# **Friends of Bereaved Families Forum (FBFF)** Period From 19 March 2025 to 31 December 2025 Charity Number: 1212596 ## **Friends of the Bereaved Families Forum (FBFF)** ## Period From 19 March 2025 to 31 December 2025 ||||Page| |---|---|---|---| |Contact Details|||1| |Charity Trustees|||1| |Objectives and Activities|||1| |Structure, Governance and Management|||2| |Trustee Recruitment|||2| |Achievements and||Performance|2| |Financial Review|||5| |Future Plans|||
5| ||||7| |Receipts and Payments Accounts|||8| ## **Contact Details** ## Friends of Bereaved Families Forum (FBFF) Charity Number: 1212596 Dymotts Cottage, Frogham Hill, Fordingbridge, Hampshire, SP6 2HW Email: info@ukfbff.org Website: https://www.familiesforum.co.uk Social media: Instagram @parentscircleuk, Facebook @parentscircleuk ## **Charity Trustees** 1 Dr Caroline Elton Chair 2 Diana du Luart Secretary 3 Rev Ruth Adams 4 Jess Brandler 5 David Goldberg 6 Lady Gilda Levy 7 Rabbi Daniel Smith ## **Objectives and Activities** (A) To promote racial and religious harmony by advancing education and promoting dialogue and understanding between Muslims and Jews in Britain, Palestine and Israel. (B) To promote the preservation of public order for the benefit of the public in Palestine and Israel by providing or assisting in the provision of services for mediation and conciliation between people who have suffered the loss of a family member due to the current conflict; and (C) The relief of poverty and/or sickness of people in Palestine and Israel who have suffered the loss of a family member due to the current conflict. Our activities support the work of the Parents Circle ~~F~~ amilies Forum (PC-FF), a joint IsraeliPalestinian organisation comprising over 800 families who have each been bereaved as a result of the ongoing conflict. Despite their profound losses, these families reject revenge and violence, choosing instead to advocate dialogue and reconciliation in pursuit of lasting peace. In the UK, many people feel strongly aligned with one side of the conflict and believe that the other side has no interest in peace. By bringing together Palestinians and Israelis who have paid the highest price in this conflict, we aim to demonstrate that reconciliation is possible. This work plays a crucial role in improving relations between Jewish and Muslim communities in the UK. We raise awareness and funds to support PC-FF in building bridges between the two communities activities, and other initiatives. 1 ## **Structure, Governance and Management** ## **CIO** On 19 March 2025 we registered a new charitable incorporated organisation (CIO), charity number 1212596, established to take over the work of our previously unincorporated charity. We present here which has the same name as the unincorporated charity but a 31 December year end to match that of our parent charity, PC-FF. The CIO took over the activities of the unincorporated charity on 30 September 2025, the date on which the assets and liabilities were formally transferred. The final accounts and report for the unincorporated charity were submitted to the Charities Commission on 23 February 2026, and the charity was de-registered on 13 June 2026. ## **Trustee Recruitment and Appointment** No new trustees have been appointed during the period covered by this report. ## **Achievements and Performance** ## **20th Joint Israeli-Palestinian Memorial Day Ceremony Live Screening Event** On 29 April 2025, the unincorporated charity hosted a sold-out live screening of the 20th Joint IsraeliLondon. Organised by the Parents Circle ~~F~~ amilies Forum and Combatants for Peace, the ceremony is one of the largest jointly organised Israeli-Palestinian peace events in history with screenings held across the UK, in Germany and the US. Screening the event helped raise awareness of FBFF's work among wider audiences through partnerships, with organisations supporting peacebuilding and dialogue including Standing Together and New Israel Fund. We reported on this ceremony in the final TAR of the unincorporated charity. ## **Speaking Tour & Fundraising Dinner** _Joint Israeli-Palestinian Memorial Ceremony live screening event for Reconciliation and Peace_ 2 One of the highlights this year and the first activity organised by the CIO was the Speaking Tour, held from 12 to 19 November 2025, by four bereaved Israeli and Palestinian members of PC-FF. The speakers shared PC-FF core message of dialogue and reconciliation with audiences across the UK. The programme included engagements with academic institutions such as the Woolf Institute in Cambridge and the Belief, No Belief and Religious (BNBR) Life Centre at the University of Sheffield, as well as faith communities and cross-communal organisations in the UK. Alongside public events we arranged for PC-FF members to speak at private meetings including a meeting with a private donor and with the Board of Deputies of British Jews. In all these different settings, a common theme was that participants were moved and amazed to witness the PCshared commitment to reconciliation, despite all four of them suffering traumatic losses through the conflict. _PC-FF members sharing their stories at the Woolf Institute_ _PC-FF members being hosted by the Board of Deputies_ On 16 November 2025 the charity held its fundraising dinner and largest event to date, Dinner & Dialogue. All four speakers shared their stories on stage, and the discussion was facilitated by British Israeli analyst and President of the US/Middle East Project, Daniel Levy. FBFF successfully raised funds and awareness, and re-engaged its supporters. Details of income are provided in the Donations & Legacy section on page 4. _FBFF annual fundraising dinner in London_ 3 ## **Media Coverage** We received excellent media coverage resulting from the Speaking Tour, including interviews and BBC Sounds, BBC Faith Network, BBC Radio Cambridgeshire, and The Tablet newspaper. This coverage reached national and international audiences across broadcast, radio, and digital media, helping to raise awareness of PCwork. _Sky News Breakfast interview with PC-FF members_ ## **Donations & Legacy** For the period from 19 March 2025 to 31 December 2025, the charity received several significant donations from individuals, trusts, foundations, and faith organisations, including support connected to the November fundraising dinner. In March 2025, the unincorporated charity received a bequest of st has been earmarked to support PC-FF 2026 Young Ambassadors for Peace (YAP) programme an initiative to train Palestinian and Israeli young adults (aged 18 ~~2~~ 9) to become peace activists, public speakers, facilitators, and youth counsellors. The bequest is currently held within the restricted reserves of the new CIO. Other major contributions during this period included support from the WFH Foundation (£10,000), the Levy Family (£5,000), Nimrod WHMF (£3,000), and Maryhill Ruchill Church in Glasgow (£1,080). the work of FBFF. This community generously selected the charity for their Yom Kippur appeal for the second consecutive year, and congregants also attended the fundraising dinner. The fundraising dinner and Speaking Tour in November 2025 generated £21,771 in donations, alongside £5,891 from ticket sales and contributions towards event costs. We are immensely grateful for the generous donations which were received from a total of 53 donors, some of whom also committed to regular monthly donations. 4 ## **Financial Review** The financial period of this charity runs from the date of its registration, 19 March 2025, to its year end 31 December 2025. However, as reported above, the formal transfer of assets of the unincorporated charity took place on 30 September 2025, so the financial data primarily relates to activities in the last three months of 2025. At the end of the period, 64,973, of which £54,973 were unrestricted. The restricted reserves of £10,000 represent the bequest from Reverend Shackleton mentioned above, held for expenditure in 2026. In December 2025 the CIO transferred £15,000 to PCFF, in addition to the £31,500 transferred in July 2025 by the unincorporated charity and reported in its final accounts. The £15,000 consisted of a £10,000 contribution towards travel and subsistence costs, and £5,000 towards the per diem honorarium of the four PC-FF members who came for the November Speaking Tour, paid in accordance with the policy of the board of FBFF. The underlying aim of the charity is . In common with our recent policy, the retention of £54,973 of free reserves exceeds past annual costs. We are deliberately maintaining retentions on the high side, as we intend to build on the successful expansion that we began with the appointment of the first Development Manager in late 2024. to manage the expansion. We will continue to mark the Joint Israeli-Palestinian Memorial Day and we will hold our second major fund-raising event in late 2026, to include another Speaking Tour with Israeli and Palestinian members of PC-FF. ## **Future Plans** ## **UK Events and Programmes** We plan to continue developing the activities that we initiated in 2025 and early 2026, as follows: In January 2026, the charity held _Prayers for Peace in the Middle East_ , in