## **The Courtney Foundation** 

## **Trustees’ Report and Accounts** 

for the period: 6th September 2024 to 5th September 2025 Registered charity number: 1187689 (England and Wales) 

|**Administrative details**|||
|---|---|---|
|Charity name:<br>The Courtney Foundation<br>Registered charity number:  1187689 (England and Wales)|||
|Principal address:<br>126 Five Springs, Luton, Bedfordshire, LU3 3LJ|||
|**Structure and governance**|||
|Trustees:<br>Melissa Llewellyn<br>3rd Feb 2020 - current|||
||Ahmed Adde<br>3rd Nov 2022 - current||
||Ashley Parker<br>3rd Nov 2022 - current||
||M. Sadiqul Choudhury|3rd Nov 2022 - current|
||Ahmed Aweis Ahmed<br>5th Mar 2023 - current||
|Structure:<br>Charitable Incorporated Organisation|||
|Governing document:|Constitution||



New trustees are selected with consideration of their skills, knowledge and experience, and are appointed by resolution passed by the existing trustees. Trustees must read and understand all organisational policies, which reflect statutory and legal requirements and good practice procedures. 

## **Adopted policies:** 

1. Safeguarding Policy 

2. Code of Conduct and Ethics 

3. Conflict of Interest Policy 

4. Data Protection Policy 

5. Privacy Policy 

6. Whistleblowing Policy 

7. Challenging Behaviour Policy 

8. Equality, Diversity and Meaningful Inclusion Policy 

9. Complaints Policy 

10. Health and Safety Policy 

11. Volunteer Policy 

12. Volunteer Disciplinary Procedures 

13. Financial Management Policy 

14. Reimbursements of Expenses and Purchases Policy 

15. Business Ethics and Anti-Bribery Policy 

16. Environmental and Sustainability Policy 

17. Hardship Projects Policy 

18. Reserves Policy 

19. Safeguarding Policy (Refugee Support Drop-in) 

## **Objectives and activities** 

Charitable objects: 

a) To promote social inclusion for the public benefit by preventing people from becoming socially excluded, relieving the needs of those people who are socially excluded and assisting them to integrate into society 



b) The prevention or relief of poverty in England by providing: items and services to individuals in need and/or charities, or other organisations working to prevent or relieve poverty 

Thanks to referrers, funders, supporters and local organisations, we were able to help lots of people with clothing, refugee support and one-to-one support during this period. 

## **Projects** 

## **Children’s Clothing Support** 

Our children’s clothing project provides free children’s clothing, shoes and coats to families in financial difficulty. We supported 339 babies and children during this period. This includes working families, those who are unemployed or unable to work, people with long term health conditions, those currently seeking asylum or with new refugee status, families who’ve been relocated to Luton due to domestic violence or other reasons, and families with children with special educational needs and health conditions who require suitable clothing. 

This work was supported by NOAH Enterprise through use of their charity shop, and funding from Bedfordshire and Luton Community Foundation and the Frank Branston Charitable Trust and Utilita Giving. 

Our children’s clothing project: 

- relieves some financial burden, allowing funds to be spent elsewhere 

- contributes to healthier, happier children by providing a weather-appropriate coat for a school child, well-fitting and warm baby clothes, appropriate clothing for a child with SEN, or appropriately styled clothing for a teenager 

- reduces stress and promotes healthier, happier households 

- provides urgent support for children who have extremely limited clothing; those who have fled their homes in urgency and only have the clothes they are currently wearing due to e.g. domestic violence or seeking asylum 

## **Refugee Support Drop-In** 

Our weekly refugee support drop-in offers information, advice and guidance for a range of matters related to navigating the UK asylum system and life in the UK post status. We provided 404 one-to-one sessions during this period. The top five topics were housing, negative asylum decision, accessing solicitors, benefits/employment, and general signposting/local orientation. 

Focusing on empowerment and agency, we help clients to better understand their rights and options at every possible opportunity. Working in close partnership with colleagues at Luton Council, Hope Church and the British Red Cross Luton branch, we are able to ensure continued support for urgent and complex cases. 

We have a strong reputation within local refugee communities as an organisation that values inclusion, safeguarding and fairness. Our dedicated and skilled staff and volunteers run the project on Sundays. 



