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2025-03-31-accounts

Hastings City of Sanctuary

Registered Charity Number 1200852

Annual Accounts

for the period

1 April 2024 31 March 2025

Contents:

Organisational information Trustees Annual Report Receipts & Payments account Statement of Assets & Liabilities Notes Independent Examiner's report General ledger

Audit numbers including voided

Hastings Voluntary Action Jackson Hall Portland Place Hastings East Sussex TN34 1QN

Hastings City of Sanctuary Registered Charity Number 1200852

Hastings City of Sanctuary Organisational information for the year ended 31 March 2025

Name of charity: Hastings City of Sanctuary
Registered Charity Number 1200852
Legal form: Charitable Incorporated Organisation (CIO)
Governing document: Constitution (last amended 6 September 2022)
Address: c/o Hastings voluntary Action
Jackson Hall, Portland Place , Hastings TN34 1QN
Committee members: Chair : Polly Gifford
Treasurer : Julie Todd
Olivia Cavanagh
Jane Grimshaw
Rachel Lowden
Bankers: Lloyds Bank - PO Box 1000 Andover BX1 1LT
Independent Examiner: Laura Dawson
Finance Manager, Hastings Voluntary Action
Jackson Hall, Portland Place, Hastings, TN34 1QN
Objects: The objects of the CIO are to promote the following, for the public
benefit:
1. The promotion of social inclusion for the public benefit among
people who are refugees and asylum seekers, socially excluded
on the grounds of their social and economic position, by promoting
and/or co-ordinating services and facilities to assist them to adapt
within a new community.
2. The relief of financial hardship among asylum seekers and
refugees living or working in Hastings and surrounding areas by
acting as an umbrella and resource for local refugee support
services.
3. The advancement of the education of the public in general
about the issues relating to refugees and those seeking asylum.
4. The promotion of equality and diversity for the public benefit by
promoting activities to foster understanding and good relations
between the general public and people seeking sanctuary.
Reserves policy: Hastings City of Sanctuary aims to keep a sum in reserve to cover
unforseen debts or unrecoverable expenses. The current level
deemed to be prudent is £1,500. This policy is reviewed annually.

Hastings City of Sanctuary Registered Charity Number 1200852

Hastings City of Sanctuary

The Report of the Trustees for the year ended 31st March 2025

Hastings City of Sanctuary Review of the Year 2024/25

Hastings City of Sanctuary (known locally as Hastings Community of Sanctuary / HCoS) is a volunteer-run Charitable Incorporated Organisation (CIO) committed to building a culture of welcome for people seeking sanctuary and refuge in Hastings and surrounding area. We work to raise awareness of the issues facing refugees and people seeking asylum, run collections for essential items and raise funds to support local projects.

Our projects include the annual Sanctuary Festival , The People’s Boutique and the Sanctuary Awards .

We campaign for a fair and humane asylum system, including more safe and legal routes for people to seek asylum in the UK. Once here, we believe that people should be housed and supported in local communities and be able to work and contribute to those communities, while their claims are assessed.

HCoS grew out of community group Hastings Supports Refugees and joined the national City of Sanctuary movement in 2017. Hastings Supports Refugees now sits under the umbrella of HCoS. We work closely with other voluntary sector organisations and agencies. Key partnerships include The Refugee Buddy Project Hastings, Rother & Wealden, Hastings Museum & Art Gallery, East Sussex Library Service, Hastings Voluntary Action / Links Project, Hasting Borough Council and Community of Sanctuary UK.

Key Activities and Highlights for 2024/25

• Sanctuary Festival 2024

On 23 June we held the eighth edition of Sanctuary Festival and the fourth to be hosted by Hastings Museum & Art Gallery, with 2000 people attending over the course of the day. The festival supported 65 artists, including 20 with lived experience of the UK asylum system, 74 community participants, and 35 volunteers. 19 local groups and organisations had stalls at the event including The Refugee Buddy Project, Association of Ukrainians in Great Britain, Women’s Voice and Freedom From Torture.

The music line-up included Fol'klor Musiqaa , a unique Syrian / Ukrainian collaboration between festival favourites Jamal & Alaa and duo Dina & Polina. Also Sanctuary Sounds , a new Hastingsbased international group that came together specially for the festival. The international flavour continued with Shiva Nova’s Orchestra From Everywhere and traditional Ukrainian folk music from Culbaba Theatre based in Bexhill.

We were very excited to be working for a second year with Hear Me Out, who run music workshops with people in immigration detention centres, contingency accommodation and asylum hotels. Band from the Barracks are a group of musicians currently living in temporary accommodation at Napier Barracks in Folkestone, Kent who have been making music together in weekly workshops with Hear Me Out.

