Trustees’ 2024 (April to December) Annual Report
Charity Registration No.: 1203808 For the Period 6[th] April 2024 to 31[st] December 2024
Statement from the Trustees
We are pleased to present our annual report, covering the period from April to December 2024.
term sponsors and allies. We have been working with our CIO members IMechE and IFE to continue with our strong partnerships here.
This year we have been pushing forwards, from first registering as a charity in 2023 to holding our first AGM in August 2024. Our work this year has been focused on ensuring that we are able to continue our aims, whilst raising sufficient support to continue to operate independently.
This report covers the period between April and December 2024, a shorter period, so that the financial calendar can be aligned to suit our activities and fundraising timings. The new financial year arrangement will support our goals in future years and reduce administration complications.
True to our mission, we have been focused on working to close the gender gap in engineering industries, by showcasing the accomplishments of female engineers and promoting engineering to students. All of our work takes place in a context of raising awareness around issues relating to Diversity, Equity & Inclusion (DE&I), and we seek to support and collaborate with organisations and individuals who share our values.
As in previous years, our main outward facing activities culminated in celebrations for International Women in Engineering Day in June, with a magnificent celebration at BAFTA in London. At this event we were able to present our history as an organisation and look to the future, with the challenges and rewards that comes with that. We had an excellent turn out, bringing out the engineers from “behind the scenes” to be celebrated.
We also worked this year to further our commitment to STEM outreach, in hosting our annual INWED event attending and laying a foundation for future events and activities, including partnerships with universities for events upcoming in 2025.
2024 has been a strong year for SheCanEngineer, and we are proud of the work we are presenting in this report. We plan to continue with this work and are excited to see the impact we able to provide in the coming years.
~Frances Radford, Chair of Trustees
This year, we built on our previous successes and sought to cement partnerships with our long-
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Statement from the Committee Co-chair
SheCanEngineer has been going from strength to strength, and I am proud of what we have achieved in this period. At our core, we have remained dedicated to improving diversity, equity and inclusion in the engineering sector.
volunteers, who give us their time and energy and passion to deliver all the SheCanEngineer activities. Our volunteers continue to inspire us everyday and we are eternally grateful to them.
We did fit a lot in this year, perhaps being honest, too much. We decided to take a step back and redefine and streamline our commitments, to be able to deliver all of our activities to a high quality and standard, without compromising our volunteers’ mental and physical health. The next year will be focussed on delivering and boosting our message in a sustainable way.
We have focussed on building partnerships with external collaborators and academic institutions, supporting them and helping them with their ED&I initiatives. We are proud to be chosen as official charity partners for initiatives championing and celebrating collaboration and innovation.
We would not have been able to do any of this without the unwavering dedication of our
~Laura Hoang, Co-chair of Committee
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The SheCanEngineer Vision: Gender Parity in Engineering
2021 2022 2023 2024 10.5% 16.5% 15.7% 16.9%
*Statistics from EngineeringUK Women In Engineering & Technology May 2025 Update Report: female representation in engineering.
Organisational Values
I
Inclusion
C Connection
An accessible initiative that is open-to-all. Bringing all genders to the table, and showcasing intersectionality.
A network of collaborators, professional engineering institutions, academic institutions, corporations, volunteers and the public.
E Engagement
A Advancement
Expanding the stakeholders in engineering. From corporations (engineers, management, leadership), to schools (students, teachers, parents), and universities (students, staff).
Extending the narrative of the business case for diversity in engineering from one of “the right thing to do” to one of profitability and innovation.
Charitable Objects
▪ The promotion of equality and diversity for the public benefit by providing initiatives designed to address the underrepresentation of women in the engineering industry. ▪ The advancement of education across the UK in the subject of engineering.
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SheCanEngineer Overview of Activities
Activities in furtherance to the Charitable Objects and Values
DE&I Conversations
Celebration Events
Unique Approach
Utilising, evaluating and articulating the lived-experience of engineers within the SheCanEngineer committee.
A
Raise Awareness
Public & private events designed to engage guests around inspiring themes, often guided by the Women’s Engineering Society.
Male Presence
Representation of “majority” groups – as guests and contributors; promoting allyship and engagement.
DE&I Presentations & Workshops
Curating and delivering interactive content tailored to the audience – engineers, managers, leadership, HR.
I C E A
E A
Networking
Opportunities for guests and contributors to connect.
I E
Accessible
Free to attend and open to all.
University Events Opportunities for undergraduates to engage with engineers in industry.
I C E A
C
STEM Outreach
I
Conference Exhibitions
Increasing public engagement/exposure.
