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2025-03-31-accounts

U-evolve SCIO

Scottish Charity No SCO45864

Trustees’ Report & Financial Statements for the Year Ended

31 March 2025

Table of contents

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Contents: Page
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Contents: Page
Report of the Trustees 1-5
Report of the Independent Examiner 6-7
Statement of Financial Activities 8
Balance Sheet 9
Statement of Cash Flow 10
Notes to the Accounts 11-16

U-evolve SCIO

Trustees Annual Report for the year ended 31 March 2025

The trustees have pleasure in presenting their annual report together with the accounts for the period from 1 April 2024 to 31 March 2025.

Reference and administrative information

Charity name U-evolve

Charity number SCO45864

Address: Norton Park Business Centre, 57 Albion Road, Edinburgh

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Current trustees
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Trustees who resigned during the year

Constitution

The charity is a Scottish Charitable Incorporated Organisation (a SCIO). It was registered at the Scottish Charity Regulator (OSCR) on 3 August 2015. It has a single tier structure and as such the trustees are the members of the charity.

Appointment of trustees

The Board, composed entirely of charity trustees, has the power to appoint new charity trustees. Trustees may be appointed for a maximum of two terms. Each term shall consist of a three-year period. Following the completion of two terms, a trustee may continue on the board of Trustees for one further term if only where they take up an office holder position. Trustees who take up office holder positions from the beginning of their tenure shall be entitled to serve a maximum of three terms, provided they remain in office for the entirety of this period. Office holders who retire from their office position and thereafter are re-appointed as Trustee shall be entitled to serve a maximum of two terms only from the beginning of their tenure at U-evolve. Appointments of trustees made at a Board meeting have their appointment reconfirmed at the subsequent Annual General Meeting. There must be a minimum of three and a maximum of fifteen trustees.

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U-evolve SCIO Trustees Annual Report for the year ended 31 March 2025 (cont.)

Objectives and activities

Charitable purposes

The organisation’s purposes are to advance both access and provision of Education to, in the main but not exclusively, young people and their families and carers.

This includes creating formal and informal education opportunities for beneficiaries in their transition to adulthood, or in education. It also includes the development of their emotional intelligence, self-care skills and development of belief in themselves through the provision of coaching, mentoring and other related methodologies. This allows them to access their latent strengths, talents and capabilities and achieve their aspirations.

In addition, the beneficiaries are taught mindfulness practices and by using positive psychology to support their emotional and mental health and wellbeing, helped to build their personal resilience and capacity to deal with different situations and transitions in education and beyond.

Priority will be given to those beneficiaries who are living in multiple deprivation and have limited access to resources to overcome barriers to them, maximising their access and development of their education, health and wellbeing.

Activities

We exist to provide mental health support to young people aged 11 – 21 years, which supports them to feel better, be confident in who they are and to learn techniques to help them take control of their lives. This year we have reviewed and developed our new strategy, which widens our support both geographically and in the services we provide.

We provide 4 key services:

Individual Mental Health Support – Our 1-1 support is flexible and tailored to the needs of the young person. We use a variety of approaches, pulling from counselling, coaching and youth work methods.

Groupwork Programmes – we run group programmes which help young people connect with each other, share experiences and learn new ways to support their wellbeing. Our programmes are responsive to need and cover a range of wellbeing topics.

Young Voices Programme - a new programme developed this year which enables young people to have a say in the issues that matter to them around mental health and mental health services.

Training for Professionals – we deliver training to people who work with and support young people. Our training programme is delivered in a variety of ways and includes trauma awareness, boundaries, self-compassion and coaching conversations.

Highlights, Achievements and Partnerships

This year, we successfully delivered on our plans for stability and launched our new threeyear strategy, Creating Space for Young People . The strategy launch marked the culmination of

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U-evolve SCIO Trustees Annual Report for the year ended 31 March 2025 (cont.)

over a year’s work to define a clear direction for how we will continue supporting young people’s mental health, alongside setting out our key strategic objectives. The launch event at Norton Park by our young people, in line with our ethos as an organisation and attended by a large number of our partners and supporters.

Throughout the year we supported 161 young people through individual and groupwork programmes—an increase of 24% from last year’s figure of 130. We extended our individual support offer with the introduction of a counselling service as a result of the investment in our staff development over the last few years. This now enables us to provide a broader range of mental health support, including mental health coaching, counselling, and art therapy, tailored to the needs of the young people we support. We continue to deliver support both in schools and from our new space, where our therapy rooms are now fully equipped providing a safe and inclusive space.

