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2024-03-31-accounts

Dorcas Dress Project - 2023-24 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. Trustees are appointed for a term of 3 years and can be reappointed for up to a further 2 terms. Our governing document stipulates a minimum of 3 and maximum of 7 Trustees.

Due to personal circumstances, 2 of our Trustees (Hannah Harrison and Hasna Khatun) took a 3 month hiatus from the role from January-March 2024. All other Trustees remained in their roles throughout the year.

In March 2024 we launched our first formal Trustee recruitment campaign with a view to recruiting 2 more Trustees and a new Treasurer.

2023-24 Trustees’ Report Dorcas Dress Project

Challenges for 2024-25

Growing the Trustee team

As the charity grows, so do the responsibilities of the Trustees. We plan to use our new recruitment process to increase the size of the Trustee team. As part of this, we may need to review our constitution which stipulates that we can have 3-7 people on the Trustee team.

Recruiting a new Treasurer

Over the past year, we’ve been blessed with a Treasurer with a good head for numbers and a commitment to see the charity thrive. Thanks to his work, we’ve been able to identify gaps in our financial knowledge and understanding and we’ve recognised the need for specialist financial experience within our team. Our current Treasurer wants to step down from the Treasurer role (while continuing as a Trustee) to make space for someone with relevant financial experience.

Recruiting a new Chair

Following 6 years as a Trustee and 2 years as Chair, our current Chair will be stepping down from both Chair and Trustee roles in June 2024. A new Chair will be appointed from the existing Trustee team or recruited externally.

Expanding our network into Asia.

We now have 8 sewing hubs in Africa. It would be wonderful if we could serve people in Asia with a sewing hub. This would also add variety to our range of dresses for sale to customers.

Expanding our network in the UK.

We have worked had to serve the asylum seeking community in West Oxfordshire. It makes sense to develop this program as other organisations have been keen to work with us and support additional hubs in towns across the county.

Executive Team

Executive Team
Name Role
Maria Skoyles CEO

Maria is employed as CEO for 8 hours a week.

2023-24 Trustees’ Report Dorcas Dress Project

Thanks to funding from the National Lottery, we were able to employ Maria for an additional 4 hrs/week throughout the 2023-24 financial year. This funding, and therefore the additional staff time, was restricted for the purpose of setting up and running a local Oxfordshire hub working with asylum seekers.

As the charity is growing and with it the burden of the work, we would like to explore employing Maria for more time in the 2024-25 financial year and beyond.

Staff

Dorcas Dress Project employed no staff (beyond the executive team) in the 2023-24 financial year.

As the charity is growing and with it the burden of the work, we would like to explore employing additional staff in the 2024-25 financial year and beyond.

Volunteers

The Dorcas Dress Project relies on volunteers in each hub to serve their local community. Our UK hubs have 10 volunteers across the network, linked to local churches for Safeguarding purposes. Our Africa hubs are structured differently, attached to local organisations that use The Dorcas Dress Project resources as a means of supporting local people living in financial hardship.

We purchase dresses from these hubs, providing income to set up people’s own small enterprises.

Status

We are a Charitable Incorporated Organisation, registered with the Charity Commission, no. 1177034.

Objectives for 2023-24

Governance objectives:

2023-24 Trustees’ Report Dorcas Dress Project

Financial objectives:

Operational objectives:

Spiritual objectives:

Performance against Objectives

Governance objectives

Set up Trustee recruitment procedure

Historically, we’ve experienced a fair amount of inconsistency in the Trustee team due to Trustees not being able to undertake in practice the responsibilities they have agreed to in theory. Trustees have primarily been recruited by asking people directly.

In line with recommendations from Getting On Board, in 2023-24 we set up a new, formal Trustee recruitment process. Potential Trustees are required to apply for the role and be interviewed. This gives them the opportunity to thoughtfully consider how they will create capacity for the role before taking it on. In addition, it means we can advertise more widely.

In March 2024 we launched our first formal Trustee recruitment campaign with a view to recruiting 2 more Trustees and a new Treasurer.