C A
Press
Strategic partnerships with publications, conference organisers and institutions; sharing content, and increasing exposure of the charity.
E
Unique Approach
Free-of-charge STEM activities that focus on the Engineering education and showcasing women’s roles in the field.
A
Raise Awareness Live Promoting the range Events of engineering In-person disciplines and team careers, technical workshops, skills, and softer skills debates – among school and speedstudents, teachers networking. and parents.
E I C E
Podcasts
A series of conversations with engineers, DE&I experts and collaborators.
E
Social Media
A consistent presence and following on LinkedIn and Instagram platforms.
C E
Competitions
Webinars
Webinars Competitions Exhibitions Live-streams and An effective Collaborations retrospective approach to deepen with other recordings of engagement among initiatives, female-led panel participants, and broadening the debates on widen the reach. connections. engineering topics.
I E A
E
C E
I
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SheCanEngineer Introduction
This is an intermediary report, required to accommodate an update to the charity’s financial period (January to December), to better align the sponsorship cycle with the expense cycle.
The previous report presented performance up to 31[st] August 2024. This report presents the Statement of Accounts for the period 6[th] April to 31[st] December 2024 (as required by the Charity Commission), and activity updates between 31[st] August 2024 and 31[st] December 2024.
The Impact Report has been updated to reflect 2024 statistics for the full calendar year, and descriptions around SheCanEngineer’s new activities have been provided.
Achievements & Performance
SheCanEngineer has continued to meet the charity’s obligations to public benefit and partners, through continued impactful delivery.
The CIO’s activities are still run entirely by volunteers, who dedicate their spare time to the charity’s work. Since the INWED celebrations, there have been 10 new volunteers.
Since the presentation of the last Annual Report, the charity has continued to gain exposure through conference exhibitions, presentations, articles, interviews; and has broken into the university space through its first official collaboration aimed at Engineering undergraduates.
The charity will start 2025 with 24 Sponsors (22 corporations and 2 Engineering Institutions), its first Platinum sponsor, and £9,285 in reserves.
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SheCanEngineer New Activities
University Event
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Combined Male
Female
67.8% 70.8%
56.7%
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Statistics from EngineeringUK: % of 2020/2021 engineering graduates working in core/related engineering & technology occupations. Females made up 21.7%of the surveyed graduates.
Statistics from EngineeringUK reflect a known issue in Engineer industries - the drop-off between those who graduate with engineering degrees and those who enter engineering or technology roles within 12 months of graduating. The surprising element of these statistics is that the drop-off rate is substantially worse for women. SheCanEngineer aimed to address this disparity in November 2024 by putting on their first event specifically targeting engineering university students.
- A balanced overview of what careers in a range of engineering careers look like.
The Ask Us Anything! evening was hosted for for the students of Imperial, in collaboration with the Women in SET and Design Engineering Societies. The event gave Engineering Undergraduates the opportunity to address their apprehensions and questions to a panel of successful females in Engineering at different stages of their careers and from different backgrounds, promoting insightful honest conversation.
SheCanEngineer aimed to provide students with:
- The opportunity to ask honest questions around diversity, the workplace, challenging situations, and how the engineering landscape has changed over the years.
The networking portion of the evening offered a chance for the students to interact and connect with SheCanEngineer volunteers and the panelists, over food and drinks.
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SheCanEngineer 2024 Impact Report
Nearly 30 30+ volunteers; partnership including 5 trustees, statements signed 8 associate members
Data has been presented for the SheCanEngineer calendar: 1[st] January to 31[st] December 2024.
Celebratory Events
2 celebratory events targeted & delivered; doubling previous years’ output
108 175 7 university attendees at attendees at students Charity Launch INWED Event in Targeted 100 Targeted 140 attendance at INWED
21% male attendance at Charity Launch 27% male attendance at INWED Targeting 25-35% of guests & contributors
40 people 84% turnout rate at Charity Launch attending INWED 81% turnout rate at INWED on behalf of 13 Targeting >75% of # registered Sponsors
Digital Media
2233 unique 951 new LinkedIn followers website views 133 podcast 1887 LinkedIn, 2115 plays Instagram followers 193 new website 68% (f) / 32% (m) subscriptions gender split on Instagram 19 attendees at INWED who heard about the event through the Social Media campaign
STEM Outreach
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1 STEM event targeted & delivered
79 5 engineering
disciplines
students at INWED
showcased at INWED
STEM STEM debate
Targeted 100
5 Engineering
37 students wanting Institutions exhibiting
to work in engineering
94% (f) / 6% (m)
gender split
60+ students reached
through STEMAZING
61 views of
Inspiration Academy
collaboration webinar
An effective awareness campaign
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Partnerships
2 PEI 3 Official
24 Sponsors
Members Collaborators
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External Collaborations
Workshops
Representation at 5 webinars, interviews & podcasts hosted by external collaborators
1 university 4 conference event exhibitions
7 workshops, presentations or roundtables delivered for 1 PEI, 2 corporations & 4 conferences ~58% male attendance at workshops, presentations & roundtables Targeting 40-60% of attendees
6 articles published by external collaborators
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Policy Updates
The charity’s policies can be provided on request.