Our groupwork programme includes our established Identity and Transitions groups, along with new initiatives such as Balanced Minds , an anxiety-based programme delivered at Boroughmuir High School, and an LGBT art therapy group at Craigroyston High School. We also delivered mental health awareness sessions at Edinburgh College.

We are seeing an increase in demand for our services, partly reflecting the experience of young people across our city but also due to increased partnership working with statutory services as well as increased awareness of U-Evolve, more generally. To respond to these increasing referrals, we introduced a drop-in service offering immediate support to young people while they were waiting to be matched to a suitable service. We continue to develop this service with different delivery models currently being trialled.

We continued to deliver our Young Voices programme, which remains central to ensuring young people are actively involved in shaping our services and that their voices are heard. This was brought to life for our supporters at our Strategy launch event.

We also developed new partnerships this year, including work with LGBTQI and The Ripple Project in North Edinburgh, and a collaboration with North Merchiston Community Centre, who are generously providing free space for a new drop-in group. We continue to engage in networks and forums across the city and this year joined the North Edinburgh R2 AntiRacism Working Group.

Funding and Income

Funding continues to present a significant challenge across the voluntary sector, and we remain focused on securing sustainable and diverse income streams. Grant funding continues to be our main source of income; however, competition for grants is increasing as demand rises. This year, we were able to maintain support through our existing funders and were also successful in securing new grants from the Walter Scott Giving Group, Foundation Scotland, and the Leith Benevolent Fund.

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U-evolve SCIO

Trustees Annual Report for the year ended 31 March 2025 (cont.)

Our fundraising activity this year included participation in the Great Santa Run, with volunteers taking part in the 5k and 10k races to raise funds for our work as well as raising awareness of U-Evolve.

Staff Team & Development

This year, two members of staff qualified as counsellors, and both took on new roles as Counsellor & Development Workers. These roles combine direct service delivery with the development of new services that respond to emerging needs.

As a team, we completed Trauma-Informed and Trauma-Skilled Training, strengthening our confidence and capacity to deliver trauma-informed support. In addition, all staff undertook suicide prevention training, further enhancing our ability to support young people safely and effectively.

Future Plans

This coming year, we will continue our focus on delivering our new three-year strategy, Creating Space for Young People . Our work will be guided by three key strategic themes:

In the year ahead, we aim to reach and support more young people by expanding both the scale and range of our services. This includes continuing to develop our existing individual and groupwork programmes and exploring new ways to provide early, and easy-to-access, mental health support.

Our Young Voices programme will remain central to how we design and evaluate our work, ensuring young peoples lived experiences directly inform service development and decisionmaking.

We are also committed to becoming a more inclusive organisation. Over the coming year, we will work towards achieving the Bronze Level LGBT Charter Award, reflecting our dedication to creating a safe, welcoming, and inclusive environment for all young people.

Through these plans, we aim to build on the growth in services achieved this year, continuing to grow and develop as an organisation providing high quality trauma informed mental health support to young people who need it the most across Edinburgh.

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U-evolve SCIO Trustees Annual Report for the year ended 31 March 2025 (cont.)

We would like to thank the following funders without whose support we would not be able to reach as many young people:

Paristamen Responsive Grant, KPE4, Baillie Gifford, Robertson Trust, Leith Benevolent Trust, Walter Scott Giving Group, Foundation Scotland, National Lottery Young Start, Communities Mental Health and Wellbeing and City of Edinburgh Council.

Financial review

Results for the year end 31 March 2025 are provided in the Statement of Financial Activities on page 8. The Statement of Financial Activities shows income of £253,005 and a net inflow of funds for the year of £3,838 - unrestricted inflow of £3,440 and restricted inflow of £398.

U-evolve is funded from a number of sources including trusts, businesses, schools, donations, fundraising and income from social enterprise activities. The Trustees are very grateful for all awards and donations which enable us to carry out our planned programme of work during the year. Details of all funders are listed in the notes to the accounts on page 13.

We continue to seek fundraising opportunities to raise unrestricted funds to allow us to recruit more staff to meet our ambition to deliver further programmes of support for young people.

Reserves Policy

The Trustees’ policy is that U-evolve shall ensure that reserves equate to the equivalent of 16 weeks of running costs. This shall comprise of solely unrestricted funds. The value of unrestricted funds held at the year-end is in line with this policy.

Approved by the trustees on 16 December 2025 and signed on their behalf by:

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U-evolve Chair

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Independent Examiner’s Report to the Trustees of U-evolve

I report on the financial statements of the charity for the year ended 31 March 2025 which are set out on pages 8 to 16.

This report is made to the trustees, as a body, in accordance with the terms of my engagement. My work has been undertaken to enable me to report my opinion as set out below and for no other purpose. To the fullest extent permitted by law I do not accept or assume responsibility to anyone other than the charity and the trustees, as a body, for my work or for this report.

Respective responsibilities of trustees and examiner

The charity’s trustees are responsible for the preparation of the financial statements in accordance with the terms of the Charities and Trustee Investment (Scotland) Act 2005 and the Charities Accounts (Scotland) Regulations 2006 (as amended). The charity trustees consider that the audit requirement of Regulation 10(1) (a) to (c) of the 2006 Accounts Regulations does not apply. It is my responsibility to examine the financial statements as required under section 44(1) (c) of the Act and to state whether particular matters have come to my attention.

Basis of independent examiner’s statement

My examination is carried out in accordance with Regulation 11 of the 2006 Accounts Regulations. An examination includes a review of the accounting records kept by the charity and a comparison of the financial statements presented with those records. It also includes consideration of any unusual items or disclosures in the financial statements, and seeks explanations from the trustees concerning any such matters. The procedures undertaken do not provide all the evidence that would be required in an audit, and consequently I do not express an audit opinion on the view given by the financial statements.

Independent examiner’s statement

In the course of my examination, no matter has come to my attention:

  1. which gives me reasonable cause to believe that in any material respect the requirements:

  2. to keep accounting records in accordance with Section 44(1) (a) of the 2005 Act and Regulation 4 of the 2006 Accounts Regulations:

  3. and to prepare financial statements which accord with the accounting records and comply with Regulation 8 of the 2006 Accounts Regulations; have not been met, or

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Independent Examiner's Report to the Trustees of U-evolve (cont.) 2. to which, in my opinion, attention should be drawn in order to enable a proper understanding of the financial statements to be reached. Nanie: Date: 16 December 2025

U-evolve SCIO

Statement of Financial Activities for the Year Ended 31 March 2025

Notes Unrestricted
Funds
£
Restricted
Funds
£
2025
£
2024
£
Income
Donations,Grants and Service Income 2 94,732 156,988 251,720 238,820
Interest Income 1,285 1,285
Total Incoming Resources 96,017 156,988 253,005 238,820
Expenditure
Expenditure on raisingfunds 3 (24,774) (57) (24,831) (37,801)
Expenditure on charitable activities 4 (67,803) (156,533) (224,336) (232,719)
Total Expenditure (92,577) (156,590) (249,167) (270,520)
Net income/(expenditure) before movement in funds 3,440 398 3,838 (31,700)
Fund balances brought forward 80,424 19,602 100,025 131,725
Fund balances carried forward 83,863 20,000 103,863 100,025
Restricted income and expenditure for theyear ended 31 March 2024 was £148,954 and £169,087 respectively.

Restricted income and expenditure for the year ended 31 March 2024 was £148,954 and £169,087 respectively.

The notes on pages 11 to 16 form an integral part of these financial statements.

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U-evolve SCIO

Balance Sheet as at 31 March 2025

Notes 2025
£
2025
£
2024
£
2024
£
Fixed Assets 766 1,053
Current Assets
Debtors 7,011 4,739
Cash at bank 108,455 102,471
Creditors
Amounts fallingdue within 1year (12,369) (8,238)
Net current assets 103,097 98,972
Total Net Assets 103,863 100,025
Funds
Unrestricted 83,863 80,423
Restricted 6 20,000 19,602
Total Charity Funds 103,863 100,025

The notes on pages 11to 16 form an integral part of these financial statements.

The financial statements were approved by the trustees on 16 December 2025 and are signed on their behalf by:

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Chair

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U-evolve SCIO

Statement of Cash Flows as at 31 March 2025

2025
£
2024
£
Cash flows from operating activities
Netincome / (expenditure) 3,838 (31,700)
Purchase of FixedAssets 0 (1,149)
Depreciationcharge 287 96
(Increase)/Decrease in debtors (2,272) (1,972)
Increase in creditors 4,131 3,918
Cash provided by operating activities 5,984 (30,807)
Increase/(decrease) in cash during the year 5,984 (30,807)
Cash at the beginning of the year 102,471 133,278
Total cash at the end of the year 108,455 102,471
Cash comprises:
Cash at bank 108,455 102,471

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U-evolve SCIO

Notes to the Accounts – For the Year Ended 31 March 2025

  1. Accounting policies

  2. The following accounting policies have been applied consistently in dealing with the items which are considered material in relation to the Charity’s financial statements.

