## **THE MAITRI FOUNDATION**
## **Annual Report and Financial Statements**
**for the year ended 31[st] December 2024**
**Registered Charity number:** 1181402 (England and Wales)
**Trustees’ Report**
## **THE MAITRI FOUNDATION**
for the year ended 31[st] December 2024
|**CONTENTS**||
|---|---|
||**Page**|
|**Trustees’ Report**|**3 - 7**|
|**Independent Examiner’s Report**|**8 - 9**|
|**Statement of Financial Activities**|**10**|
|**Balance Sheet**|**11**|
|**Notes to the Financial Statements**|**12 - 14**|
|**Gallery**|**15 - 17**|
2
## **THE MAITRI FOUNDATION**
**Trustees’ Report**
for the year ended 31[st] December 2024
The trustees present their report together with the financial statements for the year ended 31[st] December 2024.
## **REFERENCE & ADMINSTRATIVE INFORMATION**
**Charity name** The Maitri Foundation (“Maitri”, the “CIO” or the “Charity“) **Charity number** 1181402 (England and Wales) **Address for correspondence** The Hon. Treasurer The Maitri Foundation c/o Ashik Shah & Co. Ltd. Work.Life, 33 Foley Street London W1W 7TL
|**Address for correspondence**|The Hon. Treasurer
The Maitri Foundation
c/o Ashik Shah & Co. Ltd.
Work.Life, 33 Foley Street
London W1W 7TL|The Hon. Treasurer
The Maitri Foundation
c/o Ashik Shah & Co. Ltd.
Work.Life, 33 Foley Street
London W1W 7TL||
|---|---|---|---|
|**Website address**|www.maitri-foundation.org|||
|**Trustees**||_From_|_Until_|
|Ashik Shah|Chairman|3 Jan 19||
|Nilpa Shah||3 Jan 19||
|Richard Bancroft|Treasurer|3 Jan 19||
## **STRUCTURE, GOVERNANCE & MANAGEMENT**
The Maitri Foundation was constituted as a charitable incorporated organisation and registered as a charity with the Charity Commission on 3[rd] January 2019.
The Charity is governed by its board of trustees. Trustees are recruited after being identified as having skills, contacts and other attributes which will help the Charity in the furtherance of its object and activities. As and when necessary the trustees may be assisted in the management of the Charity by appropriate professionals.
Trustees and those with the management responsibilities indicated above are all volunteers. With the exception of the founding trustees Ashik and Nilpa Shah, who were appointed for initial periods of ten years, trustees are appointed for initial periods of three years, following which they could be appointed to serve for further periods as provided in the Charity’s constitution. At a meeting of the trustees in December 2024 Richard Bancroft was appointed to serve as a trustee and as the Charity’s treasurer for a further three-year term from 3[rd] January 2025.
The Charity employed no staff, either full-time or part-time, in the year.
## **OBJECT & ACTIVITIES**
The Charity’s object, as stated in its governing document, is “To channel the charitable giving of founding trustees Ashik & Nilpa Shah, their families and friends by funding other charities and entities (particularly schools and social enterprises) operating in the United Kingdom (and certain countries with which the donors have historic connections) that are engaged in
3
## **THE MAITRI FOUNDATION**
**Trustees’ Report**
for the year ended 31[st] December 2024
activities of public benefit including but not limited to the advancement of education, religious knowledge and understanding especially of Jainism, the promotion of understanding in the UK of the history and culture of the Indian sub-continent, and contributing to social and economic development.”
In furtherance of this object the Charity makes grants, invariably unsolicited, to organisations (and exceptionally to individuals) which the trustees have identified as likely to be particularly effective in achieving the Charity’s object. Often these are organisations with which the founding trustees or their families and friends are or have been personally involved, whose trustees and management they know and have confidence in, and which they have previously supported with donations.
## **ACHIEVEMENTS IN THE YEAR**
Maitri Foundation was able to support relief work and to make strategic grants in furtherance of its object. Where online reports and videos are available, links are provided below.
## **Strategic Grants**
## _**Jainism**_
## **Atma Siddhi book copy editing**
A grant of £5,000 was made to Shree Raj Saubhag UK, to fund work on copy editing a translation and commentary of the 19th Century poet and saint Shrimad Rajchandra's magnum opus Atma Siddhi. The translation and commentary have been led by Ashik Shah, a trustee of Maitri Foundation. The funds were used to pay for the work of Katherine Knotts of Red Press.
