2025-03-31-accounts

Charity registration number: 1199668

WOB FOUNDATION

UNAUDITED

TRUSTEES’ REPORT AND FINANCIAL STATEMENTS

FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31 MARCH 2025

WOB FOUNDATION

CONTENTS

	Page
Reference and administratve details of the charity, its trustees and advisers	1
Trustees’ report	2-8
Statement of trustees’ responsibilites	9
Independent examiner’s report	10
Receipts and payments account	11
Statement of assets and liabilites	12
Notes to the fnancial statements	13

Charity registration number: 1199668

REFERENCE AND ADMINISTRATIVE DETAILS OF THE CHARITY, ITS TRUSTEES AND ADVISERS FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31 MARCH 2025

Trustees

M J Nye

M Ibarra Parle

V E Connell

K M Waldegrave MBE

C A Ratcliffe (resigned 13 August 2024)

H Clevett (appointed 1 September 2024)

Charity registered number

1199668

Principal office

World of Books Group, Woods Way, Goring-by-Sea, BN12 4QY

Independent examiner

Kristina Perry FCCA, Amelia House, Crescent Road, Worthing, West Sussex BN11 1RL

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WOB FOUNDATION

TRUSTEES’ REPORT

FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31 MARCH 2025

The trustees present their annual report together with the financial statements of the charity for the year ending 31 March 2025.

Policies and objectives

The charity has been established for the purpose of providing direct support to charitable initiatives promoting literacy or the circular economy. The trustees confirmed that they have referred to the guidance contained in the Charity Commission’s general guidance on public benefit when reviewing the Charity’s objectives and in planning future activities.

The trustees intend to deliver our charitable purpose by:

• providing meaningful financial support to a range of charities

• supporting charities or initiatives we feel confident can support people from disadvantaged groups in accessing literacy in settings such as schools, prisons, youth clubs, libraries, women’s refuges and asylum centres

• prioritising charities or initiatives based in regions in which World of Books (‘WOB’) Group directly operates (ie UK, US, Hungary)

• supporting the creation of a circular economy via charities or initiatives which focus on sustainable waste reduction, re-use and re-purposing

• supporting existing charities and initiatives, rather than creating our own programmes

• being open to support the core costs of charities, and to give over multiple years

• working in conjunction with WOB staff members who can provide practical support and advice, where appropriate, to our selected charities

• actively targeting charities who can benefit from WOB’s book donation programmes

• minimising costs by working closely with WOB who are kindly providing administrative support

Achievements

We source potential charities to support from a combination of industry and personal contacts, social media and the WOB website. We have straightforward criteria and a simple and clear application process. We are willing to consider a mixture of early stage and established organisations. In the last year, we have received 17 applications which the trustees reviewed before selecting the following charities to support:

First Story

• We supported First Story again this year, attracted as before by the opportunity to support England’s leading creative writing charity for young people, with a particular focus on disadvantaged communities. Since 2008, more than 10,000 young people have benefited from participation in the Young Writers Programme, which places an inspiring professional writer in residence in a partner school for an academic year.

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WOB FOUNDATION

TRUSTEES’ REPORT

FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31 MARCH 2025 (continued)

First Story (continued)

• WOB Foundation’s support enabled First Story to deliver the Young Writers Programme to two under-resourced schools in the 2024/25 academic year (three schools in 2023/24). Each programme ran for 16 weeks, with a professional writer in residence working with a cohort of 20 students. The students worked towards creating an anthology, which will be published and shared at book launches in the schools at the end of the summer term. Students from both schools attended the Young Writers Festival at Cambridge University and took part in First Story competitions.

• The programme is designed to develop their creativity, confidence, skills and aspirations. Evaluation at the end of the programme showed that 90% of students and 95% of teachers would recommend taking part in the Young Writers Programme.

“At the beginning students were reluctant to share their work with anyone around them, let alone read their ideas out. But now students raise their hand enthusiastically and want to share their work. They also respect each other’s ideas and give positive and constructive feedback afterwards, which is a joy to witness.”

Ruth O’Malley, Head of Development, First Story

Schoolreaders

• One in four primary school children in England fail to reach the expected standard of reading by the age of 11 which leaves them unable to access their secondary education fully, which will have life-long consequences. Schoolreaders recruits, places and supports volunteers to go to local primary schools and provide free, weekly, one-toone reading support for children, prioritising those most disadvantaged.

• WOB Foundation gave a second donation of £10,000 which was used to support schools around the West Midlands and West Sussex areas, enabling Schoolreaders to recruit, assess and place 25 new volunteers into primary schools, which enables an additional 200 children to receive one-to-one reading support sessions every week for an entire year.

• World of Books also provided a selection of books to schools to assist with the reading programmes and as prizes for reading competitions.

“We were delighted that Schoolreaders was the first charity to receive a grant from WOB Foundation and are immensely grateful for the second grant as it fits so well with our core business and values. We look forward to working closely together so that even more children can enjoy the many benefits which come from the enjoyment of reading and good literacy”.

Alice Garnett, Trustee, Schoolreaders

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WOB FOUNDATION

TRUSTEES’ REPORT

FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31 MARCH 2025 (continued)

Give A Book

• Give A Book’s mission is to promote and provide books into difficult to reach places, such as prisons, secure settings, custody suites, asylum centres, refuges and schools in disadvantaged areas.

• Literacy is a particular problem for the prison population – 54% of people in the UK entering prison have literacy skills equal to those of an 11 year old child, compared to 15% of the general adult population (Prison Reform Trust, 2018). With the support of the WOB Foundation, Give a Book have been able to continue and expand some of their key projects in prisons, supporting both prisoners and their families, namely Prison Reading Groups (PRG), Family Days and Raising Readers.

• WOB Foundation’s second donation of £10,000 funded sets of books for 6 wellestablished reading groups in a diverse range of prisons: HMP Frankland, HMP Downview, HMP Brixton, HMP Wormwood Scrubs and HMP Rochester.

“WOB Foundation’s generous support has been transformative for our work…now supporting 130 groups in 80 prisons and reaching around 3,500 prisoners annually. Your grant has had a real, tangible impact on prisoners’ lives.”

Victoria Gray, Give a Book

The Children’s BookFest

• In the UK, “Two in five children between the ages of five and eight from disadvantaged backgrounds do not own a book of their own” and three in ten eleven year olds in Chichester leave primary school unable to read at the level expected for their age (National Literacy Trust).

• The Children’s BookFest brings authors, poets and illustrators into local schools in the Chichester area, near the World of Books head office in Goring-by-Sea.

• During the BookFest, each child meets and hears an author, and receives a dedicated and signed book. For some children it might be the first book they own.

• WOB Foundation provided a donation of £5,000.

“The charity is dedicated to putting books into the hands of children, authors into their schools and a love of reading into their hearts and the grant we received had a huge impact on our Schools Programme in 2024….the money allowed us to offer 12 more sessions for BookFest Chichester 2024, which equates to around 1,000 children. Thanks to the generosity of the WOB Foundation, they were able to meet and be inspired by a children’s author, who dedicated and personally handed a copy of their book to each child for them to treasure and share. We can’t tell you how grateful we are!”

Elaine Bentley, Trustee, The Children’s BookFest

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WOB FOUNDATION

TRUSTEES’ REPORT

FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31 MARCH 2025 (continued)

Book Clubs in Schools

• Book Clubs in Schools promotes reading for pleasure in schools by providing resources for schools to run peer led book clubs. It operates across the UK. The Book Club programme provides a framework for children and young people to access and discuss books, allowing them to engage with books in a more informal way, where there are no ‘right’ or ‘wrong’ answers and they are encouraged to bring their own knowledge and experiences to discussions.

• Books also offer a vehicle for discussion about difficult topics (e.g. bullying or anxiety) or current affairs (e.g. climate change or immigration) where the issues can be discussed in a fictional context that allows for a more open discussion and allows young people to practice articulating and sharing views and listening to others.

• The £5,000 funding from the WOB Foundation enabled them to provide support to their current secondary and pupil referral unit school network, to create resources for three new books, and to expand the Picture Book Club programme so that it is now being used in 40 schools.

“The teachers have been raving about how much the children have got out of it, and my son is Year 1 and comes home and talks about the books too!”

Rebecca Green, Chickerell Primary School

Elson Community Library and Hub

• Elson Community Library and Hub in Gosport was taken over by the community in 2020, after it was closed by Hampshire Council. It provides a safe and welcoming environment where the local community can freely access literature and technology, and a Community Hub where local groups and residents can meet and engage in various hobbies and interests.

• The WOB Foundation grant of £1,200 provided most of the funding for The BIG Spring Reading Challenge, with eight schools and 45 children taking part.

“The very much appreciated grant has been instrumental in encouraging children to take a greater interest in reading, giving them a sense of pride and achievement as each reading challenge is completed.”

Jamie Hutchison, Elson Community Library and Hub

Forward Arts Foundation

• The Forward Arts Foundation Forward is a national charity committed to widening poetry’s audience, showcasing the best new work and developing emerging and under-represented talent. Forward works in partnership with a wide network of poets at all stages of their careers, publishers, libraries, community organisations, and thousands of schools to achieve impact on a national scale.

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WOB FOUNDATION

TRUSTEES’ REPORT

FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31 MARCH 2025 (continued)

Forward Arts Foundation (continued)

• They are best known for two flagship programmes: Forward Prizes for Poetry and National Poetry Day, the UK’s biggest one-day poetry festival, which brings poetry to millions of people across the UK every October.

• WOB Foundation have a grant of £5,000 to a pilot project, Taking National Poetry Day Further, aimed at Further Education students.

“We are incredibly grateful to the WOB Foundation for their generous support of £5,000 towards our pilot project, Taking National Poetry Day Further . This funding will enable Forward Arts Foundation to begin developing tailored poetry resources for Further Education students – an often overlooked group facing significant barriers to literacy and learning. While the original scope of our proposal was broader, this grant allows us to take essential first steps: working closely with experienced FE teachers to adapt our materials; strengthening relationships with Liverpool College and targeting the regions of Liverpool and Knowsley; and piloting creative, confidence-boosting poetry activities in some of the UK’s most disadvantaged communities. WOB Foundation’s support is helping us bring the power and pleasure of poetry to new audiences, opening doors to literacy, self-expression, and a renewed sense of possibility.”

Annalise Peters, Forward Arts Foundation

ARVON Foundation

• ARVON supports creative writing in the UK, with four houses, in Devon, Shropshire, Yorkshire and a virtual house ARVON-at-home. Their courses and retreats, led by acclaimed writers, span poetry to playwriting, song to screenplay, fact to fiction. Each year, over 40 of their courses are with vulnerable groups and schools.

• WOB Foundation gave a grant of £5,000.

“In the 12 months since the WOB Foundation’s donation, ARVON delivered:

• 13 week-long creative writing residential course for state school students, vulnerable adults and people from marginalised countries, reaching 148 state school students and 16 vulnerable adults.

• 27 non-residential creative writing days, reaching 1,232 young people

• 44 weekly writing workshops for groups working with vulnerable adults.”

Angela Moore, ARVON Foundation

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WOB FOUNDATION

TRUSTEES’ REPORT

FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31 MARCH 2025 (continued)

The Elizabeth Foundation

• The Elizabeth Foundation is the UK’s largest single provider of education services for babies and pre-school children with all degrees of deafness who face significant barriers in developing spoken language, listening skills, and vital early literacy. The Elizabeth Foundation offers tailored literacy and learning sessions led by fully qualified Teachers of the Deaf.

• WOB Foundation provided a grant of £5,000 for sessions which stimulate a love of reading, and give young deaf children the expert support they need to develop key literacy skills before they start school. Every session has been structured to build vocabulary, understand narrative structure and explore stories that spark the children’s imagination and curiosity. Importantly, all the children have access to books and materials that reflect their own experiences, culture, and deaf identity – allowing them to see themselves in the stories they read. WOB Foundation provided a grant of £5,000.

“Through WOB Foundation’s generous funding, our young learners are steadily growing into confident communicators and enthusiastic readers, getting ready to start school with the tools they need to thrive.”

Karen Paine, Elizabeth Foundation

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WOB FOUNDATION

TRUSTEES’ REPORT

FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31 MARCH 2025 (continued)

The trustees are continuing to monitor the impact of the donations given to these charities and to encourage appropriate charities to apply for grants.

Financial review

Our reserves policy is to hold a minimum of £25,000 in cash or similarly liquid investments, to be sure to be able to meet any commitments.

At the end of the reporting year we had cash of £135,889 (2024: £116,043) , having made grants totaling £56,200 (2024: £54,305) .

Going concern

After making appropriate enquiries, the trustees have a reasonable expectation that the charity has adequate resources to continue in operational existence for the foreseeable future. For this reason, they continue to adopt the going concern basis in preparing the financial statements.

Constitution

WOB Foundation is a Charity constituted by a Declaration of Trust dated 15 July 2022.

Recruitment of trustees

Any further new or replacement trustees will be selected so that we have a wide range of relevant experience including charity fundraising, to ensure we are able to secure funding and make grants in line with our charitable purposes. Trustees will be selected by a sub-committee of the board appointed by the board and comprising of at least three trustees. An initial term of three years will be offered to new trustees, capable of being extended for further terms by board approval.

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WOB FOUNDATION

STATEMENT OF TRUSTEES’ RESPONSIBILITIES

FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31 MARCH 2025 (continued)

Trustees’ responsibilities statement

The trustees are responsible for preparing the Trustees’ report and the financial statements in accordance with applicable law and United Kingdom Accounting Standards (United Kingdom Generally Accepted Accounting Practice).

The law applicable to charities in England & Wales requires the trustees to prepare financial statements for each financial year which give a true and fair view of the state of affairs of the charity and of the incoming resources and application of resources of the charity for that period. In preparing these financial statements, the trustees are required to:

• select suitable accounting policies and then apply them consistently;

• observe the methods and principles in the Charities SORP;

• make judgments and accounting estimates that are reasonable and prudent;

• prepare the financial statements on the going concern basis unless it is inappropriate to presume that the charity will continue in operation.

