2023-03-31-accounts - Oxford For Romania

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	Trustees' Annual Report for theperiod	Trustees' Annual Report for theperiod	Trustees' Annual Report for theperiod	Trustees' Annual Report for theperiod	Trustees' Annual Report for theperiod	Trustees' Annual Report for theperiod	Trustees' Annual Report for theperiod	Trustees' Annual Report for theperiod	Trustees' Annual Report for theperiod	Trustees' Annual Report for theperiod
	From	Period start date				To		Period end date
		01		04	2022			31	03	2023

Section A	Reference and administration details

Charity name			Oxford for Romania

Other names charity is known by			-

Registered charity number(if any)			1173125

Charity's principal address			6 Elizabeth Jennings Way
			Oxford

			Postcode				OX2 7BN

Names of the charity trustees who manage the charity

Trustee name	Office (if any)	Name of person (or body) entitled to appoint trustee(if any)
Maria Cristina Suciu	Chair of the Board	Board of Trustees
Sorina Campean		Board of Trustees
Victor Andrei Diaconu		Board of Trustees
Alma Iatan		Board of Trustees
Oana Lang		Board of Trustees
Mariuca Morariu		Board of Trustees
Ciprian Plostinar		Board of Trustees
Oana Romocea		Board of Trustees
Cristian Soitu		Board of Trustees

Name of chief executive or names of senior staff members (Optional information)

Currently, Oxford for Romania does not employ any staff and relies exclusively on volunteers.

Section B Structure, governance and management

Description of the charity’s trusts

Constitution Type of governing document (eg. trust deed, constitution) Charitable Incorporated Organisation (CIO) How the charity is constituted (eg. trust, association, company)

January 2023

Oxford for Romania – Trustees’ Annual Report

Apart from the first charity trustees, every trustee is appointed for a term of three Trustee selection methods years by a resolution passed at a properly convened meeting of the charity (eg. appointed by, elected by) trustees.

In selecting individuals for appointment as charity trustees, the charity trustees must have regard to the skills, knowledge and experience needed for the effective administration of Oxford for Romania.

New trustees have been appointed following vote of Board of Trustees based on evaluating the candidate’s skills, knowledge and experience, as well as a written application form which was discussed by the board.

Additional governance issues (Optional information)

Youmay chooseto include
additional information, where
relevant, about:
●policies and procedures
adopted for the induction and
training of trustees;
●the charity’s organisational
structure and any wider network
with which the charity works;
●relationship with any related
parties;
●trustees’ consideration of
major risks and the system and
procedures to manage them.

Policies and procedures adopted for the induction and training of
trustees:
New trustees are invited to several meetings where the vision and the
strategy for Oxford for Romania is extensively discussed, as well as the
common practices and ways of working. In addition, upon joining the
board of trustees, they are given the following documents:
-
Oxford for Romania Governing Document.
-
Oxford for Romania Annual Reports from previous years.
-
Oxford for Romania Volunteers Code of Conduct.
-
Charity Trustee Welcome Pack - a practical document to help you
get started in your new role (from The Charity Commission).
-
The Trustee Guide - a more generic document on the roles and
duties of a charity trustee (from The Charity Commission).
-
The Hallmarks of an Effective Charity - set of guidelines to help
trustees improve the effectiveness of a charity (from The Charity
Commission).
-
Safeguarding Duties for Charity Trustees - a set of guidelines on
safeguarding.
-
The Charities Act 2011.
-
The Charitable Incorporated Organisations General Regulations.
-
The Charitable Incorporated Organisations Dissolution
Regulations.
Oxford for Romania organisational structure:
Currently, Oxford for Romania has the following structure:
Boards:
-
Board of Trustees
Core Teams:
-
Admissions
-
Communications & PR
-
Fundraising
-
Logistics and Operations
-
Programme

January 2023

Oxford for Romania – Trustees’ Annual Report

Additional Key Roles - Alumni Network Coordinator - Evaluation Coordinator - Finance and Accounting Coordinator - Student and Parent Liaison - Data Protection Officer Additional Key Roles - Summer School Week - IT Support - Media Specialist - Social Activities Coordinators - Student Coordinators - Student Welfare Other Projects - Student Projects (Coordinators and Tutors) - Online seminars and workshops - Mentorship Programme (Coordinators and Mentors) - Alumni Meeting (Coordinators and Mentors)

Relationship with any related parties

N/A

Trustees’ consideration of major risks and the system and procedures to manage them:

Our current organisational model relies exclusively on volunteer time as Oxford for Romania does not employ any staff. As the charity expands, the implementation of additional programmes will require additional time from our current team, thus risking overloading our volunteers and therefore limiting the ability to efficiently deliver our key objectives and activities. Consequently, strengthening the team of volunteers is one of our top priorities. This is currently carried out through networking, regular recruitment events in the Oxford student community as well as through the wider UK Romanian community.

Our current financial model relies on ad-hoc fundraising, thus limiting our ability to make long-term financial commitments. We are currently evaluating methods of attracting additional strategic partners, as well as accessing higher value grants offered by organisations with interest in education. This would allow us to employ staff to take on some of the administrative and organisational work.

Due to policy changes following Brexit, several of our core activities are significantly impacted. We are particularly concerned about access to higher education in the UK for EU citizens. One of the priorities of the board for the near future is to agree on a strategy moving forward. The Global Covid-19 pandemic has severely affected our volunteer network, the larger Oxford for Romania community and our ability to deliver our core programmes and recruit new team members.

January 2023

Oxford for Romania – Trustees’ Annual Report

Section C Objectives and activities

For the public benefit to advance the education of young Romanians with academic potential coming from less privileged backgrounds in particular, but not exclusively by:

Summary of the objects of the charity set out in its governing document

Organising a periodic summer school in Oxford and awarding scholarships to cover participation costs.
Developing and providing specialist mentoring schemes. 3. Establishing long-term local and international networks within the Romanian community to provide further support and develop access to education.

January 2023

Oxford for Romania – Trustees’ Annual Report

Oxford for Romania aims to provide access to life-changing opportunities to young people through transformational learning experiences and mentorship. With the help of the academic and professional community in Oxford and the rest of the UK, and with support from partners, friends, and people who believe in our vision, we have launched a yearly summer school in Oxford, offering an inspiring educational experience for high school students from Romania with great academic potential, but limited financial means. We empower young people through high-quality teaching on a variety of topics, meetings with professionals and academics, career Summary of the main advice and long-term mentorship. activities undertaken for the public benefit in relation to So far, Oxford for Romania has organised five editions of the summer these objects (include within school (2016, 2017, 2018, 2019 and 2022), bringing each time 24 this section the statutory students to Oxford. A unique programme of lectures, workshops, declaration that trustees have seminars and tutorials was developed, offering an excellent balance had regard to the guidance between STEM, arts and humanities topics and community involvement issued by the Charity as well as personal development. This was then continued with ongoing Commission on public nourishing and building of the alumni network. benefit) In 2020 and 2021, given that travel and gatherings were severely restricted due to the Covid-19 pandemic lockdowns, we had to take the difficult decision to cancel the summer school and focus on delivering an online programme as well as on designing an improved Oxford for Romania curriculum. Statement confirming whether the trustees have had regard to the guidance issued by the Charity Commission on public benefit: The trustees confirm that they are aware of the guidance issued by the Charity Commission on public benefit.

Additional details of objectives and activities

January 2023

Oxford for Romania – Trustees’ Annual Report

Youmay chooseto include
further statements, where
relevant, about:
●
policy on grant making;
●
policy programme
related investment;
●
contribution made by
volunteers.

Policy on grant making:
Oxford for Romania, may choose as the trustees see fit, to make small
grants available to student-led community projects that are aligned with
the charity main objectives and activities.
Policy programme related investment:
Oxford for Romania does not currently make Programme Related
Investments.
Contribution made by volunteers:
The charity is 100% volunteer run, with individuals leading admissions,
event logistics, communication, programme creation, teaching during the
summer school, alumni coordination and mentorship as well as
fundraising.

Section D Achievements and performance

January 2023

Oxford for Romania – Trustees’ Annual Report

Summary of the main achievements of the charity during the year

Through its unique summer school, the charity aims to bring a change in the mindset and life opportunities of young people in Romania with great academic potential coming from less privileged backgrounds.

We are now a community where four alumni cohorts, helped by over 40 volunteers, are confidently building a future for themselves and their communities.

In 2022, a strong alumni team joined our organisation and coordination efforts and two successful alumni reunions were held in London and Bucharest with exceptional guest speakers.

Although the summer school began in Oxford and is linked by name to this special place for education, behind the 2022 edition is a global community of volunteers. This year, over 30 volunteers were involved, coordinated by an organisational team spread across three continents. For eight days, high school students participated in 60 hours of workshops and courses held in the magical atmosphere of Magdalene College, one of the oldest and most prestigious colleges at the University of Oxford.

At the same time, the extended Oxford for Romania network continued to offer support and mentorship to the existing alumni community. Achievements against objectives set:

The organisation delivered on the objectives set, including on the stretch goal to increase involvement with the alumni community. We continued to maintain our core team and contact with our volunteers even though we had to cancel our summer school. We worked on improving the Oxford for Romania curriculum, while maintaining close contact with our alumni community. Several alumni are now part of the executive team. We organised two alumni reunions.

We delivered a fifth edition of the summer school, held at Magdalen College (27 August - 04 September 2022), bringing 24 people to Oxford for an intense multidisciplinary programme. They were selected from over 300 applicants.

