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2026-03-30-accounts

Trustees’ Annual Report for the period

04 Feb 2025 To 30 March 2026

Journey LGBT+ Asylum Group

Address; c/o The Old Post Office, 1533 Pershore Road, Birmingham, B30 2JH

Charity registration number: 1212001

Trustees:

Alexandra Taylor Sheila Rushforth Helen Hibberd

Independent Examiner: Gerald Gurriet

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Trustees Report

Objectives and Activities

Objectives as set out in the constitution:

The objects of the CIO are:

  1. To relieve the needs of LGBT+ asylum seekers and those granted refugee status and their dependants in the West Midlands in particular, but not exclusively, by:

  2. i) creating safe and welcoming spaces for connection and community,

  3. ii) providing befriending, mentoring and one-to-one support,

  4. iii) coordinating group activities and improving access to community activities to facilitate integration,

  5. iv) providing support, information and signposting through the asylum process and beyond.

  6. To advance for the public benefit the education of the public in general about the issues relating to LGBT+ asylum seekers and refugees.

Trustees’ responsibilities in relation to the financial statements:

The charity trustees are responsible for preparing an annual report and financial statements in accordance with applicable law and United Kingdom Accounting Standards (United Kingdom Generally Accepted Accounting Practice). The law applicable to charities in England and Wales requires the charity trustees to prepare financial statements for each year which give a true and fair view of the state of affairs and of the incoming resources and application of resources of the charity for that period. The trustees are responsible for keeping proper accounting records that disclose with reasonable accuracy at any time the financial position of the charity and to enable them to ensure that the financial statements comply with the Charities Act 1993, the charity (Accounts and Reports) Regulations 2008 and the provisions of the trust deed. They are also responsible for safeguarding the assets of the charity and hence taking reasonable steps for the prevention and detection of fraud and other irregularities.

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Aims and objectives:

OUR MISSION

Empowering people who identify as LGBT+ through the asylum process and beyond.

OUR VISION

To create a safe space for LGBT+ asylum seekers and refugees in the West Midlands, helping them find community, healing and support, throughout their asylum journey.

OUR AIMS

OUR VALUES

Summary of the main achievements during the period:

During the course of the financial year (Feb 25 - March 26), the Journey Group supported nearly 300 members.

We offered 14 monthly in-person member meetings, with an average of 47 members attending each meeting. These meetings provide valuable meeting space for LGBT+ asylum seekers who are often isolated from other services and communities. Meeting topics range from fun activities, such as a Hip Hop

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workshop with Birmingham Hippodrome, to more serious topics, such as LGBT+ identities and Home Office interviews.

We also ran a wide range of other wellbeing activities including a bluebell walk in May and a picnic in August. We supported members to attend music performances, theatre shows, creative workshops, social events, museum exhibitions, dance classes, festivals, cricket sessions, film screenings, gardening activities, swimming sessions and cultural celebrations. We collaborated with Kings Heath Action for Refugees on ‘Finding Pride’ - a series of creative workshops which culminated in an exhibition at a local art gallery, and with Autin Dance Theatre on ‘Light Up Fest’ – a series of lantern-making workshops culminating in a lantern parade in a local park. A large cohort of 50 Journey members marched together in the Birmingham Pride parade, and some also marched at the smaller community event Queens Heath Pride. We partnered with the Bike Project, leading to 8 members receiving free bicycles - invaluable for exercise and combatting isolation.

We offered 13 monthly Zoom sessions, which provide a safe space for members to talk and make connections without having to travel. Meeting topics included aspects of UK culture, such as cultural traditions and how to write to your MP, as well as more serious topics such as working with lawyers and preparing for immigration detention. Our WhatsApp community continues to be a place where members can connect to others for advice, information and solidarity at any time of the day or night.

In 2025 we became one of the referral agencies to the BCU Law Clinic Asylum Project. This has enabled the group to refer members for a free legal advice session, which has been invaluable, given the limited access to legal aid lawyers.

Our Buddy scheme went from strength to strength. Buddies are established Journey members who play a valuable role in running and facilitating our monthly in person and online meetings, acting as ambassadors for the group, providing translation support for members, for example at the BCU Law Clinic Asylum Project, and in providing peer to peer support to new members.Throughout this year we had 16 Buddies who successfully completed Buddy training and went on to support the Journey Group. We see the Buddy scheme as a pathway for encouraging and supporting members to be involved in leadership positions in the organisation. Buddies now sit on the group’s steering committee to feed in members’ views and participate in decisions on the group’s focus and activities. We are planning in the next year to train some of the established Buddies to undertake one-to-one casework support.

We raised the profile of the charity, through continued development of our website and active participation in the Birmingham LGBT Community Forum. One volunteer was featured on their company’s website talking about their work with

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the Journey Group; another ran a half marathon in aid of the Journey Group, and a local DJ also ran a livestream event to fundraise for us. Our members’ comments formed the basis of an article in ‘Context’, a family therapy magazine; Journey Group Buddies spoke at an event celebrating 10 years of Birmingham as a City of Sanctuary; and Buddies and trustees attended the Right to Remain Annual Gathering and the Birmingham City of Sanctuary AGM. A trustee represented our members in focus groups on the provision of urgent care services and academic research with marginalised communities. The Journey Group also supported our members by taking part in national campaigns against racism, asylum camps, for-profit asylum hotels and the proposed 20-year wait for settlement, and joined with other organisations that support migrants to meet with newly elected independent MP Ayoub Khan.

