## **The John Aves Education Project (JAEP)** 

Charity Number 1170414 

## TRUSTEES ANNUAL REPORT 2023/24 

(1 April 2023 to 31 March 2024) 

JAEP has been operational since 2007. JAEP has been an independent charity since the end of November 2016.  The Trustees’ annual report outlines progress made in respect to compliance and financial control, philosophy and working practices, as well as a progress update on numbers of students supported and our current financial position. 

## The John Aves Education Project team 

JAEP’s policy has always been to enrol Trustees and committee members with relevant experience and skills to fulfil the objects of the JAEP.  This is to identify  and  monitor  selection  of  suitable  candidates  from  the  Dheisheh Refugee  Camp  in  Palestine  as  well  as  to  manage  efficiently  and  with compliance the administration of the charity. 

JAEP currently has four Trustees and two committee members who join in the Board  of Trustees meetings and  regularly liaise ~~s~~ with  the  Trustees.  The experience, skills and interest of the team are wide and all are mentioned here: 

## Trustees: 

_Anne Aves_ is JAEP’s Chair and Treasurer. Anne is the widow of John, in whose memory JAEP was founded. Anne worked at City College Norwich from 1984 until her retirement in 2017. Her roles have included teaching, Head of Department and managing regional projects to re-engage vulnerable young people. Anne has returned to Dheisheh Camp, Al Quds and Bethlehem universities more than ten times. 

_Liz Magem_ is the secretary for JAEP’s committee. Liz has been involved in education for over 30 years. Her roles have included Head of Department at City College Norwich, a training consultant for Aviva, a principal lecturer for QA, the UK's leading learning company and 10 years as a freelancer trainer. Liz and Anne Aves have been friends for over 40 years, and through that 

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friendship Liz came to know John.  Liz has accompanied Anne on her visits to Dheisheh Camp in 2018, 2020 and 2023. 

_Nick  Taylor_ is  a  retired  local  businessman  with  solid  financial  and management skills.  His companies won many local and national business awards and he brings a discipline and focus to the charity. 

_Ben  Aves_ is  a  son  of  John  and  Anne. Ben  is  Director  –  Global Communications Strategy at The LEGO group the UK base is in London. 

## Committee members 

_Edmund Aves_ is a son of John and Anne. Edmund works as a freelance photographer. 

_Samia  Tabari_ is  a  social  development  expert  with  a  focus  on  refugee programmes,  in  the  Middle  East.  She  retains  professional  and  personal connections to the Middle East and speaks Arabic. Samia leads on JAEP’s scholarship process. She is based in the UK. 

## Compliance 

We  have  a  Trust  Deed  that fully  complies with  the  requirements of the Charities  Commission.  We  have  further  controls  beyond  our  statutory obligations which are outlined in our  Procedures and Policies  documents. Here we outline some of our key working procedures that enable full and accountable management of our charity. 

- We only commit to the funding of a student if we have sufficient funds (plus a reserve) to finance the entire duration of their course. 

- **The  Reserve.** We  quantify  the  total  financial  commitment  to  our students for their entire course. To this figure we add 10% and a further £1,000.  This becomes our reserve and no expenditure can dip into this amount. 

- Risk Register. This is regularly updated to ensure that risk is identified, measured  and  minimised.  If  weaknesses  are  identified  then  the Procedures and Rules are amended to mitigate any identified risk. 

- Data  Protection.  We  take  our responsibilities seriously and  do  not share any individual’s information with any other organisation except with Inland Revenue in respect to claiming Gift Aid and according to our data protection. JAEP takes all reasonable precautions to preserve the integrity of personal data and uses personal data in accordance with its Privacy Policy. 

- Safeguarding Policy. Informed by attendance at a Charity Commission International Engagement Team webinar our safeguarding policy and procedures have been updated and embedded in our procedures and policies. 

Financial control & Report 

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## Changes to income. 

During the 2023/24 financial year our income increased by 58%. This was for the following reasons: 

- £2492 Bishop of Norwich Open Gardens in May 2023. 

- £6488 Mannington Open House and Gardens September 2023 run jointly with The Matthew Project. 

- £4538 5 church services and 11 talks to mark the 20[th] anniversary of John’s death in January 2004 and to celebrate the achievements of JAEP. 

- All raised the awareness and importance of the work of JAEP. Regular gift  aid  increased  on  the  previous  year  by  £1579.  From  15  new standing orders and 10 increased standing orders. 

- Income from card sales was a new high, with an increase of more than £1000 on the previous year. This was because greetings cards sold well at events. 

- Support for the work of JAEP increased after 07/10/23 which had a significant impact for our students and their families. 

- Following a suggestion from JAEP independent examiner in August 2023, the 2023-2024 accounts record fund raising expenditure as a separate item, thereby enabling us to calculate the effectiveness of the different events. Mannington, an event run jointly incurred the highest costs (£3797), as we shared the profits 50/50. Costs for the Bishop Open Gardens were £533.35. The 20[th] Anniversary events incurred the lowest costs (£220). 

The changing political, economic, and social situation for students and impact on expenditure. 

Our partners at both universities and Ibdaa Community Centre in Dheisheh have recommended that JAEP does not fund 100% of student tuition fees, to ensure that students do not rely on one source of funding. The remaining fees are paid either by the families or a government loan. Since the pandemic and then again by plummeting family incomes after 07/10/23 because there are no pilgrims, or tourists and all work in Israel is prohibited, families have struggled to pay their contribution to the fees. Students cannot graduate until the fees have  been  paid.  Our  partners  at  both  universities  update  us  with  the outstanding  fees  for  each  student.  JAEP  includes  these  amounts  in  our calculations / commitments before offering scholarships to new students. 

