Annual report for the financial year ending 31 December 2023
Charity number
1181624
Companies number
CE016243
Website
www.solbergafoundation.com
Trustees
Camilla Johansson Kristina Johansson (Chair) Lyndsey Johansson Vanessa Johansson
Registered Address
353 Liverpool Road London, N1 1NL United Kingdom
Bankers
HSBC Private Bank (Suisse) SA Gartenstrasse 26 P O Box, CH-8027 Zürich Switzerland
HSBC Private Bank 8 Cork St, Mayfair London W1S 3LJ United Kingdom
Overview
The Solberga Foundation is an independent grant-making charity which was registered as a UK charity on January 18, 2019 and is governed by its constitution. The Foundation currently has four trustees. Kristina Johansson is both the Chair of the board of trustees and the Managing Director. The objects of the Foundation are to advance such charitable purposes (according to the laws of England and Wales) as the Trustees see fit. The Solberga Foundation funds organisations that are working on animal welfare and climate justice.
Mission
The mission of the Solberga Foundation is to promote compassion and peaceful coexistence between humans, animals, and nature. The Foundation envisions an end to the negative human impact on the natural environment and all who live in it. This mission is supported on a local and community level as well as through global and systemic initiatives. As systems thinkers and advocates for future generations, the Foundation embraces and invests in initiatives that address root causes, and shape a more sustainable, equitable and compassionate future world. Solberga Foundation is dedicated to supporting innovative, lasting solutions that improve lives, empower communities and preserve the land.
Governance
The trustees held two meetings during the course of the year online and agreed that Kristina Johansson will continue to manage the day-to-day activities of the charity, but due to her going on maternity leave the overall work of the foundation was reduced accordingly.
The charity is a family-run entity where new trustees are appointed by the existing board. The appointment of each trustee continues until a trustee resigns. No changes to the trustees were made in the year.
No serious incidents occurred in the financial year affecting the charity.
Financial review
General activities
The Foundation does not have any staff members. The Managing Director administers the day to day activities of the Foundation on a pro bono basis. Unlike previous year, over the course of 2023 the foundation reduced its engagement in various networks and spaces, and managed the relationships with grantees necessary for grant making needs but did not progress on new applications or updating the foundations website.
Grant Making
In order to become an effective grant making entity the Foundation continued to further develop bespoke grant making agreements and established the necessary due diligence processes that met the requirements of the Foundation, ensured relevance compliance with applicable legislation, strove to model best practice with regards to grant making and aimed to not place undue burden on any potential grantees.
The Solberga Foundation does not accept unsolicited grant applications. Grants are made at the discretion of the trustees and range in size from £5,000 to £50,000. Grant periods are for one year from the date of grant agreement. Grant due diligence is managed internally and includes the review of potential grantees through an application form and grant agreement as well as a telephonic or in person conversation with any potential grantees.
The trustees agreed to the grant making strategy for 2023 and agreed to make the following grants:
| Grantee Name | Location | **Grant Amount (£) *** |
|---|---|---|
| Citizens UK | UK | £ 15,000 |
| Fuel Poverty Action | UK | £ 5,000 |
| Tax Justice UK | UK | £ 25,000 |
| Platform London | UK | £ 25,000 |
| Friends of the Earth Scotland | UK | £ 23,000 |
| New Economics Organising Network (NEON) | UK | £ 22,000 |
| Animal Equality UK | UK | £ 22,000 |
| Climate 2025 Social Practice | UK | £ 10,000 |
| Thousand Currents | US | £ 24,769 |
| Tripod | UK | £ 12,000 |
| Corporate Accountability | US | £ 16,359 |
| TOTAL | £ 200,128 |
*Grants paid from the Foundation’s USD bank account are converted to GBP at the rate of conversion on the day the grant payment was made.
The Foundation’s focus was to manage existing relationships with grantees in the climate change and animal welfare sectors. Most of these grants were focused in the UK based as laid out in the Foundation strategy.
This year the Foundation made 11 grants totalling £200,128.
For 2023 the Foundation has set the following objectives:
-
Explore long-term funding options for the Foundation.
-
Further update the medium-term grant making strategy with a focus on climate change and animal welfare responding to the current situation
-
Continue to strengthen and develop the Foundation’s operating systems, review and update grant agreements and look at expanding internal capacity.
Kristina Johansson Chairperson & Managing Director
INDEPENDENT EXAMINER’S REPORT TO THE TRUSTEES OF SOLBERGA FOUNDATION
I report to the charity trustees on my examination of the accounts of the charity for the period ended 31 December 2023 which comprise the Statement of Financial activities, Balance Sheet and related notes.
The accounting period is from 1 January 2023 to 31 December 2023 and is the fifth set of accounts prepared by the charity.
