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REGISTERED COMPANY NUMBER: 13635441 (England and Wales) REGISTERED CHARITY NUMBER: 1203784
## REPORT OF THE TRUSTEES AND
FINANCIAL STATEMENTS FOR THE PERIOD
1 OCTOBER 2022 TO 31 DECEMBER 2023 FOR
CIVIC POWER FUND
DSC Accountants Ltd Chartered Accountants Statutory Auditors Tattersall House East Parade Harrogate North Yorkshire HG1 5LT
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## Civic Power Fund Trustee Report and Financial Statements _01 October 2022 - 31 December 2023_
## Table of Contents
_Foreword from Staff and Trustees_ ................................................................................................................................ _3 Civic Power Fund in Numbers_ ......................................................................................................................................... _4 Statement of Charitable Objects_ .................................................................................................................................. _5 Objectives, Activities and Impact_ .................................................................................................................................. _6_ Our Vision ........................................................................................................................................................................ 6 Our Mission ...................................................................................................................................................................... 6 Our Values ....................................................................................................................................................................... 6 Our Goals ........................................................................................................................................................................ 7 Goal 1: Building Organising Infrastructure.........................................................................................................7 Goal 2: Building Civic Power in Place..............................................................................................................12 Goal 3: Raising our voice to better resource organising.........................................................................23 Our Approach to Learning and Impact ................................................................................................................... 26 _Structure, Governance and Management_ .................................................................................................................. _27_ Governing Document ................................................................................................................................................... 27 Structure of the Organisation ................................................................................................................................... 27 Board of Trustees ........................................................................................................................................................ 27 Members of the Board of Trustees.................................................................................................................27 Selection and appointment of Trustees.......................................................................................................28 Induction and training of Trustees.................................................................................................................28 Team .............................................................................................................................................................................. 28 Our Approach to Grantmaking .................................................................................................................................. 29 _Risk Review_ ....................................................................................................................................................................... _31 Finance Review_ ................................................................................................................................................................ _34 Looking Ahead_ ................................................................................................................................................................. _36_ Insights from the work ............................................................................................................................................. 36 Insights from our grantmaking ................................................................................................................................. 36 What next for the Civic Power Fund? ..................................................................................................................... 37 _Administrative Details_ ................................................................................................................................................... _39 Statement of Trustees’ Responsibilities_ .................................................................................................................... _39 Auditors_ ............................................................................................................................................................................. _40 Independent Auditors Report_ ....................................................................................................................................... _41 Financial Statements_ ...................................................................................................................................................... _44_
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## Foreword from Staff and Trustees
This Annual Report includes several significant milestones for the Civic Power Fund.
It is our first full annual report and audited accounts.
It covers the period in which we registered as a charity.
And most importantly, it sets out our first £1 million awarded to community organising groups across the UK.
_We hope in reading this Annual Report you spot one enduring theme: our unwavering commitment to the groups we serve and our determination to raise the money they need to thrive._
Our job is to make more money available to build civic power across the UK. We’ve seen firsthand how ready communities are for investment - and how transformative it could be. Take South Norwood Community Kitchen, who won a massive council pay out for social housing residents plagued by poor conditions.
Or Parents For Future Scotland, who secured Glasgow Council investment in tackling the air pollution that is harming the city’s most vulnerable children.
Or Nanny Solidarity Network and the Centre for Progressive Change who are building powerful allies in support of better pay and conditions for the precarious workers that our society relies on.
All across the UK, groups are bringing together communities of commonplace or common struggle to win change that matters to them. You'll see many more examples on the pages that follow.
It is now time to unleash a scale of investment that matches our communities’ ambitions. We know many communities feel disconnected from our politics. We also know these same communities are often let down by those in power. In response, they are coming together: lifting up their friends and families; providing their own solutions to tough, shared challenges; and starting to win change for those most in need.
We have a collective responsibility to invest in these efforts. By doing so, we can transform the lives of individuals, our communities, and eventually our democracy. Looking ahead, we are also starting to focus on our own infrastructure - so we can better serve these communities.
We need to strengthen our operational footprint, so we can become a robust organisation that our partners can depend on long into the future.
You will see throughout this report how we are investing to ensure a sustainable and values driven Fund. You will also see how the staff and trustees are working together to take managed risks that serve those most in need.
Finally, we hope you will share in some of our pride at what our small and ambitious team has achieved over the past 15 months.
_We couldn’t have done anything in this report without the community of thousands of passionate, committed and willing individuals who generously shared their time, energy and wisdom._
This community has welcomed our small team into their networks, helping us meet goals well beyond our size. We are eternally grateful and so excited about what our shared future holds.
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## Civic Power Fund in Numbers
- Awarded c. £1 million in multi-year grants to 35 grantee partners.[1 ] As our own resources expand, we are growing the number of multi-year grants we award; this is key to building long-term power. Throughout this report you’ll read more about the amazing partners we have the privilege to work with.
- Pooled funding from 21 separate donors. This includes multi-year grants through to 2029 and small, one-off contributions. As we grow, we will continue to stress that these different types of funding partners are equally important. It is this plurality of donors that ensures we shift resources at scale, learn together, and stay accountable to our grantee partners first.
- Advised over 20 grassroots groups through the Civic Power Fund Governance Hub. This specialist legal hub is supporting groups with their key governance and strategy challenges. We also built a new partnership with Brevio to provide robust yet non-invasive due diligence checks. We’ve supported almost 100 groups to access these checks, so they can use findings to improve their governance and financial controls. Combined with the Governance Hub, this approach means we can work with our partners to strengthen their controls and boost their capacity.
- Ran our first democratic and participatory fund. Over 7,000 people expressed an interest in; 900 groups applied to; and 89 groups — from 42 different cities, towns and villages — were shortlisted for the Community Action Fund. Each shortlisted group was supported to co- create a durable Grant Memo. We saw first-hand both the incredible grassroots organising work happening across the country and the huge lack of accessible, long-term funding for this work. The Fund received 100% positive feedback from rejected second stage applicants and 77% positive feedback from rejected first stage applicants.
- Recruited 7 Community Action Fund Panellists - a team of community organisers who built and delivered a participatory grantmaking process. They awarded grants to 18 different grassroots groups from across the UK. 100% of Panellists gave positive feedback on their experience.
- Where we were not able to fund groups directly, we worked with them to secure alternative sources of income. As part of this, we have convinced several key funding partners to accept Civic Power Fund Grant Memos in lieu of applications. At least eight additional partners have been funded a total of £400,000 through this route.
- Launched a new Alliance for Youth Organising with Esmée Fairbairn Foundation, Paul Hamlyn Foundation, and The Blagrave Trust. This independent, intergenerational Alliance will make collective, long-term decisions to boost youth organising infrastructure across the UK. 150 individuals applied to join this nine member collective.
- Launched a second landmark study of where UK social justice funding goes. Together with The Hour is Late, we found that just 0.3% of grants from UK social justice funders are going towards community organising and the vast majority of social justice funding is going service delivery or ‘inside game’ work at a national level. Over 200 people attended the launch of Funding Justice 2. We are now working with over 20 funders to help change practice based on lessons from the report and our early grantmaking.
- 17 charities were involved in PowerUp: Organising in Big Charities, a new project to help large charities interested in organising to ‘get it right’. Over 20 large charities went on to form a new Community of Practice to influence and inform their organisations.
- Hosted our first learning exchange, taking 14 community organisers and five funders to New York to learn from US organising and grow collective ambition around our UK capacity. We estimate that this trip helped to raise an additional £2 million in funding for UK community organising led by disadvantaged communities.
> 1 The total grant contracts awarded were c. £1 million, with £686,000 distributed in this accounting period.
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## Statement of Charitable Objects
The Civic Power Fund is a charity that focuses on developing the capacity and skills of the members of socially and economically disadvantaged communities in the United Kingdom through funding community organising.
Our objects are:
“ _To develop the capacity and skills of the members of socially and economically disadvantaged communities in the United Kingdom by providing proįect grant funding and support so that they are better able to identify, and help meet, their needs and to participate more fully in society._ ”
We aim to ensure that those facing disadvantage have the power to shape their quality of life, community and future.
Our mission is to build this power through community organising.
This means bringing people who share common challenges due to age, location, sexual orientation, gender, religion, class, and race together to fully participate in democracy and win lasting change.
Community organising is a practice that builds relationships within communities. It helps individuals participate fully in democracy, through understanding who and what has the power to deliver change - and both engaging with and challenging these structures.
Through this participation, it helps communities secure lasting change that improves their lives. It also makes our democratic institutions more responsive to the rights and needs of those left behind because of economic or social disadvantage.
When targeted at these communities, community organising is a vital charitable practice that can both achieve change and deliver wider public benefit through strengthened civic bonds, diversity, and inclusion.
However, despite the enormous potential impact of community organising, it is underfunded. This is especially true of organising led by communities already disadvantaged because of their age, location, sexual orientation, gender, religion, class, and race.
The Civic Power Fund aims to change this by increasing charitable resources for organising within these communities and providing wrap-around support to boost their capacity.
In setting the Civic Power Fund’s strategy each year, we have regard to the Charity Commission’s general guidance on public benefit. The Trustees review the strategy to ensure that it falls within the Charity’s charitable objectives and aims.
Throughout this report, we may use terms that are better understood by our partners to describe our work.
## This includes:
- “grassroots” as shorthand for local community organising led by people experiencing the issue they are organising around
- “minoritised and marginalised” in place of disadvantaged
- “emergent” and “pioneering” to mean new and innovative
- “systemic change” to mean lasting, structural change that benefits disadvantaged communities.
We also use “partners” to describe both the groups we fund and our core funder partners.
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## Objectives, Activities and Impact
## Our Vision
A world where every person has the power to shape their quality of life, community and future.
## Our Mission
To build lasting civic power through community organising.
By investing in grassroots organising, we can unleash the power of people to improve their lives and their communities and create common cause in pursuit of the social, environmental, and economic justice vital to a flourishing democracy.
## Our Values
Because we meet the world as it is not as we wish it to be, the values that guide our work are as important as the ends we seek.
- Self-determination . We trust people to build strategies and make decisions to shape the institutions, actions and policies impacting their lives.
- Solidarity . We help to build solidarity within and between communities to achieve the collective action vital to shifting the balance of power through democracy.
- Justice . We work to dismantle the barriers to racial, economic, gender and LGBTQ+ justice that are standing in the way of full democratic participation and we foster representation and liberation through all our work.
- Dignity . We value our common humanity and act with kindness, care and respect to build a democracy that involves and brings out the best in all of us.
- Humility . We are committed to listening to, learning from and following the lead of the communities, groups and individuals doing the work.
- Bravery . We recognise that building power is hard and takes time and courage, so we will challenge dishonesty, fraud and disinformation and we will reward risk and embrace failure - and learn from both.
- Hope . We are optimistic about the future because we passionately believe that organised people have the power to shape their lives and the world for the better.
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## Our Goals
## Goal 1: Building Organising Infrastructure
_By 2030, we aim to have built a well-resourced ecosystem of diverse and impactful community organising infrastructure groups. These groups are training and supporting grassroots community organisers across the UK and collaborating nationally and globally to win change._
## Why?
Community organising infrastructure provides two vital functions:
1. training the next generation of organisers and leaders
2. curating places and spaces for communities to come together and amplify their impact.
Yet infrastructure work is significantly underfunded, especially when led by minoritised and marginalised communities. This means organisations are unable to build and grow, limiting the potential of groups to win the change they seek.
## Our central thesis
Innovative community organising is taking place across the country. This is often led by women, people of colour, immigrant and LGBTQ+ communities, and wider minoritised and marginalised communities. Yet this work is significantly underfunded, meaning these organisers and their organisations are unable to build and grow. We know that organisers are best placed to build the infrastructure they need. By investing in them for the long-term, we can nurture the next generation of leaders, who in turn will help build the winning coalitions vital to lasting change.
## So we…
- Provide long-term, flexible funding and wrap-around support to emergent organising infrastructure across the UK
- Create places and spaces for these organisations to come together and learn from one another and build networks
- Incubate innovative ideas and actions to strengthen the UK community organising field; championing organisers’ ideas, taking risks and finding opportunities to help grow and sustain their work
## Activities and Impact
## Supporting Community Organising Infrastructure
Central to our work under Goal 1 is funding emergent community organising infrastructure.
In 2022, we worked with the team at Campaign Bootcamp[2 ] - a pioneering campaigning infrastructure organisation that made a difficult decision to close - to enable this. With vital support from the Barrow Cadbury Trust , we stewarded Campaign Bootcamp’s remaining financial resources and used them to boost organising infrastructure and grassroots action across the UK.
Key to this was working with community organisers to identify infrastructure partners for the Civic Power Fund. We gave 5 grants to groups centring minoritised and marginalised communities and aiming to boost collective power and agency through community organising training, tools and support.
For example, we provided a multi-year grant to Act Build Change . Act Build Change work to make community organising accessible to all through training, coaching and collective care. Our support helped this organisation invest in their core operations, giving them a strong platform from which to engage with a much wider range of groups. Over the past two years, they have grown in scale and impact, using this robust foundation and their exemplary leadership to work with a diverse range of groups and become one of the UK’s most trusted community organising bodies.
> 2 In the Financial Statements, the Campaign Bootcamp income is recorded as Community Action Fund. This income was split between our infrastructure strand and the Community Action Fund open fund launched in December 2022.
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We also provided a one-off grant to the tech cooperative Common Knowledge . They used this funding to kick-off ‘Project Groundwork’, which is identifying common digital challenges faced by organisers and developing open-source tools to overcome them. This has enabled Common Knowledge to break down silos and make their incredible knowledge available for free, ensuring grassroots and emergent groups can access and learn from it.
In a recent independent report commissioned by the Joseph Rowntree Foundation , the Civic Power Fund’s contribution to community organising infrastructure was praised as exemplary.
