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2024-08-31-accounts

CHARITY NUMBER: 1190396

Discovering Prayer CIO Trustees’ Report & Financial Statements For the year ended 31 August 2024

Table of contents

Report of the trustees 3
Report of the independent examiner to
the trustees 10
Receipts and payments 11
Statement of balances 12
Notes to the financial statements 13

Discovering Prayer Trustees’ Annual Report to Aug 2024

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Report of the trustees

The trustees are pleased to present their report, together with the financial statements of the charity for the year ended 31 August 2024.

STATUS OF CHARITY AND GOVERNING DOCUMENT

Discovering Prayer CIO was registered as a charitable incorporated organisation on 14 July 2020. The organisation was previously incorporated as a private limited company called Discoveringprayer.com Ltd (company number 09177881) from 15 August 2014 until its dissolution in 2021. The charity registration number is 1190396.

TRUSTEES AND OFFICE BEARERS

Management of the charity remains with the trustees. The constitution requires a minimum of three trustees and a maximum of 12 to serve at any time.

The trustees who served during the year are:

Every trustee will be appointed for a period of three years by a resolution passed at a trustee meeting. Any person retiring as a charity trustee is then eligible for reappointment.

Additionally, the board of trustees benefits from the expertise of our advisory board, which includes: Shumi Kupara, Operations Coordinator for The Relay Trust, Brother Stuart OSB from Mucknell Abbey and Tamasin Went, former Head of Commercial Intelligence at Vodafone Business Group.

1

PRINCIPAL OFFICE

Discovering Prayer CIO, Suite 261, 266 Banbury Road, Oxford OX2 7DL

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OBJECTIVES

Our objectives, as laid out in our governing document, are:

‘To advance or enlighten others about the Christian faith by encouraging people to explore prayer and spirituality in their lives, to deepen their relationship with God, including but not limited to:

VISION

Our vision is for everyone to have a joyful and fulfilling relationship with God. Our goals are to:

01 HELP PEOPLE TO DEEPEN THEIR RELATIONSHIP WITH GOD THROUGH PRAYER

Many people want to pray, but don’t know how to get started. We work with Christian nuns and monks and other experts in prayer, who record guided prayers and teaching on prayer. We aim to help people benefit from their wisdom each day.

02 RESEARCH AND TEACH THE BEST WAYS TO HELP PEOPLE LEARN TO PRAY

We hope to glorify God in our teaching on prayer and that means learning the best, most evidence-based ways that we can help people to flourish in their walk with God. We will continue to develop best practice in researching what we do and teaching those in the church who are keen to learn more about fostering prayer in their communities.

03 GIVE GENEROUSLY TO THE WORLDWIDE COMMUNITY

We believe that prayer is always linked to action, in our homes, our communities and throughout the world. We pray for others and take action that supports communities that care for those in need.

Discovering Prayer Trustees’ Annual Report to Aug 2024

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Activities and achievements

We are delighted to report that over 2,000 individuals joined us in prayer throughout 2023—2024 and our reach continues to grow each year. As a small charity with a big heart, we have dedicated time to developing a platform to allow Discovering Prayer to connect with many more people.

CREATION OF POCKET ABBEY

We are delighted to announce the successful development of our transformational new app, which has been tested by 200 participants. The feedback has been overwhelmingly positive, with nearly 80% of participants rating it as either ‘Excellent’ or ‘Very Good’.

This project was made possible through the collaboration of 12 dedicated people, including developers, UX UI professionals, copywriters and designers from Discovering Prayer, Amperative, Fruto and Signpost Creative.

Participants have particularly praised the app’s sound quality and intuitive design. We’re thrilled with the positive responses received for this foundational work, which we’re building on for our public launch.

‘Firstly, and most importantly, the app’s sound quality is excellent and much appreciated. Secondly, the simplicity of the layout is beautiful, making navigation entirely intuitive. I think the Holy Spirit has definitely been with you in this work. Well done everyone. It promises to be a thirst-quenching resource.’

