REGISTERED CHARITY NUMBER: 519199 forthe Year Ended 31 March 2025 DUDLEY CARIBBEAN & FRIENDS AssoaATION Dalton Pardoe Urnlted Chartered A£countsnts 794 Hlgh Street Klngswinford West Midlands DY6 88Q I>UDLEYCARIBBEAN & FRIENDS AssoaATION forthe Year Ended 31 Marth 2025 Page Reference and Admlnlstrntl¥e Detslls 2 to 7 1r￿eper￿1ent Examlnerfs Rep Balance Sheet io li to Detalkd Statement of Flnandal Acll¥lU 16 for the Year Ended 31 March 2025 L W Bnjce - Chalw MS 8 Campbell C Bennett M D Ricke PRINapAL ADDRE55 OCFA ImpKtTralnlr 15 Wol¥erharnpton st￿et Dudley West Midlands OYI IDB REGISTERED CHARITY NUMBER 519199 INDEPENDENT EXAMINER Dalton Paidoe Limlted Chartered kcountants 794 Hlgh Street Klngswinfwd West Midlands DY6 8BQ SOUQTORS Silks Solldttxs 48- 52 Hales(Men Road Netr*rton Dudlty West Mldlands Df2 9QB BANKERS Natlonal Westminster PIC P.0. 8ox 25 267 Castle Street Dudley West Mmllands DYI IYY Page I DUDLEY CARIBBEAN & FRIENDS ASSOCIATION Tn￿tee$. Report for the Year Ended 31 M&r¢h 202S The trustees present thelr report wlth the flnanclal statements of the charlty for the year ènded 31 March 2025. The trustees have adopted the piovislons of Accounting and Reporting by Charlties: Statement of Recommended Prartlce applicable to charities preparlng their accounts in accordance wlth the Flnartclal Reporting Standard appllcable In the UK and Republlc of Ireland {FRS 102) leffectlve l January 2019). Page 2 DUDLEY CARIBBEAN & FRIENDS AssoaATION Trustees, Report forthe Year Ended 31 March 2025 OBJECTIVES AND AcnviTIES ObJe¢tive5 of the chaTlty• prlndpal actmtles and organlsatlon of ourwo Objectlves of the Charityi prlndpal Actl¥ltles and organisatlon of our works The charlty Is governed by a wrltten constltutlon. The charlty's objects are to Impart on the educatlonal and soc10￿COnOmEC needs of ethnic communities, in particular the African Caribbean communlty wlthln the Metropolftan 8orough of Dudley and other likeminded Afrlcan Carlbbean communty assoclatlon In the wlder West Mldlands. In order to do this the charlty has estsbllshed several proSects to address the educatlonal. tralnlng. employment and soclal welfare needs of thls communlty. The pollcy of the charlty 15 to seek additlonal finance and communlty support to contlnue exlstlng schemes, together with expandlng Its ¢ommunlty Ilalson role wlth key offKlals. The charity's prlnclpal actlvlty durlng the year was to manage the two projects run by the trustees, lrnpact Tralnlng and the Afrkan Carlbbean Befrlendlng SeN]￿ to provlde service dlrectSy to the elderly and to contrlbute to the soclo*conomlc wellbelng of the community. The chaTIty also works In partnershlp wtth a number of organisatlons Inctudlng BLF-Avnrd for All, VIMCAIDMBC, Grlmmltt TrusL Everson Trust and a number of charities and communlty organtsatlons. The trustee5 delegate the day-tr￿daY responsibility for managlng the prokcts to the seNles manager and Maff. H¢)w our actlvltles dell¥er publlc benefiL The maSn attivltle5 and focus of the charlty have been the dellvery of employablllty tralnlng and development for unemployed Indlvlduals and soclal Ca￿ provlslon for the communlty ft seryes wlthout exceptlons. which are undertaken In wrsuance of Its charltable purposes for the publlc. Development, actlvltles 2nd achievement thls year We a￿ pleased to report thaL In splte of current fundlng pressure5 and the volat11￿ of the econornlc and polltlcal landscape, the Charlty contlnued to maintain a presence In the voluntsry and communlty servlce sector - dellverfng some of Its core actlvltles. albelt In a substantlally reduced capaclty- Fundlng pressures have had a dramatlc Impact on the charlty and Its ability to deliver needed 5ervlces. However, 2024125 has seen a marked improvement from the prevlous year. Whllst the Or8anlsation contlnues to face challenges In the form of sustalnable fundlng It has nonetheles5 managed to secure fvndlng from a number of ￿}UrceS that has Improved Its vlablllty in the short to mldterm. The Befriendlng Servlce Cornmunity Care prolect has no core fvndln& to fa¢llltste pald staff to Co-ordinate the servlces belng dellvered- and therefore, Is dependent on the support and good wlll of volunteers whlch Ilmlts its ablllty to delfver a hollstk serv1￿. Whllst the prospects may appear somewhat dauntlng we are tsklng an