Hastings City of Sanctuary Registered Charity Number 1200852

With community choirs Soundwaves and The Shady Pines and singer/songwriter Charlie Austen , the Fat Tuesday Second Line Youth Band , the day closed with the fantastic drumming group YYPPFDs.

There were lots of creative things to do throughout the day including activities from Radiator Arts, circus and drumming workshops and storytelling sessions. Our special project was the Sanctuary Fashion Show, created by a group of women from Sudan, Ukraine, Syria and Hastings with traditional and contemporary costume, some made specially for the event.

Inside the museum we collaborated with the team from Playing The Race Card, who created the Black Joy! Up Close and Personal in the main gallery, a thought-provoking exhibition that highlighted over 40 talented black artists from the Southeast. Curator Lorna Hamilton-Brown gave an exhibition tour and then chaired a discussion with some of the artists involved. Featuring Fatima Esayli, Gabrielle Anderson and Rahim Amartey, this insightful conversation explored how the migration backgrounds of these artists have influenced their artistic creations, and how the concept of 'our home' serves as a guiding force in their creative practice.

The second panel discussion explored what makes a place feel like home, and the role partnership between the community and institutions like museums and libraries in creating a culture of welcome. With Rossana Leal, Founder and Director of the Refugee Buddy Project, and Gill Caroe from Sanctuary Eastbourne, Chaired by Festival Organiser Polly Gifford.

We then had a special performance from the Hands Up Project called Welcome to Earth For many years the Hands up Project has supported children in Gaza to create short plays in English which can be performed live online. We are presented two such plays: 'We will wait until they open the gate’ and ‘One world different stories’ performed by children in Hastings, Directed by Ali Lane. Hands Up Project Founder & Artistic Coordinator Nick Bilbrough shared some of the incredible drama work that has been created by young people in Gaza in the past few months.

• Hastings Museum & Art Gallery becomes a Museum of Sanctuary

This year we supported our second local organisation to gain their Sanctuary Award. Offered through City of Sanctuary UK to encourage mainstream sectors to contribute to building a movement of welcome, the awards programme recognises and celebrates the organisations who go above and beyond to embed solidarity, compassion and inclusion within their work.

We have worked with Hastings Museum & Art Gallery for several years, as hosts of Sanctuary Festival. They also have a strong partnership with The Refugee Buddy Project, who were on the assessment panel for the award. The award itself was presented at the Sanctuary Comedy Night held at the Museum in November.

Hastings City of Sanctuary Registered Charity Number 1200852

Ongoing Activities:

Apr-24 Trustees Meeting
HCoS volunteer attended a training session delivered by The Refugee Buddy Project
with Library Service managers, as part of ongoing support for them as a Library of
Sanctuary.
Meeting held with Sanctuary Festival Advisory Group – the group decide to create a
fashion show for Sanctuary Festival, with both traditional and modern costume from
their home countries – Syria, Sudan and Ukraine.
May-24 Restarted conversations about Hastings becoming a Council of Sanctuary.
Information stall held at the Kings Road Marketing in St Leonards.
Cllr Tony Collins, Green Party, attended our volunteers meeting to learn more about
our work and how the (Green controlled) council can support.
Jun-24 Sanctuary Festival 2024 at Hastings Museum (see above report)
Jul-24 Vigil held for lives lost in the Channel.
Hastings Borough Council host a meeting for local refugee support organisation to
share information and plans.
Aug-24 HCoS volunteers join the parade for Hastings Pride.
Trustees Meeting
Stalls held in Hastings Town Centre and in St Leonards to show solidarity with refugees
in the wake of the riots around the UK.
Sep-24 HCoS planned outdoor film event for the We Are a Sea Festival is cancelled due to bad
weather, but will be rescheduled.
Oct-24 Stall held at the No Place for Hate event supported by Sussex Police.
Nov-24 Sanctuary Award presented to Hastings Museum.
Sanctuary Comedy Night at Hastings Museum in partnership with Freedom From
Torture East Sussex and Kamikaze Komedy. £1300 raised.

Hastings City of Sanctuary

Registered Charity Number 1200852

Dec-24 Trustees Meeting Jan-25 Valentine’s Day action – cards sent to local MP Helena Dollimore Feb-25 Donations made to Warming Up the Homeless who are providing halal meals to a small group of refugees, Calais Kitchen and the Wood Shed. HCoS hosts the first Refugee Support Network event at Hastings Museum, for groups and organisations who support refugees and people seeking sanctuary as part of their wider work in our community. 10 organisations attended with strong enthusiasm to Mar-25 formalise the network at meet regularly. Ramadan packs made up and distributed at the Links Project.