Basis of accounting

The financial statements have been prepared under the historical cost convention with items recognised at cost or transaction value unless otherwise stated in the relevant notes to the accounts. The financial statements have been prepared in accordance with the Statement of Recommended Practice: Accounting and Reporting by Charities preparing their accounts in accordance with the Financial Reporting Standard applicable in the UK and the Republic of Ireland (FRS 102) (effective 1 October 2019) and FRS 102 1A, the Charities and Trustee Investment (Scotland) Act 2005, the Charities Accounts (Scotland) Regulations 2006 (as amended).

U-evolve meets the definition of a public benefit entity under FRS 102. Assets and liabilities are initially recognised at historical cost or transaction value unless otherwise stated in the relevant accounting policy note(s).

Going concern

The financial statements have been prepared on a going concern basis which assumes that the entity will continue in operational existence for the foreseeable future. The financial statements have been prepared on the grounds that the trustees consider that the current and future sources of funding or support from the date of approval of these financial statements are expected to be more than adequate for the charity’s needs. If the charity was unable to continue in operational existence for the foreseeable future, adjustments would have to be made to reduce balance sheet values of assets to their recoverable amounts and to provide for such further liabilities as might arise. Having considered the future operations of the charity, the trustees consider that the going concern basis is appropriate for the preparation of these financial statements.

Tangible fixed assets

Tangible fixed assets are stated at cost less depreciation. Depreciation is calculated so as to write off the cost of an asset, less its estimated residual value, over the useful economic life of that asset as follows:

Income

All income is included in the Statement of Financial Activities when the charity has legal entitlement to the funds, any performance conditions attached have been met, it is probable that the income will be received and the amount can be measured reliably and quantified with reasonable accuracy. The following specifics are applied to particular categories of income: Donations and grants for core funding are included in the period in which they are receivable which is when the charity becomes entitled to the resource. Income from charitable activities relates to the delivery of services to the charity’s beneficiaries and is recognised when the charity has delivered the services and is therefore entitled to the income.

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U-evolve SCIO

Notes to the Accounts – For the Year Ended 31 March 2025 (cont.)

Expenditure

Expenditure is accounted for on an accruals basis, where a legal or constructive obligation exists, and has been classified under headings that aggregate all cost related to the category. All of the costs incurred are attributable to the principal objective of the charity. The charity is not registered for VAT and accordingly costs are shown gross of irrecoverable VAT.

Nature and purpose of funds

Unrestricted funds are those that may be used at the discretion of the trustees in furtherance of the objects of the charity. The trustees maintain a single unrestricted fund for the day to day running of the charity. Restricted funds may only be used for specific purposes. Restrictions arise when specified by the donor or when funds are raised for specific purposes.

Cash and deposits

Cash at bank and in hand includes cash which is accessible on demand.

Creditors

Creditors are recognised where the charity has a present obligation resulting from a past event that will probably result in a transfer of funds to a third party and the amounts due to settle the obligation can be measured or estimated reliably. Creditors are recognised at their settlement amount due.

Financial instruments

The charity has only financial assets and financial liabilities of a kind that qualify as basic financial instruments. Basic financial instruments are initially recognised at transaction value and subsequently measured at their settlement value.

Employees

The average headcount was 7 FTE and no employees received employee benefits of more than £60,000.

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2. Donations, grants and service income

