# Annual review and financial statements 2021/22
WWW.THEVAVENGERS.CO.UK
WHEN WOMEN RISE, WE ALL RISE.
||Mabel Evans
Hoda Ali
Milosz Mieszko Palej
Rose Violet Bonham Carter
Najmo Fiyasko
Soraya Abdulkadir Mohamed Ali
Cerys Shepherd
Sema Gornall
Te Vavengers is a charitable incorporated
organisation (CIO) in England and Wales.
1184202
The Vavengers, 3rd Floor, 86-90 Paul Street,
London EC2A 4NE United Kingdom
info@thevavengers.co.uk
www.thevavengers.co.uk
Founding Chair
Founding Trustee
Date of appointment
November 2021
November 2021
August 2022
June 2022
January 2022
January 2022
August 2021
Trustees
Registration number
Registered address:
Contact us at
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CEO|
|---|---|
## Contents
Welcomes and reflections 4-11 Engagement report 12-14 Project highlights 15-22 Financial report 2021/22 23-24
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## 4 Welcomes & reflections
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Mabel Evans Founding Chair
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The last year has been one of growth and expansion for The Vavengers. We received our first multi-year grant which has allowed us to hire our first staff members. Vavengers co-founders, Hoda Ali and I have made a smooth transition to the board, and the team is expanding under the brilliant leadership of our CEO, Sema Gornall.
Alongside the move to the board, Hoda and I have been focused on building our governance, inclusion and campaigning committees to ensure all work we are doing is charity commission compliant and up to a high standard for our donors and beneficiaries. As our work reaches new areas in London and our team begins to grow it has been a priority to ensure that Sema and the team are supported by a strong and competent board. Recently, team member and a loyal employee of The Vavengers, Soraya Ali joined the board. Having worked at Reuters, Soraya is an experienced journalist, now employed by BBC Africa; Soraya’s knowledge in PR and Journalism is a welcome addition to
the board. Alongside Soraya, we have welcomed anti-FGM and anti-Child marriage activist Najmo Fiyakso to the board. Najmo has been a prominent figure of women’s rights in her home country; Iceland. Much of Najmo’s work is seen by thousands online as she courageously demands for the rights of women globally. Her expertise in women’s rights, her knowledge of mobilising an online community, and her lived experience as a survivor of Gender Based Violence means she will guide our board to ensure we are supporting our beneficiaries to the very best of our ability.
As the year progressed, we appointed two new Board members to join us. Rose Bonham Carter and Milosz Palej. Rose is a certified sexological bodyworker, somatic sex coach, EFT (Emotional Freedom Technique) facilitator and energy worker. She supports women in every form, and at every stage. She has been practicing for over 9 years and brings her expertise and knowledge to the board room, and also to our beneficiaries to aid in their journey to healing. Milosz is an
associate at law firm WilmerHale and a poet. He has volunteered in refugee camps in Greece and France and creates poetry around the experiences of being human. His knowledge as a lawyer will be a welcome addition to the board as well as his passion for poetry.
It has always been core to Hoda and I to ensure that the Values of The Vavengers is weaved throughout the charity and especially present in the boardroom. Our diverse board of survivors, artists, experts and specialists allow us to reflect on and guide our work with a varied and also focused perspective. We are constantly striving to learn and be the best we can be for all those that encounter our organisation, from donors to beneficiaries. We have always pledged to work in a non-hierarchical way, ensuring as a board we are leaders but we are also accessible to all of the team and open in our navigation of a constantly changing landscape.
We have of course faced challenges this year: funders themselves are still unaware of the
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devastating effects of FGM, and funding to the Violence Against Women and Girls (VAWG) sector is still sparse. Whilst VAWG is not decreasing, we are witnessing ebbs and flows in the funder’s interest in the subject matter. Day to day, The Vavengers team are working well under the supportive and inspiring leadership of our CEO Sema. The team has enhanced our long-term partnership with KDLK, our community partners. By reducing overheads KDLK has been given independence from The Vavengers with the partnerships secured. These include; the Felix Project, Bloody Good Period and Choose Love partnerships. This sets the tone for our long-term strategic plan, in which we hope to support all community interest groups and community ambassadors we work with, to strengthen their independence through brokering partnerships and supporting them in building funder relationships.
Our strategic plan involves expanding our support hubs across London, and ensuring all activist and grassroots organisations we partner with have a long-lasting partner and funder relationships beyond our work together. It will always be core to The Vavengers to ensure we
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create a supportive and collaborative working environment internally and externally.
