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2023-02-28-accounts

theMovement Trustees’ Annual Report 1st March 2022- 28th Feb 2023

Charity Registration No: 1187782

1

theMovement Charity

Report of the Trustees for the year ended 28th February 2023

Reference and Administrative Information

Charity Name: theMovement

Charity registration number: 1187782

Registered Office: Kemp House

152-160 City Road London EC1V 2NX

Board of Trustees:

Mr Robin Barden Chair Mr Ben Hingston Treasurer Mrs Elizabeth Morris Secretary Mrs Becky Marlow Mrs Ruth Le Friec

Ms Hara Markos

Mrs Harpreet Kaur [From October 2022]

Senior Management Team:

Mrs Fiona Roberts Chief Executive Officer

Structure, Governance & Management

Governing Document: Constitution

How Charity is Constituted: Charitable Incorporated Organisation

Trustee Selection Method:

When selecting new trustees we will look to recruit people of suitable experience that fill identified gaps in the knowledge and expertise of the existing trustees. theMovement finds and appoints new Trustees through word of mouth and public advertisements, and the suitability of new trustees is assessed through due diligence and a meeting with the CEO and Chair of Trustees. All new Trustees are pro�ded with a copy of the Constitution and the most recent Trustees’ Annual Report & Financial Statements.

Charity Registration No: 1187782

2

Purpose of theMovement

Our purposes of the charity as set out in our constitution:

“The relief of women who are in need by reason of their social or economic disadvantage including homelessness; or who have experiences or are at risk of experiencing domestic or other forms of �olence, by the pro�sion of access to physical exercise.”

Charity Registration No: 1187782

3

Executive Summary

theMovement was first conceived in recognition that the needs of women within the local community who had suffered significant trauma, were not being sufficiently met. Fiona, our founder, felt moved to combine her passions for social justice and fitness to create theMovement. We exist to restore every woman’s right to exercise.

This year’s focus was continuing to grow our exercise pro�sion for women experiencing multiple disadvantages, as well as launching a CPD course for fitness professionals as part of our aim to create a more trauma informed fitness industry. Due to unforeseen funding challenges brought about by the cost of li�ng crisis, we have not expanded as much as we had planned to, but are proud to have still seen an increase in the number of sessions we have been able to pro�de.

This year we have pro�ded 408 trauma informed exercise sessions to 140 participants, led by 27 volunteer instructors. To date we have pro�ded training on a trauma informed approach to exercise to 50 volunteer instructors and are partnered with 18 different charities where our volunteer instructors pro�de safe and supportive weekly exercise opportunities for women experiencing multiple disadvantages.

The volunteer interest from fitness professionals has continued to grow and we consistently receive feedback from charity partners affirming the positive impact of our ser�ces on the wellbeing of their clients. The growing waiting list for our ser�ces, both in London and nationally, is e�dence of the need there is for trauma informed exercise opportunities for women experiencing multiple disadvantages.

This year we launched our CPD course for fitness professionals: A Trauma Informed Approach to Exercise Pro�sion. The aim of the CPD is to resource an even greater section of the fitness industry with tools to become more trauma aware and informed so that together we may support an even greater number of women into exercise.

Charity Registration No: 1187782

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We have already sold out and delivered two training courses to 20 fitness professionals and received excellent feedback as to the impact of our course on indi�dual’s understanding of and ability to deliver trauma informed practice within the fitness industry.

Although we have experienced a decrease in successful grant applications this year due to the cost of li�ng crisis, the generosity of supporters’ monthly donations, income from our new CPD course and our weekly fundraising classes has enabled theMovement to continue.

We look forward to continuing to develop and grow our ser�ces in the coming years with plans to increase our staff team and continue to grow the reach of our CPD course. We are incredibly grateful to the support and commitment of our volunteer team and supporters, we could not do this �tal work without them.

Charity Registration No: 1187782

5

Our Objectives

Women facing multiple disadvantages are all too o�en unable to access the many benefits of exercise due to lack of resources, opportunity and awareness of their needs - including awareness of the impact of trauma.

theMovement pro�des women experiencing multiple disadvantages with trauma informed exercise opportunities across London. We do this by training exercise professionals in a trauma informed approach, before matching them with partner charities where they volunteer weekly to pro�de appropriately led exercise classes. We also ensure participants have access to appropriate clothing, footwear and equipment. These safe, autonomous and supportive spaces enable women to access health-promoting exercise: increasing well being and sense of purpose. We work to restore every woman’s right to exercise.

The beneficiaries of theMovement are women of very low socio-economic status who have experienced multiple disadvantages. These disadvantages o�en include an overlap of poverty, adverse mental health and, simultaneously, a persistent exposure to traumatic situations.

A study by Women in Sport has shown that women of low socio-economic status are the least likely group to be sufficiently physically active and, therefore, benefit from the multiple advantages that exercise can bring, in particular the positive impact of exercise on mental health. This and other linked barriers, which include vulnerable li�ng situations, lack of finances, social stigma, low confidence, and the extensive impacts of trauma itself, combine to create a major inequality in society where women who have experienced persistent exposure to trauma are significantly less likely to access one of the most powerful strategies available to them: exercise.

Our objectives as a charity are to:

  1. Establish a platform for personal trainers to work with charities that support women with multiple disadvantages

  2. Pro�de relevant trauma awareness training for fitness professionals

  3. Partner with agencies and interested bodies to advocate for the benefits of exercise for

Charity Registration No: 1187782

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women with multiple disadvantages

Our objectives for this year, as laid out in our September 2021 strategy document, were the following:

These objectives were set to facilitate progress towards our 2023 goals, contained in our September 2021 strategy document. These goals are to have: a minimum 80 contact hours a week across London and National charity partners; 130 fitness professionals ha�ng completed trauma awareness training pro�ded by theMovement; and to have initiated a campaign based on impact report findings.