– Josh, Pocket Abbey participant

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DESIGNED A UNIQUE USER EXPERIENCE WITH DAILY BLESSINGS

Taking inspiration from a community member, we developed a unique feature that offers a daily prayer, followed by a blessing from a nun or monk. This has been especially wellreceived, with feedback such as,

‘I have particularly enjoyed the daily blessings :)’

– Amy, Discovering Prayer app participant

EXCEEDING OUR TARGET FOR RECORDED BLESSINGS

The generous support of funders also enabled us to exceed our target of 25 recorded blessings. We recorded 37 blessing s and six in-depth interviews from 10 nuns and monk s from four religious communities.

‘I experienced a deep sense of homecoming, which was incredibly moving and something I haven’t felt before.’

– Olivia,Discovering Prayer app participant

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Anglican nuns and monks who made recordings to inspire participants this year

In addition, we:

We continue to be inspired by the heartfelt feedback from our community:

‘I stumbled on Discovering Prayer at a time when I truly needed God. I wasn’t sure how God spoke or answered prayer. I now understand there is a time and a place for all prayer. I have got more out of this than the three years I have been on this journey. I now know my God is truly alive and listening to me and me to him.’

– David, Discovering Prayer participant

‘Just what I needed, having felt “lost” and rudderless through significant life changes. Learning how to draw closer to God and exploring new ways of praying has been a priceless gift.’

– Adam, Pocket Abbey participant

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Future plans

In 2024—2025, we aim to help even more people discover peace, strength and communion with God through prayer, particularly during challenging times. These plans are contingent on future fundraising. Our plans include:

We are excited to work towards the app’s public launch for Lent 2025, with a brand new series called ‘Prepare the Way for Easter’. We will gather feedback from members to see the impact of the app on individuals and communities. We will also refine the app based on user feedback and collaborate with a digital agency, Amperative, to develop a roadmap for new features, such as the ability to ‘Share a Prayer’.

Following what we hope will be successful fundraising, we will launch ‘Prayer for All Seasons’, a calendar of prayer courses available throughout 2025 and 2026. The aim will be to provide individuals and groups with seasonal courses of prayer and teaching on Lectio Divina, contemplative/listening prayer, Ignatian prayer and daily office (short prayers throughout the day). The aim is to address the crisis of quiet in our time and allow people an opportunity to be still and know God more deeply.

We are exploring partnerships with external organisations to create resources that connect the app with physical events such as retreats and pilgrimages, as well as engaging with religious communities. We also want to pilot groups within the app that enable prayer triplets to be created.

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Financial review

Results for the year

The financial statements for the year are set out on pages 11 to 14. The receipts and payments account on page 11 reflects a surplus for the year of £13,725 (2023: £6,296). Total reserves, including restricted funds, amounted to £44,763 (2023: £31,038).

Reserves policy

The trustees aim to maintain free reserves in unrestricted funds at a level which equates to approximately three months’ unrestricted charitable expenditure. They consider that this will provide sufficient funds to respond to applications for grants and ensure that support and governance costs are covered. We are pleased to report that we have maintained reserves of £29,736 and carried over £15,027 in additional funds for the building and launch of our new app in February 2025.

Thanks

The trustees are immensely grateful for the generosity of the religious communities, trusts, churches and individual donors who funded us during the year. We would specifically like to thank:

We would also like to extend deep thanks and appreciation to the volunteers who provide invaluable support for Discovering Prayer’s website development, administration, script editing and recordings.

The accounts were approved by the trustees on 10 March 2025 and signed on their behalf by:

Michelle Eyre, Trustee

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Report of the independent examiner to the trustees

I report to the trustees on the accounts of the charity for the year ended 31 August 2024, which are set out on pages 11 to 14.

Respective responsibilities of trustees and examiner

The charity’s trustees are responsible for the preparation of the accounts in accordance with the requirements of the Charities Act 2011. I report in respect of my examination of the charity’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. It is my responsibility to examine the accounts as required and to state whether particular matters have come to my attention.