and campaigns to be released next year. The Vavengers will continue to stand with and for every woman affected by Gender-Based Violence. Mabel
7 Hoda Ali Founding Trustee What a year we’ve had at The Vavengers - As a child, I was really happy and thriving until the UK in the 90s from years of being in refugee from welcoming our new CEO Sema Gornall, FGM/C happened to me and FGM/C defined so camps as a child. I hope our led by and for launching safe spaces for women and girls in many things in my life; my physical and mental approach sets an example in the sector and more London to building one of the most impressive health, opportunities taken away from me and funders place their attention to funding causes boards of the sector. When I started The my time spent in hospitals. As a child who was that work to end Violence Against Women and Vavengers with Mabel years ago, we never subjected to FGM/C, I faced so many other Girls. dreamed of a day our organisation would turn disadvantages - like many girls who are cut. I into something this big. We wanted to get quickly went from climbing trees, playing with Hoda together with activists and survivors to speak my siblings and friends, going to school and just up and connect people to amplify the voices of being a child, to a girl who was cut and had to survivors of FGM/C like me and Gender-Based run away from a war - something my eight year Violence in general. old brain didn’t understand. All the things that happened to me took away so much from me It was only over a decade ago I started speaking and my life and I am standing strong alongside a **Hoda Ali** up for myself to make sure what happened to brilliant team as the Co-founder and Trustee of Founding Trustee of The Vavengers me as a child wouldn’t happen to any other girl The Vavengers to ensure everyone in the society Also Safeguarding Consultant and Public Speaker www.hodamali.com child. I continued speaking up on platforms I puts the rights and safety of girl children first. never thought I would occupy and somebody with a big heart and passion was listening This year, The Vavengers team with our CEO’s to me - it was Mabel and together we built wonderful leadership and vision, built one of something beautiful, continuing to thrive with a the safest spaces I have ever been to as a survivor powerhouse of people who came together to take of FGM/C and a refugee; a space I would have our vision to the next level. benefited so much from when I first arrived to
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## Sema Gornall CEO
It’s been exactly a year since my appointment as the CEO of The Vavengers as I am writing this report for the financial year 2021/22. It has been the most inspiring year of my career (so far). I’ve been thriving in my position alongside a multi-skilled and passionate board and an incredibly talented team. We are redefining the non-profit sector and we want to inform and inspire those funding us, collaborating with us, being supported by us or working for similar organisations, to create solutions using their areas of expertise. In a sector (non-profit) where casual racism, hate towards minoritised people, exploitation, long-hours with low rewards and high emotional tax has been normalised for so many activists, we created a work culture that we believe will change the sector one day - with more organisations joining our way of working. We recognise that the wellbeing of our team members, board, funders, supporters and beneficiaries are all equally important and should be considered when producing programmes and campaigns.
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This year, we built a multi-skilled Community Ambassadorship programme where we collaborate with grassroot organisation Founders and independent activists working to end Violence Against Women and Girls. Our programme gives access to our Ambassadors to be a part of our frontline programmes, campaigns and educational sessions while developing their own organisations and increasing visibility of their important work. This programme meant that some survivors who were working in the sector for so many years without a single paycheck got their first payments through our programmes for the valuable work they do. We understand that the non-profit sector shouldn’t only be for those who can afford it and also that many activists have been working for free at the expense of their financial wellbeing and future - in the knowledge that they are in a sector that is mostly made up of privileged people. I know from my own experience as a first-generation immigrant, especially without any generational weatlh, how hard it is to even break into the
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non-profit sector - never mind thrive. I always questioned why minoritised people made up (what boards usually refer to as) the “groundfloor staff” which always sounded problematic to me, while the boards and executive teams are mostly made up of those who don’t represent the cause or the people they are supporting. Let’s just say, The Vavengers have never been that. We were founded by a group of young women - activists and survivors who wanted to create a better world for themselves and the future generations.
With the help of our existing funders, we are hoping to change the mindset of many funders who don’t believe in funding core costs or funding anti-VAWG organisations in general. Treebeard Trust joined us this year as a multiyear unrestricted funder following the Sam and Bella Sebba Charitable Foundation. Both recognise that funding anti-VAWG organisations also resolves many other issues such as poverty, healthcare inequality, social injustice and the list goes on. We believe this year, we have shown
that increasing financial and organisational vulnerable women and girls have trusted to seek and delivered the first year of our five-year capacity/development of those already working support, with The Vavengers becoming the first strategic plan with overachieving results thanks in the frontline with education, expertise and organisation that they would reach out to or to our collective understanding of our cause, our lived-experience is the most impactful way to recieve support from. We were proudly able to passion and our transferable skills. Just within end a problem that has existed systematically for support hundreds of women and girls this year the board and the team, we are; filmmakers, centuries. We wasted no pennies... thanks to us creating the UK’s first holistic popwriters, actors, wellness professionals, activists, up support and wellness hubs for women and survivors of GBV, lawyers, creatives and artists. Our board carefully assessed their skills and we girls. A team like no other. We have shown that with welcomed new members both advisory roles and the right team, the most ambitious plans (and Trustees to increase the governance, safeguarding Our Art Director Megan led our rebranding ambitious is a word we like) are achievable and creative capacity of our organisation. The project to reflect the growth of our organisation. without the cost of crossing any personal industry leading members added to our board This resulted in a carefully curated website that boundaries, neither financial nor emotional. since our growth journey began in October 2021 considers all users who visit our website and We are, however, still struggling to garner the include; Dr Leyla Hussein OBE as Advisory social media, from funders to beneficiaries. An attention our important work deserves. Ending Board Member, Rose Bonham Carter as Trustee artistic face has resulted in us securing larger FGM/C and other forms of Gender-Based and Wellness Ambassador, Najmo Fiyasko as grants later and many women and girls coming Violence requires everyone’s input and we will Trustee & Campaign Ambassador, Milosz Palej forward to seek support. continue to work until the day GBV ends. As we as Legal Trustee, Soraya Ali as Trustee & Media continue to make noise, we are hoping everyone I cannot thank our CFO, Bid, enough for Ambassador, Harriet Holder as Advisory Board joins us in our mission of creating a just world. digitising and automating the financial processes Member, Joy Clarke as Education Ambassador of our organisation within a few months, helping and Baroness Rosie Boycott as our first Patron. the board and team to understand financial Sema Having both Co-founders on board as Trustees data trends. We made our reporting accessible ensures our expansion and growth is done to funders and can pinpoint the percentage **Sema Gornall** without losing our vision and character of the CEO of The Vavengers of impact areas and funding themes within organisation. minutes. Also Founder and CEO Our Head of Programming and Development, of PowerSuit and The Un-told, Artist and Writer Dominica, has worked with passion and an ocean I have been honoured to work alongside my www.semagornall.com
Our Head of Programming and Development, Dominica, has worked with passion and an ocean of empathy and became the woman that most
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- Dominica Debczak-Debski Head of Programming and Development
Since joining The Vavengers team in January, I learnt that with the right support, leadership and vision, an ambitious goal is just that: a goal. Ambition seems to have a negative connotation: a goal that may be unachievable. In the past year, The Vavengers have proven time and time again that ‘ambition’ simply reflects our strong desire and determination to reach our goals and strategic plans. Working alongside such an inspiring and committed team makes the emotionally taxing work we do all the more manageable.
