2020-12-31-accounts

CHARITY REGISTRATION NUMBER: 1175945

We Stand Together CIO

Unaudited Financial Statements

31 December 2020

We Stand Together CIO

Financial Statements and Annual Report

Year ended 31 December 2020

	Page
Trustees' annual report	1
Statement of financial activities	7
Statement of financial position	8
Notes to the financial statements	9

We Stand Together CIO

Trustees' Annual Report

Year ended 31 December 2020

The trustees present their report and the unaudited financial statements of the charity for the year ended 31 December 2020.

Reference and administrative details

Registered charity name We Stand Together CIO Charity registration number 1175945 Principal office C/O Omnibus Solutions Hollinwood Business Centre Albert Street Oldham OL8 3QL The trustees Sir Peter Fahy The Very Reverend Rogers Morgan Govender Dr Erinma Bell MBE, DL Mohammed Rehman Ullah Nidhi Sinha Minocha Lisa Therese Lilley Retired 06 October 2020 Robyn Elanor Ashworth-Steen Retired 09 July 2020 Umer Zaman Khan Retired 09 July 2020 Darren Thwaites Retired 11 August 2020 Kate Maggs Mohammed Ali Qaisra Shahraz Jagmail Singh Mandip Atwal Appointed 06 October 2020

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We Stand Together CIO

Trustees' Annual Report (continued)

Year ended 31 December 2020

Structure, governance and management

We Stand Together is constituted as a Charitable Incorporated Organisation (CIO). The CIO was registered with the Charity Commission on 27th November 2017 with its charity number being 1175945.

The CIO is governed by a board of trustees. Trustees meet at least once per calendar year. They are elected and opted under the terms of the Articles of Association. A third of the trustees retire at each Annual General Meeting and are eligible for re-election at that time. Overall responsibility for the management of We Stand Together rests with the board of trustees.

There is no chief executive officer. The day to day affairs are delegated to a Steering Group and Mr Jonny Wineberg, Director of Operations, under the direction of Mr Fahy on behalf of the trustees. All major decisions are taken collectively by the trustees and all the trustees give of their time freely. The trustees are unpaid and details of any related party transactions are disclosed as applicable in the notes to the accounts. The arrangements for setting the pay for the charity’s employees are the sole domain of the trustees.

A policy and procedure for the induction and training of new trustees is in place for new and existing trustees.

Risk review

The Trustees have assessed the major risks to which the charity is exposed, in particular those related to the operations and finances of the CIO, and are satisfied that systems are in place to manage our exposure to the major risks.

Report back and review procedures strengthen these safeguards to ensure public benefit is achieved from all grants.

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We Stand Together CIO

Trustees' Annual Report (continued)

Year ended 31 December 2020

The objects of the charity are:

The promotion of equality and diversity for the public benefit by:

• (a) promoting knowledge, mutual understanding and respect between communities;

• (b) advancing education and raising awareness about the nine protected characteristics under the Equality Act 2010 to promote good relations between persons of different groups;

• (c) working towards the elimination of discrimination on all grounds;

• (d) promoting good relations between different groups..

We Stand Together’s Mission is to:

• Celebrate the UK’s diverse communities

• Challenge hatred and intolerance

• Build a safer and stronger UK

Our vision is for the UK to act as one nation where people from all communities and backgrounds feel included and valued and hatred has no place, worth or relevance.

Our work is underpinned by the following values:

• To affirm and celebrate the diversity of the UK by raising awareness about the importance of peaceful and respectful coexistence;

• To support the principle that dialogue and cooperation can only prosper if they are rooted in respectful relationships that do not blur or undermine the distinctiveness of different communities;

• Not to discriminate for reasons of faith, race, gender, sexuality, age, physical or mental ability;

• To challenge any who promote or practice views prejudicial to the public good and inclusion of all;

• To help make the UK a place marked by mutual understanding and respect where all can practice free speech and free expression as long as that is not harmful to others;

• To be particularly mindful of the role young people play in society and encourage their development and involvement;

• To minimise negative environmental impact in our work.

Public benefit

The trustees confirm that they have referred to the guidance contained in the Charity Commission's general guidance on public benefit when reviewing the charity's aims and objectives and in planning future activities and setting grant making policy for the year.

Grant making policy

The charity is funded by donations. The charity gives out grants in line with the above objects where applicable.

There were no individual or institutional grants made during the year.

The application of the funds is normally by way of direct charitable activity.

