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a ual Report and accounts, 2024

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Contents

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The Trustees present their annual report and the audited financial statements for the year ended 31 December 2024.

statements comply with current statutory requirements, and the Statement of Recommended Practice - Accounting and Reporting by Charities: SORP applicable to charities preparing their accounts in accordance with FRS 102 (‘Charities SORP’).

Reference and administrative information set out on page 64 forms part of this report. The financial

Welcome 4 About Little Village 6 Achievements of the year 12 Financial review 22 Structure, governance 27 and management Statement of Trustees’ 32 responsibilities Auditor’s report and 35 Financial Statements Reference and administrative 64 information

Little Village Annual Report and Accounts, 2024

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Welcome

Welcome from our Chair

I’m very proud to present the Little Village annual report and accounts for the year ended 31 December 2024.

Over the past year, Little Village has reached thousands of families, both directly via our hubs and through our partnership programmes, to give children the essentials they need to thrive. We have also deepened our connections with families, recognising that how we give support is just as important as the support itself. Families have told us that our caring, personalised approach matters – and we remain committed to making them feel valued, heard and connected.

This was the first year of our new strategic plan, and as this report shows, we have already made significant strides towards achieving its goals.

This was also another year of operational challenges, however, involving a move from our temporary ‘warehouse’ space in Hounslow to a new more suitable but smaller space in Wandsworth during May and June. Whilst the location and layout of the new warehouse have provided enhanced corporate volunteering opportunities and helped streamline our logistics and transport organisation, the reduction in size has meant that we were unable to continue to grow the number of children we were able to reach in 2023.

Olivia Gillan

However, the Little Village team went above and beyond to exceed our initial targets, and we supported 7,325 babies and children under five.

One of our key strategic priorities is raising awareness of baby banks, so I am really proud that our work as a co-founder of the Baby Bank Alliance has continued, with a successful launch in July. We have developed incredible partnerships with IKEA and ITV’s Lorraine leading to income and profile for baby banks overall, and have had over 200 baby banks joining the Alliance from a standing start.

I feel incredibly privileged to be a part of what continues to be a dynamic and dedicated organisation, bringing together incredible volunteers, donors, supporters, staff and of course families.

Welcome from our CEO

2024 was a year of change and innovation at Little Village. With a move to a warehouse space in Wandsworth impacting our capacity, our hub teams responded by increasing their output – to 50% more referrals from our Camden and Tooting hubs.

We also continued to innovate, introducing ‘maternity packs’ for mums on maternity wards with little or nothing for their new baby. Since launching this initiative in February 2024, we have now achieved our goal of working with all London maternity units. This has enabled us to build relationships with midwives, to avoid a point of crisis and anxiety for parents and professionals, and to plan ahead rather than having to turn around an emergency response.

Across Little Village as a whole, we responded to 6,660 requests for family support, covering 7,325 individual children in need. In fact, many of these families needed our help on more than one occasion, which means that, collectively, children were supported 9,269 times throughout the year.

However, demand for support once again exceeded our capacity to respond. No family in the UK should face such hardship – this situation is unacceptable, and we want to end it.

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Sophie Livingstone MBE
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So in 2025, we will continue to raise our voice for change, strengthen our partnerships and connections, and keep doing what we do best – providing highquality, pre-loved essentials so that children can thrive.

We are grateful to everyone who stands alongside us to continue to make Little Village’s work possible.

Little Village Annual Report and Accounts, 2024

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About Little Village

about little a . village

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Little Village Annual Report and Accounts, 2024
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Our vision

referrals, access to Healthy Start vouchers, or help with housing issues.

For every child to have the essentials they need to thrive.

We are powered by an incredible group of 795 regular volunteers. We’ve grown to be one of the largest baby banks in the UK, supporting over 25,000 children since we launched in 2016 – including 7,325 children in 2024 alone.

Our mission

To bring about change for children and families through the power of sharing, reusing and connecting.

What we do

The families who come to Little Village are referred to us by a network of over 1,700 professionals such as midwives, health visitors, social workers, and children’s centres.

Our pan-London baby bank network passes loved baby goods from one family to another, sharing essential, highquality items that are gifted with love and kindness.

We have always argued that our work should not only serve to support families who are struggling, but should also act as a force for change when it comes to the existence of child poverty. We are committed to playing our part in ending child poverty and we believe that every child deserves the best possible start in life.

We do this in one of three ways:

A dedicated appointment at one of our high-street hubs, providing a “shopping experience” for families;
A box, packed to order by our volunteers and delivered directly to a family’s door; or
A bundle, delivered via a trusted partner to families they’re working with.

How we work

We believe in the power of solidarity , bringing people together to support each other. We create spaces where everyone can thrive – families and their children, our volunteers, our team. We have a passion for sustainability and at the heart of everything is the belief that love is a force for change in a world where so many of us have to fight for the basics.

We also continue to deliver “big kit”, such as cots, buggies and toddler beds, to families via our volunteer drivers.

In addition, we connect over 1,500 families with a wider network of support. Starting with a referral to our specialist signposting and guidance service, we help families find extra support – such as food bank

Little Village Annual Report and Accounts, 2024

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About Little Village

The need we respond to

In 2024, the landscape of child poverty in London – never an acceptable situation to begin with – reached alarming new heights. Despite being one of the wealthiest cities in the world, the capital’s child poverty rates continually outpace the national average, making it the epicentre of this growing crisis. More than one in three of all children in London are . now living in poverty

The cost-of-living crisis, exacerbated by inflation, rising housing costs, and stagnant wages, has intensified the struggle for many families. Essentials such as food, heating and housing have become increasingly unaffordable.

Recent data from the Child Poverty Action Group shows that the cost of raising a child has soared,[1] with even basic living expenses outstripping household income from low-paid employment, and support from welfare benefits unable to bridge the gap.

Of the many children living in poverty in London, over 70% are in households where at least one parent is working. This situation, known as “in-work poverty”, reflects the harsh reality that employment is no longer a guarantee against, or a certain route out of, financial hardship.[2] Too often, working parents still have to face the impossible choice of heating their homes or feeding their children.

The youngest children face the greatest risks

The early years of a child’s life are so important for their development, yet many families struggle to provide even the basic essentials during this critical time. In fact, households with children under five are even more likely to experience poverty than those with older children.[3] This vulnerability is driven by multiple overlapping factors, from higher childcare costs, to lower earning capacity due to parental leave or reduced working hours, to the ever-increasing costs of clothes, equipment and other kit associated with caring for babies and toddlers.

Destitution and the lack of essentials

The problem of poverty is spreading, but it is also deepening. The Joseph Rowntree Foundation’s latest report reveals that over one million children across the UK experienced destitution in 2023 – meaning they lacked such basic necessities as food, clothes, hygiene products and a safe, warm place to sleep.[4] London has the highest rates of child destitution in the country, with many families living in overcrowded, inadequate housing or facing homelessness.[5]

Another recent report, this time from Barnardo’s, highlights the scale of deprivation further, revealing that thousands of children in the UK are forced to sleep on the floor because their families

cannot afford a proper bed. And a further one million parents have had to give up their own beds in the last 12 months, so their children had somewhere to sleep.[6] Barnardo’s call this “bed poverty”, but the crisis extends beyond sleeping arrangements. A child without a safe place to sleep is a child without stability and security – and without the essentials that they need to thrive.

The long-term consequences

The impacts of poverty on children are profound and far-reaching. These include:[7]

Educational disadvantage: Children in poverty are less likely to be schoolready at age five, and more likely to achieve lower academic outcomes throughout their education. In 2023/24, a quarter of children who grew up in poverty received Grade 5 or above in English and Maths at GCSE, compared with 53% of their more affluent peers.[8] This in turn significantly reduces employment opportunities upon leaving education.
Mental health challenges: Early exposure to poverty significantly increases the risk of poor mental health, including depression and anxiety. Children from low-income families are four times more likely to experience mental health challenges in both adolescence and adulthood.[9]

Little Village Annual Report and Accounts, 2024

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About Little Village

Health inequities: Poor nutrition, inadequate housing, and limited access to healthcare all contribute to chronic health issues, both physical and mental, among children who grow up in poverty.
Reduced life expectancy: Children born in the most deprived areas of London face a life expectancy up to nine years shorter than those born in affluent areas[.10]
Parental relationship breakdown: Financial stress can increase pressure on a relationship, making separation more likely. This in turn exacerbates economic hardship, affecting both parents and children.[11]
On top of all the challenges of material deprivation, many parents in this situation also face added distress due to social isolation and stigma.

Research from the Royal Foundation Centre for Early Childhood found that over half of parents in the UK feel lonely, and this figure is even higher among those experiencing financial hardship.[12]

These parents face all the stress and anxiety of raising children in poverty, without the informal support networks that can be a lifeline in times of crisis.

– 2024 2026 strategic plan

In 2023, we undertook extensive consultations with the families, volunteers, staff and Trustees who make up Little Village. Through surveys, focus groups, individual interviews and strategy discussions, we gained a better understand of what we were doing well, what needed improvement, and what they wanted to see from us in the future.

Our new strategic plan, launched in March 2024, focuses on four key ambitions:

Supporting families

Continuing to share both essential items and understanding, so that babies and children in London can thrive.

Inspiring

Growing the “village” of support and inspiring more people to join us

Raising awareness

Raising our voice for change, to raise awareness of family poverty and baby banks, and build the Baby Bank Alliance.

Resilience

Ensuring the sustainability of this work by developing a strong and resilient organisation.

The full strategy is available on our website. And more detail on what we achieved in 2024 can be found in our

Impact Report here.

Little Village Annual Report and Accounts, 2024

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Achievements of the year

achievements of the year

We are proud of our achievements in 2024, the first year of the strategy period:

1. Supporting families

Continuing to share both essential items and understanding, so that babies and children in London can thrive.

In 2024, we responded to 6,660 requests for family support, covering 7,325 individual children in need. In fact, many of these families needed our help on more than one occasion, which means that collectively, children were supported 9,269 times throughout the year. This represents a decrease on 2023, when we succeeded in supporting 8,529 children thanks to a large facility in Hounslow, provided to us pro bono, that served not only as a warehouse but also as a space to pack and distribute items directly to families.

