2025-03-31-accounts

Charitable Incorporated Organisation, registered with the Charity Commission for England and Wales (1187516)

Trustees’ Annual Report & Statement of Financial Activity for 12 months ended 31st March 2025

Unity is Strength Email: [e-mail] https://unityisstrength.org.uk/

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Contents

Section	Page
1. Reference and Administration Details	3
2. Structure, Governance and Management	4
3. Activities and Objectives	10
4. Achievements and Performance	12
5. Financial Review	15

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Trustees Annual Report & Statement of Financial Activity for 12 months ended 31st March 2025

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1. Reference and Administration Details

1.1. Charity Name & Registration

Unity is Strength

The charity is a Charitable Incorporated Organisation, registration number 1187516. Registered with the Charity Commission for England and Wales on 22nd January 2020.

The charity is registered with HM Revenue & Customs.

1.2 Charity details

Registered address: Pollardine Farm, Gatten, Pontesbury, Shropshire, SY5 0SJ Email: [e-mail] Website: https://unityisstrength.org.uk/

1.3 Trustees

The Trustees who served the charity in this period are:

Elizabeth Ann Hulton-Harrop (Chair) Jane Elizabeth Yair Hulton-Harrop Thomas Hugh Hulton-Harrop Robert Edward Havard (appointed 26 May 2024)

1.4 Names of Advisors & Senior Members of Staff

None

1.5 Bank

CAF Bank, 25 Kings Hill Avenue, Kings Hill, West Malling, Kent ME19 4JQ.

1.6 Reporting period

The reporting period is 1[st] April 2024 – 31[st] March 2025.

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2. Structure, Governance and Management

2.1 Type of governing document

The governing document is a Constitution based on the Charity Commission’s model governing document for Foundation Charitable Incorporated Organisations, ie: where the Trustees are the only Members of the charity. The charity is a Charitable Incorporated Organisation (CIO).

2.2. Charitable Objects

As defined in Unity is Strength’s Constitution (governing document), the charity’s objects (“objects”) are:

‘The object of the CIO is to advance education, relieve sickness and poverty and to otherwise provide for the charitable needs of orphans , students and the wider community at St. Paul KAASO (Kabira Adult Attention & School for Orphans), Uganda in particular by providing grants, items and services to KAASO.’

The Charitable Objects were amended on 27.03.25 to include the words highlighted in bold above. No other changes were made. This change was proposed and approved by the trustees on 02.02.25, and granted by the Charity Commission on 27.03.25.

Why the change was made:

While KAASO was originally set up to solely support orphans, this is no longer the case – children from all backgrounds attend the school. We wish our support to extend to non-orphans and the wider community at St Paul KAASO as there is just as much need to advance education, relieve sickness and poverty and provide for charitable needs of all students and staff members at KAASO, as well as the orphans. This does not mean that orphans at KAASO will receive any less support than they currently do; we have enough funds to broaden the number of beneficiaries without negatively impacting any of our existing work.

2.3 Organisational structure

The charity trustees are responsible for the governance and management of the charity. The trustees give their time freely and receive no remuneration or other benefits.

The trustees regularly discuss the running of the charity and formally meet on an annual basis. They are responsible for all decisions taken in relation to running the charity. To assist the smooth running of the charity, the trustees set up a sub-committee to

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oversee certain aspects of the charity’s work. The Chair sits on the sub-committee alongside the two Founders and Directors of St Paul KAASO, Uganda, and the KAASO Volunteer Coordinator. The sub-committee oversees the delivery of the projects in Uganda to ensure there is no duplication between Unity is Strength’s work and that of other organisations or volunteers.

2.3 Trustee selection methods

There must be at least three charity trustees. There is no maximum number of charity trustees that may be appointed to the CIO.

In accordance with the Constitution, trustees are appointed or re-appointed for a oneyear term by a resolution passed at a properly convened meeting of the charity trustees.

In appointing trustees, due consideration is given to ensuring that the trustees have, between them, the skills and experience necessary to manage the charity effectively and in accordance with charity law as laid down in Clause 10 (2) of the Constitution.

