## **b:friend Annual Report Nov-22/Oct-23** b:friend is a charity registered in the UK with registered Charity Number 1171148. ## **Norah & Harvir** Norah: “I feel that my life has become richer since I have a befriender. It becomes richer the more people you know, and are in touch with, and it widens your horizons. I feel better having contact with other people, everyone needs that. It is nice to be interested in others, and have someone else who is interested in you.” Harvir: “Norah has not only given me amazing friendship these past few months but has shared wisdom, knowledge and compassion in such a unique way. I'm really lucky to have become friends with Norah.” Norah: “It clicked so easily with him, he is so easy to be with. I was a bit nervous at first, what if I didn't have anything in common with a younger man? But Harvir is lovely. I feel he is not just doing this out of duty, but a true friendship developed between us.” **1** ## **A message from our CEO** As I reflect on the past year at b:friend, I can't help but feel incredibly proud of what we've achieved together. Taking the reins as CEO in 2022 from Mike, b:friend’s founder, has been quite the journey, and I've loved every minute of it. This incredibly passionate and creative team have been a real pleasure to get to know and I’m in awe of them for their tireless commitment to the cause. I’ve met so many volunteers who are the backbone of our organisation, dedicating their time and energy to building connections and fostering friendships. Their kindness has made a world of difference in our community, and I'm endlessly grateful for their dedication. Getting to know our older neighbours over countless cups of tea has been a real privilege. Hearing their stories has really brought home the profound impact of b:friend. It's also opened my eyes to the societal issues they face – from loneliness and isolation to health challenges and beyond. Stories are what b:friend is built on. Some of them are included in this report, along with a handful of stats and updates that hopefully give you an idea of what we’ve been up to and the successes and challenges that the last year has presented. I want to extend a heartfelt thank you to everyone who has been a part of our journey this past year – our volunteers, staff, supporters, and partners. Your generosity and support have been invaluable, and I'm grateful for the opportunity to work alongside each and every one of you. Here's to another year of friendship, connection, and positive change. Cheers, Colette Bunker, Chief Executive Officer of b:friend **2** ## **Vision Mission Values** ## **Vision** **At b:friend, our vision is a world where all older neighbours can connect, laugh and inspire others every day.** Loneliness sucks, and we want to help end it. For older people, loneliness is something that doesn’t happen overnight, it creeps up on you. It’s influenced by life events such as deteriorating health, decreased mobility and the passing away of partners and friends. Having no family close by and having to stop driving (from health or confidence issues) can also lead to an older person spending more time alone in their home. 42% of people over 65 live alone. This is set to rise to over 50% by 2041 (ONS data). Loneliness can lead to depression, coronary disease, weaker immune systems and dementia – it’s as bad for your health as smoking 15 cigarettes a day. Not only do we want older people to live longer and healthier lives, we want them to have fun! So we don’t take life too seriously and we make sure to challenge stereotypes when it comes to ageing. We also believe that society is missing out on the stories and experiences that older people have to offer. Reconnecting isolated people with their community can lead to younger generations gaining insights and wisdom from their older neighbours. **3** ## **Vision Mission Values** ## **Mission** **Our mission? To facilitate meaningful friendships and enjoyable connections between people and communities** We want to reignite that spark of joy in older people that they may have lost along the way, something that only true friendships can do. So we’re not time-limited and we never charge for friendship. That way, both older neighbours and befrienders know that their connection is genuine and long lasting. Real friendship and social connection can create a sense of self-worth, build confidence and resilience and improve mental and physical wellbeing. In many cases, friendship really can save lives. ## **Values** **Our values are at the heart of everything we do.