2024-03-31-accounts

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OpenBright Foundation

Trustees’ Annual Report

For the year ended: 31[st] March 2024

Charity registered number: 1190215

Contents
1. Legal and administrative information	2
2. Report of the Trustees	3
2.1 Highlights of OpenBright’s grant-making activities 2023-24	4
2.2 Objectives and activities for public benefit	4
Purposes and objectives	5
Activities undertaken April 2023 to March 2024	5
Planned activities April 2024 to March 2025	6
2.3 Grant making policy	7
Principles and priorities for support	7
Grant making criteria	7
Grant making processes	8
2.4 Structure, governance and management	8
2.5 Organisational structure and decision making	9
Trustee Meetings	9
Method of appointment or election of Trustees	9
Administration and advisory input	9
Other relevant organisations	9
Chair	9
Treasurer	9
2.6 Statement of Trustees' responsibilities	9

1. Legal and administrative information

Trustees	Elizabeth Molyneux (Chair) Geraldine Flanagan (Treasurer) Andy Roberts
Charity registered number	1190215
Registered office	20 Old Bailey London EC4M 7AN
Independent examiner	Mr J Lyons
Bankers	CAF Bank 25 Kings Hill Avenue Kings Hill West Malling Kent ME19 4JQ
Solicitors	Withers LLP 20 Old Bailey London EC4M 7AN
Social media consultants	Naturally Social Office 13 Hampton Park West Melksham Wiltshire SN12 6LH

2. Report of the Trustees

The Trustees present their annual report of the OpenBright Foundation (OpenBright), for the year ended 31st March 2024. The financial statements are presented as a separate document.

2.1 Highlights of OpenBright’s grant-making activities 2023-24

4 university partnerships agreed, established and embedded.

2 Calls for Awards held.

28 applications received from eligible students.

2 Q&A days held with 15 shortlisted applicants.

13 OpenBright Awards made to 13 successful students.

11 projects from previous Calls completed and 7 Project Completion Questionnaires submitted (up until 31[st] March 2024).

Feedback from Awardees shows that:

Women continue to use our grants to ensure and improve the quality of their projects and/or dissertations
Women are enabled to access appropriate resources and opportunities for undertaking their projects
Our grants help to mitigate worries and risks concerning financial, time-related and other practical restraints
Women’s efforts are supported, celebrated, show-cased and rewarded
Women gain experience and confidence to pursue projects in areas that they may otherwise have not considered
Women are encouraged and inspired to explore new ideas, push boundaries, and undertake innovative research.

2.2 Objectives and activities for public benefit

Purposes and objectives

OpenBright was incorporated as a CIO in July 2020. Its purpose is to advance the education of women of any age studying at UK further or higher education institutions. Under the terms of its constitution, the Board of Trustees will apply funds for the public benefit to promote the education of women in the fields of computing and IT-related subjects in such ways as the Trustees think fit.

Activities undertaken April 2023 to March 2024

The activities undertaken by Trustees during this period were associated with the management, administration, delivery and monitoring of grants (hereafter known as Awards). In setting objectives and planning for these activities, the Trustees have given due consideration to general guidance published by the Charity Commission relating to public benefit, including the guidance 'Public benefit: running a charity (PB2)'.

Key activities have been as follows:

Continuing to hold monthly Board meetings.
Establishing financial processes and financial forecasting.
Maintaining and continuing to develop existing partnerships with Bournemouth University and Wolverhampton University, including reviewing Collaboration Agreements for both partners, attending an invitation-only event celebrating Wolverhampton University’s commitment to promoting social mobility held at the House of Lords, October 2023, and attending an in-person meeting at Wolverhampton University on 11[th] March 2024.
Agreeing and finalising partnership arrangements with the Open University Collaboration Agreement signed 18[th] March 2024) and Sheffield Hallam University (Collaboration Agreement signed 15[th] April 2024).
Making a sponsorship to the Open University’s Women in Computing conference held online in April 2023.
Undertaking discussions and meeting with several more potential partner universities for which collaboration arrangements are in progress.
Setting up and running two Calls (Call 4: Spring 2023 and Call 5: Autumn 2023) for applications for OpenBright Awards.
Making 13 Awards to successful applicants and agreeing reporting requirements and arrangements for ongoing contact/liaison between OpenBright and university partners/students.
Working proactively with our social media consultants to implement social media strategy and maintain/develop our social media presence and engagement, including providing ideas for content, responding to requests for information, reviewing and agreeing monthly content plans and editing/signing off copy for posts via Planable.
Creating a media kit of social media assets for use by Awardees.
Reviewing and updating core policies already in place: Privacy; Conflict of Interest; and Related Parties Register; Risk Management and Risk Register; Privacy Policy.