In planning our acti�ties for the period, we have been mindful of the Charity Commission’s general guidance on public benefit and prevention and relief of poverty for the public benefit. The trustees always ensure that theMovement’s acti�ties are in line with our charitable objectives.

Charity Registration No: 1187782

7

Our Achievements

This year, due to the unforeseen challenges of the cost of li�ng crisis, we have been unable to reach all of our objectives, but are delighted to report growth of our ser�ces despite these challenges.

A�er resuming our volunteer recruitment in November 2021, we were able to facilitate one further volunteer intake of 11 instructors this year in April 2022. As we stated last year, it is crucial to us that any continued growth is sustainable and supported by a staff structure that could facilitate trauma informed care of participants and the volunteers who work with them. We therefore made the decision to pause our plan for further volunteer instructor intakes until we were able to gain further staff members as we had planned. Unfortunately, we were unable to secure the funding for this, meaning there were no further volunteer intakes this year or expansion nationally.

Despite this pause, theMovement has been able to pro�de 408 trauma informed exercise sessions this year. This shows growth from the 356 sessions we pro�ded in the pre�ous year. This year we have had 140 participants attend at least one exercise session, increasing from 92 last year.

Due to the funding challenges we have experienced this year, in January 2023 our CEO voluntarily reduced her hours from full time to part time in order to reduce our costs. This decision was laid out in our November 2022 Crisis Funding Strategy. We are really grateful to the trustees for increasing their responsibilities to enable our ser�ces to continue despite this staffing hours reduction.

One of our biggest achievements of this year has been the launch of our CPD course, A Trauma Informed Approach to Exercise Pro�sion. Following the development of the course last year, we were able to gain accreditation from the Chartered Institute for the Management of Sport and Physical Acti�ty and endorsement from AVA, a leading trauma specialist organisation. This new resource enables us to equip many more fitness professionals with the knowledge and tools to create a more trauma informed fitness industry as a whole. We have delivered two courses so far, both of which have been sold out and received fantastic feedback.

The creation of this course acknowledges that many of us have experienced trauma and that we all benefit from a more trauma informed fitness industry. Through creating opportunities

Charity Registration No: 1187782

8

for the fitness industry as a whole to become more trauma informed, we are mo�ng away from a ‘them and us’ mentality and working together to create safe spaces for all of us to experience the benefits of movement.

We were delighted to in�te Harpreet Kaur onto our trustee board in October 2022. Harpreet’s experience as a national practice lead for a charity working with women who have experienced multiple disadvantages has brought much knowledge, wisdom and energy to the board.

We have also been able to expand our charity partners and are now working with 18 charity partners to pro�de exercise opportunities to women experiencing multiple disadvantages across London.

As many of the women attending our exercise sessions have experienced poverty and/or homelessness, one barrier to exercise can be suitable clothing and footwear. This year we have pro�ded 549 pieces of exercise clothing, footwear and equipment to participants. We are so grateful for clothing donations, such as My Gym Wardrobe, Ran by Nature, Frost Wellness and Rerun Clothing, in making this possible.

Our organisation is still the only charity known to us that partners with charities to pro�de free trauma informed exercise opportunities by fitness professionals for women experiencing multiple disadvantages.

Charity Registration No: 1187782

9

Our Impact and Value

We continue to in�te participants to feedback about our ser�ces, both informally and through our participant feedback form.

From the participants who completed our feedback form, 100% have said that the sessions helped them to increase the amount of exercise they do. 89% of participants added that the sessions have been beneficial to their mental health.

It has been really encouraging to receive positive feedback from the women attending our sessions. Here is some of the feedback we have received from the participants:

“The instructor makes me feel confident in doing things I never thought I could do”

“I le�the session with a huge smile on my face and I had feeling like something inside of me, something that was dragging me down, had popped and I was feeling like the old me for a few days. I never thought yoga can do that. I am forever grateful”

“It’s my exercise & social time so very important to me”

“It always makes me smile”

“I haven’t felt this motivated and excited to exercise in years!”

“I felt I was able to move my body in different ways that I didn’t know about”

“I am feeling proud of myself”

And here is some feedback we have received from one of our charity partners:

“It’s such a blessing… they are absolutely lo�ng the sports clothes and the classes.”

Success for us, is not just about the delivery of these sessions, but the impact they can have on all areas of an indi�dual’s life. By gi�ng opportunities for the women we work with to increase their health, wellbeing and sense of purpose, it will impact wider areas of their lives, such as employability and social connection. This, in turn, benefits the wider community, as indi�duals

Charity Registration No: 1187782

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are empowered and equipped to engage with and contribute to their communities more fully. Due to the reduction of staff hours we were unable to conduct an impact report this year, but we plan to conduct an impact report in the future to better understand this reality.

As well as our charity exercise sessions, we received fantastic feedback from our CPD Course for fitness professionals, with 100% of attendees stating that following the course they feel better equipped to pro�de trauma informed exercise opportunities in the future. Feedback from the course has included:

“I appreciated the effort to make everyone feel comfortable. The content was varied and I learnt a lot.”

“A chance to learn with a group of incredible women”

“There was such a breadth of expertise so it was brilliant to learn from everyone”

“Trainers are really friendly and approachable”

Charity Registration No: 1187782

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Volunteers

We currently have 50 volunteer instructors who have completed our recruitment process and our trauma informed training. 27 instructors have run exercise sessions with our charity partners this year.