optlmlstlc view and see thls as a great opportunlty for the organlsation to develop sustalnable strateeles for survival. We have been able to malntain an operatlonal presence In the sector In which we serve due by and large to good fortune and a dogged approach to survlval. In an effort. to remain sustalnable the Charlty and staff embarked upon a concerted effort to fund raise and bulld relatiortship with other organlsatlon5. The maln focus of our fund-raising efforts majored on phase two of the UK Shared Pr05perlty Fund. the Blg Lottery Communlty Fund phase 2 - a collaborat￿e effort wlth 13 partner organlsatlons. The speclfie alm of whlch was In helplng unemployed Indlvlduals wlth slgntfkant barrlers to employment and to asslst them to progress closer to employment or educatlon. Th15 2-year programme was completed durlng the period of thls reporting period. The charlty secured additlonal fundln8 from the UK Shared Pr05perlty Fund People and Skllls and Multiply Programmes managed by Dudley MBC The charlty was also able to secure small pots of fvndlng from DM8C herltage and connertlng older people's funds. a anonymous funder, Everson Trust, Gwlmmltt Trust and Blg Lottery Award for All Fund. Impart Tralnlng Artlvitles: The rnain focus of attivity for Impact Tralnlng has been the dellvery of Black Country Futures Women & Lone pa￿ftt programme -phase two - year 2: secured through the BCF Strateglc Partnershlp. funded by 8LCF and rnanaged by Steps To Work: alone wlth the UK Sha￿d Prosperlty Fund- Multlply programme- year 3," the People and Skllls Programme Incorporatlng ESOL English and Maths. Women and Lone Parents Programrne: Report Sumrnary Durlng the perl¢xl Aprll 2023 - March 2024 the Tlme2Soar programme was funded by a 2-year Natlonal Lottery Communlty grant secured through the Black Country Futures Partnershlp and a 6-month funding from Heart of England. The project alms to help women overcome barrier5 to employment by provldlng a comprehenslve blend of servlce5, Includlng workshops. 1-2-1 personalized support, Practkal advice on employment rlghts, Confldence bulldln& Employablllty skllls. and more. The key obJectlves/Achlevements of the program Durlng thls peflod, Tlme2Soar supported: Page 3 OUDLEY CAR188EAN & FRIENDS AssoaATION TNStÈ@$' Report for the Year Ended 31 Marth 2025 - 38 women enrolled working to overcorne barrters to employment - 2 women secured employment 10 women accesslng educatlon or training opportunities Challenges This year, the programme faced sl8nlficant ¢hallen8es after m￿Ing to smaller premlses, whlch fimited our capacty to host group workshops and reduced acce￿ to PC facllltles. These constralnts requlred us to relmagine our servke dellveryi shlftlng the focus towards 1-2-1 pèrsonallzed sUPPOrt whlch reduced the number of spaces avallable for partlclpants. Despite these challen8es, bve malned commstted to provldln8 meanlngful assIstan￿ to all partlcipants, Impart Story- Anonymous "I'm a single mom of four and hadnl worked for nearly 15 years slnce ha¥ln8 my ChIld￿n. I was unsure where to begln. Wlth Flona's suppor¢ I realised that It wasn* lust about flndlng any Job but about finding the rlght lob for me to get a better future for me and my family. Ih slnce begun brushlng up on my IT skllls wlth onllne courses and have scheduled a Maths and English assessment wlth the DudlLy Adult & Communlty Learning hub. I'm hopeful that thls wlll lead to better-pald work and set a posltlve example for my glrls as a v￿rkIng mom." Future Plans Future Plans me2Soar remalns dedlcated to empowerlng women and lone parents to take thelr next Steps towards a brlghter future. Loo￿n£ ahead, we alm to relntroduce group workshops, delivered vlrtually due to space Ilmltstlons at our current premlses. With additlonal fvndln& we plan to host these sessions In external venues, such as local libraries. To ensure effectlve participatlon, the programme wlll offer training to help partlclpants develop the necessary skllls for onllne engagement. . Uvshared Pr05perlty Fund- Mult1￿ Pro8ramme- Year 3 The Multiply Project Is part of the UK Shared Pr05perlty Fund {UK SPF) and Is managed by Dudley Metropolltsn Borough Councll IM8CI. The project aims to Improve numeracy skllls among adults, speclflcally those who are empl¢)yed and do not have a GC5E In maths at