Trustees’ Annual Report for the period
From 01/04/2020 To 31/03/2021
Charity name: Inspire LGBT (operating as It Gets Better UK)
Charity registration number: 1176164
Objectives and Activities
The object of the charity as outlined within the governing constitution is:
To promote equality & diversity for the public benefit and in particular the elimination of discrimination on the grounds of sexual orientation and gender identity by:
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A. Producing an archive of material to raise awareness of the public about the issues & difficulties affecting the lives of lesbian, gay, bisexual & transgender (LGBT) people.
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B. Providing an online resource created by the wider lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) community with a view to combat the disproportionate levels of reported suicidal thoughts and actions in LGBT youth.
In the performance of meeting these objectives the trustees have had regard to the guidance issued by the Charity Commission on public benefit.
Achievements and Performance
This report covers our second full year since launching on 11[th] October 2018, working to continue to establish ourselves across the UK and building our volunteer network to further achieve our charitable objectives.
Like many charities the impact of Covid-19 on our plans for this year has been significant. As we have continued to grow we planned on attending more Pride events across the UK, however due to the lockdowns in place these events were understandably cancelled with some taking place online.
Therefore, our continued focus during the year was on continuing to grow and expand our archive of positive and uplifting stories of people within the LGBT community, as well as curating positive LGBT news and content to inspire, empower and uplift LGBT youth.
With the impact of lockdown across the UK hitting, and the significant impact on the mental health of young LGBT people we partnered up with the British LGBT Awards to run the In This Together campaign. The campaign involved famous people within the LGBTQ+ community creating positive messages aimed at those who might be in lockdown with people who they perhaps weren’t out to, or who didn’t accept them for who they are, letting
them know that they’re seen and accepted. About 20 different celebrities took part, and those videos on YouTube have been accessed over 30,000 times.
Financial Review
As a small, volunteer run charity our financial position at the end of the reporting period was healthy. Our annual running costs and expenditure were low, with the majority being spent on the website or social media advertising.
We received a number of donations through our website, as well as receiving funds through retailers where part of the purchase is donated to charity. In particular we are grateful to ELF for their generous donation as part of their Pride partnership with us. We have also been given a grant from the Iola Foundation to run a project over the coming year.
Whilst we have significantly increased our current funds this is in major part due to not being able attend Pride events this year which would have been our main expenditure. We will therefore continue to utilise that income to enable our Regional Ambassadors to attend more Pride events throughout the UK when possible.
Our reserves policy is that we will always hold enough to ensure we can pay core costs for 6 months, or £500, whichever value is greater.
Structure, Governance and Management
The charity is constituted as a CIO operating under a constitution.
The charity is currently managed by five trustees who are appointed by the board. The Board would like to thank Helen Maree Rawlings Morris, one of the founding trustees for all her contributions having recently stepped down. The board regularly reviews the skills of the trustees to review if further appointments are needed, and will shortly be appointing two additional trustees with expertise in volunteer management, and knowledge of the wider LGBTQ+ community. Recruitment of any trustees is done through a competitive selection process, including interviews by at least two trustees.
Reference and Administrative details
Charity name: Inspire LGBT (operating as It Gets Better UK)
Registered charity number: 1176164
Charity’s principal address: 41B Ridgeway Road, Chesham, HP5 2EH
Trustees: Dr Alexander Rhys Dr Hefin Rhys Sophie Macken Cecilia Dominici Jesse Finch Gnehm
Assets: The charity does not own any property or land.
Declarations
The trustees declare that they have approved the trustees’ report above.
Signed on behalf of the charity’s trustees
Signature(s) A Rhys
Full name(s) Dr Alexander Rhys
Position (eg Secretary, Chair Chair, etc)
Date 26 August 2021
Receipts and Payment account
| Unrestricted Restricted Receipts Donations £1,728.96 Corporate Pride Partnership £10,000.00 Grant – Iola Foundation £2,773.84 Total Receipts Payments Advertising £90.00 Income Generation £20.00 Volunteer Expenses £66.00 Website £212.47 MakeRoomFor Project £158.25 Total Payments Cash funds at 31 March 2020 Cash funds at 31 March 2021 |
Total £1,728.96 £10,000.00 £2,773.84 |
|---|---|
| £14,502.80 £90.00 £20.00 £68.45 £212.47 £158.25 |
|
| £546.72 | |
| £2,812.05 | |
| £16,768.13 |
Statement of Assets and Liabilities as of 31 March 2020
Cash funds Cash at bank and in hand £16.768.13 Total cash funds £16.768.13 Funds Restricted funds £2,615.59 Unrestricted funds General funds £14,152.54 Total funds £16.768.13