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2023-03-31-accounts

Charity no. 1182079

Sutton African & Caribbean Cultural Organisation Receipts and Payments Accounts 31 March 2023

Sutton African & Caribbean Cultural Organisation

Reference and administrative details

For theyear ended 31 March 2023
Charity number 1182079
Registered office and 21 Alexander Gardens
operational address Stanley Road
Carshalton
Surrey
SM5 4LJ
Trustees The trustees who served during the year and up to the date of this report
were as follows:
Grace Abamba
Cleo Douglas Chair
Veronica Fritzon
Annisha Taylor
Honorary Treasurer Grace Smith
Bankers HSBC Bank
75 – 77 High Street
Sutton
SM1 1DU
Metro Bank
83 - 87 High Street
Sutton
SM1 1JF
Independent Godfrey Wilson Limited
examiners Chartered accountants and statutory auditors
5th Floor Mariner House
62 Prince Street
Bristol
BS1 4QD

1

Sutton African & Caribbean Cultural Organisation

Report of the trustees

For the year ended 31 March 2023

Reference and administrative information set out on page 1 forms part of this report. The financial statements comply with current statutory requirements and constitution.

GOVERNANCE AND STRUCTURE

Sutton African & Caribbean Cultural Organisation (SACCO) is a charitable organisation with a mission to celebrate African and Caribbean heritage in the community. It was established in 2019 and was previously known as Sutton Black History Group. SACCO operates as a Charitable Incorporated Organisation (CIO) and is governed by a constitution. The organisation focuses on a range of activities and initiatives to benefit the community, including:

In summary, SACCO is dedicated to promoting and celebrating the African and Caribbean heritage within the community, with a strong focus on education, cultural events, addressing social issues, and improving the overall well-being of its members.

PUBLIC BENEFIT STATEMENT

SACCO's charitable objectives are centered around community development, social welfare, elimination of discrimination, and promoting inclusivity. The organization confirms compliance with the Charities Act 2011 and the Charity Commission's guidance on public benefit.

SACCO Objectives

SACCO set various objectives for 2022-2023, including improving governance, raising awareness, recruiting new expertise, securing a Patron, enhancing communication, applying for core funding, continue to support those affected by Covid-19, and assisting the community dealing with the cost-ofliving crisis.

Several projects were carried out during the year, including "The Good Old Days," "Friendship Friday," "Building Resilience - Merton Giving Fund," "Windrush Family Fun Day," and various events for Black History Month.

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Sutton African & Caribbean Cultural Organisation

Report of the trustees

For the year ended 31 March 2023

SACCO also expanded its outreach by providing wellbeing food boxes, publishing Kaleidoscope Magazine, collaborating with Sutton Housing Partnership, Royal Society of Arts as well as maintaining our partnerships with Community Action Sutton and the NHS. Offering chair exercises for senior citizens, and actively engaging with social media platforms.

ACHIEVEMENTS AND PERFORMANCE

The Good Old Days

This project rolled over from 2022 into 2023. We started this project in Merton based around the experiences of older members of our local community who are happy to share with others their cultural traditions in the countries from which they originate. This project was targeted at local community–based groups, organisations, cultural societies and elderly persons from all sections of society. The stories were shared with the younger generation who also shared their love of music and current sounds with the older generation.

Friendship Friday

A very successful continuing growing project. We now have a paid project manager who manages all of the bi-weekly sessions. The attendees who are all elderly enjoy meeting up together and enjoy the different ranges of talks and activities provided as well as a hot meal. Feedback from these sessions have been extremely positive with members.

Patron

SACCO was proud to announce that Patrick Hutchinson has agreed to be SACCO’s Patron for the next 3 years. Patrick is known for his humanitarian act during the Black Lives Matter protest where by he carried a racist protester in trouble, picked him up and carried him over his shoulder to safety.