Improve decision-making and reporting procedures

We made several improvements to our processes including:

2023-24 Trustees’ Report Dorcas Dress Project

Implement a reserves policy

In 2023-24 we created a reserves policy which is now being implemented (see Treasurer’s report below).

Operational objectives

Grow the staff team

We have not grown the staff team in 2023-24 but we are ending the year in a strong position to do so in 2024-25.

We are also working closely with the Department for Work and Pensions Disability Aware Scheme, providing supported voluntary work experience for one person which would like to see turn into permanent employment.

Build a sustainable marketing strategy with realistic budget

Like many small charities we have struggled to build a strong marketing presence alongside the operational demands of running our hubs. This is especially important for us as dress sales are one of our income streams.

We spent a weekend at the Christian arts and environmental festival, Greenbelt where the sales of our dresses were such a success we had sold out by Saturday afternoon. We received a lot of exposure whilst at Greenbelt and thoroughly enjoyed the opportunity to talk about what we do and be encouraged by so many dress sales.

Thanks to a donation in kind we worked with a copywriter to develop key messaging for the Dorcas Dress Project brand. This has proved useful in supporting fundraising applications.

For 2024-25 we are exploring:

2023-24 Trustees’ Report Dorcas Dress Project

Grow our hubs internationally and in the UK

Africa

We now have 8 sewing hubs in Africa: one in Nigeria, three in Burundi, two in Uganda and one in the largest refugee camp in Tanzania. These hubs directly serve over 50 tailors and dressmakers, which indirectly serves their local fabric suppliers, communities, families and church networks. We've developed our online learning platform to provide French translations for some of our partners and we are working on a Swahili version too.

We are exploring links for a new hub in Kenya.

UK

Our Shropshire hub serves those with mental health issues and has grown to support 2 new trainees in 2023-24.

Our West Oxfordshire hub, started at the end of last financial year, serves asylum seekers as they navigate the challenges of settling in the UK. Over 40 families have regularly interacted with these weekly sessions where they can mend and alter donated clothes as well as learn how to sew by using our Dorcas dress pattern as a teaching tool. At least.

We are currently exploring links for new hubs in Bristol and Stroud, as well as expanding our work in Oxfordshire by serving towns across the county.

Asia

We’ve built links with communities in India and Thailand with a view to starting new hubs in 2024-25.

Spiritual objectives

Explore who we are as a worshipping community and how to build a sustainable international community that serves all its members, practically and spiritually.

Exploring how our community can grow in faith, serve one another, worship together and have an impact on the injustices and environmental concerns the global fashion industry generates. We need to improve our internet and online access provision to do this, engage partners in learning conversations and completing research. This will involve engaging in learning conversations with up to 4 sewing hubs across our global network.

In March 2024 as part of her MA research our CEO visited a selection of hubs across our network, spending time getting to know hub members, understanding their local contexts, and providing training on business and sewing skills.

2023-24 Trustees’ Report Dorcas Dress Project

Financials

The 2023-24 financial year has seen the expanded reach and maturity of the charity. The year has seen a sizable increase in the number of grants received, as well as the amount of personal and business donations. This has helped the charity to be more financially active with the various hubs and expand to serve/help more, as well as creating opportunities like Maria travelling to hubs in Africa near the end of the calendar year.

Significant work was done towards the end of the year to increase the amount of money available to the charity to work towards our charitable objective, which led to income being notably greater than outgoings at the end of the financial year. In the upcoming financial year we expect outgoings to respectively increase, for example by employing additional staff and increasing and investing in our hubs.

Improving process, reporting and accountability was a focus that has been delivered on, which has led to improved visibility of financial activity throughout the year, introduction of processes like the reserves policy and greater confidence in being able to communicate data to trustees and other interested/concerned parties.

Structure

To provide context on the information below and to aid understanding the full financial reports accompanying this document, the charity’s finances can be grouped as following:

2023-24 Trustees’ Report Dorcas Dress Project

appreciation of dresses comparing cost to wholesale price and sale price - wholesale price.

Income

At the end of the year, Dorcas Dress Project had £18,881 in total assets, split between £13,558 in cash and £5,278 in dresses (stock). A small amount (£45) was also held in petty cash . This presents a 54% increase compared to 22-23 (£12283), primarily due to a strong increase in the number of successful grant applications and donations received.

On the grant side, this included generous support from the National Lottery Community Fund, Souters Family Trust and West Oxfordshire District Council. With respect to donations, there was an 89% increase year on year.

Dress sales amounted to £3042, a greater than 4x increase, leading to the charity gaining £532 that can be used to further the work and development of the charity. With respect to the value of dresses held in stock, that increased £1687 (it should be noted the year began with an audit of the quantity and value of dresses).

Cash income to the charity, focusing on the primary banking with Natwest, within the year was £25659, representing an over 3x increase.

Outgoings

Employee costs, including salary and pension, represented the greatest cost to the charity, amounting to £8955. Money paid to dress makers in return for new stock amounted to £1171 and total charitable (i.e. not purchasing dresses) activity across all the hubs, as well as contributing towards the development of new hubs totaled to £4469. National Lottery funding directly paid for some of the hours worked this year, and the aforementioned total of charitable giving figure includes some of the staff time, collectively accounting for £6529 of employee costs.

2023-24 Trustees’ Report Dorcas Dress Project

We have been improving our processes for distributing staff costs to funds and hubs, and we hope to provide even greater clarity on the activity here. Unfortunately the changes compared to the 22-23 make providing accurate comparisons difficult.

Other costs of the charity included marketing, postage and carriage and insurance fees.

Liabilities

Liabilities to be aware of for the next year can be split into two categories. Firstly, pension and PAYE contributions relating to the last month of the 23-24 financial year, which will be paid in April 2024. Secondly, sponsorships provided for making dresses in specific hubs, as well as restricted funds for the development of new hubs and support of the Ducklington hub.

Operational/misc.

On improving processes, significant work went into ensuring the information in our accounting software aligned closely to the work of the charity and made it easy to spot activity, errors and omissions.

A reserves policy was drafted and discussed for a large part of the financial year, and efforts were made to consider the state of the charity as if it was in place, and the reserves policy will be formally enacted in the upcoming financial year.

We aimed to review the balance of activities relating to finances between the CEO and treasurer, to for example reduce overhead on the CEO and improve visibility. No significant changes in the year we made but we will continue to monitor and improve how we operate in this regard.

Overall, hard work has allowed the Dorcas Dress Project to end the year in a strong financial position, and we hope to make further progress in the next year.

2023-24 Trustees’ Report Dorcas Dress Project

Dorcas Dress Project - 2023-24 Independent Accounts Audit

An independent audit of the accounts of Dorcas Dress Project were performed at the end of the 2023-24 financial year. During the audit the financial reports were reviewed and compared against documents and other information about the activity of the charity.

This document attests that the independent auditor agrees the reports and documents are an accurate representation of the financial activity of the Dorcas Dress Project in 2023-24.

Name: Signed:

Date:

