Report gfthd Trustees andFinancia/ Statementsfor the Period ended31 March 2024 for The Queen's Reading Room Regzstered charity # 1201916 ueen RE DING ROOM Iy, Hugo Burnand Tlie Qt4een s ReadtngRoom Trwtees Rvport Fortbeperiodend,:d31 March 2024 Contents Pages Report of the Trustees 1-14 Report of the Independent Auditors 15-18 Statement of Financial Activities. 19 Balance Sheet 20 Statement of Cash Flows 21 Notes to the Financial Statements 22-30 The fLnancial statements have been prepxred in accordance with the accounting polities set out in note I to the financi215tatement5 and con]ply with the charity's governing document, the Charities Act 2011 ￿Ld "Accounting and Reporting by Charities= Statement of Recommended Prnctice applicable to charities pr¢paring thcir accounts in accordanc¢ with th¢ Financial Reporting Standard applicabl¢ in th¢ UK and Republic of Irel2nd (FRS 102)" (effective l Januy 2019). Thc truscecs prcscnt thcir annual rcport and financial statcmcnts for thc pcriod cndcd 31 March 2024. The Queen sReadingRoom Tru&tee5 R entertaining but educational content which might inspire a person to pick up a book, or lead them to a bettrer understanding about a book they may have read. We aim for our coverage of eaLh tide chosen by Her Majesty The Queen for our online book club to drive interest and to help our followers foster and continue an active love of reading. Providing the audience with soft cducational ('edutainment') content around books, we produce and relcasc author interviews, Itve readings, soclo-historical context and plenty of insight into the writing process. These posts provide frec, educational and accessible content and givc our followers reading inspiration, introducing them to books that they will hopefully love. We seek to create and provide exdusive and content with our authors, actors and historians, to provide content that followers would not necessarily be able to access on their own. The Queen sReadingRoom Tru&tee5 R grants and philanthropic doThors. The total income for the period was £1,142,228 which was made up of £1,105,938 in fiLndraising iThcomc and £36,290 in charitable activities (festival incomc). During the period, £146,520 was spent on the development of our App which has been capitalised during the period and is shown as an asset in our Balance Sheet. The development of the App is ongoing at the period end date, and therefore further costs will be incurred before the App goes live. The overall surplus for the period was £635,802 and the cash balance held at the period end was £515,621. Reserves policy In the first financial period of our charity, we sought to bring in funds which would establish the charity and support its ongoing existence. We set an ideal reserves policy of three to six months of reseNes to ensure that we can meet our obligations regarding stafflng and core costs. As at 31 March 2024, we held total funds of £635,802, of which: £30,384 were restricted ￿ndS carried over to the following financial year; and £354,487 were designated to the delivery of existing and future projccts, giving unrestricted and undesignated bg41ance at the end of M￿ch 2024 of £250,931. Our central operating costs are approximately £35,000 per month. As of March 2024 we wcrc therefore operating with approximately 7.5 months of free reserves, which is higher than our current reserves policy but as we are entering into only our second financi31 year, the Trustees consider this sensible at this stage. The Queen's ReadingRoo Tiuste¢s'RIPort For ihePeriodended31 March 2024 Risks, uncertainties and thefuture At thc end of our first period as a charity, the principal risks we face include- Financial: ￿llding appropriate for our scale and ambition to create a lasting legacy. We created a fundraising committee and we are now developing a membership strncturc to attract funding. Mission= Sufficient progress against our mission. Team recruitment and development: Recruiting and retaining outstanding talent is essential to our success. We are accessing a broad network and HR expertise. Demonstration of Impact: as a new unique charity how we most effectively demonstrate impact is important. A risk register has been prepared and the trustees are considering options for mitigation of these risks. Future plans We hope to rcignite a love of rcading in people across thc UK and beyond, having discovered that just 5 minutes has a profound beneficial effect. Between 2024-2025, The Queen s Reading Room will strengthen its work in Four key areas: l. Groundbre2king reSe￿ch a. Launch a major rescarch project looking into thc holistic effects of rcading on wcllbcing, from sleep to brain health b.work with major partners such as the British Neuroscience Association to ensure that our findings reach as wide an audience as possible. 2. Education a. Expand our audience by reviewing our current strategy on social media) podcast and web. b. Embed outreach into our event progran]ming, to ensure that our festival and pop-up events have as wide an impact on the local community as possible, bringing people back into reading. 3. Advocacy and campaigning Ensure that our research reaches as wide an audience as possible. b. Usc digit￿ and technological innovation to SUPPOrt readers on their reading journeys. 