Brigitte Trust - Charities report - 22.2

REGISTERED COMPANY NUMBER: 01782730 (England and Wales)

REGISTERED CHARITY NUMBER: 288923

REPORT OF THE TRUSTEES AND

UNAUDITED FINANCIAL STATEMENTS

FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31 MARCH 2022

FOR

THE BRIGITTE TRUST

Page

Report of the Trustees

1

to

6

Independent Examiner's Report

7

Statement of Financial Activities

8

Balance Sheet

9

to

10

Notes to the Financial Statements

11

to

18

The trustees who are also directors of the charity for the purposes of the Companies Act 2006, present their report with the financial statements of the charity for the year ended 31 March 2022. The trustees have adopted the provisions of Accounting and Reporting by Charities: Statement 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).

OBJECTIVES AND ACTIVITIES

Objectives and aims

The Brigitte Trust is named after its founder Brigitte Watkin. The charity is proud to uphold Brigitte's original purpose, and its objectives are to:

- Help people live well beyond diagnosis

- Offer support to the client's carer and family as appropriate

- Offer bereavement support; and

- Operate in a professional manner ensuring the highest standards in all areas of activity.

The service is entirely free to the clients and is provided through our team of highly trained and committed volunteers supported by salaried professional staff. It may be accessed:

- From diagnosis

- Through and/or after a course of treatment or surgery

- Where the health or well-being of the client or carer is poor or support is needed to sustain the caring role

- Towards the end of life

- For bereavement support

A professional management team recruits and trains the volunteers, manages the referrals process matching clients with the right volunteer to meet their needs, supports volunteers, and administers the work of the Trust, ensuring funding is secured.

A volunteer Board of Trustees provides the necessary governance.

Volunteers

The Brigitte Trust upholds the highest standards of practice and care in all areas of its activity. All of our volunteers are interviewed both before the commencement of their training and after its completion, and all are DBS checked. A robust programme of support is in place.

The Brigitte Trust is hugely grateful for the commitment and hard work of all the volunteers on whom the Trust relies. It is through their dedication, commitment and professionalism in supporting clients and their families at difficult times that the Brigitte Trust's values and ethos are best demonstrated.

Each year we plan recruitment to increase our volunteer workforce. The Brigitte Trust is committed to equal opportunities and reflecting diversity in recruitment, service delivery and all other aspects of our work.

The volunteers support people for a period of up to three hours every week. The support provided is wide-ranging and can include sitting quietly with a client, support with shopping, transport to medical appointments etc. However, our service goes far beyond befriending, with trained volunteers providing hugely important emotional, as well as practical support.

Public benefit

In accordance with Section 4 of the Charities Act 2011, the Trustees have had due regard to the guidance published by the Charity Commission on public benefit when reviewing the charity's activities and planning future activities. We consider that our service plays an important role in:

- Supporting people to feel less socially isolated. Many of the people we support live alone and their Brigitte Trust volunteer might be the only or one of the very few people with whom they have regular contact

- Reducing hospital admission/readmission. We pride ourselves that our service can help people who wish to die at home fulfil that wish wherever possible

- Supporting the client/carer relationship by enabling the carer to take a break

ACHIEVEMENT AND PERFORMANCE

Charitable activities

2021/22 has been another busy and exceptional year with Covid-19 still impacting our core work. A number of new services became operational. We also rebranded and launched our new logo, website and associated literature.

Highlights include:

- rebrand launched

- started to provide Bereavement Support Groups

- launched Coffin Club Surrey

- started to run Death Cafés

- planned our first End of Life Care Matters Marketplace that took place on 5th May 2022

With Covid-19 restrictions still in place in the early part of the financial year we continued offering phone support to a wider group of clients across Surrey. We ceased this wider support in Summer 2021 and returned to our core clientele and face to face visiting. Our Neurological Support Group has continued to run by Zoom as this suits these clients better and opens it up to a wider group across the county.