4,540 referrals from our regular partners, helping these professionals build trust with the families they work with;
1,635 Bundles in Partnership referrals, unlocking access to support for more families and enhancing the services offered by our community partners; and
485 requests from maternity units – covering 92% of London hospitals – providing emergency packs for newborn babies who have nothing.

This year, the essential items gifted for us to pass on to other families would be worth over £3 million if valued new.

We have continued to experience significant demand from families and our referral partners. To respond to this demand in the context of our smaller warehouse capacity, we have focussed on refining our model to meet different community needs and support families as quickly as possible. Specifically, over the last year we have fulfilled:

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Little Village Annual Report and Accounts, 2024

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Achievements of the year

Across all these referrals, we were able to provide:

Across all these referrals, we were able Follow-up Team reached out to families to provide: 4,771 times to provide information about other organisations and services relevant
• 1,551 safe places for children and to their needs. Between our Family
babies to sleep, including Moses Connections Team – who provided
baskets, cots, and toddler beds; individualised signposting in 620 cases – and our Signposting and Guidance Team
• 2,218 ways for families to get to medical – who gave extended help in 417 cases
appointments, meet up with friends, for families with more complex needs –
or have fun outside – including 1,189 we provided signposting support on 1,037
buggies, plus slings, scooters, and buggy occasions throughout the year (compared
boards for big brothers and sisters; to 636 cases in 2023).
6,752 coats, so that children can stay Importantly, 77% of the families who used
warm, snug, and dry; our signposting and guidance service told
• 14,163 pairs of shoes, so that children us they had never accessed this type of can make strides in well-fitting and help before. This shows how effective this weather-appropriate footwear; way of working is for reaching families who might otherwise go unsupported – and
• 549 highchairs, so that parents can proves that families who receive essential
feed their children safely; and items from Little Village trust us to go on and help them in other ways.
886 infant baths or bath supports, so that parents can bathe their children safely, and make bathtimes fun.
In 2024, our staff and volunteers issued 212
safely, and make bathtimes fun. food bank vouchers, which – together with
• 17,499 books, to stimulate children’s the help we gave with grant applications, energy bills, and debt advice – secured or
learning, development, and sense saved families nearly £23,000.
of adventure.

In addition, we gifted families with 128 tonnes worth of items (down from 142 tonnes in 2023) which may otherwise have ended up in landfill. The carbon emissions saved by reusing rather than discarding this amount of waste is roughly equivalent to taking 124 cars off the road for a year in the UK.[13]

18,675 toys, giving children hours of fun and letting their imaginations grow.

Our Family Connections Welcome Team spoke to 2,764 families in 2024, ensuring that the items we went on to select for them matched their preferences as well as their needs. And our Family Connections

2. Inspiring

Growing the “village” of support and inspiring more people to join us.

In 2024, our 795 regular volunteers contributed a total of 31,348 hours to Little Village, cramming love, passion and care into every single hour. The loss of our larger Hounslow site, together with a challenging environment for regular volunteering that is common across the charity sector, led to a decrease in our regular volunteer numbers - yet despite this, the total hours they contributed almost matched 2023 levels of 34,000 hours. We have responded to the pressure on regular volunteering by innovating and have introduced a wealth of new roles and opportunities, welcoming 146 one-off volunteers (700+ hours) .

Our corporate volunteer teams have also made a huge impact in 2024, with 99 groups contributing more than 3,900 hours in the year, similar to 2023. We were delighted to welcome many back on multiple occasions, including Travers Smith, Quintessentially, Clermont Hotels, Johnson Matthey, Google, Cisco, and Centrica.

We were also thrilled to welcome volunteers from Barnet Youth Justice Service, St Mungo’s, OMNES, the Foundation for International Education, AIFS, NHS Choices, and Camden Parent Champions, as well as nursing students from Kingston University, and students from several other colleges across London.

As well as our on-site roles, Little Village also offers remote volunteering

Little Village Annual Report and Accounts, 2024

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Achievements of the year

opportunities that are just as critical to our work supporting families. Volunteers in home-based roles – our Family Connections and Signposting and Guidance Teams – as well as our Volunteer Drivers, contributed over 4,000 hours to Little Village in 2024. These roles provide flexible options for those who can’t travel to our physical sites but would still like to get involved, and are also a great opportunity for volunteers with specialised skills.

This flexibility is also appreciated by volunteers who are currently employed (totalling 40% of our volunteers in 2024), as it allows them to fit their volunteering around their jobs and other commitments.

We are very proud of the fact that an overwhelming 99% of Little Village volunteers said they were either “satisfied” or “very satisfied” with their experience.

Volunteers are also motivated to go out and talk about our work, championing our cause and furthering our mission. This year, 84% of volunteers told us that they have introduced others to Little Village, whether as fellow volunteers, donors, or fundraising partners. And in our 2024 survey, our volunteers gave us a Net Promoter Score of 78, which is classed as an “excellent” rating, an increase from last year’s score (73).

In addition to our focus on volunteering, we also made it even easier for the community to donate pre-loved items over the last year, hosting a total of 137 donation points – both regular and popup sites – across the capital.

3. Raising awareness

Raising our voice for change, to raise awareness of family poverty and baby banks, and build the Baby Bank Alliance.

We continued to amplify awareness of family poverty and the role of baby banks, working with partners to share families’ stories and drive national action. Our media efforts reached millions through the BBC, ITV, Channel 4, and national newspapers, while our Winter Warmers campaign secured over 180 regional news features. Our Christmas film gave five mums a chance to describe the big difference Little Village has made to their lives – and was a huge success.

This has been helped by a brand refresh that was completed in the first quarter of 2024, tightening up our messaging and imagery, in order to improve awareness.

All this activity has contributed to the increase in awareness of baby banks amongst Londoners which has climbed

from 36% in July 2023 to 53% in January 2025 (+47%).

We have continued to push for policy change over the last year, calling for urgent reforms –including scrapping the two-child limit on benefits – and making plans to contribute to the government’s forthcoming Child Poverty Strategy. As well as engaging with MPs, we were pleased to secure further support from the Mayor of London. Not only did the Mayor extend our funding, but he also gave a valuable public endorsement of our work.

As co-founders of the Baby Bank Alliance, we are continuing to strengthen the sector; this year the Alliance secured high-profile partnerships with IKEA and ITV’s Lorraine, leading to national appeals and additional funding. By the end of 2024, a total of 200 baby banks had joined the alliance, following its official launch in July.

4. Resilience

Ensuring the sustainability of this work by developing a strong and resilient organisation.

Despite a challenging operational year, with the move from a large warehouse and packing space in Hounslow to a smaller warehouse in Wandsworth, we were able to add additional shifts and increase our output from all our hubs

with an almost 50% uplift at Camden and Tooting, enabling us to support more children and families than we had anticipated. In fact, all three hubs ultimately supported more families than they had ever supported from their respective sites before, helping to partly compensate for the loss of 2,000 referrals fulfilled by the Hounslow warehouse during 2023.

The uplift at Camden was aided by a beautiful new dedicated space donated by British Land on their Regents’ Place campus, and its two floors have enabled us to create a ‘shop’ downstairs for family visits, and a separate packing area upstairs for volunteers.

In addition, while the warehouse move was disruptive, we were delighted to secure a fit for purpose warehouse space in a fantastic location in our ‘home’ borough of Wandsworth, where our local profile and the accessibility of the site has led to an increase in donations, compared to our previous space in Hounslow.

These results show just how vital our logistics, warehouse support and partnerships are in reaching families – making sure that these essential bundles get to children, even when space is tight. By strengthening our operations and staying adaptable, we make sure as many children as possible receive the essentials they need, where they need them.

Little Village Annual Report and Accounts, 2024

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Achievements of the year

Other areas of focus were:

Fundraising

In an increasingly challenging fundraising environment, our priority continued to be to strengthen our relationships with funders and donors, and the foundations that underpin these relationships. The injection of a small number of very large gifts to Little Village in the charity’s early years means that our donor base is still small in proportion to our overall income, a position that poses a high level of risk. Donors frequently have a limited lifespan unless they are actively

cultivated and nurtured, and the impact of attrition on income could be significant when we only have a relatively small donor base. We considered it crucial to invest in relationship managers in the fundraising team to focus on supporting current donors as well as developing new relationships.

The increase in our fundraising spend relates to new positions added this year. Our first fundraising member of staff was hired only four years ago, and we have been steadily building the team with specialist fundraisers since then, recently recruiting a Corporate

Little Village Annual Report and Accounts, 2024

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Achievements of the year

Partnerships Manager, a Corporate and Community Fundraising Manager and a Supporter Relations Officer. In 2024, we also implemented our first ever CRM database, Beacon. Some of this increased expenditure has been met using reserves, to keep fundraising targets achievable and help future budget planning. Although this investment may not necessarily translate into significant additional income in the immediate future, it will reduce the risk of our income decreasing and provide the foundations for future growth.

We delivered integrated fundraising appeals during 2024. In the summer, our Great Big Baby Shower focussed on the provision of newborn clothing and support, while in the autumn/winter, we requested donations of pyjamas and raised funds for Christmas gift vouchers so that families could choose their children’s presents themselves.

We are enormously grateful to all our generous donors who supported us in 2024.

Family Participation

The appointment of a Family Participation Manager in June 2024 has enabled us to begin working with families who’ve been supported by Little Village to gain their input into improving our work. Our ambition for 2025 is to develop a core

group of participants who can partner with us on strategic projects and priorities to improve our offer to families and provide them with development opportunities at the same time.

Processes and technology

We continued to work hard to ensure our management processes (for example, project planning, objective setting and review meetings) keep pace with our organisational growth. A particular focus has been inventory management at the new warehouse.

After significant scoping work, we appointed a Development Partner to work with us on the customisation of Appian, a new tech system for the operational and volunteering functions. This work will continue into 2025.

Governance

We launched recruitment for additional Trustees during the autumn of 2024, with a focus on fundraising skills to replace Caley Eldred whose term ended in April 2025, and a broader appeal for general skills to give us an opportunity to attract Trustees with a wider range of experience and expertise.

We were delighted to appoint Clare Phillips, Lily Shaw and Rachel Polnay at the December 2024 Board meeting, who bring with them extensive fundraising, marketing and investment expertise.

Little Village Annual Report and Accounts, 2024

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Financial review

Financial review

£1.2m). It also includes £71k for the value of certain services which were donated to the charity (2023: £152k).

Income and expenditure

The charity’s total revenue for 2024 was £4.3m (2023: £4.5m). This includes £1m for the value of goods donated to Little Village for distribution to families during the year (2023: £1.3m) and £71k for the value of donated services that we received to support our operations (2023: £152k).

Staff costs continued to be our most significant expense at £1.8m (2023: £1.5m), increasing as we added to our staff count to keep pace with the needs of our operations (an increase from 40 to 44 on a full-time equivalent basis).

Monetary income amounted to £3.2m (2023: £3.1m). This figure comprises mainly donations and grants but also includes bank interest and sundry income. The diagram below illustrates the types of donor whose generosity contributed to this total.

The four-year trend shown in the table on page 24 summarises total income and expenditure including restricted and unrestricted funds.

Donations in kind

The charity’s total expenditure for the year was £4.1m (2023: £3.9m). This figure includes the value of donated goods given out to families, which was £1m (2023:

In line with best practice according to the Charities SORP, the value of donated goods given out during the year is also

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2024 monetary income
Other: 4%
Community
Corporate 5%
Trusts and
Foundations
Statutory
Individual
12%
39%
13%
27%
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included in these accounts. Specifically, donated goods given to beneficiary families are recognised in both income and expenditure, at the same amount, when they are distributed to families rather than when they are received by Little Village. No balance sheet value is assigned to any second-hand donated items that are held at the yearend. Where goods have been donated to Little Village as brand new, items held at the year-end are reflected as stock on the balance sheet to the extent that the value is material. Where such stock is recognised on the balance sheet, there is a corresponding adjustment to income, meaning that the reported income and expenditure figures for donated goods may not be the same.

The total value of donated goods given out by Little Village in 2024 was £1,035k (2023: £1,244k). This value is reflected in expenditure and is also included in income (along with an adjustment to take account of the stock of brand-new donations reflected on the balance sheet). To value second-hand donated goods for the purposes of the income and expenditure disclosures, we take a second-hand market value estimate of each type of item. Baby clothing is valued on the basis of bundles, reflecting both how they would typically be sold second hand, and the way in which we distribute bundled clothing to families. Brand new items donated to Little Village are reflected in income and expenditure based on the ‘as new’ value.

Little Village Annual Report and Accounts, 2024

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Financial review

£’000	2021	2022	2023	2024
Total income	2,828	3,545	4,487	4,303
Of which:
Monetary income – donations and grants	2,178	2,128	2,974	3,065
Donated goods	574	743	1,249	1,028
Donated services	72	645	152	71
Total expenditure	1,861	3,418	3,949	4,105
Of which:
Staff costs	666	1,180	1,468	1,819
Donated goods	550	729	1,244	1,035
Donated services	72	645	152	71
Surplus/(defcit) for the year	967	131	538	198

Significant events affecting financial performance and financial position during the year

expenses borne by Little Village Significant events affecting financial have shown an upward trend in recent years: £320k in 2024 performance and and £222k in 2023. We anticipate that property will continue to be financial position a source of uncertainty, based during the year on our recent experiences of the difficulty in finding suitable Property moves and the related affordable spaces. uncertainty both continue to represent a challenge for We have continued to invest in Little Village. In 2023 we started our IT infrastructure, to ensure preparing to leave the Hounslow that it keeps pace with our growth warehouse site and moved into and the increasing complexity a new space in Wandsworth of the services that we offer to in May 2024. Our new site in families. Towards the end of 2023, Camden was opened in February we launched a major project to 2024. We have benefited from upgrade most components of the generosity of several our back-office systems and this donors in relation to both fitwork continues. Expenditure on out and property searches, IT consultancy and development but nevertheless, the property

Donated services are recognised in our accounts as income and expenditure where they are services we would have needed to procure anyway.

Where donated services are of a higher quality (and therefore higher value) than we would have ordinarily paid for, we have accounted for them at the value we would have been willing to pay.

We have continued to invest in our IT infrastructure, to ensure that it keeps pace with our growth and the increasing complexity of the services that we offer to families. Towards the end of 2023, we launched a major project to upgrade most components of our back-office systems and this work continues. Expenditure on IT consultancy and development was £124k in 2024 (2023: £177k).

Donated services reported in 2023 and 2024 mainly comprise costs relating to the site we occupied in Hounslow until May 2024, where the rent was covered by a donor.

experience of supporting families during 2024 and an assessment of what will be needed over and above our original expenditure plans. Taking into account the level of unrestricted reserves and the net surplus for 2024, the Trustees have approved an increase of £785k to the designated fund that was set aside last year. At 31 December 2024, this fund therefore stands at £1.1m, to support plans for 2025 (£582k) and 2026 (£523k). The movement on the designated fund is set out in note 21 to the financial statements.

As the charity seeks to meet the significant and increasing demand for support from families, it is critical that our capacity to provide this support continues to grow. At the end of 2023, the charity’s three-year forecast for 2024 to 2026 incorporated plans for investing in technology development, increasing the depth of the Fundraising team and strengthening our Marketing and Communications expertise in order to sustain and enhance the support that we can offer to families. A designated fund of £870k to support this capacitybuilding was approved by the Trustees and set aside from unrestricted reserves at 31 December 2023, based on a forecast usage of £550k in 2024, £200k in 2025 and £120k in 2026.

Staff numbers have continued to increase, with 44 employees in 2024 (measured on a full-time equivalent basis). This compares with 40 employees in 2023 and 31 in 2022. Staff costs represent around 60% of our monetary expenditure (ie total expenditure other than the value of donated goods and services).

Reserves

The Trustees continually monitor the charity’s financial position and specifically review its required level of reserves each year. This review takes into account the types of income and the risks and uncertainties associated with each; the level of fixed costs including salaries and property rent; variable costs associated with providing our services; the needs of the families whom we support; the funds required to achieve our strategic goals; and any one-off expenditure planned in the foreseeable future.

The Trustees have agreed that the minimum level of general unrestricted reserves should be sufficient to cover our budgeted fixed and variable costs for a period of between three and six months (amounting to between £946k and £1,891k). As at 31 December 2024, general unrestricted reserves, excluding the designated funds, stood at

A portion of this designated fund (£550k) was utilised during 2024 as planned. The forecast for 2025 and onwards has been revised, based on the charity’s

£’000	Unrestricted funds	Unrestricted funds	Restricted	Total
			funds
	General Designated
Brought forward 1 January 2024	1,525	870	144	2.539
Net income/(expenditure) for the year	291		(93)	198
Utilisation of Designated Fund	550	(550)	-	-
brought forward
Transfer to Designated Fund:	(785)	785	-	-
capacity-building
Carried forward 31 December 2024	1,581	1,105	51	2,737

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Financial review

£1.5m. This represents approximately five months’ budgeted fixed and variable costs.

Movements on unrestricted

and restricted reserves for the financial year are summarised in the table on page 25.

Going concern

The fragile economy and ongoing cost of living crisis mean that Little Village is operating in a generally uncertain environment. The principal risk that Little Village faces is our ability to sustain the level of income needed to support the ever-increasing number of families who seek our help, and to meet our own

growing level of costs. Taking these factors into account, the Trustees have reviewed the level of reserves currently held, along with the budgeted income and expenditure, and have concluded that the charity’s funds will be sufficient to sustain its activities for a period of at least twelve months from the date of finalising these accounts. Accordingly, the accounts have been prepared on a going concern basis.

A broader discussion on the risks and uncertainties that Little Village faces, and the management of those risks, is set out below in the next section ‘Structure, governance and management’.

Investment policy

In addition to the balance held in the charity’s current accounts, cash is placed in short-term and medium-term interest-bearing deposits with UK-incorporated banks, to maximise the charity’s interest income while at the same time diversifying its exposure to individual institutions.

The maturity of deposits is determined having regard to the charity’s predicted level and timing of outgoings.

The Trustees currently do not consider other forms of investment to be appropriate.

Structure, governance and management

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Structure, governance and management

Governance

The organisation is a charitable incorporated organisation (CIO), registered as a charity on 18 October 2016.

The charity was established under constitution based on the ‘foundation CIO’ model. The constitution establishes the objects and powers of the CIO and sets out the way in which it is governed.

The Trustees are the only members of the charity and are entitled only to voting rights. The Trustees have no beneficial interest in the charity and, in the event of winding-up, they have no liability to contribute to its assets and no personal responsibility for settling its debts and liabilities.

appointed for a three-year term with the option to renew for one further three-year term. In exceptional circumstances, a Trustee may be appointed beyond a second three-year term by a resolution of the Trustees.

Appointment and induction of Trustees

Roles are openly advertised and Trustees are recruited through an interview process led by nominated members of the Board of Trustees. New Trustees receive an induction programme which includes meetings with key members of the management team, a briefing pack and a site visit. All Trustees commit to volunteering and engaging with Little Village regularly so that they have a good understanding of the work that the charity does.

Organisational structure and decision making

The Board of Trustees has collective responsibility for everything that the charity does, including the legal responsibility to ensure it is controlled and properly managed. The Board delegates responsibility for operational management to the Chief Executive.

All Board members participate in Chief Executive. an annual review and objective setting process, led by the The Chief Executive leads the Chair of Trustees. Trustees are senior team to develop plans, policies and processes following the Board’s advice and approval. As at 31 December 2024, the rest of the team comprised a Head of Operations, a Head of People, a Head of Finance, a Head of Marketing and Communications, a Head of Volunteering and a Head of Fundraising. This group were promoted to Directors at the start of 2025, and given a new collective title of Senior ¥ Leadership Team to reflect the increased responsibility of their E roles as Little Village has evolved.

The Board of Trustees is responsible for the strategic direction of the charity and meets quarterly together with the Chief Executive and senior management team to review progress and to ensure the charity is on track to meet its objectives. The Board has two

sub-committees: a Finance and Risk Committee and a People Committee (these meet quarterly and at least biannually, respectively).

Remuneration policy

All Trustees give their time voluntarily and receive no benefits from the charity. Any expenses reclaimed from the charity are set out in note 12 to the accounts.

In setting salaries, Little Village strives to pay at a competitive level within the sector and considers changes in the cost of living/inflation and changes to roles and responsibilities.

The charity also takes into account the need to remain prudent so that salary costs are sustainable both at the current time and in the future. All employees are paid at least the London living wage as defined by the Living Wage Foundation.

The Board of Trustees reviews and agrees the annual remuneration of the Chief Executive and agrees the remuneration level of senior staff, in conjunction with the Chief Executive.

Little Village is committed to creating roles that enable people to balance purpose-driven work with other priorities in life.

Diversity, Equity and Inclusion

Our work on DEI has continued to be supported by our Deputy Chair of Trustees, Marcia Holmes.

This year, the internal DEI working group has led an accessibility audit and co-ordinated measures to improve and track accessibility across the organisation. We have appointed a Family Participation Manager who has begun working with families to create an advisory group that can input across Little Village’s work. We have also trained 12 staff as Mental Health First Aiders.

We gained an Empowered Foundations Accreditation via Pregnant then Screwed, aimed at increasing the confidence and knowledge of employers when it comes to supporting their female employees who are undergoing fertility treatment or who have experienced pregnancy loss. All our line managers took part in the training and in internal reflection sessions in order to receive this organisational Accreditation.

We continue to prioritise work on DEI and in 2025 will be:

Further developing the Family Advisory Group’s work, led by the Family Participation Manager;

Ensuring all staff are aware of our Mental Health First Aiders and the wider wellbeing support available to them;
Supporting our Mental Health First Aiders to develop their practice and support staff and volunteers within Little Village with the skills they’ve learned;
Working with specialist recruitment and

development organisation 2020 Levels to attract applications from young people from underrepresented demographics to specific roles within Little Village; and

Reviewing our overall progress on DEI and considering further strategic priorities for the next few years.

Volunteers

The Trustees are extremely grateful for the enormous contribution made by the 795 regular Little Village volunteers across a variety of roles (typically collecting donations, sorting and packing them, making deliveries, liaising with families) in 2024. The charity is truly powered by them and they are one of Little Village’s most critical and valuable assets.

Fundraising

Fundraising was led by the Head of Fundraising with significant involvement from the Chief Executive. We did not receive any complaints about our fundraising. We keep up to date with changing regulation and ensure we comply with it by changing our processes if needed. We are a member of the Fundraising Regulator and have an Ethical Fundraising Policy in place. We understand our duty to protect vulnerable people to protect people’s privacy and do not engage in any intrusive methods of raising funds.

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Structure, governance and management

mitigating measures can be put in place, if needed.

Principal risks and uncertainties

• Loss of key staff or Trustees. This is mitigated by having objectives and development plans in place for staff and by developing a People Strategy which includes performance management and development. A Trustee review programme is also in place.

The charity has a risk register in place which sets out key risks (covering governance, financial, operational, external and reputational, legal and compliance risk) and how they are managed. The risk register is formally reviewed annually by the Board but noted on a quarterly basis at each Board meeting.

The impact of any adverse
The Trustees and Chief Executive external events that would have identified the following affect our ability to deliver as key strategic risks facing services to families. This is Little Village: mitigated by ongoing work on business continuity which
• A breach of the charity’s is being led by the Director safeguarding policy. This of Operations. is mitigated by ensuring that all staff, volunteers • The loss of one of the key sites and Trustees receive that Little Village operates safeguarding training and from. This is mitigated by that a safeguarding briefing ensuring that the charity is given at the beginning of has capacity and flexibility each volunteering session. at other sites and at our In response to an increasing warehouse space to provide number of significant temporary cover if needed. safeguarding referrals, we are also recruiting a • An increase in waste/ dedicated Safeguarding excess product has an Manager who will be impact on resourcing and appointed during 2025. storage. This is mitigated
The loss of one of the key sites that Little Village operates from. This is mitigated by ensuring that the charity has capacity and flexibility at other sites and at our warehouse space to provide temporary cover if needed.
we are also recruiting a • An increase in waste/ dedicated Safeguarding excess product has an Manager who will be impact on resourcing and appointed during 2025. storage. This is mitigated by a waste management
• A shortfall in income strategy that includes leading to a breach of the diverting excess product to reserves policy. This risk alternative partners. is managed by having forward planning around • A data breach or cyberfundraising and diversifying attack that causes fundraising streams. In reputational risk and/ addition, there is regular or impacts our ability monitoring of financial to operate. Centralised performance throughout management of technology, the year, including cashflow anti-virus software and data forecasting, so that back-ups act in mitigation.
A data breach or cyberattack that causes reputational risk and/ or impacts our ability to operate. Centralised management of technology, anti-virus software and data back-ups act in mitigation.

Policies

Policies for all relevant areas

are maintained, including safeguarding (adult and child), health and safety, data protection, conflicts of interest, finance and fraud. Policies are reviewed regularly and approved by the board.

Public benefit

The Trustees have referred to the guidance contained in the Charity Commission’s general guidance on public benefit when reviewing the charity’s aims and objectives and in planning its future activities. In particular, the Trustees consider how planned activities will contribute to the aims and objectives that have been set.

Related parties

We work in partnership with a wide range of organisations, such as Citizen’s Advice, Home-Start and statutory services such as midwifery teams, health visitors and local authorities.

Little Village is a co-founder of the Baby Bank Alliance, which launched in July 2024. A membership organisation for baby banks across the UK, it is currently being co-incubated by Save the Children UK and Purposeful Ventures. The Little Village CEO currently serves as the Chair of the Baby Bank Alliance incubation Board.

There are no other entities or charities we work with which are related parties.

In addition, we will seek an alternative warehouse space to replace the Wandsworth warehouse that we will occupy until 2026.

All the existing and new trust, foundations and statutory partnerships who have supported us with core and project funding and made introductions to new organisations;

Our plans for the future

We will continue to focus on the agreed strategic priorities for the period between 2024 and 2026.

Thank you

The children and their parents at the schools that support us with amazing fundraising events and donation collections;

Particular priorities in 2025 will include:

will include: It really does take a village to make our work happen and ensure children and their
• Continued support for families have what they need
families through a range to thrive.
of partnerships and engagement methods to Our village includes:
ensure as many children receive the essential items • The 795 volunteers who gave
they need;

• The people and organisations who have helped us share the story of the families we’ve supported with dignity, helping to change the narrative around poverty; and

The 795 volunteers who gave us over 31,348 hours of their time in 2024;
Reviewing our Signposting and Guidance activities to • The wide range of people • The 1,744 referral partners
assess how we can evolve who’ve donated to us or raised who work tirelessly to make
and deepen this vital service funds through a personal sure families get the support
for families; challenge. We heavily rely they need and take the time on your regular and one-off
• Continued testing of oneto complete our referral form; donations and we know that off and other volunteering • The hosts of pop-up and often you are also someone opportunities to ensure as who has volunteered or regular donation sessions,
wide a range of people as donated kit as well.
Continued testing of onedonations and we know that off and other volunteering • The hosts of pop-up and often you are also someone opportunities to ensure as who has volunteered or regular donation sessions,
wide a range of people as donated kit as well. enabling us to get a steady
possible are able to contribute to Little Village’s activities; flow of pre-loved kit and Although we aren’t able to name clothing through to our hubs everyone, every single one of you
and out to families;
• Audience insights work to has made a difference.
Audience insights work to better understand how to • The many consultants and
communicate with the range companies who volunteer
of Little Village’s stakeholders; their expertise pro bono or at a very friendly charity rate;

Thank you.

Continued work to develop the activities and profile of the • The companies that have “Being a first-time parent who Baby Bank Alliance and the supported with donations suffers with mental health impact of baby banks; and from their own profits or issues, having the support of
• Continued development of donated and/or gifted us Little Village has made such beautiful stock, volunteered,
our new technology platform a positive impact on my life. I run donation drives, chosen
in advance of rolling it really don’t know what I would us as their charity of the
out as our new operating have done without them.” year and supported our
system for referrals and online appeals; — Family supported
volunteer management

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Statement of Trustees’ responsibilities

Statement of Trustees’ responsibilities

The Trustees are responsible for preparing the Trustees’ Annual Report and the financial statements in accordance with applicable law and United Kingdom Accounting Standards (United Kingdom Generally Accepted Accounting Practice).

Charity law requires the Trustees to prepare financial statements for each financial year which give a true and fair view of the state of affairs of the charity and of the incoming resources and application of resources, including the income and expenditure, of the charity for that period. In preparing these financial statements, the Trustees are required to:

Select suitable accounting policies and then apply them consistently;
Observe the methods and principles in the Charities SORP;
Make judgements and estimates that are reasonable and prudent;
State whether applicable UK Accounting Standards and statements of recommended practice have been followed, subject to any material departures disclosed and explained in the financial statements; and
Prepare the financial statements on the going concern basis unless it is inappropriate to presume that the charity will continue in operation.

The Trustees are responsible for keeping proper accounting records that disclose with reasonable accuracy at any time the financial position of the charity and enable them to ensure that the financial statements comply with the Charities Act 2011. They are also responsible for safeguarding the assets of the charity and hence for taking reasonable steps for the prevention and detection of fraud and other irregularities.

In so far as the Trustees are aware:

There is no relevant audit information of which the charity’s auditors are unaware.
The Trustees have taken all steps that they ought to have taken to make themselves aware of any relevant audit information and to establish that the auditors are aware of that information.

The Trustees are responsible for the maintenance and integrity of the corporate and financial information included on the charity’s website. Legislation in the United Kingdom governing the preparation and dissemination of financial statements may

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Statement of Trustees’ responsibilities

Financial review

differ from legislation in other jurisdictions.

Auditors

Third Sector Accountancy Limited were re-appointed as the charity’s auditors during the year and have expressed their willingness to continue in that capacity.

The Trustees’ Annual Report has been approved by the Trustees and signed on their behalf by

23 / 05 / 2025

Olivia Gillan

Chair

Auditor’s Report and Financial Statements

Year ended: 31 December 2024 Little Village Charity number 1169735

Little Village Annual Report and Accounts, 2024

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Independent auditor’s report

Independent auditor’s report to the Trustees of Little Village

Opinion

We have audited the financial statements of Little Village (the ‘charity’) for the year ended 31 December 2024 which comprise the Statement of Financial Activities, the Balance Sheet, the Statement of Cash Flows and notes to the financial statements, including a summary of significant accounting policies. The financial reporting framework that has been applied in their preparation is applicable law and United Kingdom Accounting Standards, including Financial Reporting Standard 102 The Financial Reporting Standard applicable in the UK and Republic of Ireland (United Kingdom Generally Accepted Accounting Practice).

In our opinion, the financial statements:

give a true and fair view of the state of the charity’s affairs as at 31 December 2024 and of its incoming resources and application of resources for the year then ended;
have been properly prepared in accordance with United Kingdom Generally Accepted Accounting Practice; and
have been prepared in accordance with the requirements of the Charities Act 2011.

Basis for opinion

We conducted our audit in accordance with International Standards on Auditing (UK) (ISAs (UK)) and applicable law. Our responsibilities under those standards are further described in the Auditor’s responsibilities for the audit of the financial statements section of our report. We are independent of the charity in accordance with the ethical requirements that are relevant to our audit of the financial statements in the UK, including the FRC’s Ethical Standard, and we have fulfilled our other ethical responsibilities in accordance with these requirements. We believe that the audit evidence we have obtained is sufficient and appropriate to provide a basis for our opinion.

Conclusions relating to going concern

In auditing the financial statements, we have concluded that the Trustees’ use of the going concern basis of accounting in the preparation of the financial statements is appropriate.

Based on the work we have performed, we have not identified any material uncertainties relating to events or conditions that, individually or collectively, may cast significant doubt on the charity’s ability to continue as a going concern for a period of at least twelve months from when the financial statements are authorised for issue.

Our responsibilities and the responsibilities of the Trustees with respect to going concern are described in the relevant sections of this report.

Other information

The other information comprises the information included in the Trustees’ annual report, other than the financial statements and our auditor’s report thereon. The Trustees are responsible for the other information. Our opinion on the financial statements does not cover the other information and, except to the extent otherwise explicitly stated in our report, we do not express any form of assurance conclusion thereon.

In connection with our audit of the financial statements, our responsibility is to read the other information and, in doing so, consider whether the other information is materially inconsistent with the financial statements or our knowledge obtained in the audit or otherwise appears to be materially misstated. If we identify such material inconsistencies or apparent material misstatements, we are required to determine whether there is a material misstatement in the financial statements or a material misstatement of the other information. If, based on the work we have performed, we conclude that there is a material misstatement of this other information, we are required to report that fact.

We have nothing to report in this regard.

Matters on which we are required to report by exception

We have nothing to report in respect of the following matters in relation to which the Charities (Accounts and Reports) Regulations 2008 requires us to report to you if, in our opinion:

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Independent auditor’s report

the information given in the financial statements is inconsistent in any material respect with the Trustees’ report; or
the charity has not kept adequate accounting records; or
the financial statements are not in agreement with the accounting records and returns; or
we have not received all the information and explanations we require for our audit.

Responsibilities of Trustees

As explained more fully in the Trustees’ responsibilities statement set out on page 32, the Trustees are responsible for the preparation of the financial statements and for being satisfied that they give a true and fair view, and for such internal control as the Trustees determine is necessary to enable the preparation of financial statements that are free from material misstatement, whether due to fraud or error.

In preparing the financial statements, the Trustees are responsible for assessing the charity’s ability to continue as a going concern, disclosing, as applicable, matters related to going concern and using the going concern basis of accounting unless the Trustees either intend to liquidate the charity or to cease operations, or have no realistic alternative but to do so.

Auditor’s responsibilities for the audit of the financial statements

We have been appointed as auditor under section 144 of the Charities Act 2011 and report in accordance with regulations made under Section 154 of that Act.

Our objectives are to obtain reasonable assurance about whether the financial statements as a whole are free from material misstatement, whether due to fraud or error, and to issue an auditor’s report that includes our opinion. Reasonable assurance is a high level of assurance, but is not a guarantee that an audit conducted in accordance with ISAs (UK) will always detect a material misstatement when it exists. Misstatements can arise from fraud or error and are considered material if, individually or in the aggregate, they could reasonably be expected to influence the economic decisions of users taken on the basis of these financial statements.

Irregularities, including fraud, are instances of non-compliance with laws and regulations. We design procedures in line with our responsibilities, outlined above, to detect material misstatements in respect of irregularities, including fraud. The extent to which our procedures are capable of detecting irregularities, including fraud is detailed below.

Capability of the audit in detecting irregularities, including fraud

Based on our understanding of the charity and environment in which it operates, we identified the principal risks of non-compliance with laws and regulations related to pension legislation, tax legislation, employment legislation, health and safety legislation, and other legislation specific to the industry in which the charity operates, and we considered the extent to which non-compliance might have a material effect on the financial statements. We also considered those laws and regulations that have a direct impact on the preparation of the financial statements such as the reporting requirements under the Charities SORP and FRS102, and the Charities Act 2011.

We evaluated management’s incentives and opportunities for fraudulent manipulation of the financial statements (including the risk of override of controls) and determined that the principal risks were related to the pressure on management to achieve particular results. Audit procedures performed by the engagement team included:

Review of policies;
Discussions with management and Trustees including consideration of known or suspected instances of non-compliance;
Evaluating management’s controls designed to prevent and detect irregularities;
Identifying and testing journal entries; and
Challenging assumptions and judgments made by management.

There are inherent limitations in the audit procedures described above and the further removed non-compliance with laws and regulations is from the events and transactions reflected in the financial statements, the less likely we would become aware of it. Also, the risk of not detecting a material misstatement due to fraud is higher than the risk of not detecting one resulting from error, as fraud may involve

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Statement of financial activities

Independent auditor’s report

deliberate concealment by, for example, forgery or intentional misrepresentations, or through collusion.

A further description of our responsibilities for the audit of the financial statements is located on the Financial Reporting Council’s website at www.frc.org.uk/ auditorsresponsibilities. This description forms part of our auditor’s report.

Use of the audit report

This report is made solely to the charity’s Trustees, as a body, in accordance with Part 4 of the Charities (Accounts and Reports) Regulations 2008. Our audit work has been undertaken so that we might state to the charity’s Trustees those matters we are required to state to them in an auditor’s report and for no other purpose. To the fullest extent permitted by law, we do not accept or assume responsibility to anyone other than the charity and the charity’s Trustees as a body for our audit work, for this report, or for the opinions we have formed.

23 / 05 / 2025

Third Sector Accountancy Limited, Statutory Auditor

Holyoake House

Hanover Street

Manchester

M60 0AS

Third Sector Accountancy Limited is eligible to act as an auditor in terms of section 1212 of the Companies Act 2006.

Financial statements

Statement of Financial Activities (including Income and Expenditure account) for the year ended 31 December 2024

		Unrestricted	Restricted	Total funds	Unrestricted	Restricted	Total funds
		funds	funds	2024	funds	funds	2023
	Note	£	£	£	£	£	£
Income from:
Donations and	3	2,577,875	486,808	3,064,683	2,416,279	558,165	2,974,444
legacies
Donated goods	3	1,028,366	-	1,028,366	1,249,305	-	1,249,305
for beneficiaries
Donated services	3	70,853	-	70,853	152,200	-	152,200
Charitable activities	4	-	-	-	11,441	-	11,441
Other trading	5	10,983	-	10,983	11,234	-	11,234
activities
Investments	6	128,186	-	128,186	88,502	-	88,502
Total income		3,816,263	486,808	4,303,071	3,928,961	558,165	4,487,126
Expenditure on:
Raising funds	7	291,030	47,648	338,678	243,876	22,268	266,144
Charitable activities	8	3,234,140	531,777	3,765,917	3,270,325	413,011	3,683,336
Total expenditure		3,525,170	579,425	4,104,595	3,514,201	435,279	3,949,480
Net income/	10	291,093	(92,617)	198,476	414,760	122,886	537,646
(expenditure) for
the year
Transfer between	20	-	-	-	-	-	-
funds
Net movement in		291,093	(92,617)	198,476	414,760	122,886	537,646
funds for the year
Reconciliation of
funds
Total funds brought		2,394,478	144,335	2,538,813	1,979,718	21,449	2,001,167
forward
Total funds carried		2,685,571	51,718	2,737,289	2,394,478	144,335	2,538,813
forward

The statement of financial activities includes all gains and losses recognised in the year. All income and expenditure derive from continuing activities.

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Statement of cash flows

Balance sheet

Balance sheet as at 31 December 2024

		2024	2024	2023	2023
	Note	£	£	£	£

Fixed assets
Tangible assets	15		70,871		37,665
Total fixed assets			70,871		37,665
Current assets
Stock	16	61,718		60,556
Debtors	17	173,407		136,757
Cash at bank and in hand	18	2,716,760		2,485,610
Total current assets		2,951,885		2,682,923
Liabilities
Creditors: amounts falling due in less	19	(285,467)		(181,775)
than one year
Net current assets			2,666,418		2,501,148
Total assets less current liabilities			2,737,289		2,538,813
Net assets			2,737,289		2,538,813
The funds of the charity:
Restricted income funds	20		51,718		144,335
Unrestricted income funds	21		2,685,571		2,394,478
Total charity funds			2,737,289		2,538,813

Statement of Cash Flows for the year ending 31 December 2024

	Note	2024	2023
		£	£
Cash provided by/(used in) operating activities	24	158,274	409,955
Cash flows from investing activities:
Dividends, interest, and rents from investments		128,186	88,502
Purchase of tangible fixed assets		(55,310)	-
Cash provided by/(used in) investing activities		72,876	88,502
Increase/(decrease) in cash and cash equivalents in the year		231,150	498,457
Cash and cash equivalents at the beginning of the year		2,485,610	1,987,153
Cash and cash equivalents at the end of the year		2,716,760	2,485,610

The notes on pages 44 to 63 form part of these accounts.

Approved by the Trustees and signed on their behalf by:

==> picture [72 x 14] intentionally omitted <==

Olivia Gillan (Chair)

Geraldine Wright (Treasurer)

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Notes to the accounts

Notes to the accounts for the year ended 31 December 2024

b Judgements and estimates

Key judgements which the Trustees have made which have a significant effect on the accounts include accounting estimates for the valuation of donated services (property and payroll services) and donated goods. More detail is given in note 1e Donated services and facilities.

1. Accounting policies

The principal accounting policies adopted, judgments and key sources of estimation uncertainty in the preparation of the financial statements are as follows:

a. Basis of preparation

The accounts (financial statements) have been prepared in accordance with the Statement of Recommended Practice: Accounting and Reporting by Charities preparing their accounts in accordance with the Financial Reporting Standard applicable in the UK and Republic of Ireland (FRS 102) issued in October 2019 and the Financial Reporting Standard applicable in the United Kingdom and Republic of Ireland (FRS 102) and the Charities Act 2011 and UK Generally Accepted Practice.

The Trustees do not consider that there are any sources of estimation uncertainty at the reporting date that have a significant risk of causing a material adjustment to the carrying amount of assets and liabilities within the next reporting period.

c Preparation of the accounts on a going concern basis

The Trustees consider that there are no material uncertainties about the charity’s ability to continue as a going concern.

The Trustees have considered the level of funds held and the expected level of income and expenditure for 12 months from authorising these financial statements. The budgeted income and expenditure is sufficient with the level of reserves of the charity to be able to continue as a going concern. Please refer to further comments in the Trustees’ Annual Report.

d Income

The accounts (financial statements) have been prepared to give a ‘true and fair’ view and 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 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) issued in October 2019 rather than the Accounting and Reporting by Charities: Statement of Recommended Practice effective from 1 April 2005 which has since been withdrawn.

Little Village meets the definition of a public benefit entity under FRS102. Assets and liabilities are initially recognised at historical cost or transaction value unless otherwise stated in the relevant accounting policy note.

The financial statements are presented in sterling which is the functional currency of the charity and rounded to the nearest £ sterling.

Income is recognised when the charity has entitlement to the funds, any performance conditions attached to the item(s) of income have been met, it is probable that the income will be received and the amount can be measured reliably.

Income from government and other grants, whether ‘capital’ grants or ‘revenue’ grants, is recognised when the charity has entitlement to the funds, any performance conditions attached to the grants have been met, it is probable that the income will be received and the amount can be measured reliably and is not deferred.

Income received in advance of a provision of a specified service is deferred until the criteria for income recognition are met.

e Donated services and facilities

Donated professional services and donated facilities are recognised as income when the charity has control over the item, any conditions associated with the

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Notes to the accounts

donated item have been met, the receipt of economic benefit from the use by the charity of the item is probable and that economic benefit can be measured reliably. In accordance with the Charities SORP (FRS 102), general volunteer time is not recognised; refer to the Trustees’ annual report for more information about their contribution.

On receipt, donated professional services and donated facilities are recognised on the basis of the value of the gift to the charity which is the amount the charity would have been willing to pay to obtain services or facilities of equivalent economic benefit on the open market; a corresponding amount is then recognised in expenditure in the period of receipt. For donated services which are rental property, this estimate is consistent with the value the charity would pay for a similar sized property rather than one in a higher priced retail environment.

The charity received a wide range of donations from the general public of second hand baby and children’s clothing, cots, buggies and various other types of goods needed for babies and young children. All these donations are passed on to families in need free of charge. These donations were valued at an estimated second hand value recorded both as income (£1,028,366) and expenditure (£1,034,618) in the accounts. The second hand value of these gifts is recognised in the accounts when they are distributed to the beneficiary. The stock of second hand goods is not recognised in the accounts because it would be impractical to record this information, and the costs of attempting to do so would outweigh any benefit to the users of the accounts or the charity.

f. Interest receivable

Interest on funds held on deposit is included when receivable and the amount can be measured reliably by the charity; this is normally upon notification of the interest paid or payable by the bank.

g. Fund accounting

Unrestricted funds are available to spend on activities that further any of the purposes of charity.

Designated funds are unrestricted funds of the charity which the Trustees have decided at their discretion to set aside to use for a specific purpose.

Restricted funds are donations which the donor has specified are to be solely used for particular areas of the charity’s work or for specific projects being undertaken by the charity.

h. Expenditure and irrecoverable VAT

Expenditure is recognised once there is a legal or constructive obligation to make a payment to a third party, it is probable that settlement will be required and the amount of the obligation can be measured reliably. Expenditure is classified under the following activity headings:

Costs of raising funds comprise the costs of a fundraiser, fundraising events, marketing, merchandise and website costs, and their associated support costs.
Expenditure on charitable activities includes the costs of operating baby and young children’s clothing banks undertaken to further the purposes of the charity and their associated support costs.
Other expenditure represents those items not falling into any other heading.

Irrecoverable VAT is charged as a cost against the activity for which the expenditure was incurred.

i. Allocation of support costs

Support costs are those functions that assist the work of the charity but do not directly undertake charitable activities. Support costs include back office costs, finance, personnel, payroll and governance costs which support the charity’s programmes and activities. These costs have been allocated between cost of raising funds and expenditure on charitable activities. The bases on which support costs have been allocated are set out in note 9.

j. Operating leases

Operating leases are leases in which the title to the assets, and the risks and rewards of ownership, remain with the lessor. Rental charges are charged on a straight line basis over the term of the lease.

k. Tangible fixed assets

Individual fixed assets costing £1,000 or more are capitalised at cost and are depreciated over their estimated useful economic lives on a straight line basis as follows:

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Notes to the accounts

Leasehold improvements The shorter of the life of the lease or 10 years. 20% - 33% Furniture, fixtures and fittings Computer equipment 33%

l. Stock

Stock is included at cost. In general, cost is determined on a first in, first out basis. Provision is made where necessary for obsolete, slow moving, and defective stocks. Items donated as brand new are recognised on the balance sheet as stock, recorded at fair value which is the amount the charity would have been willing to pay for the items on the open market. Stock of donated second hand goods is not recognised in the accounts - see note 1e for explanation.

m. Debtors

Trade and other debtors are recognised at the settlement amount due after any trade discount offered. Prepayments are valued at the amount prepaid net of any trade discounts due.

n. Cash at bank and in hand

Cash at bank and cash in hand includes cash and short term highly liquid investments comprising a range of fixed term deposits up to 12 months only.

o. Creditors and provisions

Creditors and provisions are recognised where the charity has a present obligation resulting from a past event that will probably result in the transfer of funds to a third party and the amount due to settle the obligation can be measured or estimated reliably. Creditors and provisions are normally recognised at their settlement amount after allowing for any trade discounts due.

q. Pensions

Employees of the charity are entitled to join a defined contribution ‘money purchase’ scheme. The charity’s contribution is restricted to the contributions disclosed in note 11. Outstanding contributions at the year end were £9,301 which were paid in full by 9 January 2025. The costs of the defined contribution scheme are included within support and governance costs and allocated to the funds of the charity using the methodology set out in note 9.

2. Legal status of the charity

The charity is a charitable incorporated organisation registered with the Charity Commission and has no share capital. The registered office address is disclosed on page 65.

3. Income from donations and legacies

Unrestricted £ Restricted £ Total 2024 £ Unrestricted £	Unrestricted £ Restricted £ Total 2024 £ Unrestricted £	Unrestricted £ Restricted £ Total 2024 £ Unrestricted £	Unrestricted £ Restricted £ Total 2024 £ Unrestricted £	Unrestricted £ Restricted £ Total 2024 £ Unrestricted £	Restricted £	Total 2023 £
Donations and grants Donated goods for benefciaries Donated services Total	2,577,875 1,028,366 70,853	486,808 - -	3,064,683 1,028,366 70,853	2,416,279 1,249,305 152,200	558,165 - -	2,974,444 1,249,305 152,200 4,375,949
	3,677,094	486,808	4,163,902	3,817,784	558,165

Please see the Trustees’ Annual Report for detail on the donated services.

p. Financial instruments

The charity only has financial assets and financial liabilities of a kind that qualify as basic financial instruments. Basic financial instruments are initially recognised at transaction value and subsequently measured at their settlement value with the exception of bank loans which are subsequently measured at amortised cost using the effective interest method.

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Notes to the accounts

4. Income from charitable activities

Unrestricted £	Unrestricted £	Restricted £	Total 2024 £	Unrestricted £	Restricted £	Total 2023 £
National Baby Bank Alliance Total	-	-	-	11,441	-	11,441 11,441
	-	-	-	11,441	-

Please see the Trustees’ Annual Report for further information on the National Baby Bank Alliance.

5. Income from other trading activities

Unrestricted £	Unrestricted £	Restricted £	Total 2024 £ Unrestricted £	Total 2024 £ Unrestricted £	Restricted £	Total 2023 £
Clothes recycling Other Total	10,930 53	- -	10,930 53	11,234 -	- -	11,234 - 11,234
	10,983	-	10,983	11,234	-

7. Cost of raising funds

	Unrestricted £	Restricted £	Total 2024 £	Unrestricted £ Restricted £	Total 2023 £

Staff costs Fundraiser's fees Donation/online fees Sponsored event costs Marketing and Communications Website costs Investmentmanagement costs Governance costs (note 9) Support costs (note 9)	170,751 32,617 12,269 16,278 30,707 4,440 - 2,668 21,300	38,351 - - - - - - 1,299 7,998	209,102 32,617 12,269 16,278 30,707 4,440 - 3,967 29,298	152,284 7,290 38,656 - 4,876 - 33,549 - 3,724 - 3,671 - 1,081 - 1,693 1,629 4,342 13,349 243,876 22,268	159,574 38,656 4,876 33,549 3,724 3,671 1,081 3,322 17,691 266,144
	291,030	47,648	338,678

6. Investment income

	Unrestricted £	Restricted £	Total 2024 £	Unrestricted £	Restricted £	Total 2023 £
Income from bank deposits	128,186	-	128,186	88,502	-	88,502 88,502
	128,186	-	128,186	88,502	-

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Notes to the accounts

8. Analysis of expenditure on charitable activities

	2024 £	2023 £
Staff costs Other staff costs Volunteer costs Property costs Donated services - see footnote Donated goods for benefciaries Bought goods for benefciaries Consumables Consulting and freelance Insurance Legal expenses IT consultancy IT support Delivery and collection costs Travel Depreciation Sundry costs Advertising and marketing Governance costs (see note 9) Support costs (see note 9) Restricted expenditure Unrestricted expenditure	1,346,076 125,230 5,482 320,236 68,500 1,034,618 53,590 30,948 65,351 15,049 - 124,461 12,725 138,951 4,052 22,104 106,014 30,297 31,266 230,967	1,153,174 109,375 2,245 222,641 150,000 1,244,384 128,171 22,242 73,909 5,495 28,808 176,758 - 131,191 3,545 6,250 51,622 15,269 25,023 133,234 3,683,336 413,011 3,270,325 3,683,336
	3,765,917
	531,777 3,234,140
	3,765,917

Donated services are mostly comprised of rental property donated for the use of the charity. This is shown as income and expenditure in the accounts. The income is shown in note 3.

