Friendship Lab
Report and Accounts Period 6th February 2024 - 31st March 2025
1 Lamb's Passage, London EC1Y 8AB www.stewardship.org.uk
FRIENDSHIP LAB
LEGAL & ADMINISTRATIVE DETAILS
FOR THE PERIOD 6TH FEBRUARY 2024 - 31ST MARCH 2025
ADDRESS FOR CORRESPONDENCE 9 Earl Street Oxford OX2 0JA GOVERNING DOCUMENT CIO Constitution dated 6th February 2024 CHARITY REGISTRATION NUMBER 1206905 TRUSTEES RESPONSIBLE FOR Michael Poulton MANAGING THE CHARITY Hannah Latham (appointed August 2024) Lois Fulton Andrew Clark (resigned August 2024) Catherine Healey (appointed April 2025)
INDEPENDENT EXAMINER Sarah Crispin ACA Stewardship 1 Lamb's Passage LONDON EC1Y 8AB
INDEX
Page 1 Legal & Administrative Details Pages 2-3 Trustees' Report Page 4 Independent Examiner's Report Page 5 Receipts and Payments Account Page 6 Statement of Assets & Liabilities Pages 7 Notes to the Accounts
Page 1
REPORT OF THE TRUSTEES
FOR THE PERIOD 6[TH] FEBRUARY 2024 TO 31[ST] MARCH 2025
The Trustees have pleasure in submitting the Report and Accounts for the year ended 31 March 2025.
Objects of the charity
The charity is governed by a constitution and is constituted as a Charitable Incorporated Organisation.
The charity’s principal objects, as set out in its governing document, and undertaken within a Christian ethos, are, for the public benefit, the advancement of health, in particular, but not exclusively, by providing scientific-based educational courses, classes, workshops, and information on the formation and maintenance of social friendships, and the importance of social friendships to a healthy life, and by carrying out research in the same and disseminating the useful results of such research.
Summary of the charity’s main activities and achievements
a firm working foundation and producing the first courses available online. Pilot courses were previously run online and in-person to establish the validity of the content, along with academic research into the effect on the participants. All this culminated in a public launch in London on 27[th] February 2025, and online courses are now available to the public, with the aim of starting in-person courses in workplaces, community centres and churches as soon as practicable.
Charity Commission.
Financial Review
included grants of £13,500 and a Crowdfunding campaign raising £19,136, plus public donations, totalling £42,328. Expenditure came to £24,511, leaving cash held by the charity at £17,817, all of which is unrestricted and can be used for any charitable purpose.
Reserves Policy
The trustees have determined that the charity should aim to hold unrestricted cash of no less than £5,000, which equates currently to around 2 months of unrestricted expenditure, so that the charity could continue to operate should income and / or expenditure vary adversely. At the year end, the charity held unrestricted cash of £17,817. The charity is complying with its reserves policy and holding additional funds in preparation for further work on courses.
Page 2
Governance
Responsibility for setting policy and for making operating decisions rest with the trustees who meet regularly with the CEO and founder to monitor the activities of the charity. New trustees are recruited and appointed by the existing trustees, by a majority vote.
Risk statement
The charity is exposed to various risks – be they operational, financial or reputational. The trustees review the charity’s activities regularly to identify significant risks and, where possible, they take appropriate measures to mitigate those risks.
Responsibility of Trustees
Charity law requires us as trustees to prepare financial statements for each accounting year which record the receipts and payments of the charity for the year.
We are responsible for keeping proper accounting records which disclose with reasonable accuracy at any time the financial position of the charity and enable us to ensure that the financial statements comply with the Charities Act 2011.
We also have a responsibility to safeguard the assets of the charity and to take reasonable steps to prevent fraud or any other regularities.
Approval
This report was approved by the trustees and signed on their behalf by:
M C Poulton
Signed………………………………………………… M C Poulton (Jul 14, 2025 11:33 GMT+1)
Michael C Poulton
Jul 14, 2025
Date: ………………………………………………
Page 3
INDEPENDENT EXAMINER'S REPORT
TO THE TRUSTEES OF
FRIENDSHIP LAB
I report to the trustees on my examination of the accounts of Friendship Lab ('the charity') for the period 6th February 2024 to 31st March 2025 on pages 5 to 7 following.
Responsibilities and basis of report
As the trustees of the charity you are responsible for the preparation of the accounts in accordance with the requirements of the Charities Act 2011 (‘the 2011 Act’).
I report in respect of my examination of the charity’s accounts carried out under section 145 of the 2011 Act and in carrying out my examination I have followed all the applicable Directions given by the Charity Commission under section 145(5)(b) of the 2011 Act.
Independent examiner’s statement
I have completed my examination. I confirm that no material matters have come to my attention in connection with the examination giving me cause to believe that in any material respect: 1. accounting records were not kept in accordance with section 130 of the 2011 Act; or
- the accounts do not accord with the accounting records.
I have no concerns and have come across no other matters in connection with the examination to which attention should be drawn in order to enable a proper understanding of the accounts to be reached.
