## **Trustees’ Annual Report for the period**
**From 01/04/24 To 31/03/25**
**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 01/04/24 to 31/03/25, The Raft delivered the following activities in relation to the above charitable purposes:
1. Delivery of care packages to newly approved foster carers in Leicester (20 in the reporting period to Leicestershire County Council)
2. Development of our Bounce Together programme at a local trampoline park (Boost Leicester)- monthly sessions for care-experienced families, with trampolining and craft for children and support around the parents / carers (which has included attendance by professionals for specialist advice and self care).
3. Creation of a new podcast “Faith That Cares”, for Christians involved in foster care and adoption, which is now available on Spotify.
4. Further Brain Builders (Lego Serious Play sessions) for children, with the aim of promoting brain development and wellbeing.
5. A Christmas party for Leicestershire adoptive and foster families 6. Lego clubs in the summer, Christmas and half term holidays 7. We were successful at obtaining grants from Arnold Clark Community Fund to deliver a summer holiday storytelling club for care-experienced children, from Asda for our Christmas party and crowdfunding for Bounce Together.
8. One Church, Leicester, became a charity partner, and financial supporter 9. Oadby Baptist Church supported us through provision of knitted blankets for babies and children.
One new trustee was appointed, Carys Radford, and one, Deborah Hill, was reelected for a further three year term. 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 created our new website, www.theraftleicester.co.uk
- In the reporting period, we ran three sessions at Boost Leicester, attended by approx. 60-80 people each time. These enabled children to work off stress and develop friendships.
- We ran two further Lego Serious Play (LSP) pilot sessions (Brain Builders) with LSP facilitator, Julia Reeve, and used feedback from these sessions to decide to extend these sessions and train two volunteers from The Raft in LSP facilitation. This will allow us to offer bespoke, trauma-informed LSP sessions to more care-experienced children in Leicester.
- We attracted more followers on our social media accounts, and extended our prayer network
- We worked with our local Rotary Club to take over 60 adults and children to Wicksteed Park theme park for the day.
- Our Christmas party was attended by over 100 adults and children from foster and adoptive families, and we had lovely feedback from those who joined us.
- We delivered presentations to the Jewel Conference at Hope Community Church in September 2024, the Rotary Club in October 2024, and Quorn Baptist Church in January 2025, helping to raise awareness of our work and attract supporters.
- Our new podcast, Faith That Cares, launched on Spotify in June 2024 and releases episodes approximately once a month.
- Chef and Spice Fundraising meal and auction in September 2024 raised over £1,000
- One Church funded vouchers for children at Christmas – 100 given out.
## **Financial Review**
The Raft holds a charitable bank account with Lloyds Bank.
Income during the reporting period: £16,109 Expenditure during the reporting period: £10,761
## **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**
|Charityname|TheRaft|
|---|---|
|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
4. Carys Radford
## **Funds held as custodian trustees on behalf of others**
This section is not applicable.
## **Exemptions from disclosure**
This section is not applicable
## **Declarations**
|**The trustees declare that they have approved the trustees’ report**
**above.**
**Signed on behalf of the charity trustees.**|**The trustees declare that they have approved the trustees’ report**
**above.**
**Signed on behalf of the charity trustees.**|
|---|---|
|**Signature**||
|**Full name:**|Deborah AnneHill|
|**Position:**|Chair|
|**Date:**|10/09/25|
||**Charity Name**
**The Raft**
**1**|**Charity Name**
**The Raft**
**1**|**Charity Name**
**The Raft**
**1**|**No (if any)**
**194852**|
|---|---|---|---|---|
||**For the period**
**from**|Period start date
4/1/2024|**To**
|Period end date
3/31/2025|
|**Section A Receipts and payments**|||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
|**A1 Receipts**
Bounce Together crowd funding
**-**
Christmas
Fundariser(Chef and Spice event)
**1,788**
Poolparty
**-**
Storytellingclub
**-**
Donations
**4,956**
**-**
**-**
**6,744**
**-**
**-**
**_Sub total_ -**
**_Total receipts_ 6,744**
**A3 Payments**
Bounce Together
Christmas
Fundraisingevent and ticket tailor
**583**
Lego Serious Play
**3,100**
Poolparty
Storytellingclub
Insurance
**96**
Resources
**3,495**
Website
**231**
**_Sub total_ 7,505**
**-**
**-**
**_Sub total_ -**
**_Total payments_ 7,505**
**_Net of receipts/(payments)_ - 761**
**A5 Transfers between funds**
**-**
**A6 Cash funds last year end**
**-**
**_Cash funds this year end_ - 761**
**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 £**
**4,587**
**4,238**
**-**
**150**
**390**
**-**
**-**
**-**
**9,365**
**-**
**-**
**-**
**9,365**
**250**
**1,950**
**-**
**-**
**233**
**822**
**-**
**3,255**
**-**
**-**
**-**
**3,255**
**6,110**
**-**
**-**
**6,110**
**Restricted**
**funds**|**to the nearest £**
**Endowment**
**funds**|**Total funds**
**to the nearest £**
**4,587**
**4,238**
**1,788**
**150**
**390**
**4,956**
**-**
**-**
**16,109**
**-**
**-**
**-**
**16,109**
**250**
**1,950**
**583**
**3,100**
**233**
**822**
**96**
**3,495**
**231**
**10,760**
**-**
**-**
**-**
**10,760**
**5,349**
**-**
**-**
**5,349**|**Last year**
**to the nearest £**|
|||**-**
**-**
**-**
**-**
**-**
**-**
**-**
**-**
**-**|**4,587**|**-**|
||||**4,238**|**-**|
||||**1,788**|**-**|
||||**150**|**-**|
||||**390**|**-**|
||||**4,956**|**-**|
||||**-**|**-**|
||||**-**|**-**|
||||**16,109**|**-**|
||||||
|||**-**
**-**
**-**|**-**||
||||**-**|**-**|
||||**-**|**-**|
||||||
|||**-**|**16,109**|**-**|
||||||
|||**-**
**-**
**-**
**-**
**-**
**-**
**-**|**250**|**-**|
||||**1,950**|**-**|
||||**583**|**-**|
||||**3,100**|**-**|
||||**233**|**-**|
||||**822**||
||||**96**|**-**|
||||**3,495**||
||||**231**||
||||**10,760**|**-**|
||||||
|||**-**
**-**
**-**|**-**||
||||**-**||
||||**-**|**-**|
||||||
|||**-**|**10,760**|**-**|
||||||
||**6,110**|**-**
**-**
**-**
**-**|**5,349**|**-**|
||**-**||**-**|**-**|
||**-**||**-**|**-**|
||**6,110**||**5,349**|**-**|
## **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 £**
**4,616**
**-**
**-**
**4,323**
Agreement Error
**to nearest £**
**-**
**-**
**-**
**-**
**-**
**-**
Print
**Unrestricted**
**funds**
**Unrestricted**
**funds**
**Fund to which**
**asset belongs**
**Fund to which**
**asset belongs**
**Fund to which**
**liability relates**|
|---|---|---|
|||Deborah Hill|
||||