Alpine Fellowship Foundation Charitable Incorporated Organisation Registered Charity Number: 1172196
TRUSTEES' ANNUAL REPORT and FINANCIAL STATEMENTS
FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31ST DECEMBER 2024
The Alpine Fellowship Foundation
Report and financial statements for the year ended 31st December 2024
| Reference & Administrative Details | Page |
|---|---|
| Contents | 1 |
| Report of the Trustees | 2 - 5 |
| Independent Examiner Report | 6 |
| Statement of Financial Activities | 7 |
| Balance Sheet | 8 |
| Notes to the Accounts | 9 - 11 |
Charity Registration Number
1172196
Trustees
J. H. L. Burda A. J. Lawson M. C. Lesslie
Registered Office
C/O 15 Quick Street London N1 8HL
Bankers
Barclays Bank PLC Leicestershire Leicester England LE87 2BB
Independent Examiners
Moore Kingston Smith LLP 9 Appold Street London EC2A 2AP
Solicitors
C/o Charles Russell Speechlys LLP One London Square Cross Lanes Guildford Surrey GU1 1UN
1
The Alpine Fellowship Foundation
Report and financial statements for the year ended 31st December 2024
Trustees' Report
The Trustees present their annual report together with the unaudited financial statements of the charity for the year ended 31 December 2024 under the Charities Act 2011.
Having considered the guidance of the Charity Commission and the Charities Act 2011, the Trustees have considered that an audit is not required.
The Legal and administrative information set out on page 1 forms part of this report.
The financial statements comply with the Charities Act 2011, the Memorandum and Articles of Association, and Accounting and Reporting by Charities: Statement of Recommended practice applicable to charities preparing their accounts in accordance with the Financial Reporting Standard applicable in the UK and Republic of Ireland (FRS102).
Charity
The Charity is constituted as a Charitable Incorporated Organisation and was registered with the Charities Commission under Charity number 1172196 on the 22 March 2017.
Governing Document
The CIO is governed by its Constitution, last amended on 22 March 2017.
Charity's Objectives and Activities
The Charity's objects as set out in the Constitution are:-
-
1 The advancement of the arts and culture and the advancement of education in the fields of philosophy, literature and the arts, including but not limited to:
-
1.1 the holding of symposia, lectures and events for artists, philosophers and other like-minded individuals to share expertise and knowledge;
-
1.2 the provision of art scholarships or grants, including but not limited to supporting young talent and underprivileged artists and academics;
-
1.3 the commissioning of art, including but not limited to theatre, texts, music and visual arts;
-
1.4 the collaboration with academic and artistic institutions to further the humanities and interdisciplinary study; 1.5 disseminating and sharing new thoughts and ideas in relation to art, literature and philosophy, and
-
2 such other purpose or purposes that are exclusively charitable under the law of England and Wales.
The trustees consider that the objectives and activities of the Charity meet the public benefit requirements as set out in the Charities Act 2011.
Trustees
The Charity's operations are administered by the following individuals who form the board of Trustees:
J. H. L. Burda
A. J. Lawson
M. C. Lesslie
The Trustees shown above have held office during the whole of the period from 22 March 2017 to the date of this report. Apart from those listed above, every trustee must be appointed by a resolution passed at a properly convened meeting to the charity trustees.
The Charity Trustees will make available to each new Charity Trustee, on or before his or her first appointment.
a) A copy of the current version of the constitution; and
b) A copy of the CIO's latest Trustees' Annual Report and Statement of Accounts.
Financial Review
In the year, £185,000 (2023: £150,000) was received from the Foundation's founder and trustee. In December 2023, we received an erroneous payment of £27,031 from a donor. The donor explained the error to us and the payment was returned in full in January 2024.
The Foundation spent £209,958 (2023: £158,390) on charitable activities in the current financial year.
At the balance sheet date, the Charity had a deficit of £2,013 (2023: surplus of £35,479) all of which was unrestricted.
2
The Alpine Fellowship Foundation
Report and financial statements for the year ended 31st December 2024
Trustees' Report
The Alpine Fellowship Foundation (the “Foundation”) aims to bring together people from different backgrounds and disciplines to support, commission and showcase artists, writers, academics and playwrights at all stages of their careers. It is committed to discovering emerging talent, disseminating new ideas and sharing thoughts about art, literature and philosophy.
Each year, we select a theme around which all of our activities are based. This year’s theme was ‘Language’.
Arts and Academic Prizes
In accordance with our charitable objectives, we continued to deliver our arts and academic prize programme. In 2024, we evaluated 5,420 prize entries from 147 countries, representing new highs in several categories and an overall high.
