## Dorcas Dress Project - 2022-23 Trustees’ Report ## Aims (Public Benefit Statement) The Dorcas Dress Project charitable goal is: _The object of the CIO is the relief of financial hardship anywhere in the world by providing sewing equipment, training and support to enable individuals to generate a sustainable income and be self-sufficient and to do so using Christian values and for the public benefit._ ## Structure & Governance ## Trustees (as of end of financial year) |Name|Role| |---|---| |Melissa Russon|Trustee (Chair)| |Kojo Amoasi|Trustee (Treasurer)| |Nana Amoasi|Trustee| |Rev Hasna Khatun|Trustee| |Hannah Harrison|Trustee| Trustees are likely to contribute 4-5 hours a month towards their work for the charity. In the 2023-24 financial year, it is an objective to create and implement a formal trustee recruitment process. In this financial year we were able to recruit a Treasurer for the first time, which has led to significant improvements in our financial processes and understanding. ## Executive Team |Executive Team|| |---|---| |Name|Role| |Maria Skoyles|CEO| Maria is employed as CEO for 8 hours a week. 2022-23 Trustees’ Report Dorcas Dress Project ## Staff Dorcas Dress Project employed no staff (beyond the executive team) in the 2022-23 financial year. ## Volunteers Over the duration of this year we have worked with 4 volunteers in Oswestry and 8 volunteers in Leicester. We’ve supported 3 sewing hubs across two countries in Africa (Uganda and Nigeria), involving 14 volunteers. This is a total of 26 volunteers. ## Status We are a Charitable Incorporated Organisation, registered with the Charity Commission, no. 1177034. ## Objectives for 2022-23 Our overall goal for the year was to develop and expand our Learning Hubs across the UK and Africa, working from our existing links in Nigeria: with the vision of combating social exclusion and isolation, raising aspirations and increasing employability across marginalised communities. Our objectives were to: - Maintain and support the work of our sewing hub in Oswestry, UK. - Continue working with the pop-up sewing hub in Leicester, whilst dress production is completed. - Explore options of starting a sewing hub in Oxfordshire. - Maintain and support sales at our one international sewing hub in Nigeria. - Identify, fundraise, enrol and train volunteers at 2 further international hubs in Africa. - Identify and start fundraising for 2 further international hubs. ## Performance against Objectives _Maintain and support the work of our sewing hub in Oswestry, UK_ We’ve continued to support the work of our existing hub in Oswestry. _Continue working with the pop-up sewing hub in Leicester, while dress production is completed_ Following a fundraising campaign in January-March 2022, we worked with a factory in Leicester to produce a run of Dorcas dresses. This was our first experience of working directly with a factory. The goal of the fundraiser was to provide free English lessons for 2022-23 Trustees’ Report Dorcas Dress Project workers in the factory. Many of these workers speak very little English, and often they don’t have a language in common with other workers in the factory floor, either. Following the production run, the factory chose to provide English lessons themselves for their workers during working hours - an outcome we were very pleased with! The funds we raised were redirected to provide free English classes targeting garment workers elsewhere in the city. ## _Explore options of starting a sewing hub in Oxfordshire_ As we close this financial year we have just started a sewing hub in West Oxfordshire during March, where we hope to provide weekly access for over 100 asylum seeking families to make, mend and repair donated clothes, providing them improved self-esteem, an opportunity to build relationships across cultures and be welcomed by local residents in the village. _Maintain and support sales at our one international sewing hub in Nigeria_ We have maintained our sewing hub in Nigeria, providing a sales opportunity for a batch of dresses. _Identify, fundraise, enrol and train volunteers at 2 further international hubs in Africa_ We have also established 2 new sewing hubs