ANNUAL REPORT
01-Apr-2024 to 31-Mar-2025 Date of Report: November 2025
Charity Name: The Olibob Arts Foundation
Charity Number:
Email address: Registered Address: info@olibob.org.uk 18 Hawkley Drive, Tadley, 1201475 Website: Hants, RG26 3YH, UK www.olibob.org.uk
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TABLE OF CONTENTS
Summary ________ 3 Background of the Charity and its Purpose _____ 3 Income _________ 3 Outgoings ________ 4 Outgoings - Grants _______ 4 Outgoings - ”Olibob Awards” _______ 6 Outgoings - Running Costs ______ 7 Trustees __________ 7 Charity Website ________ 7 Looking Ahead _________ 8 FINANCIAL SUMMARY_______ 9 Income _________ 9 Outgoings - Grants and Awards ______ 9 Outgoings - Running Costs _______ 9 FINANCIAL STATEMENTS _____ 10 Statement of Financial Position _______ 10
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SUMMARY
This report for The Olibob Arts Foundation covers the period from 1[st] April 2024 through to the 31[st ] of March 2025 and was compiled following the AGM held on 11[th] November 2025.
Background of the Charity and its Purpose
The Olibob Arts Foundation (TOAF) was created in October 2021 and was granted charity status by the Charity Commission in January 2023. It was set up as a legacy to Oli Williams, whose life and career benefitted enormously from his involvement in the performing arts. He also used his life skills and experiences to give back to the arts so that others would benefit. The trustees felt it fitting to continue Oli’s legacy in supporting other young people to benefit from the performing arts.
Performing arts, such as drama, dance, and music benefit young people in many ways, such as providing them with confidence, resilience, and improved communication skills as they prepare for entering the workplace and participating in society.
Our mission is to “ Help Young People to Develop Key Life Skills through the Performing Arts .” We aim to achieve this by filling the vital gap in arts education funding by ensuring that access to the performing arts does not become a luxury only for young people whose parents can afford it. We accomplish this by:
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Providing grants or bursaries for drama or theatre projects in England and Wales, with a particular focus on those aged 11-21.
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Providing “Olibob Awards” in recognition of young people aged 13-21 who have demonstrated personal growth from drama or music groups, and shown inclusiveness, kindness, care, and support of others.
Income
The Foundation raised £14,298 in this reporting period. Some details are shown in the Financial Summary below but included £10,214 of generous donations from several organisations and friends from fundraising activities. We are incredibly grateful for their support.
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Gift aid from HMRC on eligible donations added over £3,000 to our funds and Interest on the charity savings account raised £468.
Fundraising at a local summer fete raised £343, and £75 was raised from the sale of a signed shirt donated to us by the actor Ralph Fiennes during the production of Macbeth in London in March 2024. This donation was kindly orchestrated by our Patron Jonathan Case, who starred alongside Ralph Fiennes. We want to thank them again for their valuable support.
Outgoings
Total outgoings amounted to £16,358 and these are described below. This included £14,500 of grants provided to performing arts and youth theatre groups, and a single grant of £1,250 to fund 5 Olibob Awards. Running costs were £608 .
Outgoings - Grants
In this reporting period, the Foundation awarded performing arts grants totalling £14,500 .
The goal of the trustees is to identify and work with youth performing arts groups and charities in England and Wales to ensure that grants we award are aligned to our purpose and our grant making policy.
The trustees currently only provide grants to youth performing arts groups and schools, rather than provide their own performing arts services. This allows:
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the performing arts groups and schools to manage the appropriate safeguarding of the young people in their charge in line with their procedures.
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The performing arts groups or schools to manage the due diligence in ensuring that the grants are used to provide access to drama to young people from the most disadvantaged backgrounds, who would otherwise not be able to afford the performing arts classes. This is achieved, for example, by the schools validating with the local councils that the young people are in receipt of free school meals, or that their families are in receipt of benefits.