Drafting, reviewing and agreeing the following new core policies/procedures: Expenditure, Payments, Accounts Payable; Expenses; Income; Suppliers and Payables; Privacy Agreements for all OpenBright personnel, Trustees and external suppliers.
Continuing to explore and attend relevant training and networking opportunities, including the BCS Lovelace Colloquium in Sheffield (April 2023), and the Association of Charitable Foundations (ACF) course on ‘How to assess the outcomes and impact of the projects you fund’ (October 2023).
Maintaining and updating the grants management system/database (OASYS), designed and built by one of our Trustees on a pro-bono basis.
Establishing a system and format for regular reporting on monitoring, evaluation and learning via OASYS and through documentation.
Developing a standard presentation for introductory meetings and onboarding with university partners.
Developing promotional materials and sharing with university partners.
Reviewing and updating the Project Completion Questionnaire.
Maintaining and updating the website including a full review/update in August 2023.
Running formal and ad-hoc training sessions on the use of OASYS for OpenBright Trustees and freelance personnel (again by one of our Trustees on a pro-bono basis).
Holding a Trustee Away Day (8[th] February 2024) to discuss, agree and review new and ongoing grant making processes and consider and detail strategic plans – included engaging an external trainer to help facilitate the day.
Planning and setting objectives for the year April 2024 to March 2025.

Planned activities April 2024 to March 2025

At the February 2024 Away Day, Trustees agreed the following key objectives for the next operating period:

Continue to hold monthly Board meetings.
Agree and finalise partnership arrangements with up to 3 more universities.
Conduct annual reviews of all contractual, communications and administrative arrangements with existing university partners and conduct an in-person visit with new partners after one year of working together.
Maintain, review and update website (annual review due August 2024), including consideration of adding more images (including photos and videos).
Set up, run and review two Calls for applications for OpenBright Awards (Call 6: Spring 2024 and Call 7: Autumn 2024).
Continue to respond to ad-hoc requests for sponsorship and make awards as deemed necessary/appropriate by Trustees within the terms of our Constitution.
Make Awards to successful applicants and agree reporting requirements and arrangement for ongoing contact/liaison between OpenBright and university partners/students.
Continue to work proactively with our social media consultants, via monthly review meetings, to implement social media strategy and maintain/develop our social media presence and engagement, including providing ideas and images for content, responding to

requests for information, reviewing and agreeing monthly content plans and editing/signing off copy for posts via Planable 2 months in advance.

Work with universities and our social media consultants to engage with students and generate increased engagement between OpenBright and Awardees.
Review and update policies already in place, including Grant Making policy and procedures.
Draft, review and agree new core policies as required including: Recruitment/Appointment of new Trustees; Social Media; Safeguarding; Trustee Code of Conduct; Cyber Security; Complaints; Equality and Diversity; Health and Safety (currently not applicable as OpenBright does not employ five or more people).
Continue to explore relevant training and networking opportunities (including attendance and potential sponsorship of the Lovelace Colloquium in Liverpool, April 2024).
Maintain and update the grants management system/database (OASYS) including running additional training sessions as needed.
Maintain and develop the system and format established for regular reporting on monitoring, evaluation and learning.
Review financial processes, including research and learning from other grant-giving organisations.
Continue to review and update application process and online documentation (including FAQs and application form).
Hold a Trustee Away Day in 2025 to discuss, agree and review new and ongoing grant making processes.
Plan and set objectives for the year April 2025 to March 2026.

2.3 Grant making policy

Our grant making policy sets out the principles, criteria and processes that govern how OpenBright makes grants in accordance with its priorities. A grant is defined as a financial award made by the Foundation from its funds to support its charitable objectives.

Principles and priorities for support

The number of projects which can be supported will be limited by the amount of funds available for distribution in one year. The Board of Trustees have determined that the priorities for funding over the new few years will be focused on:

Supporting women to undertake degree-level or postgraduate-level research projects in computing and IT-related subjects, including (but not limited to) software engineering, creative/social technologies, digital media, artificial intelligence and robotics.

