2021-11-28-accounts - Spark the Noise

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Girls Rock London (Registered charity, number 1170457) Financial statements for the year ended 28 November 2021

Page	Contents
2 - 8	nnual report Trustees’ a
9	Independent e xaminer’s	report
10	Receipts & payments account
11	Statement of assets & liabilities
12 - 13	Notes to the accounts

Girls Rock London annual report for the year ended 28 November 2021

Full name Girls Rock London

Organisation type Charitable incorporated organisation

Registered charity number 1170457

Principal address

27 Speranza Street, London SE18 1NX

Trustees

Daisy Swift, Chair Maria Turley, Secretary Roxanne Horton Lorna Gemmell Lowell Black Grace Veenman, from 07/12/2021 Jyotsna Ram, from 07/12/2021

Independent examiner

Units 1 & 2 North West, 41 Talbot Street, Nottingham, NG1 5GL

Governance and management

The CIO Foundation is operated under the rules of its constitution adopted 29[th] November 2016.

Objectives and activities

(1) To promote equality and diversity for the public benefit in particular for the benefit of women and girls who are participating or working in music creation and performance primarily in London but also in the rest of England by:

(a) the elimination of discrimination on the grounds of gender; and by
(b) advancing education and raising awareness of gender equality.

(2) To promote the art of music and to educate in the art of music for the public benefit in particular, but not exclusively, through the provision of (or supporting the provision of) music education activities for girls and women primarily in London but also in the rest of England, in order to increase the participation of women and girls in music creation and performance, and to build their confidence, self-esteem and musical abilities.

Summary of the main activities undertaken for the public benefit

Our programmes are open to members of the public and have no entry criteria; they are aimed at people who have no previous experience of music-making. Members of the public benefit from participating in our programmes by developing musical, social and personal skills, as well as through building new

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friendships and relationships and learning about careers and other pathways available in the music industry.

Audiences, both online and in-person, benefit from our programmes by being able to attend our public concerts at which they enjoy music performed and created by people currently under-represented in music-making and performance.

Activities include:

Participatory music workshops in-person and online; these are aimed at young and adult women, trans people, and non-binary people, with a particular emphasis on those with limited experience of and/or who face additional barriers to participating in music-making.
Distribution of resources to promote music-making and creativity, with a focus on well-being, and an emphasis on the creation of resources that can be used by people with limited or no access to privacy, the internet or instruments. - Training and support for volunteers, staff and freelancers in order to build skills, confidence and networks.
Advocating for gender equality in music and sharing our practice through conferences, training and the media.

Public benefit statement

The Trustees confirm that they have complied with the duty in section 17 of the Charities Act 2011 to have due regard to the Charity Commission's general guidance on public benefit, 'Charities and Public Benefit'.

Summary of the main achievements during the period

In 2020/21 we delivered a mixture of in-person and online programmes for adults and young people.

Connect and Create

With support from the Arts Council, we delivered a six-week online music production and songwriting programme for 18 adult women, trans people and non-binary people in April and May 2021. This project was delivered in place of our original plans to run a 3.5-day music camp and follow-up showcase in 2020, which was not possible because of the pandemic. Despite having to change the way we delivered the programme, our aims remained very similar to the camp: to support women, trans and nontechnical music production skills, improve their confidence, and foster creative collaboration. We also aimed to test new approaches: online delivery, music production, and providing free places to frontline workers as a way of strengthening our relationships in the community, and promoting the use of our methods and approach in contexts outside of Girls Rock London.

During the course, participants:

learned how to create beats, bass lines and melodies using Soundtrap, a digital audio workstation (DAW)

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attended online workshops and tutorials in music production, vocals, lyricwriting, rapping, collecting and using samples, the history of Hackney, and alternative realities/counter-narratives in music
watched online performances and interacted in Q&As with established women, trans and non-binary artists producing electronic music
attended an in-
collaborated with other participants to produce original music which was shared at an online gig at the end of the course
attended online tech surgeries, group sessions with a band coach, and 1:1 sessions.

Participants were provided with a zoom microphone to record vocals and sounds, headphones, and those who needed it were also provided with a laptop for the duration of the course. After the programme, participants had the opportunity to attend a follow-up Ableton workshop to support the transition to a more advanced DAW, and a few months later, a community-organised online event to share worksin-progress.

Feedback was incredibly positive, with participants commenting on the quality of delivery, attention to detail and planning, range of sessions and balance of technical and creative content. They also mentioned the safe and supportive atmosphere, the energy of our course leaders, how much they valued the space for creative selfdiscovery, gaining a new perspective on what it means to be musical, and developing technical skills which unlocked creative self-expression.

100% of participants said they gained new creative and musical skills, have musical ambitions for the future, now feel more able to express themselves creatively, feel more confident to create with others collaboratively, and feel more confident in general about doing new things.

We recruited five people working in frontline roles with young people and adults locally in school, mental health, and charity settings. 45% of participants were people of colour, 30% had a health condition or disability, 18% were not working at the time of the programme, and participants included those who identified as a carer, a mix of genders and sexualities, and working class.