Policies/Guidelines
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The following policies have been published:
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Data Protection Policy: SheCanEngineer needs to collect and use certain types of information about the Service. Users who come into contact with it in order to carry out our work. This personal information must be collected and dealt with appropriately – whether on paper, in a computer, or recorded on other material - and there are safeguards to ensure this under the UK General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR).
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Privacy Policy: SheCanEngineer collects and processes personal identifiers and contact details of volunteers and subscribers. This policy outlines individuals’ data protection rights, storage of data, and the complaints procedure relating to Privacy breeches.
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Risk Management Policy: This framework provides guidance on the management of risk to SheCanEngineer in supporting its charitable objects, safeguarding the charity’s assets, ensuring financial stability, and protecting volunteers.
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Conflict of Interest Policy: The charity’s trustees will make decisions in the interest of the charity. SheCanEngineer does not allow personal interests, or the interests of people or organisations connected to trustees, volunteers, beneficiaries and contractors, to influence these decisions. The policy outlines financial and loyalty conflicts, procedures for managing and recording conflicts of interest, and the procedure for dealing with a failure to declare a conflict of interest.
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Bullying and Harassment Policy: The charity is committed to providing an environment free of harassment and bullying, where everyone is treated, and treats others, with respect. The charity will not permit or condone any form of bullying or harassment. This policy covers bullying or harassment of or by anyone engaged in any SheCanEngineer activities (such as events, meetings and workshops), including third parties.
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Disciplinary Procedure: SheCanEngineer aims to help and encourage its trustees, volunteers and contractors to achieve and maintain standards of conduct throughout their time with the charity. This procedure applies to all individuals working for or on behalf of the charity, and sets out the actions to be taken when rules or procedures have been breached.
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Complaints and Grievances Procedure: SheCanEngineer believes that complaints offer an opportunity to listen, learn and act on the feedback provided so that the charity can run more effectively. This policy and procedure sets out how SheCanEngineer will approach and manage any complaints or grievances, including the rights to appeal, and confidentiality clauses.
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Financial Controls Policy: SheCanEngineer financial controls cover the accounting, banking and access practices of the charity, as well as goals around reserves, wages, liability and expenses.
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Expenses Policy: SheCanEngineer trustees have access to the bank account, and volunteers have the right to reimbursement for certain expenses. This policy details to procedure and qualification to claim back expenses.
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Safeguarding: As part of SheCanEngineer’s charitable objects, the charity holds educational events for primary and secondary school students, as well as providing an online presence promoting education for all in engineering. The purpose of this policy statement is to protect those children and young people who receive SheCanEngineer’s services from harm, and to provide trustees and volunteers, as well as children and young people and their families, with the overarching principles that guide our approach to child protection. This policy applies to anyone undertaking work for or on behalf of SheCanEngneer including volunteers, trustees, committee members, beneficiaries and contractors.
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Structure & Management Updates
In order to better entrust the day-to-day activities of SheCanEngineer to the volunteering committee, the trustees have aimed to divorce the roles of trustees and the roles of volunteers. Trustees as individuals can still take on roles within the volunteering committee,.
The intention is for trustees to define the vision, objects and values of the charity, and set the financial budget. The volunteering committee is to implement this vision by defining the strategy, prioritising activities, and managing the budget.
Full details of the roles, responsibilities and governance can be found in the SheCanEngineer Rules & Guidelines Document, available upon request.
Volunteer Roles
The associated organogram can be found in the Appendix of this report.
The following committee roles will need to be established at SheCanEngineer meetings and will be voted on by simple majority.
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a. Chair/Co-chairs: A recommended tenure of two years. The role is to provide strategic leadership to SheCanEngineer, in order to achieve the charity’s objectives. This role must be held by Associate Members.
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b. Treasurer: A recommended minimum term of two years. The role is to effectively manage the charity’s finances. This role must be held by a trustee.
Trustee Roles
All trustees of SheCanEngineer are expected to be Ambassadors for the charity, and to develop partnerships with sponsors and collaborators.
The five roles identified for the trustees are:
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a. Chair: responsible for the calling of the Annual General Meeting, chairing of Trustee Meetings and AGM, the deciding vote when voting, and access to the bank account.
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b. Secretary: responsible for issuing minutes of Trustee Meetings and AGM, preparation of the Annual Report, management of correspondence with the Charity Commission.
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c. Treasurer: responsible for preparation of Accounts, preparation of budget, financial management of the charity, and access to the bank account.
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d. Volunteer Support: responsible for implementation and oversight of volunteer policies, management of Associate Memberships.
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e. Membership Management: responsible for communication with members, and the development and actioning of strategies for increasing membership
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c. Internal Communications Lead: The role is to support the committee in their administration and issue communications among volunteers.
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d. External Communications Lead: The role is to provide leadership to the External Communications sub-departments, which include:
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Partner Liaisons / Account Managers for sponsors, universities and other collaborators.
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Marketing and merchandise.
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Conferences and workshops.
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e. Education Outreach Officer: The role is to coordinate all education activities of the charity, chair the outreach team, provide support to the leads of individual STEM events, and build working relationships with STEM organisations. This role must be held by a registered STEM Ambassador.
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f. Digital Media Lead: The role is to co-ordinate all digital media platforms on the charity. This includes social media, website and podcast.
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g. Celebratory Events Lead: The role is to coordinate the organisation of all celebratory events.
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2024 (Apr-Dec) Financial Review
Data has been presented for the shorter financial year in accordance with the Charity Commission’s requirements: 6[th] April 2024 to 31[st] December 2024. The appendix includes the Accounts for the same period.
The Trustees keep income and expenditure under close review. SheCanEngineer operated within its income for the year up to December 2024, and they expect to do so for 2025.
SheCanEngineer has no employees and is completely run by unpaid volunteers, who can claim back some of their expenses in accordance with a strict Expense Policy.
The charity registered a total income for the analysed period of £23,349.09 , largely driven by corporate sponsorship. This figure does not take into consideration the sponsorship raised prior to April 2024, nor deferred incomes from multi-year deals. As a result, the expenses outlined below exceed the income presented above.
Total expenses in the analysed period amounted to £37,495.41 , with the largest expenditures being the Celebratory Events (£24,007.05) followed by STEM outreach (£11,099.58). Running costs were again kept very low (£332.27).
Reserves and Reserve Policy
The Reserve Policy is to keep building up reserves over the next five years, to reach around 80% of the expected running yearly costs in a best case scenario. The aim is still to add a value equal to approximately 15% of the income to Reserves, every year. Current reserves sit at £9,285.58. The trustees consider this number aligned with the overall financial plan.
Restricted and Unrestricted Funds
The charity currently does not hold any restricted funds, and currently does not plan to maintain any.
Cost centres have been created to allow for better tracking of ongoing expenses; furthermore, the charity is aiming at improving the quality and transparency of the budgeting process.
Guaranteed Income
Two sponsors have already paid for their 20252026 packages, and these have therefore been accounted for as a deferred income amounting to £13,700.
Going Concern
The trustees considered all available information as presented, and are satisfied with the financial performance of SheCanEngineer.
The sponsorship income, weighted for the shorter year, remained stable and in line with the most likely scenario as outlined in last year’s report. Focus remains on building up Reserves in line with the financial policy, while ensuring that a similar standard of events and overall deliverables can be guaranteed.
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2025 Financial Forecast
Treasury
Funding & Budget
SheCanEngineer is driven entirely by the funds raised through sponsorship, membership and donation. As the Charity grows in recognition, the trustees understand the need to ensure a stable income to the charity, in order to maintain a consistent offering to stakeholders.
The annual highlights continue to be the INWED-related events, which carry the largest expenses in the year. The trustees expect the funding model to remain broadly unchanged, with corporate sponsors being the main source of income for the future. Comparatively limited uptake for institutional membership has also been observed.
Cost Centres
SheCanEngineer’s Treasury department has revised the definition of the charity’s cost centres, to better represent the elements of expenditure. Each cost centre is assigned a Budget Lead, who has visibility over the planned activities and expected costs. The Treasury team has assigned appropriate budgets and hosts regular meetings with the Budget Leads, during which budgetary updates may be made.
Savings Accounts for Reserves
In 2025, the Treasury department will research appropriate low-risk savings accounts, in order to best utilise the funds in Reserves.
