Registered Charity 328492
Trustees’ Annual Report and Financial Statement 1 January – 31 December 2022
1
Word of Life
Word of Life
Trustees’ Annual Report and Financial Statement
1 January – 31 December 2022
CONTENTS
| Legal and administrative details | 3 |
|---|---|
| Structure, governance and management | 4 |
| Aims and objectives | 6 |
| Receipts and Payments Account – CC16a | 7 |
2
Word of Life
Trustees’ Annual Report and Financial Statement
1 January – 31 December 2022
The trustees present the report and financial statements for the financial year ending 31 December 2022.
LEGAL AND ADMINISTRATIVE DETAILS
Charity name: Word of Life Charity registration number: 328492 Date of formation: 22 January 1990 Principle office: Central House 13 Ravenhurst Street BIRMINGHAM B12 0HD Trustees Mr John Douglas (Treasurer) Ms Shadi Fatehi Rev Canon Dr Philip Rawlings (Chair) Mr Kamran Tajermanshadi (Resigned September 2022) Mr David Watson Mrs Flora Davies (Elected September 2022)
Bankers
The Charity holds bank accounts at:
The Co-operative Bank PLC, P.O. Box 101, 1 Balloon Street, Manchester M60 4EP and
CAF Bank Ltd, 25 Kings Hill Avenue, Kings Hill, West Malling, Kent ME19 4JQ
3
STRUCTURE, GOVERNANCE AND MANAGEMENT
Governing document
Word of Life is a charity registered on 22 January 1990. The charity was established under a Constitution dated 8 December 1989.
Recruitment and appointment of trustees
Under the requirements of the Constitution, the trustees are elected at the Annual General Meeting. All trustees are members of the charity.
In 2022 Kamran Tajermanshadi stepped down, with the trustees’ thanks for his service, and Word of Life welcomed Flora Davies onto the Board.
Trustee induction and training
All trustees are familiar with the practical work of the charity and are encouraged to be involved with the on-going work of the charity. They are encouraged to actively engage with its activities and are familiar with the context within which it operates, including:
-
The obligations of trustees
-
The main documents which set out the operational framework for the charity including the Constitution
-
Resourcing and the current financial position
-
Future plans and objectives
In 2022 the Chair and Administrator worked on a new pack of induction documents for new trustees which will help them understand their role and the workings of the charity.
Organisational structure
The trustees meet at least four times a year (quarterly) and are responsible for the strategic direction and policy of the charity. At the end of 2022 there are five trustees from a variety of backgrounds all relevant to the work of the charity.
A scheme of delegation is in place. The Chair and Treasurer continue working closely with the Director (Tim Green), with whom day to day responsibility rests; the Administrator (Lindsey Stephenson); and several Track Leaders, some who are employed by the charity (Jennifer Fenton, Tilaye Daba) and others on a seconded or voluntary basis (Pat Brittenden, Helen Lee).
The Director, Administrator and Track Leaders work closely with groups of contracted staff (Michelle Simon, Parsa Zardouz, Samah Adam, Eyobed Kebede) and volunteers on a regular basis, within the different projects of the charity.
4
Financial review
With the aid and support of supporters, volunteers and grants, the Charity raised £115,224 (2021 ninemonth financial year, £72,619) for the year. Gift Aid was applied for and will be received in January 2023.
The Charity’s expenditure during 2022 financial year was £125,682 (2021 nine-month financial year, £27,624). This was spent on the development of our projects, salaries, governance and administration overheads.
The net expenditure for the year was -£10,458 (2021 nine-month financial year, net income of £44,995). This was due to spending restricted funds received previously on multiyear projects which began in 2020 or 2021 and completed in 2022.
The large increase in both income and expenditure from 2021 to 2022 reflected our international events run by two of the tracks. Both donor grants and contributions from delegates were received towards these. These two ‘springboard’ events launched new initiatives and built new partnerships which laid the foundation for the charity’s planned activities for 2023 and beyond.
