Charity number: 1181904
THE RAAIS FOUNDATION
UNAUDITED
TRUSTEE'S REPORT AND FINANCIAL STATEMENTS FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31 MARCH 2022
THE RAAIS FOUNDATION CONTENTS
| Page | |
|---|---|
| Reference and administrative details of the charity, its Trustees and advisers | 1 |
| Trustee's report | 2 - 5 |
| Trustee's responsibilities statement | 6 |
| Chartered Accountant's report | 7 |
| Statement of financial activities | 8 |
| Balance sheet | 9 |
| Notes to the financial statements | 10 - 15 |
THE RAAIS FOUNDATION
REFERENCE AND ADMINISTRATIVE DETAILS OF THE CHARITY, ITS TRUSTEES AND ADVISERS FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31 MARCH 2022
| Trustees | Dr Nathan Benaich, Chair |
|---|---|
| Charity registered number 1181904 Registered office Met Traders Ltd 79 Maygrove Road London NW6 2EG Accountants Blick Rothenberg Limited Chartered Accountants 16 Great Queen Street Covent Garden London WC2B 5AH Bankers Natwest Bank plc 45 Tottenham Court Road London W1T 2EA |
Page 1
THE RAAIS FOUNDATION
TRUSTEE'S REPORT FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31 MARCH 2022
The trustee presents his annual report together with the financial statements of the charity for the year 1 April 2021 to 31 March 2022. The Annual Report serves the purposes of both a trustee's report and a director's report under company law. The trustee confirms that the Annual Report and financial statements of the charitable company comply with the current statutory requirements, the requirements of the charitable company's governing document and the provisions of the Statement of Recommended Practice (SORP) applicable to charities preparing their accounts in accordance with the Financial Reporting Standard applicable in the UK and Republic of Ireland (FRS102) (effective 1 January 2019).
Since the charity qualifies as small under section 382 of the Companies Act 2006, the Strategic Report required of medium and large companies under the Companies Act 2006 (Strategic Report and Directors' Report) Regulations 2013 has been omitted.
Objectives and activities
a. Policies and objectives
The objective of the foundation is the advancement of education and research in artificial intelligence. The activities of the foundation are, without geographical limitation, for the benefit of the current and future generations of the general public, students, technologists, and researchers who will use and create new artificial intelligence know-how, tools, software and products that themselves and many others can use to accelerate progress in the many and varied fields of artificial inelligence in daily life.
In setting objectives and planning for activities, the trustee have given due consideration to general guidance published by the Charity Commission relating to public benefit, including the guidance 'Public benefit: running a charity (PB2)'.
b. Main activities undertaken to further the charity's purposes for the public benefit
Statement of public benefit
The trustee is aware of the Charity Commission's guidance on Public Benefit and confirms that he has complied with the duty in Section 4 of the Charities Act 2011 to have due regard to it. He considers the information which follows in this annual report, about the CIO's aims, activities and achievements in those areas that the CIO supports demonstrates the public benefit that arises from its activities.
Achievements and performance
a. Main achievements of the charity
In achieving this objective, the CIO aim to increase the availability of accessible education in this field to the wider community, helping the public to understand the methods, benefits and potential consequences of the increasing use of artificial intelligence in daily life, as well as aid the development of capabilities, competencies, and skills of individuals especially those who have limited or no opportunity to participate and encourage greater community participation always without remunerative motives.
Among other ways, the foundation will seek to further this object by:
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issuing research and project grants to individuals or groups who intend to, or are in the process of, creating new knowledge and open source resources in artificial intelligence for the greater benefit and welfare of society in areas such as education and healthcare, but do not have the financial resources to do so independently;
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promoting recent developments, stimulatinf discussion and exchanging of information, about artificial intelligence, by hosting non-profit making events such as the research and applied artificial intelligence summit (Raais) and london.ai, which bring together interested members of the general public, academics, students and thinkers to learn about artificial intelligence. The events facilitate opportunities to engage in
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THE RAAIS FOUNDATION TRUSTEE'S REPORT (CONTINUED) FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31 MARCH 2022
Achievements and performance (continued)
educational programmes (e.g. internships, research collaborations) in academia and industry and provide educational resources on youtube (such as speaker lectures and accessible knowledge workshops and on the web generally; and
- publishing content that provides the general public with a structured arragement of introductory resources and information in relation to artificial intelligence (such as the free-to-access state of AI report 2018, which is a comprehensive and accessible guide to artificial intelligence research, industry applications, talent and national implications).
b. Review of activities
As a general rule, the foundation does not solicit grants but focusses its attention on awarding grants and bursaries to particular projects originated through the annual RAAIS conference and quarterly LondonAI events, through which the funds are raised, and the associated AI community built around these events. In the period under review, the foundation ran funding projects as follows:
Open Climate Fix:
Open climate fix, a non-profit research and development lab, totally focussed on reducing greenhouse gas emissions. Every part of the organisation is designed to maximise climate impact, such as our open and collaborative approach, our rapid prototyping, and our attention on finding scalable & practical solutions. The organisation is run by Jack Kelly and Dan Travers.
