Mind over Mountains Charity number 1190883
Annual Report and Financial Statements
for the year ended 31 May 2024
Mind over Mountains
Annual Report and Financial Statements for the year ended 31 May 2024
| Contents | Page |
|---|---|
| Trustees' report | 2 to 6 |
| Examiner's report | 7 |
| Statement of financial activities | 8 |
| Balance sheet | 9 |
| Notes to the accounts | 10 to 14 |
Prepared by West Yorkshire Community Accountancy Service CIO
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Mind over Mountains
Trustees' report for the year ended 31 May 2024
Reference and administrative details of the charity, its trustees and advisors
The trustees during the financial year and up to and including the date the report was approved were: Name Position Dates Caroline White Chair Alison Smith Treasurer Resigned 31 May 2024 Alexander Staniforth Nicholas Liley Resigned 20 November 2023 Claire Houghton Giles Thurston Beth Thomas Katie Smith Appointed 20 November 2023 John Whitehead Appointed 20 November 2023 Abiola Aderibigbe Appointed 20 November 2023 William Howarth
Appointed 20 November 2023 Appointed 20 November 2023 Appointed 20 November 2023 Appointed 20 November 2023
Chief Executive Ian Sansbury Charity number 1190883 Registered and principal address Bankers 96 Bryants Acre NatWest Wendover 10 Elephant Yard Aylesbury Kendal Buckinghamshire Cumbria HP22 6LA LA9 4LZ
Registered in England and Wales
Independent examiner
E J Beverley FCCA
West Yorkshire Community Accountancy Service CIO
Stringer House 34 Lupton Street Leeds LS10 2QW
Structure, governance and management
The charity is a Charitable Incorporated Organisation (CIO) foundation formed on 17 August 2020 and is governed by a constitution as amended on 12 July 2024.
Method of recruitment and appointment of trustees
The trustees of the charity are recruited following open advertising and appointed by the trustees at a duly convened meeting. All trustees are appointed for a three-year term renewable to a maximum of nine years.
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Mind over Mountains
Trustees' report (continued) for the year ended 31 May 2024
Objectives and activities
The charity's objects
The relief of persons suffering with mental health issues, in particular by the provision of counselling and mindfulness activities, including accredited activities and support in outdoor environments.
The charity's main activities
The purpose, vision and values of the charity are as follows:
Purpose
Mind Over Mountains is an ambitious and innovative mental health charity that enables people to thrive through therapeutic outdoor experiences.
We enable people to restore and sustain their mental health and wellbeing through a highly integrated practice that brings together walking in nature, mindfulness, and professional coaching and counselling.
Vision
Our vision is for the UK to be a nation in which everyone recognises the power of therapeutic outdoor experiences in restoring and maintaining good mental health and well-being. We want nature- and activitybased mental health interventions to be the norm, commissioned and prescribed by the NHS, and accessible to all.
Our intention is for Mind Over Mountains to play a leading role in achieving that change, delivering our own outstanding and highly accessible programmes at scale across the UK, but also working in partnership to demonstrate and advocate for the benefits of nature-based therapies.
Values
We are :
Compassionate: We offer compassion unconditionally, to all people and to our environment. We are active advocates for nature.
Empowering: We enable people to find their own path to wellbeing. We never seek to impose our own perspectives or beliefs and we seek to include everyone.
Adventurous: Adventure is in our nature. We meet people where they are on their journey and seek to support them into adventures appropriate to their own needs and abilities.
Committed: We are committed to making a positive and lasting impact on society. We seek the ambitious legacy of better mental health for all.
Evidence-Based: We are committed to evaluating and demonstrating what works - and equally what doesn't.
Collaborative: We know that we can deliver change and impact better in partnership than on our own.
Public benefit statement
In setting our objectives and planning our activities, the trustees have given serious consideration to the Charity Commission's general guidance on public benefit and in particular the advancement of health or the saving of lives. The charity is committed to ensuring that the programmes it delivers:
Improve the mental health and wellbeing of anyone who feels in need of support, particularly those who are unable to obtain such support elsewhere.
