## **Trustees’ Annual Report for the period** **From: 1[st] January 2024 To: 31[st] December 2024 Charity name:** _**Affirm:**_ **Baptists Together for LGBT+ Inclusion** **Charity registration number: 1183976** ## **Objectives and Activities** ||SORP reference|| |---|---|---| |Summary of the purposes of
the charity as set out in its
governing document|Para 1.17|The promotion of equality and diversity for the
public benefit by:
(a) supporting and affirming people identifying
as LGBT+ and those questioning their sexuality
or gender identity within churches in Great
Britain, particularly those in membership of the
Baptist Union of Great Britain, the Baptist
Union of Wales or the Baptist Union of
Scotland or which refer to themselves as
Baptist (“the churches”) by giving pastoral
support
(b) working for the acceptance of loving same-
sex relationships as one of a number of ways of
living faithfully, through engaging in
constructive discussions in the churches;
(c) promoting knowledge and mutual
understanding of human sexuality and gender
identity in the churches through discussion,
study and the sharing of people’s stories;
(d) supporting and standing in solidarity with
those churches that include and affirm LGBT+
Christians by providing theological resources
and networking opportunities| |Summary of the main
activities in relation to those
purposes for the public
benefit, in particular, the
activities, projects or
services identified in the
accounts.|Para 1.17 and
1.19|Attending events as speakers/advisers
Continuing to invite members to transfer
their subscriptions to the new bank
account, and encouraging new
memberships and donations.
Continuing to expand our reach to support
Baptist ministers, and LGBT+ Baptists
through challenging conversations in the
life of the Baptist Union of Great Britain.
Preparing educational and promotional
material.| |Statement confirming
whether the trustees have
had regard to the guidance
issued by the Charity
Commission on public
benefit|Para 1.18|The Trustees have had regard to the
guidance issued by the Charity
Commission on public benefit| |---|---|---| ## **Additional information (optional)** You may choose to include further statements where relevant about: ||SORP reference|| |---|---|---| |Policy on grant making|Para 1.38|| |Policy on social investment
including program related
investment|Para 1.38|| |Contribution made by
volunteers|Para 1.38|Seeking new volunteers and trustees and
including them in developing the charity.
Management of bank account, overall
strategy and direction of the charity.| |Other||| ## **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|In 2024 the new model of membership and
supporters continued to be developed and
implemented, which included co-organising
an event for Baptist ministers and leaders
in Britain to engage with Affirm’s work and
how to continue progressive Baptist
ministry in Great Britain.
We have seen growth in both members
and supporters thanks to the new model.
We continued to engage with the national
leadership of the Baptist Union of Great
Britain, which included opportunities to
speak and contribute to Baptist Council’s
decision-making process regarding the
ministerial rules. Revd Andy Fitchet and
Luke Dowding spoke to Council about their
experiences of being excluded from Baptist
ministry due to the ministerial rules
prohibiting people in same-sex
relationships from becoming or remaining
accredited Baptist ministers.| We continued to engage at the grassroots level with local churches, ministers, and individuals; supporting them in their theological and practical understanding of LGBT+ inclusion in the life of the Baptist church. Affirm continued to be sought out for pastoral responses to LGBT+ Christians, and our expertise in affirming theology and inclusion in churches. ## **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|| |Other||| ## **Financial Review** |**Financial Review**||| |---|---|---| |Review of the charity’s
