2022-03-31-accounts - Flourishing Lives

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REGISTERED CHARITY NUMBER: 1195193

FLOURISHING LIVES REPORT OF THE TRUSTEES AND FINANCIAL STATEMENTS FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31 MARCH 2022

FLOURISHING LIVES

CONTENTS OF THE REPORT OF THE TRUSTEES AND FINANCIAL STATEMENTS FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31 MARCH 2022

	Page
Report of the Trustees	3 to 10
Independent Examiner’s Report	11
Receipts and Payments Accounts	12
Statement of Assets & Liabilities	13
Notes to the Accounts	14

FLOURISHING LIVES

REPORT OF THE TRUSTEES FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31 MARCH 2022

Legal and Administrative Information

Name of charity

Flourishing Lives

Charitable Incorporated Organisation number

1195193

Principal and registered office

Claremont Building, 24-27 White Lion Street, London N1 9PD

Trustees

Rhoda Idoniboye, Chair Diana Ambache, Treasurer (appointed 25[th] March 2022) Stuart Cox Natalia Cid Garcia, interim Trustee (appointed 21[st] December 2021) Maggy Pigott CBE FRSA, Age Activist Trustee (appointed 25[th] March 2022) Lucien Paul Stanfield, interim Trustee (resigned 21[st] December 2021)

Banker

CAF Bank Ltd, 25 Kings Hill Avenue, Kings Hill, West Malling, Kent, ME19 4JQ

Independent examiner

Can Salik

S&F, Myworkspot, Clyde House, Reform Road, Maidenhead, Berkshire, SL6 8BY

Report of the Trustees

The trustees are pleased to present their report and the financial statements of Flourishing Lives for the year ended 31 March 2022.

The financial statements have been prepared in accordance with CC15d Charity Reporting and Accounting: The essentials, the Charities (Accounts and Reports) Regulations 2008 and the Charity Commission’s Receipts and Payments Accounts guidance (CC16), applicable to small charities under the audit threshold preparing their accounts on a Receipts and Payments basis.

Structure, Governance and Management

Flourishing Lives is a registered Charitable Incorporated Organisation (CIO) with a Board of Trustees that is responsible for deciding strategy, setting policies, appointing staff, setting, approving and reviewing the annual budget and accounts, and overseeing fundraising. Trustees are appointed through an open recruitment process and are appointed or reappointed at Trustee meetings.

Flourishing Lives has two members of staff: a full-time Programme Director, David McDonagh, and part-time Head of Engagement, Cordelia Wyche.

A steering group of Flourishing Lives’ coalition partners, The Flourishing Lives Advisory Group (FLAG), meets quarterly to discuss future areas of work, share information, and advise on the strategy, design and delivery of Flourishing Lives’ Best Practice programme.

A steering group of Flourishing Lives’ coalition partners, The Anti-Racist Action Group (ARAG), meets quarterly to discuss future areas of work, share information, and advise on the strategy, design and delivery of Flourishing Lives’ Inclusive Practice programme.

Risk management

The trustees convene Board meetings every two months to review Flourishing Lives’ activities and identify the risks to which it is exposed, in operations, finances and the external environment.

Objects and activities for Public Benefit

The objects for which the CIO is established are:

For the public benefit, the relief of those in need by reason of old age, for people living in Greater London and the surrounding area, in particular, but not exclusively by:

Providing training and support for projects that promote engagement with, and participation
in, the arts by elderly people.
Providing recreational facilities in the interest of social welfare with the object of improving
the conditions of life for elderly people.
Raising standards and encouraging best practice in the provision of participatory arts
projects for elderly people.
Raising awareness of the issues affecting elderly people.

We have referred to the guidance contained in the Charity Commission's general guidance on public benefit when reviewing our aims and objectives and in planning our future activities.

Flourishing Lives is a London-wide coalition of arts, health and wellbeing organisations taking a creative approach to supporting richer, more independent lives for people over the age of 55. We combat social isolation amongst older people by promoting community, expression and engagement through the arts. We believe that building quality relationships is the heart of our work - genuinely engaging with older people as unique individuals and forming close bonds with the dedicated staff and volunteers who work alongside them.

We connect older people’s groups, creative practitioners, day centres, arts organisations, health initiatives, social justice groups, grassroots community champions and international thought-leaders so that knowledge, research and resources can be shared. We deliver a variety of workshops, training, showcase arts events, support groups and inclusion programmes to help galvanize organisational collaboration, communication and resilience across the arts and wellbeing sector, for the benefit of older people.

We strengthen and support our coalition members to flourish so that they can deliver vital support and progressive services for older people.

Flourishing Lives’ Achievements and Performance 2021-22

Flourishing Lives was established as an independent Charitable Incorporated Organisation on the 1[st] December 2021, with three years’ core funding from The National Lottery Community Fund and six month’s project funding from The Baring Foundation. Prior to that, Flourishing Lives had operated as a project since 2016 under the governance of the Claremont Project in Islington. 2021-2022 marked the first four months of activity of Flourishing Lives as an independent charity.

The first year of activity emphasised the fundamental role that Flourishing Lives plays in supporting and developing older people’s wellbeing and arts provision across London, and underlined the crucial position that the coalition holds as a central hub for the sector, amplifying older people’s voices and leadership, championing positive ageing, catalysing intergenerational projects, developing inclusive practice initiatives, growing our collective knowledge base by sharing best practice, forging close working partnerships, and cultivating a thriving network that helps to galvanize organisational collaboration, communication and resilience across the sector for the benefit of older people.

In the first year of activity, we:

developed the organisational infrastructure and governance of the new Flourishing Lives CIO, expanding our Board of Trustees and creating the role of Age Activist Trustee to provide strategic guidance for our ongoing age advocacy work.
conducted a comprehensive needs analysis of service provision for older people across London: examining the impact of Covid on services, providers and the needs and aspirations of older people; exploring how the pandemic has affected perceptions of ageing and older people; listening to the challenges and successes that organisations are experiencing; and identifying ways in which we can best support the sector to build back and develop through our programmatic areas of work.
launched and cultivated a thriving intergenerational forum for people and organisations to connect, learn, and develop more intergenerational activities in their services.

developed inclusive practice initiatives to explore and amplify the lived experience of people ageing at the intersections within our communities.
responded to the increasing need and demand for wellbeing support for providers of creative health for older people through our reflective practice services.
promoted the positive ageing agenda and older people’s leadership in their own services.

Working alongside our community

Involving people from our community in the work we do is central to our practice. Everything we do is informed by an ongoing process of needs analysis meetings and consultations with people across the sector, forging links with new coalition partners to expand the network and develop our collective knowledge base, providing forums to foster communities of interest and practice around key areas of focus, and meeting regularly with our community members and steering groups to examine the strengths of services and identify areas where support and development is needed.

In the first year of activity, we:

expanded the Flourishing Lives coalition to 439 member organisations, forging links with 54 new coalition partners, including the Climate Coalition, QueerCircle, Outside In, and GoParksLondon.
met directly with 80 older people and older people’s providers to discuss the challenges affecting older people and older people’s services, and identify where support is needed.
developed the Flourishing Lives Board of Trustees to ensure that the organisation is led by the communities it serves, with 50% of the Board aged over 55, and 50% involved in direct wellbeing and arts service provision.
held 1 Flourishing Lives Advisory Group (FLAG) steering meeting, exploring topics and concerns affecting older people, and devising and planning best practice workshops to address these issues.
held 2 Anti-Racist Action Group (ARAG) steering meetings, identifying intersectional issues affecting older people from racial minority communities and outlining plans for inclusive practice workshops and transformation projects.
held 1 Intergenerational Forum meeting, fostering a community of practice to catalyse projects and collaborations across the sector, and help inform our ongoing intergenerational programme.
held 1 practitioner care forum meeting, fostering a community of interest to advocate for wellbeing support for creative health providers, and help inform our ongoing reflective practice programme.
participated in 4 Reimagining Dementia steering group meetings, co-designing workshops and a music video campaign to counter the ‘tragedy narrative’ of living with dementia.
held 6 consultations with community/lived experience representatives to monitor the impact of our inclusive practice, intergenerational practice, reflective practice, and older people-led advocacy work, and help shape future programming.
provided 4 consultations for organisations seeking advice and access to our collective knowledge base on service transformation in provision for older people.
grew our @EverydayAgeism twitter followers from 1600 to 1852.