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We Stand Together CIO

Trustees' Annual Report (continued)

Year ended 31 December 2020

Achievements and performance

It goes almost without saying that the past year has been unprecedented for everyone including all charities. Most activities have had to be suspended or moved on line and awareness raising activities have had to compete with the understandable almost complete focus on the pandemic.

In terms of the core aim of We Stand Together, to build community cohesion and fight prejudice, this has been a challenging time for all minority groups. It is now so well publicised and understood that the health and economic impacts of the pandemic have fallen disproportionately on minority groups. Tragically we have seen how poor housing, poor underlying health and poverty disproportionately affects minority groups and makes them more vulnerable. At various times we have seen people from particular groups in effect blamed for COVID.

On a more positive note the pandemic has highlighted the tremendous contribution made by people from minority communities on the front line of public services making enormous sacrifices which of itself has put them in vulnerable positions. We have also seen a tremendous increase in local volunteering, in people stepping forward to help neighbours or residents self-organising and millions of simple acts of kindness through befriending, distributing food or taking part in the vaccination programme. Many of these acts have cuts across ethnic and religious boundaries and brought people together locally.

The past year has also seen the Black Lives Matter protests arising from the murder of George Floyd in the US but also from many other historic and current grievances and opened up a huge debate across society on how individuals, organisations and the Government should respond to fight racial injustice. In some ways Brexit has not produced the harmful impact on community cohesion that some predicted but on the other hand the so called “hostile environment” towards migrants, refugees and asylum seekers has in some ways been strengthened and the recent Home Office proposals have disturbed many who feel that the UK should play its full part in welcoming those fleeing oppression and conflict.

The past year has been an important one for We Stand Together in that we were successful in securing funding from the Criminal Assets Seizure Fund for our anti-discrimination project working in schools and with local community groups to target areas where there are challenges with underlying levels of community cohesion. Of course we have not been able to take forward this work as we would have wished as schools have had other priorities or been closed but we are now seeing increasing interest and moving ahead with delivery.

There is also no doubt that there will be community cohesion challenges as we come out of the pandemic and levels of unemployment and poverty rise as the various support programmes are removed. Over the past year our series of Difficult Dialogues have moved on line and have involved many new audiences who were able to take part precisely because they were digital. We have worked with a number of new and existing partners, particularly Faith Network for Manchester and MACFEST, which put on an incredible range of events some crossing the globe. We have continued with our columns published in the Manchester Evening News on a wide range of issues that can impact community cohesion and we continue to be appreciative of that newspaper’s long record in promoting cohesion.

Achievements over the past year have included:

• Progressing our Anti-discrimination Project that is engaging schools, colleges, youth and community groups. The Workshop Pack, funded by the Big Lottery Fund, has been published and is free to download online. We have also secured funding to employ two project workers, who will being their engagement work in the new year;

• A series of fortnightly columns in the Manchester Evening News on community cohesion issues;

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We Stand Together CIO

Trustees' Annual Report (continued)

Year ended 31 December 2020

• Difficult Dialogue events on diverse topics, which moved online from March 2020. We partnered with a number of organisations to reach a wider audience, including Salford CVS, Action Together, Greater Manchester Council for Voluntary Organisations, Faith Network 4 Manchester, Sangha, Communities 4 All, Community Futures Trust, Better Things and Rainbow Surprise. At one point we were running a dialogue every other week to give people a chance to link with colleagues. Our 15 dialogues during the year included:

• How We Treat Our Emergency Services

• Preventing Hate Over Covid-19

• Immigration – Who Do You Want?

• Celebrating Diversity During Covid

• Enabling Togetherness Whilst Isolated

• Just a Chance to Connect

• Conversations Amid Crisis

• Cohesion – A Force to Combat Crisis

• The More Things Change

• Making Sense of it All

• Deeds not Words

• Whose Lives Matter?

• Who Has the Authority Dialogue to Enforce Equality?

• The Reality for Refugees during Covid-19

• Food, Poverty & Principles

• A monthly e-mailing and improvements to our website.

• Responding to several hate attacks on individuals and institutions with messages of support and visits.

I am grateful for the continuing support and contribution of my fellow trustees who all work tirelessly day to day on activities building understanding and social justice and bring so much insight. Jonny Wineberg, our Director of Operations, has done a tremendous job of building contacts, submitting funding bids, organising events and becoming a wizard on Zoom.

It is hard to measure the impact of community cohesion work and whether tolerance and understanding is growing. We Stand Together came out of a belief that the diversity of Greater Manchester, and indeed the UK, is one of its strengths and needs to be promoted and celebrated.