Tanya Stafford joined our team in April 2021 as our Engagement, Fundraising & Promotions Lead and we welcomed Claire Foard to our team as Administration Assistant in September.

Our Clients

During the early part of 2021/22 in response to the pandemic we continued to widen our criteria to provide telephone support to any adult in Surrey who was lonely, isolated, in low mood, bereaved, a carer or anyone in need of support. In August 2021 we started our Bereavement Support Group. As a result our client profile was as follows: 26% of clients were Covid-19 support related, 25% bereavement support, diagnosis of cancer 35%, neurological conditions 10% and other end stage illnesses such as respiratory disease, heart and renal failure 4%

We supported a wide age demographic with a range of between 18-100+, however 60% were aged over 60.

Our volunteers

During the year we had a total of 168 volunteers. We did recruit and retain around 19 volunteers who came to us as a result to Covid. As restrictions eased a number of phone volunteers returned to work and gave up their volunteering. We also found that a number of our longer standing volunteers were reviewing their position and as a result we lost some volunteers. By March 2022 following a review we had around 80 active volunteers.

Referrals

Over the years The Brigitte Trust has built strong partnerships with local providers, including hospices, hospitals, social care and other community-based services many of whom make regular referrals into our service. We are committed to building upon these partnerships and working closely with other organisations who work with the people we support.

New Services

We started a number of new services in 2021/22. These include establishing a robust and structured bereavement support programme. This is an 8-week structured programme led by an external facilitator. From August '21 we ran 6 programmes in different towns across Surrey. We have had excellent feedback from these sessions.

We affiliated to Coffin Club UK and ran our first Coffin Club Surrey in January 2022. This is a 6-week course to learn about your different funeral options and make plans. There is also an optional coffin decorating workshop.

We have also started to host Death Cafés in different parts of the County. These are proving to be popular and an opportunity to have an open and honest conversation about death and dying over a cup of coffee and cake.

Future plans

Going forward we plan to continue growing and developing our new services; Bereavement Support Groups, Coffin Club Surrey and Death Cafés. We are also going to host an annual End of Life Matters Marketplace event. We are also going to train a small group of our volunteers to make memory books for our clients. We would also like to develop a Spa at Home service for people who are housebound.

Funding

Surrey Heartlands Clinical Commissioning Group (CCG) continued to provide the Trust with core funding and we wish to acknowledge this and thank them for their continued support for our work. This funding allows us to provide support across all of Surrey:

- East Surrey

- Guildford & Waverley

- North West Surrey

- Surrey Downs

- Surrey Heath

- Farnham

Beyond the core funding received from the CCG, the Trust has successfully sought funding from corporate partners and legacies, fundraising initiatives, gifting and stakeholder donations as well as a range of grant giving foundations.

We are grateful for our donors for their support this year, including:

- National Lottery Awards for All

- Hospital Saturday Fund

- Woking Borough Council

- Elmbridge Borough Council

- Godalming Town Council

FINANCIAL REVIEW

The Financial Results for the Year

The Trust made a deficit of £30,264 (2021: surplus of £106,697), which was due to three main factors. Firstly we invested in the expansion of the core team to handle increased activity, secondly we invested in new service developments and finally we experienced a tougher climate for grant funding than in preceding years. However, we did receive a substantial legacy, and our fundraising efforts and donations remained strong given that there were fewer events due to Covid.

Reserves policy

Having taken account of:

- a closure contingency

- a need to provide liquidity in the day to day management of the Trust; and

- funding for future growth prospects,

the Trustees continue to agree that unrestricted reserves should not fall below a minimum of six months' running costs. We have drawn on some of our reserves this year in order to take forward the new services such as the Bereavement Support Groups and Coffin Club Surrey.

Our running costs for current activities are projected to be £227,000 in the next financial year implying a minimum reserve figure of £133,500.

The surplus of unrestricted funds over the minimum will be used to support the new initiatives planned for by the Trust as outlined in the Future Plans section of this report as well as other as yet unidentified future initiatives.

