Charities

Sam Smith, part of Clemence Hoar Cummings’ corporate team, will take on the largest marathon in the UK, the London Marathon, in April 2024.

Sam will be raising essential funds for Hand In Hand, a charity founded by his parents over 25 years ago to break the chain of poverty in young east African lives.

A client of CHC, Hand In Hand has a long relationship with our firm. Sam has credited our wide range of charity clients with attracting him to the firm, aligning well with his values.

The whole team is getting behind him as he takes on one of the most challenging fundraising activities in the UK.

About Sam

Prior to taking up his role in the CHC team, Sam saw first-hand the incredible work that Hand in Hand does in partnership with ethical, not-for-profit organisations to help them achieve their vision.

Upon completing his A-Levels, Sam took a gap year and travelled to Kenya for three weeks. Whilst there, he visited some of the projects that Hand in Hand supports, including homes for children whose parents cannot look after them.

Steeped in a culture that he loved, Sam chose to attend university in Kenya, achieving a Bachelor of Commerce: Accounting degree.

During his studies, Sam spent many weekends volunteering at a New Hope, a children’s home supported by Hand in Hand. As a maths tutor, Sam became close friends with a number of the children he worked with – with two of them later becoming groomsmen at his wedding!

Now 28, Sam and his wife have two sons. He loves spending time with family, going for walks, reading and music (he is a keen guitar and piano player).

He began working at CHC full-time in 2021, when he and his wife moved back to the UK, having previously worked with us as an intern and as part of our innovative remote working programme in 2020.

He is currently an ACCA student and hopes to be fully qualified by the end of 2024.

A marathon undertaking

Passionate about making social change and experienced in working directly with communities, Sam decided to take on a bigger challenge.

In Sam’s words: “I’m running the marathon to raise money to support other young people to go into further education, vocational training, and mentorship.”

The London Marathon is now run by nearly 50,000 people, raising £58.3 million for thousands of charities at most recent count in 2022.

Remaining committed to his work and clients, Sam is training hard in his free time to make the most of this opportunity.

If you’d like to sponsor Sam and support Hand In Hand, please click here to donate.

More and more people are now likely to support charitable causes following the pandemic, with many more likely to include gifts in their Will.

People have also become more open to talking about their own mortality and planning for the future, compared with before the COVID-19 crisis.

According to a survey carried out on behalf of Remember A Charity, 21 per cent of people say they are now more likely to support charitable causes in their lifetime with 12 per cent more likely to include a gift in their Will.

The survey questioned more than 2,000 adults and found that writing or updating a Will is higher on their agenda.

A significant number, 27 per cent, now say they are more likely to discuss funeral plans with their families, which climbs to a third among the over-55s.

This is higher among women (29 per cent) than men (24 per cent). One in five (21 per cent) say that they see death as less of a taboo topic and are more open to talking about it generally.

Lucinda Frostick, Director at Remember A Charity, said: “People’s attitudes have changed since COVID and, despite the challenges of the economic environment, it seems that the nation is even more driven to make a positive impact on the world we leave behind.

“It’s great to see a growing appetite for legacy giving, particularly when it’s become such a vital income stream for so many charities. What’s more, with people becoming more comfortable discussing their final wishes and planning for the future, this knowledge makes it even easier for charities, solicitors and Will-writers to start those crucial legacy-giving conversations.”

The full UK data was collected between 26-30 January this year by Research Without Barriers who surveyed 2,004 adults of all ages across the general population.

Need support with writing a Will and supporting charities? Contact us.

The Citizens Advice charity says it is having to make difficult decisions to stay afloat after its income fell by six per cent last year.

Chief Executive Clare Moriarty has said that the network of more than 250 local charities will continue to support beneficiaries, despite the difficulties.

Citizens Advice is seeking to develop its individual giving after its income fell by six per cent last year, Ms Moriarty has revealed.

The national charity and network of local charities provide free, independent, confidential and impartial advice to everyone on their rights and responsibilities.

Ms Moriarty said that the cost-of-living crisis presents “huge pressures” for local charities which are trying to meet increasing demand with resources that are tighter than ever.

She said: “We know our network of local charities are having to make difficult decisions every day to stay afloat and continue providing their vital support to people who need it.”

The charity’s accounts for the year ending 31 March 2022 show that its total income fell from £162.7 million to £153.6 million.

Most of Citizens Advice’s income comes through funding agreements and is restricted to a particular area of activity and can only be used in a specific financial year.

According to its accounts, the charity received £33.1 million last year to deliver the Help to Claim scheme compared with £34.7 million in 2021.

Recruiting staff and volunteers has also become more challenging, Ms Moriarty said, at a time when the charity’s services are needed “more than ever”.

If your charity or not-for-profit organisation is struggling with cash flow and funding like Citizens Advice, please speak to our charities team.

A charitable trust, set up by the organisers of the London Marathon, has changed its name in the hope that it will extend its reach and impact.

