Marlow Refugee Action: Trustees Annual Report for the period 1[st] October 2021 – 30[th] September 2022
Registration Number: 1180428
Address:
8 Carver Hill Road High Wycombe Buckinghamshire HP11 2TY
Trustees
The Trustees as of 30 September 2022 are:
Tania Baldwin-Pask
Nicola Anne Monk
Muryel Bouley
Nancy Caroline Davies
Gareth David Roblin
Kavita Abraham-Dowsing
Introduction
The Trustees present their annual report and financial statement for the charity for the period 1[st] October 2021 – 30[th] September 2022. This is our fourth annual report, following the formation of the charity.
Charity Structure
The charity is constituted under our Governing Document registered 24[th] October 2018. The Trustees that were appointed at the formation of the charity stood down during the past year. The Trustees meet quarterly to agree the broad strategy and areas of activity for the Trust, including consideration of grant making, fundraising activities, awareness raising, recruitment of volunteers and the requirement for policies and procedures (such as Volunteer Code of Conduct, Disciplinary Procedures, Grievance Procedures, Safeguarding and GDPR).
Our Mission is ‘Translating the Global Refugee Crisis into meaningful local action’.
Objectives
We are still working with the objectives agreed in August 2020 when we held a strategic review where we identified three key focus areas:
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●Firstly, building on what has been achieved already to grow the community of people in Marlow who care about the issues impacting refugee and want to support the work that is being done
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Working with key groups such as schools
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Finding innovative ways to tell the real life stories that describe the real issues and also the success stories
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●Secondly, to build Partnerships locally and internationally, which are supporting refugees and delivering meaningful results
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●Thirdly, to raise funds to support these Partnerships
This is represented in the following infographic:
[Achievements and Performance
Our key achievements over the period of this report are:
- In response to the refugee crisis which developed as a result of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine in February 2022 we have worked closely with Marlow Ukraine Collective (MUC) during this financial period. MUC are an informal group set up in the local Marlow area to support families looking to sponsor Ukrainian families under the two schemes established by the government, the Homes for Ukraine Scheme and the Ukraine Family Scheme. Working
closely with MUC we identified financial requirements to support the families and their sponsors. Alongside MUC we contributed to the fundraising efforts and managed all incoming donations made by the Marlow community. Within this financial year, £14,549 was raised by way of donations. This included donations from River Church and All Saints Church and many donations from private individuals, local businesses and other community groups. Of these donations, £5,879 was granted in support of Ukrainian families within this financial year. These have paid for items such as school shoes and uniform, homeware, childrens after school activities and access to education. Some funds were also set aside for resources to raise awareness of hosting opportunities and funding needs and a welcome event for all of the guest and host families.
Within the Marlow area over 75 families comprising over 270 Ukrainians have been hosted, with children attending local schools, adults finding work in local businesses and families integrating into social and sporting activities. Support is ongoing and Ukrainian families are now beginning to find their own housing for independent living as well as new arrivals finding hosts in the local area. As of 30 September 2022 we held £8,670 in restricted funds for the continuing support of these families.
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We continue to financially support legal programmes in Greece, however this was transferred from the Samos Legal Centre over to two new organisations; i) I Have Rights and ii) the Human Rights Legal Project. This change was based on shifting needs within the locality and the Samos Legal Centre securing a significant financial backer. Both new partner organisations seek to provide legal support to complex cases on the island of Samos and challenge illegality in the treatment of asylum seekers and refugees by the local and state authorities. The two organisations are collaborative and complementary in nature. We part fund office rent for both projects (HRLP: £1,483.75 and IHR £3,357.00)
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We continued to provide financial support to Action for Education in Greece. We have funded two projects: (i) the rental of the Nest education centre in Athens (with supplementary funds ringfenced for children’s education resources at the Nest generated by schools fundraising); and (ii) accommodation support for teachers drawn from the refugee community. In total we provided funding of £6,919.19 within this financial year. This programme partnership will come to an end within the next financial year, with Action For Education closing as a charity and handing over programmes to other local charities who will be welcome to apply for funding from us.