## https://www.atmasiddhi.org/
## **Nectar**
A grant of £2,677 was made to Shree Raj Saubhag Satsang Mandal UK to partially fund the printing of “Nectar, A Collection of Letters by Shrimad Rajchandra.” Ashik Shah was a key member of the translation team.
## **https://www.rajsaubhag.org/nectar**
## **Soul Verses**
Grants totalling £9,053 were made to Shree Raj Saubhag Satsang Mandal UK to fund the recording and distribution of Soul Verses, a translation into English of Shrimad Rajchandra's aforementioned Atma Siddhi. Ashik Shah had the vision to create this unique rendering in song, set to the same tune and metre as the original Gujarati. A team was heavily involved in its creation. Nilpa Shah, a trustee of Maitri Foundation, identified the singers and led the music and recording of this great work. To date, the rendering has been viewed over 21,000 times on YouTube. It is also available on Spotify and Apple Music.
https://linktr.ee/soul_verses
4
## **THE MAITRI FOUNDATION**
**Trustees’ Report**
for the year ended 31[st] December 2024
## _**Capacity Building**_
No grants were made in this area.
## _**Persons with Disabilities**_
## Ashirvad Trust for the Disabled, India - Livelihood Kits
A grant of £2,808 was made to Ashirvad Trust for the Disabled in Sayla, India to fund 50 livelihood kits, carefully selected to match the skills and aspirations of various persons with disabilities. This donation was enabled by the generosity of Daniela Ciceri and Jiten Samani.
## _**Community and Welfare**_
## KHS Eye Hospital, Sayla, India
A grant of £2,808 was made to Shree Raj Saubhag Satsang Mandal, India, which funded 20 eye operations in the village of Sayla, Gujarat, India. This donation was enabled by the generosity of Daniela Ciceri and Jiten Samani.
## - https://www.rajsaubhag.org/health#eye hospital
## Civic Health Centre, Sayla, India
A grant of £3,822 was made to Shree Raj Saubhag Satsang Mandal, India, which partially funded the running costs of the local hospital. This donation was enabled by the generosity of Daniela Ciceri and Jiten Samani.
## https://www.rajsaubhag.org/health#chc
## Sewing Classes, Sayla, India
A grant of £562 was made to Ashirvad Trust for the Disabled in Sayla, India to fund two classes for vocational training in sewing in which 24 women were trained in sewing, equipping them with the skills to make a living safely. This donation was enabled by the generosity of Daniela Ciceri and Jiten Samani.
## **FUTURE PLANS**
**Strategic grants:** The founding trustees have close links to the Indian charity Shree Raj Saubhag Satsang Mandal which carries on numerous activities for the public benefit in the state of Gujarat including in health care, primary and secondary education, and provision for the disabled.
The trustees have committed to the annual running costs for at least two years of the Ashirvad Trust for the Disabled’s Inclusive Community-Based Livelihood Programme (ICBLP) and its Mental Health support programme, projects which benefit several thousand persons with disability. This is expected to cost in the range of £12,000 per annum. This will be a commitment of 3-5 years and will be subject to high wage inflation.
The trustees have committed to support an innovative programme called Garbha Sanskar to impart good values and habits to pregnant mothers. The programme is based on research at
5
## **THE MAITRI FOUNDATION**
**Trustees’ Report**
for the year ended 31[st] December 2024
the Children’s University, Gujarat and is aimed at improving health and mortality outcomes at the time of delivery and beyond, as well as supporting the happiness of the mother and thus the child. This is expected to cost around £3,000 per annum. This will be a commitment of 3- 5 years and is also expected to be subject to high wage inflation.
The trustees have also committed to a vocational training programme which teaches sewing, a key means of independent livelihood for women. The Garbha Sanskar programme and vocational training will take place in the Living Science Centre building partly funded by the trust.
The trustees are also keen to see how nutritional supplements can help boost the health of pregnant mothers and children in their early years, and to fund the provision of new equipment at the Living Science Centre.
In deciding how much to commit to these programmes the trustees have taken into account recent currency fluctuations and increasing inflation in India, particularly wage inflation, which is a major component of the delivery costs of many of the projects supported.
## **PAST AND FUTURE GRANTEE VISITS**
During the year the trustees visited in person the leaders and/or projects of:
- Gratitude Charity, Borehamwood, Hertfordshire
- Harrow Giving, Harrow
- The Institute of Jainology directors in Harrow
- Shree Raj Saubhag Satsang Mandal, Sayla, Gujarat, in particular:
- Primary and Secondary Education projects
- The site of the new Living Science Centre, which will also house the sewing classes and Garbha Sanskar project
- KHS Eye Hospital
- Civic Health Centre (CHC)
- Ashirvad Trust for the Disabled
Trustees also visited a number of other organisations which they are considering supporting.
