Alike Annual Report and Accounts. Financial Year 2020 - 2021.
INDEX
TRUSTEE REPORT INDEPENDENT EXAMINER’S REPORT FINANCIAL ACCOUNTS
TRUSTEE APPROVAL
2 - 40 41 - 42 43 - 48
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Executive Summary
The global pandemic currently ongoing has been a challenge for Alike, but one that we have met head on. The period from April 2020 to March 2021 saw Alike thrive despite multiple external factors. Alike’s charitable objectives are to relieve those in need by reason of ill-health by developing and facilitating peer support services for young people diagnosed with cancer [and other serious illnesses] and their families and friends, in particular (but not limited to) by developing and making available a digital application to connect those in need with each other. After our launch in February 2021, we turned our focus to creating more public and stakeholder exposure to Alike and our mission and during this past year the main focus for our organisation has been funding for, production of, and the creation and launch of the Alike app. From inception, our method of fulfilling our mission has been
through the use of digital products. Alike’s main offering has been defined since the ideation phase as a peer support platform, built purposefully for people facing a cancer diagnosis.Through the tireless work of the team we have a fully functional app on both Apple and Android platforms, with a large and growing community of cancer patients and survivors, who continue to see the benefits of this innovative platform.
Following the successful launch of the Alike app at the end of Q4, we turned our attention to communications and partnerships, which is a key part of our KPIs for Alike’s next financial year. Our financial objective during this period was to continue to develop relationships with major donors to ensure that the Alike app would continue development, and be launched on time. Over the past financial
year we have increased our income by 19.8%. As a small team working to strict not-for-profit regulations and with limited income, and working remotely during a global emergency, this is a significant achievement worth celebrating. Given the sector-wide impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, this is even more of a success, and long may it continue.
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ALIKE TRUSTEE ANNUAL REPORT 2021 INTRODUCTION alike.
ALIKE TRUSTEE ANNUAL REPORT 2021
1. Introduction
The period of April 2020 to March 2021 saw exceptional growth and development for Alike in the face of extreme challenges. Many charities and not-for-profit organisations faced an uncertain time over this period, as the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic sent shockwaves through the third sector. Alike had been a registered charity for just over a year when the UK faced an unprecedented national lockdown in response to the novel coronavirus emergency. Despite this, and other challenges, Alike showed how resilient, determined, and innovative we could be. This Annual Report reflects on a year of growth and learning, reviewing the organisation as a whole in addition to specific objectives and achievements.
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1.1 Chair’s Statement
The global pandemic that we are all currently facing has challenged every aspect of Alike and how we are progressing. From fundraising and milestones all the way through to fully virtual trustee meetings. It has however also exacerbated social isolation and feelings of loneliness, not only in the community we aim to directly serve with our app, but in the wider public. This has further strengthened our resolve to provide a critically needed service, and lifeline to cancer patients and survivors throughout the UK.
Through the tireless work of both Brad and the wider team of developers and volunteers we have built, developed and launched the app both on the Apple App Store and Google Play store with a large, and growing community of users who are seeing the benefits of this groundbreaking platform.
The work however is still not done, and continued resolve from the team is essential if we are to truly succeed in our mission. Fundraising efforts are ongoing and the plans for the rest of 2021 and into 2022 are ambitious yet achievable, with plans to grow our user base and expand the features available to continue to meet the needs of this underserved community. As the Chair of Alike’s trustees I can say I am extremely proud of the work we have achieved and excited to see where the future takes us.
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Dr. James Parker
CHAIR
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1.2 Founder’s Statement
This year brought undeniable challenges to the Alike team. We had a set goal to build the Alike app, and we were determined to meet this goal. However, we lacked institutional foundations, relationships, and reserve funding to fall back on. Developing an expensive and complex platform during a global emergency was a mammoth task. This year has been, in many ways, a sink or swim scenario. The pandemic demonstrated why Alike was needed. We had to persevere to deliver a peer support product that alleviate feelings of loneliness caused by cancer. .