The trustees are responsible for keeping proper accounting records that are sufficient to show and explain the charity’s transactions and disclose with reasonable accuracy at any time the financial position of the charity and enable them to ensure that the financial statements comply with the Charities Act 2011, the Charity (Accounts and Reports) Regulations 2008 and the provisions of the trust deed. They are also responsible for safeguarding the assets of the charity and hence taking reasonable steps for the prevention and detection of fraud and other irregularities.

The trustees are responsible for the maintenance and integrity of the charity and financial information included on the charity’s website. Legislation in the United Kingdom governing the preparation and dissemination of financial statements may differ from legislation in other jurisdictions.

This report was approved by the trustees on 4 August 2025 and signed on their behalf by:

Martin Nye and Vanessa Connell Trustees

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WOB FOUNDATION

INDEPENDENT EXAMINER’S REPORT FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31 MARCH 2025

Founda�on (the charity) for the year ended 31 March 2025.

Responsibili�es and basis of report

statements in accordance with the requirements of the Chari�es Act 2011 (the 2011 Act).

sec�on 145 of the 2011 Act. In carrying out my examina�on I have followed all the applicable Direc�ons given by the Charity Commission under sec�on 145(5)(b) of the 2011 Act.

Independent examiner's statement

a�en�on in connec�on with the examina�on giving me cause to believe that in any material respect:

(1) accoun�ng records were not kept in respect of the charity as required by sec�on 130 of the Act; or

(2) the accounts do not accord with those records.

I have no concerns and have come across no other ma�ers in connec�on with the examina�on to which a�en�on should be drawn in this report in order to enable a proper understanding of the accounts to be reached.

Kris�na Perry FCCA

Amelia House Crescent Road Worthing West Sussex BN11 1RL

Dated: 6 August 2025

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WOB FOUNDATION

RECEIPTS AND PAYMENTS ACCOUNT FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31 MARCH 2025

Note Receipts Donations 1 Total receipts Payments Donations to institutions 2 Independent examination fees Bank charges Total payments Net of receipts / (payments) Cash funds brought forward Cash funds carried forward	Unrestricted funds 2025 £ 78,221 78,221 56,200 2,100 75 58,375 19,846 116,043 135,889	Total 2025 £ 78,221 78,221 56,200 2,100 75 58,375 19,846 116,043 135,889	Unrestricted funds 2024 £ 170,343 170,343 54,305 - 90 54,395 115,948 95 116,043	Total 2024 £ 170,343
				170,343
				54,305 - 90
				54,395
				115,948
				95 116,043

The notes on page 13 form part of these financial statements.

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WOB FOUNDATION

STATEMENT OF ASSETS AND LIABILITIES AS AT 31 MARCH 2025

----- Start of picture text -----
Unrestricted Unrestricted
funds Total funds Total
2025 2025 2024 2024
Note £ £ £ £
Cash funds
Bank current account 135,889 135,889 116,043 116,043
Total cash funds 135,889 135,889 116,043 116,043
Liabilities
Sundry creditors 3 1,578 1,578 1,500 1,500
----- End of picture text -----

The financial statements were approved by the trustees on 4 August 2025 and signed on their behalf by:

Martin Nye and Vanessa Connell Trustees

The notes on page 13 form part of these financial statements.

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WOB FOUNDATION

NOTES TO THE FINANCIAL STATEMENTS

FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31 MARCH 2025

1. INCOME FROM DONATIONS AND LEGACIES

Donations from individuals Donations from institutions TOTAL INCOME	Unrestricted funds 2025 £ 27,906 50,315 78,221	Total 2025 £ 27,906 50,315 78,221	Unrestricted funds 2024 £ 119,723 50,620 170,343	Total funds 2024 £ 119,723 50,620 170,343

2. ANALYSIS OF GRANTS

----- Start of picture text -----
Grants to Grants to
Institutions Total Institutions Total
2025 2025 2024 2024
£ £ £ £
Donations 56,200 56,200 54,305 54,305
56,200 56,200 54,305 54,305
Donations were made to the following institutions:
2025 2024
£ £
Schoolreaders 10,000 15,000
Give A Book 10,000 15,000
First Story Ltd 10,000 15,000
Childrens BookFest 5,000 -
The Elizabeth Foundation 5,000 -
ARVON Foundation 5,000 -
Booksclubsinschools 5,000 -
Forward Arts Foundation 5,000 -
-
Elson Community Library 1,200
826CHI - 5,001
Bernies Book Bank - 4,304
Total 56,200 54,305
----- End of picture text -----

3. AUDITORS’ REMUNERATION

The independent examiner’s remuneration amounts to an independent examination fee of £1,578 (2024: £2,100) .

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