Charity Registration Number: 295676
Report of the Trustees and
Unaudited Financial Statements for the Year Ended 31 December 2024
for
The 21st Century Trust
(A Trust)
Green Accountancy Limited Association of Chartered Certified Accountants Witney Business and Innovation Centre Windrush Park Road Witney Oxfordshire OX29 7DX
The 21st Century Trust
Contents
| Report of the trustees | 1 | to | 5 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Independent examiner's report | 6 | ||
| Statement of Financial Activities | 7 | ||
| Balance Sheet | 8 | ||
| Notes to the Financial Statements | 9 | to | 16 |
The 21st Century Trust
Report of the trustees for the year ended 31 December 2024
The Trustees present their report together with the financial statements of the Trust for the year ended 31st December 2024. The financial statements have been prepared in accordance with the accounting policies set out on pages 9 to 11 of the attached financial statements and comply with the charity's trust deed, applicable laws and requirements of the Statement of Recommended Practice on "Accounting and Reporting by Charities" revised and issued in March 2005.
Reference and administrative details
Registered Charity number
295676
Registered office
56 Falcon Point Hopton Street London SE1 9JW
Trustees in office during the accounting period
Peter Wilson-Smith, Chairman Benjamin Glahn Isobel Hilton (appointed 3 October 2024) Tina Micklethwait Dr Jill Pellew Fiammetta Rocco (appointed 3 October 2024) Stephen Salyer (retired 3 October 2024) Philip Stephens Randall C Teague (retired 3 October 2024)
Director
John Lotherington
Solicitors
Farrer & Co. 66 Lincoln's Inn Fields London WC2A 3LH
Bankers
Coutts & Co. Commercial Banking 440 Strand London WC2R 0QS
Page 1
The 21st Century Trust
Report of the trustees for the year ended 31 December 2024
Fund Managers
Schroder Investment Management Ltd 31 Gresham Street London EC2V 7QA
Independent Examiner
Mark Thompson FCCA PG Lemon LLP First Floor Unicorn House 221/222 Shoreditch High Street London E1 6PJ
Accountants
Green Accountancy Limited Association of Chartered Certified Accountants Witney Business and Innovation Centre Windrush Park Road Witney Oxfordshire OX29 7DX
Constitution and organisation
The 21st Century Trust was constituted by a Declaration of Trust dated 11th November 1986. There are at present seven Trustees. New trustees are appointed by those Trustees already in office. Whilst the Trustees are ultimately responsible for the charity, they have delegated the day to day management of the charity to a director. The director reports to the Trustees both formally and informally on a regular basis. The names of the Trustees who were in office at the date on which the attached accounts were approved are set out on the fly page.
Charitable Objectives and Public Benefit
The Trust is registered for charitable purposes with the Charity Commission. The Trust's objective is to strengthen, through education, links between free societies throughout the world and to promote the values they represent. The Trustees confirm that they have considered the Charity Commission guidance on public benefit.
Page 2
The 21st Century Trust
Report of the trustees for the year ended 31 December 2024
Policies for achieving these objectives
From its inception, the Trust looked to the future, in its first phase concentrating its efforts on able people in mid-career who would become leaders in various fields in their respective countries. It is multidisciplinary and has addressed a wide range of current international concerns, largely through a programme of conferences and the Fellowship, a forum for the exchange of ideas and best practice among Fellows on through their careers. The Trust has always worked in collaboration with other partners where it was possible to share the mission, outcomes and costs, to sustain and amplify its work. Owing to the impact of the financial crisis on a small endowment, and to secure the future of the Trust's Fellowship, the trustees took the decision in 2008 to negotiate a core partnership with the Salzburg Global Seminar, an American non-profit organization with a nearly identical mission, also with an international remit. To that end the trustees resolved to suspend the independent activities of the Trust from May 2009 in order to further the shared mission in general, and in particular to develop the Salzburg Global Fellowship - a joint network comprising the alumni of the Salzburg Global Seminar and the Fellowship of the 21st Century Trust. This arrangement enabled the Trust to scale up opportunities for Fellows in line with the Trust's charitable goals and maximize the returns on its remaining funds. Since then the Trust has continued to collaborate with Salzburg Global Seminar while initiating its own programme activities in London and elsewhere.