I am incredibly grateful for the hard work and ingenuity shown by our team, the support from our donors and invaluable contributions made by volunteers. This community of people enabled us to create and launch the Alike app in the face of uncertainty and extreme global adversity.
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Brad Gudger
FOUNDER
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ALIKE TRUSTEE ANNUAL REPORT 2021 2. PURPOSE, IMPACT, AND TESTIMONY alike.
ALIKE TRUSTEE ANNUAL REPORT 2021
2.1 Purpose
Alike’s purpose is simple: to provide connection for everyone impacted by cancer. As custodians, it is our duty to safeguard this mission and ensure that every action taken by the charity fundamentally serves this purpose. During this period, the main focus for our organisation has been funding for, production of, and the creation and launch of the Alike app. From inception, our method of fulfilling our mission has been through the use of digital products. Alike’s main offering has been defined since the ideation phase as a peer support platform, built purposefully for people facing a cancer
diagnosis. Furthermore, our mission encompasses commitments to centre lived experience in meaningful conversations, to break down social stigmas associated with cancer, and to redefine what it means to be a cancer patient and a survivor.
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2.2 Impact
As a new organisation developing our key offering, we are still exploring and realising our impact. One of our main goals for 2022 is to gather some quantitative impact data through an in-app survey. However, despite some limitations, we view this period as indicative of the impact we expect to have in the future. The challenges of the past year have forced many established charities to restructure and reconfigure their offerings and ways of working. By building and developing in this context, agile ways of working are now part of our operational culture. This means that we can create maximum impact, work beyond limitations, and focus on making a real difference to our community.
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2.3 Testimonies
We have gathered testimonies from members of the UK cancer community to reflect the impact of the Alike app. These testimonies are drawn from qualitative interviews with the community, and feature cancer patients and survivors from a variety of backgrounds with differing diagnoses. We present these below.
BEFORE ALIKE
“If the Alike app was available when I was diagnosed, it would have helped a lot. It was just me and my mum, and I felt that there was so much I couldn’t speak to her about. Having other people who understand you is what I needed.”
Goodwill, 22, Testicular Cancer.
AFTER ALIKE
“Having support from people that are going or have gone through the same thing is more valuable than I could ever have imagined. The Alike app is more than just important, it’s essential.”
Jay, 41, Bowel Cancer.
“The Alike app has helped me come to terms with my diagnosis. The day before I started chemotherapy, I put a post up on the feed and I was flooded with supportive messages. The next day I went into the hospital and started my treatment with so much confidence.” Reielle, 23, Carcinoma.
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ALIKE TRUSTEE ANNUAL REPORT 2021 3. VALUES AND WAYS OF WORKING alike.
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Our Philosophy
Alike was created with the intention of doing charity differently. We take inspiration from sleek, modern technology start-ups and apply the ethics of activists and grassroots movements. The COVID-19 pandemic put this commitment to the test, and required us to invest in and engage with new and agile ways of working.
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3.1 The Alike Philosophy: Values
We are a cancer-focused charity that believes cancer is the least interesting thing about our users. We apply our lived experience to all of our decision making, and we’re not afraid to take risks. As members of the community we serve, we’re at the front of intercommunity dialogues such as language around treatment, survivorship, PTSD and mental illness, and end of life care as a cancer patient. We will always be upfront and engaged with these conversations. We are a not-for-profit organisation, grounded within the charitable sector through our partnerships, ethos, and ways of working. We are pro-collaboration, and actively oppose and work to prevent duplication and repetition between charitable cancer support services.
This is reflected by our close working relationships, numerous partnership agreements, and membership of the Children and Young People’s Cancer Coalition. We are careful to clarify that we are not an organisation that produces or publishes medical information or advice,or provides clinical mental health support. The Alike app is a low-threshold psychological support tool that digitises already available and well-documented face to face peer support groups. Our Community Pledge is clear in that whilst we are keen to host community conversations around diagnosis and the long term impact of cancer, we encourage everyone to speak to a medical professional with regards to their own personal health, conditions, and side effects.
