Trustees’ Annual Report for the period
From 01 April 2024 To 31 March 2025 Charity name: Seven Friends Foundation
Charity registration number: 1199444
Trustees Victoria Anne Wilkinson Chair Michael Keith Reynolds Ruth Freya Stone
Katherine Alice Jacobs
Nancy Alexandra Rose Allen Secretary
Dr Robert David Gallagher Noelani Tallulah Hall Treasurer
Registered office 32A Sparsholt Road LONDON
N19 4EL
Objectives and Activities
| SORP reference | ||
|---|---|---|
| Summary of the purposes of the charity as set out in its governing document |
Para 1.17 | To advance such charitable purposes (according to the law in England and Wales) as the trustees see fit from time to time, in particular but not limited to charitable causes that lack popular support or do not receive public attention, in particular but not exclusively by making grants and providing advice. |
| 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 1.19 |
Grant making. |
| Statement confirming whether the trustees have had regard to the guidance issued by the Charity Commission on public benefit |
Para 1.18 | The Trustees confirm that they have complied with the duty in section 4 of the Charities Act 2011 to have due regard to the Charity Commission's general guidance on public benefit. |
Additional information (optional) You may choose to include further statements where relevant about:
| SORP reference | ||
|---|---|---|
| Policy on grant making | Para 1.38 | Policy available here: https://sevenfriends.org/ |
| Policy on social investment including program related investment |
Para 1.38 | |
| Contribution made by volunteers |
Para 1.38 | |
| Other | ||
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 | During this reporting period the Seven Friends Foundation held two grant rounds with an open application process and deadlines in April and August 2024. Funds were awarded in April and October 2024. Deadlines, criteria and the process for applying are featured on the Seven Friends Foundation website (https://sevenfriends.org/). Seven Friends Foundation received a total of 316 applications. The second round in October 2024 was particularly competitive, with 183 applications. This proved to be very difficult for Trustees of the Seven Friends Foundation, who are all in full time employment, to manage and the assessment process was extended. The Trustees decided to award 17 grants during the reporting period totalling £29,930.64. The average grant size was £1,760.63. The success rate for applicants was approximately 5.4%. |
A note about our decision-making process: ● Applications were divided randomly between a sub-group of trustees for an initial round of scoring; ● The trustees met to discuss the applications and process before taking top scoring applications into a second stage; ● For the second stage, applications were re-allocated and where possible, applications were allocated to trustees with expertise in specific areas relating to the topic; ● A meeting was held to finalise the shortlist for each decision meeting; ● Finally, all trustees participated in two decision meetings to distribute a maximum total of £30,039. The process for each round took approximately three months from applicant deadline to funds distribution. Grants were awarded to the following charitable purposes as recognised by the Charity Commission: ● The advancement of health or saving of lives: 6 ● The relief of those in need, by reason of youth, age, ill-health, disability, financial hardship or other disadvantage: 4 ● The advancement of education: 4 ● The prevention or relief of poverty: 2 ● The advancement of citizenship or community development: 1 All successful applicants were service delivery organisations in England. Beneficiary groups varied widely, including: refugees and migrants (4), women and girls (3), people experiencing poor mental or physical health (2), survivors of domestic abuse (2), LGBTQ+ and TNBI people (2), ethnic minorities, prisoners, young people, and people experiencing homelessness.