financial position at the end
of the period|Para 1.21|At the end of the period the charity held
£2,022 of unencumbered funds.| |Statement explaining the
policy for holding reserves
stating why they are held|Para 1.22|Funds are held in preparation for events
and activities. As there are no paid staff at
present, there are no ongoing liabilities.| |Amount of reserves held|Para 1.22|As above| |Reasons for holding zero
reserves|Para 1.22|As above| |Details of fund materially in
deficit|Para 1.24|Nil| |Explanation of any
uncertainties about the
charity continuing as a going
concern|Para 1.23|None| |**Additional information (optional)**
You may choose to include further statements|**Additional information (optional)**
You may choose to include further statements|where relevant about:| |---|---|---| |The charity’s principal
sources of funds (including
any fundraising)|Para 1.47|Donations and subscription fees.| |Investment policy and
objectives including any
social investment policy
adopted|Para 1.46|| |A description of the principal
risks facing the charity|Para 1.46|| |Other||| ## **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|Founding Trustees and then Election or
Co-option| ## **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 organisational
structure and any wider
network with which the
charity works|Para 1.51|| |Relationship with any related
parties|Para 1.51|| |Other||| ## **Reference and Administrative details** |Charity name|_Affirm_: Baptists Together for LGBT+Inclusion| |---|---| |Other name the charity uses|| |Registered charity number|1183976| |Charity’s principal address|c/o 26 Farthing Drive
Letchworth Garden City
SG6 2TR| ||| **Names of the charity trustees who manage the charity** |1
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20|**Trustee name**|**Office (if any)**|**Dates acted if not for whole**
**year **|**Name of person (or body) entitled**
**to appoint trustee (ifany)**| |---|---|---|---|---| ||Revd Dawn Cole-
Savidge|Co-Director||| ||Luke Dowding|Chair||| ||Revd Andrew Fitchet|Co-Director||| ||Martin Stears-
Handscomb|Treasurer||| ||Esther Ruddle|Trustee||| |||||| |||||| |||||| |||||| |||||| |||||| |||||| |||||| |||||| |||||| |||||| |||||| |||||| |||||| |||||| ## – Corporate trustees names of the directors at the date the report was approved ## **Director name** Name of trustees holding title to property belonging to the charity **Trustee name Dates acted if not for whole year** ## **Funds held as custodian trustees on behalf of others** Description of the assets None held in this capacity Name and objects of the charity on whose behalf the assets are held and how this falls within the custodian charity’s objects Details of arrangements for safe custody and segregation of such assets from the charity’s own assets ## **Additional information (optional)** ## **Names and addresses of advisers (Optional information)** |**Type of**|**Name**|**Address**| |---|---|---| |**adviser**||| **Name of chief executive or names of senior staff members (Optional information)** ## **Exemptions from disclosure** Reason for non-disclosure of key personnel details ## **Other optional information** ## **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**||| |---|---|---| ||Luke Dowding|Andy Fitchet| ||
Chair|Co-Director| ||29thAugust 2025|| ||29thAugust 2025|| |**Affirm: Baptists Together for LGBT+ Inclusion**|**Affirm: Baptists Together for LGBT+ Inclusion**|**Affirm: Baptists Together for LGBT+ Inclusion**|**1183976**|| |---|---|---|---|---| |**Receipts andpayments accounts**||||**CC16a**| |**For the period**
