REPORT OF THE TRUSTEES AND UNAUDITED FINANCIAL STATEMENTS FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31 DECEMBER 2023 FOR FROM ME TO YOU
REGISTERED COMPANY NUMBER: CE017498 (England and Wales) REGISTERED CHARITY NUMBER: 1183413
FROM ME TO YOU
CONTENTS OF THE FINANCIAL STATEMENTS FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31 DECEMBER 2023
| Page | |
|---|---|
| Report of the Trustees | 1 to 7 |
| Independent Examiners Report | 8 |
| Statement of Financial Activities | 9 |
| Balance Sheet | 10 |
| Notes to the Financial Statements | 11 to 14 |
FROM ME TO YOU
REPORT OF THE TRUSTEES FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31 DECEMBER 2023
The Trustees who are also directors of the charity for the purposes of the Companies Act 2006, present their report with the financial statements of the charity for the year ended 31 December 2023. The trustees have adopted the provisions of 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 Trustees have adopted the Receipts and Payments method of accounting as the charity's gross income was less than £250,000.
OBJECTIVES AND ACTIVITIES
Objectives and aims
From Me to You tackles the social isolation often experienced by cancer patients. It encourages and educates people to stay connected with friends, relatives, and strangers by writing letters. The Donate A Letter campaign asks people to write anonymous letters to cancer patients receiving treatment. The charity receives 10,000 letters a year from all over the world which are distributed across the UK to hospitals, cancer centres and individuals' homes.
Significant activities
During the period to 31 December 2023, the charity achieved its objectives and aims through:
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Education through on line, hybrid and in-person workshops, presentations, writing groups and interaction with companies.
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Production and distribution of material to enable and empower people to connect through writing.
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Maintaining an up-to-date website and on-line presence to educate and connect.
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Distributing letters to hospitals, cancer centres and homes.
The issue we address
A 2013 Macmillan and University of Southampton report concluded that 30% of cancer patients experience social isolation and of those 25% go on to suffer from depression. Our own research has found that cancer patients not only experience friends and family moving away from them when they have cancer, but that they, the patients, also isolate themselves, perhaps no longer able to connect via work, school gates or social activities.
- One in four people diagnosed with cancer in the UK will lack the support of family or friends during their treatment and recovery[1] – that represents more than 70,000 people each year.
1 Macmillan with University of Southampton ‘Facing the Fight Alone, Isolation among cancer patients’ February 2013
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Almost three in five people who lack support say it’s because their family and friends are too busy to help or live too far away. Some have not been visited at home by family or a friend for at least six months.
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Women are twice as likely as men to say a lack of support has left them feeling isolated, although slightly more men than women experience a complete lack of support.
We know that both physical and emotional isolation can affect everything from ongoing care to long-term outcomes as well as engagement with treatment.
Cancer waiting times for 2023 in England were the worst on record*. Only 64.1% of patients started treatment within 62 days of cancer being suspected, meaning nearly 100,000 waited longer than they should for life-saving care leading to extended periods of isolation and loneliness.
Vision
Write to Connect
Mission
From Me to You focuses on alleviating cancer patient loneliness and isolation by empowering and educating people to connect via letters and cards.
“I also received a letter and it was so uplifting. I taped it on my desk where I see it often so that I am reminded that I am not alone.” (Mabi, June 2023)
ACHIEVEMENT AND PERFORMANCE
Charitable Activities
During the period of this report, From Me to You was able to extend its reach to isolated and lonely people living with cancer via its Donate A Letter programme and by educating friends and family of patients to help them stay connected.
Donate A Letter and increasing number of outlets
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Increased number of hospitals and cancer centres (outlets) we work with from 6 to 15.
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25% increase in requests for letters to be delivered directly to homes
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Continue to service 17 hospitals via our charity partner Lewis Foundation
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Continue to deliver to individuals via our charity partner Treatment Bag
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The Donate A Letter programme delivered over 10,000 letters
Feedback from medical staff:
“Today I have been with the haematology teams and there has been some really lovely feedback about the letters. We now have the ward matrons involved in handing them out.” (Kareena M, Kings College Hospital Social Services Team)
“We wanted to thank you for the on-going resource of letters – they are a fantastic support to so many.” (Emma - Head of Services Stoke Royal Hospital)
- BBC analysis of NHS England figures
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Creating Community Connections
To service this enhanced demand for monthly letters, we recruited 1,102 new writers and facilitated 2 online workshops every quarter to train and inspire new writers.