STRUCTURE, GOVERNANCE AND MANAGEMENT

Governing document

The Trust is a company limited by guarantee, as defined by the Companies Act 2006. It does not have any share capital and is registered as a charity with the Charity Commission. Its governing document is its Memorandum and Articles of Association dated 11th January 1984 as amended on 9th February 1984 and 14th December 1994.

There are no particular restrictions imposed by the Memorandum and Articles of Association concerning the way in which the Trust can operate. The Trustees have the power to invest the monies of the Trust in such investments as may be thought fit.

The members are liable for the Trust's debts and liabilities whilst being a member and up to one year after ceasing to be a member for those transactions entered into before that date, to a maximum of £10 each.

The Memorandum and Articles of Association of the Trust provide that in the event of a winding up, any surplus on the reserves should be distributed to associations with similar objects and not to members.

Patrons and Trustees

President

Michael More-Molyneux, Lord-Lieutenant of Surrey

Patrons

Sir Adrian White CBE DL

Corinna, Lady Hamilton of Dalzell

Rt Hon Sir Paul Beresford MP

Mr Nicholas Owen

Directors and Trustees

Jan Way MBE

Chair

David Farmery

Treasurer

Peter Lagerberg

Company Secretary

Anne Sutton

Mary Guypinkney

Nicholas Johnson

Appointed 8th December 2021

Ian Norman

Resigned 10th March 2022

Governance and internal control

The Trustees are responsible for:

- Determining the future policy of The Brigitte Trust

- Monitoring and evaluating current activity and performance

- Keeping appropriate accounting records (in accordance with the requirement of the Companies Act 2006)

- The financial stewardship of The Brigitte Trust and the investment of assets as appropriate; and

- Recruiting new Trustees to office

Trustees are appointed at the Annual General Meeting of the charity or by existing Trustees to hold office until the next Annual General Meeting. The number of Trustees shall not be less than three and is not subject to any maximum. Trustees serve for a three-year term and for a maximum of four terms. Trustees' indemnity insurance was in place during the period.

The Board of Trustees meets regularly and at least six times a year.

The Brigitte Trust is led by Lucy Beach, Charity Manager. Lucy is supported by:

- Ingrid Walker - Charity Business & Digital Co-ordinator

- Tanya Stafford - Engagement, Fundraising & Promotions Lead

- Sarah Pattenden - Service Co-ordinator

- Mandy East - Volunteer & Training Manager

- Claire Foard - Administration Assistant

Freelance services are provided by:

- Pam Chiverton - Bookkeeper

- Katie Heyward - Consultant Fundraiser

- Natasha Parkin - HR Consultant

- Ali Merrett - Bereavement Facilitator

Sincere thanks are extended to the staff team who ensure the smooth and efficient running of our service with the highest standards of professionalism.

They were further supported by Chris Axton (IT) and Liz Dolman (Gift Aid) and in addition a small team of volunteer helpers who support with fundraising events and newsletter administration. We would like to pass on our wholehearted thanks to each of our back-office volunteers.

REFERENCE AND ADMINISTRATIVE DETAILS

Registered Company number

01782730 (England and Wales)

Registered Charity number

288923

Registered office

156 High Street

Dorking

Surrey

RH4 1BQ

Principal address

316 High Street

Dorking

Surrey

RH4 1QX

Trustees

David Farmery

Jan Way

Peter Lagerberg

Anne Sutton

Mary Guypinkney

Ian Norman (resigned 10/3/2022)

Nicholas Johnson (appointed 8/12/2021)

Independent Examiner

Philip Longstaff FCA

Institute of Chartered Accountants in England & Wales

Ellis Atkins

Chartered Accountants

The Atrium Business Centre

Curtis Road

Dorking

Surrey

RH4 1XA

Solicitors

Downs Solicitors

156 High Street

Dorking

Surrey

RH4 1BQ

Bankers

National Westminster Bank Plc

14 High Street

Dorking, Surrey

RH4 1AX

COIF Charities Deposit Fund

80 Cheapside

London

EC2V 6DZ

Shawbrook Bank Ltd

Warley Hill Business Park

Great Warley

Brentwood

Essex CM13 3BE

Approved by order of the board of trustees on 11 October 2022 and signed on its behalf by:

Jan Way - Trustee

Independent examiner's report to the trustees of The Brigitte Trust ('the Company')

I report to the charity trustees on my examination of the accounts of the Company for the year ended 31 March 2022.

Responsibilities and basis of report

As the charity's trustees of the Company (and also its directors for the purposes of company law) you are responsible for the preparation of the accounts in accordance with the requirements of the Companies Act 2006 ('the 2006 Act').

Having satisfied myself that the accounts of the Company are not required to be audited under Part 16 of the 2006 Act and are eligible for independent examination, I report in respect of my examination of your charity's accounts as carried out under Section 145 of the Charities Act 2011 ('the 2011 Act'). In carrying out my examination I have followed the Directions given by the Charity Commission under Section 145(5) (b) of the 2011 Act.

Independent examiner's statement

I have completed my examination. I confirm that no matters have come to my attention in connection with the examination giving me cause to believe:

1.	accounting records were not kept in respect of the Company as required by Section 386 of the 2006 Act; or

2.	the accounts do not accord with those records; or

3.	the accounts do not comply with the accounting requirements of Section 396 of the 2006 Act other than any requirement that the accounts give a true and fair view which is not a matter considered as part of an independent examination; or

4.

the accounts have not been prepared in accordance with the methods and principles of the Statement of Recommended Practice for accounting and reporting by charities (applicable to charities preparing their accounts in accordance with the Financial Reporting Standard applicable in the UK and Republic of Ireland (FRS 102)).

I have no concerns and have come across no other matters in connection with the examination to which attention should be drawn in this report in order to enable a proper understanding of the accounts to be reached.

Philip Longstaff FCA

Institute of Chartered Accountants in England & Wales

Ellis Atkins

Chartered Accountants

The Atrium Business Centre

Curtis Road

Dorking

Surrey

RH4 1XA

12 October 2022

31/3/22

31/3/21

Unrestricted

Restricted

Total

Total

fund

funds

funds

funds

Notes

£

£

£

£

INCOME AND ENDOWMENTS FROM

Donations and legacies

2

75,536

39,809

115,345

208,447

Charitable activities

Support and practical help to individuals and their families with life threatening illness

51,688

-

51,688

51,688

Other trading activities

3

9,582

-

9,582

-

Investment income

4

130

-

130

86

Total

136,936

39,809

176,745

260,221

EXPENDITURE ON

Raising funds

6

23,020

-

23,020

22,577

Charitable activities

7

Support and practical help to individuals and their families with life threatening illness

134,114

49,875

183,989

130,947

Total

157,134

49,875

207,009

153,524

NET INCOME/(EXPENDITURE)

(20,198

)

(10,066

)

(30,264

)

106,697

RECONCILIATION OF FUNDS

Total funds brought forward

315,346

19,600

334,946

228,249

TOTAL FUNDS CARRIED FORWARD

295,148

9,534

304,682

334,946

31/3/22

31/3/21

Unrestricted

Restricted

Total

Total

fund

funds

funds

funds

Notes

£

£

£

£

FIXED ASSETS

Tangible assets

13

141

-

141

187

CURRENT ASSETS

Debtors

14

10,611

-

10,611

5,461

Cash at bank and in hand

291,851

9,534

301,385

358,953

302,462

9,534

311,996

364,414

CREDITORS

Amounts falling due within one year

15

(7,455

)

-

(7,455

)

(29,655

)

NET CURRENT ASSETS

295,007

9,534

304,541

334,759

TOTAL ASSETS LESS CURRENT LIABILITIES

295,148

9,534

304,682

334,946

NET ASSETS

295,148

9,534

304,682

334,946

FUNDS

16

Unrestricted funds

295,148

315,346

Restricted funds

9,534

19,600

TOTAL FUNDS

304,682

334,946

The charitable company is entitled to exemption from audit under Section 477 of the Companies Act 2006 for the year ended 31 March 2022.

