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## **BRIGHTWELL SUPPORTING REFUGEES**
**Report of the Trustees on the Accounts of Brightwell Supporting Refugees for the Year ended 31[st] December 2022**
Trustees: Helen Connor, Ann Linton, Angela Lewis, Jane Hawker, Janet Clive, Bill Horsfield, Sarah Metcalf, Margot Shawyer, Amanda Potter, Sophie Salisbury, David Dugan, Anthony Finn (appointed 5[th] January 2022).
Registered Address: Mead Cottage, Mackney Lane, Brightwell cum Sotwell, Wallingford OX10 OSQ,
Brightwell Supporting Refugees (the Charity) was established in late 2015 to raise awareness of the plight of refugees, particularly refugees in the Middle East, and to raise funds to support basic needs of refugees, especially for education. The Charity was registered with the Charity Commission for England and Wales on 5[th] September 2018 as Charity number 1179821. The Charity is unincorporated and is governed by a Constitution approved by the Trustees.
## The Charitable Objects are:
_1. The relief of poverty of refugees and those seeking asylum in any part of the world in particular by the supply of aid to such persons through providing grants and items to individuals in need and/or charities or other organisations working to relieve poverty._
_2. The relief of poverty of asylum seekers and refugees and their dependents living (temporarily or permanently) in Brightwell cum Sotwell and the surrounding area by providing items, services and practical support._
In order to carry out the charitable objects the trustees will:
- a) Raise funds and receive grants and donations
- b) Apply funds to carry out the work of the charity, or to invest funds of the charity which are not immediately dispensed
- c) Support the education and training of those whom the Charity seeks to serve
- d) Cooperate with other charities and development organisations
- e) Support individuals and organisations to engage with meeting the needs of those the charity seeks to serve
- f) Carry out any other activities which in the opinion of the Trustees will promote the Objects of the Charity and are for the public benefit.
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An Annual General Meeting is held each calendar year and the Trustees to hold office during the coming year are elected at the AGM. Trustees are elected from the members of the Charity (known as supporters).
## **Activities and Finance**
Through Brightwell Supporting Refugees, a small village community has worked to make a real difference to the lives of refugee children in Jordan and Uganda through dedicated fundraising and direct personal contact. The Charity has also made grants to Asylum Welcome to assist with the welcome to refugees and asylum seekers in the Oxfordshire area and responded to the arrival of Ukrainians in the village.
2022 was the sixth year of operation and as reflected in the accounts funds totalling £28,556.09 (2021 £11,776.49) were raised to enable the Charity to carry out its objects. The Charity held the following fundraising events:
**----- Start of picture text -----**
Receipt Expendit Profit/Lo
Event Month s ure ss Notes
Receipts include ticket
Bistro sales carried over from
Evening April 2321.5 739.02 1582.48 2020
The Wall Film April 444 54 390
Mrs Delgado
play May 1930 132.71 1797.29
PIMS Jubilee
event June 948.65 129.56 819.09
Brightfest
teas June 814.9 1.81 813.09
Mary Acton Septem
Lecture ber 806 128.39 677.61
Novemb
Funky Friday er 1084.3 187.92 896.38
Novemb 1783.9
Jazz Evening er 8 453.75 1330.23
Decemb
Carol Concert er 621.74 75.34 546.4
10755.
Totals to date 07 1902.5 8852.57
**----- End of picture text -----**
Event income includes donations made specifically at an event. These are included here but are recorded as donations in the main accounts.
The Charity continued to work with Helping Refugees in Jordan (HRJ) where the funds raised by the Charity are being used mainly to support the education of Syrian refugees through grants to the Hope School in Amman. The Trustees have also made grants to support the education
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and training of refugees in Northern Uganda and the support of refugees, particularly Ukrainians, in Oxfordshire.
The Trustees are extremely grateful for the generous support of the village and other local supporters both in terms of time and funds which have enabled the Charity to provide valuable support to children and families facing great hardship and to give them hope for the future.
The accounts are prepared on a receipts and payments basis and unspent funds are held in a bank account in the name of the Charity. At the year end the Charity held restricted funds for particular projects amounting to £5,841.98.
## Public Benefit
The trustees have given due consideration to the Charity Commission’s published guidance on the Public Benefit requirement under the Charities Act 2011.
Use of Funds and Reserves Policy
It is the policy of the Trustees to disperse all funds raised and not to retain reserves, except to ensure the commitments that the Trustees make for future expenditure, such as the support of a teacher’s salary, are honoured. The Trustees’ focus is on the needs of refugees and asylumseekers in the Oxford area and on the needs of refugees internationally where the Trustees have particular personal knowledge of the specific needs that are addressed.
## Achievements against Targets
The Trustees look for opportunities to maximise the income of the Charity in order to fund activities to promote the aims of the Charity. In 2022 the Trustees have been able to respond to the arrival of many Ukrainians in Oxfordshire as a result of the invasion of Ukraine by Russia in February 2022. The funds raised have exceeded the expectations of the Trustees.
The Charity relies entirely on the support of unpaid volunteers and has no employees.
The Future
The needs which the Charity is addressing remain a huge challenge and we expect to continue activities to raise both awareness and funds over the next few years for the refugees within Africa and Jordan whom we have supported in past years, and to support Ukrainian refugees and other refugees settled in Oxfordshire. We plan to continue to develop links
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with local organisations, including local schools, and to seek out new activities and projects to support in line with the charity’s objectives.
## Fundraising
The income of the Charity is raised by voluntary donations and funds raised through events organised by the Trustees and volunteers. The Trustees take trouble to ensure that the fundraising activities of the Charity are fully compliant with best practice and relevant legislation.