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We firmly believe that technology can be a force for good when the right tools are put into the hands of people who really need them. Digital products provide accessible methods of service delivery that promote equality and inclusion. This is why we provide a peer support app, and why we are dedicated to exploring and incorporating new technologies in strategic and meaningful ways.
We are committed to transparency, open communication, and striving to improve the experience of life with and after cancer. We are pro-collaboration, challenging traditions within our sector and seeking out feedback from our community. We have a dedicated Valuing Lived Experience principal, ensuring that our community members are treated with the respect they deserve when they choose to share their stories and work with us.
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3.1 The Alike Philosophy: Ways of Working
Our culture is one of open, honest communication, with a focus on learning, growing relationships, and challenging traditions. Our ways of working apply to both work internally performed by Team Alike, and the external engagement work with our community.
and this impact is particularly profound for people from disadvantaged backgrounds. Where we can, we uplift these individuals by providing and supporting opportunities for personal and professional development.
We are led by the principles of youth leadership and lived experience, and this is demonstrated by our majority female board, and our team of proud LGBTQ+ people and disabled cancer survivors. We believe that Alike is and will be best served by gifted new talent and young industry leaders, paying particular attention to individuals from minority backgrounds such as women in STEM. We seek to facilitate development and leadership opportunities, both for Team Alike and the wider Alike community. Cancer can greatly hinder educational and professional attainment for young people,
We are committed to following best practice in all our work. When we say best practice, we don’t just mean clinical studies and governance legislation - we mean best practices according to the people who are impacted by these actions and decisions. We always engage professionals to ensure that our business follows the relevant legal and financial regulations, and we seek feedback from our community to ensure our work remains relevant and meaningful to the people we serve.
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ALIKE TRUSTEE ANNUAL REPORT 2021 4. OBJECTIVES AND ACTIVITIES 16 alike.
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4.1 Alike’s Charitable Objectives
As written in our Constitution, Alike’s charitable objectives are: to relieve those in need by reason of ill-health by developing and facilitating peer support services for young people diagnosed with cancer [and other serious illnesses] and their families and friends, in particular (but not limited to) by developing and making available a digital application to connect those in need with each other; and facilitating face-to-face peer support groups for those in need.
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4.2 Alike’s Objectives 2020/2021
As shown in our Constitution, face to face groups were part of our founding commitment. Part of our long term goal is to collaborate with our partner organisations to deliver face to face peer support groups across the UK. However, we continued our priority from 19/20 to develop a digital peer support platform. The main objective for 20/21 has been to develop and launch the Alike app to start fulfilling our mission. As the main offering of our organisation, this was the major strategic and organisational priority, particularly given the impact of COVID-19 on face to face peer support events. While digital peer support cannot replicate the experience of in-person support, it is egalitarian and tackles the challenges of peer support for people facing reduced mobility and access to other forms of support.
After launch in February 2021, we turned our focus to creating more public and stakeholder exposure to Alike and our mission. As a small team with reduced capacity, we have spent time fulfilling specific objectives during each quarter. Following the successful launch of the Alike app at the end of Q4, we turned our attention to communications and partnerships, which is a key part of our KPIs for Alike’s next Financial Year 21 / 22. Our financial objective during this period was to continue to develop relationships with major donors to ensure that the Alike app would continue development, and be launched on time
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4.3 Alike’s Activities 2020/2021
During this period, Alike engaged highly skilled and experienced app engineers to develop both the iOS and Android platforms to a good quality. This development included a robust backend infrastructure. This was a key activity for this period as it is central to our responsibility to beneficiaries and our sustainability as an organisation. As we offer the platform to statutory vulnerable people, we have had to adapt the general agile methodology of for-profit tech startups. We cannot offer the platform in a way or at a stage that may impact users negatively. Therefore, we decided to release the app on both iOS and Android concurrently, and to release it at a stage of development further along than traditional app MVPs. By creating the platform with a robust backend, we have set Alike up to scale in the future. Scaling in the
future is crucial to our ability to deliver digital peer support nationwide, so we took the decision to use developer time to give us a strong grounding and preparation for scaling when organisational capacity and funding makes this a possibility.