“ _CPF is an exciting, innovative and much needed addition to the social įustice sector. It is strongly values-led and has set out to build long-term capacity, understanding and infrastructure for organising and movement building, so community power is adequately resourced and can thrive. It is committed to shift power from traditional power holders towards the grassroots and is doing this in a thoughtful, participatory and trust-based manner_ .”[3]
Feedback from our infrastructure partners also suggests that we are getting some of this right.
_"Just to say thank you so much for all your hard work and support this year from all the team on our side. A lot of funders use the phrase "partners" to describe those they support. Sometimes it feels more like a pose than a reality. In the case of Civic Power Fund, it is absolutely the case. We know you have our backs and will operate with solidarity, compassion and if the moment demands it, fierce defence of our interests and the interests of those in movements for social change. I would go further and say our relationship feels like one of genuine friendship and mutual aid, a relationship I hope that will only deepen over time." Civic Power Fund Infrastructure Partner_
_"I wanted to reach out to express our gratitude for everything you’ve done for us. It’s no secret that we were super sceptical about sourcing funding because of the fear around compromising our message, who we were and what we wanted to achieve. I can say without a shadow of a doubt that these fears have been totally alleviated. We have been so thankful for the constant and non contingent support the civic power fund has given us - whether in the form of grants or connections. That support has been instrumental in everything that we do, towards community campaigns and engaging many more people in grassroots community politics than we thought possible. In 2024 we will be expanding and looking to recruit more members to support us with capacity - we would never have got to this point were it not for you guys." Civic Power Fund Infrastructure Partner_
> 3 Lena Baumgartner and Alice Sachrajda, Shifting Power: Exploring the value of pooled funds in the UK funding landscape, commissioned by the Joseph Rowntree Foundation, February 2024.
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## Community Organising Infrastructure Grants
|Organisation|Issues|Location|Summary|Grant Amount|Grant
Duration|
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
|Act Build
Change 1|Community
Organising|UK-Wide|Act Build Change exists to
make community organising
accessible to all and build a
network of leaders
committed to justice. They
teach people how to build
relationships and win
change.|£90,000.00|3 years (2022-
2025)|
|Common
Knowledge|Digital
Organising|UK-Wide|Common Knowledge is a
not-for-profit cooperative
that uses digital technology
to strengthen the impact
and capacity of social
movements. They work
with grassroots organisers
and communities to build
power and achieve change.|£15,000.00|1 year (2022-
2023)|
|Love & Power|Community
Organising,
Gender
Justice|UK-Wide|Love & Power is an
intersectional feminist
organisation that exists to
support women to take
action on the issues that
matter to them. They are
building a grassroots
movement with a mass
membership that trains,
supports, connects, and
organises feminists.|£75,000.00|3 years (2022-
2025)|
|Nurses United
1 (NEON
Fiscal Host)|Community
Organising,
Workplace
Organising,
Racial Justice|UK-Wide|Nurses United is helping
nurses become active in
their workplaces and
communities through
organising training and
community campaigns. This
includes their pioneering
Nurses of Colour organising
programme.|£15,000.00|1 year (2022-
2023)|
|Nurses United
2|Community
Organising,
Workplace
Organising,
Racial Justice|UK-Wide|Nurses United is helping
nurses become active in
their workplaces and
communities through
organising training and
community campaigns. This
includes their pioneering
Nurses of Colour organising
programme.|£30,000.00|2 years (2023-
2025)|
|Wards Corner|Community
Ownership|London|The Wards Corner
Community Benefit Society
(CBS) was founded in 2022
by a coalition of grassroots
groups and campaigning
organisations in Tottenham
who have been fighting to
save the market and
surrounding buildings from
demolition for 20 years.|£10,000.00|1 year (2022-
2023)|
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## Alliance for Youth Organising
In late 2023, we worked with the Esmée Fairbairn Foundation , the Paul Hamlyn Foundation , and the Blagrave Trust to pool resources behind a new Alliance for Youth Organising . The goal of this Alliance is to build an intergenerational collective who will invest to strengthen youth organising infrastructure.
Young people are at the forefront of some of our most important struggles. Meanwhile rising housing, education, and living costs threaten their futures, and a decimated youth sector is left firefighting on a day to day basis.
Our hope is that the Alliance for Youth Organising can shift power and decision-making to the people who know what youth organising needs to thrive. By pooling and targeting resources, it is key to attracting new investments and having impact at scale. And it is an opportunity to nurture the networks that youth organisers have told us they need to do their best work
Following applications from over 150 people, 9 incredible organisers and campaigners were selected to shape and build this exciting new opportunity. They hail from all across the UK and have deep roots in the different traditions of community organising and youth activism.
The Alliance have hosted their first team-building retreats and now are working together to design this powerful new collective and shape the funding opportunity.
We are in awe of the skills, talent and passion of the collective and the vision they are starting to develop. Their approach to the work is generative and joyful, and we know they are going to have an enormous impact on both youth organising and how we collectively fund this work.
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## Governance Hub
The Civic Power Fund Governance Hub (the Hub) is part of our wrap-around support package for grantee partners.
The aim of the Hub is to empower organisations to make decisions that achieve their objectives and do not expose them to unnecessary risk. We want them to feel confident in doing their core work, and not curtailed by a lack of knowledge about governance and compliance.
Both factors are incredibly important as we support work that is regularly under scrutiny as part of a shrinking civil society space and a constantly changing regulatory environment. We also fund a lot of groups which are non-charities, so this extra layer of governance support helps to strengthen their work and support our own financial and regulatory controls.
Currently, the Hub is led by Matt Howgate - an experienced public lawyer and litigator who has worked as an organisational development and compliance consultant for the last 15 years. Joy Mathew, the Civic Power Fund’s new Operations and Grants officer who has recently passed her LPC, now assists Matt.
Since the launch of the Hub, we have had positive and regular engagement from grantee partners. 20 partners have used the service to address issues of which they have no legal knowledge. It is our most requested wrap-around support service, and the need and gratitude when we speak to partners about the Hub is palpable. It has also allowed us to boost the capacity of emergent organisations, ensuring that they can access a much wider pool of charitable resources.
## One of our grantee partners told us that:
_Getting a “here is a pro-bono lawyer to book a meeting with” email was genuinely thrilling. This is precisely the sort of thing that is good for us and other movement actors to have access to and shows a lot of careful thought into what is actually useful. The legal and policy side of things can sometimes cause considerable concern. Having organising-aligned legal expertise is always wonderful!_
We have worked with other organisational support organisations to share lessons and lend the Hub services, including the New Economy Organisers Network (NEON), Sistren Legal Collective, and The Movements Trust.
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## Goal 2: Building Civic Power in Place
_By 2030, we aim to have built a strong and diverse network of local groups who are accountable to their community and building power through organising. These groups are working together to win change and holding local and national decision makers to account._
## Why?
Communities across the UK are disconnected from their democracy. This means our politics consistently works against them. Minoritised and marginalised communities are uniquely let down by our systems.
Evidence shows that local groups trusted by and rooted in their community are uniquely well placed to build and hold the power of these communities, winning change that matters to them and contributing to long-term systemic shifts in policy and our politics.
## Our central thesis
Organising builds the power of people to take action on the issues that matter to them. It transforms individual and community outcomes and builds the foundations from which successful movements can grow.
All across the UK, groups are trying to organise their communities. But these groups are starved of cash and without the support to deepen and grow their impact. By combining long-term, flexible funding with collaboration, capacity building, and cohort building, we can build thriving nodes of civic power and show others what is possible.
## So we…
- Identify key geographies with unique potential for impact and learning
- Provide coordinated long-term resources to grassroots groups to organise their community
- Support groups to boost internal organising capacity and secure independent revenue
- Through network effects, encourage cross-geography action and share lessons that can be replicated across the UK and globally
## Activities and Impact Building
## Power in Manchester
Along with North East Wales, Greater Manchester is one of the key areas where the Civic Power Fund concentrates its grantmaking.
Our aim is to build deep nodes of civic power in place that can thrive for decades to come. We also hope to learn lessons from this place-based organising that we can help take to scale across the UK.
We spent much of 2022 and 2023 learning from organising groups in Manchester. Many hardworking and inspiring groups generously shared their time and insights. We prioritised getting to know the work, the organisations, and the individuals, understanding what support they need to thrive.
We learnt early on that we couldn’t rush in with funding. It was vital we first got to know the area and the groups involved.
As part of this, we worked with the Joseph Rowntree Foundation and #BAMEOnline (now Uncharitable ) to bring together organisers and funders in Greater Manchester. In March 2023, around 40 community organisers and changemakers came together with 12 funders in central Manchester. We asked attendees to enter the space as individuals - cognizant of their institutional power, but coming together in solidarity and curious to learn. They spent the day sharing lessons and building vital relationships.
Following this, we identified 6 key partners who are doing incredible work to build the power of minoritised and marginalised communities. These partners coalesce around racial and housing justice, employment rights, and dignity in poverty. You can read more about their work below.
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At the end of 2023 we awarded multi-year grants to these partners and put in place a three-year learning framework to help them and us measure the growth of civic power.
## Manchester Grants
|Organisation|Issues|Location|Summary|Grant Amount|Grant
Duration|
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
||||Centre for Progressive
Change is buildinga|||
|Centre for
Progressive
Change|Community
Organising,
Employment,
Fighting
Poverty|Manchester,
North West
England||£60,000.00|3 years (2023-
2026)|
||||campaign to win
#SafeSickPay. They are
providing training, support,
and networking
opportunities to local
groups and campaigners in
Bury, Bolton, Rochdale and
the surrounding areas.|||
|Greater
Manchester
Immigration
Aid Unit|Immigration
Rights,
Housing|Manchester,
North West
England|GreaterManchester
Immigration Aid Unit exists
to advise, support,
represent and campaign
with people subject to
immigration control.|£30,000.00|3 years (2023-
2026)|
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|Greater
Manchester
Poverty
Action|Employment,
Fighting
Poverty|Manchester,
North West
England|Greater Manchester
Poverty Action’s vision is of
a Manchester free from
poverty, where residents
can realise their potential
and access the benefits of
living in a diverse and
vibrant region.|£60,000.00|3 years (2023-
2026)|
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
|Greater
Manchester
Tenants Union|Housing|Manchester,
North West
England|GMTU is a democratic,
member-led union, working
across the 10 boroughs of
Greater Manchester. They
organise and represent
members in the private and
social rented sector,
fighting for safe, secure
and affordable housing for
everyone.|£60,000.00|3 years (2023-
2026)|
|Kids of Colour
(scheduled
for 2024)|Racial Justice,
YoungPeople|Manchester,
North West
England|Kids of Colour is a project
for young people of colour
aged 25 and under to
explore ‘race’, identity and
culture. They create spaces
for young people to feel
supported, validated and
celebrated, while also
working to challenge the
racism that affects young
people and their
communities.|£30,000.00|3 years
(2024-2027)|
|We Belong|Community
Organising,
Immigration
Rights|London,
Manchester,
North West
England|We Belong is a migrant
youth-led organisation,
campaigning for the rights
of young migrants and
developing young leaders by
providing advice, support
and training.|£30,000.00|3 years (2023-
2026)|
## Community Action Fund
In 2022-2023 we ran our first open grant round. The Community Action Fund aimed to find and fund some of the best, emergent grassroots organising work happening across the UK.
We opened the Fund in December 2022. Over 7,000 people expressed an interest in the Fund; 900 groups applied to it; and 89 groups - from 42 different cities, towns and villages - were shortlisted. We centred accessible grantmaking practice throughout - keeping the application short and giving groups the option of video or voice recording instead of text.
Each shortlisted group was then supported to co-create a durable Grant Memo. This meant the Civic Power Fund team sitting down with them to understand their work. This gave them something tangible to take away from the process but also reduced application burdens. Regardless of their background or experience, we helped them tell the story of their work.
We saw first-hand both the incredible grassroots organising work happening across the country and the huge lack of accessible, long-term funding for this work. We captured key lessons throughout and shared these widely with funders and social justice actors.
The Fund received 100% positive feedback from rejected second stage applicants and 77% positive feedback from rejected first stage applicants.
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We recruited a team of community organisers who built and delivered this participatory grantmaking process. These experts designed the scoring criteria and then made collective decisions based on their deep knowledge of organising. This ensured we shifted power and resources to those who are on the frontlines, doing the hard work of building power. They awarded grants to 18 different grassroots groups from across the UK.
100% of Panellists gave positive feedback on their experience.
We have since been working with these 18 partners to understand the impact of the funding and provide wrap-around support to boost their capacity.
## We have heard how…
- A team in Grimsby was able to train over 42 community leaders, and are now working closely with the council to embed key community change
- Parents for Future Scotland have brought together 25 schools and 15 community groups to win Scotland-wide progress on air pollution
- Triangular CIO has brought together migrant-led groups in the North East behind one powerful policy platform backed by local people
- Coffee Afrik has built the power and agency of migrant women in East London, helping them advance a court case to end the horrendous housing discrimination they are subject to
- Collaborative Women were able to organise survivors of domestic violence in Stretford, to build a common campaign that reached the Mayor of Manchester
## To name just a few incredible examples!
These groups all struggled to access funding prior to the Community Action Fund, yet over the past year their work and impact has skyrocketed.
We have captured below some quotes from our partners outlining this impact.