## **FINANCIAL REVIEW**
## **Income**
Income for the year (before any related expenses) totalled £16,605 (2023: £20,883). Additionally a foreign exchange gain of £461 (2023: £2,746 loss) was made on cash held in the Charity’s US dollar current account.
Apart from a modest amount of interest from a savings account all the income for the period came from donations made by trustee Nilpa Shah and by a generous friend of the trustees, together with Gift Aid claimed on those donations and interest thereon received from HMRC.
## **Expenditure**
During the year four grants totalling £26,731 were made (2023: £34,314). Grants were made to a UK charity where Ashik Shah is a trustee to support editing, publishing and recording of
6
## **THE MAITRI FOUNDATION**
**Trustees’ Report**
for the year ended 31[st] December 2024
translations of religious literature and to two registered charities in India to support work related to health, vocational training of women and livelihood for people with disabilities in the state of Gujarat.
The costs of administering the Charity in the year were £1,457 (2023: £916) consisting of bank charges, and the cost of the independent examination (including the cost of the examination for 2022 not previously expensed). There were no other expenses in the year. The trustees intend and expect that the costs of running the Charity shall continue to be low.
## **Designated and restricted funds**
At 31st December 2024, and at the date of this report, the Charity had no designated or restricted funds.
## **Reserves policy**
With no staff or premises and minimal expenditure the Charity has no material commitments which would require it to formulate a reserves policy at this time.
## **Investment policy**
It is unlikely that in the long term the Charity will have any significant surplus of income from donations and Gift Aid over grants made. The trustees’ policy is that any temporary surplus over anticipated running costs will be held in an instant access savings account and, should any longer-term surplus develop, the trustees may invest in funds with which they are familiar designed for and managed by charities, such as those of CCLA Investment Management Ltd.
## **Banking**
There were no changes to the Charity’s banking arrangements during the year.
## **Independent examination**
The annual income for 2024 was below £25,000 as it was in 2023 (having last been above £25,000 in 2022) so the Charities Commission do not require the financial statements for the year to be independently examined. Nevertheless the trustees have decided that an independent examination should continue to be carried out and they are once again grateful that Ketan Shah FCA of RBS Accountants Ltd. has agreed to undertake the examination of the Charity’s 2024 financial statements.
This report was approved by the trustees on 15[th] October 2025 and signed on their behalf by:
**Ashik Shah** Chairman
7
## **Independent examiner's report on the accounts**
||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
|_c_|_tion A Independent Examiner’s Report_||||
||**Report to the trustees/**
**members of**
**On accounts for the**
**year ended**
**Set out on pages**
**Responsibilities and**
**basis of report**
**Independent**
**examiner's statement**||||
|||The Maitri Foundation
(a charitable incorporated organisation)|||
|||31stDecember 2024|**Charity**
**no.**|
1181402|
|||10 to 14 following|||
|||I report to the trustees on my examination of the accounts of the
above charity (“the CIO”) for the year ended**31st December 2024**. 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 CIO’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.
Ihave 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: **|27thOctober
2025|
8
## **Independent examiner's report on the accounts**
**Name:** Ketan Shah **Professional** ICAEW **qualification(s) (if any):** 16 Beaufort Court, **Address:** Admirals Way London E14 9XL _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).
**Material matters the** None **examiner wishes to disclose** .
9
## **THE MAITRI FOUNDATION**
## **Statement of Financial Activities**
## for the year ended 31[st ] December 2024
|**Income**
Donations and Gift Aid
Interest
**Total income**
**Expenditure**
Cost of generating donations
Fundraising costs
Cost of charitable activities
Governance costs
**Total expenditure**
Net gain/-loss on assets
denominated in US dollars
Net Income / -Expenditure
**Reconciliation of Funds**
Total Funds brought down
**Total Funds carried forward**|Note|Unrestricte
d
Restricted
**Total**
Total
Funds
Funds
**2024**
2023|
|---|---|---|
||4
5
6
10|£16,405
-
**£16,405**
£20,750
£200
-
**£200**
£133|
|||£16,605
-
**£16,605**
£20,883|
|||-
-
**-**
-
-
-
**-**
-
£26,731
-
**£26,731**
£34,314
£1,457
-
**£1,457**
£916|
|||£28,188
-
**£28,188**
£35,230|
|||£461
-
**£461**
-£2,746|
|||-£11,121
-
**-£11,121**
-£17,092|
|||£38,889
-
**£38,889**
£55,982|
|||£27,768
-
**£27,768**
£38,889|
The Statement of Financial Activities includes all gains and losses recognised in the period. All the Trust’s incoming resources and resources expended derive from continuing activities.
