Local Welcome Annual report and accounts 2024–2025
Local Welcome CIO is registered as a charity in England and Wales, Registered charity number: 1180770 Unit A, 82 James Carter Road, Mildenhall Industrial Estate, Su!olk, IP28 7DE
www.localwelcome.org
Table of contents
| A. | Letters from Chair and the team | p3 |
|---|---|---|
| B. | Objectives and activities | p7 |
| C. | Achievements and performance | p14 |
| D. | Financial review | p19 |
| E. | Structure, governance and management | p21 |
| F. | Subsequent events and future plans | p24 |
| G. | Annual accounts | p27 |
The trustees present the annual report and financial statements of the charity for the year ended 31 March 2025. The financial statements comply with current statutory requirements and the requirements of the Charity’s governing document.
Letters from Chair and the team
page 4
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a) Letters from Chair and the team
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Chair’s letter
If you’re reading this report to learn more about Local Welcome, then I hope you find it as inspiring as I do. We’re a small charity making a significant contribution in a number of locations across the UK. We work closely with local communities to connect people who might not otherwise have the chance to eat together.
In a divided and polarised society, this matters more than ever. We, as trustees, are so grateful to the people who make this possible – the leaders and members who give time and money selflessly; the small but dedicated sta! team who are always seeking ways for us to be better and do more; and the funders and supporters who continue to generously invest in our vision; and not forgetting our previous sta! and trustees who steered the organisation over the last decade.
We also want to recognise the vital contribution of people who have sought sanctuary in the UK; by being part of Local Welcome as leaders and members, they o!er solidarity and support to newer arrivals in our communities, who may also have fled danger and oppression. In the coming year, we want more people with lived experience of displacement to be involved in the decisions that we make as an organisation.
Our world is in increasing turmoil and at times we face significant challenges just to keep going. But if you share our vision to see diverse, resilient, and powerful communities acting together for the common good, then please join us.
Nick Gretton
a) Letters from Chair and the team
A letter from the team
The times might feel gloomy, but around the table we’re together. Despite the rhetoric, the division, and everyone’s squeezed pockets, we’re grateful to be finishing up the year feeling buoyed, with a healthy dose of optimism. Having entered the reflective headspace to write this annual report, we’ve been reminded of everything that has gone well, that’s set to be even better this year, and of all the learning we’ve achieved along the way.
As we pause and reflect on both our journey, and our learning and achievement throughout 2024-25, three words come to mind; growth, ownership and impact:
Nurturing the growth of our outputs - when it comes to our key outputs, this year has been our best since the pandemic. In the past year alone, our social contact hours[1] (generated by meals) have doubled from 1,434 to 2,872.
You’ll be able to celebrate and learn more about how our groups have grown through our output data on p. 12 of this report.
Supporting our groups to increase their local ownership - we believe this was the special sauce behind the growth across all of our outputs. Our new donate-what-you can membership model and our Leader Handbook has been continuously tested and iterated over the past year. Leaders now have more ways to collaborate with us and with each other - via our weekly leader check-ins[2] ; within the national leader WhatsApp group; and through our newsfilled updates in our published weeknotes.
Encouraging new ways of increasing our groups’ impact - several projects enabled us to test out new ways in which our groups can positively impact their local communities. For example, with the launch of toolkits to support the use of surplus food at meals, and to equip our groups
to campaign on issues which a!ect them. We also delivered a series of Heritage activities, and recorded and archived a collection of Oral Histories (memories and stories which might not otherwise be heard) at some of our groups.
All in all, this year of growth, ownership and impact was only made possible by our incredible groups and their communities across the UK. So we’d like to thank you and celebrate you! Every leader and every member: Belfast, Birmingham, Cardi!, Derby, Leicester, Liverpool and Norwich… and those of you we’re in touch with in groups yet to come.
Andrew, Celia, Hannah and Rhiannon
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1 Social contact hours are the amount of time community members have spent together (which they might have otherwise spent alone).
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2 A video call on a regular weekday evening which every leader across the country is invited to attend, to share ideas and challenges, and build connections between each group.
page 6
Our vision is diverse, resilient, and powerful communities, acting together for their common good.
Our mission is to support community leaders to grow diverse membership groups that cook, eat, and take action, together.
b) Objectives and activities
b) Objectives and activities
“I now have a monthly way to make a di!erence in my local area.”
Emma (leader), Cardi!
Our purpose and public benefit
Promote social inclusion
People feel more connected to their community and overcome barriers to inclusion, for example being a newcomer to the area such as a refugee, or their language skills.
Tackle isolation and loneliness
People at risk of loneliness find a social outlet that helps them feel part of their community and increases their wellbeing.
Activate new leaders within communities
People who had never considered themselves community leaders start to lead, increasing their confidence and building local capacity.
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page 8
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b) Objectives and activities
page 9
Our activities
What we do
We recruit and train people in cities across the UK to lead monthly meals where refugees, people seeking sanctuary and people from the host community come together to cook and eat meals together. To encourage further connection, we also provide conversation starter questions to accompany the recipe steps.