Reduce dependency on other forms of support by improving resilience.
Help transform the lives of individuals through promoting not only mental wellbeing but also enjoyment of our outdoor spaces and hence physical wellbeing.
The charity publishes its impact data annually, most recently in our Strategy & Impact Report, which is available on our website. In our 2023 customer survey, 91% of respondents reported a lasting mental health benefit from our events and our net promoter score was an outstanding +87.
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Mind over Mountains
Trustees' report (continued) for the year ended 31 May 2024
Achievements and performance
The Board took a decision to appoint Mind Over Mountains first Chief Executive in 2022 and Ian Sansbury joined the charity as CEO in February 2023. With a new Chief Executive and a strong core team together with volunteers, the year ended 31st May 2024 has been one of significant growth and development across all areas of the charity’s activity, with encouraging growth in our events, participants and income. The charity delivered a very encouraging surplus of £26,492 on income of £242,406.
During the year, we delivered 28 events, for 312 participants:
Open Retreats and Wellbeing Walks
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l Eight open wellbeing walks attended by 66 participants. During the past year, we have focused our open wellbeing walks on the Lake District and the Peak District, working with social prescribers and local mental health charities to ensure that we are reaching the people who most need our support. From the beginning of 2024, we were able to deliver these walks at no charge to participants, thanks to the generous support of a number of funders, including Friends of the Lake District, the Alpkit Foundation, Derbyshire Mind and Foundation Derbyshire.
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l Five open retreats, two in Dartmoor, and one each in Llangollen, the Peak District and the Lake District, attended by 68 participants, of which 42 were bursary places. We are deeply grateful to Ramble Worldwide Outdoor Trust and St James’s Place Charitable Foundation for their generous funding of our bursary programme, which has grown significantly over the year.
Commissioned Retreats and Wellbeing Walks
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l Three retreats for the College of Paramedics in Eryri, attended by 29 participants.
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l Two retreats for Cambridgeshire Constabulary in Eryri, attended by 30 participants.
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l A retreat for young asylum seekers from the Future Leaders Programme, attended by 15 participants.
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l Five wellbeing walks across Wales for the Welsh Ambulance Service, attended by 34 participants.
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l A wellbeing walk in the Chilterns for the Hertfordshire Constabulary, attended by 15 participants.
Challenge Walks
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l A Surrey 3 Peaks fundraising challenge for Samsung, attended by 25 participants.
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l Two ‘Step Out Challenge’ fundraising walks in the Peak District and Lake District, attended by 11 and 19 participants respectively.
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Mind over Mountains
Trustees' report (continued) for the year ended 31 May 2024
Other Developments
The charity has developed in a variety of different ways, beyond the delivery of these important programmes for our participants:
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l The charity won the National Outdoor Expo’s Charity Initiative of the Year and was runner-up in Head Outside’s Ways to Wellbeing Award. Our corporate founding patron, Westgrove Group, won the British Security Industry Association’s Mental Wellbeing Initiative Award for their partnership work with us.
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l The charity has continued its partnership with the University of Central Lancashire and co-hosted two NatureMind conferences in June 2023 and June 2024. We are working with UCLan on an Evidence Base Review that will articulate the academic evidence that underpins our approach.
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l Significant improvements have been made to the charity’s marketing and fundraising platforms, with a new website and CRM and significant improvements to our booking process and user experience.
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l The charity has documented and published a theory of change, which sets out the outcomes we achieve and the linkages between them.
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l The charity’s outcome measurement framework has been significantly enhanced, incorporating the highly respected Warwick-Edinburgh Mental Wellbeing Scale (WEMWBS) and other key outcomes from our theory of change. The new framework is performing well and is already yielding valuable outcome data.
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l The charity has launched its Project 500 campaign, through which we plan to raise £0.5m by June 2025 to significantly grow our scale of activity.