The notes on pages 12 to 14 form an integral part of these financial statements.
10
## **THE MAITRI FOUNDATION**
## **Balance Sheet**
as at 31[st] December 2024
|**Current Assets**
Debtors & Prepayments
Cash at Bank
**Current Liabilities**
Creditors (falling due within one
year)
**Net Current Assets**
**Net Assets**
**Funds of the Charity**
Unrestricted Funds
General Purposes Fund
Restricted Funds
**Total Funds**|Note|Unrestricted
Restricted
**Total**
Total
Funds
Funds
**2024**
2023|
|---|---|---|
||7
8
9|£750
-
**£750**
£5,500
£27,738
-
**£27,738**
£33,604|
|||£28,488
-
**£28,488**
£39,104
£720
-
**£720**
£215|
|||£27,768
-
**£27,768**
£38,889|
|||£27,768
-
**£27,768**
£38,889|
|||£27,768
-
**£27,768**
£38,889
-
-
**-**
-|
|||£27,768
-
**£27,768**
£38,889|
Approved by the trustees on 10[th] October 2025 and signed on behalf of the trustees by:
**Ashik Shah Richard Bancroft** FCCA Chairman Treasurer
The notes on pages 12 to 14 form an integral part of these financial statements.
11
**THE MAITRI FOUNDATION**
**Notes to the Financial Statements**
for the year ended 31[st] December 2024
## **1. Basis of Preparation**
## 1.1. Basis of Accounting
These accounts have been prepared on the basis of historic cost in accordance with Charities Statement of Recommended Practice (FRS 102) Update Bulletin 1 effective for periods beginning on or after 1[st] January 2016.
## **2. Accounting Policies**
## 2.1. Form of Financial Statements
## 2.1.1. Unrestricted Funds
Funds that may be used at the discretion of the trustees in furtherance of the object of the Charity. Unrestricted funds can be:
- 2.1.1.1. Designated Funds
The trustees may designate one or more funds to be used for a specific purpose.
- 2.1.1.2. General Purpose Fund
- This is an unrestricted fund which has not been designated and which can therefore be used for the general purposes of the Charity.
- 2.1.2. Restricted Funds
- Funds which are subject to restrictions on their use or disposal imposed by the donor or by the Charity’s constitution that are binding on the trustees.
## 2.2. Incoming Resources
- 2.2.1. Incoming Resources are recognised and included in the Statement of Financial Activities (SOFA) when the Charity becomes entitled to the resources, the trustees are virtually certain they will receive the incoming resources and the monetary value can be measured with sufficient reliability.
- 2.2.2. Where incoming resources have related expenditure (as with fundraising) the incoming resources and related expenditure are reported gross in the SOFA.
- 2.2.3. Bank interest is recognised when it is credited to the account.
- 2.3. Expenditure & Liabilities
- 2.3.1. Expenditure is accounted for on an accruals basis.
- 2.3.2. Liabilities are recognised as soon as there is a legal or constructive obligation to pay out resources.
- 2.3.3. Governance costs, expenditure on charitable activities, the cost of generating donations, and fundraising costs all include an appropriate apportionment of insurance, website and marketing costs, where these costs are material.
## 2.4. Assets
- 2.4.1. Tangible fixed assets will be capitalised if they cost more than £1,000 and can be used for more than one year. They are valued at cost or, if gifted, at their value on receipt. The Charity does not have any capitalised fixed assets.
- 2.4.2. Heritage assets are valued and disclosed in accordance with FRS 102 s. 34 Heritage Assets.
12
## **THE MAITRI FOUNDATION**
## **Notes to the Financial Statements**
for the year ended 31[st] December 2024
2.4.3. Securities are valued at market bid prices at close of business on 31[st] December or, if that is not a business day, at close of business on the last business day preceding 31[st] December.
## 2.5. Taxation
The Charity is not liable to income or capital gains tax on its charitable activities. Irrecoverable VAT is included in the asset cost or expense to which it relates.
## **3. Transactions with trustees and related parties**
During the period no remuneration or expenses were paid to trustees or related parties. The aggregate amount of donations received from trustees or related parties was £5,000 which was 38% of total income (2023: £8,000; 50%) and these donations were received without any conditions being imposed on the Charity by the donors.
Disbursements made by trustees and others on the Charity’s behalf are reimbursed on presentation of receipts for the expenditure to the treasurer.
