2023-03-31-accounts - Fuel Macedonia

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Trustees’ Annual Report and Accounts Year ending: 31[st] March 2023 Charity Number: 1189286

Report Date: September 2023

Fuel Macedonia Registered Charity Number 1189286

Reference and Administration

Name: Fuel Macedonia

Number: 1189286

Principle Office: 3 Greenbanks, Cranham, Upminster RM14 3YR

Names of Trustees of the Charity

IP Coppeard, Chair of Trustees

D Parker

D Woodward

L Albright

M Smith

Names & Addresses of Advisors

Bank: Metro Bank, Romford

Structure, Governance and Management

Fuel Macedonia, a Charitable Incorporated Organisation, is a registered charity, number 1189286, with a constitution dated 10[th] April 2020. The Charity raises funds to support appropriate projects managed by carefully selected Local Partners and Partner Organisations who live and operate in the Republic of North Macedonia in line with the Constitution’s Objects and in accordance with the Charity’s Grant Making and Due Diligence policies.

New Trustees are appointed by a resolution passed at a properly convened meeting of the current Trustees and are appointed indefinitely. The Constitution provides for a minimum of 3 to a maximum of 7 Trustees, all appointed indefinitely. The current Board consists of 5 people who bring the following skills to the operation: the original vision, project and people management, web design and media production, English as a foreign language and other languages, finance (ex-bank manager) and passion for the cause and people.

At the trustees’ meetings the Trustees review the current projects, the level of funding needed and available, and they look at ways of raising the profile of the charity to encourage more giving. They use these opportunities to consider additional grants to projects or the raising of funds for new projects suggested by the Charity’s Local Partners or Partner Organisations.

On appointment new Trustees sign the Charity’s ‘Trustee Code of Conduct’, are made aware of the current Local Partners and Partner Organisations through whom grants are distributed, and the current projects the Charity is supporting. They have access to, and are expected to read, the Charity’s policies on grant making, due diligence, confidentiality, data protection and conflict of interests.

Fuel Macedonia Registered Charity Number 1189286

All Trustees give of their time freely and no Trustee remuneration has been paid. Details of Trustee expenses are disclosed in Note 1 of the accounts. Trustees are required to disclose all relevant interests and register them with the Chair of Trustees and, in accordance with the Charity’s policy, withdraw from decisions where a conflict of interest arises.

The major risk for the Charity is the potential failure of a funded project and the effects on the donor(s). Hence the Grant Making and Due Diligence Policies are key in the decision-making process for the agreement to raise funds for a grant or project, therefore, these policies are constantly under review to ensure that they are fit-for-purpose.

Objects and Activities for the public benefit

The object of the Charity is the prevention and relief of poverty and the relief of those in need by reason of financial hardship in the Republic of North Macedonia.

The Charity carries out these objects through (but is not limited to) the following activities:

funding the provision of basic comfort needs to families in financial hardship, promoting and preserving good health by the provision of basic food and groceries (food parcels), fuel (gas and wood) for winter heating, and other support as the Trustees deemed fit,
making grants available to Partner Organisations and Local Partners who are able to help the beneficiaries’ welfare (mental health and wellbeing seminars).
prevention of poverty through making grants available to local education establishments approved by the Trustees where the curriculum is appropriate to employment (the microschool project is still under development and not yet being funded).
funding sustainable projects that increase the living standards of the local residents (a ‘food garden’ where locals are instructed on growing methods and grow food that they can both use and sell).

The Trustees confirm that they have referred to the guidance contained in the Charity Commission’s general guidance on public benefit when reviewing the Charity’s aims and objectives and in considering future activities and the grant making policy for the year.

Grant making policy

The Charity has established its Grant Making Policy to clearly lay out the way the Charity works to achieve the Charity’s objectives (see above). During this first year the trustees have been continually reviewing this policy to ensure it is fit for purpose to advance public benefit.

