 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 accounted for on an accruals basis and has been classified under headings that aggregate all cost related to the category. Where costs cannot be directly attributed to particular headings they have been allocated to activities on a basis consistent with the use of resources.

Taxation

The charity is exempt from corporation tax on its charitable activities.

Fund accounting

Unrestricted funds can be used in accordance with the charitable objectives at the discretion of the trustees.

Restricted funds can only be used for particular restricted purposes within the objects of the charity. Restrictions arise when specified by the donor or when funds are raised for particular restricted purposes.

Further explanation of the nature and purpose of each fund is included in the annual report.

Pension costs and other post-retirement benefits

The charitable company operates a defined contribution pension scheme. Contributions payable to the charitable company's pension scheme are charged to the Statement of Financial Activities in the period to which they relate.

COMPANY NUMBER: 09490223

CHARITY NUMBER: 1167704

19

NOTES TO THE FINANCIAL STATEMENTS

FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31 DECEMBER 2020

2. TRUSTEES' REMUNERATION AND BENEFITS

Trustees' expenses

A total of £206 (2019 - £338) was reimbursed to Trustees as expenses in the year.

3. STAFF COSTS

Gross Wages & Salaries
Pension Contributions
Employer's National Insurance Cost
Total Staff Costs
The average number of employees during the year was as follows:
Management & Development
GTM Night Shelters
Near Neighbours		 2020
Restricted
Funds
2020
Unrestricted
Funds
2019 Total
Funds
£
£
£
37,636
74,266
103,450
2,542
5,033 6,833
3,987
6,837 9,542
44,165
86,136
119,825
2020
2019
1
1
2
2
1
1
4
4

No employees received emoluments in excess of £60,000.

COMPANY NUMBER: 09490223

CHARITY NUMBER: 1167704

20

NOTES TO THE FINANCIAL STATEMENTS

FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31 DECEMBER 2020

4. COMPARATIVES FOR THE STATEMENT OF FINANCIAL ACTIVITIES

INCOME AND ENDOWMENTS FROM
Notes
2019
Restricted
Funds
2019
Unrestricted
Funds
£
£
Donations and Legacies
335,588
42,772
Management Fees
26,355
TOTAL
335,588
69,127
EXPENDITURE ON
Charitable Activities
GTM Night Shelters
250,567
-
Near Neighbours
60,350
-
Places of Welcome
-
766
Core Programme Costs
-
20,884
Project Management
-
26,355
TOTAL
310,917
48,005
NET INCOME
24,671
21,122
RECONCILIATION OF FUNDS
Total funds brought forward
127,410
46,178
TOTAL FUNDS CARRIED FORWARD
152,081
67,300
DEBTORS: AMOUNTS FALLING DUE WITHIN ONE YEAR
2020
2019
£
£
Debtors & Prepayments
1,665 35,160		 2019
Restricted
Funds
2019
Unrestricted
Funds
£
£
335,588
42,772
26,355		 2019 Total
Funds
£
378,360
26,355
335,588
69,127
250,567
-
60,350
-
-
766
-
20,884
-
26,355
310,917
48,005		 404,715
250,567
60,350
766
20,884
26,355
358,922
24,671
21,122
127,410
46,178		 45,793
173,588
152,081
67,300		 219,381

5. DEBTORS: AMOUNTS FALLING DUE WITHIN ONE YEAR

COMPANY NUMBER: 09490223

CHARITY NUMBER: 1167704

21

6. CREDITORS: AMOUNTS FALLING DUE WITHIN ONE YEAR

Pensions
Payroll Costs
Accrued Expenses
Project Costs		 2020
2019
£
£
630
597
28
-
891
2,999
- 9,752
1,549
13,348