“ _As I said to you there the whole programme is down to Civic Power taking a punt on us. You were our first funders and the funding gave us time to grow and engage in a way we couldn't have done without funding so a huge THANK YOU to you guys_ !” Community Action Fund partner
“ _We purchased 4 people swimwear in advance of the trip - and we were able to hire dressing gowns for everyone to access the spa at the hotel. It is not possible to overstate the significance of this. For some, it was the first time they have ever swam. For others, it was a first swim again after operations that left physical and mental scars. Having cash behind the bar meant people were able to be at home - I noted one person got a hot chocolate each evening to take up to bed. We didn’t feel impoverished in the space. We were able to eat what was needed in the evening, the whole three courses. To not be limited in what we could have… a momentary ease in the pain and stigma that the system infficts. Please continue to avail such funds to groups… it really means a lot._ ” Community Action Fund Partner on their wellbeing grant
“ _I įust wanted to mention that the session you hosted last night was the best evening session I’ve had in the last couple of years! I really felt like CPF’s approach was like nothing I’ve experienced before. It’s really difficult to keep people engaged at that time in the evening, especially if they have been working virtually all day) but the 1-2-1’s in the breakout, presentation structure and emphasis on collaboration kept the session interesting and informative_ .” Community Action Panel Member
“ _I found the time invested by the CPF team to create the right environment for the panellists to make thoughtful decisions as a cohort made the experience really enįoyable and really one of the best grant-assessment processes I’ve ever participated in_ .” Community Action Panel Member
“ _I never once felt like I was being made to do something for no reason or like I was ticking boxes įust for the sake of it. You can tell this fund was set up by people who know what it’s like to be an activist. I really felt like you cared, even when you said no_ .” Community Action Fund applicant
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## Community Action Fund Grants
|Organisation|Issues|Location|Summary|Grant Amount|Grant
Duration|
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
||||All The Small Things CIC is
a social enterprise based in
St Mark’s Church, Stoke on|||
|All the Small
Things CIC|Fighting
Poverty,
Community
Organising|Stoke on
Trent,
Midlands||£20,000.00|1 year (2023-
2024)|
||||Trent. They bring together
disadvantaged individuals in
Shelton to build community
and win change.|||
|Brighton and
Hove
Community
Land Trust
(BHCLT)|Community
Ownership,
Community
Organising|Brighton,
South East|Brighton and Hove
Community Land Trust is
organising communities in
housing need. They aim to
provide alternatives to the
current housing market and
to win decent and
affordable homes.|£20,000.00|1 year (2023-
2024)|
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|Brilliant
Burnley
(Social
Change
Agency Fiscal
Host)|Community
Organising|Burnley, North
West England|Brilliant Burnley is a
grassroots group aiming to
tackle polarisation and win
change. They are building
community organising
capacity within Burnley and
training, connecting, and
supporting local leaders
from disadvantaged
backgrounds.|£20,000.00|1 year (2023-
2024)|
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
|Coffee Afrik
CIC|Immigration
Rights, Racial
Justice,
Fighting
Poverty,
Young People,
Diaspora
Organising|London|Coffee Afrik grew out of the
Somali community in East
London. This young
collective now works with
marginalised groups across
the area. They collaborate
with women, young people,
and people recently
released from prison.|£20,000.00|1 year (2023-
2024)|
|Collaborative
Women|Gender Based
Violence|Manchester,
North West
England|Collaborative Women unites
women experiencing
gender-based harm across
Greater Manchester. They
work with women made
homeless, women in the
criminal justice system, and
refugee women seeking
protection.|£18,500.00|1 year (2023-
2024)|
|Common
Good
Foundation|Community
Organising,
Fighting
Poverty|Grimsby,
Yorkshire|The Common Good
Foundation is building
collective, democratic
power in Grimsby. The local
community has so much to
offer, but rapid de-
industrialisation has left too
many people behind. The
town is fighting back.|£20,000.00|1 year (2023-
2024)|
|E16
Community
Land Trust
Ltd|Community
Ownership,
Housing|London|E16 Community Land Trust
aims to ensure regeneration
in Newham works for the
community. They are a
democratic, member-led
organisation fighting for
affordable homes.|£18,500.00|1 year (2023-
2024)|
|Growing
Rights Instead
of Poverty
Partnership
(GRIPP)|Human
Rights,
Fighting
Poverty|UK-Wide|Growing Rights Instead of
Poverty Partnership is a
coalition led by
communities facing human
rights violations within the
UK. Their groups represent
communities facing poverty
and deprivation.|£20,000.00|1 year (2023-
2024)|
|Housing
Action
Teesside
(HAT) (Open
Collective
Fiscal Host)|Housing,
Fighting
Poverty|Tees Valley,
North East
England|Housing Action Teesside is
a member-led union
organising renters in need
across the Tees Valley.|£20,000.00|1 year (2023-
2024)|
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|Nanny
Solidarity
Network CIC|Immigration
Rights,
Gender
Justice,
Workplace
Organising|London, UK-
Wide|The Nanny Solidarity
Network provides support
and space for collective
action for nannies and au
pairs across the UK. They
began as a solidarity fund
during the first lockdown,
which left many nannies
and au pairs jobless or
homeless. They have grown
into a worker-led coalition,
providing vital services and
forming a nation-wide
employment rights
campaign.|£20,000.00|1 year (2023-
2024)|
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
|Parents For
Future
Scotland
(Open
Collective
Fiscal Host)|Climate
Action,
Parents|Glasgow,
Scotland|Parents For Future Scotland
is a parent-led group
encouraging
intergenerational
engagement in the climate
crisis. Based in Glasgow,
they are working with
parents and schools from
non-typical backgrounds to
help children find their
voice on climate issues.|£15,000.00|1 year (2023-
2024)|
|Saathi House|Immigration
Rights, Racial
Justice,
Gender
Justice|Birmingham,
Midlands|Saathi House works with
local women and young
people from Aston,
Birmingham. They aim to
elevate the status and
position of migrant women
and young people from
within these communities.|£17,000.00|1 year (2023-
2024)|
|South
Norwood
Community
Kitchen|Immigration
Rights, Young
People,
Fighting
Poverty,
Housing|London|South Norwood Community
Kitchen uses food to bring
people together. They
focus first on meeting the
needs of their community.
They then work to build
power and solidarity across
a range of common
experiences.|£16,500.00|1 year (2023-
2024)|
|Southeast
and East
Asian
Women’s
Association
(Kanlungan
Fiscal Host)|Immigration
Rights,
Gender
Justice,
Gender Based
Violence|UK-Wide,
London|Gabriela Safehaven is a
collective of women from
within the Filipino and
Southeast Asian Community
in the UK. They are self
organising to ‘emancipate
themselves from the
patriarchy, misogyny and
racism that holds them
back’.|£18,500.00|1 year (2023-
2024)|
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|The Rights
Collective
(Social
Change Nest
Fiscal Host)|Racial Justice,
Immigration
Rights,
Gender
Justice,
Diaspora
Organising|London, UK-
Wide|The Rights Collective is a
volunteer-led South Asian
collective creating space
for solidarity and
transformation. They seek
to address unjust power
hierarchies that sow the
seeds of division across the
South Asian diaspora.|£20,000.00|1 year (2023-
2024)|
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
|TriangularCIO|Immigration
Rights|Tyne and
Wear, North
East England|Triangular CIO is a network
of volunteers and
professionals who support
migrant communities in
Tyne and Wear. They are
building a network of
Refugee Community
Organisations - bringing
together lived experience-
led services to build power
and influence decision-
making.|£20,000.00|1 year (2023-
2024)|
|UK Youth
Climate
Coalition
(UKYCC)|Young People,
Climate
Action|UK-Wide|The UK Youth Climate
Coalition is a non-
hierarchical, youth-led
organisation of 18-29 year
olds from around the UK.
They are mobilising and
empowering young people
to take climate action.|£12,000.00|1 year (2023-
2024)|
|Workers Co-
Op|Community
Ownership,
Workplace
Organising|Rochdale,
North West
England, UK-
wide|The Workers Co-Op is a
new federation of worker
cooperatives, born out of a
Workers Co-Op in Rochdale.
They aim to bring together
the 400 Workers Co-Ops
across the UK to build a
movement that can
organise on common issues.|£20,000.00|1 year (2023-
2024)|
## Warm Welcome Community Organising Pilot
As part of the Warm Welcome Campaign, last winter, Civic Power Fund and Good Faith Partnership joined forces to explore the potential for community organising within Warm Spaces.
Pooling funding from the Joseph Rowntree Foundation , the Trust for London , and the JRSST-CT , we funded community organising pilots in five areas across the UK. These pilots focussed on Listening Campaigns led by local organising partners across key Warm Welcome Spaces. These partners sat down with guests and volunteers to understand their common concerns.
From the outset, we hypothesised that Warm Spaces could be incredibly fertile ground for building community power. The Warm Welcome Campaign data shows that more than 7,000 local organisations received a combined total of nearly 2.5 million visits, with more than 50% of guests saying that they would otherwise have been at home with the heating off.
Although last winter was set to be particularly acute, the vast need communities faced and continue to face is a culmination of decades-long political decision-making that has ignored them.
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We saw enormous potential in Warm Spaces to become a powerful catalyst for both systemic change and renewed democratic engagement amongst left behind communities, but knew this would only be realised if their capacity to listen to their communities and organise together for change was nurtured and supported.
The Listening Campaign ran from April to July 2023. Listening partners included Citizens UK and the Centre for Theology & Community in London, the Good Faith Partnership in Bristol, Together Creating Communities/ Trefnu Cymunedol Cymru (TCC) in North East Wales, and Thrive Together in Birmingham.
We then evaluated the results of this pilot and found that:
- Community Building is a prerequisite to sustained Community Organising, because relationships are vital to building common ground.
- This is uniquely important for people living in poverty or deprivation, who so often face stigma and isolation.
- Warm Welcome Spaces offer fertile ground for Community Building because people come together as equals, sharing hospitality in dignity.
- The infrastructure around Warm Welcome Spaces is still nascent, but Community Organising requires structured support; with the right support and investment, we could see a clear pathway to turn this Community Building into Community Organising.
Following the pilot, we decided to go deeper in a handful of places - directly funding organisers to support the Warm Welcome Spaces. It is early in this second phase of the pilot, but already we are seeing some encouraging results:
- A collection of Warm Spaces came together to resist the eviction of local asylum seekers.
- A Warm Space set up a multi-faith food pantry in response to local community silos and the stigma experienced by those in need. They brought together local organisations to provide hospitality with dignity and vital support on energy savings.
- A collection of Warm Spaces ran an action on their council, who refused to replace a vital street light. Families came together to make their own paper lanterns and in response the council repaired the light.
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## Warm Welcome Grants
|Organisation|Issues|Location|Summary|Grant Amount|Grant
Duration|
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
|Act Build
Change 2|Community
Organising|UK-Wide|Act Build Change exists to
make community organising
accessible to all and build a
network of leaders
committed to justice.|£10,000.00|1 year (2022-
2023)|
|Centre for
Theology and
Community 1|Fighting
Poverty,
Community
Organising,
Faith|London|The Centre for Theology &
Community is based in east
London and grew out of
local churches in
membership of Citizens UK.
They work with churches in
deprived and diverse areas
to aid the transformation of
their communities and of
wider society.|£25,000.00|1 year (2022-
2023)|
|Centre for
Theology and
Community2|Fighting
Poverty,
Community
Organising,
Faith|London|The Centre for Theology &
Community is based in east
London and grew out of
local churches in
membership of Citizens UK.
They work with churches in
deprived and diverse areas
to aid the transformation of
their communities and of
wider society.|£25,000.00|1 year (2023-
2024)|
|Citizens UK 1|Community
Organising|UK-Wide|Citizens UK is a people-
powered community
organising alliance working
across the UK.|£10,000.00|1 year (2022-
2023)|
|Citizens UK 2|Community
Organising|UK-Wide|Citizens UK is a people-
powered community
organising alliance working
across the UK.|£15,000.00|1 year (2023-
2024)|
|Good Faith
Foundation 1|Fighting
Poverty, Faith|London,
Bristol, South
West|Good Faith Partnership
connects across boundaries
of politics, business, civil
society, and faith, to tackle
systematic issues. They are
all about building
relationships, so their work
starts with a coffee and a
chat.|£25,000.00|1 year (2022-
2023)|
|Good Faith
Foundation 2|Fighting
Poverty, Faith|London,
Bristol, South
West|Good Faith Partnership
connects across boundaries
of politics, business, civil
society, and faith, to tackle
systematic issues. They are
all about building
relationships, so their work
starts with a coffee and a
chat.|£10,000.00|1 year (2023-
2024)|
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|Thrive
Together
Birmingham|Fighting
Poverty, Faith|Birmingham,
Midlands|Thrive Together Birmingham
aims to support and grow
the movement of
individuals, churches and
organisations who,
motivated by their faith,
are committed to
addressing issues of poverty
and to playing their part in
helping their
neighbourhoods to flourish.|£10,000.00|1 year (2022-
2023)|
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
|Together
Creating
Communities|Community
Organising,
Fighting
Poverty|North East
Wales, Wales|Together Creating
Communities is the primary
organising alliance in North
Wales. They tackle social
injustice by supporting
diverse communities to gain
the power they need to
enact change.|£10,000.00|1 year (2022-
2023)|
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## Goal 3: Raising our voice to better resource organising
_By 2030, we aim to have shifted a greater proportion (minimum 12% of social įustice grantmaking) of UK philanthropic resources towards community organising. This is reaching grassroots groups rooted in and accountable to diverse communities._
## Why?
Currently only 0.3% of social justice grantmaking goes towards community organising. While it is vital that community groups have independent income streams, philanthropy offers a uniquely flexible source of capital that could and should be resourcing these groups.[4]
Organising is also a proven route to impact. Philanthropic funders have an outsized impact on the tactics social justice actors pursue and should be allocating resources to what works.
## Our central thesis
Funding organising well requires shifting power and control to communities. This is a massive cultural shift for most existing sources of charitable giving.
An intermediary can both show what is possible and move resources at scale, in turn shifting funding practices for the long-haul.
Short-term, competitive and project-based funding is also inhibiting long-term people power. That is why we are making a collective case for more and better funding for this work.
## So we…
- Make a collective, nationwide case for investment in grassroots community organising
- ‘Show by doing’, consistently sharing lessons and impact
- Work alongside our partners to strategically influence key philanthropic and social justice stakeholders to shift more and better resources into organising
## Activities and Impact Funding
## Justice 2
In partnership with The Hour is Late , the Civic Power Fund released _Funding Justice 2_ . This was the second iteration of our flagship research mapping where UK social justice funding goes.
Researchers looked at £950 million worth of grants from the 2021/22 financial year, equivalent to c.21% of all UK foundation giving. This was up from c.8% of all UK foundation giving in Funding Justice 1 (based on 2018/19 data).
Despite the soul searching prompted by the pandemic and the resurgence of Black Lives Matter in 2020, the research showed that little UK foundation giving went to tackling the root causes of injustice in 2021/22.
5.7% of all UK foundation giving went to work tackling the causes of injustice, and 0.3% went to building people power through organising.
For the second year in a row, the research also found that funding for social justice is not reaching local communities. Nearly two thirds of the funding was focussed on work carried out at the national level.
In Funding Justice 2, researchers included an extra level of analysis. They allocated each social justice grant across 6 theories of change. This used the well respected Ayni Institute movement ecology framework.[5 ] The purpose of this was to give funders and social justice actors a strategic overview of social justice funding strategies and approaches.
> 4 Eliza Baring and Jon Cracknell, Funding Justice 2, October 2023.
> 5 Paul Engler, Sophie Lasoff and Carlos Saavedra, Funding Social Movements: How mass protest makes an impact _, Ayni Institute_ , 2019.
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This analysis revealed that over two thirds of social justice funding went either to service delivery work, or work in elite settings aimed at influencing decision-makers. Less than 10% went to communities organising and mobilising to win change that matters to them.
Funders and social justice actors welcomed this ecology approach. It has become a vital strategy tool - helping funders interrogate the breath of their investments and social justice actors better understand the funding landscape.
An early impact snapshot found that:
- Over 200 funders and social justice actors attended the launch
- The research has been downloaded over a hundred times
- The research was covered in Alliance Magazine, Civil Society, Firetail Briefing, Funders Collaborative Hub, Stir to Action Magazine, Third Sector Magazine, and UK Fundraising
- We are now working with over 20 funders to help change funding practice based on lessons from the report and our early grantmaking. At least 6 of these funders used the research to influence their Board of Trustees
- The research has spurred further funder collaboratives around justice and climate action
## US Learning Exchange
In November 2023, in partnership with Unbound Philanthropy , This Day Foundation , and Paul Hamlyn Foundation , we led a learning exchange to New York. This included 14 UK-based community organising leaders and five key funders.
- The aims of this trip were:
1. To deepen UK funder and organiser knowledge of successful organising infrastructure.
2. To give UK organisers from non-traditional communities the space to learn about US-based organising initiatives and consider what might aid them and their community.
3. To spark ideas around and investment in similar initiatives in the UK, rooted in these perspectives and shared experiences.
4. For forward thinking funders to connect with some of the best organising work happening in the UK and the US and for organisers to build connections and solidarity with each other.
The trip was a success. We know that almost £2 million in new money for community organising was secured following the Exchange. A further £1.3 million is in the pipeline.
The trip also sparked several key collaborations between organisers and funders, which are strengthening organising infrastructure and helping to shift resources to grassroots organising.
- For example:
- Two organising leaders were invited to join a funder grantmaking committee. They will play a key role in shaping the future direction of this multi-million pot of money and in ensuring it reaches minoritised and marginalised communities.
- A major union is now also collaborating with two smaller community organising groups to embed lived experience-led organising within their training and development programme. This represents a significant shift in resources to both the grassroots and minoritised and marginalised communities.
## Feedback from attendees also suggested that the exchange met its core aims:
_“The exchanges with the other attendees were very interesting, and the whole trip provided an excellent environment to forge relationships. For a small organisation with no organisers with previous experience in the UK, being in a space with other more experienced organisers and funders was incredibly helpful and enriching.”_
_“Overall it was an excellent trip and I learnt a lot from it. Looking forward to practically implementing what I learnt from the various organisations and funders. Lastly, looking forward to having further conversations and most importantly įoint working with attendees.”_
We are now working with attendees to build shared strategies around boosting community organising infrastructure.
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## Partnership work
We are clear that success does not just mean the growth of the Civic Power Fund.
As captured in Goal 3, our aim is to shift resources at scale so that far more groups receive sustainable funding for community organising. To this end, we worked closely with other funders and partners to ensure our partners could access a wider pool of charitable resources.
We know that at least 8 of our partners received in total £400,000 additional funding, thanks to their amazing work and our efforts to connect them with like-minded funders.
We also worked to build wider strategic alliances, for example securing capital support for several partners and opening up training opportunities with partners like Aspen, NEON, and LUSH for the organisers we work with.
We hope to ramp up this work in 2024, directly supporting partners to raise both additional and independent income.
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## Our Approach to Learning and Impact
Learning and development are key to everything we do.
We have made a strategic commitment to “learn in public” and iterate our strategy around the lessons we gather. We regularly carry out snap project evaluations and share this learning online and with key partners.
We track impact in three core ways:
1. Working directly with our grantee partners to understand the impact of our funding. This is gathered through annual reporting, which tells us whether the money has helped them reach their goals and any wider lessons for them, the Civic Power Fund, and the sector. We also carry out end of grant calls with all our partners to build a deeper understanding of their experiences.
2. Working with Hidden Depths Research and community organisers, we developed a learning framework that helps us track whether civic power is being built and deployed in place. We are rolling this out over a three year period in Manchester and North Wales. This includes tracking key metrics such as health of the group; diversity and regularity of attendees at meetings and key events; access to and relationships with those in power; overall campaign success; and local and national alliances built.
3. In partnership with the Hour is Late, the Civic Power Fund releases an annual map of where social justice funding goes. This tells us the proportion of social justice grantmaking that goes towards organising. We are tracking this over time.
We have learnt many lessons from community organisers, who are forensic about learning and impact. The best community organisers will carry out evaluations after each action to determine what went well and why, and to understand how they could improve both the action and the strategy. This ensures a real-time approach to learning and impact. Rather than presupposing hyper-specific outputs and outcomes, the strategy adapts in pursuit of a clear end goal. This is vital to building and shifting power, and achieving lasting change.
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## Structure, Governance and Management
The trustees who are also directors of the charity for the purposes of the Companies Act 2006, present their report with the financial statements of the charity for the period 1 October 2022 to 31 December 2023. The trustees have adopted the provisions of Accounting and Reporting by Charities: Statement of Recommended Practice applicable to charities preparing their accounts in accordance with the Financial Reporting Standard applicable in the UK and Republic of Ireland (FRS 102) (effective 1 January 2019).
## Governing Document
The Civic Power Fund is a charitable company limited by guarantee (13635441). It was set up by a Memorandum of Association on 21 September 2021. The Civic Power Fund was registered as a charity on 26 June 2023 (1203784). We are registered with the Charity Commission for England and Wales, but operate in all four nations.
## Structure of the Organisation
The Civic Power Fund is governed by a Board of Trustees.
The members of the Board of the Civic Power Fund (CPF) are both the Trustees of CPF and (in company law) its Directors. The Board has overall responsibility for stewarding CPF and ensuring its activities are in the public benefit. To do so, the Board is responsible for working in partnership with the Executive Director and other members of the Strategic Leadership Team to deliver the following functions:
1. Strategic Direction and Performance
2. Financial and Grantmaking Oversight
3. Safeguarding
4. Risk Management and Regulatory Compliance
5. Board Management and Performance
Trustees share collective responsibility for all decisions made and actions taken with their authority.
Civic Power Fund is an intermediary grantmaking organisation. We fundraise from large trusts and foundations and regrant to smaller grassroots groups with an aim of growing the quality and quantity of funding for grassroots organising.
We are supported in our decision-making by participatory panels, made up of people with lived experience of disadvantage or expertise in community organising. However, final grantmaking decisions are approved by the Board of Trustees.
## Board of Trustees
The Board may have 5-9 members. Terms will be for three years, renewable twice. This means Board members can serve for a maximum of 9 years.
## Members of the Board of Trustees
During the reporting period, five individuals served as Trustees.
- Kirsty McNeill was our Chair . Kirsty was Executive Director for Policy, Advocacy and Campaigns at Save the Children. Previously, she founded a consultancy to advise leading social purpose organisations, worked as a special adviser in Number 10, and led on policy and influencing in Europe for DATA. Kirsty has also been on the board of Make Poverty History and managed the Stop AIDS Campaign. Kirsty was appointed upon incorporation on 21st September 2021. Kirsty resigned on 10th July 2024 to take up a new position that created a conflict of interest with this Board position.
- Nick Lowles is our Treasurer . Nick is chief executive of HOPE not hate, the UK's largest antiracism and anti-extremism movement. He was the former editor of anti-fascist magazine Searchlight. Nick was appointed upon incorporation on 21st September 2021. Nick served as Interim Chair from 10th July 2024 to 16th July 2024.
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- Catherine McDonald is a Trustee . Catherine is Executive Director of Operations and Strategy at WWF-UK and also a trustee and Chair of the Audit Committee at a large hospice. Before that she spent several years in the NHS, supporting hospital trusts and healthcare systems that had operational, financial, quality and governance challenges. Earlier in her career she qualified as a chartered accountant and spent a few years as a management consultant. Catherine was appointed upon incorporation on 21st September 2021.
- Nikki Williams is a Trustee . Nikki is the Director for Campaigning and Communities for The Wildlife Trusts. Her specialisms cover campaigning to influence policy at national and local level, community empowerment, and youth-led organisational development. She passionately believes that communities being in control of their own spaces helps create a healthier, happier society for all. Her background as an artist means she brings creativity to support others in experiencing nature and how it improves the quality of our lives. Nikki was appointed on 21st March 2023.
- Naimah Hassan is a Trustee. Naimah co-founded the Global Media Campaign and Africa Women Rights Advocates. Both organisations centre women-led movements and sustainable change. She is an award winning campaigner, disruptor, and policy shifter. For the past 15 years, she has worked to support community-led initiatives, innovations, strategies, and education. Being the change she wants to see is part of her DNA. She is an international trainer and speaker on different stages, including TED (2019). Naimah was appointed on 21st March 2023.
Due to the small size of the Board, we do not currently have any standing subcommittees.
- Dan Paskins was appointed as a Trustee and Chair of the Board on 17th July 2024.
## Selection and appointment of Trustees
Nominations and recommendations are first made from open recruitment. Their CVs are then circulated to the Board, which arranges for potential candidates to be interviewed for their suitability. A Nominations Committee then takes part in interviews alongside key staff members. Together, they recommend them to the Trustees. The Trustees will then vote to appoint a new Trustee. New Trustees are confirmed through special resolution.
## Induction and training of Trustees
Newly appointed Trustees meet with the Chair, the Executive Director, and staff members as part of a documented and structured induction programme; and they receive key Civic Power Fund organisational and programmatic documents. They are asked to sign a Code of Conduct and standing register of interests.
## Team
Civic Power Fund has 5 permanent staff on payroll. The majority of these staff members work part-time, meaning our Full Time Equivalent headcount is 3.6. We have a Senior Leadership Team of 2, Martha Mackenzie as Executive Director and Mohammed Afridi as Director of Organising.
- Martha Mackenzie is our Executive Director. She has a background in organising, campaigning, fundraising and charity leadership. She was previously Head of Global Humanitarian Advocacy at UNICEF in New York, and has led teams and campaigns at Shelter and Save the Children in the UK. Martha has balanced progressive fundraising and advocacy with campaigns rooted in redistributing power throughout her career. She has worked with renters to tackle revenge evictions, campaigned with parents on childcare costs, helped establish a youth activism charity and won multi-million dollar advocacy grants. She is a Trustee of Oxfam GB.
- Mohammed Afridi is our Director of Organising . He was the former National Coordinator of Rize Up, a voter registration campaign aimed at marginalised and BME youth. In 2016 he helped set up The World Transformed, the UK’s largest festival of progressive politics and arts. He has also worked as a consultant for the UK Democracy Fund, Cook 19 and other third sector organisations and was the former head of operations at Momentum. After graduating
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with a Master in Global Political Economy (University of Sussex), Mohammed held several senior positions in private sector firms, including Bloomberg LP.
- Zain Hafeez is our Community Funding Manager. Zain is a part-time Community Organiser with Citizens UK. He has previously served in campaigning, funding, and leadership roles with the Red Cross, Coventry Refugee and Migrant Centre, and Voices Network. He has a decade of first-hand experience of the asylum and immigration system, and he has campaigned for reform throughout. He looks forward to combining his organising skills with his understanding of the challenges grassroots groups striving for justice face. He is a spokesperson at Sounddelivery Media and an Advisor at the Justice Together Initiative.
- Joy Matthew is our Grants and Operations Officer . She has a background in law and has recently passed her LLP. She previously completed the 2027 placement scheme, which is designed to introduce lived experience individuals into the funding sector. Joy is now exploring the philanthropic space and has a particular interest in network, collaboration, and advocacy. She joined the Civic Power Fund from two years at the Sainsbury Family Charitable Trusts, working on policy and grant management. She wants grassroots communities to be trusted by funders to lead their own transformation.
- Alison Romaine is our Youth Organising Lead. Alison has a background in student organising - across both unions and grassroots groups - with an interest in redistributing power through communities of care. In her spare time she is a volunteer member of Sheffield Community Land Trust, which aims to reclaim the right to affordable and secure housing for all through co-operative decision-making and community ownership, reconnecting us to the land. She also works part-time at Age UK Sheffield, fundraising and supporting arts-based event programming to tackle increasing social isolation in the city.
Salaries for key management are set by the Board of Trustees. These are determined based on internal pay scales, benchmarked against the charitable funding sector. Annual increases for all staff are approved by the Board of Trustees. These increases are determined by benchmarking, inflation, and affordability for the Fund.
We appointed a Finance Lead in July 2024, and prior to this worked closely with both our accountants and with charity financial advisers at Moore Kingston Smith to support the development of and implementation of robust financial management practices.
