## **Trustees’ Annual Report for the period** **From** 1[st] October 2022 **Period start date To** 30[th] September 2023 **Period end date** **Charity name:** Cheltenham Welcomes Refugees **Charity registration number:** 1195256 ## **Objectives and Activities** ||SORP reference|| |---|---|---| |Summary of the purposes of
the charity as set out in its
governing document|Para 1.17|Charitable objects: To provide relief to refugees
and their dependants and asylum seekers and
their dependants, in particular but not exclusively
those coming to the Cheltenham area by the
provision of support services so as to advance
them in life and assist them with the adaptation
within a new community.
Our aims as a charity: To foster compassion and
cooperation between different communities in
Cheltenham, helping local people understand the
global refugee crisis and what people experience
on their resettlement journey.
To work with GARAS (Gloucestershire Action for
Refugees and Asylum Seekers), local authorities,
and other partners including organisations and
businesses, to help refugee communities truly
grow and flourish.| |Summary of the main
activities in relation to those
purposes for the public
benefit, in particular, the
activities, projects or services
identified in the accounts.|Para 1.17 and 1.1
BBC V 9|As above, with the objects of:
• Preserving and protecting their physical and
mental health;
• Advancing their education and training and to
advance the education of the public in general
about the issues relating to refugees and those
seeking asylum;
• Relieving them from financial hardship and
unemployment; and
• Assisting in the provision of facilities for
recreation or other leisure time occupation with
the object of improving the conditions of life of
those persons who have need of such facilities
by reason of their youth, age, infirmity or
disablement, financial hardship or social and
economic circumstances
The Charity carries out these objects by:
-
Running a weekly 'Hub' drop in where
asylum seekers and those who have
beengiven leave to remain can come to| |||meet others, meet local residents,
receive warmth, conversation and
practical support (such as bike provision
and repairs), signposting of the local
area, as well as entertainment.
-
Running a monthly Welcome Cafe so
that refugees, asylum-seeking families
can come together to receive relief,
socialise, share food and meet members
of the local community. This aims to
improve wellbeing and relieve hardship.
-
Carrying out other activities and
enhancements as advised and to provide
help and support for emotional and
physical wellbeing, such as football
training, English language classes,
support with the UK driving test and
other practical support, such as digital
infrastructure.
-
The Charity also aims to raise
awareness of the situation of refugees
and asylum seekers locally through a
monthly newsletter and social media
presence. It also runs events and
activities such as book clubs, film
screenings and quiz nights to engage
local people.
By focusing on these core areas, we achieve our
strategic purpose to carry out public benefit as
defined by the Charity Commission.| |---|---|---| |Statement confirming
whether the trustees have
had regard to the guidance
issued by the Charity
Commission on public
benefit|Para 1.18|The objects of the Trust are to provide relief to
refugees and their dependants and asylum
seekers and their dependants, and to advance
them in life and assist them with the adaptation
within a new community. The constitution
contains the following statement: “Nothing in this
constitution shall authorise an application of the
property of the CIO for the purposes which are
not charitable in accordance with section 7 of the
Charities and Trustee Investment (Scotland) Act
2005 and section 2 of the Charities Act (Northern
Ireland) 2008.”
The trustees confirm that they have referred to
the guidance contained in the Charity
Commission’s general guidance on public benefit
when reviewing the charity's aims and objectives
and in planning future activities.| ## **Additional information (optional)** You may choose to include further statements where relevant about: ||SORP reference|| |---|---|---| |Policy on grant making|Para 1.38|N/A| |Policy on social investment
including program related
investment|Para 1.38|N/A| |Contribution made by
volunteers|Para 1.38|Our Charity is entirely run and our work entirely
delivered by volunteers. We have over 80 active
volunteers from across Cheltenham and are
managed by five trustees on an entirely voluntary
basis.| |Other||N/A| ## **Achievements and Performance** ||SORP reference|| |---|---|---| |Summary of the main
achievements of the charity,
identifying the difference the
charity’s work has made to
the circumstances of its
beneficiaries and any wider
benefits to society as a
whole.|Para 1.20|**Support (inc. Hub and Community Café)**
The monthly**_Welcome Café_**remained our main
support for refugee and, increasingly, asylum-
seeking families with food, conversation and
activities for children. It was valued as a place of
fun and friendship. Associated with this was our
Annual Summer**_Picnic_**, and an informal picnic
linked to the Lives of Colour Culture Fest. There
was a trip to the Christmas pantomime.
