2021-06-30-accounts

Trustees’ Annual Report for the period

From 01.04.20 To 30.06.21

Charity name: Children’s Book Project

Charity registration number: 1183092

Objectives and Activities

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SORP
reference
Summary of the Para To advance education of children up to the age of 14 by
1.17
purposes of the supplying books to children who would not otherwise be able
charity as set out in its to afford them and by encouraging reading through
governing document community reading events.
Summary of the main Para 1. Receipt of gently used donated books from book buying
1.17 and
activities in relation to families via ‘book drive’ events held in schools and other
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Objectives and Activities	Objectives and Activities	Objectives and Activities
SORP reference
Summary of the purposes of the charity as set out in its governing document Para 1.17 To advance education of children up to the age of 14 by supplying books to children who would not otherwise be able to afford them and by encouraging reading through community reading events.
Summary of the main activities in relation to	Para 1.17 and 119	1. Receipt of gently used donated books from book buying families via ‘book drive’ events held in schools and other
those purposes for the public benefit, in particular, the activities, projects or services identified in the accounts.	.	settings and direct from donors at specified drop off points. 2. Sorting of all donated books to ensure their suitability and quality and then curation by age and reading stage (0-14 years). ‘Suitability’ includes taking into account the need for donated books / characters in these books to be broadly reflective of their intended recipient audience in terms of diversity and inclusion as well as subject matter suitability. 3. Liaison with schools and community groups to establish the book and reading related needs of the families and young people they support in order to directly support these with donations of good quality, relevant books and the resources to put on book gifting events. These include initiatives in conjunction with groups that support vulnerable mothers of under 1s, young people in reform institutions, food bank users and (indirectly) children with a parent in prison. 4. Administration of unique creative delivery mechanics to support organisations to gift books in the most compelling way(s) including Pop Up Book Huts, Pop Up Bookshops, the ‘Bookshop Upstairs’, Book Bundles (a COVID-19 safe initiative for use in schools), packs for gifting to mothers with young babies and Book Bags to support gifting amongst refugee families.

Statement confirming whether the trustees have had regard to the guidance issued by the Charity Commission on public benefit	Para 1.18	Trustees have all received written and verbal advice of the guidance issued by the Charity Commission on public benefit. On their appointment at the beginning of this year all signed to confirm their understanding of this.

Additional information (optional)

You may choose to include further statements where relevant about:

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SORP
reference
N/A
Para
Policy on grant 1.38
making
N/A
Para
Policy on social 1.38
investment
including program
related investment
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Additional information (optional) You may choose to include further statements where relevant about:	Additional information (optional) You may choose to include further statements where relevant about:	Additional information (optional) You may choose to include further statements where relevant about:
SORP reference
Policy on grant making Para 1.38 N/A
Policy on social investment including program related investment Para 1.38 N/A
Contribution made by volunteers	Para 1.38	Apart from one paid part time administrative assistant (45 hours monthly) and a token daily rate paid to the CEO (the product of trustee ambition that this becomes a salaried role) every aspect of this project has been delivered by volunteers in the past 12 months. Part time volunteers that support our work do so indirectly (i.e. when they run a book drive on our behalf within their school) or directly (when they support us in the sorting, packing and delivering of books) or at events / within the Bookshop Upstairs. Volunteers that help to sort books at our book unit include both corporate and local groups of individuals. Students completing the volunteering section of their Duke of Edinburgh award have formed a large part of our workforce this year. We estimate that over 600 volunteers have collectively contributed over 4,500 hours’ time during this period on our behalf, despite the issues faced by COVID-19 and the strict necessity for safe practice. During this 15-month period the charity benefited by increased commitment from some of its volunteers who respectively took on additional responsibilities including liaison with book donor organisations, fundraising and volunteer management. The planned expansion and embedding of these roles was hindered by COVID-19 and obligatory delivery changes, however these relationships largely persist and the charity aims to further develop these individuals and their roles this forthcoming year. In particular we seek to make better use of corporate volunteers that might support us both on site and elsewhere, of author ambassadors that can help us to develop our profile and of ‘Young Ambassadors’, young people aged 11-18 years who will be invited to initiate Book Drives within their schools on our behalf.