Building Resilience - Merton Giving Fund

This project was for a regular mixed ability chair exercises in Merton over six months and we delivered the classes in person with SUB3 Fitness. The classes were very well attended and allowed seniors to meet new people and to also get out of the house. We have recognised that there is still a need to deliver these classes and hope to do so in the future.

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Sutton African & Caribbean Cultural Organisation

Report of the trustees

For the year ended 31 March 2023

Windrush Family Fun Day

SACCO worked in collaboration with Sutton Housing Partnership to host a family funday at Hill House. The day was very well attended and allowed us to raise awareness of the Windrush generation and also to engage with the community who had not been aware of SACCO previously. We put on activities for the children and elders, and distributed goodie bags containing information about SACCO, Sutton Housing Partnership and information regarding the Windrush compensation scheme.

Black History Month 2022

The Theme for BHM 2022 was “Time for Change: Action Not Words” SACCO presented various events throughout the month which catered for all age groups. The month was extremely successful with all events sold out. Below shows a snapshot of some of the events which took place over the course of the month.

Climate change Climate Change and our Global Wellbeing .

Understand the challenges for global wellbeing that climate change creates - both present and in the future. To learn about some positive examples of how these are being addressed. To understand what individuals can do to help tackle these issues.

Suicide Workshop

Facilitator used her personal family story to drive the session. A psychologist, she has published a book about the signs to look out for in people who may be contemplating this act.

Royal Society of Arts Workshop

SACCO worked in collaboration with the Royal Society of Arts South East Fellowship in bringing different art mediums to the community. These consisted of Tie Dye workshop, Pottery, Creative writing and a coffee morning event which allowed the community to record themselves and talk about their cultures.

Mental Health and Post-Covid in the Workplace by Monique Malwah

An essential Friendly Friday presentation. One highlight was that the sufferers in the lead for this are predominately Pakistani and Bangladeshi men.

Prostate Cancer

The session was delivered by a prostate cancer survivor, The aim of the workshop was to raise awareness within the Afro Caribbean community as 1:4 Black men suffer from this disease as opposed to 1:8 White men.

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Sutton African & Caribbean Cultural Organisation

Report of the trustees

For the year ended 31 March 2023

Meet the Young Author

SACCO hosted an event for our younger members who have written and published their own books. This event allowed the young authors exposure and to inspire any budding young writers to follow in their footsteps.

The Finale of Black History Month

We finished off the month with a finale at Hill House. This was attended by guest speakers and entertainment.

Wellbeing Food Boxes

SACCO has been able to continue to provide wellbeing food boxes to the community as well as provide non-perishable food items to Sutton Housing Partnership estates food hubs.

Kaleidoscope Magazine

Increased readership and was sent out both digitally and hard copy. Many people have given several positive comments on both contents and layout.

Sutton High School

SACCO has continued to work with Sutton High School in offering support and information from an Afro-Caribbean perspective. SACCO was in attendance at their annual cultural day whereby SACCO gave a talk and allowed the children to have a freestyle Q&A session.

Social Media

We use various streams of social media in order to promote the work which we do. These range from Facebook, Instagram, Twitter and Youtube. We have been able to monitor content to see what advertising streams work and also monitor the demographics which we are targeting.

Organisational Development

SACCO relies on volunteers who contribute to a wide range of roles and events. They aim to identify and support volunteers to take on governance roles or pursue career aspirations.

Training was provided to new Trustees to enhance governance skills and utilize SACCO's internal IT systems.

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Sutton African & Caribbean Cultural Organisation

Report of the trustees

For the year ended 31 March 2023

Risk Management

The board of Trustees identified and managed risks faced by the organization. Key areas of risk included governance and finance, which were addressed by recruiting new Trustees with diverse skills and financial professionals.

The organisation reviewed risk management processes and continues to monitor risks.

Future Work:

SACCO’s future work includes preparing for Accreditation, continuing to grow Friendship Friday and engaging in various partnerships and conferences related to mixed heritage and succession planning and training.

Finance

For the year ended 31 March 2023 incoming resources were £65,808 (2022: £49,426) and resources expended were £35,298 (2022: £41,726), resulting in a surplus for the year of £30,510 (2022: £7,700). Total funds at 31 March 2023 were £52,185 (2022: £21,675), of which £45,124 is held in restricted funds with £7,061 in unrestricted reserves.

We obtained a number of grants, the majority were project specific and restricted grants. We were successful in gaining funding during the year from the NHS Inequalities Grant from Sutton NHS which started in January 2023 and completed in July 2023.

We received grants from the following funders. This increased funding allowed us to provide a variety of projects relating to inclusion, inequalities and supporting the cost of living crisis over the last year. We want to thank our funders:-

We are also very appreciative for donations we received. We thank all for their generosity – two local churches, and local shops – Morrisons, Sainsbury, Tesco and private individuals who gave us fresh produce from the allotments.

The increase in funding, allows for the employment of a part-time project lead and project manager while maintaining part-time administrative support.

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Sutton African & Caribbean Cultural Organisation

Report of the trustees

For the year ended 31 March 2023

Reserves

Our reserves policy calls for unrestricted reserves to be held in the range of 3-6 months operating expenditure which is £3,825 - £7,650, based on the 2023/24 budget. Our unrestricted reserves currently are £7,061, (2022: £5,190). We continue to be a going concern as we secure and apply for funding required to sustain and grow SACCO’s activities in 2023/24.

Conclusion

The report provides a comprehensive overview of SACCO’s activities and accomplishments during the specified period, showcasing its commitment to its charitable objectives and the betterment of the African and Caribbean community in Sutton and surrounding boroughs.

Independent examiners

Godfrey Wilson Limited were re-appointed as independent examiners to the charity during the year and have expressed their willingness to continue in that capacity.

Approved by the trustees on 22 November 2023 and signed on their behalf by

Cleo Douglas - Chair

7

Independent examiner's report

To the trustees of

Sutton African & Caribbean Cultural Organisation

I report to the trustees on my examination of the accounts of Sutton African & Caribbean Cultural Organisation (the charity) for the year ended 31 March 2023, which are set out on pages 9 and 10.

Respective responsibilities of trustees and examiner

As the trustees of the charity you are responsible for the preparation of the accounts in accordance with the requirements of the Charities Act 2011 (‘the Act’).

I report in respect of my examination of the charity’s accounts carried out under section 145 of the 2011 Act and in carrying out my examination I have followed all the applicable Directions given by the Charity Commission under section 145(5)(b) of the Act.

Independent examiner's statement

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:

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.

William Guy Blake

Date: 22 November 2023 William Guy Blake ACA Member of the ICAEW

For and on behalf of:

Godfrey Wilson Limited

Chartered accountants and statutory auditors 5th Floor Mariner House

62 Prince Street Bristol BS1 4QD

8

Sutton African & Caribbean Cultural Organisation

Receipts and payments account

For the year ended 31 March 2023

Receipts
Grants
Fundraising events
Donations
Membership subscriptions
Total receipts
Payments
Project costs
Admin expenses
Office costs
Legal and professional fees
Telephone and internet
Training
Insurance
Fundraising
Trustee expenses
Purchase of assets
Total payments
Net receipts
Cash funds at 1 April 2022
Cash funds at 31 March 2023		 Restricted Unrestricted
£
£
59,184
-
-
5,004
-
1,535
-
85
59,184
6,624
22,824
2,130
3,288
1,434
2,186
184
1,219
406
709
-
319
-
-
277
-
250
-
72
-
-
30,545
4,753
28,639
1,871
16,485
5,190
45,124
7,061		 2023
Total
£
59,184
5,004
1,535
85
65,808
24,954
4,722
2,370
1,625
709
319
277
250
72
-
35,298
30,510
21,675
52,185		 2022
Total
£
43,615
2,451
3,218
142
49,426
27,785
6,350
2,711
1,423
632
479
-
246
36
2,064
41,726
7,700
13,975
21,675