As in previous years, we awarded the Poetry Prize, the Philosophy Prize, the Theatre Prize, the Visual Arts Prize, and the Writing Prize. We are delighted to provide direct financial support to talented individuals in these categories.
In addition, we launched two new prizes: the Music Prize, which aimed to support a talented composer/performer and the Refugee Scholar Prize. The latter is awarded in partnership with Bard College Berlin and aims to help those who identify as refugees, displaced persons, asylum seekers or stateless persons to continue their promising academic careers in their new home country.
This award has been pledged to the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees as part of the 15by30 initiative, which aims to have 15% enrolment in higher education for refugees by 2030.
Annual Symposium
In tandem with our prizes, we hosted our annual symposium in Italy. We are delighted to invite our prize winners to attend this event, where they can network, build connections, and share their work. We had talks from the winners of our Philosophy Prize and Refugee Scholar Prize, a performance by our Music Prize winner, a world premiere rehearsed reading of the play by our Theatre Prize winner, the artworks of our Visual Art Prize winners were displayed, and we had readings of Poetry and Writing Prize winning work.
We also welcomed a distinguished list of academics, thought leaders, and others to discuss the theme. These included designer Es Devlin, therapist Esther Perel, Harvard Professor Martin Puchner, Columbia Professor John McWhorter, conflict illustrator George Butler, and many more. All of our talks are filmed, edited, and hosted on our YouTube channel, which allows them to be viewed completely free of charge.
We also widened access to the event, as two BSL interpreters were on-site to translate for one of our prize winners.
Partnerships
We continued our successful collaborations with academic and artistic institutions, including New York University (NYU), Bard College, and Bard College Berlin. We look forward to building on these partnerships in the future.
Overall
This has been a successful year for the Alpine Fellowship Foundation. We have continued to offer support where it is our object to do so and to develop and expand programmes to distribute support more widely, both geographically and in the areas we support.
We look forward to continuing to work towards our mission in future years.
3
The Alpine Fellowship Foundation
Report and financial statements for the year ended 31st December 2024
Trustees' Report
Income and Reserves Policy
Income is derived from donations. The Trustees' policy is to maximise this income for the benefit of the Charity.
The Trustees have established a policy whereby surplus reserves in the Charity's current account, if not relating to restricted funds, are held for general purposes in future accounting periods.
Risk Management and Going Concern
The Trustees do not consider that there is any risk to the entity as the charity will be supported by its founder, who has confirmed future funding in 2024 and beyond. The charities income currently meets its distribution policy, which has been followed this year.
The Trustees regularly examine the major risks to which the Foundation is exposed to and, when any particular risks are deemed significant, discuss them at Trustees' meetings as well as taking appropriate steps to mitigate them.
Plans for Future Developments
The Trustees anticipate that further funds will be donated to the Charity so it can provide grants to support the objectives and aims of the charity.
Statement of Trustees' Responsibilities
The Trustees are responsible for preparing the Trustees' Report and the financial statements in accordance with applicable law and United Kingdom Accounting Standards, including Financial Reporting Standard 102: The Financial Reporting Standard applicable in the UK and Republic of Ireland.
Charity law requires the Trustees to prepare financial statements for each financial year in accordance Under charity law the Trustees must not approve the financial statements unless they are satisfied that they give a true and fair view of the state of the affairs of the Charity and of the incoming/outgoing resources for that period.
In preparing the financial statements the Trustees are required to:
-
Select suitable accounting policies and then apply them consistently;
-
Observe the methods and principles in the Charities SORP;
-
Make judgements and accounting estimates which are reasonable and prudent;
-
State whether applicable UK accounting standards have been followed, subject to any material departures disclosed and explained in the financial statements; and
-
Prepare the financial statements on the going concern basis unless it is inappropriate to presume that the charity will continue to operate.
The trustees are responsible for keeping adequate accounting records that are sufficient to show and explain the Charity's transactions and disclose with reasonable accuracy at any time the financial position of the charity and enable them to ensure that the financial statements comply with the Charities Act 2011, the Charity (Accounts and Reports) Regulations 2008 and the provisions of the Charity's Constitution. They are also responsible for safeguarding the assets of the charity and hence for taking reasonable steps for the prevention and detection of fraud and other irregularities.
The Trustees are responsible for the maintenance and integrity of the corporate and financial information included on the Charity's website. Legislation in the United Kingdom governing the preparation and dissemination of financial statements may differ from legislation in other jurisdictions.
4
The Alpine Fellowship Foundation
Report and financial statements for the year ended 31st December 2024
Trustees' Report
Statement of Trustees' Responsibilities (continued)
In so far as the Trustees' are aware:
-
There is no relevant information of which the CIO's accountants are unaware;
-
The trustees have taken all steps that they ought to have taken to make themselves aware of any relevant information and to establish that the accountants are aware of that information.
