2024-04-05-accounts

Fumble A happy, healthy digital world of sex ed.

By young people, for young people.

Annual Report 2023-2024

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Contents

• Introduction to Fumble

• Organisation structure

• ● Activities and impact

• Plans ahead

• Message from the CEO ’

• ● Fumble s accounts for 2023-24

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Introduction to Fumble

Our mission To give young people the skills and knowledge to successfully manage their sexual health, mental health and relationships today, especially in the challenging context of the digital age.

How?

Through our top quality co-created digital content and our programme of workshops, advocacy, and consultancy.

Introduction to Fumble

Fumble is a multi-award-winning youth charity, leading the way in supporting young people with their mental health, sexual health and relationships in the digital age.

'Fumble is like the knowledgeable best friend every young person needs when growing up. A handbook for everyone, to guide them in making the right sex and relationship choices for themselves.' Amy, 19

Established in 2017 by a team of volunteers in their twenties, Fumble exists to create a happy, healthy and free digital world of relationships, sex and health education (RSHE) for young people.

As a nationally-recognised charity, we believe that all young people deserve quality, accurate education about sex, relationships, their bodies, their identities and their mental health. We understand that for many young people, the digital world is where they primarily seek and engage with this information and so, we aim to meet them where they are in a safe and non-judgemental way.

As young people's relationships with their devices has increasingly come under scrutiny, Fumble tries to relate constructively to young people's contemporary digital lives, given them safe and reliable information and guidance for this era.

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Introduction to Fumble

Our charitable objective is advancing the education of the public, particularly young people up to the age of 25, on RSHE (Relationships, Sex and Health Education). We do this through our trusted, quality, co-created digital content and our specialised programme of RSHE advocacy, training and consultancy.

All of Fumble’s activities are developed in line with our guiding values to be:

• Collaborative

• Inclusive

• Fun

• Safe

Safeguarding and quality control is the bedrock of everything we do at Fumble. We exist to ensure young people can lead safe, happy, healthy lives, and so, we take our responsibility for creating age-appropriate resources and programmes very seriously.

To ensure that we are protecting users, we have developed a suite of tools and processes that ensure our content is always accessed by young people who are developmentally ready for it.

We’re guided in this by our expert advisory panel, including NHS doctors, leading academics in the field of RSHE, safeguarding specialists and legal experts.

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Introduction to Fumble

Fumble was born out of a recognition that young boys are often dissatisfied with the sex education they receive in traditional settings (and seek it instead in non-traditional forums like online pornography) whilst the sex education young girls receive is often disempowering in its tone, marginalising their agency and pleasure.

Within this context, Fumble aims to provide relatable and informative sex ed for all young people and we especially aim to meet the needs and experiences of young people that have been traditionally left out of mainstream provision of sex education, including:

• LGBTQ+ young people

• those living with disability

• those struggling with their mental health

• those from racialised communities (i.e. communities who have been categorised and ‘othered’ by white-majority systems based on their skin colour or other cultural or religious features).

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Introduction to Fumble

We are proud of our impact to date. In our first four years of operating as a registered charity, we have reached over 2.5 million UK young people online , and worked directly with over 750 young people to co-create everything Fumble does. We are working with tools from the YMCA George Williams College in the coming period to further demonstrate our positive impact with and for young people, on both an individual and societal level.

This Annual Report outlines how we have delivered our transformative impact during 2023-24, and details how our unique, urgently-needed service is supporting the lives of young people in the UK today. Thank you for reading.

“Teenagers are going to want to explore: instead of trying to stop them, it’s best to provide them with the answers they need.”

Matt, 17

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Winner 2024 Partner member
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Organisation Structure

Core team, freelancers and volunteers

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Core Staff Team!
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Lucy Whitehouse Emilie Cousins Kerry Miller Sandy Swain Jess Freitas CEO Programme Manager Digital Content Lead Social Media & Relationships & Comms Officer Engagement Officer

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Freelancers & volunteers!
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Jake Ellis Naz Toorabally Sakira Intrabal Farrah Frost Graphic Designer (freelance) Digital Content Lead Project & Comms Support Digital Marketing Consultant (freelance) (volunteer) (volunteer)

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Trustee Board

Charlotte Chorley Chair

Ellie Stone

Trustee

Amy Thompson Dr Emily Setty Trustee and Secretary Trustee

Chris Pugh Trustee

Hannah Wrathall

Trustee

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Youth Advisory Board

Our Youth Advisory Board (YAB) ensures that lived, current experiences across a diverse group of young people drive Fumble’s services and steer everything we do.