VAT Registration
The CIO is still targeting reserves amounting to 80% of typical annual expenditure, as per last year’s Annual Report.
The trustees are aware that as more and more sponsorship is raised, including deferred incomes, the chance of reaching the VAT-registration threshold within a 12-month period increases. This will be addressed should it be required.
The trustees also recognise the significant headwinds that are currently experienced by DE&I initiatives. The sponsorship strategy for 2025 is therefore to secure upgrades and multi-year deals for corporate sponsors.
multi-year deals for corporate sponsors. |
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|---|---|---|---|
| Worst Case | Most likely Case | Best Case | |
| Carryover as of 31/12/2024 | 9,000 | 9,000 | 9,000 |
| Income | 25,000 | 40,000 | 50,000 |
| CC01 - Celebratory Events - INWED | (14,000) | (15,500) | (16,500) |
| CC01 - Celebratory Events - Other | (3,100) | (3,700) | (4,000) |
| CC02 - STEM Outreach | (8,000) | (10,500) | (11,000) |
| CC03 - Marketing and External Comms | (1,300) | (1,550) | (1,700) |
| CC04 - Digital Media | (600) | (750) | (800) |
| CC05 - Running Costs | (1,500) | (1,500) | (2,000) |
| Total Reserves | 5,500 |
15,500 | 23,000 |
| ~~12~~ |
SheCanEngineer’s Sponsors
Thank you to our 2024 Sponsors!
GOLD
SILVER
BRONZE
INSTITUTION
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SheCanEngineer’s Partners
Thank you to our Members & Collaborators!
INSTITUTION MEMBERS
COLLABORATORS
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Appendix: SheCanEngineer Committee Organogram Podcast Team W•bstt• Team GrapNci Team Soclal Mtdl&T•am A••l•t•nl Trga•ur•r Podcut I Lead Wob•tt• Grphl¢ Design L¢•d Soc Med team Treasurer (fvu$teel Dlglw Medl• Intein Communlcthtlong Co4halrs LduiAIIIUII External CommUni10n$ Tru•• on C•l•br•tory Ev•nlJ T•am TM M•r¢h*ndl•• and Workshops lTru•t••l Collaborator Manager Llnlvetsty Partnershlp Manager Spontorl Member AGcount Conlertnees and Workshops Te•rn 15
Appendix: Accounts
Balance Sheet
Shown at 31.12.24
| 31-Dec-2024 | |
|---|---|
| Intangible assets | 0.00 |
| Tangible assets | 0.00 |
| Heritage assets | 0.00 |
| Investments | 0.00 |
| TOTAL FIXED ASSETS | 0.00 |
| Stocks | 0.00 |
| Debtors | 0.00 |
| Investments | 0.00 |
| Cash at bank and in hand | 22985.58 |
| TOTAL CURRENT ASSETS | 22985.58 |
| Creditors (< 1 year) | 0.00 |
| NET CURRENT ASSETS | 22985.58 |
| TOTAL ASSETS LESS LIABILITIES | 22985.58 |
| Creditors (> 1 year) | 0.00 |
| Provisions for liabilities | 13700.00 |
| TOTAL NET ASSETS | 9285.58 |
| Of which: | |
| Endowment funds | 0.00 |
| Restricted income funds | 0.00 |
| Unrestricted funds | 9285.58 |
| Revaluation reserve | 0.00 |
| TOTAL FUNDS | 9285.58 |
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Appendix: Accounts
Income Statement
Shown at 31.12.24 using the Accrual Method.
| 31-Dec-2024 | |
|---|---|
| Assets frompreviousperiod to 05/04/2024 | 23431.90 |
| Sponsorships | 22848.12 |
| Memberships | 500.00 |
| Donations | 0.97 |
| NET INCOME | 23349.09 |
| CC01 - CelebratoryEvents | 24007.05 |
| CC02 - STEM Outreach | 11099.58 |
| CC03 - Marketingand External Comms | 1416.34 |
| CC04 - Digital Media | 640.17 |
| CC05 - RunningCosts | 332.27 |
| TOTAL EXPENSES | 37495.41 |
| TOTAL ASSETS | 9285.58 |
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Declaration of the Trustees
The trustees declare that they have approved the trustees’ report.
Frances Radford, Chair 11.07.2025
Maira Bana, Secretary 11.07.2025
Martina Capecchi, Treasurer 11.07.2025
Roshni Wijesekera, Ordinary Member 11.07.2025
Laura Hoang, Ordinary Member 11.07.2025
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