Our website provides an overview of what we fund and why. Currently, the overall aim of our grantmaking is to address the gender gap in computing and tech-related education/careers for women living in the UK. In the short term, we hope our funding will encourage and inspire women to explore new ideas and undertake innovative research (in collaboration with their academic departments) in the knowledge that their efforts will be celebrated, show-cased and rewarded. Longer term, we hope this support will help to have an impact on gender imbalance in computing careers and will create more women tech leaders of the future.

Grant making criteria

We want our grants to celebrate, support and encourage women to undertake innovative research projects at undergraduate or postgraduate level that perhaps they would otherwise not consider. We want our grants to give women the experience and confidence to pursue projects that are reflective of the interests, needs and voices of women. The nature of the costs to be sought might include, for instance, purchase of specialist equipment, books or training; travel/subsistence for attending a conference, meeting or networking event; paying for external mentoring or consultancy; or simply the time and space to explore, experiment and innovate.

The Trustees would expect that such research projects will lead to an academic outcome such as a report, dissertation, thesis; but appreciate that there may be other relevant and tangible outcomes such as artefacts, applications, demonstrations and prototypes.

The Board of Trustees will not normally approve/support applications:

For activities which appear to, or actively seek to, influence public opinion in favour of a particular political party or promote political partisanship
From individuals not registered as students at one of the partner universities listed on our website.

Grant making processes

As set out on our website, all grant requests go through a six-step process as summarised below:

Call for applications – OpenBright issues a call for applications from eligible students from partner universities
Application – students complete an online application form and submit this for initial assessment by OpenBright’s Trustees to ensure they meet the basic criteria for funding. Applications not meeting grant-making criteria will be rejected at this stage
Shortlisting – OpenBright Trustees and/or a subcommittee determine whether the applications should be shortlisted for support. Applications not shortlisted are rejected at this stage.
Assessment - Shortlisted applicants are invited to discuss their proposal at a Q&A session online or in person with the Board of Trustees and/or a subcommittee
Decision – Grants not recommended are rejected. All grants must be approved/confirmed by the Board of Trustees or a person/committee acting with its delegated authority.
Funding - Grants will be made to the partner university for disbursement by them to successful applicants. OpenBright does not make awards directly to individuals.

Once an Award has been made, OpenBright asks universities to confirm end dates of projects/Awards are still correct. Students are then contacted around this date and asked to submit a Project Completion questionnaire. This is the only feedback that Awardees are currently asked to submit – there is no requirement for a dedicated final report but we welcome any additional documents or material that Awardees wish to share with us about their completed projects.

2.4 Structure, governance and management

The OpenBright Foundation was established as a Charitable Incorporated Organisation in July 2020 under the terms of its constitution dated 27[th] November 2019 which include the following provisions regarding governance and management:

There must be at least three Trustees. If the number falls below this minimum, the remaining Trustee or Trustees may act only to call a meeting of the charity Trustees, or appoint a new charity Trustee
The maximum number of charity Trustees is 12. The charity Trustees may not appoint any charity Trustee if as a result the number of charity Trustees would exceed the maximum
The charity Trustees shall manage the affairs of the CIO and may for that purpose exercise all the powers of the CIO
In selecting individuals for appointment as charity Trustees, the members of the CIO must have regard to the skills, knowledge and experience needed for the effective administration of the CIO
It is the duty of each member of the CIO to exercise his or her powers as a member of the CIO in the way he or she decides in good faith would be most likely to further the purposes of the CIO
The charity Trustees must comply with the requirements of the Charities Act 2011 with regard to the keeping of accounting records, to the preparation and scrutiny of statements of account, and to the preparation of annual reports and returns. The statements of account, reports and returns must be sent to the Charity Commission, regardless of the income of the CIO, within 10 months of the financial year end
If the CIO is wound up, the members of the CIO have no liability to contribute to its assets and no personal responsibility for settling its debts and liabilities.

2.5 Organisational structure and decision making

Trustee Meetings

The Board of Trustees meet approximately 12 times each year to make decisions, conduct the business of OpenBright, approve grants and receive reports. Additional meetings, including Trustee Away Days are held to expedite actions where necessary. All meetings are minuted and these minutes circulated and agreed by Trustees.

