2022-03-31-accounts - The Guardians Grow Charity

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Report November 2020 To April 2022

CONTENT

REFERENCE AND ADMINISTRATIVE DETAILS.		2
CEO REPORT	3
STRATEGIC REPORT.	5
OUR VISION.	5
OUR MISSION.	5
OUR VALUES.	5
OUR WORK.		6
FINANCE REVIEW		8
STRUCTURE, GOVERNANCE, MANAGEMENT.		11

REFERENCE AND ADMINISTRATIVE DETAILS

TRUSTEES

T. Wintle R. Maycock

C. Bratt

CHIEF EXECUTIVE

S. Watkins

DEPUTY CHIEF EXECUTIVE

C. Bratt

OFFICE MANAGER

C. Sellick

CHARITY NUMBER 1192539

REGISTERED OFFICE

31 Oakroyd Crescent Nuneaton Warwickshire CV10 9ED

BANK

Barclays Bank Leicester LE87 2BB

CEO REPORT

The past 12 months have been a significantly challenging time for the communities we serve. We have stood shoulder to shoulder with our citizens while we all went through experiences relate to the pandemic, that we never imagined in our lifetime.

Perhaps not surprisingly, as the crisis unfolded, it became clear that those in the most need were the ones bearing the brunt of the impact of Covid. While the whole world was impacted upon by the virus, in Britain we saw the impact of the deaths and infections, the food shortages and the disruption to services, impacting most significantly on those in the areas with the highest deprivation, and often the least resources to weather the storm with.

Lots of positive and affirming things happened for and within communities as a result of the pandemic. It brought out the best of humanity, making us all aware of the fragility of the privilege we may have, and making connection between us as humans more plausible, despite the reality of social distancing. But it also put pressure on already fragile lives and communities, it created more distance, threat, and

fear for many in our communities, and still to this day in our country, we see people going to bed without enough food, with only the clothes they stand up in, with hard choices between new school uniform for the kids or food on the table, or heating for the home.. Britain hasn't become an easier place to live for many of those who were already struggling, and as we move into a more vaccinated future, the uncertainty and insecurity for many we serve is only amplified.

For organisations like ours, dependent on the quality of our volunteers and services, dependent on the understanding from funders for what is needed in our communities, working in partnership with other organisations, groups and individuals, there is a lot to be proud of in the last 12 months. We weathered a storm alongside our communities. We stayed put with them, we leant in and listened, and then

played our part in speaking truth to power about what was needed. We have worked to join the system to more of itself, we are exploring the roles we have in distributing power to communities. Power to design and collaborate in new initiatives, power to solve and provide solutions based on the lived experience, and power to challenge privilege where we see it.

We are working on ourselves, looking at ways to ensure we are activists, supporting the work on anti-racism. Working on empathy and courage, making sure we stand up and amplify the lived experiences of those with the least heard voices. Working on practical solutions with communities and individuals that support a just transition to an economy that works more for all communities and the planet, not just those benefitting from the myth of unlimited economic growth.

There are many people to thank and acknowledge after the year we have just had.

Firstly, we want to thank each and every person that stepped up and volunteered with us and all the other organisations across the country during this time of crisis. When many stepped back, they stepped in. Without them, our communities would not have been fed, or supported in their time of need. The many that picked up a phone rota and called those who were isolated and scared, to those who stepped up and shopped and collected for others … without the valuable contribution of their time, people would have suffered so much more.

We want to thank all the partner organisations and groups that worked with us last year. We worked with people we have never worked with before, and all for a common aim of supporting those in need.

Finally, I want to thank our volunteers. They kept showing up and leaning in even when they were scared. The dedication of our workforce meant we were able to meet this new challenge head on, providing a seven day a week service to the communities that needed us. I have never been prouder of any organisation than I have been in than in the last 12 months. We didn't always get it right, we often

didn't know if we were doing it right as it was all so new and emerging, but we stayed true to our values and faced our fears with the courage of those who know that the only way through the storm is to meet it head on. We worked together through the tears and laughter of the last 12 months, and have emerged into this year more tired, wiser, more humble, and better as a result. We have learnt things and let go of old ways that don't serve us anymore. We have learnt a lot about ourselves and are clear that there is so much we still have to learn about what a new society in this new reality is going to look like.