** **We are…** **4** ## **FUN** No two weeks are the same with b:friend. We celebrate later years and we know from experience that being old in body doesn’t mean being old in mindset. Mental wellbeing is our priority, having something to look forward to and having a good old giggle should be something everyone can enjoy. ## **BOLD** We challenge the stigma around ageing; bingo is banned at b:friend. We’d much rather be cheerleading, boxing or exploring exotic cultures. We never sit still, we are constantly thinking up new, innovative ideas and ways of making older people’s lives richer. ## **DOWN-TO-EARTH** We are firmly rooted in the local community and everything we do is with a strong sense of place. Being led by our community anchors us to our purpose. You’ll see no fancy business speak here, we say what we mean and we mean what we say. ## **EMBRACING** Friendship is for everyone and everyone is welcome at b:friend. We strive to break down divisions created by age, heritage, digital skills and social norms and make sure people feel comfortable to be themselves. ## **PASSIONATE** The cause drives us and we believe in it whole heartedly. We always have the voice and the best interests of our older neighbours in mind, but you’ll never hear us use the word ‘beneficiary’. Our older neighbours give as much joy and value back to their befrienders and their communities as they receive. **5** ## **WHAT WE DO** ## **A year in numbers** **by the end of FY 22/23 we have delivered…** Volunteering hours 34,440 11 528 694 2,619 181 > Social Clubs benefiting 169 older neighbours per week Social Club sessions where no two weeks are the same (that’s over 1000 hours of laughter yoga, ballet, neurobics, mandala art, murder mysteries, drumming, boxing, curling and armchair travels to Croatia, Egypt and Hungary...plus hundreds more fun sessions!) > Active friendships (That’s over 36,000 cuppas!) Friendships created since inception New pairings **6** ## **WHAT WE DO** ## **A year in numbers** 825 older neighbours engaging on a weekly basis **----- Start of picture text -----**
2017 2018 2019 2020 2021 2022 2023
80 180 350 680 700 782 825
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**7** ## **Our focus for 22/23** Our strategic focus for 22/23 was two-fold: ## **Futureproofing Infrastructure** **1** B:friend has grown year on year in terms of both turnover and number of people supported. This year our focus was to ensure that all our systems, processes, policies and procedures were robust and fit for purpose as we grow. We have focused on safeguarding in particular through new training, policies and processes and set ourselves a target to appropriately respond to all serious incidents within one working day. We have also made changes to our team roles and structure in order to create capacity for growth. **2** ## **Service Design** B:friend has a focused offering; one to one friendships and Social Clubs. Because of this simplicity, we have the capacity to really master our approach to creating community connection. This year we spent time as an organisation distilling down our ‘recipes for success’ as well as experimenting with different delivery models such as volunteer-led Social Clubs, online Social Clubs and blended telephone/face to face befriending to ensure we remain flexible and can adapt to differing needs. Our focus on service design also included the formation of our ‘Friends of b:friend’ consultation group to guide us in our work and keep us focused on our ultimate goals. We have also put new impact measurement processes in place in order to become more evidence based and data-driven as an organisation. **8** ## **HIGHLIGHTS** ## **Expansion** A hugely successful partnership with Strata as their Charity of the Year, led to an incredible fundraising total of £145,000 raised by Strata’s staff, suppliers, family and friends. The funds raised have helped b:friend take the first steps to expanding into the new region of Nottinghamshire, with the aim of changing the lives of 126 older neighbours in the region within the first year. ## **New Clubs** We identified a need and demand for a new Club in Askern, Doncaster, this year, and we also launched our first ever volunteer-led Club in Chesterfield, a model that we want to replicate in all the areas we work in to reach even more isolated people. Both Clubs have gone from strength to strength, and this means 30 more older neighbours can benefit from weekly activities and social connection. By the end of the year, we were also preparing to launch our first online Social Club, partnering with other organisations that could offer digital inclusion training and referrals. **9** ## **HIGHLIGHTS** ## **Innovative projects** We often hear from our older neighbours that they feel overlooked, ignored and invisible in their community, so a few years ago b:friend created a theatre show called ‘b:heard’, where we hire out a local theatre and paying audiences are regaled with tales and adventures from some of our older neighbours. This year we had a sold-out show and the stories were captured for posterity by Heritage Doncaster. We also experimented with a project called ‘b:seen’, an equivalent for those with artistic skills, where we held a month long exhibition of their works in the lobby of a local theatre and held a launch party. Participants in these events said they felt valued, ‘seen’ and one b:heard performer said they felt like a ‘rock star for the night’. Thanks to Temasek, a corporate partner, we were also able to launch our ‘buck-it’ project, where older neighbours could choose to do something they never thought they would get a chance to do in later life. Outings included a glider flight 2000ft above the Peak District, a trip to Ru Paul’s Drag Race Live, and afternoon tea on a London Bus. I had an amazing day at the Gliding Club. It was fantastic! It’s been exactly 70 years since I’d flown as a schoolboy in the Air Training Corps. (John, buck-it project participant) **10** ## **HIGHLIGHTS** ## **New Website** This year, we launched a shiny new website with the aim of providing seamless user journeys for volunteers, referrers and supporters. Thanks to input from our ‘Friends of b:friend’ consultation panel, we have content designed by and for older neighbours who visit our site. We also now have dynamic content where our community can keep up to date and involved with everything we’re up to. ## **Let’s party!** Another first for b:friend, thanks to funding from TNLCF: Awards for All, we could bring all 160 Social Club members together in one room to celebrate the King’s Coronation. It’s really good to have a chance to celebrate with people of your own age. There was a singer, and it is surprising how older people like to get into the swing of things. It takes years off you, really. (Older neighbour Terry about the Coronation Party) **11** ## **CHALLENGES** It hasn’t all been plain sailing but we believe the work we have put in this year has, and will continue to, allow us to adapt to challenges as they occur. ## **Cost of living crisis** This year we have made great efforts to respond to the widescale impact of the cost of living crisis. Our Social Clubs moved beyond a place to have fun each week, and became a vital source of warmth and sustenance, especially through the winter months. We benefited from our close-knit networks in the public, private and voluntary sectors in various ways; some came along to our Social Clubs and gave talks on keeping a warm home, budgeting and how to make sure you’re claiming all the benefits you’re entitled to. Others we knew had services we could signpost to for the most vulnerable. Thanks to cost-of-living specific funding, in certain instances we could provide warm food and supermarket vouchers to help ease the pressure on our older neighbours. We now have a model of support that we can replicate in future years. ## **Fundraising Environment** We are incredibly grateful to our supporters this year, in particular our friends at Strata and all those who fundraised with them for what has been a record year for income at b:friend. That said, as we look ahead, with the increased costs that come with organisational growth and high inflation, and as the fundraising environment continues to get more competitive, sustainability has never been more important at b:friend. We want to be around sparking new friendships and community connections for many years to come, so this year, we invested in a Fundraising Manager role in order to build capacity to seek more funding and help us diversify our income streams. We now have a strategy in place for the coming years to work towards our financial sustainability in the longer term. ## **Falling volunteer numbers** This is a national issue and b:friend have not been immune. Volunteering take-up is lower than pre-pandemic levels and we have been working really hard to make sure people understand that befriending with us isn’t your typical volunteering role. Loneliness hasn’t gone away now that the pandemic has ended and it’s important that we all take the time to nurture our relationships and be open to situations for new friendships to blossom. We have invested in a Communications Officer role and are experimenting with different ways of reaching people to ensure that we continue to grow our movement of kindness and friendship as the years go on. We now have a communications strategy in place that is dynamic and focuses on volunteer recruitment in order to guide us in our decision making for the coming years. **12** ## **Our plans for 23/24** In the upcoming year, our focus will be on further expansion as we extend our services into Nottinghamshire and Derbyshire. Additionally, we will remain committed to enhancing our digital infrastructure and diversifying our income streams. Our efforts in South Yorkshire will proceed as usual, with an unwavering dedication to continual service enhancement and reaching out to support as many isolated older neighbours as we can. Alongside this, we will be launching innovative projects that aim to increase awareness of loneliness and isolation and shine a light on the value of older people in the community. ## **Delivery targets** ## **Income targets** - 24% increase in older neighbours supported - Maintaining 85%+ improvement in older neighbour wellbeing after 6 months Achieve an income stream split of 75% trusts and foundations and 25% ‘other’ income - Create 42,706 volunteering hours I didn't have anybody until I met [my befriender] Diane. I don't know if I could have coped without her... She's my best friend. (Older neighbour John) **13** ## **FINANCE** ## **How we spent £1** The majority of our costs are on staffing who deliver our befriending project across the region, support volunteers and older neighbours and make local connections. The full cost of running a weekly social club for 1 year = £5,533 The full cost of setting up a befriending pairing for 1 year = £230 **----- Start of picture text -----**
77% Staffing 3.50% Rent & Insurance
17% Project Costs 0.50% Professional fees
0.50%
Marketing
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**14** ## **OUR IMPACT** **From our 1:1 befriending, our impact shows there is a 66% increase in overall life satisfaction after 6 months and 92% say their life had become richer since being involved with b:friend.** **Here’s what our older neighbours said:** “b:friend has saved my life. I was ready to give up when I lost my husband, but now I have something to look forward to.” “It’s (the befriending) been a real lift for me – it’s got me wanting to keep going to the gym and other places – I feel less mixed up in my head.” “My befriender made a difference to my life, you know, because I didn’t want to be here before I met her. It’s changed my life. **15** **----- Start of picture text -----**
OUR IMPACT
Of our Social Club members:
96% Made new friendships
77% Learnt something new
74% Felt more connected to the community
54% Have become more physically active
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“My doctor told me to come to the Club because I was in a bad way after my wife died, and the counselling didn’t help. It’s the best thing I could have done. I really enjoy it.” **Our volunteers rate their befriending experience 9/10 (where 1 is poor and 10 is excellent)** “It’s very much a two-way street. We get as much out of it as they do. There’s a huge age gap between me and my neighbour, you might think what on earth do you have in common. I know I find it as uplifting as she does”. **16** ## **CASE STUDIES** ## **Volunteer Chris’ befriending journey** Chris came to us as a volunteer to help out at our Balby Club because he was feeling lonely and wanted to get involved. As he got to know b:friend he decided to become a befriender too and now visits not one but three older neighbours, Alan, Frank and Stephen every week. Last Christmas he visited Alan on Christmas Day and Frank on Boxing Day. Chris told Karen, our Befriending Coordinator, “My week is so full now and I’m so much happier. I don’t know what I did with myself before I was introduced to b:friend”. “My week is so full now and I’m so much happier. I don’t know what I did with myself before I was introduced to b:friend”. ## **John’s gliding adventure** John, a former university professor, found himself feeling isolated and lonely in his later years, so we matched him with his now good friend Evelyn. John had been a keen glider as a teen and never thought he would get the chance to do it again, so as part of our ‘buck-it’ project we arranged a glider flight for him 2000ft above the Derbyshire Peak District. It was touch and go as to whether or not John would be able to fly - one of the criteria was to be able to get in and out of a bathtub unaided and at the time we arranged the flight, he wasn’t sure he could do it. But over