| Seven Friends Foundation awards grants for both project and core costs. During this reporting period, 65% of grants supported project costs and 35% contributed to core costs. |
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|---|---|---|
| Plans for 2025/26 | Due to the overwhelming demand and oversubscription of applicants, Trustees made the decision to undertake a strategic review of the application process. We anticipate a return to grantmaking in 2026 with a closed, invitation-only application process. As part of this review Trustees will decide on a figure to distribute to successful organisations. |
Financial Review
| Financial Review | ||
|---|---|---|
| Review of the charity’s financial position at the end of the period |
Para 1.21 | The trustees’ policy on reserves is to maintain, in general, sufficient available reserves in cash to allow all grant commitments. |
| Statement explaining the policy for holding reserves stating why they are held |
Para 1.22 | The balance held on 31 March 2025 was £109.16. There were no outstanding grant payments due at the end of this period. |
| Amount of reserves held | Para 1.22 | N/A |
| Reasons for holding zero reserves |
Para 1.22 | N/A |
| Details of fund materially in deficit |
Para 1.24 | N/A |
| Explanation of any uncertainties about the charity continuing as a going concern |
Para 1.23 | The Charity has sufficient financial resources and reserves to fund its activities for the foreseeable future. Accordingly, they continue to adopt the going concern basis in preparing the annual report and accounts. |
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 | Currently, all of Seven Friends Foundation’s funds come from personal assets of the trustees. The trustees are responsible for ensuring that charitable funds are properly used and are satisfied with the provenance of the donations and that no conditions are attached to its expenditure. The governing document describes the duties of trustees in relation to benefits and payments, conflicts of interest and decision making. |
|---|---|---|
| Para 1.46 |
A description of the principal risks facing the charity Other
Structure, Governance and Management
| Description of charity’s trusts: |
||
|---|---|---|
| Type of governing document | Para 1.25 | Constitution |
| How is the charity constituted? |
Para 1.25 | 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 |
Para 1.25 | Apart from the founding trustees, every trustee must be appointed for a term of three years by a resolution passed at a properly convened meeting of the charity trustees. In selecting individuals for appointment as charity trustees, the charity trustees must have regard to the skills, knowledge and experience needed for the effective administration of the CIO. |
Additional information (optional)
You may choose to include further statements where relevant about:
| Policies and procedures adopted for the induction and training of trustees |
Para 1.51 | |
| The charity’s organisational structure and any wider network with which the charity works |
Para 1.51 | The trustees administer the day-to-day affairs of the charity. |
| Relationship with any related parties |
Para 1.51 | John Peace is a trustee’s father and maintains the charity’s website. He has not received financial remuneration. |
| Other | ||
Declarations
The trustees declare that they have approved the trustees’ report above.
Signed on behalf of the charity’s trustees
Signature(s) Full name(s)[ Victoria Anne ] Wilkinson Position (eg Chair Secretary, Chair, etc)
Date 22/01/2026
| Seven Friends Foundation | 1199444 |
|---|---|
| Receipts and payments accounts |
CC16a
For the period 1/4/2024 31/3/2025 To from Unrestricted Endowment Restricted funds Total funds Last year funds funds to the nearest £ to the nearest £ to the nearest £ to the nearest £ to the nearest £
Section A Receipts and payments
A1 Receipts
| A1 Receipts | ||||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Cash brought forward | 30,039.80 | 0.00 | 0.00 | 30,039.80 | - | -- | ||||||||||
| 0.00 | 0.00 | 0.00 | 0.00 | - | -- | |||||||||||