Investment policy
The investments held by the Trust have been acquired in accordance with the powers available to the Trustees. The objective in managing the portfolio is to maximise the overall rate of return in so far as this is consistent with maintaining a prudent and balanced investment exposure, whilst giving regard to the Trust's cash requirements from time to time.
Reserves policy
The Trust has sufficient funding in hand to cover the budget set for 2025 and meet its obligations for the foreseeable future.
Page 3
The 21st Century Trust
Report of the trustees for the year ended 31 December 2024
Responsibilities of trustees
The trustees are responsible for preparing the Trustees' Report and the financial statements in accordance with applicable law and regulations. The trustees are required to prepare financial statements for each financial year in accordance with United Kingdom Generally Accepted Accounting Practice (UK Accounting Standards and applicable law).
The financial statements are required by law to give a true and fair view of the state of affairs of the charity and of its incoming resources and application of resources of the charity for that period. In preparing these financial statements, the trustees should follow best practice and: -sel ect suitabl e accoun ng pol icies and then appl y them consistentl y; -m ake judgm ents and es m ates that are reasonabl e and prudent; -state w hether appl icabl e UK Accoun ng Standards have been fol l ow ed -observe the m ethods and principl es in the chari es SO RP; -prepare the fi nancial statements on the going concern basis unless it is inappropriate to presume that the charity will continue in business.
The trustees are responsible for keeping proper accounting records that disclose with reasonable accuracy at any time the financial position of the charity and enable them to ensure that the financial statements comply with applicable law, regulations and the trust deed. 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.
Risk management
The Trustees have assessed the major risks to which the Charity is exposed. The Trustees believe that, by ensuring controls over key financial systems and by examining the operational and business risks faced by the Charity, they have established effective systems to mitigate those risks.
Page 4
The 21st Century Trust
Report of the trustees for the year ended 31 December 2024
Review of the year's activities
The principal events of the year for the Trust were first the Palliser Lecture on The Future of Global Governance and International Cooperation in an Increasingly Fractured World, delivered by Pascal Lamy, coordinator of the Jacques Delors Institute and vice-chairman of the Paris Peace Forum, which was held at the Aga Khan Centre, London, on 29 January 2024; the second project was the conference The Stories We Tell Ourselves: brains, minds and narratives, and how we change them to change the world, which took place from 17 to 19 May 2024 at Villa Monastero, Varenna, Italy. In addition the Trust supported a session at Salzburg Global with a US$9,000 (£7,293.65) donation from the Trust’s Weir Scholarship Fund in support of participants from the Middle East region at the SGS conference Better Preparedness for the Next Pandemic: Developing Vaccine Access Models with Low- and Middle-income Countries , 11 – 16 March 2024, in which the Trust’s Director also participated.
The Trust has incurred an operating surplus of £21,010 (2023 deficit: £42,581). Based on the Market Value of investments and the disposals during the year the charity is recognising a net gain of £907 (2023 gain: £62). The total surplus is £21,917 (2023 deficit: £42,519).
Report of the trustees approved by order of the board of trustees on ........................ and signed on the board's behalf by:
Peter Wilson-Smith, Chairman Trustee
Page 5
Independent Examiner's Report to the Trustees of The 21st Century Trust
I report to the charity trustees on my examination of the accounts of The 21st Century Trust (the Trust) for the year ended 31 December 2024.
Responsibilities and basis of report
As the charity trustees of the Trust you are responsible for the preparation of the accounts in accordance with the requirements of the Charities Act 2011 ('the Act').
I report in respect of my examination of the Trust's accounts carried out under section 145 of the Act and in carrying out my examination I have followed all applicable Directions given by the Charity Commission under section 145(5)(b) of the 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 respect of the Trust as required by section 130 of the Act; or
-
2 the accounts do not accord with those records; or
-
3 the accounts do not comply with the applicable requirements concerning the form and content of accounts set out in the Charities (Accounts and Reports) Regulations 2008 other than any requirement that the accounts give a true and fair view which is not a matter considered as part of an independent examination.
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.
Mark Thompson FCCA PG Lemon LLP First Floor Unicorn House 221/222 Shoreditch High Street London E1 6PJ
Date: .............................................
Page 6
The 21st Century Trust
Statement of Financial Activities for the year ended 31 December 2024
| Unrestricted funds Note £ Incoming resources Income and endowments from: Donations and legacies 3.1 48,001 Investment income 3.2 5,161 Total Income 53,162 Resources expended Expenditure on: Charitable activities - expenditure 4.1 32,152 Total expenditure 32,152 Net income/(expenditure) before investment gains/(losses) 21,010 Net gains/(losses) on investments 907 Net movement in funds 21,917 Reconciliation of funds: Total funds brought forward 148,787 Total funds carried forward 170,704 |
Restricted funds £ - - - - - - - - 20,000 20,000 |
Total 2024 £ 48,001 5,161 53,162 32,152 32,152 21,010 907 21,917 168,787 190,704 |
Total 2023 £ 22,993 3,368 |
|---|---|---|---|
| 26,361 | |||
| 68,942 | |||
| 68,942 | |||
| (42,581) 62 |
|||
| (42,519) 211,306 |
|||
| 168,787 |
Continuing operations
All income and expenditure has arisen from continuing activities.
Page 7
The 21st Century Trust
Charity Number 295676
Balance Sheet as at 31 December 2024
| Unrestricted funds Note £ Fixed assets Investments 5 2,653 Total fixed assets 2,653 Current assets Debtors 6 8,450 Cash at bank and in hand 7 162,609 Total current assets 171,059 Creditors: amounts falling due within one year 8 3,008 Net current assets/(liabilities) 168,051 Total net assets 170,704 Funds of the Charity Unrestricted funds 9 170,704 Restricted income funds 9 Total funds 170,704 |
Restricted funds £ 20,000 20,000 - 35,000 35,000 35,000 - 20,000 20,000 20,000 |
Total 2024 £ 22,653 22,653 8,450 197,609 206,059 38,008 168,051 190,704 170,704 20,000 190,704 |
Total 2023 £ 22,760 |
|---|---|---|---|
| 22,760 | |||
| 6,179 144,426 |
|||
| 150,605 4,578 |
|||
| 146,027 | |||
| 168,787 | |||
| 148,787 20,000 |
|||
| 168,787 |
The financial statements were approved by the Board of Trustees and authorised for issue on and were signed on its behalf by:
............................................. Peter Wilson-Smith, Chairman Trustee
Page 8
The 21st Century Trust
Notes to the Financial Statements for the year ended 31 December 2024
1 Basis of preparing the financial statements
These accounts have been prepared under the historical cost convention with items recognised at cost or transaction value unless otherwise stated in the relevant note(s) to these accounts.
The accounts have been prepared in accordance with:
• the Charities SORP (FRS 102) '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 2019)',
-
Financial Reporting Standard 102 'The Financial Reporting Standard applicable in the UK and Republic of Ireland'
-
and with the Charities Act 2011.
The charity is a Trust and constitutes a public benefit entity as defined by FRS 102.
The accounts do not include a cash flow statement because the Charity, as a small reporting entity, is exempt from the requirement to prepare such a statement under Financial Reporting Standard 102.
2 Accounting Policies
Income
Income is included in the Statement of Financial Activities (SoFA) when:
-
the charity becomes entitled to the resources;
-
it is more likely than not that the trustees will receive the resources;
-
the monetary value can be measured with sufficient reliability.
