Discipleship Tech
Report and Accounts Year ended 31 August 2021
1 Lamb's Passage, London EC1Y 8AB www.stewardship.org.uk
DISCIPLESHIP TECH
LEGAL AND ADMINISTRATIVE DETAILS
FOR THE YEAR TO 31 AUGUST 2021
ADDRESS FOR CORRESPONDENCE
GOVERNING DOCUMENT
First Floor, Thames Exchange 10 Queen Street Place London EC4R 1BE CIO Foundation registered 18 June 2018
CHARITY REGISTRATION NUMBER
1178838
TRUSTEES RESPONSIBLE FOR MANAGING THE CHARITY
KEY MANAGEMENT INDEPENDENT EXAMINER
A.R. Reynolds (Chair) E.S. Blower G.S. Owens J.C. Sutton A. Geers (CEO) Stephen Mathews FCA Stewardship 1 Lamb's Passage LONDON EC1Y 8AB
INDEX
Page 1 Legal and Administrative Details Pages 2-3 Trustees' Report Page 4 Independent Examiner's Report Page 5 Receipts and Payments Account Page 6 Statement of Assets and Liabilities Page 7 Notes to the Accounts
Page 1
DISCIPLESHIP TECH
REPORT OF THE TRUSTEES
FOR THE YEAR TO 31 AUGUST 2021
The Trustees have pleasure in submitting the Report and Accounts for the year to 31 August 2021.
Objects of the charity
The charity is governed by a constitution and is constituted as a charitable incorporated organisation. The charity's principal object, as set out in its governing document, is to advance the Christian faith, including without limitation by using technology, software applications and other platforms.
Summary of the charity's main activities and achievements
To further the above objects and vision, the charity's main activities and achievements were as follows: Continued development and improvement of the PrayerMate app on iOS and Android and the PrayerMate Platform website, including:
• Redesigning the ‘first use’ flow for Android users, to make it easier for new users to get started with the app
• Redesigning the content gallery where users find new 3rd party prayer content
• Modernising and refactoring the app to continue working with Google and Apple’s latest mobile operating systems.
The PrayerMate app reached an all-time total of 476k app downloads.
Served over 30-35k active users re month.
1.5 million items prayed for per month, a total of around 19 million items prayed during the period.
Distributed nine devotional feeds for Advent 2020 - including writing our own PrayerMate Advent devotional, “Advent Hope”, which had over 1,100 subscribers, plus “The Christmas We Didn’t Expect” by David Mathis, and “Our Present: Hope” by the UK Charity Tearfund.
Distributed seven devotional feeds for Lent 2021 - including producing our own “Praying the Psalms Through Lent” feed which had over 1,600 subscribers, one by Tearfund, and “An Ocean of Grace” by Tim Chester.
Celebrated the 10th Anniversary of the PrayerMate app by inviting users to send in video testimonials, which we shared through a special “10 Years of PrayerMate” website and on social media.
Launched a new app, “Redeeming Time”, to help people engage with the Bible in the free minutes when otherwise they might instinctively turn to social media.
Rolled out a pilot version of the “Digital Easter Experience” project which we developed in partnership with UK Charity CrossTeach, which helped over 500 school children to engage with the meaning of Easter.
Following the success of the Digital Easter Experience, began design and development of a new mobile game Bible Overview experience titled The Serpent & The Seed.
In planning the activities the Trustees have applied the guidance on public benefit issued by the Charity Commission.
Financial review
During the year the charity received £89,432 (2020: £61,407), and made payments of £73,027 (2020: £75,215) in relation to its charitable activities, resulting in cash held by the charity of £47,126 at year end (2020: £30,721). This cash balance is unrestricted and can be used for any charitable purpose.
Total employment costs were £55,494, which includes our CEO and people employed or contracted to do software development and user support, social media and marketing.