Once the food is cooked, everyone eats together and takes care of the washing and tidying up with tasks shared between all members to reduce the power imbalance often experienced by refugees. Everyone who attends meals is invited to sign up as a Local Welcome member too!
Here are some highlights of what we did in 2024-25:
Supported groups towards local ownership
After the release of our new membership model and our leader handbook, we’ve been nurturing groups to be more locally-led and locally-owned - learning and iterating as we implement new ideas and working with our leaders to make sure these new approaches work well in each of their local community contexts.
Here are some changes and developments we’ve made in the past year, based on the feedback of local members and leaders:
– Saturday meals - we’ve changed our on-call schedule to cover one weekend a month, as opposed to two Sundays a month. This means Saturday meals are now an option for groups where this works better for their community, venue or leader availability.
– Membership Cards - in order to help make our membership model more tangible, we’ve equipped our leaders to formally honour members by gifting the individual a beautiful Local Welcome Membership card.
– Bringing food - the new surplus food toolkit paved the way for accompanying guidance to facilitate the accepting of food items brought to meals. This reflects the wider transfer of responsibility being placed in the hands of local leaders: leaders are now equipped to manage more decisions concerning food hygiene, making it possible for surplus food to be saved (and enjoyed!) at our meals.
We’ve also been both delighted and grateful to have received constructive and positive feedback from our leaders throughout the year, as we’ve settled into our new ‘support’ roles for our locally-owned groups as a smaller, leaner Local Welcome team. We know from our recent survey that 100% of leaders agree that Local Welcome’s team provides their group with valuable support and guidance; 88% of leaders regularly review the Local Welcome leader handbook; and 94% of leaders agree that the weeknotes help them feel informed on Local Welcome’s work and priorities as an organisation.
b) Objectives and activities
page 10
Explored local heritage with our groups
We completed the final phase of our project with The National Lottery Heritage Fund which focused on our groups running heritagecentred activities during Local Welcome meals. Some highlights included: heritage songwriting workshops facilitated by Hear Me Out; creating artwork based on the heritage of our group’s location through workshops run by Re. Future Collective; sessions facilitating the tasting and comparing of two cultural breads and their traditional toppings (Pikelets and Injera); and a presentation from Birmingham Museums Trust exploring the cultures which have contributed to Birmingham’s rich food scene over the years.
As part of this final stage of the project, we also worked with some talented individuals at YMCA Leicestershire to o!er trauma-informed support training sessions for our leaders. This has helped us embed a more trauma informed approach throughout Local Welcome, both internally and externally, including a trauma informed toolkit in our leader handbook.
on our website containing videos and audio recordings of members of our Local Welcome community across the UK sharing their memories and experiences of food.
Saved surplus food
As part of our project funded by the King Charles III Charitable Fund under their Coronation Food Project, we developed a Surplus Food Toolkit which equips our groups to receive donations of surplus food items to utilise during meals. So far, a majority of donations received by groups have been through local partnerships and items brought from homes, where 60% of food waste in the UK occurs. We are delighted to be making an impact in the saving of surplus food, and are excited to see how this grows and develops in the year ahead.
“ I have been delighted by the extent to which other people in the community have embraced what we’re doing ….e.g my local Indian takeaway supplying takeaway containers for free, local Co-op donating sell-by date food and allowing me to use [my] discount card.” Phyllis (leader), Norwich
In addition, we celebrated Refugee Week with our first ever live-stream event, during which we screened the incredible films we produced with the pro-bono support of Nice and Serious as part of this project.
A proud closing moment of the project was the publishing of our Oral History archive, a page
b) Objectives and activities
page 11
How did we grow and learn in 2024-25?
Navigating changing economic landscapes
Like all charities, we’ve been facing an increasingly competitive funding environment recently. To future-proof our model, we’ve been working towards a self-funded position for our groups, and released a donate-what-you-can membership and supporter model last year. This felt bold in many ways, as it came out at a time when charities in the UK have experienced a reduction in donor ability/willingness to donate. However, as the cost of living crisis worsened, it was also true that many more people who would benefit from time spent with kind humans and preparing and eating a nutritious meal from scratch together would no longer be able to a!ord our £7 meal tickets.
By introducing a new tiered-pricing model (a donation of £0, £5, £10 or £15 per month), we’ve learned that there are multiple positive impacts. In some cases, members are donating more than the old £7 fee per meal. In other cases, leaders report that they feel meals have become accessible to a more diverse range of people who might not have been able to engage before.
Ownership increases impact
The group membership model also means that leaders recognise the need to get their group to cover their costs through donations. By helping leaders not just organise the people in the room, but also their money, they are developing greater local ownership of their groups, thereby building power and resilience. However, a nice outcome we didn’t expect is that this approach has also generated better attended meals! In one year, the average number of attendees per meal has shot up from 14 per meal to 21 per meal. This shows that supporting leaders to take more ownership leads to groups that are not just more sustainable, but achieve higher impacts also.