Currently, the YAB comprises young people aged 16-21 who live across the UK (we recruit new members on an ongoing basis, see here).

Our YAB is the beating heart of Fumble. It is actively involved in everything we do via a collaborative process that keeps them safe, respects their input, develops their skills, builds their confidence, and, in turn, strengthens all of Fumble’s activity.

For example, our YAB members:

• Participate in the recruitment of our trustees and staff, reviewing applications and sitting on our interview panel.

• Review our policies as these evolve,

• Advise on our content, campaigns and projects,

• Help design and deliver our annual Charity Day event,

• Drive the creation of our strategy and vision.

"Fumble has honestly changed my life, and I think the content and projects produced are really necessary."

(Jo, YAB 2022)

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Expert Advisory Panel

Dr Yasmin Walters Tamsin Watson Dr Faith Gordon HIV and Sexual Health Senior Safeguarding Associate Professor of Specialty Registrar, Manager at Law and Deputy Chelsea and YoungMinds | Associate Dean Westminster Hospital Safeguarding Lead at (Research) at The ANU NHS Foundation Trust Blink Mental Health College of Law

Our staff team and all of our programmes are constantly guided by our panel of expert advisors.

This is a group of leaders in their specialist fields, who steer our outputs and our impact.

Their active participation throughout the year ensures quality control of the highest calibre across our programmes, our content and our resources.

Dr Yvette Taylor Peter Bohm Helen Keevil Professor of Corporate Lawyer at Deputy Head at Education, LGBTQ+ gunnercooke LLP, hub Abingdon School. specialist, University of leader of Inspire* Hub Expert in pastoral, Strathclyde Glasgow peer support group for mental health, e-safety charity leaders & wellbeing

Our experts include NHS doctors (including sexual & reproductive health specialists and paediatricians), leading academics in the field of RSHE, safeguarding specialists , digital marketing consultants , finance and legal experts , and more.

Here we shine a spotlight onto six representative members of our expert advisory panel.

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Activities and Impact

Our four strategic aims:

1. Support young people through co-creation and digital content

1. Become a leading voice in our sector

2. Support the trusted adults around young people

3. Become a resilient charity!

These aims have been co-developed with 200+ young people, through our Youth Manifesto.

🤔 So, how are we doing?

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1. Support young people through co-creation & digital content

Spotlight on safeguarding

Safeguarding is the bedrock of everything we do at Fumble. Highlights this year include…

1. Review 2. Best practice & 3. Our Expert Advisor Our Designated knowledge We’re guided by our Safeguarding Officer sharing expert external led a full We attend an advisor, Tamsin safeguarding review external monthly Watson, Safeguarding across our training & knowledge sharing Manager at processes. session. YoungMinds.

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We received
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We expanded our co-creation with

340 responses to our trans+ youth survey helping to inform our content

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We partnered with National Citizen
Service (NCS) to produce a blog on
consent using examples from
Sexual Health Week
Heartstopper for
2023 . Discover our collab here
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young people!

New Youth Advisory Board

We recruited a brilliant new cohort of our YAB, ensuring that lived and current experiences across a diverse group of young people continue to drive our services.

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Over
2.5 million
young people
reached online and
750+
directly involved in
our co-creation
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A review of all our website content: 300+ articles, blog pieces, audio & support pages!

“The skills I’ve learned are invaluable and I’ve used examples from my time with Fumble in a job interview which I was successful in.”

