Trustees' Annual Report for the period
Period start date Period end date 01 01 2020 31 12 2020 From To
Section A Reference and administration details
Charity name
Common Change UK
Other names charity is known by
Registered charity number (if any) 1171076
121 PHYLLIS AVENUE
Charity's principal address
NEW MALDEN
LONDON Postcode KT3 6LB
Names of the charity trustees who manage the charity
| 1 2 3 |
Trustee name | Office (if any) | Dates acted if not for whole **year ** |
Name of person (or body) entitled to appoint trustee (ifany) |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Matthew Wilson | Chair | Wholeyear | ||
| Steven Ledgerwood | Wholeyear | |||
| Darin Petersen | Wholeyear | |||
Names of the trustees for the charity, if any, (for example, any custodian trustees)
Name Dates acted if not for whole year
Names and addresses of advisers (Optional information)
Type of adviser Name Address
Name of chief executive or names of senior staff members (Optional information)
Section B Structure, governance and management
Description of the charity’s trusts
Foundation Model Constitution Type of governing document (eg. trust deed, constitution) Charitable Incorporated Organisation How the charity is constituted (eg. trust, association, company)
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Appointed by the existing board Trustee selection methods
(eg. appointed by, elected by)
Additional governance issues (Optional information)
You may choose to include additional information, where relevant, about:
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policies and procedures adopted for the induction and training of trustees;
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the charity’s organisational structure and any wider network with which the charity works;
Common Change USA continues to assist Common Change UK with remotely managed back office administration functions and will do so until Common Change UK has developed sufficient capacity to self-manage these functions.
Board meetings have been taking place remotely via video conferencing software due to the coronavirus pandemic.
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relationship with any related parties;
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• trustees’ consideration of major risks and the system and procedures to manage them.
Section C Objectives and activities
Summary of the objects of the charity set out in its governing document
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a. the prevention or relief of poverty and/or financial hardship, either generally or individually, of people living anywhere in the world by making grants of money for providing or paying for items, services or facilities which they could not otherwise afford through lack of means;
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b. the prevention or relief of poverty and/or financial hardship, either generally or individually, of people living anywhere in the world by providing or assisting in the provision of education, training, transportation, housing, healthcare and all the necessary support designed to enable individuals to generate a sustainable income and be self-sufficient.
The organisation carries out its purposes by:
• Forming Common Change groups in communities around the UK that will Summary of the main contribute their own personal finances and also raise money through activities undertaken other means (such as but not limited to sponsorship etc) for the public benefit in • Facilitating through new technology a means by which the members of relation to these the Common Change groups may deposit, combine and securely store objects (include within their financial resources, until such time as they are withdrawn and this section the distributed in accordance with accepted Charity Commission criteria statutory declaration relating to the relief of poverty (see list below). that trustees have had regard to the guidance • Encouraging the Common Change groups to meet in person and online issued by the Charity to identify instances of individuals and families in poverty and/or crisis Commission on public requiring assistance and discuss how their needs can be met through the benefit) financial resources that the group can raise or has already raised.
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Additional details of objectives and activities (Optional information)
Common Change UK is committed to a principle of incurring minimum overhead costs by utilising volunteer time and expertise. In 2020 our overheads were less than 1% of our total turnover.
You may choose to include further statements, where relevant, about:
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policy on grantmaking;
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policy programme related investment;
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contribution made by volunteers.
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Excerpt from the current CCUK Group Fund policy on grantmaking: It is intended that recipients of assistance (“benevolence”) from the Group Fund shall: i. Be experiencing a financial hardship related to education, healthcare, housing, parental support, professional service/support, transportation, or basic living expenses
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ii. Be nominated by at least one member of the Group through which the request is being made, and known to them by ‘one degree of separation’,
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iii. Not be making a request on their own behalf, iv. Be able to receive funds directly by cheque, bank transfer, moneygram or PayPal,
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v. Be able, upon request, to provide written confirmation of receipt of the assistance by email, fax, or mail.
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vi. Common Change recognises common humanity and insists there be no discrimination in the giving of benevolence on the basis of gender, age, ethnicity, sexuality, faith, or disability.
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Ultimate responsibility for administration and distribution of funds rests solely with the Common Change Trustees.
Section D Achievements and performance
| Summary of the main achievements of the charity during the year |
Like all organisations Common Change UK has felt the effects of the coronavirus pandemic during 2020. A number of planned activities needed to be cancelled or postponed as a result. Despite this the charity has continued to develop according to a range of metrics. Some of the highlights include: Two new groups have started, one in Cambridge and one in Manchester. The incoming funds from individual donors has grown this year (from £10,411 in 2019 to £18,438 in 2020). This has been assisted in part by the utilisation of _Donorbox_online giving technology. Overall outgoing Generosity has grown slightly (from £6,862 in 2019 to £7542 in 2020). The average value of an outgoing gift was up from £207 to £236. The number of outgoing gifts from Common Change UK groups was down slightly from 2019. However, the total number of beneficiaries of gifts increased substantially due to a number of the outgoing gifts being in support of Covid-19 food parcel type schemes that each reached multiple families. Some examples of outgoing support included: • Financial support for people suffering loss of income due to coronavirus • Food parcels for at-risk families during school holidays • Replacing a stolen bicycle • Supporting a project for destitute asylum seekers with the cost of essentials • Replacing a laptop after a burglary • Gas cooker for individual in hardship • Help with funeral costs • Money for medical bill • Assisting with costs of a house move • Digital tablet devices for a local school • Christmas gifts for parents & children living in a safehouse for families rescued from trafficking / modern slavery |
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Section E Financial review
Brief statement of the It is the policy of the charity to maintain reserve funds not less than 6 charity’s policy on reserves months average monthly overhead (measured against the prior 12 mths) Details of any funds materially None in deficit
Further financial review details (Optional information)
You may choose to include additional information, where relevant about:
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The principal source of funds remains the regular donations of Common
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additional information, where Change group members.
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relevant about: • the charity’s principal Total income for the year was: £18,342 sources of funds (including Total outgoings for the year were: £ 7,554 any fundraising); A surplus of £10,788 is carried over into 2021
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how expenditure has The figures above include funds of £1665 raised in the UK and
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supported the key objectives transferred to sister charity Common Change South Africa.
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of the charity;
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investment policy and objectives including any ethical investment policy adopted.
Section F Other optional information
Section G Declaration
The trustees declare that they have approved the trustees’ report above.
Signed on behalf of the charity’s trustees
Signature(s) Darin Petersen Full name(s) Matthew Wilson Position (eg Secretary, Chair, Chair Trustee etc) Date 18-02-2021 18-02-2021
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