As part of the process of ideation to launch, we involved professional expertise and lived experience to ensure that the product we created was both a premium user experience and met community need. We tested the platform with a professional UX researcher and lived experience focus groups to validate the concept and design. Feedback from this research validated our concept, and several of the decisions made during the ideation stage. For example, early on we took the decision not to
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numerate reactions to posts in the Alike app feed. The Alike app is about wellbeing and connection, not pressure or popularity. For this reason, we do not believe that engagement analytics are relevant for our users. This lack of numerated engagement was highlighted by focus groups as an aspect of the Alike app that was largely appreciated by the user base. During this period, we also developed our communications channels, website, social media and PR. As a new organisation with a niche offering to the UK cancer community, it has been important for us to establish ourselves as separate to our partner organisations and clarify what the Alike app is for and how it differs from other services and support tools. We particularly focused on developing our website in preparation for launching the Alike app in February 2021.
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ALIKE TRUSTEE ANNUAL REPORT 2021 5. ACHIEVEMENTS AND PERFORMANCE 21 alike.
ALIKE TRUSTEE ANNUAL REPORT 2021
This year has been focused on building the Alike app to function well on both iOS and Android operating systems, and to ensure a strong backend infrastructure to support further development.
This section of the report outlines the achievements and performance of the organisation with this crucial goal in mind.
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5.1 Achievements
Over the FY2020/21 we have increased our income by 19.8%. As a small team working remotely during a global emergency, this is a significant achievement worth celebrating. However, this is not our only achievement.
The major achievement for Alike at this time has been the development and effective launch of the Alike app. The Alike app is our main offering. We cannot achieve our mission of providing digital peer support to everyone impacted by cancer without providing the platform that makes this possible. As a small team, working to strict not-for-profit regulations and with limited income, creating new and bespoke code for the Alike app is an incredible achievement. Given the sector-wide impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, this is even more of a success.
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5.2 Performance
Alike’s performance this year has exceeded expectations. At the start of the year, the global COVID-19 pandemic introduced several challenges to our goal of building the Alike app ready for launch. Developing the Alike app was our primary focus, and the team performed far beyond expectations to ensure that app development continued. This has been demonstrated by the high quality of the Alike app MVP, and the performance of the app itself. It is extremely unusual for a mobile app at this stage of development to function so well and to lack bugs. However, thanks to the performance of the Alike team, we have been able to launch a product that works well for the community who needs it.
Over this period, we began to develop as a team. We have refined our understanding of our primary offering and our position in the sector. We are already beginning to see a clear vision for our brand and potential leads for partnership agreements with other organisations offering support for cancer patients and survivors in the UK. This year we have also established appropriate governance, management, and administrative structures. This has allowed us to streamline our work and perform with full confidence in our compliance with regulations.
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6.
- YEAR IN REVIEW: 2020 - 2021 & THE COVID-19 PANDEMIC
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As an establishing organisation, our success and impact is tied intrinsically to our core product. This period was centred on creating our core product and grounding ourselves within our main offering, and this was always understood as the nucleus for the year’s activities. However, the COVID-19 pandemic meant that initial plans were disrupted.
At the beginning of 2020, we had an approximate £150,000 pledged from grant giving organisations and we planned to utilise these funds to engage a small app development agency to work on the MVP of the Alike app. However, the outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic and the ensuing national lockdown in late March prevented our donors from fulfilling their pledge. As a consequence, we could not work with the app agency as planned. We had to go “back to the drawing board” and re-evaluate our plans for developing the Alike app.
In response to this, the Alike Board of Trustees held an emergency meeting, and agreed to a period of reflection
for management to consider the full implications of the pandemic on Alike’s plans. Alike’s management utilised this time to develop a response plan to get the organisation moving forward once more.
The Director took some time to focus on his work with NHS England and NHS Improvement, and used this as an opportunity to explore a new plan for Alike. After seeking advice and guidance from various professionals, he began to shape a plan based on the challenges created by the pandemic and its effect on the UK cancer community. Informal feedback from the community confirmed that the need for a digital peer support solution was at an all time high. Cancer is already isolating for young people, who may be unable to join in with education, employment, and everyday activities following diagnosis and treatment. Being classed as clinically extremely vulnerable and facing further isolation was extraordinarily challenging for this group and exacerbated feelings of loneliness and other risks to mental health.