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l We have grown the size of the team, adding marketing and administrative capacity and recruiting a number of highly skilled volunteers who are supporting us with Research, PR, marketing, CRM, finance and administrative functions.
3 Year Strategy
The charity published its Strategy & Impact Report early in 2024, and which is available on our website. This report incorporates our rearticulated purpose, vision and values that are included earlier in this report, together with outcome data from 2023. Most notably, however, it outlines our 3 Year Strategy that will take the charity through to the end of 2026. This strategy comprises six individual areas of focus as follows:
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l Continuing to grow our public and commissioned programmes: expanding our geographical areas of activity and delivering our programmes to an increasing number of organisations, across blue light emergency services and the NHS.
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l Working hard to reach those who most need our support: through referrals by social prescribers and other local agencies, reaching underrepresented groups, encouraging more men to participate in our events and piloting programmes for university students.
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l Improving access to our programmes and to the outdoors: by breaking down the barriers to participation (which include time, fitness, location, transport and equipment).
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l Sustaining our impact: by moving our focus from individual events to programmes.
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l Demonstrating impact and driving systemic change: continuing to demonstrate what works (and what doesn’t) and working with academic and charity partners to articulate and campaign for change in mental health provision in the UK.
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l Sustaining and growing the core: enabling the charity to grow successfully and sustainably through effective fundraising and judicious investment in our people and systems.
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Mind over Mountains
Trustees' report (continued) for the year ended 31 May 2024
Financial review
The net income for the year was £26,492, including net income of £24,423 on unrestricted funds and net income of £2,069 on restricted funds.
The charity’s income of £242,406 was £151,130 (166%) higher than the previous year, with increases from programme activities, grants (both restricted and unrestricted) and donations (including corporate donations and sponsored fundraising challenges by our supporters).
Total expenditure of £215,914 was £103,987 (93%) up on the previous year, driven primarily by the cost of the retreats and walks we delivered (in line with income) and increases in salaries and core team contractor costs as the charity has grown.
The trustees are pleased to report a £26,492 surplus, £2,571 (10%) above the budget for the year, set to restore financial sustainability following the £20,651 deficit in the previous year.
Reserves policy
The charity's free reserves, excluding fixed assets, at the year end were £33,120.
The trustees agreed a reserves policy in March 2023, to maintain a level of unrestricted reserves of between 2 and 4 months of budgeted operating expenditure. At the year-end, the charity’s unrestricted reserves represented just under 3 months of 2023/24 budgeted operating costs. The trustees are increasingly confident in the charity’s ability to operate within its agreed level of reserves.
The trustees have reassessed the charity’s ability to continue for at least 12 months from the date that the accounts are approved, and conclude that no material uncertainties exist that cast significant doubt on the charity’s ability to continue as a going concern.
Approved by the board of trustees on 29/08/2024
William Howarth (Trustee)
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Mind over Mountains
Independent examiner's report to the trustees of Mind over Mountains
I report to the charity trustees on my examination of the accounts of the CIO for the year ended 31 May 2024, which are set out on pages 8 to 14.
Responsibilities and basis of report
As the charity trustees of the CIO 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 CIO's accounts as carried out under section 145 of the 2011 Act. 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:
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1 accounting records were not kept in respect of the charity as required by section 130 of the Charities Act; 2 the accounts do not accord with those records; or
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3 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.
E J Beverley FCCA
03/09/2024
West Yorkshire Community Accountancy Service CIO
Stringer House 34 Lupton Street Leeds LS10 2QW
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Mind over Mountains
Statement of Financial Activities
(including summary income and expenditure account) for the year ended 31 May 2024
| Notes 2024 Unrestricted funds £ Income from: Grants (2) 45,507 Donations 89,326 Income from activities 75,581 Other income 462 Total income 210,876 Expenditure on: Salaries (3) 82,019 Payroll charges 384 Advertising and marketing 4,602 Travelling 10,648 Subcontractor costs for activities 23,490 Core team subcontractor costs 46,859 Insurance 1,159 Web hosting 634 Meals 4,363 Accommodation 15,944 Bank charges 69 Accountancy - Independent examination 960 Subscriptions 1,612 Depreciation 83 Office costs 604 Fundraising and Merchandise costs 4,491 Staff training 180 Total expenditure 198,101 Net income / (expenditure) 12,775 Transfers between funds 11,648 Net movement in funds 24,423 Fund balances brought forward 8,697 Fund balances carried forward (4) 33,120 |
2024 Restricted funds £ 31,530 - - - 31,530 1,220 - - 987 14,759 847 - - - - - - - - - - - - 17,813 13,717 (11,648) 2,069 10,651 12,720 |
2024 Total funds £ 77,037 89,326 75,581 462 242,406 83,239 384 4,602 11,635 38,249 47,706 1,159 634 4,363 15,944 69 - 960 1,612 83 604 4,491 180 215,914 26,492 - 26,492 19,348 45,840 |
2023 Total funds £ 10,907 46,355 31,804 2,210 91,276 34,484 213 4,420 7,223 19,089 32,527 650 712 1,456 5,738 53 1,684 777 1,659 122 1,120 - - 111,927 (20,651) - (20,651) 39,999 19,348 |
|---|---|---|---|
All incoming resources and resources expended derive from continuing activities.
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Mind over Mountains
Balance sheet
| as at 31 May 2024 2024 Unrestricted £ Fixed assets Tangible assets (5) - Total fixed assets - Current assets Debtors and prepayments (6) 16,163 Cash at bank 45,353 Total current assets 61,516 Current liabilities: amounts falling due within one year Creditors and accruals (7) 28,396 Total current liabilities 28,396 Net current assets / (liabilities) 33,120 Net assets 33,120 Funds Unrestricted funds 33,120 Restricted funds - Total funds 33,120 |
2024 Restricted £ - - 1,067 11,653 12,720 - - 12,720 12,720 - 12,720 12,720 |
2024 Total £ - - 17,230 57,006 74,236 28,396 28,396 45,840 45,840 33,120 12,720 45,840 |
2023 Total £ 83 83 24,289 27,420 51,709 32,444 32,444 19,265 19,348 8,697 10,651 19,348 |
|---|---|---|---|
The financial statements were approved by the board of trustees on 29/08/2024
William Howarth (Trustee)
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Mind over Mountains
Notes to the accounts
for the year ended 31 May 2024
1 Accounting policies
Basis of accounting
These accounts have been prepared under the historical cost convention with items recognised at cost or transaction value unless otherwise stated in the relevant note(s) to these accounts. The financial statements have been prepared in accordance with the Statement of Recommended Practice: Accounting and Reporting by Charities preparing their accounts in accordance with the Financial Reporting Standard applicable in the UK and Republic of Ireland (FRS 102) (effective 1 January 2019) and with the Charities Act 2011.
The charity constitutes a public benefit entity as defined by FRS 102. There has been no change to the accounting policies since last year. No changes have been made to the accounts for previous years.
Going concern
The trustees are satisfied that there are no material uncertainties about the charity's ability to continue.
Incoming resources
All incoming resources are included in the Statement of Financial Activities (SOFA) when the charity becomes entitled to the resources, if it is more likely than not that the trustees will receive the resources and the monetary value can be measured with sufficient reliability.
Grants and donations
Grants and donations are only included in the SOFA when the charity has unconditional entitlement to the resources.
Where grants are related to performance and specific deliverables, they are accounted for as the charity earns the right to consideration by its performance.
Expenditure and liabilities
Expenditure is recognised on an accrual basis as a liability is incurred. Liabilities are recognised where it is more likely than not that there is a legal or constructive obligation committing the charity to pay out the resources and the amount of the obligation can be measured with reasonable certainty.