**from**|**01/01/2024**|**To**|**31/12/2024**|| ## **Section A Receipts and payments** |**A1 Receipts**|**Unrestricted**
**funds**
**to the nearest**
**£**
**1,021**
**1,546**
**-**
**-**
**-**
**-**
**-**
**-**
**2,567**
**-**
**-**
**-**
**2,567**
**345**
**-**
**200**
**-**
**-**
**-**
**-**
**-**
**-**
**545**
**-**
**-**
**-**
**545**
**2,022**
**-**
**-**
**2,022**|**Restricted**
**funds**
**to the nearest £**
**-**
**-**
**-**
**-**
**-**
**-**
**-**
**-**
**-**
**-**
**-**
**-**
**-**
**-**
**-**
**-**
**-**
**-**
**-**
**-**
**-**
**-**
**-**
**-**
**-**
**-**
**-**
**-**
**-**
**-**
**-**|**Endowment**
**funds**
**to the nearest £**
**-**
**-**
**-**
**-**
**-**
**-**
**-**
**-**
**-**
**-**
**-**
**-**
**-**
**-**
**-**
**-**
**-**
**-**
**-**
**-**
**-**
**-**
**-**
**-**
**-**
**-**
**-**
**-**
**-**
**-**
**-**|**Total funds**
**to the nearest £**
**1,021**
**1,546**
**-**
**-**
**-**
**-**
**-**
**-**
**2,567**
**-**
**-**
**-**
**2,567**
**345**
**-**
**200**
**-**
**-**
**-**
**-**
**-**
**-**
**545**
**-**
**-**
**-**
**545**
**2,022**|**Total funds**
**to the nearest £**
**1,021**
**1,546**
**-**
**-**
**-**
**-**
**-**
**-**
**2,567**
**-**
**-**
**-**
**2,567**
**345**
**-**
**200**
**-**
**-**
**-**
**-**
**-**
**-**
**545**
**-**
**-**
**-**
**545**
**2,022**|**Last year**
**to the nearest £**| |---|---|---|---|---|---|---| |Brought forward|**1,021**|||||**518**| |Subscripions and donations|**1,546**|||||**878**| |HMRC Gift Aid|**-**|||||**8**| ||**-**|||||**-**| ||**-**|||||**-**| ||**-**|||||**-**| ||**-**|||||**-**| ||**-**|||||**-**| |**_Sub total_**_(Gross income for_
_AR)_|**2,567**|||||**1,404**| |||||||| |**A2 Asset and investment sales,**
**(see table).**||||||| ||**-**|||||| ||**-**|||||**-**| |**_Sub total_**|**-**|||||**-**| |**_Total receipts_**
**A3 Payments**||||||| |||||||**1,404**| |||||||| |Trustees Travel|**345**|||||**213**| |Trustees Acccomodation|**-**|||||**100**| |Website and IT|**200**|||||**70**| |Stall Hire|**-**|||||**-**| |PublicityMaterials|**-**|||||**-**| ||**-**|||||**-**| ||**-**|||||**-**| ||**-**|||||**-**| ||**-**|||||**-**| |**_Sub total_ **|**545**|||||**383**| |||||||| |**A4 Asset and investment**
**purchases, (see table)**||||||| ||**-**|||||| ||**-**|||||| |**_Sub total_ **|**-**|||||**-**| |**_Total payments_**
**_Net of receipts/(payments)_**
**A5 Transfers between funds**
**A6 Cash funds last year end**
**_Cash funds this year end_**||||||| |||||||**383**| |||||||| ||**2,022**|**-**|**-**|**2,022**||**1,021**| ||**-**|**-**|**-**|**-**||**-**| ||**-**|**-**|**-**|**-**||**-**| ||**2,022**|**-**|**-**|**2,022**||**1,021**| CCXX R1 accounts (SS) 16/06/2025 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**
**_Total cash funds_**
(agree balances with receipts and payments
account(s))
Held at Bank
**Details**
**Details**
**Details**
Signature|**Unrestricted**
**funds**
**Restricted**
**funds**
**to nearest £**
**to nearest £**
**2,022**
**-**
**-**
**-**
**-**
**-**
**2,022**
**-**
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
**Luke Dowding**
**Andy Fitchet**|**Endowment**
**funds**
**to nearest £**| |---|---|---|---| ||||**-**| ||||**-**| ||||**-**| ||||**-**| ||||OK| ||||**Endowment**
**funds**
**to nearest £**| ||||**-**| ||||**-**| ||||**-**| ||||**-**| ||||**-**| ||||**-**| ||||**Current value**
**(optional)**| ||||**-**| ||||**-**| ||||**-**| ||||**-**| ||||**-**| ||||**Current value**
**(optional)**| ||||**-**| ||||**-**| ||||**-**| ||||**-**| ||||**-**| ||||**-**| ||||**-**| ||||**-**| ||||**-**| ||||**When due**
**(optional)**| ||||| ||||| ||||| ||||| ||||| ||||| ||||Date of
approval| |||**Luke Dowding**|**16/06/2025**| |||**Andy Fitchet**|**16/06/2025**| CCXX R2 accounts (SS) 16/06/2025 2