Our CEO Sema’s commitment to leading change is second to none, and the ideas and visions that flow as a result, are incredibly creative and inspiring. Driven by our clear passion to fight FGM/C and VAWG, The Vavengers are redefining what it means to be working in the third sector. Empowerment and wellbeing are core components within the Vavengers community where activists, survivors and specialists unite to fight for all women. In the current global climate these tenets
are more important than ever; no woman is free until every woman is free, and there is so much work still to do.
The Vavengers support hubs have allowed many brave voices to be heard, powerful stories shared, and women empowered, all of which stem from violent crimes against women and girls that have no place in an equal society. The facts are indisputable: FGM/C is a gateway to a myriad of complications. Social, psychological and medical issues are the consequences that follow the shattering change that affect the female body once a woman and girl is cut. The Vavengers exist to support these women through a proven effective approach of: engaging with communities, being survivor led and research driven. This has been the focus for The Vavengers’ development department for the past six months: supporting communities in London and understanding their most pressing needs. The Vavengers were founded on the concept
of collaboration combined with a specialist knowledge of GBV and FGM/C. Bringing these two threads together by creating safe spaces for women and offering guidance, is at the core of the organisation and something we hope to further expand upon and develop in the future. To equip ourselves for this work, safeguarding is an obvious priority, ensuring the wellbeing and emotional preparation of our team to better support our communities. Rigorous partner screening has also ensured that we have only partnered with charities and organisations that are specialists in their field. We are ever grateful for their support and knowledge and proud to work with such fantastic organisations. We know that we can only impact the greatest change, together.
Impact reports filed to our funders have shown positive results of helping to relieve the pressure of the current living crisis, with our hubs providing essential items and food to all women and children in attendance, who will be the most affected
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during this time. Booklets have been created by our team (the first of their kind) and have already been translated to Arabic and French, providing tangible support for women who have been effected by FGM/C and VAWG. Our Design and Marketing team, Megan and Ellie, have made these booklets into most accessible and readable, digestible content: key in supporting and communicating change. Our ambitious goals and bold plans are a result of the need we have seen and the distance we still have to go: we’re excited and ready to impact further in 2023. Dominica
**Dominica Debczak-Debski** Head of Programming and Development at The Vavengers Also Humanitarian and activist
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## Engagement report
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- Megan Barclay Head of Design and Marketing
During last year’s review I had been a paid employee for just a few months (following 2 years of being a volunteer) and wrote about the year before having set us up for a strong one – and I wasn’t wrong. Sema launched our year with a new strategy that helped me rebuild the foundations of our marketing approach. A quick look at our marketing output might suggest a quieter year than 2020/2021, but behind it is a stronger definition of what we do as an organisation, who we want to reach and how we do it, and excitement for a new content strategy that ensures we stick to our values and don’t get lost in the noise of the 24hr media cycle.
Our creative highlights from this year have been: launching a brand refresh with a focus on accessible design, building a new website in line with the new look and feel (built in-house by our CEO Sema and me) and successfully using a range of media (online and off) to invite women to our support hubs. All
these things are part of the strong foundations that will ensure the Vavengers has a succinct voice, an informed strategy to reach a range of women and the capacity and knowledge to engage more people than ever before.
This year I have begun to understand the breadth of what marketing can be, and thankfully it isn’t all about social media. Reflecting on our paid media from 2020/2021, revisiting our longneglected email subscribers and tailoring content to each platform with an informed insight are just some of the developments I have been making behind the scenes. We have a beautifully diverse audience – from Refugees to corporate funders – and beginning to tailor our communication streams to each and following their user-journey is a goal for the upcoming year.
Welcoming Dominica to the team and watching Sema continually grow our impact has given
me a new perspective on what we can do as an organisation. The Vavengers, Volunteer-led for so long, has always been powered by personal passion for and commitment to the job at hand. But this inevitably created inconsistent capacity and having paid positions, including my own, has taken our work to a higher level than I thought possible. As I know is Sema’s plan, I look forward to continually growing our team of skilled individuals with new and challenging perspectives on how we can end Violence Against Women and Girls.