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Under the theme of education we also provided a grant of £660 for RefugeeEd to purchase microphones and teaching supplies to enable teaching and teacher training within refugee communities around Europe.
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Wycombe Refugee Partnership remains our primary local partnership, with a donation of £1,000 in funding provided for a hardship fund to be used to support any of their hosted families in particular need. Locally we also funded the Care4Calais Heathrow group with £122.77 to deliver a kids club and provide school supplies (backpacks, pencil cases and water bottles) to
children accommodated in an asylum seekers hotel near Heathrow airport. This was part of a larger £500 grant which rolls into the new financial year. In support of Care4Calais and a number of other local beneficiary charities we also spent £170 on mobile phone chargers coordinated by a local community initiative based in Maidenhead called Phones4Them. Phones4Them collected second hand (still working) mobile phones, wiped them and equipped them with a charger and sim card for distribution to asylum seekers in the hotels who lacked mobile phones which are vital to connect them to lawyers, volunteers and support services.
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We have expanded our network of partner charities around Europe and beyond; offering small grants that support the meeting of basic needs for people on the move and refugees living in challenging environments where basic amenities are often lacking. These have included:
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i. £500 for the ForRefugees Winter Warmer appeal, match funded by public donations.
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ii. £500 Calais Food Collective for mobile drinking water supplies in and around Calais
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iii. £300 for the Free Shop Lebanon to purchase basic clothing supplies
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iv. £192.80 in supplies for the Ankaa gardening project which enables refugees to grow healthy food and learn gardening skills
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Our fundraising programme included a significant focus on Refugee Week; with our annual plant sale taking place at the Ark Cafe, and individual fundraisers undertaking our “On the Move for Refugees” challenge to walk, cycle, run or swim in support of displaced people worldwide. We also undertook awareness raising presentations within local faith groups, school engagements, fundraising collections, book displays in the library and bookshop, social media activities and an interview on River Radio. In total Refugee Week 2022 raised £1,982.32.
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We have two corporate partnerships with local businesses; CandleCalm who give £5 from the sale of every “Sanctuary Candle” and inklöver who donate £3 from the sale of every Peter Martin Marlow Teatowel. In total these partnerships raised £430 within this financial year. We are very grateful for the ongoing support of these local creative enterprises.
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To deliver on our charitable goals we are proud to have an active group of volunteers who assist us with event planning, production of a newsletter,
financial management and events delivery.
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We provide regular updates through a newsletter to a database of interested people (GDPR compliant). We also communicate to our network of supporters through Facebook and Instagram, sharing relevant updates from our partners and latest news developments affecting refugees and asylum seekers.
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10.We gratefully receive £535 in regular monthly donations from a network of supporters including a monthly donation of £250 from the Farnfield Charitable Trust which is an unrestricted fund. Additionally, throughout the year we receive ad-hoc donations from groups and individuals in support of our work.
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11.We were excited to be the beneficiary charity for the Oh Shala festival in August 2022 with £5 from every ticket sold donated to MRA. MRA trustees presented at the event and were able to raise awareness amongst attendees of the challenges facing displaced people around the world and the importance of community action to address these challenges.
Charity Name No (if any) Marlow Refugee Action 1180428
Receipts and payments accounts
Period start date Period end date To 10/1/2021 9/30/2022
For the period from
Section A Receipts and payments
Unrestricted Restricted Endowment funds funds funds
Total funds
to the nearest £
to the nearest £
to the nearest £ to the nearest £
A1 Receipts
----- Start of picture text -----
Donations 13,226 14,549 - 27,775
Fundraising events 2,547 - - 2,547
Payment error 550 - - 550
- - - -
- - - -
- - - -
- - - -
- - - -
16,323 14,549 - 30,872
Sub total (Gross income for AR)
A2 Asset and investment sales,
(see table).
