## **TRUSTEES ANNUAL REPORT AL-EHSAN FOUNDATION (UK) FINANCIAL YEAR – 01 APRIL 2024 – 31[st] MARCH 2025**
## **INTRODUCTION**
The founding principles of AL-Ehsan Foundation (UK) - ALEF as an organisation are to deliver its services and aims, where possible, through a volunteer network, collaborating with other charities/NGOs with the aim of within a five year period to establish a small work force of part-time paid employees mostly for administration and accounting matters who promote the work of the organisation and co-ordinate volunteers. ALEF wanted to use most of any funds donated purely for the public benefit rather than salaries/expenses. Unfortunately, due to life changing health matters that affected some of the founding members of the charity at senior level it was decided that rather than trying to expand the Charity in the way it was first envisaged, the Trustees would support ongoing commitments and work that the existing volunteers at ALEF were already involved in and only take on new commitments where time and manpower allowed.
With the continuing needs of the community and requests from the organisations that ALEF work with, it was decided that rather than take any decisions that would either seriously curtail/end the works of our volunteers or put the organisation on a footing where it could not adequately deliver on its commitments, it was best to carry on with the existing number of volunteers and projects for another calendar year. Postponing the decision on the future direction and leadership of the organisation until the end of the first half of 2026. This was the best course of action which would serve the needs of the community, meeting our charitable commitments as an organisation and thereby allowing those at the heart of the organisation time to recover without being forced to take decisions which would in hindsight be seen as hasty.
## **1.VOLUNTEERS** .
- The core number of volunteers remained steady throughout the year, continuing to work with our partner organisations/general community delivering on the aims of the Charity.
- As with many organisations in the sector, we had a few long-term volunteers who could not continue with voluntary work due to family circumstances. Equally on the positive side we had some young people who were at the beginning of their careers in various sectors, and expressed a wish to help us, and we were able to provide them with some experience, that was suitable for them. Bringing on the next generation being a key factor to the continuing growth of any organisation.
- We ended the year with the same number of committed volunteers we had at the beginning.
## **2.WORK AND SERVICES CARRIED OUT**
This year has been a continuation of the work and services we provided last year, without seeking to expand our services or seek new funding for the reasons outlined above. The challenge for the ALEF team was not to disappoint the people and organisations who we have worked with in the past by turning down requests. Although, we could not meet all requests for our input/services, we were able to provide some representation on most requests. The work carried out and organisations we worked with in the past year were mostly similar to the previous year to include:
- School visits – In conjunction with Trowbridge Mosque to run school visits for local schools within Wiltshire, for the children to visit the mosque and to participate in workshops etc as part of their wider RE classes. These visits were increased in number due to the success of the services we provided in the previous year.
- Working alongside Wiltshire Police in an advisory capacity on numerous panels, workshops presentations etc by various members of the ALEF team.
- Scrutiny Panel Wiltshire Police.
- Meeting and liaising with other faith organisations including Wiltshire Faith Communities Network.
- Continuing to provide advice and assistant to SACRE – Standing Advisory Council on Religious Education.
- Providing advice and assistance to members of the local community (not just women) on various matters and where possible, if it is not within the experience or remit of ALEF volunteers putting them in touch with other more suitable organisations.
For example, we were asked to help with cases ranging from substance abuse, domestic abuse, school exclusion to forced marriages.
We have seen an increase in requests to help vulnerable members of the community especially women and children. As an organisation we have become known as having experienced female volunteers and have had requests from far and wide across the country to advise women and children who find themselves in difficulties. This was not a specific aim of the wider goals of the Charity, but as a Charity we get any manner of requests. Mostly, it is a case of finding the right organisations to help the individuals/families, who put their faith and trust in us to help them. We are usually the first point of call before they get the right help. We stay with them until the matter is resolved. Some of these cases are complex ongoing cases, involving multi agency input.
## **3.FUNDING**
The aim of raising funds for ALEF is in two parts. Firstly, the funding required to run the organisation and secondly, any funding raised to donate to good causes that have already been identified or to the general fund.
