2023-03-31-accounts

The Convert Muslim Foundation (Registered charity, number 1187573) Financial statements for the year ended 31 March 2023

Page	Contents
2 - 6	Trustees’ annual report
7	Independent examiner’s report
8	Receipts & payments account
9	Statement of assets & liabilities
10	Notes to the accounts

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The Convert Muslim Foundation Trustees’ annual report for the year ended 31 March 2023

Full name The Convert Muslim Foundation

Organisation type Charitable Incorporated Organisation (CIO)

Registered charity number 1187573

Principal address

45 Oakfield Avenue, Leicester, LE67 9WH

Trustees

Andrew Barson, Chair Zoe Hibell Warren Clementson Sariya Cheruvallil-Contractor

Conor Murphy, from 29/7/23 Benjamin Abu Ismail, until 2/11/2022

Independent examiner

John O’Brien, employee of Community Accounting Plus, Units 1 & 2 North West, 41 Talbot Street, Nottingham, NG1 5GL

Governance and management

The charity is operated under the rules of its constitution adopted 24 January 2020.

The CMF is an equal opportunities organisation (and employer) that aims to have a diverse mix of skills and backgrounds amongst staff and the members of the Board of Trustees that reflects the diverse community we work with. These values guide the process of selecting new Trustees to the organisation. A document reflecting our values and the role of Trustees is available to all those expressing an interest in the organisation. The CMF has opted to openly advertise positions of Trusteeship amongst its members so that interested parties to make application. A full CV together with details of why an individual feels they have the desire, experience and expertise to be a Trustee is requested. Our Trustee outline is provided and an interview is arranged for selection to proceed.

Objectives and activities

In general terms, The CMF aims to advance the Islamic religion in the United Kingdom for the benefit of the public through the holding of prayer meetings, lectures, public celebration of religious festivals, and producing and/or distributing literature on the Islamic religion to enlighten others about the Islamic religion, specifically (but not exclusively) with the needs of converts and their families in mind.

The charity also looks to advance the education of the wider public in the United Kingdom in the subjects of Islam and of conversion to Islam. We aim to promote

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The Convert Muslim Foundation

research in these subject areas for the public benefit and to publish the relevant results.

Public benefit statement

The Trustees confirm that they have complied with the duty in section 17 of the Charities Act 2011 to have due regard to the Charity Commission's general guidance on public benefit, 'Charities and Public Benefit'.

Summary of the main activities undertaken for the public benefit

The CMF in the last year has planned several projects to reach our objectives, including (but not restricted to);

• Support for Converts to Islam, their families and other relevant persons, including pastoral support, signposting and financial support (over 900 contacts within the period);

• The CMF have continued to support the Arabic Scholarship for Converts at a prestigious Islamic institution of learning;

• The CMF held the first post-Covid, in person Ramadan Retreat for converts to Islam and their families;

• The CMF have continued to develop projects to serve the Convert population in UK prisons in order to produce a national strategy;

• The CMF have continued the ‘Convert Care’ initiative, mapping convert care support across the UK and Ireland, bringing together the first ever UK network of organisations providing convert care, developing a website to list support available and planning a Conference to promote best practice to be held in 2023;

• The CMF have worked in collaboration with Beacon Mosques/Faith Associates to produce the first annual ‘Best Convert Care’ award, to promote better Convert care across the network of UK mosques, attending the exhibition to promote CMF projects and presenting the award;

• Launched new research initiatives in partnership with the University of Cardiff and the University of Coventry, to better understand the legacy and impact of Converts on the Muslim community in the UK;

• The CMF have collaborated on events and trips (as part of the wider ‘Caravan of Converts’ project) celebrating the history of Converts in the UK, as well as our annual Umrah pilgrimage trip to Mecca (specifically designed for Converts).

Summary of the main achievements during the period

The CMF have continued to push forward with major projects since the end of the ‘Covid Era’. It has been a successful and particularly busy year for our young charity, despite the small size of our Trustee board and staff. It is with sadness but thanks that we say goodbye to our treasurer Benjamin Abu Ismail, who has been an integral part of

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The Convert Muslim Foundation

the charity since its inception. The Convert Care project has advanced greatly with the website going live, the network now connected with new social media channels and the Convert Care Conference now planned for 2023. In this endeavour, CMF will be the first organization in the UK to bring together Convert Care providers to connect and identify best practice.

