Bristol Women's Voice Trustees Report and Financial Statements for the year to 31st March 2024
Charity number: 1170110
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Bristol Women's Voice Trustees' Annual Report Year to 31st March 2024
CONTENTS
Page
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Reference and Administrative Information
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Structure, Governance and Management
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Objects and Activities
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Achievements and Performance
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Financial Review
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Statement of Responsibilities of Trustees
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Independent Examiner's Report
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Statement of Financial Activities
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Balance Sheet
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Notes to the Accounts
Reference and Administrative Information
Charity name: Bristol Women's Voice Charity registration number: 1170110 Registered Office: St Pauls Learning Centre, 94 Grosvenor Road, Bristol BS2 8XJ
Trustees 2023-24
Carole Johnson (chair) Bonny Chung (vice chair) Elizabeth Watson (secretary) Clare Meraz Alice Clermont Liz Potter Emily Johnstone Hannah Stapley-Parker Sophie Peart (appointed 19[th] October 2023) Shruthi Venkatachalam (appointed 9[th] October 2023) Shoba Ram (appointed 9[th] October 2023) Elahe Karimnia (appointed 10[th] September 2023) Camilla Hall (resigned October 2023)
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Structure, Governance and Management
The organisation is a Charitable Incorporated Organisation, incorporated on 10th November 2016 and registered as a charity on 10th November 2016. Its governing document is the Constitution dated 10th November 2016. Prior to this date, Bristol Women's Voice operated as an unincorporated association, which donated all of its funds to the new charity on its incorporation. During the year the Trustees delegated the day to day operation of the company to the Director, Katy Taylor.
Recruitment and Appointment of Trustees
All trustees are nominated by existing trustees, and elected by a simple majority vote at the AGM or other Trustees' Meetings. The Board of Trustees endeavours to be a diverse Board and will be looking for candidates who can bring perspectives to the leadership of the organisation that are currently under-represented.
Current Staff
Claire Charras – Communications Coordinator Dahlia von Carolath – Community Organiser Faith Barorot – Community Development Worker Katy Taylor – Director Willow Vidal-Hall – Young Women’s Worker (freelance)
Other staff who worked for Bristol Women’s Voice during 2023-2024
Eilidh Tannett – Community Hub Coordinator Elisa Monje-Jelfs – Campaign and Policy Assistant Helen Ince – Disabled Women Take Action Community Organiser Francesca Battle – International Women’s Day Coordinator Troy Tanska – Volunteer and Training Coordinator
Objects and Activities
Charitable Objects
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The promotion, for the public benefit, of the social inclusion of women in the Bristol area, who are socially and economically excluded on grounds of their gender;
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The promotion of equality and diversity for the public benefit by e.g.
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a. the elimination of discrimination on the grounds of gender (and where it impacts on women: race, age, disability, sexual orientation, religion or economic disadvantage);
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b. The advancement of education and raising awareness;
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c. The conducting or commissioning of other research on gender equality issues and the publishing the results to the public.
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The prevention and relief of poverty through undertaking and supporting research into factors that contribute to women’s poverty and the most appropriate ways to mitigate these.
Public Benefit
The charity delivers public benefit to women and society in general by undertaking the following activities in furtherance of its objects, as stated in the constitution:
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Providing a platform to ensure that, when key decisions are taken, women’s voices have been listened to, and their ideas and concerns are shared and acted on;
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Developing the capacity and skills of women in the Bristol area in such a way that
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they are better able to identify and access services and organisations, meet their needs, support each other, and to participate more fully in society;
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Supporting women to decide the most important issues they are facing, and to influence public authorities on how they can best meet women’s needs and promote gender equality;
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Undertaking research and consultation to identify the barriers that prevent gender equality and the social and economic exclusion of women in the Bristol area and to publish the findings;
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Organising events and activities that support women in the Bristol area to participate in public life, take part in decision- making, challenge discrimination and close gender gaps (e.g. in pay, education, access to services).
The Trustees are aware of the requirement of public benefit and seek to implement the Charity Commissioners' guidance on public benefit.
Achievements and Performance
It has been a full and fruitful year for Bristol Women's Voice. In the last couple of years, we focused a lot on development: spending time on refreshing, clarifying and unifying behind our refreshed values, mission, strategy, membership offer and direction.
In 2023-24, we were ready for action.
We developed the Value the Caring Economy Campaign Alliance which has achieved some notable successes; we delivered our most diverse International Women's Day event yet; we secured significant media attention with our efforts to raise the equalities challenges with the lack of public toilets; we continued to platform the voices of local Inspiring Women and we started our Young Women's Space for 18-30-year-olds in response to feedback. Thanks to the women at Quiet Moon, we refreshed our branding for a more dynamic and accessible feel.
Our training offer has expanded, and we have continued to raise marginalised women's voices in strategic forums, particularly working to make public transport safer for women and to support the understanding of poverty and the cost-of-living crisis as a highly gendered issue.
Value the Caring Economy Campaign
Women have consistently told us over the past few years through our members' survey, International Women's Day and members' event feedback, that the issue they most want us to take action on is women's economic inequality.
