2022-12-31-accounts

2022 Annual Report Including Trustees’ Report and Accounts for the year ended 31st December 2022

Medical student Marnty Oruko with a book donated by Book Aid International in Kenya Medical Training College library. © Natalia Jidovanu Company no: 880754

Dr Alice Prochaska

Chair, Book Aid International

For those fleeing war, struggling to give their children the education they deserve or facing barriers simply because of their gender, books are a source of hope, strength and the chance to build a brighter future.

Her Majesty The Queen

Welcome

In 2022, Covid, climate change and conflicts disrupted millions of lives, forcing children from school and leaving more families struggling.

So throughout the year, we worked to give people facing these huge challenges the opportunity to read, and we put them at the heart of our new Power of Books strategy.

In total, we provided 1,140,435 books donated by leading publishers to partners in 26 countries, and funded the purchase of 46,247 locally published books. They have given 13.1 million people the opportunity to read.

Highlights included our first shipment in many years to Nigeria, the expansion of our work across Liberia to some of the world’s most poorly resourced schools and a new project to get families reading together in Cameroon, which is suffering from a long-running conflict.

We also launched our International Advisory Board to help shape and guide our work. The board is made up of our long-standing partners and is chaired by our Vice Patron, Lord Boateng.

I attended the board’s first meeting and was inspired by our partners’ accounts of how they respond to their own particular and widely differing challenges.

In our London headquarters, it was a special moment when we welcomed Her Majesty the Queen, who was then Duchess of Cornwall, as our Patron. Her words give us encouragement and inspiration:

“For those fleeing war, struggling to give their children the education they deserve, or facing barriers simply because of their gender, books are a source of hope, strength and the chance to build a brighter future.”

Our work relies on our partners’ commitment and our supporters’ wonderful generosity. I am grateful to our volunteers for their time, to the publishers who donate the books we send, to the companies and trusts who give so generously and to the many thousands of donors here in the UK who enable us to provide the books communities need.

Together, we can share the power of books with more readers worldwide.

27th June 2023

The Trustees present their report and the audited financial statements for the year ended 31st December 2022. Reference and administrative information set out on page 34 forms part of this report. The financial statements comply with current statutory requirements, the Memorandum and Articles of Association and the Statement of Recommended Practice – Accounting and Reporting by Charities: SORP applicable to charities preparing their accounts in accordance with FRS 102. This Trustees’ Annual Report includes a directors’ report as required by company law.

Book Aid International is a charity and limited company registered in England and Wales. Charity no: 313869. Company no: 880754. Registered office: 39–41 Coldharbour Lane, London SE5 9NR. www.bookaid.org

2 Book Aid International 2022 Trustees’ Annual Report

What we do

We share the power of books – and people use that power to create a more equal future.

A book might seem like a small thing in the battle against inequality. But we see every day how a book can spark a transformation. Books help learning thrive. They create opportunities. They restore hope. They inspire confidence.

So, every year, we send over one million brand-new books to communities around the world. These books reach readers in thousands of libraries, schools, universities, refugee camps, hospitals and prisons.

The majority of the readers we support live in sub-Saharan Africa, and we also provide smaller numbers of books to partners in the Middle East and other regions where there is specific need.

The books we provide from the UK are donated by leading publishers, and each book we send is carefully selected for the readers it will reach. Our partners tell us what types of books their communities need, and we select books for them based on their requests.

In addition to providing books, we also run projects and programmes with our partners to create vibrant reading spaces in schools, libraries and communities, to spark a love of reading and to advocate for books.

These projects and programmes include book donations, grants to refurbish spaces and purchase locally published books and training for teachers and librarians in how to support children’s reading.

Our work gives millions of people in thousands of libraries around the world the opportunity to read.

Our vision is a world where everyone has access to books that enrich, improve and change their lives.

Our mission is to give people around the world who lack access to books the opportunity to read for pleasure, study and lifelong learning.

Loading a shipment of books for The Gambia

Contents

Trustees’ Annual Report	4–35	Looking to the future	24–29
2022 in numbers	4–5	Rising to the challenge	25
Strategic report	6–23	Our partners	26
Access for all	7	With thanks to...	28
Ensuring equitable access	8	Structure, governance and management	30–35
Engaging readers	10	Governance	31
Investing in partnerships	12	Managing our charity	32
Advocating for books	14	Reference and administrative details	34
Our supporters	16
Our book donors	18	Independent auditor’s report	36–39
Financial review 2022	20	Audited accounts	40–62
Our fundraising	22
Managing our fnances	23

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Book Aid International 2022 Trustees’ Annual Report

2022 in numbers

In total

1,186,682 books provided*

13.1million readers reached

185 partners supported

Where we reached readers

2,512 Schools**

126 Refugee settings

1,059 Public and community libraries

57 Prisons

294 Higher and further education libraries

362

Medical settings

How we supported our partners

£84,428 grants to partners to purchase local books

28

local trainers

upskilled

1,109 people trained to support reading

• Includes 46,247 locally published books.

• ** Includes number of schools receiving books and school libraries established.

4 Book Aid International 2022 Trustees’ Annual Report

Where our books went *

----- Start of picture text -----
Bhutan 4,650
Cameroon 39,321
Ethiopia 50,757
The Gambia 40,137
Ghana 87,491
Greece 4,927
Iraq 10,817
Kenya 84,006
Lebanon 21,035
Liberia 32,255
Malawi 69,252
Nepal 38
Nigeria 45,446
Palestine 22,495
Rwanda 49,761
Sierra Leone 73,779
Somalia 6,215
Somaliland 28,798
South Sudan 32,479
St Vincent 14,235
Syria 3,128
Tanzania 68,132
Uganda 112,819
Ukraine 15,744
Zambia 102,652
Zimbabwe 120,066
----- End of picture text -----

The types of books we provided *

Children and primary 559,203 Secondary and teenage fiction 180,554 Adult fiction and leisure reading 149,238 Higher education, law and teacher 87,186 training Medicine and healthcare 77,965 English language 40,666 Vocational, technical and business 27,076 Development 13,186 Reference 5,361

• Excludes 46,247 locally published books .

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Book Aid International 2022 Trustees’ Annual Report

Strategic report

This section details how our charity was governed and managed in 2022.

Image: A girl reading a donated book in rural Malawi. © SolarAid/ChrisGagnon

Access for all

Throughout 2022, we worked to give more people the opportunity to read for pleasure, study and lifelong learning.

We believe that everyone, whatever their situation, should have access to the books they need to build the future they want.

So in 2022, we supported 185 partners in 26 countries and provided books to 4,410 libraries and reading spaces of all shapes and sizes. They ranged from community libraries run by grassroots NGOs to national libraries in capital cities to a collection of a few books in a refugee camp.

By supporting this range of libraries and partners with books of all types, we gave over 13 million people the opportunity to read.

Country-wide access to books

National library services offer the widest possible access to books. They give millions of people their only chance to read, but they are often underresourced and unable to purchase the books that might fire readers’ imaginations.

So we support public library networks across East and West Africa with ongoing donations of high-quality books to build their collections.

These donations cover all kinds of books – from the most advanced medical texts to picture books for people learning to read. By providing such a wide range of books, we can ensure that everyone has access to a rich book collection that suits their needs.

Last year we supported 433 networked public libraries in The Gambia, Ghana, Kenya, Malawi, Nigeria, Sierra Leone, Tanzania, Uganda, Zambia, Zanzibar and Zimbabwe.

Access for communities

Many of our partners focus on creating small libraries that are tailored to specific communities’ needs. These libraries often serve people for whom visiting a school or traditional public library would be impossible.

For example, last year we provided educational, law and fiction books to 57 prison libraries. Reading offers prisoners the chance to find respite in a story or to keep learning so they’re prepared for release. Without these special libraries they would have no books.

We also worked with NGOs that focus on giving people who have been excluded from formal learning environments the opportunity to read.

In Somalia, where women and girls are too often kept out of the classroom, we supplied 3,150 books to the Eva Organisation for Women. Eva is working to establish libraries in community spaces in Mogadishu, Balcad and Jowhar.

And in Kenya, we provided 1,269 books to the Dandora Dumpsite Rehabilitation Group’s small community library. The NGO serves people who make a living in Nairobi’s largest dumpsite. Many are ostracised from the wider community.

Our Power of Books strategy

To guide our work taking the next step towards a world where everyone has access to books, in 2022 we launched our new Power of Books strategy. It focuses on four key goals:

• Ensuring equitable access

• Engaging readers

If a library has the right books, anyone at any point in life can go there to continue exercising their brain.

So Book Aid International’s work donating relevant books to all library types is very important.”

• Investing in partnership

• Advocating for books

The rest of this report details our work towards these four strategic goals.

Nkem Osuigwe, Director, African Library and Information Associations and Institutions

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Strategic report 7

Ensuring equitable access

In 2022 we prioritised creating access to books where the barriers to reading and learning are at their highest and on supporting the UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).

Access to books can help break the cycle of poverty and build a more equal world.

So last year we worked with our partners to reach more people whose lives were impacted by poverty and inequality, who were denied the chance to read and who were unable to access books because of conflicts and disasters.

Supporting education

171 million people could be lifted out of poverty if all pupils left school with basic reading skills. Yet teachers must often try to teach reading with just a few old textbooks and a chalkboard.

libraries, contributing to SDG 4: Quality Education. Much of this work focused on communities where learners and teachers are facing huge challenges.

In South Sudan, where years of civil war have devastated the education system, we worked with our partners to provide brand-new books to 60 nursery, primary and secondary school libraries. And in Malawi, one of the ten poorest countries in the world, we provided books to 206 school libraries.

We also worked with our partners to create new school libraries in some of the world’s poorest communities. In 2022, we created 245 new school libraries in low-income countries*.

In 2022 we supported 1,519 schools in low-income countries* by donating books to their school

Promoting gender equality

Reading books by and about women can help girls see themselves and their world in a whole new light. Throughout 2022 we worked with new and existing partners to give more girls the opportunity to read, contributing to SDG 5: Gender Equality.

Northern Uganda is home to thousands of girls who have fled conflict in South Sudan, and they all too often miss out on education. In 2022, we worked with the Jesuit Refugee Service to support its work encouraging girls to stay in school.

Together, we created school libraries for 395 girls across 21 secondary schools. They offer loans of both books and solar lights, ensuring that girls can continue reading into the night once chores are done.

Children reading donated books in South Sudan. © University of Juba

Our equity goal

Achievements in 2022

We will prioritise reaching more of the people who face the greatest barriers to reading and learning.

52.8%

of books provided to low-income* countries

34.8%

of books reached disaster and conflictaffected countries

*As defined by The World Bank.

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Supporting good health and well-being

Addressing the global shortage of trained medical professionals around the world is key to achieving SDG 3: Good Health and Well-being. Yet in the countries where we work, up-to-date medical texts are too expensive for universities and hospitals to buy.

In 2022 we provided 77,965 brand-new medical texts to partners in 24 countries, supporting both students and healthcare providers. These books reached professionals and students in some of the world’s most challenging contexts.

We provided 1,088 books to the Edna Adan University Hospital to help educate midwives, nurses and teachers in Hargeisa, Somaliland. The city is still rebuilding following war. In Sierra Leone, a country with one of the worst under-fives survival rates in the world, we provided 1,540 books to Médecins Sans Frontières to support their life-saving work.

Reaching refugees

When war forces people to flee, books provide hope and create the opportunity to learn. In 2022, we provided books to 126 refugee settings, giving 131,452 refugees the opportunity to read.

In Greece, our partner SolidarityNow used the 2,256 books we provided to help refugees learn English, continue their education and find a moment of respite from camp life.

We also provided 15,744 books to Packed with Hope and the Universal Reading Foundation. Both organisations are supporting Ukrainian refugees, and the books we sent offered hope to children fleeing the conflict.

Refugees supported by SolidarityNow reading donated books. © SolidarityNow

In Uganda, in addition to our girl-focused work with the Jesuit Refugee Service, we also worked with our partner, Windle International to establish 29 new school libraries serving South Sudanese refugees through our Reading for All project.

Responding to conflict

Where communities are living with war or its aftermath, books help people return to education. So in 2022 we provided books to people living with or recovering from conflicts in 12 countries.

In Syria we sent 3,128 higher education and medical texts to our partner Action for Humanity to help students complete their degrees. In the Occupied Palestinian Territories, we provided 22,495 books to support learning for Palestinians for whom living with unrest and insecurity is the norm.

And in Iraq, we supplied 10,288 higher education texts to the University of Mosul Library to help restore its collection after Islamic State burnt it to the ground in 2014. To date, we have provided 35,860 books to support the library.

Despite it all, we’re still asking to learn more. The books are very important to me.

It could cost $100. That $100 could be a month’s worth of food for a whole family.

In Syria, the higher education texts we provided in 2022 are helping reading and learning to continue despite the devastating decade-long war. They are so important to students like Ahmed:

I dream and aspire to finish my studies in software and work in this field. My apps and projects will benefit the community.

“I’m studying at the Computer Technical Institute at Idlib University. My study depends on research. Of course, I can use Google, but in the search results it is so hard to find exactly what you’re looking for.

My message to the people who support education is to keep it going.”

And when we find useful information, in print or electronically, there’s always a price.

Image: Ahmed Makkour, student at Idlib University, Syria. © Syria Relief/Action for Humanity

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Engaging readers

Last year we worked to engage more people in reading, particularly in marginalised communities.

If people are to engage with reading, they need easy access to high-quality books chosen to meet their needs and the support of skilled teachers and librarians.

In 2022 we worked with our partners to provide a wide range of books to readers of all ages, to establish inviting reading spaces and to train teachers, librarians, staff and volunteers in how to encourage reading. We also grew our partner network outside Africa to provide more opportunities for people worldwide to engage with books.

Creating vibrant school libraries

School libraries full of brand-new, well-chosen books help pupils become confident readers, curious learners and, eventually, school leavers with ambition to succeed.

Exploring books together in a Liberian school. © Street Child/Carielle Doe

In 2022, we stocked 2,056 school libraries with brandnew, carefully selected books that will encourage children to begin a lifetime of reading. They included books chosen to get children excited about reading – from illustrated storybooks to true-life adventure stories to science fiction.

In addition to stocking school libraries with books, we worked with our partners to establish 456 new school libraries, bringing the total number of schools we supported to 2,512.

We also trained 599 teachers in how to get children engaged with reading and funded the purchase of 46,247 locally published books to. These books reflect children’s own experiences and can help them engage with reading.