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In mid April, the Director sought support from Alike’s engineering consultant, Max Kramer. Max agreed to source voluntary iOS and backend support to begin creating the Alike app MVP. However, he then decided to generously undertake this task himself. Over the period from April to June, Max developed the foundation and core features of the Alike app. With this huge step forward we engaged with focus groups to validate our product, and hosted a testing workshop hosted by a User Experience Researcher. The finding and report were positive and very constructive, with this we were able to seek funding to accelerate development and start development of the Android platform. We took the earlier decision that parity between iOS and Android was a strategic priority, rather than further expanding the Alike app feature set. Developing a proof of concept, and taking it to market has validated our work. This has enabled us to expand and accelerate fundraising efforts, establish our brand, and most importantly start enacting our mission of combating loneliness and isolation caused by cancer.
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ALIKE TRUSTEE ANNUAL REPORT 2021 7. OPERATING MODEL AND RISKS 28 alike.
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7.1 Operating Model
We function as a not-for-profit because we are philosophically and ethically opposed to profiting from trauma. We know, as cancer survivors and from our research, that cancer survivors are hesitant to trust for-profit entities. Alike as an organisation simply would not fulfil its mission in any other model than as a charity. As an organisation dedicated to utilising technology to create positive change, we prioritise new and agile ways of working. We engage digital natives who implicitly understand the offering of a mobile app, and our team currently operates on a freelance and volunteer basis. Our team works remotely across Europe, which is reflective of the diverse methods of engagement for modern workers. This current form of engagement is the best financial decision for the organisation’s sustainability, while we seek funding to level up to contracted employment.
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7.2 Risks
The most significant risk we have faced this year is the threat to our financial security due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Operating as a charity even before the pandemic has a large degree of uncertainty, and this was exacerbated over the last 12 months. However, despite the uncertainty, we still believe that functioning as a notfor-profit providing a platform for cancer patients makes the best sense for us as an organisation based in the UK. Cancer patients can be rightfully sceptical when it comes to new offerings, and our status as a registered charity provides us with credibility. We managed our finances with a pragmatic mindset. We endeavour to utlised volunteer and pro-bono support where appropriate, but we did not want to reduce quality. An example of this is engaging with legal professionals on a paid basis to develop Alike’s Data Protection and Privacy Policy. Due to the nature of our app, a tailor made policy was required
to meet compliance. Our financial position is reviewed on an almost weekly basis, and is reviewed in detail by the board. We also draw upon expert financial and organisational advice from senior business leaders whom act as a ‘sounding board’ on our strategic thinking. Another significant risk is the potential over-reliance on volunteer and ad-hoc support, which is not sustainable. During this period, the COVID-19 pandemic has increased awareness of the impact of loneliness of physical and mental health. It has also increased capacity for workers in the software development field. However, as the world adjusts to a ‘new normal’, workers will return to increased workloads and reduced capacity for freelance and voluntary engagement. This would pose a risk platform stagnation in development and reduced support to remedy software bugs and respond to crash reports. The consequence of this would be lack of interest
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among users, and reluctance from potential partner organisations to formalise agreements and signpost to the Alike app. If we cannot grow our user base, we will fail to fulfil our mission of combatting loneliness and isolation among cancer patients.
We have implemented a series of processes to manage and ultimately reduce risks associated with our mission. We have created a Risk Log, based on best practices to review, manage and mitigate against current and future risks, as well as learn from past ones. We are looking beyond current risks in an effort to be more proactive in our approach to risk management. This log is reviewed periodically by the Alike team, and quarterly by the board.
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8.
- STRUCTURE, GOVERNANCE, MANAGEMENT AND DECISION MAKING
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8.1 Team Structure
As a result of our start-up status, Alike’s core team is made up of full time and freelance staff, as well as volunteers. The team is managed by Alike’s Founder and Director, Brad. In addition to Brad, there is Max, Naomi, Katherine, and Andrea.
