THE KEARNS FOUNDATION Making a positive contribution to personal development for community benefit. At'REPORT AND ACCOUNTS 2023-24 Established in 2007 and registered as a Charity in England and Wales (Number 1156557) and now a Charitable InGorporated Organisation (CIO) Registered under 1174340
Page 1 Charity Administration Details, Charitable Objectives & Activities Page 2-6 Trustees, Report 2023-24 Page 7-8 Financial Report and Notes to the Accounts Page 9 Declarations
Charlty Name: The Kearns Foundation Established.. October 2007 {under Charity 1156557) Principal Address: clo 21 Garrett Court, Gertrude Road, Norwich. Norfolk, NR3 45D Trustees: Andrew Copelin - Chair Alex Kearns - Vice Chair James Kearns - Treasurer and Managing Trustee Mick Tingley Karen Willett Chris Willett Will Kearns Employees: The charity is run entirely byvolunteers and has no employees. Governance structure: The charity was originally constituted as an unincorporated association under a constitution initially adopted in 2007. It Is now registered as a Charitable Incorporated Organisation (CIO) as registered and approved by the Charity Commission of England & Wales on 23 August 2017. Appolntment of Trustees: Trustees are appointed annually aL or between General Meetings, in line with the governing document. such that the membership of the Board of Trustees reflects the skills, knowledge and experience required for both the effective management of the charity. and its resources. and with due regard to the discharge of the charitable objectives. Board membership seeks to reflect a wide range of experiences of working, or volunteering with the charwtys beneficiaries. Charitable Objectives: 1. To advance in life and help young people through.. (a) The provision of recreational and leisure time activities provided in the interest of social welfare, designed to improve their conditions of life,. (b) Providing support and activities which develop their skills, capacities and capabilities to enable them to participate in society as mature and responslble individuals. Page I
- To promote the efficiency and effectiveness of charities and the effecttve use of charitable resources for the benefit of the public
- Such other purposes as are exclusively charitable in accordance with the laws of England and Wales as the trustee5 may from time to time decide Charitable Activities: The Charity has a priorty of making a positive contribution to personal development for community benefit and this is delivered through three core strands of its work: Small Grants Programme - Grants of {normally) between £50 and £250 awarded to individuals, and organisations, meeting set criteria who, as the result of our investment, can make a dire¢ and positive impart on the comrnunities in which they live. or serve. Community Support Serwce - providing information, advice and guidance from its network of trustees, contacts and sUPPOrters, to community based voluntary organisations which enable them to grow, progress and improve their communities. This may be through training workshops, mentoring or support with fundraising. Trimingham Log Cobin Youth & Community Resource Centre- the provision of a log cabin residential centre and camping grounds in North Norfolk provided at a subsidi5ed rate to predominantlyyouth and community groups to SUPPOrt educational. and developmental projects for young people and community volunteers, as well as providing low cost accommodation for families. and children in need supported by the appropriate agencies. Trustees. Report: This report covers the period 1st April 2023 to 31st March 2024 and highlights the achievements within the three core areas of work set out above as a way of achieving the charitable objectives. Small Grants Programme During the period covered by this report. the Foundation received 8 applications for assistance under our small grants programme from voluntary and community organisations and from individual young people. Of these applications 5 were ineligible. 3 were approved and O were rejected. Page 2
The following grants were awarded: £250 - Take Our Hand - a small charity supporting bereaved children with our grant being used to fund the development of promotional materials. £250- BBC Children in Need- a discretionary donation on behalf of the Trustees to support projects benefitting children and young people in the UK. £250- awarded via a registered youth group to an individual young person, and their family to enable him to attend an organised residential youth activity week with hi5 peers. Communlty Support Service The Foundation's long held view that small charities in Norfolk were missing out on support was addressed wlth the delivery and review of the first Norfolk Small Charities Showcase in April 2023. The event was delivered on Saturday 22nd April at The Forum, Norwich with 24 community organisations taking part. The event targeted Norfolk based and Norfolk serving community groups and charitable organisations with an annual income of less than £250.000 with free stalls to promote their seNices, attract new volunteers and potential funding. The event also brought together the three county based voluntary sector infrastructure support organisations for Norfolk (Community Action Norfolk, Norfolk Community Foundation and Voluntary Norfolk) who through the Norfolk County Council funded Empowering Communities Partnership tookthree of the stalls to provide small charities with advice and information. As part of the event. four free to attend workshops were available providing advlce and information on maximising digital opportunities, fundraising. volunteer recruitment and retention and making the most of the media through marketing. 'Ili IVI PagE 3