In Ghana, Uganda and Zimbabwe we expanded our Discovery Book Box programme in 40 schools where children would otherwise have only a few tattered textbooks.

Each school received a Discovery Book Box with 200 carefully chosen children’s books and a simple manual to help teachers use the books to enrich classroom learning and encourage children to read. In 2022, the programme gave 9,831 children access to 8,779 books in their classrooms.

Our Reading Around the Reserve project established libraries in 68 schools around national parks in Malawi and Zimbabwe, training 142 teachers. There are no other libraries in these rural communities, so these libraries offer children their only chance to read.

Our engagement goal

Achievements in 2022

We will engage more people with reading, especially in under-served, rural and marginalised communities.

2,512 18 school libraries partners established or supported supported outside Africa

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By supporting quality education, these libraries also support African Parks’ conservation work, as educated communities are more able to care for the natural world.

In Ghana, Kenya, Malawi, Sierra Leone and Zanzibar, our Explorer Library programme transformed 12 disused spaces into beautiful, engaging reading spaces stocked with exciting books. We also trained 29 teachers working in Explorer Library schools in how to get children engaged in reading, giving more than 6,000 children support to discover books.

The Community Container Library in Rwanda. © Ineza Foundation

Supporting education NGOs

Throughout the year, we focused on working with NGOs to give the world’s most disadvantaged young people the chance to engage with books.

In Cameroon, Liberia, Nigeria and Sierra Leone, we provided 16,000 books to Street Child, an NGO which works to make sure even the most marginalised children can have an education. We also provided 12,000 books to Voluntary Service Overseas (VSO) to support its work establishing school libraries across Ethiopia, Rwanda and Uganda.

Engaging people in communities

Public, community and mobile libraries give people the opportunity to engage with books where they live, and well-stocked libraries act as vital information hubs for the whole community. In 2022, we provided books to 433 public and 626 community libraries across all of the African countries where we worked and Lebanon.

The Community Libraries Association of Uganda aims to create greater access to books at the community level by fostering the growth of community libraries. We provided 5,394 books to support its work in 2022. In Ethiopia, we also supported 41 community libraries across the country.

Our third Community Container Library

In 2022 we worked with local literacy organisation the Ineza Foundation in Rwanda to open our third Community Container Library, turning an ordinary shipping container into a thriving community library.

We provided 5,000 books to stock the library’s shelves and a grant to completely fit out the space – funding everything from shelves to murals to windows. We also provided a grant to buy locally published books, and trained Ineza staff and volunteers in how to foster a love of reading.

The African Story Box is a brilliant idea. The locally authored books will give children confidence.

“If I had never had access to books, I would not have become a

Zimbabwean writer Virginia Phiri leads the local branch of the International Board on Books for Young People and has helped expand the African Story Box project in Zimbabwe.

successful accountant, author, environmentalist and human rights defender.

The project gives children access to book box libraries stocked with 100 UK-donated and 100 locally published books. Last year, we provided 84 African Story Boxes to schools in Ghana, Malawi, Sierra Leone, Zambia and Zimbabwe.

The African Story Box project will give children in urban and rural areas opportunities to read locally published books and books from the United Kingdom. The locally authored books will give children confidence.”

She talked about the impact of books on her own life, and on the children she supports:

Image: Children reading books from an African Story Box in Zimbabwe. © Cynthia R Matonhodze/Book Aid International

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Investing in partnership

In 2022 we worked to support our partners so they can create sustainable change for readers around the world.

Everything we do we do through partnerships with organisations of all kinds that believe, as we do, in the power of books.

In 2022 we increased the number of new partnerships we have with organisations that share our vision of creating equitable access to books and invested in new initiatives to strengthen capacity amongst our existing partners.

Welcoming new partners

We formed 56 new partnerships in 2022 – primarily with NGOs that focus on the most vulnerable readers in their community.

In remote rural Kenya, for example, we partnered with The Maa Trust, providing books to make it easier for children of Maasai families, especially girls, to read, study and learn new skills. And in Lebanon we began working with the Lebanese Association for Development and Communication, a local partner that provides English classes to refugees.

A Kenyan child reading a book from a Books to Go library. This programme expanded in 2022 and was delivered entirely by local trainers. © knls

Many of these organisations do not have education or reading as their core purpose and use the books we provide to support their larger aims.

For example, in Uganda, we built links with the Bwindi Conservation for Generations Foundation, which came to us with a request for books related to nature and responsible tourism.

Developing partner capacity

The books we provided to all of our partners are a vital contribution to their collections, and support them in developing their libraries and programmes.

In addition to supplying books, we also help our partners develop their capacity by training teachers and librarians directly, by providing grants that partners can use to refurbish reading spaces and purchase locally published books and by upskilling partner staff as trainers.

In 2022, we upskilled 28 trainers. This means that staff now have the skills to support teachers and librarians in the long term.

In Kenya, the expansion of our Books to Go project was delivered entirely by Kenya National Library Service (knls) librarians who received training in 2021 which enhanced their skills with further knowledge on how to run a school-based library and encourage family reading. Books to Go establishes lending libraries in schools so children have the opportunity to read in class and at home with their parents.

Our partnership goal

Achievements in 2022

We will develop dynamic partnerships with organisations that share our vision of creating more equitable access to books.

----- Start of picture text -----
28 56
local trainers new partnerships
upskilled formed
----- End of picture text -----

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In our work with the Jesuit Refugee Service (JRS) establishing school libraries in Northern Uganda, we delivered a virtual Train the Trainer workshop to ten JRS staff from both the refugee community and Kampala. They went on to train 40 teachers from 21 schools.

These staff were already skilled professionals with a wealth of experience supporting refugees. Now they also have the librarianship skills needed to support reading.

I learned how gender balance can be attained in the library.

I smile when I remember that a girl in the camp will be able to get the same books as a boy.”

Abigail Hamba, JRS English instructor, Kampala

We also provided grants totalling £84,428 for local book purchase throughout the year, and trained 1,109 librarians, teachers, parents and staff.

Investing in partner projects

Our Community Reading Awards programme provides small grants to establish microprojects outside traditional school and library settings to get communities reading.

In 2022, we provided 12 grants totalling £18,090 to fund 12 microprojects, including a library in a market in Freetown, Sierra Leone, a reading space in a children’s hospital in Zimbabwe and a library for football spectators in Kenya.

The Community Reading Awards funded 12 additional projects like this bicycle library.© Jjumba Martin/Music for Life Foundation

Co-creating programmes

We also worked with our long-standing partners to cocreate programmes designed to address the specific challenges readers face.

In Zimbabwe, we joined forces with World Vision, providing 30,000 books as part of a jointly conceived initiative to create 21 reading clubs.

We also worked with Street Child in Cameroon to develop Reading Together – a programme designed to encourage families affected by conflict to engage with books.

Through the programme, we provided training for eight Street Child staff in how to support reading, and they went on to train 200 parents in techniques to help children build and develop their reading skills.

As a result, 845 children were given extra support to read at home by trained mothers, fathers and carers.

The books coming from Book Aid International are making a huge impact in the community.

“Youth volunteers take the books to the families that are far from the library .

In Uganda, Rogers Serunjogi began his community library in a local church with four boxes of books we provided.

These families are accessing information they have never accessed before. Some parents do not know how to read but their children do. We have some books that are about agriculture and children help their parents read them. So the reading culture is totally changing in the community.”

Today he runs a thriving library with 5,000 books for readers of all ages – and his partnership with us is helping him do more for his community.

Through the Community Reading Awards , he’s set up a bicycle library to take books to the most rural and remote communities.

Image: Rogers Serunjogi. © Jjumba Martin/Music for Life Foundation

Book Aid International 2022 Trustees’ Annual Report Strategic report 13

Advocating for books

We stepped up our efforts to advocate for the transformational power of books in 2022.

Millions of people are held back by a lack of books, and too often the impact of being without books goes unrecognised.

So in 2022 we worked to raise awareness of the pressing need for books around the world and to help our partners advocate for reading in the communities where they work.

These events are designed to raise the profile of libraries, encourage people to visit and engage local decision-makers who can unlock resources for libraries and become advocates for books.

In 2022 we ran the campaign in 12 African countries and Lebanon. The events our partners held engaged 819 adults and 4,310 children.

Supporting Reading Promotion

Our partners are passionate about inspiring people to read, making the case for books and motivating local leaders to do the same. By expanding our Reading Promotion campaign in 2022, we helped support this work.

The Reading Promotion campaign provides grants for partners to run events that encourage reading.

Girls in Malawi showing off their favourite books for International Day of the Girl Child. © African Parks

Showcasing stories of change

Throughout 2022, we supported our partners, readers and donors to share their stories with us – and we published 31 stories on our website and social media channels to bring the power of books to life. They were read 1,788 times.

These posts included stories from Tinotenda in Zimbabwe, who uses the library almost every day, Monica in Ghana, who loves storybooks, and Judith in Malawi, who knows that books will help her daughter achieve her dream of becoming a nurse.

In addition, we placed a story in the London Book Fair Dailies and secured 103 pieces of press coverage.

We also developed a feature on The Queen’s Reading Room around International Day of the Girl Child. Working with our partners, we spoke to girls around the world about their favourite books. The Reading Room team then published a list of the most-loved books, along with a call to action to make sure that all girls have the chance to read.

Our advocacy goal

Achievements in 2022

We will be advocates for the transformational power of books.

31 reader stories published

5,129 people attended Reading Promotion events

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Taking part in the Hay Festival

Since 2017, we’ve had a platform at the Hay Festival to hold an event focused on the power of books. The platform offers a key opportunity to spread the word about the need for books and encourage more individual book-lovers to take action for reading.

In 2022, our event focused on how books can help Nigerians imagine their future. The conversation between Booker Prize-winning author Ben Okri and Book Aid International Trustee Zainab Umaar covered the challenges readers face, the role of the storyteller and the vital importance of books for the next generation of Nigerians.

The event was sold out and gave us the chance to engage festival followers and participants, encouraging them to take action for a book-rich world.

Booker-winning author Ben Okri and trustee Zainab Umaar in conversation at the Hay Festival. © Hay Festival

operating in conflict zones. The event gave her the chance to advocate for the vital role of books in helping quality education to continue during war.

We were delighted to have Book Aid International join our 2022 Virtual SDG Inspiration Day.

Working with publishers

Throughout 2022, we joined the conversation at a wide range of book industry events about the need for and importance of books worldwide.

They provided valuable insight into the power of books, and how together we can build a more sustainable future for all.”

We led a panel discussion on the importance of diverse children’s books around the world at the London Book Fair, and joined a panel at the Frankfurt Book Fair focused on the importance of African libraries.

Alexis Steadman, Community Manager, RELX

In addition, we were invited to visit HarperCollins, the Institute of Physics (IOP) Publishing and Oxford University Press to speak about the impact of donated books.

And at the Bologna International Book Fair, our Chief Executive Alison Tweed moderated a panel discussion on African children’s books and joined discussions about reading projects in marginalised communities and the UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).

We were also asked by RELX to join an SDG Inspiration Day, where Alison joined a panel discussion on

We think that our public changed its perception of the library.

“We think that our public changed its perception of the library – from a bookstore to an alive place. Many parents didn’t know that we had an important section of English books for children.

Lebanon has experienced an economic crisis in recent years. More than 80% of Lebanese have now slipped below the poverty line. In Beirut, many schools have had budgets cut and libraries often have only old books.

One parent expressed that their children fell in love with the library, and another child said it was the best activity of the summer.”

Assabil is a not-for-profit organisation running public libraries in Lebanon. With access to books increasingly limited, its work has never been more important.

Ali Sabbagh, Executive Coordinator, Assabil

The NGO used a Reading Promotion grant to hold an event for families, and the effect was immediate.

Image: A reading promotion event in Beirut’s Geitawi library. © Assabil

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Our supporters

We are supported by thousands of people in the UK who believe in the power of books. Some lend their time, others give financially, but we are grateful to every person who is part of our community.

We’ve been privileged to work with Book Aid International for nearly 30 years.

43 companies supported our work last year. The companies we work with share our belief in books, and together we can reach more readers around the world.

“We’ve been privileged to work with Book Aid International for nearly 30 years. We know that the strength of their partnerships with local libraries and communities means our donations are reaching the people who most need them.”

Heidi Mulvey, Head of Community Engagement, Cambridge University Press & Assessment (CUPA)

I look forward to the days I volunteer.

In 2022, we were delighted to welcome in-person volunteers back into our warehouse full time. Their contributions were vital to enabling us to select and pack books for readers around the world.

“I look forward to the days I volunteer. I enjoy the fact that in a very small way, I might be helping a child’s eyes to open, a student nurse to gain important knowledge, a library that has been bombed to be restocked or perhaps a prisoner to endure their captivity a little more easily.” Margaret Martindale, volunteer

I feel happy donating to Book Aid International.

Over 8,000 people gave to our cause in 2022, and every £2 they gave sent another book. We are grateful for each and every one of their donations, as well as to those who leave legacies in their Wills and make substantial personal donations.

“I feel happy donating to Book Aid International because it is an open and transparent organisation that operates in a thoughtful, well-targeted manner.”

Rose Heatley, donor

Book Aid International 2022 Trustees’ Annual Report 16 Strategic report

We know we have an ally and a friend in Book Aid International.

The long-term relationships we build with trusts like the People’s Postcode Lottery Education Trust, The Beit Trust and many others help us provide books and fund projects that transform reading for millions worldwide. Last year, 26 trusts supported our charity.

“Be Global Foundation has been partnering with Book Aid International for a few years now and they have continued to remain a reliable and accomplished partner. We know we have an ally and a friend in Book Aid International and are proud to be working together to create a more equal world through the power of books.”

Caroline Yulin Wilson, Founder and CEO, Be Global Foundation

I hope that I will inspire people to pick up a book, go out for a sponsored walk or donate.

By organising events ranging from bake sales to sponsored walks to readathons, people who fundraise in their communities help us send hundreds of books every year – and we’re incredibly grateful for their support.

“I decided to choose Book Aid International as the charity’s mission feels especially close to me. I have always been so lucky to have access to books, and I hope that I will inspire people to pick up a book, go out for a sponsored walk or donate.”

Caroline Guillet, supporter

Books can help people reimagine their futures.

Whether speaking out on our behalf on social media or joining us at a literary festival, our high-profile friends help us raise awareness about the need for books around the world.

“Books can help people reimagine their futures. I was delighted to be at 2022’s Hay Festival to talk about how readers and writers can influence the world for tomorrow.”

