Red 6oY< fvobect Report
Annual Trustee Report 2020/21
Red Box Project
Annual Report of Trustees for the year ending 30 September 2021
The trustees of the Red Box Project, registered in England and Wales 1192039, for the year beginning 1[st] October 2020 and ending 30 September 2021.
Trustees During the Reporting Year
During the reporting year there were three trustees, who are noted below:
-
Anna Miles MBE, Chair
-
Clegg Bamber MBE
-
Liesl Rose
The trustees noted above have met and agreed with the report before submitting it to the Charity Commission.
26 July 2022 Signed: ……………………………………………………... Date: ……/………/……
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Annual Trustee Report 2020/21
Introduction and Background
The Red Box Project was formed in March 2017, and registered as a charity in October 2020, to provide a practical solution to alleviate period poverty in educational settings in the UK. The principle of the Red Box Project was founded following the media report of a young person asking a teacher for period products whilst in school due to not being able to afford them.
The Red Box Project campaigned for the universal provision of period products in all educational settings so learners could still participate in their education regardless of whether they had the individual was menstruating or not.
At the start of 2019, The Red Box Project formed a partnership with Free Periods Limited to launch a legal campaign. In March 2019, the Government confirmed that they would implement a scheme across state-funded educational settings in England. This followed similar schemes that had been implemented in the devolved nations of Scotland and Wales in 2018 and 2019 respectively.
At the announcement from the Department of Education that the policy change would be implemented from January 2020, the Red Box Project board decided to change the focus from solution-led to advocacy-led, encouraging educational settings to sign-up and be part of the new scheme introduced by the Government.
- 2020 and the Covid 19 Pandemic
January 2020 saw the implementation of the period product provision to all statemaintained educational settings in England. The focus of the organisation, as mentioned previously, was advocating support for the scheme and ensuring educational settings were aware of how to access the scheme and place orders.
Before the implementation of the scheme, the Red Box Project was supporting over 5,500 educational settings through a very honourable network of over 600 volunteers. The network of volunteers ensured that the transition from the Red Box Project to the government's new scheme was as smooth as possible for educational settings in England.
In March 2020, the UK braced for the uncharted impacts of the COVID-19 global pandemic as infections saw public health measures introduced such as lockdowns including the closure of education to the majority of learners. Educational settings did stay open to accommodate the learners of Key Workers, including NHS and Care
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Annual Trustee Report 2020/21
staff, supermarket staff, delivery staff and others. Whilst the educational setting remained open, learners could still access period products and The Red Box Project focused efforts to ensure learners, parents and guardians knew support was still available.
The Red Box Project also implemented a support scheme for healthcare workers during the first national lockdown that was implemented. Owing to the infection rate of the virus, infection control in healthcare settings was stringent, meaning staff weren’t able to access bags during the shifts they were working and therefore unable to access the period products they required. The Red Box Project introduced a short-term scheme of support.
The Reporting Year
Since the policy was implemented and the public health measures relating to the COVID-19 pandemic progressed the Red Box Project Board of Trustees took the time to re-group and think about the purpose and ambition of the Charity.
As a result of the government's policy scheme being introduced, and whilst the Board considered the purpose, active fundraising has been paused for the year with only one-off donations and legacy local project funds being accepted. Accepting of in-kind donations, such as period products, was also paused.
As the next chapter was decided by the Board, it was decided and agreed by the Board that a digital presence refresh would be undertaken. This was agreed to highlight the legacy of the campaign for period products in England and Scotland and ensure that information was easily accessible to the audience. This project is the only significant spending that took place within the reporting year.
The Red Box Project was founded in Portsmouth and had a strong presence throughout all parts of the UK. In the middle of the reporting year, in December 2020, Northern Ireland approved a proposal for free period products to be made available to all learners and subsequent legislation passed through Stormont to enable the scheme. The scheme was launched at the start of the 2021/22 academic year in September 2021.
Furthermore, during the reporting year, the Charity continued to support projects and volunteers based in Jersey and the Isle of Man. Both of these crown
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dependencies have independent governments and are therefore outside of the schemes implemented by respected devolved and UK governments.
Whilst the UK has always been the main focus of The Red Box Project, the concept and principle have reached various parts of the globe. Throughout the reporting year, the Board continued to support overseas projects, including in Moldova, Japan, Hong Kong, Monaco, and Ireland with advice and materials. All overseas projects are responsible for funding themselves through local fundraising, in line with the respective nation’s codes of conduct and legislation.
Fundraising, Finances and Governance
As mentioned earlier in the report, due to a pause in active operations of support, the decision was taken by the Board to suspend active fundraising activities. The Board recognise that new aims of the Charity need to be set, in line with the objectives, and a fundraising strategy will be agreed upon and implemented alongside a new plan for operations, as it develops. The Board acknowledge that this will likely come to fruition in the next reporting year.
