2024-11-30-accounts - Strathearn Building Bridges Incorporated

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Strathearn Building Bridges Incorporated

A Scottish Charity registered with OSCR – No. SC048085

Annual Report 2024 & Financial Accounts

STRATHEARN BUILDING BRIDGES INCORPORATED REPORT OF THE TRUSTEES FOR THE YEAR ENDED 21 NOVEMBER 2024

	Page
Legal and administrative information	3
Trustee’s report	4-10
Independent auditors report	11
Statement of financial activities	12
Balance sheet	13
Notes to the financial statements	14 - 15

STRATHEARN BUILDING BRIDGES INCORPORATED REPORT OF THE TRUSTEES FOR THE YEAR ENDED 21 NOVEMBER 2024

LEGAL AND ADMINISTRATIVE INFORMATION

Trustees

Charity Number SC048085 Operational Address The Lindens 21 Victoria Terrace Crieff PH7 4

Website address https://www.strathearnbuildingbridges.com Independent Examiner

Bankers

Bank of Scotland 1 Galvelmore Street Crieff PH7 4DN

STRATHEARN BUILDING BRIDGES INCORPORATED REPORT OF THE TRUSTEES FOR THE YEAR ENDED 21 NOVEMBER 2024

OBJECTIVES AND ACTIVITIES OF THE CHARITY AS SET OUT IN ITS GOVERNING DOCUMENT

Strathearn Building Bridges operates as a Scottish Charitable Incorporated Organisation (SCI0) with the charity number SC048085, within the terms of its governing document, a written constitution, and all references in this report refer to that document.

Before it was formalised as a Scottish Charitable Incorporated Organisation (SCIO) it was registered as a charity in 2013. Early beginnings: in 2010 (in the small Highland Perthshire town of Crieff), a small group of parents of young people with varying disabilities got together to share their concerns about the life their children might lead after they left school. They worried about where their teenagers could go, what they could do, and how they would make new friends without the opportunities and experiences offered by school. The group decided to take matters into its own hands and set up a community club, Strathearn Buildin Bridges, with organised activities in a safe space.

The charity supports young and not so young adults who have learning and or physical and emotional disabilities to overcome chronic loneliness of social isolation. As well as reducing isolation these adults with disabilities are given a range of opportunities, experiences, and development of skills which will improve their lives in the future. Whilst the charity is focused on its members the range of activities they are involved in allows respite for their families and carers.

Building Bridges is able to support its members by:

Increasing inclusion, enablement, independence, improving mental health and wellbeing
Increasing access to employment, volunteering, learning, culture, sport and leisure opportunities
Incresing equality of opportunity and active citizenship

The charities vision is

“Socialising Disability in our Community”

The Aims of the charity are

Strathearn Building Bridges aims to fulfil its name – to build bridges to a better quality of life for people aged 16+ with learning, physical and emotional disabilities and also for their carers. We do this by providing opportunities and experiences through a range of social, leisure and educational activities, enhancing integration, reducing isolation and increasing awareness within our community whilst also providing respite for families and carers.

We are open and inclusive : we welcome members of all abilities living in Strathearn who are aged 16 or more.

We enjoy making friends and having fun together : our range of activities help build social skills, foster friendships and have fun in a safe and welcoming space.

We appreciate our volunteers : we are truly grateful for the help of our wonderful group of faithful volunteers

We welcome supportive partnerships: via links to a number of organisations active in our community we can provide even more opportunities for our members

We feel part of a community that cares : becoming a more visible group within the community enhances integration and inclusion and makes it easier for local people to understand who we are and how to show their support.

STRATHEARN BUILDING BRIDGES INCORPORATED REPORT OF THE TRUSTEES FOR THE YEAR ENDED 21 NOVEMBER 2024

MAIN ACTIVITIES UNDERTAKEN

This report and financial statement pertains to the operation of the charity for the year ended 22[nd] November 2024. The activities are as follows:

Tuesday Club – weekly, average 20 attendees – promotes social and interpersonal skills and with the support of volunteers allows members with learning disabilities to access a range of enjoyable activities of their choice including arts and crafts, games, quizzes, films, music and trips further afield.

