Love Dunston Registered Charity No. 1204373
Financial Statements
Financial Period to 30 August 2025
Legal and Administrative Information
Name: Love Dunston Charity No: 1204373 Trustees: Councillor Dorothy Burnett Chair Councillor Brenda Clelland Secretary Allison Thompson Treasurer (to June 2025) Councillor Gary Haley Deborah Bell Molly Sendall Andrew Smith Christopher Folwell Address: Collingwood Terrace Dunston Gateshead NE11 9DU Independent Examiner: Mark Thompson MAAT 42 Lesbury Road Newcastle upon Tyne NE6 5LB
Love Dunston
Management Committee Report For the Period Ended 30 August 2025 to update
2024/2025 has been a roller-coaster of a year for Love Dunston, with the focus of activities being the youth programme delivered at the Drop In. Notwithstanding that, the charity managed to deliver several litter-picks across Dunston, organise Christmas lights in Dunston and Teams, organise Remembrance Day poppies in Dunston and Teams as well as delivering a very well-attended community summer fair in Dunston Park.
As part of a strategic analysis of the organisation carried out in early 2024; trustees, staff, and other stakeholders all contributed their thoughts about the current state and future of Love Dunston. This work recognised that poverty, rising living costs and young people’s mental health will shape the future of our organisation and especially the work that we are increasingly delivering for young people. We know that our open access youth project, with its structure of advice, support and guidance, not only provides positive fun activities for young people as an alternative to possibly anti-social or harmful behaviours but also offer opportunities for growth and personal development and can transform the lives of young people struggling with complex or difficult challenges so we set out our mission to ensure that we provide the best quality, relevant youth service for young people in and around Dunston, responsive to the needs and ideas of young people, recognising that the youth project at the Drop In has been the main focus of the charity’s activities.
The year started with considerable uncertainty about the financial future of the project – indeed, with only a finite amount of money in our coffers, trustees were forced to give notice to all members of staff. Luckily an injection of funds from the Ballinger Trust, Sir James Knott, The Joicey Trust, and Barbour Foundation gave us a much-needed cash boost, and our finances were further helped with funding for a joint Gateshead Council and National Lottery project – Reaching Communities Plus. This revolutionary approach has allowed us to deliver intensive support to specific individual young people, enabling them to identify and overcome the challenges they face.
Our weekly evening youth groups for ages 8-25 have enjoyed a steady increase in membership, and new staff members have helped to cultivate a passionate core of young people volunteering their own time. Several staff and volunteers have been working very hard to complete their level 3 in youth work, bringing valuable new skills to improve the lives of local young people.
Early in 2025, we lost our Project Lead – Jon McGee, whose enthusiasm and commitment helped get the Drop In off the ground. Thankfully, Dave Walton, who has been involved with the project since its earliest days in a part-time capacity, made the bold decision to join Love Dunston full-time in what was initially a temporary position as centre manager. He has since impressed us all with his passion for youth work, his support of the staff and service users, and his unwavering commitment to doing things the best possible way.
Later that summer, we were delighted to receive indications that the National Lottery would support us with substantial funding, thus supporting our sustainability for the immediate future. The quest for future funding is constant, and we will continue to search for income streams which will enable us to continue offering a free access youth project for many years to come.
Looking forward to the next financial year, National Lottery funding will enable us not only to employ a muchneeded additional member of staff but to move all staff onto proper contracts of employment, paying tax, National Insurance and with proper pension provision. Trustees greatly value our staff and recognise the positive impact that staff enthusiasm and commitment has upon the project as a whole.
Staff and trustees are keen for Love Dunston to become a more active and visible part of the local community. Planning for projects to improve the local environment will involve young people and look to offer further volunteering opportunities for other local people. Plans for trustee recruitment are well underway to enable more passionate volunteers to help steer the organisation, and Connected Voice will support us through an Organisational Health Check to help maximise our impact and sustainability.
Finally, we intend that the next financial year will allow us to make some big improvements to The Drop In. We want to invest in this vital community space and ensure it remains available for young people long into the future.
Our thanks to Allison Thompson, who resigned from the board of trustees as treasurer in June 2025.