- (i) **FUNDING FOR AL-EHSAN** (ALEF) – It was again agreed that for the forthcoming year, there would be a pause on the efforts to raise funding for offices/premises
as remote working and meetings were working well. The ALEF volunteers were able to deliver a lot of their services at the client venue (e.g. schools, other NGOs and governmental organisations). As our volunteers are not employees, any travel expenses they incurred are presented directly to the organisations which required their services.
- (ii) **FUNDING FOR GOOD CAUSES** – In deciding to pause funding generally it was also decided to pause raising money directly for ALEF to distribute to good causes. Where possible people were redirected to existing organisations which met their specific needs. One of the main aims of ALEF is to co-ordinate and work with other organisations so as not to duplicate work thereby depleting precious resources in both monetary and people terms.
**OVERSEAS CHARITABLE CAUSES** – We did not take on any new overseas projects to support, but instead ALEF continued to work with the small ongoing projects as previously in collaboration with charities on the ground together with other UK registered charities helping the same cause:
- to help finish the women and children’s health clinic in Gambia, in providing it with running water and clean clinical premises.
- to provide some funding for the provision of internal plasterwork, decoration and flooring for a mosque in Gambia
- continuing to support orphans, vulnerable women and general poverty relief by directing donations to charities/people dealing with poverty relief for Gambia, Bangladesh and Morocco.
## **4. ANNUAL STATEMENT OF ACCOUNTS/BANK ACCOUNT**
As can be seen from the accompanying Annual Accounts, there has not been any further funds put into the bank account or monies taken out, for the reasons previously stated the bank account was not in operation. The balance of our account remains unchanged. We were offered donations generally but with our ethos that monies should be directed at good causes, we directed the donations to other local charities who needed the resources to operate as we were able to operate our services with volunteers with any expenses being paid directly to the volunteers (these were travel expenses). Donations to overseas charitable causes (3(ii) above) were done directly through third parties/charities. ALEF was not the main charity organising funds for those causes.
## **OTHER MATTERS/FUTURE**
The amount of work and services the volunteers have managed to do, has been steady with timely delivery. Notwithstanding the fact that we have not been able to expand as hoped, we are often the first port of call for many organisations who need a speaker/presentation on faith matters within the Southwest. It is a vital service, as we only provide speakers who are suitably qualified/experts on their subject and can therefore deliver a coherent and professional service, which is particularly important when dealing with children and young people. The work we do is often repeat work with organisations we have worked with previously and we are asked to speak at events and venues from across the country due to recommendations. Within the community, our volunteers are asked to help at times in sensitive and difficult situations, as the people who are in these situations are often
vulnerable and reluctant to seek advice; having somebody they can trust who is independent is crucial. It is one of the reasons, we have continued to operate as it is better to offer a limited service rather than none.
The coming year will be a crucial one for ALEF as the Trustees will need to address where the organisation goes in the future. Whilst the Trustees are pleased that we have been able to operate, they are acutely aware, that the organisation will need to move forward in terms of raising finance, increasing the number of volunteers to realise its original ambitions when it was first set up.
Trustees of Al-Ehsan Foundation Annual Report – Updated January 2026
**AL-EHSAN FOUNDATION (UK)**
|**STATEMENT OF ACCOUNTS FROM 1ST APRIL 2024 TO 31ST MARCH 2025**|**STATEMENT OF ACCOUNTS FROM 1ST APRIL 2024 TO 31ST MARCH 2025**|**STATEMENT OF ACCOUNTS FROM 1ST APRIL 2024 TO 31ST MARCH 2025**|
|---|---|---|
|**Al-Ehsan Foundation (UK)**|||
|**DESCRIPTION**|**Summary of**
**accounts**|**Comment**|
|**2024/2025 Income**|**Income**|**Comments**|
||||
||||
|**Gen funds and Mosque working**|**£650.00**|This amount remains the same as 2023/2024 due to
no fnancial activity|
|**Charitable donation**|**£1000.00**|This amount remains the same as 2023/2024 due to
no fnancial activity|
||||
|**TOTAL**|**£1650.00**||
|**2024/2025 Expenses**|£0.00||
||||
|**Total Income**|**£1650.00**||
||||
||||
||||
**2-Mosque- Funds collected towards building a Mosque/or Mosques 3-Charitable Cause- To help community eradicate poverty, help educate children from poor families and assist with higher education in UK and Overseas. 4-External training- Income received from School visits and training statutory bodies.**
1