Sir Ben Okri, OBE, poet, novelist and artist

Book Aid International 2022 Trustees’ Annual Report Strategic report 17

Our book donors

99% of the books we provide from the UK are donated to us by publishers and the wider book trade.

Publishers donate a variety of books to us – from picture books for the youngest readers right through to advanced law and medical texts.

These generous donations allow us to support readers of every age and from all walks of life.

The brand-new books that we receive are highly valued by our partners and by readers, and the generosity of our book donors in the UK gives millions of people around the world the opportunity to read.

Books improve life by educating, inspiring and entertaining and they open doors for millions.

Nigel Newton, Bloomsbury founder and Publishers Association President

Our publisher partners

Last year, 111 publishers donated 989,647 books to our charity. We are supported by many of the world’s leading publishers, some of whom donated more than 100,000 books to us last year.

We also received books from a range of independent publishers who donate a smaller number of books but still have a huge impact on readers worldwide.

Last year, we welcomed 37 new book donors while also deepening relationships with many of our longstanding publishing partners.

In 2022, we were especially grateful for the significant support from: Cambridge University Press & Assessment, Coordination Group Publications Ltd, Hachette UK, HarperCollins Publishers Ltd, Macmillan, Oxford University Press, Penguin Random House, Quarto Publishing and RELX-Elsevier.

Each book donor receives an annual report on how their books are changing lives, and we are always seeking new book donors.

The books publishers donate

----- Start of picture text -----
The brand-new books we receive from publishers
are the backbone of our work.
Children’s
Here are just a few examples of the titles donated
to us in 2022:
Health and Further and
social care higher education
Reference Leisure reading
----- End of picture text -----

Book Aid International 2022 Trustees’ Annual Report

18

Strategic report

Financial support from the book industry

In addition to giving books, many publishers also choose to donate funds to support our work. In 2022, we received over £74,664 from publishers and from the Africa Publishing Innovation Fund (APIF).

We were delighted to receive a £50,000 gift from Bloomsbury to enable us to reach out to readers around the world. At a time where there is growing need for books this level of unrestricted funding helped us offer transformational opportunities to read in the communities that are most in need of books.

APIF chose to support us for a second year, giving £33,206 towards our African Story Box project. This grant will give 24,518 children in Ghana, Uganda and Zimbabwe the opportunity to read stories from near and far in their classrooms. Since 2021, APIF has given us £60,700.

Book Aid International is the only applicant to have twice won Africa Publishing Innovation Fund funding.

The Community Container Library and the African Story Box aligned perfectly with our own objectives, and we knew Book Aid International would deliver on its promises.”

Ben Steward, APIF Programme Manager

In addition, RELX donated £9,500 to help us open a Children’s Corner in Zambia, Cambridge University Press & Assessment donated £6,000 to support our Books to Go programme in Kenya and Oxford University Press pledged £5,000 to provide books to Ukrainian refugees and refugees in Greece.

We look forward to continuing our support for Book Aid International in the future, as they work towards delivering sustainable change.

The value of the books we receive

In 2022, the books that publishers donated to us had a discounted value of £15,434,673. This is £5.4 million more than the previous year as we received a greater number of books and more high-value medical books than in 2021.

----- Start of picture text -----
Value of donated books 2020–2022
£12,850,101
£10,013,273
£15,434,673
2020
2021
2022
----- End of picture text -----

We value our books based on Nielsen BookScan prices and we apply an overall 30% discount from the full recommended retail price to allow for the estimated market discount for third-party commercial buyers.

Publishers donate books to us free of charge, so it costs just £2 to receive, store, select and send a book worth an average of £13.50. That average is calculated using the value of the books we have sent over the past five years, as shown in the table below.

----- Start of picture text -----
Books sent Value books Discounted
Year (no.) sent cost per book
2022 1,140,435 £14,791,242 13
2021 1,007,449 £13,279,151 13
2020 867,567 £11,066,372 13
2019 1,211,423 £18,229,466 15
2018 1,193,263 £16,047,872 13
CUMM 5,420,137 £73,414,103
Rounded to nearest pound. Running average £13.50
----- End of picture text -----

Christine Richardson, Group Communications Director, Oxford University Press

Book Aid International 2022 Trustees’ Annual Report Strategic report 19

Financial review 2022

At Book Aid International all of our income is voluntary – we receive no government grants.

Total income

In 2022 our total income was £17,700,588, of which £2,265,915 was cash (a decrease of £288,708 on 2021’s cash income of £2,554,623) and £15,434,673 was the value of books donated to us by publishers.

Of this 2022 cash income, £1,374,336 was unrestricted income (£1,489,090 in 2021) which funded our work providing books around the world.

This decrease in unrestricted income was primarily a result of the economic climate impacting on our individual giving programme.

We received restricted income of £891,579 in 2022 (£1,065,533 in 2021). This income was used to support project activity working with our partners around the world to train teachers and librarians and establish reading spaces.

This decrease is because of 2021’s unusually high trust funding, some of which was not expected to be repeated in 2022.

Restricted income from major donors and corporate supporters remained relatively steady in 2022.

However, performance across the year remained strong. We anticipate the programme recovering once the economic climate improves.

----- Start of picture text -----
Breakdown of
cash income
Individuals
£1,165,158
Total
income
Cash
£17,700,588 income
£2,265,915
Trusts Corporate
£161,920
£900,196
Community
£23,139
Value of
donated books Other
£15,434,673 £15,502
----- End of picture text -----

Book Aid International 2022 Trustees’ Annual Report 20 Strategic report

Total expenditure

In 2022 our total expenditure was £17,420,968, of which £2,629,726 was cash expenditure and £14,791,242 was the value of the books we provided around the world.

2022’s cash expenditure of £2,629,726 was substantially higher than the 2021 figure of £2,308,575.

Much of this additional expenditure was the result of the inflationary pressure of higher fuel prices throughout 2022, which substantially increased the cost of shipping books around the world, as well as impacting the cost of running our Camberwell offices and warehouse.

2022’s increased expenditure also reflects our work in 2022 to fulfil our strategic commitment to invest in the sustainability of the organisation.

We upgraded our IT systems to support our finance and fundraising functions, built a new website to strengthen and support donor engagement and invested in our building and facilities to improve their environmental efficiency.

We also made a significant investment in our fundraising, with a pilot project to acquire new regular supporters through digital channels as well as through our more traditional offline acquisition.

----- Start of picture text -----
Breakdown
of cash
expenditure
Book
provision
£1,129,507
Total
expenditure
Cash expenditure
£17,420,968 £2,629,726 Raising funds
£775,876
Restricted
projects and
training
Books out
£724,343
£14,791,242
----- End of picture text -----

Book Aid International 2022 Trustees’ Annual Report

Strategic report 21

Our fundraising

Our fundraising aims to safeguard our donors, and ensure that our organisation is sustainable in the long term.

In 2022 we raised £2,250,413 against an original budget of £2,308,133.

It was a challenging year for fundraising broadly as the impact of external factors, including the cost-of-living crisis, were felt across the board.

This resulted in a drop in the number of new donors we were able to recruit and a change in the priorities of some of our long-standing trust funders.

However, our corporate and major donor income streams remained steady, with some moderate growth, and we were very grateful that our existing supporters continued to give both regular and cash gifts.

An uplift in our grant from People’s Postcode Lottery was also significant in helping us to maintain income levels.

Our standards

We are committed to maintaining the highest standards in our fundraising in line with our Supporter Promise, which is displayed in the footer of every page on our website: bookaid.org.

In 2022, we remained registered with the Information Commissioner’s Office and the Fundraising Regulator. We adhere to the standards of both organisations and respond to changes in the regulatory framework.

We also maintained our Treating Donors Fairly policy which identifies groups of individuals who may be vulnerable and defines our approach to treating these individuals with respect and care.

We continued to place our donors at the centre of our fundraising programmes in 2022, offering flexibility in how they heard from us in line with GDPR regulations.

There were no reported data breaches in 2022.

Our commercial partners and fundraising agencies

The commercial participators with which we exchanged supporter data included print management (DMP), email marketing (MailChimp), payment processing (including Access Paysuite, WooCommerce, PayPal, Stripe, GoCardless, JustGiving and Virgin Money Giving), database software (Blackbaud), Gift Aid claims (HRMC), Christmas card fulfilment (Impress Publishing) and IT support (Wanstor).

Each of these organisations has a privacy policy, which is available on its website, and we maintain a data processing agreement with each, as required by GDPR regulations.

Fundraising feedback

We did not receive any complaints about our fundraising last year. One donor unsubscribed from our communications through the Fundraising Preference Service.

Investing in the future

In 2022, donor acquisition activities took place through unaddressed media inserts in publications and through a pilot programme testing Facebook advertising. Complete return on investment through these campaigns does not occur in the year of the activity, but is based on taking a longerterm view of the lifetime value of each new donor, many of whom continue their support for years.

We also updated our CRM (donor database) from Blackbaud’s Raiser’s Edge 7 to the cloudbased Raiser’s Edge NXT, which has improved functionality and allowed us to streamline some of our administrative processes.

Book Aid International 2022 Trustees’ Annual Report 22 Strategic report

Managing our finances

We are committed to outstanding financial management that safeguards the money we receive

In 2022, we employed an average of 31 (29.4 FTE) staff based in Camberwell who are divided into five teams: operations, fundraising, communications, programmes and management. The numbers include two staff members in Nairobi, Kenya, and one in Accra, Ghana, who are part of our Programmes team.

This table details our salary costs:

----- Start of picture text -----
Function Salary costs FT
Book provision £440,975 12.6
Restricted projects and training £232,479 5.5
Fundraising £306,325 7.6
Management and operational £313,497 5.3
Total £1,293,276 31
----- End of picture text -----

Donations in kind

In 2022 99% (2021 – 99%) of the books we sent were donated as gifts in kind by the UK publishing industry. The following table expresses the value of the books we received, retained and supplied in 2022 compared with preceding years:

----- Start of picture text -----
Book stock 2022 2021 2020
GIH book stock
£4,824,275 £8,090,153 £6,306,425
@ start of year
Books received £15,434,673 £10,013,273 £12,850,101
Books sent -£14,791,242 -£13,279,151 -£11,066,372
GIH book stock £5,467,706 £4,824,275 £8,090,153
----- End of picture text -----

Pension liability

We are part of The Pensions Trust (TPT) scheme, a multi-employer scheme that provides benefits to some 638 non-associated participating employers.

The scheme is a defined-benefit scheme subject to the funding legislation outlined in the Pensions Act 2004 which came into force on 30th December 2005.

The provision in respect of the deficit repayment plan is £26,248 (2021: £45,786) and this has been recognised in the accounts as required by FRS 102. See note 16 on page 55 for more detail.

Reserves policy and actuals

Our Board meets annually to consider the resources that will be required to meet our long-term objectives and fulfil our commitments.

The Board also considers the risks we face and sets a minimum free reserves policy at a level it believes would sustain our work while we recovered from any future shortfalls in income or unforeseen expenditure.

The reserves have been set to ensure we have the time to adjust to a serious issue or a drop in funding and are more than required for the management of a closure.

In 2022, the minimum level was confirmed at a range between £500,000 and £550,000. We ended 2022 with £508,380 in free reserves, higher than anticipated as a result of better than expected funding results in 2022.

Restricted reserves are not available for general purposes and are for restricted programmes spanning two or more financial years. There was a balance at the end of 2022 of £242,697 (2021: £326,061).

----- Start of picture text -----
31-Dec-22 31-Dec-21
Reserves £ £
Total unrestricted reserves 8,377,506 8,015,822
Less donated books reserve -5,467,706 -4,824,275
Less unrestricted net fixed assets -2,001,420 -1,984,649
Less designated -400,000 -603,015
Free reserves 508,380 603,883
Restricted reserves 242,697 326,061
----- End of picture text -----

The £400k in our designated reserves are funds reserved for the planning and delivering of options to increase our warehouse capacity in order to deliver more books in line with our strategy.

Book Aid International 2022 Trustees’ Annual Report Strategic report 23

Looking to the future

This section looks to 2023, and to the people who made our work in 2022 possible.

Image: A shipment of books heading to Kenya being loaded at our UK warehouse.

Alison Tweed Chief Executive, Book Aid International

Rising to the challenge

The global need for books is growing, and so is our ambition to reach more readers.

In 2022, as the world began to recover from the impact of the pandemic a global economic crisis, fuelled by the war in Ukraine, began to take its toll. And, as 2022 passed, the target year of 2030 for the UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) drew a step closer.

It was in response to these huge impacts and challenges that in early 2022, we launched our Power of Books strategy. In it we committed to support the most marginalised people, both in and out of education, and those cut off from normal life by conflict and other man-made and natural disasters.

Our Power of Books strategy also challenges us to look ahead and to consider how we can best support young people to create positive change and build a more equal future.

By 2030, 750 million children and young people will live in Africa. They all have the potential to become future doctors, teachers, tech professionals, thought leaders, and more.

By 2030, 750 million children and young people will live in Africa. They all have the potential to become future doctors, teachers, technology professionals, thought leaders and more. Books, and reading, are key to unlocking this potential.

And so, in 2023, we will launch a major new initiative, Generation Reader, to reach 10 million young people across the continent and to support them on their journey towards becoming confident readers and realising their potential – and their dreams.

We will also continue to support those displaced by conflict, to support aspiring medical and higher education students, to support prisoners and to support people from all walks of life: with brilliant, brand-new books of the highest quality, selected carefully for their relevance and for their power to inspire, entertain and comfort, even in the toughest of circumstances.

To do all this we will need – more than ever – the support both of our loyal donors and that of new supporters who share our belief in the power of books.

We thank all the publishers who give us wonderful new books to share, the partners who work so hard to effect positive change and everyone who has continued to stand by us in these most challenging recent times.

Thank you for everything you do to help us share the power of books.

Book Aid International 2022 Trustees’ Annual Report Looking to the future 25

Our partners

Below is a full list of our overseas partners to whom we sent books directly in 2022. We thank them all for their hard work.

