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2022-03-21-accounts

CONNECT 2 PURPOSE TRUSTEES ANNUAL REPORT 22.03.2021- 21.03.2022

Charity Number: 1190770 www.connecttopurpose.co.uk

About Us

Welcome to our annual report for 2021/22. We are a charitable incorporated company founded on 9[th] August 2020, by our founders: Georgina Saralis, Ali Grafton and Neil Clark. We were then delighted to be joined by Stuart Bain and Joe Johnson.

Our Objectives :

  1. To promote for the benefit of the public the preservation and protection of the historic buildings from which the charity operates, in particular, by implementing a programme of renovation and subsequent maintenance to sustain the building for the public. Despite being in lockdown, we managed to launch our first campaign

  2. To advance in life and relief the needs of young people in the UK through a) the provision of recreation and leisure time activities provided in the interest of social welfare, designed to improve their conditions of life; b). advancing education; c). providing support and activities which develop their skills, capacities and capabilities to enable them to participate in society

Our values are identity and heritage, nature and nurture, spiritual and personal growth, love and care.

Structure and Governance

The charity is a Charitable Incorporated Company governed by its constitution.

Connect to Purpose was founded by three trustees who worked together previously, pioneering an outstanding alternative provision for disengaged young people (aged 8-18), the success of which included going beyond the school gates in supporting families.

The trustees are passionate about working with young people: pushing the boundaries of educational practice to unleash the potential of those who experience barriers to their learning, challenging and defying expectation. They are tenacious in promoting the rights, needs and aspirations of socially disadvantaged and vulnerable students, and committed to making a difference to their life chances, underpinned by a belief that every child and family matterOther trustees may be appointed by two or more trustees being present at a trustees meeting.

It is our intention to ensure we have a balanced representation of young people aged 16-25 serving on our board of trustees and to them being integral to the leadership of the organisation.

CONNECT 2 PURPOSE

Charity Number: 1190770 www.connecttopurpose.co.uk

TRUSTEES ANNUAL REPORT 22.03.2021- 21.03.2022

We are committed to equality, inclusion and diversity in the leadership our charity and to aim for a crosssection of society. We strive to have representation from individuals who fall into marginalised groups such as women, BAME, LGBTQIA+, disabled, those who have been in care and those who have lived experience of socio-economic disadvantage, since they reflect the nature of our beneficiaries.

We encourage and have attracted volunteers.

All trustees will have an opportunity to undertake training for the role of trustees. All trustees working with our beneficiaries will have safeguarding training and will be registered on the DBS Update system.

Activities

The trustees believe they have displayed due regard to the commission’s public benefit guidance, which is known to the trustees and adhered to when making decisions in relation to the activities of the charity, and as described in this report.

As a new charity the first phase of our activities involved start-up and raising awareness. The first section outlines our intentions for the charity.

Connect to Purpose supports young people aged 11-25 who feel their life is not going

in the direction they want for themselves, so they can thrive and live with joy and purpose, rather than simply survive.

COVID-19 has exacerbated the need for our work. Although children are minimally susceptible to COVID-19, they are hit hardest by its psychosocial impact. The charity Young Minds reports that following the second lockdown, some young people say they are ‘deeply anxious, have started self-harming again, are having panic attacks, or are losing motivation and hope for the future.’

It is our intention to provide retreats for rest and renewal for young people based in the UK, who seek support in challenging times. We operate from heritage properties of cultural importance to the local community, sustained by social enterprise run by young adults, connecting heritage with young people and their families, to engender a sense of belonging, inclusion and social wellbeing.

Harnessing the power of personal development and transformation for all the family is an innovative strategy as an alternative contribution to the way our society is dealing with:

We tackle the problem at one of its root causes, young people in dysfunctional family situations out of their control.

By locating our retreats in heritage properties cultural heritage becomes integral to encouraging our young people and their families to make that connection with their local community; as a starting point for exploring their own family history. In doing so, we hope they will develop a sense of belonging to their local community, and feel empowered to shape its future, as well as their own.