2.4 Induction and training of trustees

Before being appointed, individuals that express an interest in becoming a trustee receive the following documents to ensure they have a full understanding of what the role entails and how Unity is Strength operates:

• The charity’s Constitution

• CC3 The Essential Trustee: What you need to know

• Relevant policies such as the charity’s Data Protection Policy, Trustee Code of Conduct, and Safeguarding Policy.

This ensures new trustees are aware of the scope of their responsibilities under the Charities Act. Initially, new trustees work with an existing trustee assisting on activities and projects run by the charity. After satisfactory feedback from existing trustees, they may be given the task of leading a particular activity or project, reporting progress at trustee meetings.

2.5 Risk management

The Trustees have assessed the risks the charity faces and have drawn up a Risk Log which identifies the major risks by likelihood of occurrence, severity of impact, control procedure, retained risk, monitoring process, and responsibility. The trustees review the Risk Log annually.

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The major risks and how they are managed are outlined in the table below:

Risks	Management
The Board is made up of 4 members, so governance and management responsibilities fall on a small number of people. As per the Constitution, the charity must always have a minimum of 3 trustees. There is a risk that the current trustees cannot fulfil all tasks required to successfully operate the charity.	The fourth trustee joined the Board in May 2024. The current trustees prioritise complying with regulatory requirements before spending time on other activities e.g. funding applications. The charity needs to have a strong foundation to be able to grow successfully in the future. Regular communication between trustees so that if work becomes overwhelming/unmanageable it is recognised at the earliest opportunity. Tasks are divided into categories 'must-have', 'should-have', or 'nice-to-have'. This enables the trustees to see everything that the charity could be doing, but with a control mechanism in place to prioritise activities.
Data breach.	Data is stored on limited devices, all password protected, and in areas only accessible to individuals where necessary. Any individual with access must sign a Data Protection Policy for Unity is Strength. Authenticator applications/dual verification is enabled where possible. Systems and who has access are reviewed on an annual basis to ensure the retained risk is low.
Trustees/Volunteers visiting KAASO may experience sickness, loss of personal items, need wellbeing care before and after visits.	The trustees decided in the year 2024/25 that Unity is Strength will not organise volunteer visits to KAASO. Unity is Strength is a small charity that focuses on long-term sustainable solutions for St Paul KAASO Primary School. It is not within our remit to facilitate volunteer visits to KAASO. If we are approached by an individual who wishes to visit KAASO, we follow the process outlined below. Thank the individual for their interest and explain that this is not something that we do. Put in writing that if the individual wants to visit KAASO, they would do this through theKAASO Volunteer

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	Programme and they would not be affiliated with Unity is Strength in any way.
Non-compliance with legislation and regulations appropriate to the activities, size and structure of the charity.	Review Charity Commission guidance regularly to ensure the charity is fully compliant with all relevant legislation. Reminders are set for important deadlines e.g. submission of annual report and accounts.
Money transferred from UK to Uganda not reaching intended recipient.	Unity is Strength is set up with a reputable bank that specifically deals with charities (Charities Aid Foundation Bank). To send money to Uganda, a form must be completed and signed by two trustees. When CAF receives this form, they may call the registered contact and confirm security questions before authorising the transaction. Partners in Uganda send the automated confirmation message from their bank on receipt of the funds and a report of how the money has been spent with supporting photos/videos when the project has been completed. The full process has been documented in a Financial Controls policy for the trustees to follow. The same procedure has been followed since the charity was established and there has never been an issue.
Mishandling of restricted vs unrestricted donations – the legal requirement that donor restrictions are met are not complied with.	Any donation processed via the website is clearly assigned to general funds or to a specific fund. Unless specified by the donor, all donations made directly to Unity is Strength either by cash, BACS or cheque are deemed general donations. Partners in Uganda are required to prepare a budget before funds are sent so that we can agree on what the money will be spent on. When funds are sent to Uganda (restricted and unrestricted), our partners are required to send a report to show how the funds have been spent and to ensure the funds have been used for the correct