the weeks leading up, and with encouragement from Evelyn, John practiced every day until he had developed the strength and mobility to take that glider flight. In a Christmas card to Sara, his Befriending Coordinator, John wrote, “I have been elated about that for the rest of the year…thank you, thank you, thank you!” “I have been elated about that for the rest of the year…thank you, thank you, thank you!” **17** ## **CASE STUDIES** ## **Sue & Shane: a friendship across generations** Shane and Sue met through b:friend over two years ago. After Sue lost her husband and Shane’s grandmother passed away, they were both looking for a meaningful connection – and found friendship in an unexpected place. The duo quickly formed a firm friendship. They enjoyed catching up over a cuppa or going out together, and Shane even met Sue’s family. Shane introduced Sue to his partner, Max, who also joined the visits. Max performs as a drag artist, and Sue has been to see his shows with Shane and loved them. Sue said: “I was lonely you see. I'd been married for 53 years and knew my husband for 58 years and all of a sudden he was gone. So, to me I was lonely.” Although Sue attended a bereavement support group and her family encouraged her to get out more, she said she felt it didn’t help, so she used to stay in a lot. She said the befriending with Shaun was just what she needed: “I just needed somebody different. (...) I really enjoyed the fact it was different. It's happened to be a new life to me. I've never done this before and you know, I've been 58 years really in my own little world, and I've come out of it, and it's different and it's nice.” Shane said: “I lost one of my grandparents, I lost my Nana, and I felt like I've got a bit of a hole in my life. I saw this advert on Facebook and I thought, ‘why not I’ll give it a go’, and I got paired with Susan. I remember coming around the first day and I expected a shy, retiring elderly, maybe watching _The Chase_ on an evening, and it's certainly not what I've got! But we're very happy, aren't we? I think we suit.” **18** ## **Our partners** **We'd like to extend thanks to the awesome organisations that partner with our project. Their commitment to reducing isolation is significant & we're able to achieve huge impact as a result of their belief in a more connected society.** **19** ## **Our People: The Team** Colette Bunker, Chief Executive Officer Karen Booker, Befriending Coordinator Rayella Broomhead, Programme Manager Laura Coucom, Befriending Coordinator Sara Kopecsni, Senior Communications Officer Rachael Mullen, Befriending Coordinator Jenny Pitman, Programme Manager Helen Twelves, Fundraising Manager Maryanne Wylde, Project Officer **20** ## **Our People: The Board of Trustees** Simon Moxon, Chair of the Board of Trustees Clare Legg, Treasurer Becky Marlor Matthew Lollar ## **Let’s end loneliness together, let’s b:friend!** b:friend is a charity registered in the UK with registered Charity Number 1171148. **21** 11;FRllI ND (A charitable ineorpui'ated oi'ganislltioii limited by gllai'antee) REI PORT AND fiINANCIAL STA TEI MENTS FOR THE YEAR E4NDEI D 31 OCTOBEI R 2023 CHARITY NUMBER 1171148 COMPANY NUMBEIR CE009648 B:FRIE4 ND CONTEI NTS Page MANAGEME4 N'f COMMITTEE REI PORT INDEI PENDENT EXAMINER'S REPORT ST ATED￿[l NT ofi fi INANCIAL ACTIVITIES BALANCE SHEET NOTES TO THI ACCOUNTS 9-15 MANAGEMLNT COMMITTEt El REPOR T FOR THE PERIOD ENDEI D 31 ocfoBf4 112023. Tbe ManagenieIit Comniiltee pi'esei)Is its itporl aiid accounts for the yeai. ended 31 Octobei. 2023. Chai'ity Ènfoi'inatloii Maiia emeiil Coiiiinitlee Sinion Moxoii Lucy Cole T￿a Walkei. Clai'e Legg Louis Siokes Icloe Tegg Matthew Lollar Rebecca Robei'ts Chaii'speiEoii- Appoiiiled Api'il 2023 Acting Chaiipei'soii - Resigiied July 2023 Ti'ea.sui'ei'_ Re8igi)ed M1( I'ch 2024 Tiedslll'ei - Appointed March 2024 Noii-Bxeculive membei'_ Resigned Augiist 2023 Noii-Executive nieinber- ReSi￿]ed febi'uai'y 2023 Non-Excciilivc niembei - Appointed Api'il 2023 Non-Execiitive niembei'_ Appoiiited Api'il 2023 Cliat'ity Regtsts'atioii nunibei. 1171148 Charity I'egi.%tei'ed office aiid Opei'Y 3.109 s￿00 25AOO ￿e&￿s￿￿e..SPknjolanIs PosicodgLelkty Rar*F(￿Nda1lOrt 25. 15S,$12 .013 lulldB Ttst Fund Fund TaIityb￿￿aDBF1¥ 1ffj50 16t.8* 1691M9 186*01 16B,3£Q Nii&sse￿ al&1 OMobai2Q28 159,£ 242,￿￿ 102R40 B..FRIEND NOTES TO THE ACCOUNTS FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31ST OGTOBER 2022 RELATED PARTY TRANSACTIONS No Iruslee or olh8r person related lo the charity had any personal interest in any ¢onlracl or liansaclion enle¥ed into by the charily dLJring the period. 15