## **Relume** ## **Charitable Incorporated Organisation (CIO)** ## **Trustees Annual Report** **For the period 29[th] March 2023 to 5[th] April 2024** ## **Full name** Relume ## **Registered Charity Number** 1202524 ## **Trustees** Grace Knight Simon Mawdsley Catherine Murray ## **Address** C/o The Dudson Centre Hope Street Hanley Stoke-on-Trent ST1 5DD ## **Objectives** The objects of the charity as set out in its constitution: The objects of the CIO are, for the public benefit and as an expression of the Christian faith, to relieve women in conditions of emotional, spiritual or physical distress, whether these conditions are a result of sexual exploitation or themselves give rise to sexual exploitation, in particular by the provision of practical and pastoral care, and to advance the education of the public in relation to such exploitation, its causes and its results. ## **Governance** This year saw us gain registration as a charitable incorporated organization (CIO) on 29th March 2023. Having grown out of an on-street outreach project called Yasha (which began at the end of 2019), our intention in registering under the name Relume was to keep Yasha as our on-street project but to give us scope to increase our reach over time by connecting with women involved in commercial sexual exploitation in contexts other than street prostitution. Yasha is our first and only project so far, but now sits under the umbrella heading of Relume. The CIO operates under the rules of its constitution registered with the Charity Commission on 29th March 2023. The Charity began with three founding trustees who aim to grow the Board in order to widen and diversify the skill set of its members and to ensure the Board’s sustainability. New trustees will be supplied with a New Trustee Pack with information that includes: - Our Constitution, Mission, Aims and Values. - Our Core Values and Code of Conduct for Trustees - Our most recent Annual Report and Accounts - Our Statement of Faith and Supplementary Statement on Human Sexuality The trustees meet at least eight times of year, but the day to day running of the charity is delegated to the Project Manager. ## **Risk management** The trustees actively monitor and review risks that the charity may face, and are satisfied that any major risks identified have been adequately mitigated. It is recognized that any steps that are taken can only provide reasonable, not absolute assurance, that risks are adequately managed. Key controls used by the charity include: - Risk assessment and management procedures - Formal written policies and guidance - A code of conduct for all volunteers - Training of volunteers - Strategic planning, budgeting and accounting - Vetting procedures as required by law to protect the vulnerable ## **Strategic Aims for our first year** To grow our capacity to deliver high quality, specialist, outreach support to women involved in street prostitution and to develop a broader range of support services to meet their needs, for example by working with other local partners such as KEYS. To explore opportunities to connect with and support women involved in commercial sexual exploitation in contexts other than on the street. To increase our profile with churches, professionals and local partners, attracting opportunities to collaborate and deliver awareness-raising sessions and training. ## **Public Benefit Statement** The trustees confirm that they have complied with the duty in Section 17 of the Charities Act 2011 to have due regard to the Charity Commission’s general guidance on public benefit, ‘Charities and Public Benefit’. ## **Summary of the main activities and achievements of the charity during the year** ## **Direct support** We lost one of our volunteers over the course of the year but were able to continue with our Friday night outreach on a fortnightly, rather than weekly basis. In total we connected with 7 women on the streets, providing practical, emotional and spiritual support and follow-up. We also reported one suspected victim of Modern Slavery to the police. _"Thank you so much. It [our support] meant so much."_ _"Your A Star That Shines So Bright. See You Soon."_ ## **Awareness raising and education** In September we held a webinar along with KEYS and Image to which we invited a range of local partners. We shared a vision for holistic and joined-up Christian ministry to women with multiple and/or intersecting needs related to sexual exploitation, drug and/or alcohol addiction, pregnancy crisis and child loss. In October we also provided a guest lecture at the Light College (partner of the University of Chester) to raise awareness about commercial sexual exploitation and our vision, mission and aims. ## **Project development and networking** In October we hosted an online networking event for members of the Beyond the Streets affiliate network exploring best practice in providing exiting and recovery support to students involved in the sex industry. The event was attended by projects looking to start this kind of support, like ourselves, and others with existing experience in this area. ## **Future planning and objectives** The board of Trustees have identified the following areas for project development over the course of the next year: - To recruit two members of paid staff (an Executive Director and a Support Worker) to oversee and work alongside our volunteer team; - To develop our training and awareness-raising activities, in particular by launching our website and by developing a training package for statutory and voluntary sector groups; - To start reaching out to women involved in commercial sexual exploitation in contexts other than street prostitution, starting by seeking to develop links with local universities in order to deliver support to students; - To strengthen and broaden our relationships with local agencies such as the police, foodbanks and local hostel accommodation providers, as well as with Christian organisations locally and nationwide that offer holistic support around drug and alcohol recovery, pregnancy crisis and child loss counselling, trauma counselling, etc. ## **Financial Review and Reserves Policy** Our income is currently made up of both regular monthly giving and one-off gifts – both via direct debit to our bank account and via our Stewardship account to our bank account. As of 5[th] April 2024, our closing cash balance stands at £19,794.08, of which £6,847.50 is unrestricted general funds and £12,946.58 is restricted. £13,117,78 was transferred from our Yasha account on 24[th] January 2024 into our Relume account. This represented the full balance of the Yasha account which was then immediately closed. These funds represented gifts to our on-street project called Yasha. These funds are restricted and are only being used for the running of this project. Relume is committed to using its resources in pursuit of its charitable objectives. It is also committed to maintaining a level of reserves that is prudent to meeting ongoing liabilities, sufficient to ensure that all service delivery commitments can be met and to protect the long-term future of operations. Relume’s reserves policy seeks to balance these priorities. The Board of Trustees regularly monitors the level of reserves, and these are reported to the Trustees at each Trustees meeting. The trustees consider it prudent to maintain general reserves at a level that represents approximately 6 months expenditure of the charity, based on planned expenditure for that year. The trustees declare that they have approved the trustees’ report above on 19/10/24. Signed: Name: Catherine Murray (trustee) RELUME Income and Expenditure Statement for period ended OS April 2024 Income received Donation income Other income- refund 20,694.09 37.00 20.731.09 en Insurance Training Subscriptions Printin8 Promotional items 32.00 46.74 Bank char8es Stationerv Management supptsrt Posiage Books 6.00 Telephone Travel and hospitsllty BTS 119.76 24.09 DBS checks 13,00 web and mail Sundry Drop in On street 558.40 80.00 57.02 Health and Safety Professional char8Ès Total expenses 937.01 SurplusllDeficitl for year 19.794.08 RELUME Balance Sheet as at OS AprS12024 Fixed Assets Current Assets Cash at bank Current knabiliiies Creditors and accruals 19,829.84 104.04.20241 35.76 Net Current Assets 19,794.08 Financed by.. General reserve.. 6,847.50 12,946.58 Restricted reserves Reserves 2024 Totsl funds 19,794.08