Method of appointment or election of Trustees

The present and founding Trustees are set out in Section 1 of this report. New Trustees will be selected when vacancies or need for additional expertise arises. A policy setting out the method for appointment or election of new Trustees will be drafted and agreed during the next financial year (2024/25).

Administration and advisory input

The day to day running and administration of the CIO is conducted, in partnership with the Chair and Trustees, by a part-time freelance grants and partnerships advisor, and a part-time freelance advisor and clerk to the Trustees.

Other relevant organisations

Details of other relevant organisations acting in advisory roles are set out in Section 1 of this report.

Chair

The Chair of the Board of Trustees is the Founding Member of the CIO: Elizabeth Molyneux. Elizabeth also sits as a member of all sub-committees.

Treasurer

The Honorary Treasurer oversees the financial records of the CIO, presents financial reports for the Trustees’ meetings together with the Annual Accounts and chairs the finance sub-committee.

2.6 Statement of Trustees' responsibilities

The Trustees are responsible for preparing the Trustees' report and the financial statements in accordance with applicable law and United Kingdom Accounting Standards (United Kingdom Generally Accepted Accounting Practice). OpenBright’s financial statements are presented as a separate document.

The law applicable to charities in England and Wales requires the Trustees 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 in the Charities Statement of Recommended Practice (SORP) applicable to charities preparing their accounts in accordance with the Financial Reporting Standard applicable in the UK and Republic of Ireland (FRS102) (second edition October 2019, effective 1 January 2019)
Make judgements and accounting estimates that are reasonable and prudent
Prepare the financial statements on the going concern basis unless it is inappropriate to presume that the charity will continue in operation.

The Trustees are responsible for keeping proper accounting records that are sufficient to show and explain the charity's transactions and disclose with reasonable accuracy at any time the financial position of the charity and enable them to ensure that the financial statements comply with the Charities Act 2011, the Charity (Accounts and Reports) Regulations 2008 and the provisions of the governing document. They are also responsible for safeguarding the assets of the charity and hence for taking reasonable steps for the prevention and detection of fraud and other irregularities.

This report was approved by the Trustees and signed on their behalf by:

Geraldine Flanagan Honorary Treasurer Date: 9th October 2024

Registered number 1190215

Openbright Foundation

Filleted Accounts

31 March 2024

Openbright Foundation Accountants' Report

Examiner's report to the trustees of Openbright Foundation

I report to the trustees on my examination of the accounts for the year ended for the year ended 31 March 2024.

As the charity trustees of the Trust you are responsible for the preparation of the accounts in accordance with the requirements of the Charities Act 2011 (‘the Act’).

I report in respect of my examination of the Trust’s accounts carried out under section 145 of the 2011 Act and in carrying out my examination I have followed all the applicable Directions given by the Charity Commission under section 145(5)(b) of the Act.

Independent examiner’s statement

I have completed my examination. I confirm that no material matters have come to my attention in connection with the examination giving me cause to believe that in any material respect:

accounting records were not kept in respect of the Trust as required by section 130 of the Act;

the accounts do not accord with those records; or
the accounts do not comply with the applicable requirements concerning the form and content of accounts set out in the Charities (Accounts and Reports) Regulations 2008 other than any requirement that the accounts give a ‘true and fair view which is not a matter considered as part of an independent examination.

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.

Mr J Lyons Accountants

34 Chesterfield Road Bristol BS6 5DL

4 December 2024

Openbright Foundation Registered number: Balance Sheet as at 31 March 2024

1190215

Fixed assets Current assets Prepayments and accrued income Creditors: amounts falling due within one year Net current assets Total assets less current liabilities Accruals and deferred income Net assets Total Charity Funds Average number of employees	2024 £ 2,861 6,493 358 6,851 (570) 6,281 9,142 (3,912) 5,230 5,230 Number 0	2023 £ 2,861 56,955 373 57,328 (1,138) 56,190 59,051 (2,196) 56,855 56,855 Number 0

Openbright Foundation is a registered Charity registered in England. Its registered office is 20 Old Bailey, London, EC4M 7AN.

The trustees are satisfied that the charity is entitled to exemption from the requirement to obtain an audit under section 477 of the Companies Act 2006.

The trustees have not required the company to obtain an audit in accordance with section 476 of the Act.

The trustees acknowledge their responsibilities for complying with the requirements of the Companies Act 2006 with respect to accounting records and the preparation of accounts.

G Flanagan Treasurer Approved by the board on 1 December 2024