2025-03-31-accounts

Trustees’ Annual Report for the period

From 1st April 2024 Period start date To 31st March 2025 Period end date

Charity name: Herts for Refugees

Charity registration number:

Objectives and Activities

	SORP reference
Summary of the purposes of the charity as set out in its governing document	Para 1.17	We collect vital aid to support asylum seekers and refugees wherever there is need. We undertake fundraising activities to support these vulnerable people and to provide donations to grass roots organisations working on the ground with asylum seekers, primarily in France, Ukraine and neighbouring countries, Lebanon or wherever there is need
Summary of the main activities in relation to those purposes for the public benefit, in particular, the activities, projects or services identified in the accounts.	Para 1.17 and 1.19	Collection of items donated for asylum seekers and refugees (clothing, shoes, hygiene products, sleeping bags, tents and other items as required). Shipment of donated items to grass roots organisations.. Information sharing with local schools to support their fundraising and learning with regard to the refugees. Educational activities relating to the wider refugee situation globally. Festival salvage program: During the summer months, we work with large music festivals to recover some of the enormous amount of camping equipment that is abandoned after the events have ended. From May to August we collected from festivals across England and in September, we delivered around 5,000 tents and sleeping bags to partner organisations in northern France. The program is a major logistical challenge and requires us to work with festival organisers, partner organisations in France and the UK and local charities and support groups. We continue to build these relationships and we are now the

		largest organisation collecting from some of the festival sites. We rely heavily on volunteers to help collect the equipment with some events requiring over 140 people to do the work. We work hard to engage the local communities at each event which we see as a great opportunity to help not just refugees but also local groups and charities who benefit from collecting for their own needs while helping us. The impact on the environment is also significant as the thousands of items we collect would otherwise go to landfill or be incinerated. We estimate the number of refugees who benefit from the equipment we provide to be between 10,000 & 15,000. This is based on feedback from our partners who distribute the items. In winter, this aid can be life-saving. Volunteer trips: We make several trips to Calais throughout the year with volunteers to help them gain an understanding of the reality of the situation for displaced people in northern France. We work with partner organisations such as Refugee Community Kitchen, who provide hot food to people and the Calais Woodyard, who process, pack and supply firewood for warmth and cooking. We feel it’s important for people to get a ‘hands-on’ experience as it provides the best way to understand the situation and be better able to help. The trips are very popular and we have many people returning multiple times.
Statement confirming whether the trustees have had regard to the guidance issued by the Charity Commission on public benefit	Para 1.18	Trustees have been reminded of and read the Charity Commission guidance on public benefit.

Additional information (optional) You may choose to include further statements where relevant about:

	SORP reference
Policy on grant making	Para 1.38	N/A
Policy on social investment including program related investment	Para 1.38	N/A
	Para 1.38	We continue to be a charity run by trustees & volunteers who take no salary.

Contribution made by volunteers		Our volunteers are an invaluable part of our team with a very large number helping at festival salvage each summer. We are also immensely grateful to the people who give up their time to go to Calais and Dunkirk to volunteer on the ground there. Our volunteers also contribute by: ● Sharing and building awareness through social media ● Helping at in person events ● Collecting donations ● Organising shipments to other countries ● Developing and running fundraising events ● Sorting donations prior to shipment ● Accounts ● Helping educate people on refugee issues at school assemblies
Other

Achievements and Performance

	SORP reference
Summary of the main achievements of the charity, identifying the difference the charity’s work has made to the circumstances of its beneficiaries and any wider benefits to society as a whole.	Para 1.20	Despite challenging conditions due to the cost of living crisis, with reduced donations and volunteer numbers, we continued to provide our core services. ● Expanded our festival salvage operation further, collecting more camping equipment that would otherwise have been disposed of. ● Developed our relationship with Circular Camping to swap chairs and air beds collected at festivals for sleeping bags. This removes more ‘waste’ from festival sites and is mutually beneficial to both of our organisations. ● The delivery of accumulated aid to our partner organisations in France required a 40 foot articulated truck & three 7.5 tonne trucks, one more than in previous years. It again formed the bulk of winter stock, without which, vulnerable people would be left without shelteror warmth in winter.

● St Albans Cathedral again invited us to their Community Showcase event to bring our work to the attention of the local community. ● We organised several volunteer trips to France where people could work with Refugee Community Kitchen and other support organisations to better understand the reality of life for refugees in northern France.

It was another difficult year with an increasingly negative narrative around refugees in the media and from politicians. We continue to build on our efforts locally in schools to counter the negativity with facts and positive engagement. We believe this will be even more important going forward.

Additional information (optional) You may choose to include further statements where relevant about:

Achievements against objectives set	Para 1.41
Performance of fundraising activities against objectives set	Para 1.41
Investment performance against objectives	Para 1.41
Other

Financial Review

Financial Review
Review of the charity’s financial position at the end of the period	Para 1.21	Opening balance: £10,558.81 Income during the year: £26,235.01 Spending during the year: £14,860.76 Closing balance: £21,933.06
Statement explaining the policy for holding reserves stating why they are held	Para 1.22	We retain funds in order to be able to respond to emergency requirements. We aim to keep a minimum of £5,000 in reserve.
Amount of reserves held	Para 1.22	Closing balance at the end of the financial year: £10,558.81. Well above the parameters as set out above.
Reasons for holding zero reserves	Para 1.22	N/A
Details of fund materially in deficit	Para 1.24	N/A
Explanation of any uncertainties about the charity continuing as a going concern	Para 1.23	N/A

Additional information (optional)

You may choose to include further statements where relevant about:

