HERENI - Accounts

The directors present their report and financial statements for the year ended 31 December 2020.

The financial statements have been prepared in accordance with the accounting policies set out in note 1 to the financial statements and comply with the charity's Memorandum and Articles of Association, the Companies Act 2006 and "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)".

The Company is established to advance education and to promote the benefit of lesbian and bisexual women in Northern Ireland by providing facilities, with the object of improving the conditions of life for lesbian and bisexual women and their families.

HEReNI is an organisation that works to improve the quality of life and enhance the voices of lesbian and bisexual women and their families. HEReNI is committed to identifying and addressing discrimination and oppression, and to the promotion of social inclusion. The charity's objectives are to advance education and to promote the benefit of lesbian and bisexual women across Northern Ireland.

All our work is informed and guided by our core values of equality, empowerment of lesbian and bisexual women and their families, interdependence, full and meaningful participation, social inclusion and transparency. We believe that a community development approach to social inclusion produces sustainable positive change. We recognise and value the multiple identities and varying needs of lesbian and bisexual women, and are committed to building an organisation that is genuinely inclusive. HEReNI is managed by a voluntary Board of Directors whose details can be found on our website www.hereni.org.

Vision Statement: 
Our vision is that all lesbian and bisexual women are visible, included and valued in all aspects of society.

Mission Statement:
HEReNI empowers, supports and advocates for all lesbian, bisexual women, and their families.

Values and Principles: 
All our work is founded upon the following values and principles:

            - Equality and Inclusion 
            - Respect and Non-Judgemental 
            - Professional and Knowledgeable 
            - Person-Centred and Empowering 
            - Reactive and Proactive 


Strategic Aim 1:     To ensure that HEReNI can meet current and future needs of lesbian and bisexual women.

Strategic Aim 2:     To facilitate and deliver activities and services to meet the needs of lesbian and bisexual             women.

Strategic Aim 3:     To tackle the issue of ‘invisibility’ of lesbian and bisexual women and improve the wider             understanding of their needs.

The directors have paid due regard to guidance issued by the Charity Commission in deciding what activities the charity should undertake.

2020 was a period of huge change for HERe NI, particularly with the emergence of COVID - 19. I would like to share just some of our highlights with you.

HERe NI have been engaged with the Love Equality Campaign both in Westminster and more locally. Equal marriage has now passed and the first same sex marriage took place February 2020. This momentous win presented lots of opportunities to engage with the media to highlight the campaign and HERe NI. We continue to be the lead in policy work that impacts lesbian and bisexual women.

With the increase in media participation round many policy issues and an increase of online events, we have become much more visible. While we continue to adapt and change, we are clearer about who we are, who we are here to support, and what support we can offer.

The organisation has shown its resilience during 2020 by working extremely hard during the COVID-19 pandemic. The COVID-19 pandemic has impacted on every single one of us and has also impacted on the way we work. We have had an increasing number of women contacting us about starting their own families – even more so during the COVID-19 pandemic. Family work during this period has been sustained by a considerable five-year funding package from The National Lottery Community Fund from their Empowering Young People programme.

During 2020, our small team has grown. January 2020 brought Richard O’Leary as the coordinator of the LGBT Heritage project. This project is looking at the time period from decriminalisation to the introduction of section 75.

During the COVID-19 pandemic the staff and Board have responded positively, have shown their resilience, leadership, and creativeness in regards to the vast amount of events facilitated. From March 2020 all our engagements moved from physical to online. This brought its own unique challenges. Staff had to be trained up on using technology along with many other women that we engage with on a daily basis.

We look forward with excitement to our future and are aiming to expand our services to meet the needs of our service users who remain at the heart of all we do.

Some of our highlights:

1.    HERe NI have been participants on many special advisory groups

2.    Participating in on going collaboration with sector partners

3.    Partner in the Love Equality campaign

4.    Continuous engagement with politicians (In NI and Westminster)

5.    Visits to Westminster at an event to celebrate the introduction of marriage equality

6.    Photo shoot with Lord Mayor before Westminster

7.    Fundraising events managed by members of family group

8.    2 year funding to work on LGBT heritage

9.    Ongoing staff training and development

We would like to thank our main funders; The National Lottery Community Fund, Esmee Fairbairn Foundation, Halifax, The National Lottery Heritage Fund, Joseph Rowntree Charitable Trust and Tudor Trust for their continued financial support, without such, much of the successes enjoyed by lesbian and bisexual women and their families who are associated with HEReNI could not have been achieved.

We would also like to thank GMcG Lisburn Chartered Accountants for their continued professional support and advice.

The results are set out in detail on pages 7 to 18. The company returned net outgoing resources for the year of £11,492 (net incoming resources 2019: £70,863) leaving unrestricted funds of £87,349 (2019: £67,162) and restricted funds of £101,450 (2019: £133,129). The unrestricted funds are considered to be essential to provide sufficient funds to cover any unforeseen costs which may arise and fulfill legal obligations of the charity in the event that current levels of income are not maintained.