Bhutan

Khesar Gyalpo University of Medical Sciences

READ Bhutan Royal University of Bhutan

Cameroon

Education Information Services International Street Child

Ethiopia

African Entrepreneurs Collective

British Council CODE Ethiopia Ethiopian Knowledge and Technology Transfer Society

Ethiopia Reads Hawassa University Jesuit Refugee Service Voluntary Service Overseas

Gambia

Binti International

Gambia National Library Service Authority Intouch Gambia InTouch Global Unique Foundation

Ghana

AfriKids Agents for Positive Change Biblionef Community Action Ghana Ghana Book Trust

Ghana International Foundation Ghana Library Authority Learners Girls Foundation

Obaniehi Foundation Philanthropic Youth Initiative Ghana Rainbow Trust Foundation Samira Empowerment and Humanitarian Projects

Seventh Day Adventist Nursing and Midwifery College

Street Child Empowerment Foundation The Olinga Foundation

Greece

A Drop In The Ocean (Nea Kavala) Danish Refugee Council Open Cultural Center SolidarityNow

Iraq

Sinjar Academy University of Mosul

Kenya

Amref Health Africa Association for Aid and Relief, Japan

Book Bunk Dandora Dumpsite Rehabilitation Group

Dignitas FAFA Medical Training College Fahari Community Initiative

Justice Defenders

Kenya Connect Kenya Medical Training College Kenya National Library Service

Lewa Wildlife Conservancy Lutheran World

Federation

Majajani Primary School Resources Oriented Development Initiatives The Big 5 Group The Maa Trust Windle Trust

Lebanon

Assabil Association

Lebanese Board on Books for Young People Lebanese Association for Development and Communication

Liberia

Agents of Positive Change Kids Education Engagement Project Liberia Institute for the Promotion of Academic Excellence

Street Child We Care Foundation Youth Movement for Collective Action

Malawi

African Parks Billy Riordan Memorial Clinic

Civil Society Education Coalition

Kamuzu University of Health Sciences Malawi College of Health Science Malawi Leaders of Learning Malawi National Library Service

PEN International St John of God College of Health Science

Voluntary Service Overseas

Nepal

Calls Over Ridges Nepal

Nigeria

Elliemm Young Readers Initiative

Girl Child Concerns Pathfinder International Street Child Voluntary Service Overseas

Western States Distribution Committee

Palestine

Al-Quds University Palestinian Board on Books for Young People Tamer Institute for Community Education The International Medical Education Trust 2000

Rwanda

African Parks Rwanda Girls’ Dignity for Nation Ineza Foundation Kigali Public Library Street Child University of Rwanda Voluntary Service Overseas

Sierra Leone

African Hospital Libraries EducAid Médecins Sans Frontières (Belgium) Médecins Sans Frontières (Holland)

PEN International

Book Aid International 2022 Trustees’ Annual Report 26 Looking to the future

Save the Needy

Sierra Leone Book Trust Sierra Leone Library Board Street Child

USL Institute of Public Administration and Management

Somalia

Eva Organization for Women Iftiin Education & Development

Somaliland

Edna Adan University Hospital Silanyo National Library

South Sudan

African Revival Jesuit Refugee Service

Médecins Sans Frontières (Belgium) Norwegian Refugee Council Save the Children

South University of Medicine, Science and Technology

St John’s College – Wau St John’s Yambio Campus of the Catholic University St Mary’s College St Mary’s College of Nursing and Midwifery University of Juba Windle International Women Relief Aid

St Vincent and The Grenadines

National Public Library, Archive and Documentation Service

Syria

Action for Humanity

Tanzania

Evangelical Lutheran Church in Tanzania Muhimbili University of Health and Allied Sciences New Chapter Development for Youth State University of Zanzibar

Sumait University

Tabora League for Children

Tanzania Library Services Board

Tanzanian Training Centre for International Health World Wind Translation and Interpretation

Zanzibar Library Services Board

Uganda

African Revival, Uganda All Saints University Lango Balinda Children’s Foundation

Bwindi Conservation for Generations Foundation

Community Libraries Association of Uganda Finn Church Aid

FIns Medical University International Board on Books for Young People Inspire Lives Africa Jango International Jesuit Refugee Service Junubin Urban Refugee Community

Justice Defenders Kyambogo University National Library of Uganda

Norwegian Refugee Council

Pangea Educational Development

Refugee Innovation Centre

SALVE International SOS Children’s Villages Uganda Prisons Service Uganda Protestant Medical Bureau

Voluntary Service Overseas Windle Trust

Ukraine

Packed with Hope Universal Reading Foundation

Zambia

Africa Calls African Parks Zambia African Revival, Zambia CELIM

Copperbelt University Lions Club of Mukuba

Matt Children’s Hope Foundation

PEN International Senanga School of Nursing UMI Foundation University of Zambia, Lusaka and Kitwe campuses

University Teaching Hospital Lusaka

Voluntary Service Overseas

Zambia Conference of Catholic Bishops Zambia Library Service Zambia Open Community Schools

Zimbabwe

Bulawayo Distribution Committee Harare Distribution Committee

International Board on Books for Young People MTC Educate a Girl Incorporated

Nemashakwe Community Library and Information Resource Centre

Voluntary Service Overseas World Vision Zambezi Schoolbook Project

Book Aid International 2022 Trustees’ Annual Report Looking to the future 27

With thanks to…

We would like to thank the following supporters in particular, as well as those who wish to remain anonymous.

Our book donors and corporate partners

Agatha Christie Ltd

Agency for the Legal Deposit Libraries

Amazon Ltd

Aude Publishing

Authors’ Licencing and Collecting Society

b small publishing Badsey Publications

BCS Chartered Institute for IT

Beaux Books Bella Figura Publications Blackwell’s

Bloomsbury Publishing

Book Harvest BookTrust BookSpot British Library British Medical Journal Cactus TV

Cambridge University Press

Cambridge University Press & Assessment Canford Publishing

CGP Coordination Group Publications Ltd

Charles Tripp Choc Lit Publishing

Christopher Ambler Civilized Discourse Construction Kit Inc

Claire McGowan

Class Professional Publishing

Clinical Pocket Reference Commonwealth Pharmacists Association Copyright Licensing Agency

David Fickling Books David Logan Duke of Edinburgh’s Library

Dunedin Academic Press Elsevier UK Elsevier USA Enlighten Press Entertainment One Group Everyman’s Library Faber & Faber

Gestalten Good-Loop Grange Communications Granta

Green Bean Books Gwyneth Jones

Hachette UK Haese Mathematics

HarperCollins Publishers Ltd

Hay House Publishing UK Head of Zeus (Bloomsbury) Heath Educational Books

Hermitage Capital Management Hootsuite ICE Publishing INFUSEmedia Innova Press IntechOpen Intrinsic Books IOP Publishing Julian Reisz Kube Publishing LBA Books

Legal & General Group Letterbox Library Literacy Counts

Little Tiger Group Lost World Press Macmillan Publishers Manson Publishing Miles Kelly Publishing Moleskine Foundation Multilingual Matters National Book Tokens National Library of Wales Neilsen BookData

New Internationalist Publications Nicholas Searle

Nosy Crow Novus World Ltd

Open University Press Opportunity International Oundle Bookshop Outland AS

Owl Bookshop Oxford University Press Pace Gallery Pearson Education Ltd Penelope Lively

Penguin Random House PG Online Publishers Pi Capital Premier Christianity Pre-school Learning Alliance Princeton University Press Profile Books ProQuest (part of Clarivate)

PTI Express Publishers’ Licensing Society

Quarto Publishing Ragged Bears Books Reach PLC

ReadersMagnet

RELX RNIB Rodney Matthews Studios Royal Society Sage Publications Ltd Scallywag Press Scholastic Ltd

Scion Publishing Search Press Shahida Rahman Silva Education Services SOAS University of London Spink & Son Ltd

Square & Circus Story Therapy Taylor & Francis UK Teeth Relief

The Aldeburgh Bookshop Ltd

The Blair Partnership The Follett Office Ltd The Novelry

The Society of Authors Tropic Skincare

Tropical Health Technology Universal Write Publications

Viking Cruises Virgin

Waldorf Publications

Walker Books Ltd Watkins Publishing What on Earth Books Wiley

Wiley Europe Willoughby Book Club Women’s Prize for Fiction Yale University Press

Book Aid International 2022 Trustees’ Annual Report 28 Looking to the future

Our trust supporters

Africa Publishing Innovation Fund

Arthur Stevens Charitable Trust

Be Global Foundation Beatrice Laing Trust

Bernard Sunley Charitable Foundation Corton Hill Trust

D R Fine Charitable Trust Eva Reckitt Trust Fund

Fresh Leaf Charitable Foundation GMC Trust Jacobs Ladder Charitable Fund

Merriman Charitable Foundation

Peacock Charitable Trust People’s Postcode Lottery Scotland Community Foundation

The 29th May 1961 Charitable Trust The Ardwick Trust

The Beit Trust The Bhutan Society Trust Fund

The Bower Trust

The Bryan Guinness Charitable Trust

The Children’s Library for Literacy

The E Alec Colman Charitable Fund Limited

The Earlswood Charitable Trust

The Eddie Dinshaw Foundation

The Fulmer Charitable Trust

The GivingForce Foundation

The Gunter Charitable Trust

The Henry and Rebecca Tinsley Charitable Trust The Hetton Charitable Trust

The Hippocleides Trust The Hyne Trust

The Ian MacTaggart Trust The Law Society Charity

The Michael and Anna Wix Charitable Trust

The MuchLoved Charitable Trust

The Rest-Harrow Trust The Rhododendron Trust

The Tony and Audrey Watson Charitable Trust The Veronica Awdry Charitable Trust Unwin Charitable Trust

Our volunteers, ambassadors and individual supporters

Anthony and Anne Sheppard Anthony Glaister Brian Greenwood Caroline Burton Christine Cohen Park David Brewer Eleanor and David Holloway

Emma and Graham Defries Frances Crewdson Gillian Goss Harriet Hewitson Helen Esmonde Jill Prime Kathy Rooney Louisa Symington

Lyn Newton Malcolm Farrer-Brown Maralyn J. Jewell Matt Nixon Mrs J Prime Mrs Jane Penson Peter Goodwin Peter Waller and Erica Zimmer

Philip Walters MBE Rose Heatley Sarah McCullough Sir Mark and Lady Moody-Stuart Stephanie and Roderick Thirkell-White The Cooper Carr Family

And also thanks to

Ben Okri Bodour Al Qasimi Centre for Literacy in Primary Education Chris Wormell

Cliveden Literary Festival Sarah Odedina Elif Shafak Sir Michael Palin Hay Festival The Queen’s Commonwealth Essay Mariella Frostrup Competition Nadifa Mohamed

The Queen’s Reading Room

World Book Day Writers’ and Artists’ Yearbook

Book Aid International 2022 Trustees’ Annual Report Looking to the future 29

Structure, governance and management

This section details how our charity was governed and managed in 2022.

Image: A doctor in Somaliland browsing donated medical texts. © Mustafa Saeed

Governance

We are a company limited by guarantee, governed by our Memorandum and Articles of Association.

In 2022 we undertook a review of our Articles of Association, in accordance with good practice and the 2022 Charities Act. The two key changes were to rationalise Board tenure and to create a single-tier structure in which the trustees of the charity are also the company members. Our objects were retained unchanged.

Our purpose, as set out in our Articles of Association, is to advance education and literacy by:

• establishing, providing and carrying on the service of procuring and distributing reading and information material regardless of medium to developing and other countries in need for educational purposes

• distributing consignments of such material to public and community libraries, universities, colleges, schools, hospitals, youth and children’s centres and other charitable institutions according to local needs and priorities

• promoting or supporting any training or other activity which is designed to enhance the use of books, reading and other information material in developing countries

The Articles were adopted by a resolution of the Board at a General Meeting on 15th November 2022.

The Board has considered the legislative and regulatory requirements for disclosing how its charitable objectives have provided benefit to the public and has complied with the duty set out in Section 17 of the Charities Act 2011.

Our Board of Trustees

The members of the charitable company are also the members of the Board, which consists of between five and 12 members. New members with specialist relevant skills and experience are appointed from time to time and their appointment is ratified at a meeting of the Board. Members serve a three-year term, renewable for up to two further terms by re-election.

Our Trustees bring a range of experience from both the corporate and the not-for-profit sectors and individual members contribute expertise from publishing, finance, fundraising, librarianship, administration and international development.

The Board meets quarterly and reviews strategy, finances and the organisation’s charitable activities and approves matters reserved for the Board. These include issues relating to strategy and management, structure of the charity, financial controls, internal controls and risk management, contracts, communication, Board membership, remuneration, delegation of authority, corporate governance, policies and any other matters of importance for the charity.

Two committees formed by the Board meet and report back regularly to the Trustees. The Finance and Audit Committee meets three times a year to review internal controls, the risk register, going-concern assumptions and the annual accounts, budgets and audit findings, and is chaired by the Honorary Treasurer. The Nominations and Remuneration Committee meets annually to approve salary recommendations and other human resources matters, and is chaired by the Chair of the Board of Trustees.

The strategic report on pages 6 to 23 outlines how our achievements during 2022 have benefited the public, either directly or indirectly.

Book Aid International 2022 Trustees’ Annual Report Structure, governance and management 31

Managing our charity

We are a company limited by guarantee, governed by our Memorandum and Articles of Association.

Our Senior Management Team consists of the Chief Executive and Heads of Programmes, Fundraising, Finance, Communications and Operations. This team communicates regularly with the Board.

Salaries for the Senior Management Team are reviewed biennially, along with those of other staff, and approved by the Nominations and Remuneration Committee.

One member of staff receives a salary of between £80,000 and £90,000 and one member of staff is paid between £60,000 and £70,000.

Ensuring equality and diversity

At Book Aid International we value people as individuals, with diverse opinions, cultures, lifestyles and circumstances. Our Equality and Diversity Policy was approved by the Board in November 2021 and commits us to following practices that are inclusive and free from unfair and unlawful discrimination.

Our policy forbids discrimination for reasons of age, race, colour, nationality, ethnic origin, gender, sex, sexual orientation, disability, marital or civil partnership status, pregnancy and maternity, religion or belief, or working patterns.

The aim of the policy is also to ensure that no person is victimised, discriminated against, or subjected to any form of bullying or harassment because of a characteristic.

Staff training and policies

Our training policy aims to ensure that staff are equipped with the skills they need to carry out their jobs to the highest possible standard, that they are provided with the skills they need in a fast-changing working environment and that they are encouraged to develop their skills and talents.

In 2022 we spent £8,000 on group and individual staff training, including a workshop for line managers on building team connections, wellbeing and performance in a hybrid world and a number of individual training and development courses, particularly in the Programmes and Fundraising teams.

We also have several policies that define and protect the benefits available to staff. In 2022 many of these policies were reviewed, updated and upgraded.

In particular, the Family Leave Policy was enhanced to grant two weeks’ statutory paternity leave with full pay, adoption leave was updated to mirror maternity leave and parental bereavement pay was upgraded to full pay for the two-week statutory leave period. We also adopted a new Menopause Policy.