“I would love to continue to receive letters from you. I absolutely love them and they help me so much. They make my day. Thank you for existing. (Madalena, March 2023)
In communities we have partnered with groups and charities, including Macmillan, Soroptimists, Duke of Edinburgh Award, Give A Few Words, Lewis Foundation and Treatment Bag; and with corporates, including Expedia, Apple, Brand Marketing, Brew Tea Company, Wildflower Illustrations. We are proud of the building relationship with Macmillan, providing another service that they can offer in the hospital environment. This is a relationship we have been working hard to extend, and whilst it does not benefit us financially, it extends our reach within the cancer community.
This year, From Me to You:
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Facilitated 13 in-person and online workshops to empower and educate people to stay connected with those living with cancer reaching 540 people.
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Ran 11 workshops facilitated by supporters – individual community groups and corporates
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Connected with our letter receiving hospitals and cancer centres every 3 months, to take feedback and tailor our service accordingly.
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Recruited 3 voluntary Community Ambassadors to support our work in regional areas.
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Developed East of England Hub, where we have seen community engagement increase by 126% in Peterborough alone**
** engagement = letter recipients, letter writers, event attendees, donors, newsletter recipient
East of England Hub
From our long-standing partnership with Robert Horrell cancer, well-being centre, we have developed our first operational hub in Peterborough. The aim is to support the north-west, Anglia NHS Foundation Trust and extend our reach to support cancer in Hinchingbrooke Hospital and Stamford and Rutland Hospital.
We are thrilled to have hosted four in person workshops with distributed 310 letters as well as welcoming supporters to our online workshops.
We have recruited two local Community Ambassadors to further our work in the area. We have been focusing on this project since September 2022 and, in this time, we have consistently increased the number of people engaging with the charity.
In Peterborough have seen an increase of 126% in engagement, in Rutland, a staggering increase of 450%, in Cambridge 54% and Ipswich 100%.
So often when someone in a community receives a cancer diagnosis, others feel helpless. Our work in the East of England Hub has helped to empower individuals to connect by raising awareness of the isolation and loneliness of a cancer diagnosis, educating on how to connect and so improving the care a community can give. Our East of England Hub has demonstrated the desire of local people to support their community, be it for their own loved ones or for others in hospital and at home.
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Increasing national awareness
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88% year-on-year increase in visits to our website and 78,000 page views
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Social media engagement has continued to increase with a 20% increase in Instagram followers and 37% increase in Facebook reach.
In April, the book, From Me, To You was published, written by our co-founders Alison Hitchcock and Brian Greenley and published by Spellbound. The book contains the diary entries of Brian through his cancer treatment and the letters Alison wrote to him during that time. The book is the ultimate lived experience and has been a game changer for the charity. The book demonstrates the impact letters can have, and tells the story of the inspiration for the charity. Whilst book sales were good, the real benefit was felt directly by the charity, which experienced a huge increase in engagement and support.
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‘Donate A Book’ fundraising saw £4,500 raised and facilitated 100’s of books being donated to 40 hospitals and cancer centres and many more to individuals
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After publication we saw a 162% increase in Donate A Letter writer sign ups
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Media coverage, including The Guardian and ITV’s Lorraine reached over 900,000 people.
Trustees, Staff and Volunteers
We have again been supported through the year by a core of loyal volunteers. Our Donate A Letter process and safeguarding would not exist without them.
In March we welcomed the services of a freelance part-time charity manager, Harriet Marsh. Harriet brings a wealth of charity and marketing experience and has transformed the way that we reach our community.
And without the 1000’s of volunteer letter writers we would not exist.
At the end of 2023 we identified 2 new Trustees (Lucy Hind and Nicholas Lee) to extend and support our regional work. They will be key to our growth when they join us in 2024.
Future Plans
Following on from the success of the East of England Hub, through 2024 we intend to extend our regional presence allowing us to engage more intimately with our communities. We will recruit more Community Ambassadors and increase the number of hospitals and cancer centres we engage with and reach more cancer wards in larger hospitals.