Approved by:
Signed:…............................... Brenda Clelland Secretary March 2026
INDEPENDENT EXAMINER'S REPORT
Report to the Love Dunston trustees of
| On accounts for the year ended |
30 August 2025 1204373 Charity no |
|---|---|
| Respective | The trustees of the organisation are responsible for the preparation of |
| responsibilities of | accounts; they consider that an audit is not required for this year under |
| trustees and | section 144(2) of the Charities Act 2011 and that an Independent |
| examiner | Examination is needed. |
| It is my responsibility to | |
| • examine the accounts (under section 145 of the 2011 Act), | |
| • follow the procedures laid down in the General Directions given by the | |
| Charity Commission (under section 145(5)(b) of the Act), and | |
| • state whether particular matters have come to my attention. | |
| Basis of | My examination was carried out in accordance with General Directions |
| independent | given by the Charity Commissioners. An examination includes a review of |
| examiner’s | the accounting records kept by the charity and a comparison of the |
| statement | accounts presented with those records. It also includes consideration of |
| any unusual items or disclosures in the accounts, and seeking | |
| explanations from the trustees concerning any such matters. The | |
| procedures undertaken do not provide all the evidence that would be | |
| required in an audit, and consequently I do not express an audit opinion | |
| on the accounts. |
| Independent | In the course of my examination, no matter has come to my attention: |
|---|---|
| examiner's | 1. which gives me reasonable cause to believe that in, any material |
| statement | respect, the trustees have not met the requirements to ensure that: |
| • proper accounting records are kept (in accordance with section 130 of | |
| the Act); and | |
| • accounts are prepared which agree with the accounting records and | |
| comply with the accounting requirements of the Act; or | |
| 2. to which, in my opinion, attention should be drawn in order to enable a | |
| proper understanding of the accounts to be reached. |
Signed: Date: 20 April 2026 Name: Mark Thompson MAAT Address: 42 Lesbury Road Newcastle NE6 5LB
Love Dunston
Statement fo Financial Activities, period ending 30 August 2025
| Receipts Transfer in from Unincorporated Association Grants Rent Other Income Total Receipts Payments Youth Workers Activity Costs Rent Office Equipment General Office Costs Utilities Insurance Telephone & Internet Accountancy Bank Charges Total Payments Surplus / deficit for the year Funds at 30 August 2024 Funds at 30 August 2025 |
Unrestricted Restricted Total Total Funds Funds Funds Funds 2025 2025 2025 2025 £ £ 0 22512 107108 107108 93527 2900 2900 4150 1702 1702 487 |
|---|---|
| 4602 107108 111710 120676 |
|
| 89341 89341 57751 14318 14318 4098 5760 5760 5055 835 835 2399 1063 1063 1777 4702 4702 467 1158 1158 749 725 725 136 400 400 250 84 84 72 |
|
| 0 118386 118386 72754 |
|
| 4602 -11278 -6676 47922 16669 31253 47922 |
|
| 21271 19975 41246 47922 |
Love Dunston
Balance Sheet at 30 August 2025
| Aug 2025 | Aug 2024 | ||
|---|---|---|---|
| Notes | £ | £ | |
| Current Assets: | |||
| Cash at Bank & in Hand | 44658 | 47922 | |
| Total Nett Assets | 44658 | 47922 | |
| Current Liabilities | 5 | -3412 | |
| Net Current Assets at 30 August | 2024 | 41246 | 47922 |
| Represented by | |||
| Unrestricted Funds | 21271 | 16669 | |
| Restricted Funds | 19975 | 31253 | |
| Total Funds | 41246 | 47922 |
The financial statements were approved by the following Trustees :
Signed …………….……………………… Position ………………………………….. Signed …………….……………………… Position ………………………………….. Date ……………………………………….
Notes to the financial statements for the year ended 30 August 2025
1 Accounting Policies
1.1 Basis of preparation of accounts
The financial statements have been prepared in accordance with 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 2015) – Charities SORP (FRS 102), the Financial Reporting Standard applicable in the UK and Republic of Ireland (FRS 102) and the Companies Act 2006
Love Dunston meets the definition of a public benefit entity under FRS 102. Asseys and liabilities are initially recognised at historical cost or transaction value unless otherwise stated in the relevant accounting policy note(s).
2. Legal Status
The organisation became a Registered Charity no 1204373 (CIO) on 16th August 2023. This financial period covers 16th August 2023 to 30th August 2024.
Funds from the previous Unincorporated Association were transferred to the new charity at the start of the financial period.
3 Staff and Freelance Workers
No staff are employed directly the Charity, work carried out by by freelancers. Total amount paid for freelance work £89,341.
4. Grants Received
| Big Local Gateshead (Xmas Lights) Ballinger Trust Gateshead Council (Reaching Communities) Sir James Knott Trust The Joicey Trust Awards For All National Lottery Community Foundation The Barbour Foundation Total Grants Received Restricted Funds National Lottery Northumbria Police PCC Big Local Gateshead (Xmas Lights) Ballinger Trust Gateshead Council (Reaching Communities) Sir James Knott Trust The Joicey Trust Awards For All Community Foundation The Barbour Foundation Netherton Park UKSPF (Community Foundation ) Total |
1256 10000 32464 10000 1500 19500 16664 624 15000 107008 Balance Balance Sept 2024 Income Expenditure Aug 2025 22219 16664 38883 0 740 740 0 1256 1256 0 10000 10000 0 32464 23012 9452 10000 10000 0 1500 1500 0 19500 12927 6573 624 624 0 15000 11050 3950 3050 3050 0 5244 5244 0 |
|---|---|
| 31253 107008 118286 19975 |
5. Current Liabilities
A grant of £4,036 was received from the Community Foundation. £3,412 was returned to them as an underspent grant in September 2025.