“I’ve really enjoyed attending meals, and I’ve been able to attend more regularly which has meant I’ve felt more comfortable at the meals. It’s a lovely welcoming atmosphere… The food is always gorgeous. Eating outside in the sunshine felt nice and relaxed. I’ve also enjoyed playing games.”
Ali (member), Derby
b) Objectives and activities
page 12
2025 Outputs (2024)
66 (50) meals
1,409 (717) people attending meals
42 weekly leader checkins (9 design forums)
2,872 (1,434) hours of social contact
39 (23) leaders running meals
£6,936 (£4,421) membership income raised
b) Objectives and activities
page 13
Case Study: Local Welcome communities facing up to hostility
The solidarity and kindness demonstrated by our groups in the face of hostility during the Summer riots of 2024 was a very proud moment, reflecting the strength and resilience of the groups we have fostered over the past year.
On the peak weekend of anti-immigrant activity in August 2024, four meals were scheduled to go ahead in Cardi!, Liverpool, Derby and Birmingham. In the days leading up, we were regularly discussing and risk assessing as a team - providing our groups with refreshers on
our usual meal safety information, as well as equipping them with everything we knew about potential hostile activity in their local area. We also corresponded with some of our partners to sense-check what it was like for them ‘on the ground’. Eventually, we supported our leaders to make their own choice as to whether or not to go ahead with the meals.
Extraordinarily, all four meals went ahead…and they were well-attended too! Our Liverpool leader’s words summed it up perfectly:
“We had a really great Local Welcome meal in Liverpool today. In light of yesterday’s unfortunate events, volunteers were expecting a low turnout. We were even talking about
cancelling the meal. However, instead we had one of our best attended meals in a long time. We had fifteen members and guests coming from England, Ireland, Hong Kong, Taiwan, Egypt, India, Iraq and Libya. We had a great meal that featured Vegetable Chilli, Potato Rostis’ and Coleslaw. This is the real Liverpool, people from all over the world, sitting down together and breaking bread!”
Achievements and performance
c) Achievements and performance
page 15
Our story for change
The challenge we face
Across the UK, the breakdown of civic institutions and the atomisation of society driven by the digital revolution have left many people feeling isolated within their local community, lacking a meaningful way to come together and exercise civic power.
What we bring to the table
To address these challenges, we mobilise local volunteer leaders from across the country and employ a small decentralised team of core sta! with expertise in service design and digital infrastructures. We also invest money received through grants and membership fees in building local groups and improving its product design. Finally, we underpin our work with a series of beliefs and operating principles which include social contact theory, human-centred design, and local ownership.
The work we do
We activate local leaders and support them to host regular meals, inviting local community members - with a particular focus on refugees, asylum-seekers and those at risk of loneliness or marginalisation - to come together to co-prepare and enjoy fresh and nutritious meals. During each meal, members engage in social activities such as language learning and food education. In contrast to the bubbles formed on social media and in digital spaces, these spaces break down social barriers and create opportunities for meaningful social exchange with diverse local people. Together, these communities celebrate their diversity and heritage, take part in collective action, and grow in membership.
The social outcomes we expect to see
By activating individuals who may never have considered themselves local leaders, we build local capacity and civic power on a community level. These leaders enjoy a greater sense of purpose and develop new skills. Members who join the meal rituals and engage in social activities develop greater confidence, skills, well being and feel more at home in their community. Together, these communities build greater trust and tolerance, wield greater civic power and become more resilient.
The wider impact we work towards
We work towards a world where communities are made up of engaged and confident leaders, where power is shared, and where isolation and loneliness are tackled through social inclusion and a spirit of welcome. Communities are more resilient, diverse and recognise their collective power to act together for their common good.
c) Achievements and performance
page 16
Measuring impact: Three Key Outcomes
Our Impact Strategy consists of three key outcome areas. They speak to the people and places where Local Welcome works. None of these outcomes exist in isolation from the others: to achieve the social impact we envision, each is critical. The outcomes are illustrated in the adjacent diagram.
We have a wide variety of indicators that we use to measure our impact across these three outcomes areas. (You can read more about our Theory of Change on our website). Some of this evidence is collected through our annual survey of leaders and members, and you can see some of the survey results on the next page.
Whilst we are delighted to see the improvements in most indicators, we know we still have more work to do. For example, only 53% of leaders feel they have developed a stronger voice in their community over the last 6 months. We hope that our recent developments with the campaigns toolkit and tools to connect leaders more nationally might improve this metric in the long term.
Leaders enjoy a greater sense of purpose and develop new skills.
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Communities are more
trusting, wield greater
civic power and are more
resilient.
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Members develop greater
confidence, better
wellbeing and new skills.
