FOOTPRINTS WOMENS CENTRE DIRECTORS. REPORT FOR THEYEAR ENDED 31 MARCH 2024 The directors present their annual report and finanaal statements for the year ended 31 March 2024. The financial statements have been prepared in accordance with the acUnting policies set out in note 1 to the financial statements and comply with the charitys Articles of Association. the Companies Act 2006 and "Accounling and Reporting by Charities: Slatement of Recommended Practice applicable to charities preparing their accounts in accordance with the Financial Reporting Standard applicable in the UK and Republic of Ireland (FRS 102)" (effective 1 January 2019). Chlef Executlve's Report 2023124 has been a su¢cessful and also challenging year for Footprints Women's Centre and for the women's and community and voluntary sectors overall. We continue to provide essential services for women and girls in the Colin area and over the year we have successfully maintained and developed new partnerships to support our work and increase the impact of what we deliver. However, there remains significant challenges for communities, having emerged from the pandemic we unfortunately continue to navigate the cost-of-living crisis. These major events have long term consequences which Continue to be feli and this is likely lo be Ihe case for years to come. From resear¢h carried out it is evident there is a gendered impact of these events and this is eiridenced through increasing demand for some services. We have experienced an increase in the need for 1.1 support over the last year and with increasing numbers of women reporting domesti¢ abuse we very much look forward to the adoption and roll out of the Ending Violence Against Women and Girls strategy and the associated funding, that we hope can go beyond raising awareness of domestic abuse. As an organisation we are developing a new strategic plan for the next three-year period and seek to focus on a number of priorities that we believe will guide us clearly towards our vision. delivering posilive outcomes that meels the needs of the women and their families in the Colin area. We also hope the plan can support growth for Footprints as an organisation. We believe more than ever that we are in a new chapler, whereby the complexity of need is greater and yet the extemal market we operate within is experiencing decreasing levels of inteNention, increasing overheads, a labour crisis that has meant new and innovative ways of recruiting io attract staff into some roles and a general feeling of unrest as governments stnjggle to stabilise. Aside from all the challenges there remains significant hope. The third sector has no shortage of innovative people working and volunteering within it and Footprint5 is no exception. with a talenled workforce who remain committed to ongoing development and leaming, a healthy pool of amazing volunteers who give of their time and skills so generou51y and with much collaborative working with others the people power is well and truly evident. We hope to harness the dedicalion further and seek new opportunities to grow our social enterprises over the coming year, including our new Danu Street Kitchen as well as exploring some other new opportunities. I have witnessed so many glimmers since I took up post in June 2023 it would be impossible to try and pinpoint a particular highlight or detail any one success. l am continually impressed by the organisalion and l am in no doubt that our people are what make Footprints the successful and ex¢ellent organisalion it is. There has been a hislory of strong leadership from the board and senior team and this has ensured Footprints has been at the forefronl of many exciting and groundbreaking initiatives. I would like to thank the outgoing Chief Executive, Isobel Loughran for her thorough handover. as well as her kindness and patien. I would also like to thank my board of directors for thelr commitment to the mission and vision of the organisation, their dedication to leading wilh excellence and for simply being a thoroughly inspirational group of women who will settle for nothing but complete professionalism and make decision5 With complete dISrnment. I have had the joy to become part of the team and encouraged by the year behind us and l am excited for the one ahead. There is much work to be done and as a team we are ready to embiace itl
FOOTPRINTS WOMENS CENTRE DIRECTORS. REPORT (CONTINUED) FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31 MARCH 2024 Achlevements and perfomiance The purpos8s of the charity are: a. The promotion for Ihe public benefit of urban regeneralion in the Colin area and the surrounding catchment areas in Belfast and Lisbum (the 'area of benefit.), an area of social and economic deprivation, by all or any of the following means.. the relief of poverty in such ways as may be thought fiL the relief of unemployment among women in such ways as may be thought fit, Including assistance to find employment. the advancement of education. training or retraining and providing unemployed women wlth work experience. lil. the crealion of training and employment opportunities for women by the provislon of workspace, buildings andlor land for use on favourable terms. iv. the provision of recreational facilities for women or those who by reason of their youth, age, infirmity or disablement, poverty or social and economic eircumstances, have need of such facilities. v. The preservation and protedion of health of women and the provision of child¢are. b. To provide encouragement and practical support servi¢es to existing and new women's groups in the area of benefft so as to increase their efficiency and effectiveness in achieving their ¢haritable aims. c. To develop the capacity and skills of women in the area of benefit in such a way that they are better able to identify, and help meet. their needs and to participate more fully in society. d. To promote social inclusion. equalily of opportunity and good relations across all diversity strands, including ra¢e, ethnicity, gender, age, sexual orientation. religion and disability and to encourage diversity. The vision that shapes our annual actiwties is. to enable women and children to grow to ensure their voices are heard and that they take their righrful place in a just and equal society. The charity also has general aims relating to each key area of a1Vity all of which link to the charity's purpose. In shaping our objectives for the year and planning our activities, the directors have considered the Charity Commission's guidance on public benefit, including the guidance 'public benefit.. running a charity (PB2)'. Footprints Women's Centre relies on grants and the income generated through the services delivered by Footprints Trading Limited. We strive to provide open access to all servIs, progiammes, activities and projects, enabling women and children to reach Iheir full potential. We endeavour to encourage all women and children within the Colin community to actively engage and participate within Foolprints al whatever level is appropriate for them.