By using open-source approach, Open Climate Fix can draw upon a much larger pool of knowledge and skills than any individual company, so combining existing islands of knowledge and accelerating progress.
The approach will be to:
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Search for ML (Machine Learning) problems where, if they solve a well-defined ML task, then there is likely to be a large climate impact. For each of these challenges, the team will:
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Collate & release data, and write software tools to make it super-easy for people to consume this data;
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Run a collaborative 'global research project' where everyone from 16-year-olds to PhD students to corporate research labs can help solve the ML task; and
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Help to put good solutions into production, once the community has developed them.
Financial review
a. Going concern
After making appropriate enquiries, the trustee has a reasonable expectation that the charity has adequate resources to continue in operational existence for the foreseeable future. For this reason, they continue to adopt the going concern basis in preparing the financial statements. Further details regarding the adoption of the going concern basis can be found in the accounting policies.
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THE RAAIS FOUNDATION TRUSTEE'S REPORT (CONTINUED) FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31 MARCH 2022
b. Reserves policy
The foundation has no outstanding commitments or cash demands which are not adequately covered by existing resources. The net assets of the charity are regarded as free reserves and the funds at 31 March 2022 will be retained to make grants in accordance with the foundation's charitable objects.
The trustee considers that freely expendable funds are appropriate and adequate taking into account plans for grants to be awarded in the future and have therefore not yet designated a specific reserves policy. However, the trustee will keep this under constant review. In future years a specific reserves policy may be adopted.
Structure, governance and management
a. Constitution
The RAAIS Foundation is a registered charity, number 1181904, and is constitued under a CIO constitution, established on 6 February 2019.
b. Methods of appointment or election of trustee
The management of the charity is the responsibility of the trustee who is elected and co-opted under the terms of the CIO constitution.
c. Internal controls
The trustee has overall responsibility for ensuring that the charity has appropriate systems of internal controls. He is responsible for keeping proper accounting records which disclose with reasonable accuracy at any time the financial position of the charity and enable him to ensure that the financial statements follow best practice and all applicable laws, regulations and guidance. The trustee is also responsible for safeguarding the charity's assets and for taking reasonable steps for the prevention and detection of fraud and other irregularities.
The system of internal controls is designed to provide reasonable, but not absolute, assurance against material misstatement or loss.
d. Risk management
A risk assessment has been undertaken which compromises of:
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an annual review of the risks the charity may face;
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the establishment of systems and procedures to mitigate those risks; and
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the implementation of procedures designed to minimise any potential impact on the charity should those risks materialise.
The continuing process will identify risk areas to which the charity is vulnerable and highlight any necessary safeguards that will need to be put in place. No major risks were identified at the date of these financial statements.
The trustee has assessed the major risks to which the charity is exposed, in particular those related to the operations and finances of the charity, and is satisfied that systems and procedures are in place to mitigate exposure to the major risks.
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THE RAAIS FOUNDATION
TRUSTEE'S REPORT (CONTINUED) FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31 MARCH 2022
Plans for future periods
The trustee does not propose to deviate from the current objectives and activities of the charity as detailed above and will further develop and refine his strategies, policies and procedures for the future.
Approved by order of the members of the board of trustee and signed on their behalf by:
Dr Nathan Benaich Trustee
Date: 31 March 2023
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THE RAAIS FOUNDATION
STATEMENT OF TRUSTEE'S RESPONSIBILITIES FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31 MARCH 2022
The trustee is responsible for preparing the Trustee's Report and the financial statements in accordance with applicable law and United Kingdom Accounting Standards (United Kingdom Generally Accepted Accounting Practice).
Charity law requires the trustee to prepare financial statements for each financial year. Under charity law, the trustee must not approve the financial statements unless he is satisfied that they give a true and fair view of the state of affairs of the charity and of its incoming resources and application of resources, including its income and expenditure, for that period. In preparing these financial statements, the trustee are required to:
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select suitable accounting policies and then apply them consistently;
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observe the methods and principles of the Charities SORP (FRS 102);
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make judgments and accounting estimates that are reasonable and prudent;
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state whether applicable UK Accounting Standards (FRS 102) have been followed, subject to any material departures disclosed and explained in the financial statements;
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prepare the financial statements on the going concern basis unless it is inappropriate to presume that the charity will continue in business.