Megan
**Megan Joy Barclay** Head of Design and Marketing at The Vavengers
Also Graphic Designer at Friends of the Earth www.meganjoybarclay.com
ENGAGEMENT REPORT
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## Engagement report Mini Jan 22 – Jan 23
Media is always a challenging space to work in, but this year felt louder than ever. Our strongest platforms (Instagram) decision to prioritise film content was a major bump in the road but we have still come away with numbers stronger than last year. Owed in a big part to our growing team of experts and strategic creativity. Total followers +1.6K since 2021 7,100
82,000
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## 37,000
Post reach* +25K from 2021 * The number of people who saw our posts
Posts +230 from 2021
124,000
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Post impressions* +66K from 2021
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Page and profile reach +108K from 2021 *The number of people who have seen any content in any form
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## Project highlights WWW.THEVAVENGERS.CO.UK
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## Support Hubs
Following of the success of our project in Peckham (Reaching out to Your Community), where we supported a community ambassador in running a hub for refugees and asylum seekers, we launched a new model so we could reach more women and girls.
The Vavengers support hubs are free pop-up events across London that centre around women’s mental and physical health. Each hub includes; a wellness session with one of our practitioners, a women shares her story and
experience of Gender Based Violence, an educational workshop about health topics (contraception for example), and a selection of free essential items for attendees to take away. The space also exists as an open opportunity for women and girls to meet, learn about the support on offer to them and disclose any needs for suppport they might have.
When disclosures are made we do our best to refer women to relevant services and follow their progress with regular check-ups.
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## Support Hubs
Social media
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Through 6 hubs so far, and many more planned, we have directly supported over 500 women and children. We have discussed everything from a personal experience of human trafficking to how beneficial lube can be to FGM/C survivors mental and physical health – nothing is off limits. The lively photos on the previous and current pages and the numbers on the following attempt to paint a picture of the amazing spaces our hubs are. And if that doesn’t convince you, come and see for yourself.
Local leafleting
Free essential items
Walthamstow location
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Of those that came to a hub and completed a survey:
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Of those that came to a hub and completed a survey:
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Of those that came to a hub and completed a survey:
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## Support Booklet
For attendees of at our Support Hubs we created a printed booklet that outlines different types of abuse, how to spot the signs, and how to get support in the UK. It also includes a comprehensive contraception guide to further empower women with the knowledge they need to have control over their bodies. We’ve developed these booklets to work outside the context of our hubs and regularly distribute them at our and others’ events. They are open to all.
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## The Big Give
This year was the first time we took part in The Big Give – a fundraising campaign whereby if you reach your goal, anything you raise will be matched by The Big Give.
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We took to social media (top left and right) as well as hosting 2 events, one public and one for our network and major donors (photos right). We successfully completed the Big Give with £5,000 and this gave us the means to bring to life our first motion graphic film: written, art directed, and produced by The Vavengers –coming 2023.
This campaign was significant in testing our marketing and fundraising strategies. It was challenging but we came away with some learnings and ultimately a successful campaign we are incredibly proud of.
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## Financial report
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## Bid Das CFO
Thanks to the hard work and generosity of so many, Financial Year 2022 was our most impactful year yet. We were able to raise more money via private donations that allowed us to spend more money on support hubs that have changed more lives than ever before.
Total income has stayed the same in comparison to last year however we have seen a huge increase (366%) in donations via our website and through private donations. This has allowed us to expand the team and deliver and support more hubs across London.
There was a still a hangover from the pandemic that meant we couldn’t hold as many events as we would have liked. We are aiming to further increase our revenue from donations by going back to our roots and hosting more events this year, whether that be with art, music or something entirely new.
Operationally our costs were largely funded by “The Sam and Bella Foundation” who have been hugely important to us as they have allowed us to expand the team to five part time staff which has helped deliver high quality support and resources to vulnerable people.
## TOTAL COST BREAKDOWN
21% 4% STAFF COSTS OTHER
Staff costs are our biggest operational outgoing making up 21% of total cost. The breakup of other costs is shown right. The Vavengers continue to grow year on year and at the time of writing, we are well on target to increase our income by more than 50% for FY23, which can only be translated to being able to help more people.
Bid
3% IT AND SOFTWARE 64% 8% DIRECT PROJECT COSTS RENT (RESTRICTED)
## **Bid Das**
Chief Financial Officer at The Vavengers
Also Senior Management Consultant at Gentrack Ltd
## FINANCIAL REPORT
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## **The Vavengers**
Charity Registration No.1184202
Report and Unaudited Financial Statements Year ended 4 April 2022
Shruti Soni Ltd Chartered Certified Accountants 117A St Johns Hill Sevenoaks TN13 3PE
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## **The Vavengers**
## **Reference and Administrative Details**
**Status:** Charity Registration No.1184202 The charity's governing document is its constitution dated 1 July 2019
**Registered Office:** 3rd Floor 86-90 paul Street London EC2A 4NE **Chief Executive:** Sema Gornall **Trustees:** Mabel Evans Chair Appointed on 09 November 2021 Najmo Fiyasko Appointed on 18 January 2022 Soraya Abdulkadir Mohamed Ali Appointed on 05 January 2022 Hodan Ali Warsame Appointed on 19 November 2021 Cerys Shepherd Appointed on 10 August 2021 Laura Amaya Retired 21 September 2022 Milosz Mieszko Palej Appointed 25 August 2022 Rose Violet Bonham Carter Appointed 16 June 2022
**Independent examiner:** Shruti Soni FCCA FCIE Shruti Soni Ltd Chartered Certified Accountants 117a St. John's Hill, Sevenoaks TN13 3PE
Bankers Tide 5th Floor 1 Appold Street London EC2A 2UT
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## **The Vavengers**
Trustees' Report for the year ended
## **4 April 2022**
The trustees present their report and the financial statements for the year ended 4 April 2022. The financial statements comply with current statutory requirements and the requirements of the Constitution. 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).