Max Kramer is our Engineering Lead. He is incredibly experienced in software engineering, with over 10 years experience developing native mobile apps for startups, and has experience in the role of CTO for various companies. Max provided his time, expertise, and talent during the COVID-19 pandemic to develop Alike’s native iOS App and backend infrastructure. Earlier this year, Max became a paid freelance member of the team. Developing our Android platform is Thiago
Saravia, a senior Android engineer, and his partner Marcela, an experienced Android engineer.
Similarly to Max, Naomi Rhodes has joined the team as Alike’s Finance Lead on a pro-bono basis driven by her affinity with Alike’s mission. She is a qualified CIMA accountant and currently a finance manager for Tesco PLC. Naomi has generously provided her time and expertise to lead on the curation of the Alike business model, long-term financial forecasts and supports the process of submitting Alike’s annual accounts.
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The Alike brand has been solidified by two cancer survivors who passionately believe in our ethos. Katherine Mills is Alike’s Communications Lead. She is an English Literature and Creative Writing graduate who lives with incurable cancer. The visual style of Alike has been thanks to Alike’s Creative Lead Andrea Ruano, a Spanish artist and graphic designer who has also worked with international cancer advocate group Youth Cancer Europe. Together, Andrea and Katherine have created Alike’s visual and tonal signature to be something that is credible, welcoming, lively and distinctive.
This financial period has involved a significant amount of volunteer engagement. Without the support and contributions of our incredible volunteers, it would not have been possible to have developed this rapidly, especially during a global pandemic. Whilst it is difficult to truly quantify the impact our team of volunteers, especially the software engineers, have had on our organisation we believe working with talent on a probono basis or on a generously reduced rate has saved us approximately £300,000 at least in development costs alone.
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8.2 Board Structure
The Alike Board of Trustees currently consists of five members. Whilst trustee recruitment is conducted through an established process, there are no constitutional provisions in place for trustee selection. Trustee recruitment is conducted through face to face interviews with suitable candidates filling knowledge gaps currently on the board. Positions on the board are appointed by initial nomination, which has to be subsequently ‘seconded’ by another member of the board, with remaining trustees then voting for the specific candidate.
The Chair of our Board is Dr James Parker who gained his PhD in oncological research and currently works for
Sanofi. Accompanying him on the board is Rachel Priest, Alike’s Treasurer and Client Services Lead at app development agency Kin + Carta, and Stephanie Radziwillowicz, Alike’s Secretary, who has a Masters in Clinical Psychology and whose thesis explored how vulnerable people use technology for support. We have a board member with lived experience of cancer: Rachel Blackford, who is now a research and evaluation officer at Oxford Brookes University. We are also fortunate to have Leanne Pero on our Board too. Leanne is a multiple award winning entrepreneur, breast cancer survivor, and founder of Black Women Rising.
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Alike is evidence of the value of lived experience leadership. Drawing from lived experiences within the cancer community provides us with direction and validation. However, prioritising lived experience can also come with challenges. We are proud of the lived experience on our Board of Trustees, but this year we faced the death of one of our Trustees. Saima Thompson, was diagnosed with Stage IV lung cancer in 2018. She served as Trustee of Alike from February 2020 to June 2020. She brought her entrepreneurial spirit, forward thinking ideas, and positivity to the Board. After two years of multiple treatments, she sadly passed away in June 2020. Following her death, Saima was made an honorary patron of Alike, and we will continue to celebrate her life and her contribution to the cancer community.
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8.3 Governance
Alike is established as a Charitable Incorporated Organisation, and governed by our constitution. Whilst Alike is still in its infancy, we are committed to effective governance and sound oversight. The Alike board of trustees exercise governance according to guidance on public benefit published by the Charity Commission of England and Wales, as well as charity sector best practice. We continue to learn from other organisations of various sizes and purposes. We are still finding our unique style of governance, each meeting we encourage board members and leadership to pose new ideas for better and more effective oversight. We are constantly exploring new ways of allowing Alike’s management to be agile, and not stifle progress due to bureaucracy, however we are cognisant of our statutory
responsibility to ensure Alike is being run in the best way possible.
