2023-04-01-accounts

Trustees Annual Report 2022-2023

Charity Registration Number: 1189423

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Contents Who We Are Our Mission Our Values Our Strategic Aims Our Achievements and Performance Looking Forward Financial Review 2022-2023 Our Structure and Management Declarations Appendix A: Statement of Financial Activities	Contents Who We Are Our Mission Our Values Our Strategic Aims Our Achievements and Performance Looking Forward Financial Review 2022-2023 Our Structure and Management Declarations Appendix A: Statement of Financial Activities	Contents Who We Are Our Mission Our Values Our Strategic Aims Our Achievements and Performance Looking Forward Financial Review 2022-2023 Our Structure and Management Declarations Appendix A: Statement of Financial Activities					3 3 3 4 5 8 9 10 10 11

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Who We Are

Here at Creating Memories we are dedicated to fulfilling the unique wishes of children and families who are living with a life-limiting or terminal illness in Bedfordshire, Hertfordshire, and Buckinghamshire. We have been delivering wishes since 2018 and became a registered charity in 2020.

Our Mission

We are dedicated to creating moments to treasure for each child. Based in Bedfordshire, we are passionate about working alongside local businesses, communities, and individuals. ‘Making it Happen’, is our official mission statement, and this, alongside our values, drives our progress and growth.

Our Values

The core values behind Creating Memories are vital to ensuring that everyone involved with the charity is working with integrity and purpose.

Action

Working with passion and commitment to make wishes happen. Creating positive moments that have lasting impact.

Creativity

Allow contributors to participate creatively in the coordination of each individual wish.

Listening

Understanding the needs of every child. Taking the time and care to make a wish unique and specially tailored to each individual child.

Flexibility

Creating a dynamic, adaptable environment that can respond to the needs of the child, family and/or carers involved.

Nurturing

Keeping the focus on the concept of ‘giving,’ to bring joy to local children/ families/carers and build a caring local community

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Our Strategic Aims

1. Build a supportive local community that can help to make a positive

2. difference to local lives.

3. Create moments for local children/families/carers to treasure forever.

4. Provide a sense that anything is possible and that wishes do come true.

5. Work in partnership to create opportunities where businesses can get involved and help as part of their corporate social responsibility.

6. Create opportunities for individuals to give back to the local community, whether that be time, services, products and/or through donations.

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Our Achievements and Performance

The period from April 2022 to March 2023 was one of significant growth and development for us. While a significant portion of the year saw us still unable to deliver wishes and instead focus on income generation and raising awareness of our charity work, by the autumn we were fortunate to be able to start delivering individual wishes once again. Between October 2022 and April 2023, Creating Memories received eight wish requests, six of which were delivered by April 2023.

Creating Memories has been able to sustain and grow during what has been a difficult year, and we can evidence a dedication towards/positive development under each of our strategic aims, outlined below.

Build a supportive local community that can help to make a positive difference to local lives.

Creating Memories prides itself on the local network of support we have built up over the years with local businesses, communities, and individuals. We have formed excellent working relationships with several hospices across Bedfordshire, Hertfordshire, and Buckinghamshire.

We have worked with key figures and businesses as part of our fundraising and awareness building efforts. This led to a generous donation from Fujifilm, following on from a previous collaboration and cementing our ongoing relationship with them.

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In addition, local companies rallied to help provide gifts for our second Christmas Hamper appeal, held in conjunction with Keech Hospice.

This included 130 items donated by the employees of Fujifilm in Bedford, 160 free cinema tickets from Cineworld, toy donations from high street chain Card Factory (kindly delivered by PW Distribution), gift sets from Kiim & Miller, toys from local charity Kids Out and personalised mugs from Emotion UK.

In October 2022, Creating Memories was also selected as one of three nominated charities for a Tesco Grant, ultimately coming in second place and receiving £1000 in funding.

We were also selected as one of three national charities to be supported as part of the stationer Scribbler’s planned 2023 Christmas Card campaign.

Create moments for local children/families/carers to treasure forever.

Six families were granted wishes this year. This included the delivery of a bespoke robot, personalised artwork, gifted trips to Mead Open Farm, Legoland, Peppa Pig World and London Zoo, a personalised birthday message from CBBC’s Mr Tumble, and a mini break with Holistic Thinking Holidays, paired with a wheely boat experience thanks to Action 4 Youth.

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Provide a sense that anything is possible and that wishes do come true.

This year we were able to recruit our first part time employee, that of a Wish Co-ordinator. This has helped to formalise the work of the charity and establish us further within the local community.

Creating Memories saw significant press coverage twice throughout the course of this year, the first for our chocolate making day in collaboration with ‘The Chocolatier’, aka Aneesh Popat, which was part of our ‘Design Your Own Chocolate’ competition. The other was gifting a bespoke robot to our first ever wish recipient, which was built by Mark Haig of Gizmobots fame. A special moment for all, as this was the first individual wish, we were able to grant since becoming a registered charity.

Both key moments that perfectly highlight what Creating Memories does best, providing moments to treasure.