## **4. Voluntary Income**
|**4. Voluntary Income**|||
|---|---|---|
|Donations
Gift Aid
**5. Cost of Charitable Activities**
Grants to UK charities
Grants to Indian charities
**6. Governance Costs**
Independent examination
Bank charges, stationery, postage,
etc.
Other governance costs|Unrestricted
Restricted
**Total**
**2024**
£13,155
-
**£13,155**
£3,250
-
**£3,250**|Total
2023
£16,000
£4,750|
||£16,405
-
**£16,405**|£20,750|
||Unrestricted
Restricted
**Total**
**2024**
-
-
**-**
£26,731
-
**£26,731**|Total
2023
£17,000
£17,314|
||£26,731
-
**£26,731**|£34,314|
||Unrestricted
Restricted
**Total**
**2024**
£1,380
-
**£1,380**
£77
-
**£77**
-
-
**-**|Total
2023
£720
£154
£42|
||£1,457
-
**£1,457**|£916|
13
## **THE MAITRI FOUNDATION**
**Notes to the Financial Statements** for the year ended 31[st] December 2024
|**7. Debtors & Prepayments**|||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
||Unrestricted|Restricted|**Total**|Total|
||||**2024**|2023|
|Gift Aid receivable|£750|-|**£750**|£5,500|
||£750|-|**£750**|£5,500|
|**8. Cash at Bank**|||||
||Unrestricted|Restricted|**Total**|Total|
||||**2024**|2023|
|Metro Bank current account £|£57|-|**£57**|£1,017|
|Metro Bank current account $|£27,679|-|**£27,679**|£27,295|
|Metro Bank savings account £|£2|-|**£2**|£5,293|
|PayPal|-|-|**-**|-|
||£27,738|-|**£27,738**|£33,604|
|The charity does not hold any funds in cash.|||||
|**9. Creditors (falling due within one year)**|||||
||Unrestricted|Restricted|**Total**|Total|
||||**2024**|2023|
|Sundry creditors|£720|-|**£720**|£215|
|Accrued expenses|-|-|**-**|-|
||£720|-|**£720**|£215|
|**10. Foreign Currency Transactions**|||||
||Unrestricted|Restricted|**Total**|Total|
||||**2024**|2023|
|FX balances brought down|£27,295|-|**£27,295**|£47,508|
|Grants made|-|-|**-**|-£17,314|
|Expenses paid|-£77|-|**-£77**|-£154|
|Realised gain/-loss on FX|£461|-|**£461**|-£2,746|
|balances|||||
|FX balances carried forward|£27,679|-|**£27,679**|£27,295|
14
**Gallery**
## **THE MAITRI FOUNDATION**
## **Jainism related activity**
Atma Siddhi Book. There is currently no imagery for the book. This is a well-known rendition of the composition, taken from https://www.atmasiddhi.org/ an associated website.
The front cover of Nectar: A Collection of Letters by Shrimad Rajchandra. More details at https://www.rajsaubhag.org/nectar
A screenshot Soul Verses YouTube image. More details available at: https://linktr.ee/Soul_verses
15
## **THE MAITRI FOUNDATION**
## **Gallery**
Supporting People with Disabilities, Health, and Livelihoods
Distribution of Livelihood Kits to People with Disabilities to match their skills and aspiration.
Images from Sayla’s Civic Health Centre
16
**Gallery**
## **THE MAITRI FOUNDATION**
Images from Sayla’s KHS Eye Hospital
Sewing Classes Certificate Ceremony
17
## 4756 - Maitri Foundation Annual Report 2024
Final Audit Report 2025-10-27
Created: 2025-10-27 By: K Shah (abrar@rbsca.com) Status: Signed Transaction ID: CBJCHBCAABAAklLb7RzyPqDI2168fT01US5NMTaGj4cU
## "4756 - Maitri Foundation Annual Report 2024" History
## Document created by K Shah (abrar@rbsca.com)
2025-10-27 - 2:53:39 PM GMT- IP address: 213.160.107.18
## Document emailed to Ketan Shah (ketan@rbsca.com) for signature
2025-10-27 - 2:53:45 PM GMT
## Email viewed by Ketan Shah (ketan@rbsca.com)
2025-10-27 - 3:52:41 PM GMT- IP address: 172.226.0.28
## Document e-signed by Ketan Shah (ketan@rbsca.com)
Signature Date: 2025-10-27 - 4:03:33 PM GMT - Time Source: server- IP address: 31.94.72.199
## Agreement completed.
2025-10-27 - 4:03:33 PM GMT