Taxation
As a charity the organisation benefits from rates relief and is generally exempt from income tax and capital gains tax but not from VAT. Irrecoverable VAT is included in the cost of those items to which it relates.
Tangible fixed assets
Tangible fixed assets costing more than £100 are capitalised and included at cost including any incidental expenses of acquisition. Gifted assets are shown at the value to the charity on receipt. Depreciation is provided on all tangible fixed assets at rates calculated to write off the cost on a straight line basis over their expected useful economic lives as follows: Project and office equipment: over 3 years
Pensions
The charity operates a defined contribution scheme for the benefit of its employees. The costs of contributions are recognised in the year they are payable.
Fund accounting
Unrestricted funds are available for use at the discretion of the trustees in furtherance of the general objectives of the charity.
Restricted funds are subjected to restrictions on their expenditure imposed by the donor or through the terms of an appeal.
Further explanation of the nature and purpose of each fund is included in the notes to the accounts.
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Mind over Mountains
Notes to the accounts continued
for the year ended 31 May 2024
| 2 Grants Big Give Trust Postcode Neighbourhood Trust The Stockwell / Cliffe Charitable Trust The Roger And Jean Jefcoate Trust The Lennox Hannay Charitable Trust The Waterloo Foundation Ramblers Holidays Charitable Trust Friends of the Lake District St. James's Place Charitable Foundation Derbyshire Mind Outdoor Citizens Cumbria Community Foundation Alpkit Foundation Foundation Derbyshire - Jane Gerard-Pearse 3 Staff costs and numbers Gross salaries Social security costs Employment allowance Pensions |
2024 Unrestricted funds £ 12,507 - 2,000 6,000 5,000 20,000 - - - - - - - - 45,507 |
2024 Restricted funds £ - - - - - - 10,000 3,680 2,500 5,000 2,400 4,950 500 2,500 31,530 |
2024 Total funds £ 12,507 - 2,000 6,000 5,000 20,000 10,000 3,680 2,500 5,000 2,400 4,950 500 2,500 77,037 2024 £ 77,789 8,225 (5,109) 2,334 83,239 |
2023 Total funds £ 10,407 500 - - - - - - - - - - - - 10,907 2023 £ 33,679 2,746 (2,746) 805 34,484 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
The average number of employees during the year was 2, being an average of 1.5 full time equivalent (2023: 1.3, 0.9 FTE). There were no employees with emoluments above £60,000.
| Defined contribution pension scheme Costs of the scheme to the charity for the year 4 Restricted funds Balance b/f £ Active Cheshire 916 Big Give 9,735 Friends of the Lake District - St James's Place Capital Fund - Derbyshire Mind - Outdoor Citizens - Cumbria Community Foundation - Alpkit Foundation - Foundation Derbyshire - Ramblers Holidays CT - 10,651 |
Incoming £ - - 3,680 2,500 5,000 2,400 4,950 500 2,500 10,000 31,530 |
Outgoing £ - - 2,956 - 2,457 2,400 - - - 10,000 17,813 |
2024 £ 2,334 Transfers £ (720) (9,735) - (1,193) - - - - - - (11,648) |
2023 £ 805 Balance c/f £ 196 - 724 1,307 2,543 - 4,950 500 2,500 - 12,720 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
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Notes to the accounts continued
Mind over Mountains
for the year ended 31 May 2024
4 Restricted funds (continued)
Fund name
Active Cheshire
Big Give
Friends of the Lake District St James's Place Capital Fund
Derbyshire Mind Outdoor Citizens
Cumbria Community Foundation Alpkit Foundation Foundation Derbyshire Ramblers Holidays CT
Purpose of restriction
To fund bursary places for people from Cheshire to attend our events. The transfer relates to funding activities provided by the charity.
Towards retreats and wellbeing walks. The transfer relates to unrestricting the funds in line with Big Give guidance.
Towards open wellbeing walks in the Lake District Bursary places on retreats and walks. The transfer relates to funding activities provided by the charity.