As of 31 December 2022, the Charity held assets as cash in bank of £90,917 (31 December 2021, £101,375).
The trustees intend to continue to support the charity’s projects, working in development of resources, training and research in the following financial year.
Principal funding sources
Funding sources are primarily grants and gifts from supporters. In addition, in 2022, some income was received from delegates attending events.
Investment Policy
All of the charity’s funds are to be applied in the short term and no funds are held for long term investment.
Reserves Policy
Word of Life holds a reserve in its bank account which will allow it to operate for a three-month period in the event of future financial difficulty. The Reserves Policy was revised in 2021. As of 31 December 2022, the charity held free reserves of £65,818 (31 December 2021, £62,990). The trustees are confident that the current reserves position will allow the charity to continue operating its current activities over the next financial year.
Plans for future periods
The charity will continue to seek for grants and support through donations, in order to advance the Christian faith in accordance with its objects.
5
Responsibilities of the trustees
Charity Law requires the trustees to prepare financial statements for each financial period which give a true and fair view of the state of the affairs of the charity as at the balance sheet date and of its income resources and application of resources, including income and expenditure, for the financial period. In preparing those financial statements, the trustees follow best practice and:
-
select suitable accounting policies and then apply them consistently
-
make judgements and estimates that are reasonable and prudent
-
prepare the financial statements on the going concern basis, unless it is not appropriate to assume that the charity will continue on that basis
The trustees are responsible for maintaining proper accounting records which disclose with reasonable accuracy at any time the financial position of the charity and to enable them to ensure that the financial statements comply with Charity Law.
The trustees are also responsible for safeguarding the assets of the charity and hence for taking reasonable steps for the prevention and detection of fraud and other irregularities.
OUR AIMS AND OBJECTIVES
Purpose and aims
The charity’s purposes, as set out in the objects in the Constitution, are the advancement of the Christian faith in such ways as the charity trustees may from time to time decide.
The trustees do not consider that any detriment or harm would arise from this charity’s charitable purposes.
Ensuring work delivers our aims
We review our aims, objectives and activities annually. This review considers what has been achieved over the previous year, and how the charity has fulfilled its aims, while reflecting on the challenges and any disappointments. It helps the trustees to ensure that our aims, objectives and activities remain focussed on our stated purposes. This review also sets vision and targets for the following year, with reference to the guidance contained in the Charity Commission’s general guidance on public benefit.
The focus of our work
Our main objective for the period was to advance the Christian faith.
6
How our activities deliver public benefit
The charity develops and publishes Christian materials, in different languages, for use by new Christians in order to develop their knowledge and understanding of the Christian faith. It seeks to train people in the use of these materials and is engaged in research concerning these peoples who are new to the Christian faith.
The beneficiaries of our work have been both leaders and members of churches in the UK, Europe and around the world who have received our materials and been trained in using them. The materials we produce have been translated into a number of different languages enabling their use by people from a variety of places including South Asia, Africa, the Middle East and Europe.
