2024-08-31-accounts - Creative Opps CIO

Trustees’ Annual Report for the period

From 01/09/2023 to 31/08/2024

Charity name: Creative Opps CIO

Charity registration number: 1190916

Objectives and Activities

Financial Review

Additional information (optional)

Structure, Governance and Management

Reference and Administrative details

Names of the charity trustees who manage the charity

Director name

Exemptions from disclosure

Other optional information

Declarations

Creative Opps CIO

Recei ts and a ments accounts p p y

Section A Receipts and payments

Section B Statement of assets and liabilities at the end of the period

B3 Investment assets

B5 Liabilities

Details

Independent examiner's report on the accounts

Report to the trustees/ members of[Creative Opps CIO ]

Section B Disclosure

This text was generated using OCR and may contain errors. Check the original PDF to see the document submitted to the regulator.

	SORP reference
Summary of the purposes of the charity as set out in its governing document	Para 1.17	The object of the CIO is to advance in life and relieve the needs of young people aged 6-30, with a focus on young people who are socially and/or economically disadvantaged, through: (a) facilitating their access to knowledge, learning opportunities and experience; (b) providing support and activities which develop their skills, capacities and capabilities to enable them to participate in society as responsible individuals.

Summary of the main activities in relation to those purposes for the public benefit, in particular, the activities, projects or services identified in the accounts.	Para 1.17 and 1.19	Through our 2024 Mentoring Programme, we matched 16 young people from underrepresented communities with creative professionals to work together on the next steps for their creative industry and academic goals. Mentors and mentees met for two hours a month either remotely or in person, over a six-month period. We provided both parties with training and ongoing support, as well as food and travel costs for those who met in-person. We also held a mid-programme mixer event in June 2024, which featured a panel discussion from industry professionals and networking opportunities for mentees. We also brokered paid creative industry work placements for nine young people facing barriers to participation in the creative industries. We partnered with organisations including DRIFT Studio, Voices Radio, Off The Kerb, the Finsbury Park Trust, Whitefox Publishing, and Sound Without Sight. We secured an expansion of the DRIFT internship offer for one young person on the placement and worked with Islington Giving to provide 200-hour long placements for young people from the borough. Building upon our strategic aim to deliver user-led programmes, designed by and for young people, our staff team, Trustees and Youth Board engaged in sociocracy training, and we have continued to work with our five Youth Board members on developing our strategic vision, working across areas such as communications, our mission vision and values, partnerships, fundraising, and
Statement confirming whether the trustees have had regard to the guidance issued by the Charity Commission on public	Para 1.18	~~fi~~ ~~li i~~ ~~b~~ ~~hi~~ ~~ff~~ The Trustees have had regard to the guidance issued by the Charity Commission on public benefit.
~~benefit~~

Achievements and Performance

SORP reference
Summary of the main
achievements of the charity,
identifying the difference the
charity’s work has made to
the circumstances of its
beneficiaries and any wider
benefits to society as a
whole.
Para 1.20
Through our 2024 mentoring programme,
young people gained valuable industry
insights, built professional networks, and
developed skills aligned with their career
goals. End-of-programme feedback showed
that most participants made meaningful
progress, with recurring themes including
increased confidence, sharper industry
knowledge, and a clearer sense of their
strengths and development areas. Many
mentees also took part in work experience
and placements, reinforcing their learning
through hands-on opportunities.

Our work placements have primarily been
offered to young people living in Islington,
which ranks as the 6th most deprived out of
32 London boroughs. We have also been
able to expand outside of Islington this year,
reaching more young people across
London. The programme’s personalised
support and emphasis on meaningful
relationships have consistently delivered
strong outcomes, with mentees reporting
lasting improvements in confidence, skills,
~~and career readiness~~