- - - -
- - - -
Sub total - - - -
Total receipts 16,323 14,549 - 30,872
A3 Payments
Grants 15,206 - 15,206
Cost of fundraising events 92 432 - 524
Stationery, domain renewals 310 247 - 557
Bank charges 92 - - 92
Payment error 550 - - 550
Household supplies - 200 - 200
Language tuition, books 4,144 - 4,144
School shoes, trips, after school clubs - 856 - 856
- - - -
Sub total [ 16,250 ] 5,879 - 22,129
A4 Asset and investment
purchases, (see table)
- - - -
- - - -
Sub total [ - ] - - -
Total payments 16,250 5,879 - 22,129
Net of receipts/(payments) 73 8,670 - 8,743
A5 Transfers between funds - - - -
A6 Cash funds last year end 11,151 - - 11,151
Cash funds this year end 11,224 8,670 - 19,894
----- End of picture text -----
Section B Statement of assets and liabilities at the end of the period
| Unrestricted | Restricted | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Categories | Details | funds | funds | ||
| B1 Cash funds | Total cash funds | to nearest £ 11,224 - - 11,224 |
to nearest £ 8,670 - - 8,670 |
||
| (agree | balances with receipts and payments account(s)) |
OK | OK | ||
| Unrestricted | Restricted | ||||
| funds | funds | ||||
| B2 Other monetary assets | Details | to nearest £ - - - - - - |
to nearest £ - - - - - - |
||
| B3 Investment assets | Details | Fund to which asset belongs |
Cost (optional) - - - - - |
||
| B4 Assets retained for the | Details | Fund to which asset belongs |
Cost (optional) - |
||
| charity’s own use | - - - - - - - - |
||||
| B5 Liabilities | Details | Fund to which liability relates |
- - - - - Amount due (optional) |
||
| Signed by one or two trustees on behalf of all the trustees |
Signature | Name |
----- Start of picture text -----
CC16a
----- End of picture text -----
Last year
to the nearest £
16,177 403 - - - - - - 16,580
16,580
16,243 1,231 85 72 - - - - - 17,631
17,631 - 1,051 - 12,202 11,151
Endowment funds
to nearest £ - - - -
OK
Endowment funds to nearest £ - - - - - - Current value (optional) - - - - - Current value (optional)
When due (optional)
Date of approval
Independent examiner's report on the accounts
Section A Independent Examiner’s Report
| Report to the trustees On accounts for the year ended Set out on pages Responsibilities and basis of report |
Charity Name Marlow Refugee Action |
Charity Name Marlow Refugee Action |
Charity Name Marlow Refugee Action |
|---|---|---|---|
| 30/09/2022 | Charity no (if any) |
1180428 | |
| 1-2 (remember to include the page numbers of additional sheets) |
|||
| I report to the trustees on my examination of the accounts of the above charity (“the Trust”) for the year ended 30/09/2022. As the charity's trustees, you are responsible for the preparation of the accounts in accordance with the requirements of the Charities Act 2011 (“the Act”). I report in respect of my examination of the Trust’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 Act. |
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Independent I have completed my examination. I confirm that no material matters have
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examiner's statement come to my attention in connection with the examination (other than that disclosed below *) which gives me cause to believe that in, any material respect:
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the accounting records were not kept in accordance with section 130 of the Charities Act; or
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the accounts did not accord with the accounting records; or
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• the accounts did not comply with the applicable requirements concerning the form and content of accounts set out in the Charities (Accounts and Reports) Regulations 2008 other than any requirement that the accounts give a ‘true and fair’ view which is not a matter considered as part of an independent examination.
I have no concerns and have come across no other matters in connection with the examination to which attention should be drawn in this report in order to enable a proper understanding of the accounts to be reached.
| Signed: Name: Relevant professional qualification(s) or body (if any): Address: |
Date: | |
|---|---|---|
| 29/05/2023 | ||
| Eric Pask FCCA | ||
| ACCA | ||
| Flat 113 Banstead Court | ||
| 60 Westway |
Oct 2018
1
IER
London W120QJ
Section B Disclosure
Only complete if the examiner needs to highlight material matters of concern (see CC32, Independent examination of charity accounts: directions and guidance for examiners).
Give here brief details of any items that the examiner wishes to disclose .
Oct 2018
2
IER