in Uganda, one in Kampala and one in the Teso region. We have provided online virtual training and opportunities to improve and develop their sewing skills. We have received a first small batch of dresses from one of our Ugandan hubs, ready for us to sell and financially support their team of 6 local dressmakers. ## _Identify and start fundraising for 2 further international hubs._ We have made a connection with GLO, a charity based in Burundi and have started training some of their charity delegates so they can use the project to support people in local need. We have also started fundraising so we can set up a project in the largest refugee camp in Tanzania. ## _Additional achievements in this financial year_ With the introduction of our new online Moodle training programme, we have been able to track enrolments onto each new module and monitor training progress and completed assessments. Through providing online virtual sewing classes as required by each sewing hub we have been able to provide the necessary and personalised support to meet the individual needs of volunteers and beneficiaries. The Moodle platform enables sewing hubs to monitor the progress of beneficiaries, while improving confidence in volunteers and beneficiaries alike as they begin to use the progression tools. Certificates of achievement are available to recognise achievement, and validate tasks being carried out which they may have otherwise felt incapable of. Our hope is that beneficiaries will leave us with improved self-esteem, mental health and self-worth enabling us to provide them with strong references, which will in turn support future employment opportunities. Our training platform has been used by sewing hubs and volunteers in Shropshire, Leicestershire and Berkshire. 2022-23 Trustees’ Report Dorcas Dress Project Our volunteers and beneficiaries have made the following comments: _“I am hugely impressed with the way the sewing instructions are put on video. It must have taken a great deal of time. Every step is explained very clearly and shown very clearly. “_ _"I've finally found something I truly love and want to do. I'd do it everyday if I could." “Throughout the project… I have felt well supported.”_ _“From the initial meeting on zoom where everything was explained and then the_ _bombardment of questions and queries that came your way from the Oswestry team, which were all promptly answered, through to the details that you are answering now, I’ve felt well supported and encouraged. “_ _“The group training sessions, the flow charts and the individual training input have given me confidence to go live…The videos are a great resource.”_ _“It’s been exciting to see how [the lockdown has been used] to build relationships through zoom but also to build more solid structures in the project so that it is much more of a package now. It’s come a long way from an instruction manual and a dress to sew to a package that teaches sewing skills at a slower pace so there is (hopefully) confidence in the trainees that they will have the skills to make the dress well.”_ ## _Learning from this financial year_ We have achieved a lot on our little income and recognised the need to be more organised and intentional about fundraising so we can support all beneficiaries across our growing hub network. ## Financials ## _Treasurer’s report_ The 2022-23 financial year is my first partial year as treasurer of the Dorcas Dress Project, after having been the external reviewer of accounts for 2021-22 in November 2022. In summary, it presented a year of smaller financial activity than 2021-22, but the year was otherwise sustainable. At a high level, the charity ended the financial year with £4033.63 (of which a portion will need to be returned to a sponsor) compared to £4145 for the previous year. However the total outgoings and incomings were lower the previous financial year, with incomings at £9933 and £15471 and outgoings £10556 and £18145 for 2022-23 and 2021-22 (derived from the nominal activity report). Particular items I will highlight is the 75% drop in the volume of sales and correspondingly of Gift Aid, although there is a corresponding drop in the cost of sales. Also, while business donations have remained broadly in line with last year, personal donations are down significantly. The Leicester hub and the Crowdfunder donations contributed significantly to the unreserved donations from last year. It is also worth highlighting that macroeconomic conditions for the 2022-23 financial year have been worse than the previous year, with successive interest rate increases and high inflation. Additionally, pensions are now correctly being accounted for and travelling and postage costs have gone up, 3.6x and 3.3x respectively. 