Work in partnership to create opportunities where businesses can get involved and help as part of their corporate social responsibility.

We continued to build on the local relationship established with Fujifilm, submitting a proposal with a view for them to become a corporate sponsor. While at the time of writing this has yet to be agreed, we have successfully established the following with Fujifilm.

We collaborated on a photography competition, which Fujifilm co-judged, and donated Instax cameras, digital cameras, and printing vouchers towards the project.

Fujifilm have also made a generous one-off donation to our charity, galvanised its employees to support the 2022 Christmas Hamper appeal and offered to create photobooks for wish recipients and their families for free. This is a relationship that we wish to nurture over the coming years.

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Create opportunities for individuals to give back to the local community, whether that be time, services, products and/or through monetary donations. Creating Memories has successfully provided opportunities for the local community to give back. This has resulted in.

Gifted laptops for children at Keech Hospice courtesy of Pure Planet. Over £2,300 received from donations from local businesses.

Thanks to Stephanie Price Wealth Planning (£189.32), European Policies Industrial Limited (£350), Seko Omni Channel Logistics (£1000), Reno Bedford (£200) and Fujifilm (£650).

Looking Forward

Looking forward to 2023-2024 the Charity will continue to deliver wishes, with a target of 10 wishes completed within a 12-month period. The Charity will also be placing a high priority on fundraising, with a view to growing and evolving the charity, its employees and outlook. This will mean delivering more wishes to children across Bedfordshire, Hertfordshire, and Buckinghamshire, and increase our resources in line with these plans.

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Financial Review 2022-23

During the financial year Creating Memories raised a total of £12,736 in donations and expended £116 on administrative expenses on the day-today management of the charity. On 31 March 2022 Creating Memories held £15,783 at the bank.

Creating Memories needs to hold funds in reserve to manage volatility in its cashflows and to ensure that it has sufficient funds to pay bills as they fall due. It is essential that Creating Memories is financially resilient and able to fulfil its contractual commitments.

On 31 March 2022 Creating Memories held £15,838 in reserves, of which £175 was restricted for funding wishes for children. At this time, the charity has limited running costs and as such the Trustees consider the charity to be in good financial health having increased fund raising activities.

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Our Structure and Management

Creating Memories is a Charitable Incorporated Organisation (CIO). The only voting members are its charity trustees. The charity trustees are documented in the Charity’s Constitution.

New trustees must be appointed for a term of three years by a resolution passed at a properly convened meeting of the charity trustees. In selecting individuals for appointment as charity trustees, the charity trustees will have regard to the skills, knowledge and experience needed for the effective administration of the CIO.

The Constitution requires a minimum of three Trustees and a maximum of twelve trustees. At this time there are three trustees (set out below), these are the first charity trustees. No new appointments have been made since inception.

Paula Priestley, for 4 years

Laura Etkind, for 4 years

Julie McCabe, for 4 years

Declarations

The trustees declare that they have approved the annual report above.

Signature

Full Name Paula Priestley

Position Chair of Trustees

Date

Signed on behalf of the charity’s trustees

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Appendix A Statement of Financial Activities (SOFA) as at 31 March 2023

Income S01 Donations and legacies S02 Charitable activities Total Income Expenditure S09 Charitable activities S11 Other expenditure S13 Net income/(expenditure) before tax S14 Tax payable S15 Net income/(expenditure) after tax S16 Net gains/(losses) on investment S17 Net income/(expenditure) S18 Extraordinary items S19 Transfers between Funds S20 Gains and losses on revaluation S22 Net movement in funds S23 Total Funds brought forward S24 Total Funds carried forward	Unrestricted Restricted £ £ F01 F02 10,685 35 10,685 35 7,123 175 4,784 11,906 175 -1,221 -140 0 0 -1,221 -140 0 0 -1,221 -140 0 0 0 0 -1,221 -140 15,662 175 14,441 35 14,267	Total £ F04 10,685 35
		10,720 7,298 4,784
		12,081
		-1,361
		0
		-1,361
		0
		-1,361
		0 0 0
		-1,361
		15,837
		14,476

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Appendix A Balance Sheet as at 31 March 2023

B05 Fixed Assets B06 Stocks B07 Debtors B08 Investments B09 Cash at bank and in hand B10 Total current assets B11 Creditors: amounts falling due within 1 year B12 Net current assets/(liabilities) B13 Total assets less current liabilities B14 Creditors: amounts falling due after 1 year B15 Provisions for liabilities B16 Total net assets/(liabilities) B18 Restricted income funds B19 Unrestricted income funds B20 Revaluation reserve B21 Fair value reserve B22 Total Funds	Unrestricted Restricted £ £ 0 0 0 0 185 0 0 0 15,321 0 15,506 0 0 1,030 15,506 -1,030 15,506 -1,030 0 0 0 0 15,506 -1,030 35 14,441 0 0 0 0 14,441 35	Total £ 0 0 185 0 15,321
		15,506
		1,030
		14,476
		14,476
		0 0
		14,476
		35 14,441 0 0
		14,476

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creating memories