4. Grassroots work a. to reach those communities whose access to books and literature is limited, through outreach work and engagement. to partner with other national organisations where collaboration can strengthen our collective impact. io TlJe 12ueen 5 ReaAing Room Trns,:Ees'RePrt Fi?r I'heperiodended31 M4r¢h 2024 Structure, Governance andmanagement Govcrning documcnt The charity is controlled by its governing document, a Constitution of a Charitable Incorporated Organisation (CIO). Recruitment and appointment of new 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. Organisational structure We have a small team comprising of four trustees, supporting the Chief Executive to mobilise the charity, recruit 2nd train staff, provide ongoing development of its objectives and fr&n]eworL alongside thndraising and the management of thc charity. The Queen s Rcading Room has six members of permanent staff based around the UK, comprising the Chief Executive OfFicer, Director of Operations (appointed Nov 2024). Director of Marcomms; Senior Producer, Producer, and, Executive Assistant to the CEO (appointed June 2024). Decision making Our Board of Trustces is responsiblc for all govcrnance and decision making, and are thc charity's only voting members. Day to day management is delegated to The Queen's Reading Room's Chief Executive. In planning their activities the trustees have p2id due regard to the Charity Commission guidance on public benefit. Induction and training of new trustees The charity trustees will Make availablc to each new charity trustee, on or before their first appointment: i) a copy of the current version of its constithtion-, and ii) a copy of the CIO'S latest Trustees Annual Reporc and statement of accounts. Key management remuneration Our policy is to benchmark any new roles against comparable roles within the sector. Staff are subsequently offered a salw th&t takes into account the skills and experience they bring to the role, pay equality and affordability. Pay is reviewed annually in March, when the cost-of-living and inflationary environment is reviewed. Any pay review is recommended by the Chief Executive and subject to the approval of the Board. Thc Chief Executive s salary is revicwed annually by the Board of Trnstees. We subscribe to the London Living Wage. We have a defined contribution pension for all staff after their probation period has passed through NEST. Fundraising The trustees take their responsibility under the Charities (Protection and Social Investment) Act 2016 seriously 2nd have considered the implications for the charity's activities. In the first period, fundraising committee wis established to 8UPPOrt 2nd oversee fundraising. No complaints were received during the period in relation to ￿ndraisIng. li The Queen sReadingRoom Trustees'RIPort Fortbeperiodended31 Mar¢b 2024 ee eam." Wicki Perrin- CEO Vicki workcd for many years in TV and Radio, and as th¢ produccr of th¢ BBC'S 5(X) Words comp¢tition. She hclpcd to found the Marcomms function at Princ¢ s Trust International, b¢for¢ becoming a festival producer for The Sunday Times. Sh¢ founded The Quccn's Reading Room as a chariry in 2023, having run it as a book club since 2021. Kirstie Logan-Townshend- Director of Marcomms Former Publiciry Director & founder of Kirstie Logan PR, Kirstie developed her PR career at CLD Communications and Premier PR. As a Senior Press Officer with the Department for Science, Innovation and Technology, she led on AI and Digital Infrastructure for the UK government. Molly Ramsden- He*d ofTaient IKlolly worked as a literary agent for fifteen years, stt￿tIng As an assistant at the Wylie Agency) then moving to Janlow & Nesbit UK Ltd Ind finishing with A personal list of young fiction writers At Luigi Bonomi Associates. Dr Eva Haghighi- Head of Production Evx is a passionate supporter And Advocxte frjr literature and holds a DPhil in Classical Languages knd Literature at Oxford University. Meet the Board Gf Trustees Chair: Amanda Mackenzie LVO OBE Former Chief Executive of Business in the Community and former CCTrIO at Aviva. Aminda has over 30 years of commercial experience, induding director roles at British Airways Airmiles, BT and British Gis. She is a non- executive direetor And cummittee chair at Lloyds Banking Group and British Lind. She was un the boArd of the National Youth Orchestra for 10 year5 and wk5 a ￿ember of Lord Davies reNryew to increase women on board5. Trustee and Chair of the Finance Committee: Aatif Hassan Aatif founded Dukes Education in 2015. He is also Chairmth of Cavendish Education. a group of 11 schools for pupik ￿ryth dyslexia and autism. and a trustee of St Janie5 Independent Schools. Aatif 15 also on the board of CReSTeD. Aatif has a fir5t-class degree in Mathematics and Econornics and also had a British Arrny cornmission. In 2020, h¢ was 2wardcd th¢ Fr¢¢dom of City of L)ndon for Se￿iC¢S to ¢ducation. Trustcc: Anunda Macmanus CVO Forn]crly Privat¢ S￿retary to Th¢ Qu¢¢n for ovcr 25 years, Amanda Macmanus has ov¢rs¢cA nun]¢rous international Tours, and State Visits from Pr¢sid¢nts and monarchs around d]¢ world. Slie has b¢¢n instrumental in d¢veloping The form¢r Duchess of Cornwall's patronag¢s and prcsidcncies of literacy charitics in the UK. Trustee: Gyles Brandreth Writer, broadcaster, actor, former MP and Lord Commissioncr of the Treasury? now Chanccllor of the UnAversity of Chester. Regular TV and Radio presenter and podcast host, Gyles is the Foundcr of Poetry Together, which encourages young and older people to learn poetry together. He is an inaugural ainbassador for the Royal Commonwealth S(Kiery and an active supporter of The (Lueen s Commonwealth Essay Competition. 12 The Queen sReadingRoom Tru&tee5 R