The trustee is responsible for keeping adequate accounting records that are sufficient to show and explain the charity's transactions and disclose with reasonable accuracy at any time the financial position of the charity and enable them to ensure that the financial statements comply with the Charities Act 2011. He is also responsible for safeguarding the assets of the charity and hence for taking reasonable steps for the prevention and detection of fraud and other irregularities.
Approved by order of the members of the board of trustee and signed on its behalf by:
Dr Nathan Benaich Trustee
Date: 31 March 2023
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THE RAAIS FOUNDATION
CHARTERED ACCOUNTANTS' REPORT TO THE TRUSTEES ON THE PREPARATION OF THE UNAUDITED FINANCIAL STATEMENTS OF THE RAAIS FOUNDATION FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31 MARCH 2022
In order to assist you to fulfil your duties under the Charities Act 2011, we have prepared for your approval the financial statements of The RAAIS Foundation for the year ended 31 March 2022 which compromise the statement of financial activities, the balance sheet and the related notes from the charity’s accounting records and from information and explanations you have given us.
We have carried out this engagement in accordance with technical guidance issued by the Institute of Chartered Accountants in England and Wales (ICAEW) and have complied with the ethical guidance laid down by the Institute relating to members undertaking the compilation of financial statements.
It is your duty to ensure that The RAAIS Foundation has kept adequate accounting records and to prepare statutory financial statements that give a true and fair view of the assets, liabilities, financial position and deficit of The RAAIS Foundation. You consider that The RAAIS foundation is exempt from the statutory audit requirement for the year and is not required to obtain an independent examiner's report.
We have not been instructed to carry out an audit or a review of the financial statements of The RAAIS Founation. For this reason, we have not verified the accuracy or completeness of the accounting records or information and explanations you have given to us and we do not, therefore, express any opinion on the statutory financial statements.
Use of our report
This report is made solely to the charity's Trustee, in accordance with the terms of our engagement letter dated 14 February 2022. Our work has been undertaken solely to prepare for your approval the accounts of The RAAIS Foundation and state those matters that we have agreed to state to the charity's trustee in this report in accordance with ICAEW Technical Release 07/16 AAF. To the fullest extent permitted by law, we do not accept or assume responsibility to anyone other than The RAAIS Foundation and its trustee, for our work or for this report.
Blick Rothenberg Limited
Chartered Accountants 16 Great Queen Street Covent Garden WC2B 5AH
Date: 31 March 2023
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THE RAAIS FOUNDATION
STATEMENT OF FINANCIAL ACTIVITIES (INCORPORATING INCOME AND EXPENDITURE ACCOUNT) FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31 MARCH 2022
| Note Income from: Donations and legacies 2 Total income Expenditure on: Charitable activities 4 Total expenditure Net movement in funds Reconciliation of funds: Total funds brought forward Net movement in funds Total funds carried forward |
Unrestricted funds 2022 £ 5 5 31,583 31,583 (31,578) 105,858 (31,578) 74,280 |
Total funds 2022 £ 5 5 31,583 31,583 (31,578) 105,858 (31,578) 74,280 |
Total funds 2021 £ 23,396 23,396 112,729 112,729 (89,333) 195,191 (89,333) 105,858 |
|---|---|---|---|
The Statement of financial activities includes all gains and losses recognised in the year.
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REGISTERED NUMBER: 1181904
THE RAAIS FOUNDATION
BALANCE SHEET FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31 MARCH 2022
| Note Current assets Cash at bank and in hand Creditors: amounts falling due within one year 7 Net current assets Total assets less current liabilities Net assets excluding pension asset Total net assets Charity funds Restricted funds 8 Unrestricted funds 8 Total funds |
80,280 80,280 (6,000) |
2022 £ 74,280 74,280 74,280 74,280 - 74,280 74,280 |
116,858 116,858 (11,000) |
2021 £ 105,858 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 105,858 | ||||
| 105,858 | ||||
| 105,858 | ||||
| - 105,858 |
||||
| 105,858 |
The financial statements were approved and authorised for issue by the trustee and signed on their behalf by:
Dr Nathan Benaich Trustee
Date: 31 March 2023
The notes on pages 10 to 15 form part of these financial statements .