CONNECT 2 PURPOSE TRUSTEES ANNUAL REPORT 22.03.2021- 21.03.2022

Charity Number: 1190770 www.connecttopurpose.co.uk

We will develop the historic homes as centres of social enterprise, to promote their cultural importance and conservation for the benefit its local community, and to ensure the charity is sustained as a self-financing organisation.

For our young people aged 16-25 (especially leaving care), the operation of the retreats will provide education, training, apprenticeship and employment opportunities, along with supported independent rural living. It will provide opportunities for community engagement, for both local employment and a high level of volunteering, giving the heritage home an economic value and encouraging social interaction and wellbeing.

PROJECT ONE (March 2020 – September 2021)

Our first project was to purchase the C12th manor house, Plas Llanmihangel, which is one of the oldest homes in Wales, located in the Vale of Glamorgan. This was chosen because in South Wales there is: a 7% increase in children going into care, 23-31% (1 in 3) children live in poverty, exacerbated by the COVID-19 pandemic, and where exclusion from school has risen by 51% since 2015.

The aim of the project was the rescue of one of Wales’ oldest homes and, rather than let it fall into the hands of private residents, restore it to a comfortable family home to be shared with its wider community; including a diverse range of people who would not normally experience a stay in historic accommodation.

An integral part of this is our ‘Supported Independent Rural Living (S.I.R.L) project that will provide transition housing, education and employment support for 16-25year olds who:

Our projected outcomes:

Our young people will:

The parents/carers of our young people will:

The whole family will:

Disadvantaged young people (16-25) will access:

CONNECT 2 PURPOSE TRUSTEES ANNUAL REPORT 22.03.2021- 21.03.2022

Charity Number: 1190770 www.connecttopurpose.co.uk

Previously, in September 2019, we applied to the Architectural Heritage Fund for an Impact Fund and were turned down but advised to apply for the Viability Fund.

In June 2020, we contacted Eurig Williams from Alwyn Jones Architects, who kindly spent a great deal of (unpaid) time supporting us in producing a plan for the renovation and restoration of Plas Llanmihangel and advising us on the reports we needed for our project and for grant applications.

This supported trustees to produce a detailed business plan.

On May 2021, we invited Peter Thomas, a senior planner from the Vale of Glamorgan, and Eurig Wlilliams to visit Plas Llanmihangel to seek further guidance following our struggle with acquiring funding. Following this, with the help of Sarah Woodcock who volunteered her time as a Heritage Consultant, we applied for AHF funding, but it was again rejected. Our grant for the National Lottery Heritage Fund submitted in May 2021 was also turned down in July and they advised we applied again for the AHF’s Viability Fund again to validate our application.

Alongside these applications, during lockdown, we launched a crowdfunding campaign to raise awareness of the charity and to raise funds for the purchase of Plas LLanmihangel.

We reviewed and improved our website and are grateful for the voluntary work of Florence Saralis, a professional social media producer, for building our new website and setting up a social media platform for the charity, including Facebook and Instagram.

In March, the trustees contacted Laurence Llewelyn-Bowen, whom they knew had visited Plas Llanmihangel when he presented the TV programme Hidden Houses of Wales, in 1998, and were very pleased when he agreed to support our charity. On Saturday 24[th] April, 2021, with Laurence attending, we launched the campaign as an online Zoom event and we raised £693.

Following this, Laurence took part in several publicity events, including a visit to Plas Llanmihangel on 12[th] May.

With the help of Claire Saralis, Communications Consultant, we had articles published in Wales Online, The Vale, South Wales Argos, Penarth Times, Cowbridge News and Travel Life Magazine.

