Notts LGBT + Network (Registered charity, number 1203131) Financial statements for the period 18.5.23 to 31.3.24 Page Contents Trustees, annual report Independent examinerfs report Receipts & payments account Statement of assets & liabilities Notes to the accounts 9-10 capLUS CIJMMUllil Y IICCOUNTING Notts LGBT + Network Trustees, annual report for the period 18.5.23 to 31.3.24 Full name Notts LGBT + Network Organisation type Charitable incorporated organisation Reglst•r•d charity number 1203131 Principal address Unit G05, Cumberland House, 35 Park Row. Nottingham NG1 6EE Trustees Richard Almond. Treasurer Anthony Barker Hollie Wistow Mala Abel, Chairperson from 5.9.23 Martin Stone. from 5.9.23 Dan Comell, from 5.9.23 Charlie Millar, from 14.12.23 Danni Everard, until 29.11.23 Independent examiner John O'Brien, employee of Community Accounting Plus. Units 1 & 2 North West. 41 Talbot Street, Nottingham, NG15GL Governance and management The charity is operated under the rules of its CIO Association constitution. The charity registered as a Charitable Incorporated Organisation (CIO) on the 18.5.23 and the balan￿S of the funds and operations of the previous charity (number 1114273) were transferred into this charity upon its closure on 17.5.23. Objectives and activities 1) To relieve the needs of the LGBT+ community in Nottingham, Nottinghamshire and surrounding areas, primarily but not exclusively through; a. Offering infomiation and support on sexuality I gender identity. b. Providing advice to parents and friends on how to better support them. c. Providing sex and sexual health information, support and where appropriate signposting to the appropriate specialist health servic8S', d. Signposting and referring to professional help and support when appropriate., e. Providing a resource hub. 2) The promotion of equality and diversity for the public benefit by; a. The elimination of discrimination on th8 grounds of gender identity or sexual orientation- b. Advancing education and raising awareness in equality and diversity,. c. Promoting activities to foster understanding between people from diverse backgrounds. d. Cultivating a sentiment in favour of equality and diversity. Our service is made up from the following elements. Notts LGBT + Network A 5 nights a week helpline offering information and support by phone, e-mail, texting (very useful for deaf people. says the Nottingham Deaf Society) and A bi-monthly community newsletter widely distributed across the County by subscription e-mail. A unique database of LGBT information for Nottinghamshire; Providing support and publicity for about 40 local LGBT sociallsupport groups- Training for our volunteers and for other organisations., Maintaining a website and a presence on social media. Liaison with several local consultation, development and monitoring groups which include the police, the NHS and both County and City councils. Summary of the main activities undertaken for the public benefit The Hel line: Service users will benefit from knowledge of a wider range of opportunities to engage in social activities and community involvement and us8 support services. with positive impacts on reducing isolation, improving self-esteem and health in general and m8ntal health in particular. Our liaison V￿th Notts Police and with sympathetic solicitors will benefit victims of homophobic crimes. LGBT people rendered homeless after coming out, will be signposted to emergency housing seNices. We provide information from the internet for those unable to access it. The Newsletter.. Service users across the County will receive up-to4ate information about issues which concem the local LGBT community. The LGBT community will be informed of the work of various groups and organisations. Website: Our website provides information and support and has a very popular LGBT events calendar as well as regular blogs. Social Medla: Our presence on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, Tiktok & Linkedin allows us to post news items on a regular basis to a large local audience and also to respond to those people who post items on our page. The Llaison with other or anisations: The concems of the local LGBT community will be drawn to the attention of groups and organisations with overlapping aims. The relevant activities of those groups and organisations will be relayed back to the LGBT community. Publlc 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 guidan on public benefrt, 'Charities and Public Benefit,. Summary of the main achievements during the perfod We continue to maintain a telephone helpline. email contact and messaging service throughout the last 12 months and continued our monthly business