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THE RAAIS FOUNDATION NOTES TO THE FINANCIAL STATEMENTS FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31 MARCH 2022
1. Accounting policies
1.1 Basis of preparation of financial statements
The financial statements have been prepared in accordance with the Charities SORP (FRS 102) - Accounting and Reporting by Charities: Statement of Recommended Practice applicable to charities preparing their accounts in accordance with the Financial Reporting Standard applicable in the UK and Republic of Ireland (FRS 102) (effective 1 January 2019), the Financial Reporting Standard applicable in the UK and Republic of Ireland (FRS 102) and the Companies Act 2006.
The RAAIS Foundation meets the definition of a public benefit entity under FRS 102. Assets and liabilities are initially recognised at historical cost or transaction value unless otherwise stated in the relevant accounting policy.
The financial statements are prepared in sterling, the functional currency, and have been rounded to the nearest pound.
1.2 Fund accounting
General funds are unrestricted funds which are available for use at the discretion of the trustee in furtherance of the general objectives of the charity and which have not been designated for other purposes.
1.3 Going concern
After making enquiries, the trustee has a reasonable expectation that the charity has adequate resources to continue in operational existence and meet its liabilities as they fall due for the forseeable future, being a period of at least twelve months from the date these financial staments were approved. Accordingly, he continues to adopt the going concern basis in preparing the financial statements.
1.4 Income
All income is recognised once the charity has entitlement to the income, it is probable that the income will be received and the amount of income receivable can be measured reliably.
1.5 Expenditure
Expenditure is recognised once there is a legal or constructive obligation to transfer economic benefit to a third party, it is probable that a transfer of economic benefits will be required in settlement and the amount of the obligation can be measured reliably. Expenditure is classified by activity. The costs of each activity are made up of the total of direct costs and shared costs, including support costs involved in undertaking each activity. Direct costs attributable to a single activity are allocated directly to that activity. Shared costs which contribute to more than one activity and support costs which are not attributable to a single activity are apportioned between those activities on a basis consistent with the use of resources. Central staff costs are allocated on the basis of time spent, and depreciation charges allocated on the portion of the asset’s use.
Expenditure on charitable activities is incurred on directly undertaking the activities which further the charity's objectives, as well as any associated support costs.
Grants payable are charged in the year when the offer is made except in those cases where the offer is conditional, such grants being recognised as expenditure when the conditions attaching are fulfilled. Grants offered subject to conditions which have not been met at the year end are noted as a commitment, but not accrued as expenditure.
All expenditure is inclusive of irrecoverable VAT.
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THE RAAIS FOUNDATION NOTES TO THE FINANCIAL STATEMENTS FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31 MARCH 2022
1. Accounting policies (continued)
1.6 Foreign currencies
Monetary assets and liabilities denominated in foreign currencies are translated into sterling at rates of exchange ruling at the reporting date.
Transactions in foreign currencies are translated into sterling at the rate ruling on the date of the transaction.
Exchange gains and losses are recognised in the Statement of Financial Activities.
1.7 Taxation
The charity is not subject to any taxes on its charitable activities. Irrecoverable VAT is charged against the category of resources expended for which it was incurred.
1.8 Cash at bank and in hand
Cash at bank and in hand includes cash and short-term highly liquid investments with a short maturity of three months or less from the date of acquisition or opening of the deposit or similar account.
1.9 Liabilities and provisions
Liabilities are recognised when there is an obligation at the Balance Sheet date as a result of a past event, it is probable that a transfer of economic benefit will be required in settlement, and the amount of the settlement can be estimated reliably.
Liabilities are recognised at the amount that the charity anticipates it will pay to settle the debt or the amount it has received as advanced payments for the goods or services it must provide.
Provisions are measured at the best estimate of the amounts required to settle the obligation. Where the effect of the time value of money is material, the provision is based on the present value of those amounts, discounted at the pre-tax discount rate that reflects the risks specific to the liability. The unwinding of the discount is recognised in the Statement of Financial Activities as a finance cost.
1.10 Financial instruments
The charity only has financial assets and financial liabilities of a kind that qualify as basic financial instruments. Basic financial instruments are initially recognised at transaction value and subsequently measured at their settlement value with the exception of bank loans which are subsequently measured at amortised cost using the effective interest method.