Here is some feedback from one of our volunteer instructors, who joined theMovement team in our November 2021 intake and has been volunteering at one of our charity partners:

"Each week is different depending on the participants. However, each week is their safe space to be themselves and enjoy their own strength.

Boxercise seems to be their choice of movement, which is an awesome skill to use, it helps with happiness, decreasing stress levels, strength & co-ordination, confidence, and social interaction. I totally admire the strength needed from these women to get themselves to my sessions and I love being part of their journey and supporting them along the bumps and hurdles thrown at them outside our sessions."

Our current volunteer instructors have also pro�ded positive feedback on how this volunteering opportunity has benefited them, pro�ding an avenue for them to use their skills and experience to support other women. Our volunteers regularly comment on how inspired they are by the resilience of the women we support and how the sessions they lead are the highlight of their week.

100% of the attendees of our trauma informed training stated that they felt better equipped to pro�de trauma informed exercise opportunities in the future. This not only equips volunteers to work in a trauma informed way in our charity setting, but it also creates a more trauma sensitive en�ronment in the gyms, studios, parks and home where they work - impacting the wider communities our volunteers and their clients are part of.

Charity Registration No: 1187782

12

Ambition and Long Term Strategies

Despite not being able to reach our goals for the year, as laid out in our September 2021 strategy document, over the next two years we plan to continue to develop and grow our work. Our strategy continues to focus on three areas, which are based on our three aims as a charity:

1. Contribute to remo�ng all barriers preventing women in the UK from ha�ng access, freedom and confidence to exercise.

Objective 1

To scale up our social impact and to meet existing needs we need to expand our staffing resource within the London area. To do this in a sustainable manner we plan to appoint a part time London Volunteer Coordinator in 23/34 to achieve the following outcomes.

Outcomes (by end of):

Objective 2

To scale up our social impact by broadening our reach we need to increase our staffing resource nationally. To do this in a sustainable manner, and considering the continued impact of the cost of li�ng crisis, we plan to delay the employment of a Part Time National Volunteer Coordinator until 24/25 to achieve the following outcomes.

Outcomes (by end of):

2. Facilitate training of all Personal Trainers in trauma awareness.

Charity Registration No: 1187782

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As we now have an accredited and established CPD course, our next steps are to increase the delivery and reach of our training. As well as creating a positive impact on the fitness industry, our CPD also pro�des an income stream to fund our other projects. This ensures the future sustainability and growth of theMovement.

To do this in a sustainable manner we have set the following objectives for the next 2 years:

Outcomes (by end of):

3. Work towards a society without poverty and disadvantage for women.

So far we have worked towards this goal through joining two advocacy groups. Our priority has been to engage with, learn from and elevate the voices of other charities and projects working in this sector.

We are still the only charity known to us pro�ding free trauma informed exercise opportunities to women experiencing multiple disadvantages which means, even as a small and new charity, we are leaders in this field.

As we were unable to complete it this year, next year we plan to conduct an impact report of our work. From this report we will be able to reflect on our work as a charity and document the impact of pro�ding safe and accessible exercise opportunities to women.

This report will inform our future advocacy work and pro�de us with resources to ad�se national decision makers on how movement and exercise opportunities can be part of working towards a society without poverty and disadvantage for women.

To do this in a sustainable manner we have set the following objectives for the next 2 years:

Charity Registration No: 1187782

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interested parties

The outcomes (by end of):

Charity Registration No: 1187782

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Independent Examiner’s Report

I report on the accounts of the CIO for the year to 28[th] February 2023, which are set out on pages 17-21.

Respective responsibilities of trustees and examiner

The charity's trustees are responsible for the preparation of the accounts. The charity's trustees consider that an audit is not required for this year under section 144(2) of the Charities Act 2011 (the 2011 Act) and that an independent examination is needed.

It is my responsibility to:

Basis of independent examiner’s report

My examination was carried out in accordance with the General Directions given by the Charity Commissioners. An examination includes a review of the accounting records kept by the charity and a comparison of the accounts presented with those records. It also includes consideration of any unusual items or disclosures in the accounts and seeking explanations from you as trustees concerning any such matters. The procedures undertaken do not provide all the evidence that would be required in an audit, and consequently the report is limited to those matters set out in the statement below.

Independent examiner’s statement

In connection with my examination, no material matters have come to my attention which gives me cause to believe that in, any material respect:

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.

MJ Harris MIAB 18a Church Road Bishopstoke Eastleigh SO50 6BH Signed …………………………………………

Date: 14/12/23

Charity Registration No: 1187782

16

Financial Re�ew

As a charity in our first years, we have experienced limited resources and insecurities over funding. Despite this challenge, we have managed to secure funding from multiple different sources, enabling us to sustain our cashflow throughout the year.

theMovement holds no endowment funds, nor funds held as custodian trustee on behalf of others.

Principal Funding Sources

This year we have gained £8,570 of grants from the Sport England Tackling Inequalities Fund, Sport England Queen’s Platinum Jubilee Acti�ty Fund, EMD UK and Magic Little Grants. We note this is a significant decrease from last year, which seems to be reflective of many small charities during the current cost of li�ng crisis in the UK. The launch of our CPD course, weekly fundraising exercise classes and the support of our regular donors also pro�de regular funding, as well as one off fundraising events throughout the year.

We do not have any restricted funds at this time.

