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**From our Director’s blog, 16 April 2020**
## **DON’T EVER FORGET**
About 30 years ago, an older lady, came with me to the front door of her care home, to wave off a group of children, who’d just shared in an intergenerational drawing session with residents. She grabbed my hand and said, “Sometimes in here, we don’t know what day of the week it is, but when you come, we know we are not forgotten.”
Although much has changed for the better in that 30 years, care homes are still very much the forgotten part of the health and social care sector.
The Covid 19 virus is exposing, not causing, problems that have too long been filed in the ‘too difficult’ tray on decision makers’ desks. How do we as a nation fund the 24/7 care we need for a growing population enjoying longer lives, including the increasing number of people living with a dementia?
This week the media spotlight has quite rightly highlighted the hidden toll of Covid 19 related deaths within the frail and vulnerable care home resident population. Perhaps this spotlight will bring government action to address the lack of PPE and testing, the staff shortages and exhaustion. But will the current lockdown be enough of a crisis this time, to jolt the system into real, long-term change?
And right now, something is changing. I see a glimmer of hope for the forgotten care sector.
When I talk to friends on the phone, they say “I’ve lost touch. I don’t know what day of the week it is.” Millions of adults in the UK are currently experiencing, week by week, day by day, hour by slow hour, social isolation, in a way that they never have before. It’s one thing to hear or read about loneliness and social isolation for other people – it’s another thing to live it yourself.
We don’t know when we’ll be able to go out and about again. Before that day comes, please do one thing.
## **Write down what this feels like. Don’t ever forget.**
At Magic Me our approach has always been to offer care homes new opportunities and great activities, here, now, today. Joint activities with local younger people and public showing of artworks and performances, also help older people to be more visible, recognised and valued as neighbours, when decisions are made at the town hall or in Westminster.
Because when lockdown ends for you, too many people will still be indoors, watching from the window, waving from the door. And they need you to remember what this feels like and to keep the pressure up, so things change this time, so no-one gets forgotten.
**2**
## **From our Chair and Director**
Magic Me works by bringing people together in rooms, to meet and to make art, sharing skills and experiences. In March 2020 that became no longer possible.
The Covid-19 pandemic and its ongoing impacts are without doubt the biggest challenge Magic Me and our communities have faced in our 32+ year history.
This report details the challenges faced by younger and older people we serve in east London and Essex, and the many ways in which despite everything, generations have come together to face this crisis. Lockdown didn’t change our mission, just the way we deliver on it.
Magic Me has continued to provide as much as possible, adapting our programmes to serve our regular participants and partners, at a distance. In April 2020 we reworked all our planned activities and launched At Home Together, a series of projects which enabled individuals and groups to continue to meet, to make and to party in new ways, by phone, post or exchanges of artworks and online. In July’s short lockdown gap, we staged a celebratory outdoor event in Leyton, connecting children and older adults, with a decorated bike parade. As the year continued and lockdown returned we designed fresh ways to support care home communities and schools, our artists at home, partnering with staff and participants at a distance, via zoom or smartphone.
Over the past year our staff have been stretched as never before but have delivered week in and week out. The challenges of working from home to deliver new activities, in new ways with people in crisis have been
ongoing. Our artists have had to reinvent their practice, in collaboration with our participants and partners. Our Board have stepped up to support in ever more ways.
We are incredibly proud of them all and grateful for their creativity, ingenuity and sheer stamina in such challenging times.
We are also indebted to our many funders and supporters who, without exception, trusted us to spend their grants and donations in new ways, to best support our communities. Their flexibility and partnership approach has enabled us to move quickly and with confidence during very difficult times.
As we write in August 2021 restrictions have eased but the pandemic is still very much with us. We continue to review and renew our approach to intergenerational community building, staying flexible to whatever comes next.
Thank you to everyone who has been part of our journey this year. We look forward to our future work together.
## **Alison Harvie, Chair of Trustees Susan Langford MBE, Founder / Director**
**3**
## **IT MAKES YOU THINK**
At Magic Me, how we do things is as important as what we do. We are an intergenerational arts organisation and the arts are absolutely core to the way we work with people. Whilst we have adapted and flexed and changed over the last year we have always stayed true to the essence of Magic Me.
Tower Hamlets is still one of the most deprived boroughs in the UK. Many of the people we work with live in the, typically, small houses and flats that make up the bulk of homes in this area. When the ‘stay at home’ message came to us all, people welcomed something that could lift the imagination out of the four walls of home, away from the city streets.
_**“She so enjoys the Magic Me projects. With social activities and contacts so restricted these days it hugely helps her sense of well-being and her mental health that you guys are in touch with her and doing creative stuff together. Thank you!”**_
## **Sister of At Home Together participant.**
Participants enjoyed projects that focussed on an imagined reality, or a dream scenario, because everyone can dream.
_**“Actions were very nice, creative and artistic – a bit wacky and colourful – literally! I love colours… at a time when the world is not very colourful, there was happiness and joy”**_
## **Care staff taking part in The After Party**
Our participants needed a range of different approaches to make projects as easy and as accessible as possible, so we developed not ‘blended solutions’ but tailor made ones. Simple things like group phone calls and printed out worksheets worked just as well as zoom calls (if not better for some people). Sometimes there is joy in small things and simple innovations such as our printed and posted newsletter - The Magic Monthly (see page 9). There is no reason not to continue with these innovations even when the pandemic is truly behind us.
## **The Challenge – creating a art in a andemic p y p**
The _**After Party**_ was our solution to creating the intergenerational connection, fun and joy of the _**Cocktails in Care Homes**_ project as a remotely delivered project. In the early days of the pandemic, in April 2020, this was always going to be a challenge.
Our four project artists adapted rapidly to the changing needs of the care settings resulting in the delivery of ‘care packages’. Providing everything the care setting might need to deliver an activity made it achievable for over stretched staff – all materials (wearables, props, playlists) were sent ‘ready to go’ including any printed out instructions. To enhance communication between residents and volunteers, care staff and artists, Magic Me provided phones with data packages.
**5**
## **THE POWER OF INTERGENERATIONAL ARTS**
Despite the challenges of the past year Magic Me continues to celebrate the power of intergenerational arts to bring people and communities together. Our _**Quality Street**_ project is a great example of how this can be achieved. The two year project funded by L&Q Foundation came to an end in 2020, having involved over 900 people of at least three generations (children, younger and older adults) in and around Leyton. Key to the project was creating a greater sense of community, connecting local people and organisations and bringing the benefits of artist-led creative activity to primary aged pupils and older people living in care settings.
Despite the disruption of the pandemic, the outcomes from this project clearly demonstrate the value of intergenerational connection and particularly its value in creating stronger communities.
_**“The greatest pleasure for me was to welcome local residents to work in our school on arts projects with our children, and for our children to visit local residents in their homes too. Some wonderful and special bonds have been made.”**_
## **Head of Primary Phase, George Mitchell All Through School**
_**“It helps me to mix, and I think it is a very good idea. I didn’t know the local area, I knew about the local park […] but I didn’t know very many people”**_
## **Older participant**
**92% of people involved in Quality Street said they felt more part of the community**
The first year of the project saw four different project strands come together in a celebratory event, Meet the Street, involving over 300 people. Children and older adults worked together on making kites, puppets, costumes and a mural for the school playground. The second year started with a project working on a tapestry together, this was completed just before the pandemic. Two more projects brought people together virtually creating two new video artworks: Our Story Our Street and Colours of Us. The steering group made up of local people helped ensure that the We Bloom project (see page 13) and live event ran smoothly and in a covid safe way.
Those involved in the project felt part of a wider community and that their horizons had been widened. This was particularly important as the pandemic saw many of the older people increasingly stuck at home and younger people isolated from their friends and wider families.
**930 396 534 people attendees digital from wider at events audiences community**
**6**
_**“They’re getting to connect with people. A lot aren’t seeing grandparents or anyone of an older generation so at this point especially this is extremely valuable – this really came through when they watched the video, heard the adults’ voices and gave feedback – this really struck a chord.”**_
## **Teacher, George Mitchell School**
12 of the older people living in supported housing remained engaged when projects became remote. Some of them had not had a single visitor, except for a carer, or left their flat except for medical appointments, in 11 months. It was clear from feedback, that making artworks together gave older and younger people a joint focus and experience which led to stronger feelings of connection and an increased sense of wellbeing.
## **Qualit Street y**
**Artists:** Sam Alexander, Polly Beestone, Ben Connors, Mia Harris, Kathy Horak-Hallett, Chuck Blue Lowry, Irene Pulga, Jo Scholar, Surya Turner, Grace White
**Local Partners:** George Mitchell Primary School, Glebelands, Albany Court, Leyton Orient Walking Football Club, Members of the Quality Street Steering Group
**Funder:** L&Q Foundation
**48% of younger participants felt ‘connected’ to their community and/or said their relationship with the older people was significant to them.**
Magic Me’s work has never been more important and it was clear from this project that our work bringing generations together has great value. Although solutions have been found to keep connections going through the pandemic we know that even more benefit can be achieved when generations can meet face to face once again.