We will continue to work in deprived communities to support resilience, improve health and wellbeing, and work with citizens to create socially active communities and individuals that are able to be the best versions of themselves. We will continue to try to understand how to distribute power

and challenge inequalities. We will work towards an anti-racist town/ and society. We will continue to do our best, We are The Guardians Grow Charity.

STRATEGIC REPORT

OUR VISION

Our vision is by working collaboratively with people, Local Authorities and Organisations we aim to bring about change at a Social level : To do the social knitting required to create stronger and more resilient communities. Supporting them to identify and remove barriers that prevent them living connected lives, thus reducing isolation, loneliness and exclusion. We work to reduce social distance and increase the visibility of underrepresented groups across all our interventions. Our work involves utilising a range of projects and interventions to improve outcomes for communities that are often left behind. Giving people time, undivided attention and empathy meets a fundamental emotional need and reduces distress and despair. We are not like other charities, we are not afraid to challenge existing ways of doing things and pride ourselves in using innovative ideas to create projects that meet current changing needs. We refuse to accept that any life is worth less than another.

OUR MISSION

Serving our communities by providing services and projects that empower individuals and communities to thrive and reach their full potential.

Our Mission Principles D.I.C.E

Diversity - Recognising and celebrating, we are all unique individuals, Embracing difference.

Inclusion - Everybody has the right to be included.

Community - The core principle, we are all a community. Equality - Standing firm and representing equality for all.

OUR VALUES

Everything we do is guided by our core values. They are more than simple words, they are the driving principles of behaviours and decision making, we should all strive to uphold and inspire in others. We want all people to have access to our services regardless of Age, Gender, Race, Sexual Orientation, Religion, Physical or Mental Disability, Culture, Ethnicity and Perspective.

Respect

We give everyone a voice.

We value each other’s contributions.

We behave respectfully towards each other and encourage a sense of belonging.

Integrity

We are fair and transparent in all that we do. We are responsible and accountable for our actions. We work with people who share our values.

Different

We are radical professionals, proud of our diversity and united by a common cause.

We support, respect and value each other without prejudice.

Ambitious

We believe individuals and communities are a force for positive change. We drive ourselves and others to make things happen, empowering people to reach their full potential, aspiring to turn compassion into action.

Independent

We are an independent Charity rooted in the Communities we serve. We use our voice to challenge and inspire change in services, public policy and people’s attitudes.

OUR WORK

The Guardians Grow Charity is a community charity working to build happy, healthy communities living active and connected lives. We work, predominantly, with communities in areas of high deprivation to tackle inequality and promote community wellbeing.

Our vision is for a society where people have the autonomy, capacity, resources and skills to become the architects of their own destiny; where our individual wellbeing is recognised as being bound up in our collective responsibility to and dependency on each other; and where all of us feel empowered as agents of social change to make a difference.

Health inequalities don't exist in isolation, they are symptomatic of wider structural

inequalities and require a systematic and holistic response that goes beyond individual lifestyle interventions and speaks to the reality of everyday life. In Nuneaton , where we are based, inequalities are stark - with more than 40% of people living in the top 10% most deprived households in the country.

Inequality impacts on all of us as insecurities about social status and survival

cause communities to break down and retreat, choosing instead to focus on individualised responses to wider social issues. The withdrawal of our social safety net exacerbates feelings of isolation and loneliness; erodes our resilience and leaves us all more vulnerable to being left behind.

We want to work together, with partners and communities, to rebuild the social fabric that is so damaged by inequality, and instead create the conditions for a society where we all can thrive.

