2022-03-31-accounts - Let's Talk About Loss

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Trustees’ Annual Report for the period

From 1st April 2021 To 31st March 2022

Charity name:

Let’s Talk About Loss

Charity registration number:

Registered Charity No. 1195258

Objectives and Activities

Summary of the purposes of the charity as set out in its governing document

The objects of Let’s Talk About Loss are;

To relieve the suffering and isolation of persons aged 18-35 in the UK suffering from bereavement or loss by the provision of peer support and advice for such persons.

Charitable purpose 12; The relief of those in need, by reason of age and bereavement. This means giving recognition, support and time to a specific age range who have faced the loss of someone important to them.

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.

Meet ups (activities)
In total, we ran 188 meet ups during the year, with three new groups starting in Ipswich, Derby and Perth + Dundee. This took us from 31 to 34 active groups across the UK. We also ran a survey to meet up attendees in April 2021 and were really pleased with the response. 100% of respondents said that they wanted to attend another meet up, and 85% said they would recommend the meet ups to a friend.
This year we also ran themed meet ups , all hosted virtually on Zoom, for specific moments in time or types of loss. There were ten of these meet ups, which focussed on sibling loss, being an only child while grieving, Father’s Day, father loss, being a mum without your mum, being
- parentless or an orphan, grieving at Christmas, sobriety and grief and Mother’s Day.
Finally, we started a new pilot project this year, called Students Talk About Loss. The aim of this project is to bring our meet ups into university settings and specifically reach more students who are grieving. Our first group is at London School of Economics and launched in September 2021. We will be closely monitoring this project to see how successful it is, what we can learn, and if it feels right for us to roll it out to other universities.
Our Creative Writing About Loss group continued with a volunteer, Bridget Hamilton, running this. It continues to be really successful with regular Zoom meetings and people sharing their own creative writing frequently in the Facebook group. (activity)
Our Bereavement Book Club also continued this year but had fewer meetings due to a volunteer change over. This is a priority to increase again in the upcoming year. (activity)
On our blog , we published 17 posts during the year with a variety of advice and support for young grievers. Despite no volunteer support for the year, this continued to go well. (activity)
We launched three new Advisory Boards . These are just getting started but will hugely improve the work we do at Let’s Talk About Loss as it will allow us to learn from young grievers in under-served communities and be a truly user-led organisation. The three Advisory Boards that have launched focus on Racial Equity, Accessibility and LGBTQ+ communities. (project)
With funding from the Co-op Foundation, we continued our Rollercoaster Project , a Youth Board of 16-20 year olds from all across the UK. The project began in January 2021, with the first session for the young people taking place in April 2021. During the year they received training to better understand the grief process, started to plan their podcast project, and met in person in Manchester for a social day out. (project)
In partnership with Thirtyone:eight , we created bespoke safeguarding training which is now mandatory for all our volunteers to complete. This ensures that our volunteers are fully equipped and prepared to follow correct procedure should there be a safeguarding incident. During the financial year, there were no safeguarding reports made. (service)

Statement confirming whether the trustees have had regard to the guidance issued by the Charity Commission on public benefit

All trustees have had regard for the guidance provided by the Charity Commission , using the online resources on a number of occasions to aid the creation of processes and protocol.

Achievements and performance

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.

In July 2021, Let’s Talk About Loss was successfully registered with the Charity Commission which allowed for more grants to be applied for, recognised more widely and enabled governance through trustees to support the founder with increasing reach and depth of the services.
Elizabeth French was employed as Director on 31st January 2021 for 7 hours a week, allowing for paid work to go into day-to-day running of the charity as well as strategy development, management of the Rollercoaster Project Lead and social media manager.
During this year, the charity totalled over 50 volunteers, all of whom are young grievers themselves. These volunteers served across a range of activities:
Blog management
Meet up hosting
Advisory board members
Host Coordinators, supporting our Hosts
Social media content creation
Men Talk About Loss campaign planning
The charity was registered in July 2021 with a board of 6 trustees, all of whom were part of the registration process. In March 2022, a seventh was appointed having conducting a skills audit and identifying extra need on the board.
Let’s Talk About Loss was gifted pro bono research with Opinium which gave findings that will be useful for marketing, fundraising and educating the public.
Key findings: 77% of 18-35 year olds have experienced the loss of someone in their lives; 39% of 18-35 year olds feel "uncomfortable" talking about grief; 43% of 18-35 year old grievers say talking to people with similar experiences helps them to open up (men more likely than women).
We also continued to work on our book, Letters from the Grief Club, commissioned by Jessica Kingsley Publishers. This published in June 2022 and during this financial year we edited the submissions of over 50 contributors, and submitted the final manuscript to the publishers in November 2021.
Fundraising
In total, we raised £42,013 during this financial year.
We were mostly reliant on grant funding, and during this financial year received the second installment of our two year grant from the Co-op Foundation . This is funding our Rollercoaster Project, and the young people on the Youth Board are working hard to develop a podcast for other young grievers.
We also received a grant of £20,000, split over two years, from The Tudor Trust . This grant income was unrestricted meaning it could help cover core costs of the charity. The second installment will be received in the 2022 - 23 financial year. We also received an unrestricted grant of £5000 from the Betsy Foundation to help cover core costs.
Further grants from National Survivor User Network (£500), Magic Little Grants from PPL (£500) and Velanidia (£2500) were specifically targeted to training and development for our volunteer Hosts, and enabled us to work with safeguarding charity Thirtyone:eight to develop our own bespoke, accredited safeguarding training.
As well as grant funding, we ran a successful Crowdfunder campaign and raised £7,448 (plus an estimated £593.50 in Gift Aid) with 89 supporters in 28 days. This also allowed us to raise our profile and connect with new supporters.
We continue to have a small number of supporters who give on a monthly basis.

Structure, Governance and Management

Type of governing document CIO - FOUNDATION

How is the charity constituted?

CIO

Trustee selection methods including details of any constitutional provisions e.g. election to post or name of any person or body entitled to appoint one or more trustees Trustees are selected for experience and skills needed on the board, as well as knowledge and interest in the objectives.

Reference and Administrative details

Charity name

Let’s Talk About Loss

Other name the charity uses

Registered charity number 1195258

Charity’s principal address

Linden Gate, Clifton Down Road, Clifton, Bristol, BS8 4AH

Trustee name	Office (if any)	Dates acted if not for whole year
Katherine Moreton	Chair	Appointed 22 July 2021
Deborah Bradley	Treasurer	Appointed 22 July 2021
Jonathan Salmon	NA	Appointed 22 July 2021
Rohit Sagoo	NA	Appointed 22 July 2021
Rebecca Field	NA	Appointed 22 July 2021
Amy Lambert	NA	Appointed 22 July 2021
Sanisha Wynter	NA	Appointed 21 March 2022

Declarations

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

Signed on behalf of the charity’s trustees

	Signature(s) Katherine Moreton Full name(s) Katherine Moreton Position (eg Secretary, Chair, etc) Chair

LET'S	TALK ABOUT LOSS	TALK ABOUT LOSS		CIO No: 1195258
	Receipts andpayments accounts					CC16a
For	the period from	Period start date 01/04/2021	To	Period end date 31/03/2022

Section A Receipts and payments	Section A Receipts and payments
A1 Receipts	Unrestricted funds to the nearest £ - 9,661 3,339 363 5,000 - - 10,000 - 28,363 - - - 28,363 - 67 1,125 110 794 564 390 305 1,300 1,128 4,105 - 188 - 10,076 - - - 10,076 18,287 - 4,436 22,723	Restricted funds to the nearest £ - 100 - - - 10,000 500 550 - 2,500 13,650 - - - 13,650 - - - - - 500 1,000 2,150 - - - 5,627 - - 9,277 - - - 9,277 4,373 - 9,582 13,955	Endowment funds to the nearest £ - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -	Total funds to the nearest £ - 9,761 3,339 363 5,000 10,000 500 550 10,000 2,500 42,013 - - - 42,013 - 67 1,125 110 794 1,064 1,390 2,455 1,300 1,128 4,105 5,627 188 - 19,353 - - - 19,353 22,660	Last year to the nearest £
FUNDRAISING EVENTS	-				1,093
DONATIONS	9,661				5,106
PRODUCT SALES	3,339				2,000
WORKSHIPS/TALKS/MISC INCOME	363				-
BetsyFoundation	5,000				150
Co-op#Iwill bereavement Grant					10,000
Magic Little Grants	-				-
National Survivor	-				-
Tudor Trust	10,000				-
Velanidia	-				-
*Sub total*(Gross income for AR)	28,363				18,349

