Impact report for the year ended 30 September 2023
Contents
A note from our Chair
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Our strategic work areas 3 Activities in 2022/23 4
Governance & Committee 5
BVDA accounts 6 7 Notes to the financial statements
Going forward
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With thanks
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Our vision is of a global community working together to deliver sustainable positive change.
Our mission is to inspire and enable students to actively engage in sustainable international development.
Our aim is the advancement of education and the relief of poverty, sickness and distress in developing countries.
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A note from our chair
Following our successful project in Nepal in 2022, this has been a more challenging year, with uncertainty following the pandemic continuing to affect student confidence in international volunteering. Our students managed to organise a project and find potential volunteers, but ultimately the project was not able to go ahead.
After three years of reduced operations, we no longer have a critical mass of students who can share their experience of volunteering with BVDA. This undoubtedly makes it harder to build confidence in new volunteers, and we will consider how to address this for future years. One reason for confidence is the willingness of a small number of students to continue to lead student activities next year.
We are however very grateful to the students that have taken part in local BVDA activities during the year, and all those who have supported us.
Ben Perry Chair of trustees, 2022/23
Our strategic work areas
BVDA overcame Covid-induced challenges to send a cohort of volunteers to Nepal in 2022, and the focus of the charity this year was to repeat that success and continue to grow the volunteer base. At the start of the academic year, BVDA was no longer affiliated with the Bristol Student Union (SU), and subsequent re-affiliation attempts proved unsuccessful. This detrimentally impacted volunteer recruitment. Although some volunteers were recruited, dropouts meant the Nepal project planned for summer 2023 could not take place. The trustee board responded by supporting the committee for 2023-24 and planning for the future of the charity.
Focus on Equality, Diversity, and Inclusion
BVDA is committed to always creating a safe and inclusive environment and takes a strong stance against discrimination in all its forms to make activities fun and open for all. We continue to focus on collecting member demographic data and comparing this against university-wide data, to analyse how we can increase involvement and improve the experiences of underrepresented groups.
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Activities in 2022-23
Re-affiliation attempts
Owing to missed deadlines in the 2021-22 academic year, BVDA started the 2022-23 academic year without SU affiliation. This meant BVDA no longer had access to some of the benefits that affiliation provided, such as having a society stall at the Bristol Student Union Welcome fair. When the BVDA committee applied for reaffiliation to the SU in October 2022, the application was rejected, as BVDA did not meet the minimum threshold of 30 members. The SU did, however, say that they would be open to possible re-affiliation in the future, but only after a period of BVDA operating separately and meeting the affiliation requirement.
Publicity and Recruitment
BVDA no longer being affiliated with the SU meant the BVDA committee was unable to recruit students by operating a stall at the Welcome fair, or by advertising on the SU website. Despite this, the BVDA committee ran several recruitment events in 2022/23. In addition to holding information talks, the BVDA committee advertised BVDA at the Global Opportunities Fair, during which 11 people registered interest in BVDA. Overall, the BVDA committee was able to recruit 3 firm volunteers, one of whom offered to be on the committee for 2023/24. However, shortly after beginning volunteer meetings, two volunteers dropped out. This resulted in the decision to cancel the project for summer 2023.
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Governance & Committee
At the start of the 2022/23 period, BVDA was governed by five registered trustees. Katie Tomlinson stepped down as a trustee during the year. Ben Perry chaired the trustees, alongside Celestine Weegenaar, Vaihari Balendran and Caitlin Bromfield. Former BVDA volunteer, Liam Joyce, joined as a trial trustee in March 2023.
BVDA was supported by a single-person student committee, who had volunteered in Nepal in 2022. With guidance from the trustees, the president took the lead on activities and meetings, including event promotion, fundraising initiatives, and socials. BVDA’s work continues to follow our upto-date safeguarding policy. We have a safeguarding lead trustee who has completed the NSPCC Child Safeguarding training.
Trustee board
Ben Perry (Chair) Caitlin Bromfield (Committee Contact)
Vaihari Balendran (Finance)
Celestine Weegenaar (Projects and Safeguarding)
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BVDA Accounts
The charity’s trustees are responsible for the preparation of the accounts. The charity’s trustees consider that neither an independent review nor an audit is required for this year under sections 144(2) and 145(1) of the Charities Act 2011 (the 2011 Act).
The accounts on this page, together with the related notes on page 7, were approved by the trustees and were signed on their behalf by:
Ben Perry Chair 2022/23
Vaihari Balendran Finance Trustee 2022/23
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Notes to the financial statements For the year ended 30th September 2023
Basis of accounting
The financial statements are prepared on a ‘receipts and payments’ basis.
Receipts
Unrestricted funds are available for use at the discretion of the Trustees in furtherance of the general objectives of the charity. Fundraising sales represent the income made from sales of charity goods.
Payments
Charitable expenditure comprises those costs incurred by the charity in the delivery of its activities and services for its beneficiaries. It includes both costs that can be allocated directly to such activities and those costs of an indirect nature necessary to support them.
charity. During the year, travel and expense costs were reimbursed to trustees and committee members totalling £321 (2022: £0).
Insurance costs represent the public liability insurance purchased for the overseas project in Nepal.
Restricted funds
The charity’s policy on restricted funds is to separately record donations, grants and other sources of fundraising where restrictions are imposed that are narrower than the charity’s overall objectives. No restricted funds were held on 30 September 2023.
Taxation
BVDA is a registered charity, and as such is entitled to certain tax exemptions including receipt of Gift Aid. BVDA is not registered for VAT and accordingly, all expenditure is recorded inclusive of any VAT incurred.
Fundraising costs represent the costs associated with the income from fundraising sales.
Project expenditure represents payments made to overseas partners to fund volunteering projects. Volunteers do not receive payments for their services.
Administrative costs include the costs associated with meetings of the trustees and committee. Neither the trustees nor the committee members receive any payment for their services to the
Foreign currencies
Transactions in foreign currencies are recorded at the rate incurred as part of the transaction. Bank fees incurred are recorded as direct project expenditure. All bank accounts are held in pounds sterling.
Reserves (cash funds)
The trustees have determined that BVDA needs to retain £7,500 in reserves to cover operational costs for one year, should we face a loss of income. Hence, BVDA continues to hold sufficient reserves to meet this requirement. Restricted funds are excluded from charity reserves.
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Priorities Going forward
Supporting partners
In 2023/24, the committee and trustees will work together to develop and execute a recruitment strategy, with the aim of recruiting enough volunteers to advance a project with PSD, our Nepali project partner.
Student engagement & longevity
A further priority for 2023/24 will be understanding how BVDA can continue to advance its mission of delivering sustainable positive change, as a smaller charity without the benefits of SU affiliation.
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With thanks
BVDA is grateful to our current project partner, Partnership for Sustainable Development (PSD), Nepal, for remaining committed to the partnership, despite BVDA not being able to advance a summer 2023 project.
BVDA would like to acknowledge the amazing support of our student committee and trustees through a difficult year.
Thank you for keeping BVDA strong so that future students and communities are able to benefit from amazing international development projects.
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Bristol volunteers for development abroad (BVDA)
Registered charity no. 1173282 trustees@bvda.org.uk bvda.org.uk @bvda_bristol