Reserves Policy

theMovement has a target of six months of the expenditure in our reserves in order to ensure prudent financial management. Although the strategy is to build reserves through future operating surpluses, the Trustee Board is well aware that it is unlikely that the target range can be reached in the near future, as we are a relatively new charity still establishing our long term funding strategy.

theMovement is planning to build their free reserves to:

Charity Registration No: 1187782

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By March 2025, theMovement aims to fulfil our policy whereby the unrestricted funds not committed or invested in tangible fixed assets (‘the free reserves’) held by the charity should represent six months of budgeted operational costs. This policy allows for the reserve figure to rise alongside increasing organisational capacity, and thus expenditure. This ‘free reserve’ is alongside any restricted funds that are held by the charity which can only be used for the purposes intended. The policy is also in keeping with the Charity Commission guidelines that an organisation’s cash reserve should be able to cover core acti�ties for 6 months.

The charity engages in regular financial forecasting, and if forecasts indicate that free reserves are to exceed this level consistently for a period of more than six months and look to continue on that trajectory, then a plan will be put in place to utilise any surplus in a way that adds to the impact and sustainability of the charity. If projections show that the free reserves will fall below this level for a period of more than three months and again continue with this trend, then we will implement a remedial action plan. This plan will involve a focused fundraising campaign along with re�ewing staffing and ser�ce priorities as we seek to reduce our ongoing expenditure to a sustainable level. This policy along with contractual obligations are re�ewed on an annual basis and within the current context of the economic impact of the cost of li�ng crisis to enable us to na�gate any ongoing economic downturn during a time of organisational growth where increased reserves are �tal.

The present level of unrestricted reserves available to the charity is £7,997, which falls short Charity Registration No: 1187782

18

of our target of 6 months of expenditure. Although the strategy is to build reserves through future operating surpluses, the Trustee Board is well aware that it is unlikely that the target range can be reached in the near future, hence why we are working towards achie�ng this goal by March 2025. In the short term the Trustee Board is also considering the extent to which existing acti�ties and expenditure could be curtailed, should adverse circumstances arise.

State of Finances

theMovement currently has no funds which are materially in deficit. The Trustees declare that the charity has no outstanding debts which are secured by an express charge on any of the assets of the charity at the date of the statement of assets & liabilities.

Our main areas of expenditure are our staffing cost related to our one part time staff member and the costs associated with our movement classes, such as beneficiary clothing and DBS checks for volunteers. We expect our expenditure to increase over the next year as we accept new volunteers and look to increase our staffing hours to support sustainable growth.

Charity Registration No: 1187782

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Table of Receipts and Payments CHARITYCOMIOJSSION FOQINfjLANOANO AiES Receipts and payments accounts CC16a Forth• p•riod Tfy Section A Receipts and payrnents Tatslfund5 tund5 rund5 fund5 LortyFar A1 Don3ttOnsir￿nn 6A1 51 •rJ 511 13 subt0tallG￿s$rM￿￿tsARj •trW¢ Stsb is Js4 415 CPDC05 1.F45 410 Pa5tso 16F JJJ 74 10 Svbtol Tr¥Dsf•rs A6CashAsLi&ty•ar•nd 9A Section B Statetnent of assets and liabil￿e5 at the end of the period Restricted En￿O￿Trent Dmails T54 Dptrils 9aTTThTI￿21jlQ3a￿j2Ftrl￿3 Cc05￿ Charity Registration No: 1187782 20

Declarations

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

Signed on behalf of the charity’s Trustees:

Signature(s)

Robin Barden Ben Hingston

Full Name(s)