Despite the uncertainty caused by the pandemic, the opportunity that it afforded us to design and deliver a completely new programme using online and digital platforms has been a valuable one, enabling us to learn new skills, test new approaches and develop as an organisation.

non-judgemental space to create

music with such a diverse, talented and inspiring community is rare. I learnt so much from the course practically and took away so much emotionally. They should be

It's a trauma informed approach to music making, that creates a community and leaves

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you feeling inspired to make music. Once you've done a programme with GRL you

nurturing and inspiring environment and helped me harness my creativity in ways I didn't think were possible. All this, plus the fact I made amazing friends along the

Youth Programme

In 2020/21 we were delighted to be able to work in person with young people again. Because of ongoing restrictions around Covid and in order to support a reduction in community transmission, we reduced the numbers of young people we worked with in person and expanded our postal Musical Care Package Programme.

We delivered the following activities and outputs:

Summer youth camp

6-day youth music camp for 14 young women, trans and non-binary youth aged 1116. At the camp participants:

attended instrument tuition classes where they learnt the basics of an instrument (synthesiser, drumpad or bass guitar) or new skills on one they already played
formed a band, and with the support of a band coach wrote an original song
participated in workshops on lyric-writing, rapping, sampling, identity, musical utopias, and T-shirt/poster design
attended lunchtime performances/Q&As from visiting artists and a panel of music industry professionals who were women, trans and non-binary people currently active in the industry
performed the song they had written live at a concert attended by friends, family and community members.

With funding from Youth Music we:

delivered a Youth Volunteer Programme, where three GRL alumni aged 1618 were recruited into a new role - Youth Volunteers - who took part in supported volunteering placements at camp. The youth volunteers created a film featuring young people attending the camp, participated in a social media open mic, and accompanied younger participants at the open mic.
supported a young adult in a six month paid work placement; the aim of the Trainee Community Music Leader role was to support a young adult to develop community music facilitation skills, as well as to learn about the organisational side of our work.

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Follow-up support for young people: Our Trainee Community Music Leader

led an open mic event for young people at which participants from all previous camps were invited to attend and perform music
created a web resource for participants sharing opportunities for young people to support them to access further opportunities https://www.girlsrocklondon.com/nextsteps/
carried out 1-1 work with camp participants after camp to support them to take the next steps in their musicmaking; this led to a variety of outcomes including young people signing up to new courses, instrument lessons and accessing donated musical equipment.

Work with schools

Despite not being able to progress planned schools programming as a result of the pandemic, we developed a full day of activities online for 125 young people which a team of GRL facilitators and visiting artists delivered with Plashet School in February 2021.

Musical Care Package Programme

As we had to reduce the number of young people we worked with in person because of ongoing concerns around Covid transmission, we decided to once again distribute the Musical Care Packages we had developed during the first year of the pandemic, doubling the number of young people we reached. We began this project in 2020/21, with a view to distributing the packs during the Christmas holidays in 2021 (after the end of this financial year).

Impact of youth programming

Our evaluation shows that our youth programme had a significant impact on friendships, and enabled them to develop new skills. Almost 100% of participants reported increased self-esteem and confidence (personally and musically); they also told us they had made new friends, were inspired to keep making music, and had improved their musical skills. Parents/carers reported improved wellbeing/mood, greater confidence, new passion for music, re-engagement with school and new ideas for career/study prospects:

-esteem and motivation really low...GRL showed [them] that

"You gave them a community to feel less different."

agency, community and collective joy, love and care." After the camp, young people told us:

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"It was amazing, thank you so much!"
"I want to come back next time!
"I want to continue writing songs with others."

Fundraising and staffing

We had a number of fundraising successes this year including a public matchfunding campaign run with the support of The Childhood Trust and The Big Give, which raised a total of £14,653.98 (including Gift Aid) during seven days in June. We also fundraised successfully for funds from the London Community Response Fund to pay for an Interim Co-Director to support with fundraising and development, who began working with the organisation in October 2021.

Advocacy

In March 2021 our CEO, Geraldine Smith, presented a 'provocation' about Girls Rock London's practice at the Sound Connections Conference to an audience of several hundred music professionals.

Girls Rock London has a written Reserves Policy, reviewed annually, which ensures a reserves fund is available in order to:

cover unforeseen day to day operational costs;
fund short-term deficits in a cash budget;
fund planned commitments;

meet our contracted financial obligations in the event that the charity is wound up.

Girls Rock London's reserve fund helps to reduce the risks associated with unplanned closure for beneficiaries, funders, staff, customers and stakeholders. It will be sufficient to maintain of essential services for a period of three months in the event of unplanned closure.

At the end of the 2020/21 financial year, we added £3,000 to our reserves, meaning that we held a total of £18,112 in reserves. We are currently on target to reach our goal of holding reserves to support two full time staff by the end of 2022.