Inclusive Practice

We promoted greater access to aspirational services for socially isolated older people through our LGBTQ+ Sensitivity Training workshop, supporting older people from marginalised communities to directly influence and improve the outreach and inclusion strategy of 35 wellbeing and arts organisations across London and the South East:

We partnered with Opening Doors - an organisation representing older LGBTQ+ people – to deliver a free online LGBTQ+ sensitivity training session for coalition member organisations. 35 delegates attended the training – including representatives from GLA, Southbank Centre, Hackney Carers, SLaM NHS Foundation Trust, and the University of Greenwich – exploring the experiences of older LGBTQ+ people and accessing resources on LGBTQ+ sensitivity, safeguarding and inclusivity.
Resources shared: TSER (Trans Student Educational Resources) ‘Gender Unicorn’ graphic, video archive of lived experience interviews.
Participant feedback: 100% of participant respondents gave a 4 out of 4 star rating to the statement ‘do you feel your awareness, understanding and confidence around issues relating to older LGBT+ people have improved following the roundtable?’
We also held 2 Anti-Racist Action Group (ARAG) steering meetings to outline plans for older intersectional inclusion roundtables and transformation projects. The group identified the need for additional funding to provide accessibility budgets for lived experience representatives and further resources for workshops and roundtables, so we will submit a grant uplift funding application to the National Lottery Community Fund to further support this work.

Intergenerational Practice

We promoted greater social integration across age groups within services to reduce the isolation of older people within age-defined silos by launching our Intergenerational Forum. The forum is a quarterly online meeting for wellbeing and arts delegates to connect and share learning, identifying methods and opportunities for supporting intergenerational practice in services:

The first Intergenerational Forum meeting was delivered in partnership with Chickenshed Theatre. 22 delegates attended – including representatives from Magic Me, Tate, and Hackney Council.
Resources shared: ‘Living Letters’ project example. Chickenshed Theatre demonstrated the use of ‘anonymity games’ as an approach to catalysing intergenerational connection.
Participant feedback: “I loved hearing about creating equality of space, that was very helpful and practical and I will take that forward in my work.”
We also met with the Global Play Brigade - an international, intergenerational volunteer community of play and performance activists - to devise and plan intergenerational catalyst workshops for delivery in July and September 2022.

Reflective Practice services and Baring Foundation research project

We increased resilience in service provision for older people across London, providing 216 practitioners with a structure of support and reflective practice that helped to safeguard their

wellbeing, sustain and grow their working practice, and develop a more robust foundation of support for the older people who engage with their services.

We delivered 31 Reflective Practice Group sessions and 16 1:1 sessions, offering 216 older people’s service providers a vital structure for peer support and in-depth reflection on working practice led by trained counsellors.
We were granted six month’s project funding by The Baring Foundation to deliver 36 free Reflective Practice Group sessions to 12 arts and wellbeing organisational teams, conduct research into the impact of wellbeing support on their work, and produce a research report.
The project also entailed the commission of a researcher to devise and implement an evaluation framework for the project, along with clinical supervision sessions to support the wellbeing of the therapists delivering the Reflective Practice Sessions.
We produced qualitative and quantitative data (via Typeform online survey platform) to evaluate the impact of the sessions.
Participant feedback: “I found it extremely helpful. The space to step back and think about my work with some distance.”
Participant organisation feedback: 83% of organisations stated that accessing reflective practice groups ‘Promotes peer to peer learning’ in their team, and 67% stated that reflective practice ‘Supports quality practice with participants’.
Resources shared: practitioner care toolkit & reading list.
We also conducted a summit meeting with practitioner care specialist organisations to plan the development of a practitioner care advocacy campaign.

Sharing Best Practice

Our newsletters, networking sessions and quarterly best practice workshops reduced the fragmentation of the sector by providing communities of practice and learning for providers, and galvanising organisational collaboration for the benefit of older people.