Jess, Youth Advisory Board

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1. Support young people through co-creation and digital content

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We delivered a series of
“It was a good community to work
with; I spend a lot of my time stressing over issues that I can’t impact, so it trans+ focus content,
feels really positive to finally get to
make a difference.” reaching over 6000
Allie, Trans+ Youth Committee young people!
How did
our
content
series
make you
feel?
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“Seen!”
“A great opportunity and experience to gain
knowledge and information on trans topics in a
group of people similar to you. You feel safe and
included and you gain experience for future work
experiences. It's also fun and a talkable space, not
only for work but you’re able to talk about other
topics too.”
Sammy, Trans+ Youth Committee
“Being part of the committee introduced me to some
amazing people and helped me develop my
confidence in talking to others in a meeting setting,
sharing my ideas, public speaking, and asking for
help/setting professional boundaries and requesting
reasonable accommodations for my time, emotional
tether, and ability.”
George, Trans+ Youth Committee
With our Trans+ Youth
Committee, we co-created a
“
transformative content series: ”
Am I trans?
identity & relationships Translating sex,
including:
9 articles
5 blog pieces
2 audio episodes
More
here
🌟
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2. Become a leading voice in our sector

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We spoke on a TRANSforming Our CEO & Young We were thrilled
Futures celebratory event Trustee presented
panel! at the to partner with
RCPCH annual Superdrug on
conference their consent
campaign!
Collaborations
We’re a leading voice
Our Programme
Manager joined in the UK relationships &
NATSAL’s
Consultancy sex education
Advisory Board!
sector!
Fumble x Mark Hill
campaign featured
in Cosmopolitan &
Press & media Prolifc North
"It really is the ignorance of an older generation about technology that has led to
so many really dark and difficult things happening for the younger generation,
but just one look at the Fumble website does make you realise how easy it is
to educate - Jane and I would both like to congratulate you on the website
and everything you do ." 18
We presented at
King’s College
London for a
research event on
sexual consent in
digital cultures
Listen
here
🎧
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3. Support the trusted adults around young people

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Live workshops
and online
masterclasses
100%
We expanded our support
of attendees Presented at a
would for trusted adults! national
recommend!
Some highlights… Sex Education
More here
We contributed examples of our work to Children,
Young People and Online Harms:
Conceptualisations, Experiences and Responses
“Really clear Fumble’s in a book!
resources,
knowledgeable &
engaging host. Am
now full of ideas to go
back to work with.”
Webinar attendee
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We expanded our support for trusted adults! Some highlights… Guide for trusted adults supporting trans+ youth Read here

Presented at a national Sex Education Forum event

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4. Become a resilient charity!

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Funding successes! Our Youth Advisory Board (YAB) member,
Amy, moved on from her three years on
the YAB to become our first ever
Young Trustee !
We’re a resilient
small charity!
Some highlights…
We’re multi-award
winning!
Thank you to all
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our supporters!
We were selected from
applications for the
🌟 150+ 🌟
Weston Charity
Award 2024
Our
core Staff
Team
grew from
two to five
members! 💫
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What our supporters are saying…

“I wish something like that had existed when I was growing up. It's so important to have open, honest dialogue with young people about sex.”

Parent/carer

• “It’s been a real joy to hear the work you

• do with young people. I have learnt lots on a professional and personal level and am

• inspired and in awe of your fabulous team, your vision, and your approach to filling in the gaps for young people (and adults!) around sex and sexual health.”

Health Improvement Manager, NHS

• “I genuinely believe that Fumble is offering something unique and essential for young people.”

Dr Emily Setty, University of Surrey

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Plans Ahead

Plans ahead 🚀

To continue building on our success so far, our 2024-2025 strategy continues our four core aims:

• 1) Support young people through further co-creation and digital content

• Co-create and publish new priority content on our core theme of ‘girls and young women’ .

• Launch recruitment drive for our Youth Advisory Board, with a focus on diversity : specifically reaching out to boys and young men, as well as young people from racialised communities

• Continue our Rolling Review of content to ensure our website content remains top quality and relevant to young people’s reality.

• 2) Continue establishing Fumble as a leading voice in RSHE

• We feature in a 2025 book by award-winning journalist Frances Ryan for disabled women and girls, published by Penguin.

• We’re on NATSAL’s Advisory Board (The National Survey of Sexual Attitudes and Lifestyles) for their groundbreaking national report, Natsal-4.

• Continue to work with the Sex Education Forum, respond to policy consultations, and develop our consultancy outreach.

• 3) Support the parents/carers and trusted adults around young people to have necessary RSHE conversations

• Develop and scale our suite of masterclasses for trusted adults to support them to better support young people.

• Develop supporter-facing content on our website, supporting them to further meet young people’s needs.