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c) Achievements and performance
page 17
2025 Annual survey results (2024)
Leaders
88% (61%)
of leaders feel they have increased their personal confidence over the last 6 months
94% (78%)
of leaders feel they have provided more direct support to refugees over the last 6 months 94% (72%)
of leaders feel they have improved their personal wellbeing over the last 6 months
Members
76% (69%)
of respondents say that they’ve made new friends after coming to meals
86% (90%)
of those who attend meals to improve their english feel that they have done so
78% (76%)
of respondents feel that they know more about their community after coming to meals
Communities
94% (83%)
of leaders feel that their group has been making a di!erence in their local community over the last 6 months
82% (44%)
of leaders feel that their group has become more resilient over the last 6 months
£614 (£272)
Monthly group income in March 2025 (April 2024)
c) Achievements and performance
page 18
Our impact in 2024-25
Purposeful Leaders
In 2024-25 we supported 39 leaders to deliver 66 meals across 7 cities. Compared to last year, this is a 32% increase in delivery of meals and 1 new group formed. Although this is modest growth groups-wise over the past year, this reflects our decisions to prioritise strengthening and iterating our new model to nurture and support groups which are more locally-owned and locally-led, shared in Our activities.
Engaged Members
2,872 hours of social contact were generated over the past year - almost double the hours generated in the previous year. This represents 1,409 attendances at meals, 43% of which were refugees and people seeking sanctuary, and 14% were children.
Beyond the results of our recent survey, the positive feedback had flowed steadily throughout the year via our post-meal feedback forms - when asked ‘Based on today’s Local Welcome meal, how likely would you be to recommend us to a friend?’ on a scale of 1-10, 70% responded with a ‘9’ or ‘10’.
Stronger Communities
To illustrate how our communities are getting stronger through Local Welcome meals, here are three outputs: Firstly, an instance of collective action : the case study on page 13 is a poignant example of the impact our groups can have on the communities around them, beyond their tables. Secondly, instances of celebration of heritage are captured in our Oral History archive and reflected in the workshops and trips undertaken by groups in Leicester, Birmingham, Norwich and Derby in 2024. Thirdly, the % of costs self-financed for each of the seven groups is clearly increasing: monthly group income more than doubled from £272 in April 2024 to £614 in March 2025.
“Contributing to community and allowing integration to be a 2 way process”
Belfast, anon.
d) Financial review
d) Financial review
page 20
Our financial results for the year are set out in the Statement of Financial Activities. Our net deficit was £40,940 (2024 income £29,302). There is a net loss for the year due in part to some discrete projects ending, and also due to a team restructure which has cut our running costs by one third whilst maintaining core operations. Following this transition, we anticipate running costs to be steady in 2025-26, therefore a smaller deficit or small surplus is expected. We finished the year with unrestricted net funds of £54,510 (2024 £21,062) and restricted net funds of £23,672 (2024 £98,060).
Funders and supporters
We are grateful to our funders who have supported us this year and those who have committed to support us in future years.
As a small charity, it means so much to us when funders see the value in our work and back us as a team to achieve our goals. We would like to thank the organisations shown below.
The service we run also relies on a range of IT platforms, and we are grateful to those that provide us with substantial discounts: Google Workspace, Notion, Canva, DropBox Sign, 1password and Soldo.
Reserves policy
At any time, we aim to maintain a set amount of normal expenditure in reserves based on the total cost of our commitments and contracts. For any elements of our work over the following 12 months fully covered by existing restricted funds, we do not need to also hold unrestricted funds.
Our set amount of normal expenditure to be kept in reserves is comprised of the following:
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Notice periods of permanent salaries and related employment costs
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One month of contractor costs
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Minimum notice period for recurring supplier contracts
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Zero months of one-o! costs
At March 2025 this would have equated to unrestricted reserves of £16,092 (2024 £16,502) compared to our actual unrestricted reserves of £54,510 (2024 £21,062). Our current unrestricted reserves include several grants received in 202425 which we expect to spend in 2025-26.
Structure? governance and management
e) Structure, governance and management
page 22
Structure
Local Welcome is a Charitable Incorporated Organisation (CIO) and it operates under the provisions set out in our constitution.
We have a small, multidisciplinary sta! team with a mix of backgrounds and skills. All of us are part-time, and remote - though we still meet up from time to time to work in-person, nurture trust, and our positive team culture, and to fulfil one of our values of eating together! We had an average of 2.2 full time equivalent (FTE) team members throughout the year (2024 3.4 FTE). The team resource during the year broken down by role is illustrated below.
We have built the kind of multidisciplinary team found in the technology sector because our organisation is rooted in principles like ‘humancentred design’, enabling a project to evolve throughout the delivery period based on cycles of testing, learning and adapting. The aim is to design, build, and grow a service without having to increase the size of the team, achieving greater economies of scale over time. This is why in many ways we don’t reflect the usual structure of a typical charity. We’ve chosen to invest in people with a mix of skills and experience.