## Governance
The Trustees met regularly in 2022 to plan for the raising of funds and to decide on how funds raised should be used to meet the objects of the charity.
## Safeguarding
Some of the donations and activities of the Charity are designed to support children, young people and other vulnerable groups. The Trustees are aware of the need to ensure that activities supported by the Charity have in place effective policies and procedures to ensure that both those being supported and the staff and volunteers to undertake the work are protected from risk of harm, and the Charity seeks to confirm that this is the case as much as is practically possible.
## **………………………………………… …………………………………………..**
**Helen Connor (co-chair of Trustees) Ann Linton (co-chair of Trustees)**
**………29 March……..………………………2023**
## **Independent examiner’s report to the trustees of Brightwell Supporting Refugees**
I report on the accounts of Brightwell Supporting Refugees (The Charity) for the year ended 31 December 2022, which are set out on pages 6 and 7.
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## Respective responsibilities of trustees and examiner
The charity’s trustees are responsible for the preparation of the accounts. The charity’s trustees consider that an audit is not required for this year under section 144(2) of the Charities Act 2011 (the 2011 Act) and that an independent examination is not legally required but in line with best practice they have requested that an independent examination be conducted. It is my responsibility to:
- examine the accounts under section 145 of the 2011 Act
- follow the procedures laid down in the General Directions given by the Charity Commission under section 145(5)(b) of the 2011 Act
- state whether particular matters have come to my attention.
## Basis of independent examiner’s report
My examination was carried out in accordance with the General Directions given by the Charity Commission. An examination includes a review of the accounting records kept by the charity and a comparison of the accounts presented with those records. It also includes consideration of any unusual items or disclosures in the accounts, and seeking explanations from you as trustees concerning any such matters. The procedures undertaken do not provide all the evidence that would be required in an audit and consequently no opinion is given as to whether the accounts present a ‘true and fair view’ and the report is limited to those matters set out in the next statement.
## Independent examiner’s statement in connection with my examination
No matter has come to my attention:
- (1) which gives me reasonable cause to believe that in any material respect the requirements:
- to keep accounting records in accordance with section 130 of the 2011 Act and
- to prepare accounts which accord with the accounting records and comply with the accounting requirements of the 2011 Act have not been met or
- (2) to which, in my opinion, attention should be drawn in order to enable a proper understanding of the accounts to be reached.
……………………………………………………………………………………
Date……29 March………………………………..2023 Robin Shawyer FCA, Middle Farm, Church Lane, Brightwell cum Sotwell, Wallingford OX10 0SD
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## Receipts and Payments Account for the year ended 31st December 2022
|**RECEIPTS**
**Voluntary Income**
**£**
Standing Orders
1,387.50
One of Donations
2,605.00
Gift Aid Received
0
Legacies
0
Total Voluntary Income
3,992.50
**Grants**
Vodafone Foundation
350.00
Handley Foundation
0
Benevity
1,762.20
Total Grant Income
2,102.20
**Events**
Total Income from Events
5,671.79
**Total Income**
11,776.49|Restricted
Unrestricted
Total
2022
**£**
**£**
**£**
0
1,580.00
1,580.00
3,385.00
2,605.50
0
45.56
0
0|Restricted
Unrestricted
Total
2022
**£**
**£**
**£**
0
1,580.00
1,580.00
3,385.00
2,605.50
0
45.56
0
0|Restricted
Unrestricted
Total
2022
**£**
**£**
**£**
0
1,580.00
1,580.00
3,385.00
2,605.50
0
45.56
0
0|
|---|---|---|---|
||
|||
|||
||
|||||
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|**PAYMENTS**||||||**2022**|
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
|**2021**|||||||
|**Charitable Activities**||**Restricted Unrestricted**|||||
|**Total Total**|||||||
|**Charitable Grants**|||||||
|Jordan Schools|||4,200.00||4,200.00||
|4,660.00|||||||
|Uganda Schools
/Students|||4,000.00||4,000.00||
|2,000.00|||||||
|Refugees in Oxfordshire|||3,000.00||3,000.00||
|1,500.00|||||||
|English for Ukrainians||5,000.00|||||
|5,000.00|||||||
|Ethelred House|||500.00||500.00||
|Host Abingdon|||300.00||300.00||
|Brightwell School|1,000.00||||1,000.00
||
|Total Grants Made:||6,000.00|12,000.00||18,000.00
||
|8,180.00|||||||
|**Charitable Expenditure**|||||||
|Uganda Schools|||724.73||724.73||
|Bedding|||102.50
|102.50|||
|Other Costs|||500.00
|500.00|||
|Ukraine English||2,190.00|||2,190.00||
|Ukraine Other||80.00|||80.00||
|Total Charitable Expenditure||2,270.00|1,327.23||3,597.23||
|**Fundraising Costs**||739.02|1,471.88||
2,210.90||
|180.00|||||||
|**Administration**|||57.83||57.83
||
|98.00
|||||||
|**Total Payments**||9,009.02|14,856.94|23,865.96
|||
|8,388.00
|||||||
|**Net Income for the year**||
5,841.98|(1,151.85)
||4,690.13||
|3,338.49|||||||
|Balance at 1stJanuary 2022||0|4,652.42||4,652.42||
|1,313.93|||||||
|At 31stDecember 2022|5,841.98
3,500.57
|||9,342.55|||
|4,452.42|||||||
Note: Some of the funds raised in 2022 were donated specifically to support the response to the war in Ukraine. The use of these funds has been monitored by the Trustees and there is a balance in hand at the end of year as follows:
Grant from Handley Foundation £5,000.00 Balance of other funds £841.98 Total of restricted funds at 31[st] December 2022 £5,841.98