The Charity’s beneficiaries are all in various degrees of financial hardship and, whilst most of this year’s efforts have centred around the relief of poverty, the Trustees have been very pleased to see the sustainable garden (which is preventing poverty) handed over to joint management of the Roma people for whom it was intended. The beneficiaries have to be known by the Local Partners or Trustees and the Grant Making Policy has been worded to protect abuse of the donations received through Trustee contacts and site visits.

Fuel Macedonia Registered Charity Number 1189286

Executive Summary

We, as Trustees, have been very gratified by the response to the appeals we have made for the various projects that have been brought to us by our Local Partners and the following is a summary of our achievements and performance in our second full year of operation from 1[st] April 2022 to 31[st] March 2023:

Relief of poverty & financial hardship

Purchase of 117 months of heating for 43 households at a total cost of £8,635.
Purchase of 12 heating/cooking stoves at a cost of £530
Purchase of 42 food parcels for 13 households at a cost of £1,500.
Regular support of 2 families who live in very difficult situations

Beneficiaries’ welfare

Financially supporting 11 sessions of a wellbeing course for 9 men at a cost of £528.

Community Outreach projects started in Feb 2023

£2,000 for 3 project areas, Banica, Vratnica and the Polog (Tetovo & Gostivar)
Provided for 19 households;
4 households received 4 metres of wood between them
15 households received 28 food parcels
2 households received a wood-burning stove/cooker

Since the Charity’s year end (31[st] March 2023) we have added an additional Community Outreach area of Resen (in the mid-south) and provided a further:

£811 for 14 metres of wood for 5 families
£199 for 7 food parcels for 2 families
£282 for a further 5 the wellbeing seminars
£3,137 for additional grants to the 4 Community Outreach projects providing for 19 households:
3 receiving 9 metres of wood each
27 receiving 60 food parcels

Achievements and Performance

We are so grateful for the generosity of people in the UK towards the people of Macedonia that has made a real difference in the lives of many households. Trustees have had the privilege of meeting some of the beneficiaries who have expressed their gratitude and thanks towards the people who have given so freely – it is always very humbling for us.

All the projects we have undertaken to support have been those suggested by our Local Partners and they are all ongoing projects from year to year. The following report gives more details of the projects for the time period from the inception of the Charity to the date of the report.

Fuel Macedonia Registered Charity Number 1189286

Relief of Poverty/Financial Hardship:

Winter Heating

In summary this project purchases either firewood or Calor gas, to heat homes during the worst 3 months of the year because the price of electricity for heating is considerable and the gathering of firewood is controlled by the government (there are wood police!).

We now have 2 Local Partners who regularly give us requests for wood: one in Tetovo/Gostivar, the other in Skopje. Last winter was particularly difficult as it was not only cold but there was the isolation of lockdown and lack of employment causing further hardship through evictions.

This year we were able to buy 117 months of heating for 42 households at a total cost of £8,635 and 12 heating/cooking wood burning stoves at a total cost of £530.

Food Parcels

Food parcels are never the same – they depend on the makeup and heritage of the family concerned and they vary in price. The parcels are meant to supplement the household’s groceries, not completely provide for them. They average £40 per ‘food parcel’, can also contain cleaning and washing materials, would be for a family of 2 adults and 2 smaller children.

This year we were able to buy 42 food parcels for 13 households (2 of which have been on-going support for families in particularly difficult situations), at a

cost of £1,500.

We have been able to fund a further 6 food parcels for the 2 regulars, at a cost of £174.

Community Outreach projects

This project was born out of seeing groups reaching out to new communities and incurring expenses – often from the Project Leaders’ own pockets, to provide for some of the basic needs that they found in their work. Their aims are to better the living situations and improve the living environments of those residing in these areas. They are usually in communication with, and have the favour of, the

Fuel Macedonia Registered Charity Number 1189286

local administrations. The community leaders have ideas for projects that would enhance their communities and these are duly considered by the Project Leaders. We are happy to give grants to the following projects for the purchase of food and wood for heating and cooking, and where necessary to purchase cooking/heating stoves from the sources found in the Winter Heating project.