2. Income from donations and legacies
| Unrestricted | Total | |
|---|---|---|
| funds | funds | |
| 2022 | 2022 | |
| £ | £ | |
| Other income | 5 | 5 |
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THE RAAIS FOUNDATION NOTES TO THE FINANCIAL STATEMENTS FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31 MARCH 2022
2. Income from donations and legacies (continued)
| Donations Other income |
Unrestricted funds 2021 £ 23,088 308 23,396 |
Total funds 2021 £ 23,088 308 |
|---|---|---|
| 23,396 |
3. Analysis of grants
| Grants to | Total | |
|---|---|---|
| Individuals | funds | |
| 2022 | 2022 | |
| £ | £ | |
| Grants awarded to OpenMined | 27,863 | 27,863 |
OpenMined Fellowships were developed to support full and part-time work on an open-source codebase maintained by a community focussed on researching, developing, and promoting tools for secure, privacy-preserving, value aligned artificial intelligence. The foundation funded several Fellowships to further develop and expand this codebase, each worth £2,000 per month for 3-6 months per individual recipient. Recipients of the RAAIS OpenMined Fellowships were commissioned by the United Nations Privacy Task Team, the Broad Institute at MIT and Harvard, the University of Oxford, and Facebook PyTorch.
| Grants to | Total | |
|---|---|---|
| Individuals | funds | |
| 2021 | 2021 | |
| £ | £ | |
| Grants, awarded to OpenMined | 96,396 | 96,396 |
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THE RAAIS FOUNDATION
NOTES TO THE FINANCIAL STATEMENTS FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31 MARCH 2022
4. Analysis of expenditure on charitable activities
Summary by fund type
| Unrestricted funds 2022 £ Grants awared to OpenMined 27,863 Independent examination fees 4,000 Gain on foreign exchange (1,343) Website costs 693 Other administrative costs 370 31,583 Unrestricted funds 2021 £ Gain on foreign exchange 96,396 Independent examination fees 5,000 Loss on foreign exchange 10,795 Bank charges 162 Website costs 376 112,729 |
Total 2022 £ 27,863 4,000 (1,343) 693 370 31,583 Total 2021 £ 96,396 5,000 10,795 162 376 112,729 |
|---|---|
5. Analysis of expenditure by activities
| Grants awared to OpenMined Independent examination fees Gain on foreign exchange Website costs Other administrative costs |
Grant funding of activities 2022 £ 27,863 - - - - 27,863 |
Support costs 2022 £ - 4,000 (1,343) 693 370 3,720 |
Total funds 2022 £ 27,863 4,000 (1,343) 693 370 31,583 |
|---|---|---|---|
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THE RAAIS FOUNDATION
NOTES TO THE FINANCIAL STATEMENTS FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31 MARCH 2022
5. Analysis of expenditure by activities (continued)
| Gain on foreign exchange Independent examination fees Gain on foreign exchange Bank charges Website costs |
Grant funding of activities 2021 £ 96,396 - - - - 96,396 |
Support costs 2021 £ - 5,000 10,795 162 376 16,333 |
Total funds 2021 £ 96,396 5,000 10,795 162 376 |
|---|---|---|---|
| 112,729 |
6. Trustee's remuneration and expenses
During the year, no trustees received any remuneration or other benefits (2021 - £NIL).
During the year ended 31 March 2022, no trustee expenses have been incurred (2021 - £NIL).
7. Creditors: amounts falling due within one year
| 2022 | 2021 | |
|---|---|---|
| £ | £ | |
| Accruals and deferred income | 6,000 | 11,000 |
8. Statement of funds
Statement of funds - current year
| Balance at | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Balance at 1 | 31 March | ||
| April 2021 | Income | Expenditure | 2022 |
| £ | £ | £ | £ |
| Unrestricted funds | |||
| General Funds - all funds 105,858 |
5 | (31,583) | 74,280 |
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THE RAAIS FOUNDATION NOTES TO THE FINANCIAL STATEMENTS FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31 MARCH 2022
8. Statement of funds (continued)
Statement of funds - prior year
| Balance at | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Balance at | 31 March | ||
| 1 April 2020 | Income | Expenditure | 2021 |
| £ | £ | £ | £ |
| Unrestricted funds | |||
| General Funds - all funds 195,191 |
23,396 | (112,729) | 105,858 |
9. Analysis of net assets between funds Analysis of net assets between funds - current year
| Current assets Creditors due within one year Total Analysis of net assets between funds - prior year Current assets Creditors due within one year Total |
Unrestricted funds 2022 £ 80,280 (6,000) 74,280 Endowment funds 2021 Unrestricted funds 2021 £ £ 116,858 - (11,000) - 105,858 - |
Total funds 2022 £ 80,280 (6,000) |
|---|---|---|
| 74,280 | ||
| Total funds 2021 £ 116,858 (11,000) |
||
| 105,858 |
10. Related party transactions
The charity has not entered into any related party transaction during the year, nor are there any outstanding balances owing between related parties and the charity at 31 March 2022.
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