## Burning Heart CIO in England and Wales Registered Charity 1198771 **Trustees’ Annual Report 2023** (for the period 1[st] January 2023 to 31[st] December 2023) ## **Section 1. Objectives and Activities** ## **Objectives** The objects of Burning Heart, as laid out in its constitution are: _the advancement of the Christian faith, particularly but not exclusively by, producing or distributing Christian literature including video or audio recording and other related media._ Burning Heart does also have a vision strapline, in line with these objects, which is: _exploring God’s word through film_ ## **Activities** The Charity’s primary activity is the production of high-quality documentary-style film series exploring Biblical books or themes. These film series are available to all for free on our website, burningheart.org, and on various other platforms and channels. In addition, we also produce audio versions of our film series, run social media accounts on the main social media platforms, and produce sundry other resources. More details of our activities this year is given in the _Review of the_ Year below in _Section 2: Achievements_ . ## **Regard to Charity Commission Guidance** The Trustees have had regard to the Charity Commission’s guidance on public benefit and believe all Burning Heart’s activities are in line with that guidance. ## **Section 2. Achievements and Performance** ## **Review of the Year** 2023 was an exciting year for Burning Heart, with two new film series launching and a growing reach and viewership. ## _Film Series_ Our film series are our primary ministry, and we were excited to launch two series over the course of 2023: _Prayer: Learning from Jesus_ launching on Ash Wednesday (22 February); and _Pursuing Peace: Philippians 4v4-9_ launching on 1[st] November. Both series continued to engage deeply with the scriptures, seeking to teach and bring them to life in clear, memorable and visually engaging ways. We also used new film making techniques and elements in each series, which we feel has strengthened and improved the quality of our film-making.[1] Work was also almost finished on a stand-alone film _The Bible: A Message from God_ , due to launch in March 2024. This film will be the last made with our film-makers, _Dioppo_ , as they look to grow and expand in new directions and areas. We are so grateful to _Dioppo_ for their excellent work with us over two years, and have been thrilled to work with them. We are very excited to be working with a new production company, _Fruit Media,_ going forward though, who we feel both share our values and have the capacity and size to help us continue to improve our films. Our first series with them, exploring the book of _Daniel_ , is due to film in Spring 2024 with launch pencilled in for September 2024. Viewing figures for our films across 2023 have continued to be very encouraging. Our series have aired on both GOD TV (globally) and TBN (UK only), reaching a large worldwide audience, and at the very end of 2023 we became a launch partner for GLU (‘God Loves You’) a new Connected TV app. We have also continued to partner with the _YouVersion_ Bible App, with all our films prominently featured on their platform, and David Ingall also doing three of the “Verse of the Day” films. In large part due to that partnership, our films were viewed online more than 400,000 times in 2023, including more than 100,000 views of the first episode of our _Prayer: Learning from Jesus_ series, and over 35,000 views of the entire series. Alongside viewing statistics, we have also had very encouraging feedback from partners and individuals about the quality and impact of our film series. Some examples of feedback received are: “it is brilliant!”, “thank you for this beautiful and meaningful series,” and “WOW…I really feel like my heavenly Father led me there.” One area with less encouraging results though has been the numbers doing one of our series as a small group, with only around 100 groups having registered on our website to run a series. We hope that actual numbers will be higher than that, but do not think vastly so. This is an area we are looking to grow in in 2024. > 1 We used interviews for the first time in the _Prayer_ series, and animations for the first time in the _Peace_ series, both alongside our existing film-making style. ## _Podcasts_ Alongside our film series, we also partnered with one of our Trustees, Chris Lee, to launch a new podcast _Come Read with me_ , featuring him and David Ingall in conversation about the Bible. By the end of 2023 the podcast was midway through its 3[rd] season, and had had over 50,000 downloads, putting it in the top 10% of podcasts. ## _Social Media_ 2023 was transformative for Burning Heart on social media, largely due to Claire Christian-Farman taking on management of all our social media accounts. By the end of the year our following on social media had grown 10x, and engagement with us through social media grown even more. Our main channels are YouTube (which does also have our main film series on it) and Instagram, but we also have a presence on TikTok, X and Facebook. ## **Section 3. Financial Review** ## **Financial Review and position at year end** _Burning Heart_ ended the year in a healthy financial position with £32,800 in the bank accounts at year end and a growing base of both one-off and regular givers. This is sufficient to fund all our on-going costs in Q1 2024, and with pledges of on-going giving to cover all our costs in H1 2024. While the cash in the bank at the year-end was unusually high, that reflects our policy of looking to raise funds (or pledges) to cover the cost of each series before the Trustees authorise production to start. At the year-end a final payment of £1818 on the stand-alone film _A Message from God_ was due to be paid in January, and Trustees had set aside £30,000 for our next film series on the Biblical book of _Daniel_ The charity has not given any guarantees and has not provided its assets as security for any liabilities. ## **Accounts** A copy of the accounts, as approved unanimously by the Trustees at a meeting on 1[st] March 2024, with amendments approved unanimously on 19[th] July following the final report of our Independent Examiner, are appended to this report. ## **Reserves** _Policy_ The Trustees have a reserves policy, to ensure that sufficient reserves are held to meet anticipated future operating costs and financial commitments. _Reserves_ The Trustees have determined that the charity should hold sufficient unrestricted cash to cover all financial commitments due in the following quarter, which for Q1 2024 came to £2,600. At the year-end Burning Heart had £32,800 in reserves, of which £30,000 had been set aside for the costs of the forthcoming series on _Daniel_ , so the trustees are complying with the reserves policy. ## **Funds Materially in Deficit** There were no funds materially in deficit at 31[st] December 2023 ## **Uncertainties about the charity continuing as a going concern** The Trustees are not aware of any uncertainties or concerns about Burning Heart’s ability to continue to function as a going concern. ## **Source of funds** All of Burning Heart’s funds in 2023 have come through donations from individuals. We are extremely grateful to the charity _Stewardship,_ with whom we have a partner account, facilitating and enabling such donations. Through _Stewardship_ we have also been connected to an international giving partner, _TrustBridge Global_ , who we hope to partner with in 2024 to facilitate giving from international donors. We also use _PayPal_ for all donors wishing to give through a different platform, including international donors. ## **Principal Risks facing the Charity** The principal financial risk facing the charity lies in our income from donations not being sufficient to cover the costs of future film series. This risk is minimised though by our policy of fundraising for the cost of a series before starting production – meaning that any shortfall in funds to make a series will simply lead to a delay in production starting and does not carry any financial risk. ## **Section 4. Structure, Governance and Management** ## **Constitution** Burning Heart is a Charitable Incorporated Organisation (CIO), governed by a Constitution. ## **Trustee Selection** New Trustees are appointed by a resolution passed at a properly convened meeting of the Trustees. In appointing