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	charitable purposes. Additional funds are not sent until a report has been received.
Investment of funds e.g. risk of a large donation being mismanaged due to lack of experience.	If the charity receives a large donation, a trustee meeting would be called immediately to review our Investment Policy and use it to decide how these additional funds should be managed. Professional advice would be sought where appropriate.
Dispute(s) between the charity and our partners in Uganda.	Regular meetings between trustee(s) and partners in Uganda where both parties (Unity is Strength and KAASO) are given the opportunity to air any concerns they have; these are noted, and solutions proposed. This is reviewed at subsequent meetings to ensure the situation is improving or to identify if further action is required. Both parties are always given the opportunity to speak openly to build a relationship on transparency and trust. The Chair of trustees (Elizabeth Hulton-Harrop) and Directors of St Paul KAASO (Dominic and Rose Mukwaya) have a strong relationship that has been built up over a period of 14 years. The sub-committee explained in Section 2.3 (page 4) includes the KAASO Volunteer Coordinator who works with KAASO in a separate capacity. Communication involving the Coordinator ensures that projects do not duplicate each other, and priorities are agreed upon. If there was a dispute between Unity is Strength and partners in Uganda, the Coordinator would be a good third party to manage the situation.
KAASO becoming dependent on funds from Unity is Strength.	Focus on funding income-generating projects rather than funding maintenance costs. Medium- long term strategy is to reduce provision for maintenance costs. All income-generating projects must pass criteria to demonstrate that they can run without additional input from Unity is Strength. Regular, open conversations with partners in Uganda to discuss the above strategy and ensure it is the most appropriate mechanism of support. Understanding that donations come in peaks and troughs throughout theyear e.g. at Christmas time

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	we are likely to receive a higher number of donations.
Funding for projects that may fail.	From June 2023, we no longer provide funds for the original income-generating projects that were set up in 2020-21 e.g. piggery, coffee plantation, but provide funds that can be issued as loans through the KAASO Staff Development Association (see Section 4.2, page 14), as well as funds for land acquisition. We have agreements in place to ensure due diligence and thorough processes are followed for each of these areas, but the decision to fund the original income-generating projects (e.g. should we allocate money to the brick-making project, or the piggery) no longer lies with the trustees. These decisions are made by staff/teachers at KAASO who are better placed to understand the risks/opportunities of different projects.
Reputational risk – either from trustees/volunteers or projects supported in Uganda bringing the charity into disrepute.	Trustees/volunteers are given guidance on how to talk about/promote the charity when they take on the role, as well as being required to sign a Code of Conduct. Regular communication between trustees/volunteers ensures any concerns are addressed immediately. Posting on social media is kept to a minimum as this generates minimal reward for the charity. With limited resource, it is felt our time is better spent on other activities. Newsletters are approved by trustees before being sent out. Quality over quantity of newsletters is prioritised – newsletters are only sent out when significant updates are received from Uganda. For projects in Uganda, we have regular calls/messages to understand which projects have received loans for the microloan initiative (see Section 4.2, page 14) and the progress of people repaying loans. Identify any cause for concern as early as possible.

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	We do not issue further funds before being satisfied KAASO-Dep is operating within the parameters set out in the agreement.
Risk of safeguarding issues at KAASO affecting donors’ support of Unity is Strength.	Regular communication between the trustees and our partners in Uganda to ensure we are aware of any issues that have occurred at KAASO, what actions were taken, and measures put in place to mitigate this risk in future. It is not Unity is Strength’s responsibility for safeguarding at KAASO, but we need to be aware of this information for communication with our supporters.

The trustees are satisfied that systems are in place, or arrangements are in hand, to manage the risks that have been identified.

2.6 Other

The trustees spent considerable time in the first year of Unity is Strength’s operation to establish good governance. As well as developing a risk management framework as mentioned above, the trustees put policies and practices in place for safeguarding vulnerable beneficiaries, managing volunteers, handling complaints, recording and managing conflicting interests, agreeing a reserves policy, and protecting beneficiary, supporter and trustee personal data.

These policies were reviewed, updated (where necessary) and approved by trustees in January 2025.

3. Activities and Objectives

3.1 Statutory Declaration

The Trustees of Unity is Strength confirm that they have paid due regard to the guidance issued by the Charity Commission on public benefit in deciding what activities the charity should undertake.

3.2 How our activities deliver public benefit

The charity carries out a range of activities in pursuance of its charitable aims. The trustees consider that these activities, summarised below, provide benefit for the needs

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of orphans , students and the wider community at St. Paul KAASO (Kabira Adult Attention & School for Orphans), Uganda.

3.3 Provision of grants for:

Land acquisition – In autumn 2023, KAASO started to investigate buying a piece of land that Unity is Strength could help to purchase.

