## _DREAMSAI Milton Keynes Charity Number: 1184822_ Financial Statements for the year ended 31[st] March 2022. 1 | P a g e ## **Report of the Trustees for the year ended 31 March 2022.** The trustees present their annual report and independent examined financial statements for the year ended 31 March 2022 and confirm they comply with the Charities Act 1993, as amended by the Charities Act 2006, the trust deed, and the Charities SORP 2005. ## **Reference and Administrative Information** Charity Name DREAMSAI Milton Keynes Charity Registration Number 1184822 Principle Office 106, Walhouse road, Walsall, West Midlands, WS1 2BE ## **Board of Trustees:** Lakshmana Rao Kastala (Chair) Srinivasa Rao Velupula Surabhi Sharan ## **Independent Examiners:** Anand Associates 106, Walhouse Road Walsall WS1 2BE ## **Bankers:** HSBC Bank plc The Bridge, Walsall, West Midlands WS1 1LN 2 | P a g e Contents Report of the Trustees for the year ended 31 March 2022. ................................................................... 4 Structure, Governance and Management .......................................................................................... 4 Governing Document ...................................................................................................................... 4 Organisation Structure .................................................................................................................... 4 Risk Management ........................................................................................................................... 5 Objectives and Activities ..................................................................................................................... 5 Summary of the main activities .......................................................................................................... 5 Strategies ............................................................................................................................................ 6 Volunteer Contribution ....................................................................................................................... 6 Activities and Achievements ............................................................................................................... 7 Food for SAI – Cooked Meals Project .............................................................................................. 7 Food Outreach – Festive Hampers, Food Parcels & School Breakfast ............................................ 8 Blood Donation ............................................................................................................................... 8 Spiritual ........................................................................................................................................... 9 COVID Vaccinations ......................................................................................................................... 9 Workshops ...................................................................................................................................... 9 Partnerships ........................................................................................................................................ 9 Financial Review .................................................................................................................................. 9 Reserves Policy ................................................................................................................................ 9 Principal funding sources .............................................................................................................. 10 Statement of Trustee’s responsibilities ............................................................................................ 10 Income & Expenditure Account for period ending 31[st] March 2021. ................................................... 11 Balance Sheet for the period ending 31[st] March 2021 ......................................................................... 12 Independent Examiners Report ............................................................................................................ 13 3 | P a g e ## Report of the Trustees for the year ended 31 March 2022. ## Structure, Governance and Management Governing Document DREAMSAI Milton Keynes is constituted as a charitable trust registered with the Charity Commission in August 2019 under the charity number 1184822. It is governed by the deed of the trust. Organisation Structure Trustee Board is the ultimate accountability for the CIO, and responsible for strategic direction & organisational governance. The trustee board collaborates with executive team for the implementation. The executive team with the support of the volunteer pool operates the projects. The organisation foundations are underpinned by support from volunteers and members of Milton Keynes community. Governance is at the heart of the strategic and operational decision making. DREAMSAI is registered with Fund Raising Regulator and adheres to the recommended guidelines. No cash policy is a modern & transparent fundraising policy successfully implemented since inception; all the monetary donations are received via digital channels only. Volunteers in contact with vulnerable members of the community are DBS checked, it is mandatory for all the volunteers handling food to be food safety certified. DREAMSAI is registered with Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO) and utmost care is taken for the personal data. DREAMSAI uses Digital First strategy and minimal paper usage. Technology systems are in place for operational efficiency and information governance. 