“I really enjoy volunteering with The Courtney Foundation, I have learned a lot about boundaries when it comes to helping people. Before I used to help people more than I could manage but volunteering here has helped me understand there are limits to what we can do and how important it is to look after ourselves when we do this work. I have learned new skills on how to hold conversations with people experiencing very difficult situations, being professional but still showing them we care. I think this volunteering has helped me learn a lot. 

I think my role is very important because most people come and struggle to speak confidently in English. I can help them speak freely and confidently about their issue to get help. I see the Sunday drop-in improving week by week but I think it would be really good to have more resources to allow us to follow-up with clients and check on their wellbeing.” 

_Refugee support drop-in volunteer_ 

## **One-to-one support** 

Since March 2025, we’ve provided one-to-one support to 236 people experiencing food and fuel poverty, funded by Utilita Giving. We offer a tailored service to people in a range of circumstances, including giving material provision, practical support and guidance, and broader information and signposting services. Our Support Links page on our website has been developed as part of this broader support offer. 

Directly and working alongside partners, the project facilitated the provision of: 

- Urgent material support including clothing and food packs 

- Fuel and food vouchers 

- Beds and white goods 

- Hardship grant applications 

- Ongoing wellbeing support and professional friendship 

- Practical support to navigate systems 

- Employability support 

“I’m very happy with my shopping voucher, my sister is coming to visit and now I will have food to offer her, I was worried that I couldn’t afford anything to give her and felt really bad about that.” 

“The charity we applied to for household equipment reached out to us, and a single bed was brought to us. I just want to say a big thank you for everything—you’ve been such a great help, and I truly appreciate you”. 

## **Future plans** 

We’re excited to grow our existing areas of work and expand into new areas, informed by the needs and views of local people and our partners. We plan to: 

- Sustain our children's clothing provision as part of a new community cafe 

- Continue weekly one-to-one refugee support 

- Increase our capacity to provide one-to-one support 

- Restart household support, providing beds, white goods and household items 



## **Financial review** 

## **Reserves** 

Our reserves limit is currently £10000. We aim to only have an amount of reserves that is proportionate to what is required to continue our existing operations for up to 3 months, and to respond to any urgent operational needs that may arise due to unexpected financial implications. Our reserves limit will be adjusted accordingly as our work progresses, and this will be reflected in our Reserves Policy. Income from any sources are principally used to further our charitable purposes and benefit those we work with. 

## **Grants, contracts and donations** 

We’re very grateful for the grants we’ve been awarded this year: 

- Bedfordshire and Luton Community Foundation and Frank Branston Charitable Trust (total during this period: £14000 towards the Refugee Support Drop-In and overhead costs) 

- Utilita Giving and Auriga Services (total during this period: £24000 towards one-to-one support alongside children’s clothing provision) 

- Luton Council (total during this period: £9693.90 towards the Refugee Support Drop-In and £2000 for safeguarding training development and delivery) 

- Active Luton (total during this period: £2302.8 paid in arrears for children’s holiday clubs which took place in July/August 2024) 

- Heinz, Anna & Carol Kroch Foundation (total during this period: £299 for a washing machine for a client) 

We also appreciate the generous donations towards Refugee Week 2024 from: 

- All Saints Church (£250) 

- Hope Church Luton (£200) 

- SD Commercial (UK): (£250) 

- Individual donor: (£20) 

## **In-kind support** 

A final thanks to NOAH Enterprise who has supported our work by offering space in their charity shop in-kind to enable the provision of children’s clothing support. 

## **Declaration** 

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

Signed on behalf of the trustees: 

Full name Signature Date: Melissa Llewellyn 06.06.2026 



## **Receipts and payments accounts** 

Charity name: The Courtney Foundation Charity number: 1187689 (England and Wales) For the period: 6th September 2024 to 5th September 2025 