The audio publication of our book From Me, To You (Publisher: Ulverscroft ) will allow us to further extend our reach and be used for both awareness and fundraising.
As the cost-of-living crisis changes the landscape of charity fundraising we will focus on funding channels which give us financial sustainability. Our inaugural ‘From Me to Brew’ fundraiser will run through the summer and encourage communities to come together for tea, cake and fundraising. And our ‘Friends of From Me to You’ scheme allows our supporters (individuals and Corporates) to give continuous support and become part of our community.
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FINANCIAL REVIEW
Principal funding sources
The main sources of funding during the period ended 31 December 2023 has been through public and corporate donations. Personal donations have remained fairly static this year, but 2023 saw a significant increase in Corporate donations. The availability of grant funding remains challenging.
During 2023 we continued to invest significantly in social media activities which was the primary driver of our costs increasing by 98% on 2022.
Our income exceeded our expenditure by 11% this year, adding £8,142 to our significant surplus in reserves. Reserves are needed to continue to fund activities into 2024 as there is an increased demand for our materials as the awareness of From Me to You grows and isolation is still evident. The surplus fund will enable us to extend our reach without compromising the quality and quantity of what is already provided to writers and recipients. We plan to extend our services via local hubs, so enhancing the connectivity between community, writers, recipients and supporters.
Incoming Resources
Total incoming resources for the year amounted to £71,765 (140% increase on 2022).
This year we raised £2,494 from the sales of the From Me, To You book, £41,500 came from Corporate donations and grants (compared to £3,500 in 2022) and the rest from individual donations.
Trustees and supporters raised funds through completion of various sponsored challenges. Our cofounder Alison completed the London Marathon this year, raising £5,100 and a regular supporter of FMTY completed a unicycle challenge raising £2,900. Other funds were raised through walking challenges, charity auctions and donations at workshops, tea parties etc.
Our Xmas card stamp appeal in 2023 was also very successful, raising £2,300.
From Corporates, we received a significant donation of £40,000 and a small donation of £400; and £1,100 in the form of 2 small grant awards.
During 2023 we saw donations from the public (including gift aid) remain consistent with 2022. Towards the end of the year we established a ‘Friends of From Me to You’ program which we hope will provide sustainable and ongoing support in subsequent years.
Outgoing Resources
Expenditure for the year was £63,623 (98% increase on 2022). Our largest expense is social media costs amounting to £31,105 – an increase of 80% on last year. This includes the cost of new freelance expertise, bringing a wealth of charity and marketing experience. The charity very much relies on having an online presence on three major social media platforms: X (formally Twitter), Facebook and Instagram. As a national charity social media builds an online community, encouraging and promoting our aims and objectives as well as providing an avenue to obtaining financial support. During 2023 we increased our face to face contact with supporters and letter writers but we still very much operated online so our social media presence remains essential to our supporters, letter writer, beneficiaries and donors.
We also invested £8,412 on PR and funding consultancies this year, in an effort to improve our financial sustainability (2022: £700)
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In 2023 we incurred unexpected costs from our CRM system provider of £10,500. This related to consultancy costs which we had assumed would be not be payable.
Reserves Policy
In order that From Me to You can continue to operate at the highest level and to continue to support the Donate A Letter Scheme, the Trustees have set a reserves policy which requires:
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reserves are maintained at a level which ensures that From Me to You’s core activity can continue during a period of unforeseen activity;
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the ability to provide funds which can be designated at short notice to projects in the event of a perceived need;
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the ability to cover additional management, administration, fundraising and volunteer expenses where necessary;
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a proportion of reserves are maintained in a readily accessible form
Changes in funding and the growing demand for the services of From Me to You require us to review our reserves policy on an annual basis to ensure that service levels and future growth can be adequately funded.
STRUCTURE GOVERNANCE AND MANAGEMENT
Governing document
Constitution of a Charitable Incorporated Organisation (CIO) Whose Only Voting Members Are Its Charitable Trustees.