Banica: received £1,000 this year (& an additional £500 since year-end). This project supports 6

families with food parcels every week. It also bought a stove and a cooker for 2 families and 2 metres of wood that were shared between 3 families. This family support has continued since year-end.

<= This is a house built by the Project Leader for a family who’d been living in a makeshift shack

Vratnica: received £500 this year (& an additional £463 since year-end). This project is also regularly supporting 6 households in the village with food parcels. Due to illness and over-work, the Project Leader has scaled down his operation there for a time after our year-end. He is still visiting with teams from Shutka (and, yes, from those who are now working on the Food Garden).

Polog (Tetovo and Gostivar): received £500 this year (& an additional £960 since year-end). The Project Leader has supported 3 families with a food parcel and 1 household with 2 metres of wood. Since year-end 11 households have received food parcels and 2 households have received 3 metres each in preparation for the coming winter.

Resen: a new project that we have started supporting since year-end with a request for help for wood and food parcels for families in the town (£714).

Beneficiaries’ Welfare:

Wellbeing sessions

These are run by our Local Partner in Tetovo, who has a venue. The meetings have continued unabated since the pandemic restrictions were lifted due to the enthusiasm of the Local Partner and the participants.

These seminars/courses have been funded by Fuel Macedonia, at a cost of £538, and a further £266 to the end of August this year.

Fuel Macedonia Registered Charity Number 1189286

Sustainable Projects:

Shutka Food Garden

This project was handed over to the church that owns the land the greenhouse is on and the Roma people to manage. Having visited the site in September (2 trustees) we have been very impressed with the progress the person in charge has made – there was an abundant harvest this autumn that fed the families at the kindergarten and the church. The leader has a feeding ‘programme’ with the local Roma children – providing a meal for them every weekday. He is also including and training those that show an interest in the garden how to grow and tend the crops. We are in close contact with the church leader and as trustees are considering how we can best support this ‘new’ garden.

Food Bank of Macedonia

It would appear the Food Bank has financial backers from other sources and has weathered the difficulties of the pandemic and the rise in fuel costs for transportation of the food to other regions of the country.

Financial review

The Charity depends on donations to enable grants to be given. The Charity has no investments or endowments to provide a steady income. Therefore, each new project has to be marketed and have funds raised for it. No ‘promises’ of grants are given for which funds have not already been received or promised.

The Charity has no regular support or governance costs and, therefore, there are no reserves.

Plans for the future

This year’s achievements were greatly boosted by an unsolicited donation from a UK company that has an operational plant in Macedonia and is one of the major employers in the country. They wanting to put something back into the country they operate in. We have visited the plant and have spoken with their community liaison officer. We have hopes for future opportunities that our Local Partners in this area could take advantage of and further assist the people they are reaching out to.

The Trustees have continued developing their relationships with, and encouraging the activities of, all the Local Partners through another year and this is where the new project for Community Outreach has developed from. We are aiming to continue our ‘winter aid’ of heating materials and food parcels for families in need through our Community Outreach projects in Tetovo/Gostivar (Polog region), Skopje/Matka and Resen.

The IT micro-school is still a project that is very dear to our hearts in Fuel Macedonia as it will enable young people to obtain employable skills and the possibility of employment. The originator, Veton Vela, is still very keen to start the micro-school(s) and it looks as though this will now happen through his company, Wayland.

Fuel Macedonia Registered Charity Number 1189286

Trustees’ responsibilities in relation to the financial statements

The Trustees are responsible for preparing the Trustees’ Report and financial statements in accordance with applicable law and United Kingdom Accounting Standards. The law applicable to charities in England and Wales requires trustee(s) to prepare financial statements for each financial year which give a true and fair view of the state of affairs of the charity and of the incoming resources and application of resources of the charity for that period. In preparing these financial statements the Trustees are required to:

select suitable accounting policies and then apply them consistently;
observe the methods and principles of the Charity Commission’s ‘Charities Statement of Recommended Practice’;
make judgements and estimates that are reasonable and prudent;
state whether applicable accounting standards have been followed, subject to any departures disclosed and explained in the financial statements;
prepare the financial statements on the going concern basis unless it is inappropriate to presume that the Charity will continue in business.