4 | P a g e Risk Management The trustees has assessed the risk that charity faces and have drawn up a risk matrix which identifies the high/medium/low risks and its probabilities. The trustees review the risk matrix regularly at their meetings. The trustees are satisfied that systems are in place or arrangements are in hand to management the risks that have been identified – especially in the areas of Criminal Records Bureau checks, safeguarding policies and procedures, food and hygiene process and fund-raising regulations. ## Objectives and Activities The objects of the CIO are 1. The advancement of the Hindu religion for the public benefit in Milton Keynes in particular by promoting the teachings of Shirdi Saibaba as set out in the Satcharita 2. The prevention of sickness and the preservation of the health by raising awareness of the needs of donors of blood, bone marrow and stem cells within Asian and Indian Communities 3. The prevent or relief of poverty for public benefit in Milton Keynes supplying food, hygiene items, essentials to homeless and needy people in temporary sheltered accommodation. ## Summary of the main activities DREAMSAI is an inclusive charity run by the local Milton Keynes community working for the benefit of diverse communities and making a profound impact. Many community-led activities are initiated to positively contribute for community wellbeing and successfully motivated the residents to become more involved through volunteering. The charity’s reach and impact are maximised by collaborating with various partners in the sector. DREAMSAI is a bridge in connecting and building stronger communities Based on the teachings of Indian Saint Shirdi Sai, DREAMSAI organize spiritual events and celebrate Indian and diverse cultural festivals of various faiths, support homeless community and vulnerable elderly with free cooked meal and essential items, deliver free food & essential parcels to vulnerable communities, support local schools with breakfast packs, holiday food parcels, organise workshops and promote blood donations from ethnic minorities. Every week hundreds of community members attend and benefit from the spiritual & cultural activities. Thousands of home cooked hot meals are served every year to the homeless or those in temporary accommodation. Festive Hampers are distributed to those in need during diverse festivities including Diwali, Christmas & Eid demonstrating our inclusive approach. The group has also been responsive and adaptive to the changing needs of this city and addressing the gaps to meet immediate community needs. Many lives are supported with the blood donated by DREAMSAI donors every year. DREAMSAI received the prestigious Queen's Award for voluntary service (an equivalent of MBE for volunteer groups) during the birthday honours in June 2021, from Late Her Majesty Elizabeth II. The highest award given to DREAMSAI from Her Majesty demonstrates the positive impact this group has created on our communities. 5 | P a g e ## Strategies As part of expansion plans to meet demand, DREAMSAI successfully applied to lease the premises from Milton Keynes Community Foundation in November 2021 with rent subsidy. The primary purpose of this facility is to serve as a HUB for all existing DREAMSAI community projects & meeting the needs of the growing population. Planning permission for the change of use is due to be applied with Milton Keynes Local Authority in April 2022. Upon receiving the planning consent and necessary building works are completed as per Building Regulations, the services currently operated from various temporary premises including Unity Park Station, Milton Keynes Hindu Association community centre, Commercial Kitchens, Individual home kitchens, Personal garages, living rooms and cafes will be centralised to this new facility in 2023 & services will be expanded in the following years. Thousands of users from across the diverse communities currently benefit from DREAMSAI activities and will continue to benefit from these new premises. The service users are from across the communities including elderly members, financially challenged families with school going children, families with poverty, homeless individuals, homeless shelters, youth, Indian community members & partner organisations. In addition to existing successful initiatives DREAMSAI would further host and anchor such constructive social engineering projects which are vital in bringing the community together in a way which will have a lasting positive impact on our communities. Engaging with cultural and spiritual activities enhance the mental health of the individual, which in turn benefits the mental health of the collective, leading to a happier and healthier society. This new facility contributes towards the creation of safe, sustainable, mixed communities with good access to for all