The members have not required the company to obtain an audit of its financial statements for the year ended 31 March 2022 in accordance with Section 476 of the Companies Act 2006.

The trustees acknowledge their responsibilities for

(a)	ensuring that the charitable company keeps accounting records that comply with Sections 386 and 387 of the Companies Act 2006 and

(b)

preparing financial statements which give a true and fair view of the state of affairs of the charitable company as at the end of each financial year and of its surplus or deficit for each financial year in accordance with the requirements of Sections 394 and 395 and which otherwise comply with the requirements of the Companies Act 2006 relating to financial statements, so far as applicable to the charitable company.

These financial statements have been prepared in accordance with the provisions applicable to charitable companies subject to the small companies regime.

The financial statements were approved by the Board of Trustees and authorised for issue on 11 October 2022 and were signed on its behalf by:

Jan Way - Trustee

David Farmery - Trustee

1.	ACCOUNTING POLICIES

Basis of preparing the financial statements

The financial statements of the charitable company, which is a public benefit entity under FRS 102, have been prepared in accordance with the Charities SORP (FRS 102) 'Accounting and Reporting by Charities: Statement 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)', Financial Reporting Standard 102 'The Financial Reporting Standard applicable in the UK and Republic of Ireland' and the Companies Act 2006. The financial statements have been prepared under the historical cost convention.

Income and grants

All income is recognised in the Statement of Financial Activities once the charity has entitlement to the funds, it is probable that the income will be received and the amount can be measured reliably. Investment income is recorded when receivable.

Gift Aid reclaimable on donations to the Trust is included with the amount received.

Grants are recognised when the entitlement to the grant is confirmed. Revenue based grants are recognised in the period in which the related costs are incurred.

Expenditure

Liabilities are recognised as expenditure as soon as there is a legal or constructive obligation committing the charity to that expenditure, it is probable that a transfer of economic benefits will be required in settlement and the amount of the obligation can be measured reliably. Expenditure is accounted for on an accruals basis and has been classified under headings that aggregate all cost related to the category. Where costs cannot be directly attributed to particular headings they have been allocated to activities on a basis consistent with the use of resources.

Governance costs

Governance costs are those incurred in relation to the administration of the Trust and compliance with constitutional and statutory requirements.

Tangible fixed assets

Depreciation is provided at the following annual rates in order to write off each asset over its estimated useful life.

Office equipment

-

25% on reducing balance

Fixtures and fittings

-

25% on reducing balance

Computer equipment

-

25% on cost

Taxation

As the Trust's aims are charitable, no corporation tax liability arises for the year.

Fund accounting

Unrestricted funds can be used in accordance with the charitable objectives at the discretion of the trustees.

Restricted funds can only be used for particular restricted purposes within the objects of the charity. Expenditure which meets those criteria is allocated to that fund. Restrictions arise when specified by the donor or when funds are raised for particular restricted purposes.

Pension costs and other post-retirement benefits

The charitable company operates a defined contribution pension scheme. Contributions payable to the charitable company's pension scheme are charged to the Statement of Financial Activities in the period to which they relate.

Volunteers' help

The value of any voluntary help is not included in the accounts but the role of volunteers is described in the trustees' Annual Report.

2.	DONATIONS AND LEGACIES

31/3/22

31/3/21

£

£

Donations and gifts

25,391

19,625

Gift aid

2,534

2,088

Legacies

27,001

22,176

Grants

59,059

163,113

Membership

1,360

1,445

115,345

208,447

The total amount of grants received during the year from Government bodies towards the charity's core and restricted activities was £22,619.