grade C or equivalent. The key oblectives of the program are to Increase Numeracy Skllls, Support Employment and Educatlon and Improve Labour Market Outcornes. Thls was to be achleved by focusln8 on financlal reslllence with a target group of v￿rkIng adults aged 19 and over, Ilvlng withln the West Mldlands CombI￿d Authorltles IWMCAI area, prlmarily in Dudley. Four 5uppllers were engaged to deliver the program across Dudley borough and Included up to 20 hours of interventlon per partlcipant. wlth a mlnimum of two hours. Dellvery methods varied, Includlng group sesslons, one￿n￿ne, and onllne fomiats, dependlng on the partlclpants, needs. The project started on the 4th Aprll 2024. endlng on 31st March 2025. Our Inltlal tsrget wa5 to work wlth 48 people over the perlod, encouraging them to partlcipate in pro8rammes to bulld their conftdence wlth numbers. Through the dedlcatlon and hard work ofthe team, we can report that durln8 perlod of the contract, we enrolled $4 participants, exceeding our tsrget by 12. Key achlevements Induded: - 54 partlclpants Improved thelr numeracy skllls and Ealned more finandal confldence 6 Partlclpants achieving Maths QualltScatlons 9 Increased labour market outcomes 15 Achlevlng qualiflcatlonslcourses Partlclpants reported Increased confldence with numbers, enhanced skllls and employrnent prospects and Improved flnanclal resillertce. Feedback highlighted that the programme was both enSoyable and practical: One Multiply partlclpant remarked: .1 want to get a dlfferent and a better paylng lob. Multlply has given me tlps on l￿W to do thls. Multiply can glve you a lot of good tlps on how to Improve your flnanaal res11len￿ and how to Improve yourself.. C. The UK Shared Pmsperlty Fund- People and Skills Programme People and Skllls were part of the UK Shared Prosperlty Fund IUK SPF) and was managed by Dudley MetropolStsn Borough Councll {OM8CI. The project almed to support economlcally Inactlve Indlvlduals to Improve employablllty, basic skllls, and social InclusSon through tallored tralnln8, lob support and confldence-bulldln& partklpants galned skllls, employment opportunitles and greater independence. The oblectlve of People and Skllls was to support economlcally Inattlve resldents to Improve employability. Ilfe skllls and 50clal Incluslon. The prolert also helped partlclpants address personal barrlers and to secure and sustaln employment throu8h person%entred. one-tmne support. Page 4 DUDLEY CARIBBEAN & FRIEP4DS AssoaATION Trustees, Report forthe Year Ended 31 Mar¢h 2025 In addltlon to thls, DCFA atso tende￿d for and dellvered Engllsh, Maths and ESOL prov151on for People and Skllls partklpants. Engllsh and Maths were delfvered flexlbly on a one-tO￿ne ba￿$, whlle ESOL was adapted to small group sessk*ns that proved hlghly effectlve. Learners showed clear Improvements In confldence and abllity, wlth some movlng from rellance on translatlon tools to holding Independent conversatlons. The group format also reduted isolatlon, fostered frlendshlps. and created a supportlve leamlng environment. Particlpants described the sesslons as enjoyable and expressed a strong desire to contlnue. and demand remalned evident wlth further enqulrles even after the project concluded. Impatt Training met the target of 53 partlclpants over the Ilfe of project {July 24-March 251. who were engaged vla marketin& word<•f-mouth and partnershlp wbth the DWP. Desplte barrlers faced by the economically Inactive, the programme managed to achleve the followlng outcomes: - 7 partlclpants galned employrnent, wlth - 37 supported to engage in Job searchin& and a further - 44 engaglng in life skllls. Addltlonal outputs Included: - 70% of particlpants reported In¢￿aSed employabllity and ￿dUCed structural barrlers to thelr employment. - 65% reported that they were famlllarlsed wlth employer expectètlons 25% galned a baslc sklll {English, Moths. ESOL, IT) - 80% Increased thelr confidence due to support. Impact Storfes". TP Jolned People and Skills through Dudley Job Cent￿, having been economical￿ inactlve as a carer for her daughter, but eager to return to work due to financlal preswres. Wlth tsllored support. she qulckly galned a new CV. job search guldance, and InteThlew practlce. Within three weeks, Tr secured a neW￿b her desired. TP sald: "I love my new lobl My self