A full review of CMF projects can be found as always in the directors’ report to the AGM which allowed us to concrete our organisation aims with our current project objectives. This has allowed us to identify key priorities going forward to build upon our current work. Namely:

• The CMF continues to provide support to those who have embraced Islam or are interested in the faith through signposting, information and social media engagement;

• The CMF has taken steps towards ensuring that Converts in the UK are able to find timely, culturally sensitive, local support through a registered network of providers in an accessible way through the Convert Care initiative;

• The CMF have procured and collected resources to be offered to UK prisons to better serve their Convert prisoners, to ensure their spiritual and cultural needs are met. Likewise, plans are being developed for future projects and resources to support Muslim converts whilst in prison and with their rehabilitation into their local Muslim communities;

• The CMF has brought together UK converts through unique social experiences to learn and explore the history of UK converts, reducing isolation and increasing education of the UK convert experience;

• The CMF has strengthened the development of academic interest in beneficial research regarding Converts to better understand their needs and to acknowledge their impact upon the wider Muslim community in the UK;

• The CMF has (and continues to) promote a wider awareness of the need for Convert support and has taken steps to encourage Mosques to play a more active role in this important work;

• o The CMF is looking to expand in terms of Trustees and staff, to develop key infrastructure, funding strategy and to ensure it is a robust and resilient charity that can be sustained.

Financial Review:

Income and fundraising

The CMF generates income primarily from donations, legacies and fundraising. In 2022/23, its total income increased by 5 percent to £74,120 (2021/22: £70,618) in the year. This demonstrates strong stability in CMF’s donors base and the continued growth in its funding support network.

Our UK and international donors continued to demonstrate their generosity in supporting CMF in supporting its social and care programs for new Muslims and for bringing awareness to rich legacy left behind by early converts to Islam.

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Expenditure

CMF’s expenditure falls into two main categories:

1) Charitable activities: the costs associated with implementing programmes as per CMF’s mandate;

2) Support costs: this includes expenditure and investment in ensuring that effective governance, people, policies and systems are in place to support the frontline delivery of our projects, and that donations are utilized in an efficient and effective manner.

Direct charitable expenditure increased significantly to £14,920 in 2022/23 from £2,777 in 2021/22. The large increase was planned and in line with stated charitable objectives set by the Trustees to deliver on its charitable mandate. Of this, 61 percent was expended on 3 main charitable programs: (i) Ramadhan Retreat 2022, (ii) Best Convert Support Award [Beacon Mosque Awards], and (iii) CMF’s Prison project.

In addition, CMF has indirect charitable contributions carried out by its paid staff and unpaid volunteers and trustees in providing a number of counselling support to recently converted Muslims and established convert Muslims relating to financial, mental well-being, religious guidance and other forms of convert care.

Investments

CMF does not currently have an investment portfolio. However, CMF may, in the future, consider establishing an investments portfolio with the aim to generate investment returns to support CMF’s long-term financial sustainability which will reduce its dependency on donations and grants by generating an annual yield that is used to fund its programming.

Reserves Policy

CMF is in the process of developing its Reserve Policy to establish the level of free reserves required. Free reserves are funds that are freely available to expend for mandated charitable activities or operational administration costs and therefore do not include restricted funds, tangible assets or amounts designated for planned spending. Upon approval of policy, trustees will review annually the minimum reserve calculation and available cash reserves.

The objective of the Reserve Policy will be to ensure long-term sustainability of the charity, taking in account the stability of donations and concentration of donor base, the current annual expenditures for core operational costs and expected charitable activities and an assessment of potential financial risks faced by the charity. The set reserves will be a balance between sustainability of the charity and the interest of donors who contribute to charity to foster charitable impact to its beneficiaries.

On 31st March 2023, CMF’s total unrestricted and restricted reserves on 31st March 2023 stood at £134,171. The amount of free reserves will soon be defined by new Reserve Policy and will be reported in next year’s accounts.