## **Receipts and payments** 

|**Receipts**||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
||**Unrestricted**<br>**funds (£)**|**Restricted**<br>**funds (£)**|**Endowment**<br>**funds (£)**|**Total funds**<br>**(£)**|**Last year (£)**|
|Donations and<br>legacies|474|720|0|1194|3586|
|Grants|2303|49993|0|52296|57572|
|Fundraising<br>events|0|0|0|0|0|
|Fees for services|0|0|0|0|0|
|Other|0|632|0|632|1087|
|**Subtotal**|**2777**|**51345**|**0**|**54122**|**62245**|
|Sale of fixed<br>assets|0|0|0|0|0|
|Sale of<br>investments|0|0|0|0|0|
|Loans received|0|0|0|0|0|
|**Sub total**|**0**|**0**|**0**|**0**|0|
|**Total receipts**|**2777**|**51345**|**0**|**54122**|**62245**|



|**Payments**||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
||**Unrestricted**<br>**funds (£)**|**Restricted**<br>**funds (£)**|**Endowment**<br>**funds (£)**|**Total funds**<br>**(£)**|**Last year (£)**|
|Salaries and<br>related costs|0|37166|0|37166|8608|
|Rent/hire|1200|0|0|1200|3378|
|Insurances|803|0|0|803|345|
|Telephone and<br>internet|78|0|0|78|78|
|Stationary,||||||
|printing and|0|0|0|0|228|
|office supplies||||||
|Subscriptions,||||||
|including digital<br>and online|709|0|0|709|59|
|packages||||||
|Bank charges|10|0|0|10|0|
|Website costs|200|0|0|200|0|
|Staff and<br>volunteer training|0|0|0|0|0|





|Staff expenses<br>and purchases|0|554|0|554|0|
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
|Volunteer<br>expenses and<br>purchases|0|240|0|240|860|
|Trustee<br>expenses and<br>purchases|0|0|0|0|0|
|Advertising and<br>promotion|0|0|0|0|0|
|Other project<br>costs|0|617|0|617|46228|
|Refunds received|0|0|0|0|0|
|**Sub total**|**3000**|**38577**|**0**|**41577**|**59785**|
|Purchase of<br>fixed assets|0|0|0|0|0|
|Purchase of<br>investments|0|0|0|0|0|
|Loans repaid|0|0|0|0|0|
|**Sub total**|**0**|**0**|**0**|**0**|**0**|
|**Total**|**3000**|**38577**|**0**|**41577**|**59785**|
|**Net of receipts/**<br>**(payments)**|**-224**|**12768**|**0**|**12544**|**2460**|
|**Transfer**<br>**between funds**|**0**|**0**|**0**|**0**|**0**|
|**Cash funds last**<br>**year end**|**3224**|**3376**|**0**|**6600**||
|**Cash funds this**<br>**year end**|**3000**|**16144**|**0**|**19144**||
|||||||
|**Statement of assets and liabilities at the end of the period**||||||
||**Details**||**Unrestricted**<br>**funds (£)**|**Restricted**<br>**funds (£)**|**Endowment**<br>**funds (£)**|
|Bank account|Co-operative Bank||3000|16144|0|
|Digital account|Equals Money||0|0||
|**Total cash funds**|**-**||**3000**|**16144**|**0**|
|Other monetary<br>assets|-||0|0|0|
|Investment<br>assets|-||0|0|0|
|Assets retained<br>for the charity's<br>own use|-||0|0|0|
|Liabilities|-||0|0|0|



|**Statement of assets and liabilities at the end of the period**|**Statement of assets and liabilities at the end of the period**|**Statement of assets and liabilities at the end of the period**|||
|---|---|---|---|---|
||**Details**|**Unrestricted**<br>**funds (£)**|**Restricted**<br>**funds (£)**|**Endowment**<br>**funds (£)**|
|Bank account|Co-operative Bank|3000|16144|0|
|Digital account|Equals Money|0|0||
|**Total cash funds**|**-**|**3000**|**16144**|**0**|
|Other monetary<br>assets|-|0|0|0|
|Investment<br>assets|-|0|0|0|
|Assets retained|||||
|for the charity's|-|0|0|0|
|own use|||||
|Liabilities|-|0|0|0|





## **Notes on the accounts** 

Numbers have been rounded in accordance with standard practice and expectations for charity accounts. This may result in some numbers not adding up due to rounding. When transferring funds from our Equals Money account to our Co-Operative Bank account, a £10 fee was deducted from the balance transferred. We have categorised this under 'Bank charges'. 

|**Print name**|MELISSA LLEWELLYN|
|---|---|
|**Signature**||
|**Date**|30.09.2025|





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