2021-12-31-accounts - Advantage! Barrow Raiders Community Foundation

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Trustees’ annual report for the period: Period start date: 01.01.2021 Period end date: day/month/year 31.05.2022 Reference and administration details

Charity name: Advantage! Barrow Raiders Community Foundation

Other names charity is known by: Barrow Raiders Community Foundation

Charity’s principal address: The Matt Johnson Prestige Stadium (Craven Park), Duke Street, Barrowin-Furness, LA14 1XP

Names of the charity trustees who manage the charity

Trustee name	Office (if any)	Name of person (or body) entitled to appoint trustee (if any)
David Nixon	Chairperson	Board of Trustees
Lisa Neale	Treasurer	Board of Trustees
TerryBarker	Secretary	Board of Trustees
Karen Scarr		Board of Trustees
TonyColyer		Board of Trustees
Lee Edmondson		Board of Trustees

Name of trustees for the charity, if any

N/A

Names and addresses of advisors

Names and addresses of advisors
Denis Fay	Director of Community Barrow Raiders RLFC	21 Furness Park Road, Barrow- in-Furness
Nigel Fisher	Trust accountants	13 Sandhall Cottages Ulverston,Cumbria,LA12 9EH
Steve Neale	Chair Person Barrow Raiders RLFC	6 Kirkstall Close, Barrow-in- Furness

Name of chief executive or names of senior staff members (optional information)

Siona Hartley – Advantage! Barrow Raiders Community Foundation Manager

Structure, governance and management

Description of charity’s trusts

Description of charity’s trusts
Type of governing document (e.g. trust deed, constitution)	Constitution
How the charity is constituted (e.g. trust, association,company)	Trust
Trustee selection methods (e.g. appointed by, elected by)	By appointment

Additional governance issues

The trustees oversee the strategic vision of Advantage! and evaluate its application. The charity has a Child Protection Policy in place and carries out DBS verification checks prior to the commencement of employment. All organisations which work with us are required to have appropriate policies.

As sample of organisations we work with, includes: Cumbria County Council; NHS, Community Integrated Care; a variety of schools and education establishments; Furness Carers; Cumbria CVS and Cumbria Constabulary.

Advantage! is subject to professional scrutiny from these organisations, before embarking upon joint projects.

Objectives and activities

Objectives and activities
Summary of the objects of the charity set out in its governing document	The promotion of community participation, healthy recreation for the public benefit of our community by coaching and the playing of rugby league and associated sports and activities. To provide or assist in providing facilities for sport and recreation to persons who are in need of such facilities by reason of youth, age, disablement or social economic circumstances, or for the public at large in the interest of social welfare. To promote other charitable purposes under the laws of England and Wales from time to time.
Summary of the main activities undertaken for the public benefit in relation to these objects	Advantage! Barrow Raiders Community Foundation is a registered charity, and has been in existence since January 2019, with charitable status being achieved in May 2021. Advantage! is the community arm of Barrow Raiders RLFC, and our aims are to tackle disadvantage in the area of Barrow and Furness, through sport and health and wellbeing. We work in a proud community which is beset with the problems associated with high unemployment for the young, and deprivation (both social and health)across the community.

Summary of the objects of the charity set out in
its governing document

The promotion of community participation,
healthy recreation for the public benefit of our
community by coaching and the playing of
rugby league and associated sports and
activities.
To provide or assist in providing facilities for
sport and recreation to persons who are in
need of such facilities by reason of youth, age,
disablement or social economic circumstances,
or for the public at large in the interest of social
welfare.
To promote other charitable purposes under
the laws of England and Wales from time to
time.

Summary of the main activities undertaken for
the public benefit in relation to these objects

Advantage! Barrow Raiders Community
Foundation is a registered charity, and has been
in existence since January 2019, with charitable
status being achieved in May 2021. Advantage!
is the community arm of Barrow Raiders RLFC,
and our aims are to tackle disadvantage in the
area of Barrow and Furness, through sport and
health and wellbeing.
We work in a proud community which is beset
with the problems associated with high
unemployment for the young, and deprivation
(both social and health)across the community.

During the recent pandemic, when Barrow was described by the media as ‘virus town’, the Government rightly praised the Rugby League community and rugby league foundations for their work in sustaining their communities. Advantage!, with its mix of enthusiastic volunteers and professional coaches, has a unique partnership with its professional rugby league club, which supports our charity in its pursuit of the general public good in our community. We have also sought the assistance of major business partners in our area, such as the BAE Systems, Furness Building Society, Furness Park Motors and Identity Clothing Manufacturers, and our work has been endorsed and supported by Mencap, and also praised by Cumbria County Council and our local MP. We are using sport and wellbeing as a vehicle to improve the social and health conditions to thirteen groups of disadvantaged people within our community.

Additional details of objectives and activities

We have been awarded grants from national charities, such as Sport England, and Mencap, and from local charities, such as Sir John Fisher Foundation and Cumbria Community Foundation. Advantage! has attracted support from prominent local businesses, such as BAE Systems and the Furness Building Society. The support of Barrow Raiders, based on The Memorandum of Cooperation’, in providing seconded staff and facilities has been fundamental in the success of Advantage! allowing us to afford to deploy professional coaches.