This report is signed for and on behalf of the trustees:
(Chair) 18.08.2023 (Treasurer) 18.08.2023
Word of Life
328492
| Word of Life | Word of Life | 328492 | 328492 | 328492 | 328492 | 328492 | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Receipts | andpayments accounts | CC16a | |||||||
| For the period from |
01/01/2022 | To | 31/12/2022 | ||||||
| Section A Receipts and payments | |||||||||
| Unrestricted funds |
Restricted funds |
Endowment funds |
Total funds |
Last year | |||||
| to the nearest | to the | to the nearest | to the | to the nearest | |||||
| £ | nearest £ | £ | nearest £ | £ | |||||
| A1 Receipts | |||||||||
| Donations and grants | 19,397 | 68,623 | - | 88,020 | 70,467 | ||||
| Charitable Activities | 4,525 | 22,678 | - | 27,203 | 2,152 | ||||
| Sub total(Gross income for AR) |
23,922 | 91,302 | - | 115,224 | 72,619 | ||||
| A2 Asset and | |||||||||
| investment sales, | |||||||||
| (see table). | |||||||||
| - | - | - | - | - | |||||
| Sub total | - |
- | - | - | - | ||||
| Total receipts | 23,922 | 91,302 | - | 115,224 | 72,619 |
7
A3 Payments
| A3 Payments | |||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Staff Costs | |||||||||||
| 6,780 | 32,005 | - | 38,785 | 12,784 | |||||||
| Development of Christian | |||||||||||
| materials (incl printing) | 3,411 | 5,606 | - | 9,017 | 8,295 | ||||||
| Training events | |||||||||||
| - | 1,576 | - | 1,576 | 4,668 | |||||||
| Sundry expenditure | |||||||||||
| 4,937 | 22543 | - | 27,480 | 173 | |||||||
| Office Costs | |||||||||||
| 5,093 | - | - | 5,093 | 551 | |||||||
| Governance Costs | |||||||||||
| 873 | - | - | 873 | 1,153 | |||||||
| Event – Paths of Life | |||||||||||
| - | **20,764 ** | - | **20,764 ** | - | |||||||
| Event – Hikma Launch | |||||||||||
| - | 22,094 | - | 22,094 | - | |||||||
| Sub total | 21,094 | 104,588 | - | 125,682 | 27,624 | ||||||
| A4 Asset and | |||||||||||
| investment | |||||||||||
| purchases | |||||||||||
| - | - | - | - | - | |||||||
| Sub total | - | - | - | - | - | ||||||
| Total payments | 21,094 | 104,588 | - | 125,682 | 27,624 | ||||||
| Net of receipts/ | |||||||||||
| (payments) | 2,828 | -13,286 | - | -10,458 | 44,995 | ||||||
| A5 Transfers | |||||||||||
| between funds | - | - | - | - | - | ||||||
| A6 Cash funds last | |||||||||||
| year end | 62,990 | 38,385 | - | 101,375 | 56,380 | ||||||
| Cash funds this | |||||||||||
| year end | 65,818 | 25,099 | - | 90,917 | 101,375 | ||||||
| B1 Cash funds | Coop Bank account | 8,603 | - | - | |||||||
| CAF Bank account | 57,169 | 25,099 | |||||||||
| - | |||||||||||
| Paypal Account | 46 | - | |||||||||
| - | |||||||||||
| Total cash funds | 65,818 | 25,099 | |||||||||
| - | |||||||||||
| Unrestricted | Restricted | Endowment | |||||||||
| funds | funds | funds | |||||||||
| Details | to nearest £ | to nearest £ |
to | nearest £ | |||||||
| B2 Other monetary | |||||||||||
| assets | - | - | - | ||||||||
| Details | Fund to which asset belongs |
Cost (optional) |
Current value (optional) |
||||||||
| B3 Investment assets | - | - | |||||||||
8
| B4 Assets retained for the charity’s own use B5 Liabilities Signed by one or two trustees on behalf of all the trustees |
Details Details Signature |
Fund to which asset belongs |
Cost (optional) |
|
|---|---|---|---|---|
| - | ||||
| - | ||||
| Fund to which liability relates |
Amount due (optional) |
|||
| - | ||||
| Philip Rawlings | ||||
| John Douglas |
9
Registered Charity 328492
Trustees’ Annual Report and Financial Statement 1 January – 31 December 2022
1
Word of Life
Word of Life
Trustees’ Annual Report and Financial Statement
1 January – 31 December 2022
CONTENTS
| Legal and administrative details | 3 |
|---|---|
| Structure, governance and management | 4 |
| Aims and objectives | 6 |
| Receipts and Payments Account – CC16a | 7 |
2
Word of Life
Trustees’ Annual Report and Financial Statement
1 January – 31 December 2022
The trustees present the report and financial statements for the financial year ending 31 December 2022.