Page 2
Reserves policy
The trustees have determined that the charity should aim to hold unrestricted cash of no less than £14,000 (which equates to about two months' of unrestricted expenditure) so that the charity could continue to operate should income and / or expenditure vary adversely. The trustees recognise the commitments to subscribers that extend for up to 12 months, while noting that the costs of maintaining delivery of the service to meet these commitments are very small. At the year end, the charity held unrestricted cash of £47,126 and the charity is complying with its reserves policy.
Reserves at year end were higher than the previous year in anticipation of increased spending on The Serpent & The Seed during the 2021-22 financial year.
Governance
Responsibility for setting policy and for determining the parameters within which the charity should operate rest with the trustees who meet regularly to monitor the activities of the charity. Responsibility for the day to day operation of the charity has been delegated to a senior management team led by the CEO, Andrew Geers. New trustees are recruited and appointed by the existing trustees, by a majority vote.
Risk statement
The charity is exposed to various risks - be they operational, financial or reputational. The trustees review the charity's activities regularly to identify significant risks and, where possible, they take appropriate measures to mitigate those risks.
Responsibilities of trustees
Charity law requires us as Trustees to prepare financial statements for each accounting year which record the receipts and payments of the charity for the year.
We are responsible for keeping proper accounting records which disclose with reasonable accuracy at any time the financial position of the charity and enable us to ensure that the financial statements comply with the Charities Act 2011.
We also have a responsibility to safeguard the assets of the charity and to take reasonable steps to prevent fraud or any other irregularities.
Approval
This report was approved by the trustees and signed on their behalf by:
A.R. Reynolds
Date: 10 May 2022
Page 3
INDEPENDENT EXAMINER'S REPORT
TO THE TRUSTEES OF
DISCIPLESHIP TECH
I report to the trustees on my examination of the accounts of Discipleship Tech ('the charity') for the year ended 31 August 2021 on pages 5 to 7 following.
Responsibilities and basis of report
As the trustees of the charity you are responsible for the preparation of the accounts in accordance with the requirements of the Charities Act 2011 (‘the 2011 Act’).
I report in respect of my examination of the charity’s accounts carried out under section 145 of the 2011 Act and in carrying out my examination I have followed all the applicable Directions given by the Charity Commission under section 145(5)(b) of the 2011 Act.
Independent examiner’s statement
I have completed my examination. I confirm that no material matters have come to my attention in connection with the examination giving me cause to believe that in any material respect:
- accounting records were not kept in accordance with section 130 of the 2011 Act; or 2. the accounts do not accord with the accounting records.
I have no concerns and have come across no other matters in connection with the examination to which attention should be drawn in order to enable a proper understanding of the accounts to be reached.
Stephen Mathews FCA
Stewardship 1 Lamb's Passage LONDON EC1Y 8AB
Date: 20 May 2022
Page 4
DISCIPLESHIP TECH
RECEIPTS AND PAYMENTS ACCOUNT
FOR THE YEAR TO 31 AUGUST 2021
| Notes Income receipts Donations, legacies and grants Income from charitable activities Total receipts Payments 2 Total payments Transfers between funds Net movement in funds Cash funds as at last year end Cash funds at this period end A Net of receipts / (payments) before transfers Payments in relation to charitable activities undertaken directly |
Unrestricted General Funds £ 42,168 37,265 79,432 63,027 63,027 16,405 - 16,405 30,721 47,126 |
Restricted Funds £ 10,000 - 10,000 10,000 10,000 - - - - - |
2021 £ 52,168 37,265 89,432 73,027 73,027 16,405 - 16,405 30,721 47,126 |
2020 £ |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 30,044 31,364 |
||||
| 61,407 | ||||
| 75,215 | ||||
| 75,215 | ||||
| (13,807) - |
||||
| (13,807) 44,528 |
||||
| 30,721 |
The notes on page 7 form part of these accounts.