_**“Being able to talk to people has picked me up and kept me connected to the community.”**_ **Older Participant**
_**“Magic Me is different to my other lessons because it makes me feel connected to everyone and we get to meet new people.”**_
## **Pupil at George Mitchell School**
**7**
## **TRUST AND RESPECT**
Magic Me has been working in east London for over 30 years. Creating partnerships is part of our essence and core to how we operate. This means that, alongside a wealth of experience, schools, care providers, community groups and individuals in Tower Hamlets, Waltham Forest and Essex know us and trust us. This strong base of mutual understanding and respect proved invaluable in allowing us to continue our work, adapting to the changing needs and restrictions of the Covid 19 pandemic. These strong relationships were essential in delivering projects especially when everyone was trying something new and making the best of difficult situations. They also provided an impetus and desire to make things work, despite the challenges.
Learning from our regular partners enabled us to forge new partnerships in the current context- even with people we had never met in real life and in places we have never visited. In Waltham Forest we began work in two new care homes (and a third existing partner) for Inside Out 2021. We built on our existing relationship with Essex County Council to create an entirely new project with 8 care homes in the county. During the first phase of these projects Magic Me staff held many conversations with partner staff getting to know them, their situation and their specific challenges, all helping to build the strong relationships needed for the projects’ success.
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## **The Challenge – making it work for ever one involved y**
Our _**Arts & Ages**_ project is all about connecting local primary school children with residents of local care settings or who are part of local community groups. A big challenge when the whole country is locked down and meetings between any groups restricted. _**The View from Here**_ (our covid response ) met that challenge by creating activities that led to intergenerational exchange and provoked thinking about how other people might be feeling, living, coping.
Our project team also found new ways of tailoring activities to the different needs of partners and individuals including phone calls, zoom calls, posted activity packs and a regular newsletter, _Magic Monthly_ that provided news snippets from across the partnerships as well as simple creative fun.
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## **CONNECTING PEOPLE**
All the people we work with have faced difficult challenges. Older participants living independently (whether in extra care schemes, sheltered housing or in their own homes) have faced multiple barriers to getting online. Schools and teachers have also found that digital poverty affects many of their pupils with 1 in 5 children not accessing online teaching at all during lockdown and around 50% having difficulties with access. Care staff have taken on multiple roles and sacrificed much whilst dealing with trauma and grief, and the logistical challenges of residents
Magic Me’s tried and tested method has always been to bring people of different generations face to face, with artists, to work together to create new work. Nothing we have learnt from the last year undermines our faith in this way of working. What we have learnt is that the future continues to be uncertain, that it might include further restrictions, further lockdowns and that we can take heart from the ways in which we have been able to bring people together over the past 18 months, and that when face to face meeting isn’t possible there are still ways to connect.
having to stay isolated due to infection control measures, but no wifi in individual or communal rooms.
Our work with care homes highlighted the real value of one-to-one conversations and the useful ‘excuse’ of a creative project to help tease out an individual’s personality, their likes and dislikes, their memories and desires. This was particularly valuable with residents who had difficulties with verbal communication where the focussed attention of a one-toone session meant that their ‘voice’ was heard.
Getting to know the people we work with is an essential part of the process of setting up a project. Magic Me team members put in many hours, particularly with older independent participants, talking over tea and cake or joining residents’ meetings, in order to introduce Magic Me and what we do. Establishing this kind of relationship was hugely beneficial when the Covid 19 pandemic forced a move to remote contact.
_**“I recently got the chance to try and play with marbling inks and I watched as the drops wandered and spread and met. I would love that freedom for us all to choose our lives and whatever the future holds for us in the different post Covid world.”**_ **Participant,** _**The View From Here**_ **.**
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## **The Challen e of isolation g**
_**Inside Out 2021**_ built on the work we had been doing with care settings throughout the Covid Pandemic. With care homes still excluding all but family and essential health visitors, the project was designed to connect a creative team of artists on the outside and care professionals on the inside. To make this happen we provided the care professionals with mobile phones with data packages so that they could easily share and communicate with their artist partners. Across all 3 homes a key outcome was increased one-toone communication between care staff and residents, particularly those isolated in their bedrooms. Equally important was the increased confidence of care staff to deliver creative activities.
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## **TOGETHER WE CAN MAKE IT HAPPEN**
In any crisis good people look for, and find, the best in themselves. This has been true of the Covid 19 pandemic as much as any other challenge we face. Our partners in the teaching and care professions have certainly born the brunt of the crisis and we can’t thank them enough for staying with us, working with us and helping us do our best to enhance the lives of the children, young people and adults they serve.
Our work with care homes during this period has highlighted again the strength and resilience of care staff and their flexibility and responsiveness to new challenges. Even whilst they responded to ever changing guidance around the virus they were still open to trying new ways of bringing creative stimulation into the lives of often isolated residents.
In May 2020 Magic Me adopted the ‘Scratch’ process, originally developed by BAC, which values experimentation and collaboration – ideal for the ever-changing nature of covid. Scratch puts all participants on an equal footing, whether offering or testing new
ideas, and our partners and communities embraced this approach. Scratch will be part of Magic Me’s tool box for the future
Our funders are key partners in any Magic Me activity. They too have had a tough time as lockdown hit and then continued. Communities needed increased funds more quickly and urgently, whilst some funders saw their own investment income fall. We are very grateful for our funders’ support and permission to be flexible and to quickly adapt our work to meet current needs. The need for flexibility has also seen funders rethink their funding strategies and develop new ways of working, sparking conversations on how we might better the relationship between funders and charities.
We are particularly indebted to Arts Council England, Paul Hamlyn Foundation and the London Community Foundation who provided covid emergency grants to keep us going and cover the additional costs of covid: IT to get care homes online, time to plan and re-plan as restrictions shifted, emotional support sessions for staff and artists working with people living through difficult times.
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## **The Challenge – delivering a live event durin the andemic g p**
Our original plan for the second year of _**Quality Street**_ was to build on the success of _**Meet The Street**_ in 2019 when 300+ people gathered at George Mitchell School for a day of celebration. The pandemic made that impossible but the _**We Bloom**_ team of artists found ways to create a live event that could be delivered safely within the tier restrictions at the time. Key to the project’s success was the embedding of _Quality Street_ in the community with all three artists already involved in the project in some way and working closely with the steering group of local people and partners. Activities were designed to be shared and exchanged and the culminating event in July 2020 allowed children and adults to take part and for a bike cavalcade to travel the streets of Leyton bringing colour and joy to passersby.
## **WHERE WE ARE NOW**
This report was written in the summer of 2021, restrictions had just been lifted across England but case numbers were soaring. The future looks uncertain even to the most optimistic viewer. What is clear is that Magic Me, and the work we do are needed. The pandemic shone a bright spotlight on the fragility of the adult care system, the result of chronic, longterm underfunding. It also showed how easily the independence and quality of life of older people could be set aside for expediency. School children living in poverty, many on free school meals struggled both to access education but also to get enough food and daily necessities. Primarily the people Magic Me works with in Tower Hamlets, Waltham Forest and Essex are these people.
consultant to ensure we, as a majority white staff team and trustee board, do not overlook or misunderstand changes we need to make. A Cultural Recovery Fund grant from Arts Council England is supporting us in this work of reviewing and building for the next phase.
Despite the lockdown we continued our new Artworks programme funded by the London Borough of Tower Hamlets. Nazifa Yazmin our first trainee successfully completed her placement going on to quickly find work.
Since Spring 2020,we have asked ourselves 3 key questions to set the course of our future work:
- What do our communities need now?
Since April 2021 we have been developing an Anti-racism Action Plan, employing an external
- What can Magic Me offer best, which others can’t?
- What will it take to do that well?
_“After leaving secondary school with adequate GCSEs and no desire to be in a classroom again, I found myself dabbling in different things. From working in a nursery, to door-to-door sales and some voluntary charity work, I concluded I was a little lost. I never intended to stumble across this traineeship with Magic Me, as arts didn’t really come to mind when looking for a ‘real’ job but somehow, I crossed paths with exactly what I needed and I find myself wondering how life would’ve been without Magic Me._
_I was invited to visit Magic Me’s intergenerational workshops to see what it was like, almost like a trial day and it was that day where I truly felt a semblance of a sense of direction, albeit an older people’s care home wasn’t exactly a place I thought I’d ever look. But there I was in an intergenerational space with a class from Lansbury Lawrence Primary School and residents from Duncan Court, all coming together to create art. However, it wasn’t the making of the art, but the sight of seeing two generations who would never in the outside world really mix, interacting and bonding like friends. There was purpose.”_ **Nazifa Yazmin, Artworks**
**14**
We have seen two major programmes come to an end in 2021 – _**Quality Street**_ our 2 year project with housing provider L&Q and _**Arts & Ages**_ our schools and communities programme. Both aimed to forge bonds between the school partners and the care and community partners which would continue when Magic Me withdrew. We are already seeing evidence of this happening and encouraging feedback from care home managers and staff also shows that our creative approaches have changed their ways of thinking.
