FND Dimensions – AGM
Date 24[th] September @ 6.10pm
Venue – via Zoom
Reporting Year – April 1[st] 2023 – March 31[st] 2024
Trustees Committee
Jayne Bratton – Chair (JB) Stephanie-Roxanne Blanco – Vice Chair (SRB) Leigh-Ann Wade - Treasurer (LAW) Sarah Webster - Secretary (SaW) Dr Lynda Shaw – Trustee (DLS) Faith Thornton – Trustee (FT) Lolita Dragonsmith - Trustee (LD) Jeanett Clarke - Trustee (JC) Helen Whittle – Trustee (HW)
Co-opted Steve Webster – Founder/CEO (SW) Jodie Hanley (JH) Patrick Doherty (PD)
Report on Activity – (SW)
FND Dimensions has continued to grow it’s activity this year, and this has also been mirrored with further growth in service users of our groups, now around 2500, around a 20% rise on last year with increased geographical spread. Outside interest through things like X have gone from 1500 followers to 1700 and website enquiries have increased. Such data confirms we are continuing to attract people to the charity and there is a greater need to deliver against our charitable objectives.
(1) To promote and protect the physical and mental health of sufferers of FND (Functional Neurological Disorder) through the provision of support, information and practical advice.
(2) To advance the education of the general public in all areas relating to FND.
Board of Trustees
The new trustees have been instrumental in helping to develop key areas of FND Dimensions activity in what has been a busy year, but also one which has seen quite a lot of illness within the board team. Fortunately, the depth of board involvement, alongside that of our increased volunteers, has meant that although things have slowed up a couple of times, the day-to-day activity has been maintained and built on.
Group Activity
Members
Our membership numbers have continued to grow over the past year (approx. 20%). We now have 2100 members (Facebook closed group) and over 2000 members (Google database) (Figures taken from March 2024). As our numbers grow, we are working harder to ensure our Google contacts database is kept updated. There are two membership figures in this report, one is the number of members that have joined our Facebook closed group (“FND Dimensions Meet-Ups”) and the other is the number of members we have in our Google contacts database. We have some members that are not on Facebook and the membership numbers of our Facebook closed group can fluctuate as members leave (either intentionally or not), change their profile name, open a new profile etc. We are rarely told of name and profile changes therefore ensuring that our Google contact database is accurate can be quite challenging.
There is a written process in place for welcoming new members, allocating them to their nearest group and inputting their details onto the Google database and SW is responsible for this.
Fundraising & Events
This has been a leaner year in terms of income raised, but this has not hindered delivery as we continue to expand the amount of support, events and range of activity on offer to our members.
The development of the ‘LIMITLESS’ performing arts project had a significant impact and gained wide support not only from the FND community but also from the arts and health sectors, with funding received from the Arts Council for England (ACE) and the National Association for Social Prescribing (NASP).
The project's finale, held in collaboration with Linden Dance, took place at the Midlands Arts Centre (the MAC) in Birmingham. It featured performance artists diagnosed with FND working alongside non-FND dancers, singers, and musicians.
In the build-up to the finale, workshops for any of our members to attend took place online. These workshops included dance, run by Linden Dance and singing, run by another charity
and partner organisation in the project, ‘Sing Your Pain Away’. These were well attended and brought much joy and fun to all those involved. In addition, movement specialist, Frances Collier took on 5 individuals from our membership (free of charge) as part of her ‘neurolinguistics programme’ which uses movement, from things as simple as breathing, as a way of tackling symptoms of FND. Each participant was provided with an individual plan, depending on their symptoms, to work through and develop their ability to move more freely. This was a very successful part of the project.
This project has been a huge influence on FND Dimensions, and we intend to have a much more ‘creative’ approach to future projects that will undoubtedly engage our members and hopefully further raise awareness and funding for our work. FND Dimensions have already announced some details and dates of such upcoming creative events, and we look forward to working with our collaborators and internal experts on ensuring that creativity is central in our awareness and fundraising work.
As well as regular presentations from outside speakers and the general activity of the local groups both online and, in some cases, in person, needs a lot of time and support to develop further and help them achieve a more productive engagement. That being said, we have noticed a general rise in people discussing the possibility of ‘face to face’ meet ups and greater participation on our main Facebook page.
With Facebook’s new ‘Chat Group’ feature, we have jumped on this idea and created several themed groups, which have proved very popular with members.
Coffee & Create – meets twice a month online with a variety of arts and crafts workshops being led by Jeanette Clarke. This group has highlighted what a talented and creative group of individuals we have within our membership. As well as giving people the opportunity to learn new skills, and the odd creative challenge, it has proved a welcome break from the daily torments of FND.