The charity’s principal sources of funds (including any fundraising)	Para 1.47	Donations through JustGiving, Facebook, Paypal and directly to our bank account. Birthday fundraisers on Facebook. A small number of regular supporters pay nominal amounts via monthly Direct Debit. Fundraising activities – JustGiving campaigns, St Albans Cathedral -award from congregational giving fund.
Investment policy and objectives including any social investment policy adopted	Para 1.46	N/A
A description of the principal risks facing the charity	Para 1.46	Difficulties created by the departure from the European Union with regard to the shipment of aid to Europe continue to be problematic and expensive to overcome. The increasing cost of living crisis has impacted greatly on donations and volunteer availability.This also affects our partner organisations who we deliver to and depend on to distribute the aid we supply. Finding enough volunteer time to run social media sites, run campaigns, manage volunteers. The deliberate negative narrative surrounding refugees and asylum seekers is a growing threat that must be challenged. It impacts on every level, affecting donations and ability to deliver services.

Other

Structure, Governance and Management

Description of charity’s trusts:
Type of governing document (trust deed, royal charter)	Para 1.25	CIO foundation as registered on 20th June 2016.
How is the charity constituted? (e.g unincorporated association, CIO)	Para 1.25	CIO
Trustee selection methods including details of any constitutional provisions e.g. election to post or name of any person or body entitled to appoint one or more trustees	Para 1.25	Discussion amongst trustees and noted in the trustee minutes that agreement had been reached.
Additional information (optional) You may choose to include further statements where relevant about:
Policies and procedures adopted for the induction and training of trustees	Para 1.51
The charity’s organisational structure and any wider network with which the charity works	Para 1.51	The charity has a horizontal hierarchy. All strategic decisions are discussed and agreed by trustees. The charity collaborates with, and is part of, the Refugee Charity Network, which is a national network of similar charities. The aim is to pool resources and expertise and to increase awareness of the plight and needs of refugees and maximise effectiveness of fundraising and aid.
Relationship with any related parties	Para 1.51	N/A
Other

Reference and Administrative details

Charity name	Herts for Refugees
Other name the charity uses
Registered charity number	1167716
Charity’s principal address	178 Bishops Rise Hatfield Herts AL10 9QY

Names of the charity trustees who manage the charity

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20	Trustee name	Office (if any)	Dates acted if not for whole year Nam e of pers on (or bod y) entit led to app oint trust ee (if any)
	Angus Clark	CEO (day-to-day runningof the charity
	Susan Billington	Chair of Trustees & SafeguardingLead
	FelicityPike
	Mark Lampert
	Salma Khanum
	Kayleigh Thorpe

– Corporate trustees names of the directors at the date the report was approved Director name

Name of trustees holding title to property belonging to the charity

Trustee name Dates acted if not for whole year

Funds held as custodian trustees on behalf of others

Description of the assets held in this capacity	N/A
Name and objects of the charity on whose behalf the assets are held and how this falls within the custodian charity’s objects	N/A
Details of arrangements for safe custody and segregation of such assets from the charity’s own assets	N/A

Additional information (optional)

Names and addresses of advisers (Optional information)

Names and addresses of advisers (Optional information)	Names and addresses of advisers (Optional information)	Names and addresses of advisers (Optional information)	Names and addresses of advisers (Optional information)
Type of adviser Name Address
Name of chief executive or names of senior staff members (Optional information)
	Angus Clark - CEO, Susan Billington - Chair

Exemptions from disclosure

Reason for non-disclosure of key personnel details

Other optional information

Declarations

The trustees declare that they have approved the trustees’ report above. Signed on behalf of the charity’s trustees

Signature(s) Full name(s) Susan Billington M.A. C.Q.S.W. Angus Clark ~~ee~~ Position (eg Secretary, Chair, etc) ~~ee~~[Chair, Board of Trustees ] Chief Executive Date 26th January 2026 ~~|~~

- Herts for Refugees Income and Expense Statement to 31.03.25

Metro Bank Paypal Total Bank Balance Income Subscription Donation Campaign Donation Other Income Total Income Expenses Gift Purchases Expenses Travel Training Rental Insurance Branded Website Marketing Just Giving Facebook Bank Charge Miscellaneous General Currency Conversion Total Expenses	Opening Balance 01.04.24 Closing balance 31.03.25	Opening Balance 01.04.24 Closing balance 31.03.25
	10,538.81 21,896.08 20.00 36.98 10,558.81 21,933.06 Movement in year 11,374.25
	675.00 8,510.56 17,049.45 0.00
	26,235.01 3,933.78 1,965.40 5,855.93 1,757.94 0.00 192.47 633.96 55.48 0.00 235.00 216.00 0.00 7.31 7.49 0.00 14,860.76
	Total Income over Expenses	11,374.25
		(0.00)

Independent examiner’s report to the trustees of Herts for Refugees (Charity number 1167716)

I report to the trustees on my examination of the accounts of Herts for Refugees for the year ended 31 March 2025

Responsibilities and basis of report

As the charity trustees of the Charity, Herts for Refugees you are responsible for the preparation of the accounts in accordance with the requirements of the Charities Act 2011 (‘the Act’).

I report in respect of my examination of the Charity’s accounts carried out under section 145 of the 2011 Act and in carrying out my examination I have followed all the applicable Directions given by the Charity Commission under section 145(5)(b) of the Act.

Independent examiner’s statement

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

1. accounting records were not kept in respect of the Charity as required by section 130 of the Act; or

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

3. the accounts do not comply with the applicable requirements concerning the form and content of accounts set out in the Charities (Accounts and Reports) Regulations 2008 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.

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.

Signed: Cotw2| Name: Elizabeth Russell (CIMA) Address: Chouans Barn, Hawridge Lane, Bellingdon HP5 2XX Date:20.01.2026