The Board aim to maintain free reserves in unrestricted funds at a level which equates to approximately two months of unrestricted charitable expenditure. The Board consider that this level will provide sufficient funds to respond to applications for grants and ensure that support and governance costs are covered.

Unrestricted funds are needed:

a) to provide funds which can be designated to specific projects to enable these projects to be undertaken at short notice and

b) to cover administration, fund-raising and support costs without which the charity could not function

The HEReNI Board of Directors considers it prudent that unrestricted reserves should be sufficient to:

• avoid the necessity of realising fixed assets held for the charity’s use;

• cover two months of direct and indirect expenses.

Unrestricted funds currently meet this requirement.

The Board of Directors will monitor and review the policy on an annual basis when the annual accounts are being presented for approval.

The directors has assessed the major risks to which the charity is exposed, and are satisfied that systems are in place to mitigate exposure to the major risks.

Plans for the future

The future priorities of the charity are to:

•    Develop and expand the Board of Management of HERe NI

•    HERe NI plans to develop the capabilities and capacity of lesbian and bisexual women in Northern     Ireland through a range of initiatives and training opportunities

•    Greater focus on work with older LB women

•    Increased focus on carers

•    Increase number of staff

•    Increase media visibility

•    The development of new and emerging groups based on the needs identified thus far

•    Increased partnership working within and external to the LGBT sector

•    Increase on influencing policy change to impact positively on the lives of lesbian and bisexual women     and their families

•    Increased amount of funders to support our core work

•    Covid recovery plan

•    Strategic review of all staff posts

The charity is a Company Limited by Guarantee. The Company was established under a Memorandum of Association which established the objects and powers of the company and is governed under its Articles of Association. The charity is governed by its Board of Directors who meet every month.

The directors who served during the year and up to the date of signature of the financial statements were:

None of the directors has any beneficial interest in the company. All of the directors are members of the company and guarantee to contribute £1 in the event of a winding up.

New directors are appointed by the members of the charity at the annual general meeting. All directors are required to participate in training relating to good governance and directors are regularly updated on legislation that impacts upon the running of a charitable organisation e.g. recent changes in legislation introduced by the Charities Commission.

HEReNI is managed by a voluntary board of directors who are responsible for the management of the charity. The board of directors meet every month to oversee the management of the charity. The board of directors conduct regular reviews of the charity's strategic plan, with policies and procedures reviewed and updated on an ongoing basis. 

Key management personnel

The Board of Directors comprise the key management personnel of the charity in charge of directing and controlling, running and operating the organisation on a day to day basis.  All directors give of their time freely and no director received remuneration in the year. 

This report has been prepared in accordance with the provision applicable to companies entitled to the small companies exemption.

The directors' report was approved by the Board of Directors.

We report on the financial statements of the charity for the year ended 31 December 2020, which are set out on pages 7 to 18.

The charity's directors are responsible for the preparation of the accounts in accordance with the requirements of the Companies Act 2006.

Having satisfied ourselves that the charity is not subject to audit under company law and is eligible for independent examination, it is our responsibility to:

examine the accounts under section 65 of the Charities Act (Northern Ireland) 2008;

to follow the procedures laid down in the general Directions given by the Charity Commission for Northern Ireland    under section 65(9)(b) of the Charities Act; and

to state whether particular matters have come to our attention.

We have examined your charity accounts as required under section 65 of the Charities Act and our examination was carried out in accordance with the general Directions given by the Charity Commission for Northern Ireland under section 65(9)(b) of the Charities Act. The examination included 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 seeking explanations from you as charity trustees concerning any such matters.

Our role is to state whether any material matters have come to our attention giving us cause to believe:

1.     That accounting records were not kept in accordance with section 386 of the Companies Act 2006

2.     That the accounts do not accord with those accounting records

3.     That the accounts do not comply with the accounting requirements of section 396 of the     Companies Act 2006 and with the methods and principles of the 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

4.     That there is further information needed for a proper understanding of the accounts to be reached.

We have completed our examination and have no concerns in respect of the matters (1) to (4) listed above and, in connection with following the Directions of the Charity Commission for Northern Ireland, we have found no matters that require drawing to your attention.

Donations and Training Income

The statement of financial activities includes all gains and losses recognised in the year.

For the year ended 31 December 2020 the company is entitled to the exemption from the audit requirement contained in section 477 of the Companies Act 2006 relating to small companies.

The directors acknowledge their responsibilities for complying with the requirements of the Companies Act 2006 with respect to accounting records and the preparation of financial statements.

The members have not required the company to obtain an audit of its financial statements for the year in question in accordance with section 476.

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

HERENI, (HEReNI), is a private company limited by guarantee incorporated in Northern Ireland. The registered office and place of business is Belfast LGBT Centre, 1st Floor, (Cathedral Quarter Head Quarters), 23-31 Waring Street, Belfast, BT1 2DX.

The financial statements have been prepared in accordance with the charity's Memorandum and Articles of Association, the Companies Act 2006 and "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)". The charity is a Public Benefit Entity as defined by FRS 102.

The charity has taken advantage of the provisions in the SORP for charities applying FRS 102 Update Bulletin 1 not to prepare a Statement of Cash Flows.

The financial statements are prepared in sterling, which is the functional currency of the charity. Monetary amounts in these financial statements are rounded to the nearest £.

The financial statements have been prepared under the historical cost convention. The principal accounting policies adopted are set out below.

At the time of approving the financial statements, the directors have a reasonable expectation that the charity has adequate resources to continue in operational existence for the foreseeable future. Thus the directors continue to adopt the going concern basis of accounting in preparing the financial statements.

Unrestricted funds are available for use at the discretion of the directors in furtherance of their charitable objectives.

Restricted funds are subject to specific conditions by donors as to how they may be used. The purposes and uses of the restricted funds are set out in the notes to the financial statements.

All expenditure is accounted for on an accruals basis and has been classified under headings that aggregate all costs related to the category. Expenditure is recognised where there is a legal or constructive obligation to make payments to third parties, it is probable that the settlement will be required and the amount of the obligation can be measured reliably. It is categorised under one of the following headings: Costs of raising funds, Expenditure on charitable activities and Other expenditure.

Irrecoverable VAT is charged as an expense against the activity for which expenditure arose.

Tangible fixed assets are initially measured at cost and subsequently measured at cost or valuation, net of depreciation and any impairment losses.

Depreciation is recognised so as to write off the cost or valuation of assets less their residual values over their useful lives on the following bases:

The gain or loss arising on the disposal of an asset is determined as the difference between the sale proceeds and the carrying value of the asset, and is recognised in net income/(expenditure) for the year.

Cash and cash equivalents include cash in hand, deposits held at call with banks, other short-term liquid investments with original maturities of three months or less, and bank overdrafts. Bank overdrafts are shown within borrowings in current liabilities.

The charity has elected to apply the provisions of Section 11 ‘Basic Financial Instruments’ and Section 12 ‘Other Financial Instruments Issues’ of FRS 102 to all of its financial instruments.

Financial instruments are recognised in the charity's balance sheet when the charity becomes party to the contractual provisions of the instrument.

Financial assets and liabilities are offset, with the net amounts presented in the financial statements, when there is a legally enforceable right to set off the recognised amounts and there is an intention to settle on a net basis or to realise the asset and settle the liability simultaneously.

Basic financial assets, which include debtors and cash and bank balances, are initially measured at transaction price including transaction costs and are subsequently carried at amortised cost using the effective interest method unless the arrangement constitutes a financing transaction, where the transaction is measured at the present value of the future receipts discounted at a market rate of interest. Financial assets classified as receivable within one year are not amortised.

Basic financial liabilities, including creditors and bank loans are initially recognised at transaction price unless the arrangement constitutes a financing transaction, where the debt instrument is measured at the present value of the future payments discounted at a market rate of interest. Financial liabilities classified as payable within one year are not amortised.

Debt instruments are subsequently carried at amortised cost, using the effective interest rate method.

Trade creditors are obligations to pay for goods or services that have been acquired in the ordinary course of operations from suppliers. Amounts payable are classified as current liabilities if payment is due within one year or less. If not, they are presented as non-current liabilities. Trade creditors are recognised initially at transaction price and subsequently measured at amortised cost using the effective interest method.

Financial liabilities are derecognised when the charity’s contractual obligations expire or are discharged or cancelled.

The cost of any unused holiday entitlement is recognised in the period in which the employee’s services are received.

Termination benefits are recognised immediately as an expense when the charity is demonstrably committed to terminate the employment of an employee or to provide termination benefits.

Payments to defined contribution retirement benefit schemes are charged as an expense as they fall due.

Donations and Training Income

Performance related grants

Sundry Expenses

Activities

Consultancy

Rent

Printing, postage & stationery

Telephone

Insurance

Marketing

Heat & light

Training

Restricted Sundry Expenses

Accountancy

Repairs & maintenance

The charity's only charitable activity is improving the conditions of life for lesbian and bisexual women and their families.

The average monthly number of employees during the year was:

There were no employees in the year with remuneration over £60,000.

The company is exempt from corporation tax on its charitable activities.

Transfers from the unrestricted fund to the restricted fund in the year were as follows:

Belfast City Council

- The transfer of £3 relates to covering resources expended in excess of funds received.

Halifax

- The transfer of £640 relates to covering resources expended in excess of funds received.

Transfers from the restricted fund to the unrestricted fund in the year were as follows:

The National Lottery Community Fund

- The transfer of £9,684 relates to surplus monies received available for transfer to unrestricted funds in line with funders letter of offer.

Unrestricted funds

Restricted funds

Unrestricted funds

Restricted funds

At the reporting end date the charity had outstanding commitments for future minimum lease payments under non-cancellable operating leases, which fall due as follows: