2023-12-31-accounts

This text was generated using OCR and may contain errors. Check the original PDF to see the document submitted to the regulator.

Legal and Administrative Details Charity Number: 1202615

Registered Address: 15 Longfield Centre, Prestwich, Manchester, M25 1AY

Trustees’ Annual Report for the period from 09.05.2022 to 31.12.2023.

Trustees of Sunflower Manchester present their annual report and financial statement and and confirm they comply with the requirements of the Charities Act 2011, the trust deed and the Charities SORP (FRS 102).

Trustees:

Okszana Nepijvoda, Chair

Olga Bodoprosta, Treasurer Dariia Shepel, Trustee Helen Parkers, Trustee

1. Objectives and Activities

1.1. Purposes of the Charity

The main objective of Sunflower Manchester is to assist the victims of the Russian invasion of Ukraine, supporting refugees arriving into the Greater Manchester area as well as the Ukrainians remaining in their home country.

Our goals are:

To advance the education of the public in the subject of Ukrainian language, history and culture – by raising awareness within the UK population to encourage supporting the Ukrainian people, as well as providing further educational support to the refugee families in Greater Manchester;
To offer assistance in times of financial need and suffering among victims of natural or other kinds of disasters – by providing humanitarian aid to the worst affected areas in Ukraine;
To relieve poverty among refugees and their dependants living in the UK – by providing interpreting, translating, advice, education and training support;
To preserve and protect the physical and mental health of those granted refugee status and their dependants – by offering social gatherings and safe spaces for the refugees in the area;
To promote social inclusion of the refugees - by helping integrate the refugees and their dependants into the UK society and relieving the needs of those who are socially excluded by connecting them with fellow refugees and wider members of the local communities.

1.2. Summary of the Main Activities

Over the reporting period, the Charity has been combining fundraising activities with offering humanitarian aid, social and educational support to the Ukrainians.

From the first days of the war in February 2022, a number of individual fundraisers has been conducted where the members of public have been generously donating items of clothing, hygiene, toys and food to be sent over to Ukraine to help the victims of the war. Regular humanitarian shipments to Ukraine have been fully funded by the donations.

From April 2022 onwards, a number of fundraisers took place as summarized below:

22.05.2022	Prestwich Clough Day	Humanitarian aid to “Slovyansk Dream” Children’s Charity and local refugee activities (see below)	£1,299.65
21.05.2023	Prestwich Clough Day	Continued refugee support	£206.47
June-July 2023	Donation appeals + Myroslava Coates art auction	To purchase water purification tablets for Kakhovska Dam explosion victims on	Just giving donations + art auction total

		June 6th2023 (natural disaster in Ukraine) – purchased from Hydrochem on 08.08.23 (-£924.92)	£860.33
16.12.2023	St. Nicholas Day in Ukrainian Center Bury	Continued refugee support	£990.07 £32.00

Apart from fund-raising activities, following support has been provided to the Ukrainian refugees in the area over the reporting period:

Date	Activity	Purpose	Notes
From Sept 2022 – ongoing	Free Shop for the Refugees in Prestwich	To relieve financial pressures by offering free of charge items of clothing, toys and household items	All items have been donated and the shop unit has been provided by Bury Council free of charge; Bills to be covered by the Charity (EDF Energy etc.)
May 2022 - September 2022	Yoga Lessons in the Prestwich Community Center	Assist with socialization and mental well-being of the Ukrainian refugees	Lessons were provided free of charge by the Ukrainian refugees – yoga instructors
June 2022 - August 2022	Saturday Art Classes for Children in the Ukrainian Center Bury	Assist socialization and mental well- being of the Ukrainian children	Classes were provided free of charge by the Ukrainian volunteers
June 2022 - August 2022	English Lessons in the Ukrainian Center Bury	Assist with integration into the UK society by improving English language skills of the refugees	Lessons were provided free of charge by the Ukrainian volunteers
March 2023	Bikeability – Offering free bikes for the Ukrainian Children	Improve mental and physical wellbeing of the Ukrainian refugee children	Bikes were provided free of charge by Manchester Bike Kitchen
March 2023	Ukrainian Film Night – Taras. Return. In the Ukrainian Center	Celebration of the most prominent Ukrainian poet Taras	Increasing awareness of the Ukrainian culture in

	Bury	Shevchenko.	the UK society.
November 2023	Holodomor Commemoration in the Ukrainian Center Bury	Commemorating genocide of the Ukrainian people in the 1930s.	Increasing awareness of the Ukrainian culture in the UK society.
16.12.2023	St. Nicholas’ Day in the Ukrainian Center Bury	Improving well-being of the Ukrainian refugees by socializing, offering entertainment and gifts for the children.	Gifts were donated by the individuals, cost of food and stalls were self- funded by the volunteers.

2. Achievements and Performance

From the start of the Russian invasion of Ukraine in February 2022, and up until the end of the reporting period, Sunflower Manchester has been assisting the refugees arriving from Ukraine to Greater Manchester, as well as sending numerous humanitarian shipments to Ukraine to assist the misplaced people, children, as well as support the medical establishments and children’s facilities in Ukraine.

Our work has expanded across Greater Manchester, with a particular focus on Bury Borough and the surrounding areas. In collaboration with Bury Council, we have been working to ease the transition for newly arrived refugees, providing vital resources and services to help them rebuild their lives, such as supporting with filling out documentation, advising on the services available for the refugees searching for employment, language courses, GP surgeries etc.

Since August 2022, we have been operating a free shop for Ukrainian refugees, where they are able to access essential items like clothing, household goods, and hygiene products. Many of these individuals arrived with little more than clothes they had on, some deeply traumatised and in need of support both mentally and financially.

We have also been assisting families in moving from their "Homes for Ukraine" sponsors into private or council-funded accommodations. To ease this transition, we have provided free of charge donated furniture, bedding, towels and other first-necessity items, helping families move into homes that feel more comfortable and less empty. By supplying these essential items, we took some stress away from the families in need both financially and logistically.

From the cultural standpoint, we have participated in a number of activities raising awareness and promoting Ukrainian culture. Some of the activities have been listed above were aimed at fund-raising, others – purely social gatherings, bringing the community together and educating about the Ukrainian history and traditions.

In line with our commitment to help the victims of the natural disasters, we ran a fund-raiser helping us to raise funds to purchase and ship water purification tablets to Ukraine, in aftermath of the Khahovka Damm explosion.

3. Financial Review and Future Spending Plans

Financial report is enclosed for reporting purposes.

Primary source of finance for Sunflower Manchester over the reporting period has been public donations and fund-raisers, both direct and via our partners, such as the local Scout community, who have donated £10.000 in June 2022 and £5.181,80 in March 2023 as the result of their own fund-raising activities.

Further funds have been obtained via Just Giving donations, fund-raising events listed in 1.2 of this report, individual donations and Stripe on-line activities.

The local community, volunteers, council and businesses have offered a great deal of support to the charity throughout the reporting period in form of free of charge goods and food items donations, providing a free of charge facility for the free shop and covering the costs of the fund-raising events. This enabled the charity to save the majority of the funds raised, whilst still pursuing its goals of supporting the Ukrainian refugees as well as providing humanitarian assistance to Ukraine.

Looking ahead, Sunflower Manchester is planning to continue allocating funds raised to set up activities for the refugees located in Greater Manchester to further aid their social integration and mental well-being.

Another line of activity the charity is looking to be more engaged in is addressing the needs of the Ukrainian medical institutions, specifically children’s hospitals and related facilities. We are looking to continue collaborating with our existing partners in Ukraine, as well as build new relationships in this field with our Ukrainian based counterparts.

We are planning to keep a reserve amount of funds (£2000) to be able to offer quick humanitarian support with the most urgent items in case of any further nature related disasters in Ukraine (as was Khahovka Damm explosion in June 2023.)

4. Structure, Governance and Management

Sunflower Manchester became a registered charitable incorporated organisation on 4th April 2023. The charity has been entirely volunteer-run since its founding.