FOOTPRINTS WOMENS CENTRE DIRECTORS. REPORT (CONTINUED) FOR THEYEAR ENDED 31 MARCH 2024 The strategies employed to achleve the charfty's aims and oblectives are to: Lobby and work to influence policy to support better services for women and children. Generale income through a social enterprise model that will enable us to develop autonomously and to sustain the services delivered within Footprints Women's Centre. Continue to build upon our existing early intervention programmes responding to emerging need. Continue to champion the case for social justice as it affects the lives of women and Children. Putting these strategies into action we have 5 key areas of activity which are: Support Services; Children's Services, Training and Education. Sustainable Living and Women's Empowerment. Support Servlces Footprints provides the only 'open door. crisis intervention services in the Colin Community for women. The daily demand for Ihe seTvice. demonstrates the ovemhelming need that exists within the community for vital support setvices. Footprints Support team continues to provide must needed gendered support to women and families in the Colin area. seices include weekly drop-in groups including.. Alcohol recovery, older women's groups, a 1..1 support service for women experiencing domestic abuse, advocacy, referral to specialist agencies. stress management techniques, assist suicide first aid contact point and domestic abuse awareness raising programmes. We have hosted a one stop shop. welcoming partner organisations into the centre for advice and guidance. Family support continues to prowde 1-1 support. CHAMPS (Children Healing through Art. Movement, Play and Smiles> and bespoke programmes to support parents and families. Our Young Girls Group continues to provide gendered support and leadership capacity building for young girls in the area. Partnerships and collaborations with local and wider networks includes. Groundwotks, STEMNI, RSPB, Belfast Harbour Commission, NSPCC, Playboard Nl. All of this work is delivered by a highly skilled team who bring specialist skills and exper1eft ensuring that services continue to meet the diverse range of needs of the women and families in the area. We have developed positive working relationships with key agencies, including Social Setwices, Belfast and Lisbum Women's Aid, PSNI, Mulli Agency Risk Assessment Conference, NIHE. Colin Neighbourhood Partnership. Sally Gardens and Colin Surestart, ensuring access to a wide range of services is promoted and developed. Chlldren's Services Children's seNices remain a vital resource to vrnen in Colin in accessing employment, training. volunteering, and respite support. Children have daily access to our Green flag Award winning gardens and outdoor spaces, play resources and Sensory gardens in promoting and supporting positive health and wellbeing. We are also a registered Nl Forest School. recognising our children's conlact with nature to be extremely important from an early age Our daycare facility continues to deliver affordable and flexible childcare to working parents and women in full and part time educationltraining. In addilion. we continue to deliver daycare for childcare respite, providing childcare places for children at risk of going into care and families in need of support. The Cenlre also takes emergency social services referrals. Wilhout this vital seNce many children would be lefl in unstable circumstances in rel81ion to family life and environment,
FOOTPRINTS WOMENS CENTRE DIRECTORS. REPORT (CONTINUED) FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31 MARCH 2024 Our annual inspection was carried out in December 2023 by Soulh Easlern Trust's Early Years SeNice, who undertake the regislralion and inspection of day care provision in the Trust area. We are very pleased lo report we received an excellent result with minimal recommendations. Our staff team work hard to maintain high standards which are demonstrated through excellent inspection results each year and high levels of satisfaction from our parent feedback surveys also. Our seNices for 5-16 year olds continues to provide unique and innovative learning programmes and activlties led by our highly qualified and experienced staff. The waiting lists and feedback from the programmes highlight the commitmenl from the staff who provide daily programmes. activities and vbsits and also a summer scheme. Tralnlng and Edu¢atlon I Women's Empowernnt Our trainlng and empowemient programmes continue to provide high quality capacity building programmes for women in a safe and welcoming spa¢e. The wde range of accredited and non-accredited programmes on offer reflecl Foolprints responsiveness to member's surveys and consultations. We have experienced a change in our funding of our training and education programmes and as such have re-designed the programme, consulting with women as to what they feel would be berbefioal to support their leaming and development. We have been part of the Women Breaking Barriers programme, which has been delivered through Women's Support Neork, partnering with the Women's Resource and Development Agency (WRDA). The programme is funded by the UK government's Shared Prosperity Fund and this has experienced some changes due to a change in government. We hope this initial project has supported leaming for a second phase and that fijnding can be granted to further support the work that has commenced under the programme. which seeks to work with women who are considered economically inactive. We are exlremely privileged to be working alongside a philanthropist who has granted funding for an Essential Skills programme to support women who wishes to upskill to help them either secure