## Our Approach to Grantmaking
Civic Power Fund takes a principled and pragmatic approach to grantmaking.
In order to realise the potential of organising for minoritised and marginalised communities, the Civic Power Fund must change the way organising is funded in the UK. A major barrier facing communities is the lack of accessible money to build power. This means communities marginalised because of their age, location, sexual orientation, gender, religion, class, and race are continually prevented from changing the systems and structures that hold them back.
Through learning and working with our grantee and funder partners, we aim to change this.
To enable this, the following principles govern our grantmaking:
- Trust is earnt, but it is _our_ job to earn it
- Organising is hard, being funded to do it shouldn't be
- They are the experts and we are their support
- Transparency is a two-way street
- Feedback is for action not for contemplation
- Our grantees are our partners
- Failure is fine, fibs are not
- Organising takes a long time, funding should be for a long time
And we prioritise organisations that are:
1. Rooted in and accountable to minoritised and marginalised communities
2. Hoping to achieve long-term change on issues affecting the lives of their community
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3. Working towards this long-term change by building the capacity and power of their community
4. Lacking the resources to take their vision to the next level
5. Seeking to build a larger us and resisting the politics of division
In deciding who to grant to, staff, trustees, and on some occasions appointed experts such as community organisers, work together to identify potential grantees, in line with our charitable objects and aims.
We either work with identified partners to co-produce a funding application, or we run open grant-rounds to attract as wide a range of candidates as possible. This depends on the strategic purpose of the grant.
With all our partners, we aim to break down barriers to funding and share the application load with them. This involves co-producing Grant Memos that capture their work and their plans.
The Board of Trustees authorises grants during quarterly meetings.
Because we recognise the critical importance of trust and partnership between staff and grantees, and the time that grantees will have invested in developing the relationship by this point, the board is expected to authorise grants unless a clear case is made that an organisation does not fall within the Civic Power Fund’s strategy or otherwise presents a serious strategic, reputational, or operational risk.
In addition to the core criteria above and ensuring alignment with our vision and values, we undertake detailed and holistic due diligence checks. The majority of this work is done by the Fund’s staff in alignment with existing policies and, wherever possible, avoids unnecessary and burdensome form filling for grantees.
For the purpose of grantmaking, the fund remains ‘politely sceptical’ of applicants, ensuring that processes outlined in our financial controls and anti-fraud policies are followed, even when the grant recipient is trusted or we’ve worked with them previously. We also prioritise site visits and regular phone calls to build a relationship with our partners and ensure that we understand the work and are offering them adequate support.
Core to our charitable aims is ensuring funding for community organising reaches minoritised and marginalised communities. This means that some of the groups we work with are likely to be small, local groups who are not registered as a charity. Where this is the case, we are guided by the Charity Commission guidance on grant funding to non-charities. Robust checks and monitoring are carried out to ensure that the work is in line with our charitable purpose, for public benefit, and with a strictly non-partisan and non-political purpose.
All of this is set out in more detail in our ‘Approach to Grantmaking’ which we are happy to share on request.
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## Risk Review
The Board of Trustees maintains an active risk register which is reviewed at Board Meetings. We have also begun working with Moore Kingston Smith to audit and evaluate our approach to risk and ensure we are taking a holistic view informed by internal and external challenges. As part of this, we have produced an updated risk statement. This allows us to apply different risk categories to different risk areas - noting that in some instances it serves our objects to take a higher degree of risk. We have been informed by the Information Commissioner's Office categorisation and share our current risk statement below.
|Hungry
_Eager to be innovative_
_and to choose options_
_that suspend_
_previously held_
_assumptions and_
_accept greater_
_uncertainty_|Grantmaking.
Where we are confident work is rooted in the Mission, Vision and Values
of the Civic Power Fund, we will fund bold, innovative and often
overlooked groups that other funders deem as too risky to resource (e.g.
non-charities, campaign groups, small groups). This means having a
deep, personal relationship with these groups so we understand the
nature of their work.
This is vital to achieve our objects, which centre disadvantaged
communities. These communities are often excluded from formal
structures so we intentionally look beyond them.
Where we have a high degree of trust in the groups and organisations
we support, we will apply minimal funding barriers. This means
moving money quickly with maximum flexibility. It also means
providing vital wellbeing and strategy micro grants to support their
work in real time.
To enable this, we thoroughly document all our decision-making. As we
talk about in more detail below, we also have a hands-on approach to
due diligence. We get to know our partners thoroughly and we provide
partners with legal and compliance support through our Governance
Hub.
Where we have flexibility in our income, we will sign multi-year
grant agreements with our partners, holding funds on our books so
we can resource the work in the way we know achieves maximum
impact. By doing this, we will challenge others to take the same
approach and break the cycle of short-termism in funding.
We will deliberately and publicly test and challenge boundaries with this
work, making a case that campaigning and organising towards social
justice is charitable. We will consistently show our workings to make
this possible.
Speaking our mind.Where it is key to the performance of our grants and
the success of our partners, we will speak up to support their work and
make a case for funding community organising.|
|---|---|
|Open
_Willing to consider all_
_options and choose_
_one that is most likely_
_to result in successful_
_delivery_|Recruitment.We want the Civic Power Fund to centre organising in our
recruitment. It should be staffed and run by people who get grassroots
organising and movement building. As a result, we will prioritise potential
and commitment over specific grantmaking and funding skills (except for
our Finance Lead role and other areas where the overall performance of
the Fund requires specific expertise).
Fundraising.We will explore a wide range of funders. Although we will do
robust funder due diligence, where the funding modality is aligned with our
values (e.g. unrestricted), we will err towards taking the money and putting
it towards the service of the movement, even if the source of funds is less
aligned. We are transparent about this, so our grantee partners always know
where the money is coming from.|
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||Due Diligence.We have robust, hands-on due diligence processes, but we
also ensure these are designed to support potential grantee partners to
perform to the best of their ability, not penalise them on the basis of
knowledge or policy gaps. For example, if an organisation is lacking
something key to their governance, we will work with the Hub to get this in
place in a way that works for them. We have a zero-tolerance approach to
fraud and make that clear in our grant agreements. We use hands-on
relationships with our partners to monitor this.|
|---|---|
|Cautious
_Preference for safe_
_options that have a_
_low degree of residual_
_risk_|Financial Planning.We do not grant money we do not have. We will
occasionally spend money on core costs on the basis of presumed income
when there is a clear business case that the expense will boost
sustainability. This means keeping the staff team small and only making
grant commitments we can stand up. This is vital to our sustainability.
Legal.We will seek robust legal and compliance advice whenever we are
unsure. However, we will err towards likeminded experts who understand
our Vision, Mission and Values and our deliberate intention to challenge
assumptions about charitable work.
Compliance.We will ensure full compliance across our finance, governance
and HR systems against the standards we are held to. But we will also
prioritise agility, ensuring our small team remains focused on our grantee
partners and on bringing in external resources into the organisation.|
|Minimalist
_Preference for safe_
_options that have a_
_low degree of inherent_
_risk_|Staff Wellbeing.We want to ensure a safe environment and will take
minimal risks in this pursuit.
Recordkeeping and Compliance.We will not take conscious risks in our
financial, HR and governance record taking. For example, we will thoroughly
document trustee decision-making where a hungry risk appetite is applied,
and our bookkeeping and accounting will be thorough, robust, compliant
and subject to external scrutiny.
Behaviour.Relationships are our number one assets. We will not tolerate
poor behaviour and we will hold ourselves to the highest standards in both
our internal and external conduct.|
|Averse
_Avoidance of risk and_
_uncertainty_|Safeguarding.We will take minimal risks when it comes to the safeguarding
of our people and the people we support. We prioritise protecting the
people we serve above ourselves. This means taking safeguarding
approaches that centre survivors. This in turn means creating a culture of
mutual accountability and collective care - and zero-tolerance for breaches
of this.|
Additionally, some of the specific risks to our work that we are monitoring include:
1. Limited bandwidth for grassroots organising. Communities facing the harshest injustices are nurturing their people and patching up service gaps. But several factors are preventing them from building the lasting base of people power that can hold decision-makers to account and win lasting change:
- a. Lack of community bandwidth. As the cost of living crisis intensifies, community groups are providing vital support to those who are struggling. This leaves them little time or money to focus on the systemic drivers of this crisis. Many communities simply do not have the capacity or practical support to develop leaders, build alliances, and take sustained political action. They need long-term resources and support.
- b. Lack of quality funding for grassroots community organising . The lack of available funding for grassroots organising is compounding these constraints. This includes
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both the amount of funding available (just 0.3% of funding from UK grantmakers in 2021/2022) but also the long-term, trust-based, unrestricted money we know is vital to the long-term success of community organising.
- c. Short-term and competitive funding approaches . Where funding does exist, it is short-term, small, and often project focused. This is forcing organisations to shift strategy depending on what funding is available. The sheer scarcity of resources for this work is also creating competition between groups when collaboration is key to impact.
2. Sustainability. Sustainability is a challenge for both the work and the Fund. We have had two strong years, which means we are now running a major operation but still on a year to year basis. This creates two key challenges:
- a. First, bringing in the money that can keep this operation going. We are fortunate to work with passionate and committed funders who want to shift more resources to the work. But much of our own funding remains short-term or hypothecated. This limits our capacity to make the long-term investments this work needs.
- b. Second, starting to reduce the intensity of the work, so it is sustainable for the team and the organisation. We have been sprinting for two years and need to slow down as we grow to ensure a culture of care. There is an obvious conflict between these needs.
3. Carrying the operational load while continuing to look forward. Our aspiration is to consolidate and innovate, but consolidation takes a lot of time and uses a different part of our brains. How we both reinforce our growing operational and compliance load _and_ continue to innovate for growth is a key consideration. Alongside this, we want to maintain strong and robust relationships with our partners. As outlined above, these 1-2-1 relationships are key to making each investment go so much further. Making time for this with a small staff team is a key challenge.
4. Perceived risk and shrinking civil society space. Many of the groups we work with are operating within a constrained civic environment. They are taking strategic and thoughtful risks in order to build power and win change. But they face hostile politics and policies, and often limiting interpretations of charity law. We stand by these groups as they stand up for their communities. And we have robust systems in place to ensure the charitability of our grants _and_ the independence and challenging nature of the organisations we fund.
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## Finance Review
The financial results for the accounting period ended 31 December 2023 are set out in the Statement of Financial Activities. Please note the change in accountancy period, which we shifted to calendar year to better reflect our spending. This means we have a 15 month set of financial accounts. It also means we are reporting income received at the end of the accounting period, which is designated wholly to 2024.
The Civic Power Fund has grown significantly since our micro accounts filed in 2022. This is a reflection of our change in status - moving from a start-up company limited by guarantee to a stable charity. We have started to make a clear and compelling case for funding grassroots organising and shown we can reach and support this work effectively. We expect our income to gradually increase and stabilise, rather than continue growing at the same rate.
From 01 October 2022 to 31 December 2023 we raised £1.609 million - predominantly from trusts and foundations - and we spent £1.114 million.
We do not raise funds from the public.
The full income is set out on the Statement of Financial Activities and disclosures and descriptions are included below.
Our overall restricted income is £1.16 million. Our overall unrestricted income is £448,142. We should note that the vast majority of our restricted income is extremely flexible - it is restricted to a specific project, but beyond that spending is at our discretion. We are grateful to our funders who understand the vital importance of this type of income.
The majority of our spending went towards grantmaking: £686,276 or 61%. We spent approximately £233,000 on core running and operating costs (21%) and £195,000 on specific projects, excluding grantmaking (18%), including The Governance Hub, the Funding Justice research, the US Learning Exchange, and the Grassroots Organising conference. Disclosures and descriptions are included below and these projects are covered in detail throughout the report. As we grow and stabilise, we plan to increase the proportion of our spending on grantmaking.
## Designated reserves and unrestricted general funds
Our designated general reserves are £121,757. We receive grant income for work that spans multiple accounting periods. Per charity SORP rules, this income is accounted for when we receive it, but the grant period lasts longer than the accountancy period. These reserves are designated towards grantmaking and core costs (within our overheads target of 10-17%). Our specific designated grantmaking reserves are £45,000. This includes multi-year payments due to Nurses United and We Belong and a one off payment to RECLAIM.
We hold designated reserves, so that we can allocate unrestricted income to multi-year grants - knowing this is the type of long-term support our partners need, whilst also being committed to only awarding grant income we already have.
Our free reserves are £96,585. This is in line with our reserves target.
Our restricted reserves are £232,060. Again, per charity SORP this income is accounted for when we receive it but the grant period lasts longer than the accountancy period. Full disclosures and descriptions are included below and with the Financial Statements.
## Reserves policy
The reserves policy is designed to protect the organisation against areas mentioned in our risk review along with unexpected falls in income, unplanned increases in expenditure, security risks and unexpected fluctuations in exchange rates.
Our policy results in a target of £70-£120,000 in free reserves.
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Overall, our income and projected income puts us in a strong financial position. We are a clear going concern and looking forward to stabilising our incoming and outgoing resources as we transition from a small start-up to a more established fund.
## Disclosures and descriptions
Alliance for Youth Organising. This is a new intergenerational collective who will make strategic funding decisions to support youth organising infrastructure. The initial investment from Blagrave Trust, Esmee Fairbairn Foundation and Paul Hamlyn Foundation is for 2024-2026, but our collective aim is to seed a long-term initiative that will help transform the sector.
Community Action Fund . Specific income restricted to a) our Community Action Fund - the Civic Power Fund's first open and democratic participatory fund for grassroots organising - and b) our first five Infrastructure grants. The bulk of this funding came from the closure of Campaign Bootcamp. It was stewarded by the Barrow Cadbury Trust before the Civic Power Fund became a registered charity. The money went towards five key infrastructure partners and 18 grassroots partners (all listed in the report) as well as the running costs of the programme (17% of the Campaign Bootcamp resources). Income remaining in these accounts is designated to the final multi-year grant payments in 2024.