The eventwas fully funded by the Kearns Foundation at a cost of £1,243.53 from within the Community Support budget to ensure that community organisations need not redirect their funds away from frontline services and could maximise the opportunity within a high profile, high footfall city centre location. The event had also provided an opportunity for the Kearns Foundation to promote its Small Grants programme, Community Support Programme and Log Cabin and Campsite facilities to a much wider audience at both the event and surrounding publicity. Following the event a full review, involving feedback from those who had participated, and Foundation Trustees planned a second event forjune 2024 making some changes to eligibility. administration and targeting. Feedback had been positive and included ideas for additional workshops No additional requests were received for specific community suppor¢ and no training workshops took place during this period. Trlmlngham Log Cabln Youth & Community Resource Centre Managed entirely by volunteers, both within and supporting the Foundation. use of the centre during 2023 remained low as schools and youth groups continued to experience low levels of take up for programrnes like the Duke of Edinburgh's Award and residential camping. FOVNDATION Trlmingham Log Cabin Y(AAh L1rfiUhL1lV g&*hJtce CrE The continued annually licensed use of the Beacon Field (by kind permission of Mr and Mrs Frank Mason) for occasional camping meant that larger groups were able to re-engage. Following ongoing and regular building maintenance reviews the Board agreed to carry out repairs to the roof, and surrounding structures, of the Log Cabin. During May 2023 four Trustees carried out the installation of a new roof covering for the Log Cabin, designed as a 5-10 year temporary arrangement at a fraction of the cost of a full roof replacement. This involved repairing and replacing some gutterin& and using the opportunity to trim over-hanging trees given that the landowner had Page 4
withdrawn permission to have them reduced in height. having originally approved the works to be done. Also during theyearthe Log Cabin had a full electrical system test, new lighting and new smoke alarms installed. The Board had been kept informed of continuing issues with the landowner who continues to be subject to legal action by the local authority for breaches of planning law on parts of the site that he operates. During the Autumn of 2023 the Managing Trustee made direct contact vlith every Norfolk School registered as operating the Duke of Edinburgh's Award Scheme. as well as the Duke of Edinburgh'sAward Scheme contacts in Norfolk. Suffolk. Cambridgeshire, Essex and Peterborough. In addition marketing was directed at Scout and Girlguiding Groups in Norfolk and Suffolk in an attempt to promote wider use of the Log Cabin and Campsite. Overall the Log Cabin and campsite produced an operating loss of £1,261.11 during the financial year (2023-24) compared with a surplus of £711.50 (2022-23). Taking into account the planned maintenance costs of the roof and electrical works (£1.076.01}the operating loss should be seen as more modest at £185.10. The folloviing table shows the use of the log cabin and camping fields. Year Total Bookin No Grou of No of young le Cabln ni ht5 Campsite 2024 2023 2022 162 322 110 64 120 66 99 89 2021 218 2020 40 160 2019 2018 2017 173 14 289 697 333 349 33 29 588 452 2016 14 266 27 2015 170 292 Based on bookings held at 30thJune 2024 (for the year) Page 5
Fundraising The Foundation did no direct fundraising during this period but received £108.23 through affiliations with Easyfundraising and Amazon Smile sales. Governance and Admlnlstratlon of the Charlty The Board ofTrustees have met regularly. and always quorate. duringthe year to ensure the effective management of the agreed projects, and to diligently review reports on income, expenditure and budget forecasts in relation to its core activities. Much of the day to day operation of the charity, Including grant applications, centre managementand finance5 are delegated to the Managing Trustee to prepare, with four named trustees being signatories to any outgoing payments. and the Board being regularly updated through meetings and e mails between them on major issues. +X Page 6
2023-24 Income and Expenditure INCOME Amount Budget Headlng Note Donations Fundraising Trimingham Log Cabin and Campsite 27.39 108.23 2,404.01 Total 2.539.63 EXPENSES Amount Budget Heading Fundraising Trimingham Log Cabin and Campsite Community Support Grants Marketing Subscriptions Governance & Admin 3,665.12 477.63 750.00 76.68 1.374.73 Total 6.344.16 Summary Income received Expenditure SurpluslDeflclt 2023-24 2023-24 202>24 2,539.63 6,344.16 3.804.53 Balance brought forward Balance carrled forward 1 stApril 2023 31 st March 2024 38.657.35 34.852.82 Restricted funds Unrestrirted funds 34.852.82 Page 7
Notes to the Accounts: 1 . These are fund5 generated from the revenues generated from Eas5rfundraising and Amazon Smile on-line reward payments 2. These are funds received from building5 and camping hires at the Trimingham Log Cabin Youth and Community Resource Centre and Camping site. 3. These are the costs associated with the managemenL maintenance and operation of the Trimingham Log Cabin Youth and Community Resource Centre and Camping site. 4. These amounts relate to funds approved by the Foundation to support community organisations, primarily through the Norfolk Small Charities Showcase and any additional services. 5. These funds reflect the Small Grants made to qualifying individuals and communty organisations. 6. These are primarily insurance costs and bank charges of £6 per month and stationery costs. Reserves Policy The Trustees have not considered a formal reserves policy for the charity to date, but considerthis to be equivalent to three months operational costs. Audit and Independent Examination Policy The Charitys income is below the Charity Commission's £500,000 gross income threshold for the requirement for a ststutory audit. As the gross income for the current accounting period is below the Cornmission's £25,000 threshold, these accounts have been prepared on a "Receipts and Payments" basis without the need for independent examination or audit. Trustees regularly review all income and expenditure on a quarterly basis and will make its full accounts available. on receipt of a valid and reasonable request. A copy of the Annual Reportand Accounts will be made publicly available as partof the Annual Return to the Charity Commission and published on their website. Page 8
Declaration This annual report and accounts have been received. considered, and accepted by the Trustees of the Kearns Foundation as being an accurate representation of the receipts and payments occurrlng wlthin the financial year 1st April 2023 to 31st March 2024 and the balances shown provide an accurate representation of the current assets and liabilities of the funds held by the charity. Andrew Copelin Trustee and Chair Alex Kearns Trustee and Vice Chair 14"July 2024 14thJuly 2024 TIIE FOUNDA Supportloy Organlsetso Tra"", ThmlnB FiJttarAI.-:. Supw Page 9