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The Convert Muslim Foundation

CMF plans to hold free reserves to:

• to mitigate against unforeseen funding fluctuations,

• provide working capital and manage the seasonality of income generation for the effective running of the charity,

• provide continuity to its charitable activities of support and care to the convert Muslim community against unforeseen project expenditures.

In absence of current Reserve Policy, the Board of Trustees considers the level of total reserves to be sufficient considering CMF’s size, operations and the financial risks to which it is exposed.

Risk Review and Going Concern

The Board of Trustees has assessed CMF’s ability to continue as a going concern. The trustees have considered numerous factors when concluding whether the organisation continues to be a going concern and have also considered the key risks, including the ongoing cost of delivery, rising costs and inflation, and the cost-of- living crisis that could negatively impact the charity.

The critical risk in our financial model is a fall in income and our ability to deliver charitable activities, leading to the lower recovery of core costs. We are mitigating the risk by (i) not committing to costly programs until adequate funding is secured and (ii) maintaining a healthy level of cash reserves.

Our unrestricted core income is funded by donations which have remained remarkably stable despite ongoing economic challenges. Our financial results continue to see signs of generous giving by our core donors resulting in CMF’s highest level of total income to date. CMF has sufficient undesignated cash resources to cover all charitable and administrative outflows (at the level of 2022/23) for the forthcoming 24 months.

After considering these factors, the Board of Trustees has concluded that the charity remains a robust going concern and has adequate resources to continue delivering for the foreseeable future.

Signed on behalf of the charity’s trustees:

Signed Date 16 /01/2024

Andrew Barson, Chair of Trustees, Convert Muslim Foundation

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Independent examiner’s report to the trustees of The Convert Muslim Foundation for the year ended 31 March 2023

I report to the trustees on my examination of the accounts of The Convert Muslim Foundation (the charity) for the year ended 31 March 2023.

Responsibilities and basis of report

As the trustees of the charity, 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 2011 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.

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.

Signed ___ Date ______

John O’Brien MSc, FAIA, FCCA, FCIE Employee of Community Accounting Plus

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The Convert Muslim Foundation Receipts & payments account for the year ended 31 March 2023

2022 £ Note Receipts 67398 Donations 2 2970 Activities 250 Sundry receipts 70618 Total receipts Payments 1777 Activities & events 1000 Donations paid 11087 Consultancy - Technical support 3255 Website, phone & postage 540 Professional fees 463 Travel 516 Printing & stationery - Trustee Meetings - Membership - Fundraising & marketing 898 Sundry payments 19536 Total payments 51082 Net receipts/(payments) 38293 Cash funds at start of this period 89375 Cash funds at end of this period	2023 £ 67901 6121 98
	74120
	14920 - 11064 249 536 552 1057 478 147 100 125 96
	29324
	44796 89375
	134171

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The Convert Muslim Foundation Statement of assets and liabilities at 31 March 2023

2022 £ Cash assets Note 89375 Bank accounts 89375 Other monetary assets - Debtors:Consultancy - Liabilities (552) Creditors 3 (552)	2023 £ 134171
	134171
	49
	49
	(1704)
	(1704)

These financial statements are accepted on behalf of the charity by:

Signed _____ Dated _____ Andrew Barson, Trustee

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The Convert Muslim Foundation Notes to the accounts for the year ended 31 March 2023

1. Receipts & payments accounts

Receipts and payments accounts contain a summary of money received and money spent during the period and a list of assets and liabilities at the end of the period. Usually, cash received and cash spent will include transactions through bank accounts and cash in hand.

2. Grants & donations

£ Sundry donations 67901 67901

3. Creditors

£ Consultancy 1122 Professional fees 582 1704

4. Trustees’ remuneration

Trustees received no expenses, remuneration or benefits in this period.

5. Related party transactions

There were no related party transactions during the year.

6. Glossary of terms

Creditors: These are amounts owed by the charity, but not paid during the accounting period.

Debtors: These are amounts owed to the charity, but not received in the accounting period.

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