employment or to retrain for a new career. This programme will Commen in the next academic year and we look fOard to developing this pilot programme which we hope will transfomi the lives of the women who embark upon the programme. We are grateful to the funder, who is committed to working alongside us to drive change and ensure maximum impact across a range of priorities. Our Community Kitchenlcookery School has delivered a range of skills based accredited programmes in supporting women's employment opportunities and work and volunteering opportunities. Over the coming year we are keen to grow the offering within our community kitchen and already have the wheels in motion to work with new partners in thls setting. Heallh and Wellbeing remains a pnority within our programme recognising the imrniense value in ¢arrying out work within the cenlre that supports not only awareness, but supports a preventative model of work. particularly In relation to mental heallh. Footprints Good Relations work remains part of the centre core seTvices and our Syrian women's group continues to develop and grow, meeting weekly in the centre to share food and support and take part in conversalional English dasses.
FOOTPRINTS WOMENS CENTRE DIRECTORS. REPORT (CONTINUED) FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31 MARCH 2024 Sustalnable Living Throughout this year food services continued to provide nutritious meals, daily for children in daycare, offered a range of accredited and non accredited cookery skills programmes in the Community Training Kitchen and operated the Social Supermarket service at Footprints. We gratefully acknowledge Dfc Pilot Social Supemiarket Project continuati¢)n funding whi¢h enabled Footprints lo meet the high levels of need for food support within the ¢ommunity. As the cost-of-living crisis deepened, Footprints in partnership with Colin Surestart established a pop-up Social Supemiarket. at Mount Eagles Community Centre. A room in the community ¢enlre was refurbished to house the Social Supemiarket which is open one morning a week for families in the local area. Our thanks also to Choice Housing. Glenwood Enterprise and private donors for their donations and funding awards which support both Social Supermarkets. The success of the Social Superfflatket model was profiled by Food Cloud 101 in a film launched this year, demonstrating how incorporating surplus food into core communty serViS has helped to create a more connected and sustainable local economy. We also gratefully acknowledge National Lottery Community Fund as we progressed our plans In the second year of a People & Communities grant. In addilion to the delivery of cookery school and food growing programmes, we focused on developing our social enterprise activities to generate new income streams to sustain services. Alongside the provision of a room hire and catering setmce at Footprints Women's Centre, we are working towards the opening of Danu Street Kitchen, with a view lo connecting with Belfast's vibrant food truck trade. Footprints joumey towards building a sustainable community continues and we were delighted to retain the Green Flag Community site award 2023124 and to facilitate. Repair Café, Belfast on two occasions throughout the year. We also commen¢ed the prOsS to achieve Belfast Business Promise accreditation. This standard recognises employers working lo make Belfast a better city and involves providing good jobs, whilst supporting a sustainable local economy and building a healthier city for everyone. The accreditation also recognises an organisation's commitment lo working towards the UN'S Sustainable Development Goals. Finally, we would like to thank Marianne Daly for her eight years of dedicated service as Daycare Catering Worker, to wish Marianne well for the future and to welcome Sinead Taylorto the team. Financlal review The results for the period are as set oui on pages 14 to 39. The charity retumed outgoing resources of £147 (2023 - Incoming resources of £56,993) of which there were unreslri¢led incoming resources of £4,629 and reslricted outgoing resources of £4.776. At 31 Mard) 2024. the Ie1 of unrestricted reseNes held was £685,569 (2023 - £680,940), The Directors have sel aside £241,925 (2023 - £209,522) out of unrestricted funds in relation to Core Activities, Business Reserves. Governan Costs and Programme Costs. Reserves pollcy Footprints maintsin a prudent level of reserves to enable the organisation to manage financial risk and deliver on our commitments. The organisation is currently working to meet unprecedented challenges created by the pandemi¢ and emerging cost of living crises. These have had a major impact on women and families we work with and created unidentified and rising levels of need. The Board has unreslricted general and unrestricted designated funds to ensure sustainability and growth of our support SerVis, invesling in the maintenance and development of currenl and future FWC Childcare and Food services projects over the nexi Iwelve months. We remain committed to furthering our slralegic aims and goals in meeting community need. The Directors consider that designated reserves should be the equivalent of 9 month's operating costs, calculated and reviewed annually. Reserves at this level will ensure that. in the event of a significant drop in fvnding. they will be able lo conllnue Ihe charity's current activities wliile consideration is 9iven to ways in whi¢h additional funds may be raised. This level of reserves has been mainlained throughout the year. The charitable company will continue to monitor compliance wtth this policy on a regular basis and the Board will review the appropriateness of the policy annually.