Wednesday Social - An afternoon group – weekly, average 10 attendees – meeting to socialise and enjoy games, music and films.

Knock Down social & citizenship group – fortnightly, average 15 attendees – similar to Tuesday Club, but with more emphasis on partnerships and involvement with other local groups and organisations, such as Crieff Highland Gathering, Perthshire Amateur Operatic Society, Remake Scotland and the Co-op.

Thursday Zoom - An informal friendship group – meeting fortnightly via Zoom with average 6 attendees. A one-hour online get-together to chat about what each person has been doing recently and to share news. Hosted by two adult volunteers.

Boccia Group - in partnership with P&K Disability Sport – a weekly sports activity with an average 15 attendees (including some younger, non-SBB members)

Saturday Luch Club - A popular kitchen workshop - monthly for 3 hours with 8 places. Members are taught food skills to prepare and make a themed lunch led by an Activity Leader and supported by volunteers. The group then sits down to enjoy lunch together and chat.

Events - In addition to regular weekly or fortnightly activities throughout the year, SBB offers its members the opportunity to participate in several annual events including an Annual BBQ, Halloween Party, Christmas Party, Gamesmakers at Crieff Highland Games.

Volunteering - SBB has a range of opportunities for locals to gain experience, skills and friendships as they support our range of activities.

Partnerships - Reaching out to other local organisations to build mutually beneficial partnerships is vitally important to our ambition to diffuse SBB throughout our community. Our partners include Perth & Kinross Disability Sport, Strathearn Arts, Crieff Highland Gathering, Remake Scotland and Live Active Leisure.

ORGANISATIONAL STRUCTURE

The Charity is incorporated as a Scottish Charitable Incorporated Organisation (SCIO), governed by its Constitution and registered with the Office of the Scottish Charity Regulator on 22 January 2018 (charity number SC 048085).

The organisation is composed of:

The Members, any individual aged 16 or over from the Strathearn area who agrees with the stated purposes of the charity, and
The Board, who hold regular meetings and control the activities of the organisation to ensure the objectives of the charity are delivered.

STRATHEARN BUILDING BRIDGES INCORPORATED REPORTOFTHE TRUSTEES FOR THE YEAR ENDED 21 NOVEMBER 2024 The Board will be composed of Charity Trustees (Members elected at the AGM, Appointed by Charity Trustees and Co-opted). The charity trustees must elect (from amongst themselves) a Chair, Treasurer and Secretary. MAIN ACHIEVEMENTS What a difference a year makes. Prior to last yearfs AGM there was a very real possibility that, following the resignation of two very long-standing Trustges, we would be unable to find the requisite 3 Trustees to enable us to continue as a charity. In the event, thankfully, not 2 but 5 people stepped forward forming a new board of 6 trustees. And for thé first time since our beginning in 2010 we have 3 trustees with no family member attending one or more of our clubs or events. Personally, i tske this as a sign that our work is valued by the community at large. Our first priority as a board was to maintain our current offerings to members and continue the work of the previous board and 'Build Back Bett8rf following Covid restrictions. Tuesday Club (TCI is where it all started for us and by Novemb8r'23, we already know, our much-valued TC team lead, would retire that December. TC had until then always been led by volunteers and the decision had already beèn takèn to employ a part- timè member of staff to run thé club going forward. started with TC in January 2024. a very welcome addition to the SBB community unfortunately cannot be her tonight but has provided a more detailed report of TC & SLC'S activities but I must pass on here l as is too modest to sing her own praises) our congratulations t0fOr applying for and being successful in securing 2 grants from PKC'S CIF fund one for a new initiative, TC on Tour, and one to help fund TC'S on going costs thus securing TC future for another year. also agrèed to take on thè running of Saturday Lunch Club ISLCI which since Covid had beèn meeting socially at local cafes and restaurants underthe leadership Of.lhad decided to step down from SLC and