Step by Step – as a group, it meets once a month online to support individuals who want to set themselves goals for the following month. These goals vary in size and theme and are obviously tailored to what they themselves want to achieve. Goals are reviewed and changed (or not) at the next meeting.
Book Club – this group, led by JoJo Hanley, meets once a month online to discuss the book which was decided by the group the previous month to read. This provides an alternative escape from FND for those who have a penchant for literature, with a different genre of book being decided on each month in order to have a fair and broad spread.
Accessing Education – this group has met a couple of times but is mainly one that is set up for sharing advice, questions and information from parents/guardians of children with FND who are in school or higher education, or those directly in education requiring support.
Fundraising – this was originally meant to be a small committee of people, who would look at the more everyday fundraising type of events eg. sponsored walks, coffee mornings. However, because it was set up as a ‘chat group’ it meant any member could join, which they did. It has been relatively quiet. In it’s place a smaller ‘fundraising committee’ was set up, led by Steve Webster and Gareth Fairclough.
Business Development – this group has been picked up by a smaller number of people and is led by Jayne Bratton. As part of this Jayne has led on a ‘business basics’ course that individuals who were running or thinking of running their own business could join in order to understand subjects like, reaching your target audience.
Neurodiversity – as the link between FND and neurodiversity has become increasingly apparent, it was decided that it would be good to have a place where our member who were neurodiverse could come together for mutual support. The group is led by Jayne Bratton and has become a great place for members to share their experiences.
Listening Ears Service
The other big development over the past few months has been that of the ‘ Listening Ears ’ project. This project, gives members requiring 1:1 support because they are in greater need of help, guidance and simply someone to talk to and is particularly targeted toward members who are not yet ready for the wider services offered by FND Dimensions. Listening Ears has a group of dedicated volunteers who receive training to be able to take part in the service and become a ‘Listening Ear’ and then offer 1:1 non-crisis support in structured sessions. Anyone joining the service for support is given several weekly sessions, which are then slowly tapered off after a few weeks and they are ready to pull away from the service having worked through their concerns with their listening ear. We are extremely clear with our members that we are not a ‘crisis’ or ‘counselling’ service, and if anyone is in particular need, they are signposted appropriately. The project has so far been very successful, and we hope to expand it over time.
10-year celebrations
The 10-year celebrations were held in Derby last summer and saw the organisation pay tribute to the work of FND Dimensions and its beginnings from founder Steve Webster. This event saw a mixture of members, trustees, family, and friends come together to celebrate FND Dimensions' journey over the years. FND Dimensions also announced the launch of plans to launch the Listening Ears Service and further plans for the development and advancement of education and awareness of FND. Thanks to all involved in helping to set up the event, which was a great success.
FND Awareness Day UK – 25[th] March followed the format as shown below and was undoubtedly the most successful FND Awareness Day to date, engaging people across the country and worldwide, as many members joined virtually. The event and talks from the day have been recorded and shared via YouTube to ensure ongoing impact from the events. Each talk already has thousands of views at the time of writing.
Our members are our strength
FND Dimensions has an expanding team of volunteers, and now has over 50 volunteers, most of whom suffer with FND or related conditions. This invariably impacts our ‘day-today’ running when members of the team are ill and not able to support our activity, but we are moving to a position which sees people backed up by others who are able to step in and having roles more evenly shared or covered within teams. We are more than grateful for the time that our volunteers have given us, and we formally wish to thank them for helping FND Dimensions reach the level it has achieved during the last year.
We have maintained a consistent presence, offering regular group ‘drop-in sessions’, ‘faceto-face' meet-ups, and other various online activities, as shown above. We have also started to expand the number of external speakers, bringing in specialist advice on FND-related issues.
Other links and FND Dimensions
FND Dimensions has continued to increase its presence within the wider FND/Neurology community and is achieving notable recognition in this area. Both Jayne (Chair) and Steve (CEO)attended the Neurological Alliance AGM in November, which proved very informative and helped to give the Neurological Alliance and the other delegates there a better idea of who we are. Off the back of this, Steve applied for and was appointed the new Chair of the Neurological Alliance’s CEO Forum for the next two years.
Steve was also successful in taking up the position of Deputy Chair of the UK FND Network, a new organisation that aims to bring key medical professionals, the FND charitable sector and any other key interested organisations together to share, disseminate and advocate for better FND services, by working in greater collaboration.
Steph (Vice-Chair) did a TEDx Talk on FND in November and this aired in January 2025. During this talk Steph talked, from her professional background as a neuropsychologist on FND but also on her personal experience and her experience having worked in FND Dimensions for the past 8 years. Steph’s talk now has over 25,000 views online and she positively promotes the social support initiatives offered by FND Dimensions.