new Trustees, existing Trustees are required by the Charity Constitution to have regard to the skills, knowledge and experience needed for the effective administration of the CIO. ## **Structure** The Trustees have delegated certain responsibilities to Rev’d David Ingall, who has been formally appointed as ‘Ministry Director and Secretary to the Trustees’ by the Trustees. In particular, he is responsible for the day-to-day administration of the Charity and for overseeing the production of the currently authorised film-series. ## **Safeguarding** We believe that safeguarding is a vital part of any charity’s organisation. Therefore, while we do minimal work with children or vulnerable adults, we have nevertheless sought to make safeguarding a priority. The Trustees have adopted a Safeguarding Policy, which is available to view on our website, and appointed Elizbeth Gallagher as our Safeguarding Officer. The Safeguarding Officer reports back to the Trustees at every meeting. ## **Trustees** The following were Trustees of Burning Heart through the whole of 2023: Elizabeth Gallagher (Chair and Safeguarding Officer) Esther Beckley Jared Neusch Alan Riley Rev’d. Christopher Lee (re-appointed for a three-year term at a meeting of the Trustees on 3[rd] March 2023) In addition, Paul Nicholas was appointed as both a Trustee (for a three-year term) and as Treasurer at a meeting of the Trustees on 3[rd] March 2023. There are no corporate Trustees, and no Trustees hold title to property belonging to the charity. Secretary to the Trustees: Rev’d. David Ingall ## **Section 4. Reference and Administrative Details** ## **Charity Name** Burning Heart. The Charity is not known by any other names. ## **Charity Number** 1198771 (CIO, England and Wales) ## **Charity’s Address** Burning Heart, International House, 64 Nile Street, London, N1 7SR ## **Other Contact Details** Email – hello@burningheart.org Website – burningheart.org ## **Section 5. Approval and Signatures** This annual report was presented and unanimously adopted by the Trustees at a meeting on 1[st] March 2024, with amendments approved unanimously on 19[th] July following the final report of our Independent Examiner. . Signed on behalf of the Charity’s Trustees: ELIZABETH GALLAGHER Elizabeth Gallagher (Chair of the Trustees) PAUL NICHOLAS Paul Nicholas (Trustee and Treasurer) Burning Heart CIO in England and Wales Registered Charity 1198771 **Annual Accounts 2023** (for the period 1[st] January to 31[st] December 2023) |**Burning Heart**|||**1198771**|| |---|---|---|---|---| |**Receipts andpayments accounts**||||**CC16a**| |**For the period**
**from**|1st January 2023|**To**|31st December|| |**Section A Receipts and payments**|**Section A Receipts and payments**|**Section A Receipts and payments**|||||||| |---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---| |**A1 Receipts**|**Unrestricted**
**funds**
**to the nearest**
**£**||**Restricted**
**funds**
**to the nearest £**||**Endowment**
**funds**
**to the nearest £**||**Total funds**
**to the nearest £**||**Last year**
**to the nearest £**| |
Donations*|**44,479**||**80**||**-**||**44,559**||**25,986**| |Bank Interest Payments|**448**||**-**||**-**||**448**||**15**| |Other|**-**||**-**||**-**||**-**||**-**| ||**-**||**-**||**-**||**-**||**-**| ||**-**||**-**||**-**||**-**||**-**| ||**-**||**-**||**-**||**-**||**-**| ||**-**||**-**||**-**||**-**||**-**| ||**-**||**-**||**-**||**-**||**-**| |**_Sub total_**_(Gross income for AR)_|**44,927**||**80**||**-**||**45,007**||**26,001**| ||||||||||| |**A2 Asset and investment sales,**
**(see table).**|||||||||| ||**-**||||||||| ||**-**||||||||**-**| |**_Sub total_**|**-**||||||||**-**| |**_Total receipts_**
**A3 Payments**|||||||||| ||||||||||**26,001**| ||||||||||| |
Film-making|**24,449**||**-**||**-**||**24,449**||**4,529**| |Podcasting|**760**||**-**||**-**||**760**||**-**| |Website and Hosting|**361**||**-**||**-**||**361**||**-**| |TV Distribution|**3,540**||**-**||**-**||**3,540**||**-**| |Marketing|**496**||**-**||**-**||**496**||**2,278**| |Office Costs|**394**||**-**||**-**||**394**||**-**| |Fundraising|**354**||**-**||**-**||**354**||**-**| |Bankingand Insurance|**171**||**-**||**-**||**171**||**5**| |Accounts Examination|**390**||**-**||**-**||**390**||**-**| |Trustees' Expenses|**324**||**-**||**-**||**324**||**-**| |Membershipof SafeguardingOrganisation*|**-**||**-**||**-**||**-**||**145**| |**_Sub total_**_(Gross Spending for AR)_|**31,240**||**-**||**-**||**31,240**||**6,957**| ||||||||||| |**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*_**|||||||||| ||||||||||**6,957**| ||||||||||| ||**13,687**||||||||**19,044**| ||**-**||||||||**-**| ||**19,045**||||||||**-**| ||**32,732**||||||||**19,044**| CCXX R1 accounts (SS) 02/05/2024 1 ## **Section B Statement of assets and liabilities at the end of the period** |**Categories**