9. Analysis of governance and support costs

	Support	Governance	Total 2024	Support	Governance	Total 2023
	£	£	£	£	£	£
Staff costs	238,802	25,153	263,955	135,863	19,405	155,268
Subscriptions	18,870	-	18,870	11,712	-	11,712
Audit fees	-	7,440	7,440	-	6,600	6,600
Accountancy services	2,593	2,640	5,233	3,350	2,340	5,690
	260,265	35,233	295,498	150,925	28,345	179,270

Support and governance costs are allocated to Cost of Generating Funds and Charitable Activities in	Support and governance costs are allocated to Cost of Generating Funds and Charitable Activities in	Support and governance costs are allocated to Cost of Generating Funds and Charitable Activities in	Support and governance costs are allocated to Cost of Generating Funds and Charitable Activities in	Support and governance costs are allocated to Cost of Generating Funds and Charitable Activities in
proportion to the staff time spent on those activities.
Fundraising 29,298 3,967	33,265	17,691	3,322	21,013
Charitable activities 230,967 31,266	262,233	133,234	25,023	158,257
260,265 35,233	295,498	150,925	28,345	179,270

10. Net income/(expenditure) for the year

This is stated after charging/(crediting):	2024 £	2023 £

Depreciation Operating lease rentals: Property Machinery Auditor's remuneration - audit fees Auditor's remuneration - accountancy fees	22,104 105,000 4,778 7,440 2,640	6,250 55,000 6,600 2,340

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Notes to the accounts

11. Staff costs

Staff costs during the year were as follows:	2024 £	2023 £

Wages and salaries Social security costs Pension costs Allocated as follows: Cost of raising funds Charitable activities Support costs Governance costs	1,630,256 152,624 36,253	1,324,353 116,188 27,475 1,468,016 159,574 1,153,174 135,863 19,405 1,468,016
	1,819,133
	209,102 1,346,076 238,802 25,153
	1,819,133


Employees receiving employment benefts > £60,000	2024	2023

In the band of £60,000 - £70,000 In the band of £70,000 - £80,000	1 1	1 -

The average number of staff employed during the period was 59 (2023: 55).

The average full-time equivalent number of staff employed during the period was 44 (2023: 40).

The key management personnel of the charity comprise the Trustees, the Chief Executive Officer and the senior leadership team. The total employee benefits of the key management personnel of the charity were £412,844 (2023: £328,575).

12. Trustee remuneration and expenses, and related party transactions

Neither the Board of Trustees nor any persons connected with them received any remuneration during the year (2023: Nil). One Trustee received reimbursed expenses during the year of £211 (2023: Nil).

Aggregate donations from related parties were £1,750 (2023: £1,750).

There are no donations from related parties which are outside the normal course of business and no restricted donations from related parties.

No Trustee or other person related to the charity had any personal interest in any contract or transaction entered into by the charity, including guarantees, during the year (2023: Nil).

13. Government grants

The government grants recognised in the accounts were as follows:	2024 £	2023 £

The National Lottery Community Fund HMRC Employment Allowance DWP Access To Work Greater London Authority - Advice In Community Settings GLA Multibank - session leads GLA Multibank - transport TNL Cost of Living	200,000 - - 73,440 21,500 50,000 61,316	212,786 5,000 5,800 102,000 - - - 325,586
	406,256

There were no unfulfilled conditions and contingencies attaching to the grants.

14. Corporation tax

The charity is exempt from tax on income and gains falling within Chapter 3 of Part 11 of the Corporation Tax Act 2010 or Section 256 of the Taxation of Chargeable Gains Act 1992 to the extent that these are applied to its charitable objects. No tax charges have arisen in the charity.

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Notes to the accounts

15. Fixed assets: tangible assets

Cost Leasehold improvements £	Cost Leasehold improvements £	Fixtures and fttings £	Computer equipment £	Total £

At 1 January 2024 Additions At 31 December 2024 Depreciation At 1 January 2024 Charge for the year At 31 December 2024 Net book value At 31 December 2024 At 31 December 2023	45,810 10,647	9,374 44,663	2,684 -	57,868 55,310 113,178 20,203 22,104 42,307 70,871 37,665
	56,457	54,037	2,684
	12,598 7,775	4,921 14,329	2,684 -
	20,373	19,250	2,684
	36,084	34,787	-
	33,212	4,453	-

16. Stock

	2024 £	2023 £
New items donated New items purchased	40,248 21,470 61,718	46,499 14,057 60,556

18. Cash at bank and in hand

	2024 £	2023 £

Short term deposits Cash at bank and in hand	631,082 2,085,678	441,156 2,044,454 2,485,610
	2,716,760

19. Creditors: amounts falling due within one year

	2024 £	2023 £

Trade creditors Other creditors and accruals Taxation and social security costs	42,411 207,890 35,166	83,228 68,025 30,522 181,775
	285,467

Stock items comprise mattresses, bottle teats, nappies and packaging.

17. Debtors

	2024 £	2023 £

Grants receivable Trade debtors Other debtors Prepayments and accrued income	71,500 1,940 13,750 86,217	37,786 390 13,750 84,831 136,757
	173,407

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Notes to the accounts

20. Analysis of movements in restricted funds

	Balance at 1 January				Balance at 31 December
	2024 £	Income £	Expenditure £	Transfers £	2024 £

All sites
Anonymous trust 1 Greater London Authority - Advice In Community Settings The Liberal Jewish Synagogue High Holy Day Appeal Anonymous donor 3 Skipton Building Society Charitable Foundation The Julia and Hans Rausing Trust GLA Multibank - session leads GLA Multibank - transport Harrow Care Plus Ian MacTaggart Trust IKEA via Save the Children Mizuho - Nappies Natixis COTY Natixis packaging Peter Stormonth Darling grant Quintessentially development grant Quintessentially video grant The National Lottery Community Fund Tides Foundation/BlackRock Wimbledon Foundation Total	4,987 11,376 2,999 90,000 1,545 33,428 - - - - - - - - - - - - - -	17,825 73,440 - - - - 21,500 50,000 500 2,500 50,000 500 4,295 5,000 5,000 24,960 2,600	(4,987) (73,718) (2,999) (90,000) (1,545) (33,428) (21,500) (50,000) (500) (2,500) (50,000) (500) (4,295) - - (19,026) - (200,000) (14,427) (10,000)	- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -	17,825 11,098 - - - - - - - - - - - 5,000 5,000 5,934 2,600 - 4,261 - 51,718
		200,000
		18,688 10,000
	144,335	486,808	(579,425)	-

Comparative period

	*Balance at* *1 January*				*Balance at* *31 December*
	*2023* £	*Income* £	*Expenditure* £	*Transfers* £	*2023* £

All sites
Anonymous trust 1 Greater London Authority - Advice in Community Settings The Liberal Jewish Synagogue High Holy Day Appeal Anonymous donor 2 Anonymous donor 3 Quintessentially Foundation Skipton Building Society Charitable Foundation The Hollyhock Charitable Foundation The Julia and Hans Rausing Trust The National Lottery Community Fund Tides Foundation / BlackRock	10,000 3,764 - - - - - - - - 7,685	5,000 102,000 25,201 5,000 90,000 10,000 2,000 61,678 40,000 212,786 -	(10,013) (94,388) (22,202) (5,000) - (10,000) (455) (61,678) (6,572) (212,786) (7,685)	- - - - - - - - - -	4,987 11,376 2,999 - 90,000 - 1,545 - 33,428 - -
Brent Site
The Social Change Agency Total	-	4,500	(4,500)	-	- *144,335*
	*21,449*	*558,165*	*(435,279)*	-

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Notes to the accounts

Name of restricted fund

All sites

Anonymous trust 1

Greater London Authority - Advice In Community Setting

The Liberal Jewish Synagogue High Holy Day Appeal

Anonymous donor 2

Anonymous donor 3

Quintessentially Foundation

Skipton Building Society Charitable Foundation

The Hollyhock Charitable Foundation The Julia and Hans Rausing Trust

The National Lottery Community Fund Tides Foundation / BlackRock

GLA Multibank - session leads

GLA Multibank - transport

Harrow Care Plus

Ian MacTaggart Trust IKEA via Save the Children Mizuho - Nappies

Natixis COTY

Natixis packaging

Peter Stormonth Darling grant

Quintessentially development grant

Quintessentially video grant Tides Foundation / BlackRock Wimbledon Foundation

Brent Site

The Social Change Agency

Description, nature and purposes of the fund

grant for baby bedding, wipes and nappies

funding for signposting programme “Advice in Community Settings”

donation for a year’s salary for three staff members who manage the family liaison volunteer team

for signposting and guidance programme

for signposting and family connections work

to support the development of the charity’s brand awareness leading to more families who live in poverty receiving support

for toiletries, nappies, wipes, etc

match funding for “Best Start for Newborns” project

purchasing goods for beneficiaries and covering cost of collecting items over the winter period

grant for staff costs at all sites and specific other costs at HQ

towards “Best Start for Newborns” project (2023)

funding for session leads to facilitate volunteer sessions including evenings and weekends

funding for transpost costs of collecting donations, moving stock between hubs and getting items to supported families

toiletries and nappies for the Brent hub

for use in Camden hub

cost to support delivery of big kit to families

funding for nappies

for purchasing bought items for families

packaging costs

staff costs for running hubs

to update the branding in Little Village’s three baby bank hubs in Tooting, Brent and Camden through bespoke window designs, and for new fundraising materials for these sites

for the creation of a video for Little Village to showcase their work

supporting volunteering at Little Village (2024)

supporting Wandsworth families

for beneficiaries within Brent, to deliver essentials to approx 280 families in Brent living in poverty

21. Analysis of movements in unrestricted funds

	Balance at 1 January				Balance at 31 December
	2024 £	Income £	Expenditure £	Transfers £	2024 £
General fund Designated fund (described below)	1,524,478 870,000	3,810,263 -	(2,969,170) (550,000)	(785,000) 785,000	1,580,571 1,105,000 2,685,571
	2,394,478	3,810,263	(3,519,170)	-

Comparative period
	*Balance at* *1 January*				*Balance at* *31 December*
	*2023* £	*Income* £	*Expenditure* £	*Transfers* £	*2023* £
General fund Designated fund (premises and IT) Designated fund (staff costs) Designated fund (Three year capacity-building)	1,229,718 250,000 500,000 -	3,928,961 - - -	(2,764,201) (250,000) (500,000) -	(870,000) - - 870,000	1,524,478 - - 870,000 2,394,478
	1,979,718	3,928,961	(3,514,201)	-

Name of unrestricted fund

Description, nature and purposes of the fund

General fund

The free reserves after allowing for all designated funds

Designated fund

Capacity-building fund: £870,000 was set aside at the end of 2023 to cover the charity’s three-year forecast of expenditure designed to build capacity. A portion of the fund was utilised in 2024, as intended.