		Teaching staff and practitioners in other settings that receive books and resources from us in order to put on a gifting event often work above and beyond their core remit in order to do so. This was particularly evident during the first COVID-19 lockdown, when many teachers drove to collect books from us and delivered these by hand to their pupils’ houses. One member of the team has worked full time voluntarily during school term times to support the administration of the charity for much of this period. This includes liaison with all donor and recipient organisations and individuals. The trustees agreed that this post should be contractual and paid a nominal daily rate (until budget permits this to be increased) from Spring 2021.
Other		The charity moved to new premises in November 2020. These are loaned free of charge (both rent and rates) by RBKC and have been initially offered for a period of two years. The space not only radically enabled the charity to scale and to put in place processes to ensure an enhanced volunteer experience, it also permitted the development of a visitor space upstairs to which school visits could be welcomed (the Bookshop Upstairs). COVID-19 directly impacted the charity’s core beneficiaries (families and young people) and the need for books to support their emotional well-being was paramount at a time when it was particularly difficult to reach these audiences. The charity worked in partnership with over 250 schools during the first and second lockdown to a) develop a safe gifting model that could be employed by staff and b) explore and respond to other ways in which the charity could support those audiences most affected by the pandemic.

Achievements and Performance

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SORP
reference
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Achievements and Performance	Achievements and Performance	Achievements and Performance
SORP reference
Summary of the main achievements of the charity, identifying the difference the charity’s work has made to the circumstances of its beneficiaries and any wider benefits to society as a whole.	Para 1.20	Within this 15-month period the charity has gifted over 200k books to core audiences across over 400 organisations with an average pupil premium of 44%. This was at a time when volunteering, distribution of books and access to young people was particularly hard, but the emotional value of these books particularly valuable. The charity worked very hard to identify the most useful, appropriate and compelling way(s) in which it could support its core beneficiaries during the two lockdowns and in between these periods when schools had to adhere to strict regulations concerning collective activity. In doing this it developed its relationships with 100s of schools and other organisations across London and gained in confidence in its ability to respond to immediate needs.

The charity has also during this period been able to identify four new strands of delivery that support some of its most needful audiences (financially and emotionally challenged). These include children with a parent in prison, babies whose parent(s) is emotionally vulnerable or at risk, children of newly arrived refugee families and children with no prior opportunity to visit a real bookshop or to have the experience to browse and choose a book to take home. The work involved in reaching all of these audiences is considerably more labour intensive than that involved in its day-to-day delivery. In the next 12 months the charity would like to develop its relationships within the publishing industry to further raise awareness of the potential impact of a recirculated book model and within its book donor organisations to help raise the funds necessary to scale. Book gifting The charity surveys all beneficiary audiences. During the past 15 months every effort has been made to ensure the enhanced quality and age relevance of all books gifted to our recipient audiences. This has been noted in feedback from schools for whom our books ‘exceed their expectations’. Moving forward, we continue to engage with families and schools in order to establish preferences with regards to books now considered less suitable to gift to children, even if still in print. This includes those titles / authors that are acknowledged to present an outdated view of UK society or that present harmful gender, race or other stereotypes. There has been increased engagement from publishers and organisations (such as Neighbourly) that facilitate corporate / charitable links. Donated books have been used across all strands of gifting. Where on occasion donated titles are not relevant (e.g. for adults) these have been gifted to another charity (Giveabook.org) able to make use of them. We developed a new delivery mechanic for use during the first lockdown that permitted the distribution of 60k books within the summer term. ‘Book bundles’ enabled schools to easily and safely distribute quarantined bundles of age relevant books within their socially distanced bubbles. Each bundle was accompanied by a Book Powers sticker which created a sense of event, discovery and that prompted sharing of books within each bubble. Unprompted anecdotal feedback from schools during this period noted the impact that books gifted to children in their homes had on their sense of belonging to their wider community and their emotional wellbeing. Gifting books directly to families at home also provided teachers with the opportunity to connect with and reassure their families, many of whom live in challenging circumstances.