Robin Barden Ben Hingston

Position

Chair of Trustees Treasurer of Trustees
Date:
14/12/2023 14/12/2023

Charity Registration No: 1187782

21

Charity Name: theMovement

No: 1187782

CC16a

Receipts and payments accounts

1/3/22 28/2/23 For the period from To

Section A Receipts and payments

Section A Receipts and payments Section A Receipts and payments
to the nearest £
A1 Receipts
Grants
449
Donations:
Donations(recurring)
6,290
Donations(one-off)
5,518
Donations(gift aid claimed)
873
Fundraising:
FundraisingEvents
3,592
FundraisingCampaigns(crowfunder)
Charitable Activities
CPD Course
2,940
Other Charitable Activities
581
-
20,241
-
Sub total -
Total receipts 20,241
A3 Payments
Cost of Fundraising
Staff Costs:
Staff Salaries
19,666
Staff Training
20
Travel & Subsistence
358
Cost of Charitable Activities:
CPD Costs
755
FundraisingCosts
1,095
Volunteer Costs
841
Cost of Goods
729
Postage
275
NetworkingCost
606
MarketingCosts
558
Virtual Office Costs
172
Phone
120
Stationery
71
Insurance
187
Bank charges
68
Governance Costs:
Trustee Meetings
106
Professional Fees
349
Sub total 25,977
Equipment
14
Sub total 14
Total payments 25,991
Net of receipts/(payments) - 5,750
A5 Transfers between funds
-
A6 Cash funds last year end
13,747
Cash funds this year end 7,997
Unrestricted
funds
Sub total(Gross income for AR)
A2 Asset and investment sales, (see
table).
A4 Asset and investment purchases, (see
table)
Restricted funds
to the nearest £
8,121
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
8,121
-
-
-
8,121
12,496
285
942
3,379
17,102
500
500
17,602
- 9,481
-
9,481
-
Endowment funds
to the nearest £
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
Total funds
to the nearest £
8,570
6,290
5,518
873
3,592
-
2,940
581
-
-
28,362
-
-
-
28,362
-
32,162
20
643
-
755
1,095
1,783
4,108
275
606
558
172
120
71
187
68
106
349
43,079
514
514
43,593
- 15,231
-
23,228
7,997
Last year
to the nearest £
33,009
6,020
2,692
2,141
1,475
-
1,230
-
-
46,567
-
-
46,567
1,312
20,355
423
465
1,216
2,995
267
333
204
133
120
74
187
96
24
-
28,204
-
28,204
18,363
-
-
18,363
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
Details
CAF Bank current account
(agree balances with receipts and payments account(s))
Details
Donations (gift aid claimed)
Details
Details
Laptop
Details
HMRC Tax not yet paid for this period
Pension Contributions not yet paid for this period
Staff Travel on 26/2/23 and 27/2/23
Zoom payment 28/2/23
Independent Exmainer Fees
Total cash funds
Beneficiary clothing, equipment and footwear
purchased 24/2/23
CPD costs purchased on 22/2/23 and 25/2/23 and
27/2/23
to nearest £
7,997
-
-
7,997
OK
to nearest £
754
-
-
-
-
-
Equipment Fund
Staff Salaries
Staff Salaries
Travel & Subsistence
Cost of Goods
CPD costs
Vol costs
Professional Fees
Unrestricted
funds
Unrestricted
funds
Fund to which asset
belongs
Fund to which asset
belongs
Fund to which liability
relates
Restricted funds
to nearest £
-
-
-
-
OK
Restricted funds
to nearest £
-
-
-
-
-
-
Cost (optional)
-
-
-
-
-
Cost (optional)
514
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
Amount due (optional)
332
51
41
69
65
14
259
-
to nearest £
Endowment
funds
-
-
-
-
OK
to nearest £
Endowment
funds
-
-
-
-
-
-
Current value
(optional)
-
-
-
-
-
Current value
(optional)
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
When due (optional)
HMRC Tax not yet paid for this period Staff Salaries 332 22 April 2023
Pension Contributions not yet paid for this period Staff Salaries 51 20 March 2023
Staff Travel on 26/2/23 and 27/2/23 Travel & Subsistence 41
Beneficiary clothing, equipment and footwear
purchased 24/2/23
Cost of Goods 69

CPD costs purchased on 22/2/23 and 25/2/23 and
27/2/23
CPD costs 65
Zoom payment 28/2/23 Vol costs 14
Independent Exmainer Fees Professional Fees 259
-

CCXX R1 accounts (SS) 1

12/14/2023

Signed by one or two trustees on behalf of all the trustees

Signature Ben Hingston

Print Name Date of approval Ben Hingston 13.11.23 Fiona Roberts 13.11.23

CCXX R2 accounts (SS)

2

12/14/2023

theMovement Trustees’ Annual Report 1st March 2022- 28th Feb 2023

Charity Registration No: 1187782

1

theMovement Charity

Report of the Trustees for the year ended 28th February 2023

Reference and Administrative Information

Charity Name: theMovement

Charity registration number: 1187782

Registered Office: Kemp House

152-160 City Road London EC1V 2NX

Board of Trustees:

Mr Robin Barden Chair Mr Ben Hingston Treasurer Mrs Elizabeth Morris Secretary Mrs Becky Marlow Mrs Ruth Le Friec

Ms Hara Markos

Mrs Harpreet Kaur [From October 2022]

Senior Management Team:

Mrs Fiona Roberts Chief Executive Officer

Structure, Governance & Management

Governing Document: Constitution

How Charity is Constituted: Charitable Incorporated Organisation

Trustee Selection Method:

When selecting new trustees we will look to recruit people of suitable experience that fill identified gaps in the knowledge and expertise of the existing trustees. theMovement finds and appoints new Trustees through word of mouth and public advertisements, and the suitability of new trustees is assessed through due diligence and a meeting with the CEO and Chair of Trustees. All new Trustees are pro�ded with a copy of the Constitution and the most recent Trustees’ Annual Report & Financial Statements.

Charity Registration No: 1187782

2

Purpose of theMovement

Our purposes of the charity as set out in our constitution:

“The relief of women who are in need by reason of their social or economic disadvantage including homelessness; or who have experiences or are at risk of experiencing domestic or other forms of �olence, by the pro�sion of access to physical exercise.”

Charity Registration No: 1187782

3

Executive Summary

theMovement was first conceived in recognition that the needs of women within the local community who had suffered significant trauma, were not being sufficiently met. Fiona, our founder, felt moved to combine her passions for social justice and fitness to create theMovement. We exist to restore every woman’s right to exercise.

This year’s focus was continuing to grow our exercise pro�sion for women experiencing multiple disadvantages, as well as launching a CPD course for fitness professionals as part of our aim to create a more trauma informed fitness industry. Due to unforeseen funding challenges brought about by the cost of li�ng crisis, we have not expanded as much as we had planned to, but are proud to have still seen an increase in the number of sessions we have been able to pro�de.

This year we have pro�ded 408 trauma informed exercise sessions to 140 participants, led by 27 volunteer instructors. To date we have pro�ded training on a trauma informed approach to exercise to 50 volunteer instructors and are partnered with 18 different charities where our volunteer instructors pro�de safe and supportive weekly exercise opportunities for women experiencing multiple disadvantages.

The volunteer interest from fitness professionals has continued to grow and we consistently receive feedback from charity partners affirming the positive impact of our ser�ces on the wellbeing of their clients. The growing waiting list for our ser�ces, both in London and nationally, is e�dence of the need there is for trauma informed exercise opportunities for women experiencing multiple disadvantages.

This year we launched our CPD course for fitness professionals: A Trauma Informed Approach to Exercise Pro�sion. The aim of the CPD is to resource an even greater section of the fitness industry with tools to become more trauma aware and informed so that together we may support an even greater number of women into exercise.