2022-23 Trustees’ Report Dorcas Dress Project Transactions and financial data is stored through a combination of manual automatic input into the shared Google Drive and Sage Accounting through hard work from the CEO. The treasurer has only been taking a regular and in depth look at the data towards the end of the financial year and would be looking to build regular oversight over the accounts for the next financial year. There are various areas and options available to the Dorcas Dress Project, such as defining a reserves policy, that would be worth investigating in the next financial year (2023-24) to ensure strong foundations and confidence the charity can react to upcoming changes. Also, further investigation into how to raise both sales and personal donations. ## Reserves Policy For the 2022-23 financial year, the Dorcas Dress Project didn’t have a reserves policy. This is primarily as the team had not gotten round to formalising a policy as it has been maturing its processes. In the 2023-24 financial year, it is an objective to create and implement a reserves policy. 2022-23 Trustees’ Report Dorcas Dress Project ## **The Dorcas Dress Project** ## **Balance Sheet Report** _To: 31 March, 2023_ |**ASSETS**|| |---|---| |**Fixed Assets**|| ||| |**Total Fixed Assets**|**£0.00**| |**Current Assets**|| |1020 - Stock - Finished Goods
8,105.68|| |1200 - Bank Account
4,033.63|| |1220 - Paypal
143.95|| |**Total Current Assets**|**£12,283.26**| ||| |**TOTAL ASSETS**|**£12,283.26**| ||| |**LIABILITIES**|| |**Current Liabilities**|| |2100 - Trade Creditors
4.00|| |2210 - PAYE to pay to HMRC
44.40|| |**Total Current Liabilities**|**£48.40**| |**Future Liabilities**|| ||| |**Total Future Liabilities**|**£0.00**| ||| |**TOTAL LIABILITIES**|**£48.40**| ||| |**TOTAL NET ASSETS**|**£12,234.86**| ||| 19 Jul 2023 16:02 Page 1 of 2 |**EQUITY**||| |---|---|---| |Net Profit / Loss|12,234.86|| |_Net Profit / Loss (prior year(s))_|12,561.13|| |_Net Profit / Loss (current year)_|-326.27|| ||**TOTAL EQUITY**|**£12,234.86**| 19 Jul 2023 16:02 Page 2 of 2 ## **The Dorcas Dress Project** ## **Profit and Loss Report** _01 April, 2022 - 31 March, 2023_ |**Sales**|**Sales**|| |---|---|---| |4000 - Sales - (total received)
714.76||| |4100 - Gift Aid
126.25||| |4101 - Unreserved donations (business)
6,051.53||| |4102 - Unreserved donations (personal)
567.57||| |4103 - Reserved donations for Tanzania project
1,782.74||| |4301 - Sponsorship - Nigeria
690.00||| |**Total Sales**||**£9,932.85**| |**Direct Expenses**||| |1000 - Stock - Raw Materials
43.36||| |5000 - Cost of Sales - Goods
31.99||| |5500 - Hub Resources - Tools & equipment
524.45||| |5503 - Resources and costs for Tanzania project
1,892.70||| |6000 - Marketing|271.89|| ||**Total Direct Expenses**|**£2,764.39**| ||**GROSS PROFIT / LOSS**|**£7,168.46**| |**Overheads**||| |7000 - Employee Wages and Salaries|5,660.00|| |7030 - Employer's Pension|373.00|| |7400 - Travelling|536.35|| |7500 - Printing|57.94|| |7510 - Postage and Carriage|453.91|| |7630 - Business Insurance|145.60|| |7900 - Bank Charges and Interest|16.35|| |||| 19 Jul 2023 15:56 Page 1 of 2 |8200 - General Expenses