Our Health and Safety Policy, Data Policy, Equality and Diversity Policy and Child Safeguarding Policy were all reviewed by the Board on their annual cycle, and changes were made to reflect upgrades of internal operating processes. An updated policy on trustee expenses was also issued.

All employees are covered by this policy and it applies to all areas of employment, including recruitment, selection, training, deployment, career development and promotion.

We monitor the policy continually to assess how it is working in practice, and review it annually. While there were no revisions in 2022, in 2023 we will be investing in external support to embed equality, diversity and inclusion more widely across the charity. We have also made a commitment to give all staff anti-racism training in 2023.

Our commitment to sustainability

At Book Aid International we recognise our responsibility to address and minimise the environmental impact of our work. We are continually assessing these impacts by measuring the carbon emissions of shipments, flights and our office and warehouse utilities. We take steps to reduce them by using suppliers that are committed to an environmentally sustainable approach.

Book Aid International 2022 Trustees’ Annual Report 32 Structure, governance and management

In 2022, we calculated that the carbon footprint for our core activities was 92 tons. We further reduced the carbon footprint of our warehouse by installing new sensor LED lighting, and we continued to implement our environmental code of practice which includes recycling and responsible use of resources. We are also working to reduce the number of international flights we take by using local experts as far as possible.

We recognise that climate change is a critically important global issue, not least for the communities we serve. We therefore aspire to deliver our work in a way that has minimal negative impact on the climate.

In 2023 we will appoint a consultant to advise us on further improvements we can make to manage our carbon emissions.

Managing risk

We manage risk through regular reviews of our strategic, operational and Board risks.

In 2022 areas of higher strategic risk were identified as the political, economic and social structures of the countries or environments in which we work, the operational limitations of our Camberwell warehouse and the risk of insufficient growth in funding to secure the future of the charity.

We are addressing these risks through strong partnerships on the ground and a broad portfolio of partner countries, off-site solutions to the limit on physical capacity and an ambitious fundraising strategy to promote growth.

We are addressing these risks by prioritising strong relationships with our publishing partners to maximise donations, diversification and intensification of our fundraising activities, travel safety training and a constant review of travel plans, tightening of financial controls and an updated and strengthened business recovery plan to minimise the impact of an unforeseen event.

Higher scoring Board risks were identified as the Board lacking the appropriate skills and knowledge of the environment in which the charity works.

The Board is addressing these risks by conducting skills reviews ahead of any new Board appointments, and by appointing an International Advisory Board recruited from among the charity’s key partners to keep the Board updated on in-country issues and developments.

Risks that had increased over the previous year were primarily fundraising or financial risks. The increased risk in these areas arose primarily from the more challenging post-pandemic fundraising climate.

Risks assessed as diminishing were primarily delays to project implementation, failure to follow legal rules and risks to health and safety. These improvements can largely be attributed to post-pandemic recovery in project partner capacity, and the tightening up of internal procedures.

All risks have been considered, mitigations put in place and the likelihood/impact ratio assessed. All risks have been assigned a manager, with managers reporting quarterly to the Board on changes to existing risks, or on new risks.

Areas of higher operational risk were identified as a decline in the availability of suitable books over time, inappropriate or ineffective fundraising strategy, including dependency on large donors and unsuccessful donor acquisition campaigns, staff risks when travelling, risks through fraud or error and the risk of an unforeseen external event.

Book Aid International 2022 Trustees’ Annual Report Structure, governance and management 33

Reference and administrative details

Patrons and officials

Patron

Vice Patron President Vice President

The former Duchess of Cornwall (from March 2022) Lord Boateng (from February 2022) Nigel Newton Professor Kingo Mchombu

Trustees

Chair

Dr Alice Prochaska (from February 2022) Lord Boateng (until February 2022)

Vice Chair

Robert Sulley

Honorary Treasurer

Senior management

Chief Executive

Alison Tweed

Head of Programmes Samantha Thomas Chuula

Head of Operations Harry Boughton

Nicholas Allen

Board members

Dhivya O’Connor Jonathan Hargreaves Zainab Umar Pam Dix Charly Nobbs

Head of Communications Emma Taylor

Head of Finance Ade Soremekun

Head of Fundraising Laura Smith

Address and registered office

39–41 Coldharbour Lane Camberwell London SE5 9NR

Solicitor

Stone King LLP Boundary House 91 Charterhouse Street London EC1M 6HR

Charity number

313869 (England and Wales)

Company number

880754 (England and Wales)

Auditors

Sayer Vincent LLP Invicta House 108–114 Golden Lane London EC1Y 0TL

Book Aid International 2022 Trustees’ Annual Report Structure, governance and management

34

Directors and members

The directors and members of the company are the Board members named on the preceding page.

Statement of responsibilities of the trustees

The trustees (who are also directors for the purposes of company law) are responsible for preparing the Trustees’ Annual Report, including the strategic report and the financial statements, in accordance with applicable law and United Kingdom Accounting Standards (United Kingdom Generally Accepted Accounting Practice).

Company law requires the trustees to prepare financial statements for each financial year which give a true and fair view of the state of affairs of the charitable company and of the incoming resources and application of resources, including the income and expenditure, of the charitable company for that period. In preparing these financial statements, the trustees are required to:

• select suitable accounting policies and then apply them consistently

• observe the methods and principles in the Charities SORP

• make judgements and estimates that are reasonable and prudent

• state whether applicable UK Accounting Standards and statements of recommended practice have been followed, subject to any material departures disclosed and explained in the financial statements

• prepare the financial statements on the goingconcern basis unless it is inappropriate to presume that the charity will continue in operation

The trustees are responsible for keeping adequate accounting records that disclose with reasonable accuracy at any time the financial position of the charitable company and enable them to ensure that the financial statements comply with the Companies Act 2006. They are also responsible for safeguarding the assets of the charitable company and hence for taking reasonable steps for the prevention and detection of fraud and other irregularities.

In so far as the trustees are aware:

• there is no relevant audit information of which the charitable company’s auditor is unaware

• the trustees have taken all steps that they ought to have taken to make themselves aware of any relevant audit information and to establish that the auditor is aware of that information

The trustees are responsible for the maintenance and integrity of the corporate and financial information included on the charitable company’s website. Legislation in the United Kingdom governing the preparation and dissemination of financial statements may differ from legislation in other jurisdictions.

Members of the charity guarantee to contribute an amount not exceeding £1 to the assets of the charity in the event of winding up. The total number of such guarantees at 31st December 2022 was £8 (2021: £8). The trustees are members of the charity but this entitles them only to voting rights. The trustees have no beneficial interest in the charity.

Auditor

Sayer Vincent LLP was reappointed as the charitable company’s auditor in 2021.

The Trustees’ Annual Report, which includes the strategic report, has been approved by the trustees on 27th June 2023 and signed on their behalf by

Dr Alice Prochaska Nicholas Allen Chair Honorary Treasurer Book Aid International Book Aid International

Book Aid International 2022 Trustees’ Annual Report Structure, governance and management 35

Independent auditor’s report

Book Aid International 2022 Trustees’ Annual Report Independent auditor’s report

36

Independent auditor’s report to the members of Book Aid International

Opinion

We have audited the financial statements of Book Aid International (the ‘charitable company’) for the year ended 31st December 2022 which comprise the statement of financial activities, balance sheet, statement of cash flows and notes to the financial statements, including significant accounting policies. The financial reporting framework that has been applied in their preparation is applicable law and United Kingdom Accounting Standards, including FRS 102, The Financial Reporting Standard applicable in the UK and Republic of Ireland (United Kingdom Generally Accepted Accounting Practice).

In our opinion, the financial statements:

• give a true and fair view of the state of the charitable company’s affairs as at 31st December 2022 and of its incoming resources and application of resources, including its income and expenditure for the year then ended

• have been properly prepared in accordance with United Kingdom Generally Accepted Accounting Practice

• have been prepared in accordance with the requirements of the Companies Act 2006

Basis for opinion

We conducted our audit in accordance with International Standards on Auditing (UK) (ISAs (UK)) and applicable law. Our responsibilities under those standards are further described in the Auditor’s responsibilities for the audit of the financial statements section of our report. We are independent of the charitable company in accordance with the ethical requirements that are relevant to our audit of the financial statements in the UK, including the FRC’s Ethical Standard and we have fulfilled our other ethical responsibilities in accordance with these requirements. We believe that the audit evidence we have obtained is sufficient and appropriate to provide a basis for our opinion.

Conclusions relating to going concern

In auditing the financial statements, we have concluded that the trustees’ use of the going-concern basis of accounting in the preparation of the financial statements is appropriate.

Based on the work we have performed, we have not identified any material uncertainties relating to events or conditions that, individually or collectively, may cast significant doubt on Book Aid International’s ability to continue as a going concern for a period of at least 12 months from when the financial statements are authorised for issue.

Our responsibilities and the responsibilities of the trustees with respect to going concern are described in the relevant sections of this report.

Other information

The other information comprises the information included in the Trustees’ Annual Report, including the strategic report, other than the financial statements and our auditor’s report thereon. The trustees are responsible for the other information contained within the annual report. Our opinion on the financial statements does not cover the other information and, except to the extent otherwise explicitly stated in our report, we do not express any form of assurance conclusion thereon. Our responsibility is to read the other information and, in doing so, consider whether the other information is materially inconsistent with the financial statements or our knowledge obtained in the course of the audit, or otherwise appears to be materially misstated. If we identify such material inconsistencies or apparent material misstatements, we are required to determine whether this gives rise to a material misstatement in the financial statements themselves. If, based on the work we have performed, we conclude that there is a material misstatement of this other information, we are required to report that fact.

We have nothing to report in this regard.

Book Aid International 2022 Trustees’ Annual Report Independent auditor’s report 37

Opinions on other matters prescribed by the Companies Act 2006

In our opinion, based on the work undertaken in the course of the audit:

• The information given in the Trustees’ Annual Report, including the strategic report, for the financial year for which the financial statements are prepared is consistent with the financial statements; and

• The Trustees’ Annual Report, including the strategic report, has been prepared in accordance with applicable legal requirements.

Matters on which we are required to report by exception

In the light of the knowledge and understanding of the charitable company and its environment obtained in the course of the audit, we have not identified material misstatements in the Trustees’ Annual Report including the strategic report. We have nothing to report in respect of the following matters in relation to which the Companies Act 2006 requires us to report to you if, in our opinion:

• Adequate accounting records have not been kept, or returns adequate for our audit have not been received from branches not visited by us; or

• The financial statements are not in agreement with the accounting records and returns; or

• Certain disclosures of trustees’ remuneration specified by law are not made; or

• We have not received all the information and explanations we require for our audit

Responsibilities of trustees

As explained more fully in the statement of trustees’ responsibilities set out in the Trustees’ Annual Report, the trustees (who are also the directors of the charitable company for the purposes of company law) are responsible for the preparation of the financial statements and for being satisfied that they give a true and fair view, and for such internal control as the trustees determine is necessary to enable the preparation of financial statements that are free from material misstatement, whether due to fraud or error.

In preparing the financial statements, the trustees are responsible for assessing the charitable company’s ability to continue as a going concern, disclosing, as applicable, matters related to going concern and using the going-concern basis of accounting unless the trustees either intend to liquidate the charitable company or to cease operations, or have no realistic alternative but to do so.

Auditor’s responsibilities for the audit of the financial statements

Our objectives are to obtain reasonable assurance about whether the financial statements as a whole are free from material misstatement, whether due to fraud or error, and to issue an auditor’s report that includes our opinion. Reasonable assurance is a high level of assurance but is not a guarantee that an audit conducted in accordance with ISAs (UK) will always detect a material misstatement when it exists. Misstatements can arise from fraud or error and are considered material if, individually or in the aggregate, they could reasonably be expected to influence the economic decisions of users taken on the basis of these financial statements.

Irregularities, including fraud, are instances of noncompliance with laws and regulations. We design procedures in line with our responsibilities, outlined above, to detect material misstatements in respect of irregularities, including fraud. The extent to which our procedures are capable of detecting irregularities, including fraud are set out below.

Book Aid International 2022 Trustees’ Annual Report 38 Independent auditor’s report

Capability of the audit in detecting irregularities

In identifying and assessing risks of material misstatement in respect of irregularities, including fraud and non-compliance with laws and regulations, our procedures included the following:

• We enquired of management and the Finance and Audit Committee, which included obtaining and reviewing supporting documentation concerning the charity’s policies and procedures relating to:

• Identifying, evaluating and complying with laws and regulations and whether they were aware of any instances of non-compliance;

• Detecting and responding to the risks of fraud and whether they have knowledge of any actual, suspected, or alleged fraud;

• The internal controls established to mitigate risks related to fraud or non-compliance with laws and regulations.

• We inspected the minutes of meetings of those charged with governance.

• We obtained an understanding of the legal and regulatory framework that the charity operates in, focusing on those laws and regulations that had a material effect on the financial statements or that had a fundamental effect on the operations of the charity from our professional and sector experience.

• We communicated applicable laws and regulations throughout the audit team and remained alert to any indications of non-compliance throughout the audit.

• We reviewed any reports made to regulators.

• We reviewed the financial statement disclosures and tested these to supporting documentation to assess compliance with applicable laws and regulations.

• We performed analytical procedures to identify any unusual or unexpected relationships that may indicate risks of material misstatement due to fraud.

• In addressing the risk of fraud through management override of controls, we tested the appropriateness of journal entries and other adjustments, assessed whether the judgements made in making accounting estimates are indicative of a potential bias and tested significant transactions that are unusual or those outside the normal course of business.

Because of the inherent limitations of an audit, there is a risk that we will not detect all irregularities, including those leading to a material misstatement in the financial statements or non-compliance with regulation. This risk increases the more that compliance with a law or regulation is removed from the events and transactions reflected in the financial statements, as we will be less likely to become aware of instances of non-compliance. The risk is also greater regarding irregularities occurring due to fraud rather than error, as fraud involves intentional concealment, forgery, collusion, omission or misrepresentation.

A further description of our responsibilities is available on the Financial Reporting Council’s website at: www.frc.org.uk/auditorsresponsibilities. This description forms part of our auditor’s report.

Use of our report

This report is made solely to the charitable company’s members as a body, in accordance with Chapter 3 of Part 16 of the Companies Act 2006. Our audit work has been undertaken so that we might state to the charitable company’s members those matters we are required to state to them in an auditor’s report and for no other purpose. To the fullest extent permitted by law, we do not accept or assume responsibility to anyone other than the charitable company and the charitable company’s members as a body, for our audit work, for this report, or for the opinions we have formed.