3.	OTHER TRADING ACTIVITIES

31/3/22

31/3/21

£

£

Fundraising activities

9,038

-

Coffin Club sales

544

-

9,582

-

4.	INVESTMENT INCOME

31/3/22

31/3/21

£

£

Deposit account interest

-

2

Interest - COIF

130

84

130

86

5.	INCOME FROM CHARITABLE ACTIVITIES

31/3/22

31/3/21

Activity

£

£

Funding from Surrey Heartlands CCG

Support and practical help to individuals and their families with life threatening illness

51,688

51,688

6.	RAISING FUNDS

Raising donations and legacies

31/3/22

31/3/21

£

£

Staff costs

8,607

11,582

Sundries

31

-

Fundraising costs

13,868

10,995

22,506

22,577

Other trading activities

31/3/22

31/3/21

£

£

Purchases

514

-

Aggregate amounts

23,020

22,577

7.	CHARITABLE ACTIVITIES COSTS

Support

Direct

costs (see

Costs

note 8)

Totals

£

£

£

Support and practical help to individuals and their families with life threatening illness

74,883

109,106

183,989

8.	SUPPORT COSTS

Governance

Management

costs

Totals

£

£

£

Support and practical help to individuals and their families with life threatening illness

108,195

911

109,106

9.	NET INCOME/(EXPENDITURE)

Net income/(expenditure) is stated after charging/(crediting):

31/3/22

31/3/21

£

£

Depreciation - owned assets

46

62

Independent Examiner's Fee

650

650

Independent Examiner - Other services

1,750

1,750

10.	TRUSTEES' REMUNERATION AND BENEFITS

There were no trustees' remuneration or other benefits for the year ended 31 March 2022 nor for the year ended 31 March 2021.

Trustees' expenses

There were no trustees' expenses paid for the year ended 31 March 2022 nor for the year ended 31 March 2021.

11.	STAFF COSTS

31/3/22

31/3/21

£

£

Wages and salaries

117,082

94,129

Social security costs

5,027

2,933

Other pension costs

2,395

1,732

124,504

98,794

The trustees consider the aggregate employment benefits of the Key Management Personnel for 2022 to be £31,116 (2021: £27,324).

The average monthly number of employees during the year was as follows:

31/3/22

31/3/21

Average number of employees

6

5

No employees received emoluments in excess of £60,000.

12.	COMPARATIVES FOR THE STATEMENT OF FINANCIAL ACTIVITIES

Unrestricted

Restricted

Total

fund

funds

funds

£

£

£

INCOME AND ENDOWMENTS FROM

Donations and legacies

79,597

128,850

208,447

Charitable activities

Support and practical help to individuals and their families with life threatening illness

51,688

-

51,688

Investment income

86

-

86

Total

131,371

128,850

260,221

EXPENDITURE ON

Raising funds

22,577

-

22,577

Charitable activities

Support and practical help to individuals and their families with life threatening illness

21,697

109,250

130,947

Total

44,274

109,250

153,524

NET INCOME

87,097

19,600

106,697

RECONCILIATION OF FUNDS

Total funds brought forward

228,249

-

228,249

TOTAL FUNDS CARRIED FORWARD

315,346

19,600

334,946

13.	TANGIBLE FIXED ASSETS

Fixtures

Office

and

Computer

equipment

fittings

equipment

Totals

£

£

£

£

COST

At 1 April 2021 and 31 March 2022

5,089

5,831

11,693

22,613

DEPRECIATION

At 1 April 2021

4,994

5,739

11,693

22,426

Charge for year

23

23

-

46

At 31 March 2022

5,017

5,762

11,693

22,472

NET BOOK VALUE

At 31 March 2022

72

69

-

141

At 31 March 2021

95

92

-

187

14.	DEBTORS: AMOUNTS FALLING DUE WITHIN ONE YEAR

31/3/22

31/3/21

£

£

Gift aid receivable

1,778

920

Prepayments and accrued income

8,833

4,541

10,611

5,461