For years, interventions to improve health and wellbeing, and address inequalities haven't worked for our most vulnerable communities - despite significant investment in time and money. We recognise that approaches that rely on existing structures and ways of working will inevitably reflect the interests of those who currently hold power, and subsequently uphold the status quo. We want to work with communities to disrupt and shift the

balance of power - enabling people to have more of a say over what happens in their areas and lives.

Those on the sharpest end of inequalities are usually the most powerless in the system, which can make it difficult to create change and ultimately exercise agency and free will. Our work with communities is based on a deep commitment to co-creation - working with, not doing to - and we see, time and again, the

incredible change that is possible when communities are supported to step into their power.

Communities feel more connected and more powerful - they have a greater sense of agency and self-efficacy; they feel more able to make a difference and be agents of social change. This shift in power can lead to increased activity, increased involvement, and more resilient communities.

As we work with communities, we see how often systems that are set up to help our most vulnerable communities, can actually create barriers and reinforce inequalities themselves. In our organisation, we are practicing new ways of navigating and distributing power, hearing all the voices - the mainstream and the marginal

as we work towards a more empathic and deliberative approach to democracy and decision-making.

FINANCE REVIEW

OVERVIEW

Throughout 2020/21, The Guardians Grow Charity showed up and pitched in - negotiating this period of crisis and heightened anxiety with bravery and integrity. We embraced our principles of staying with communities and responding to need. The last 12 months have tried and tested our risk management approaches, as well as refined the organisational

understanding of our risk appetite. We held our nerve and worked to reflect back to the system what needed to change - we saw first-hand the need to pass risk up the system, rather than leave it for those struggling in our communities to hold.

We were supported to do this by our existing funders including Nuneaton & Bedworth

Council along with the National Lottery Community Fund, DEFRA, Heart Of England and Arbury Rotary Club, who understood the need to be flexible and brave in the face of uncertainty. We've learnt that we need to be brave with power, and support others to do the same.

We've built some incredible partnerships over the last year and worked together to achieve significant system change and impact. We're proud that we were able to play our part in supporting partners across the Town to access resources and opportunities for their communities - from coordinating the community food response, providing administrative support and capacity, to bridging the gap between voluntary and statutory services. We are also grateful for the generosity and support of our

partners, without whom we would never have been able to achieve the ingredible reach and impact we have. The contribution of partners like Warwickshire County Council, Nuneaton & Bedworth Council, amongst others, won't be captured in our financial statements but they have made a significant contribution to our work this year by providing premises for our emergency response work.

We will continue to work with partners to show how the sharing and distribution of power and leadership, with priorities determined from the bottom-up, can really work to ensure that communities are supported, and that resilience is built.

FINANICAL POSITION

Our income based predominantly on grant funding, though also includes a mix or contributions and fundraising. Prior to the Coronavirus outbreak,

The Guardians Grow Charity were a consulted community group until November 2020. Covid has placed different pressures on our organisation, and at a time when the funding environment has become increasingly uncertain. In light of the impact of Covid, we rewrote our plans in 2020 and reset expectations for the coming 5 years. We will continue to review the plan annually, in line with our delivery and the funding landscape.

Due to Covid restrictions the Charity was unable to receive any funding until August 2021. This was due to an inability to open and facilitate a Bank Account, this restricted any funding.

Social Prescribing

Following the government announcement in 2019 to increase access to social prescribing as part of the NHS Long Term Plan, 79, to work, with GPs and health partnerships towards dèveloping a Link Worker service in Nuneaton & Bedworth.

Not all health-related problems can be resolved by a medical prescription, "social prescribing' offers an opportunity to look for social responses to issues patients often present to GPs with. For example, people experiencing high levels of stress, employment and debt issues, loneliness and isolation, or bereavement, can find it helpful to talk to someone who is trained to help them - and who can connect them with support networks within their community. Equally, those who suffer from health conditions connected to lifestyle issues, can often be better supported with a social and holistic response that looks at their wider wellbeing needs.