LEGAL AND ADMINISTRATIVE DETAILS
Charity name: Word of Life Charity registration number: 328492 Date of formation: 22 January 1990 Principle office: Central House 13 Ravenhurst Street BIRMINGHAM B12 0HD Trustees Mr John Douglas (Treasurer) Ms Shadi Fatehi Rev Canon Dr Philip Rawlings (Chair) Mr Kamran Tajermanshadi (Resigned September 2022) Mr David Watson Mrs Flora Davies (Elected September 2022)
Bankers
The Charity holds bank accounts at:
The Co-operative Bank PLC, P.O. Box 101, 1 Balloon Street, Manchester M60 4EP and
CAF Bank Ltd, 25 Kings Hill Avenue, Kings Hill, West Malling, Kent ME19 4JQ
3
STRUCTURE, GOVERNANCE AND MANAGEMENT
Governing document
Word of Life is a charity registered on 22 January 1990. The charity was established under a Constitution dated 8 December 1989.
Recruitment and appointment of trustees
Under the requirements of the Constitution, the trustees are elected at the Annual General Meeting. All trustees are members of the charity.
In 2022 Kamran Tajermanshadi stepped down, with the trustees’ thanks for his service, and Word of Life welcomed Flora Davies onto the Board.
Trustee induction and training
All trustees are familiar with the practical work of the charity and are encouraged to be involved with the on-going work of the charity. They are encouraged to actively engage with its activities and are familiar with the context within which it operates, including:
-
The obligations of trustees
-
The main documents which set out the operational framework for the charity including the Constitution
-
Resourcing and the current financial position
-
Future plans and objectives
In 2022 the Chair and Administrator worked on a new pack of induction documents for new trustees which will help them understand their role and the workings of the charity.
Organisational structure
The trustees meet at least four times a year (quarterly) and are responsible for the strategic direction and policy of the charity. At the end of 2022 there are five trustees from a variety of backgrounds all relevant to the work of the charity.
A scheme of delegation is in place. The Chair and Treasurer continue working closely with the Director (Tim Green), with whom day to day responsibility rests; the Administrator (Lindsey Stephenson); and several Track Leaders, some who are employed by the charity (Jennifer Fenton, Tilaye Daba) and others on a seconded or voluntary basis (Pat Brittenden, Helen Lee).
The Director, Administrator and Track Leaders work closely with groups of contracted staff (Michelle Simon, Parsa Zardouz, Samah Adam, Eyobed Kebede) and volunteers on a regular basis, within the different projects of the charity.
4
Financial review
With the aid and support of supporters, volunteers and grants, the Charity raised £115,224 (2021 ninemonth financial year, £72,619) for the year. Gift Aid was applied for and will be received in January 2023.
The Charity’s expenditure during 2022 financial year was £125,682 (2021 nine-month financial year, £27,624). This was spent on the development of our projects, salaries, governance and administration overheads.
The net expenditure for the year was -£10,458 (2021 nine-month financial year, net income of £44,995). This was due to spending restricted funds received previously on multiyear projects which began in 2020 or 2021 and completed in 2022.
The large increase in both income and expenditure from 2021 to 2022 reflected our international events run by two of the tracks. Both donor grants and contributions from delegates were received towards these. These two ‘springboard’ events launched new initiatives and built new partnerships which laid the foundation for the charity’s planned activities for 2023 and beyond.
As of 31 December 2022, the Charity held assets as cash in bank of £90,917 (31 December 2021, £101,375).
The trustees intend to continue to support the charity’s projects, working in development of resources, training and research in the following financial year.
Principal funding sources
Funding sources are primarily grants and gifts from supporters. In addition, in 2022, some income was received from delegates attending events.
Investment Policy
All of the charity’s funds are to be applied in the short term and no funds are held for long term investment.
Reserves Policy
Word of Life holds a reserve in its bank account which will allow it to operate for a three-month period in the event of future financial difficulty. The Reserves Policy was revised in 2021. As of 31 December 2022, the charity held free reserves of £65,818 (31 December 2021, £62,990). The trustees are confident that the current reserves position will allow the charity to continue operating its current activities over the next financial year.
