## Trustees’ Annual Report for the period
## **From 1st April 2022 To 31st March 2023**
## **Charity name:**
Let’s Talk About Loss
## **Charity registration number:**
Registered Charity No. 1195258 (Charity Commission for England and Wales) Registered Charity No. SC051599 (Scottish Charity Regulator)
## **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 **146 meet ups** during the year, with 1 new group starting in Cheltenham. This took us from 34 to 35 active groups across the UK.
- This year we also ran **themed meet ups** , all hosted virtually on Zoom, for specific moments in time or types of loss. There were 5 of these meet ups, which focussed on sibling loss, grief and sobriety, Father’s Day, baby loss and grieving at Christmas
- Finally, we continued our **student meet up project,** that we piloted during 2021-22, 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. This meet up has been going well, but we have identified that we do not yet have capacity to grow this and expand to other universities. This remains part of our longer-term strategy.
- 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**_ continued this year and increased the number of meetings with new committed volunteers. The group ran several successful book giveaways on our social media which helped grow the group. (activity)
- On our **blog** , we published 18 posts during the year with a variety of advice and support for young grievers. We onboarded a new volunteer Blogs Assistant who supported editing and uploading new blogs, which greatly increased capacity. (activity)
- We continued our three **Advisory Boards** which help us to learn from young grievers in under-served communities and be a truly user-led organisation. The three Advisory Boards focus on Racial Equity, Accessibility and LGBTQ+ communities. (project)
- Launched this year was a further **Executive Advisory Board,** which gave the opportunity for keen and skilled volunteers a way to be involved in supporting the administration of Let’s Talk About Loss. We have four volunteers on this Board. (project)
- We successfully closed our _**Rollercoaster Project** ,_ a Youth Board of 16-20 year olds from all across the UK. Funded by The Co-op Foundation, the project ran from January 2021 to January 2023. The primary output from the project was a podcast called ‘Persevering: Grief as told by Young People’, which was honoured with a British Podcast Award in summer 2023. (project)
- We continued to ensure that all our volunteers completed mandatory **safeguarding training** and during the financial year, there was only one safeguarding report made, which was handled internally to a successful outcome. (service)
- **Social media** - this continues to be the main way that people find out about Let’s Talk About Loss and we continue to publish engaging content for our target audience - a generation of scrollers! We published content year round, particularly acknowledging Black History Month with three weekend takeovers from influential black creators posts and also LGBTQ+ history month. We also worked with influencers and partners, for example publishing a video around
managing money when you’re bereaved with _All Things Money_ and a video on making music as a way of processing grief with _Sound of Daniel_ . (activity)
## 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.
- Elizabeth French was employed as Director on 31st January 2021 for 7 hours a week, and on 8th February 2023 this was increased to 14 hours a week, doubling the capacity of our Director to run the charity, as well as develop strategy.
- During this year, the charity totalled over 60 volunteers with minimal turnover, all of whom have experience of losing someone at a young age. These volunteers served across a range of activities:
- Blog management
- Meet up hosting
- Advisory board members
- Host Coordinators, supporting our Hosts
- Book Club and Creative Writing group facilitation
- Men Talk About Loss campaign planning
- Our book, _Letters from the Grief Club,_ commissioned by Jessica Kingsley Publishers, was published in June 2022. It included over 50 contributions from young grievers and sold over 1,000 copies during this financial year with an amount of the publisher’s income coming to Let’s Talk About Loss (£787 during this financial year). We ran 1 virtual launch event with many contributors, and 4 in-person launch events in bookshops across the UK. The book was very well-received and we know it is being used by other grief organisations as a resource.
- In January 2023 we started working with Taz Rasul, an equity and inclusion consultant, who helped us identify five communities who are underrepresented at Let’s Talk About Loss. Her work during this financial year marks the start of a
longer project, and will help Let’s Talk About Loss make practical changes that will make us a more inclusive and accessible organisation.
- Throughout this financial year we were supported by two freelance Social Media Managers: Carys Evans (until June 2022) and Liesha Mapiye (January 2023 - June 2023), who helped us grow our social media presence. In particular we focussed on growing our Instagram presence and surpassed the milestone of 10,000 followers in early 2023.
- Using a grant provided by _Western Power Foundation_ , Let’s Talk About Loss hosted the ‘Big South West Meet Up’ in Exeter for young grievers in the South West of England to attend. This acted as both a standalone event and a pilot for future potential events in other areas of the UK. We invited Kris Hallenga (Founder of _Coppafeel!_ ) as a speaker, and Man Yee Woo (British Sewing Bee finalist), Lucy Turner and Tom Stockley as workshop facilitators. All 30 of the attendees enjoyed the day and our feedback was positive, with 100% of participants stating that the event made them feel less alone in their grief.
- Our Director Beth gave talks on grief at _Satellites_ (a Christian youth festival). _Vortexa_ (a software company) and _Blue Sky Fostering_ (a fostering provider), fulfilling our mission to empower more people to talk about loss.