meetings along with monthly trustee board meetings. We have also continued to maintain contsct with our followers through social media and the bi monthly production of our QB magazine prodU￿d in digital fomiat only Notts LGBT + Network and sent out to over 1000 people. Our overall social media following increases year by year. The Women's group (Rainbow Vision) for Lesbian. Bi & Trans women goes from strength to strength and we also have a men's group called Pride of Men. We have recruited and trained approximately 20 new volunteers this year and are in the process of another on boarding session. We have been successful in networking with local businesses to promote what we do and received further financial support from them. We have started a complete review of our purpose and strategy to ensure our service continues to provide what the community needs to thrive. This will be completed by April 2024. Financlal review We have made a small surplus of £728 during the last financial year. We received grants from Nottingham City Council and the Integrated Care Board. We have continued to receive financial support from local businesses and institutions and received some large sums of money from several of these including Capital One, Nottingham Panthers, Nottingham City Transport and strong fundraising events from Amazon and Nottingham High School. We are not in any financial difficulties. The charity's policy on reserves We aim to have general reserves which would cover us for up to 12 months of expenses in the event of a large variation of income. This is held to ensure continuity of the service that we provide, to take advantage of new opportunities and to help plan for growth. Substantial reserves are needed because we are not a popular cause and grants can be added or removed because of political whims and financial turmoil and we have occasional, but necessary, one-off expenses which are met through our reserves. The amount for reserves is currently set at £30,000 and this has been calculated using the guidance recommended by the Charity Commission for England & Wales. Charity reserves= building resilience - GOV.UK a) The risk of an unforeseen emergency or other unexpected need for funds, e.g. an unexpected large bill or finding 'seed-funding' for an urgent project- £5.000 b) Covering unforeseen day to day operational costs - £5,000 c) A source of income, e.g. a grant. not being renewed. Funds might be needed to give the trustees time to take action if income falls below expectations - £10,000 Notts LGBT + Network d) Planned commitments that cannot be met by future income alone, e.g. plans for a major asset purchase or to a significant project that required the charity to provide 'matched funding, _ £5.000 e) The need to fund short-tem deficits in a cash budget, e.g. money may need to be spent before a funding grant is received - £5,000 The policy is reviewed annually or when the reser4es look as Ihough they may deviate from our target level. We currently do not invest reserved funds that we cannot access within a maximum of one year. Current cash funds are £65.323. We are committed to bringing the actual reserves level in line with our planned level. We are currently undergoing a strategic review with the assistance of an outside source to identify our future goals and ongoing purpose. Once this is completed in April 2024, we will actively search for further opportunities to fulfil the purpose of the charity in a long temi sustainable way. Financial rlsks The removal of grants due to financial instability of our local authority. The reduction I removal of fundraising opportunities due to the cost of living crisis and uncertainty due to the war in Ukraine. Signed on behalf of the charity's trustees: Signed Anthony Barker. Trustee Date Independent examiner's report to the trustees of Notts LGBT + Network for the perlod 18.5.23 to 31.3.24 I report to the trustees on my examination of the accounts of Notts LGBT + Network (the charity) for the period 18.5.23 to 31.3.24. Responsibllltiès and basis of report As the trustees of the charity you are responsible for the preparation of the accounts in accordance with the requirements of the Charities Act 2011 ('the Act,). I report in respect of my examination of the charity's accounts carried out under section 145 of the 2011 Act and in carrying out my examination I have followed all the applicable Directions given by the Charity Commission under section 145(5){b) of the Act. Independent examiner's statement I have completed my examination. I confimi that no matters have come to my attention in connection with the examination giving me cause to believe that in any material respect- 1. accounting