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The charity’s purpose is to ensure that the grants we provide support young people from disadvantaged backgrounds to develop key skills through access to performing arts classes. They can then put these new skills on their CV and demonstrate them during job interviews etc. We award grants under the condition that the young people are made aware of the importance of learning and developing new life skills in the drama groups and that they should feel comfortable in discussing these at an interview etc.
The £14,500 of grants awarded for performing arts groups included:
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£10,000 to the National Youth Arts Trust (NYAT) to fund a youth theatre project in Hull throughout 2024
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£4,500 to the Corn Exchange Trust in Newbury to fund different youth performing arts activities, including £3,000 to fund 29 youth theatre bursaries that were awarded during the academic year from Sept 2024 to July 2025, and £1,500 to fund an outreach youth theatre project in Bishops Green , a deprived area near Newbury.
Feedback on the impact of these grants has been incredibly positive.
NYAT have been an amazing partner for delivering our goals to young people. Their aim is to widen access to performing arts for the most disadvantaged young people aged 12 to 25. The grant for the Hull project provided year-round free 2.5 hours weekly theatre workshops, masterclasses, and theatre trips to 11-19 years old in the 6th most income deprived area of England, Hull (ONS 2019). The latest feedback shows that:
| 100% | Members rated their overall experience at the youth theatre asexcellent or good. |
|---|---|
| 88% | Members said they were more confident in their performing and acting skills since joining, and the remaining 12% had only just joined the youth theatre. |
| 77% | Members were now more likely to study arts subjects at higher education. |
| 94% | Members feel they now know more about theatre and performance since joining. The other 6% were brand new members. |
| 77% | Members said this was their first time joining a youth theatre. |
Importantly, one of the key outcomes reported by NYAT was that the project created a sense of cultural community for those who earlier thought they did not belong. Youth theatre
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becomes family for many of the young people NYAT support. Not only are they teaching vital skills, but this is also a crucial weekly outlet and social experience.
The youth theatre grant to the Corn Exchange funded 29 youth theatre bursaries. These were a mix of part and full bursaries, that were assessed on need for students who find it difficult to pay their fees due to circumstances such as low income, single parent family, recent unemployment or redundancy, seasonal work, or loss of income due to serious health issues or illness.
The Bishops Green project began in Spring 2025 and will be reported on next year. Nevertheless, the two planned activities focussed on drama activities and games that build confidence, social skills and creativity; and a Create a Space project designed for vulnerable young people, delivered to boys in school years 7-9 to develop resilience and transferable skills.
Outgoings - ”Olibob Awards”
An additional £1,250 grant was provided to the National Youth Arts Trust to fund the five “Olibob Awards” awarded in this reporting period.
This award is about recognising young people who go above and beyond, demonstrating empathy and support to those around them, regardless of ability, especially in drama or music.
Each award included an engraved glass trophy and a financial award of £250. Most of the recipients planned to use the financial award to fund performing arts lessons.
We are proud of all five Olibob Award winners this year. They are Chapman (see photo), Jacob, Ruby, Gracie, and William.
Chapman Shum with his Olibob Award
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Outgoings - Running Costs
None of the trustees take an income, and although the charity’s constitution allows trustees to claim reimbursement of expenses, the running costs in this accounting period were limited to just £608 .
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£585 of costs were for purchases such as branded garments, banners, business cards, and ancillary costs including postage.
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£23 was incurred in website and online or cashless payment fees.
Trustees
Four trustees run the charity. They are:
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Mrs Susan Williams – Chair
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Mr Joseph Williams – Deputy Chair
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Mr Simon Williams – Secretary
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Dr Matthew Williams – Treasurer
All are involved in fundraising and the management of grant allocations, changes, or cost approvals. We meet formally when there are key decisions to be made, and all meetings are minuted.
At the AGM, Matthew Williams gave his notice to stand down as treasurer, so this post is currently vacant. New trustees are welcome from those involved closely in youth theatre or performing arts to ensure that our purpose remains fresh and that critical decisions in following our grant making policy are made.