Open wellbeing walks in the Peak District. Towards email and video follow-on resources for retreat and walk participants.
Towards accessible wellbeing walks for communities in NW Cumbria. Open wellbeing walks in the Lake District.
Open wellbeing walks in the Peak District.
To fund bursaries for disadvantaged people to attend well-being walks and/or retreats
| Tangible assets Cost At 1 June 2023 Additions At 31 May 2024 Depreciation At 1 June 2023 Charge for year At 31 May 2024 Net book value At 31 May 2024 At 31 May 2023 Debtors and prepayments Debtors Prepayments Accrued income Creditors and accruals Creditors Accruals Deferred income (see note below for analysis) Other creditors |
£ 250 - 250 167 83 250 - 83 2024 £ - 3,663 13,567 17,230 2024 £ - 8,106 11,030 9,260 28,396 Office equipment |
Total £ 250 - 250 167 83 250 - 83 2023 £ 6,000 8,675 9,614 24,289 2023 £ 4,359 6,625 21,460 - 32,444 |
|---|---|---|
5 Tangible assets
6 Debtors and prepayments
7 Creditors and accruals
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Mind over Mountains
Notes to the accounts continued
for the year ended 31 May 2024
| Deferred income Event booking fees Item name Reason for deferral Event booking fees Event booking fees received in advance. |
Deferred to next year £ 11,030 11,030 |
Released from last year £ 21,460 21,460 |
|---|---|---|
8 Deferred income
9 Related party transactions
Trustee expenses
No trustee received any expenses during this year or the previous year.
Trustee expenses
During the year 1 trustees was paid a total of £513 in respect of travel (previous year: £nill).
Remuneration and benefits received by key management personnel
The total employee benefits received by key management personnel were £64,737 (previous year (part of year only): £17,841).
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Mind over Mountains
Statement of Financial Activities including comparatives for all funds (including summary income and expenditure account) for the year ended 31 May 2024
| 2024 2023 Unrestricted Unrestricted funds funds £ £ Income Grants 45,507 500 Donations 89,326 46,355 Income from activities 75,581 31,804 Other income 462 2,210 Total income 210,876 80,869 Expenditure Salaries 82,019 34,484 Payroll charges 384 213 Advertising and marketing 4,602 4,420 Travelling 10,648 6,341 Subcontractor costs for activities 23,490 19,089 Core team subcontractor costs 46,859 32,527 Insurance 1,159 650 Web hosting 634 712 Meals 4,363 1,456 Accommodation 15,944 5,738 Bank charges 69 53 Accountancy - 1,684 Independent examination 960 777 Subscriptions 1,612 1,659 Depreciation 83 122 Office costs 604 1,120 Fundraising and Merchandise costs 4,491 - Staff training 180 - Total expenditure 198,101 111,045 Net income / (expenditure) 12,775 (30,176) Transfers between funds 11,648 127 Net movement in funds 24,423 (30,049) Fund balances brought forward 8,697 38,746 Fund balances carried forward 33,120 8,697 |
2024 Restricted funds £ 31,530 - - - 31,530 1,220 - - 987 14,759 847 - - - - - - - - - - - - 17,813 13,717 (11,648) 2,069 10,651 12,720 |
2023 Restricted funds £ 10,407 - - - 10,407 - - - 882 - - - - - - - - - - - - - - 882 9,525 (127) 9,398 1,253 10,651 |
2024 Total funds £ 77,037 89,326 75,581 462 242,406 83,239 384 4,602 11,635 38,249 47,706 1,159 634 4,363 15,944 69 - 960 1,612 83 604 4,491 180 215,914 26,492 - 26,492 19,348 45,840 |
2023 Total funds £ 10,907 46,355 31,804 2,210 91,276 34,484 213 4,420 7,223 19,089 32,527 650 712 1,456 5,738 53 1,684 777 1,659 122 1,120 - - 111,927 (20,651) - (20,651) 39,999 19,348 |
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