4) Become a resilient charity

• Develop on the Pilotlight organisational development programme , awarded as part of the Weston Charity Awards, especially improving our evaluation

and measurement to better showcase our impact .

• Develop a more resilient income mix, especially developing our earned income and individual giving programme, our Friends of Fumble.

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Message from the CEO

Message from the CEO

Fumble was started by a group of young volunteers in our twenties with lived experience of inadequate sex education.

As members of the first generation to grow up alongside smartphones and the internet, we know the significant new challenges this technology poses to young people when it comes to developing healthy understandings of relationships, health and wellbeing. We also see the enormous potential of a happy, healthy, free digital world of relationships, sex and health education. That’s Fumble. We’re so proud of where we’ve managed to take Fumble as we

reach the end of our third Impact Award, Garfield Weston, young people to, in the words financial year and look forward to and UK Youth’s Thriving Minds of our young volunteer building on this success in the programme. Ebony-Renee, ‘be the voice for years to come. young people’ . I’m proud every day of all the Today, we continue to be led by volunteers, expert advisors, Find out more about our work, young people through our Youth funders and individual supporters from some of the people Advisory Board. All of our work is who have helped us get here, and making it happen, here: Fumble co-created with young people, who continue to play an matters. putting their voices at the heart instrumental role in making of everything we do. We’ve Fumble happen. Young people Thank you, and let’s keep going! reached over 2.5 million UK today need Fumble - the young people, worked directly alternative is the toxic resources Sign up to our newsletter to with over 750 young people to they end up turning to, including keep in touch here make it happen , and partnered online pornography (1) and with leading organisations in our misogynistic online influencers sector including NCS, like Andrew Tate. (2) YoungMinds and Brook. We’re award-winning, and have been With your support, we can supported by some prestigious continue to combat this stark national funders, including the reality , working with and for King’s Fund via their GSK

Lucy Whitehouse

1. https://www.theguardian.com/society/2023/sep/13/adults-are-terrifed-of-talking-to-us-about-it-10-things-i-learned-from-children-about-pornography 2. https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2023/mar/09/andrew-tate-young-men-social-media-motivational-sexism

CEO

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Fumble's Accounts for 2023 - 2024

6 April 2023 - 5 April 2024

Financial overview

We are pleased to have maintained steady year-on-year income in this financial year, with a total income of £111,545. We have demonstrated the efficiency and impact of our operations, and have established that Fumble attracts high levels of support from both funders and individual donors.

Fumble takes its financial health seriously. We have robust financial controls in place to ensure sound financial management, risk management best practice and the financial sustainability of Fumble.

See below for a detailed breakdown of our receipts and payments during the period.

Receipts and payments

Our accounts have been prepared on a receipts and payments basis, in line with Charity Commission guidance. Our 2022/23 accounts (previous year) were also prepared on a receipts and payments basis, and as such there are no prepayments or accruals to realise this year.

Fumble's reserves policy It is the policy of Fumble to hold in reserves the equivalent of three months of general running costs (including staff costs). A relatively young organisation, Fumble’s objective is to continue to increase its reserves over time to reach and maintain six months of general running costs.

This approach is on the basis of Fumble's current commitments and expenditure, and reflects the demands of the current point in our growth. We will review this reserves policy within 12 months, or if our committed expenditure changes before that point.

Independent Examination In line with the Charity Commission’s requirements, the following annual accounts have been independently examined. Independent examiner:

Lachlan Stibbard Hawkes 94a Tangier Road, Richmond, TW10 5DN

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Receipts and payments accounts (CC16a)

Charity name: Fumble Charity number: 1188089 From the period from 6th April 2023 to 5th April 2024

Section A

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Receipts and payments accounts (CC16a)

Charity name: Fumble Charity number: 1188089 From the period from 6th April 2023 to 5th April 2024

Section B

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Trustee’s Declaration

The Trustees declare that they have approved the Trustees’ Report and annual accounts above. Signed on behalf of the charity’s trustees:

Signature: Full name: Charlotte Chorley Position: Chair of Trustees Date: 29th November 2024

Charlotte Chorley Chair 2023-24

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Thank you fumble.org.uk

Registered charity 1188089 | Twitter | Facebook | Instagram | LinkedIn

Fumble’s generous supporters in 2023-24 included

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