Plans for future periods
The charity will continue to seek for grants and support through donations, in order to advance the Christian faith in accordance with its objects.
5
Responsibilities of the trustees
Charity Law requires the trustees to prepare financial statements for each financial period which give a true and fair view of the state of the affairs of the charity as at the balance sheet date and of its income resources and application of resources, including income and expenditure, for the financial period. In preparing those financial statements, the trustees follow best practice and:
-
select suitable accounting policies and then apply them consistently
-
make judgements and estimates that are reasonable and prudent
-
prepare the financial statements on the going concern basis, unless it is not appropriate to assume that the charity will continue on that basis
The trustees are responsible for maintaining proper accounting records which disclose with reasonable accuracy at any time the financial position of the charity and to enable them to ensure that the financial statements comply with Charity Law.
The trustees are also responsible for safeguarding the assets of the charity and hence for taking reasonable steps for the prevention and detection of fraud and other irregularities.
OUR AIMS AND OBJECTIVES
Purpose and aims
The charity’s purposes, as set out in the objects in the Constitution, are the advancement of the Christian faith in such ways as the charity trustees may from time to time decide.
The trustees do not consider that any detriment or harm would arise from this charity’s charitable purposes.
Ensuring work delivers our aims
We review our aims, objectives and activities annually. This review considers what has been achieved over the previous year, and how the charity has fulfilled its aims, while reflecting on the challenges and any disappointments. It helps the trustees to ensure that our aims, objectives and activities remain focussed on our stated purposes. This review also sets vision and targets for the following year, with reference to the guidance contained in the Charity Commission’s general guidance on public benefit.
The focus of our work
Our main objective for the period was to advance the Christian faith.
6
How our activities deliver public benefit
The charity develops and publishes Christian materials, in different languages, for use by new Christians in order to develop their knowledge and understanding of the Christian faith. It seeks to train people in the use of these materials and is engaged in research concerning these peoples who are new to the Christian faith.
The beneficiaries of our work have been both leaders and members of churches in the UK, Europe and around the world who have received our materials and been trained in using them. The materials we produce have been translated into a number of different languages enabling their use by people from a variety of places including South Asia, Africa, the Middle East and Europe.
This report is signed for and on behalf of the trustees:
(Chair) 18.08.2023 (Treasurer) 18.08.2023
Word of Life
328492
| Word of Life | Word of Life | 328492 | 328492 | 328492 | 328492 | 328492 | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Receipts | andpayments accounts | CC16a | |||||||
| For the period from |
01/01/2022 | To | 31/12/2022 | ||||||
| Section A Receipts and payments | |||||||||
| Unrestricted funds |
Restricted funds |
Endowment funds |
Total funds |
Last year | |||||
| to the nearest | to the | to the nearest | to the | to the nearest | |||||
| £ | nearest £ | £ | nearest £ | £ | |||||
| A1 Receipts | |||||||||
| Donations and grants | 19,397 | 68,623 | - | 88,020 | 70,467 | ||||
| Charitable Activities | 4,525 | 22,678 | - | 27,203 | 2,152 | ||||
| Sub total(Gross income for AR) |
23,922 | 91,302 | - | 115,224 | 72,619 | ||||
| A2 Asset and | |||||||||
| investment sales, | |||||||||
| (see table). | |||||||||
| - | - | - | - | - | |||||
| Sub total | - |
- | - | - | - | ||||
| Total receipts | 23,922 | 91,302 | - | 115,224 | 72,619 |