## Running of accounts. 

As in the previous year student grants were paid using some of our reserves and these were reduced by £13k.  This was anticipated and reflects the roll out of funding from the very generous gifts received in 2019 and 2020. The donor requested that the money was used to provide more scholarships and not invested. 

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The  treasurer  updates  the  ledgers  once  every  month  onto  an  Excel spreadsheet. After the bank reconciliation a copy of the account spreadsheets and bank statement is emailed to each of the Trustees to ensure  that  there  is  transparency  but  also  to  ensure  that  back-ups  are available off site, in addition to regular on-site procedures. 

At the year end we are holding £98688 in our bank accounts. £48619 is the amount already committed for grants, including reserve, this leaves us with £50,069 to fund new students. 

The accounts are independently verified, and a letter of compliance issued annually. 

## Selection and monitoring of students 

To date, JAEP has funded eighty young people to achieve an undergraduate degree. 

At Al Quds University (AQU) selection of new students is carried out in collaboration with the Financial Aid Department (FAD) at the University.  Al Quds University remains JAEP’s main partner.  JAEP reviews its scholarship guidance notes and application form with each university on an annual basis. The FAD uploads JAEP’s notes and form on the university’s website as part of  the  annual  call  for  JAEP’s  scholarship  applications.  At  Bethlehem University  (BU)  the  Student  Finance  Manager  promotes  the  project  to students from Dheisheh in need of financial aid. 

JAEP Trustees and members review the scholarship applications and any supporting documents and then interview shortlisted candidates via Zoom.  In 2023/24, four new AQU scholarships were given. The applications from BU were received after the closing date but JAEP accepted two new BU students that year (without interview). This academic year this was further compounded by  the  situation  after  07/10/2023  when  all  universities  were  closed,  and learning returned online. 

In total, JAEP supported 23 students during the academic year 2023/24 (6 new and 17 continuing students).  Eighteen students were studying at AQU and the remaining five were at BU. 

The  JAEP  team  continues  to  ensure  and  provide  evidence  that  we  are selecting young people who are academically able to benefit from and in need of our financial support. We further request transcripts of student results at the end of each academic year. Any student who either had poor results or did not complete the year would be contacted by JAEP for further assessment. 

Unfortunately,  no  monitoring  visit  has  been  possible  this  academic  year because of the security situation in the region. 

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Following 07/10/2023 all checkpoints in the West Bank were closed, students were unable to travel to university, learning returned online.  The academic year has been very challenging for students and staff. 

## JAEP management of the project 

Trustee meetings and sub meetings throughout 2023/2024 were all in person, with the option of trustees joining via zoom.  Members also have regular e- communications. JAEP does not have an office or paid staff members. 

The Chair and Secretary attended in person / webinar Charity Commissioners International Engagement Team training events. These included: 

- 20 July (in person): Working Overseas: Risks, Responsibilities, and Legal Duties 

- 17 October (webinar): Safeguarding expectations in an international context. 

- 21 March (webinar): Charities and Social media. 

## Outreach and success with grant applications 

We  have continued to  receive  support from Unipal. In 2023/2024  Unipal funded three JAEP students Bethlehem University studying nursing (2) and midwifery (1). Unipal have committed to fund the students for the remaining years of their course. 

Over 100 attended the Bishop of Norwich Open Gardens on 21 May. 

A record number of over 1200 attended the Mannington Hall and Gardens Charity Day on Sunday 3 September. 

The five church services and eleven events to mark the 20[th] anniversary of the death of John Aves and celebrate the achievements of JAEP exceeded all expectations, with approximately 1000 attending. 

JAEP produced Newsletters in April, November, and January to over 130 supporters, the hit rate remains high at over 80%. 

## The Future 

JAEP has applied for funding to help pay the outstanding family share of student tuition fees from: 

Quaker Peace Social Witness (QPSW) £4000 one off grant World Day of Prayer £2000 one off grant 

We look forward to the time peace returns to the area and we can resume our regular monitoring visits. 

Anne Aves (Trustee) 

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Liz Magem (Trustee) 

Nick Taylor (Trustee) 

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## **JOHN AVES EDUCATION PROJECT YEAR END 31st March, 2024** 

|INCOME||**2023/24**|
|---|---|---|
|Regular Gift Aid Donations||8,159|
|One-off Gift Aids||4,074|
|Tax reclaim Gift Aid||2,931|
|Other Donations||14,471|
|Fund Raising||12,947|
|St. Eds printing refund||270|
|Bank Interest / other||1,197|
|Cmas Cards and other sales||4,698|
||**£**|48,747|
|EXPENDITURE||**2023/24**|
|Bank Charges||0|
|Educational Grants||53,938|
|Administration Expenses||55|
|Fund raising||5,616|
|Foreign Travel Expenses||0|
|Other Costs squarespace & google||379|
|Cmas /greeting cards||2,658|
||**£**|62,646|



## **STATEMENT of FUNDS** 

|||**2023/24**|
|---|---|---|
||**£**|**£**|
|Balance at beginning of year|||
|Current & Business|112,589||
|||112,589|
|Add Surplus (loss) for year|||
|Income|48,747||
|Expenditure|62,646|-13,899|
||**£**|98,690|
|Represented by|||
|Current Account|**£**|1,351|
|Saving Account|**£**|97,337|
||**£**|98,688|





## **2022/23** 

||6,580|
|---|---|
||5,186|
||2,223|
||10,929|
||253|
||3,334|
|**£**|28,505|



## **2022/23** 

||0|
|---|---|
||67,501|
||55|
||2,719|
||3,182|
|**£**|73,457|



||**2022/23**|
|---|---|
|**£**|**£**|
|157,541||
||157,541|
|28,505||
|73,457|-44,952|
|**£**|112,589|





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