Casa Mea UK
Trustees’ Report and Financial Statements
Year ending: 31[st] December 2024
Charity registration number: 1175421
Contents
Charity information.....................................................................................................2 Address..................................................................................................................2 Trustees..................................................................................................................2 Officers..................................................................................................................2 Independent Financial Examiner.............................................................................2 Charitable Object...................................................................................................2 Trustees’ Report.........................................................................................................3 Objectives and Activities.........................................................................................3 Organisational Structure and Decision-making processes........................................3 Achievements and Performance..............................................................................4 Financial Review for the year 01 January 2024 to 31 December 2024............................6 Income & Expenditure.............................................................................................6 Principal Funding Sources.......................................................................................6 Expenditure in support of charitable purposes.........................................................6 Balance Sheet........................................................................................................8 Statement Of Financial Activities.............................................................................9 Analysis of Income and Expenditure......................................................................10 Fund Movement Summary.....................................................................................11 Income and Expense Accruals...............................................................................11 Independent Examiners Report.................................................................................12
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Charity information
Address
Heronston, Old Mill Road, Lisvane, Cardiff, CF14 0XP
Trustees
Miss Emma Coalter Mrs Jenny McMillan Dr Carwyn Shires Mr Tim Toase (Joint Chair) Mrs Kezia Toase (Joint Chair) Mr Paul Willis Mrs Patricia Jones Miss Pamela Marsden (appointed 13[th] May 2024) Miss Maureen Wise Mr Marc Schyrr
Officers
Dr Jay Lewington (Treasurer) Mrs Ann Lewington (Committee secretary)
Independent Financial Examiner
Andrew Lee, FCCA
Charitable Object
“ To meet the spiritual needs, family needs and material needs of people with any disabilities, both children and adults, in institutions and in their homes, preventing discrimination of any kind because of social background, culture, sex, religion or nationality and to promote their rights”. Casa Mea UK supports the work of Fundatia Casa Mea in Moldova where this work takes place.
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Trustees’ Report
Objectives and Activities
The principal purpose of the charity is the spiritual, emotional, social, physical and material well-being of adults with disabilities who have lived or are living in long stay institutions in Moldova. In order to achieve its principal objective, four homes for such adults have been set up since 2006 to provide life-long support and as normal a life as possible within the community. The homes are named Casa Bucuriei, Casa Matei, Casa Alex and Casa Ana. Each of them is staffed by Moldovans who are employed by Fundatia Casa Mea and supported by staff meetings and training. All members of staff have a job description and terms of service. There are strong links with the local churches in the villages in which each of the houses are situated and staff are drawn from those local churches.
The trustees group represents a strong range of professional experience which includes financial, social work, management, architectural and building, carpentry, speech and language therapy, dietetics and medical expertise.
The trustees give advice on a variety of matters such as property maintenance, policy development, staff development and training, future strategy and use of available funds – all in collaboration with those managing the work in Moldova. They are all members of local churches and undertake to pray for the work regularly. Some members of the group undertake speaking engagements about the work in different churches and a prayer letter continues to be distributed to several hundred people every few months. More regular news is circulated to those who are very committed to the work.
In Moldova, Liliana Golovatii is the Administrator of Fundatia Casa Mea. She and her colleagues are responsible for the day-to-day running of the work and oversight of the four community homes which run for a total of twenty-three adults with disabilities at different locations in the country. The first home was established in 2006. Visits have continued to large institutions for adults with disabilities in Moldova. A Summer camp was held in August 2024 and services have continued to be held in the institution throughout the year.
The website continues to be active, and the trustees are monitoring activity to assist with further developing this. There is both an English and Romanian version of the website.
Organisational Structure and Decision-making processes
The trustees and officers met together six times during 2024. One of these meetings was held face-to-face in Cardiff in April 2024. All other meetings were held virtually via Zoom. Two of these meetings were additional special meetings. The first special
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meeting was called to discuss changes to staff salaries. It was agreed that all staff salaries should be increased by 15%, with increased grant giving to fulfil this. The second special meeting was held to approve Pamela Marsden as a new trustee. This was approved unanimously.
It continues to be a joy to have one of the houses join via Zoom at the start of each trustees’ meeting. They provide information about activities they have recently been involved in and it gives an opportunity for any feedback to be given directly to trustees.