The board meets quarterly. Alike’s Annual General Meeting is held every April to mark the start of Alike’s Financial Year. Each meeting is recorded, with statements, decisions and votes minuted. A quorum is declared present, then members are invited to declare conflicts of interests at the start of each meeting, as well as confirm the minutes of the previous meeting, as per best practice. Each meeting involves a quarterly progress report from the Director and Finance Lead. Outside of board meetings, our Director has monthly check-ins with the chair, and monthly finance updates are provided to the treasurer of the board.
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8.4 Management and Decision Making
community, therefore patient and public engagement is at the core of all of our decision-making. Over half of Alike’s leadership, including the Board of Trustees, have direct, lived experience of a cancer diagnosis. This means that our work intrinsically reflects the needs of the UK cancer community, including family, friends and healthcare professionals.
As Founder and Principal Director, Brad manages overall organisational and strategic direction with support from the Finance, Engineering, Communications, and Creative Leads.
As a smaller organisation our financial and strategic decisions revolve around delivering on the work we were set up to do. From a strategic perspective, if we do not deliver impact, we cannot meet our ambitious fundraising potential.
We utilise our platform and community rapport by consistently reaching out to users, inviting feedback, and offering engagement opportunities. The feedback we have received thus far, and ongoing, directly shapes our product roadmap. In the future, we plan to expand on current methods of user feedback, making this process simple, accessible and intuitive through the app.
Due to the nature of our mission, and our primary product, community participation is essential to ensuring we deliver effective and meaningful impact. Alike has been built through the values of lived experience. We are for the community, by the
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ALIKE TRUSTEE ANNUAL REPORT 2021 10.FINANCIAL REVIEW 39 alike.
ALIKE TRUSTEE ANNUAL REPORT 2021
10.1 End of Year Cash Position
For the year ended 31 March 2021 Alike had net expenditure of approximately £12,600. However, we started the year with unrestricted cash funds just over £24,000, a sufficient balance to absorb this additional expenditure. As outlined previously, the expenditure being in excess of the income received in the year is associated with the rapid development of the Alike app. Despite covering this shortfall, we finished the year with available cash above that required under our reserves policy, and confidence over our future income streams.
10.2 Reserves Policy
Following discussions and reflection on Charity Commission guidance regarding charitable reserves, we deemed £10,000 (or 4 months routine unrestricted expenditure) to be the correct reserves amount for Alike. Our consistent monthly overheads total around £2,000. We wanted to be safe and sensible, whilst also freeing up as much of our charitable funds as possible for app development and charitable activity. Whilst we may have additional periods of large spend in our financial year (such as the app development in 20/21), this spending will only be made if sufficient funding is received to fund the activity.
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ALIKE TRUSTEE ANNUAL REPORT 2021 13.INDEPENDENT EXAMINERS REPORT 41 alike.
INDEPENDENT EXAMINER’S REPORT TO THE TRUSTEES OF ALIKE CHARITABLE INCORPERATED ORGANISATION
I report to the trustees on my examination of the accounts of Alike Charitable Incorporated Organisation (‘the CIO’) for the year ended 31 March 2021 as set out on pages 44 and 45.
Responsibilities and basis of the report
As the charity trustees of Alike CIO 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.
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 that give me cause to believe that in any material respect:
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accounting records were not kept in respect of the charity as required by section 130 of the Act; or
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the accounts do not accord with those records.
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.
