## **Gratitude Initiative Trustees’ Annual Report** ## **Annual return for financial period between 1[st] April 2020 to 31[st] March 2021** **Charity name** : Gratitude Initiative **Charity Number** : 1180743 **Governing document:** Constitution **Charity constituted as** _:_ CIO **Charity’s principal Address Phone** : 07506917869 35 Verdant Lane London SE6 1JD **Email:** info@gratitudeinitiative.org.uk **Website:** gratitudeinitiative.org.uk **Gratitude Initiative's mission** is to share knowledge, create harmony and mutual understanding using gratitude as a framework and tool, resulting in good relations among different communities and enhance social cohesions. ‘We are delighted with the progress the Gratitude Initiative has achieved despite the challenges the pandemic caused. We are optimistic that the Gratitude Initiative will gain in momentum as it is wonderfully aligned with the current conscious acts of gratitude in British culture.’ Rt Revd Dr Ric Thorpe (Chair of the Gratitude Initiative Board) - We launched the Gratitude Initiative charity nationally, using it as an opportunity to communicate the why and the how of our objectives. At our launch, we had speakers from various academic disciplines, organisations and ethnicities. We had more than 500 people attended the evening, and more than 1000 additional people saw the video afterwards. As a result of the launch, we had many invitations and opportunities opened up to share the concept of gratitude. An interview opportunity for Sainsbury's quarterly magazine was one of them. - We organised a drawing competition for children in appreciation of the Hillingdon Hospital Staff for their outstanding dedication, sacrifice and competence during the ongoing Covid19 pandemic. More than one hundred children participated in the drawing competition. The contest happened while we were on National lockdown. Therefore, the competition helped the children participate in the nations' gratitude to the NHS staff and mentally engaged at this challenging time for many families. Thirty pictures were selected as winners and awarded. - Produced and posted online reading materials, videos, and information that educate, inform and encourage people to embrace and practice gratitude in their personal and social life on all our social media platforms. - We built a user-friendly website where our followers, supporters and interested people could get more information about our charity and find helpful guidelines to cultivate a gratitude culture. - We have introduced our charity and its objectives in several public online events like Ecclesia National Conference, local network gatherings and church services. - Held a one-day seminar on gratitude and engaged in giving ongoing training for 22 leaders on how we can use gratitude to build bridges and enhance social cohesion. - We started preliminary conversation on a gratitude curriculum for primary school pupils with Professor Dr Giacomo Bono, a researcher at California State University. We are working to finalise by the end of 2021 our initial proposal for the education sectors in England. - We are in the middle of a campaign to make the last Sunday of May a national Annual Gratitude Sunday for churches to use as an opportunity to encourage the good in their community by identifying individuals and groups who are serving and making a difference in their communities. - Continued maintaining our contacts with leaders and organisations with whom we had plans to organise events, seeking when and how we can make it happen post pandemic. - Our event at St Paul's Cathedral is now planned to take place on 14[th] October 2022. The following is an overview of Gratitude Initiative’s income and expenses for the year ended 31 March 2021. ## **Total Income** _**£**_ **41,096** ## **Charitable activity Expenses** Social Media, Website & Branding £437 Office Management £180 Media Communication £3,295 Consultation Service Fees & Expenses £25,530 Gratitude public meetings £2,875 Bank Charges £17 Independent Examination £240 ## **Total Expenditure** **£32,573** **Surplus Balance b/f Cash in hand Current Assets** **£8,523 £20,972** Nil **£29,495** ## **Board of trustees** Rt Revd Richard Charles Thorpe Chair of Trustees Matt Bird Trustee Dr Harvey Collins Kwiyani Trustee Rev Celia Apegyei-Collins Trustee Seung Hun Kim Trustee ## **Declarations** **The trustees declare that they have approved the trustees’ report above.** **Signed on behalf of the charity’s trustees** **Signature Full name** Rt Revd Ric Thorpe **Position** Chair of Trustees **Date** 12[th] July 2021 ## **Independent examiner's report on the accounts** Report to the trustees of Gratitude Initiative on accounts for the year ended 31[st] March 2021. Charity number 1180743. I report to the trustees on my examination of the accounts of the above charity (“the Trust”) for the year ended 31 March 2021. ## **Responsibilities and basis of report** 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. ## **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 which gives me cause to believe that in, any material respect: - the accounting records were not kept in accordance with section 130 of the Charities Act; or - the accounts did not accord with the accounting records; or - 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: Date: 12 July 2021 Khurram Masood Khan FCCA Agnon LLP Kelvin House Kelvin Way Crawley RH10 9WE **GRATITUDE INITIATIVE 2020 / 2021 ACCOUNTS 1st April 2020 to 31st March 2021** |||**2020/21**|**2018/20**| |---|---|---|---| |||**12 months**|**17 months**| |||**£**|**£**| ||**Category**||| |**Income**|||| ||Church Donations|500|6,128| ||World Vision UK|15,000|14,900| ||Mercers Company|25,000|50,000| ||Other Institutions|0|750| ||Individual Donations|596|1,620| ||**Total Income**|**41,096**|**73,398**| |**Expenditure**|||| |_Operations_|Social Media, Website and Branding|437|3,707| ||Office Management|180|440| ||Media Communication|3,295|750| ||Consultation Service Fees and Expenses|25,530|43,090| ||Bank Charges and Maintenance Fee|17|96| ||Fundraising expenses|0|1,412| |_Events_|Gratitude Public Meetings|2,875|5,278| |_Governance_|Charity Registration|0|600| ||Independent Examination|240|0| ||**Total Expenditure**|**32,573**|**55,374**| |**Result**||**8,523**|**18,024**| |**Balances**|||| ||Balance b/f|20,972|2,948| ||Surplus|8,523|18,024| ||**Balance c/f**|**29,495**|**20,972**| |**Current Assets**|||| ||Bank|29,495|20,972| ||Cash in hand|0|0| ||Debtors|0|0| ||**Current Assets**|**29,495**|**20,972**| |**Current Liabilities**|||| ||Cheques not cleared|0|0| ||Creditors|0|0| ||**Current Liabilities**|**0**|**0**| |**Net Current Assets**||**29,495**|**20,972**| ## **Notes** 1. The financial statements have been prepared in accordance with the Statement of Recommended Practice applicable to charities preparing their accounts in accordance with the Financial Reporting Standard for Smaller Entities (Charities SORP FRSSE) (effective 1 January 2015) and applicable accounting standards. They are prepared on a receipts and payments basis, and include all transactions, assets and liabilities for which Gratitude Initiative is responsible. 2. The charity had no employees during the period, and did not pay any trustee to provide services. Girma Bishaw and Clare Herriott, who undertook work for the charity, were self-employed and charged the charity for their time on agreed hourly rates. 3. The previous year's accounts covered a 17 month period from registration of the charity on 16 November 2018 to the end of the first financial year on 31 March 2020. These accounts were approved by the trustees on 12 July 2021 and signed by the chair on behalf of the board. Ric Thorpe Bishop of Islington