As with previous years, we recruited short-term freelance support for one-o! projects on an ‘as-needs’ basis. Thank you to Jacob Warn, who worked with us to develop our impact strategy in 2024-25.
Team resource during the year:
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Apr May Jun Jul Aug Sep Oct Nov Dec Jan Feb Mar
Celia Mellow - Product & Operations manager (0.9 FTE)
Andrew Chaplin - Finance manager (0.4 FTE)
Hannah Ozsanlav - Member Support & Engagement Officer (0.6 FTE, 0.8 from December)
Rhiannon Prideaux - Bid writer (0.2 FTE)
Jacob Warn - Evaluation and Impact (0.07 FTE)
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e) Structure, governance and management
page 23
Governance
Our trustees met 6 times during the year (about every 8 weeks). They regularly review finances, policy and strategy, together with progress against Objectives and Key Results, as well as safeguarding matters. Our current trustees are Nick Gretton (Chair), Claire Price (Vice Chair), Annie Turnbull (Secretary), Mark Roe, and Yasmin Akhtar, and you can fnd out more about them here.
During the year Clare Young and Kylie Havelock stepped down from the board and in May 2025 Paul Amann also left, and we are very grateful for their wisdom, energy and service over many years. We also welcomed Annie, Mark and Yasmin, and we are proud that the majority of our board are now also leaders or members.
We are fully committed to making sure that our organisation properly reflects the wishes and needs of refugees and people seeking sanctuary in the UK. We are soon to launch a Lived Experience Advocacy Group (LEAG).
We intend that members of this group, all of whom will be refugees or people seeking sanctuary, will inform and influence the decisionmaking and work of the Local Welcome team and trustees.
Management
The day-to-day management of Local Welcome is undertaken by the team of paid sta!, led by Celia Mellow and Andrew Chaplin.
f) Subsequent events and future plans
f) Subsequent events and future plans
page 25
The disturbing anti-immigrant riots that took place in many towns and cities across the UK in Summer 2024 demonstrate why Local Welcome meals are needed in every community.
Therefore, as we enter our 10th year as an organisation, we are working to expand and develop our work by increasing attendance at our existing groups, and launching in new cities. To do this, we have selected locations for new groups by analysing the number of refugees and asylum seekers based in each local authority in the UK, and cross-referencing this data with places that experienced violence.
Since April 2025, Local Welcome has also been working with a marketing consultant funded by the Cranfield Trust. We are excited to see how this support will help us further improve uptake of our membership model, as well as support the launching of new groups in the UK.
We aim to continue working closely with leaders to increase local ownership by building leader capacity through collaboration, developing additional toolkits for the handbook and facilitating leaders learning from each other. The way in which leaders have taken ownership of their groups with enthusiasm, dedication and creativity this year has been incredibly encouraging - and we can’t wait to see how groups can develop and expand their impact further as we continue to grow and learn as an organisation.
We are also planning some 10th birthday celebrations…join our mailing list for further updates here.
“I’m thrilled to join this vibrant community and can’t wait to engage in various social activities that foster fellowship and camaraderie… Thank you for welcoming me into this wonderful group; I truly appreciate the chance to contribute and give back in meaningful ways. Let’s make some great memories together!”
Sthann (member), Derby
f) Subsequent events and future plans
Key advisors
We are grateful for the support and guidance of our advisors:
Legal
Herbert Smith Freehills LLP Richard Norridge Exchange House Primrose Street London, EC2A 2EG
Independent examiner
Nicola Anderson FCIE 189 Baldwins Lane Croxley Green Rickmansworth Herts, WD3 3LL
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page 26
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g) Annual accounts
g) Annual accounts – Local Welcom ~~e CIO~~
page 28
Trustees’ respon ~~sibilities in~~ the preparation o ~~f fnancial~~ statements
For the year end ~~ed 31~~ March 2025
The trustees are responsible f ~~or preparing the~~ trustees’ report and the financ ~~ial statements~~ in accordance with applicable law and United Kingdom Accounting Standard ~~s (UK Generally~~ Accepted Accounting Practice).
Charity law requires the truste ~~es to prepare~~ financial statements which give ~~a true and fair~~ view of the state of a!airs of the charity and of its income and expenditure for the period. In preparing these financial statements, the trustees are required to
– Select suitable accounting policies, observing the methods and principles set out in the Charities SORP, and apply them consistently
- Make judgements and estimates that are reasonable and prudent
– Prepare financial statements on a going concern basis unless it is inappropriate to assume that the company will continue on that basis.
~~The trustees are responsible for keeping~~ proper accounting records which disclose with reasonable accuracy at any time the financial position of the charitable company and to enable it to ensure that the fnancial statements comply with the Charities Act 2011. They are ~~also responsible for safeguarding the assets of the charitable company and hence for taking reasonable steps for the prevention and detection of fraud and other irregularities.~~
The above report was approved by the trustees on Thursday 17 July 2025 and signed on their behalf by
Nick Gretton
Chair
- State whether applicable accounting standards have been followed subject to any material departures disclosed and explained in the financial statements; and
g) Annual accounts – Local Welcome CIO
page 29
Independent examiner’s report to the trustees For the year ended 31 March 2025
I report to the trustees on my examination of the accounts of Local Welcome CIO (charity no.1180770) for the year ended 31 March 2025 which are set out on pages 30 to 41.