- Fundraising
- In total, we raised £32,255 during this financial year.
- We were mostly reliant on grant funding. During this financial year the second instalment of the £20,000 grant from _The Tudor Trust_ was pledged, though we did not receive the income until the 2023-24 financial year. This grant income was unrestricted meaning it could help cover core costs of the charity.
- At the end of March 2023, we received £4,908 from _Lush Wellness Fund_ . We had first applied for funding in 2020, but internal delays from Lush meant that we were not awarded funding until this financial year. Due to the delay, Lush removed any restrictions on the funding and therefore it was unrestricted funding.
- We were delighted to be selected as a charity partner for _Aroundtown_ , a real estate company working across Europe. As their UK charity partner, we received a donation of £10,472 in December 2022 which was unrestricted and was instrumental in boosting our reserves to cover core costs.
- _Big Picture Films Charity_ supported Let’s Talk About Loss with a one-off donation of £1,600 in August 2022, which was gratefully received.
- _LocalGiving_ gave Let’s Talk About Loss a grant of £500 for a ‘Men Talk About Loss campaign event’. This will happen during the 2023-24 financial year.
- Our Newcastle meet up group received restricted funding for their meet up activities totalling £366, which was primarily used to book venues and cover the costs of activities to help us make our meet ups as cheap as possible and therefore more accessible.
- Some individuals have done one-off physical challenges to raise money for Let’s Talk About Loss, some beneficiaries and others not. Examples of fundraising activities this year were a cycling challenge, two runners at the Bristol Half-Marathon and a skydive.
- Product sales brought in just over £500 of income during this financial year, primarily this was our bereavement cards, but also included Christmas cards, tote bags and a small number of our book _Letters from the Grief Club_ sold at in-person events.
- We continue to have a small number of supporters who give on a monthly basis, for whom we are incredibly grateful.
## **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
NA
Registered charity number 1195258
## Charity’s principal address
Linden Gate, Clifton Down Road, Bristol, BS8 4AH
|**Trustee name**|**Office (if any)**|**Dates acted if not for whole**
**year**|
|---|---|---|
|Katherine Moreton|Chair||
|Deborah Bradley|Treasurer||
|Jonathan Salmon|NA||
|Rohit Sagoo|NA||
|Rebecca Field|NA||
|Amy Lambert|NA||
|Sanisha Wynter|NA||
## **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**
**CIO No: 1195258**
## **Receipts and payments accounts**
## **CC16a**
**For the period** Period start date Period end date **To from** 01/04/2022 31/03/2023
## **Section A Receipts and payments**
|**A1 Receipts**|**Unrestricted**
**funds**
**to the nearest**
**£**
**4,858**
**-**
**5,000**
**5,383**
**1,347**
**452**
**10,478**
**3,871**
**-**
**-**
**-**
**-**
**-**
**31,389**
**-**
**-**
**-**
**31,389**
**-**
**8**
**-**
**216**
**5,533**
**-**
**2,443**
**3,643**
**-**
**8**
**10,235**
**-**
**690**
**201**
**925**
**23,902**
**-**
**-**
**-**
**23,902**
**7,487**
**9,413**
**22,723**
**39,623**|**Restricted**
**funds**
**to the nearest £**
**-**
**366**
**-**
**-**
**-**
**-**
**-**
**500**
**-**
**-**
**-**
**866**
**-**
**-**
**-**
**866**
**-**
**-**
**-**
**-**
**4,548**
**-**
**-**
**-**
**-**
**-**
**360**
**-**
**-**
**-**
**4,908**
**-**
**-**
**-**
**4,908**
**- 4,042**
**- 9,413**
**13,955**
**500**|**Endowment**
**funds**
**to the nearest £**
**-**
**-**
**-**
**-**
**-**
**-**
**-**
**-**
**-**
**-**
**-**
**-**
**-**
**-**
**-**
**-**
**-**
**-**
**-**
**-**
**-**
**-**
**-**
**-**
**-**
**-**
**-**
**-**
**-**
**-**
**-**
**-**
**-**
**-**
**-**
**-**
**-**
**-**
**-**|**Total funds**
**to the nearest £**
**4,858**
**366**
**5,000**
**5,383**
**1,347**
**452**
**10,478**
**3,871**
**-**
**-**
**500**
**-**
**-**
**-**
**32,255**
**-**
**-**
**-**
**32,255**
**-**
**8**
**-**
**216**
**10,081**
**-**
**2,443**
**3,643**
**-**
**8**
**10,595**
**-**
**690**
**201**
**925**
**28,810**
**-**
**-**
**-**
**28,810**
**3,445**|**Total funds**
**to the nearest £**
**4,858**
**366**
**5,000**
**5,383**
**1,347**
**452**
**10,478**
**3,871**
**-**
**-**
**500**
**-**
**-**
**-**
**32,255**
**-**
**-**
**-**
**32,255**
**-**
**8**
**-**
**216**
**10,081**
**-**
**2,443**
**3,643**
**-**
**8**
**10,595**
**-**
**690**
**201**
**925**
**28,810**
**-**
**-**
**-**
**28,810**
**3,445**|**Last year**
**to the nearest £**|
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