Mental Health

The pandemic, and subsequent lockdown restrictions have made our mental health crisis in the UK much worse. As people struggle to come to grips with their own experience during this time, we have already started to see an increased demand for mental health support, against a backdrop of services already feeling overstretched and under pressure. In March 2020, as social distancing was introduced, the way we worked with communities changed drastically. Our model of support was adapted from being predominantly face-to-face to operating virtually - online and over the

phone.

We set up a Befriending service to offer support to those in our communities who

might be in need of a 'friendly chat'. Many of those we spoke to were unable to meet their basic needs or felt they had nowhere to turn as services changed overnight. We were able to draw on our networks and delivery teams to respond, not only with emotional support, but also practical solutions addressing the environmental factors that often undermine good mental health (e.g., lack of food or essential supplies, housing problems, bereavement, or domestic abuse).

Virtual

We found new ways of connecting with our communities this year online.We know that digital doesn't work for everyone - many people in our communities don't have the space or privacy to join in with our virtual sessions, and others don't have access to the devices or WiFi needed to connect. We're working with communities, and partners, to support digital inclusion making tablets and laptops available facilitating courses to help people develop their confidence and skills. Connecting in person will always be an important part of our work, but over the last year we've seen how connecting online can help us reach new and different audiences, bring people together virtually who might otherwise never meet, and build community during a time of isolation.

Research & Insight

At the beginning of 2020, The Marmot Review: 10 Years On, presented some shocking (though perhaps not surprising) evidence that health inequalities across the country have grown in the last 10 years, and life expectancy has stalled. We know that, in order to tackle these widening and persistent health inequalities, a radical shift is needed.

Across all our work we endeavour to influence and improve the wider determinants of health by working with communities to identify and address the barriers, conditions or contexts which undermine good health and Wellbeing.

We are committed to being grounded in the communities we serve, and evidence based. We use insight from our work on the ground to innovate with communities, developing new thinking and ways of working to improve wellbeing.

We also play this insight back into the system highlighting barriers and uplifting the voices of our community.

STRUCTURE, GOVERNANCE, MAAGEMENT

OUR BOARD

The Guardians Grow is a community Charity, we was registered on the 26th November 2020. Our trustees have overall responsibility for the management of the organisation and take decisions, authorise purchases, delegate functions and enter into contracts on its behalf in line with our Rules, as a community charity, and the general law.

The Board is comprised of up to 12, though not less than 3 members and they have determined that the Chief Executive should also be a member of the Board ex officio. Board members (excepting the CEO) are elected for an initial 3-year term in accordance with the procedure laid out in our Rules. They can then serve a further 3-year term, within the confines of the rules of the organisation.

The Guardians Grow Charity, day to day management is entrusted to the Chief Executive and the deputy chief executive to deliver in accordance with the strategy, policies and budget approved by the Board. An appropriate system for urgent action exists where, if in the best interests of the Society, a decision can be taken outside the delegation framework.

PUBLIC BENEFIT STATEMENT

As a community Charity (CIO) with charitable objects, Trustees have given careful consideration to the Charity Commission's general guidance on public benefit, and the supplementary public benefit guidance on advancing health and saving lives in setting the aims and objectives of the Society and in planning our activities.

PRINICIPAL RISK AND UNCERTAINTIES

Trustees regularly review a register of the major risks to which the Charity exposed,

Budget, Audit and Governance Procedures. Systerns and financial insurances are in place to mitigate against any risks as far as possible within the practice and financial constraints of the Society.

STATEMENT OF BOARD'S RESPONSIBILITIES

The Directors are responsible for preparing the Trustees' Annual Report and Accounts in accordance with applicable law and regulations. In preparing these financial statements, the Trustees are required to:

●Select suitable accounting policies and apply them consistently
●Observe methods and principles in the Charities Statements of Recommended Practice (SORP 2019)
●Make judgements and estimate which are reasonable and prudent
●State whether applicable accounting standards have been followed, subject to any material departures disclosed and explained in the financial statements
●Prepare the financial statements on the going concern basis unless it is appropriate to presume that the charitable community benefit society will not continue in basis.