The London Marathon Charitable Trust, which funds projects that encourage physical activity, was set up in 1981 by London Marathon co-founders Chris Brasher and John Disley to distribute the surplus from the annual event, which attracts thousands of runners and walkers to the capital

It has now been rebranded as the London Marathon Foundation in a move it hopes will extend its funding, reach and impact.

Over the years as the London Marathon has grown, so has the charitable trust, which has now awarded more than £98 million in grants.

The London Marathon Foundation said the rebrand marked an “exciting new chapter for the charity as it looks to the future and its ambitions to connect new groups and communities with funding, helping those who need the most support in leading active lives”.

Catherine Anderson, Executive Director at the Foundation, said: “After more than 40 years of funding thousands of projects that have inspired activity across London and the UK, now is the right time to modernise our brand to support the charity we are today and want to be.

“We’re excited for how we can inspire activity and change lives as the London Marathon Foundation, directing our funding to where it’s most needed and creating more opportunities for those who need the most help to be active.”

The foundation has launched a new website and said all other work associated with the rebrand had been done in-house to minimise costs.

A new tranche of dormant assets is set to benefit hundreds of charities and enterprises across the country.

They will receive £31 million from the dormant assets scheme, the Department for Culture, Media and Sport (DCMS) has announced.

Dormant assets are financial products that have not been used by the customer for several years, with the provider unable to reunite them with their funds. Customers have the right to reclaim their assets at any point.

DCMS said that an extra £76 million of funding will be allocated to people who are struggling with the cost-of-living crisis.

Some £31 million of the £76 million funding will enable charities and social enterprises to retrofit premises with cleaner, greener and more efficient energy systems.

Of this, 41 per cent will be distributed to charities and social enterprises by social investors Access and Big Society Capital (BSC).

The rest of the funding, which will be distributed by Fair4All Finance, will help community finance providers, expand the No Interest Loan Scheme to reach 69,000 more people who are facing financial hardship and deliver more affordable debt consolidation loans to reduce people’s overall debt burdens.

DCMS also announced that community wealth funds, long-term funding pots for communities in deprived areas, will now be considered as an option for the English portion alongside youth, financial inclusion and social investment wholesalers.

This month’s announcement comes after a public consultation last summer which aimed to determine how the next tranche of dormant assets, worth £880m, should be spent.

The Government said it will shortly launch a public consultation on how the new community wealth funds will be delivered.

If you need any guidance on how you can benefit from this latest release of funds, please  contact us.

The Institute for Voluntary Action Research (IVAR) has thrown down the gauntlet to charities across the UK to help them shape the future of grant funding.

By completing the Funding Experience Survey, your charity could help influence how £800million in UK grants are managed and handed out.

IVAR, together with over 100 independent grant makers, have pledged to make the process more open and transparent.

As such, they want to understand how they can improve the funding experience amongst charity beneficiaries.

In particular, they are keen to reduce wasted resources, time and effort, along with the sheer stress of bidding for grants

So if you have a view on how bidding for grants could be made easier and more hassle-free, now is your chance to have your say and let the decision makers know how they can make improvements to their processes.

All survey responses are completely anonymous, so you can give honest feedback without fear of your feedback affecting future grant opportunities.

IVAR will also send the results of the survey to all participants, so that you can find out what the third sector, as a whole, thinks about the grant funding process.

Survey respondents from registered charities will also have the opportunity to enter a draw to win one of 10 prizes of £100 for their organisation.

Ben Cairns, Director of IVAR, said: “This is a watershed moment for UK funding: over 100 grant makers are committed to listening to applicants, and adapting how they work to reduce the wasted time, effort and stress of fundraising and funding relationships.

“We want to hear from at least 1,000 charities about what matters most to them so that we can work with funders to change their practices and behaviours.”

The IVAR survey is available to access here and will close when the target of 1,000 respondents is met

From 6 July 2022, the Primary Threshold (PT) for National insurance will increase to £12,570. This is the threshold at which employees begin paying National Insurance contributions (NICs).

This will bring the rate in line with the current rate of personal allowances for income tax and means those earning below this amount each year will pay no tax or NICs.

It also means that a larger proportion of a person’s income will be free of NICs, meaning that most of your employees will enjoy a cut to their NICs.

This jump in the PT comes at a time when many employees are experiencing difficulties due to the cost of living and follows the Government’s decision to increase NIC rates in April.

On April 6th, the rates of NICs increased by 1.25 percentage points. This means, for example, that the main rate for employees rises from 12 per cent to 13.25 per cent.

The increase in NICs was legislated for to increase spending on health and social care and will be formally replaced by a new Health and Social Care Levy in April 2023, which will maintain this increase to provide funding to these sectors.

The increase in the PT means that most employees should see minimal change in their NIC bill, while lower earners below the limit might see their contributions cut entirely.

What about employers’ contributions?

