2025-04-05-accounts - The Ian Williams Foundation

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THE IAN WILLIAMS FOUNDATION Trustee Report & Financial Review Year ended: 5[th] April 2025

Charity Number 1188414

St Lawrence House, Tenby, Pembrokeshire, SA70 8RA. communicate@theianwilliamsfoundation.org

MISSION STATEMENT

Ian Michael Williams was a talented tight-head prop fulfilling his dream of being a professional rugby union player. But sadly in February 2018, aged just 27, he collapsed and died whilst training with Doncaster Knights.

Our vision for The Ian Williams Foundation is to move beyond this sadness and create an impactful vehicle for change. Like Ian, we want his Foundation to be big, sporty, strong, compassionate, dynamic, driven and caring.

Our plan is to Screen, Encourage and Enable in order to SEE out this vision and Safeguard the Heart of Sport.

STRUCTURE & GOVERNANCE

The Ian Williams Foundation is a Charitable Incorporated Organisation (CIO), charity number 1188414, whose only voting members are its charity trustees and has its principal office located in Wales.

Where new trustees are appointed they are given a formal introduction to our work and provided with the information they need to fulfil their roles, which includes information about the role of trustees and charity law. New trustees are nominated by members of the board of trustees and appointed where they have the necessary skills to contribute to the charity’s management and development. There must be a minimum of 3 trustees and a maximum number of 13. We are not yet large enough to require sub-committees of the trustee board to act in specific operational areas, and all decisions are made by the current board of charity trustees:

Helen Williams (Chair) Philippa Williams Nicola Wager Christina Haddad James Hay

All trustees give of their time freely and no trustee remuneration was paid during the year.

POLICIES

To date the trustees have elected not to implement any particular policies. However, policy requirements will be reviewed as and when increasing activity necessitates. The trustees anticipate that grant making and volunteer management may become relevant, and are committed to implementing such policies as needed.

www.theianwilliamsfoundation.org

OBJECTIVES

The legal objects of The Ian Williams Foundation as set out in our governing document are:

The advancement of health and the saving of lives by raising awareness of cardiovascular issues and cardiac health in athletes and people taking part in sport’ promoting the need for cardiac screening as a preventative measure; and, raising awareness of mental health issues which may affect those participating in sport and the options available for such people
The promotion of community participation in healthy recreation, in particular by the making of grants to other charities and sports clubs for the playing of Rugby Union

ACTIVITIES

The trustees have taken the Charity Commission’s public benefit guidance into account when making any decision where it is relevant to planning our activities for the year.

At the start of this period, concerns remained that recent demands on RFU and Championship resources may have impacted the implementation of consistent cardiac screening at Championship level. The trustees have continued to investigate this, lobby relevant professional bodies, and explore ways to ensure consistent governance in this area across England and Wales. We were pleased to be able to confirm that cardiac screening for up to 50 registered first team players is now mandated in the Championship minimum standards and funded centrally by the RFU. Work continues to understand the status of implemented screening standards within the WRU.

On 4 December 2024 The Foundation partnered with Oxford University Rugby Football Club (OURFC) for their annual fixture against the Major Stanleys, raising £2,465. Fundraising at this event was specifically with the intention of screening OURFC players in future seasons. This is a charity match partnership that we hope to continue in future.

The trustees continued to engage with the RFU in order to develop a better understanding of the current support structures and infrastructure in place for athletes participating within rugby at a University level. The primary goal remains to understand existing athlete welfare procedures and ascertain the best potential avenue for developing a consistent and deliverable provision of both screening and education for the University athlete population. Useful initial meetings have been held and, with the help of the RFU University Partnerships Manager, next steps are being considered – in particular, the feasibility and strategy to adopt with regard to raising this issue with the BUCS (British Universities and Colleges Sport) Sport Advisory Group.

www.theianwilliamsfoundation.org

Work still continues to reinstate the largest event organised and ‘hosted’ by The Foundation: the annual Ian Williams Memorial Match which in early iterations saw peers from his two alma maters - Swansea University and Oxford University - compete in a rugby match in his memory. Whilst both universities were theoretically committed to finding a suitable date for the fixture to be held annually, governance and timetabling differences between the two institutions has been acknowledged as a potentially insurmountable obstacle. We therefore continue to consider the best solution for all, and discussions have begun to find an alternative approach to securing the fixture – the best potential option being the adjustment of those clubs involved. We remain committed to the fixture representing key parts of Ian’s story and history, and to finding a sustainable annual iteration that will both raise awareness and raise funds to support our charitable objectives.

The trustees continue to assess the most sustainable and impactful route to achieving our charitable objectives and raising both funds and awareness around these objectives.

We are, as always, grateful to all of our supporters, and Ian’s friends, for their continued contributions and fundraising efforts.

www.theianwilliamsfoundation.org

FINANCIAL REVIEW

To date the trustees have not opened a bank account and therefore have no financial reports to submit. We have, however, had some income and thus include a financial review herewith our trustee report.

All funds raised and donated are currently held with our charity partner The Atlas Foundation (charity number 1161179) in the Ian Williams Foundation Fund, from whom we get a regular fund report.

The only costs incurred have been administrative (such as web domain and PR costs etc). The remaining majority of our income continues to be held, awaiting the decision of the trustees regarding its application.

The main financial risk to the charity is a reduction in donations and fundraising activities of our supporters and volunteers, however this is currently of no cause for concern as we do not have any regular financial commitments to meet at this stage.

The latest fund report read as follows:

www.theianwilliamsfoundation.org

FUTURE PLANS

The trustees have taken a cautious approach in recent years, with limited engagement and activity, but remain optimistic that the steady approach adopted will continue to increase activity in a sustainable way in coming years. Lasting change remains the driving force behind decision-making: ensuring appropriate strategic engagement to truly facilitate this change whilst employing continued sensitivity to the current climate both within relevant sectors, and globally/economically.

This staid approach continues to inform the trustees longer view of the coming years and intention to create a structured implementation of activities and events that will culminate in both change and celebration upon reaching the 10[th] anniversary of Ian’s death in 2028.

The trustees plan to further engage with the RFU University Partnerships Manager and BUCS Sports Advisory Group in pursuit of identifying and creating a strategic pathway to provide sustainable screening and education to university level rugby players, as well as the broader University athlete population in England and Wales.

The 4[th] Ian Williams Memorial Match is in tentative planning stages for a September 2025 fixture date. The trustees will continue to engage with all relevant parties to secure this date and commitment to annual fixtures thereafter.

A number of items remain ongoing and will remain on the trustees’ radar for future plans and activity, until such time as they are considered complete and/or resolved:

Revisiting discussions regarding sponsorship of a screening opportunity for, and formal partnership with, The Varsity Matches – and the University of Oxford and University of Cambridge respectively.
Exploration of consistent avenues to work with The Welsh Varsity.
Periodic investigation of the benefits of opening a bank account to: facilitate opportunities for fundraising and donations on social media platforms and in other charitable spheres; and, enable decisions regarding financial contributions to screening options from our current funds.
Consideration of the potential appointment of new trustees relating to the requirements and goals of TIWF, to place experts within our governance who will ensure that we continue to move toward achieving our objects and vision.