## **STRUCTURE, GOVERNANCE AND MANAGEMENT**
## **Background and Scope**
The Trust was created by a deed dated 1 July 2019 as a Trust, exclusively for ending female genital mutilation (FGM) and to create awareness of the issue with aims of ending both FGM and other forms of Gender-Based Violence. The Trust was registered with the Charity Commissioners on 1 July 2019, charity registration number 1184202.
## **OBJECTIVES AND ACTIVITIES**
## **Aims and Objectives for the Public Benefit**
The objectives of the charity are:
1. To promote equality and diversity for the public benefit by using the arts as a vehicle to advance education and raise awareness of gender base violence.
2. In particular female genital mutilation; creating public art and art activities as a means to cultivate a sentiment in favour of equality and diversity.
The Vavengers has now evolved to also offer skills and capacity building to survivors and organisations working on the front line.
The activities of the charity are:
1. Community outreach hubs in the UK that support vulnerable women and girls’ physical, psychological, and legal needs with a focus on FGM and all other forms of Violence Against Women and Girls (VAWG)
2. Educational workshops about FGM and other forms of VAWG with businesses and organisations, including healthcare professionals
3. National and international campaigns to ensure FGM and other forms of VAWG is on the political and social agenda
## **ACHIEVEMENTS AND PERFORMANCE**
During the year the Trust held community projects, advocacy work and campaigning aim to empower our beneficiaries to understand their rights and services available to them, whilst also creating high level awareness and understanding of the gaps in healthcare and education for the most marginalised groups living in the United Kingdom. The charity secured important partnerships in this financial year which ensured the strong growth of the organisation.
## **PUBLIC BENEFIT**
In shaping our objectives for the year and planning our activities, the trustees confirm that they have referred to the guidance contained in the Charity Commission's general guidance on public benefit and have complied with section 4 of the Charities Act 2011
## **FINANCIAL REVIEW**
Income during the year under review was £83,642 (2021: £81,488) of which £39,670 (2021: £71'669) was restricted and £43,972 (2021: £9,819) was unrestricted. Expenditure during the year was £88,207 (2021: £63,338). Of the total expenditure £47,625 (2021: £52,477) was from restricted grants. The charity had net expenditure during the year of £4,565 (2021: net income £18,150). General reserves held at the year end were £3,342 (2021: £88) and restrticted funds were £19,875 (2021: £27,694). Based on these figures, the trustees consider an amount between £15,000 and £30,000 to cover between 3 to 6 months of running expenditure to be sufficient level of reserve.
## **RESERVE POLICY**
As a small charity, it is eligible to receive mostly grants with project or purpose-based. As at the year ended, it does not yet have reserves that are allocated for reserves purposes only. However, there has been many grant applications made, pending results where funders haven't limited a purpose and the charity is working on securing one or two of those big unrestricted grants to use it for reserves purposes.
## **MANAGING RISK OF HARM**
In carrying out the charity’s purpose to achieve public benefit the trustees have managed risk of detriment or harm to the charity’s beneficiaries or to the public in general (which they feel is minimal). This has been achieved by identifying such risks where possible, minimising them and making sure any harm that might arise is of a minor consequence to the carrying out of such purpose.
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## **The Vavengers**
Trustees' Report for the year ended
## **4 April 2022**
## **GOING CONCERN**
After making appropriate enquiries, the Trustees have 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 despite the low general reserves at the end of the financial year. Further details regarding the adoption of the going concern basis can be found in the Accounting Policies.
## **FUTURE PLANS**
The Trustees intend to continue to support as many women and girls as resources permit.
## **RELATED PARTY TRANSACTIONS**
During previous financial year ended 4 April 2021, Mable Evans who was the charity's CEO at the time (current Chair and trustee since November 2021; and daughter of Caroline Evans, trustee at the time) received remuneration totaling to £4,628 for providing ad hoc services. In financial year ended 4 April 2022, Mabel Evans received £6,994 as remuneration for providing ad hoc professional services while she was still serving as the CEO before she became a Trustee. Soraya Ali, trustee, also received remuneration of £250 (2021: £426) for providing ad hoc services before she becasme a trustee. No other charity trustees at the time of their trusteeship were paid or received any other benefits from employment with the charity in the year (2021: £nil). No other charity trustee received payment for professional or other services supplied to the charity (2021: £nil).
There was no payment or reimbursement of travel and subsistence costs to a trustees during the year (2021: nil). No trustee or other person related to the charity had any personal interest in any contractor transaction entered into by the charity during the year (2021: nil).