Advantage! enjoys tremendous community support having been awarded the Love Barrow Award 2020, and it is supported by a growing group of volunteers, and its young sports leaders’ cohort.

Advantage! has been identified as a trusted partner, and awarded contracts, in delivering health and wellbeing projects in our community.

Achievements and performance

Advantage!, the community arm of Barrow Raiders RLFC, is designed to support people who suffer disadvantage within the heart of Barrow.

Advantage! is now a sustained, but still developing, programme still with its focus of making an immediate dynamic impact improving the physical and mental wellbeing of the young people and adults, and vulnerable adults, in the heart of Barrow: tackling issues such as the social isolation of adults with learning difficulties.

Our work, supported by the prestigious endorsement of our partners, has led us to offer a comprehensive prospectus of sport and well being activities in our town and attracted the interest of agencies such as Cumbria County Council, NHS Population Health and Cumbria CVS: which has commissioned us to be responsible for the planning and delivery of the Winter Wellness initiative. We have now become a registered charity and, to meet the challenge of increased demand due to the quality of our services, we have a team of eight staff delivering a schools and community programme.

In the ‘living with Covid’ era, our mission is to sustain the growing interest in health and wellbeing activities in our town and the centre of our town, and also, to bring a precise focus to assist appropriate agencies in tackling the health deficits which are well documented in Barrow-in-Furness.

Recognizing that we are in for the long haul in providing a sustainable resource to our brilliant town, we have evaluated how fit we are for purpose in being a high quality delivery vehicle. As a result, we have embraced the status of a registered charity, and the opportunities it brings, but also, the rigors and accountability it places on our operations.

To make us a more efficient organization, we have appointed an Assistant Advantage! Foundation Manager, and an Operations Manager, and we now have a permanent base in College House. We have also undertaken a review of our employment practices, and instituted an effective performance management system. This is underpinned by a carefully designed training programme for our staff which allows them to have the correct expertise and knowledge to work across our programme.

The endorsement of BAE Systems has been attractive to other potential donors, and we have expanded our staffing compliment to allow us to be able to meet demand, but we are conscious that growing demand remains a challenge. Our funding streams, which come from donations, are vital to us for sustainability. The relationships we have been building with, for instance, Barrow ICC, have allowed us to be more precise in focusing our activities in terms of the health deficits in Barrow, and, as such, our targeted approach reflects the gaps and needs of our community. We are seen as a problem solving, go to organisation, in the town, as was illustrated in a recent request to deliver on a Winter wellness initiative, and to consider designing a provision for Asylum Seekers.

The future and prosperity of the town, economically and socially, lies in its young people, and we have expanded our educational provision to include 12 schools per week, plus the Pupil Referral Unit.

Please see below, a leaflet outlining our current programme of activities (this does not include individual initiatives we have been asked to deliver on, such as the Winter wellness initiative).

Charitable donation is a vital element in allowing us to expand our programme of activities, so we are offering thirteen different community programmes, from nursery to ninety, and, as we mentioned earlier, a very extensive school’s programme. Through the Government Holiday and Food Programme initiative, we have provided sports camps specifically targeted at children from families on health related benefits. A vital element of this being the delivery of nutritious food and healthy eating workshops.

One of our most successful programmes is Able Raiders – weekly sports and health and wellbeing provision for adults with learning disabilities. This involves wellbeing walks from different locations around the South Lakes area and a weekly sports session, which is attended by, between 40 and 60 participants, weekly. Launched during Covid, from small beginnings, Able Raiders has gone from strength to strength, and we are now fielding an adult with learning disabilities rugby team in the Community Integrated Care rugby league Super League structure. Able Raiders is a particularly well received initiative within the community, and we are seeking to create a youth delivery for children with learning disabilities. It is particularly strongly supported by Mencap and by the Furness building Society.

Recognising the health disparities experienced by the elderly in our community, we have been tasked by Barrow ICC to deliver chair based exercise to the elderly, in community settings and in care home throughout the Furness Peninsula, and our Winter Wellness programme has been designed in partnership with Cumbria CVS.

The initial impact can be seen in the numbers that attend our activities, which is over 1000 per week, including schools coaching. The longer term impact in our contribution to the entrenched problem that is health and wellbeing, is more difficult to measure in the short term. We are one of a number of groups working within the Borough to help alleviate the health issues of Barrovians and tackle the challenges to those experiencing social isolation. The effect of our work will become clearer as time goes on, but even then, it is often hard to isolate that from the work of other agencies.

It is also worth noting that our work in coaching rugby in primary schools, plus Raider Girls and Raider Braves (a group for boys who are initially reluctant to join rugby clubs, because of issues such as shyness, or even autism) has contributed to an increase of around 20% in the participation of children of primary age in local rugby community clubs (figures from Barrow and District League representative).