STRATHEARN BUILDING BRIDGES INCORPORATED REPORTOFTHE TRUSTEES FOR THE YEAR ENDED 21 NOVEMBER 2024 concentrate on Knockdown IKDI. From January the club has been meeting face to face again, monthly at SC Campus and members are once again gaining essential life skills. learning about nutrition and enjoying eating together. In fact, so popular is this offgr that spaces often have to be allocated by ballot. Knockdown continuostothrive underthe excellont leadership Of will also be giving a moro detailed rèport later, but I would like to give particular mention to one of KD'S latest projects, an intergenèrational initiative forming links bètweèn KD mèmbèrs and The Birchès rèsidéntial homè. KD has always had a rèmit for reaching out into the wider community and thi5 is an excellent example of this kind of project and one hopes to build on. and her team of volunteers have also been key in reinstating the Wednesday Social Club here at the Campus. This is proving popular, especially if we avoid showing sad films and keep the hot chocolate and snacks comingl But we have not totally abandoned all the skills we learned in lockdown and we still offer membèrs a regular fortnightly Zoom Call thanks to Lèsley & Annè, giving mèmbers anothér valuable opportunity for social interaction and reinforcing their IT ski115 We have worked alongside of PKDS to provide members with a variety of sporting activitie5. Our members can now attend regular, weekly badminton sessions run by the local badminton club while PKDS itself. aided by 2 of our volunteers, runs a weekly boccia class, while Strathearn Harriers host extremely popular outdoor athletics sessions in spring and summer. All this had led to members entering and in many casès being successful in local and national sporting compètitions. And our involvement as Gamesmakers at Crieff Highland Games continues to be a highlight in our year. Truly all wonderful exarnple5 of building bridges and promoting integration. We could do none of the afore rnentioned without our wonderful volunteer5 who give so generously of their time. We asked the clubs to record the number of volunteer hours and last year this came to an astonishing 747 hours. We are immensely grateful to all our amazing volunteers. we could not do what we do without you. Thank you. Another crucial appointment we made last year. our new Volunteer and Activities Co Ordinator. Kaye Couzens. This post had been vacant since September 2023, leaving in place 6 months of funding. Wa were successful in securing match funding from the Gannochy Trust allowing us to offèr a yèar's contract and, following interviews in April, we were pleased to welcome in July 24. Kaye comes to us with a wealth of experience as Volunteer Coordinator for a small local charity in Fort Augustus and despite only being in post for 4 months has already been busy introducing herself to members and meeting volunteers. As a charity it is essential that we ensure all who are involved with and who have regular contact with our mèmbèrs havé undergone the appropriate checks and are provided with appropriate training. will seek to boost volunteer numbers Ishe already has new volunteers undergoing the new induction she has put in place), provide valuable training for volunteers and staff and promote our charity. She has also Started a quarterly newsletter for Volunteers keeping them up to date with charity news and developments. ¥nteer 5,027 hours of purposeful activitles for members fvourJ41 392 hws ol •tr4r has now become involved in administrative work identified by the board as required at the start of the year. Up until$ appointment this had been undertaken by our secretary, who has been working Èxtremely hard to transfer all our dotuments and information, both historical and current, to one securè on-line site. This will ensure the security and safe storage of members, details and personal information. He has set up a new

