TRUSTEE REPORT AND ACCOUNTS 31 DECEMBER 2022
Registered Charity Number 274778
FRIENDS OF COLOMBIA FOR SOCIAL AID FINANCIAL STATEMENTS - YEAR ENDED 31 DECEMBER 2022
| CONTENTS | PAGE |
|---|---|
| Report of the Trustees | 1 |
| Independent examiner's report | 5 |
| Receipts and Payments Account | 6 |
FRIENDS OF COLOMBIA FOR SOCIAL AID FINANCIAL STATEMENTS - YEAR ENDED 31 DECEMBER 2022
The Trustees present their report and independently examined financial statements for the year ended 31 December 2022.
Reference and Administrative Information
Charity Name: Friends of Colombia for Social Aid Charity Registration Number 274778 Registered address: 24 Langton Avenue London N20 9DA
Patron The Baroness Hooper CMG Trustees Mr Felipe Posada Chair Mrs Amanda Ardila Ms Clemencia Corradine Mrs Alison Kley Resigned 14[th] September 2022 Mr Victor Garcia Rivera Mrs Xihomara Paulina Zentner Mrs Maria Parada Appointed on 16 September 2022
Independent Examiner
Jehangir Ghandhi
Bankers HSBC The Peak, 333 Vauxhall Bridge Road London SW1V 1EJ
Email : info@focsa.org Website: www.focsa.org Phone : 0777 177 0883
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FRIENDS OF COLOMBIA FOR SOCIAL AID FINANCIAL STATEMENTS - YEAR ENDED 31 DECEMBER 2022
Structure, Governance and Management
Governing Document
Friends of Colombia for Social Aid (FOCSA) is constituted as a charitable Trust. The Trust was established in 1977 under a Trust Deed (as amended) which established the objects and powers of the charitable Trust.
Mission
Our mission is to help to improve the lives of the most disadvantaged children in Colombia. We fulfill our mission by donating medical, educational and other vital equipment to hospitals and specialist institutions that treat these children and improve the quality of their lives.
Recruitment and Appointment of Trustees
Mrs Alison Kley resigned on 14[th] September 2022. All other members of the Board of Trustees have served throughout the year.
Organisational Structure
The Board of Trustees meets on a quarterly basis and is responsible for the strategic direction and policy of the charity. A scheme of delegation is in place and the day to day responsibility for the charitable activities lies with an Executive Committee of volunteers. The President of the charity sits on both the Board of Trustees and the Executive Committee.
Objectives and Activities
In planning our objectives each year we have regard to the Charities Commission general guidance on public benefit.
Principal Funding Sources
Our main sources of Funding are the profits from organising Fundraising Events and unrestricted donations.
Grant Making Policy
The charity provides donations to FOCSA Bogota, for the purchase and donation of medical equipment in Colombia. All charitable donations are approved by the Board of Trustees.
Investment Policy
Aside from retaining a prudent amount in reserves each year most of the charity’s funds are to be spent on the charitable objects in the short term so there are few
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FRIENDS OF COLOMBIA FOR SOCIAL AID FINANCIAL STATEMENTS - YEAR ENDED 31 DECEMBER 2022
funds available for long-term investment. Having considered possible options the Trustees decided to place surplus funds into a call deposit account with the CCLA Charities Deposit Fund.
Reserve Policy
The Trustees have examined the charity’s requirements for reserves in light of the main risks to the organization. As the charity is run entirely by volunteers, and owns no property, the risks to the long-term financial sustainability of the charity are small. It has established a policy whereby the minimum level of reserves should be £30,000 approximately equivalent to the cost of organizing fundraising events and administration of the charity for one year.
Trustees are confident that at this level they would be able to continue the current activities of the charity. The administration costs related to organizing fundraising events (£16,060) and administration of the charity (£1,931) during 2022 amounted to £17,991. The present level of reserves available to the charity of £95,966, therefore, falls comfortably above the target level.
Financial Review
About Receipts:
The year ended 31 December 2022 demonstrated FOCSA’s resilience, as it returned to business as usual after the pandemic, with total receipts of £67,910.64 equivalent to 53% growth YoY 2022-2021, divided into Events (63.5%), Donations (35.9%) and Interest Received (0.6%).
Events increased 70% YoY, with three main activities, Fiesta, Royal Parks Run, and virtual events, with participation of 75%, 23%, and 1% respectively.
The Royal Parks Run has become an emblematic event for FOCSA, raising a total of £9,845.03 in 2022, with 11 runners, that reached an average cash raised per runner of £895, representing a total net profit per runner of 11X the investment FOCSA takes as an upfront subscription fee of approximately £75/runner.
The FOCSA annual Fiesta was held again in 2022 with great success at ASCOT after three years of a pause due to the pandemic. The event offered a Colombian music group that has participated in previous events, a renowned Colombian painter that shared its art with participants boosting donations, the speech of the Colombian Consul Ricardo Lozano, and more importantly, it allowed the FOCSA community to come together as a family to raise a total of £32,700 along ancillary donations triggered during the event.