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 charity’s accounts carried out under section 145 of the 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 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
-
the accounts do not accord with those records; or
-
the accounts to 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.
Elizaveta Khaydari BA, ACA 17/10/2024
Solberga Foundation Statement of Financial Activities
for the year to 31 December 2023
| Notes Income Donations and legacies 1 Bank interest Total Income Expenditure Fund raising 3 Charitable activities 2 Total expenditure Net income / expenditure Net movement in funds Reconciliation of funds Total funds brought forward Total funds carried forward |
2023 Total £ 263,305 263,305 - 210,531 210,531 52,775 52,775 30.372 83,147 |
2022 Total £ 300,019 |
|---|---|---|
| 300,019 | ||
| - 393.103 |
||
| 393.103 | ||
| (93,084) | ||
| (93.084) | ||
| 123,457 | ||
| 30,372 |
Solberga Foundation Balance Sheet
as at 31 December 2023
| Notes Fixed assets Tangible assets Investments Total fixed assets Current assets Debtors Cash at bank and in hand Total current 4 Creditors: amounts falling due within one year Net current assets Net assets Unrestricted funds Restricted funds Total funds |
Charity 2023 £ - - - - - 83,147 83,147 - 83,147 83,147 83,147 - 83,147 |
Charity 2022 £ - - - |
|---|---|---|
| - | ||
| - 30,372 |
||
| 30,372 | ||
| - | ||
| 30,372 | ||
| 30,372 | ||
| 30,372 - |
||
| 30,372 |
These financial statements have not been audited and have been prepared by a finance professional.
The notes that follow form part of these accounts.
Approved by the Board on 10 October 2024 and signed on their behalf by
Kristina Johansson
Chair
Solberga Foundation
Notes to financial statements for the year to 31 December 2023
Principal accounting policies
The principal accounting policies adopted in the preparation of the financial statements are set out below.
Basis of accounting
These financial statements have been prepared under the historical cost convention in accordance with the Statement of Recommended Practice ‘Accounting and Reporting by Charities’ effective January 2019 (the Charities SORP (FRS 102)), UK accounting standards, including 'Financial Reporting Standard 102 The Financial Reporting Standard applicable in the UK and Republic of Ireland' (FRS 102) and the Companies Act 2006. The charity is a public benefit entity and has therefore applied the relevant public benefit requirements of FRS 102.
The financial statements are prepared in Sterling which is the functional currency of the charity.
1. Income
All incoming resources are included in the statement of financial activities when the charity is entitled to the income and the amount can be quantified with reasonable accuracy. Income received is a contribution from the Johansson family totalling £263,305 (2022 : £300,019) for the financial year.
2. Expenditure
Expenditure is recognised on an accruals basis as a liability is incurred, and includes any VAT which cannot be fully recovered.
- (i) Expenditure on charitable activities comprises expenditure related to the direct furtherance of the charity’s objectives either through direct grant making £200,128 (2022 : £392,774) or direct programmatic spend such as consultants and membership fees £5,322 (2022 : £5,856).
| (ii) | Support costs relate to those functions that assist the work of the charity but do not directly undertake charitable | Support costs relate to those functions that assist the work of the charity but do not directly undertake charitable | Support costs relate to those functions that assist the work of the charity but do not directly undertake charitable |
|---|---|---|---|
| activities. Support costs include bank charges and consultant fees for governance and finance support. | |||
| Grant making | £ | 200,128 | |
| Memberships | £ | 1,000 | |
| Programmatic costs | £ | 5,322 | |
| Support costs | £ | 3,321 | |
| Total | £ | 209,771 | |
| Exchange rate loss / (gain) | £ | 760 | |
| Total Charitable Activities | £ | 210,531 |
3. Foreign currency
Transactions in foreign currencies are initially recorded in the entity’s functional currency, which is pound sterling, by applying the average monthly exchange rate for each month's transactions. Monetary assets and liabilities denominated in foreign currencies are translated at the rate of exchange on the balance sheet date. All differences are taken to the statement of financial activities.
4. Fundraising
As a family foundation the Solberga Foundation does not undertake fundraising activities nor incur fundriasing costs.
5. Total current assets
At the end of the year the Foundation held cash across its USD and GBP bank accounts with HSBC in the UK and Switzerland and held no other balance sheet assets of any other sort.
6. Trustees' remuneration and expenses
The Foundation did not pay any remuneration to its trustees during the year and did not reimburse any trustee expenses.
7. Related parties
The Foundation entered in to no related party transasctions.
8. Corporation tax
The Foundation is exempt from tax on income and gains falling within section 505 of the Taxes Act 1988 or section 252 of the Taxation of Chargeable Gains Act 1992 to the extent that these are applied to its charitable objects.