Achievements and Performance
It has been recognised that the ongoing war in Ukraine continues to have an impact on Moldova in many ways. There has been substantial increase in energy costs, groceries, and household items.
Fifth house
Building work on the fifth house commenced in March 2024. The work was carried out by a team of Moldovan builders. Various volunteer work teams from other countries supported the project, including a team from the UK and from Holland. The fifth house was named Casa David in August 2024. It is planned that the house will be formally opened in Spring 2025. It has been a privilege to watch the work progress on this purpose -built house. The team in Moldova are considering who might be suitable to move into the new house from the institutions they visit.
Developments in Fundatia Casa Mea
Sadly, one of the men in Casa Alex passed away in July 2024 after a period of illness. A funeral was held in the local church. Two new ladies have since moved into Casa Alex. They have expressed their delight at being there and continue to settle in well.
The trustees provided an increased grant to Fundatia Casa Mea in January 2024 in order to provide for an increase in staff salaries for those working in the houses, and also for the management team.
A service user feedback form is completed by all those living in the houses prior to each trustee meeting. This allows the trustees to be aware of any issues that are reported and to hear about their well-being. Issues that arise are dealt with by the team in Moldova.
Ben and Esther Smith are not employed by Casa Mea UK, but continue to support the work of Fundatia Casa Mea. Ben has continued to develop in his language study and has started to hold Bible studies with the people living in the houses. He is regularly involved in training staff and has been working on developing and updating policies for Fundatia Casa Mea.
Management and governance
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There has been a significant amount of work completed and commenced in terms of governance. Work continues on a Collaboration Agreement between Casa Mea UK and Fundatia Casa Mea. Legal advice has been sought to inform this piece of work and a final draft is now with the team in Moldova with a plan to sign this off in Spring 2025.
Electronic spreadsheets have been rolled out to all of the houses in Moldova. Staff in Fundatia Casa Mea have expressed the positive impact this has had on their data input and it has also resulted in improved transparency.
A range of policies have been developed and approved by the trustees including serious incident reporting, trustee conflict of interest, and trustee expenses. Work has commenced on a risk assessment and data protection policy which will be completed in 2025.
A grant monitoring procedure has been developed to assist with monitoring of grants used. A reserves policy was also agreed by the Trustees.
The trustees have discussed the importance of looking to the future in considering the direction of the work. Discussion has been given to planning for future leadership for Fundatia Casa Mea, and for new trustees for Casa Mea UK. It has been recognised that there are some skill gaps on the trustee board that would be helpful to fill.
Volunteers
The trustee board continues to greatly appreciate the hard work of our volunteers. Jay Lewington, our Treasurer, has provided very helpful monthly financial updates and analysis throughout the year. We have hugely benefited from his input and work, which has enabled the trustees to make well-informed financial decisions. Ann Lewington’s work as our secretary continues to be invaluable. Ann’s work on organizing upcoming meeting agendas and recording and collating meeting minutes, to name but a few, have been a tremendous help to the trustees.
Prepared on behalf of the trustees by Mr Tim and Kezia Toase (Joint Chairs)
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Financial Review for the year 01 January 2024 to 31 December 2024
Accounts are prepared on an accrual basis according to Charities SORP (FRS102).
Income & Expenditure
Gross Income was £183,163
Gross Spending on charitable activities was £224,474, of which £117,807 was spent on the building of a 5[th] Home (Casa David).
There was a net (loss) of (£41,311)
Excluding payments from the reserve fund for the 5[th] home there was a net gain of £26,022.
Principal Funding Sources
Principal sources of income were from donations made by individuals, Giftaid and donations from churches, charities and other not-for-profit organisations. A large proportion of donors make regular donations.
The charity was not in receipt of any income from government contracts or government grants
A total of £181,238 was received from individuals (£81,458), Giftaid and GASDS (£17,449), churches and other not for profit organisations (£82,332)
All donations were from UK individuals or UK not for profit organisations. No donations were received from corporate donors.
The single largest value donation was £15,000 from the Coverdale foundation, a UK charity.
The single largest donation received from a related party was £1,700
Casa Mea UK is primarily a grant making charity so there was no income from trading or other charitable activities.
Expenditure in support of charitable purposes
Grant making is the main way that Casa Mea UK carries out its charitable purposes
The following grants were made
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a. £196,805 to Fundatia Casa Mea in Moldova to cover the build of a fifth home and to cover running costs for the existing four homes
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b. £17,525 to individuals based in Moldova
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c. £0 to other organisations that are not charities.