records were not kept in respect of the charity as required by section 130 of the Act., or 2. the accounts do not accord with those records. I have no cOn￿M$ and have come across no other matters in connection wtth the examination to which attention should be drawn in this report in order to enable a proper understanding of the accounts to be reached. Signed John O'Brien Msc CCA, FCIE Employee of Community Accounting Plus Date Notts LGBT + Network Receipts & payments account for the perlod 18.5.23 to 31.3.24 18.5.23 31.3.24 Total Funds Unrg*rfct•d R6&rf¢1od Funds Funds Receipts Opening trartsfer Grants & donations Fundraisir¥J income Lotteries & sunscriptior6 Advertisi￿ sales Traini[￿ & presentstions Bank interest Total receipts 59346 2693 9989 1445 202 100 431 74206 3894 8254 63240 10947 9989 1445 202 100 431 86354 12148 Payments Actimts'es & events Advertisir Bank charges Equipment. repairs & renewals Hospitality & caterirKJ Insurance & teleptr￿n8 Legal & professiorol fees Membership & subscriptiorE Office supplies Promotional material Room hire, rent & services Sundry expenses Support groups Volunteer trainirKJ, SUPPOrt & e>perLses Total payments 30 139 152 182 141 20 688 565 385 4722 2940 673 147 1354 7733 415 300 766 21031 20 628 24 385 1963 1672 648 143 772 4876 60 541 2759 1268 25 582 2857 415 82 121 8883 218 645 12148 Net receiptsl(payments) Cash funds at start of this period Cash funds at end of this perlod 65323 65323 65323 65323 Notts LGBT + Network ststement of assets and liabilities for the perfod 18.5.23 to 31.3.24 2024 Cash assets Bank accounts 65323 65323 Other monetary assets Debtors - AdvertisirMJ sales Prepa￿￿ents 70 787 857 Assets retained for the charlty's own use General equipment. Two Dell computers purchased March 2019. cost £1,436 OrE laptop purchased November 2021, cost £599 Llabllttles Creditors 714 714 These finan al statements are accepted on behalf of the charity by: Signed Richard Almond, Trustee Dated Notts LGBT + Network Notes to the accounts for the period 18.5.23 to 31.3.24 1. Receipts & payments accounts Receipts and payments accounts contsin a summary of money received and money spent during the period and a list of assets and liabilities at the end of the period. Usually, cash received and cash spent will include transactions through bank accounts and cash in hand. 2. Opening transfer The charity registered as a Charitsble Incorporated Organisation (CIO) on the 18.5.23 and the balances of the funds and operations of the previous charity (number 1114273) were transferred into this charity upon its closure on 17.5.23. 3. Grants & donatlons UTrr9*1cted Rg*lctsd Totsl Nottir@ham City cour￿11 Clinical CommissionirwJ Group (CCG) SurJJry grants & donatiorks 6704 1550 6704 1550 2693 10947 2693 2693 8254 4. Funds analysis Openlng Recelpts (Paym•nls) tranthr Closing balanc• Rostricted funds Runnit¥J costs (Nottir¥Jham City Cour￿1]) Running costs (CCG) Sevem Trent 6704 1550 (6704) (1550) 3894 12148 3894 3894 8254 Unrestrictsd funds General 59346 14860 59346 14860 8883 8883 65323 65323 The grant from the Integrated Care Board (CCG) was to be spent on items relating to training. That can include some publicity costs as a way of recruiting volunteers, the Icarol system which is involved in training, a contribution to volunteers expenses during training and the cost of rooms used for training. In theory, the grant received in the period from the City Council should be spent on designated items, but the scope for these items is so wide tha to all intent and purposes, it is not restricted. The grant from Severn Trent was used towards running costs. Notts LGBT + Network 5. Prepayments Membership & subscriptions Insurance IT & Telephone 45 170 572 787 6. Credltors Legal & professional Volunteer training, support & expenses 642 72 714 7. Trustees, remuneratlon During this period, a total of £96 was reimbuT5ed to 1 trustee for expenses incurred. 8. Related party transactions Payments to the value of £840 were made to Wart)ox Creative. Martin Stone who is a trustee is also the Director of this company. The group have read the Charity Commission rules in relation to this and have complied. 9. Pr•vlous perlod comparlson The previous period's figures have not been included for comparison because this is the charity's first accounting period. 10.Glossary of ternis Creditors: These are amounts owed by the charity, but not paid during the accounting period. Debtors: These are amounts owed to the charity. but not received in the accounting period. Prapayments: These are services that the charity has paid for in advance, but not used during the accounting period. 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- 10