7
A3 Payments
| A3 Payments | |||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Staff Costs | |||||||||||
| 6,780 | 32,005 | - | 38,785 | 12,784 | |||||||
| Development of Christian | |||||||||||
| materials (incl printing) | 3,411 | 5,606 | - | 9,017 | 8,295 | ||||||
| Training events | |||||||||||
| - | 1,576 | - | 1,576 | 4,668 | |||||||
| Sundry expenditure | |||||||||||
| 4,937 | 22543 | - | 27,480 | 173 | |||||||
| Office Costs | |||||||||||
| 5,093 | - | - | 5,093 | 551 | |||||||
| Governance Costs | |||||||||||
| 873 | - | - | 873 | 1,153 | |||||||
| Event – Paths of Life | |||||||||||
| - | **20,764 ** | - | **20,764 ** | - | |||||||
| Event – Hikma Launch | |||||||||||
| - | 22,094 | - | 22,094 | - | |||||||
| Sub total | 21,094 | 104,588 | - | 125,682 | 27,624 | ||||||
| A4 Asset and | |||||||||||
| investment | |||||||||||
| purchases | |||||||||||
| - | - | - | - | - | |||||||
| Sub total | - | - | - | - | - | ||||||
| Total payments | 21,094 | 104,588 | - | 125,682 | 27,624 | ||||||
| Net of receipts/ | |||||||||||
| (payments) | 2,828 | -13,286 | - | -10,458 | 44,995 | ||||||
| A5 Transfers | |||||||||||
| between funds | - | - | - | - | - | ||||||
| A6 Cash funds last | |||||||||||
| year end | 62,990 | 38,385 | - | 101,375 | 56,380 | ||||||
| Cash funds this | |||||||||||
| year end | 65,818 | 25,099 | - | 90,917 | 101,375 | ||||||
| B1 Cash funds | Coop Bank account | 8,603 | - | - | |||||||
| CAF Bank account | 57,169 | 25,099 | |||||||||
| - | |||||||||||
| Paypal Account | 46 | - | |||||||||
| - | |||||||||||
| Total cash funds | 65,818 | 25,099 | |||||||||
| - | |||||||||||
| Unrestricted | Restricted | Endowment | |||||||||
| funds | funds | funds | |||||||||
| Details | to nearest £ | to nearest £ |
to | nearest £ | |||||||
| B2 Other monetary | |||||||||||
| assets | - | - | - | ||||||||
| Details | Fund to which asset belongs |
Cost (optional) |
Current value (optional) |
||||||||
| B3 Investment assets | - | - | |||||||||
8
| B4 Assets retained for the charity’s own use B5 Liabilities Signed by one or two trustees on behalf of all the trustees |
Details Details Signature |
Fund to which asset belongs |
Cost (optional) |
|
|---|---|---|---|---|
| - | ||||
| - | ||||
| Fund to which liability relates |
Amount due (optional) |
|||
| - | ||||
| Philip Rawlings | ||||
| John Douglas |
9
Independent examlner's report to the trustees of Word of Life I report to the trustees on my examination of the accounts of the Word of Life (the Trust) for the year ended 31 December 2022. Responsibilities and basis of report As the charity trustees of the Trust you are responsible for the preparation of the accounts in accordance with the requirements of the Charities Act 20111'the Act'l. I report in respert of my examination of the Trust's accounts carried out under section 145 of the 2011 Act and in carrying out my examination I have followed all the applicable Directions given by the Charity Commission under section 14515llbl of the Act. Independent examlner's statement I have completed my examination. I confirm that no material matters have come to my attention in connecknon with the examination giving me cause to believe that in any material respert.. . accounting records were not kept in respect of the Trust as required by section 130 of the Act: or 2. the accounts do not accord with those records,. or 3. the accounts do not comply with the applicable requirements concerning the form and content of accounts Set out in the Charities IAccounts and Reports) Regulations 2008 other than any requirement that the accounts give a 'true and Pair view which is not a matter considered as part of an independent examination. I have no concerns and have come across no other matters in connection with the examination to which attention should be drawn in this report in order to enable a proper understanding of the accounts to be reached. Signed: WÉ,'I Name: Louise Biller Relevant professional qualification or membership of professional bodies lif any}= ACA Address.. 2A Amersham Road, Amersham. Bucks, HP6 SPE Date: Sifjig3