One individual is a related party and received £550 during the accounting period
A payment of £100 was made to one trustee. This was a restricted donation from an individual and was used to part fund the trustees’ attendance at a charity function in Moldova.
All funds were spent in the Republic of Moldova in the form of grants to charities and individuals.
£117,926 was sent to Moldova in cash using couriers. All couriers were trustees or individuals known to the trustees. A procedure is in place to track the journey of funds and receipt by the intended beneficiary.
Prepared on behalf of the trustees by Dr Jay Lewington (Treasurer)
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Balance Sheet Casa Mea UK- 1175421 Balance Sheet Detail Asat 3111212023 3111212024 Current assets Lloyds Current Lloyds Savings United Savings & Cash Accounts receivable 14,850 24,838 12,320 1,202 53,211 12,237 55,934 25,C( 1,351 94522 Totsl Current a55ets Liabilities Accounts payable Totsl Uabllltles NetA55et surplus Ideficit) 53,211 94,522 Reserves Exce551 Ideficitl to date Starting Balances 141,3111 94,522 53,211 122.6781 117,21XI 94,522 Totsl Reserves Represented by Funds Unrestritted Designated Restrirted Endowment 32,626 7,327 13,258 12,580 2,657 79,285 Total 53,211 94,522 Page8112
Statement Of Financial Activities Casa Mel UK- 1175421 Forth ppiSadfromOlJinuary2024to 31Deu&mbpr2024 VnI•5tritted Fund5 Re5triLled Endowmqnt Fund5 Totil PriorYeaP totsllund5 DunatlUn5aDd Le6aoes 5fi765 126.399 I.163 3L 632 8&3 n4 58034 Tot¥lknron I3%6 223.SW liQ753 otherexpendltvre TDtriwèndlll 224.474 IIL013 Gilnsll0sSOn Investmènis Nètl lÈxpendlturÈl W4iurt¢&bÈfot1drdlr ¥681 1216n) Grosstransfersbett¥eenur. sn GpJ55trdn51e[5betWEenluJ5-uut IN( Gainson revaluiOn.fixed•sset¥ tharfty'swn use I1•t•3¥1Mrt1n SI2 14L311 TotalfuThdsbrouEhtforward 11237 117,2 TotsiftyidsrarThedforw?r¢ 293 53.211 Y512 MlnorrounL¥ngdSs%YepandèsmoCLUrlnt0ta1slfnreaThDthOn Page9112
Analysis of Income and Expenditure Analysis of Inc¢Jme and Expenditure Selerted Perlod: 01 January 2024 to 31 De¢ember 2024 Totals Unrestricted Desiinlted Restricted Ertdtswment Thisyear Lastyear Incorne and endowment5 28.549 7.2 18.9SO 44.827 372 20.415 5.825 6.520 21.W6 2,E85 53.5 14.191 27.¥A 82.332 3,257 3Q533 A818 L136 Non-fyft¥iddon3iions IfromthurthesandlnstltutSon5 Cash DonatiOll5leliwbIeforDSI L17D OpnrlloyJsandl¢gcdesTotots 99.928 57.451 .W 87.W 72 270 1,&55 270 scellaneousllnc (ash noteli&bleforGASOSI 342 1,925 In¢¢)me and endown*nt$ grand tffjal 1th,269 59,D34 3,1&3 81336 Expendltufe 78.998 870 78.998 f4605 1745 Ixo L875 (hhErGIft5 Printin8& Uterature Costs InvoicedSeNice& 117 117 470 PaymentstoTtU5teeS Olhere¥pensesforthartrable alms Intenan Refunds re(l¥@d Postage 33 Camp Expen5e5 Othere¥penses notfortharStable alrns 8ankCharEe5 Giftst¢ Ben &EstherSmlth 5th House Expenses G5ft5ToV3nya 8arbu Gift5ToAneaGtani Travel Costs Gift5toCarwyn&Galina 969 117.807 13.261 55D 1339 &255 117.807 13.261 412 1339 8L128 8,320 135,D26 224474 IIL013 OthereApense5 notfarcharntable airns Expendlture Grandtotals BL128 4320 135,026 224474 IIL013 Page10112
Fund Movement Summary
Income and Expense Accruals
There were no Expense accruals
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