Core Costs . Specific income restricted to our core costs from Unbound Philanthropy and John Ellerman Foundation. These funders do not permit regranting, but want to invest in the running and operational costs of the Civic Power Fund as they support the underlying mission.
General Charitable. The Civic Power Fund received several grants before we were a registered charity. The terms of these grants specify that the funding is unrestricted, but must be held separately within our accounts to ensure charitable spending. Of course, all our spending is charitable. However, we wanted to honour the grant terms in this 15 month set of accounts. In future accounts, this will not be necessary. Income remaining in these accounts is designated to our grantmaking and core costs (10% of the total grant amounts) in 2024.
Grassroots Organising . Funding from the Joseph Rowntree Foundation for a project to explore and map funding for grassroots organising in the UK. Income remaining in these accounts is designated to grantee support and wellbeing.
Funding Justice. Specific income towards the Civic Power Fund's annual research mapping where UK social justice funding goes. A small number of key costs carried across to 2024.
Manchester. Income from the Oglesby Charitable Trust restricted to our work in Manchester. This includes grantmaking and core costs (10% of total grant amount).
The Hub . Specific income for the Civic Power Fund's Governance Hub. The funding forms part of the multi-year budget to support this vital work. It primarily goes towards consultancy support from the Hub's primary legal advisor.
US Learning Exchange. Specific income towards the Civic Power Fund's US Learning Exchange in November 2023. A small number of key costs carried across to 2024.
Warm Welcome Campaign . Income from the Joseph Rowntree Foundation, Trust for London, and JRSST-CT towards a community organising pilot in Warm Welcome spaces. The project spans 2023 and 2024 and funding is primarily being regranted towards partners and their core costs.
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## Looking Ahead
## Insights from the work
1. The stakes could not be higher. We are living through a moment of profound crisis. For the first time in 25 years, global poverty rates have increased. Across the world, societies are more fractured than ever and democracy is in trouble. These are global trends, but they are ricocheting through our communities at home. Our people are hurting and money is scarce.
2. People power is our urgent response. The only way we rise to the scale of this challenge is through community organising. Organising builds the power of communities marginalised because of who they are or where they are from. Through organising, these communities build countervailing power - that which influences decision-makers and holds formal power to account. To build this power, organising binds communities together in solidarity. It transforms individual agency and it builds the foundations for a more just society. Social change cannot rely on organising alone. But given the transformational nature of people power, it is concerning that so little social justice grantmaking is going towards this work.
3. Funding that builds people power requires a significant strategic shift. The end goal of community organising is to build power, rather than to serve predetermined objectives. This is a significant shift for most funders. It requires a fundamental rethink of time, risk, and impact.
- a. Time, because this is long-term, messy, non-linear work.
- b. Risk, because doing this well means ceding control to communities. Our current compliance and governance landscape makes this feel scary. But the big picture risks of _not_ transforming society are far scarier.
- c. Impact, because success is not captured through policy outcomes and measurable metrics alone. Although it is possible to get forensic about people power! This is a practice that organisers have thought honed across generations. Rather than imposing their own metrics downwards, funders have to start from a place of understanding the craft of organising.
4. But, we stand at the edge of a moment of great opportunity - if we can work together. While this feels scary, we are optimistic. Our funders are serious about redistributing power. And we have seen first-hand the incredible grassroots work taking place across the country. If we significantly shift resources over the long-term and provide strategic, wrap-around support, we have the potential to win big. But we can’t do this alone. The scale of the shift required cannot be met by one funder or one group. We must collectively invest capital in people power and stay the course.
## Insights from our grantmaking
1. You find the work by funding it. We learnt that an open application process, which prioritised transparency and simplicity, was key to finding the grassroots work that is rooted in communities - work typically excluded from traditional grantmaking, and with the potential to win transformative change. This work is so grounded, the only way to find it is to put specialist, accessible money on the table. It has to be worth groups’ time to engage.
2. An open and accessible process matters more to grassroots groups than low ratios. Ratios tell us that funding is too scarce. It is vital that we keep addressing this. For example, our Community Action Fund was able to support 18 groups out of 90 shortlisted and 900 first stage applicants. If we map the shortlisted funding request to the full 900 potentially in scope applications, we estimate a total funding need of around £13 million. While we are *so happy* that money is getting into the hands of 18 incredible groups, surfacing such significant unmet needs is deeply frustrating.
However, we saw that by making the initial process very accessible (just four short questions, answered by video, voice note or text), and the second process a partnership with the staff team (1-2-1 support to develop a Grant Memo and tackle any due diligence challenges ahead of time), we could give as many candidates as possible a positive experience.
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High ratios from open processes reveal the funding gaps we need to work together to address. And if an open process is designed around their needs, it can also lead to a positive and accessible learning experience for grassroots groups.
3. Being a specialist matters. We saw how important it was to be a specialist funder for organising. We are staffed by organisers and a panel of community organisers made final funding decisions. This knowledge and precision mattered in finding the right groups to fund
- those who can have strategic impact across the UK _and_ change the lives of their community.
It also made the process much better for applicants. There was a shared understanding of what community organisers face and need. Finally, we are creating an organic community of practice across our partners. They trust us and each other as people who understand organising and as a result are working together to maximise their impact.
4. Doing this well takes a lot of time and resources. Thanks to a range of external partners, we learnt a huge amount about how to streamline this work. However, running a democratic and participatory process takes both time and money. Finding the right balance between the power of this open and participatory process, and ensuring that money gets out the door in a timely manner is key. At the same time, there is no substitute for the 1-2-1 relationships we have with our grantee partners. These add so much value on top of the financial resource.
5. Place-based impact is vital, but very hard to achieve. The best organising starts in place. This is where the relationships that breed community power are forged. As a result, we’re utterly committed to our place-based work alongside our national infrastructure work. However, it takes a long time to build up credibility in a place.
Getting the right balance between early impact, while recognising that it can take 1-2 years to get credibility set up in a place, has been a consistent challenge. We have pared back our place-based work to stay focussed on solely Manchester and North Wales (alongside our UKwide investments) in 2024. We have also worked to find solid and trusted infrastructure partners in each area who can anchor strategies.
## What next for the Civic Power Fund?
2022 was ‘Credential and Connect’ . A year of building and demonstrating our organising expertise and building wide and deep relationships vital to the work.
2023 was ‘Find and Fund’ . We demonstrated that the work is happening and showed we can move money successfully at scale.
2024 is ‘Consolidate and Innovate’ . We want to deepen our relationship with our existing partners, maximising their impact and our shared learning. We also want to build on our lessons from the first two years and secure our own infrastructure and operations.
This means that beyond our North Wales and Alliance for Youth Organising grantmaking, we don't expect to bring on many new partners in 2024. However, we will continue to work with organisers to innovate around what they need, including building on lessons from our US Learning Exchange and the many migrant rights organisations we work with.
And we will reinforce our existing partners. At the end of 2024 we hope to have a robust and sustainable organisation that can step back and focus again on growth.
Below is a snapshot of our operational plan, designed to achieve this aim and continue working towards our 3 core goals.
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|Building Organising Infrastructure|Building Civic Power in Place|Raising our voice to better
resource organising|
|---|---|---|
|Confirmed
Detailed learning from the
Community Action Fund;
continuing to fund the strongest
partners.
Building our new Alliance for
Youth Organising and recruiting a
new Youth Organising Lead.
Awarding the first Youth
Organising Infrastructure grants.
Renewing key Community Action
Fund grants that can turn
grassroots action into
infrastructure.
In progress
A long-term initiative to build the
political power of the groups we
support led by refugees, migrants,
asylum seekers and diaspora
communities across the UK.|Confirmed
Recruiting our Manchester
Organising Adviser and rolling out
our multi-year learning framework
with our grantee partners in
Manchester.
Working with Together
Creating Communities to make
our first awards in North
Wales.
Working with Good Faith
Partnership to deepen organising
action in North Wales and London
as part of Warm Welcome
Organising.
In progress
Exploring new place-based
partnerships from 2025 onwards.|Confirmed
Funding Justice 3, deepening our
understanding of where social
justice funding is going and
looking in detail at different
sectors.
A new podcast series with UCL
Policy Lab and Amanda Tattersall
to tell a story of UK organising
and ordinary hope.
An event series on racial justice,
supporting BAME groups building
power and organising around the
election.
In progress
Exploration of organising funding
for climate action, including a
new learning journey for funders.|
|Supporting our Grantee Partners|||
|Confirmed
●
Strengthening the Governance Hub and deepening support available to our partners, especially
around the election
●
A new leadership development programme for migrant-led groups we work with
●
Strategy and wellbeing grants for all grantee partners
●
More active support and cohort building around our grantee partners
In progress
●
A new programme to support innovations from the US Learning Exchange
●
New partnerships to deepen legal support for grassroots organising groups
●
More support to our grantee partners to aid income generation and sustainability
●
Collaboration and cohort building around our land and housing partners|||
|Strengthening the Civic Power Fund|||
|●
Securing funding renewals from key one year funders and bring on new multi-year partners
●
Working with Act Build Change to build a culture of care across the Civic Power Fund as we grow
●
A new website and a new CRM system that supports our grantee-first application process
●
Updated HR, Governance, and Financial policies and processes following recommendations from Moore
Kingston Smith
●
Recruiting a new Board Chair and a fundraising Trustee|||
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## Administrative Details
_For the year ended 31 December 2023_
Company Number : 13635441
Charity Number : 1203784
Registered Office and Operational Address : 5-7 Tanner Street, London, SE1 3LE
## Trustees:
- Kirsty McNeill, Chair, appointed 21 September 2021, resigned 10 July 2024
- Nick Lowles, Treasurer, appointed 21 September 2021
- Catherine McDonald, appointed 21 September 2021
- Naimah Hassan, appointed 21 March 2023
- Nikki Williams, appointed 21 March 2023
## Principle Staff:
- Martha Mackenzie, Executive Director, appointed 10 January 2022
- Mohammed Afridi, Director of Organising, appointed 01 September 2022
Bankers:
ANNA Unity Trust Bank
## Auditors:
DSC Accountants and Auditors, Tattersall House, E Parade, Harrogate, HG1 5LT
## Statement of Trustees’ Responsibilities
_For the year ended 31 December 2023_
The Trustees (who are also directors of Civic Power Fund for the purposes of company law) are responsible for preparing the report of the Trustees and the financial statements in accordance with applicable law and United Kingdom Accounting Standards (United Kingdom Generally Accepted Accounting Practice).
Company law requires the Trustees to prepare financial statements for each financial year, which give a true and fair view of the state of affairs of the charitable company and of the incoming resources and application of resources, including the income and expenditure, of the charitable company for that period. In preparing these financial statements, the Trustees are required to:
- select suitable accounting policies and apply them consistently;
- observe the methods and principles in the Charities SORP;
- make judgements and estimates that are reasonable and prudent;
- state whether applicable UK Accounting Standards have been followed, subject to any material departures disclosed and explained in the financial statements; and
- prepare the financial statements on the going concern basis unless it is inappropriate to presume that the charitable company will continue in operation.
The Trustees are responsible for keeping adequate accounting records that disclose, with reasonable accuracy at any time, the financial position of the charitable company and enable them to ensure that the financial statements comply with the Companies Act 2006. They are also responsible for safeguarding the assets of the charitable company and hence for taking reasonable steps for the detection and prevention of fraud and other irregularities.
The Trustees of the company who held office at the date of the approval of the Financial Statements as set out above confirm, so far as they are aware, that:
- there is no relevant audit information of which the charitable company’s auditors are unaware; and
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- they have taken all the steps that they ought to have taken as directors in order to make themselves aware of any relevant audit information and to establish that the company’s auditors are aware of that information.
The Trustees are responsible for the maintenance and integrity of the corporate and financial information included on the charitable company’s website. Legislation in the United Kingdom governing the preparation and dissemination of financial statements may differ from legislation in other jurisdictions.
The report of the Trustees has been prepared in accordance with the special provisions of Part VII of the Companies Act 2006 relating to small companies.
## Auditors
_For the year ended 31 December 2023_
DSC Accountants and Auditors was appointed as the charitable company’s auditors during the year.
We would like to thank everyone, and all organisations, who support our work – donors, staff and Trustees.
Our work would not be possible without you.
This report and the financial statements were approved by the Board on 16th July 2024 and are signed on their behalf by:
Nick Lowles , Interim Chair and Treasurer Date: 9/9/2024
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## Independent Auditors Report
_For the year ended 31 December 2023_
## Opinion
We have audited the financial statements of Civic Power Fund (the 'charitable company') for the period ended 31 December 2023 which comprise the Statement of Financial Activities, the Balance Sheet, the Cash Flow Statement and notes to the financial statements, including a summary of significant accounting policies. The financial reporting framework that has been applied in their preparation is applicable law and United Kingdom Accounting Standards (United Kingdom Generally Accepted Accounting Practice).
- In our opinion the financial statements:
- give a true and fair view of the state of the charitable company's affairs as at 31 December 2023 and of its incoming resources and application of resources, including its income and expenditure, for the period then ended;
- have been properly prepared in accordance with United Kingdom Generally Accepted Accounting Practice; and
- have been prepared in accordance with the requirements of the Companies Act 2006
## Basis for opinion
We conducted our audit in accordance with International Standards on Auditing (UK) (ISAs (UK)) and applicable law. Our responsibilities under those standards are further described in the Auditors' responsibilities for the audit of the financial statements section of our report. We are independent of the charitable company in accordance with the ethical requirements that are relevant to our audit of the financial statements in the UK, including the FRC's Ethical Standard, and we have fulfilled our other ethical responsibilities in accordance with these requirements.
We believe that the audit evidence we have obtained is sufficient and appropriate to provide a basis for our opinion.
## Conclusions relating to going concern
In auditing the financial statements, we have concluded that the trustees' use of the going concern basis of accounting in the preparation of the financial statements is appropriate.
