## **Trustees’ Annual Report for the period**
**From 01/04/23 To 31/03/24**
**Charity name: The Raft Charity registration number: 1194852**
## **Objectives and Activities**
The Charity’s Objects are, for the public benefit, specifically the relief and assistance of children and their families in Leicester and Leicestershire who are in need because of adverse childhood experiences, through targeted and preventative support that includes, but is not limited to:
- Facilitating collective action between churches and partners Networking and signposting
- Training and events which promote therapeutic parenting, positive social, emotional and mental health and trauma informed practices Campaigning and advocacy for care-experienced and looked after children Delivery of projects and services that build resilience and aid recovery.
During the year 01/04/23 to 31/03/24, The Raft delivered the following activities in relation to the above charitable purposes:
1. Pilot session at a local trampoline park (Boost Leicester) to provide an after-school club for care experienced children. Following the successful pilot (in November 2023) we have now delivered a further two sessions at Boost, and hope to continue these into the new financial year.
2. A Christmas party for Leicestershire adoptive and foster families
3. We were successful at obtaining a small grant from Oadby and Wigston Borough Council (£767.40) to start delivering a monthly Lego club. The first session was held on March 2nd 2024.
The following trustees ended their initial one-year tenure as founding trustees: Sharon Leeson, Ruth Crook and Julia Hamer. Two new trustees were appointed, Chris Plummer and Paul Cromwell. All trustees have full regard
to the guidance issued by the Charity Commission on public benefit.
## The Raft has the following policies in place:
- Conflicts of Interest Equality, Inclusion and Diversity Health and Safety Risk assessment Safeguarding Financial controls (draft) Register of interest Privacy notice Data protection
## **Achievements and Performance**
The Raft has achieved the following during the reporting period:
- We appointed two new trustees and one more volunteer joined our team
- We created our new brand identity and logo, and have rolled this out across our documents and materials.
- We ran after school sessions at Boost Leicester, attended by approx. 40 people each time. These enabled children to work off stress and develop friendships.
- We developed more partnerships, in particular with a practitioner in Lego Serious Play (LSP), enabling us to design a unique project helping care experienced children in their recovery from trauma. This led to the delivery of a pilot LSP project at Hope Community Church in Wigston, Leicester.
- We attracted more followers on our social media accounts, and extended our prayer network Our Christmas party was attended by over 130 adults and children from foster and adoptive families, and we had lovely feedback from those who joined us.
- We presented at Hope Community Church in March 2024, helping to raise awareness of our work amongst the Christian community and attract supporters.
## **Financial Review**
The Raft holds a charitable bank account with Lloyds Bank.
Income during the reporting period: £8,977.78
Expenditure during the reporting period: £3,887.29
## **Structure, Governance and Management**
The governing document of The Raft is a “foundation model constitution”. Its only voting members are its charity trustees. The Raft is a CIO (Charitable Incorporated Organisation).
The constitution sets out the method of trustee selection: every charity trustee must be appointed for a term of three years by a resolution passed at a properly convened meeting of the charity trustees. In selecting individuals for appointment as charity trustees, the charity trustees must have regard to the skills, knowledge and experience needed for the effective administration of the CIO. All charity trustees must subscribe and adhere to, in belief and lifestyle, the Statement of Beliefs.
## **Reference and Administrative details**
|Charity name|The Raft|
|---|---|
|Other name the charity uses|n/a|
|Registered charity number|1194852|
|Charity’s principal address|The Raft c/o Hope Community Church
56 Bull Head Street
Wigston
Leicester LE18 1PA|
## Names of the charity trustees who manage the charity
1. Debbie Hill, Chair of Trustees
2. Chris Plummer, Treasurer and Secretary
3. Paul Cromwell, Safeguarding Lead
## **Funds held as custodian trustees on behalf of others**
This section is not applicable.