Grants and donations
Grants and donations are included in the SoFA when the general income recognition criteria are met.
Tax reclaims on donations and gifts
Gift Aid receivable is included in income when there is a valid declaration from the donor. Any Gift Aid amount recovered on a donation is considered to be part of that gift and is treated as an addition to the same fund as the initial donation unless the donor or the terms of the appeal have specified otherwise.
Expenditure
Expenditure is accounted for on an accruals basis and has been classified under headings that aggregate all cost related to the category. Where costs cannot be directly attributed to particular headings they have been allocated to activities on a basis consistent with the use of resources.
Page 9
The 21st Century Trust
Notes to the Financial Statements for the year ended 31 December 2024
Governance and support costs
Support costs have been allocated between governance costs and other support. Governance costs comprise all costs involving public accountability of the charity and its compliance with regulation and good practice.
Investments
Fixed asset investments in quoted shares, traded bonds and similar investments are valued at initially at cost and subsequently at fair value (their market value) at the year end. The same treatment is applied to unlisted investments unless fair value cannot be measured reliably in which case it is measured at cost less impairment.
All gains and losses are taken to the Statement of Financial Activities as they arise. Realised gains and losses on investments are calculated as the difference between sales proceeds and their opening carrying value or their purchase value if acquired subsequent to the first day of the financial year.Unrealised gains and losses are calculated as the difference between the fair value at the year end and their carrying value.Realised and unrealised investment gains and losses are combined in the Statement of Financial Activities.
Taxation
The charity registered as a charity on 3 December 1986 and since that date has been exempt from corporation tax on its charitable trading activities.
Fund accounting
Unrestricted funds can be used in accordance with the charitable objectives at the discretion of the trustees.
Restricted funds can only be used for particular restricted purposes within the objects of the charity. Restrictions arise when specified by the donor or when funds are raised for particular restricted purposes.
Further explanation of the nature and purpose of each fund is included in the notes to the financial statements.
Debtors
Debtors (including trade debtors and loans receivable) are measured on initial recognition at settlement amount after any trade discounts or amount advanced by the charity. Subsequently, they are measured at the cash or other consideration expected to be received.
Cash at bank and in hand
Cash at bank and cash in hand includes cash and short term highly liquid investments with a short maturity of three months or less from the date of acquisition or opening of the deposit or similar account.
Page 10
The 21st Century Trust
Notes to the Financial Statements for the year ended 31 December 2024
Liability recognition
Liabilities are recognised where it is more likely than not that there is a legal or constructive obligation committing the charity to pay out resources and the amount of the obligation can be measured with reasonable certainty.
The charity has creditors which are measured at settlement amounts less any trade discounts.
Page 11
The 21st Century Trust
Notes to the Financial Statements for the year ended 31 December 2024
3.1 Income from donations and legacies
| Unrestricted funds £ Individual Donations 44,376 Gift Aid 3,625 Amazon Europe Core - Total donations and legacies 48,001 3.2 Investment income Unrestricted funds £ Interest received 4,225 HMRC interest (on Gift aid) - Unit trust accumulations 936 Total investment income 5,161 Total income 53,162 |
Restricted funds £ - - - - Restricted funds £ - - - - - |
Total 2024 £ 44,376 3,625 - 48,001 Total 2024 £ 4,225 - 936 5,161 53,162 |
Total 2023 £ 18,384 4,596 13 |
|---|---|---|---|
| 22,993 | |||
| Total 2023 £ 1,831 409 1,128 |
|||
| 3,368 | |||
| 26,361 |
Page 12
The 21st Century Trust
Notes to the Financial Statements for the year ended 31 December 2024
4.1 Charitable activities - expenditure
The advancement of education through the interchange of scientific knowledge, professional and administrative skills to provide an understanding of the values of free societies.