Responsibilities and basis of report
As the charity trustees of the charity, 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 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 Act.
Independent examiner’s statement
Your attention is drawn to the fact that the charity has prepared financial statements in accordance with Accounting and Reporting by Charities preparing their accounts in accordance with the Financial Reporting Standard applicable in the UK and Republic of Ireland (FRS102) in preference to the Accounting and Reporting by Charities Statement of Recommended Practice issued 1 April 2005 which is referred to in the extant regulations but has now been withdrawn.
I understand that this has been done in order for the financial statements to provide a true and fair view in accordance with Generally Accepted Accounting Practice e!ective for reporting periods beginning on or after 1 January 2019.
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 respect of the charity as required by section 130 of the Act; or
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.
Nicola Anderson FCIE
Charity Accountant and Independent Examiner 189 Baldwins Lane
Croxley Green Rickmansworth Herts. WD3 3LL
Dated: Thursday 17 July 2025
- The accounts do not accord with those records.
g) Annual accounts – Local Welcome CIO
page 30
Statement of financial activities For the year ended 31 March 2025
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2025 2024
Note Restricted Unrestricted Total Funds Restricted Unrestricted Total Funds
Funds Funds Funds Funds
£ £ £ £ £ £
Income from:
Grants and donations 2 46,971 56,936 103,907 215,075 15,490 230,565
Charitable activities 3 - - - - 12,371 12,371
Bank interest - 887 887 - 795 795
Total income 46,971 57,823 104,794 215,075 28,656 243,731
Expenditure on:
Raising funds 18,762 3,768 22,530 16,283 2,633 18,916
Direct charitable activities 102,597 20,607 123,204 168,299 27,214 195,512
Total expenditure 4 121,359 24,375 145,734 184,582 29,847 214,429
Net (deficit) income for the year 5 (74,388) 33,448 (40,940) 30,493 (1,191) 29,302
Reconciliation of funds
Funds brought forward 98,060 21,062 119,122 67,567 22,253 89,820
Funds carried forward 12 23,672 54,510 78,182 98,060 21,062 119,122
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The notes on pages 32 to 41 form part of these accounts.
g) Annual accounts – Local Welcome CIO
page 31
Balance sheet ~~As at 31 March 2025~~
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Note 2025 2024
£ £ £ £
Current assets
Debtors and prepayments 8 706 12,789
Cash at bank and in hand 9 79,581 111,763
80,287 124,552
Creditors: Amounts due within one year 10 (2,105) (5,430)
Net current assets 78,182 119,122
Net assets 78,182 119,122
Funds of the charity:
Restricted funds 23,672 98,060
Unrestricted funds 54,510 21,062
Total funds 11 78,182 119,122
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The notes on pages 32 to 41 form part of these accounts.
The financial statements on pages 30 to 41 were approved by the trustees and authorised for issue on Thursday 17 July 2025 and are signed on its behalf by:
Nick Gretton Claire Price Chair Vice Chair
g) Annual accounts – Local Welcome CIO Notes to the accounts – for the year ended 31 March 2025
page 32
Notes to the accounts For the year ended 31 March 2025
1. Accounting policies
Basis of accounting
The accounts have been prepared under the historical cost convention with items recognised at cost or transaction value unless otherwise stated in the relevant note(s) to these accounts.
The financial statements have been prepared in accordance with the Statement of Recommended Practice: Accounting and Reporting by Charities preparing their accounts in accordance with the updated Financial Reporting Standard applicable in the UK and Republic of Ireland (FRS 102) e!ective 1 January 2019 (SORP FRS102).
The accounts have departed from the Charities (Accounts and Reports) Regulations 2008 only to the extent required to provide a true and fair view. This departure has involved applying ‘Statement of Recommended Practice: Accounting and Reporting by Charities preparing their accounts in accordance with the Financial Reporting Standard applicable in the UK and Republic of Ireland (FRS102) e!ective 1 January 2019’ rather than the version of the Statement of Recommended Practice referred to in the regulation but which has since been withdrawn.
The charity constitutes a public benefit entity as defined by FRS102.
Going concern
The trustees have reviewed the income and expenditure requirements for the charity and are satisfied that the cash position and expected income are adequate to meet ongoing expenses for at least 12 months from the approval of these financial statements and therefore the trustees believe that it is appropriate to prepare the financial statements on a going concern basis.
The trustees have taken advantage of the exemption in accordance with SORP FRS 102 for smaller charities and have not included a statement of cashflows in the accounts.