Adopted: 1[st] December 2018
Approval date: 14[th] May 2019
REFERENCE AND ADMINISTRATIVE DETAILS
Registered Company number
CE017498 (England and Wales)
Registered Charity number
1183413
Registered Office
The Elms Braceborough Stamford PE9 4NT
Trustees
Mr B Greenley (resigned 31/12/2023) Miss F Smith Ms A Burgin Mrs A James Ms L A Jepson Ms E Kentish
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Independent Examiner
Keith Bennett FCCA Darlington Business Centre 181 Coniscliffe Road Darlington DL3 8DE
Approved by order of the Board of Trustees on 29-APR-2024 and signed on its behalf by:
L Jepson Trustee
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INDEPENDENT EXAMINER’S REPORT TO THE TRUSTESS OF FROM ME TO YOU
Independent Examiner’s Report to the Trustees of From Me to You (‘The Company’)
I report to the charity Trustees on my examination of the accounts of the Company the year ended 31 December 2023.
Responsibilities and basis of report
As the charity's Trustees of the Company (and also its directors for the purposes of company law), you are responsible for the preparation of the accounts in accordance with the requirements of the Companies Act 2006 (“the Act”).
Having satisfied myself that the accounts of the Company are not required to be audited under Part 16 of the 2006 Act and are eligible for independent examination, I report in respect of my examination of your charity’s accounts as carried out under section 145 of the Charities Act 2011 (‘the 2011 Act’). In carrying out my examination, I have followed all the applicable Directions given by the Charity Commission under section 145(5)(b) of the 2011 Act.
Independent examiner's statement
I have completed my examination. I confirm that no matters have come to my attention in connection with the examination giving me cause to believe:
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accounting records were not kept in respect of the Company as required by section 386 of the 2006 Act; or
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the accounts do not accord with those records; or
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the accounts do not comply with the accounting requirements of section 396 of the 2006 Act other than any requirement that the accounts give a ‘true and fair’ view which is not a matter considered as part of an independent examination; or
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the accounts have not been prepared in accordance with the methods and principles of the Statement of Recommended Practice for accounting and reporting by charities (applicable to charities preparing their accounts in accordance with the Financial Reporting Standard applicable in the UK and Republic of Ireland (FRS 102)).
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.
Keith Bennett FCCA Darlington Business Centre 181 Coniscliffe Road Darlington DL3 8DE
Date: 29-APR-2024
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FROM ME TO YOU
STATEMENT OF FINANCIAL ACTIVITIES FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31 DECEMBER 2023
| INCOME AND ENDOWMENTS FROM Donations and legacies Other trading activities Total Income 2 EXPENDITURE ON Charitable activities Other Charitable activities NET INCOME / (EXPENDITURE) RECONCILIATION OF FUNDS Total funds brought forward TOTAL FUNDS CARRIED FORWARD |
2023 2022 Unrestricted Unrestricted funds funds £ £ 69,271 29,895 2,494 71,765 29,895 63,623 32,189 8,142 (2,294) 64,299 66,593 72,441 64,299 |
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The notes form part of these financial statements
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FROM ME TO YOU
BALANCE SHEET 31 DECEMBER 2023
| Notes CURRENT ASSETS Debtors 4 Cash at bank NET CURRENT ASSETS TOTAL ASSETS LESS CURRENT LIABILITIES NET ASSETS FUNDS Unrestricted funds 5 TOTAL FUNDS |
2023 2022 Unrestricted Unrestricted funds funds £ £ 2,777 2,170 69,664 62,129 72,441 64,299 72,441 64,299 72,441 64,299 72,441 64,299 72,441 64,299 72,441 64,299 |
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The charitable company is entitled to exemption from audit under Section 477 of the Companies Act 2006 for the year ended 31 December 2023.
The members have not required the company to obtain an audit of its financial statements for the year ended 31 December 2023 in accordance with Section 476 of the Companies Act 2006.
The Trustees acknowledge their responsibilities for complying with the requirements of the Companies Act 2006 with respect to accounting records (Sections 386 and 387) and the preparation of financial statements (Sections 394 and 395)
These financial statements have been prepared in accordance with the provisions applicable to charitable companies subject to the small companies regime.
The financial statements were approved by the Board of Trustees and authorised for issue on 29-APR-2024 and were signed on its behalf by:
L Jepson – Trustee
A Burgin – Trustee
The notes form part of these financial statements
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FROM ME TO YOU
NOTES TO THE FINANCIAL STATEMENTS FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31 DECEMBER 2023
1. ACCOUNTING POLICIES
Basis of preparing the financial statements
The financial statements of the charitable company, which is a public benefit entity under FRS 102, 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 (FRS102) (effective 1 January 2019)’, Financial Reporting Standard 102 ‘The Financial Reporting Standard applicable in the UK and Republic of Ireland’ and the Companies Act 2006.