When we discovered that our landlords at Victoria Park Square had sold the building and we would need to find a new office by January 2021, it felt like a challenge too far on top of all that we were doing, but it was a challenge we met and one that has provided exciting new opportunities. Our new base at Pott Street (barely a stone’s throw away) is wheelchair accessible, with our own meeting rooms and front door. We can now hold creative and social activities for participants at our home and look forward to welcoming many new people as the future unfolds. We are currently piloting some workshops for small groups, testing how to run these in a time of continuing risk and growth of covid cases. For the autumn/winter 2021 onwards we plan small scale activities which are flexible and can be revised if restrictions continue or return.
Our brilliant Chair of Trustees, Alison Harvie, is stepping down after six years at the helm – we thank her for all she has done to lead us to this point and through this difficult year. With a few other trustees moving on during the year we have had the opportunity to run a recruitment campaign so that from our
October 2021 AGM our board will be more reflective of the communities we serve.
During the year we have welcomed new staff colleagues, some of whom we never met in person, and said goodbye to others. We’ve marked births, deaths and marriages, festivals and birthdays with on line gatherings and feasts. This period of change and disruption will continue through 2022 at least. After 17 months of the pandemic our current staff and artist team continue to be amazing. We look forward with them to a new phase of challenge and discovery, hand in hand with our communities through 2021/22.
**15**
## **PROJECTS**
## ~~**ARTS & AGES / THE VIEW FROM HERE**~~
_**Arts & Ages**_ is our ambitious three year intergenerational arts programme nurturing partnerships between 8 primary schools and 8 groups of older people in Tower Hamlets. Three of these partnerships continued through the pandemic, supported by teachers and partners staff. _**The View from Here**_ was part of that as our adapted response to the Covid 19 pandemic. The aim is to continue building long lasting relationships between schools and older people’s venues, even if we are unable to meet in person
**Artists:** Ben Connors, Shepherd Manyika, Lehni Lamide Davies, Liane Harris, Polly Beestone, Mia Harris, Pooja Sitpura, Chuck Blue Lowry, Amanda Mascarenhas, Freya Wynn-Jones
**Partnerships:** Halley Primary School and Coopers Court, Osmani Primary School and Rochester Court, Christ Church Primary School and Toynbee Hall Wellbeing Centre, Lansbury Lawrence Primary School and Duncan Court
## **Corporate Partners:** Allen & Overy
**Funders:** Aldgate and Allhallows Foundation, Allen & Overy, Lucas Tooth Trust, The Mercers’ Company, The Haberdashers’ Company, Gateway Housing Association, Woodroffe Benton Foundation
## ~~**ARTISTS RESIDENCIES IN CARE HOMES – ESSEX**~~
Magic Me is supporting four leading arts organisations to work with staff and residents of four care homes across Essex as cocreators and collaborators. _**ARCH**_ , a four year programme from Sept 2019, was interrupted by covid after an initial phase of activities establishing relationships between artists and care homes. An additional grant from Paul Hamlyn Foundation means we can repeat this ‘getting to know you’ process, with full residencies in 2022. In the meantime artists have experimented with digital contact and zoom dance sessions.
**Arts Partners:** Matthew Bourne’s New Adventures, Fevered Sleep, Gecko and curious directive
**Organisational Partners** : Excelcare UK, Anglia Ruskin University, Essex County Council
**Funders:** Paul Hamlyn Foundation
## ~~**GENERATION REBELLION**~~
_**Generation Rebellion**_ is an exploration of being an activist. Magic Me brought together students from Mulberry School for Girls with older women from the local community to explore the climate emergency. Following the lockdown of the Covid-19 emergency our aim changed and focused on the creation of a Generation Rebellion Zine.
**Artists:** Sue Mayo and Elsa James
**Partners:** Mulberry School for Girls, Toynbee Hall Wellbeing Centre
**Funders:** Foundation for Future London, Arts Council England, Garfield Weston Foundation, Mulberry School for Girls
**16**
## ~~**INSIDE OUT 2021**~~
_**Inside Out 2021**_ connected care professionals in three care homes in East London with Magic Me artists. Pooling knowledge, skills and expertise, care professionals and artists worked together to understand the unique challenges care homes face – developing creative interventions and activity to benefit the residents and each home during the pandemic.
## **Creative Teams:**
## ~~**THE AFTER PARTY**~~
After 10 years our _**Cocktails in Care Homes**_ project was due to wrap up by June 2020. The pandemic intervened. The After Party was our response. Instead of live parties we asked party volunteers to share their creativity as a new way of connecting with residents and staff in care homes.
**Artists:** Mia Harris, Kathy Horak-Hallett, Shepherd Manyika, Chuck Blue Lowry
**Care Partners:** Muriel Street, Bankhouse, Silk Court, Westport, Charleston House, Elgin Close, 73 Mildmay, Rose Court, Lennox House, Penfold Court, Queens Oak, George Mason Lodge, Lawnfield House, Lingham Court, 20/26 Mildmay, Roseberry Mansions, Rathmore House, Norton House
## **Organisational Partners:** NAPA
**Funders:** Arts Council England National Lottery, Aurum Charitable Trust, Camden Giving, French Huguenot Church of London Charitable Trust, Hammersmith United Charities, Salters’ Charitable Foundation, The ExPat Foundation, Westminster Amalgamated Charity, Woodroffe Benton Foundation
Alliston House, Walthamstow, care professionals, Sandra and Agnes, artist, Georgia Akbar
George Mason Lodge, Leytonstone, care professionals, Pat and Maxine, artists, Chuck Blue Lowry with Paula Varjack
Mapleton Road, Chingford, care professionals, Cathy and Linda, artists, Ishwari Bhalerao and Leonie Rousham (known collectively as Kneed)
**Funders:** Players of People’s Postcode Lottery, The Rayne Foundation, Wates Foundation, Woodroffe Benton Foundation
**Care Partner:** London Borough of Waltham Forest
**17**
## **BE PART OF THE MAGIC**
One great thing we discovered in this difficult year was the many wonderful ways that people found to support us:
Play Dead London piloted their online murder mysteries for free at the beginning of the pandemic, but asked people to donate to charity – Magic Me was one of the chosen charities.
With mass participation challenge events off the table, people found all sorts of new creative ways to raise funds for us – including our director Susan who ran a mini marathon course in her garden!
People taking part in the Saturday Collagistes workshops and Christmas origami wreath making workshop donated to Magic Me instead of paying the workshop leader.
Kelly created a bold (and important) message t-shirt “Stay at Home” and gave us a proportion of the profits.
Our regular supporters continued to keep giving – some give £10 a month, some £200 – every penny is welcome.
For the Big Give Christmas Challenge a group of supporters created their own Magic Circles of givers – bringing in new supporters and new funds to help us meet our target.
Captain Tom was an inspiration to us all but particularly to Helen Keegan and Deborah Mason who took on the Captain Tom 100 Challenge. Helen made 100 sewn items and Deborah completed 100 portraits in 50 hours to raise over £2000 for Magic Me.
If you’d like to be part of the Magic, whether it’s through financial support, corporate support, in-kind donations of materials or expertise, fundraising or simply putting us in touch with others who can help, then please contact Tham at thamhuyhn@magicme.co.uk
**18**
## **THANK YOU**
**We would like to say thank you to everyone who has given time, energy and money to Magic Me’s work over 2020/21.**
We’d particularly like to say thank you to all of our funders who, without exception, have been generous and flexible, trusting us to use their donations and grants in the best way to support our communities during changing circumstances.
## ~~**GRANTS AND DONATIONS 2020/21**~~
Aldgate and Allhallows Foundation Arts Council England National Lottery ARUP
## ~~**2019/20 GRANTS SUPPORTING WORK THIS YEAR**~~
Hammersmith United Charities Lucas Tooth Trust Salters’ Charitable Foundation The ExPat Foundation Westminster Amalgamated Charity
Aurum Charitable Trust
Bank of England Camden Giving Foundation for Future London
French Huguenot Church of London Charitable Trust
Garfield Weston Foundation
## ~~**NEW GRANTS AND**~~
## ~~**DONATIONS IN 2021/22**~~
Sir Jules Thorn Charitable Trust
The Charity of Sir Richard Whittington Arts Council England: Culture Recovery Fund
Haberdashers’ Company
L&Q Foundation
London Borough of Tower Hamlets London Community Foundation Masonic Charitable Foundation
Monday Charitable Trust Neighbourly
Paul Hamlyn Foundation Players of People’s Postcode Lottery The Goldsmiths’ Company Charity The Mercers’ Company The Rayne Foundation Wates Foundation Woodroffe Benton Foundation
**19**
## **THANK YOU**
## ~~**FUNDERS 2020-21**~~
## ~~**FUNDERS 2021-22**~~
## ~~**CORPORATE DONORS**~~
ARUP Bank of England
**And thank you to over 150 people who gave one off or regular donations, or fundraised for us.**
## ~~**IN KIND SUPPORT**~~
34SP Allen & Overy
**20**
## **OUR FINANCES**
This summary is taken from Magic Me’s full, independently examined accounts. If you would like a copy, please visit our website www.magicme.co.uk or contact Magic Me on info@magicme.co.uk
Income during the year 2020/2021 was £479,578. This compares to £410,190 in 2019/20. As you can see in the pie charts, the majority of our Expenditure of £433,321 is on people – the staff, freelance artists and project managers who make our programmes possible - plus project materials and other costs of activities.