Of the total donations, £700 (2021: nil) was received from one trustee during the year. There is no restriction on the use of these
During the previous financial year ended 4 April 2021 Caroline Evans, trustee, gave a loan to the charity of £10,000 when charity was running low on cash to ensure beneficiaries were supported if a grant wasn’t secured on time. The loan with zero finance (no interest rate) was to be paid back if there was any grant made and if not, no payment back was expected by the trustee. The loan was never needed as a grant came in before cash ran out and the loan of £10k was given back in a few days to the Trustee. Mabel Evans is the daughter of Caroline Evans. The family relation was declared to the charity commission at the time and at the moment Caroline is no longer a Trustee as Trustees wanted to avoid family relationships as soon as new skilled Trustees were attracted and recruited. There is a paperwork drafted by a lawyer to layout the loan and bank statements to prove the Trustee didn’t make any profit. There was no outstanding balance as at the
## **Statement of Trustees' Responsibilities**
The trustees are responsible for preparing the Trustees’ Annual Report and the financial statements in accordance with applicable law and United Kingdom Accounting Standards (United Kingdom Generally Accepted Accounting Practice).
The law applicable to charities in England and Wales requires the trustees to prepare financial statements for each financial year which give a true and fair view of the state of affairs of the charity and of the incoming resources and application of resources of the charity for that period. In preparing these financial statements, the trustees are required to:
a) select suitable accounting policies and apply them consistently;
b) observe the methods and principles in the Charities SORP;
c) make judgments and accounting estimates that are reasonable and prudent;
d) state whether applicable accounting standards have been followed, subject to any material departures disclosed and explained in the financial statements;
e) prepare the financial statements on the going concern basis unless it is inappropriate to presume that the charity will continue in operatio
The trustees are responsible for keeping adequate accounting records that 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, the Charity (Accounts and Reports) Regulations 2008 and the provisions of the trust deed. They are 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.
This report was approved by the Board of Trustees on ........................ and signed on its behalf. 26/01/2023
_________________________
Name: Mabel Evans (Trustee)
4
## **Independent Examiner’s Report to the Trustees of The Vavengers**
I report to the charity trustees on the financial statements of the company for the year ended 4 April 2022 as set out on pages 6 to 13.
## **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 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; or
3. the accounts do not comply with the applicable requirements concerning the form and content of accounts set out in the Charities (Accounts and Reports) Regulations 2008 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
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.
**Shruti Soni ACCA** Date: 27/01/2023
Shruti Soni Ltd ● Chartered Cer�fied Accountants 117a St. John's Hill, Sevenoaks TN13 3PE
5
## **The Vavengers**
## **Statement of financial activities (incorporating an income and expenditure account)**
## **For the year ended 4 April 2022**
||||**2022**|||**2021**||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
|||Unrestricted|Restricted|**Total**|Unrestricted|Restricted|**Total**|
|||fund|fund|**fund**|fund|fund|**fund**|
||**Note**|£|£|**£**|£|£|£|
|**Income from:**|2|||||||
|Donations and gifts||43,307|-|43,307|9,819|-|9,819|
|Grants||-|39,670|39,670|-|71,669|71,669|
|Funraising income from events||665|-|665|-|-|-|
|**Total income:**||43,972|39,670|83,642|9,819|71,669|81,488|
|**Expenditure on:**||||||||
|**Cost of raising funds**||||||||
|Fundraising costs and events||792|1,559|2,351|217|-|217|
|**Charitable activities**||||-||||
|Direct project cost||25,800|30,200|56,000|-|46,149|46,149|
|Consulting fees||-|7,444|7,444|7,882|6,328|14,210|
|Staff costs||8,414|6,870|15,284|-|-|-|
|||||-|||-|
|**Support costs**||||||||
|Bank charges||44|-|44|15|-|15|
|IT software and consumables||1,298|-|1,298|811|-|811|
|Printing and postage||-|50|50|106|-|106|
|Sundry expenses||174|635|809|489|-|489|
|Travel and subsistence||10|32|42|111|-|111|
|Independent examination||540|414|954|1,230|-|1,230|
|Rent and utilities||3,510|421|3,931|-|-|-|
|**Total expenditure:**||40,582|47,625|88,207|10,861|52,477|63,338|
|**Net income/(expenditure)**||3,390|(7,955)|(4,565)|(1,042)|19,192|18,150|
|Transfer between fund||(136)|136|-||-|-|
|**Net movement in funds**||3,254|(7,819)|(4,565)|(1,042)|19,192|18,150|
|**Reconciliation of funds:**||||||||
|Total funds brought forward|7|88|27,694|27,782|1,130|8,502|9,632|
|**Total funds carried forward**|7|3,342|19,875|23,217|88|27,694|27,782|
All of the above results are derived from continuing activities. There were no other recognised gains or losses other than those stated above. Movements in funds are disclosed in Note 7 to the financial statements.