| 0.00 | 0.00 | 0.00 | 0.00 | - | -- | |||||||||||
| 0.00 | 0.00 | 0.00 | 0.00 | - | -- | |||||||||||
| 0.00 | 0.00 | 0.00 | 0.00 | - | -- | |||||||||||
| 0.00 | 0.00 | 0.00 | 0.00 | - | -- | |||||||||||
| 0.00 | 0.00 | 0.00 | 0.00 | - | -- | |||||||||||
| 0.00 | 0.00 | 0.00 | 0.00 | - | -- | |||||||||||
| 30,039.80 | 0.00 | 0.00 | 30,039.80 | - | -- | |||||||||||
| Sub total(Gross income for AR) |
| A2 Asset and investment sales, | |||||||||||||||||||
| (see table). | |||||||||||||||||||
| 0.00 | 0.00 | 0.00 | 0.00 | ||||||||||||||||
| 0.00 | 0.00 | 0.00 | 0.00 | - | -- | ||||||||||||||
| Sub total | 0.00 | 0.00 | 0.00 | 0.00 | - | -- | |||||||||||||
| Total receipts | 30,039.80 | 0.00 | 0.00 | 30,039.80 | - | -- | |||||||||||||
| A3 Payments | |||||||||||||||||||
| Grants | 29,930.64 | 0.00 | 0.00 | 29,930.64 | - | -- | |||||||||||||
| 0.00 | 0.00 | 0.00 | 0.00 | - | -- | ||||||||||||||
| 0.00 | 0.00 | 0.00 | 0.00 | - | -- | ||||||||||||||
| 0.00 | 0.00 | 0.00 | 0.00 | - | -- |
CCXX R1 accounts (SS)
22/01/2026
1
| 0.00 | 0.00 | 0.00 | 0.00 | - | -- | |||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 0.00 | 0.00 | 0.00 | 0.00 | - | -- | |||||||||||||
| 0.00 | 0.00 | 0.00 | 0.00 | - | -- | |||||||||||||
| 0.00 | 0.00 | 0.00 | 0.00 | - | -- | |||||||||||||
| 0.00 | 0.00 | 0.00 | 0.00 | - | -- | |||||||||||||
| Sub total | 29,930.64 | 0.00 | 0.00 | 29,930.64 | - | -- | ||||||||||||
| A4 Asset and investment | ||||||||||||||||||
| purchases, (see table) | ||||||||||||||||||
| 0.00 | 0.00 | 0.00 | 0.00 | |||||||||||||||
| 0.00 | 0.00 | 0.00 | 0.00 | |||||||||||||||
| Sub total | 0.00 | 0.00 | 0.00 | 0.00 | ||||||||||||||
| Total payments | 29,930.64 | 0.00 | 0.00 | 29,930.64 | - | -- | ||||||||||||
| Net of receipts/(payments) | 109.16 | 0.00 | 0.00 | 109.16 | - | -- | ||||||||||||
| A5 Transfers between funds | 0.00 | 0.00 | 0.00 | 0.00 | - | -- | ||||||||||||
| A6 Cash funds last year end | 0.00 | 0.00 | 0.00 | 0.00 | - | -- | ||||||||||||
| Cash funds this year end | 109.16 | 0.00 | 0.00 | 109.16 | - | -- | ||||||||||||
Section B Statement of assets and liabilities at the end of the period
| Unrestricted | Restricted funds | Endowment | ||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Categories | Details | funds | funds | |||||||||||
| to nearest £ | to nearest £ | to nearest £ | ||||||||||||
| B1 | Cash | funds | Cash | 30,039.80 | 0.00 | - | -- | |||||||
| 0.00 | 0.00 | - | -- | |||||||||||
| 0.00 | 0.00 | - | -- | |||||||||||
| Total cash funds | 30,039.80 | 0.00 | - | -- | ||||||||||
| (agree balances with receipts and payments account (s)) |
Agreement Error | OK | OK | |||||||||||
| Unrestricted | Restricted funds | Endowment | ||||||||||||
| funds | funds |
CCXX R2 accounts (SS)
22/01/2026
2
| B2 Other monetary assets B3 Investment assets B4 Assets retained for the charity’s own use |
Details | to nearest £ | to nearest £ | to nearest £ |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 0.00 | 0.00 | - -- |
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| 0.00 | 0.00 | - -- |
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| 0.00 | 0.00 | - -- |
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| 0.00 | 0.00 | - -- |
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| 0.00 | 0.00 | - -- |
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| 0.00 | 0.00 | - -- |
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| Current value (optional) |
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| - -- |
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| Current value (optional) |
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CCXX R3 accounts (SS)
22/01/2026
3
| B5 Liabilities Signed by one or two trustees on behalf of all the trustees |
Details Signature V. Wilkinson N. Hal� |
Fund to which liability relates Amount due (optional) - -- - -- - -- - -- - -- Print Name VICTORIA WILKINSON NOELANI HALL |
When due (optional) |
|---|---|---|---|
| Date of approval | |||
| VICTORIA WILKINSON | 20/09/2025 | ||
| NOELANI HALL | 20/9/2025 |
CCXX R4 accounts (SS)
22/01/2026
4