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We have already sold out and delivered two training courses to 20 fitness professionals and received excellent feedback as to the impact of our course on indi�dual’s understanding of and ability to deliver trauma informed practice within the fitness industry.

Although we have experienced a decrease in successful grant applications this year due to the cost of li�ng crisis, the generosity of supporters’ monthly donations, income from our new CPD course and our weekly fundraising classes has enabled theMovement to continue.

We look forward to continuing to develop and grow our ser�ces in the coming years with plans to increase our staff team and continue to grow the reach of our CPD course. We are incredibly grateful to the support and commitment of our volunteer team and supporters, we could not do this �tal work without them.

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Our Objectives

Women facing multiple disadvantages are all too o�en unable to access the many benefits of exercise due to lack of resources, opportunity and awareness of their needs - including awareness of the impact of trauma.

theMovement pro�des women experiencing multiple disadvantages with trauma informed exercise opportunities across London. We do this by training exercise professionals in a trauma informed approach, before matching them with partner charities where they volunteer weekly to pro�de appropriately led exercise classes. We also ensure participants have access to appropriate clothing, footwear and equipment. These safe, autonomous and supportive spaces enable women to access health-promoting exercise: increasing well being and sense of purpose. We work to restore every woman’s right to exercise.

The beneficiaries of theMovement are women of very low socio-economic status who have experienced multiple disadvantages. These disadvantages o�en include an overlap of poverty, adverse mental health and, simultaneously, a persistent exposure to traumatic situations.

A study by Women in Sport has shown that women of low socio-economic status are the least likely group to be sufficiently physically active and, therefore, benefit from the multiple advantages that exercise can bring, in particular the positive impact of exercise on mental health. This and other linked barriers, which include vulnerable li�ng situations, lack of finances, social stigma, low confidence, and the extensive impacts of trauma itself, combine to create a major inequality in society where women who have experienced persistent exposure to trauma are significantly less likely to access one of the most powerful strategies available to them: exercise.

Our objectives as a charity are to:

  1. Establish a platform for personal trainers to work with charities that support women with multiple disadvantages

  2. Pro�de relevant trauma awareness training for fitness professionals

  3. Partner with agencies and interested bodies to advocate for the benefits of exercise for

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women with multiple disadvantages

Our objectives for this year, as laid out in our September 2021 strategy document, were the following:

These objectives were set to facilitate progress towards our 2023 goals, contained in our September 2021 strategy document. These goals are to have: a minimum 80 contact hours a week across London and National charity partners; 130 fitness professionals ha�ng completed trauma awareness training pro�ded by theMovement; and to have initiated a campaign based on impact report findings.

In planning our acti�ties for the period, we have been mindful of the Charity Commission’s general guidance on public benefit and prevention and relief of poverty for the public benefit. The trustees always ensure that theMovement’s acti�ties are in line with our charitable objectives.

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Our Achievements

This year, due to the unforeseen challenges of the cost of li�ng crisis, we have been unable to reach all of our objectives, but are delighted to report growth of our ser�ces despite these challenges.

A�er resuming our volunteer recruitment in November 2021, we were able to facilitate one further volunteer intake of 11 instructors this year in April 2022. As we stated last year, it is crucial to us that any continued growth is sustainable and supported by a staff structure that could facilitate trauma informed care of participants and the volunteers who work with them. We therefore made the decision to pause our plan for further volunteer instructor intakes until we were able to gain further staff members as we had planned. Unfortunately, we were unable to secure the funding for this, meaning there were no further volunteer intakes this year or expansion nationally.

Despite this pause, theMovement has been able to pro�de 408 trauma informed exercise sessions this year. This shows growth from the 356 sessions we pro�ded in the pre�ous year. This year we have had 140 participants attend at least one exercise session, increasing from 92 last year.

Due to the funding challenges we have experienced this year, in January 2023 our CEO voluntarily reduced her hours from full time to part time in order to reduce our costs. This decision was laid out in our November 2022 Crisis Funding Strategy. We are really grateful to the trustees for increasing their responsibilities to enable our ser�ces to continue despite this staffing hours reduction.

One of our biggest achievements of this year has been the launch of our CPD course, A Trauma Informed Approach to Exercise Pro�sion. Following the development of the course last year, we were able to gain accreditation from the Chartered Institute for the Management of Sport and Physical Acti�ty and endorsement from AVA, a leading trauma specialist organisation. This new resource enables us to equip many more fitness professionals with the knowledge and tools to create a more trauma informed fitness industry as a whole. We have delivered two courses so far, both of which have been sold out and received fantastic feedback.

The creation of this course acknowledges that many of us have experienced trauma and that we all benefit from a more trauma informed fitness industry. Through creating opportunities

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for the fitness industry as a whole to become more trauma informed, we are mo�ng away from a ‘them and us’ mentality and working together to create safe spaces for all of us to experience the benefits of movement.

We were delighted to in�te Harpreet Kaur onto our trustee board in October 2022. Harpreet’s experience as a national practice lead for a charity working with women who have experienced multiple disadvantages has brought much knowledge, wisdom and energy to the board.

We have also been able to expand our charity partners and are now working with 18 charity partners to pro�de exercise opportunities to women experiencing multiple disadvantages across London.

As many of the women attending our exercise sessions have experienced poverty and/or homelessness, one barrier to exercise can be suitable clothing and footwear. This year we have pro�ded 549 pieces of exercise clothing, footwear and equipment to participants. We are so grateful for clothing donations, such as My Gym Wardrobe, Ran by Nature, Frost Wellness and Rerun Clothing, in making this possible.