Hastings City of Sanctuary Registered Charity Number 1200852

Hastings City of Sanctuary Receipts & Payments Account

for the period

1 April 2024 to 31 March 2025

Receipts
Notes
Donations and legacies
Income from charitable activities
Other income
Other trading activities
Investments
Total Receipts
Expenditure
Expenditure on charitable activities
Other expenditure
Raising funds
Total Expenditure
Net surplus (deficit)
Movement in funds
Funds brought forward
31/3/24
Funds carried forward
31/3/25		 Restricted
funds
Designated
funds
Unrestricted
funds
Total funds
-
1,399.00
2,203.00
3,602.00
-
-
4,195.18
4,195.18
150.00
53.73
812.69
1,016.42
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
150.00
1,452.73
7,210.87
8,813.60
21,588.00
6,450.00
5,689.95
33,727.95
-
49.35
521.22
570.57
-
-
-
-
21,588.00
6,499.35
6,211.17
34,298.52
(21,438.00)
(5,046.62)
999.70
(25,484.92)
-
-
-
-
9,373.19
4,633.76
17,470.14
31,477.09
(12,064.81)
(412.86)
18,469.84
5,992.17
Current Year		 2023-2024
3,500.60
46,189.66
2,302.84
-
-
51,993.10
40,707.05
1,895.72
-
42,602.77
9,390.33
22,086.76
31,477.09

Hastings City of Sanctuary Registered Charity Number 1200852

Hastings City of Sanctuary Statement of Assets & Liabilities

as at

31 March 2025

as at
31 March 2025
HCOS Account
@ 31/03/24
HSR Account
@ 31/03/24
Paypal Account
@ 31/03/24
Current liabilities
Current assets		 Restricted
Funds
Designated
Funds
Unrestricted
Funds
Total
-
1,882.66
3,219.45
5,102.11
-
-
787.07
787.07
-
33.79
69.20
102.99
-
1,916.45
4,075.72
5,992.17
-
1,916.45
4,075.72
5,992.17		 2023-2024
Total
27,058.55
4,308.27
110.27
31,477.09
31,477.09

Charity Law requires the Trustees to prepare financial statements for each financial year which comply with the regulations set out in the Charities Act 1993. The trustess have elected to take advantage of the provisions that apply to small charities and have prepared a Receipts and Payments account and Statement of Assets and Liabilities.

Approved by the Trustees on

and signed on their behalf by Chair : Polly Gifford Treasurer : Julie Todd

Hastings City of Sanctuary Registered Charity Number 1200852

Hastings City of Sanctuary

Notes to the accounts for the year ended 31 March 2025

1 Receipts & payments accounts

Receipts and payments accounts are statements that summarise the movement of cash into and out of the charity during the financial year. In this context "cash" includes cash equivalents, for example, bank accounts where cash can be readily withdrawn to pay for debt as they become due.

2 Premises & staff

The organisation has no premises.

The organisation has no employees.

3 Trustees' remuneration

2 of our trustees received renumeration in the year. Polly Gifford was paid £2500 for managing the sanctuary festival. This was discussed among the trustees by email and it was felt that Polly with her arts management experience and close involvement with the agencies supporting refugees in Hastings would be the most appropriate person.

Rachel Lowden was paid £600 for organising the volunteers for the Sanctuary Festival. Again this was agreed and confirmed by other trustees in Rachel's absence. It was felt that Rachel's ongoing connection and links with our volunteers made her the most appropriate person to undertake this work.

4 There were no related party transactions during the period.

5 Previous period comparison

The previous period's figures have been included for comparison.

6 Glossary of terms

Restricted funds: These are funds given to the charity, subject to specific restrictions set by the donor, but still within the general objects of the charity.

Designated funds: These are funds, not subject to any specific restrictions, but which the charity has decided to set aside for a specific purpose. In this case, the purpose is to earmark online fundraising to support work with refugees.

Hastings City of Sanctuary Registered Charity Number 1200852

Independent Examiner's Report to the Committee of Hastings City of Sanctuary

I report on the accounts of Hastings City of Sanctuary for the twelve month period ended 31 March 2025 which are set out on the previous pages.

Respective responsibilities of committee & examiner

The charity's trustees are responsible for the preparation of the accounts. The charity's trustees consider that an audit is not required for this year under section 144 of the Charities Act 2011 (the Charities Act), and that an independent examination is needed.

It is my responsibility:

Basis of independent examiner's report

My examination was carried out in accordance with the General Directions given by the Charity Commission. An examination includes a review of the accounting records kept by the charity and a comparison of the supporting documentation presented with those records. It also includes consideration of any unusual items or disclosures in the accounts, and seeking explanations from the trustees concerning any such matters. The procedures undertaken do not provide all the evidence that would be required in an audit, and consequently no opinion is given as to whether the accounts present a "true and fair" view and the report is limited to those matters set out in the statement below.

Independent examiner's statement

In connection with my examination, no matter has come to my attention:

Laura Dawson

Finance Manager, Hastings Voluntary Action Jackson Hall, Portland Place, Hastings, TN34 1QN

Dated: