REGISTERED CHARITY NUMBER: 519199 Trn$tttsl Report and UnAudlted Floanclal Statements for the Year Ended 31 March 2024 for DUDLEY CARIBBEAN & FRIENDS ASSOCIATION Dalton Pardoe Limited Chartered Accountants 794 High Street Kingswinford West Midlands DY6 8BQ DUDLEY CARtBBEAN & FRIEIYDS ASSOCIATION Contents of the Flnanelal stalen￿nts for the Year Ended 31 March 2024 Ref¢ren¢e aDd Admlntslratlve Detv41 Trusleesl Report Indep¢Ddent Examkn¢r's Report Statement of Flnanelal Ae¢lvltl¢s Balanee Sheet 10 Notes to the Financial Statements Detaffiled Statem¢Dt of Flnanclal Actfvltles 16 DUDLEY CARIBBEAN & FIUENDS A&SOCIATION Reference and AdmiDlstrative Details for the Year Ended 31 Mar¢b 2024 TRUSTEES L W BnKe . Chair Ms B Campbell C Bennett M D Ricketts PRINCIPAL ADDRESS DCFA Impxt Training 15 Wolverhampton Streei [￿leY West MidlaThls DYI IDB REGisfERED CHAIUTY NUMBER519199 INDEPENDENT EXAMINER Dalton Pardoe Limited 794 High Street Kingswinford West Midlands DY6 8BQ SOLICITORS Silks Solicitors 48 - 52 Halawwrn Road Nttherton Dudley W¢5t Midland8 DY2 9QB BANKERS National Westhiinster Pl¢ P.0. Box 25 267 Castle Street thKlley West Midlands DYI IYY Page I DUDLEY CARIBBEAN & FRIENDS kqWCIATION Trnstees, Report for the Y¢ar Ended 31 March 2024 The trust￿$ present their report with the financial statements of the charity for the year 31 March 2024. The trustees have adopted the provisions of Ac￿Unting and Reporting by Charities: Ststement of Recommended Pr￿tIre applicable to charities preparing their accounts in accordance with the Financial Rwting Standard applicable in the UK and Republic of Ireland (FRS 102) (effective l January 2019). Page 2 DUDLEY CARIBBEAN & FRIENDS ASSOCIATION Trnstees, Reptyrt for the Year Ended 31 March 2024 ORIEcfivES AND ACTIVITIES Objectlves of tbe charlty* prlnclpal actfvlties and OryWDisatlon of our work Objectlves of the Charlty? prlnclpal Activities and organisation of our works The charity is governed by a written constitution. The ¢haritys objects are to impact on the ¢du¢ational and socio-e¢onomi¢ needs of ethnic ¢ommunities, in particular the African Caribbean community within the Metropolitan Borough of Dudley and other likeminded African Caribbean community &8sociation in the wider West Midlands. In order to do this th¢ ¢harity has established several projects to address the educational. trainin& employment and social welfare needs of this community. The policy of the ¢haTity is to seek additional finance and community SUPPOrt to continue existing schemes. together with expanding its Community liaison role with key officials. The charitys principal activity during the year was to manage the two prOj￿ts run by the trustees. Impact Training ond the African Caribbean Befriending Service to provide service directly to th¢ ¢lderly and to contribute to the so¢io-economi¢ wellbeing of the community. The charity ￿s0 works in parlnership with a number of organisations in¢luding Heart of England Foundation. Steps to Work. WMCAIDMBC, DCVSIDIHC NHS Trust and a number of ¢harities and community organisations. The trustees delegate the day-t￿daY r¢5ponsibility for managing the projects to the manager and staff. How our aetlvlties dellver publlc benefiL The main activities and focus of the charity has been the delivery of employability training and development for unemployed individuals and social care provision for the community it serves without ex¢eption4 which are undertaken in pursuance of its charitable purposes for the public. Developmen( aellvltles 2nd achi¢v¢meDt thts year We are pleased to report tha¢ in spite of current fimding pressures and the volatility of the economic and politieal lands¢ape, the Charity continued to maintain a presence in the voluntsry and community service sector - delivering some of its core activities. albeit in a substantially reduced capacity. Funding pressures have had a dramatic impact on the Charity and its ability to deliver needed services. 2023124 has been a particularly Challenging year. The Organisation continues to face challenges in the forni of sustainable fimding. The Befriending Service Community Care project has no core fundin& thus limiting its ability to deliver a holistic serrfice. Whilst the prospects may appe8r somewhat daunting we are taking an optimistic view and see this as a great opportunity for the organisation to develop sustsinable strategi¢s' for survival. We have been able to maintain an operational presence in the sector in which we serve due by and large to good fortune and a dogged appn)ach to survival. In an effort, to remain sustainable the Charity and staff embarked upon a con¢¢rted effort to fimd raise and build relationship with other organisations. The main focus of our fund-raising efforts majored on phase two of the UK Shared Prosperity Fund. th¢ Big lottery Community Fund phase 2 - a collabordtive effort with 13 partner organisations. The specific aim of the partnership was in helping unemployed individuals with significant barriers to emplo￿nent and to assist them to progress closer lo employment or education. This is a 2-year Programme scheduled for completion March 2025. The charity secured additional funding from Dudley Integrated H¢alth Care NHS Trust (via DCVS) to deliver a Health inequalities programm¢ aimed specifically at the BAME Communiti¢s. The charity was also able to secure small pots of funding from DMBC Community GranL Heart of England Cornmunity Foundatio￿ and Good Things Foundation to provide additional service alongside and in collaboration with other programmes Impact Tralning A¢tlvlties: The main focus of activity for lrnpact Training has been the delivery of Black County Futures Women & Lone Parent progrnmme -phase two (Time2Sour),' secured through the BCF Strategic Partner5hip> fiu)ded by BLCF and managed by Steps To Work: aksng with the UK Shared Prosperity Fund - Multiply programt A. Women and ￿)ne Parents ProgramnK: Page 3 DUDLEY CARIBBEAN & FRIENDS ASSOCIATION for the Year Ended 31 Mar¢h 2024 Report Summ During the period April 2023 - March 2024 the Time2Soar programme was funded by a 2-year National Lottery Community grant secured through the Black County Futures Partnership and a 6-month funding from Heart of England. The proje aims to help women overcome barriers to employM￿t by providing a comprehfflsive blend of services. including workshop4 1-2-1 personalized suppoftl Practical advice on employment righ￿ Confidence buildin& Ernployability skills. and more. The key obJeellv¢&lAchlevemeats of the program During this period, Time2Soar supported: - 38 women enrolled working to overcome barriers to aDpIo - 2 women secured eMplO￿Dent - 10 women acttssing education or trnining opporbjniti Challenges This year, the programe faced significant challenges after moving io smaller pranise4 which limited our capacity to host group workshops and reduced access to PC facilities. These cotknints required us to reimagine our service delivery. shifting th¢ focus towards 1-2-1 personalized support which reduced the number of spaces available for participants. Despi these challenges. w¢ remained committed to providing meaningful a&8iStance to all participants. Impa¢t Story- Anonymous 'I'm a single mom of four and hadnl worked for nearly 15 years since having my children. I was unsure where to begin. With Fiona's suppo¢ I realised that it wasnl just about finding any job. but about finding the right job for me to get a better future for me and my family. I've since begun bnthing up on my IT skills with online ¢ourse5 and have scheduled a Maths and English assessment with the Dudley Adult & Community ￿Ing hub. I'm ly)peful that this will lead to better-paid work and set a positive example for my girls &8 a working mom.. Future Plans Time2Soar remains dedicated to empowuin8 women and lone parents to take their next steps towards a brighter future. Looking ahead, we aim to reintroduce group workslh)ps, delivered virttwlly due to space limitations at our current premises. With additional fill￿1ng, we plan to host thes¢ sessiorLs in external venues. such as local libraries. To ensure effe¢tive participatio￿ the programme will offer training to help participants develop the necessary skills for online engagement. B. UKIShired Prosperlty Fund - Multlpty Progr*nuDe The Multiply Projecl is part of the UK Sh￿ed Prosperity Fund (UK SPF) and is managed by Dudley Metropolitan Borough Coun¢il (MBC). The project aims to improve numerw skills among adults> specifically those who are employed and do not have a GCSE in maths at grade C or equivalenL The key objective5 of the program are to Increase Numw Skill4 Support Employment and FAluulion and Imprnve Labour Market Outcomes. This w&$ to be athieved by focusin8 on financial resilience with a target wup of working adults aged 19 and over, living within the West Midlands Combined Authorities (WMCA) aro primarily in Dudley. Six suppliers were engaged to deliver the program across Dudley borough and included up to 20 hours of intervenlion per particjpanL with a minimum of two hours. Deltvery methods varie4L including group sessions one-onwone, and online fOrn1a￿ dependlng on the participants, needs. The project started on the 4th Seplanber 2023, with the initial temi ending on 3 1st March 2024. Our initial target was to work with 48 people over a nin¢- month perio¢ enCow￿]ng them to participate in prOgra￿eS to build their confidence with numbers. Through the dedication and hard WO￿ of the team. we can report that during phase one of the contraci v enrolled 68 participants and was awarded an extra £5000. In *Iditi￿ the prOj￿t was Contin￿1 for a fillther 12 months with an increased contract value Page 4 DUDLEY CARIBBEAN & FRIENDS ASSOCIATION Trustees, Report for the Year Euded 31 March 2024 Key achievements included: - 68 participants improved their numeracy skills and gained more financial confidence Worked alongside INO employer to support 4No employees - 4No participants gained a maths qualification l No participani prO￿SSed into better paid employment Alongside the project, we also took part in WMCA'S Connected Services programme which supplied digital equipment to people in the community that would otherwise be unable to access vitsl online services. We were able to provide 144 No. Chrome Books, 80No. MiFi and 24No Laptops to eligible participants. This proved to be a great success and has helped to some degree in 8ddressing the issues that the beneficiaries fa¢ed. BefrleDdlng Servlee A¢tivlties The Befriending Services. based at Henry CouiL a housing project managed by Neh¢miah UCHA. has continued to deliver essential social care services to older adul￿ with a particular focus on African Caribbean elders. The service has with¢ssed an increase in self-referrals from the wider community, r¢fle¢ting the growing number of older people seeking support. FundTng from a range of sources, including the National Lottery, individual donors. and Dudley Metropolitan Borough Council (MBC), has enabled the Befriending Service to expand its outreach and address the needs of vulnerable and isolated individuals within the Black and Minority Ethnic (BME) community and th¢ wider community. By collaborating with organizations such as Dudley College. local businesses. Community group8 and the NHS. Befrtending Services is able to create impactful projects that enhance the lives of older ad￿1* combining resources and expertise to address their social, emotional. and practical needs. Among the key initiatives supported by the service is a ¢atering program that, through a ¢ombination of external caterer donations and volunteers. ensu￿ older individuals receive at least one hot meal a week. During the period of this report the service can report serving 1500 meals to service users. Furthem]ore, volunteers provide a regular Telephone Friendship Service. offering consistent companionship and emotional support. To date. the service has logged 12,000 minutes of phone conversation4 reducin8 loneliness for many elderly people. Additionally, volunteers have contributed 100 hours of supporL assisting elderly individuals with trartsportatiOD and accompaniment to hospitsl and doctor appointments. helping them navigate healthcare services with both logistical and emotional assistanc¢. The Befriending Service is highly attuned to the needs of the elderly and has adapted its a¢tivities, a¢¢ordingly. responding to increasing dependency. Volunteers play a pivotal role in the projeKt, ensuring that servi¢e users receive both social and practi￿1 support. including assistance with healthcare access. The Befriending Services collaborative efforts have also led to various initiatives, includin8 weekly meetups, health and wellness workshop4 arts projects, day trips. and intergenerational activities. These activities have helped address health inequalities, combai food povety, and improve both mental and physical health for older people. while reducing social isolation. Collectively, these efforts promote well-being and ensure that vulnerable older adults renwin connected to their community. contributing to their overall quality of life. Together, we continue to work hard to reduce loneline&8 and Isolatio￿ promofr well-b¢in& to ensure that vulnerable older adults remain connected and engaged with their community. To this end ihe charity continue to seek new fimding opportunities to support its objectives The Henry Court sheltered accommodation unit is still available to th¢ Charity through the goodwill of Nehemiah UCHA. the housing group responsible for the management and upkeep of the accommodation. The charity is deterniined that this facility will continue to serve the need of older people and in this regard will seek to engage the support of willing and able volunteers to achieve its objectives Page 5 DUDLEY CARIBBEAN & FRIENDS A&SOCIATION Tn￿. Report for the Year Ended 31 Mar¢b 2024 FINANCIAL REVIEW Ffinancial revfiew As before. against the backdrop of limited fiuKling opportunitie4 and local and national government priorities it has been quite challenging to develop the Befriending Service project ￿0nd its present capabilities. The charity continues to review present services with a view to diversification and moving into other related disciplines within the S￿pe of its charitable purposes, to ensure it remains relevant and viable The principal funding source for Impart Training has beffl income from sub