Judith Miller (Senior statutory auditor)

10 July 2023

for and on behalf of

Sayer Vincent LLP Statutory Auditor Invicta House 108–114 Golden Lane London EC1Y 0TL

Book Aid International 2022 Trustees’ Annual Report Independent auditor’s report 39

Audited accounts BookAid International 2022Tru5tees' Annual Report Audited 3CCOLlTrts

Statement of financial activities (incorporating income and expenditure account)

For the year ended 31st December 2022

----- Start of picture text -----
Value of 2022 2021
Unrestricted donated books Restricted Total Total
Note £ £ £ £ £
Income from:
Donations and legacies 2a 1,358,834 891,579 2,250,413 2,537,342
Value of donated books received 15,434,673 15,434,673 10,013,273
Other trading activities 4 10,086 10,086 11,960
Investments 5,416 5,416 5,321
Total income 1,374,336 15,434,673 891,579 17,700,588 12,567,896
Expenditure on:
Raising funds 731,339 44,537 775,876 599,439
Charitable activities:
Book provision 923,900 205,607 1,129,507 1,004,720
Value of donated books sent 3a 14,791,242 14,791,242 13,279,151
Restricted projects and
724,343 724,343 704,416
training
Total expenditure 5a 1,655,239 14,791,242 974,487 17,420,968 15,587,726
Net income / (expenditure) for
7 (280,903) 643,431 (82,908) 279,620 (3,019,830)
the year
Net income / (expenditure)
before other recognised gains (280,903) 643,431 (82,908) 279,620 (3,018,830)
and losses
Transfer between funds 456 (456) 723,000
Gain on pension scheme 16 71,650
Net movement in funds (280,447) 643,431 (83,364) 279,620 (2,225,180)
Reconciliation of funds:
Total funds brought forward 3,190,247 4,824,275 326,061 8,340,583 10,565,763
Total funds carried forward 19a 2,909,800 5,467,706 242,697 8,620,203 8,340,583
----- End of picture text -----

All of the above results are derived from continuing activities. There were no other recognised gains or losses other than those stated above. Movements in funds are disclosed in Note 19a to the financial statements.

The notes on pages 44 to 62 form part of these financial statements.

Book Aid International 2022 Trustees’ Annual Report Audited accounts 41

Balance sheet

As at 31st December 2022

Company no: 880754

----- Start of picture text -----
Unrestricted Restricted 2022 2021
Note £ £ £ £
Fixed assets:
Tangible assets 11 2,001,419 2,001,419 2,016,126
Investments 14 100,000 100,000
2,101,419 2,101,419 2,016,126
Current assets:
Stock – donated books 12 5,467,706 5,467,706 4,824,275
Debtors 13 140,298 101,000 241,298 309,485
Investments 14 102,587 102,587 201,718
Cash at bank and in hand 14 717,019 151,499 868,518 1,186,189
6,427,610 252,499 6,680,109 6,521,667
Liabilities:
Creditors: amounts falling due within one year 15 (125,275) (9,802) (135,077) (151,424)
Net current assets / (liabilities) 6,302,335 242,697 6,545,032 6,370,243
Net assets excluding pension asset / (liability) 8,403,754 242,697 8,646,451 8,386,369
Defined benefit pension scheme asset / (liability) 16 (26,248) (26,248) (45,786)
Total net assets / (liabilities) 8,377,506 242,697 8,620,203 8,340,583
The funds of the charity: 19a
Restricted income funds 242,697 242,697 326,061
Unrestricted income funds:
Fixed assets 285,180 285,180 280,126
Revaluation reserve 1,716,240 1,716,240 1,736,000
Free reserves 1u 508,380 508,380 571,106
Designated funds 400,000 400,000 603,015
Total charity funds without stock 2,909,800 242,697 3,152,497 3,516,308
Value of donated books 5,467,706 5,467,706 4,824,275
Total unrestricted funds 8,377,506 8,377,506 8,014,522
Total charity funds 8,377,506 242,697 8,620,203 8,340,583
----- End of picture text -----

Approved by the trustees on 27th June 2023 and signed on their behalf by:

Dr Alice Prochaska, Chair of the Board of Trustees

The notes on pages 44 to 62 form part of these financial statements.

Book Aid International 2022 Trustees’ Annual Report 42 Audited accounts

Statement of cash flows

For the year ended 31st December 2022

----- Start of picture text -----
2022 2021
Note £ £ £ £
Cash flows from operating activities:
Net (expenditure) for the reporting period
279,620 (3,019,830)
(as per the statement of financial activities)
Depreciation charges 55,768 39,236
(Gains)/losses on pension scheme 16 71,649
Dividends, interest and rent from investments (5,416) (5,321)
Decrease/(increase) in stocks (643,431) 3,265,877
Decrease/(increase) in debtors 68,187 (115,510)
(Decrease)/increase in creditors (16,347) (424,265)
(Decrease) in provisions (19,538) (107,214)
Net cash provided by / (used in)
(281,157) (295,378)
operating activities
Cash flows from investing activities:
Dividends, interest and rents from investments 5,416 5,323
Payments into long-term savings (100,000)
Purchase of fixed assets (41,061) (51,861)
Net cash provided by / (used in)
(135,645) (46,538)
investing activities
Change in cash and cash equivalents in the year (416,802) (341,916)
Cash and cash equivalents at the beginning of the
1,387,907 1,729,823
year
Cash and cash equivalents at the end of the year 14 971,105 1,387,907
----- End of picture text -----

The notes on pages 44 to 62 form part of these financial statements.

Book Aid International 2022 Trustees’ Annual Report Audited accounts 43

Notes to the financial statements

For the year ended 31st December 2022

1 Accounting policies

a) Statutory information

Book Aid International is a charitable company limited by guarantee and is incorporated in England and Wales. The registered office address is 39–41 Coldharbour Lane, Camberwell, London SE5 9NR.

b) Basis of preparation

The financial statements have been prepared in accordance with 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) and (Charities SORP FRS 102), the Financial Reporting Standard applicable in the UK and Republic of Ireland (FRS 102) and the Companies Act 2006.

Assets and liabilities are initially recognised at historical cost or transaction value unless otherwise stated in the relevant accounting policy or note.

c) Public benefit entity

The charitable company meets the definition of a public benefit entity under FRS 102.

d) Going concern

The trustees consider that there are no material uncertainties about the charitable company’s ability to continue as a going concern.

Key judgements that the charitable company has made which have a significant effect on the accounts include the valuation of donated books, as explained below.

The trustees have reviewed the activities of the charity and have adjusted estimations for uncertainty at the reporting date that have a significant risk of causing a material adjustment to the carrying amounts of assets and liabilities within the next reporting period. It is the view of the Trustees that the charity will continue to be a going concern for the current year up to and including 2024.

e) Income

Income is recognised when the charity has entitlement to the funds, any performance conditions attached to the income have been met, it is probable that the income will be received and that the amount can be measured reliably.

Income from grants, whether ‘capital’ grants or ‘revenue’ grants, is recognised when the charity has entitlement to the funds, any performance conditions attached to the grants have been met, it is probable that the income will be received and the amount can be measured reliably and is not deferred.

Income from legacies: entitlement is taken as the earlier of the date on which either the charity is aware that probate has been granted, the estate has been finalised and notification has been made by the executor(s) to the charity that a distribution will be made, or when a distribution is received from the estate. Receipt of a legacy, in whole or in part, is only considered probable when the amount can be measured reliably and the charity has been notified of the executor’s intention to make a distribution.

Book Aid International 2022 Trustees’ Annual Report

44 Audited accounts

f) Donated books

Donated books are valued at fair value on receipt. This is determined using Nielsen BookScan for identifying published prices and then applying a 30% discount from the full RRP to allow for the estimated market discount for third party commercial buyers. This discounted rate is reviewed by an independent expert on an annual basis. Where at year end books could not be opened and scanned into stock, an estimate of the value of these books is made in relation to the type and class of books remaining unopened.

Books held are recognised as expenditure at the point they are dispatched from the Book Aid International warehouse. Books in transit at the year end are accounted for as expensed as it is deemed highly probable that they will reach their intended beneficiaries in good condition. Any material damage or loss of stock would be adjusted in the accounts in the following year. There was no damage or loss of stock in transit at year end 31st December 2022 to be reflected in these accounts.

Donated books held at year end are measured at their fair value using the same measure as explained above. Provision is made where necessary for obsolete, slow moving and defective stock. Where books are not able to be opened and booked into stock by the finalisation of the accounts, the value of these is estimated using averaged price per class of book based on books received and recognised in the accounts.

g) Interest receivable

Interest on funds held on deposit is included when receivable and the amount can be measured reliably by the charity; this is normally upon notification of the interest paid or payable by the bank.

h) Fund accounting

Restricted funds are to be used for specific purposes as laid down by the donor. Expenditure which meets these criteria is charged to the fund.

Unrestricted funds are donations and other incoming resources received or generated for the charitable purposes.

Designated funds are unrestricted funds earmarked by the trustees for particular purposes.

i) Expenditure and irrecoverable VAT

Expenditure is recognised once there is a legal or constructive obligation to make a payment to a third party, it is probable that settlement will be required and the amount of the obligation can be measured reliably. Expenditure is classified under the following activity headings:

• Costs of raising funds relate to the costs incurred by the charitable company in inducing third parties to make voluntary contributions to it, as well as the cost of any activities with a fundraising purpose

• Expenditure on charitable activities includes the costs of book provision and restricted projects and training undertaken to further the purposes of the charity and their associated support costs

• Other expenditure represents those items not falling into any other heading

Irrecoverable VAT is charged against book provision.

j) Grants payable

Grants payable are made to third parties in furtherance of the charity’s objects. Single or multiyear grants are accounted for when either the recipient has a reasonable expectation that they will receive a grant and the trustees have agreed to pay the grant without condition, or the recipient has a reasonable expectation that they will receive a grant and that any condition attaching to the grant is outside of the control of the charity.

Provisions for grants are made when the intention to make a grant has been communicated to the recipient but there is uncertainty about either the timing of the grant or the amount of grant payable.

Book Aid International 2022 Trustees’ Annual Report Audited accounts 45

k) Allocation of support costs

Resources expended are allocated to the particular activity where the cost relates directly to that activity. However, the cost of overall direction and administration of each activity, comprising the salary and overhead costs of the central function, is apportioned based on staff time and book delivery attributable to each activity.

----- Start of picture text -----
2022 2021
Raising funds 20% 20%
Book provision 70% 64%
Restricted projects and training 10% 16%
----- End of picture text -----

Governance costs are the costs associated with the governance arrangements of the charity. These costs are associated with constitutional and statutory requirements and include any costs associated with the strategic management of the charity’s activities.

l) Operating leases

Rental charges are charged on a straight-line basis over the term of the lease.

m) Tangible fixed assets

Items of equipment are capitalised where the purchase price exceeds £1,000. Depreciation costs are allocated to activities on the basis of the use of the related assets in those activities. Assets are reviewed for impairment if circumstances indicate their carrying value may exceed their net realisable value and value in use.

Where fixed assets have been revalued, any excess between the revalued amount and the historic cost of the asset will be shown as a revaluation reserve in the balance sheet.

Depreciation is provided on a straight-line basis at rates calculated to write down the cost of each asset to its estimated residual value over its expected useful life. The depreciation rates in use are as follows:

----- Start of picture text -----
Building 50 years 2% per annum on costs
Fixtures and office equipment 4 years 25% per annum on costs
Plant and machinery 10 years 10% per annum on costs
----- End of picture text -----

n) Stocks

Donated books held at year end are valued as explained in policy (f) above. Purchased books are measured at the lower of cost and net realisable value.

o) Debtors

Trade and other debtors are recognised at the settlement amount due after any trade discount offered. Prepayments are valued at the amount prepaid net of any trade discounts due.

p) Short-term deposit investments

Short-term deposits includes cash balances that are invested in accounts with a maturity date of between three and 12 months and long-term deposits are deposits with maturity over 12 months.

q) 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.

Book Aid International 2022 Trustees’ Annual Report 46 Audited accounts

r) Creditors and provisions

Creditors and provisions are recognised where the charity has a present obligation resulting from a past event that will probably result in the transfer of funds to a third party and the amount due to settle the obligation can be measured or estimated reliably. Creditors and provisions are normally recognised at their settlement amount after allowing for any trade discounts due.

s) Financial instruments

The charity only has financial assets and financial liabilities of a kind that qualify as basic financial instruments. Basic financial instruments are initially recognised at transaction value and subsequently measured at their settlement value, with the exception of bank loans which are subsequently measured at amortised cost using the effective interest method.

t) Pensions

The charity contributes to a pension scheme administered by The Pensions Trust, as an independent company. The pension cost charge indicated in note 8 represents the contributions payable to the fund for the year, and note 16 gives details of the movements during the year of the agreed deficit repayment plan liability, which has been included as a liability under the requirements of FRS 102.

u) Free reserves

The minimum level of free reserves confirmed by the Board of Trustees for 2022 was set at a range between £500,000 and £550,000.

2 Donations

a) Current year

----- Start of picture text -----
2022 2021
Unrestricted Restricted Total Total
£ £ £ £
Charitable trusts and NGOs (95,746) (804,450) (900,196) (1,103,816)
Companies (126,559) (35,361) (161,920) (84,236)
Community sources (22,264) (875) (23,139) (26,539)
Individuals (1,114,265) (50,893) (1,165,158) (1,322,751)
Total donations (1,358,834) (891,579) (2,250,413) (2,537,342)
----- End of picture text -----

b) Prior year

----- Start of picture text -----
2021
Unrestricted Restricted Total
£ £ £
Charitable trusts and NGOs (106,220) (997,596) (1,103,816)
Companies (45,736) (38,500) (84,236)
Community sources (26,539) (26,539)
Individuals (1,293,314) (29,438) (1,322,751)
Total donations (1,471,809) (1,065,533) (2,537,342)
----- End of picture text -----

Book Aid International 2022 Trustees’ Annual Report Audited accounts 47

3 Gifts in kind

a) Current year

The table below shows the discounted value of the 1,140,435 donated books distributed to partner organisations in 2022 (2021: 1,007,449). The process of valuation is described in note (1f) and the total adjusted value of books distributed in 2022 was £14,791,242 (2021: £13,249,151).

----- Start of picture text -----
2022 2022
Total number Total £
Children and primary 471,403 2,979,548
Development 7,059 90,015
English language skills 46,753 497,810
Fiction (adult) 83,345 644,451
Higher education 62,391 2,377,623
Law 5,219 349,345
Leisure reading 59,162 630,989
Medicine and healthcare 75,301 3,871,183
Professional 14,660 403,885
Reference 6,142 63,478
Secondary 127,698 1,885,035
Teacher training 15,918 280,480
Teenage fiction 52,679 335,845
Vocational/technical 12,004 210,962
1,039,734 14,620,649
Stock adjustments 100,701 170,594
Total expenditure of donated books sent 1,140,435 14,791,243
----- End of picture text -----

Stock adjustments relate to adjustments in book, sets, values and location of individual books.

a) Prior year

----- Start of picture text -----
2021 2021
Total number Total £
Children's and teenagers' 468,125 2,999,197
Leisure reading (fiction, non-fiction and literature) 113,535 1,033,274
Reference 1,595 19,178
Secondary textbooks 87,387 1,077,379
Vocational skills and development 31,018 376,139
Professional 12,089 321,730
Higher education 59,784 2,312,496
Education and teacher training 15,052 291,605
English as a foreign language 37,393 355,235
Health and medicine 87,339 4,313,981
Law 3,164 149,089
916,481 13,249,304
Stock adjustments 90,968 29,847
Total expenditure of donated books sent 1,007,449 13,279,151
----- End of picture text -----

Book Aid International 2022 Trustees’ Annual Report Audited accounts

48

4 Income from other trading activities

----- Start of picture text -----
2022 2021
Unrestricted Restricted Total Total
£ £ £ £
Events 2,251
UK book and card sales 9,563 9,563 9,644
Other 524 524 65
Total donations 10,087 10,087 11,960
----- End of picture text -----

All trading income received in 2022 and 2021 was unrestricted.

5 Analysis of expenditure

a) Current year

----- Start of picture text -----
Charitable activities
Value of Restricted Pension
Raising Book donated projects Govern- Support scheme
funds provision books sent and training ance costs costs gain/loss 2022 2021
£ £ £ £ £ £ £ £ £
Staff costs (note 8) 306,325 440,975 232,479 160,335 153,162 1,293,276 1,090,809
Other staff costs 11,386 16,391 8,641 5,960 5,693 48,071 86,172
Travel and
2,059 35,322 6,618 43,999 6,155
workshop costs
Book purchase 4,600 4,600 18,428
Value of donated
14,791,242 14,791,242 13,279,151
books
Overseas project
5,073 318,423 323,496 410,118
partners (note 6)
Shipping and book
212,991 212,991 146,397
disposal
Fundraising, PR
294,564 37,874 37,875 370,313 237,066
and design
Professional fees
29,724 29,724 40,730
and irrecoverable VAT
Other direct costs 7,237 7,237 2,956
Other project and
31,707 31,706 63,413 52,721
training costs
Governance costs 15,408 15,408 14,738
Support costs 217,197 217,197 202,287
614,334 567,342 14,791,242 640,342 181,703 626,004 17,420,967 15,587,726
Governance costs 36,341 126,465 18,897 (181,703)
Support costs 125,201 435,699 65,104 (626,004)
Gain/loss on
pension scheme
Total expenditure
775,876 1,129,506 14,791,242 724,343 17,420,967
2022
Total expenditure
599,439 1,004,720 13,279,151 704,416 15,587,726
2021
----- End of picture text -----

Of the total expenditure, £16,457,227 was unrestricted (2021: £14,658,307) and £974,486 was restricted (2021: £929,419).

Book Aid International 2022 Trustees’ Annual Report Audited accounts 49

b) Prior year

----- Start of picture text -----
Charitable activities
Value of Restricted Pension
Raising Book donated projects Governance Support scheme
funds provision books sent and training costs costs gain/loss 2021
£ £ £ £ £ £ £ £
Staff costs (note 8) 237,398 380,647 193,568 146,125 133,070 1,090,809
Other staff costs 18,754 30,071 15,291 11,544 10,512 86,172
Travel and
228 4,008 1,919 6,155
workshop costs
Book purchase 18,428 18,428
Value of donated
13,279,151 13,279,151
books
Overseas project
100,601 309,517 410,118
partners (note 6)
Shipping and book
146,397 146,397
disposal
Fundraising, PR and
191,270 22,898 22,898 237,066
design
Professional fees and
40,730 40,730
irrecoverable VAT
Other direct costs 2,956 2,956
Other project and
26,360 26,361 52,721
training costs
Governance costs 14,738 14,738
Support costs 202,287 202,287
447,650 564,584 13,279,151 587,982 172,407 535,952 15,587,726
Governance costs 34,481 110,341 27,585 (172,407)
Support costs 117,308 329,795 88,849 (535,952)
Gain/loss on
pension scheme
Total expenditure
599,439 1,004,720 13,279,151 704,416 15,587,726
2021
----- End of picture text -----

6 Grant payments to project partners

----- Start of picture text -----
2022 2021
Partners £ £
Able Child 20,126
African Parks 18,509 32,034
Alusine Jalloh 1,740
Assabil Association 600
Atanasius Hamwaka 3,420
Baroda Trading 1,049 1,027
Books Behind Bars 1,279
CODE Ethiopia 600 600
----- End of picture text -----

Table continued....

Book Aid International 2022 Trustees’ Annual Report 50 Audited accounts

----- Start of picture text -----
2022 2021
Partners £ £
College Press 5,363
Community Libraries Association of Uganda 4,619 5,600
Consultus Publishing Services 1,571 2,853
Edward Ndlovu 9,335 2,000
EISERVI 600 600
EMNL 885
Gambia National Library Service Authority 600
Ghana Book Trust 10,304
Ghana Library Authority 1,540 2,376
Grace Rwanda Society 2,191 34,109
Green Chilongo 8,635
Healing Cab 1,291
International Board on Books for Young People 6,743 27,103
I Choose Life – Africa 5,673
Innov8 Bookshop 973
Jesuit Refugee Service 21,809
Kenya National Library Service 4,943 40,623
Lutheran World Federation 8,355
Maiden Publishing 4,160
Malawi National Library Service 25,115 39,113
Milward Tobias 2,911
MYSA 2,800
National Library of Uganda 600 16,849
PEN International 32,365
Plan International Uganda 2,813
Publishers Ltd 8,240
Rainbow Trust Foundation 5,595 16,596
Richard Luhanga 2,824
Save the Needy 8,080 4,040
Street Child Empowerment Foundation (SCEF) 9,100 32,750
Shurugwi Reading Club 9,802
Sizalendaba 1,195
Sierra Leone Library Board 28,573 14,173
SolarAid 3,896
Squirrel Book Centre 3,681
Street Child 21,458
Tichbay Books 1,050
Uganda Children's Writers & Illustrators Association 7,528 18,217
Venatious Chiiba 1,665
We-Care Liberia 600 600
Weaver Press 1,110
Windle International 25,453 27,784
Zambia Library Service 29,884 28,843
Zimbawe Publishing House Ltd 1,981
Grants to other institutions 339 154
At the end of the year 323,497 410,118
----- End of picture text -----

The decrease in the 2022 grants sent value is due to increased activity in 2021 as a result of better than expected funding and release of unrestricted Book Aid International funds to support increased activity in that year.

Book Aid International 2022 Trustees’ Annual Report Audited accounts 51

7 Net income / (expenditure) for the year

This is stated after charging / (crediting):

----- Start of picture text -----
2022 2021
£ £
Depreciation 55,768 39,236
Interest payable 4,217 6,322
Operating lease rentals:
Property
Other 8,146 10,583
Auditors’ remuneration (excluding VAT):
Audit 12,500 11,125
Other services 1,100
Foreign exchange (gains) or losses 67 2
----- End of picture text -----

8 Analysis of staff costs, trustee remuneration and expenses, and the cost of key management personnel

Staff costs were as follows:

----- Start of picture text -----
2022 2021
£ £
Salaries and wages 1,035,149 884,498
Employer's NI contributions 107,283 87,720
Pension contributions 64,380 53,171
Overseas staff costs 86,464 65,420
1,293,276 1,090,809
2022 2021
(no.) (no.)
Average head count 31.0 31.0
Full-time equivalent 29.4 27.6
Number of staff whose emoluments were between £60,000 and £70,000 1 1
Number of staff whose emoluments were between £70,000 and £80,000 1
Number of staff whose emoluments were between £80,000 and £90,000 1
----- End of picture text -----

The total employee benefits received by key management personnel were £458,224 (2021: £397,943).

Trustees received no remuneration during the year (2021: £nil). No trustees received any payments for professional services during the year (2021: £nil).

There were no expenses reimbursed to trustees in 2022 (2021: £nil).

Book Aid International 2022 Trustees’ Annual Report 52 Audited accounts

9 Related party transactions

Aggregate donations from related parties were £3,673 (2021: £1,318).

Robert Sulley was a Director at Hodder Education (part of the Hachette Group). This trustee related organisations donated the following to Book Aid International during the year.

----- Start of picture text -----
2022 2021
Value of 2022 Value of 2021
books Cash books Cash
donated donated donated donated
Trustee related organisations £ £ £ £
Hachette Group 1,737,677 631,975
1,737,677 631,975
----- End of picture text -----

10 Taxation

The charitable company is exempt from corporation tax as all its income is deemed charitable and is applied for charitable purposes.

11 Tangible fixed assets

----- Start of picture text -----
Fixtures
Freehold Plant and and office 2022
property machinery equipment Total
£ £ £ £
Cost or valuation
At the start of the year 1,998,000 26,578 82,312 2,106,890
Gain on revaluation
Additions in year 6,508 34,553 41,061
Disposals in year (4,469) (4,469)
At the end of the year 1,998,000 33,086 112,396 2,143,482
Depreciation
At the start of the year 48,000 5,248 37,516 90,764
Charge for the year 24,360 3,309 28,099 55,768
Eliminated on disposal (4,469) (4,469)
At the end of the year 72,360 8,557 61,146 142,063
Net book value
At the end of the year 1,925,640 24,529 51,250 2,001,419
At the start of the year 1,950,000 21,330 44,796 2,016,126
----- End of picture text -----

The original (1987) cost of the charity’s freehold premises in Coldharbour Lane, Camberwell was £230,000. The premises have been revalued five times, and the most recently detailed valuation was in December 2021. The revaluations were undertaken by an independent valuer and give current open market valuations of the freehold interest in the charity’s property. The land and building were valued at £780,000 and £1,170,000 respectively based on existing use value.

All of the above assets are used for charitable purposes.

Book Aid International 2022 Trustees’ Annual Report Audited accounts 53

12 Stock

	2022 £	2021 £
Donated books	5,467,706	4,824,275

At year end there are unopened pallets of books stored in our warehouses. We endeavour to open as many of these as possible by the time the accounts are finalised. The value of any unopened pallets is estimated by using the average value of pallets for that class of book received and opened in the year. Included in the closing stock value of £5,467,706 are 272 pallets of books (2021: 233) which could not be opened and booked into stock at year end; these have been estimated using an averaged price per class of book and are valued at £3,429,228 (2021: £2,324,732).

13 Debtors

----- Start of picture text -----
2022 2021
£ £
Trade debtors 6,309 1,411
Other debtors and prepayments 63,931 75,152
Gift Aid recoverable 33,058 33,794
Accrued income 138,000 199,128
241,298 309,485
----- End of picture text -----

All of the charity’s financial instruments, both assets and liabilities, are measured at amortised cost.

14 Bank and short-term investments

----- Start of picture text -----
2022 2021
£ £
Cash and bank 868,518 1,186,189
Short-term investments 102,587 201,718
Long-term investments 100,000
Total cash and short-term investments 1,071,105 1,387,907
----- End of picture text -----

Short-term investments are funds invested in 12-month fixed-term deposit accounts. Long-term investment is a two-year term.

Book Aid International 2022 Trustees’ Annual Report 54 Audited accounts

15 Creditors: amounts falling due within one year

----- Start of picture text -----
2022 2021
£ £
Trade creditors 58,091 78,784
Staff tax and social security 34,277 38,395
VAT payable
Other creditors and accruals 42,709 34,245
135,077 151,424
----- End of picture text -----

16 Pension scheme

The company participates in The Pensions Trust scheme, a multi-employer scheme which provides benefits to some 638 non-associated participating employers. The scheme is a defined benefit scheme in the UK. It is not possible for the company to obtain sufficient information to enable it to account for the scheme as a defined benefit scheme. Therefore it accounts for the scheme as a defined contribution scheme.

The scheme is subject to the funding legislation outlined in the Pensions Act 2004 which came into force on 30th December 2005. This, together with documents issued by the Pensions Regulator and Technical Actuarial Standards issued by the Financial Reporting Council, set out the framework for funding defined benefit occupational pension schemes in the UK.

The scheme is classified as a ‘last-man-standing arrangement’. Therefore the company is potentially liable for other participating employers’ obligations if those employers are unable to meet their share of the scheme deficit following withdrawal from the scheme. Participating employers are legally required to meet their share of the scheme deficit on an annuity purchase basis on withdrawal from the scheme.

A full actuarial valuation for the scheme was carried out at 30th September 2020. This valuation showed assets of £800.3m, liabilities of £831.9m and a deficit of £31.6m.

To eliminate this funding shortfall, the Trustees has asked the participating employers to pay additional contributions to the scheme as follows:

From 1st April 2022 to 31st January 2025: £3,312,000 per annum (payable monthly).

Unless a concession has been agreed with the Trustees the term to 31st January 2025 applies.

Note that the scheme’s previous valuation was carried out with an effective date of 30th September 2017. This valuation showed assets of £794.9m, liabilities of £926.4m and a deficit of £131.5m. To eliminate this funding shortfall, the Trustee has asked the participating employers to pay additional contributions to the scheme as follows.

Deficit contribution

From 1st April 2019 to 30th September 2025: £11,243,000 per annum payable monthly and increasing by 3% each year on 1st April.

The recovery plan contributions are allocated to each participating employer in line with their estimated share of the series 1 and series 2 scheme liabilities.

Where the scheme is in deficit and where the company has agreed to a deficit funding arrangement, the company recognises a liability for this obligation. The amount recognised is the net present value of the deficit reduction contributions payable under the agreement that relates to the deficit. The present value is calculated using the discount rate detailed in these disclosures. The unwinding of the discount rate is recognised as a finance cost.