Donations totaled £24,360 with the special appeal consolidating 40% of total funds, leaving the biggest representation of 60% to other donations triggered by the Fiesta and smaller one-day and cultural events such as walks, among others.
Lastly, FOCSA received income from investment activities via money market funds managed by CCLA, which in 2022 totaled £390.29 and represented less than 1% of the total Receipts during this period.
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FRIENDS OF COLOMBIA FOR SOCIAL AID FINANCIAL STATEMENTS - YEAR ENDED 31 DECEMBER 2022
About Payments:
During 2022, FOCSA donated a total of £30,000 fulfilling its mandate to support hospital infrastructure and medical equipment for Children located in low-income zones in Colombia, with a significant impact on multiple communities around the country.
A total of 4 donations took place during 2022, Institutions such as Fundación para el Niño Sorodo ICAL, Hospital San Juan de Dios, ESE Guapi, and Hospital Raúl Orejuela Bueno, received donations to support the acquisition of equipment such as impedance meter/tympanometry, digital baby scales, fetal monitors, baby scales, stadiometers, infantometers, audiometer, among others, as well as non-medical equipment that support the treatment of children in the hospital such as suspended gyms, foam circuits, and motor development circuits. Further details are explained in the President’s report.
In order to conduct this year’s successful activities, FOCSA expended a total of £16,059.98 of which 91% is represented by Fiesta-related expenses and 9% by Royal Park’s Half Marathon-related expenses.
Total admin expenses in 2022 were £1,930.97 representing 4% of total expenses and 3% of total Receipts, with bank charges, just giving fees, insurance, and other admin expenses consolidating all expenses.
About Final Cash and Reserves:
The final balance of Receipts after Payments for the year 2022 totals £19,919.69, representing 29% of total Receipts, meaning that FOCSA left without distributing 2/3rds, of total donations, leaving higher reserves to be allocated in the next period.
FOCSA closes 2022 with a significant amount of cash in its accounts totaling £95,996.80 (26% growth YoY) distributed in its HSBC account at 58% and CCLA accounts at 42%. The Trustees decided in 2022 that the minimum reserve level to be held should be £30,000 which is more than sufficient to cover the costs of the charity for one year. As a result, the charity holds close to £66,000 to be donated.
Final Note Regarding Financial Review:
As the charity’s income is less than £250,000 per annum and the charity’s assets are all cash, the charity is entirely funded by donations and fundraising, has no long-term financial commitments, does not currently apply for restricted grants, and has very few admin expenses, it was decided to adopt “Receipts and Payments” layout for their financial statements from 1[st] January 2022 onwards.
In preparing these statements, the 2021 comparative figures have been restated on a “Receipts and Payments” basis.
Plans for Future Periods
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FRIENDS OF COLOMBIA FOR SOCIAL AID FINANCIAL STATEMENTS - YEAR ENDED 31 DECEMBER 2022
FOCSA’s plans for the future are in line with our Mission to help improve the lives of the most disadvantaged children in Colombia by raising funds and donating medical, educational, and other vital equipment to hospitals and specialist institutions providing treatment to disadvantaged children, therefore improving their quality of life.
In terms of fundraising, during 2023 we expect to continue to raise funds through a variety of events including sponsorships of the Royal Parks Half Marathon and a Music Concert, as well as direct donations to the charity.
In terms of donations to hospitals and institutions, in 2023 we expect to continue identifying the best projects to benefit from our donations, executing our donations, and monitoring our program.
Responsibilities of the Trustees
The trustees are responsible for preparing the Trustees' Report and Accounts in accordance with applicable law and United Kingdom Accounting Standards. The trustees have elected to prepare the accounts on a receipts and payments basis under Section 133 of the Charities Act 2011.
The law applicable to charities in England and Wales requires the trustees to prepare accounts for each financial year which give a true and fair view of the state of affairs of the charity and of the receipts and payments of the charity for that period.
The trustees are responsible for maintaining proper accounting records which disclose with reasonable accuracy at any time the financial position of the charity and enable them to ensure that the financial statements comply with the Charities Act 2011, the Charity (Accounts and Reports) Regulations 2008 and the provisions of the trust deed/constitution. They are also responsible for safeguarding the assets of the charity and hence for taking reasonable steps for the prevention and detection of fraud and other irregularities.
Approved by the Trustees on 04 July 2023 and signed on their behalf by:-
Mr Felipe Posada Chair
Mr Victor Garcia Rivera Treasurer
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INDEPENDENT EXAMINER’S REPORT TO THE MEMBERS OF FRIENDS OF COLOMBIA FOR SOCIAL AID - YEAR ENDED 31 DECEMBER 2022
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FRIENDS OF COLOMBIA FOR SOCIAL AID RECEIPTS AND PAYMENTS ACCOUNT - YEAR ENDED 31 DECEMBER 2022
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End of document.