The pandemic and need for multiple changes to planned activities, has meant that maintaining
our income and managing our budgets has been tougher than usual during the past year. The generosity of our donors and the ongoing support and flexibility of our funders has enabled us to keep our finances stable. We also benefitted from government support for parttime furloughing of staff during Spring 2021.
Very little of our income is year on year core funding. Fundraising is ongoing throughout the year to ensure that our income stream matches our plans for the future. We hold a certain amount of money in reserve, to ensure that we can cover unexpected expenses, and are pleased to report that these reserves remain intact, even after such a tough year.
## **INCOME 2020/21**
## **EXPENDITURE 2020/21**
**Trust & Foundations**
|||
|---|---|
|**Trust & Foundations**|**47**|
|**Lottery Grants**|**21**|
|**Livery Companies**|**10**|
|**Project Partners**|**7**|
|**Local Authority**|**6**|
|**Individual Donations**|**5**|
|**Government Scheme**|**3**|
|**Business Donations**|**1**|
|**Staff salaries and costs**|**57**|
|---|---|
|**Artists and Arts Partners fees**|**23**|
|**Materials, venues, transport, volunteer costs**|**6**|
|**Rent, Offce and communications**|**6**|
|**Fundraising**|**6**|
|**Governance including accountancy**|**2**|
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## **OUR TEAM**
## ~~**CURRENT STAFF**~~
**Susan Langford** Director
**Emily Bird** Schools and Communities Project Co-ordinator
**Catherine Connell** Schools and Communities Project Manager
**Kate Hodson** Programme Director
**Tham Huynh** Fundraising Coordinator
**Deborah Mason** Communications Manager
**Sarah Watson** After Party and Inside Out 2021 Project Manager
## ~~**TRUSTEES**~~
**Alison Harvie** Chair
## ~~**EX STAFF WORKING DURING THE YEAR**~~
**Kate Cattell** General Manager
**Nanette Daniels** Director of Finance & Operations
**Phoebe Grudzinskas** Project Manager, Care Homes Support
**Bethany Haynes** Programme Director Parental Leave Cover
**Nazifa Yazmin** Artworks Placement
**Max Glazer-Munck** Treasurer
**Damian Hebron** Secretary
**Afsana Begum**
**Caroline Gellatly Hazel Gould Aimee O’Malley David Russell**
**Trustees who left in 2020/21 Denise Leander Phil Cave**
## ~~**THANKS TO**~~
**Anna Dinnen** Consultant
## **D.R. ink**
**Photo credits:** Chuck Blue Lowry, Grace White, Elisa Dirosa, Mia Harris, Georgia Akbar, Samia Meah
**Artworks featured by:** Theo Datobhilus, Heather Qualtrough, Kumar, Geoffrey Ogunleye, Hilary Freed, Toynbee Hall & Christ Church Primary School
**22**
## **WE REMEMBER**
**Magic Me participants who passed away last year**
**Ken Lee Gittens J Baptiste Barbara Molaya Manny Blankett Shobha Watts**
## **WE ALSO REMEMBER**
**The many other past participants who will have passed away in the last 12 months The 29,574 care home residents and the staff who have been lost to the Covid 19 virus in 2020/21**
**We send our condolences and regards to their families, friends and the staff who so diligently cared for them all**
**23**
Thanks to Allen & Overy LLP for printing this report
**26 Pott Street, London E2 0EF** Tel: 020 3222 6064 info@magicme.co.uk **www.magicme.co.uk** Registered Charity No. 328331
Charity Registratlon No. 328331
C¢)mpany Reglstratlon No. 02394189 (England and Wal•sl
MAGIC ME
ANNUAL REPORT AND UNAUDITED FINANCIAL STATEMENTS
FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31 MARCH 2021
MAGIC ME
LEGAL AND ADMINISTRATIVE INFORMATION
Trustsos
Afsana Begum
Aimee O'malley
Caroline Gellaty
Damian Hebron
David Russell
Hazel Goukl
Max Glazer-munck
Susan Langknd
Charity numb•r
328331
Company nurnbor
02394189
Prfn¢lpal address
Ldon
E2 OEF
R•gi8tgrgd offico
LoThJon
E2 OEF
Independ•nt •xamlnw
Rithard F HoFper
Chirrthursl
30 Sl stepfr Hil
PL15 8HN
B•nk•rs
CAF Bank Ltd
25 Kings Hiu Avenue
Kirws Hill
West Malling
Kent
ME19 4JQ
MAGIC ME
CONTENTS
Page
TNste8s' Teport
lTrJependent examlnevs report
Stalgment of financtal activitle8
Balance sheet
Notes to the flnan¢ial st*m8nts
9-20
MAGIC ME
TRUSTEES. REPORT (INCLUDING DIRECTORS. REPORn
FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31 MARCH 2021
The tJu$lees presenl their rept and finala1 statements for the year ended 31 Marth 2021.
The financial statements have been prepared in accordan with the acojunting p)licies set out in note 1 10
the financial stalefflents arKI comply with the tharivs tsjnstitutron. the compan Act 2006 and "Accounting
and Reporttng by Charilies.. Statement of Recommgnded Praclice applicab to charitres preparing their
accounts in acwdance with the Finan¢ial Rep(xbrwJ Stsndard applicable In the UK and Reputlic of Ireland
IFRS 1021 leffectNe 1 January 2019)..
Objectlves and activitigs
The charity's objects are the improvement arml a(frMttment of th8 educ*i)n of childten arKI towards a
better understanding of a9eing and the of ekkrty people, and meth¢8 by which those needs may best
be met.
Publlc benefft
Magic Me works for the tenefft of the PUbc. both TKW and for futswe gewatiws. Research shows that 1 in
3 babies bom in the UK in the past decade wtll live to be 100.
By bringlng WKI older peo trwher in sh1 wtive acllylles we brfng ènjoyment. improv&J
wellbeing and greater mutual undwstsrKling a(n)SS 9eneratiorts tc*Jay. Lger temi, we support Individual$
and organisations to imagine different ways ofgThing okler and design the firture gxiety we need to bjild for
our ag8ing Fowlation.
Our actsvitss. exhibitior and wfoThnances cthalleThJe both participants and
audiences to recowder ageist expeclations and stereoty5 can limil th? aspirations and lives of
younger and older people.
During the Covid pandemic aThJ lothdowns. Magi Me has seryed inthvKlual partiupants and our partner
groups in new ways: keeping peoth COncted and combatling isotation aTrJ loneliness,. woviding ueative
actiwties and proieGts whtch offered pknurable thaltenge. fun and sense of achievemenL supporting partner
scthools and older people's organisatior6 to maintain their relationships aThJ foster interyeneratwl
exchanges 0fa1fvrk$. nwssages and hope.
The trustees have refefred to the Charity Commission's guidan* on public befft in revlthmng the ¢*ariWs
aims aThJ objectives and in nnIng its future actlons.
Magic Me benefits peopte of all ages at many different leveks: yourvJ older partietpant$ enjoy new
opportunities. leam Skills and form new ndshIps. our partners (for example Staff in care homes) gain new
insights and fom) deeper and more rewarding relatlonships wTth Ihose for Wh they care". artists and
erealive praciTtioners develop new skills arKI expertise: arKI our volunteer3 gain th115 in communicating
older people and fom wder c4)nnections and soaal links within their communities.
Magic Me is based in Ttrwer Hamkts. easl London, however thg ac11vib we deliver and our 1nfiU8re on
other people benefft people and communities muth more widdy.
MAGIC ME
TRUSTEES. REPORT (CONTINUED){INCLUDING DIRECTORS. REPORT)
FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31 MARCH 2021
During the year 2020f21 Ma9 Me:
' ran arts workshops. wqe¢ts and events in partnership wth more than 29 partner thols, care homes and
housing schomes for older peorAe. eommunty. cuttural arKI arts organisattons:
. involved and directly bèrvafftted 186 older peoF4e and 149 children and younger peop., s4iported 60 staff in
care homes and housiNJ $therS arKI 15 teachers school stafF. with the supwt and invc4vemnt of 38
adult volunteers.
' posted 867 activity packs to ywnger arvj older people: a fijrther 3250 pttopb were given to proie¢t
aclivrknes and resources online: Magic Me slaff mwje 4kn pl¥ calls to check In and swort ¢)k
Individuals al home:
. served people in a total of 8 London Boroughs: Towgr Haml8ts, CaffKlen. Hammersmith & Fulham,
Islington. Lambeth. Southwark. Waltham Forest aThJ Westminster.
' continued to supwjrt four leadiThJ arts organisations.. Matthew Bourne's New Adventures. lOuS direcaive,
Gecko and Fevered Sleep. to maintain rela1)nshIpS with tr*ir partner we horne commun¢ties across Essex
In Epping, Maldon. Colchester and TeTrJriNJ. v4hen Covvj paused rjur Artists Reshden¢ies in Care Homes
progrnmme.,
. designed new ways of working at a distance and shared leaming about these through: publishing reports
and resources on i)ur vRbwte: presenting at ¢)nlir* eonferences UK arts, ritage and community
pft>fessionals and at SilverArts 2020 run by the NatKThI Arts CourKII SIrWre.
challeng and new ways of worklng during 2020r21
The onset in the UK of the Covid-19 pandemic in late February 2020 and ts or4JoiThJ impact through 2020121
and beyond is wilhoul doubt the biggest thallerMJe Magic Me and our o)mmunlties have faced in our 32+ year
history. cov-19 has impathd peWe of all ages. directy 1hroh infr(*¢. death and bereavement. and
indirectty thrcNJgh the effects of nalional restrictions. In east London. people from Black. Asian and other
minority eommunities liwrvJ in and pts)r h¢tsing have been disproportionately affected by Govvj.
Lockdowns and the need for sh5ekJing have en¢)rmOuY reduced access to education. 8veryday community
Throughoul the year Magic Me has ntInued to delNer ow miSsn as Ml as possible. adapling our
programmes to serve our regular parlicipants arvj partners at a distan. In Ppril 2020 wg rewofked all wr
planned activi and launched At Home TLWther. a series (* proieds which enabSed individuals and groups
to continue to meet. to make arKI to party in new w, by ph¢me. po81 or exL*ary of artworts and online.
The impad of covid on care homes for older FeOF4e has been particukrty hard. with high infection and
mortality rates. Residents have INed in fockdown for months at a time visits allowed from family and
frtends. Many knmes lacked wrfi or digital equipment, so Ma9 Me raised fvrKls to l)uy mobile phones,
tablets and data packages for care horMs so that stsff Uld more easily communicate with our project artists.
staff and volunteers. to link dd&r people into cOnveaOn$. online resour and adivitN8s on zcfv)m.
Throughout the year mag Me staff and artists have W0ed dosety wilh our partners. Unable to go Into
classrooms or care homes. asts have led actsvitEs from the outside - r*)sted activ parcels. workshops on
zoom - teachers and actiwties trganiws o>Wing inside the mm with pupils or residents. Desplte
the many frustrations of remote wthiro. we hav8 developed new levels of twst and Covoperation with our
partners. whlch are enablirYJ us in Summer 2021 to plan future aclivitles as restrici10 ease.
Morn d•tsil$ of our actlvltkn and thety impa¢t are given in our Annual Report 2020r21. This will be
available online at wwrt.magicme.co.uk folknwing our AGM in October 2021 and in rrtinted fomwl on reql$t
from our office. info@magicme.co.uk or 020 3222 6064.
MAGIC ME
TRUSTEES. REPORT (CONTINUED)(INCLUDING DIRECTORS, REPORT)
FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31 MARCH 2021
Flnanclal Report
The ffiftanGial transactions of the charity during th8 year and the position at the end of the year ar• $91 out in
th8 attached accounts.
Income durlng the year 2020121 was £479,578 compared with £410,190 in 2019120.
Total expendibjre in 2020121 was £433,321. 8 sllght decreasé from £452,459 in the previou$ year. This
reflects reduced costs for activity room rental and materials, as faCè-tfacQ project work stopped, and the
negotiallon of a rent-free first quarter following our move to a new office In January 2021. thanks to our new
landlords Bethnal Green Meeting House.
Over the past few yèars our Board of Tru81ee8 and senior staff have worked hard lo Increase our finan¢ial
stabilty and bo fvrther ahead with our fundraising, in order to plan future project work with confidence. Magic
Me thus started April 2020 in a strong financial posltion with some 80% of 2020121 income already confirmed.
When all of our plans and budget5 had lo bg reworked we therefore had a Strong base from which to build.
Staff worked Ilrelessly lo juggle multiple funding 8trands to best effect and all experienced period8 of part-time
fvrfough during spng 2021 as budgets shrank.
We are indebted to our many funders and supporters who, vlthout exception, trusted us to spend their grants
and donations in n8w way8 to best support our communities. Their flexibilty and partnership approach
enabled us to move quickly and wlth confidence in very diffi11 times.
Our income Included an additional grant of £110,000 from P8uI Hamlyn Foundation to support our core Costs
and fund a further interim year of activty by Magic Me and our many Artists in Residencies in Care Homes
proiecl partners in E¥¥ex. Paused by o)vid during 2020. activity has restarted and the project will now Nn
until 2024. We are also very grateful for special grants to cover additional covid-related costs from Arts
Council England. London Community Foundation arKI the player5 of the People's Postcode Lottery.
Magic Me re¢eives no core publlc subsldy and wé are enormously grateful for the very generous support
receiv8d from numerous Iru$ts arKI foundations, livery companles. lotteries, businesses, indtvidu81 suppK)rters
and the Friends of Magic Me - WitrUt whith ¢)ur work would not be posslble. Details of grants are given
below and in the Annual Report.
Resorve8 poll¢y and posltlon
The trustees aim to keep a balanee In free reserves equal lo al least three months. core and projed
expenditu, so as lo enable the charity to continue to operate in the short tem in the event of unexpected
delays in the recgipt of income or unexpected experKlilure, and to enable a well-managed wind-up of the
Charity should that ever become necessary. The target reservo level will change over lime arKÈ is Viewed
quartedy by the Finance. Audit and Risk sUcOmmittee.
With budgeted expendilure for 2021r22 standing al £565,027 this figure Is curn¢1Y calculated al £141,257.
The current lolal of unrestricted funds of £49,137 is therekn short of the tsrgel level. Given increased
community na8d due to covid and rising demand for tharitable funds. fundraising will remain challengin9 in
the current and future years. Given the uncertain outtook we will continue to alm for a surplus budg8t in
2021122 to Increase our reserves. At the lime of writing. in August 2021. we have already secured £31,600
SpecifillY to increase our reserves. part of 8 larger Cultural Recovery Fund grant from Arts COU11 Englar.
The cash position at 31 March 2021 was healthy. with £224,499 cash in hand and total net a8set8 of
£162.428.
MAGIC ME
TRUSTEES. REPORT (CONTINUED)(INCLUDING DIRECTORS. REPORn
FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31 MARCH 2021
Rlsk Rwlow and Management
The Iruslees have ravitiv durlng thè year the major rfsks lo whlth the tharlty Is exposed. They have
looked at extstsng risk and fijrther eontrol measures required and the process by which Tfustees a kept up to
key actions taken to milig8te them.
Govemanc4 rlsk. to continuè to enwrè th*. th9 Intstees h*A the rnlevant skNts, comftthent aNI wdty
to govem Magic Me lo enable the tharity to be the besl that il can be, steadfastty focused on achieving its
Operational risk.. to continLte to ensure that: Poliryes and Procadures induding those for Safeguarding of
Children and Vulnerable Adults, Health & Safety and Equality. Diversty and Indusion are in line with Cent
best practice and imrAemented: appropriat8 systems lor conlracttng. managing arKI supervising atl staff and
freelance artists arKI workers. and for worktng wtth volunteers a in operation. clear written agreements of
Flnancial rfsk.. to cOntknl lo ensure: good foTh¥ard flnandal plannlrtg, fundraisiNJ and cashnow awareness:
Ihe mavitslnlng of a thble rnseNes aimhg to build up a reserye of al least three rnonths. nmnirwJ
and the p0cleS rted under oper4tional risk" o)mpliance with relevant legislation regarding charities and
(x)mpanies induding GDPR.. to remain alert to the d)anging )ntext the many secto In Mag
R8putationaJ risk: lo cline to budd on the (l)aritys repulan for best PraGti and lo devebp gc<#J
CommEtmt tOAnRatISffl.. during the past year the and the dire(kn have publldy re(x)gni8ed that
Magic Me 15 a mapTity wknite organisaknn. in te oflnkn. Staff artists, wth mary BlacK
Asian and other Tninorilised pP in east London communthes. Not addressing this situation would be
wrcf¢g and also brlngs re9alory. operaltonal and rewlatEonal rlsks. nol least the rlsk of longer te9
rdevant to th8 lo rffjmmunittes we Msh lo serve. We have coMMitj to l*collg an anlptsast
organisation and are working in summer 2021 wlth a consultant to create an Anti4laosm Actron Pkn for this
and fubJrB years.