Based on the work we have performed, we have not identified any material uncertainties relating to events or conditions that, individually or collectively, may cast significant doubt on the charitable company's ability to continue as a going concern for a period of at least twelve months from when the financial statements are authorised for issue.
Our responsibilities and the responsibilities of the trustees with respect to going concern are described in the relevant sections of this report.
## An overview of the scope of our audit
An audit involves obtaining evidence about the amounts and disclosures in the financial statements sufficient to give reasonable assurance that the financial statements are free from material misstatement, whether caused by fraud or error. This includes an assessment of: whether the accounting policies are appropriate to the company’s circumstances and have been consistently applied and adequately disclosed; the reasonableness of significant accounting estimates made by the directors; and the overall presentation of the financial statements.
## Other information
The trustees are responsible for the other information. The other information comprises the information included in the Annual Report, other than the financial statements and our Report of the Independent Auditors thereon.
Our opinion on the financial statements does not cover the other information and, except to the extent otherwise explicitly stated in our report, we do not express any form of assurance conclusion thereon.
In connection with our audit of the financial statements, our responsibility is to read the other information and, in doing so, consider whether the other information is materially inconsistent
41
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with the financial statements or our knowledge obtained in the audit or otherwise appears to be
42
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materially misstated. If we identify such material inconsistencies or apparent material misstatements, we are required to determine whether this gives rise to a material misstatement in the financial statements themselves. If, based on the work we have performed, we conclude that there is a material misstatement of this other information, we are required to report that fact. We have nothing to report in this regard.
As this is the first year the charity has breached the audit threshold, the comparison figures are unaudited.
Opinions on other matters prescribed by the Companies Act 2006
- In our opinion, based on the work undertaken in the course of the audit:
- the information given in the Report of the Trustees for the financial year for which the financial statements are prepared is consistent with the financial statements; and
- the Report of the Trustees has been prepared in accordance with applicable legal requirements.
## Matters on which we are required to report by exception
In the light of the knowledge and understanding of the charitable company and its environment obtained in the course of the audit, we have not identified material misstatements in the Report of the Trustees.
We have nothing to report in respect of the following matters where the Companies Act 2006 requires us to report to you if, in our opinion:
- adequate accounting records have not been kept or returns adequate for our audit have not been received from branches not visited by us; or
- the financial statements are not in agreement with the accounting records and returns; or
- certain disclosures of trustees' remuneration specified by law are not made; or
- we have not received all the information and explanations we require for our audit.
## Responsibilities of trustees
As explained more fully in the Statement of Trustees' Responsibilities, the trustees (who are also the directors of the charitable company for the purposes of company law) are responsible for the preparation of the financial statements and for being satisfied that they give a true and fair view, and for such internal control as the trustees determine is necessary to enable the preparation of financial statements that are free from material misstatement, whether due to fraud or error.
In preparing the financial statements, the trustees are responsible for assessing the charitable company's ability to continue as a going concern, disclosing, as applicable, matters related to going concern and using the going concern basis of accounting unless the trustees either intend to liquidate the charitable company or to cease operations, or have no realistic alternative but to do so.
## Our responsibilities for the audit of the financial statements
Our objectives are to obtain reasonable assurance about whether the financial statements as a whole are free from material misstatement, whether due to fraud or error, and to issue a Report of the Independent Auditors that includes our opinion. Reasonable assurance is a high level of assurance, but is not a guarantee that an audit conducted in accordance with ISAs (UK) will always detect a material misstatement when it exists. Misstatements can arise from fraud or error and are considered material if, individually or in the aggregate, they could reasonably be expected to influence the economic decisions of users taken on the basis of these financial statements.
The extent to which our procedures are capable of detecting irregularities, including fraud is detailed below:
We gained an understanding of the legal and regulatory framework applicable to the company and the industry in which it operates and considered the risk of acts by the company that were contrary to applicable laws and regulations, including fraud. We focused on laws and regulations which could give rise to a material misstatement in the financial statements, including, but not limited to, the Companies Act 2006 and UK tax legislation. Our tests included agreeing the
43
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financial statement disclosures to underlying supporting documentation, a review of correspondence with the Charity Commission, enquiries with management and the inspection of other regulatory and legal correspondence.
We addressed the risk of management override of internal controls, including testing journals and estimates and evaluating whether there was evidence of bias by the directors that represented a risk of material misstatement due to fraud and the completeness of income recognition by testing to supporting documentation and correspondence. We did not identify any key audit matters relating to irregularities, including fraud.
Because of the inherent limitations of an audit, there is a risk that we will not detect all irregularities, including those leading to a material misstatement in the financial statements or non-compliance with regulation. This risk increases the more that compliance with a law or regulation is removed from the events and transactions reflected in the financial statements, as we will be less likely to become aware of instances of non-compliance. The risk is also greater regarding irregularities occurring due to fraud rather than error, as fraud involves intentional concealment, forgery, collusion, omission or misrepresentation.
A further description of our responsibilities for the audit of the financial statements is located on the Financial Reporting Council's website at www.frc.org.uk/auditorsresponsibilities. This description forms part of our Report of the Independent Auditors.
## Use of our report
This report is made solely to the charitable company's members, as a body, in accordance with Chapter 3 of Part 16 of the Companies Act 2006. Our audit work has been undertaken so that we might state to the charitable company's members those matters we are required to state to them in an auditors' report and for no other purpose. To the fullest extent permitted by law, we do not accept or assume responsibility to anyone other than the charitable company and the charitable company's members as a body, for our audit work, for this report, or for the opinions we have formed.
Graham French (Senior Statutory Auditor) for and on behalf of DSC Accountants Ltd Chartered Accountants Statutory Auditors Tattersall House East Parade Harrogate North Yorkshire HG1 5LT
Date: 17[th ] July 2024
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## Financial Statements
(INCORPORATING AN INCOME AND EXPENDITURE ACCOUNT) _For the year ended 31 December 2023_
## STATEMENT OF FINANCIAL ACTIVITIES
FOR THE PERIOD 1 OCTOBER 2022 TO 31 DECEMBER 2023
|INCOME AND ENDOWMENTS FROM
Notes
Donations and legacies
2
EXPENDITURE ON
Charitable activities
3
Finance and governance
Grants to institutions
Charitablespending
Raising funds
Total
NET INCOME
Transfers between funds
13
Net movement in funds
RECONCILIATION OF FUNDS
Total funds brought forward
TOTAL FUNDS CARRIED FORWARD|Unrestricted
funds
£
448,142
-
75,000
70,199
-
145,199
302,943
(40,000
)
262,943
398
263,341|Restricted
funds
£
1,160,481
13,009
611,276
298,558
45,577
968,420
192,061
40,000
232,061
-
232,061|PERIOD
1.10.22
TO
31.12.23
Total
funds
£
1,608,623
13,009
686,276
368,757
45,577
1,113,619
495,004
-
495,004
398
495,402|PERIOD
21.9.21
TO
30.9.22
Total
funds
£
95,580
2,595
-
92,587
-|
|---|---|---|---|---|
|||||95,182|
|||||398
-|
|||||398
-|
|||||398|
The notes form part of these financial statements
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## CIVIC POWER FUND
## BALANCE SHEET
## 31 DECEMBER 2023
|FIXEDASSETS
Notes
Tangibleassets
11
CURRENTASSETS
Prepayments and accrued income
Cash at bank
CREDITORS
Amounts falling due within one year
12
NET CURRENT ASSETS
TOTAL ASSETS LESS CURRENT
LIABILITIES
NET ASSETS
FUNDS
Unrestricted funds
13
Restricted funds
TOTALFUNDS|Unrestricted
funds
£
1,659
-
563,884
563,884
(302,201)
261,683
263,342
263,342|Restricted
funds
£
-
30,000
557,442
587,442
(355,382)
232,060
232,060
232,060|2023
Total
funds
£
1,659
30,000
1,121,326
1,151,326
(657,583)
493,743
495,402
495,402
263,342
232,060
495,402|2022
Total
funds
£
-
-
135,559
135,559
(135,161)
398|
|---|---|---|---|---|
|||||398
398|
|||||398
-|
|||||398|
These financial statements have been prepared in accordance with the special provisions of Part 15 of the Companies Act 2006 relating to small charitable companies.
The financial statements were approved by the Board of Trustees and authorised for issue on 16[th ] July 2024 and were signed on its behalf by:
............................................. N Lowles - Trustee
The notes form part of these financial statements
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## CIVIC POWER FUND
## CASH FLOW STATEMENT
FOR THE PERIOD 1 OCTOBER 2022 TO 31 DECEMBER 2023
|Notes
Cash flows from operating activities
Cash generated from operations
1
Tax paid
Net cash provided by operating activities
Cash flows from investing activities
Purchase of tangible fixed assets
Net cash (used in)/provided by
investing activities
Change in cash and cash equivalents
in the reporting period
Cash and cash equivalents at the
beginning of the reporting period
Cash and cash equivalents at the
end of the reporting period|PERIOD
1.10.22
TO
31.12.23
£
987,958
(93
)
987,865
(2,098)
(2,098)
985,767
135,559
1,121,326|PERIOD
21.9.21
TO
30.9.22
£
135,559
-|
|---|---|---|
|||135,559|
|||-|
|||-|
|||135,559
-|
|||135,559|
The notes form part of these financial statements
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## CIVIC POWER FUND
## NOTES TO THE CASH FLOW STATEMENT
FOR THE PERIOD 1 OCTOBER 2022 TO 31 DECEMBER 2023
## 1. RECONCILIATION OF NET INCOME TO NET CASH FLOW FROM OPERATING ACTIVITIES
|Net income for the reporting period (as per the Statement
of Financial Activities)
Adjustments for:
Depreciationcharges
Increase in debtors
Increase in creditors
Net cash provided by operations
ANALYSIS OF CHANGES IN NET FUNDS
Netcash
At 1.10.22
£
Cash at bank
135,559
135,559
Total
135,559|PERIOD
1.10.22
TO
31.12.23
£
495,004
439
(30,000)
522,515
987,958
Cash flow
£
985,767
985,767
985,767|PERIOD
21.9.21
TO
30.9.22
£
398
-
-
135,161|
|---|---|---|
|||135,559
At 31.12.23
£
1,121,326|
|||1,121,326|
|||1,121,326|
## 2. ANALYSIS OF CHANGES IN NET FUNDS
The notes form part of these financial statements
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## CIVIC POWER FUND
NOTES TO THE FINANCIAL STATEMENTS FOR THE PERIOD 1 OCTOBER 2022 TO 31 DECEMBER 2023
## 1. ACCOUNTING POLICIES
## Basis of preparing the financial statements
Civic Power Fund is a charitable company, limited by guarantee, registered in England and Wales. The company's registered number and registered office address can be found on page 39 of the trustee report.
The financial statements of the charitable company, which is a public benefit entity under FRS 102, have been prepared in accordance with the Charities SORP (FRS 102) 'Accounting and Reporting by Charities: Statement of Recommended Practice applicable to charities preparing their accounts in accordance with the Financial Reporting Standard applicable in the UK and Republic of Ireland (FRS 102) (effective 1 January 2019)', Financial Reporting Standard 102 'The Financial Reporting Standard applicable in the UK and Republic of Ireland' and the Companies Act 2006. The financial statements have been prepared under the historical cost convention.
## Critical accounting judgements and key sources of estimation uncertainty
In the application of the company's accounting policies, the directors are required to make judgements, estimates and assumptions about the carrying amount of assets and liabilities that are not readily apparent from other sources. The estimates and associated assumptions are based on historical experience and other factors that are considered to be relevant. Actual results may differ from these estimates.
Any estimates and underlying assumptions are reviewed on an ongoing basis. Revisions to accounting estimates are recognised in the period in which the estimate is revised where the revision affects only that period, or in the period of the revision and future periods where the revision affects both current and future periods.
In the reporting period there has been no critical accounting judgements or estimations made by the directors. Assets and liabilities have been valued using calculations or original cost.
## Income
All income is recognised in the Statement of Financial Activities once the charity has entitlement to the funds, it is probable that the income will be received and the amount can be measured reliably.
## Expenditure
Liabilities are recognised as expenditure as soon as there is a legal or constructive obligation committing the charity to that expenditure, it is probable that a transfer of economic benefits will be required in settlement and the amount of the obligation can be measured reliably. Expenditure is accounted for on an accruals basis and has been classified under headings that aggregate all cost related to the category. Where costs cannot be directly attributed to particular headings they have been allocated to activities on a basis consistent with the use of resources.
Grants offered subject to conditions which have not been met at the year-end date are noted as a commitment but not accrued as expenditure.
## Tangible fixed assets
Depreciation is provided at the following annual rates in order to write off each asset over its estimated useful life.
Fixtures and fittings 25% Straight line Computer equipment 25% Straight line
## Taxation
The charity is exempt from corporation tax on its charitable activities.
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## Fund accounting
Unrestricted funds can be used in accordance with the charitable objectives at the discretion of the trustees.
Restricted funds can only be used for particular restricted purposes within the objects of the charity. Restrictions arise when specified by the donor or when funds are raised for particular restricted purposes.
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## CIVIC POWER FUND
NOTES TO THE FINANCIAL STATEMENTS - continued FOR THE PERIOD 1 OCTOBER 2022 TO 31 DECEMBER 2023
## 1. ACCOUNTING POLICIES - continued
## Fund accounting
Further explanation of the nature and purpose of each fund is included in the notes to the financial statements.
## Pension costs and other post-retirement benefits
The charitable company operates a defined contribution pension scheme. Contributions payable to the charitable company's pension scheme are charged to the Statement of Financial Activities in the period to which they relate.
## Debtors
Grant monies awarded to institutions in advance of the grant funding agreements are shown in debtors under prepayments and accrued income.
## Deferred Income
Grant funding that has been received in the period, which is due to be spent in a future accounting period has been deferred in accordance with the grant funding agreements.
## Going concern
There are no material uncertainties related to events or conditions that may cast significant doubt upon the entity's ability to continue as a going concern.