The Trustees are responsible for keeping accounting records which disclose with reasonable accuracy the financial position of the Charity and enable them to ascertain to ensure that the financial statements comply with the Charities Act 1993, the Charity (Accounts and Reports) Regulations 2008 and the provisions of the Constitution. They are responsible for safeguarding the assets of the Charity

and hence for taking reasonable steps for the prevention and detection of fraud and other irregularities. The trustees are responsible for the maintenance and integrity of the Charity and financial information included on the Charity’s website.

Approved by the Trustees on 17[th] October 2023 and signed on their behalf by:

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Signature(s)
Full name(s) Ian Paul Coppeard Dorothy Woodward
Position Chair of Trustees Trustee
Date 17/10/2023
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Fuel Macedonia Registered Charity Number 1189286

Fuel Macedonia Statement of Financial Activities For the period from 01/04/2022 to 31/03/2023

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Receipts and payments
Unrestricted Restricted Endowment Total
funds funds funds funds Last year
to the to the to the to the to the
nearest £ nearest £ nearest £ nearest £ nearest £
Receipts
- -
Donations for Projects 15,258 15,258 11,344
Donations for Charity
Overheads 605 - - 605 427
Gift Aid reclaimed 512 - - 512 1,147
Subtotal Receipts
16,375 - - 16,375 12,918
Asset and investment sales
None - - - - -
- -
Total receipts 16,375 16,375 12,918
Payments
Grants for Food Parcels 1,501 - - 1,501 956
- -
Grants for Winter Heating 8,636 8,636 4,543
Grants to Feed Homeless in
Skopje - - - - 234
Grants for Shutka Food
Garden - - - - 3,020
Grant for the Food Bank - - - - 951
- - -
Community Outreach 2,000 2,000
Wellbeing Sessions 528 - - 528 672
Miscellaneous Grants (note
2) 460 - - 460 1,415
Charity costs spent in
Macedonia 247 - - 247 166
Subtotal payments in
Macedonia 13,372 - - 13,372 11,957
Cost of Grants in exchange
rate fees 111 - - 111 104
Cost of Donations on
NowDonate platform 16 - - 16 19
Charity running costs not in
Macedonia 205 - - 205 322
Subtotal all Payments 13,704 - - 13,704 12,401
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Fuel Macedonia Registered Charity Number 1189286

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Unrestricted Restricted Endowment Total
funds funds funds funds Last year
to the to the to the to the to the
nearest £ nearest £ nearest £ nearest £ nearest £
Asset and investment
purchases
None
- - - -
Subtotal - - - - -
- -
Total payments 13,704 13,704 12,401
Net of receipts &
payments 2,672 - - 2,672 517
Transfers between funds - - - - -
Cash funds from last
year end 1,772 - - 1,772 1,440
Cash funds this year end 4,443 - - 4,443 1,957
Statement of assets and liabilities at the end of the period
Unrestricted Restricted Endowment
funds funds funds
to nearest £ to nearest £ to nearest £
Cash funds Current Account
- -
4,328
Total cash funds
4,328 - -
Other monetary assets Gift aid reclaim - - -
Investment assets None
Assets retained for the
None
charity’s own use
Liabilities None
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Notes to the Accounts

Trustee expenses have only been for reimbursement of items needed to run the charity

Fuel Macedonia Registered Charity Number 1189286

Miscellaneous grants are those where an individual need is found and responded to and includes financial assistance for funeral costs and dental bills. Funds are raised specifically for these purposes.

Fuel Macedonia Registered Charity Number 1189286