Audience engagement Throughout both lockdowns 1 and 2 the charity sought out the most effective ways of reaching its core audiences including working with local groups delivering other services. This ‘joined up’ delivery impacted slightly on our ability to deploy our customary creative gifting events but meant we could continue to reach children and young people during this time. Volunteering model Both periods of lockdown saw an increase in volunteering interest amongst the charity’s local communities. This had to be managed against the necessary social distancing requirements, but which did result in significant awareness build locally and increased capacity during these times. Corporate volunteering largely ceased during these 15 months but interest from these organisations is now increasing once more. The charity won a Queen’s Award for Voluntary Service in June 2020. This was an opportunity to thank all of those that have contributed to the growth of the project and to engage a wider volunteer base. We continue to ringfence opportunities for local volunteers including young people (via the Duke of Edinburgh Award Scheme) and those with additional needs or that are emotionally vulnerable that have been referred to us by their local volunteering centre or by their GP. National model In April 2021 the charity soft-launched a national model that matches donor families directly with schools that would like books to gift to their pupils or to use in school. This has been rolled out nationally with 10k books recorded as gifted to date. This is an area of focus for the year ahead. Corporate support The charity is seeing increased interest from corporates wishing to take advantage of the charity’s local and office-based volunteering opportunities. This presents wider potential for relationship building and fundraising.

Additional information (optional) You may choose to include further statements where relevant about:

Achievements against objectives set	Para 1.41
Performance of fundraising activities against objectives set	Para 1.41
Investment performance against objectives	Para 1.41

Financial Review

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Review of the charity’s Para The managements report outlines that the annual
1.21
financial position at the end income 2020/21 was £58,970 with expenditure of
of the period £39,737. The bank and cash balance at the year end
(which incl our reserve £4,000) came to £31,177.
The trustees meet 3 times a year with the basis to review
the financial status. A brief financial overview / status is
also shared with the trustees by email every 6 weeks
during school term times.
Statement explaining the Para The trustees meet quarterly and the accounts and
1.22
policy for holding reserves projections are reviewed each time to ensure that all
stating why they are held funds available are passed over to the causes agreed
quickly for maximum benefit.
Amount of reserves held Para £4,000 - The trustees are in the process of developing a
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formal reserves policy which will be reviewed
annually. At the time of agreeing a reserve of £4,000 it
was felt this was sufficient to ensure the objects of the
charity could continue to be met for a period of 6
months. As a result of the growth of the activities, the
reserves needed are likely to increase.
Reasons for holding zero Para
1.22
reserves
Details of fund materially in Para
1.24
deficit
Explanation of any Para
1.23
uncertainties about the
charity continuing as a going
concern
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Additional information (optional) You may choose to include further statements where relevant about:

The charity’s principal sources of funds (including any fundraising)	The charity’s principal sources of funds (including any fundraising)		- Grants including those from national grant giving bodies (Foyles Foundation, Garfield Weston Foundation, St James Place Foundation) and local grant givers (London borough councils). Some of these grants are secured against specific planned activity whilst others are unrestricted. - Some organisations have raised funds specifically to be used for the purchase of books to be gifted within specific lines of activity. The Siobhan Dowd Trust purchased 400 chapter books for gifting to children during lockdown one, whilst the Innocent Foundation supported a fundraiser to purchase representative and diverse books for use within the Bookshop Upstairs.
	The charity’s principal sources of funds (including any fundraising)	Para 1.47	- Grants including those from national grant giving bodies (Foyles Foundation, Garfield Weston Foundation, St James Place Foundation) and local grant givers (London borough councils). Some of these grants are secured against specific planned activity whilst others are unrestricted. - Some organisations have raised funds specifically to be used for the purchase of books to be gifted within specific lines of activity. The Siobhan Dowd Trust purchased 400 chapter books for gifting to children during lockdown one, whilst the Innocent Foundation supported a fundraiser to purchase representative and diverse books for use within the Bookshop Upstairs.