## 2. DONATIONS AND LEGACIES
|Grants|PERIOD
1.10.22
TO
31.12.23
£
1,608,623|PERIOD
21.9.21
TO
30.9.22
£
95,580|
|---|---|---|
## 3. CHARITABLE ACTIVITIES COSTS
|CHARITABLE ACTIVITIES COSTS|||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
|Finance and governance
Grants to institutions
Charitablespending
Raising funds|Direct
Costs (see
note 4)
£
-
-
231,461
45,577
277,038|Grant
funding of
activities
(see note
5)
£
-
686,276
-
-
686,276|Support
costs (see
note 6)
£
13,009
-
137,296
-
150,305|Totals
£
13,009
686,276
368,757
45,577|
|||||1,113,619|
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## CIVIC POWER FUND
NOTES TO THE FINANCIAL STATEMENTS - continued FOR THE PERIOD 1 OCTOBER 2022 TO 31 DECEMBER 2023
## 4. DIRECT COSTS OF CHARITABLE ACTIVITIES
|4.
DIRECT COSTS OF CHARITABLE ACTIVITIES||
|---|---|
|PERIOD
1.10.22
TO
Staff costs
31.12.23
£
207,655
Consultancy
Stipends and general expenses
53,637
15,307
Depreciation
439
277,038
5.
GRANTS PAYABLE
PERIOD
1.10.22
TO
Grants to institutions
31.12.23
£
686,276|PERIOD
21.9.21
TO
30.9.22
£
52,785
31,548
-
-|
||84,333|
||PERIOD
21.9.21
TO
30.9.22
£
-|
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## CIVIC POWER FUND
## NOTES TO THE FINANCIAL STATEMENTS - continued FOR
THE PERIOD 1 OCTOBER 2022 TO 31 DECEMBER 2023
5. GRANTS PAYABLE - continued
The total grants paid to institutions during the period was as follows:
|GRANTS PAYABLE - continued
The total grants paid to institutions during the period was as follows:||
|---|---|
|PERIOD
1.10.22
TO
31.12.23
£
Act Build Change Ltd
70,600
All The Small Things CIC
20,000
Brighton and Hove Community Land Trust
20,000
Centre for Progressive Change
20,000
Centre for Theology and Community
25,842
Citizens UK
10,000
Coffee Afrik CIC
20,000
CollaborativeWomen
18,500
Common Good Foundation
20,000
Common Knowledge
16,875
E16 Community Land Trust
18,500
Greater Manchester Poverty Action
20,000
Greater Manchester Tenants Union
20,000
Good Faith Foundation
25,000
Housing Action Teesside
20,000
Southeast and East Asian Women’s Association
18,500
Love and Power
50,000
Greater Manchester Immigration Aid Unit
10,000
Nanny Solidarity Network CIC
20,000
Nurses United
30,000
Parents for Future Scotland
15,000
Growing Rights Instead of Poverty Partnership
20,500
Saathi House
17,000
South Norwood Community Kitchen
16,500
The Social Change Agency
22,084
The Rights Collective
20,000
Thrive Together Birmingham
10,000
Together Creating Communities
10,000
TriangularCIO
20,000
UK Youth Climate Coalition
12,000
Wards Corner Community Benefit Society
10,000
Workers Co-op
20,000
We Belong
10,000
Miscellaneous
9,375
686,276|PERIOD
21.9.21
TO
30.9.22
£
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-|
||-|
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## CIVIC POWER FUND
## NOTES TO THE FINANCIAL STATEMENTS - continued FOR
## THE PERIOD 1 OCTOBER 2022 TO 31 DECEMBER 2023
## 6. SUPPORT COSTS
|SUPPORTCOSTS||||
|---|---|---|---|
|Finance and
governance
Charitablespending|Human
Finance
resources
£
£
235
-
-
68,402
235
68,402|Governance
Other
costs
£
£
-
12,774
68,894
-
68,894
12,774|Totals
£
13,009
137,296|
||||150,305|
## 7. NET INCOME/(EXPENDITURE)
Net income/(expenditure) is stated after charging/(crediting):
||PERIOD|PERIOD|PERIOD|
|---|---|---|---|
||1.10.22||21.9.21|
||TO||TO|
||31.12.23||30.9.22|
||£||£|
|Auditors' remuneration|9,000||-|
|Auditors' remuneration for non audit work|3,774||2,256|
|Depreciation - owned assets|439||-|
## 8. TRUSTEES' REMUNERATION AND BENEFITS
There were no trustees' remuneration or other benefits for the period ended 31 December 2023.
## Trustees' expenses
Trustee expenses totalled £534 for 1 trustee for travel and subsistence for the period ended 31 December 2023.
## 9. STAFF COSTS
|STAFFCOSTS||
|---|---|
|PERIOD
1.10.22
TO
31.12.23
£
Wages and salaries
188,409
Social security costs
15,747
Other pension costs
3,499
207,655|PERIOD
21.9.21
TO
30.9.22
£
50,250
2,220
315|
||52,785|
The average monthly number of employees during the period was as follows:
||PERIOD|PERIOD|PERIOD|
|---|---|---|---|
||1.10.22||21.9.21|
||TO||TO|
||31.12.23||30.9.22|
|Support staff|4||2|
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## CIVIC POWER FUND
## NOTES TO THE FINANCIAL STATEMENTS - continued FOR
THE PERIOD 1 OCTOBER 2022 TO 31 DECEMBER 2023
## 9. STAFF COSTS - continued
The number of employees whose employee benefits (excluding employer pension costs) exceeded £60,000 was:
|||PERIOD|PERIOD|PERIOD|
|---|---|---|---|---|
|||1.10.22|21.9.21||
|||TO|TO||
|||31.12.23|30.9.22||
|£60,001|- £70,000|1|-||
|£80,001|- £90,000|1|-||
|||2|-||
The key management personnel of the charity comprise all staff.
## 10. REPORTING PERIOD AND COMPARATIVES FOR THE STATEMENT OF FINANCIAL ACTIVITIES
The financial statements cover a period of 15 months. The change in year-end was made in order to bring the end of the reporting period in line with internal reporting for consistency. This means that comparative amounts presented in the financial statements (including the related notes) are not entirely comparable. Permission was obtained from Companies House to make this change.
The comparatives show the results prior to the entity gaining charitable status. All funds held were deemed as unrestricted.
## 11. TANGIBLE FIXED ASSETS
|TANGIBLE FIXED ASSETS|||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
||Fixtures||||
||and|Computer|||
||fittings|equipment|Totals||
||£|£|£||
|COST|||||
|Additions|456|1,642|2,098||
|DEPRECIATION|||||
|Charge for year|123|316|439||
|NET BOOK VALUE|||||
|At 31 December 2023|333|1,326|1,659||
|At 30 September 2022|-|-|-||
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## CIVIC POWER FUND
## NOTES TO THE FINANCIAL STATEMENTS - continued FOR
THE PERIOD 1 OCTOBER 2022 TO 31 DECEMBER 2023
## 12. CREDITORS: AMOUNTS FALLING DUE WITHIN ONE YEAR
|CREDITORS: AMOUNTS FALLING DUE WITHIN ONE YEAR|||
|---|---|---|
|Tax
Other creditors
Accruals and deferred income
Accruals
Deferred income due within one year
Total|2023
£
-
606
656,977
657,583
2023
£
16,976
640,000
656,976|2022
£
93
477
134,591
135,161|
|||2022
£
2,106
132,485
134,591|
Deferred income comprises grant income that was received in the year but the terms of the grant agreement state that the funds are to be spent during a period commencing after the balance sheet date.
||£||
|---|---|---|
|Deferred income balance as at 1 October 2022|132,485||
|Amount released to grant income in the year|(132,485)||
|Amount deferred in year|640,000||
|Balance as at 31 December 2023|640,000||
## 13. MOVEMENT IN FUNDS
|Unrestrictedfunds
General
Designated - Grantmaking
Designated - General Charitable
Restrictedfunds
TheHub
Community Action Fund
CoreCosts
GrassrootsOrganising
WarmWelcome
ManchesterFund
Alliance for Youth Organising
FundingJustice
US Learning Exchange
TOTAL FUNDS|Net
At
movement
1.10.22
£
in funds
£
398
141,187
-
-
-
161,757
398
-
302,944
14,515
-
75,389
-
2,519
-
21,186
-
6,344
-
4,000
-
57,908
-
6,508
-
3,691
-
192,060
3
9
8
495,004|Transfers
between
At
funds
£
31.12.23
£
(45,000)
96,585
45,000
45,000
(40,000
)
121,757
(40,000)
-
263,342
14,515
40,000
115,389
-
2,519
-
21,186
-
6,344
-
4,000
-
57,908
-
6,508
-
3,691
40,000
232,060
-
495,402|At
31.12.23
£
96,585
45,000
121,757|
|---|---|---|---|
55
Docusign Envelope ID: 451E3370-5352-432D-BE5D-
## CIVIC POWER FUND
## NOTES TO THE FINANCIAL STATEMENTS - continued FOR
THE PERIOD 1 OCTOBER 2022 TO 31 DECEMBER 2023
## 13. MOVEMENT IN FUNDS - continued
Net movement in funds, included in the above are as follows:
|Unrestrictedfunds
General
Designated - General Charitable
Restrictedfunds
The Hub
Community Action Fund
CoreCosts
Grassroots Organising
Warm Welcome
Manchester Fund
Alliance for Youth Organising
Funding Justice
US Learning Exchange
TOTALFUNDS
Comparatives for movement in funds
Unrestrictedfunds
General
TOTALFUNDS
Comparative net movement in funds, included in the
Unrestrictedfunds
General
TOTALFUNDS|Incoming
resources
£
Resources
expended
£
231,456
(90,269)
216,686
(54,929
)
448,142
(145,198)
23,500
(8,985)
623,615
(548,226)
166,668
(164,149)
33,357
(12,171)
107,500
(101,156)
34,000
(30,000)
60,000
(2,092)
53,342
(46,834)
58,499
(54,808
)
1,160,481
(968,421
)
1,608,623
(1,113,619
)
Net
movement
in funds
£
398
398
above are as follows:
Incoming
resources
£
Resources
expended
£
95,580
(95,182)
95,580
(95,182)|Movement
in funds
£
141,187
161,757
302,944
14,515
75,389
2,519
21,186
6,344
4,000
57,908
6,508
3,691
192,060
495,004
At
30.9.22
£
398
398
Movement
in funds
£
398
398|
|---|---|---|
56
Docusign Envelope ID: 451E3370-5352-432D-BE5D-
## CIVIC POWER FUND
## NOTES TO THE FINANCIAL STATEMENTS - continued FOR
THE PERIOD 1 OCTOBER 2022 TO 31 DECEMBER 2023
## 13. MOVEMENT IN FUNDS - continued Unrestricted Funds
## Designated Funds
Grantmaking - Trustees have designated £45,000 from our free reserves towards grantmaking in 2024. This includes multi-year payments due to Nurses United and We Belong and a one off payment to reclaim.
General Charitable - The Fund received several grants before it became a registered charity. The terms of these grants specify that the funding is unrestricted, but must be held separately within our accounts to ensure charitable spending. Of course, all our spending is charitable. However, we wanted to honour the grant terms in this 15 month set of accounts. In future accounts, this will not be necessary. Income remaining in these accounts is designated to our grantmaking and core costs (10% of the total grant amounts) in 2024.
## Restricted Funds
Community Action Fund - Specific income restricted to a) our Community Action Fund and b) our first five infrastructure grants made in Q4 2022. The bulk of this funding came from the closure of Campaign Bootcamp. It was stewarded by the Barrow Cadbury Trust before the Civic Power Fund became a registered charity. The money went towards five key infrastructure partners and 18 grassroots partners (all listed in the report) as well as the running costs of the programme (17% of the Campaign Bootcamp resources). Income remaining in these accounts is restricted to the final multi-year grant payments in 2024.
Core Costs - Specific income restricted to our core costs from Unbound Philanthropy and John Ellerman Foundation. These funders do not permit regranting, but want to invest in the running and operational costs of the Civic Power Fund as they support the underlying mission.
Grassroots Organising - Funding from the Joseph Rowntree Foundation for a project to explore and map funding for grassroots organising in the UK. Income remaining in these accounts is restricted to grantee support and wellbeing.
Funding Justice - Specific income towards the Civic Power Fund's annual research mapping where UK social justice funding goes. A small number of key costs carried across to 2024.
Manchester - Income from the Oglesby Charitable Trust restricted to our work in Manchester. This includes grantmaking and core costs (10% of total grant amount).
The Hub - Specific income for the Civic Power Fund's Governance Hub. The funding forms part of the multi-year budget to support this vital work. It primarily goes towards consultancy support from the Hub's primary legal advisor.
Alliance for Youth Organising - A new intergenerational collective that aims to make strategic funding decisions to support youth organising infrastructure. The initial investment from the Blagrave Trust, Esmee Fairbairn Foundation and Paul Hamlyn Foundation is for 2024-2026, but the collective aim is to seed a long-term initiative that will help transform the sector.
US Learning Exchange - Specific income towards the Civic Power Fund's US Learning Exchange in November 2023. A small number of key costs carried across to 2024.
Warm Welcome Campaign - Income from the Joseph Rowntree Foundation, Trust for London, and JRSST-CT towards a community organising pilot in Warm Welcome spaces. The project spans 2023 and 2024 and funding is primarily being regranted towards partners and their core costs.
57
Docusign Envelope ID: 451E3370-5352-432D-BE5D-
## CIVIC POWER FUND
## NOTES TO THE FINANCIAL STATEMENTS - continued FOR THE PERIOD 1 OCTOBER 2022 TO 31 DECEMBER 2023
## 14. RELATED PARTY DISCLOSURES
There were no related party transactions for the period ended 31 December 2023
58
Docusign Envelope ID.. 451E3370-5352-432D-BE5D-
59