Performance of fundraising activities against objectives set

For the reporting period, a total of £15849 was raised from crowdfunding grants and strategic partners. This is slightly below our usual yearly target, the main reason being that we had a reasonable balance from previous years that allowed us to focus our efforts on other critical tasks more than on fundraising.

Investment performance against objectives

Oxford for Romania does not hold any investments.

Section E Financial review

January 2023

Oxford for Romania – Trustees’ Annual Report

All cash reserves remaining at the end of 2022/2023 financial period are Brief statement of the to be used for the 2023/2024 edition, in the same way as done charity’s policy on reserves previously.

Details of any funds materially in deficit

N/A

Further financial review details (Optional information)

You may choose to include Review of the charity’s financial position at the end of the period: additional information, where relevant about: At the end of the reporting period, the charity had remaining cash funds ● the charity’s principal with a total value of £9729. This amount is a total of the cash funds sources of funds (including any remaining from the 2020/2021 financial year (£28774), the additional net fundraising); income for this year (£15849) minus expenses/payments (£34894). ● how expenditure has supported the key objectives of The charity’s principal sources of funds (including any fundraising): the charity; ● investment policy and Normally our main funds come from strategic partners in the UK and objectives including any ethical Romania, grant-making foundations, and crowdfunded donations. investment policy adopted. Amount of reserves held: On the 31st of March 2023, the total amount of reserves held was £9729. How expenditure has supported the key objectives of the charity: Oxford for Romania expenditure is directed towards the key objectives listed in the governing document of the charity: organising the summer school and making the participation of the students possible (the main project of the charity), as well as the secondary project of the alumni reunions, aimed at supporting our growing alumni community. Investment policy and objectives including any social investment policy adopted: Oxford for Romania does not hold any investments.

Section F Other optional information

Corporate trustees:

N/A

Name of trustees holding title to property belonging to the charity:

N/A

Funds held as custodian trustees on behalf of others:

N/A

January 2023

Oxford for Romania – Trustees’ Annual Report

Exemptions from disclosure:

N/A

Section G Declaration

The trustees declare that they have approved the trustees’ report above.

Signed on behalf of the charity’s trustees

Signature(s) Full name(s) Ciprian Plostinar

Position (eg Secretary, Chair, etc) Trustee

Date 31/01/2025

January 2023

Oxford for Romania – Trustees’ Annual Report

Charity Name		No (if any)
Oxford for Romania		1173125
Receipts andpayments accounts			CC16a
For the period from Period start date 1-4-2022	To	Period end date 31-3-2023

Section A Receipts and payments

A1 Receipts	Unrestricted funds to the nearest	Restricted funds to the nearest £	Endowment funds to the nearest £	Total funds to the nearest £	Last year to the nearest £ - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
Strategic Partners	4 828	-	-	4 828	-
Fundraising	5 168	-	-	5 168	-
Grants	5 853	-	-	5 853	-
		-	-	-	-
	-	-	-	-	-
	-	-	-	-	-
	-	-	-	-	-
	-	-	-	-	-
~~*Sub total~~~~(Gross income for*~~	15 849	-	-	15 849	-

~~A2 Asset and investment sales,~~
	-
	-
~~*Sub total*~~	-
*Total receipts* A3 Payments
Accommodation	12 804
Transport	8 878
Food	7 844
Materials	1 759
Insurance	263
Alumni Reunion	3 310
Bank Fees	36

**Sub total **
	34 894

A4 Asset and investment
	-
	-
**Sub total **	-
*Total payments* *Net of receipts/(payments)* A5 Transfers between funds A6 Cash funds last year end *Cash funds this year end*
	- 19 046				-
	-				-
	28 774				-
	9 729				-

Section B Statement of assets and liabilities at the end of the period	Section B Statement of assets and liabilities at the end of the period	Section B Statement of assets and liabilities at the end of the period	Section B Statement of assets and liabilities at the end of the period	Section B Statement of assets and liabilities at the end of the period
Categories B1 Cash funds B2 Other monetary assets	Details Bank statement balance Details *Total cash funds* (agree balances with receipts and payments account(s))	Unrestricted to nearest £ 9 729 - - 9 729 OK Unrestricted funds to nearest £ -	Restricted to nearest £ - - - - OK Restricted funds to nearest £ -	Endowment to nearest £
				-
				-
				-
				-
				OK
				Endowment funds to nearest £
		-	-	-

CCXX R1 accounts (SS)

2025-02-01

B3 Investment assets

B4 Assets retained for the charity’s own use

B5 Liabilities

Signed by one or two trustees on

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Details		Fund to which		Cost(optional)	Current value
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Details		Fund to which		Cost(optional)	Current value
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Details		Fund to which		Amount due	When due
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	Signature	Print	Name		Date of
		Ciprian	Plostinar		08-01-2025

CCXX R2 accounts (SS)

2025-02-01