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Direct fundraising from individuals is an area of focus
in the year ahead. Three such events have taken
place in the past 15 months. This funding is not
attached to specific delivery and can be used to
support core costs.
-
Small individual or corporate unsolicited donations
(one off) received on an ad hoc basis throughout the
year. This funding is not attached to specific delivery
and can be used to support core costs. It includes an
unsolicited monthly donation from Encompass
Group, now in its second year.
Investment policy and
objectives including any
social investment policy Para
adopted 1.46
-
The charity’s premises are on loan from RBKC. The
lease runs initially from November 2020-
A description of the principal Para November2022. Though the council has now
risks facing the charity 1.46 supported the charity for three years there is a risk
that it may be without premises for a number of
weeks at some point and may need to pay for storage
of books and equipment.
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Over reliance on one team member (Liberty Venn)
places day to day delivery at risk in the event that she
is unable to work. The charity has worked hard to
build relationships with core volunteers in the past 15
months and now benefits from regular support from
a further five individuals in addition to the 45 funded
admin hours delivered each month by an external PA
resource.
-
The availability and cost of specific crucial items
presents a small risk: notably the purchase of
cardboard boxes and the use of vans for distribution
(petrol costs increasing).
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Funding permitted, the charity would like to increase
the admin support it currently receives.
The charity has benefited by the support of an external
Other fundraiser for the past 12 months. This pays a fixed fee
for the completion of 24 fundraising bids. To date
money spent has been recouped and a further £18k
raised via this means.
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Structure, Governance and Management

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Description of charity’s
trusts:
Type of governing document Para Constitution
1.25
(trust deed, royal charter)
How is the charity Para CIO
1.25
constituted?
(e.g unincorporated
association, CIO)
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Structure, Governance and Management	Structure, Governance and Management	Structure, Governance and Management
Description of charity’s trusts:
Type of governing document (trust deed, royal charter) Para 1.25 Constitution
How is the charity constituted? (e.g unincorporated association, CIO) Para 1.25 CIO
Trustee selection methods including details of any constitutional provisions e.g. election to post or name of any person or body entitled to appoint one or more trustees	Para 1.25	Trustees were selected by the charity’s founder to ensure varied expertise and perspectives with regards to their knowledge of: - The needs of our audience (vulnerable / disadvantaged young people) and teaching staff / practitioners that support them - The specific requirements of schools and other organisations that work with and support young people - Charity financial planning and best practice - Business and logistical planning - The publishing sector. Initial appointment was informal. Extension of initial trustee posts for three trustees has been agreed via trustee vote (following these trustee’s confirmation of interest). No external person or body other than the charity’s founder (with the input of existing trustees) is currently entitled to appoint trustees. For COVID reasons the charity has met online with its trustees duringthisperiod.

Additional information (optional) You may choose to include further statements where relevant about:

Policies and procedures adopted for the induction and training of trustees	Para 1.51	The charity’s founder inducted all new trustees via a face to face presentation of its work and objectives at the first board meeting. Trustees are regularly invited to attend book sorting or other events. Ad hoc external training opportunities for trustees are shared with trustees as these arise. Policies / procedures adopted and implemented over the last year Health and Safety (re Covid-19) Risk assessment for Bookshop Volunteer Policy Volunteer handbook Improved onboarding volunteer drivers Policies already in place in 2019/20: CBP website accessibility policy CBP Privacy Policy Declaration of interest Equal opportunities

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Financial Management & Accounting
Financial responsibility / Delegation of authority
Fire risk assessment
Health and Safety
Role of Trustees
Terms of reference
Code of conduct
The charity is primarily led by its founder Liberty Venn
who with the support of trustees oversees all aspects of
The charity’s organisational planning, delivery and impact evaluation.
structure and any wider Para 1.51
network with which the
charity works
The charity benefits by ongoing support from Wates, a
nationwide commercial and residential property
Relationship with any Para developer. The organisation places book donation
related parties 1.51 points into the hoarding of building sites nationwide
which not only support local gifting of large numbers of
books, but which also provide valuable high street
presence.
Books donated via these hubs are gifted to local
schools that have signed up to the charity’s national
map.
Other
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Reference and Administrative details

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Charity name
Other name the charity uses London Children’s Book Project
Registered charity number
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Reference and Administrative details	Reference and Administrative details
Charity name
Other name the charityuses London Children’s Book Project
Registered charitynumber
Charity’s principal address	Registered address: 25 Bassein Park Road London W12 9RN Operational unit: 77 Lots Road London SW10 0RN

Names of the charity trustees who manage the charity

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Dates acted if not for whole Name of person (or body) entitled
Trustee name Office (if any)
year to appoint trustee (if any)
1 Randi Sax Holst Chair
2 Chris Shepard Treasurer
3 Henry Yates Secretary
4 Penny Mishcon
5 Colin Tucker
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Name of chief executive or names of senior staff members (Optional information)

Liberty Venn

Declarations

The trustees declare that they have approved the trustees’ report above.