Review of the charity’s financial position at the end of the period	Para 1.21	The remaining funds for this reporting period are designated for completion of our 2024 Mentoring Programme, funding of the CEO’s salary and to sustain our reserves. We actively seek to diversify our income streams and have a robust strategy in place to ensure that we are financially sustainable. The key areas we consider in this regard are grants from trusts and foundations, partnerships with creative industry employers to generate charitable income and regular donations. The Trustees are confident that we can continue to maximise our impact and deliver sustainable programmes that serve the young people we work with.
Statement explaining the policy for holding reserves stating why they are held	Para 1.22	The Trustees have established a reserves policy whereby the unrestricted funds not committed or invested in tangible fixed assets (‘the free reserves’) held by the charity should be kept at the equivalent of three months running costs. At this level, the Trustees feel that they would be able to continue the current activities of the charity in the event of a significant drop in funding. If this happens, it would then be necessary to consider how the funding would be replaced or activities changed.
Amount of reserves held	Para 1.22	£10,925
Reasons for holding zero reserves	Para 1.22	N/a
Details of fund materially in deficit	Para 1.24
Explanation of any uncertainties about the charity continuing as a going concern	Para 1.23	The Trustees are confident that there are no ongoing concerns and will be able to sustain the organisation.

You may choose to include further statements where relevant about:

The charity’s principal sources of funds (including any fundraising)	Para 1.47	We’re incredibly grateful for the support from the following funders who have enabled us to grow our work over this reporting period: The Blagrave Trust, National Lottery Awards for All England, Islington Young Jobs, the Postcode Society Trust, Zing, The Lovington Foundation, Islington Community Chest, Islington
~~Giving~~

Description of charity’s
~~t~~ ~~t~~ Type of governing document	Para 1.25	Constitution
How is the charity constituted?	Para 1.25	CIO
Trustee selection methods including details of any constitutional provisions e.g. election to post or name of any person or body entitled to appoint one or more trustees	Para 1.25	The charity trustees may at any time decide to appoint a new charity trustee, whether in place of a charity trustee who has retired or been removed. A new trustee is selected via an open recruitment process, whereby a specific role (for example, Chair) is advertised. Applicants take part in an interview, and one person is selected provided there is a quorum of the sitting Board. The charity trustees will make available to each new charity trustee, on or before their first appointment: (a) A copy of the constitution and any amendments made to it. (b) A copy of the CIO's latest trustees' annual report and statement of accounts.

Charity name	Creative Opps CIO
Other name the charity uses	Creative Opps
Registered charity number	1190916
Charity’s principal address	MILDMAY COMMUNITY CENTRE WOODVILLE ROAD LONDON N16 8NA

	Trustee name	Office (if any)	Name of person (or body) entitled to appoint trustee
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20	Lucy Rolington	Co-Chair	~~(if any)~~
	Edi Whitehead	Co-Chair
	Joshua Pugh	Trustee
	Emer May ~~Mi~~	Trustee
	~~orrs~~ Tavannah Hutchinson	Trustee
	Stefanos ~~Dil~~	Trustee
	~~muous~~ David Kennedy	Trustee

Corporate trustees – names of the directors at the date the report was approved

Name of trustees holding title to property belonging to the charity

Dates acted if not for whole year

Trustee name

Funds held as custodian trustees on behalf of others

Description of the assets held in this capacity	N/a
Name and objects of the charity on whose behalf the assets are held and how this falls within the custodian charity’s objects	N/a
Details of arrangements for safe custody and segregation of such assets from the charity’s own assets	N/a

Reason for non-disclosure of key personnel details

N/a

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

Signed on behalf of the charity’s trustees

----- Start of picture text -----
Signature(s)
Full name(s) Emer Morris Joshua Pugh
Position (eg Trustee Trustee
Secretary,
Chair, etc)
Date
23/04/2025
----- End of picture text -----

No (if any)

CC16a

For the period from	Period start date 1/9/2023	To	Period end date 31/8/2024

A1 Receipts	Unrestricted funds to the nearest £	Restricted funds to the nearest £	Endowment funds to the nearest £	Total funds to the nearest £	Last year to the nearest £
Grants	16666	79,223	-	95,889	65,287
Charitable Activities		700	-	700	3,000
Access to Work Payments	22,940		-	22,940	16,978
Donations and Legacies	1,925		-	1,925	-
	-	-	-	-	-
	-	-	-	-	-
	-	-	-	-	-
(	-	-	-	-	-
_AR) _	41,531	79,923	-	121,454	85,265