**B5 Liabilities**
**Notes**
*Note to Donations Line
*Note to Safeguarding line
*Note to Cash Funds at Year End
**B3 Investment assets**
**B2 Other monetary assets**
**B4 Assets retained for the**
**charity’s own use**
**B1 Cash funds**|**Unrestricted**
**funds**
**Restricted**
**funds**
**Endowment**
**funds**
**to nearest £**
**to nearest £**
**to nearest £**
**32,732**
**80**
**-**
**-**
**-**
**-**
**-**
**-**
**-**
**32,732**
**80**
**-**
OK
OK
OK
**Unrestricted**
**funds**
**Restricted**
**funds**
**Endowment**
**funds**
**to nearest £**
**to nearest £**
**to nearest £**
**-**
**-**
**-**
**-**
**-**
**-**
**Fund to which**
**asset belongs**
**Cost (optional)**
**Current value**
**(optional)**
**-**
**-**
**-**
**-**
**Fund to which**
**asset belongs**
**Cost (optional)**
**Current value**
**(optional)**
**-**
**-**
**-**
**-**
**-**
**-**
**Fund to which**
**liability relates**
**Amount due**
**(optional)**
**When due**
**(optional)**
General
**625**
**on completion**
General
**1,818**
**on completion**
General
**145**
**due**
**-**
**-**
The £80 of retsricted funds was given through a Stewardship giving page for the Daniel series
**Details**
**Details**
**_Total cash funds_**
(agree balances with receipts and payments
account(s))
Bank Accounts
**Details**
Membership fee for Safeguarding
Organisation
**Details**
**Details**
Fee for Independent Examination
Final installment to Dioppo for
standalone film "The Bible: A Message
from God"
The annual membership fee for Safeguarding Organisation was paid in January 2024, hence not
appearing in the 2023 accounts
We often have relatively large cash balances, as we have a policy of raising the funds needed for a film
series (including pledges) prior to starting production. In November 2023 the Trustees signed off on
starting production for a new film series on the Biblical book of Daniel, authorising a cost of up to
£30,000. Work had begun with the production company on the series, but a final quote was not
received until January 2024, which is why the series is not listed as a liability.|**Endowment**
**funds**
**to nearest £**| |---|---|---| |||**-**| |||**-**| |||**-**| |||**-**| |||OK| |||**Endowment**
**funds**
**to nearest £**| |||**-**| |||**-**| |||**Current value**
**(optional)**| |||**-**| |||**-**| |||**Current value**
**(optional)**| |||**-**| |||**-**| |||**-**| |||**When due**
**(optional)**| |||**on completion**| |||**on completion**| |||**due**| |||| |||| |Signed by one or two trustees on
behalf of all the trustees|Signature
Elizabeth Gallagher
Paul Nicholas|Print Name
Paul Nicholas
Elizabeth Gallagher|Date of
approval| |---|---|---|---| ||Elizabeth Gallagher|Elizabeth Gallagher|19 Jul 24| ||Paul Nicholas|Paul Nicholas|19 Jul 24| CCXX R2 accounts (SS) 02/05/2024 2 ## **INDEPENDENT EXAMINER'S REPORT** ## **TO THE TRUSTEES OF** ## **BURNING HEART** I report to the trustees on my examination of the accounts of Burning Heart ('the charity') for the year ended 31 December 2023. ## **Responsibilities and basis of report** As the trustees of the charity you are responsible for the preparation of the accounts in accordance with the requirements of the Charities Act 2011 (‘the 2011 Act’). I report in respect of my examination of the charity’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 2011 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: 1. accounting records were not kept in accordance with section 130 of the 2011 Act; or 2. 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. ## J. Young Jaimée Young Stewardship 1 Lamb's Passage LONDON EC1Y 8AB Date: 17 September 2024 Page 3