Page 5
DISCIPLESHIP TECH
STATEMENT OF ASSETS AND LIABILITIES
FOR THE YEAR TO 31 AUGUST 2021
| Unrestricted | Unrestricted | Funds | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| General | Designated | Restricted | |||||||
| funds | funds | funds | 2021 | 2020 | |||||
| £ | £ | £ | £ | £ | |||||
| **A ** | Cash funds | ||||||||
| Cash at bank with immediate access | 47,126 | - | - | 47,126 | 30,721 | ||||
| 47,126 | - | - | 47,126 | 30,721 | |||||
| **B ** | Other monetary assets | ||||||||
| Gift aid due to charity | 15 | 34 | |||||||
| Subscriptions receivable | - | 470 | |||||||
| In-app purchases amounts receivable | 1,421 | - | |||||||
| Deposit on office space | - | 300 | |||||||
| Other debtors | 312 | 735 | |||||||
| 1,748 | 1,539 | ||||||||
| **C ** | Liabilities | ||||||||
| Accounts payable | 1,280 | 113 | |||||||
| Fee for Accounts preparation and Independent Examination | 1,150 | 1,000 | |||||||
| 2,430 | 1,112 | ||||||||
| Deferred income: The charity has received subscription | income of | £25,328 during the year (2020: | £22,480). | ||||||
| Subscriptions generally last for 12 months | and the | unexpired | portion of | these | subscriptions amounts to approximately | ||||
| £10,401 at year-end (2020: £7,270). | |||||||||
| **D ** | Assets retained for charity's own use | 2021 | 2020 | ||||||
| £ | £ | ||||||||
| Computers (at cost less 25% annual depreciation) | 1,948 | 2,922 | |||||||
| 1,948 | 2,922 | ||||||||
| **E ** | Guarantees and secured debts |
The charity has not given any guarantees and has not provided its assets as security for any liabilities.
The accounts were approved by the trustees and signed on their behalf
by: A.R. Reynolds date: 20 May 2022
The notes on page 7 form part of these accounts.
Page 6
DISCIPLESHIP TECH
NOTES TO THE ACCOUNTS
FOR THE YEAR TO 31 AUGUST 2021
1 Accounting policies
The accounts have been prepared on a receipts and payments basis and comprise a statement that shows the charity's receipts and payments, a statement that summarises the charity's assets and liabilities and related notes. The accountancy profession have determined that only accounts prepared in accordance with applicable accounting standards present a 'true and fair' view and, as these receipts and payments accounts have not (and cannot) be prepared in accordance with accounting standards, these accounts do not present (and are not intended to present) a 'true and fair' view of the charity's financial activities and state of affairs.
General funds are unrestricted funds which are available for use at the discretion of the trustees in furtherance of the general objectives of the charity. Designated funds comprise unrestricted funds that have been set aside by the trustees for particular purposes. Restricted funds are donations which are to be used in accordance with specific restrictions imposed by donors; they include donations received from appeals for specific activities or projects.
| 2 Payments in relation to charitable activities undertaken directly Employment costs Bible game app development costs Technology and other consulting and contracting Marketing Operating expenses Office space Accounts preparation and independent examination Royalties Equipment Software licences Travel Currency transfer costs Insurance Conferences and training |
Total 2021 £ 55,494 7,373 5,208 2,145 854 - 1,020 615 - - - 166 148 5 73,027 |
Total 2020 £ |
|---|---|---|
| 66,081 - 2,631 1,825 1,269 1,135 1,080 700 150 143 102 - 101 - |
||
| 75,215 |
3 Transactions with related parties
Mr A. Geers, the CEO of the charity, is regarded as key management and was paid £30,000 (2020: £30,000) and the charity paid pension contributions of £713 (2020: £714).
4 Movement of funds
| Unrestricted funds General funds Restricted funds Bible Game fund Total funds |
Balances at 31.08.20 £ 30,721 30,721 - - 30,721 |
Receipts £ 79,432 79,432 10,000 10,000 89,432 |
Payments £ (63,027) (63,027) (10,000) (10,000) (73,027) |
Transfers £ - - - - |
Balances at 31.08.21 £ 47,126 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 47,126 | |||||
| - | |||||
| - | |||||
| 47,126 |
The restricted fund was created to hold a grant received for the development of a bible game.
Page 7