Much of our focus was on the growing number of
asylum-seekers with town centre accommodation
opening for 80 men, in addition to the single
people and families housed in a hotel some two
miles away, and the people already in shared
houses. Weekly numbers attending “**_The Hub_**”
averaged 40. As well as the opportunity to relax
and have fun, with food, the**_bike_**workshop
continued to operate – renovating second-hand
bikes and repairing ones already given out. An
asylum-seeking barber set up a small area to cut
hair. At other times, the numbers (both men and
women) attending**_football training_**grew and a
photography project developed. We were able to
begin to sign-post people to volunteering
opportunities.
We observed these activities and opportunities
benefitting physical and emotional health. We
were told that these activities provided “a bubble
of joy” at an otherwise stressful time. Some told
us how important it was for them to “lose the
label” of asylum seeker and be themselves.
We have worked with Cheltenham Volunteer
Teachers (CVT) to develop**_English_** **_classes_**(for| both refugees and asylum seekers). The spin-off _**Driving Theory Test class**_ continues to be popular and successful. We continued to raise awareness of the wider issues to local community, with our monthly Newsletter reaching 900 subscribers, our Instagram page having 1000 followers and Facebook nearly 2000. We ran a Book Club focussing on refugee literature and had a film night showing a film about the lives of asylumseekers. We have continued to get our name known in the town through _**Quiz Nights**_ and offering to steward the local Parkrun as well as through our activities. This has contributed to an increasing number of businesses and community groups making donations and fund-raising for us. For the first time, we received a significant grant from the Barnwood Trust enabling us to provide digital connectivity, bike accessories and parts, and equipment and boots for the football. We continue to develop important working partnerships with churches, the **Everyman** Theatre and the University of Gloucestershire. We continue to work closely with GARAS, have growing contact with Cheltenham Borough Council and have been invited to join the County Council-led Migrant Welfare Group. ## **Additional information (optional)** You may choose to include further statements where relevant about: |Achievements against
objectives set|Para 1.41|N/A| |---|---|---| |Performance of fundraising
activities against objectives
set|Para 1.41|As income has increased we recognise the need
to be more ambitious with our spending, and are
planning for this in the coming year as we
develop.| |Investment performance
against objectives|Para 1.41|N/A| |Other||N/A| ## **Financial Review** |Review of the charity’s
financial position at the end
of the period|Para 1.21|Financial position is secure - currently no deficit,
limited financial uncertainty ahead.
In this reporting period the Charity has continued
to grow from strength to strength, attracting
donations and goodwill from local people and
businesses as the war in Ukraine, public opinion
and global attention on the situation has grown,
alongside more temporary holding centres for
asylum seekers locally. We have therefore had
more donations than we have been able to
spend, and as we grow as a small charity we
intend to redress the balance through an
increase in our activities and financial outlay on
support infrastructure (e.g. bikes, digital relief) in
the future. As a volunteer-run charity we face
some capacity issues scaling up our activities,
but have a development plan to address this,
including an increase in volunteer commitments
and raised awareness in the town, to enable
more support to deliver our charitable objects in
partnership.| |---|---|---| |Statement explaining the
policy for holding reserves
stating why they are held|Para 1.22|Cheltenham Welcomes Refugees adopted a
Reserves Policy on 20th September 2023 to
enable us to continue to undertake our core
charitable objects should the fundraising climate
change.| |Amount of reserves held|Para 1.22|£27,780| |Reasons for holding zero
reserves|Para 1.22|N/A| |Details of fund materially in
deficit|Para 1.24|No funds in deficit| |Explanation of any
uncertainties about the
charity continuing as a going
concern|Para 1.23|No uncertainties about the charity’s ability to
continue| ## **Additional information (optional)** You may choose to include further statements where relevant about: |The charity’s principal
sources of funds (including
any fundraising)|Para 1.47|| |---|---|---| |Investment policy and
objectives including any
social investment policy
adopted|Para 1.46|| |A description of the principal
risks facing the charity|Para 1.46|| Other ||**Trustee name**|**Office (if any)**|**Dates**
**acted if**
**not for**
**whole**
**year **|**Name of person (or**
**body) entitled to**
**appoint trustee (if any)**| |---|---|---|---|---| |1|Sophie Kate Bourne
(nee Wardell)|Chair of Trustees||| |2|Paul Richard Baker|Trustee||| |3|Simon Christopher
Witcombe|Trustee||| |4|Nathalie Genes|Chair of CWR’s core
groupof volunteers||| |5|Margaret Ann Powell|Secretary of CWR’s
core group of
volunteers||| |6||||| |7||||| |8||||| |9||||| |10||||| |11||||| |12||||| |13||||| |14||||| |15||||| |16||||| |17||||| |18||||| |19||||| |20||||| – Corporate trustees names of the directors at the date the report was approved **Director name** Name of trustees holding title to property belonging to the charity **Trustee name Dates acted if not for whole year** ## **Funds held as custodian trustees on behalf of others** Description of the assets N/A held in this capacity Name and objects of the charity on whose behalf the assets are held and how this falls within the custodian charity’s objects Details of arrangements for safe custody and segregation of such assets from the charity’s own assets **Additional information (optional) Type of Name Address adviser** ## **Name of chief executive or names of senior staff members (Optional information)** ## **Exemptions from disclosure** Reason for non-disclosure of key personnel details ## **Other optional information** Declarations The trustees d¢Glare thal they have approved the Irustees. report above. Si9ned on behall of the Charlty's Irustees s19r￿lUr•(s} Full namo(s) optrig LthIDCLL Posltlonlog Socrntary, Chalr, ot¢1 20? 20 |**Cheltenham Welcomes Refugees**
Charity No
1195256
**Report for the Financial Year 2022-23**
Period start date
Oct-22
**To**
Period end date
Sep-23
**Starting Balance:**
**£19,274.22**
**Current Balances**
**Reliance**
**£12,143.25** _£27,729.53_
£0.00
**including petty cash:**
**£50**
**Co-operative**
**£15,586.28** _£27,729.53_|**Cheltenham Welcomes Refugees**
Charity No
1195256
**Report for the Financial Year 2022-23**
Period start date
Oct-22
**To**
Period end date
Sep-23
**Starting Balance:**
**£19,274.22**
**Current Balances**
**Reliance**
**£12,143.25** _£27,729.53_
£0.00
**including petty cash:**
**£50**
**Co-operative**
**£15,586.28** _£27,729.53_|**Cheltenham Welcomes Refugees**
Charity No
1195256
**Report for the Financial Year 2022-23**
Period start date
Oct-22
**To**
Period end date
Sep-23
**Starting Balance:**
**£19,274.22**
**Current Balances**
**Reliance**
**£12,143.25** _£27,729.53_
£0.00
**including petty cash:**
**£50**
**Co-operative**
**£15,586.28** _£27,729.53_| |---|---|---| ||**Current Balances**
**Reliance**
**£12,143.25** _£27,729.53_
£0.00
**Co-operative**
**£15,586.28** _£27,729.53_|| |**Income**|**Expenditure**|| |**Source**
**Description**
**Actual**
**Budgeted**|**Item**
**Description**
**Actual**
**Budgeted**|| |**Donations**
**£9,332**
**£4,680**|**Support (inc. Hub & Community cafe)**
**£11,944**
**£20,879**|| |Private donations
£4,046
£1,000|Expenses for the Hub
£1,488
£2,460|[H1]
[W1]
[W3]
[E2]
[W2]
[H2]
[H3]
[H9]
[H10]
[E6]
[E7]
[H4]
[H5]| |Donations via website
£1,135
£1,500|Expenses for Community Cafe
£1,138
£2,015|| |AWG funded by Everyman
£105
£180 >>>|Expenses for AWG
£300
£350|| |Corporate donations
£0
£2,000|Eid Party
£0
£100|| |Cheltenham Ladies College
£3,146
£0
Aug-23 Summer Picnic
£702
£461||| |Payroll giving
£400
£0
Asylum Seekers accommodation
£63
£1,500||| |Giveasyoulive
Essentials