Covt&19: Since Marth 2020 risks rel8b.ng to CovKk19 and tts impact have been added to our flsk Register
have been pul in plar* and are regularty revlewed and updated in relation to changin9 government advi or
legi5[an and emerging b8St Practt. Financial and govemance Ttsks relating to a thAnged nin9
review.
MAGIC ME
TRUSTEES. REPORT (CONTINUED)(INCLUDING DIRECTORS. REPORT)
FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31 MARCH 2021
Slruclurn. governanc• and managemont
Magic Me ss a company hmlled by guaraniee {no. 2394189) fom)ed on 12 June 1989 and is registered 8s a
chaiity (fto. 328331).
Thg tNstees, WFM) are also the thr8raors for the PUFpose of oJnwany law. and who ser¥th4 dwirvJ the year and
up to Ihe date ofslgnature ofthe finarrial slatements were:
Afsana Begum
Densse LearKler
Aimee ¢YMalley
Carolhe Gel]•lly
Damian Helxon
David Russell
Ajigjn Harvio
Hazel Goukl
Max Glazer-munck
Philip Cave
(Rwrnd 13 Octobw 2020)
{ReSigrd 13 Odober 20201
None of the tte8$ any beneffcral intgr851 in Ihg (rary. Al ofthe truslees are ofthe
c>Jmpany and guarantee to contrwe £1 in the event of 8 wlnding up.
Thg ch81ity18 run by a Iwd ofdlrectors+lrustses whtth meets every three months. Through three SU
rAJmmittees IFln8nce Audit and Risk, FLfndraising and HR} the trustees 8190 ovetsee key aspe¢ts ofthe
the defvery of acbvitles and FKoiecLs a team of other efflpbyees. professional atlsts and numerous
volunteers.
A8S•t cover for funds
The notes to the ac¢Lwnts set out Ihe assets attribulthe to the Vario funds and 8 descriplic of the tts.
These assets are Suffic?1 lo meet the chaiivs obligotrons on a (urw-fvnd l>a5k8.
The Ituste8s' report appffjved by the Board orTn.
AIEson Haryle
MAGIC ME
INDEPENDENT EXAMINER'S REPORT
TO THE TRUSTEES OF MAGIC ME
I rep)rt to the trustees on my examination of the financial Statem of Magic Me Chlty) for the year
ended 31 March 2021.
R¢spoTrslbllltles and ba818 of rgport
As the trustees of the charity {and also its dlrectors for the wrpjsés of (x)mpwry law) you are responsible
for the preparatron of finarKial statements in aCcUdan wrth the requiremènts of Companies A¢1
2006 (the 2006 A¢1).
Having satisfied Myse that the finanaal statements of the charity are not required to be audited under Part
16 of the 2006 Act and are eligible for indeperKlenl examinati¢)n. I re1 in respect of my exarninalion of the
challty's financial statements carti¢d out under section 145 of the Charibes Act 2011 (the 2011 Act). In
carrying c*Jt my examination I have fdl¢JW8d am the applKable Dweclions given ty the Charity Commission
under sactron 14515Mbl of the 2011 Act.
Independent •xamln•rfs statsment
Slnce the charity's gross income exceeded £250,0(Kl 5ur examlnw must be a member of a body listed in
sect¢on 145 of the 2011 Act. I confinn that l am qualified to uThJertake the examination because l am a
member of Institute of CharteredAccounlants in EThJland & Wales, whith is one of the li5teil
I have compkted my eXaminan. l ¢xHrni that rn matters have come to my atteniion in ts)nnection with
the examination giwng me cause to believe that in any materlal respe&'.
accounting records were not kept in respecl of the charity as required by se(IA)n 386 of the 2006 Art
or
th& financyal statements do not aecord *ryth those recoryis., or
the finanoal stslements do not comply with the aco)unbng requwem#ts of Secti 396 of the 2006 Acl
other than any requirement that the acccwnts a true fair view whth is not a matter considered
as part of an independent examinatM)n: or
the financial ststements have not been prepared in aCCidar8 viti the meth(MJs and princxF4es of the
Statement of R8commeTrJed Practica a(x>)untirvJ and reporting by charities applicable to charitres
preparfng their accounts in aordanCe *ryth the Finanual Reporting Standard applicable in the UK and
Rewblic of Irdand {FRS 102}.
I have no cortsms arvj have come across no ¢Jthèr matters in colyb0 wilh the exam1r10 to whith
attention should be drawn in this report in OTder lo enable a proper understanding of the finanual statements
lo be reached.
Richard F Hopper
Chartered Aountant
Chlnthufst
30 St Stephens Hill
Launceston
Comwall
PL15 8HN
Dated..
I 2011
MAGIC ME
STATEMENT OF FINANCIAL ACTIVITIES
INCLUDING INCOME AND EXPENDITUREACCOUNT
FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31 MARCH 2021
Unrn8trictgd Rostrl¢led
funds
fund8
To141
2021
Tolal
2020
Not
com
Donations and grants
Other trading acllvities
Investrnents
Other incoff
73.632
31
104
1.361
404,450
478.082
31
406.933
31
776
2,450
1,361
Total Incom•
75,128
404,450
479.578
410,190
ndit
Raising funds
25.465
25,465
19,302
CharTlable activities
52.428
355.428
407,856
433.157
Totsl resourc08 expended
77.893
355,428
433.321
452.459
Nel {expendltur6)fineomg for tho yearl
Net movement in funds
(2,7651
49,022
46.2S7
(42.2691
Fund balances at 1 April 2020
51,902
64.269
116,171
158.440
Fund balanc08 at 31 March 2021
49,137
113,291
162.428
116,171
The 8latement of financial 8cllvltles indud8s all gairhs and losses recognised in the year.
All incom8 and expenditure derive from continuing advilies.
The statement of financial activities also compli&8 with the requirements for an ints)mè and expenditure acUnt
under the Companies Act 2006.
MAGIC ME
BALANCE SHEEr
AS AT31 MARCH 2021
2021
2020
Flxod aseets
Tangible assets
Irr•nt assots
Debtors
Cash at bank WKI in hand
12
2234
4,461
13
44.859
224,499
12.476
240,940
269.358
253.416
one year
14
1109,164)
(141.706)
Net currenl assets
160.194
111.710
T(Aal a•ts le88 current Ilabililios
162.428
116.171
Inc¢m• funds
Restrithd fiJnd5
Unr
Designated furbjs
General unrestrtcted fttrKI$
17
113,291
64.269
16.217
32.920
17.695
34.207
49,137
51,902
1V2,428
116.171
The company is enliued to the exemption from the audil requirement contsined seAion 477 of the Comparties
Act 2006. for the year ended 31 March 2021.
The directors ackrthedge their re8ponsibilitres for eftsuring that the charity keeps aaownting T0d$ whrch
c¢Jmply wth secllon 386 of the Act and for preparing financial ststements vthich give a Itue and fair view of the
state of affairs of the company 0$ * efMI of the finartcHI year and of its i1)MIng resourtes and applkabon of
resources. including its income and expenditure. for the financral year in accordance th the requirements of
atiOnS 394 and 395 and *thich other¥•ise comply with the reqU*enIts of the Companies 2006 r&ting to
financial ststements. so far as appficable to the company.
The rnernbe have not ]uired the company to oblan an of its fmandal stal•nenls for the year in
queslion in accmdance secbon 476.
subject to the smaN companies regime.
Alison Harv
.MurKk
COMTrY Roglstratlon 02394189
MAGIC ME
NOTES TO THE FINANCIAL STATEMENTS
FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31 MARCH 2021
AccountlTrg pollcle
Charlty Inforniatl¢>n
Mag[¢ Me is a Private company limited by guaraniee lftrpated in England and V4*1e& Tr feglstered
office is 26 Pott Street. London. E2 OEF.
1.1 AcMunting ¢onvonUon
The ffinancial stslements have been prepared in accordance w6th the cPorWs govemlng document, the
cpanieS Act 2006 and "AccoLsnling and Reporting by Charitses: Statement of Recommended Practice
a¢cable to tharities pTeparing their a(wunts in aro)rdance the Finanaal RepoTbng Slandard
applicable in the UK and Republic of Ireland {FRS 102) (effedive 1 January 2019)". The charity Is a Publlc
8enefit Entsty 88 defined by FRS 102.
The Charity has taken advantage of the provisions in the SORP for Ghwthe$ apptying FRS 102 Update
Bultetin 1 not to prepare a SL*ment of Cash Flovts.