The Dorcas Dress Project Trial Balance Report

From: 01/04/2023 To: 31/03/2024

29 May 2024 22:27

This period only

Nominal Code
Name
Last Financial Year
Nominal Code
Name
Last Financial Year
Debit
Credit
1200
NATWEST Bank Account
9,524.40
1220
Paypal
143.95
1230
PETTY CASH
44.73
2100
Trade Creditors
4.00
2210
PAYE to pay to HMRC
150.00
2260
Pension
182.50
4900
Other income
21.23
6000
Marketing
776.69
7000
Employee Wages and Salaries
2,220.63
7030
Employer's Pension
262.50
7400
Travelling
184.95
7510
Postage and Carriage
101.59
7630
Business Insurance
145.60
7900
Bank Charges and Interest
33.03
8200
General Expenses
180.92
10200
Stock - Finished Goods
5,278.01
10900
Appreciation of stock / value of donated goods
3,098.41
40000
Sales - (total received by customer at transaction)
2,803.73
40001
Sales revenue - wholesale price deducted
532.22
40002
Sales - total received for stock control purposes
2,518.42
51000
Gift Aid
675.58
51001
Unreserved donations (business)
10,000.00
51002
Unreserved donations (personal)
2,314.58
53003
Sponsorship for dress production for specific hub development: Africa - Nigeria
690.00
53004
Sponsorship for dress production for specific hub development: Africa - Kampala, Uganda
385.00
53505
Sponsorship - spent on dress production for re-investment in stock after sales: Africa - Teso,
Uganda
350.00
53999
Sponsorship returns
690.00
54002
Cost of production: UK - Ducklington
140.00
54004
Cost of production: Africa - Kampala Uganda
435.00
54005
Cost of production: Africa - Teso, Uganda
119.34
54007
Cost of production: Africa - Burundi
125.00
55000
Restricted funds
- new hubs development (global)
967.45

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The Dorcas Dress Project Trial Balance Report

From: 01/04/2023 To: 31/03/2024

29 May 2024 22:27

55002 Restricted funds to support specific hub: UK - Ducklington 843.83
65000 Charitable activity - for general hub support (available to all hubs) 476.35
65001 Charitable activity - our support to a specific hub: UK - Oswestry 150.03
65004 Charitable activity - our support to a specific hub: Africa - Kampala, Uganda 555.34
65005 Charitable activity - our support to a specific hub: Africa - Teso, Uganda 1,162.34
65006 Charitable activity - our support to a specific hub: Africa - Tanzania 157.25
65007 Charitable activity - our support to a specific hub: Africa - Burundi 302.60
999023 Balancing at end of financial year, including assets 2023 3,141.56
999024 Balancing at end of financial year 100.00
TOTAL £25,994.38 £25,994.38

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The Dorcas Dress Project

Balance Sheet Report

To: 31 March, 2024

ASSETS ASSETS
Fixed Assets
Total Fixed Assets £0.00
Current Assets
1200 - NATWEST Bank Account
13,558.03
1230 - PETTY CASH
44.73
10200 - Stock - Finished Goods
5,278.01
Total Current
Assets
£18,880.77
TOTAL ASSETS £18,880.77
LIABILITIES
Current Liabilities
2210 - PAYE to pay to HMRC
150.00
2260 - Pension
109.50
Total Current
Liabilities
£259.50
Future Liabilities
53004 - Sponsorship for dress production for specific hub development: Africa - Kampala,
Uganda
385.00
53505 - Sponsorship - spent on dress production for re-investment in stock after sales: Africa
- Teso, Uganda
350.00
55000 - Restricted funds - new hubs development (global)
967.45
55002 - Restricted funds to support specific hub: UK - Ducklington
843.83
Total Future
Liabilities
£2,546.28

29 May 2024 22:24

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TOTAL LIABILITIES £2,805.78
TOTAL NET
ASSETS
£16,074.99
EQUITY
10900 - Appreciation of stock / value of donated goods 3,098.41
Net Profit / Loss 12,976.58
Net Profit / Loss (prior year(s)) 3,556.58
Net Profit / Loss (current year) 9,420.00
TOTAL EQUITY £16,074.99

29 May 2024 22:24

Page 2 of 2

The Dorcas Dress Project Nominal Activity Report

From: 01/04/2023 To: 31/03/2024

29 May 2024 22:28

Category: All, Ledger Account: All

Nominal
Code
Ledger Name Category Opening Balance Total Debits this
period
Total Credits this
period
Closing Balance
1100 Trade Debtors Current 0.00 Cr 4,700.00 4,700.00 0.00 Cr
Assets
1200 NATWEST Bank Account Bank 4,033.63 Dr 25,658.50 16,134.10 13,558.03 Dr
1220 Paypal Bank 143.95 Dr 3,771.34 3,915.29 0.00 Cr
1230 PETTY CASH Bank 0.00 Cr 469.60 424.87 44.73 Dr
2100 Trade Creditors Current 4.00 Cr 48.40 44.40 0.00 Cr
Liability
2210 PAYE to pay to HMRC Current 0.00 Cr 1,700.00 1,850.00 150.00 Cr
Liability
2250 Net Wages Current 0.00 Cr 6,160.00 6,160.00 0.00 Cr
Liability
2260 Pension Current 73.00 Dr 1,095.00 1,277.50 109.50 Cr
Liability
4900 Other income Other 0.00 Cr 21.23 21.23 Cr
Income
6000 Marketing Direct 0.00 Cr 776.69 776.69 Dr
Expenses
7000 Employee Wages and Salaries Overheads 0.00 Cr 8,750.00 6,529.37 2,220.63 Dr
7030 Employer's Pension Overheads 0.00 Cr 437.50 175.00 262.50 Dr
7400 Travelling Overheads 0.00 Cr 184.95 184.95 Dr
7510 Postage and Carriage Overheads 0.00 Cr 105.34 3.75 101.59 Dr
7630 Business Insurance Overheads 0.00 Cr 145.60 145.60 Dr
7900 Bank Charges and Interest Overheads 0.00 Cr 42.88 9.85 33.03 Dr
8200 General Expenses Overheads 0.00 Cr 180.92 180.92 Dr
10200 Stock - Finished Goods Current 0.00 Cr 7,338.21 2,060.20 5,278.01 Dr
Assets
10900 Appreciation of stock / value of donated goods Equity 0.00 Cr 3,098.41 3,098.41 Cr
40000 Sales - (total received by customer at transaction) Sales 0.00 Cr 238.46 3,042.19 2,803.73 Cr
40001 Sales revenue - wholesale price deducted Other 0.00 Cr 532.22 532.22 Cr
Income
40002 Sales - total received for stock control purposes Other 0.00 Cr 2,592.42 74.00 2,518.42 Dr
Income

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The Dorcas Dress Project Nominal Activity Report

From: 01/04/2023 To: 31/03/2024

29 May 2024 22:28

51000 Gift Aid Other 0.00 Cr 675.58 675.58 Cr
Income
51001 Unreserved donations (business) Other 0.00 Cr 10,000.00 10,000.00 Cr
Income
51002 Unreserved donations (personal) Other 0.00 Cr 210.00 2,524.58 2,314.58 Cr
Income
53003 Sponsorship for dress production for specific hub development: Africa - Future 690.00 Cr 690.00 0.00 Cr
Nigeria Liability
53004 Sponsorship for dress production for specific hub development: Africa - Future 0.00 Cr 384.00 769.00 385.00 Cr
Kampala, Uganda Liability
53005 Sponsorship for dress production for specific hub development: Africa - Future 0.00 Cr 350.00 350.00 0.00 Cr
Teso, Uganda Liability
53504 Sponsorship - spent on dress production for re-investment in stock Future 0.00 Cr 384.00 384.00 0.00 Cr
after sales: Africa - Kampala, Uganda Liability
53505 Sponsorship - spent on dress production for re-investment in stock Future 0.00 Cr 350.00 350.00 Cr
after sales: Africa - Teso, Uganda Liability
53999 Sponsorship returns Direct 0.00 Cr 690.00 690.00 Dr
Expenses
54002 Cost of production: UK - Ducklington Direct 0.00 Cr 140.00 140.00 Cr
Expenses
54004 Cost of production: Africa - Kampala Uganda Direct 0.00 Cr 435.00 435.00 Dr
Expenses
54005 Cost of production: Africa - Teso, Uganda Direct 0.00 Cr 500.00 619.34 119.34 Cr
Expenses
54006 Cost of production: Africa - Tanzania Direct 0.00 Cr 82.90 82.90 0.00 Cr
Expenses
54007 Cost of production: Africa - Burundi Direct 0.00 Cr 204.90 329.90 125.00 Cr
Expenses
55000 Restricted funds - new hubs development (global) Future 0.00 Cr 1,032.55 2,000.00 967.45 Cr
Liability
55002 Restricted funds to support specific hub: UK - Ducklington Future 0.00 Cr 5,366.17 6,210.00 843.83 Cr
Liability
55004 Restricted funds to support specific hub: Africa - Kampala, Uganda Future 0.00 Cr 29.32 29.32 0.00 Cr
Liability
56000 Restricted funds - research trip to Africa Future 0.00 Cr 633.57 633.57 0.00 Cr
Liability
65000 Charitable activity - for general hub support (available to all hubs) Direct 0.00 Cr 476.35 476.35 Dr
Expenses
65001 Charitable activity - our support to a specific hub: UK - Oswestry Direct 0.00 Cr 150.03 150.03 Dr
Expenses
65002 Charitable activity - our support to a specific hub: UK - Ducklington Direct 0.00 Cr 1,360.70 1,360.70 0.00 Cr
Expenses
65004 Charitable activity - our support to a specific hub: Africa - Kampala, Direct 0.00 Cr 859.66 304.32 555.34 Dr
Uganda Expenses
65005 Charitable activity - our support to a specific hub: Africa - Teso, Uganda Direct 0.00 Cr 1,162.34 1,162.34 Dr
Expenses
65006 Charitable activity - our support to a specific hub: Africa - Tanzania Direct 109.96 Dr 157.25 267.21 Dr
Expenses