Expenditure plans for 2025 and 2026 have been revised and the designated fund has been increased to support the planned developments. Please see the Trustees’ Annual Report for further detail.

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Notes to the accounts

22. Analysis of net assets between funds

	General fund £ Designated funds £	General fund £ Designated funds £	Restricted funds £	Total 2024 £
Tangible fxed assets Net current assets/(liabilities) Total	70,871 1,509,700 1,580,571	- 1,105,000	- 51,718 51,718	70,871 2,666,418 2,737,289
		1,105,000

The charity’s total future minimum lease payments under non-cancellable operating leases are as follows for each of the following periods:

	Property 2024 £	*Property 2023* £	Equipment 2024 £	*Equipment 2023* £
Less than one year One to fve years	105,000 96,667 201,667	55,000 110,000 165,000	3,510 - 3,510	- - -

Comparative period

24. Reconciliation of net movement in funds to net cash flow from

	*General fund* £ *Designated funds* £	*General fund* £ *Designated funds* £	*Restricted funds* £	*Total 2023* £
Tangible fxed assets Net current assets/(liabilities) Total	37,665 1,486,813 1,524,478	- 870,000	- 144,335 144,335	37,665 2,501,148 2,538,813
		870,000

23. Operating lease commitments

In 2024, the charity held three leases at a peppercorn rent of £1 each. These were:

A ten-year lease for its Brent site entered into in 2021;
A 25-month lease for its Hounslow site which ended in June 2024;
A five-year lease for its Camden site, entered into in 2023.

The charity also has the following leases.

A five-year lease for its Tooting site, entered into in 2022 at an annual cost of £55,000.
A 2.5 year lease for a warehouse site in Wandsworth entered into in 2024, at an annual cost of £50,000.
An annual forklift truck lease for £8,424 per annum.

operating activities

	2024 £	2023 £
Net income/(expenditure) for the year Adjustments for: Depreciation charge Dividends, interest and rents from investments Decrease/(increase) in stock Decrease/(increase) in debtors Increase/(decrease) in creditors Net cash provided by/(used in) operating activities	198,476 22,104 (128,186) (1,162) (36,650) 103,692 158,274	537,646 6,250 (88,502) 5,914 (36,028) (15,325) 409,955

25. Contingent liability

The charity recognises a contingent liability of £90,000 in the accounts in 2024. This relates to a restricted grant of £90,000 with potential clawback conditions that are outside the charity’s control. The likelihood of clawback is remote, but as the funder has made the donation from dormant client accounts, it is prudent to recognise this as a contingent liability in the accounts until 31 December 2025 when the possibility of clawback ends.

Little Village Annual Report and Accounts, 2024

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Reference and administrative information

Financial review Reference and administrative information

Charity number

Registered office and operational address

Trustees

1169735

144-146 Tooting High Street, London SW17 0RT

The Trustees who served during the year and up to the date of this report were as follows:

Olivia Gillan, Chair

Geraldine Wright, Treasurer

Matthew Chisambi (appointed 12 March 2024)

Caley Eldred (retired 30 April 2025)

Marcia Holmes

Kate Husselbee

Alan Lally-Francis (resigned 12 March 2024)

Jacqui Penalver

Clare Phillips (appointed 10 December 2024)

Rachel Polnay (appointed 10 December 2024)

Katharine Sacks-Jones

Lily Shaw (appointed 10 December 2024)

Helena Simpson

Little Village Annual Report and Accounts, 2024Annual Report and Accounts, 2024

Little Village Annual Report and Accounts, 2024

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Reference and administrative information

Endnotes

Key Management

Bankers

Statutory Auditors

Sophie Livingstone, Chief Executive

Andreya Ashwell, Director of People

Angela Basso, Director of Fundraising

Emily Compston, Director of Operations

Hattie Foxwell-Corden, Director of Marketing and Communications

Calleigh-Marie Lawrence, Director of Volunteering

Aniq Read, Director of Finance

Santander UK plc, Bridle Road, Bootle, Merseyside L30 4GB

HSBC UK Bank plc, 1 Centenary Square, Birmingham B1 1HQ

Third Sector Accountancy Limited, Holyoake House, Hanover Street, Manchester M60 0AS.

Endnotes

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9	Seehttps://cpag.org.uk/policy-and- research/fndings-our-projects/cost- child-reportsfor the difference in the cost of raising a child in 2024 vs 2023 https://media.actionforchildren.org.uk/ documents/Low-income_families_in_full- time_work_February_2024.pdf www.jrf.org.uk/uk-poverty-2024-the- essential-guide-to-understanding- poverty-in-the-uk www.jrf.org.uk/uk-poverty-2024-the- essential-guide-to-understanding- poverty-in-the-uk https://www.jrf.org.uk/deep-poverty-and- destitution/destitution-in-the-uk-2023 www.barnardos.org.uk/sites/default/ fles/2023-09/report-no-crib-bed- poverty-cost-living-crisis.pdf www.jrf.org.uk/uk-poverty-2024-the- essential-guide-to-understanding- poverty-in-the-uk https://educationendowmentfoundation. org.uk/news/education-endowment- foundation-eef-comment- disadvantaged-pupils-half-as-likely- to-get-a-good-pass-in-gcse-english- or-maths-compared-to-peers#:~:t- ext=The%20data%20showed:%20In%20 2023/24%2025.8%%20of,has%20w Gutman, L., Joshi, H., Parsonage, M. & () 10 11 12 13	www.gov.uk/government/publications/ health-profle-for-england/chapter-5- inequality-in-health?utm_source The Family Stress Model shows fnancial hardship creates emotional distress in parents and inter-parental confict, which then disrupts parenting quality and family relationships – ultimately leading to worse outcomes for children https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/ PMC4742411/#:~:text=parenting%20 were%20collected%20during%20 early,for%20externalizing%20behavior%20
		in%20toddlerhood https://centreforearlychildhood.org/ research Calculation assumes average CO2- equivalent emissions of 211 grams per car per mile (Department for Transport statistics, aggregated and analysed by NimbleFins [2024], available at: www.nimblefns.co.uk/average-co2- emissions-car-uk), and an average annual mileage of 7,000 miles per car (Department for Transport [2023], National Travel Survey, available to download at:www.gov.uk/government/ collections/national-travel-survey- statistics). Both the emissions per car per mile and annual average mileage fgures are current UK averages; this accounts for a notable difference from our_2023 Impact Report_, which used US- based averages.

9 Gutman, L., Joshi, H., Parsonage, M. & Schoon, I. (2015) Children of the new century: Mental health findings from the Millennium Cohort Study . London: Centre for Mental Health.

Little Village Annual Report and Accounts, 2024

Doc ID: e6da81a47f2de00b4bdb1c6a4d34ecc9659c98f2

Financial review

Little Village Annual Report and Accounts, 2024 Baby things,

Design and typesetting: 68 Tom Hampson, hampson.studio

Doc ID: e6da81a47f2de00b4bdb1c6a4d34ecc9659c98f2

2024-12-31-accounts

Welcome from our Chair

Welcome from our CEO

about little a . village

Our vision

Our mission

What we do

How we work

The need we respond to

The youngest children face the greatest risks

Destitution and the lack of essentials

The long-term consequences

– 2024 2026 strategic plan

Supporting families

Inspiring

Raising awareness

Resilience

achievements of the year

1. Supporting families

2. Inspiring

3. Raising awareness

4. Resilience

Other areas of focus were:

Fundraising

Family Participation

Processes and technology

Governance

Financial review

Income and expenditure

Donations in kind

Significant events affecting financial performance and financial position during the year

Reserves

Going concern

Investment policy

Structure, governance and management

Governance

Appointment and induction of Trustees

Organisational structure and decision making

Remuneration policy

Diversity, Equity and Inclusion

Volunteers

Fundraising

Principal risks and uncertainties

Policies

Public benefit

Related parties

Our plans for the future

Thank you

Statement of Trustees’ responsibilities

Auditors

Olivia Gillan

Auditor’s Report and Financial Statements

Independent auditor’s report to the Trustees of Little Village

Opinion

Basis for opinion

Conclusions relating to going concern

Other information

Matters on which we are required to report by exception

Responsibilities of Trustees

Auditor’s responsibilities for the audit of the financial statements

Capability of the audit in detecting irregularities, including fraud

Use of the audit report

23 / 05 / 2025

Financial statements

Balance sheet as at 31 December 2024

Statement of Cash Flows for the year ending 31 December 2024

Notes to the accounts for the year ended 31 December 2024

b Judgements and estimates

1. Accounting policies

a. Basis of preparation

c Preparation of the accounts on a going concern basis

d Income

e Donated services and facilities

f. Interest receivable

g. Fund accounting

h. Expenditure and irrecoverable VAT

i. Allocation of support costs

j. Operating leases

k. Tangible fixed assets

l. Stock