Food and fuel prices have continued to rise, the housing crisis continued unabated and needs relating to poverty and mental health are increasing. We know the cost-of-living crisis is gendered, and that women, in particular Black and minoritised and migrant women, are hit the hardest, and we considered how we might have an impact on women's poverty locally.
In response, we formed an alliance with nine other organisations to call for greater investment into the caring economy: childcare and early years education, adult social care, better pay and conditions for care workers and employment terms for everyone that allow enough flexibility for paid time to care, so that women aren't choosing between caring or working.
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These asks are not new - our campaign pulls together many long-standing calls for investment and change from local adult and child care support agencies and builds directly on work by the Bristol Women's Commission locally and the Women's Budget Group nationally.
Collaborating with our partners: Bristol Black Carers, Bristol Women in Business, Bristol Women's Commission, Carers Support Centre, Chinese Community Wellbeing Society, Co-Produce Care, WECIL and Women's Budget Group, we have developed manifestos for change tailored towards Bristol City Council and the West of England Combined Authority, and towards employers. All our asks are specifically within their remit.
We were successful in securing a Rosa Grant towards some of the capital costs of campaigning and thanks to the generous donations and a match-funding campaign, we secured money for a short-term freelance Campaigns and Policy Assistant, which we offered to former volunteer Elisa Monje-Jelfs supporting her development into paid policy work.
Some of our key campaigning activities have been:
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Producing three manifestos aimed at Bristol City Council and West of England Combined Authority; employers more broadly and local MPs/national government.
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Producing a set of research briefings about why Investment in the Caring Economy is key for women's equality.
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Running a series of workshops with women in different communities, including BWV members, women from Sadaga Arabic-speaking women's group and Somali Kitchen, to create felt pouches, each with a personal message about why the caring economy is so important to them.
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On 9 January 2024 we attended the Full Bristol City Council meeting and gave each of the councillors present a pouch. We submitted questions to the open forum in advance and BWV staff and trustees, Caring Economy Alliance members and supporters read them out, so the agenda of the open session was focused entirely on the Caring Economy.
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Creating a petition that currently has more than 400 signatures and the location of signatories can be seen on a map on our website. Going into 2024-25, we still need more signatures to show politicians this is an agenda that matters.
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Facilitating a caring economy meeting for carers, bringing carers together to reflect on their experience of caring and what this has meant for them in their lives.
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Painting a long graffiti wall at Gatton Street, otherwise known as the M32 Wall, with our slogan: Who cares? We care. Value care! Invest in the caring economy. We were lucky with the weather and across a sunny weekend we also invited members of the public and local politicians to add their handprints to the wall in show of solidarity with the campaign.
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Engaging the West of England Combined Authority who have committed to looking at childcare as infrastructure.
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On 12 March 2024 a Golden Motion proposed by the Labour Party and amended by the Green Party to include all our manifesto asks on the Caring Economy was resolved by full council.
Work after the election will include working with newly elected councillors, supporting them to uphold the council's commitment.
Women's Community Hub
This year, we continued developing our women's virtual community hub, which serves as a vital resource offering information, networking opportunities, capacity building and
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activities for women, services and organisations and Welcoming Spaces across the city.
Between November 2022 - October 2023, we secured funding for a Community Hub Coordinator. In this role Eilidh Tannett laid the groundwork for Bristol Women's Voice as a central hub for advice and guidance for community venues on gender inclusion and the provision of accessible information about services for women, ensuring women have access to essential support throughout Bristol.
We secured continuation funding to maintain and extend the role and Faith Barorot joined the team as a Community Development Worker in February 2024. Faith embedded quickly and has taken up her role to further enhance the inclusivity and accessibility of Bristol Women's Voice's community hub work, ensuring we are engaging women from diverse communities across Bristol.
In February 2023, we started an Inspiring Women Talk series in underfunded areas in Bristol to bring women together in hard times to hear positive, inspiring, and connecting stories from other local women.
These monthly events have been highly successful so far; we have hosted 18 talks and engaged more than 125 women.
In 2023-24, 47% of speakers were from Black and minoritised backgrounds; they have included community champions, academics, artists and activists and have spoken in varied community centres and venues including Hillfields, Easton, Bishopsworth, Barton Hill, Lockleaze and St Pauls.
The feedback has been overwhelmingly positive, with attendees using words such as 'inspired', 'informed'. 'enthusiastic' and 'empowered' to describe their feeling after the sessions.
In addition, the events have fostered connections between communities in Bristol. For instance, in one of the talks focused on Latin America, delivered by Latinos in Bristol CIC, attendees gained deeper insights into the Latin American context with one participant saying they "felt more connected to Latinos in Bristol' after the session.
Young Women's Forum
Work to establish a Young Women's Forum which started with Eilidh, our Community Hub Coordinator, has continued to develop with Willow Vidal-Hall, our new Young Women's Worker.
The forum is designed for women aged 18-30 and was formed following our 2023 International Women's Day event where young women told us they wanted a space for them. The purpose is to bring young women into connection, to form a regular group to talk about issues relevant to them, and identify the barriers that hold them back in life to explore what action could be taken.
