2021-04-05-accounts

Trustees’ Annual Report for the period 06/04/20 to 05/04/21

Charity name: Bridge Schools Support

Charity registration number: 1186110

Objectives and Activities

The Trust Deed states the objects of the charity as: For the public benefit to promote the teaching of ESL (English as a Second Language) and other languages in the context of traditional values in such ways as the trustees think fit, in particular but not exclusively by making grants to organisations offering ESL across the world.

Our activities :

• Making grants to organisations

• Raising donations from the public

• Providing volunteer teachers to the organisations

• Training and mentoring teachers

The organisations helped :

• Rio Vivo church in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. It has a ministry of free English classes.

• Bridge School of Languages in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia. It is a business but also subsidises poorer students, upskills employees, trains missionaries and models ESL best practices.

• 222 Ministries based in UK, but serving Iranians worldwide. We are helping them establish online English classes with students paying a subsidised fee.

- Our policy on grant making:

• Only to organisations, not individuals.

• Organisations must offer ESL in the context of traditional values.

• Organisations must be in good relationship with one of our trustees or their church.

• If the organisation is a business, we do not fund core costs but scholarships, staff training etc.

Public Beneft:

The Trustees have had due regard to the Charity Commission’s guidance. In particular:

• Our beneficiary organisations serve the general public – anyone who wants English lessons. Brazil offers free classes, 222 subsidised classes and Ethiopia (although charging commercial fees) includes some helping of poorer students.

• Better English equips students for better social integration, better jobs and better educational opportunities.

Achievements and Performance

Rio Vivo church, Brazil

The English classes are run by the church. We made monthly grants totalling £13,498 to run the classes. The church used it mainly for the salary of the school leader. We provided 6 volunteers to teach online from abroad. We mentored 3 Brazilian volunteer teachers and paid for ESL training for 2 of them. The classes are free to the students. About 80 adult students improved their English. This gives social benefit and greater employability. Several have joined the church.

The church made an emergency Covid appeal to our donors for the poor. We received £6,483 in donations and transferred the money. The church bought food and distributed it to known needy families and offered personal follow-up.

Bridge School, Ethiopia:

We made grants totalling £5,497. Part was relocation costs to a cheaper premisses in better location. Most was emergency funding for the school to survive the Covid business downturn. Bridge subsidises poorer students, upskills employees, trains missionaries and models ESL best practices. We chose to stretch our policy on grant-making to cover core business costs and enable the business to survive. It has.

We provided 4 volunteers to teach 1:1 online classes as part of Covid recovery.

222 ministries to Iranians:

We provided 3 volunteers to teach online classes to 10 adults in a pilot program. We mentored 1 Iranian volunteer teacher. We made grants of £420 for a laptop and an ESL training course.

The students are adult refugees. English will help their employability, educational opportunities and future integration into host countries.

Volunteers:

14 volunteers taught 1-2 lessons a week. They were British, American, Brazilian & Iranian.

Financial Review : 6/4/20 – 5/4/21

----- Start of picture text -----
Incomin Opening balance 1,221
g
Gifts (from 5 churches and about 60 individuals) 33,039
Total Incoming 34,260
Outgoin Brazil, Rio Vivo grants (mainly salary for the school 13,498
g leader)
Brazil, poor appeal (food distribution) 6,483
Ethiopia grants (school relocation, business survival) 5,497
Iran grants (laptop, training course) 420
Expenses (mostly teaching resources) 458
Total Outgoing 26,356
Closing balance 7,904
----- End of picture text -----

Gift-Aid:

HMRC registered us and we made our first claim in 2020 (£4,244). We will make annual claims.

Fund raising:

• Through the personal networks and regular prayer letters of trustee Rob Rawlins and school leader Michael Rawlins in Brazil.

• Two quizzes

Donors specified how their donations should be allocated. If not specified, then ‘open’.

Hope Church (Rob’s church) and its members made the most contributions.

Year-end position:

A successful appeal in January raised £6,000 and then a church group donated £3,000. Meanwhile we continued our monthly grant to Brazil. At year-end we had a healthy £7,904 – enough to meet the monthly Brazil grant until December (with continuing Standing Order donations).

Reserves:

We have none, except the bank balance. If donations dry up, so will our grants. Brazil knows our monthly commitment depends on continuing donations. We have no other commitments, so we need no reserves. However we have hopes (and prayers) for ongoing donations to fund more grants.

Voluntary:

The accounts show no wages nor salary. Apart from £358 for expenses, all outgoings were grants. All our teachers are voluntary. The trustees are voluntary. Rob Rawlins, who runs the charity, is voluntary.

Risk:

If Rob Rawlins were off sick, no one is currently available or trained to run the charity.

Structure, Governance and Management

The governing document is a trust deed.

Trustees:

• Meet 3 times a year. Rob Rawlins sends an update report before each meeting.

• This year we have had our minimum of 3 trustees.

• All were still within their 2, 3 or 4 year commitments.

• New trustees will be found and invited by existing trustees.

• New trustees will receive our document ‘Being a trustee of BSS’ and will be assigned an existing trustee as a mentor.

Reference and Administrative details

Charity name: Bridge Schools Support Other names used: none Registered charity number: 1186110 Address: 320 Hither Green Lane, London SE13 6TS Trustees: Robert Champion Rawlins (chairman) } Lisa Jane Wilson } all acted all year Christopher Andrew Marston } Runs the charity: Rob Rawlins

Declarations

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

Signed on behalf of the charity’s trustees

Signature(s) RcRawlins Full name(s) Robert Champion Rawlins

Position (eg Chair Secretary, Chair, etc)

Date 4/10/21

Bridge Schools Support

- Statement of Financial Activities: 2020 2021

from 6/4/2020 to 5/4/2021.

Incomings:
Opening balance on 6/4/20		1,220.73
Unrestricted gifts		4,762
Restricted gifts	28,277
Total Incomings:		34,260
Less Outgoings:
From Unrestricted account		420	To Turkey, 222
ministries
From Restricted accounts		25,478
Expenses *		458
Total Outgoings:		26,356

Closing balance on 5/4/20: 7,904

Statement of Assets and Liabilities On 5/4/21.

Assets: Only cash held in our bank account

----- Start of picture text -----
Accounts 2020- Total Unrestric Ethiopi Rio RV Poor
21 ted a Vivo Appeal
Brought forward 1220.7 1218.03 100 - 982.63
3 1079.9
3
In: Gifts during 4762.16 2245 20531. 5500.14
year 98
Out: Grants 420 5496.9 13,498 6,483.14
during year 4
Out: Expenses 192.52 265.45
Closing balance 7903.9 5367.67 - 5688.6 -0.37
6 3151.9 0
4
Adjust closing 7903. 2215.36 0 5688. 0
balance 96 60
----- End of picture text -----

Liabilities: None. We only receive gifts and make grants. We make no commitment to our beneficiaries of future grants. They know grants are dependent on gifts received.

*** . Expenses detail**

294

EFL resources

Zoom licence 143 Conference fee 21

Signed on 4/10/21 on behalf of the Trustees RcRawlins Robert Champion Rawlins, Chair of

Trustees.

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