The charity has taken advantage of the provisions in the SORP for charities not to prepare a Statement of Cash Flows.
The financial statements have been prepared under the historical cost convention.
Income
All income is recognised in the Statement of Financial Activities once the charity has entitlement to the funds, it is probable that the income will be received and the amount can be measured reliably.
Expenditure
Liabilities are recognised as expenditure as soon as there is a legal or constructive obligation committing the charity to that expenditure, it is probable that a transfer of economic benefit will be required in settlement and the amount of the obligation can be measured reliably. Expenditure has been classified under headings that aggregate all cost related to the category. Where costs cannot be directly attributed to particular headings, they have been allocated to activities on a basis consistent with the use of resources.
Taxation
The charity is exempt from corporation tax on its charitable activities.
Fund accounting
Unrestricted funds are available for use at the discretion of the trustees in furtherance of their charitable objectives
Restricted funds can only be used for particular restricted purposes within the objects of the charity. Restrictions arise when specified by the donor or when funds are raised for particular restricted purposes.
The purpose and use of each fund is included in the notes to the financial statements if applicable
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2. INCOME
| DONATIONS AND LEGACIES Donations Grants OTHER TRADING ACTIVITIES Sales of 'From Me to You' book Total Income |
2023 2022 Unrestricted Unrestricted funds funds £ £ 68,170 26,895 1,100 3,000 69,270 29,895 2,494 0 2,494 0 71,765 29,895 |
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3. TRUSTEES
There were no trustees’ remuneration or other benefits for the year ended 31 December 2023 nor for the year ended 31 December 2022
Trustees’ expenses
| Mileage Other expenses Total |
2023 2022 £ £ 454 271 298 752 271 |
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Expenses included meeting room hire and refreshments for Trustee meetings.
4. DEBTORS: AMOUNTS FALLING DUE WITHIN ONE YEAR
| Other debtors | 2023 2022 £ £ 2,777 2,170 |
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5. MOVEMENT IN FUNDS
| Net | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| movement | |||
| At 1/1/23 | in funds | At 31/12/23 | |
| £ | £ | £ | |
| Unrestricted funds | |||
| General fund | 64,299 | 8,142 | 72,441 |
| TOTAL FUNDS | 64,299 | 8,142 | 72,441 |
| Net movement in funds, included in the above are as follows: | |||
| Incoming | Resources | Movement | |
| resources | expended | in funds | |
| £ | £ | £ | |
| Unrestricted funds | |||
| General fund | 71,834 | (63,692) | 8,142 |
| TOTAL FUNDS | 71,834 | (63,692) | 8,142 |
| Comparatives for movement in funds | |||
| Net | |||
| movement | |||
| At 1/1/22 | in funds | At 31/12/22 | |
| £ | £ | £ | |
| Unrestricted funds | |||
| General fund | 66,593 | (2,294) | 64,299 |
| TOTAL FUNDS | 66,593 | (2,294) | 64,299 |
| Comparative net movement in funds, included in the above are as follows: | |||
| Incoming | Resources | Movement | |
| resources | expended | in funds | |
| £ | £ | £ | |
| Unrestricted funds | |||
| General fund | 29,895 | (32,189) | (2,294) |
| TOTAL FUNDS | 29,895 | (32,189) | (2,294) |
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A current year 12 months and prior year 12 months combined position is as follows:
| Unrestricted funds General fund TOTAL FUNDS |
At 1/1/22 £ 66,593 66,593 |
Net movement in funds At 31/12/23 £ £ 5,848 72,441 5,848 72,441 |
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A current year 12 months and prior year 12 months combined net movement in funds, included in the above are as follows:
| Unrestricted funds General fund TOTAL FUNDS |
Incoming resources £ 101,660 101,660 |
Resources Movement expended in funds £ £ (95,812) 5,848 (95,812) 5,848 |
|---|---|---|
6. RELATED PARTY DISCLOSURES
There we no related party transactions for the year ended 31 December 2023
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