Community cohesion is under threat from the narratives and actions of extremists who want to promote division, from conflicts overseas and from the fact that there is not enough effort put into building understanding and addressing those issues which cause disadvantage, suspicion and prejudice. We hope in the “new normal” that there will be a renewed effort to address so many issues of disadvantage highlighted by the pandemic, build on the many examples of positive local volunteering activity and never again forget the value of the efforts of so many on the front line of our public services and other caring organisations.

Financial review

The charity received £278 in donations, £10 from sale of goods, £150 from trading and £42,785 in grants receivable during the year of which £1,864 was paid out by way of direct charitable activity and support costs. Most of these grants are due for expenditure in 2021.

This expenditure was made in line with the stated objects of the charity and was for the promotion of equality and diversity for the public benefit. Costs incurred include payments for staff, insurances and the CIO’s launch event.

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We Stand Together CIO

Trustees' Annual Report (continued)

Year ended 31 December 2020

The trustees wish to thank all their benefactors for their generosity without which the charity simply would not have been able to provide its vital services.

The charity has low governance costs comprising professional fees.

There were no material fundraising costs during the year.

There were no related party transactions in the reporting period.

Reserves policy

The Unrestricted Fund represents the unrestricted funds arising from past operating results. The Trustees are working towards increasing the balance of this Fund through increasing donations.

The Trustees are satisfied that the overall balance of the Fund is an acceptable level of reserves given the nature of receipts against expenditure on charitable activity.

In considering the financial obligations of the charity, the trustees have resolved to maintain a reserve equal to at least six months charity expenditure.

The trustees are delighted to have made many valuable contributions to the community and hope to be able to do so for many years to come.

The reserves stand at £45,005 of which £43,994 relates to the restricted fund and £1,011 the unrestricted fund.

The trustees' annual report was approved on 19 May 2021 and signed on behalf of the board of trustees by:

Sir Peter Fahy

Chair of Trustees

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We Stand Together CIO

Statement of Financial Activities

Year ended 31 December 2020

		Year	to 31 Dec 2020
		Unrestricted	Restricted
		funds	fundsTotal funds
	Note	£	£	£
Income and endowments
Donations, grants and legacies	1	278	42,785	43,223
Sales	2	10	0	10
Trading	3	150	0	150
		-----------------------	----------------------------	----------------------------
Total income		438	42,785	43,223
		=======================	============================	============================
Expenditure
Expenditure on charitable activities	4	0	1,864	1,864
		-----------------------	----------------------------	----------------------------
Total expenditure		0	1,864	1,864
		=======================	============================	============================
		-----------------------	----------------------------	----------------------------
Net income and net movement in	funds	438	40,921	41,359
		=======================	============================	============================
Reconciliation of funds
Total funds brought forward		573	3,074	3,647
		-----------------------	----------------------------	----------------------------
Total funds carried forward		1011	43,995	45,006
		=======================	============================	============================

The statement of financial activities includes all gains and losses recognised in the year.

All income and expenditure derive from continuing activities.

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We Stand Together CIO

Statement of Financial Position

Year ended 31 December 2020

		2020
	Note	£	£
Current assets
Cash at bank and in hand		45,006
Creditors: amounts falling due within one year		0
		----------------------------
Net current assets			45,006
			-----------------------
Total assets less current liabilities			45,006
			-----------------------
Net assets			45,006
			=======================
Funds of the charity
Restricted funds			43,995
Unrestricted funds			1,011
			-----------------------
Total charity funds			45,006
			=======================

These financial statements were approved by the board of trustees and authorised for issue on 19 May 2021, and are signed on behalf of the board by:

Sir Peter Fahy

Chair of Trustees

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We Stand Together CIO

Notes to the Financial Statements

Year ended 31 December 2020

1. Donations, grants and legacies

		Unrestricted	Restricted	Total Funds
		Funds	Funds	2020
		£	£	£
	Donations
	Donations	278	–	278
	Grants
	Grants receivable	–	42,785	42,785
2.	Sales
	Badges	10		10
			–
3.	Trading	150	–	150
		-----------------------	----------------------------	----------------------------
		438	42,785	43,223
		=======================	============================	============================

4. Expenditure on charitable activities by activity type

Activities undertaken directly 2020

£

Insurances Marketing	164 500
Staffing Governance costs	1,200 -
	----------------------------
	1,864
	============================

No salaries, wages or expenses have been paid to the trustees during the period. There have been no related party transactions in the year.

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