We also supported Rainbow Connections, an LGBT+ social group, with bus passes, enabling our members to attend monthly meetups and connect with the wider Birmingham LGBT+ community.

We secured a Sanctuary Grant from Birmingham City Council’s Migration Team in October 2025. We have used this grant as a platform for promoting our work, networking and engaging with other groups to raise awareness of the specific needs of LGBT+ asylum seekers. It also enabled us to hire our first paid member of staff, who joined the team in January 2026. They work part-time to induct new members, provide casework support to members, supervise the team of volunteers providing one-to-one support, and help with fundraising applications.

Structure, governance and management:

The charity is operated under the rules of its constitution adopted on 24th January 2025.

Financial review:

Journey LGBT+ Asylum Group has a generous pool of local and regional charitable trusts and funders, and good support from individual, and community funders. Journey LGBT+ Asylum Group raised £12248 from charitable trusts and foundations, £6836 from community donations, £2062 was raised by supported running fundraising events, a corporate donor donated £192 and we were awarded a grant of £14840 from Birmingham City Council’s Sanctuary Grant award, of which £7420 was paid during this financial year. At the end of the financial year, we had total funds of £21318 ( £12825 unrestricted, £8548 restricted). Out of these unrestricted funds £8000 was designated to reserves

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(accounting for three months of operating costs) and £4825 was designated to core running costs.

Reserves policy:

Our reserves policy states that we should hold three months operating costs.

Declarations:

The trustees declare that they have approved the trustees’ report above.

Signed on behalf of the charity’s trustees:

Signatures
Full name
Helen Hibberd		 Alexandra Taylor
Position
Trustee - Treasurer		 Trustee
Date 13/08/26 13/08/26

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Receipts and payments account

For the year ended 31 March 2026

Section A Receipts and payments

Section A Receipts andpayments Section A Receipts andpayments Section A Receipts andpayments Section A Receipts andpayments Section A Receipts andpayments Section A Receipts andpayments Section A Receipts andpayments Section A Receipts andpayments Section A Receipts andpayments Section A Receipts andpayments
Unrestricted
funds £		 Restricted
funds£		 Endowment
funds £		 Total funds £ Last year £
A1 Receipts
Grant income - 19668 - 19668
CommunityDonations 6836 - - 6836
FundraisingEvents 2062 - - 2062
Corporate Donations 192 - - 192
Misc (repayment for bus
tickets etc)		 61 79 - 140
0 - - 0
0 - - 0
0 - - 0
Sub total(Gross
income for AR)
9150		 19747 - 28897
A2 Asset and
investment sales, (see
table).
- - - -
- - - -
Sub total - - - -
Total receipts 9150 19747 - 28897
A3 Payments
Staff salaries (inc. payroll) 0 3313 - 3313
Staff expenses 263 263 - 526
Monthly Members Meeting
Costs		 0 3831 - 3831
Buddy Scheme 182 100 - 282
1-2-1 Support Scheme 230 0 - 230
Wellbeing Activities 0 2506 - 2506
Volunteer programme 0 460 - 460
AGM 723 723 - 1446
Organisational Development
Costs		 741 545 - 1287
Overheads 542 0 - 542
PRIDE Event 0 798 - 798
Sub total 2681 12539 - 15220
A4 Asset and
investmentpurchases,

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- - - -
- - - -
Sub total - - - -
Total payments 2681 12539 - 15220
Net of
receipts/(payments)		 6469 7207 - 13677
A5 Transfers between
funds		 - - - -
A6 Cash funds last
year end*		 6,356 1341 - 7696
Cash funds this year
end		 12,825 8,548 - 21,373
Section B Statement of
assets and liabilities at
the end of the period
Categories Details Unrestricted
funds £		 Restricted
funds £		 Endowment
funds £
B1 Cash funds Petty cash 55 - -
Bank account (cash) 12,770 8,548 -
- - -
Total cash funds 12,825 8,548 -

*NB: as this is our first year as a CIO our accounts run for more than 12 months. From our registration date 04.02.25-30.03.26.

Prior to becoming a CIO we were a Company Limited by Guarantee registered with Companies House (Journey Asylum Seekers Limited No: 10322044). The Company was dissolved on 04.11.25 and remaining funds were transferred to the new legal entity as a CIO - see Cash funds last year end.

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Analysis of income 04.02.25-30.03.26:

Secured Income 2025/26
Income Source Restricted Unrestricted Grand Total
Statutory
Bham City Council 7420 7420
Charitable Trust
Birmingham Pride Community
Foundation		 3248 3248
Comic Relief Grassroots Giving 2000 2000
Heart of England - Friends of South
Birmingham Institute		 2000 2000
MSN Fund 5000 5000
Community Donations
Community Donations 6836 6795
Fundraising events 2062 2062
Corporate Donations 0 192 192
Other/Misc
Small donations/transactions 79 61 140
Total secured income 19747 9150 28897

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