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The Dorcas Dress Project Nominal Activity Report

From: 01/04/2023 To: 31/03/2024

29 May 2024 22:28

65007 Charitable activity - our support to a specific hub: Africa - Burundi Direct 0.00 Cr 302.60 302.60 Dr
Expenses
999023 Balancing at end of financial year, including assets 2023 Direct 3,141.56 Dr 3,141.56 0.00 Cr
Expenses
999024 Balancing at end of financial year Direct 0.00 Cr 100.00 100.00 Dr
Expenses
99999999 Opening Balances Overheads 6,808.10 Cr 6,808.10 Cr

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The Dorcas Dress Project

Profit and Loss Report

01 April, 2023 - 31 March, 2024

Sales Sales
4900 - Other income
21.23
40000 - Sales - (total received by customer at transaction)
2,803.73
40001 - Sales revenue - wholesale price deducted
532.22
40002 - Sales - total received for stock control purposes
-2,518.42
51000 - Gift Aid
675.58
51001 - Unreserved donations (business)
10,000.00
51002 - Unreserved donations (personal)
2,314.58
Total Sales £13,828.92
Direct Expenses
6000 - Marketing
776.69
53999 - Sponsorship returns
690.00
54002 - Cost of production: UK - Ducklington
-140.00
54004 - Cost of production: Africa - Kampala Uganda
435.00
54005 - Cost of production: Africa - Teso, Uganda
-119.34
54007 - Cost of production: Africa - Burundi
-125.00
65000 - Charitable activity - for general hub support (available to all hubs)
476.35
65001 - Charitable activity - our support to a specific hub: UK - Oswestry
150.03
65004 - Charitable activity - our support to a specific hub: Africa - Kampala, Uganda
555.34
65005 - Charitable activity - our support to a specific hub: Africa - Teso, Uganda
1,162.34
65006 - Charitable activity - our support to a specific hub: Africa - Tanzania
157.25
65007 - Charitable activity - our support to a specific hub: Africa - Burundi
302.60
999023 - Balancing at end of financial year, including assets 2023
-3,141.56
999024 - Balancing at end of financial year 100.00

29 May 2024 22:30

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Total Direct Expenses £1,279.70
GROSS PROFIT / LOSS £12,549.22
Overheads
7000 - Employee Wages and Salaries
2,220.63
7030 - Employer's Pension
262.50
7400 - Travelling
184.95
7510 - Postage and Carriage
101.59
7630 - Business Insurance
145.60
7900 - Bank Charges and Interest
33.03
8200 - General Expenses
180.92
Total Overheads £3,129.22
NET PROFIT / LOSS £9,420.00

29 May 2024 22:30

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