On land owned by KAASO, they can establish projects such as coffee gardens, which Dominic Mukwaya the Founder and Director of KAASO, always describes as a ‘cashcrop’ in Uganda. Where they rent land, this is not possible as the owner only allows annual crops to be grown and there is always the worry that they may lose this land if the owner decides to end the lease. In this video Dominic explains the importance of owning land for their future security.

Towards the end of 2023, Teacher Enoch (who has worked at KAASO for many years) was appointed to identify a piece of land that may be suitable for KAASO to purchase. After a couple of false starts, a nine-acre piece of land was found at Luti village near Kyotera town (about 20 minutes’ drive from KAASO). It is near a water source and is accessible by car, and most importantly, it has a Land Title, which must be transferred to prove ownership.

Dominic produced a work-plan and budget for the land purchase, cultivation, and coffee planting, which totalled £19,899. Over the course of the 2024/25 year, Unity is Strength was able to cover this with support from individual donors and a grant from the Grail Society. The nine-acre piece of land was purchased in September 2024.

KAASO staff members surveying the land, December 2024

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4. Achievements and Performance

4.1 Land acquisition - Purchasing the nine-acre piece of land is a huge step for KAASO – Dominic described it as the biggest project they have done . It will allow them to stop renting some land, which will be a big cost saving for them.

As well as coffee, they will grow lots of food on this piece of land. Coffee can be intercropped with bananas, cassava, beans etc. And when the coffee has just been sown, maize (corn) can be planted. This will help to provide some income in the first few years while the coffee plants are growing.

One of KAASO’s long-term aims is to increase the amount of food produced from their gardens to minimize the school’s expenditure on food. As some students at KAASO are orphans, Dominic and Rose are always trying to find ways to best support these children without incurring significant additional expenses. The income-generating projects like poultry, piggery, cattle, bee-keeping, fish farming, and gardens all help with this.

Teachers and staff members will also be able to plant seasonal crops on this land. The land will be managed by a group of staff members who are responsible for the school gardens led by Teacher Enock and Teacher Sarah.

Left: Lizzie Hulton-Harrop and Teacher Enock; Right: Teacher Sarah, March 2023

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In December 2024, Dominic and the team at KAASO started preparing the land to plant the crops, the first being matoke bananas. This involved clearing shrubs off the land, digging holes for planting the banana suckers, adding manure to the land for fertilizer, weeding, digging trenches for water and manure retention on the land, and purchasing and planting the bananas.

Following this, when the weather is right, they will be ready to plant the coffee seedlings. To help raise enough funds for the coffee seedlings, we ran a campaign leading up to Christmas 2024 where people could buy ‘coffee seedling’ vouchers to put in their Christmas cards.

Coffee seedling voucher, December 2024

One of the best things about the money for the coffee seedlings is that they are being purchased from the KAASO Nursery Bed team, one of the income-generating projects run by the teachers. So the funds will help KAASO twice.

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4.2 The continued positive benefits of KAASO-Dep

Background of KAASO-Dep - Following the success of the income-generating projects set up in 2020-21, the staff members at KAASO started a new project called the KAASO Staff Development Association (or KAASO-Dep for short), which issues microloans to individuals and groups working at KAASO to run small businesses to supplement their salaries.

Their vision is, “To create a society where workers have equal and sufficient economic and social opportunities to improve their standards of living and where they can contribute productively towards the overall development of the country.”

Individuals or groups are required to apply to the KAASO-Dep committee outlining what their project is, why they want to run it, and a breakdown of the costs. The committee, chaired by Nurse Shiba, reviews the applications and decides which projects are granted loans. Each loan has a specified pay-back window with a small interest rate to ensure the initiative is sustainable, and loanees must have three guarantors in case they are unable to pay. As the loan is repaid, this money can then be allocated to another project, and so on.

While we have not given funds directly to KAASO-Dep this financial year, we have in the past and are likely to in the future, it continues to bring many benefits to KAASO, such as:

• The wellbeing of both staff and students has significantly improved, as they now benefit from fresh produce from the gardens and farm.

• Staff members have increased their earning potential, enhancing their overall stability.

• Fewer staff members are leaving KAASO in search of better-paying opportunities, strengthening the community.

• KAASO’s farm production has expanded, allowing them to produce more eggs, livestock, bananas, coffee, and maize for both consumption and sale.

• The brick-making project has gained popularity, with their high-quality clay bricks proving to be stronger than others on the market.

• Staff members have developed better saving habits, leading to visible personal and professional growth.

• Time is now used more productively—rather than frequenting local towns in the evenings, many staff members focus on their personal projects after school.

• The initiative has created employment opportunities for young people across the area, further supporting the local community.

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For more information on each of the KAASO-Dep projects, please read this blog post. We are delighted to see the continued success of this initiative, particularly without needing further funds to be added to the loan pot by Unity is Strength.

4.3 Give as you Live - £56 raised by supporters generating free donations on Give as you Live while shopping online (included in unrestricted donations).

5. Financial Review

There was £13,886 in the bank account at the start of the financial period and £10,891 at the end of the financial period.

The pie charts below show the breakdown of our income for the financial period 1 April 2024 to 31 March 2025.

£6,578 was received in restricted donations. The breakdown of restricted donations is shown on page 16. £12,004 was received in unrestricted donations. This includes a Gift Aid claim of £2,610. We received £12 in interest for the financial period under review.

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Restricted donations were received for the following projects: Land Purchase, Coffee Seedlings and KAASO Staff Development Association as shown in the pie chart below.

The £5,000 for the land preparation costs and £1,451 for the coffee seedlings given to Unity is Strength within the financial period under review were transferred to KAASO before 31 March 2025.

We did not transfer the £127 for KAASO-Dep. This is because the KAASO-Dep committee did not request additional funds to be added to the KAASO-Dep loan pot during the financial period under review and transfers made during the 2024/25 financial year focussed on the land purchase and set up costs. We are likely to transfer the restricted amount of £127 for KAASO-Dep in the 2025/26 financial year.

The total transferred to KAASO in the period under review was £21,350 (£10,826 restricted donations and £10,524 unrestricted).

Our operating costs for the year 1 April 2024 – 31 March 2025 were £239, which includes bank fees, transfer fees, donation processing fees, and our subscription to the Fundraising Regulator.

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Breakdown to show cash funds at the end of the financial period under review:

• £18,594 received from 1 April 2024 – 31 March 2025

• Minus funds transferred to KAASO £21,350 (£10,826 restricted and £10,524 unrestricted) = -£2,756

• Minus operating costs of £239 = -£2,995

• Add £13,886 remaining from financial year 1 April 2023 – 31 March 2024 = £10,891

The £10,891 in the bank account on 31 March 2025 is made up of £10,564 unrestricted funds, £127 restricted funds, and £200 in reserves.

At the time of writing (April 2025), £3,300 of the £10,891 has been transferred to fund further land preparation costs (fencing, digging ponds to help manage periods of drought). We only transfer funds when the necessary paperwork has been submitted from KAASO and it is the right time for them to do the work. Sometimes this means we are left with funds at the end of the financial year. We believe it is better to operate like this than rush to send funds that may not be used in the most impactful way.

5.1 Reserves Policy

The Reserves Policy seeks to balance spending the maximum amount of income raised within a reasonable period of receipt with maintaining the minimum level of reserves to

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ensure uninterrupted operation and provide time to adjust to a change in financial circumstances.

An assessment of the financial impact of risk events on reserves is estimated at 1% of total cash income for this reporting period (April 2024 - March 2025). Our only committed expenditure is our monthly bank account fee, which equates to £15 over a three-month period. The trustees feel it is important to safeguard some additional unrestricted funds to cover unexpected costs, such as increased transaction fees. 1% of our total cash income for 2024/25 is approximately £200. This is the minimum amount that we aim to keep in our account over each three-month period.

5.2 Details of any funds materially in deficit

The Charity has no funds which are materially in deficit.

5.3 Principal funding sources

Fundraising comes from a range of sources, such as individual recurring donations, individual one-off donations, and grant-funding.

5.4 Plans for future period

The trustees aim to develop the following in 2025/26: A case-study about the land purchased and the impact this will have on KAASO’s self-sufficiency and sustainability. To ensure the management of the new piece of land is well-established before investigating any other land purchases. Potentially to contribute further funds to KAASO-Dep if appropriate and monitor the impact this has on the wellbeing of staff and students at KAASO.