Thankyou

We would like to thank all of the generous individuals who have donated to Girls Rock London, as well the following grant-making bodies, without whom we could not do our work, for their valued support:

Amplify London - a partnership between London Music Fund and YouTube Music Arts Council England

Clarion Futures The Childhood Trust London Community Response Fund London Catalyst

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Samuel Gardner Memorial Trust St James' Place Charitable Foundation Youth Music

We would also like to thank the following organisations for continuing to support our work through sponsorship:

Marshall Roland Focusrite/Novation Gear4Music

Risks

At the end of this financial year, we are seeing increased competition for funds from trusts and foundations, and a reduction in individual donations after a period where donations were comparatively high. We will face these risks with strong financial controls, diversifying our income streams and increasing our fundraising capacity.

Signed on

22/09/22 Signed ______ Date _ Daisy Swift, Trustee

Independent e xaminer’s report to the trustees of Girls Rock London for the year ended 28 November 2021

I report to the trustees on my examination of the accounts of Girls Rock London (the charity) for the year ended 28 November 2021.

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’). | 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.

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

accounting records were not kept in respect of the charity as required by section 130 of the Act; or
the accounts do not accord with those records.

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

Signed ____ Date _______22/09/2022 Jo hn O'Briga MSF,FCCA, FCIE Employee of Community Accounting Plus

Girls Rock London Receipts & payments account for the year ended 28 November 2021

2020 Total Unrestricted Funds Funds £ Note £ Receipts 43547 Grants & donations 2 22226 22074 Individual giving 1720 316 Corporate giving 1100 3237 Other donations & fundraising 7905 2817 Gift aid 3592 852 Sales 287 950 Programme & service fees 1895 73793 Total receipts 38725 Payments 13516 Wages, NI & pension 25550 12225 Contractor costs 14291 570 Venue & room hire 400 1469 Office costs 11 666 Insurance 438 1070 Equipment and materials - - DBS checks - - Website & IT costs 79 - Fundraising costs 100 - Bank charges 459 - Communications 37 - Accessibility costs 27 225 Training and conferences 381 60 Transport 20 322 Food and refreshments 32 629 Marketing - 120 Membership - 988 Legal and compliance 1558 200 Miscellaneous 4 32060 Total payments 43387 41733 Net receipts/(payments) (4662) 12112 Cash funds at start of this period 33303 53845 Cash funds at end of this period 28641	Restricted Funds £ 27050 7521 - 1229 - - 4560 40360 14864 34614 1200 2414 438 1347 533 109 - - 312 - 693 651 676 - 239 - 134 58224 (17864) 20542 2678	*2021* Total Funds £ 49276 9241 1100 9134 3592 287 6455 79085 40414 48905 1600 2425 876 1347 533 188 100 459 349 27 1074 671 708 - 239 1558 138 101611 (22526) 53845 31319

Girls Rock London Statement of assets and liabilities at 28 November 2021

These financial statements are accepted on behalf of the charity by:

Signed _____ Dated _____22/09/22 o[a] Daisy Swift, Trustee

Girls Rock London Notes to the accounts for the year ended 28 November 2021

1. Receipts & payments accounts

Receipts and payments accounts contain a summary of money received and money spent during the period and a list of assets and liabilities at the end of the period. Usually, cash received and cash spent will include transactions through bank accounts and cash in hand.

2. Grants & donations

City Bridge Trust Youth Music Clarion Futures The Childhood Trust St James's Place Charitable Foundation Amplify London London Catalyst Arts Council The Horseshoe Trust BDB Pitmans Charitable Trust	Unrestricted £ 20878 - - - - - - 848 - 500 22226	Restricted £ - 15000 4000 3000 2000 1800 1000 - 250 - 27050	Total £ 20878 15000 4000 3000 2000 1800 1000 848 250 500 49276

3. Debtors

Grants receivable	£ 2700
	2700

4. Creditors

Independent examination HMRC Pensions Sundry creditors	£ 678 816 314 5229
	7037

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5. Funds analysis

Restricted funds Adult Programming Youth Programming Youth Voice Core Unrestricted funds General	Opening balance £ 12027 4146 - 4369 20542 33303 33303	Receipts (Payments) £ £ 3260 (16787) 22100 (25046) 15000 (12022) - (4369) 40360 (58224) 38725 (43387) 38725 (43387)	Closing balance £ (1500) 1200 2978 - 2678 28641 28641

The Adult Programming fund provides support, activities and events including music camps for adults.

The Youth Programming fund provides support, activities and events including music camps for the local youth.

Youth Voice is a specific programme to deliver a Youth Voice Programme. The Core fund contributes to additional staffing and running costs.

Trustees received no expenses, remuneration or benefits in this period.

7. Related party transactions

There were no related party transactions during the year.

8. Glossary of terms

Debtors: These are amounts owed to the charity, but not received during the accounting period.

Creditors: These are amounts owed by the charity, but not paid during the accounting period.

Restricted funds: These are funds given to the charity, subject to specific restrictions set by the donor, but still within the general objects of the charity.