Steve, Jayne and Steph have all began to work collaboratively with the higher education sector in order to progress with FND Dimension’s mission to improve awareness and education of FND. This is something which the board continue to build upon in the upcoming year.
Financial Report
Financial Statement for Year April 1[st] 2023 – March 31[st] 2024
(See attached for full report).
The overall summary below highlights our positive financial position and a significant growth on income and expenditure compared to the previous year.
Financial Statement for Year April 1[st] 2023 – March 31[st] 2024
----- Start of picture text -----
2023/2024 2023/2024 2022/2023 2022/2023
Restricted Restricted
Income
Per accounts (see 9,725.08 0.00 14,748.47 1,800.00
Annex to (including
Statement) restricted)
Expenditure
Per accounts (see 13,611.85 0.00 7,061.26 1,800.00
Annex to (including
Statement) restricted)
Brought Forward
21,498.27 0.00 13,811.06 0.00
Balance 17,611.50 0.00 21,498.27 0.00
Liabilities 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00
----- End of picture text -----
Moving Forward
FND Dimensions is undoubtedly experiencing significant change and progression. These changes require careful consideration and management, with input from all relevant stakeholders. The charity's foundations are being underpinned by a stronger, more proactive board, increased volunteers, and ever-increasing membership across our groups.
From this, we are evolving into a much more cohesive and effective charity, offering a wide package of support to our members on a group and individual basis to meet the demands of our growth. The challenges and opportunities are great, but so is our resolve to meet them.
Steve Webster
FND Dimensions – Founder / CEO
31.03.24 Recelpts Donaiions Meichanfjlsesales HMRC Glfi KaiadoolGoodhubFundlns Platform Amaion Cole Easyfundr#i$ing EveniDtiio- Donoiion$ Facebookoonalionsa Paypal Dance Eveni Ioyeur Fvent ML Cakesale AXAServht85-rnch NL c8ke ¥aie Income 1,000.00 569.36 393.85 2,848.87 43.03 1.00 SY4.23 3.069.00 soo.00 B6.88 B6.88 so.00 420.00 Dg.Ibyshlre Nealthcarg To¢allncom• 9,725.08 Exptrndltur Zooni lonos Website CEO Salarylpart-llmel Pu&id8e DBS Piomoiion81 Mateii8ls Ioyear Eveni MerchandisÈ ID Mobile- CODlracl ID Mobile- Phone and Case siaiionery London Marathon Evaluaiion 200.e7 158.32 7,800.00 103.29 286.80 1.049.00 849.43 2,074.41 115.02 172.98 99.50 20.50 40.00 5.00 Neurollo8lcaiMiiance MemDershlP Insurance- PIB Ir3vel Sundry 465.83 112.30 10.00 Total Expendltur• 13.611.86 Éxc•s5 of Incoffleover ExpEndltuielorth• Perlod 13Me8.771 Fund Balances a$ Èt315t March 2023 21.498.27 Batsnc•sai at31stM#r¢h 2024 17.611.50
%T14TEMEPITQF.FIIJINCJaLacI Unmtrtct•d Funds Re5trlcte FnIS Totsi 2024 Voluntary Income Investmeni Income 9.725.08 9,725.08 Total Incomlngresoure•s 9,725.08 9.725.08 Re$ouicesExpents Charltable Expenses Projects in edu¢atlon, communStydev¢iopment and envllonment Governance and Oth6fCosts 13.611.85 13.611.85 ToialR¢80urces Expended 13,611.85 13,611.85 N¢tln¢om91leXpendltuj lor the perlodl n¢t movementlnfund$ 1 3.88f.771 1 3.88&771 Fwnd balon¢e$at6th Apr112023 21,498.27 21,499.27 Fnd balane•$ at6th Api+12024 17,611.50 17.611.60
EtrIDfilMENSiQNS &SA131SLMARCH2024 31.03.24 Note Flxed As5et5 Investments Current Assets Debiors Cash at Bank and in Hand 17,611.50 17,611.50 Current Llabllltles Creditors.. Amountsfalling due within one year Net CurrentAssets 17.611.SO TotslAssèts Less Current Llabllltle$ 17,611.50 Income Funds Resiricted Funds Unresirlcted Funds 17,611.50 17.611.50 The accounts We approved by the Board of Trustees on. J E Bratton Chalr L Wade Treasur8r
FND.DIMENSIONS FOR THE YEAR ENDE5114cH2Q24 Anal1$ ol ngt a5S0ts beiw••n lundi Unr8$trlct¥d Ae5trl¢ted Fund$ Funds Total Fund balance5 a5 al31s1 Maich 20248re represented by.. Investments CurTent a5S¢1S Cre(litor5.' Amountsfallln8 duewithln one year Prepayments an¢ accrued Income 17,611.$0 17,611.50 17,611.50 17.611.50