_AR) _	41,531	79,923	-	121,454	85,265
A2 Asset and investment sales, (see table).		- - - 79,923	- - - -	- - - 121,454
	-
	-				-
*Sub total*	-				-
*Total receipts* A3 Payments
					85,265

Salaries and Employer's costs	50945	24,432	-	75,377	47,747
Dues and subscriptions		-	-	-	1,396
Other expenses	1087	1,700	-	2,787	96
Small Equipment		-	-	-	300
Otherprofessional services	632	361	-	993	6,739
Interms	-	16,506	-	16,506	-

CCXX R1 accounts (SS)

	-	-	-	-	-
	-	-	-	-	-
	-	-	-	-	-
**Sub total **	52,664	42,999	-	95,664	56,278

A4 Asset and investment purchases, (see table)		- - - 42,999 36,924	- - - - -	- - - 95,664 25,790
	-
	-
**Sub total **	-				-
*Total payments* *Net of receipts/(payments)* A5 Transfers between funds A6 Cash funds last year end *Cash funds this year end*
					56,278

	(11,133)	36,924	-	25,790	28,987
	0	-	-	-	-
	22,058	6,930	-	28,988	-
	10,925	43,854	-	54,779	28,987

Funds to nearest £	Funds to nearest £	Funds to nearest £
60,914	-	-
-	-	-
-	-	-
60,914	-	-
		OK
		Endowment funds to nearest £
-	-	-

CCXX R2 accounts (SS)

-	-	-
-	-	-
-	-	-
-	-	-
-	-	-

B4 Assets retained for the charity’s own use

Fund to which asset belongs	Fund to which asset belongs	Cost (optional)	Cost (optional)	Current value (optional)
		-		-
		-		-
		-		-
		-		-
		-		-

Fund to which asset belongs	Cost (optional)	Current value (optional)
	-	-
	-	-
	-	-
	-	-
	-	-
	-	-
	-	-
	-	-
	-	-
Fund to which liability relates	Amount due (optional)	When due (optional)
	-
	-

CCXX R3 accounts (SS)

Signed by one or two trustees on behalf of all the trustees

CCXX R4 accounts (SS)

Section A Independent Examiner’s Report

On accounts for the year 31[st] August 2024 Charity no 1190916 ended (if any)

Set out on pages

(remember to include the page numbers of additional sheets)

Respective The charity's trustees are responsible for the preparation of the accounts. responsibilities of The charity’s trustees consider that an audit is not required for this year trustees and examiner under section 144 of the Charities Act 2011 (the Charities Act) and that an independent examination is needed. It is my responsibility to:

examine the accounts under section 145 of the Charities Act,
to follow the procedures laid down in the general Directions given by the Charity Commission (under section 145(5)(b) of the Charities Act, and
to state whether particular matters have come to my attention.
Basis of independent My examination was carried out in accordance with general Directions given examiner’s statement by the Charity Commission. 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 seeking explanations from the trustees concerning any such matters. The procedures undertaken do not provide all the evidence that would be required in an audit, and consequently no opinion is given as to whether the accounts present a ‘true and fair’ view and the report is limited to those matters set out in the statement below.
Independent In connection with my examination, no matter has come to my attention
examiner's statement (other than that disclosed below *) 1. which gives me reasonable cause to believe that in, any material respect, the requirements:
- to keep accounting records in accordance with section 130 of the Charities Act; and
- to prepare accounts which accord with the accounting records and comply with the accounting requirements of the Charities Act
- have not been met; or
to which, in my opinion, attention should be drawn in order to enable a proper understanding of the accounts to be reached.
Please delete the words in the brackets if they do not apply.

Date: 05/03/2025 Signed: Name: Genevieve Jones Relevant professional Association of Accounting Technicians qualification(s) or body (if any):

IER

March 2012

Address: 71 St Marks Avenue Gravesend Kent DA11 9LN

Print Name

Date of
approval

Only complete if the examiner needs to highlight material problems.

IER

March 2012

Give here brief details of N/A any items that the examiner wishes to disclose .

IER

March 2012