Basis of independent examiner’s statement

My examination is carried out in accordance with the Charities Act 2011. An examination includes a review of the accounting records kept by the charity and a comparison of the accounts presented with those records. It also includes consideration of any unusual items or disclosures in the accounts, and seeks explanations from the trustees concerning such matters. The procedures undertaken do not provide all the evidence that would be required in an audit, and consequently I do not express an audit opinion on the view given by the accounts.

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:

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

  2. the accounts do not accord with those records.

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 to enable a proper understanding of the accounts to be reached.

SIGNATURE

Alison Franks CA Director Cornerstone Accounting

Date: 18 March 2025 11 Erngath Road, Bo’ness EH51 9DP

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Receipts and payments for the year ended 31 August 2024

t t

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Discovering Prayer Trustees’ Annual Report to Aug 2024 11

Statement of balances

as at 31 August 2024

s

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The financial statements on pages 11 to14 were approved by the trustees on 10 March 2025 and signed on their behalf by the undernoted:

Michelle Eyre Trustee

The notes on pages 13 to 14 form part of these financial statements.

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Notes to the financial statements

For the year ended 31 August 2024

1. ACCOUNTING POLICIES

Accounting convention

The financial statements have been prepared under the historical cost convention, on a receipts and payments basis and in accordance with the Charities Act 2011. The trustees have had regard to the Charity Commission’s guidance on public benefit.

Receipts and payment account

For the purpose of the Receipts and Payments Account as shown on page 11, funds are defined as follows:

Unrestricted funds comprise donations, grants and other income received for the objects of the charity without further specified purpose and are available as general funds.

Restricted funds comprise income which has been received for the objects of the charity and specified for a restricted purpose within these objects by the donor.

2. UNRESTRICTED FUNDS

----- Start of picture text -----
Balance
Balance
Receipts Payments Transfers at
at 1.9.23
£ £ £ 31.8.24
£
£
General fund 21,732 58,344 (50,340) - 29,736
Total unrestricted
-
21,732 58,344 (50,340) 29,736
funds
----- End of picture text -----

Explanation of funds

The General fund represents all income and expenditure relating to the primary focus activities of the charity, other than those for which funding is restricted.

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3. RESTRICTED FUNDS

----- Start of picture text -----
Balance at Receipts Payments Transfers Balance at
1.9.23 31.8.24
£ £ £ £ £
-
App fund 9,306 20,434 (14,713) 15,027
Total restricted funds 9,306 20,434 (14,713) - 15,027
----- End of picture text -----

Explanation of funds

The App fund represents funds received towards the development of a new mobile application for guided prayers.

4. DONATED FACILITIES AND SERVICES

We are grateful for the office space at St Andrew’s Church, Linton Road, Oxford, which allows us to be at the heart of this prayerful community. We also acknowledge the invaluable contribution of our volunteers and trustees who lend their expertise in various areas, including audio design, editorial guidance, finance and fundraising.

Robert Eyre, who is a trustee, maintains the website as an unpaid volunteer, representing a gift in kind of £5,000 per annum. This year, Robert has also played a pivotal role in developing and maintaining the app, representing a generous in-kind gift of at least £35,000.

5. TRUSTEE AND RELATED PARTY REMUNERATION AND EXPENSES

Michelle Eyre, who is a trustee, is employed by the charity as Chief Executive. Remuneration paid, including pension costs, in the financial year was £36,469 (2023: £34,013). Michelle also attended two retreats paid for by the charity at a cost of £535.

There were no remuneration or expenses paid to any of the other trustees or their related parties during the period ending 31 August 2024 (2023: nil), other than the reimbursement of direct expenses and mileage incurred on behalf of the charity.

6. TITHING TO CHRISTIAN CHARITIES

We tithe 10% of the income received from individual donors to Christian charities that are consistent with our charitable aims. This year, our donation was processed after the financial year-end and will therefore be reflected in the 2025 accounts.

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