Signed on behalf of the charity’s trustees

Signature(s) Full name(s) Position (eg Secretary, Chair, etc) Date
	Randi Holst Chris Shepard
	Chair Trustee
	27 April 2022
	27 April 2022

Independent Examiner's Report to the Trustees of Children’s Book Project

I report to the charity trustees on my examination of the accounts of the charity for the period ended 30 June 2021 which are set out on pages 1 and 2.

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:

1. accounting records were not kept in respect of the charity as required by section 130 of the Act; or

2. 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.

Raymond Crace FCA

Edmund Carr LLP 146 New London Road Chelmsford CM2 0AW

27 April 2022

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Charity Name No (if any)
Children's Book Project 1183092
Receipts and payments accounts CC16a
For the period Period start date Period end date
To
from 01-Apr-20 30-Jun-21
Section A Receipts and payments
Unrestricted Restricted Endowment
Total funds Last year
funds funds funds
to the nearest £ to the nearest £ to the nearest £ to the nearest £ to the nearest £
A1 Receipts
Donations:core cost 44,944 - - 44,944 -
Donations: Distribution 53 - - 53 -
Donations: National expansion - 5,000 - 5,000 -
Donations: COVID response - 6,268 - 6,268 -
Donations: At the bus project 165 - - 165 -
Donations: Black authors matter - 2,540 - 2,540 -
Donations & grants - - - - 15,723
Donations: regular - - - - 600
Sub total (Gross income for
45,162 13,808 - 58,970 16,323
AR)
A2 Asset and investment sales,
(see table).
- - - -
- - - - -
Sub total - - - - -
Total receipts 45,162 13,808 - 58,970 16,323
A3 Payments
Office supplies 866 - - 866 430
Tech & web design 2,566 - - 2,566 991
Hut purchase 83 - - 83 450
Book collection 2,746 1,515 - 4,261 883
Advertising 1,666 - - 1,666 1,133
Staff costs 4,563 2,515 - 7,078 1,300
Fundraising 13,956 - - 13,956 640
Accountancy and bookkeeping 75 - - 75 143
Distribution supplies 3,393 1,872 - 5,265 1,899
Premises 663 366 - 1,029 -
Insurance 174 - - 174 174
Black authors matter - 2,534 - 2,534 -
Misc expense 184 - - 184 35
Training - - - - 30
Sub total [ 30,935 ] 8,802 - 39,737 8,108
A4 Asset and investment
purchases, (see table)
- - - -
- - - -
Sub total [ - ] - - - -
Total payments 30,935 8,802 - 39,737 8,108
Net of receipts/(payments) 14,227 5,006 - 19,233 8,215
A5 Transfers between funds 11,247 (11,247) - - -
A6 Cash funds last year end 697 11,247 - 11,944 3,729
Cash funds this year end 26,171 5,006 - 31,177 11,944
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1

Section B Statement of assets and liabilities at the end of the period

Categories Signed by one or two trustees on behalf of all the trustees B5 Liabilities B3 Investment assets B2 Other monetary assets B4 Assets retained for the charity’s own use B1 Cash funds	Details Details Details Details Total cash funds (agree balances with receipts and payments account(s)) Details Cash at bank Signature	Unrestricted funds Restricted funds to nearest £ to nearest £ 26,171 5,006 - - - - 26,171 5,006 OK OK Unrestricted funds Restricted funds to nearest £ to nearest £ - - - - - - - - - - - - Fund to which asset belongs Cost (optional) - - - - - Fund to which asset belongs Cost (optional) - - - - - - - - - Fund to which liability relates Amount due (optional) - - - - - Print Name Chris Shepard Randi Holst	Endowment funds to nearest £ - - -
			-
			OK
			Endowment funds to nearest £ - - - - - - Current value (optional) - - - - - Current value (optional) - - - - - - - - - When due (optional) Date of approval 27.4.22 27.4.22

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