Significant accounting policies applied in the preparation of these accounts are as follows:
Income
Income is recognised when entitlement passes to the charity, receipt is probable and the amount can be measured.
Donations and unrestricted grants are recognised on the earlier of receipt or due date in accordance with any agreement with the donor or grant funder. Donations and grants are only deferred if they relate exclusively to a future accounting period as determined by the donor.
Performance related grants and contracts are recognised when the service has been delivered.
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g) Annual accounts – Local Welcome CIO Notes to the accounts – for the year ended 31 March 2025
Expenditure
Expenditure is recognised when a liability is incurred. Irrecoverable VAT is charged against the expenditure heading for which it was incurred.
Event costs include all costs relating to running the events including food, equipment, promotion, venue costs and travel.
Funds
Restricted funds comprise income received that is restricted by the donor to activities that are narrower than, but within, the charity’s general objects. Expenditure which meets these restrictions is charged against restricted income with any amounts unspent at the yearend carried forward to be applied within the restrictions in future accounting periods.
Unrestricted funds comprise income received that can be applied by the trustees at their discretion to the general objects of the charity.
Financial instruments
The charity has elected to apply the provisions of Section 11 “Basic Financial Instruments” and Section 12 “Other Financial instruments Issues” of FRS 102, in full, to all of its financial instruments. Financial instruments are classified and accounted for according to the substance of the contractual arrangement as financial assets, financial liabilities or equity instruments. An equity instrument is any contract that evidences a residual interest in the assets of the entity after deducting all of its liabilities.
Basic financial assets, which include other debtors and accrued income are initially measured at transaction price including transaction costs and are subsequently carried at amortised cost.
Basic financial liabilities, which include accruals, are initially measured at transaction price and subsequently measured at amortised cost.
g) Annual accounts – Local Welcome CIO Notes to the accounts – for the year ended 31 March 2025
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2. Grants and donations
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Restricted Unrestricted 2025 Total Restricted Unrestricted 2024 Total
£ £ £ £ £ £
Government Grants
The National Lottery Community Fund 19,995 - 19,995 39,424 - 39,424
The National Lottery Heritage Fund 9,744 - 9,744 38,975 - 38,975
Belfast City Council 5,000 - 5,000 - - -
Comic Relief 998 - 998 8,976 - 8,976
Birmingham City Council - - - 14,958 - 14,958
35,737 - 35,737 102,333 - 102,333
Other Grants
Society for the Holy Child Jesus - 15,000 15,000 - 15,000 15,000
Garfield Weston Trust - 15,000 15,000 - - -
Britford Bridge Trust - 15,000 15,000 - - -
The Souter Charitable Trust - 5,000 5,000 - - -
Norfolk Community Foundation 4,943 - 4,943 - - -
Postcode Places Trust - - - 23,491 - 23,491
The Save the Children Fund - - - 23,131 - 23,131
King Charles III Charitable Fund - - - 19,982 - 19,982
Foundation Derbyshire - - - 15,663 - 15,663
Ben & Jerry's Foundation Fund (Tides Foundation) - - - 10,000 - 10,000
4,943 50,000 54,943 92,267 15,000 107,267
Donations
Nice & Serious 6,291 - 6,291 20,475 - 20,475
Individuals - 6,936 6,936 - 490 490
6,291 6,936 13,227 20,475 490 20,964
Total 46,971 56,936 103,907 215,075 15,490 230,565
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g) Annual accounts – Local Welcome CIO Notes to the accounts – for the year ended 31 March 2025
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3. Income from charitable activities
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2025 2024
£ £
Performance related grants and contracts
Contracted fees - 7,950
Other
Participation fees - 4,421
Total - 4,421
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Membership subscriptions were previously considered as participation fees but are now shown as donations from individuals (Note 2) as payment is no longer a requirement for participation.
g) Annual accounts – Local Welcome CIO Notes to the accounts – for the year ended 31 March 2025
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4(a). Allocation of expenditure – current year
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Raising Funds Charitable Support Governance 2025 Total
Activities
£ £ £ £
Salaries and other sta! costs (note 7) 17,504 59,877 16,202 6,677 100,260
Events - 21,534 - - 21,534
Office 697 11,831 2,930 1,191 16,649
Professional fees - 6,291 - - 6,291
Independent Examination - - - 1,000 1,000
Total direct costs 18,201 99,533 19,132 8,868 145,734
Apportionment of support and governance 4,329 23,671 (19,132) (8,868) -
Total costs 22,530 123,204 - - 145,734
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4(b). Allocation of expenditure – prior year
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Raising funds Charitable Support Governance 2024 Total
activities
£ £ £ £ £
Salaries and other sta! costs (note 7) 14,179 98,772 34,960 6,034 153,945
Events - 10,448 226 - 10,674
Office 309 17,948 7,141 887 26,285
Professional fees - 22,575 - - 22,575
Independent examination - - - 950 950
Total direct costs 14,488 149,743 42,327 7,871 214,429
Apportionment of support and governance 4,428 45,770 (42,327) (7,871) -
Total costs 18,916 195,513 - - 214,429
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g) Annual accounts – Local Welcome CIO Notes to the accounts – for the year ended 31 March 2025
5. Net income
This is stated after charging
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2025 2024
£ £
Independent examiner’s fee 1,000 950
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6. Trustee expenses, remuneration and related party transactions
Trustees received reimbursement for expenses totalling £30 in the year (2024: none)
There were no other related party transactions (2024: none).
g) Annual accounts – Local Welcome CIO Notes to the accounts – for the year ended 31 March 2025
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7. Sta! costs and key management remuneration
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2025 2024 2025 2024
Headcount £ £
Sta! costs comprise:
Employees - Gross salary 82,025 119,471
- Social security costs 2,555 7,639
- Employer pension contributions 1,899 2,645
Total employee costs 3 3.5 86,479 129,754
Other sta!:
Self-employed contractors 1.8 2.8 11,346 22,765
Volunteers’ expenses 269 -
Sta! related costs:
Training and recruitment 1,073 315
Travel and subsistence 1,093 1,111
Total sta! including contractors 4.8 6.3 100,260 153,945
The average number of employees and contractors in the year
(based on headcount) spent on each activity was:
Raising Funds 1.3 1.3
Direct activities 2.7 4.0
Support and governance 0.8 1.0
4.8 6.3
Full-time equivalent (based on standard hours worked) 2.2 3.4
Number of employees paid over £60,000 (gross salary) - -
The aggregate remuneration paid to key management in the year, including
62,719 122,640
employer’s national insurance and pension, was:
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g) Annual accounts – Local Welcome CIO Notes to the accounts – for the year ended 31 March 2025
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8. Debtors
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2025 2024
£ £
Participation fees - 47
Grants receivable - 8,947
Donations from Individuals 80 -
Gift Aid recoverable 626 -
Other debtors - 3,794
706 12,788
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9. Cash at bank
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2025 2024
£ £
Current and deposit accounts 78,540 111,128
Soldo (pre-paid card platform) 1,041 635
79,581 111,763
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Excepting Soldo, cash is held in instant access accounts with Metrobank.
10. Creditors: amounts due within one year
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2025 2024
£ £
Tax and social security costs 351 3,174
Other creditors 754 1,306
Accruals 1,000 950
2,105 5,430
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g) Annual accounts – Local Welcome CIO Notes to the accounts – for the year ended 31 March 2025
11. Movement on funds
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At 1 April 2023 Income Expenditure At 31 March Income Expenditure At 31 March
2024 / 1 April 2025
2024
£ £ £ £ £ £ £
Restricted Funds
National Lottery Community Fund 5,913 39,424 12,366 32,971 19,995 29,794 23,172
The National Lottery Heritage Fund 58,654 38,975 79,069 18,560 9,744 28,304 -
Professional fees - 20,475 20,475 - 6,291 6,291 -
Belfast City Council - - - - 5,000 5,000 -
Norfolk Community Foundation - - - - 4,943 4,443 500
Comic Relief - 8,976 4,987 3,989 998 4,987 -
Postcode Places Trust 1,000 23,491 21,891 2,600 - 2,600 -
Birmingham City Council - 14,958 5,000 9,958 - 9,958 -
Foundation Derbyshire - 15,663 13,663 2,000 - 2,000 -
Ben & Jerry's Foundation Fund (Tides Foundation) - 10,000 2,000 8,000 - 8,000 -
King Charles III Charitable Fund - 19,982 - 19,982 - 19,982 -
The Save the Children Fund - 23,131 23,131 - - - -
The London Community Foundation 2,000 - 2,000 - - - -
Total restricted funds 67,567 215,075 184,582 98,060 46,971 121,351 23,672
Unrestricted funds 22,253 28,656 29,847 21,062 57,823 24,375 54,510
Total funds 89,820 243,731 214,429 119,122 104,794 145,734 78,182
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The grants with year-end balances are for continuing projects. These grants all fund Local Welcome meals but with geographical restrictions and/or additional project deliverables.
Our current unrestricted reserves include several grants received in 2024-25 which we expect to spend in 2025-26.
g) Annual accounts – Local Welcome CIO Notes to the accounts – for the year ended 31 March 2025
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12. Analysis of net assets by fund
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Restricted funds Unrestricted funds Total funds 2025 Restricted funds Unrestricted funds Total funds 2024
£ £ £ £ £ £
Debtors - 706 706 12,742 47 12,789
Cash at bank 24,777 54,804 79,581 90,748 21,015 111,763
Creditors: amounts due within one year (1,105) (1,000) (2,105) (5,430) - (5,430)
Net assets 23,672 54,510 78,182 98,060 21,062 119,122
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13. Government and local authority grants
At 31 March 2025 the charity held £23,172 (2024: £65,478) in unspent government grants. These are listed within Note 2 and Note 11.