Although slow, there is increasing momentum and enthusiasm for this forum, and we have some committed regulars. Activities we have run this year include:
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Speak up! Public Speaking Workshop
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Write it up! Writing workshop
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Feminist Leadership
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Empower and Elevate: A Values Workshop
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Broadcast-only WhatsApp Group
Our outreach efforts extend to digital platforms, including our WhatsApp Broadcast Group which promotes news, resources and events relevant to women in Bristol. The group has doubled in size over the past year, as we continue to advertise it in our newsletter and at all our events. The group has played a pivotal role in connecting women in the community to each other, as well as with third parties who are particularly dedicated to supporting them.
Bristol Women's Voice's Directory of Services for Women
We have established strong partnerships in the community including local government, charitable organisations, and allied corporate businesses, expanding our network of support for women in Bristol. Our online directory of services, consisting of over 150 support organisations and groups for women, has also seen increased usage.
Disabled Women Take Action
The Disabled Women Take Action (DWTA) team continued the work they started last year to raise awareness of the lack and impact of the lack of public toilets. As many women are acutely aware the lack of public toilets is a profoundly intersectional gendered issue: women need the toilet more frequently and spend longer in the toilet than men due to shorter urethras, clothing, caring, menstruating and sometimes safety. The lack of public accessible amenities means disabled and older women in particular, face a barrier to public space and the failure to reopen public toilets after the pandemic lockdowns has meant the lockdown continued for many, further reducing women's visibility.
International Women's Day 2024:
A small and dedicated team of volunteers formed the International Women's Day (IWD) steering group soon after our 2023 event and met monthly throughout the year and more frequently in the build up to co-create the program for International Women's Day 2024. We contracted Francesca Battle to support us with Coordination and collectively we work to produce our most diverse program yet:
45% of our workshops were delivered by women from marginalised backgrounds; 38% of our panellists came from Black and minoritised communities.
We advertised the event more widely this year and a team of volunteers put up over 200 posters and dropped off programs in multiple venues across the city.
Mindful of it being an election year, we worked to get the balance between the more political sessions and those that were more focused on fun, well-being, crafts, movement or information - and of course, some sessions are all of the above. We planned two sessions on the Caring Economy and panel sessions covering women's health, women and the environment, women in tech, international feminist movements and women in business. Other activities included crafts, food, movement, well-being activities, talks, singing and more to inspire, engage and inform.
We had strong representation from women in sport this year, with an extensive programme of activities, stalls and talks for outside City Hall on College Green.
Unfortunately, when the day arrived we were shocked to discover three inches of snow on the ground - we had not included that on our risk assessment - and having read up on the day's weather forecast we decided to go ahead, but unfortunately to cancel the outside activities.
The snow melted in a heavy downpour that lasted nearly all day , but nevertheless, people
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came. Just over 1,000 people attended and partook and City Hall felt busy from the start.
The day was only made possible by our amazing volunteer stewards: 38 women in total and another six formed a social media team to tweet and post Instagram stories throughout the day.
In total we benefited from 575 hours to make the event happen equating to £6,900 at the Living Wage.
Thanks also to Bristol City Council who provide us with use of City Hall each year for free.
Who attended?
Of the 89 who filled in the evaluation form:
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29% were from Black and minoritised communities
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20% identified as Disabled
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23% from LGBQ+
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5% identified as non-binary
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84% were women
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13% were aged under 20; 19% were aged 20-30; 21% were aged 30-40; 20% were aged 40-50; 8% were aged 50-60; 18% were aged 60+.
How people felt about the day
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97% of people rated the day good or excellent (4 or 5 out of 5)
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100% of people said it increased somewhat (4) or increased a lot (5) their awareness of services, activities and opportunities in Bristol
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78% said it made them somewhat or very much more aware of their rights
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96% of people rated the accessibility of the event as good or very good
Volunteering
Each year Bristol Women's Voice benefits from volunteer and intern support. In 2023 we were fortunate to have Sophie Mercer-Smith join us in October for three months from University of West of England. Sophie provided worked as a Campaigns assistant and supported the development of our Craftivism approach to campaigning, producing presentations and helping to run pouch-making and crafting sessions at our Winter Members' Event.
Away from the campaign, volunteers have reported back from events, continuing to 10 review blogs that are published on our website and supported BWV at our community events.
Training
We have developed our training offer and delivered misogyny-awareness and anti-sexual harassment training to a more diverse cohort in 2023-24, including:
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Stand Against Racism and Inequality (SARI)
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Avon Fire and Rescue Services
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Salvation Army and the sexual violence pathway providers
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Bristol Drugs Project
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University of Bristol
We look forward to further partnership work with the Fire Service across 2024-25.
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Collaborating, influencing and raising awareness
Instead of quarterly meetings for the women's, sector, this year we focused on coordinating quarterly meetings for sector organisations interested in sharing, supporting and holding each other accountable for progressing work on accessibility and inclusivity. We engaged Changing Futures to independently facilitate and support these meetings, and each had a different focus. We will be continuing this focus by setting up quarterly 'Lunch and Learn' sessions open to all.
We also held our first Sharing Practice event in the autumn which included volunteers and staff from six organisations coming together as experts and learners. Sessions delivered included: Trauma-informed Practice, Crafting for Change and Feminist Leadership.
The event received very positive feedback and we hope to run these sessions on an annual basis going forward, subject to securing funding.
Bristol Women's Voice is also represented in the following groups:
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Women's Independent Advisory Group (police). Our director stepped away from cochairing this due to capacity but remains in the group.
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One City Transport Board
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Public Transport Safety and Equalities Group
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Night-time Economy Advisory Board
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Women's Economic Taskgroup - Bristol Women's Commission
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Bristol Women's Commission
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Community Exchange
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Cost of Living Coordination Group
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Anti-Poverty Strategy Working Group
We submitted a successful joint Community Resilience Fund application with the Refugee Women of Bristol (RWoB) securing both RWoB and BWV new laptops. With the funding, BWV also added a Recite Me function to our website to improve access for speakers of other languages and neurodivergent people.
Bristol Women's Voice Members
Members and supporters
Our membership is free and open to all women who live, work, volunteer or study in Bristol and who agree with our mission, vision and values.
Benefits of being a member include:
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Receiving our monthly newsletter, updating you on our work and upcoming opportunities.
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Being a voice in Bristol's feminist sisterhood and connecting with like-minded women at our members' events and AGM from all backgrounds, ages and communities.
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Opportunities to volunteer and get involved with organising our International Women's Day celebration (around 8 March) or joining our board of trustees.
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Opportunities to campaign with us on issues that matter to women in the city, to help influence local politics and make women's equality a reality in Bristol.
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Hearing about local jobs and events through our WhatsApp broadcasting group.
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Supporting and influencing the organisation's strategy.
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Members events
In 2023-24 we ran two members events. The summer one focused on women's health and we had a fantastic turn out to hear our panel of health experts.
The winter event was also held at St Paul's as a social with crafting and a women's open mic. We were delighted by the energy of attending members, many of whom surprised us with rousing renditions of women's protest songs. Both events were held at St Paul's Learning Centre, where we took an office in July.
At our Annual General Meeting (AGM) we launched our caring economy campaign and invited women to get involved with painting letters to contribute to a whole slogan, while they ate and socialised.
We also held a women-only hustings with the Police and Crime Commissioner candidates in April, ahead of the local elections. This was a lively event which provided the opportunity for women to put their questions directly to the candidates on issues they felt significant and important in relation to women's safety. These events are a key part of our work to facilitate the connection between women across communities and decision makers.
Growth and engagement
In the last year, we have seen the number of overall subscribers to the newsletter has slightly decreased but we have seen an increase in full membership sign-ups (+36%) which would suggest that women in Bristol feel more compelled to join the charity as full members. We currently have 1,872 full members and a further 2,275 newsletter subscribers.
Our newsletter open rate remains high - 35.1% (2024) compared to 34.8% (2023) - with an average open rate 36% over the last 12 months.
This year's annual survey confirmed that our membership is diverse in some respects but not in others:
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13% of members are women of colour; 6% preferred not to say; 81% white British or white European.
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20% are disabled; 9% prefer not to say.
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13% are lesbian/gay/bisexual; 12% prefer not to say.
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35% have caring responsibilities.
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40% struggle with basic finances some or all of the time.
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60% said money holds them back from every day social activities, e.g. cinema, sports classes.
Disappointingly, these figures have not demonstrated any improved accessibility since last year, although as stated above, the demographics of those attending our events are indictive of more diverse engagement.
In the last year, we sought to be more accessible to younger and Black and minoritised women as we have seen the results of this at our events.
Social media
The engagement on social media has been steady, with LinkedIn seeing the biggest increase in new followers and engagement with content.
While engagement on certain posts on Facebook and Instagram can be less than expected, users continue to refer to it (as seen in the profile visits) to check what is happening even if they are not directly engaging with the post.
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New branding
After many months of hard work by the dedicated team at Quiet Moon Consultancy, led by our trustee Hannah Stapley-Parker, we were delighted to unveil our brand refresh in November 2023. Our new logo has been splashed across all our communications and visuals, bringing a modern and accessible look to the charity.
Quiet Moon not only supported us with the branding and visuals, but also gave us a revised and refocused communications and marketing strategy to work with.
Press coverage
We've had over 16 mentions in the local media (online, press, radio, tv) including on the Disabled Women Take Action urging for greater access to toilet in Bristol, the launch of our Value the Caring Economy campaign, International Women's Day and painting the wall in April 2024.
Looking forward
Going into 2024-25, we will continue to campaign with our partners for greater investment in the caring economy.
Financial Review
2023/2024 marks the sixth full financial year that Bristol Women's Voice has operated as a CIO and it has been another year of growth, with the accounts showing a surplus on unrestricted funds. Budgets for expenditure are determined by the income available: when funds for particular activities run out, the activities cease and staffing levels are reduced accordingly. The Director reports regularly to the Board on the status of funding, enabling the trustees to take action when necessary. Therefore the Trustees are satisfied that the charity remains a going concern on an ongoing basis.
Where our money comes from:
Pre-existing funding:
Our main source of income to support our core work is the grant funding received from Bristol City Council's Impact Fund 2. This was awarded in October 2021.
We received a two-year grant from Quartet to support core costs including: the Volunteer and Training Coordinator role and part of the Director post. This came to an end in December 2023.
We received a 12-month grant from the Quartet to fund our Community Hub work; this came to an end in October 2023.