Caroline Sharp
Signed:
FCA, DChA
55 Canberra Road LONDON SE7 8PF
Date: 30 December, 2021
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FINANCIAL ACCOUNTS 14.FINANCIAL ACCOUNTS alike. 43
RECEIPTS AND PAYMENTS ACCOUNTS For the year 01-Apr-20 to 31-Mar-21
Alike
Charity Registration: 1181848 Company Number: CE016385
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SECTION A RECEIPTS AND PAYMENTS
Unrestricted funds Restricted funds Total funds Last year
to the nearest £ to the nearest £ to the nearest £ to the nearest £
A1 Receipts
Individual Donors, Trusts and Foundations 37,000 5000 42,000 38,648
Other donations 3,441 - 3,441 2,663
Gift Aid 8,500 - 8,500 155
- -
Private companies 8,500 3,241
Youth Cancer Europe Summit - - - 320
Sub total (Gross income for AR) 48,941 5,000 53,941 45,027
A2 Asset and investment sales
Sub total - - - -
Total receipts 48,941 5,000 53,941 45,027
A3 Payments
-
App development 25,057 2,959 28,016
Creative and promotional costs 11,828 - 11,828 50
-
Staff costs 10,381 10,381 4,200
Legal & Compliance costs 7,657 933 8,590 5,400
-
Computer, IT and software costs 2,436 1,108 3,544
-
Office costs 1,090 1,090 1,893
-
Subscriptions 1,507 1,507 1,013
Travel 336 - 250 -
Staff training 250 250 -
Freelance consultants - - - 822
Expense claim - - - 350
Subsistence 7 - 7 300
Printing, Postage and Stationery 30 - 30 40
Sundry 982 - 982 -
Sub total 61,561 5,000 66,561 20,903
A4 Asset and investment purchases
Sub total - - - -
Total payments 61,561 5,000 66,561 20,903
Net of receipts (payments) 12,620 - 12,620 24,124
A5 Transfers between funds - - - -
- -
A6 Cash funds last year end 24,124 21,124
-
Cash funds this year end 11,504 11,504 24,124
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RECEIPTS AND PAYMENTS ACCOUNTS For the year 01-Apr-20 to 31-Mar-21
Alike
Charity Registration: 1181848 Company Number: CE016385
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SECTION B STATEMENT OF ASSETS AND LIABILITIES AT THE END OF THE PERIOD
Unrestricted funds Restricted funds
Categories Details to the nearest £ to the nearest £
B1 Cash funds Cash funds as at 31 March 2021 11,504 -
Unrestricted funds Restricted funds
Details to the nearest £ to the nearest £
- -
B2 Other monetary assets
Details Fund to which asset belongs Cost (Optional)
B3 Investment assets - -
Details Fund to which asset belongs Cost (Optional)
- -
B4 Assets retained for the charity’s own use
Details Fund to which liability relates Amount due (optional)
B5 Liabilities Supplier invoices 21,600 -
CIO Notes required under the Charitable Incorporated Organisations (General) Regulations 2012:
1. No guarantees were given by the CIO where potential liability under the guarantee is outstanding at the date of the statement
2. There were no debts outstanding at the date of the statement which are owed by the CIO and secured by an express charge on ay assets of the CIO
Signaed by one or two trustees on behalf of all
Signature Print Name Date of approval
the trustees
James Parker - Chair 16.12.2021
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ALIKE TRUSTEE ANNUAL REPORT 2021 10.ADMINISTRATIVE DETAILS 46 alike.
ALIKE TRUSTEE ANNUAL REPORT 2021
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Charity Name Alike
Registered Charity Number 1181848
Company Number CE016385
Charity’s Principle Address Soho Works, 180 The Strand, London. WC2R 1EA.
Trustee Names Dates of Term
Office
Dr. James Parker Chair 04.02.2019
Rachel Priest Treasurer 04.02.2019
Stephanie
Secretary 04.02.2019
Radziwillowicz
Rachel Blackford Trustee 04.02.2019
Saima Thompson Trustee 06.02.2020 - 06.2020
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ALIKE TRUSTEE ANNUAL REPORT 2021 11. CLOSING STATEMENTS AND APPROVAL 48 alike.
ALIKE TRUSTEE ANNUAL REPORT 2021
The Alike Trustees declare that they have approved the 2020 / 2021 Annual Report and Accounts presented above.
SIGNED ON BEHALF OF THE TRUSTEES:
NAME: Dr. James Parker, Chair of Trustees.
DATE: 16.12.2021
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