## **Exemptions from disclosure**
This section is not applicable
## **Declarations**
|**Declarations**|**Declarations**|
|---|---|
|**The trustees declare that they have approved the trustees’ report above.**
**Signed on behalf of the charity trustees.**||
|**Signature**||
|**Full name:**|Deborah Anne Hill|
|**Position:**|Chair|
|**Date:**|16/01/25|
**Charity Name No (if any) The Raft 1194852 Receipts and payments accounts CC16a**
**For the period** Period start date Period end date **To from** 4/1/2023 3/31/2024
## **Section A Receipts and payments**
|**Section A Receipts and payments**|||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
|**A1 Receipts**
Grant from Oadbyand Wigston BC
**-**
Receipts: Lego Serious Playsessions
**195**
Donations
**8,015**
**-**
**-**
**-**
**-**
**-**
**8,210**
**-**
**-**
**_Sub total_ -**
**_Total receipts_ 8,210**
**A3 Payments**
Website development
**220**
Lego Serious Playfacilitator
**300**
Lego and materials for sessions
**457**
Magician for Christmasparty
**200**
Brandingand logo
**1,170**
Equipment
**196**
Insurance
**96**
Safeguarding
**248**
Transfer to savings account
**1,000**
**_Sub total_ 3,887**
**-**
**-**
**_Sub total_ -**
**_Total payments_ 3,887**
**_Net of receipts/(payments)_ 4,323**
**A5 Transfers between funds**
**-**
**A6 Cash funds last year end**
**-**
**_Cash funds this year end_ 4,323**
**Unrestricted**
**funds**
**to the nearest £**
**_Sub total_**_(Gross income for_
_AR)_
**A2 Asset and investment sales,**
**(see table).**
**A4 Asset and investment**
**purchases, (see table)**|**to the nearest £**
**768**
**-**
**-**
**-**
**-**
**-**
**-**
**-**
**768**
**-**
**-**
**-**
**768**
**-**
**-**
**-**
**-**
**-**
**-**
**-**
**-**
**-**
**-**
**-**
**-**
**-**
**768**
**-**
**-**
**768**
**Restricted**
**funds**|**to the nearest £**
**Endowment**
**funds**|**Total funds**
**to the nearest £**
**768**
**195**
**8,015**
**-**
**-**
**-**
**-**
**-**
**8,978**
**-**
**-**
**-**
**8,978**
**220**
**300**
**457**
**200**
**1,170**
**196**
**96**
**248**
**1,000**
**3,887**
**-**
**-**
**-**
**3,887**
**5,091**
**-**
**-**
**5,091**|**Last year**
**to the nearest £**|
|||**-**
**-**
**-**
**-**
**-**
**-**
**-**
**-**
**-**|**768**|**-**|
||||**195**|**-**|
||||**8,015**|**-**|
||||**-**|**-**|
||||**-**|**-**|
||||**-**|**-**|
||||**-**|**-**|
||||**-**|**-**|
||||**8,978**|**-**|
||||||
|||**-**
**-**
**-**|**-**||
||||**-**|**-**|
||||**-**|**-**|
||||||
|||**-**|**8,978**|**-**|
||||||
|||**-**
**-**
**-**
**-**
**-**
**-**
**-**
**-**
**-**
**-**|**220**|**-**|
||||**300**|**-**|
||||**457**|**-**|
||||**200**|**-**|
||||**1,170**|**-**|
||||**196**|**-**|
||||**96**|**-**|
||||**248**|**-**|
||||**1,000**|**-**|
||||**3,887**|**-**|
||||||
|||**-**
**-**
**-**|**-**||
||||**-**||
||||**-**|**-**|
||||||
|||**-**|**3,887**|**-**|
||||||
||**768**|**-**
**-**
**-**
**-**|**5,091**|**-**|
||**-**||**-**|**-**|
||**-**||**-**|**-**|
||**768**||**5,091**|**-**|
## **Section B Statement of assets and liabilities at the end of the period**
|**Categories**
**B1 Cash funds**
**B2 Other monetary assets**
**B3 Investment assets**
**B5 Liabilities**
**B4 Assets retained for the**
**charity’s own use**
Signed by one or two trustees on
behalf of all the trustees|**Details**
Closing balance at 31/3/24
**Details**
**Details**
**Details**
**Details**
Signature
**_Total cash funds_**
(agree balances with receipts and payments
account(s))|**to nearest £**
**4,323**
**-**
**-**
**4,323**
OK
**to nearest £**
**-**
**-**
**-**
**-**
**-**
**-**
Print
**Unrestricted**
**funds**
**Unrestricted**
**funds**
**Fund to which**
**asset belongs**
**Fund to which**
**asset belongs**
**Fund to which**
**liability relates**|
|---|---|---|
|||Deborah Hill|
||||