STRATHEARN BUILDING BRIDGES INCORPORATED REPORTOFTHE TRUSTEES FOR THE YEAR ENDED 21 NOVEMBER 2024 email system which is in the final stages of development which we hope will ease communication for member5 and volunteers, giving staff, trustees and clubs their own email addresses. So it will soon be goodbye to the clunky old BB Hotmail address with fcs confusing email trails and constant alerts. And following tho closure of tho Bank of Scotland's Crieff Branch, our treasurer, has been working on the move to on- line banking while retaining the same rigorous scrutiny of the old 'two signatures on a cheque book, system. It is the board's rèsponsibility to make sure our charity has in place thè appropriate policies, safeguards and procedure5 to keep all our member5 and staff safe and that these are reviewed regularly. Trustees have taken the lead in this task aided by othertrustees andll has a150 created the SBB Story detailing the WO of our charity and what it means to our members. If you haven't already done so, please have look at this on our website which, along with our Facebook page, has kept updated regularly this year. This promotional work has been greatly aided by the fantastic professional photos capturing the true essence of our groups. Again, these can viewèd on our wèbsitè. We also havé in developmènt, thanks to, a nèw promotional video with original poem and 50ng. We hope this promotional material will help recruit new members and volunteers and also attract the funding necessary for us to continue our work. On the subject of funding, we appreciate the efforts our members and their families put into fund-raising projects and hope that this will continue in the coming year. We as a board havg a few ideas, will speak about one such idea later, but we are always open to more suggestions. Every tombola, raffle and coffee morning is essèntial in raising money but we undèrstand that this ongoing èffort can be a strain on time and energy and that we also need a more pro- active approach if SBB is to raise enough funds to finance our Work.

STRATHEARN BUILDING BRIDGES INCORPORATED REPORT OF THE TRUSTEES FOR THE YEAR ENDED 21 NOVEMBER 2024

FINANCIAL REVIEW

We started the year with a bank balance of £17,159 and finished with balance of £18,869. The trustees are pleased to have finished the year with more than we started, particularly due to grants received (see below). However we now have higher costs in the year 2024-25 which will require higher fundraising.

During the year we raised £14,929. We received one donation from Strathearn Harriers for £250 who have our thanks. We have received a further £12,704 in funding for various causes. £6,000 (split 50:50 between Perth & Kinross Council and Gannochy Trust) towards a Volunteer Co-ordinator, who we recruited in August. We also received £6,704 in respect of Tuesday club, allowing us to expand the activities and potential spaces on offer. Other income sources include £125 from 2023 Christmas raffle, £1,763 in subs, £49 from JustGiving and £38 from Easyfundraising.

During the year our costs were £13,219. Wages were our major expense, costing £8,079. For majority of the year we have had 2 paid employees, running Tuesday club, Knockdown and Saturday Lunch club. In August 2024 we welcomed to be our Volunteer Coordinator, bringing our employees up to 3.

We paid £1,274 in room hire to Strathearn Community Campus and to Crieff Baptist church for our activities and meetings. We thank LiveActive for the sporting activities that our members participate in which are free of charge. The costs of Events £395 relate to catering costs of social events, predominantly the summer BBQ. We also had Office costs £799 including laptop and phone for Volunteer coordinator, paid for via the grant funding. Professional Fees of £1169 includes insurance, payroll costs, recruitment costs and professional photograph portfolio to support our fundraising activities. Finally but no less important was other costs of £414 for gifts in thanks for our wonderful volunteers.

The charity wishes to recognise the support from Gannochy Trust and Perth & Kinross Council and their grant support during the year. Without this support the organisation could not have made the impact shown on pages 6 to 8.

The trustees seek to hold reserves which equate to between 3 and 6 months of the annual operating costs of the charity. With the 24-25 operating costs being extimated at £29,900, the charity reserves is to be between £7,500 and £15,000. The unrestricted reserves at 22 November 2024 was £4,933.

RISKS AND UNCERTAINTIES FACING THE CHARITY

The main risks for our charity are as follows:

Finances – as a small charity we have limited resources and require to continually look at ways to raise funds to maintain the existing activities for the members. We will need to identify grants to cover the costs of our staff to allow the organisation to operate effectively. Fundraising is becoming increasing difficult with many charities competing for a limited number of grants. We require to increase our unrestricted funds to a level which provides resilience for future demands and cover gaps in funding for staff costs.

Board, Staff & volunteers retention – A key area of risk is the need to ensure the organisation has the capacity via staff, board members and volunteers to enable our members activities to continue. The Volunteer co-ordinator has been working to support and hopefully increase violunteers.

Compliance with regulations – One of our main risks is ensuring our volunteers have complied with the new legislation from Scottish Government regarding safeguarding which becomes law from April 2025. The Volunteer Co-ordinator has already started to the work to inform and support volunteers to ensure they can continue to volunteer in the organisation next year.

STRATHEARN BUILDING BRIDGES INCORPORATED REPORTOFTHE TRUSTEES FOR THE YEAR ENDED 21 NOVEMBER 2024 PLANS FOR THE FUTURE AND THE TRUSTEES, PERSPECTIVE OFTHE FUTURE DIRECTION Subject to our success in raising additional funding• currently there are two identified opportunttie5 for investment in the growth of Strathearn Building Bridges= Sports Activity Leader- During our recent recruitment activity for the post of Volunteer & Activities Coordinator, candidate presented who had extensive experience of working as a Sports Activity Leader up to Special Olympics standards. This led Trustees to recognise the value of appointing someone to this role on a permanent part-time basis at a likely c05t of £15k per annum. Work Experience Programme -similarly, an opportunity emergad to operate a local community cafe and this was seriously considered by Trustees as a valuable means of providing work experience opportunities for members, as well as raising more awareness of Strathearn Building Bridges by having a physical presence in the community. It was decided that the opportunity was a little premature at the time but gave rise to considering taking on such an opportunity in the future, perhaps in partnership with others. Additional operating budget of £30-50k per annum would be required for the vanture. We a150 plan to undertake the following in the next year.. Promotion and Branding- we will ba developing new promotional material to help recruit new members and voluntèers and also attract thè funding necèssary for us to continue our work. This will include developing a new website and a video showing the impact of the charity. IT Systems- We will be undertaking to improve our internal communications within the organization. including new emails and SharePoint arrangements. Discolures Scotland- We will be supporting volunteers to undertake the actions to ensure they can comply with new Iggal requirements in 2026 regarding volunteering. Fundraising- We will to engage the seNices of a professional fundraiser ngxt year to assist us in identifying appropriate sources of funding and tutoring trusteès in the art of writing grant applications to enable us to be more self-sufficient in future. Declaration Signed on behalf of the charity trustees: Print name Designation Chair Date 6th August 2025 io

STRATHEARN BUILDING BRIDGES INCORPORATED REPORT OF THE TRUSTEES FOR THE YEAR ENDED 21 NOVEMBER 2024

Independent examiner’s report on the accounts

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Report to the trustees/members of Registered charity number On the accounts of the charity for the period Set out on pages Respective responsibilities of trustees and examiner Basis of independent examiner’s statement Independent examiner’s statement Signed: Name: Address:	Strathearn Building Bridges Incorporated
	SC048085
	Period start date					Period end date
	Day	Month	Year			Day		Month	Year
	23	11	2023	to		22		11	24
	12 to 15

	The charity’s trustees are responsible for the preparation of the accounts in accordance with the terms of the Charities and Trustee Investment (Scotland) 2005 Act and the Charities Accounts (Scotland) Regulations 2006 (as amended). The charity trustees consider that the audit requirement of Regulation 10(1) (d) of the Accounts Regulations does not apply. It is my responsibility to examine the accounts as required under section 44(1) (c) of the Act and to state whether particular matters have come to my attention.
	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 accounts presented with those records. It also includes consideration of any unusual items or disclosures in the accounts 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 accounts.
	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: • to keep accounting records in accordance with section 44(1) (a) of the 2005 Act and Regulation 4 of the 2006 Accounts Regulations, and • to prepare accounts which accord with the accounting records and comply with Regulation 9 of the 2006 Accounts Regulations have not been met, or 2. to which, in my opinion, attention should be drawn in order to enable a proper understanding of the accounts to be reached. Date: `27.08.25`

					Date:		`27.08.25`

STRATHEARN BUILDING BRIDGES INCORPORATED REPORT OF THE TRUSTEES

FOR THE YEAR ENDED 21 NOVEMBER 2024

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STRATHEARN BUILDING BRIDGES INCORPORATED REPORT OF THE TRUSTEES FOR THE YEAR ENDED 21 NOVEMBER 2024