We delivered a free best practice workshop alongside the Climate Coalition, providing practical support for coalition members on increasing older people's engagement in climate action and developing environmental practice in older people's wellbeing & arts services. 37 people registered and 26 delegates attended – including representatives from Spare Tyre, Creative Dance London, and Holborn Community Association.
Resources shared: examples of craftivism practice, craftivist toolkits, links to training, resources and specific constituency support, signposting to older people groups’ involvement in ‘Great Big Green Week’.
Participant feedback: 60% Agreed and 40% Strongly Agreed that ‘It has been useful to hear about different approaches to creative climate action.’
Networking session feedback: 60% of participants Agreed and 20% Strongly Agreed that ‘I found the opportunity to introduce myself and my work to other people useful.’
We also delivered 4 monthly newsletters, growing our subscriber base from 681 to 787. The newsletters had a 32.6% average open rate, and shared opportunities and thought leadership from across the older people’s services sector, including: 8 reports, 8 funding opportunities, 7 resource/toolkits, and 24 coalition partner events/activities for older people and/or older people’s service providers.
Feedback: “The newsletter is very helpful.” “Very pleased to receive your communications. You’re doing great work.”

Positive Ageing and Older People’s Leadership

We promoted the involvement of older people in their own services and activities, amplifying older people’s needs and aspirations, and advocating for positive ageing:

We created the new role of Age Activist Trustee on the Board and recruited Maggy Pigott CBE for the position, author of the book ‘ How to Age Joyfully: Eight Steps to a Happier, Fuller Life ’. The Age Activist Trustee will provide strategic guidance for our ongoing work, and will help us to co-design and co-produce a positive ageing campaign / older people’s arts and wellbeing manifesto across years 2 and 3.
We co-produced 3 online coalition gatherings with the international Reimagining Dementia coalition. 112 dementia allies, activists, and people living with dementia came together to creatively explore and challenge the stigmas of living with dementia.
We are in partnership discussions with the Barbican to stage creative ageing / older peopleled Wellbeing & Arts showcase events later in 2022/23. These advocacy events will replace our planned Tate Exchange annual showcase events, as a result of Tate closing the Tate Exchange programme in 2022, due to financial cuts.

Funding

Flourishing Lives is grateful to the National Lottery Community Fund for its ongoing support for the organisation, as the charity is funded under the Reaching Communities England programme until 2024. Flourishing Lives is also grateful to The Baring Foundation for its support and funding for its six month research project, offering reflective practice support for artists working in mental health contexts.

Reserves policy

Flourishing Lives seeks to maintain free reserves equivalent to three months' core expenditure, in line with good practice. Free reserves are considered to be unrestricted funds that are not tied up in fixed assets.

Plans for the future

Flourishing Lives will continue to extend and deepen its role in developing the sector and addressing the needs and aspirations of older people, expanding our vital framework of connection and support for services and practitioners, growing our outreach and inclusion programmes, advocating for intergenerational practice and more closely integrated communities, and supporting a proactively collaborative older people’s arts and wellbeing sector that benefits the diverse communities it serves.

We are preparing to submit a grant uplift proposal to NLCF to offer greater financial resources to the black-led partner organisations that co-design and co-deliver our inclusive practice programme activities.

We also plan to undertake research into the development of a cross-sector advocacy campaign in support of intergenerational practice.

Signed on behalf of the Flourishing Lives Board of Trustees:

Signed: S.Cox

Name: Stuart Cox

Address: 47 Park View Mansions, Olympic Park Avenue, London, E20 1FA

Date: 19/12/22

INDEPENDENT EXAMINER’S REPORT TO THE TRUSTEES OF FLOURISHING LIVES

Examiner’s unqualified report (for a non-company charity preparing Receipts and Payments accounts) with a gross income of £250,000 or less in the relevant financial year.

Independent examiner’s report to the trustees of Flourishing Lives

I report to the charity trustees on my examination of the accounts of Flourishing Lives (the Trust) for the year ended March 2022.

Responsibilities and basis of report

As the charity trustees of the Trust you are responsible for the preparation of the accounts in accordance with the requirements of the Charities Act 2011 (‘the Act’).

I report in respect of my examination of the Trust’s accounts carried out under section 145 of the 2011 Act and in carrying out my examination I have followed all the applicable Directions given by the Charity Commission under section 145(5)(b) of the Act.

Independent examiner’s statement

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

accounting records were not kept in respect of the Trust as required by section 130 of the Act; or
the accounts do not accord with those records; or
the accounts do not comply with the applicable requirements concerning the form and content of accounts set out in the Charities (Accounts and Reports) Regulations 2008 other than any requirement that the accounts give a true and fair view which is not a matter considered as part of an independent examination.