6
## **The Vavengers Balance sheet**
## **As at 4 April 2022**
|Note
**£**
**Current assets:**
**27,587**
**27,587**
**Liabilities:**
5
**4,370**
6
7
These financial statements were approved by the Trustees on
and signed on its behalf by:
Restricted income funds
Unrestricted income funds:
**The funds of the charity:**
General funds
**Total charity funds**
**Total net assets / (liabilities)**
Cash at bank and in hand
Creditors: amounts falling due within one year|Note
**£**
**Current assets:**
**27,587**
**27,587**
**Liabilities:**
5
**4,370**
6
7
These financial statements were approved by the Trustees on
and signed on its behalf by:
Restricted income funds
Unrestricted income funds:
**The funds of the charity:**
General funds
**Total charity funds**
**Total net assets / (liabilities)**
Cash at bank and in hand
Creditors: amounts falling due within one year|**2022**
**£**
**23,217**
**19,875**
**3,342**
**23,217**|£
29,162|2021
£
27,782|
|---|---|---|---|---|
||**27,587**
**4,370**||29,162
1,380||
||||||
|||||27,694
88|
|||||27,782|
||||||
## Trustee
Name: Mabel Evans Date: 26/01/2023
7
**For the year ended 4 April 2022**
## **The Vavengers Notes to the financial statements**
## **1 Accounting policies**
## **a) Basis of preparation**
The financial statements have been prepared in accordance with 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) - (Charities SORP FRS 102), the Financial Reporting Standard applicable in the UK and Republic of Ireland (FRS 102) and the Companies Act 2006.
Assets and liabilities are initially recognised at historical cost or transaction value unless otherwise stated in the relevant accounting policy or note.
The financial statements have been prepared to give a ‘true and fair’ view and have departed from the Charities (Accounts and Reports) Regulations 2008 only to the extent required to provide a ‘true and fair view’. This departure has involved following the 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) issued on 16 July 2014 rather than the Accounting and Reporting by Charities: Statement of Recommended Practice effective from 1 April 2005 which has since been withdrawn.
## **b) Public benefit entity**
The charity meets the definition of a public benefit entity under FRS 102.
## **c) Going concern**
The trustees consider that there are no material uncertainties about the charity's ability to continue as a going concern.
The charity has been successfull in securing two multi-year grants since August 2021 and also received annual funding for 12 months overall project costs in April 22 in addition to a free food supply with an open-ended partnership in January 22. The trustees believe that this is sufficient to cover our overheads, project and campaigning costs in a more sustainable way. The charity also launched its first post-pandemic event in March 22 to raise funds and raised £5k unrestricted funds to use for campaigning.
There are no key judgements that the charity has made which have a significant effect on the accounts.
The trustees do not consider that there are any sources of estimation uncertainty at the reporting date that have a significant risk of causing a material adjustment to the carrying amounts of assets and liabilities within the next reporting period.
## **d) Income**
Income is recognised when the charity has entitlement to the funds, any performance conditions attached to the income have been met, it is probable that the income will be received and that the amount can be measured reliably.
Income from government and other grants, whether ‘capital’ grants or ‘revenue’ grants, is recognised when the charity has entitlement to the funds, any performance conditions attached to the grants have been met, it is probable that the income will be received and the amount can be measured reliably and is not deferred.
8
## **The Vavengers Notes to the financial statements**
## **For the year ended 4 April 2022**
## **1 Accounting policies (continued)**
## **e) Interest receivable**
Interest on funds held on deposit is included when receivable and the amount can be measured reliably by the charity; this is normally upon notification of the interest paid or payable by the bank.
## **f) Fund accounting**
Restricted funds are to be used for specific purposes as laid down by the donor. Expenditure which meets these criteria is charged to the fund.
Unrestricted funds are donations and other incoming resources received or generated for the charitable purposes.
Designated funds are unrestricted funds earmarked by the trustees for particular purposes.
## **g) Expenditure**
Expenditure is recognised once there is a legal or constructive obligation to make a payment to a third party, it is probable that settlement will be required and the amount of the obligation can be measured reliably. Expenditure is classified under the following headings:
-
Costs of raising funds relate to the costs incurred by the charity in inducing third parties to make voluntary contributions to it, as well as the cost of any activities with a fundraising purpose
- Expenditure on charitable activities includes the costs of activties undertaken to further the purposes of the charity and their associated support costs
- Support costs include the cost of overall direction and administration of the charity's activities, comprising the overhead costs of the central function
- Other expenditure represents those items not falling into any other heading
## **h) Debtors**
Trade and other debtors are recognised at the settlement amount due after any trade discount offered. Prepayments are valued at the amount prepaid net of any trade discounts due.
## **i) Cash at bank and in hand**
Cash at bank and cash 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. Cash balances exclude any funds held on behalf of service users.
9
## **The Vavengers Notes to the financial statements**
## **For the year ended 4 April 2022**
## **1 Accounting policies (continued)**
## **j) Creditors and provisions**
Creditors and provisions are recognised where the charity has a present obligation resulting from a past event that will probably result in the transfer of funds to a third party and the amount due to settle the obligation can be measured or estimated reliably. Creditors and provisions are normally recognised at their settlement amount after allowing for any trade discounts due.
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**
|**Income from donations and legacies**||||
|---|---|---|---|
|Unrestricted
£
8,307
Grants and Donations from Trusts and Foundations
35,000
43,307
Donations from Individuals|£
1,500
38,170
39,670
Restricted|**2022**
**Total**
**£**
**9,807**
**73,170**
**82,977**|2021
Total
£
9,819
71,669|
||||81,488|
10
**For the year ended 4 April 2022**
## **The Vavengers Notes to the financial statements**
## **3 Related party transactions**
During previous financial year ended 4 April 2021, Mable Evans who was the charity's CEO at the time (current Chair and trustee since November 2021; and daughter of Caroline Evans, trustee at the time) received remuneration totaling to £4,628 for providing ad hoc services. In financial year ended 4 April 2022, Mabel Evans received £6,994 as remuneration for providing ad hoc professional services while she was still serving as the CEO before she became a Trustee. Soraya Ali, trustee, also received remuneration of £250 (2021: £426) for providing ad hoc services before she becasme a trustee. No other charity trustees at the time of their trusteeship were paid or received any other benefits from employment with the charity in the year (2021: £nil). No other charity trustee received payment for professional or other services supplied to the charity (2021: £nil).