We have a two-year grant from the People's Health Trust to fund our Disabled Women Take Action Project: this came to an end in November 2023.
New funding:
We received an 18-month grant from the People's Postcode Lottery in October 2023. This is unrestricted funding and will be carried through to next year contributing to core costs.
We received a two-year grant from Quartet to continue our Community Hub Work and this started in October 2023.
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We received an 18-month grant to fund a young women's worker one day a week.
We received funding from Rosa towards our campaign work.
We ran a Big Give match funding campaign and were pleased to raise almost £5,000 this way through the generous donations of our supporters.
We received sponsorship for International Women's Day from Hartnell Taylor Cook and Stride Treglown.
We would like to thank our regular donors and those who made one-off donations at International Women's Day or other points throughout the year. Your support is vital and very much appreciated.
We thank Bristol City Council for their donation in kind of Bristol City Hall, secured via Bristol Women's Commission, for International Women's Day event.
Reserves Policy
The trustees have established a policy whereby the unrestricted funds should be at least three months of core running costs, which equates to around £23,000. At the balance sheet date, free reserves amounted to £36,721 (2023 £21,216), of which £23,000 has been set aside as a Contingency Reserve as per the Reserves Policy. A Redundancy Provision fund exists to ensure that the potential redundancy liability for existing staff is provided for, but as the balance sheet date no such provision was necessary (2023 nil); this will be revised on an annual basis.
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Statement of Responsibilities of the Trustees
Trustees are required to prepare financial statements for each financial year, which give a true and fair view of the state of affairs of the charity and the incoming resources and application of resources, including the net income or expenditure, of the charitable company for the year. In preparing those financial statements the trustees are required to:
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Select suitable accounting policies and then apply them consistently;
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Observe the methods and principles in the applicable Charities SORP;
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Make judgements and estimates that are reasonable and prudent;
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State whether applicable accounting standards and statements of recommended practice have been followed, subject to any material departures disclosed and explained in the financial statements; and
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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 which disclose with reasonable accuracy at any time the financial position of the charity and which enable them to ensure that the financial statements comply with the Charities Act 2011 and the applicable Charities (Accounts and Reports) Regulations.
The trustees 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. The trustees confirm that to the best of their knowledge there is no information relevant to the Independent Examination of which the Examiner is unaware.
The trustees also confirm that they have taken all necessary steps to ensure that they themselves are aware of all relevant financial information and that this information has been communicated to the Examiner.
The trustees are members of the charity but this entitles them only to voting rights. The trustees have no beneficial interest in the charity.
Approved by the trustees on 11[th] July 2024 and signed on their behalf by:
………………………………………………………… Carole Johnson, Chair.
………………………………………………………… Clare Meraz
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Independent examiner's report to the trustees of Bristol Women's Voice
I report on the accounts of the Charitable Incorporated Organisation for the year to 31[st] March 2024 which are set out on pages 15 to 22.
Responsibilities and basis of report
As the trustees of the Charity, you are responsible for the preparation of the accounts in accordance with the requirements of the Charities Act 2011 (‘the Act’).
I report in respect of my examination of the Charity’s accounts carried out under section 145 of the 2011 Act and in carrying out my examination I have followed all the applicable directions given by the Charity Commission under section 145(5)(b) of the Act.
Independent examiner’s statement
I have completed my examination. I confirm that no material matters have come to my attention in connection with the examination giving me cause to believe:
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accounting records were not kept in respect of the Charity as required by section 130 of the Act; or
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the accounts do not accord with those records; or
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the accounts do not comply with the applicable requirements concerning the form and content of accounts set out in the Charities (Accounts and Reports) Regulations 2008 other than any requirement that the accounts give a true and fair view which is not a matter considered as part of an independent examination.
I have no concerns and have come across no other matters in connection with the examination to which attention should be drawn in this report in order to enable a proper understanding of the accounts to be reached.