which one Israeli and one Palestinian member from PC-FF shared their powerful stories with the audience. Going forward, FBFF plans to collaborate with PC-FF to host webinars featuring bereaved members, enabling their message to reach audiences across the UK. In April 2026, the charity held a live screening of the 21st Joint Israeli-Palestinian Memorial Day Ceremony. We aim to continue developing this as an annual event of remembrance, sharing PCmessage of dialogue, reconciliation, and peace. Another Speaking Tour is being planned for autumn 2026, with potential events in London and the North of England. ## **Development Manager** The charity Development Manager played a key role in delivering the Speaking Tour in November, and the trustees increased her hours from April 2026 to support the continued growth of the charity. 5 ## **Trustee Recruitment** FBFF plans to recruit new trustees, particularly those with legal, financial, or fundraising experience. ## **Declaration** Signed on behalf of the charity trustees: Print name Designation Date 6 ## **to the trustees of Friends of the Bereaved Families Forum** I report to the trustees on my examination of the accounts of (the Charity) for the period ended 31 December 2025. ## **Responsibilities and basis of report** As the charity trustees of the Charity you are responsible for the preparation of the accounts in 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 Act. 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 respect of the Charity as required by section 130 of the Act; or 2. the accounts do not accord with those records I have no concerns and have come across no other matters in connection with the examination to which attention should be drawn in this report in order to enable a proper understanding of the accounts to be reached. Joshua Kingston BSc. FCA Burton Sweet Chartered Accountants The Clock Tower 5 Farleigh Court Old Weston Road Flax Bourton Bristol BS48 1UR 7 ## **FRIENDS OF THE BEREAVED FAMILIES FORUM (F.B.F.F.) CHARITY NO: 1212596** ## **STATEMENT OF FINANCIAL ACTIVITIES FOR THE PERIOD ENDED 31ST DECEMBER, 2025** |**INCOME**
**Notes**
Donations from individuals and via funding platforms
Donations raised from events
Other events income: ticket sales and contributions to costs
**TOTAL**
**EXPENSES INCURRED**
Bank charges and donation handling charges
Website, internet
Staff costs
Admin/marketing/communications
Event costs
Insurance
Legal & professional
Office equipment
Sundries
Grants to Parents Circle - Families Forum (PC-FF)
**TOTAL**
**NET (EXPENDITURE)/INCOME**
**RECONCILIATION OF FUNDS**
Opening balance
1, 2
Net (expenditure)/income for the period
Closing balance
**FRIENDS OF THE BEREAVED FAMILIES FORUM (F.B.F.F.)**
**STATEMENT OF ASSETS AND LIABILITIES**
**CURRENT ASSETS**
Cash at bank
1
**Total assets**|**Unrestricted funds**
**Restricted funds**
**Total**
**£**
**£**
**£**
18,759
-
18,759
21,771
-
21,771
5,891
-
5,891
**46,421**
**-**
**46,421**
442
-
442
43
-
43
5,300
-
5,300
97
-
97
7,803
-
7,803
362
-
362
225
-
225
-
-
-
-
-
-
14,272
-
14,272
15,000
-
15,000
**29,272**
**-**
**29,272**
**17,149**
**-**
**17,149**
37,824
10,000
47,824
17,149
-
17,149
**54,973**
**10,000**
**64,973**
**Unrestricted funds**
**Restricted funds**
**Total**
£
£
£
54,973
10,000
64,973
**54,973**
**10,000**
**64,973**
**9m Period ended 31st December 2025**
**As at 31st December 2025**|**16m Period ended**| |---|---|---| |||**30th September 2025**| |||**£**
71,166
576
1,777
**73,519**
865
9,461
20,000
947
5,845
651
1,680
400
450
40,299
31,500
**71,799**
**1,720**
46,104
1,720
**47,824**
**As at 30th September 2025**| |||£
47,824
**47,824**| ## **NOTES** 1. Restricted donation: Grant from the estate of the late Rev Brian Shackleton received in March 2025 to be used by PC-FF in fostering reconciliation with young adults. These funds are being held for expenditure in 2026. 2. The prior year period presented in these accounts shows the final period of the former unincorporated charity, Friends of Bereaved Families Forum. On 30th September 2025, this charity donated all of its net assets and funds to Friends of Bereaved Families Forum CIO (charity number 1212596), shown as the current period above. This comparison is made as the CIO charity has the same objectives, with the activities previously carried out by the unincorporated charity continuing under the new CIO. I hereby certify that the Statement of Financial Activities for the period ended 31st December 2025 and the Statement of Assets and Liabilities at 31st December 2025 are in accordance with the underlying records. Dr Caroline Elton Trustee 8