A2 Asset and investment sales, (see table).
	-
	-				-
*Sub total*	-				-
*Total receipts* A3 Payments
					18,349

OFFICE	-				399
TRAVEL	67				39
COST OF GOODS	1,125				963
POSTAGE	110				483
COST OF LOCAL GROUPS	794				357
ADVERTISING	564				668
COMMUNICATIONS(EMAIL/WEBSITE)	390				3,399
TRUSTEE EXPENSES, VOLUNTEER TRAINING AND MEETINGS	305				9
TALKS	1,300				1,834
MISC	1,128				-
WAGES	4,105				299
PROJECT CO-ORDINATOR	-				419
INSURANCE	188				13
GOVERNANCE	-				270
**Sub total **	10,076				9,152

A4 Asset and investment purchases, (see table)
	-
	-
**Sub total **	-				-
*Total payments* *Net of receipts/(payments)* A5 Transfers between funds A6 Cash funds last year end *Cash funds this year end*
					9,152

	18,287	4,373	-	22,660	9,197
	-	-	-	-	-
	4,436	9,582	-	14,018	4,821
	22,723	13,955	-	36,678	14,018

CCXX R1 accounts (SS)

29/01/2023

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 Signed by one or two trustees on behalf of all the trustees B5 Liabilities B3 Investment assets B2 Other monetary assets B4 Assets retained for the charity’s own use B1 Cash funds	Details Details *Total cash funds* (agree balances with receipts and payments account(s)) CURRENT ACCOUNTS Pre-paid card balance Petty Cash Details Details Details HMRC - PAYE for Jan, Feb and March Payroll. Signature	Unrestricted funds Restricted funds to nearest £ to nearest £ 21,338 13,955 1,349 - 36 - 22,723 13,955 OK OK Unrestricted funds Restricted funds to nearest £ to nearest £ - - - - - - - - - - - - Fund to which asset belongs Cost (optional) - - - - - Fund to which asset belongs Cost (optional) - - - - - - - - - Fund to which liability relates Amount due (optional) Unrestricted 411 - - - Print Name	Endowment funds to nearest £
			-
			-
			-
			-
			OK
			Endowment funds to nearest £
			-
			-
			-
			-
			-
			-
			Current value (optional)
			-
			-
			-
			-
			-
			Current value (optional)
			-
			-
			-
			-
			-
			-
			-
			-
			-
			When due (optional)
			18 April 2022





			Date of approval

CCXX R2 accounts (SS)

29/01/2023

Independent examiner's report on the accounts

Section A Independent Examiner’s Report

Report to the trustees/ Charity Name Let’s Talk About Loss members of On accounts for the year 31[st] March 2022 Charity no 1195258 ended (if any) Set out on pages 1-2

I report to the trustees on my examination of the accounts of the above charity (“the Trust”) for the year ended 31/03/2022 .

Responsibilities and As the charity trustees of the Trust, you are responsible for the preparation basis of report 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 the applicable Directions given by the Charity Commission under section 145(5)(b) of the Act.

Independent I have completed my examination. I confirm that no material matters have examiner's statement 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: 28[th] January 2023 Name: Janice Willis FCCA Relevant professional Association of Chartered Certified Accountants qualification(s) or body (if any): Address: Eleve11 Consulting T/A On The Spot Tax Palamos House, 66-67 High St, Lymington Hampshire, SO41 9AL

Section B Disclosure

Only complete if the examiner needs to highlight matters of concern (see CC32, Independent examination of charity accounts: directions and guidance for examiners).

October 2018

IER

Give here brief details of any items that the examiner wishes to disclose .

October 2018

IER