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

Signed:

Name: Can Salik

Certified Internal Auditor

Address: S&F, Myworkspot, Clyde House, Reform Road, Maidenhead, Berkshire, SL6 8BY Date: 20 December 2022

FLOURISHING LIVES RECEIPTS AND PAYMENTS ACCOUNT FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31 MARCH 2022

Section A - Receipts andpayments	Section A - Receipts andpayments
				2022	2021
	Unrestricted funds	Restricted funds	Endowment funds	Total funds	Total funds
	£	£	£	£	£
A1 Receipts
Grants - The National Lottery CommunityFund	-	30,000	-	30,000	-
Grants - The BaringFoundation	-	10,000	-	10,000	-
Receipts from Reflective Practice activities	2,575	-	-	2,575	-
Employers Allowance	1,529	-	-	1,529	-
	-	-	-	-	-
*Sub total*(Gross income for AR)	4,104	40,000	-	44,104	-

A2 Asset and investment sales
	-	-	-	-	-
*Sub total*	-	-	-	-	-

**Total receipts **	4,104	40,000	-	44,104	-

A3 Payments
Payroll	-	18,888	-	18,888	-
Insurance	-	46	-	46	-
Bank fees	-	24	-	24	-
Accountingsoftware	-	53	-	53	-
Evaluation(digital survey platform)	-	45	-	45	-
Researcher fees	-	680	-	680	-
Clinical supervision fees	-	240		240	-
Therapist fees	585	1,800		2,385	-
	-	-		-	-
**Sub total **	585	21,776	-	22,361	-

A4 Asset and investment purchases
	-	-	-	-
**Sub total **	-	-	-	-	-

**Totalpayments **	585	21,776	-	22,361	-

*Net of receipts/(payments)*	3,519	18,224	-	21,743	-
A5 Transfers between funds	-	-	-	-	-
A6 Cash funds lastyear end	-	-	-	-	-
*Cash funds thisyear end*	3,519	18,224	-	21,743	-

FLOURISHING LIVES STATEMENT OF ASSETS AND LIABILITIES AS AT 31 MARCH 2022

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

Categories	Details	Unrestricted funds	Restricted funds	Endowment funds
		£	£	£
B1 Cash funds	Cash at bank	3,519	18,224	-
		-	-	-
	*Total cash funds*	3,519	18,224	-
	(agree balances w ith receipts and payments account(s))	OK		OK
		Unrestricted funds	Restricted funds	Endowment funds
	Details	£	£	£
B2 Other monetary assets		-	-	-

	Details	Fund to which asset belongs	Cost (optional)	Current value (optional)
B3 Investment assets			-	-

	Details	Fund to which asset belongs	Cost (optional)	Current value (optional)
B4 Assets retained for the			-	-
~~h~~ ~~it ’~~
	Details	Fund to which liability relates	Amount due (optional)	When due (optional)
B5 Liabilities	Payroll	Restricted - NLCF	9,500	April, May 2022
	Costs of Charitable Activities	Restricted - NLCF	1,249	April, May 2022
	Baring Foundation Project costs (therapist fees, clinical supervisor, researcher)	Restricted - Baring Foundation	4,975	April, May 2022
	Therapist invoices due	Unrestricted funds	1,200	April - June 2022

The financial statements were approved by the Flourishing Lives Board of Trustees and were signed on its behalf by:

Name: Stuart Cox

Signed: S.Cox

Date: 19/12/22

FLOURISHING LIVES NOTES TO THE ACCOUNTS FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31 MARCH 2022

Basis of accounting

These accounts have been prepared on the Receipts and Payments basis in accordance with CC15d Charity Reporting and Accounting: The essentials, and the Charities (Accounts and Reports) Regulations 2008.

Fund accounting

Unrestricted funds can be used in accordance with the charitable objectives at the discretion of the trustees.

Restricted funds can only be used for particular restricted purposes within the objects of the charity. Restrictions arise when specified by the donor or when funds are raised for particular restricted purposes.

Taxation

The charity is exempt from tax on its charitable activities.

Pension costs and other past-retirement benefits

The charity operates a defined contribution pension scheme. Contributions payable to the charity's pension scheme are charged to the Statement of Financial Activities in the period to which they relate.

Trustees' remuneration and benefits

There were no trustees' remuneration or other benefits for the year ended 31 March 2022.

Staff costs

No employees received emoluments in excess of £60,000.

Related party disclosures

There were no related party transactions for the year ended 31 March 2022.