7. MOVEMENT IN FUNDS – YEAR ENDING 31 DECEMBER 2020

Unrestricted Funds
General Fund
Restricted Funds
GTM Night Shelters
Near Neighbours
COVID Food Response
Subtotal
TOTAL FUNDS
Unrestricted Funds
General Fund
Restricted Funds
GTM Night Shelters
Near Neighbours
COVID Food Response
TOTAL FUNDS		 At 1.1.20
Net
movement
in funds
£
£
67,300 15,157
143,818
22,603
8,263
- 8,263
- -		 At
31.12.2020
£
82,457
166,421
-
-
152,081
14,340		 166,421
219,381
29,497		 248,878
Incoming
resources
Resources
Expended
£
£
89,229 - 74,072
209,798
- 187,195
52,625 - 60,888
18,716 - 18,716		 Movement
in Funds
£
15,157
22,603
- 8,263
-
281,139
- 266,799		 14,340
370,368
- 340,871		 29,497

COMPANY NUMBER: 09490223

CHARITY NUMBER: 1167704

22

8. MOVEMENT IN FUNDS – YEAR ENDING 31 DECMEBER 2020

Comparatives for movement in funds

Unrestricted Funds
General Fund
Restricted Funds
GTM Night Shelters
Near Neighbours
TOTAL FUNDS
Net movement in 2019 funds, included in the above are as follows:
Unrestricted Funds
General Fund
Restricted Funds
GTM Night Shelters
Near Neighbours
TOTAL FUNDS		 At 1.1.19
Net
movement in
funds
£
£
46,178
21,122
121,255
22,563
6,155
2,108		 At
31.12.2019
£
67,300
143,818
8,263
127,410
24,671		 152,081
173,588
45,793		 219,381
Incoming
resources
Resources
Expended
£
£
69,127
- 48,005
273,130
- 250,567
62,458
- 60,350		 Movement
in Funds
£
21,122
22,563
2,108
335,588
- 310,917		 24,671
404,715
- 358,922		 45,793

9. RELATED PARTY DISCLOSURES

There were no related party transactions for the year ended 31 December 2020.

10. VOLUNTEERS

A total of £609 (2019 - £380) was reimbursed to volunteers for expenses in the year.

In accordance with FRS102 and the charities SORP (FRS102) the economic contribution of general volunteers is not recognised in the accounts.

COMPANY NUMBER: 09490223

CHARITY NUMBER: 1167704

23

DETAILED STATEMENT OF FINANCIAL ACTIVITIES

FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31 DECEMBER 2020

INCOME AND ENDOWMENTS

Unrestricted Funds:
Church Urban Fund
General Donations
Manchester City Council - COVID 19 Food Response
GM Mayor's Charity
Management Fees
Restricted Funds:
Manchester City Council - A Bed Every Night
Edward Holt Trust
Near Neighbours
Tesco 'Bags for Life'
The True Colours Community Fund
The Albert Gubay Foundation
We Love MCR – COVID 19 Food Response
Restricted Donations
Total Incoming Resources		 2020
2019
£
£
5,000
40,000
5,051
2,772
34,413
-
15,635
-
29,131
26,355
154,096 233,415
48,834
41,000
52,625
56,172
-
5,000
1,000
-
6,000
-
500
-
18,084
-
370,368
404,715

COMPANY NUMBER: 09490223

CHARITY NUMBER: 1167704

24

CHARITABLE ACTIVITIES

Total Staff Costs
Travel & Subsidence
Insurance
Website & Online Costs
Events
Training
Media, advertising & promotion
Printing, Postage & Stationary
Telephone & Internet
Staff Equipment
Other catering costs
Other Project Costs - GTM Night Shelters
Other Project Costs - Near Neighbours
Other Project Costs - COVID 19
Consultancy Fees
TOTAL
SUPPORT COSTS
Trustees' Expenses
Accountancy & Legal Fees
Fundraising Costs
TOTAL
TOTAL RESOURCES EXPENDED
NET INCOME		 2020
2019
£
£
130,301
119,825
2,876
9,304
2,196
1,651
1,349 947
3,531
4,537
3,393
3,609
235
1,122
482 136
2,740
1,338
1,055
2,467
-
97
139,058
195,871
11,352
17,259
39,360
-
1,116
-
339,044
358,163
206
338
1,225
421
396
0
1,827
759
340,871
358,922
29,497
45,793

COMPANY NUMBER: 09490223

CHARITY NUMBER: 1167704