Book Aid International 2022 Trustees’ Annual Report Audited accounts 55

Deficit contribution (continued)

----- Start of picture text -----
2022 2021
£'000 £'000
Present value of provision 26 46
Reconciliation of opening and closing provisions:
Provision at start of period 46 153
Unwinding of discount factor (interest expense) 1
Deficit contribution paid (19) (36)
Post-year-end adjustment (1) (1)
(71)
Provision at end of period 26 46
Income and expenditure impact
Interest expense
Remeasurements – changes in assumptions (1) (1)
Remeasurements – amendments to contribution schedule (71)
Contributions paid in respect of future service
Costs recognised on SoFA
----- End of picture text -----

This includes defined contribution schemes and future service contributions (i.e. excluding any deficit reduction payments) to defined benefit schemes which are treated as defined contribution schemes.

----- Start of picture text -----
2022 2021
% per annum % per annum
Assumptions:
Rate of discount 31st December 4.96 1.18
----- End of picture text -----

The discount rates shown above are the equivalent single discount rates which, when used to discount the future recovery plan contributions due, would give the same results as using a full AA corporate bond yield curve to discount the same recovery plan contributions.

The estimated contingent liability for the charity as at September 2021 in the event of withdrawal for the growth plan was £291,932 (less the £26,248 provided above). There is no intention at present to cease participation or to wind up the growth plan.

Book Aid International 2022 Trustees’ Annual Report 56 Audited accounts

17 Detailed comparatives for the statement of financial activities (prior year: 2021)

----- Start of picture text -----
Value of 2021
Unrestricted donated books Restricted Total
£ £ £ £
Income from:
Donations and legacies 1,471,809 1,065,533 2,537,342
Value of donated books received 10,013,273 10,013,273
Other trading activities 11,960 11,960
Investments 5,321 5,321
Total income 1,489,090 10,013,273 1,065,533 12,567,896
Expenditure on:
Raising funds 568,351 31,088 599,439
Charitable activities:
Book provision 810,805 193,915 1,004,720
Value of donated books sent 13,279,151 13,279,151
Restricted projects and training 704,416 704,416
Total expenditure 1,379,156 13,279,151 929,419 15,587,726
Net income / (expenditure) for the year 109,934 (3,265,878) 136,114 1,838,228
Net income / (expenditure) before other recognised
109,934 (3,265,878) 136,114 (3,019,830)
gains and losses
Gains on revaluation of fixed assets 723,000 723,000
Gain on pension scheme 71,650 71,650
Net movement in funds 904,584 (3,265,878) 136,114 (2,225,180)
Reconciliation of funds:
Total funds brought forward 2,285,663 8,090,153 189,947 10,565,763
Total funds carried forward 3,190,247 4,824,275 326,061 8,340,583
----- End of picture text -----

Book Aid International 2022 Trustees’ Annual Report Audited accounts 57

18 Detailed comparatives for the balance sheet (prior year: 2021)

----- Start of picture text -----
2021
Unrestricted Restricted Total
£ £ £
Fixed assets:
Tangible assets 2,016,126 2,016,126
2,016,126 2,016,126
Current assets:
Stock – donated books 4,824,275 4,824,275
Debtors 129,985 179,500 309,485
Investments 201,718 201,718
Cash at bank and in hand 1,025,100 161,089 1,186,189
6,181,078 340,589 6,521,667
Liabilities:
Creditors: amounts falling due within one year (136,896) (14,528) (151,424)
Net current assets / (liabilities) 6,044,182 326,061 6,370,243
Net assets excluding pension asset / (liability) 8,060,308 326,061 8,386,369
Defined benefit pension scheme asset / (liability) (45,786) (45,786)
Total net assets / (liabilities) 8,014,522 326,061 8,340,583
The funds of the charity:
Restricted income funds 326,061 326,061
Unrestricted income funds:
Fixed assets 280,126 280,126
Revaluation reserve 1,736,000 1,736,000
Free reserves 571,106 571,106
Designated funds 603,015 603,015
Total charity funds without stock 3,190,247 326,061 3,516,308
Value of donated books 4,824,275 4,824,275
Total unrestricted funds 8,014,522 326,061 8,340,583
Total charity funds 8,014,522 326,061 8,340,583
----- End of picture text -----

Book Aid International 2022 Trustees’ Annual Report 58 Audited accounts

19 Movements in funds

a) Current year: 2022

----- Start of picture text -----
At 1st Income and Expenditure At 31st Dec
January 2022 gains and losses Transfers 2022
£ £ £ £ £
Restricted funds:
BookLinks 7,950 (8,534) 584
Inspiring Readers 40,783 40,377 (56,496) (770) 23,894
Impact Assessment project 4,064 (3,383) 681
Reading is Basic GHN02 (63) 20,000 (9,232) 10,705
Reading Club ZIM01 (301) 70,000 (70,795) 1,096
People's Postcode Lottery 2021 129,943 (130,010) 67
People's Postcode Lottery 2022 244,365 (170,029) 664 75,000
Malawi/Zambia/Zimbabwe – BP (SAF BEIT) 75,186 75,000 (75,186) 75,000
ZAM – STEM STD Hubs01 2,224 (1,665) (559)
Children’s Corner ZAM02 34,808 (31,990) 2,818
GHA – STEM Hubs – Agrekko 2,479 (2,479)
Reading Promotion 9,546 (9,546)
KEN – Mini-Solar Homework project 78 (78)
Discovery Book Box projects 1,255 6,500 (7,755)
UGA – Shared Reading 02 2,014 (2,014)
KEN – Solar Buy Back 688 (822) 134
UGA – Solar Homework Project Rhino Camp 594 594
Explorer Library projects 20,640 29,201 (49,341) (500)
SL02 – Children’s Corner (18) 22,752 (21,347) 1,387
UGA – Reading for All – SEC Intouch 2,929 (465) (134) 2,330
UGA – Reading for All – ECD PRIM PPL 1,866 (1,401) (465)
KEN02 – Reading for All – Solar 79 (79)
UGA01 – Reading for All – Palabek (45) 59,942 (58,643) 1,254
UGA02 – Reading for All – Kyangwali 5,449 5,449
MAL02a L&M – Reading Around the Reserve 1,845 1,845
MAL02b M – Reading Around the Reserve 13,572 (12,800) 1,072 1,844
ZAM – Reading Around the Reserve 6,656 (6,549) (107)
ZIM – Reading Around the Reserve 10,000 (11,633) 1,633
TNZ – Quality Schools for All 9,000 (9,000)
Books To Go projects (1,468) 29,000 (4,175) 79 23,436
L4L PPL KEN01 (413) 413
CCL ZNZ01 426 (426)
KEN01-I C Reading 917 (377) (540)
Read Together CAM01 (9) 10,000 (9,990) 1
Adumaji Girls project UGA01 50,427 (47,195) 3,232
PDP Online Training 50,000 (38,579) 11,421
Africa Story Box projects 938 77,199 (74,625) (1,707) 1,806
Africa and other book provision 43,089 (43,089)
Children's book provision 6,500 (6,500)
Medical/healthcare book provision 875 (875)
Other legacies/activities 1,633 (1,633)
Total restricted funds 326,061 891,579 (974,487) (456) 242,697
Unrestricted funds:
Fixed asset reserve 280,126 5,053 285,179
Revaluation reserve 1,736,000 (19,760) 1,716,240
Stock reserve 4,824,275 15,434,673 (14,791,242) 5,467,706
Free reserves 571,106 1,374,336 (1,655,240) 218,178 508,380
Designated reserves 603,015 (203,015) 400,000
Total unrestricted funds 8,014,522 16,809,009 (16,446,482) 456 8,377,505
Total funds per balance sheet 8,340,583 17,700,588 (17,420,969) 8,620,203
Pension reserve 45,786 (19,538) 26,248
Total funds adding back pension fund 8,386,369 17,700,588 (17,420,969) (19,538) 8,646,451
Total unrestricted funds (less stock) 3,190,247 1,374,336 (1,655,240) 456 2,909,799
Total funds including pension fund (less stock) 3,236,033 1,374,336 (1,655,240) (19,082) 2,936,047
----- End of picture text -----

Book Aid International 2022 Trustees’ Annual Report Audited accounts 59

Projects with negative balances

The net movement of funds between unrestricted and restricted of £456 relate to minor overspends on three projects that were funded by unrestricted funds.

2022 transfers between funds

There were no transfers between restricted and unrestricted funds in 2022.

Any transfers are treated within parameters allowed by funders, and any external excess funding transferred to other projects or unrestricted funds will always be agreed with funders.

Purposes of designated funds

The total designated funds reduced from £603,015 to £400,000, a net £203,000 decrease as at 31st December 2022, made up of the following:

• At the Board meeting of 16th December 2021 the trustees confirmed £53,000 of designated funds to test a range of options to acquire new regular supporters through digital fundraising activities. This designation was utilised in 2022.

• At the same meeting, and a further meeting in March 2022 the Board approved a total designation of £500k for the costs associated with planning and delivering options to increase warehouse capacity, thus enabling the charity to increase its operational reach through storing, processing and sending more books. These include consultancy, agency, professional fees and equipment and rental costs. This designation was reduced to £400k at the March 2023 Board meeting.

• At the same meeting, the trustees approved a £50,000 designated fund to develop required projects where funding may not have been raised or raised in total. This includes match funding initiatives, or projects Book Aid International deem beneficial where funding may be needed to top up the project or get it off the ground; this designation was utilised in full in 2022.

Book Aid International 2022 Trustees’ Annual Report 60 Audited accounts

b) Prior year: 2022

----- Start of picture text -----
At 1st Income and Expenditure At 31st Dec
January 2021 gains and losses Transfers 2021
£ £ £ £ £
Restricted funds:
BookLinks 1,458 7,950 (9,408)
Inspiring Readers projects 14,067 45,232 (17,957) (559) 40,783
Impact Assessment project 4,064 4,064
Reading is Basic GHN02 (63) (63)
Reading Club ZIM01 (301) (301)
People's Postcode Lottery 2021 253,924 (126,405) 2,424 129,943
MAL/ZAM/ZIM – BP (SAF BEIT) 75,094 75,000 (74,908) 75,186
ZAM – STEM STD Hubs01 25,702 (23,478) 2,224
GHA – STEM Hubs – Agrekko 2,479 2,479
KEN – STEM Hubs 2,189 (2,189)
GHA – Children’s Corner 02 338 (338)
Reading Promotion 8,154 (8,154)
KEN – Mini-Solar Homework project 6,078 (6,000) 78
Discovery Book Box projects 1,255 10,000 (10,000) 1,255
UGA – Shared Reading 02 32,864 (30,850) 2,014
KEN – Solar Homework project 02 79 (79)
KEN – Solar Buy Back 15,926 (15,238) 688
UGA – Solar Homework project – Rhino Camp 10,007 (9,413) 594
Explorer Library projects 8,316 66,268 (53,943) 20,641
SL02 – Children’s Corner (18) (18)
SOML – Children’s Corner
MAL – Solar Libraries 01 4,621 (3,521) (1,100)
UGA – Reading for All – SEC Intouch 3,277 (348) 2,929
UGA – Reading for All – ECD PRIM PPL 3,521 (1,655) 1,866
KEN02 – Reading for All – Solar 79 79
UGA01 – Reading for All – Palabek (45) (45)
MAL – Reading Around the Reserve 2,789 (1,641) (1,149)
MAL02a L&M – Reading Around the Reserve 70,121 (71,255) 1,134
MAL02b M – Reading Around the Reserve 26,362 (12,790) 13,572
ZAM – Reading Around the Reserve 42,504 (35,848) 6,656
ZIM – Reading Around the Reserve 10,000 10,000
TNZ – Quality Schools for All 750 9,000 (750) 9,000
Books to Go projects 107,804 (109,272) (1,468)
L4L PPL KEN01 62,855 (62,855)
CCL ZNZ01 27,533 (27,107) 426
KEN01-I C Reading 15,000 (14,083) 917
Education PRG CAM01 (9) (9)
Africa Story Box projects 90,710 (89,772) 938
Africa and other book provision 32,006 42,150 (74,156)
Children's book provision 1,400 (1,400)
Law book provision 5,000 (5,000)
Medical/healthcare provision 30,000 (30,000)
Other legacies/activities 1,633 1,633
Total restricted funds 189,947 1,065,533 (929,420) 326,061
Unrestricted funds:
Fixed asset reserve 267,502 (7,021) 19,645 280,126
Revaluation reserve 1,013,000 723,000 1,736,000
Stock reserve 8,090,153 10,013,273 (13,279,151) 4,824,275
Free reserves 677,146 1,560,739 (1,372,134) (294,645) 571,106
Designated reserves 328,015 275,000 603,015
Total unrestricted funds 10,375,816 12,297,012 (14,658,306) 8,014,522
Total funds per balance sheet 10,565,763 13,362,545 (15,587,726) 8,340,583
Pension reserve 153,000 (107,214) 45,786
Total funds adding back pension fund 10,718,763 13,362,545 (15,587,726) (107,214) 8,386,369
Total unrestricted funds (less stock) 2,285,663 2,283,739 (1,379,155) 3,190,247
Total funds including pension fund (less stock) 2,628,610 3,349,272 (2,308,575) (107,214) 3,562,094
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Book Aid International 2022 Trustees’ Annual Report Audited accounts 61

Unrestricted income funds are available for use at the discretion of the trustees in furtherance of the charity’s objectives. Unrestricted funds include designated funds, fixed assets and revaluation reserves representing the excess of the net book value of the property at acquisition. The remainder of the unrestricted funds are the charity’s free reserves.

2021 Transfers between funds

There were no transfers between restricted and unrestricted funds in 2021.

Any transfers are treated within parameters allowed by funders, and any external excess funding transferred to other projects or unrestricted funds will always be agreed with funders.

Restricted income funds are subject to specific restrictions imposed by donors or by the purpose of an appeal. Details of all restricted funds held are given in note 19a above.

20 Operating lease commitments

The charity’s total future minimum lease payments under non-cancellable operating leases is as follows for each of the following periods:

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Equipment
2022 2021
£ £
Less than one year 8,147 8,149
One to five years 30,414 37,523
38,561 45,672
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21 Legal status of the charity

The charity is a company limited by guarantee and has no share capital. The liability of each of the eight members in the event of winding up is limited to £1.

Book Aid International 2022 Trustees’ Annual Report 62 Audited accounts

Book Aid International doesn’t send books which are not relevant to us.

We submit our order form in advance. We put in books for health sciences and we receive those books. Without them, it would be very difficult for our students.”

Dr Musangi, Amref International University Librarian, Nairobi, Kenya

Dr Musangi in her library. © Natalia Jidovanu

bookaid.org

Book Aid International is a charity and limited company registered in England and Wales. Charity no: 313869. Company no: 880754. Registered office: 39–41, Coldharbour Lane, London SE5 9NR © Book Aid International.