9

Sutton African & Caribbean Cultural Organisation

Statement of assets and liabilities

As at 31 March 2023

Cash funds
Cash at bank and in hand
Total cash funds
Cash funds
Restricted funds
Unrestricted funds
General funds
Total cash funds		 2023
£
52,185
52,185
45,124
7,061
52,185		 2022
£
21,675
21,675
16,485
5,190
21,675

Approved by the trustees on 22 November 2023 and signed on their behalf by

Cleo Douglas - Chair

10

William Guy Blake ACA Godfrey Wilson Limited Chartered Accountants & Statutory Auditors 5[th] Floor Mariner House 62 Prince Street Bristol BS1 4QD

22 November 2023

Dear Guy

Letter of Representations on the Financial Statements for the Year Ended 31 March 2023

We confirm that the following representations are made on the basis of enquiries of the trustees, management and staff with relevant knowledge and experience (and, where appropriate, of inspection of supporting documentation) sufficient to satisfy ourselves that we can properly make each of the following representations to you:

  1. We have fulfilled our responsibilities as trustees, as set out in the terms of your engagement letter dated 7 January 2022, under the Charities Act 2011 for preparing financial statements, in accordance with applicable law.

  2. We confirm that all accounting records have been made available to you for the purpose of your examination, in accordance with your terms of engagement, and that all the transactions undertaken by the charity have been properly reflected and recorded in the accounting records. All other records and related information, including minutes of all management, trustees’ and members’ meetings, have been made available to you. We have given you unrestricted access to persons within the charity in order to obtain evidence and have provided any additional information that you have requested for the purposes of your examination.

  3. We confirm that all known actual or possible litigation and claims whose effects should be considered when preparing the financial statements have been disclosed to the independent examiner and accounted for and disclosed in accordance with the applicable financial reporting framework.

  4. We confirm that the charity has complied with all aspects of contractual agreements that could have a material effect on the financial statements in the event of non-compliance.

Email: info@sacco.org.uk; Tel: 02033029543 21 Alexandra Gardens, Stanley Road, Carshalton, SM5 4LJ Registered Charity No.1182079 in England and Wales

  1. We confirm that we are not aware of any possible or actual instance of non-compliance with those laws and regulations which provide a legal framework within which the charity conducts its activities and which are central to the charity’s ability to conduct its activities, except as explained to you and as disclosed in the financial statements.

  2. We acknowledge our responsibility for the design and implementation of internal controls to prevent and detect fraud. We confirm that we have disclosed to you the results of our own risk assessment that the financial statements may be misstated as a result of fraud.

  3. We confirm that there have been no actual or suspected instances of fraud involving trustees, management or employees who have a significant role in internal control or that could have a material effect on the financial statements. We also confirm that we are not aware of any allegations of fraud by former trustees, employees, regulators or others.

  4. We confirm that, having considered our expectations and intentions for the next 12 months and the availability of unrestricted reserves, the charity is a going concern.

  5. We confirm that all grants, donations and other income, including those subject to special terms or conditions or received for restricted purposes, have been notified to you. There have been no breaches of terms or conditions during the period regarding the application of such income.

  6. We confirm that we are not aware of any matters of material significance that should be reported to the Charity Commission.

  7. We confirm the following specific representations made to you during the course of the examination:

  8. a) We confirm that both HSBC accounts were closed in May 2022, and that all transactions on these accounts for April to May 2022 have been appropriately recorded in the accounts.

Yours sincerely

Cleo Douglas

For and on behalf of the trustees of Sutton African & Caribbean Cultural Organisation

Email: info@sacco.org.uk; Tel: 02033029543

21 Alexandra Gardens, Stanley Road, Carshalton, SM5 4LJ Registered Charity No.1182079 in England and Wales