|Lush Foundation|**4,858**|||||**-**|
|Proctor and Gamble|**-**|||||**-**|
|WESTERN POWER FOUNDATION|**5,000**|||||**-**|
|DONATIONS|**5,383**|||||**9,761**|
|PRODUCT SALES|**1,347**|||||**3,339**|
|WORKSHIPS/TALKS/MISC INCOME|**452**|||||**363**|
|CORPORATE FUNDRAISING|**10,478**|||||**-**|
|COMMUNITY FUNDRAISING|**3,871**|||||**-**|
|BETSY FOUNDATION|**-**|||||**5,000**|
|CO-OP #Iwill BEREAVEMENT Grant||||||**10,000**|
|MAGIC LITTLE GRANTS|**-**|||||**500**|
|NATIONAL SURVIVOR|**-**|||||**550**|
|TUDOR TRUST|**-**|||||**10,000**|
|VELANDIA|**-**|||||**2,500**|
|**_Sub total_**_(Gross income for_
_AR)_|**31,389**|||||**42,013**|
||||||||
|**A2 Asset and investment sales,**
**(see table).**|||||||
||**-**||||||
||**-**|||||**-**|
|**_Sub total_**|**-**|||||**-**|
|**_Total receipts_**
**A3 Payments**|||||||
|||||||**42,013**|
||||||||
|OFFICE|**-**|||||**-**|
|TRAVEL|**8**|||||**67**|
|COST OF GOODS|**-**|||||**1,125**|
|POSTAGE|**216**|||||**110**|
|COST OF LOCAL GROUPS & EVENTS|**5,533**|||||**794**|
|ADVERTISING|**-**|||||**1,064**|
|COMMUNICATIONS(EMAIL/WEBSITE)|**2,443**|||||**1,390**|
|TRUSTEE EXPENSES, VOLUNTEER
TRAINING AND MEETINGS|**3,643**|||||**2,455**|
|TALKS|**-**|||||**1,300**|
|MISC|**8**|||||**1,128**|
|WAGES|**10,235**|||||**4,105**|
|PROJECT CO-ORDINATOR|**-**|||||**5,627**|
|FUNDRAISING|**690**||||||
|INSURANCE|**201**|||||**188**|
|GOVERNANCE|**925**|||||**-**|
|**_Sub total_ **|**23,902**|||||**19,353**|
||||||||
|**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_**|||||||
|||||||**19,353**|
||||||||
||**7,487**|**- 4,042**||
**3,445**||**22,660**|
||**9,413**|**- 9,413**||**-**||**-**|
||**22,723**|**13,955**||**36,678**||**14,018**|
||**39,623**|**500**||**40,123**||**36,678**|
CCXX R1 accounts (SS)
21/12/2023
1
|**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**
Association of chairs Training and annual
fee
**Details**
HMRC - PAYE for Jan, Feb and March
Payroll.
Accountancy and Independent examination
fee
Signature|**Unrestricted**
**funds**
**Restricted**
**funds**
**to nearest £**
**to nearest £**
**39,623**
**500**
**-**
**-**
**-**
**-**
**39,623**
**500**
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
**744**
Unrestricted
**960**
Unrestricted
**90**
**-**
**-**
Print Name
Katherine Moreton|**Endowment**
**funds**
**to nearest £**|
||||**-**|
||||**-**|
||||**-**|
||||**-**|
||||OK|
||||**Endowment**
**funds**
**to nearest £**|
||||**-**|
||||**-**|
||||**-**|
||||**-**|
||||**-**|
||||**-**|
||||**Current value**
**(optional)**|
||||**-**|
||||**-**|
||||**-**|
||||**-**|
||||**-**|
||||**Current value**
**(optional)**|
||||**-**|
||||**-**|
||||**-**|
||||**-**|
||||**-**|
||||**-**|
||||**-**|
||||**-**|
||||**-**|
||||**When due**
**(optional)**|
||||**20 April 2023**|
||||**31st December**
**2023**|
||||**3rd April 2023**|
|||||
|||||
|||||
||||Date of
approval|
|||Katherine Moreton|22/12/23|
|||||
CCXX R2 accounts (SS)
21/12/2023
2
**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 2023 **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 **31/03/2023** .
- **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:** 21[st] December 2023 **Name:** Janice Willis FCCA **Relevant professional** Association of Chartered Certified Accountants **qualification(s) or body (if any): Address:** Eleve11 Consulting T/A Cloud Eleven Accountants 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).
1
**October 2018**
**IER**
**Give here brief details of any items that the examiner wishes to disclose** .
2
**October 2018**
**IER**