Sunflower Manchester is run by a group of four trustees:

Okszana Nepijvoda, Chair
Olga Bodoprosta, Treasurer
Dariia Shepel, Trustee
Helen Parkers, Trustee

Trustees are appointed or reappointed annually at the AGM and are ultimately responsible for the governance of the charity, ensuring it fulfills its legal obligations, carries out activities that meet its public benefit aims, and oversee its strategy and resources.

The Trustees annually review major risks to which Sunflower Manchester is exposed and identify actions to monitor and minimise the potential impact of these risks.

When planning activities for the year, Trustees consider the Charity Commission’s guidance on public benefit. They are satisfied that our activities meet the principles outlined in that

guidance. Sunflower Manchester’s purposes meet the public benefit requirement by providing identifiable benefits to a significant section of the public.

Sunflower Manchester remains committed to supporting Ukrainians both in Greater Manchester and in Ukraine itself. Our efforts, both large and small, aim to make a lasting positive impact on those whose lives have been forever changed by war.

The financial statements were approved by the Board of Trustees on 16.10.2024 and were signed on its behalf by.

5. Declarations

The trustees declare that they have approved the trustees’ report above.

Signed on behalf of the charity’s trustees

Okszana Nepijvoda, Chair

17.10.2024

Sunflower Manchester No (if any) Receipts and payments accounts CC16a For the period 5/23/2022 12/31/2023 To from

Section A Receipts and payments

Unrestricted Restricted Endowment funds funds funds

Total funds Last year

to the nearest £

to the nearest £ to the nearest £ to the nearest £ to the nearest £

A1 Receipts:

A1 Receipts:
Donations	17,346	-	-	17,346	-
FundraisingEvents	2,496	-	-	2,496	-
	-	-	-	-	-
	-	-	-	-	-
	-	-	-	-	-
	-	-	-	-	-
	-	-	-	-	-
	-	-	-	-	-
Sub total(Gross income for AR)	19,842	-	-	19,842	-

A2 Asset and investment sales,
(see table).
	-	-	-	-
	-	-	-	-		-
Sub total	-	-	-	-		-

Total receipts	19,842	-	-	19,842		-
A3 Payments:
Insurance	80	-	-	80	-
Bank Charges	126	-	-	126	-
Cost of delivery	870	-	-	870	-
Heat and Light	172	-	-	172	-
Room Hire	50	-	-	50	-
Support to Ukrainian community	1,005	-	-	1,005	-
	-	-	-	-	-
	-	-	-	-	-
	-	-	-	-	-
Sub total	2,303	-	-	2,303	-

A4 Asset and investment
purchases, (see table)
	-	-	-	-
	-	-	-	-
Sub total	-	-	-	-		-

Total payments	2,303	-	-	2,303		-

Net of receipts/(payments)	17,539	-	-	17,539	-
A5 Transfers between funds	-	-	-	-	-
A6 Cash funds last year end	-	-	-	-	-
Cash funds this year end	17,539	-	-	17,539	-

Section B Statement of assets and liabilities at the end of the period

Categories B1 Cash funds B2 Other monetary assets B3 Investment assets B5 Liabilities B4 Assets retained for the charity’s own use	Details Bank closing balance on 31.12.2023 Details Details Details Details Total cash funds (agree balances with receipts and payments account(s))	to nearest £ 17,539 - - 17,539 OK to nearest £ - - - - - - Unrestricted funds Unrestricted funds Fund to which asset belongs Fund to which asset belongs Fund to which liability relates	to nearest £ - - - - OK to nearest £ - - - - - - Cost (optional) - - - - - Cost (optional) - - - - - - - - - - - - - - Restricted funds Restricted funds Amount due (optional)	to nearest £ Endowment funds
				-
				-
				-
				-
				OK
				to nearest £ Endowment funds
				-
				-
				-
				-
				-
				-
				Current value (optional)
				-
				-
				-
				-
				-
				Current value (optional)
				-
				-
				-
				-
				-
				-
				-
				-
				-
				When due (optional)
			-
			-
			-
			-
			-

Signed by one or two trustees on behalf of all the trustees Signature

Print Name

Date of approval

OpenCharities