………………............................................................................ 12[th] July 2024
Rupert Taylor
5 Mount Pleasant, Millbrook, Torpoint, Cornwall PL10 1BH
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Bristol Women's Voice Statement of Financial Activities
(incorporating Income & Expenditure Account) Year to 31st March 2024
| Unrestricted | Restricted | Total | Total | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| funds | funds | funds | funds | ||
| 2024 | 2024 | 2024 | 2023 | ||
| [see Note 11] | |||||
| Notes | £ | £ | £ | £ | |
| Income: | |||||
| Donations | [2] | 14,296 | - | 14,296 | 2,131 |
| Charitable activities | [3] | 27,378 | 115,566 | 142,944 | 122,566 |
| ----------------- | ----------------- | ----------------- | ----------------- | ||
| Total Income | 41,674 | 115,566 | 157,240 | 124,697 | |
| Expenditure: | |||||
| Charitable activities | [4] | 26,168 | 108,276 | 134,445 | 117,507 |
| ----------------- | ----------------- | ----------------- | ----------------- | ||
| Total Expenditure | 26,168 | 108,276 | 134,445 | 117,507 | |
| ----------------- | ----------------- | ----------------- | ----------------- | ||
| Net Income / (Expenditure) | 15,505 | 7,290 | 22,795 | 7,190 | |
| Transfers between funds | [8] | - | - | - | - |
| ----------------- | ----------------- | ----------------- | ----------------- | ||
| Net Movement in Funds | 15,505 | 7,290 | 22,795 | 7,190 | |
| Total funds brought forward | 21,216 | 31,931 | 53,147 | 45,957 | |
| ----------------- | ----------------- | ----------------- | ----------------- | ||
| Total funds carried forward | 36,721 | 39,221 | 75,942 | 53,147 |
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Bristol Women's Voice Balance Sheet As at 31st March 2024
| 2024 | 2023 | ||
|---|---|---|---|
| Notes | £ | £ | |
| Fixed Assets | [5] | 5,345 | 528 |
| Current Assets | |||
| Debtors and prepayments | [6] | 2,505 | 2,500 |
| Cash at bank and on hand | 72,743 | 54,610 | |
| Stock for resale | 680 | - | |
| ----------------- | ----------------- | ||
| 75,928 | 57,110 | ||
| Current Liabilities | |||
| Creditors and accruals | [7] | 5,330 | 4,492 |
| ----------------- | ----------------- | ||
| Net Current Assets | 70,598 | 52,619 | |
| ----------------- | ----------------- | ||
| Net Assets | 75,942 | 53,147 | |
| The funds of the charity: | |||
| Unrestricted funds: | |||
| General funds | [8] | 8,377 | 7,688 |
| Designated funds | [8] | 28,345 | 13,528 |
| Restricted funds: | 39,221 | 31,931 | |
| ----------------- | ----------------- | ||
| 75,942 | 53,147 |
Approved by the trustees on 11th July 2024 and signed on their behalf by:
……………………………………………… ……………………………………………… Carole Johnson Clare Meraz Chair Trustee
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Bristol Women's Voice Notes to the Accounts Year to 31st March 2024
[1] Principal Accounting Policies
The principal accounting policies adopted in the preparation of the financial statements are set out below.
(a) Basis of preparation The financial statements have been prepared in accordance with the Accounting and Reporting by Charities: Statement of Recommended Practice applicable to charities preparing their accounts in accordance with the Financial Reporting Standard applicable in the UK and Republic of Ireland (FRS 102) (effective 1 January 2015), as amended by Update Bulletin 1 issued on 2nd February 2016, and the Charities Act 2011. Bristol Women's Voice meets the definition of a public benefit entity under FRS 102. Assets and liabilities are initially recognised at historical cost or transaction value unless otherwise stated in the relevant accounting policy note(s). (b) Preparation of the accounts on a going concern basis The trustees are satisfied that the charity is a going concern on an ongoing basis. Details of how this is ensured are given in the Financial Review on Page 9. (c) Income Income is recognised when the charity has entitlement to the funds, any performance conditions attached to the items of income have been met, it is probable that the income will be received and the amount can be measured reliably. Income from 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 activities is deferred until the criteria for income recognition have been met (see Note 7). (d) Donated services and facilities Donated professional services and facilities are recognised as income when the charity has control over the item, any conditions associated with the donated item have been met, the receipt of economic benefit from the use by the charity is probable and that economic benefit can be measured reliably. The total value of such donations during the year was £5,000 (2023 nil). In accordance with the Charities SORP (FRS 102), the general volunteer time of trustees and volunteers is not recognised with any monetary value. (e) 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. (f) Fund Accounting [i] Unrestricted funds are available for use at the discretion of the trustees in furtherance of the general objectives of the charity.
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[ii] Designated funds are unrestricted funds set aside by the Management Committee for particular purposes. [iii] Restricted funds are subjected to restrictions on their expenditure imposed by the donor or through the terms of an appeal.
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(g) Expenditure 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. As the charity is not registered for VAT, all VAT on expenditure is charged as a cost against the activity for which the expenditure was incurred. Expenditure is classified under the following activity headings: [i] Costs of raising funds comprise the costs associated with attracting voluntary income and the costs of trading for fundraising purposes. There were no such costs during the year in question.
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[ii] Charitable expenditure comprises those costs incurred by the charity in the delivery of its activities and services for its beneficiaries. It includes both costs that can be allocated directly to such activities, and those costs of an indirect nature necessary to support them.
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[iii] Other expenditure represents those items not falling into any other heading. There were no such costs during the year in question.
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(h) Allocation of support costs Support costs are those functions that assist the work of the charity but do not directly undertake charitable activities. These include office costs, finance, personnel, payroll and governance costs which support the charity's charitable activities.
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Bristol Women's Voice Notes to the Accounts (continued) Year to 31st March 2024
(i) Taxation
The charity is exempt from tax on income and gains falling within section 505 of the Taxes Act 1988 or section 252 of the Taxation of Chargeable Gains Act 1992 to the extent that these are applied to its charitable objects. (j) Fixed Assets Tangible fixed assets are written off over the expected useful life of the asset, at 33% per annum on the straight line method. Individual items costing less than £500 are not treated as fixed assets. (k) Debtors
Trade and other debtors are recognised at the settlement amount due after any trade discount offered.
(l) Cash at bank and in hand Cash at bank and cash in hand includes cash and short term highly liquid investments with a short maturity of three months or less from the date of acquisition or opening of the account.
