Charity Mentors Sussex
Trinity House
School Hill
Lewes BN7 2NN
Charity Number: 1186593
Trustees: Chantal Wilson (Chairman), Christopher Gebbie, Jane Roberts, Richard Pearson (appointed 30[th] October), Timothy Hancock, Lauren Lloyd (resigned 25[th] October)
Chairman’s report November 2023 – October 2024
The trustees continued to fulfil the objectives of the charity despite the year being one of unexpected changes and challenges.
The charity’s long-standing co-ordinator and manager, Ian Noble, stood down in March 2024. He had been pivotal in supporting the trustees and helping the charity to grow steadily since he joined in 2018. His sure touch and commitment to the charity were greatly appreciated by trustees.
A recruitment process followed, resulting in the appointment in April 2024 of Caroline Peek as consultant co-ordinator. Unfortunately, Caroline found it difficult to incorporate what was needed in the role with her busy life and she decided to stand down in August 2024. However, she helpfully remained in post until her successor could be appointed.
Following another formal recruitment process, the trustees were pleased to appoint Alison Lake in September 2024. Alison hit the ground running and by the end of the CMS reporting year on 31[st] October 2024, had made herself well-known to key players in the charity sphere in Sussex.
Partly as a result of these changes in co-ordinators, the number of mentoring projects completed in the year was slightly lower at 15 than in the previous year but nevertheless, the trustees continued to focus on improving the resilience and structure of the charity rather than day to day management. At the end of October 2024 there were 25 mentors and active projects with 16 mentees.
In line with the SORP reporting guidance, the trustees are aware of the need to formalise and record how trustees are recruited and will be attending to this in due course.
Funding is a key, on-going responsibility of the board and in looking at potential funding sources, the trustees became increasingly aware of the need for robust, accurate and meaningful metrics in relation to outcomes of mentoring and spent time considering the best
ways of recording them. Applications for funding brought two grants totalling £9000, and the necessary reserves, as identified in the charity’s reserves policy, were exceeded throughout the year. Total expenses of the charity in the year were just under £13000.
The trustees will be focussing on achieving more substantial, long-term funding. This will entail clear articulation and narrative around the importance of supporting charities which work directly with communities and the importance of helping to achieve a sustainable, confident and vibrant charitable sector in Sussex.
We received many expressions of thanks and gratitude from mentees who explained what a difference having a mentor had made. These comments and the content of the feedback forms which mentees submit will help improve the qualitative and quantitative data needed for credible and successful grant applications.
Despite a year of change, our volunteer mentor cohort remained exceptionally committed to the charity. There were only 2 resignations, from mentors who had both given the benefit of their expertise and experience to many charities over the long-term and I would like to thank them for giving so generously of their valuable personal time. We are fortunate in having recruited new mentors to take their place. The board is aware that our mentor cohort is not sufficiently representative of those we mentor and will be taking steps to try and address this.
During the year, a group was formed representing most of the county charity mentor organisations which exist England-wide. Charity Mentors Sussex joined the group at its inception and it is proving to be a very useful forum for exchanging ideas and discussing problems.
I would like to thank all our mentors for their dedication and loyalty to CMS. We are most fortunate to have an exceptionally high-quality group of individuals with an immense range of skills and experience and mentees often compliment the charity on this.
During the year, a highly valued trustee, Lauren Lloyd stood down as a trustee. I would like to thank her very much for her time with CMS. Lauren is exceptionally conversant with charity governance and we will miss her input. However, I am delighted that Richard Pearson became a trustee just at the end of the reporting period.
On a personal note, I would like to express my sincere thanks to the small but perfectly formed board of trustees which supports me so comprehensively. Each trustee takes the initiative in his or her sphere of expertise, creating a highly functional and integrated team.
Chantal Wilson Chairman, CMS
4[th] May 2025
| Charity Mentors Sussex | Charity Mentors Sussex | 1186593 | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Receipts andpayments accounts | CC16a | |||
| For the period from |
1-Nov-23 | To | 31-Oct-24 |
| Section A Receipts and payments | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| A1 Receipts Boltini 5,000 EKCT 4,000 - - - - - - 9,000 - - Sub total - Total receipts 9,000 A3 Payments Insurance 112 Website,e-mail and IT costs 655 Social media 1,134 Coordinator fees and expenses 10,532 Fundraisingcosts - Venue hire & event costs 423 Marketing 44 - - Sub total 12,900 - - Sub total - Total payments 12,900 Net of receipts/(payments) - 3,900 A5 Transfers between funds - A6 Cash funds last year end 15,783 Cash funds this year end 11,883 Unrestricted funds to the nearest £ Sub total(Gross income for AR) A2 Asset and investment sales, (see table). A4 Asset and investment purchases, (see table) |
to the nearest £ Restricted funds |
to the nearest £ Endowment funds |
Total funds to the nearest £ |
Last year to the nearest £ |
| - - - - - - - - - |
- - - - - - - - - |
5,000 4,000 - - - - - - 9,000 |
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| - | - | 9,000 | - | |
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112 655 1,134 10,532 - 423 44 - - 12,900 |
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| - | - | 12,900 | - | |
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- 3,900 - 15,783 11,883 |
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Section B Statement of assets and liabilities at the end of the period
| Categories B1 Cash funds B2 Other monetary assets B3 Investment assets B5 Liabilities B4 Assets retained for the charity’s own use Signed by one or two trustees on behalf of all the trustees |
Details Details Details Details Details Signature Total cash funds (agree balances with receipts and payments account(s)) |
to nearest £ to nearest £ - - - - - - - - Agreement Error OK to nearest £ to nearest £ - - - - - - - - - - - - Cost (optional) - - - - - Cost (optional) - - - - - - - - - - - - - - Print Name Unrestricted funds Restricted funds Unrestricted funds Restricted funds Fund to which asset belongs Fund to which asset belongs Fund to which liability relates Amount due (optional) |
to nearest £ Endowment funds |
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| OK | |||
| to nearest £ Endowment funds |
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| Current value (optional) |
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| When due (optional) |
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| Date of approval |
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