251.58|| |---|---| |**Total Overheads**|**£7,494.73**| |**NET PROFIT / LOSS**|**-£326.27**| 19 Jul 2023 15:56 Page 2 of 2 From: 01/04/2022 To: 31/03/2023 19 Jul 2023 16:02 ## The Dorcas Dress Project **Trial Balance Report** ## This period only |**Nominal Code**|**Name**||**Last Financial Year**|**Last Financial Year**| |---|---|---|---|---| ||||Debit|Credit| |1000|Stock - Raw Materials||43.36|| |1020|Stock - Finished Goods||21.60|| |1200|Bank Account|||111.41| |1220|Paypal||143.94|| |2100|Trade Creditors|||104.00| |2210|PAYE to pay to HMRC|||276.40| |4000|Sales - (total received)|||714.76| |4100|Gift Aid|||126.25| |4101|Unreserved donations (business)|||6,051.53| |4102|Unreserved donations (personal)|||567.57| |4103|Reserved donations for Tanzania project|||1,782.74| |4301|Sponsorship - Nigeria|||690.00| |5000|Cost of Sales - Goods||31.99|| |5500|Hub Resources - Tools & equipment||524.45|| |5503|Resources and costs for Tanzania project||1,892.70|| |6000|Marketing||271.89|| |7000|Employee Wages and Salaries||5,660.00|| |7030|Employer's Pension||373.00|| |7400|Travelling||536.35|| |7500|Printing||57.94|| |7510|Postage and Carriage||453.91|| |7630|Business Insurance||145.60|| |7900|Bank Charges and Interest||16.35|| |8200|General Expenses||251.58|| |||**TOTAL**|**£10,424.66**|**£10,424.66**| Produced by Sage Business Cloud Accounting Page 1 of 1 |445
Purchase QE Invoice
18/10/2022
Facebook
155 ads
20.00
0.00
20.00
356
Purchase QE Invoice
23/10/2022
ebay
123 sewing machine
39.99
0.00
39.99
362
Purchase QE Invoice
28/10/2022
Royal Mail
138 postage
3.35
0.00
3.35
363
Purchase QE Invoice
28/10/2022
Royal Mail
139 postage
3.35
0.00
3.35
364
Purchase QE Invoice
28/10/2022
Royal Mail
140 postage
0.95
0.00
0.95
365
Purchase QE Invoice
30/10/2022
ebay
124 bosch cutters
28.99
0.00
28.99
366
Purchase QE Invoice
30/10/2022
ebay
125 cutting pegs
3.50
0.00
3.50
367
Purchase QE Invoice
30/10/2022
ebay
126 cutting safety gloves
11.39
0.00
11.39
368
Purchase QE Invoice
30/10/2022
ebay
127 machine bobbins
4.99
0.00
4.99
369
Purchase QE Invoice
30/10/2022
ebay
141 fabric shears
6.62
0.00
6.62
370
Purchase QE Invoice
30/10/2022
ebay
128 tape measures
3.49
0.00
3.49
371
Purchase QE Invoice
30/10/2022
ebay
129 tailors chalk
3.98
0.00
3.98
372
Purchase QE Invoice
30/10/2022
ebay
130 embroidery scissors
6.60
0.00
6.60
373
Purchase QE Invoice
30/10/2022
ebay
154 Facebook
3.14
0.00
3.14
374
Purchase QE Invoice
31/10/2022
Toolstation
144 lubricant spray
10.19
0.00
10.19
375
Purchase QE Invoice
31/10/2022
ebay
132 sewing machine. bands
3.90
0.00
3.90
376
Purchase QE Invoice
31/10/2022
Stikets
145 labels for Tanzania
20.96
0.00
20.96
443
Purchase QE Invoice
31/10/2022
ebay
131 LED lights machines
14.20
0.00
14.20
377
Purchase QE Invoice
10/11/2022
Royal Mail
146 postage
2.85
0.00
2.85
378
Purchase QE Invoice
22/11/2022
UPS
147 parcel to Tanzania
437.34
0.00
437.34
379
Purchase QE Invoice
01/12/2022
Facebook
153 facebook
7.41
0.00
7.41
380
Purchase QE Invoice
05/12/2022
Royal Mail
148 postage
2.85
0.00
2.85
381
Purchase QE Invoice
10/12/2022
ebay
149 cutters for Burundi
43.95
0.00
43.95
382
Purchase QE Invoice
10/12/2022
ebay
150 cutters for Burundi
43.25
0.00
43.25
383
Purchase QE Invoice
18/12/2022
ebay
151 cutters fro Burundi
51.50
0.00
51.50
384
Purchase QE Invoice
22/12/2022
Stikets
152 labels for Burundi
49.30
0.00
49.30
487
Purchase Invoice
06/01/2023
ebay
10.17
0.00
10.17
491
Purchase Invoice
07/01/2023
ebay
170
54.34
0.00
54.34
531
Purchase QE Invoice
10/01/2023
Royal Mail
168 postage
8.05
0.00
8.05
497
Purchase Invoice
11/01/2023
ebay
6.62
0.00
6.62
515
Purchase Invoice
11/01/2023
Stikets
20.57
0.00
20.57
501
Purchase Invoice
12/01/2023
Royal Mail
178
5.95
0.00
5.95|The Dorcas Dress Project
From: 01/04/2022
02 Jun 2023
**Purchase Day Book Report**
To:
31/03/2023
14:26| |---|---| |**TOTAL**
**£1,434.33**
**£0.00**
**£1,434.33**|495
Purchase Invoice
23/01/2023
ebay
174
18.58
0.00
18.58
504
Purchase Invoice
26/01/2023
Lontex Cargo
180
5.95
0.00
5.95
492
Purchase Invoice
31/01/2023
ebay
171
19.47
0.00
19.47
494
Purchase Invoice
31/01/2023
ebay
173
13.87
0.00
13.87
500
Purchase Invoice
31/01/2023
ebay
177
7.77
0.00
7.77
518
Purchase Invoice
01/02/2023
Royal Mail
180
5.95
0.00
5.95
509
Purchase Invoice
14/02/2023
Royal Mail
182
3.35
0.00
3.35
512
Purchase Invoice
23/02/2023
ebay
185
9.02
0.00
9.02
511
Purchase Invoice
28/02/2023
ebay
184
0.99
0.00
0.99
609
Purchase Invoice
01/03/2023
Paypal
1.35
0.00
1.35
508
Purchase Invoice
02/03/2023
Royal Mail
181
3.35
0.00
3.35
510
Purchase Invoice
02/03/2023
ebay
5.00
0.00
5.00|The Dorcas Dress Project
From: 01/04/2022
02 Jun 2023
**Purchase Day Book Report**
To:
31/03/2023
14:26| |---|---|---|