It is universally acknowledged that health and wellbeing activities are vital in improving the lifestyles and chances of a community, and that Barrow desperately needs our sort of provision. However, amongst that provision, we believe we are among the most accessible and affordable, and therefore are able to be more effective in dealing with aspects of deprivation on poverty.

In our long term journey, it is vital that our patrons, such as the Furness Building Society, that have a real regard for ‘social value’ remain with us, and hopefully increase the level of their funding to help us meet the increased level of the challenge.

Financial review

Brief statement of the charity’s policy on reserves

Cash at the bank, unrestricted funds, at the end of our financial year 31/12/21 were £42,749. As of 01/06/22, the figure is £38,983. We are owed a grant of £5000 from the RL, and we have been commissioned to do work on the ‘Cumbria County Council Holiday Activity and Food Programme’ (HaF) to the value of £21,000.

It is the trust’s aspiration to have a reserve of £30,000, but, we are subject to availability of grants and donations.

Details of any funds materially in deficit

N/A

Further financial review details:

You may choose to include additional information, where relevant about: The charity’s principal sources of funds (including any fundraising). How expenditure has supported the key objectives of the charity. Investment policy and objectives including any ethical investment policy adopted.

The charity does not invest in other areas beyond its key objectives.

Other optional information

The trust is in process of creating its development plan for 2022/23. This will focus on sustaining successful initiatives and further developing its grant sources and relationship with statutory providers.

Declaration

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

Signed on behalf of the charity’s trustees

Signature (s) L K Neale

Full name (s) Lisa Kay Neale

Position (e.g. secretary, chair, etc) Treasurer

Date 01.06.2022

Independent examiner’s report on the accounts

Report to the trustees/members of

Advantage! Barrow Raiders Community Foundation

On accounts for the year ended

31.12.2021

Set out on pages

Please see attached report.

I report to the trustees on my examination of the accounts for the year ended___.

As the charity trustees of the Trust, you are responsible for the preparation of the accounts in accordance with the Charities Act 2011 (“the Act”).

I report in respect of my examination of the Trust’s accounts carried out under s145 of the Act and in carrying out my examination,

I have followed the applicable Directions given by the Charity Commission under s145(5)(b) of the Act.

I have completed my examination. I confirm that no material matters have come to my attention in connection with the examination which gives me cause to believe that in, any material respect:

accounting records were not kept in accordance with section 130 of the Act; or
the accounts do not accord with the accounting records.

I have no concerns and have come across no other matters in connection with the examination to which attention should be drawn in order to enable a proper understanding of the accounts to be reached.

Signed:

Date:

Name:

Relevant professional qualification (s) or body (if any):

Address:

Disclosure Section

Only complete if the examiner needs to highlight material problems

Advantage! Barrow Raiders Community Foundation

Receipts and payments accounts

For the period 01.01.2021 31.12.2021 To from

Section A Receipts and payments	Section A Receipts and payments
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 £
Police Commission for Cumbria	3344	-	-	3344 15623 1160 20568 3900 14000 950 1656	- - - - - - - -
Grantscape	15623	-	-
Boost	1160	-	-
Cumbria County Council	20568	-	-
LotteryFund	3900	-	-
Cumbria CommunityFoundation	14000	-	-
AsdaFoundation	950	-	-
Cashcontributions & camps	1656	-	-
	61201	-	-	61201
	-	-		- -	-
A2 Asset and investment sales
	-		-
	-	-	-
*Sub total*	-	-	-	-	-
*Total receipts* A3 Payments
			-

BRLFC staff for community projects	65414	-	-	65414 1619 1026 1470 470 100	- - - - - - - - -
Reimbursement to CCC	1619	-	-
CampDelivery	1026	-	-
HallCharges	1470	-	-
Training	470	-	-
SoftwarePackage	100	-	-
		-	-
		-	-
		-	-
*Sub total*	70099	-	-	70099

A4 Asset and investment purchases
Electrical Equipment	1083-	-	-	1083- 224-
Dodgeball Equipment	224-	-	-
*Sub total*	1307-	-	-	1307-	-
*Total payments* *Net of receipts/(payments)* A5 Transfers between funds A6 Cash funds last year end *Cash funds this year end*
	71406		-	71406

		-	-
	-	-	-	-	-
		-	-	52952
	42749	-	-	42749

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

Details Cumberland Building Society	Unrestricted funds to nearest £	Restricted funds to nearest £	Endowment funds to nearest £ - -
Cumberland Building Society

		-	-
	- -	- -	-

	42749-
	42749	Restricted funds to nearest £ - - - - - - Cost - - - - - Cost	Endowment funds to nearest £

	Unrestricted funds to nearest £
	- - - - - -		- - - - - -
	Fund to which asset belongs		Current value
			-
			-
			-
			-
			-
	Fund to which asset belongs		Current value
		-	-
		-	-
		- - - -	-
			-
			-
			-
		-	-
		-	-
			-
	Fund to which liability relates		When due Date of approval

Signature
Page 2 of 2			22.01.22
			22.01.22

Date of approval 22.01.22

Page 2 of 2

22.01.22

Neale SLafr Page3of2