-
They have had due regard to guidance by the Charity Commission in respect of Public Benefit.
This report was approved by the Trustees on …….................... 2025 and signed on its behalf by: 13th October
A. J. Lawson Trustee
==> picture [124 x 44] intentionally omitted <==
M.C. Lesslie Trustee
J. H. L. Burda Trustee
==> picture [69 x 44] intentionally omitted <==
5
Independent Examiner's Report to the Trustees' of The Alpine Fellowship Foundation
I report to the trustees on my examination of the accounts of The Alpine Fellowship Foundation for the year ended 31 December 2024 which are set out on pages 7 to 11.
Responsibilities and basis of report
As the trustees of the CIO you are responsible for the preparation of the financial statements in accordance with the requirements of the Charities Act 2011 (“the Act”).
I report in respect of my examination of the CIO'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.
Independent Examiner's Statement
I have completed my examination. I confirm that no matters have come to my attention in connection with my examination giving me cause to believe:
- (1) accounting records were not kept in respect of the CIO as required by section 130 of the Act; or
(2) the accounts do not accord with those records; or
- (3) the accounts do not comply with the applicable requirements concerning the form and content of the accounts set out in the Charities (Accounts and Reports) Regulations 2008 other than any requirement that the accounts give a ‘true and fair view which is not a matter considered as part of an independent examination.
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.
Adam Fullerton, FCA DChA For and on behalf of Moore Kingston Smith LLP Chartered Accountants
9 Appold Street London EC2A 2AP
Date: 13 October 2025
6
The Alpine Fellowship Foundation
Statement of Financial Activities for the year ended 31st December 2024
| Note Income and endowments: Donations 3 Total Income Expenditure: Conference fees 4 Competitions and prizes 4 Grants 4 Support costs 4 Total Expenditure Reconciliation of Funds Charitable activities : Net (expenditure)/income for the year Total funds brought forward at 31 December 2023 Total funds carried forward at 31st December 2024 |
Unrestricted Income Fund £ 172,466 172,466 131,958 64,772 10,000 3,228 209,958 (37,492) 35,479 (2,013) |
Total Funds 2024 £ 172,466 172,466 131,958 64,772 10,000 3,228 209,958 (37,492) 35,479 (2,013) |
Total Funds 2023 £ 203,238 203,238 90,132 44,184 16,705 7,370 158,390 44,848 (9,369) 35,479 |
|---|---|---|---|
The accompanying notes form an integral part of these financial statements.
All activities are continuing and there are no recognised gains and losses other than as shown above.
The notes on pages 9 - 11 form part of these financial statements.
7
The Alpine Fellowship Foundation
Balance Sheet as at 31st December 2024
| Note Current Assets Cash at bank Current Liabilities Creditors: Amounts falling due within one year 9 Net (Liabilities)/Assets Funds Unrestricted (Deficit)/Funds Total (Deficit)/Funds |
2024 £ 987 987 3,000 3,000 |
2024 £ (2,013) (2,013) (2,013) |
2023 £ 42,139 42,139 6,660 6,660 |
2023 £ 35,479 35,479 35,479 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
13th October
The Financial statements were approved by the Trustees on …......................... 2025 and authorised for issue on their behalf by:
A. J. Lawson M.C. Lesslie Trustee Trustee
J. H. L. Burda Trustee
==> picture [69 x 43] intentionally omitted <==
Charity Registration Number: 1172196
8
The Alpine Fellowship Foundation
Notes to the Accounts
for the year ended 31st December 2024
1 Accounting Policies
The Alpine Fellowship Foundation is a CIO limited by guarantee incorporated and registered in England and Wales. The registered office is 15 Quick Street, London, N1 8HL.
Basis of Preparation of the Financial Statements
The CIO is a public benefit entity for the purposes of FRS 102. The financial statements have been prepared in accordance with the Financial Reporting Standard applicable in the UK and Republic of Ireland (FRS 102). The financial statements have also been prepared in accordance with the Statement of Recommended Practice 'Accounting and Reporting by Charities preparing their accounts in accordance with the Financial Standard applicable in the UK and Republic of Ireland (FRS 102), including update bulletin 2, the Financial Reporting Standard applicable in the United Kingdom and Republic of Ireland (FRS 102), the Charities Act 2011 and UK Generally Accepted Practice.
The financial statements are presented in sterling, which is the functional currency of the Charity, and rounded to the nearest £1.