- (m) Creditors
Creditors 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 are normally recognised at their settlement amount after allowing for any trade discounts due.
| [2] | 2024 2024 2024 Unrestricted Restricted Total Income from donations £ £ £ General donations 6,566 - 6,566 Corporate donations 2,730 - 2,730 Gifts in kind 5,000 - 5,000 --------------- --------------- --------------- 14,296 - 14,296 |
2023 2023 2023 Unrestricted Restricted Total £ £ £ 1,831 300 2,131 - - - - - - --------------- --------------- --------------- 1,831 300 2,131 |
|---|---|---|
Gifts in kind income represents the free use of accommodation at City Hall provided by Bristol City Council for the International Women's Day celebrations.
| [3] | 2024 2024 2024 Income from charitable activities Unrestricted Restricted Total £ £ £ Grants: Bristol City Council Impact Fund - 61,596 61,596 Community Resilience Fund - 10,174 10,174 Quartet - 25,000 25,000 Internships - 1,459 1,459 People's Health Trust - 8,000 8,000 National Lottery Awards for all - - - Bristol City Council small grant - 2,459 2,459 People's Postcode Lottery 22,000 - 22,000 Rosa Foundation - 6,879 6,879 Other grants - - - --------------- --------------- --------------- Total grants 22,000 115,566 137,566 Fees income 5,275 - 5,275 Sales of merchandise 103 - 103 --------------- --------------- --------------- Total income from charitable activities 27,378 115,566 142,944 |
2023 2023 2023 Unrestricted Restricted Total £ £ £ - 45,106 45,106 - 44,800 44,800 - 1,260 1,260 - 10,000 10,000 - 10,000 10,000 - - - - - - - - - 6,900 3,000 9,900 --------------- --------------- --------------- 6,900 114,166 121,066 1,500 - 1,500 - - - --------------- --------------- --------------- 8,400 114,166 122,566 |
|---|---|---|
The charity received government grants totalling £75,687 during the year (2023 £48,306). These were from Bristol City Council to support charitable activities, and from the University of Bristol to fund an internship. There are no unfulfilled conditions or contingencies attaching to these grants in 2023-24.
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Bristol Women's Voice Notes to the Accounts (continued) Year to 31st March 2024
| [4] | Analysis of expenditure on charitable activities Total Total 2024 2023 £ £ Direct costs: Salaries including pension & NI 64,900 61,903 User engagement and access costs 1,051 464 Activity costs 22,694 17,185 Printing & publicity 2,061 1,803 Volunteers' expenses 1,004 1,673 Costs of merchandise 130 - --------------- --------------- 91,840 83,028 Support costs: Salaries including pension & NI 14,327 14,308 Payroll service 476 447 Staff travel 596 1,606 Recruitment 236 189 Staff accessibility costs 2,733 3,388 Staff training 359 497 Stationery and postage 516 49 Telephone 217 480 Insurance 663 645 Rent, rates, heat & light 6,048 3,156 Website & IT costs 10,495 4,229 Legal and professional fees - 1,315 Memberships and subscriptions 1,719 1,501 Accountancy 656 312 Fee for independent examination 294 252 Bank charges 69 24 Depreciation 3,200 2,080 Sundry expenses - 2 --------------- --------------- Total Support Costs 42,604 34,480 --------------- --------------- Total Expenditure 134,445 117,507 |
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Support costs have not been apportioned as the charity only undertook one kind of activity during the year.
| [5] | 2024 2023 Tangible Fixed Assets Equipment Equipment Cost £ £ Opening balance 6,240 6,240 Additions during the year 8,017 - --------------- --------------- 14,257 6,240 Depreciation Opening balance 5,712 3,632 Charge for the year 3,200 2,080 --------------- --------------- 8,912 5,712 --------------- --------------- Net Book Value at 31/03/24: 5,345 528 |
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[19]
Bristol Women's Voice Notes to the Accounts (continued) Year to 31st March 2024
| [6] [7] [8] |
Debtors and prepayments 2024 2023 £ £ Sundry debtors 2,267 2,500 Prepayments 237 - --------------- --------------- 2,505 2,500 Creditors 2024 2023 Amounts due within 12 months: £ £ Trade creditors 2,497 490 Accruals 782 420 PAYE and National Insurance 723 2,112 Other creditors 1,328 1,470 --------------- --------------- 5,330 4,492 Movements in funds Balance at Transfers Balance at [for previous year, see Note 11] 31/03/2023 Income Expenditure between 31/03/2024 funds Restricted Funds: Bristol City Council Impact Fund - 61,596 (50,985) - 10,611 Internships - 1,459 (1,459) - - People's Health Trust 2,790 8,000 (10,790) - Quartet capacity building 12,315 - (12,315) - - International Women's Day 979 - (979) - - Quartet Community Hub 15,848 25,000 (18,825) - 22,023 BCC Impact Fund small grant - 2,459 (1,119) - 1,340 BCC Community Resilience Fund - 10,174 (10,174) - - Rosa Fund - 6,879 (1,631) - 5,248 --------------- --------------- --------------- --------------- --------------- Total Restricted Funds: 31,931 115,566 (108,276) - 39,221 Unrestricted Funds: Designated Funds: Contingency Reserve 13,000 - - 10,000 23,000 Fixed asset reserve 528 - - 4,817 5,345 --------------- --------------- --------------- --------------- --------------- Total Designated Funds: 13,528 - - 14,817 28,345 General Funds 7,688 41,674 (26,168) (14,817) 8,377 --------------- --------------- --------------- --------------- --------------- Total Unrestricted Funds: 21,216 41,674 (26,168) - 36,721 --------------- --------------- --------------- --------------- --------------- Total Funds: 53,147 157,240 (134,445) - 75,942 |
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Purposes of funds:
The Bristol CC Impact Fund supports the charity's work promoting the social inclusion of women. The internships funding covered the salary of an intern.