| Unrestricted funds £ Direct cost of charitable activity: Sponsorship 7,294 Support costs: Bank charges 20 Events 21,594 Insurance 236 Travel - Governance 3,008 Total expenditure on charitable activities 32,152 |
Restricted funds £ - - - - - - - |
Total 2024 £ 7,294 20 21,594 236 - 3,008 32,152 |
Total 2023 £ 58,756 23 6,409 182 314 3,258 |
|---|---|---|---|
| 68,942 |
4.2 Support costs
All support costs are allocated to the single charitable activity of the charity and are included above.
| Governance costs included above Unrestricted funds £ Accountancy 1,542 Independent examination 1,466 Total governance costs 3,008 |
Restricted funds £ - - - |
Total 2024 £ 1,542 1,466 3,008 |
Total 2023 £ 1,848 1,410 |
|---|---|---|---|
| 3,258 |
Trustee remuneration
None of the trustees were remunerated during the year or the previous year. No trustee expenses were paid during the year.
Page 13
The 21st Century Trust
Notes to the Financial Statements for the year ended 31 December 2024
| 4.3 Staff costs Unrestricted funds £ Salaries - Gross pay - Salaries - Pensions - Total staff costs - |
Restricted funds £ - - - |
Total 2024 £ - - - |
Total 2023 £ - - |
|---|---|---|---|
| - |
There are no staff working for the charity whose contracts are with and are paid by a related party. There were no ex-gratia payments made and no redundancy payments made. There are no staff working for the charity who were paid more than £60,000.
| 4.4 Staff numbers Average headcount in the year: Charitable activities 5 Investments |
2024 - |
2023 - |
|---|---|---|
| Investments | |
|---|---|
| Listed | |
| Investments | |
| £ | |
| Market value | |
| At 1 January 2024 | 22,760 |
| Accumulated income and dividends | 936 |
| Disposal amount | (1,950) |
| Revaluations | 907 |
| At 31 December 2024 | 22,653 |
| Net book value | |
| At 31 December 2024 | 22,653 |
| At 31 December 2023 | 22,760 |
6 Debtors
| Unrestricted funds £ Gift aid receivable 8,171 Deposit - Prepayments 279 Total debtors 8,450 |
Restricted funds £ - - - - |
Total 2024 £ 8,171 - 279 8,450 |
Total 2023 £ 4,546 1,397 236 |
|---|---|---|---|
| 6,179 |
Page 14
The 21st Century Trust
Notes to the Financial Statements for the year ended 31 December 2024
7 Cash at bank and in hand
| Unrestricted funds £ Current Account 162,609 Total cash at bank and in hand 162,609 8 Creditors: amounts falling due within one year Unrestricted funds £ Accruals 3,008 Deferred Income - Total creditors due within one year 3,008 9 Charity funds - current year At 1 January 2024 £ Restricted funds Michael Weir Bursaries 20,000 Total Restricted funds 20,000 Unrestricted funds 148,787 Total funds 168,787 |
Restricted funds £ 35,000 35,000 Restricted funds £ - 35,000 35,000 Incoming resources £ - - 54,069 54,069 |
Total 2024 £ 197,609 197,609 Total 2024 £ 3,008 35,000 38,008 Resources expended £ - - 32,152 32,152 |
Total 2023 £ 144,426 |
|---|---|---|---|
| 144,426 | |||
| Total 2023 £ 4,578 - |
|||
| 4,578 | |||
| At 31 December 2024 £ 20,000 |
|||
| 20,000 170,704 |
|||
| 190,704 |
Page 15
The 21st Century Trust
Notes to the Financial Statements for the year ended 31 December 2024
10 Charity funds - previous year
| Restricted funds Michael Weir Bursaries Total Restricted funds Unrestricted funds Total funds |
At 1 January 2023 £ 20,000 20,000 191,306 211,306 |
Incoming resources £ - - 26,423 26,423 |
Resources expended £ - - 68,942 68,942 |
At 31 December 2023 £ 20,000 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 20,000 148,787 |
||||
| 168,787 |
Page 16