Going Concern
The Trustees have assessed whether the use of the going concern basis is appropriate and have considered possible events or conditions that might cast significant doubt on the ability of the Charity to continue as a going concern. The Trustees have made this assessment for a period of at least one year from the date of the approval of these financial statements. In particular, the Trustees have considered the Charity's forecasts and projections and have taken account of pressures on income. The founder provides the foundation with donations when needed and has committed to continuing to do so. After making enquiries, the Trustees have concluded that there is a reasonable expectation that the Charity has adequate resources to continue in operational existence for the foreseeable future. The Charity therefore continues to adopt the going concern basis in preparing its financial statements.
Income
All income is recognised in the Statement of Financial Activities (SOFA) when the Charity has entitlement to the income, there is probability of receipt and the amount can be measured. Where a claim for repayment of income tax has been or will be made such income is grossed up for the tax recoverable.
Grants and Donations Receivable
Grants and donations are recognised in the SOFA when conditions for receipt have been complied with.
Charitable Activities
Expenditure is included in the Statement of Financial Activities (SOFA) on an accruals basis.
Support costs comprise the costs of administering the activities of the charity and is included within charitable expenditure. Governance costs are included in support costs associated with ensuring the charity meets its fiduciary duties. Charitable activity costs include grants payable to third parties in furtherance of the charitable objects of the charity.
Judgements and key sources of estimation uncertainty
In the application of the Charity's accounting policies, the Trustees are required to make judgements, estimates and assumptions about the carrying amount of assets and liabilities that are not readily apparent from other sources. The estimates and associated assumptions are based on historical experience and other factors that are considered to be relevant. Actual results may differ from these estimates. The estimates and underlying assumptions are reviewed on an ongoing basis. Revisions to accounting estimates are recognised in the period in which the estimate is revised where the revision affects only that period, or in the period of the revision and future periods where the revision affects both current and future periods.
There were no signficant judgements or estimates in relation to the year under review.
9
The Alpine Fellowship Foundation
Notes to the Accounts
for the year ended 31st December 2024
2 Cash and cash equivalents
Cash and cash equivalents include cash at bank and in hand and short term deposits with a maturity date of three months or less.
| 3 Donations 4 Charitable Activities Grants (note 7) Competitions and Prizes Conference Fees Other support costs Donations |
Unrestricted Income Fund £ 172,466 172,466 Direct Support costs Costs £ £ 10,000 - 40,286 24,486 131,958 - - 3,228 182,244 27,714 Unrestricted Funds |
Total Funds 2024 £ 172,466 172,466 Total 2024 £ 10,000 64,772 131,958 3,228 209,958 |
Total Funds 2023 £ 203,238 203,238 Total 2023 £ 16,705 44,184 90,132 7,370 158,390 |
|---|---|---|---|
5 Taxation
The CIO, being a registered charity, is not liable for corporation tax in respect of its operations for the year.
6 Trustees' Remuneration and Expenses
One member of the Board of Trustees received remuneration for their services during the year of £1,000 (2023: None). Two Trustees (2023: one) had travel expenses reimbursed during the year of £1,371 (2023: £500).
7 Grants
The Charity awarded grants in furtherance of its charitable activities as follows:-
| Grants to individuals All grants are considered unrestricted expenditure to the charity. 8 Support costs Bank Charges Consultancy Fees Digital and Marketing Costs Printing, Postage and Stationery Sundry Expenses Travel Costs Governance Costs (see note 8A) |
2024 £ 10,000 10,000 2024 £ 228 23,320 1,166 - - - 3,000 27,714 |
2023 £ 16,705 16,705 2023 £ 250 30,000 8,164 126 1,399 1,094 4,501 45,534 |
|---|---|---|
10
The Alpine Fellowship Foundation
Notes to the Accounts
For the year ended 31st December 2024
| 8A Governance costs Independent examiners fees Legal & professional fees 9 Creditors: Amounts falling due within one year Accruals Creditors |
2024 £ 3,000 - 3,000 2024 £ 3,000 - 3,000 |
2023 £ 4,501 - 4,501 2023 £ 4,980 1,680 6,660 |
|---|---|---|
10 Reserves
Unrestricted reserves represent funds available to the furtherance of the charities activities.
11 Related Party Transactions
During the period, donations were received totalling £185,000 (2023: £150,000) from J. Burda, a Trustee of the charity which was freely given to support the charity.
Other donations were received totalling £14,497 (2023: £53,238) from The Alpine Fellowship's US college partner, Bard College.
There were no other related party transactions that require disclosure in the period under review.
Key Management Personnel
Key management personnel comprise the board of trustees who received no remuneration in fulfilling their roles as key management in the current nor prior year. (See note 6 for other payments to Trustees.)
The charity has no employees.
11