The financial statements are prepared in sterfing, vthtch is the fUnctIon currency of Ihe charity. Monetary
arnounts in Ihese financlal statements are rounded to the neare* L
The financial statements have been prepared under the hislorical cosl wnvention, modffied to include the
re¥alualis)rt of freehold proFerbes aTrJ to indude tnvestrnent propeibes and certain financial instruments at
fair value. The prin¢ipal artwnting pofi¢w adopted a sel out below.
At the t6me of approving the finandal statsments, the trustees have a reasonable expectation that the
charity has adequate resources to conlinue in op8rati¢)nal e$tenCe for the foreseeable lLrtU. Thus thfj
trustees Gontinue to adopt the govy conwi ba¥is ofaGcounting in prepaTirvJ the ffinanci statements.
Unrestricted ndS are available for use at the discretion of the in frjrtherance of their charitable
Re$triGted fvnds are Subjecl lo specific Gondilions by donors as to how Ihey may be used. The purposes
1.4 In¢omlng res¢)urces
me( the amounts can be Me8red rellably. and 1$ probable that income will be received.
Cash donations are recognised on receipL Olher donations are recognlsed once the tharity has been
nolified of the donation. unless performance conditions reqLkire deferral of the amount Income tax
recoverable In •b.0ft to donations rec under GiftAid or degd5 of c4Nenant is tecognised at the lime
of the donatton.
distribution, the amount Is known, and recelpt Is expected. If the amount is not kno). the legacy 1$ treated
as a contÉngentasseL
MAGIC ME
NOTES TO THE FINANCIAL STATEMENTS (CONTINUED
FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31 MARCH 2021
Accounting pollGIoS
{Contlnued)
1.6 Tanglble fixed assets
Tangible fixed assets are inrbany measured at and subwuenty measured at cost or valuation, net of
deprec4at*)n and any impaimienl lossey.
Depreciation is recrynised so as to write off the Cost or valuation of assets less their reswjual values over
their useful Ilves on the fdl¢)wing bases..
FixbJres. fittings & equiprnent
IT èquipment & website
25% p.a. on Cost
25% - 33.33% p.a. on cost
The gain or loss arislng on the disposal of an asset is deterrrined as the difference beeen Ihe sale
proceeds and the carrwng value of the asse( and is reccgni5ed in net incomellexpendilure) for the year.
1.7 ImpalnTWIt of flxed assets
At each reporling end date, ts charity the e*rying aThvx¥ts of its tarrfJible assets to detemine
whether there is any indicat*Jn that IlK)se assets have suffered an impainnent loss. If any such indication
exists. the reC0vwle amount of the as¥et is eslimated er to detemiine exlent of impaimient
loss (rf any).
1.8 Cash and c•sh gqulvalents
Cash and cash equNalents incIe eAsh in hand. deFK)&ts held at call with bar*s. other s1)rt-teM1 liquid
investsments 7Mth or*Jinal maturities of thm morth or les& aThl bank overdrnfts. Bank overdrafts are
shown wthin ljorrowiws in current liabilities.
1.9 Flnanclal Instruments
The charity has dected to apply the provisions of Seclion 11 Basic Financial In8lrument8' and Seciion 12
'Other Financial Instruments Issues. of FRS 102 to al of ils finarrial instruments.
Financial instruments are rwnised in the ¢hariW$ balan sheet the charity bec0Tr party lo tha
contractual provisions of the instrumenL
Finanual assets and liabilities ar8 offset. wlth the net any)unts presented In the financial slatements, when
there is a legally enforceabkq righl to set ¢)ff the reccgni5ed amounts arKf there is an intentlon to Setle on
net b8SFS or lo realise the assel and setue the liabilty MultaneOusly.
Basic finanal assets
Basic financial assets. whh indwk debtors aThJ cash and bank balances, are inltl81ty measured at
transaction price including transaction Costs and are subsequenty carried at amortised cost using the
effeclive interest method unless the arrangement constitutes a financiw transaciion. where the transaction
is measured at the present value of the fijture leipts discounted at a market rate of interest. Financial
assets classified as INable *ithln one year are not arrbjrfised.
10-
MAGIC ME
NOTES TO THE FINANCIAL STATEMENTS (CONTINUED)
FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31 MARCH 2021
Accounting
{Conllnued
Basic financlal Ilabllltles
Basic finanoal liabilities. induding ueditor5 and bank loans are inibalty rgcognised at transaction price
unless the arrangement wistitutes a financirKJ transadion. where the debt instrument is measured at the
present value of the futu payments discounted at a Maet rate of interesL Finanaal liatiilltles dasslfied
as payable within one year are not amortised.
Debt instruments are subsequenly carried at arrwJrti¥ed o)st. usiTh) the effedive interest rate method.
Trade Iyeditors are obligations to pay for goods or seNus that have teen acquired in the ordinary course
of operations from suppliefs. Am¢wnts payable are dassbfied as current liabilities if payment is due within
one year or less. If not, they are presented as nOrrrent liabilities. Trade edItOrS are recognised initially
at transaction price arbj subsequenty measured at amutised cost using the effecbve interest method.
D•recognhlon of fln•neialliats"lities
Financial liabilths are derwnised the chariWs contrathid Oblgats expire or are dIStha or
cancelled.
1.10 ReUrom•nl bgnefits
Payments to defined contribubon rellremert benefft schemes are tharged as expe as they fall due.
CrttIl a¢¢ountlng estlmatss and judg0Thnts
In the appIatIon of Ihè charl5 accourting pOIleS. the trustees are requlred b mak8 judgements,
esttmales and assumptions about the earryiry amount of assets and liabilities that are not readily apparent
from other sources. The estimates and assouated as5umplions are based on historical experience and
r fartors that are cAsidered to be TelevanL Acti1 results may differ from these estimates.
The oslimat8s and undetying assumpti are revie*ed onwing basts. RevISn$ to aCntIng
estimates are rec4nised in the peric#J in the estim* is revised where the revision affects only that
peri¢4J. or in the period of rewS1 and future whwe lh8 rgvision affeds both current and future
pericds.
11
MAGIC ME
NOTES TO THE FINANCIAL STATEMENTS (CONTINUED)
FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31 MARCH 2021
Donations ond grants
Unrestrfcted Restrlct•d
fvnds
funds
Total
2021
Total
2020
Donatlons and glfts
Grants income
18.893
56.739
16,893
461,189
26.465
380.468
404.450
73,632
404,450
478.082
406,933
For the year Ond 31 March 2020
55.982
350,951
406,933
The trustees acknowledge wlth thanks grant and donation income from many funders and 8UPP)rters
wlthin the publiG. private and voluntary sectors. Includlng the foll¢)wing of £l.000 or more..
£110,000 Paul Hamlyn Foundation
£79.550 National Lottery through Arts Council England
£30,500 L&Q FOuratIOn
£27.596 London Borough ofTower Hamlets
£25,000 The Mereers, Company
£20.000 Aldgate and Allhallows Foundation
£20,000 Aurum Charitable Trust
£20,000 The Gold8miths' Company Charity
£20,000 Supported by players ofthe People's Postcode Lottery
£20,000 The Rayne FourKlation
£18.000 Garfield Weston Foundation
£10.000 Anonymous
£10,000 Anonymous
£8.636 Wates Foundatlon
£6.381 London Community Foundallon
£5,000 French Huguenot Churth of London Charitable Trust
£S,000 Haberdashers, Company
£5,000 MasoniG Charitable Foundation
£3.000 Allen & Overy
£3,000 Wothjroffe Benton Foundation
£2,400 Anonymous
£2.000 Bank of EnglaTrJ
£2,000 Gateway Housing
£1,848 Foundation for Future London
£1.500 Monday CharatsIe Trust
We a180 acknowledge financial contributions from 152 other Individuals wl)o gave regular or onè-off
contributions during the year totalling of £11,374, and £15,327 *ntral wvemment CoronavifU$ Job
Retention Scheme fijndiry.
12-
MAGIC ME
NOTES TO THE FINANCIAL STATEMENTS (CONTINUED)
FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31 MARCH 2021
othgr tradlng actlvltle8
Unrestrlcted Unrestricted
funds
funds
2021
2020
Sale of books etc.
31
31
InveBtmonts
Unrostrlcted Unrestricted
funds
funds
2021
2020
Interest recelvabie
104
776
Other Incoma
Unrestrlct•d Unrestricted
funds
2021
2020
Other InMe
1,361
2.450
Other income comprises fee8 eamed from the provision of training and ¢4)nsultsnGy services.