Charity Website
Our website has been a fundamental enabler for TOAF. This is run by “Charity Hive” who at the time of creating this report in November 2025 have been named the “Best Digital Fundraising & Donations Platform 2025” at the prestigious SME Southern Enterprise Awards.
The only charges made by the new website provider are 2% on website donations, and 4% on raffle entries or ticket sales (plus credit card fees on the STRIPE platform).
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Looking Ahead
Fundraising is key to the charity’s continued viability. Several people have volunteered their time to support us, and the trustees are indebted to them. We are always looking for new and innovative fundraising ideas and need more volunteers to assist.
Moving forward, we plan to try different methods of fundraising. We did not run a raffle in this reporting period, but if we find a kind donor to offer a generous prize, we will repeat this. We will also continue to run stalls at local summer fetes.
That said, if fundraising becomes an issue, then we will need to reconsider the purpose or future of the charity. These decisions will be reviewed over the next period and communicated in the next report.
We will submit yet another gift aid claim to HMRC on the donations made in this accounting period.
We are keen to establish new relationships with local youth performing arts groups. Whilst we have built a great relationship with the trustees of the Corn Exchange Trust in Newbury, to benefit some of the most disadvantaged young people in the West Berkshire area, we plan to spend time approaching other groups in the South of England, so that local donors see the benefit of our charity goals in the local communities.
Simon Williams - Co-Founder and Charity Secretary
Susan Williams - Co-Founder and Charity Chair
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FINANCIAL SUMMARY
Income
We raised £14,298 in this accounting period, primarily through private donations.
£10,214 of generous donations were received from several organisations and friends from fund raising activities. We want to thank them for their valuable support, and they include:
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£2,250 from Helping Hands in Tadley
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£2,000 from Silchester Players (portion of net earnings from several productions)
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£1,018 from Unity Software employees (Unity was Oli’s last employer)
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£750 from Basingstoke Camera Club (from the 2024 Open Exhibition)
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£500 from the Loddon Valley Lions, Tadley (Lion’s Den – to support local charities)
Other fundraising activities included
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£343 from a fundraising stall at Silchester Fete, Hampshire
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£229 from a Facebook fundraiser
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£90 from a bucket collection run at Hart Players during one performance
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£75 from the auction of a shirt signed by Ralph Fiennes
Gift aid from HMRC on eligible donations added over £3,000 to our funds (plus £165 interest from HMRC). Interest on the charity savings account raised £468.
Outgoings - Grants and Awards
Three separate grants totalling £15,750 were awarded from the charity funds in this reporting period. These grants were listed above and include:
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£14,500 for performing arts/youth theatre grants.
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£1,250 to fund the five “Olibob Awards” awarded in this period.
Outgoings - Running Costs
Running costs of the charity in this accounting period amounted to £608 (details above).
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FINANCIAL STATEMENTS
Statement of Financial Position
The table below shows the financial position as of 31[st] March 2025. The available bank balance is £21,149 (current account and savings account).
| DESCRIPTION | INCOME | OUTGOINGS | BALANCE |
|---|---|---|---|
| Previous Balance (31stMarch 2024) | £23,208 | ||
| Donations | £10,214 | ||
| Charitable Activities | £343 | ||
| Trading Activities | £75 | ||
| Investments (Interest) | £468 | ||
| Other (primarily HMRC Gift Aid) | £3,198 | ||
| Grants & Awards | £15,750 | ||
| Running Costs | £608 | ||
| TOTAL | £14,298 | £16,358 | £21,149 |
| Accrued funds for grants in next period | £0 | ||
| Available funds | £21,149 |
The charity holds no debts or liabilities.
Charity funds are held in :
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METRO BANK Community Current Account.
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METRO BANK Community Instant Access Account (Interest Paid)
No independent examiner was requested to review these accounts given we received less than £25,000 income.