members of the community for social interaction The users of all areas of Milton Keynes will significantly benefit from this facility. This facility would proudly represent the Diverse & Inclusive profile of Milton Keynes. ## Volunteer Contribution DREAMSAI are 100% volunteer run organisation with 42% of them youth volunteers. An organisation structure is in place for strategy, governance, safeguarding and operational purposes. The number of volunteer hours given is quite staggering, and even more remarkable when all volunteers are holding down full-time jobs or in education. In a recent volunteer Survey, 96% of volunteers said, “By volunteering with DREAMSAI, I have a sense of fulfilment and am creating a positive impact on others”. Every week hundreds of volunteers participate in preparing the food parcels, prepare cooked meals, door delivering the food parcels and cooked meals, procuring the items needed for food parcels, managing the inventory, organising the logistics, relationship with partner organisation and schools, organising blood donation camps, digital communications, reviewing and updating policies and procedures, maintaining and implementing required IT systems, data protection, managing the helpline, fundraising , financial management , operations and organising spiritual events. The Trustee Board is the ultimate accountable and decision-making body. The Board and Executive team members work hand in hand with support provided by the volunteers. The organisation foundations are underpinned by support from volunteer pool and members of Milton Keynes community. The members of community interested to volunteer will be added to volunteer pool and then onboarded to specific projects by Executive Team. Executive Team are the leads managing Food for SAI, Food Outreach, Blood Donation and Spiritual projects. Experienced Volunteers who are interested & qualified to lead the projects will be appointed to Executive Team after due 6 | P a g e consideration. Executive Team is a route to join the Board. An exception to this is the honorary board members who will be appointed from a chose field of specialisation to benefit the organisation objectives. DREAMSAI has 213 registered volunteers. Twenty-Nine youth members are also doing Duke of Edinburgh (DofE) voluntary work as part of their secondary school award scheme. Volunteers provide their services to either one project or multiple projects. Volunteers are recruited upon reference to ensure enhanced suitability check. All the interested volunteers’ details will be added onto the volunteer pool upon their request. The personal details of the volunteers are securely managed in the online system with appropriate access management. DBS checks are performed to the volunteers who will be interacting with service users The volunteers managing the Food for SAI project are also required to complete the Level 2 Food & Hygiene Safety certification. Renewed DBS checks of the new members of management team is completed in November 2021. ## Activities and Achievements Being an ethnic group ourselves, we had a profound impact on reducing social inequalities and building stronger community cohesion by running local, community-led inclusive projects, which involves active engagement from diverse communities; all of which was achieved solely by volunteers. DREAMSAI received the prestigious Queen's Award for voluntary service (an equivalent of MBE for volunteer groups) during the birthday honours in June 2021, from Late Her Majesty Elizabeth II. The highest award given to DREAMSAI from Her Majesty demonstrates the positive impact this group has created on our communities. The statement read - "The work your group does for the community was very much admired by the independent National Assessment Committee, chaired by Sir Martyn Lewis CBE, and I am delighted to inform you that your group has been selected to receive the Award in 2021. This represents a tremendous achievement for your organisation, and we hope that everyone involved, and particularly your volunteers, will feel immensely proud of it." A presentation ceremony was organised on Saturday the 16th of October 2021 where Countess Howe, Her Majesty's Lord-Lieutenant of Buckinghamshire presented the Award Crystal and Certificate signed by her Majesty the Queen to DREAMSAI. High Sheriff of Buckinghamshire, Deputy Lord Lieutenants, Mayor of Milton Keynes, Councillors, Charity partners, Faith organisations, volunteers and a diverse range of guests attended the celebration. Countess Howe in her speech said: "DREAMSAI is a small but highly organised, flexible, dynamic group that punches above its weight. For the last three years they have been able to rapidly respond to gaps in provisions for vulnerable people across the town of Milton Keynes.” "With the onset of the COVID 19 pandemic they immediately created effective new projects to reach out and support those in need, all of which was achieved solely by volunteers. The drive and energy of this group is palpable and derives from total commitment to their mission to meet the needs of people whatever their background as taught by their guru Shirdi Sai Baba.” Food for SAI – Cooked Meals Project Homelessness has become a major issue in Milton Keynes over the last few years. According to Vital Signs 2019, a report published by the MK Community Foundation, 1 in every 117 people in Milton Keynes are homeless. Many organisations in MK are providing various services to end Homelessness 7 | P a g e but there is a gap for hot meal service. Hundreds of local households subscribed to the weekly run Food for SAI project, a community meal preparation and distribution programme - demonstrating the positive community engagement. With an average of 120 meals per week, a total of 6240 cooked meal packs along with water, fruit and snack were distributed to homeless community, homeless shelters, and vulnerable people in need. The cooked meal project also door delivered meals on the Christmas day to many families in association with partner organisations. Many vulnerable community members are dependent on this service every weekend. As per food hygiene requirements routine food standards inspection was completed by Milton Keynes Local Authority in November 2021 and were satisfied with the procedures. ## Food Outreach – Food Parcels, School Packs , Breakfast Packs, & Festive Hampers Since the start of the pandemic DREAMSAI have been giving free essential food parcels to families in need. Many organisations need support for the guests waiting for universal credits. Victims of domestic violence is on growth with guests placed in temporary accommodation. One in five city children are still living below the poverty line - and the problem is getting worse. Various types of food parcels are delivered weekly, free of charge to families in need, guests living in refuge centres or local schools. This year DREAMSAI has partnered with Food Bank for food parcel project and a data sharing agreement to maximise the reach and minimise the duplication. The collaboration has proved very successful, and the project has delivered over 3640 food parcels which enabled our vulnerable communities to have much needed meal on the dinner tables. Breakfast is the most important meal of the day, but the number of children facing food poverty has continued to rise in MK, mirroring what is happening nationally. DREAMSAI delivered weekly breakfast parcels to various local primary schools during school term. These breakfast parcels contained cereals packs and milk sufficient for a week. In addition to breakfast packs, schools received food parcels every week and additional parcels during the half term and summer term holidays for children to take home. Festive Hampers are delivered to guests celebrating festivals including Christmas, Easter, Eid & Diwali in collaboration with organisations of various faiths. The projects have proved very beneficial with volunteers from across the organisations working together for common goal in supporting those in need. DREAMSAI also partnered with local supermarkets to place a food donation box which is collected by volunteers on regular basis. Food donation Box in two Morrisons superstores has filled up 182 times in the last year with average donated items for each collection of 80 per box and totalling over 15,000 items during the year. An amazing support by the shoppers of the supermarkets. ## Blood Donation As per report published by NHS Blood & Transplant, fewer than 5% of blood donors who gave blood are from ethnic communities. This is despite ethnic communities representing around 14% of the population. One of the 3 key objectives of DREAMSAI charity which was formed based on the teachings of Indian Saint Shirdi Sai is to “Raise awareness of the blood donation, bone marrow and stem cells within Asian and Indian Communities”. Being a community driven all volunteer run organisation, we play a significant role at grass roots in communicating the need for ethnic communities to donate blood, bone marrow and opt in for organ donation. We have successfully broken the myth of “if you are from Tropical countries, you cannot donate blood in UK” and changed the narrative to “if you travelled to Tropical countries wait for few months before donating blood”. Many donors who donate with DREAMSAI once or twice continue to make blood donations on their 8 | P a g e own as well proving the fact that they “feel comfortable going on their own once they understand it”. A positive impact of this initiative. ## Spiritual Activities and Temple As per 2011 census Milton Keynes has 3.3% Indian population. There is a significant growth in the last decade, estimations indicate that the growth of these communities would be 5% by next census. Milton Keynes as a new city does not have infrastructure to meet the changing demographics. The cultural and spiritual activities organised by DREAMSAI every Guru Day (Thursday) in the rented premises of Hindu Association is usually visited by an average of 100 community members every week and numbers increasing during the celebration of festivals or term holidays. It is crucial to build the facilities for the cultural wellbeing of these communities. The new premises leased by DREAMSAI where all the above services will be centralised would achieve the objective. ## COVID Vaccinations As the volunteers has been providing front line care to the homeless and vulnerable elderly on a regular basis, in order to safeguard volunteer’s vaccinations are offered on priority to all front-line volunteers with the confirmation from Bedfordshire, Luton & Milton Keynes CCG. 90% of the volunteers availed the opportunity. In addition, DREAMSAI worked with Community Engagement Teams of Milton Keynes Local Authority and BLMK CCG on raising awareness of Covid vaccination inequalities from February 2022 with an aim to conclude project in June 2022.Approximately 60 young people attending a COVID-19 informationsharing opportunity and gaining knowledge about COVID vaccination and prevention. 40 completed data survey responses from by young people. Leaflet distributed to young people and community to increase knowledge and confidence on COVID vaccination and prevention. Information was shared on website and social channels for wider community engagement. ## Workshops Two workshops were conducted to benefit youth on Journey to Medical School and Demystifying Apprenticeships. 119 members of the community attended the workshops with one youth commenting “the most information workshop I have ever attended” ## Partnerships As an inclusive group, the charity developed positive partnerships with many national & local organisations to collaborate and provide joined up services to widen the reach and impact while minimizing the duplication. ## Financial Review ## Reserves Policy The trustees have reviewed the reserves of te charity, Their policy is to hold enough to meet six months operating costs. 9 | P a g e ## Principal funding sources The financial donations are only accepted using digital channels since inception, making this charity a pioneer in using this model. Majority of the donatons are received using payment options provided on the website or using the card machine at the spiritual events conducted every Thursday. Corpoarte partner funding and grants are another source of income. In addition to the financial donations, the charity also receives the food donations from partners like food bank , local super markets and the communities. The charity is goiverned by the fund raising regualtor. ## Statement of Trustee’s responsibilities The charity trsutees are responsible for preparing an annul report and financial starements in accordance with applicable law and United Kingdon Accounting standards ( United Kingdom Accepted Accounting Practice) The law applicable to chariies in England and Waled requires the charty trustess to prepre financial statements for each year which give a true and fair view of the stete of affairs of the charity and of the incoing resources and application of resources of the charty for that preriod. In prpeparing the financial starements th trustess are required to: Select suitable accounting policies and then apply them consistenctly; observe the methods and principle in the Charities SORP; Make judgements and estimates that are reasoble and prudent; state whee applicable qaccounting standards have been followed, subject to any matterial departures discoles and explained in the financial statements; Prepare the financial satteemnts onteh going concern basis unless it is inaprropriate to presume that tegh chartuy wil continue in business The trustees are resposible for keeping proper accounting records that disclose resonable accuracy at any tine thefinancial position of the charity and to enable them to ensure that the financial statements comply with the Charties acr 1993, the charity ( acccounts and Reports0 Regulations Act 2008 and the provisions of the trust deed. Theya re also resposible for sageguarding the assests of the charty hence taking reasoble steps for the prevention and detection of the fraud and other irregularities. The trustee for the purposes of charity law who served during the year up to the date of this report are set out in page 1. ## **Approved by the trustees and signed on the behalf by:** ## **Lakshmana Rao Kastala (Chair)** ## **12/01/2023** 10 | P a g e Income & Expenditure Account for period ending 31[st] March 2022. 11 | P a g e Balance Sheet for the period ending 31[st] March 2022 12 | P a g e DREAMSAI Milt•n Keynes Independent Examiners Report CHARITY COMMISSION FOR ENGLAND AND WALES Independent examinef s report on the accounts IndÈpendÈni Examiner's Report on thÈ accounts Report to the truIte￿I members of Drea￿al Mlton Keynes Lld On occounts for the year ended 31 Marth 2022 Chorlty no 1184822 11-12 I rewrt to the trustee8 on my examinalion ofthe acc￿￿￿ of iho abov• charity lor the year •nd8d 31 Marth 2021 Rosponslblllll8• and bas58 ol f•l)Ort As th• thath's In￿leas. you ar• r•sp￿tIO for th8 Pf8parallon ofth• accounls Sn accord•rK• *lth the r•qutr•m8nts ofth• CharlU88 Act 2011 llhè A￿) I h) rèspéd of my exèmlnallon ofth• Trugt's acco￿15 eaftlèd oul undew sedion 145 01 Ihe 2011 Act and in carrying my exarnSnatlon. I have louowed all the apF4cable Directions *8n by the Chawiy Comnw$*in under seclion 149SXbl ofthe Ad Ind•p•nd•nt •xamln•fs stat•m•nt I hav• comwed my examinallon. I conffinn that no mal•rlal matt•rs hav• com• to my 8ttenlion in connecllon with the exawination I hav• no concerns and hav• come across no other matt•rs h) conn•cbon wilh thè examinalron to attenlion should be th•wn in thL8 f0POrt In order lo en4￿• a propor undwslanthng ol tho aceounts to bè reachad. OYOir1023 s￿ned. Nam•: V Anand Relevant prolesslonal qu•llflcJtlonlsl or body Ilf any): BA. LL8. ACM&. C Addr•ss: 106 Waknouse Road Walsa WS12BE 13 | Page