There was no payment or reimbursement of travel and subsistence costs to a trustees during the year (2021: nil).
No trustee or other person related to the charity had any personal interest in any contractor transaction entered into by the charity during the year (2021: nil).
Of the total donations, £700 (2021: nil) was received from one trustee during the year. There is no restriction on the use of these donations.
During the previous financial year ended 4 April 2021 Caroline Evans, trustee, gave a loan to the charity of £10,000 when charity was running low on cash to ensure beneficiaries were supported if a grant wasn’t secured on time. The loan with zero finance (no interest rate) was to be paid back if there was any grant made and if not, no payment back was expected by the trustee. The loan was never needed as a grant came in before cash ran out and the loan of £10k was given back in a few days to the Trustee. Mabel Evans is the daughter of Caroline Evans. The family relation was declared to the Charity Commission at the time and at the moment Caroline is no longer a Trustee as Trustees wanted to avoid family relationships as soon as new skilled Trustees were attracted and recruited. There is a paperwork drafted by a lawyer to layout the loan and bank statements to prove the Trustee didn’t make any profit. There was no outstanding balance as at the year end.
## **4 Taxation**
The charitable company is exempt from corporation tax as all its income is charitable and is applied for charitable purposes.
## **5 Creditors: amounts falling due within one year**
|**Creditors: amounts falling due within one year**|||
|---|---|---|
|Taxation and social security
Other creditors
Accruals|**2022**
**£**
**2,027**
**423**
**1,920**|2021
£
-
-
1,380|
||**4,370**|1,380|
11
## **The Vavengers**
## **Notes to the financial statements**
## **For the year ended 4 April 2022**
## **6 Analysis of net assets between funds**
|**Analysis of net assets between funds**||||
|---|---|---|---|
|Net current assets
**Net assets at the end of the year**|Unrestricted
fund
**Total funds**
£
**£**
23,217
**23,217**
**2022**|Unrestricted
fund
**Total funds**
£
**£**
27,782
**27,782**
**27,782**
**27,782**
**2021**||
||**23,217**
**23,217**|**27,782**|**27,782**|
## **7 Movements in funds**
|**Movements in funds**||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
|**Restricted funds:**
The Rothschild
Barclays ML
Heintz Check
Home office
Anonymous
Prism the grant fund
Two magpies Fund
Happy Bday Community
The Big Give
London Catalyst
**Total restricted funds**
**Unrestricted funds:**
**General funds**
**Total unrestricted funds**
**Total funds**|5-Apr-21
£
1,376
63
407
10,848
5,000
10,000
-
-
-
-|Incoming
resources &
gains
£
-
-
-
-
10,000
10,000
15,000
750
2,420
1,500|Outgoing
resources &
losses
£
(1,382)
-
-
(9,829)
(14,314)
(17,550)
-
(500)
(2,550)
(1,500)|Transfers
£
6
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
130
-|4-Apr-22
**£**
**-**
**63**
**407**
**1,019**
**686**
**2,450**
**15,000**
**250**
**-**
**-**|
||27,694|39,670|(47,625)|136|**19,875**|
||88|43,972|(40,582)|(136)|**3,342**|
||88|43,972|(40,582)|(136)|**3,342**|
||27,782|83,642|(88,207)|-|**23,217**|
12
## **The Vavengers**
## **Notes to the financial statements**
## **For the year ended 4 April 2022**
## **7 Movements in funds (continued)**
|**Total restricted funds**
**General funds**
**Restricted funds:**
Prism the grant fund
**Unrestricted funds:**
The Rothschild
Barclays ML
Heintz Check
Groundwork
Safe lives
Home office
Home office
Anonymous
**Total unrestricted funds**
**Total funds**|5-Apr-20
£
8,032
63
407
-
-
-
-
-
-|Incoming
resources &
gains
£
1,000
-
-
1,000
2,500
29,952
12,317
5,000
19,900|Outgoing
resources &
losses
£
(7,656)
-
-
(1,000)
(2,500)
(19,104)
(12,317)
-
(9,900)|Transfers
£
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-|4-Apr-21
**£**
**1,376**
**63**
**407**
**-**
**-**
**10,848**
**-**
**5,000**
**10,000**|
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
||8,502|71,669|(52,477)|-|**27,694**|
||1,130|9,819|(10,861)|-|**88**|
||1,130|9,819|(10,861)|-|**88**|
|||||||
||9,632|81,488|(63,338)|-|**27,782**|
## **Purposes of restricted funds**
The purpose of all restricted funds during this financial year was to support the project "Reaching Out To Your Community". The project supported refugees, asylum seekers, FGM and Gender-Based Violence (GBV) survivors as well as women and girls who are at risk of GBV in Southwark, London.
## **8 Legal status of the charity**
The charity is a Charitable Incorporated Organizations (CIO) registered with the Charity Commissioners on 1 July 2019, charity registration number 1184202. It's members are it's trustees. Currently there are 7 members.
13