Clothing and food
£630
£1,200||| |Payroll giving
Gym memberships
x10
£0
£2,440||| |Refugee Week
Swim passes
£0
£650||| |Football team
equipment & pitch hire
£1,701
£1,780||| |Ernest Cook Trust
woodland workshops
£0
£1,000||| |Bike sale
£500
>>>
Bikes
including a repair kit
£5,732
£6,508||| |Transport
£191
£415||| |**Grants and Trusts**
**£16,128**
**£16,510**
**Digital**
**£5,132**
**£9,860**||| |Digital Poverty fundraiser
£618
£1,000 >>>
Wi-Fi
£786
£3,960||[H6]
[H7]
[H8]
[H11]| |Barnwood Trust
£15,510
£15,510 >>>
Phone top ups
£220
£3,600||| |Laptops
£3,620
£2,300||| |Mobile phones
£505
£0||| |**Fundraising at Events (a breakdown)**
**£792**
**£2,880**
date
**Events**
**£663**
**£2,751**||| |Cookbook sales
£1,200
Cookbook
Initial print run
£0
£400||[E8]
[E9]| |Running Fundraiser
£0
Running Fundraiser
Poster printing & vests
£267
£80||| |_Fundraising at Events (a breakdown) continued_
_Actual_
_Budgeted_
_Expenditure at Events continued_
_Actual_
_Budgeted_|[E10]
[E11]
[E12]
[E13]
[E14]
[E17]
[E5]| |---|---| |Christmas Carol Event
£0
£60 >>>
Dec-22 Xmas Carol Event
Hot drinks & printing shee
£0
£60|| |Refugee Week
£384
£130 >>>
Jun-23 Refugee Week
£0
£400|| |Montpellier Fiesta
cancellation refund
£30
£90 >>>
Jul-23 Montpellier Fiesta
Stall costs & activities
£30
£160|| |Quiz
£379
£200
Jul-23 Quiz
£47
£100|| |AGM
£200
Foodball match
£0
£70|| |Photography project
£0
£276|| |Promotion
Printing
£218
£225|| |**Giveasyoulive**
**£1,095**
**£1,000**
Replacement banner
£0
£500|[E15]| |Gloucestershire Humanists
£536
Volunteer social
£0
£100|[E4]
[E3]
[E16]| |Quiz donations (July 2022)
£175
Volunteer t-shirts
£0
£280|| |Grangefield Primary School
£72
Badges
£100
£100|| |Giftaid
£313
**Conversation classes**
**£466**
**£1,525**|| |Resources
Books & Stationary
£416
£1,225|[C1]
[C2]
[C3]| |PAT testing equipment
£50
£50|| |Refreshments
£0
£50|| |**Admin costs**
**£592**
**£689**|| |Zoom Subscription/veCore group meetings/AGM
£167
£173|[A1]
[A2]
[A3]
[A4]
[A5]| |Meeting refreshments
£59
£50|| |Website
£235
£235|| |Public Liability Insurance
£131
£131|| |DBS checks
£0
£100|| |**Subtotal**
**£18,797**
**£35,704**|| |£0
Contingency @ 10%
£96
£3,350|[A6]| |**Total**
**£27,348**
**£25,070**
**Total**
**£18,893**
**£39,053**|| |£50|| ## **Independent examiner's report on the accounts** **Section A Independent Examiner’s Report** |**Report to the trustees**
**On accounts for the year**
**ended**
**Set out on pages**|Cheltenham Welcomes Refugees|Cheltenham Welcomes Refugees|Cheltenham Welcomes Refugees| |---|---|---|---| ||||| ||30 September 2023|**Charity no**
**(if any)**|1195256| ||||| ||1 - 2
(remember to include the page numbers of additional sheets)||| I report to the trustees on my examination of the accounts of the above charity (“the Trust”) for the year ended **30/09/2023** . **Responsibilities and** As the charity's trustees, you are responsible for the preparation of the **basis of report** 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** The charity’s gross income exceeded £25,000 and I am qualified to **examiner's statement** undertake the examination by being a qualified member of ICAEW. 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: - the accounting records were not kept in accordance with section 130 of the Charities Act; or - the accounts did not accord with the accounting records; or - the accounts did 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: Date:** 29/07/2024 **Name:** Felicity Sang **Relevant professional** FCA **qualification(s) or body (if any):** **Address:** Hazlewoods LLP, Staverton Court, Staverton, GL51 0UX 1 **Oct 2018** **IER** ## **Section B Disclosure** Only complete if the examiner needs to highlight material matters of concern (see CC32, Independent examination of charity accounts: directions and guidance for examiners). **Give here brief details of any items that the examiner wishes to disclose** . 2 **Oct 2018** **IER** Declarallons Th• trustws declar• that thty kn• approved the trustees, report alK•Ve. Slgned on behaff of the charity's trust 8lgnatur•(s) Full na￿0($1 Pojilion (•g Secretsry. Chair. etc} .Ic, TVL Y lii&4-