The changes to the NI thresholds do not affect the Secondary Threshold. This is the point at which employers must start making contributions, which remains at £9,100 per year.

As such, employers will have to continue paying NICs for their employees once they earn £9,100 per annum or more, even though the employee does not have to contribute until they earn £12,570 per year.

If your charity needs help with its payroll function or you would like further information about the upcoming changes to NI contributions, please get in touch with us.

The UK Charity Governance Awards, which took place on 26 May, saw six charities receive an unrestricted grant of £5,000.

Charities and not-for-profit organisations are reliant on funding in the form of either grants, fundraising, or donations to continue their work.

As getting funding is vital for charities, we have outlined our top tips to obtain grants:

Check you are eligible

Most grants, whether they are available from the Government or private organisations, will have criteria that will need to be met to be eligible.

Grant applications can be time-consuming, so it is important not to waste valuable time and resources on grants for a specific sector that your charity is not involved in.

Have an action plan

Grants are often competitive, with a lot of different charities, and possibly businesses being eligible to apply.

Also, when it comes to investing money in a cause, those offering the grant will want to ensure that their money is going to be spent wisely.

Therefore, they may require a breakdown of how your current finances and how the funds would be allocated.

Your plan should clearly outline how your plan relates to the aims of the grant. For instance, if the grant is open to charities that contribute towards renewable energy, you must state the method your charity would use and how this will meet that goal.

Sell your pitch

Why should your charity receive the grant over other noteworthy causes?

You must be able to justify why your charity should receive the grant, whilst referring to the work that you currently do and your aspirations for the future.

Factor in the amount that the grant is offering and ensure it is clear how this would enable you to make a difference for the cause.

For advice and support on maximising grant opportunities, please get in touch with our charity team.

Running a charity is an extremely rewarding role but comes with a host of responsibilities.

Ultimately, it is up to the board members and trustees to ensure the organisation is well run, complies with legal and tax obligations and is financially healthy so it can continue to help the people and projects it was set up to support.

That is why it is crucial for charities to have accountants on their side who understand the complexities and difficulties of the charity sector.

If you are involved in the leadership of a charity, what questions should you be thinking about and what should you be asking your accountant?

How can an accountant help my charity?

You would be surprised by the breadth of work accountants can carry out for charities.

The list is exhaustive and includes work such as internal audits, VAT legislation and planning, risk assessments, funding bids and corporate governance. Don’t forget the day-to-day operations too. Having the support of an accountancy firm is simply a must for any charity that wants to not only survive but thrive.

What financial information do I need to collect?

Every charity must keep accounting records, even if it is not registered with the Charity Commission, and also conduct annual accounts. All charities must also create a trustees’ annual report which details the charity’s work for the year and helps demonstrate their work to the public and funding bodies.

However, reporting requirements change as charities grow, which all trustees and leaders must be aware of.

My charity only has an annual income of £20,000, what reporting requirements do I need to meet?

All charities with an annual income above £5,000 are legally bound to register with the Charity Commission. All registered charities must produce a trustees’ annual report.

Meanwhile, charities with an annual income above £10,000 need to submit an annual return to the Charity Commission. This must be sent within ten months of the end of the relevant financial year and should include details from the annual accounts and trustees’ annual report.

My charity has grown in recent years, and we expect the turnover to soon reach £100,000. Does this change how we need to report our finances?

Charities with a gross annual income between £25,000 and £250,000 need to have their annual accounts independently examined, which forms part of the annual return.

Why is it important for my accountant to know my full cash position?

As the leader of a charity, it is vital that you know how much cash the charity has in the bank and how long it will last. This means having a clear picture of your cash flow. Your accountant will want a cash flow forecast in order to be able to advise you on any remedial action you may need to take so make sure you have all the information at hand and up to date.

This will also provide a clear picture of any assets the charity holds that are restricted, for example for capital projects. This will help your accountant understand how much available cash there is to spend on charity projects and overheads.

What questions do I need to ask my accountant to understand what is on the horizon?

Does your charity have any big financial events coming up, such as rent due or a large payroll commitment? What actions need to be taken now so you can plan ahead? Make sure you have these events mapped out so that you are not hit with a nasty surprise in the shape of an unexpected bill.

How can I make sure our charity will have the financial resources to meet our long-term vision?

Ultimately, where do the trustees and leaders see the organisation in five or ten years from now?  Your accountant can help you budget and plan for long term and large-scale projects, so you can make your goals a reality. Your accountant is not just there to offer a finance function, they can also help create a genuine and lasting value to your charity.

What can I do to improve the running of my charity?

Don’t stop asking questions!  By being questioning and inquisitive, you can help safeguard the finances of your charity. Your accountant is on hand each step of the way and we can also provide answers to questions you may not have thought to ask.

Our overall aim is to ensure your charity is in good finance health, so that it can continue to make a positive impact on the communities and individuals you serve.