In addition, the trustees and their wider contacts of friends and business contacts showed tremendous support and we are grateful for their attempts to raise social investment

Unfortunately, before we could raise the funds to purchase Plas Llanmihangel it was bought by cash buyers in September 2021. However, we continue to be inspired by Laurence’s enthusiasm and ideas he contributed to our vision:

“You know, this is a very simple solution as far as I can see. It’s a very straightforward thing to do. It’s about giving people who have had so little advantage, the creativity to create their own advantages, and you can do that by giving it a look, giving it a style, giving it something that people get really, really excited about. This is going to be an incredibly important historical moment. This is the moment where we all decided together to create something very, very special in Plas Llanmihangel’s name.” LLB

CONNECT 2 PURPOSE

TRUSTEES ANNUAL REPORT 22.03.2021- 21.03.2022

Charity Number: 1190770 www.connecttopurpose.co.uk

PROJECT TWO (September 2021- March 2022)

We evaluated our campaign and discussed lessons learned. The main issue was that Plas Llanmihangel required a great deal of renovation and restoration, the cost of which was relatively unpredictable. Also, lockdown had an impact on fund raising as many grants focused on recovery from the pandemic.

However, we continue to search for a retreat venue and raise awareness of the charity.

To put us in a better position for attracting social investment, our next project is to carry out a small-scale project, a retreat in a local historical property, to provide an evidence based programme to validate our approach.

Financial Review

The crowdfunding campaign raised £754, from which £39.61 was deducted as follows:

As of 21st March 2022, the balance of our bank is £693.24.

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

Signed on behalf of the charity’s trustees

Signed:

Date: 20[th] January 2023

Connect 2 Purpose / Plas Llanmiahngel CIO No (if any) Receipts and payments accounts CC16a For the period Period start date Period end date To from 22/03/2021 21/03/2022

Section A Receipts and payments

A1 Receipts Unrestricted
funds
to the nearest £
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to the nearest £
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funds
to the nearest £
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-		 Total funds
to the nearest £
700
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700
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700
700
22
21
9
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51
NO FUNDS AS YET
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51
51
Cross Add Error		 Total funds
to the nearest £
700
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700
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700
700
22
21
9
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51
NO FUNDS AS YET
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51
51
Cross Add Error		 Last year
to the nearest £
CrowdfundingUK - -
- -
- -
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Sub total(Gross income for
AR)		 - -
A2 Asset and investment sales,
(see table).
-
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~~Sub total~~ - -
Total receipts
A3 Payments
-
CrowdfundingUK Fees - -
CrowdfundingUK Transaction Fees - -
CrowdfundingUK VAT - -
- -
- -
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**Sub total ** - -
A4 Asset and investment
purchases, (see table)
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**Sub total ** - -
Total payments
Net of receipts/(payments)
A5 Transfers between funds
A6 Cash funds last year end
Cash funds this year end
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- - - Cross Add Error -
- - - - -
- - - - -
- - - 650 -

CCXX R1 accounts (SS)

21/01/2023

1

Section B Statement of assets and liabilities at the end of the period Section B Statement of assets and liabilities at the end of the period Section B Statement of assets and liabilities at the end of the period
Categories
Signed by one or two trustees on
behalf of all the trustees
B5 Liabilities
B3 Investment assets
B2 Other monetary assets
B4 Assets retained for the
charity’s own use
B1 Cash funds		 Details
Details
Total cash funds
(agree balances with receipts and payments
account(s))
Details
Details
Details
Signature		 Unrestricted
funds
Restricted
funds
to nearest £
to nearest £
-
-
-
-
-
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650
Agreement Error
OK
Unrestricted
funds
Restricted
funds
to nearest £
to nearest £
650
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Fund to which
asset belongs
Cost (optional)
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Fund to which
asset belongs
Cost (optional)
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Fund to which
liability relates
Amount due
(optional)
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Print Name
Georgina Jane Saralis
Alison Grafton		 Endowment
funds
to nearest £
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OK
Endowment
funds
to nearest £
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Current value
(optional)
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Current value
(optional)
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When due
(optional)
Date of
approval
Georgina Jane Saralis 20/01/2023
Alison Grafton 20/01/2023

CCXX R2 accounts (SS)

21/01/2023

2