Approved by the trustees and signed on their behalf by:

Elizabeth Hulton-Harrop (Chair), 31[st] May 2025

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	Unity is Strength	Unity is Strength	Unity is Strength	Unity is Strength	1187516	1187516	1187516	CC16a
	For the period from		01/04/2024 Period start date	To		31/03/2025 Period end date
Section A Receipts and payments
A1 Receipts	Unrestricted funds to the nearest £ - - - - - 9,394 2,610 12 12,016 - - - 12,016		Restricted funds to the nearest £ 127 5,000 1,451 - - - - 6,578 - - - 6,578 - 9,375 1,451 - - - - - - - - 10,826 - - - 10,826 - 4,248 - 4,375 127	Endowment funds to the nearest £ - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -		Total funds to the nearest £ 127 5,000 1,451 - - 9,394 2,610 12 18,594 - - -		Last year to the nearest £
Covid / KAASO-Depdonations	-							127
Landpurchase donations	-							3,500
Coffee seedlings for landpurchase	-							-
Rabbitproject	-							550
Kitchenproject	-							50
General donations	9,394							9,789
Voluntaryreceipts(Gift Aid)	2,610							3,222
Interest	12							16
Sub total(Gross income for AR)	12,016							17,254
A2 Asset and investment sales, (see table).
	-
	-							-
Sub total	-							-
Total receipts A3 Payments
						18,594		17,254
						- 19,899 1,451 - - - 60 100 19 - 60 21,589 - - - 21,589 - 2,995
Grant - KAASO Staff Development Association (loan scheme)	-		-					2,000
Grant - Landpurchase	10,524	**# **	9,375					-
Grant - Coffee seedlings for land purchase	-		1,451					-
Grant - Rabbitproject	-		-					575
Grant - Kitchenproject	-		-					50
Grant - General donations (for coffee samples and Prima's medical costs)	-		-					920
Bank charges	60		-					60
International transfer fee to Uganda	100		-					100
Donationprocessingfees	19		-					19
Transfer fee for Facebook donations	-		-					6
FundraisingRegulator subscription	60		-					50
**Sub total **	10,763		10,826					3,780
	- - - 10,763 1,253 - 9,511 10,764
A4 Asset and investment purchases (see table)
,	-
	-
**Sub total **	-
Total payments Net of receipts/(payments) A5 Transfers between funds A6 Cash funds last year end Cash funds this year end
								3,780
	1,253		- 4,248	-		- 2,995		13,474
	-		-	-		-
	9,511		4,375	-		13,886		412
	10,764		127	-		10,891		13,886

CCXX R1 accounts (SS)

31/05/2025

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Section B Statement of assets and liabilities at the end of the period	Section B Statement of assets and liabilities at the end of the period	Section B Statement of assets and liabilities at the end of the period
Categories Signed by one or two trustees on behalf of all the trustees B1 Cash funds B2 Other monetary assets B4 Assets retained for the charity’s own use B5 Liabilities B3 Investment assets	JEY Hulton-Harrop Signature E A Hulton-Harrop Details Details CAF Bank Details Details Total cash funds (agree balances with receipts and payments account(s)) Details	Unrestricted funds Restricted funds to nearest £ to nearest £ 10,764 127 - - - - 10,764 127 OK OK Unrestricted funds Restricted funds to nearest £ to nearest £ - - - - - - - - - - - - Fund to which asset belongs Cost (optional) - - - - - Fund to which asset belongs Cost (optional) - - - - - - - - - Fund to which liability relates Amount due (optional) - - - - - Print Name Elizabeth Ann Hulton-Harrop Jane Elizabeth Yair Hulton-Harrop	Endowment funds to nearest £
			-
			-
			-
			-
			OK
			Endowment funds to nearest £
			-
			-
			-
			-
			-
			-
			Current value (optional)
			-
			-
			-
			-
			-
			Current value (optional)
			-
			-
			-
			-
			-
			-
			-
			-
			-
			When due (optional)
			Date of approval
	E A Hulton-Harrop	Elizabeth Ann Hulton-Harrop	31.05.25
	JEY Hulton-Harrop	Jane Elizabeth Yair Hulton-Harrop	31.05.25

CCXX R2 accounts (SS)

31/05/2025

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