Our organisation is still the only charity known to us that partners with charities to pro�de free trauma informed exercise opportunities by fitness professionals for women experiencing multiple disadvantages.

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Our Impact and Value

We continue to in�te participants to feedback about our ser�ces, both informally and through our participant feedback form.

From the participants who completed our feedback form, 100% have said that the sessions helped them to increase the amount of exercise they do. 89% of participants added that the sessions have been beneficial to their mental health.

It has been really encouraging to receive positive feedback from the women attending our sessions. Here is some of the feedback we have received from the participants:

“The instructor makes me feel confident in doing things I never thought I could do”

“I le�the session with a huge smile on my face and I had feeling like something inside of me, something that was dragging me down, had popped and I was feeling like the old me for a few days. I never thought yoga can do that. I am forever grateful”

“It’s my exercise & social time so very important to me”

“It always makes me smile”

“I haven’t felt this motivated and excited to exercise in years!”

“I felt I was able to move my body in different ways that I didn’t know about”

“I am feeling proud of myself”

And here is some feedback we have received from one of our charity partners:

“It’s such a blessing… they are absolutely lo�ng the sports clothes and the classes.”

Success for us, is not just about the delivery of these sessions, but the impact they can have on all areas of an indi�dual’s life. By gi�ng opportunities for the women we work with to increase their health, wellbeing and sense of purpose, it will impact wider areas of their lives, such as employability and social connection. This, in turn, benefits the wider community, as indi�duals

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are empowered and equipped to engage with and contribute to their communities more fully. Due to the reduction of staff hours we were unable to conduct an impact report this year, but we plan to conduct an impact report in the future to better understand this reality.

As well as our charity exercise sessions, we received fantastic feedback from our CPD Course for fitness professionals, with 100% of attendees stating that following the course they feel better equipped to pro�de trauma informed exercise opportunities in the future. Feedback from the course has included:

“I appreciated the effort to make everyone feel comfortable. The content was varied and I learnt a lot.”

“A chance to learn with a group of incredible women”

“There was such a breadth of expertise so it was brilliant to learn from everyone”

“Trainers are really friendly and approachable”

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Volunteers

We currently have 50 volunteer instructors who have completed our recruitment process and our trauma informed training. 27 instructors have run exercise sessions with our charity partners this year.

Here is some feedback from one of our volunteer instructors, who joined theMovement team in our November 2021 intake and has been volunteering at one of our charity partners:

"Each week is different depending on the participants. However, each week is their safe space to be themselves and enjoy their own strength.

Boxercise seems to be their choice of movement, which is an awesome skill to use, it helps with happiness, decreasing stress levels, strength & co-ordination, confidence, and social interaction. I totally admire the strength needed from these women to get themselves to my sessions and I love being part of their journey and supporting them along the bumps and hurdles thrown at them outside our sessions."

Our current volunteer instructors have also pro�ded positive feedback on how this volunteering opportunity has benefited them, pro�ding an avenue for them to use their skills and experience to support other women. Our volunteers regularly comment on how inspired they are by the resilience of the women we support and how the sessions they lead are the highlight of their week.

100% of the attendees of our trauma informed training stated that they felt better equipped to pro�de trauma informed exercise opportunities in the future. This not only equips volunteers to work in a trauma informed way in our charity setting, but it also creates a more trauma sensitive en�ronment in the gyms, studios, parks and home where they work - impacting the wider communities our volunteers and their clients are part of.

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Ambition and Long Term Strategies

Despite not being able to reach our goals for the year, as laid out in our September 2021 strategy document, over the next two years we plan to continue to develop and grow our work. Our strategy continues to focus on three areas, which are based on our three aims as a charity:

1. Contribute to remo�ng all barriers preventing women in the UK from ha�ng access, freedom and confidence to exercise.

Objective 1

To scale up our social impact and to meet existing needs we need to expand our staffing resource within the London area. To do this in a sustainable manner we plan to appoint a part time London Volunteer Coordinator in 23/34 to achieve the following outcomes.

Outcomes (by end of):

Objective 2

To scale up our social impact by broadening our reach we need to increase our staffing resource nationally. To do this in a sustainable manner, and considering the continued impact of the cost of li�ng crisis, we plan to delay the employment of a Part Time National Volunteer Coordinator until 24/25 to achieve the following outcomes.

Outcomes (by end of):

2. Facilitate training of all Personal Trainers in trauma awareness.

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As we now have an accredited and established CPD course, our next steps are to increase the delivery and reach of our training. As well as creating a positive impact on the fitness industry, our CPD also pro�des an income stream to fund our other projects. This ensures the future sustainability and growth of theMovement.

To do this in a sustainable manner we have set the following objectives for the next 2 years:

Outcomes (by end of):

3. Work towards a society without poverty and disadvantage for women.

So far we have worked towards this goal through joining two advocacy groups. Our priority has been to engage with, learn from and elevate the voices of other charities and projects working in this sector.

We are still the only charity known to us pro�ding free trauma informed exercise opportunities to women experiencing multiple disadvantages which means, even as a small and new charity, we are leaders in this field.

As we were unable to complete it this year, next year we plan to conduct an impact report of our work. From this report we will be able to reflect on our work as a charity and document the impact of pro�ding safe and accessible exercise opportunities to women.

This report will inform our future advocacy work and pro�de us with resources to ad�se national decision makers on how movement and exercise opportunities can be part of working towards a society without poverty and disadvantage for women.

To do this in a sustainable manner we have set the following objectives for the next 2 years:

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interested parties

The outcomes (by end of):

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Independent Examiner’s Report

I report on the accounts of the CIO for the year to 28[th] February 2023, which are set out on pages 17-21.

Respective responsibilities of trustees and examiner

The charity's trustees are responsible for the preparation of the accounts. The charity's trustees consider that an audit is not required for this year under section 144(2) of the Charities Act 2011 (the 2011 Act) and that an independent examination is needed.

It is my responsibility to:

Basis of independent examiner’s report

My examination was carried out in accordance with the General Directions given by the Charity Commissioners. An examination includes a review of the accounting records kept by the charity and a comparison of the accounts presented with those records. It also includes consideration of any unusual items or disclosures in the accounts and seeking explanations from you as trustees concerning any such matters. The procedures undertaken do not provide all the evidence that would be required in an audit, and consequently the report is limited to those matters set out in the statement below.

Independent examiner’s statement

In connection with my examination, no material matters have come to my attention which gives me cause to believe that in, any material respect:

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.

MJ Harris MIAB 18a Church Road Bishopstoke Eastleigh SO50 6BH Signed …………………………………………

Date: 14/12/23

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Financial Re�ew

As a charity in our first years, we have experienced limited resources and insecurities over funding. Despite this challenge, we have managed to secure funding from multiple different sources, enabling us to sustain our cashflow throughout the year.

theMovement holds no endowment funds, nor funds held as custodian trustee on behalf of others.

Principal Funding Sources

This year we have gained £8,570 of grants from the Sport England Tackling Inequalities Fund, Sport England Queen’s Platinum Jubilee Acti�ty Fund, EMD UK and Magic Little Grants. We note this is a significant decrease from last year, which seems to be reflective of many small charities during the current cost of li�ng crisis in the UK. The launch of our CPD course, weekly fundraising exercise classes and the support of our regular donors also pro�de regular funding, as well as one off fundraising events throughout the year.

We do not have any restricted funds at this time.

Reserves Policy

theMovement has a target of six months of the expenditure in our reserves in order to ensure prudent financial management. Although the strategy is to build reserves through future operating surpluses, the Trustee Board is well aware that it is unlikely that the target range can be reached in the near future, as we are a relatively new charity still establishing our long term funding strategy.

theMovement is planning to build their free reserves to:

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By March 2025, theMovement aims to fulfil our policy whereby the unrestricted funds not committed or invested in tangible fixed assets (‘the free reserves’) held by the charity should represent six months of budgeted operational costs. This policy allows for the reserve figure to rise alongside increasing organisational capacity, and thus expenditure. This ‘free reserve’ is alongside any restricted funds that are held by the charity which can only be used for the purposes intended. The policy is also in keeping with the Charity Commission guidelines that an organisation’s cash reserve should be able to cover core acti�ties for 6 months.

The charity engages in regular financial forecasting, and if forecasts indicate that free reserves are to exceed this level consistently for a period of more than six months and look to continue on that trajectory, then a plan will be put in place to utilise any surplus in a way that adds to the impact and sustainability of the charity. If projections show that the free reserves will fall below this level for a period of more than three months and again continue with this trend, then we will implement a remedial action plan. This plan will involve a focused fundraising campaign along with re�ewing staffing and ser�ce priorities as we seek to reduce our ongoing expenditure to a sustainable level. This policy along with contractual obligations are re�ewed on an annual basis and within the current context of the economic impact of the cost of li�ng crisis to enable us to na�gate any ongoing economic downturn during a time of organisational growth where increased reserves are �tal.

The present level of unrestricted reserves available to the charity is £7,997, which falls short Charity Registration No: 1187782

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of our target of 6 months of expenditure. Although the strategy is to build reserves through future operating surpluses, the Trustee Board is well aware that it is unlikely that the target range can be reached in the near future, hence why we are working towards achie�ng this goal by March 2025. In the short term the Trustee Board is also considering the extent to which existing acti�ties and expenditure could be curtailed, should adverse circumstances arise.

State of Finances

theMovement currently has no funds which are materially in deficit. The Trustees declare that the charity has no outstanding debts which are secured by an express charge on any of the assets of the charity at the date of the statement of assets & liabilities.

Our main areas of expenditure are our staffing cost related to our one part time staff member and the costs associated with our movement classes, such as beneficiary clothing and DBS checks for volunteers. We expect our expenditure to increase over the next year as we accept new volunteers and look to increase our staffing hours to support sustainable growth.

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Table of Receipts and Payments CHARITYCOMIOJSSION FOQINfjLANOANO AiES Receipts and payments accounts CC16a Forth• p•riod Tfy Section A Receipts and payrnents Tatslfund5 tund5 rund5 fund5 LortyFar A1 Don3ttOnsir￿nn 6A1 51 •rJ 511 13 subt0tallG￿s$rM￿￿tsARj •trW¢ Stsb is Js4 415 CPDC05 1.F45 410 Pa5tso 16F JJJ 74 10 Svbtol Tr¥Dsf•rs A6CashAsLi&ty•ar•nd 9A Section B Statetnent of assets and liabil￿e5 at the end of the period Restricted En￿O￿Trent Dmails T54 Dptrils 9aTTThTI￿21jlQ3a￿j2Ftrl￿3 Cc05￿ Charity Registration No: 1187782 20

Declarations

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

Signed on behalf of the charity’s Trustees:

Signature(s)

Robin Barden Ben Hingston

Full Name(s)

Robin Barden Ben Hingston

Position

Chair of Trustees Treasurer of Trustees
Date:
14/12/2023 14/12/2023

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