The People's Health Trust grant funds the Disabled Women Take Action project to build a community of disabled women to influence practical and policy changes across Bristol.
The Quartet capacity building grant funds capacity and volunteering support for Bristol's women's sector. The International Women's Day fund supports activities and celebrations of International Women's Day. The Quartet Community Hub fund supports a virtual hub for women and workers that support women.
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Bristol Women's Voice Notes to the Accounts (continued) Year to 31st March 2024
[8] Movements in funds (continued)
The BCC Impact Fund small grant funds a programme to help local groups organise and build strong organisations.
The Rosa Fund grant supports the charity's Caring Economy campaign to lobby government bodies to value and support carers and their contribution to society and the economy.
The Contingency Fund is to provide for running costs in the event of loss of income, in line with the charity's Reserves Policy.
The Fixed Asset Reserve provides for future depreciation on the charity's tangible assets.
[9] Payments to trustees and related party transactions
No trustees received remuneration during the year.
There were no expenses payments to trustees during the year (2023 nil). There were no other related party transactions during the year.
| [10] | Staff costs 2024 2023 £ £ Salaries 78,033 75,094 Employer's pension 1,194 1,117 --------------- --------------- 79,227 76,210 |
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The average number of employees during the year was 3 (2023 5), and the full time equivalent 1.5 (2023 2.5). No employee earned over £60,000 per annum during the year.
The key management personnel of the charity during the year comprised the trustees and the Director, Katy Taylor.
The total employee benefits paid to the key management personnel during the year was £28,000 (2023 £28,615), this being the salary and employer pension of the Director.
[11] Previous year in detail
| Statement of financial activities | Unrestricted | Restricted | Total | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| funds | funds | funds | ||
| 2023 | 2023 | 2023 | ||
| Notes | £ | £ | £ | |
| Income: | ||||
| Donations | [2] | 1,831 | 300 | 2,131 |
| Charitable activities | [3] | 8,400 | 114,166 | 122,566 |
| --------------- | --------------- | --------------- | ||
| Total Income | 10,231 | 114,466 | 124,697 | |
| Expenditure: | ||||
| Charitable activities | [4] | 9,337 | 108,170 | 117,507 |
| --------------- | --------------- | --------------- | ||
| Total Expenditure | 9,337 | 108,170 | 117,507 | |
| --------------- | --------------- | --------------- | ||
| Net Income / (Expenditure) | 893 | 6,296 | 7,190 | |
| Transfers between funds | [8] | (958) | 958 | - |
| --------------- | --------------- | --------------- | ||
| Net Movement in Funds | (64) | 7,254 | 7,190 | |
| Total funds brought forward | 21,280 | 24,677 | 45,957 | |
| --------------- | --------------- | --------------- | ||
| Total funds carried forward | 21,216 | 31,931 | 53,147 |
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Bristol Women's Voice Notes to the Accounts (continued) Year to 31st March 2024
[11] Previous year in detail (continued)
| Movements in funds 2022-23 | Balance at | Transfers | Balance at | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 31/03/2022 | Income | Expenditure | between | 31/03/2023 | |
| Restricted Funds: | funds | ||||
| Bristol City Council Impact Fund | - | 45,106 | (46,028) | 922 | - |
| Internships | - | 1,260 | (1,296) | 36 | - |
| People's Health Trust | 11,080 | 10,000 | (18,291) | - | 2,790 |
| Quartet capacity building | 13,597 | 20,000 | (21,282) | - | 12,315 |
| International Women's Day | - | 13,300 | (12,321) | - | 979 |
| Quartet Community Hub | - | 24,800 | (8,952) | - | 15,848 |
| --------------- | --------------- | --------------- | --------------- | --------------- | |
| Total Restricted Funds: | 24,677 | 114,466 | (108,170) | 958 | 31,931 |
| Unrestricted Funds: | |||||
| Designated Funds: | |||||
| Contingency Reserve | 13,000 | - | - | - | 13,000 |
| Fixed asset reserve | 2,608 | - | - | (2,080) | 528 |
| --------------- | --------------- | --------------- | --------------- | --------------- | |
| Total Designated Funds: | 15,608 | - | - | (2,080) | 13,528 |
| General Funds | 5,672 | 10,231 | (9,337) | 1,122 | 7,688 |
| --------------- | --------------- | --------------- | --------------- | --------------- | |
| Total Unrestricted Funds: | 21,280 | 10,231 | (9,337) | (958) | 21,216 |
| --------------- | --------------- | --------------- | --------------- | --------------- | |
| Total Funds: | 45,957 | 124,697 | (117,507) | - | 53,147 |
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