FOOTPRINTS WOMENS CENTRE DIRECTORS, REPORT (CONTINUED) FOR THEYEAR ENDED 31 MARCH 2024 The directors have assessed the major risks to which the charity is exposed, and are satisfied that systerns are in place to mitigate exposure to the major risks. Structure, governance and management The charity is a company limited by guarantee and is govemed by lis Memorandum and Articles ofAssociation. The directors who served during the year and up to the date of signature of the financial statements were.. Ms U Carberry Ms A Fisher Mrs S Glymond Ms R Holmes Ms M McNeill Ms S Lavery Ms R Denvir Ms D Atkin50n Mrs E Duffy Mrs B Donaghy (Resigned 15 May 2023) New directors are appointed by the members of the charity at the annual general meeting. Footprints Women's Centre is managed by a voluntary board of directors who are responsible for both the management of the charity and the trading arm owned by the charity, Footprints Trading Ltd. The Board of Direclors meet monthly to oversee the management of the Centre. A finance and personnel subvcommittee has been established. These groups meet monthly. There is a separate board for the trading company and this board meets bi-monthly. The Board of Directors employs a centre director who is responsible for the day-to-day management of the organisation. The Board of Directors conducts bi-annual reviews of the strategic plan. and at the same time reviews board perfonnance. Policies and procedures are rewewed and updated on an ongoing basis. The charity receives an annual gift aid donation from its trading subsidiary Footprints Trading Ltd. Fooiprints Trading Ltd run a number of charitable activites which are also in pursuit of the Charitable objectives of Footprints Womens Centre. Key management personnel The directors consider the board of directors. and the senior management team to comprise the key management personnel of the charity in charge of dIreIng and controlling, running and operating the organisation on a day to day basis. All directors glve of their time freely and no director received remuneration in the year. The pay of the senior staff is benchmarked against NJC Scales.
FOOTPRINTS WOMENS CENTRE DIRECTORS, REPORT (CONTINUED) FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31 MARCH 2024 Statement of dlrectors. responsiblllties The directors, who also act as trustees for the charitable activities of Footprints Womens Centre, are responsibl& for preparing the Directors, Report and the financial statements in ac¢ordance with applicable law and United Kingdom Accounting Slandards (United Kingdom Generally Accepted Accounting Practice). Company Law requires the directors to prepare financial ststements for each financial year which give a true and fair view of Ihe state of affairs of the charity and of the incoming reSouS and application of resources, Including the in¢ome and expenditure. of the charitsble company for that year. In preparing these finan¢ial statements, the directors are required lo.. select suitable ac¢ounling policies and then apply them consistently: - observe the methods and principles in the Charities SORP 2019; - make judgemenls and estimates that are reasonable and pnjdent. state whether applicable UK Accounting Standards have been followed. subject to any malerial departure5 disclosed and explained in the financial statements; and prepare the financial statements on the going concem basis unless it is inappropriate to presume that the Charity will continue in operation. The directors are responsible for keeping adequate ac¢ounting records that disdose with reasonable accuracy at any time the financial position of the charity and enable them to ensure that the financial statements Comply with the Companies Act 2006. They are also responsible for safeguarding the assets of the charity and hence for taking reasonable steps for the prevenlion and detection of fraud and other irregularities. Auditor In accordance with the company's articles, a resolution proposing that GMCG LISBURN be reappointed as auditor of the company will be put at a General Meeting. Disclosure of infomiation to auditor Each of the diredors has confirmed that there is no information of which they are aware which is relevant to the audit, but of which the auditor is unaware. They have further confimied that they have taken appropriate steps to identify such relevant information and to establish that the auditor is aware of such information. The directors, report was approved by the Board of Directors. Ms A Fisher Dlrector