The Trustees are responsible for keeping adequate accounting records that are sufficient to show and explain the charitable community transactions and disclose with reasonable accuracy at any time the financial statements comply with the Charities Act 2011. They are also responsible for safeguarding the assets of the

community charity and hence for taking reasonable steps for the prevention and detection of fraud and other irregularities.

A strategic report, was approved by the Board of Trustees on 27th April 2022 and signed off on their behalf by

C.Bratt Chair of Trustees

Charity Name

No (if any) The Guardians Grow Charity 1192539

Receipts and payments accounts

For the period Period start date Period end date To from 26/11/2020 01/04/2022

Section A Receipts and payments

Unrestricted funds to the nearest £

Restricted Endowment Total funds funds funds

to the nearest £

to the nearest £ to the nearest £

A1 Receipts

----- Start of picture text -----
National Lottery - 10,000 - 10,000
Borough Lottery 64 - - 64
Warwickshire County Council - 5,454 - 5,454
Little Learners 2,000 - - 2,000
Amazon Smile 35 - - 35
Cash Donations 598 - - 598
Arnold Clark Community Fund - 1,000 - 1,000
- - - -
2,697 16,454 - 19,151
Sub total (Gross income for AR)
A2 Asset and investment sales,
(see table).
- - - -
- - - -
Sub total - - - -
Total receipts 2,697 16,454 - 19,151
A3 Payments
WCC- well in Winter - Amazon/interweave - 3,268 - 3,268
WCC- Well in Winter - Asda - 1,186 - 1,186
Arnold Clark Commmunity Funding - food - 1,000 - 1,000
WCC- True Defence - Blitzmatts 258 1,000 - 1,258
----- End of picture text -----

CCXX R1 accounts (SS)

06/07/2022

----- Start of picture text -----
National Lottery - Table & Chairs - 3,000 - 3,000
National Lottery - Equipment - 3,000 - 3,000
National Lottery - Book & Games - 1,350 - 1,350
National Lottery-Kitchen - 2,650 - 2,650
Gina's Project 457 - - 457
Sub total 715 16,454 - 17,169
----- End of picture text -----

----- Start of picture text -----
A4 Asset and investment
purchases, (see table)
- - - -
- - - -
Sub total - - - -
Total payments 715 16,454 - 17,169
Net of receipts/(payments) 1,982 - - 1,982
A5 Transfers between funds - - - -
A6 Cash funds last year end - - - -
Cash funds this year end 1,982 - - 1,982
----- End of picture text -----

Section B Statement of assets and liabilities at the end of the period Unrestricted Restricted Categories Details funds funds to nearest £ to nearest £ B1 Cash funds - - - - - - Total cash funds - (agree balances with receipts and payments account(s)) Agreement Error OK Unrestricted Restricted funds funds

CCXX R2 accounts (SS)

06/07/2022

B2 Other monetary assets

B3 Investment assets

B4 Assets retained for the charity’s own use

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Details to nearest £ to nearest £
- -
- -
- -
- -
- -
- -
Fund to which
Cost (optional)
Details asset belongs
-
-
-
-
-
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Fund to which
Cost (optional)
Details asset belongs
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
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CCXX R3 accounts (SS)

06/07/2022

B5 Liabilities

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

Details

----- Start of picture text -----
Fund to which Amount due
liability relates (optional)
-
-
-
-
-
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Signature Print Name C.Bratt R.maycock

CCXX R4 accounts (SS)

06/07/2022

CC16a

Last year

to the nearest £

CCXX R5 accounts (SS)

06/07/2022

Endowment funds to nearest £ - - - - OK

Endowment funds

CCXX R6 accounts (SS)

06/07/2022

to nearest £

Current value (optional) - - - - -

Current value (optional)

CCXX R7 accounts (SS)

06/07/2022

When due (optional)

Date of approval 27.04.22

27.04.22

CCXX R8 accounts (SS)

06/07/2022