Donations, grants and service income
Unrestricted
Funds
£
Restricted
Funds
£
2025
£
2024
£
Apex Hotels 1,201
-
1,201
-
Baillie Gifford - 10,000 10,000 10,000
BigGive 300
-
300 5,705
Broughton High School 4,290
-
4,290 1,000
Carers Trust - 750 750
-
CEC Connected Communities 44,361
-
44,361
-
Cityof Edinburgh Council 35,898
-
35,898 25,101
Communities Mental Health & WellbeingFund - 20,000 20,000 19,603
Corra Foundation - - - 6,000
David Statt Memorial Fund - - - 4,922
Dr Guthrie's Association - - - 500
Foundation Scotland - 4,994 4,994
-
GannochyTrust - 31,500 31,500 33,000
Hospital SaturdayFund - 2,000 2,000 2,000
HSBC 1,306
-
1,306
-
Joined UpFor Families - - - 250
Just Giving 2,187
-
2,187
-
KPE4 - 50,000 50,000 60,000
Leith Benevolent Fund - 1,700 1,700
-
Nigel Bruce Trust - 500 500
-
Other Donations 2,346
-
2,346 3,330
Paristamen Responsive Grant - 750 750
-
Ponton House - - - 3,000
Robertson Trust - - - 38,500
Scran Academy 890
-
890 280
Spartans Alternative School 1,952
-
1,952 11,655
The Albert Hunt Trust - - - 4,000
TinyChanges - - - 9,974
TNL YoungStart 24- 25 - 29,794 29,794
-
Walter Scott - 5,000 5,000
-
94,732 156,988 251,720 238,820
Restricted donations, grants and service income for theyear ended 31 March 2024 were £148,954

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3. Expenditure on raising funds

Expenditure on raising funds
Unrestricted
Funds
£
Restricted
Funds
£
2025
£
2024
£
Fundraising 24,774 57 24,831 37,801

4. Expenditure on charitable activities

Unrestricted
Funds
£
Restricted
Funds
£
2025
£
2024
£
Accountancy 624 1,248 1,872 1,872
Admin & Office Costs 120 1,134 1,254 1,060
Admin & SundryCosts inc. Disclosure 37 146 182 310
Advertising/Promotional 225 1,356 1,581 727
Clinical Supervision 743 3,200 3,943 5,818
Consultancy 105 - 105 300
Depreciation 287 - 287 96
HR Costs 89 849 938 1,058
Independent Examination Fee - 1,080 1,080 1,100
Insurances - 1,921 1,921 2,247
IT Equipment 686 1,315 2,001 1,012
IT Support - 3,521 3,521 3,624
Memberships & Subscriptions 297 808 1,105 908
Payroll Costs 60,128 123,333 183,460 198,661
Phone Costs 290 1,060 1,350 1,535
Premises 3,858 10,558 14,415 6,187
Printing,Postage and Stationery (deleted) 16 - 16 372
Project Resources - 841 841 796
Recruitment 30 240 270 -
Staff expenses(deleted) 65 133 198 828
Staff Training 71 2,588 2,659 3,125
Travel and Subsistence 83 430 513 229
Volunteer Expenses 40 43 83
Volunteer/Trustee Training - 100 100
Website Costs - 630 630 825
YoungPeople Costs 10 - 10 30
Total 67,803 156,533 224,336 232,719
Restricted expenditure on charitable activities for theyear ended 31 March 2024 was £169,087

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5. Fixed Assets

Office
Equipment
£
Total
£
Cost
At start ofyear 1,149 1,149
Additions - -
At end ofyear 1,149 1,149
Depreciation
At start ofyear 96 96
Charge foryear 287 287
At end ofyear 383 383
Net book value
At 31 March 2025 766 766
At 31 March 2024 1,053 1,053

6. Analysis of net assets amongst funds

Unrestricted
Funds
2025
£
Restricted
Funds
2025
£
Total
2025
£
Fixed Assets 766
-

766
Current Assets 95,467 20,000 115,467
Current Liabilities (12,369) - (12,369)
83,863 20,000 103,863
Unrestricted
Funds
2024
£
Restricted
Funds
2024
£
Total
2024
£
FixedAssets 1,053 - 1,053
Current Assets 87,608 19,602 107,210
Current Liabilities (8,238) - (8,238)
80,423 19,602 100,025

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7. Movement in Restricted Funds

Movement in Restricted Funds
Opening
Balance as at
1 April 2024

Incoming
Resources
Outgoing
Resources
Closing
Balance as at
31 March 2025
Restricted Staff Fund 19,602 156,988 (156,590) 20,000
Restricted Other - - - -
Total Restricted 19,602 156,988 (156,590) 20,000

The Restricted Staff Fund represents income received from various donors for the sole purpose of supporting the salary costs of the staff of the organisation. Any costs associated with this purpose are offset against the funding received. Other restricted funds represent income received for IT, workshop resources, and staff training. The closing balance represents funds for a specific purpose that as at 31 March 2025, have not been spent.

8. Related party transactions

During the year ended 31 March 2025 the Trustees received no remuneration (2024: £nil) and were not reimbursed for any expenses (2024: £nil).

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