Sarah Crispin
Sarah Crispin (Jul 21, 2025 11:26 GMT+1)
Sarah Crispin ACA Stewardship 1 Lamb's Passage LONDON EC1Y 8AB
Date: Jul 21, 2025
Page 4
FRIENDSHIP LAB
RECEIPTS AND PAYMENTS ACCOUNT
FOR THE PERIOD 6TH FEBRUARY 2024 - 31ST MARCH 2025
| Notes Income receipts Donations Gift aid receipts Income from courses and events Grants Other income Total receipts Payments 2 Total payments Transfers between funds Net movement in funds 3 Cash funds as at last year end Cash funds at this year end A Net of receipts / (payments) before Payments in relation to charitable activities undertaken directly |
General Designated Funds Funds £ £ 26,184 - 1,933 - 692 - 3,500 - 19 - 32,328 - 12,886 - 12,886 - 19,442 - (1,625) - 17,817 - - - 17,817 - Unrestricted Funds |
Restricted Funds £ - - - 10,000 - 10,000 11,625 11,625 (1,625) 1,625 - - - |
2025 £ |
|
|---|---|---|---|---|
| General Funds £ 26,184 1,933 692 3,500 19 32,328 12,886 12,886 19,442 (1,625) 17,817 - 17,817 |
||||
| 26,184 1,933 692 13,500 19 |
||||
| 42,328 | ||||
| 24,511 | ||||
| 24,511 | ||||
| 17,817 - |
||||
| 17,817 - |
||||
| 17,817 |
The notes on page 7 form part of these accounts.
Page 5
FRIENDSHIP LAB
STATEMENT OF ASSETS AND LIABILITIES
FOR THE PERIOD 6TH FEBRUARY 2024 - 31ST MARCH 2025
----- Start of picture text -----
||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
|Unrestricted Funds|
|General|Designated|Restricted|
|funds|funds|funds|2025|
|Notes|£|£|£|£|
|A|Cash funds|
|Cash at bank with immediate access|17,801|-|-|17,801|
|Cash held in WISE account|16|-|-|16|
|17,817|-|-|17,817|
|B|Other monetary assets|
|Gift aid due to charity|4|-|-|4|
|4|-|-|4|
|C|Liabilities|
|Falling due within one year|
|Fee for Independent Examination|810|-|-|810|
|810|-|-|810|
----- End of picture text -----
D Guarantees and secured debts
The charity has not given any guarantees and has not provided its assets as security for any liabilities.
The accounts were approved by the trustees and signed on their behalf by:
----- Start of picture text -----
|||
|---|---|
|M C Poulton|
|_____Michael C Poulton|M C Poulton (Jul 14, 2025 11:33 GMT+1)|
|Date:_____|Jul 14, 2025|
----- End of picture text -----
The notes on page 7 form part of these accounts.
Page 6
FRIENDSHIP LAB
NOTES TO THE ACCOUNTS
FOR THE PERIOD 6TH FEBRUARY 2024 - 31ST MARCH 2025
1 Accounting policies
The accounts have been prepared on a receipts and payments basis and comprise a statement that shows the charity's receipts and payments, a statement that summarises the charity's assets and liabilities and related notes. The accountancy profession have determined that only accounts prepared in accordance with applicable accounting standards present a 'true and fair' view and, as these receipts and payments accounts have not (and cannot) be prepared in accordance with accounting standards, these accounts do not present (and are not intended to present) a 'true and fair' view of the charity's financial activities and state of affairs.
General funds are unrestricted funds which are available for use at the discretion of the trustees in furtherance of the general objectives of the charity. Designated funds comprise unrestricted funds that have been set aside by the trustees for particular purposes. Restricted funds are donations which are to be used in accordance with specific restrictions imposed by donors; they include donations received from appeals for specific activities or projects.
| 2 Payments in relation to charitable activities undertaken directly Course costs General running costs and IT Fees Fundraising costs Office and administration Insurance Subscriptions Conferences and meetings Professional fees |
Unrestrict | Designated funds £ - - - - - - - - - - ed Funds |
Restricted Funds £ 11,625 - - - - - - - - 11,625 |
Total 2025 £ 12,633 1,699 2,051 1,618 1,775 136 365 4,235 - 24,511 |
Total 2024 £ |
|
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| General funds £ 1,008 1,699 2,051 1,618 1,775 136 365 4,235 - 12,886 |
||||||
| - - - - - - - - - |
||||||
| - |
- 3 Movement of funds
| General funds Restricted funds Video production Total funds |
Opening balance 6 Feb '24 £ - - - - - |
Receipts £ 32,328 |
Payments £ (12,886) |
Transfers £ (1,625) |
Closing balance 31 March '25 £ 17,817 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 32,328 | (12,886) | (1,625) | 17,817 | ||
| 10,000 10,000 42,328 |
(11,625) (11,625) (24,511) |
1,625 1,625 - |
- | ||
| - | |||||
| 17,817 |
Page 7