Ralslng fund$
Unr•strlet8d Unrestrlcted
funds
fund8
2021
2020
Fundraising expenses
Staff o)sts
2.403
16.899
25.465
Costs ofgenerating grants and donations
25.465
19.302
25.465
19,302
13-
MAGIC ME
NOTES TO THE FINANCIAL STATEMENTS (CONTINUED)
FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31 MARCH 2021
Charitsble athltles
Intsr-
Training
genera-
and
tional d8vdopmt
actlvltlos activlt1•8
Total
2021
Total
2020
Staff costs
Depreaation afKI impaim)ent
Artists. fees, matertals and other direct PTOPCt costs
183.655
2.227
159,275
183,655
2.227
159.275
223.342
2,440
143,106
345.157
345,157
368.888
Share of support costs (see note 9)
Share of g¢Mmance c•)sts (see note 9)
60,471
2.222
60.477
61,576
2,693
407.856
407,856
433.157
A11$ by fund
Unrestricted funds
Restricted fvnds
52.428
355.428
52.428
355,428
407,856
407,856
For tho yoar ended 31 Marth 20*1
Unrestricted funds
Restricted fvnds
25.624
384.496
23.037
48,861
384.496
410,120
23,037
433.157
14-
MAGIC ME
NOTES TO THE FINANCIAL STATEMENTS (CONTINUED)
FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31 MARCH 2021
Support costs
Support Govomance
costs
costs
2021
Support Govemanr
Costs
2020
Staff costs
Prgmises and insuran
costs etc.
Administrative expenses
23,078
23,078
21,140
21.140
16,751
20.648
16,751
20,648
23.033
17,403
23,033
17,403
Accountancy
Trustees expenses
Annual Report and AGM
1,008
1.008
1,008
185
1.500
1.008
185
1,500
1,214
1,214
60.477
2,222
62.699
61,576
2,693
64.269
Goveman¢g costs includes payments to thè ind8pgndenl axaminer of £1.008 {2020- £1,008) for
indopendent examlnation and aoGountsncy fees.
10 Trustoos
None ol the trustees lor any per80ns Lzjnnected with them) received any remuneration during the year, and
none ofthem were relmbursed any 8xpenses12020- none were reimbursed).
11 EmployoOS
Number of 8mploy•es
The average monthly number ofemployees during the year was..
2021
Numb•r
2020
Number
Project work
Administration
Fundraising
Employmenl c08ts
2021
2020
Salariès
Social security costs
Other pension cost$
212,122
15.278
4.798
236,741
19,257
5,383
232.198
261,381
There were no emph)yees whose annual remuneration was £60,000 or more.
15-
MAGIC ME
NOTES TO THE FINANCIAL STATEMENTS (CONTINUED)
FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31 MARCH 2021
12 Tangiblg flxod assets
Flxturg$. Ir oqulpm•nt
ffttlngs & & w8bslts
oqulpmont
Total
Cost
At 1 April 2020
1,173
15,731
16,904
At 31 March 2021
1,173
15.731
16.904
D8preclatlon and Impalm)ent
At 1 April 2020
Depretialion charged in the year
1,173
11,270
2.227
12,443
2.227
At 31 March 2021
1,173
13.497
14.670
Carrying amount
At 31 March 2021
2,234
At 31 March 2020
4.461
4.461
13 Dgbtors
2021
2020
Amounts falllng due wllhln ono year.
Trade debtors
Other debtors
Prepayments and ac£rued Incom8
30,500
8.633
5.726
7,991
1,588
2,897
44,859
12.476
14 Credltors: aMInts falling due wlthln ono y•ar
2021
2020
Notes
Deferred Inne
Other Gredilors
Accruals expenses
15
102.000
3.600
130,000
9,025
2,681
109,164
141,706
18 Deferrnd Income
2021
2020
Other defeffed income
102,000
130.000
16-
MAGIC ME
NOTES TO THE FINANCIAL STATEMENTS (CONTINUED)
FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31 MARCH 2021
16 Rgtlrement bgnollt scheme•
Defined contrlbutlon schemes
The charity operates a defined contribution pension scheme for all quallfylng employeès. Thg assets of thg
schème are h8ld separately from those of the charity in an independently administered fund.
The charge to proffit or los$ in respect of defined contribution schemes wa8 £4.79812020 . £5,383).
17-
MAGIC ME
NOTES TO THE FINANCIAL STATEMENTS (CONTINUED
FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31 AIARCH 2021
17 RtrICt•d fvnds
The income funds of th8 chartty indude r8slricted funds cIng th8 follrMryThJ unexpended b81on¢es of
donations and grants held on trust for speth purrA)8e8:
ovemont In funds
Movomont In fund¥
Bal•n¢• at
R•Sre•l Balance at Incornlng RMour¢•• B*lanco at
1 Awll 2019 rn*ourc•• gxpond•d 1 Awll 2020 Ygwur¢
•xp•nd•d 31 M•r¢h 2021
Cocklai18 In
Care Homes
Arts and
24.014
(84,7021
21,720
20.918
(42.638)
71.145
(95,563)
61,LNXI
(44,483)
18.145
Artlsls
Re$id•ncfes
In My Name
Players ol
thg People's
Postcode
Lottery
Qualty Street
Arhvork$
Generalon
Rebellion
In8kle Out
Essex
YoLth
projects
At Home
(Covld rellefj
(69.779)
(4.365)
15.221
110,10
(121,166)
4.055
4,115
32.369
29.400
40.600
13,798
{33.S151
{62.5871
(6,885)
10.000
{10,0001
{40,8821
121.6231
10.382
6.913
27.597
12.887
(9,000>
(18,100}
84.418
38.636
(20.8631
{8.9871
43.555
29.849
5,000
18,1LKI
3,405
{3,405)
41,381
141.381)
97,814
350,951
1384.496)
64.269
404.4SO
1355.428)
113,291
18-
MAGIC ME
NOTES TO THE FINANCIAL STATEMENTS (CONTINUED)
FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31 MARCH 2021
17 Restrlthd funds
(Contlnwd)
The restricted funds are ld for the follovAng purposes:
Cocktails in Care Homes
Programme of monthly evenirvJ part* for ohjer rnsidwts of care trM)me8 with trained adult volunteers.
provKfing frierKlship. fun aThJ new relaOnshIps.
Artist R8stdencaes in Care Homes
Artist RedenCIeS in Care Homes pairs fr leadirvJ 0)Mpan to work wih fwr care homes across
Es58x. introduarwJ dance, virtual reality, immersive theatre other fomis. challenging the arts and care
sectors to raise exr*ctstions of wthat older peop58 will enjoy ar¥J understaThJ
Arts & Ages
A three-year inlergenerational arts programme nurturiThJ partnerships beiween 8 prhnary sc*tocAs and 8
groups of older people in Tower Hamlets.
Artworks
A four.year pro to pro¥ide placents. $upporting Tmr Hamlets resldents to pursue car89rs in thg
arts. focused on ttrb)se WIK) cuffenty face barrters e.g. Black arbj Asian peopk and those from worklng-
class backgrounds.
At Home Together
The At Home Together pwogramme was ow respo to Covh>19, lo fmd new ways to rr*et. to make and
to paty, at a distsnce. We offered a mixture of remote, phY$h and ¢x•ativ8 activrts8s which encouraged
interaction ben people wFMle rdieviw SC*>1 i8olalKn and k)neliness.
Generation Rebellion
A h¥o.year project with younger and okleT women exploriro the roJ8 of the arts and intergenerational
activism in relation to the Climate Emergerty
Inshde Out 2021
Inside Out pair¢d three care homes wilh artists, working tC*3ets to design. explore and experiment wrlh
new ueative actlvitles and approaches around a c*ntral queslion the would benefit each care hcrf.
Quality Street
A ts¥year programme funded by the L&Q Foundatiw three generatlons of resid8nts tojether in
Youth Fkniects
To SUPFQrt Magic Me's work. s¢[fical benefittiTrJ YO[9 people in UK.
Essex Care Homes
To supFort Magic Me's work in care homes xros8 Es8e
19-
MAGIC ME
NOTES TO THE FINANCIAL STATEMENTS (coKfiNUED)
FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31 MARCH 2021
18 Oeslgnatad fund
unrestrtth fvnd¥ by the tntste88 for sperAfi¢ purposes..
Bthn¢*at UYll8ad •• e•knnc•At Udlloed a• Bol¥TW •1
1 ¥lpllltslg d•slgn&t•d 1 W12020 d*n•t4d 31 2ffa1
Oevelopmenl
Staff txver
Trairdng
23.037
(23.037)
8,000
2,695
2.522
1.000
2.(0
2.695
(1.4781
Equipffhqnt
SOfvgua1no
40.732
(23,037)
17.695
(1,478)
16.217
Total
ndo
2021
fund•
lunds
2020
2020
2020
Fund b818nw at 31
March 2021 are
represented ty:
Tangible a$881s
Current ass8ts1
{l•bilhles)
4,461
4,461
46,903
113,291
160.194
47,441
64.289
111.710
49.137
113.291
162,428
51.902
64.269
116,171
A fee of £1,500 was pald durlng the year to the husbaThl of ts Compgny s[91ary and full.tlme dlrector
Susan Langford for financial CsU118ncY The trustees awd Ihe and at of fee In
advance and are satsfied that Ihof0 was no Con( of Interest In thls mattar. Thorn were no dl8dosaNe
rel8ted p8ty tronsgralons In th8 PTVIKIUS yw.
-20-