The Trustees acknowledge that spending in the reporting year, totalling £10,053.58 is significantly greater than the income generated in the same period, which was £5,080.00. The decision to spend was agreed and met strategic priorities of the Charity as agreed by the Board. The Trustee’s also acknowledge that there should always be a reserve in the bank account. With the current balance of the Charity being £18,106.91, the Trustees acknowledge that there is no significant financial risk to undertake the duties of the Charity.
The Charity remains to have no paid employees and continues to run through the voluntary dedication of the Board of Trustees. As mentioned earlier in the report, thanks are again given to the extensive network of volunteers that were placed around the UK, as well as the volunteers that continue to run the overseas projects and continue to champion the Red Box Project’s aim of ensuring no young person misses out on their education due to have their period.
During the reporting year, the Trustees met quarterly.
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Annual Trustee Report 2020/21
Looking to the Future
As alluded to throughout this report, the future of the Charity is begin considered by the Board and is yet to be confirmed. It is also recognised that as the UK emerges from the COVID-19 pandemic there are likely to be unforeseen challenges which could result in more people experiencing a period of poverty.
Whilst the landscape of the UK remains unsettled as the recovery from the pandemic begins, the Red Box Project remains focussed on targeting any support for those who are attending compulsory education. The charity also continues to advocate and support educational settings with access.
The outlook and future aims of the Charity will likely be reported in the next annual report of the Trustees.
Conclusion
The COVID-19 pandemic and changes in the policy landscape relating to the provision of period products for young people in education changed during the reporting year, the Charity has taken the time to consider the next chapter. It is acknowledged by the Trustees that the Charity hasn’t been overly active in the reporting year, however, it is anticipated that the next reporting year will demonstrate more activity for the Charity.
The pandemic, and subsequent recovery, have been testing times for every person, globally. The Trustees agree that this downtime has been used to ensure that any activity undertaken by the Charity can be undertaken with full commitment from the Trustees, an outlook that will continue into the next reporting year.
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Annual Trustee Report 2020/21
– Accounts for Reporting Year (1[st] October 2020 30[th] September 2021)
| Income - NatWest Account | Expenditure - NatWest Account | Note | Balance | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Note | Detail | Value | Note | Detail | Value | 11 | Opening Balance - NatWest Bank |
£ 22,368.82 |
| Interest | £ - | |||||||
| 3 | ShareGift Donation | £ 5,000.00 | 4 | Campaign Support - English Schools Campaign (in partnership with Free Periods Limited) |
£ 5,280.00 | Closing Balance - NatWest Bank |
£ 17,318.46 | |
| 5 | Legal - Associated charity registration | £ 2,874.60 | ||||||
| 6 | Period Products | £ 179.45 | Total Income | £ 5,000.00 | ||||
| 7 | Web Hosting | £ 56.40 | Total Expenditure | £ 10,050.36 | ||||
| 8 | Digital Presence Upgrade Project | £ 1,623.50 | ||||||
| 10 | Digital Creative License | £ 36.41 | ||||||
| Income - PayPal Account | Expenditure - PayPal Account | |||||||
| Note | Detail | Value | Note | Detail | Value | Note | Balance | |
| 2 | Legacy voluntary donations | £ 80.00 | 9 | Donation processing fees | £ 3.22 | 11 | Opening Balance - PayPal Account |
£ 711.67 |
| Interest | £ - | |||||||
| Closing Balance - PayPal Account |
£ 788.45 | |||||||
| Totals | Totals | |||||||
| Total Income | £ 80.00 | |||||||
| Income - 1st October 2020 to 30th September 2021 |
£ 5,080.00 | Balance of all accounts | £ 18,106.91 | Total Expenditure | £ 3.22 | |||
| Expenditure - 1st October 2020 to 30th September 2021 |
£10,053.58 |
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Notes
1. When the Charity stopped operations following the implementation of the Government funded schemes, funds raised by local projects were transferred by local projects to the central Red Box Project bank account.
2. Voluntary donations were made via card transactions through the PayPal platform. As a result, the funds stayed within the Charity's PayPal Account.
3. A donation was accepted from ShareGift during the reporting year.
4. When the Government Period Products scheme launched in the UK, it was agreed that Red Box Project would run an awareness and advocacy campaign in partnership with Free Periods Limited, which had costs associated. These costs were split between the two partnering organisations and Red Box Projects' costs are noted here.
5. The Red Box Project was a complex organisation with local projects being run by volunteers. To ensure the governance documents and structure was legally sound Red Box Project proceeded to seek legal advice ahead of registering as a charity.
6. This cost is associated with the support of period product provision.
7. Associated costs relating to the hosting of Charity's website.
8. The associated cost with the agreed web presence upgrade project, focussing on the legacy of the Red Box Project and making resources and information accessible for educational settings.
9. Donation processing fees are associated with the PayPal platform which was used to accept donations via card transaction.
10. As part of digital marketing, a lifetime license to a digital creative software was purchased for the Charity.
11. Opening balances noted in the balance sheet are from accounts associated with the Red Box Project but before the organisation registered as a charity.
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