The trustees present their annual report and financial statements for the year ended 31 December 2024.
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 governing document, the Companies Act 2006, FRS 102 "The Financial Reporting Standard applicable in the UK and Republic of Ireland" and the Charities SORP "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)".
The principal activity of the charity continued to be the provision of social relief within the community.
Vineyard Compassion is a charity based in Coleraine. We aim to support people, “from crisis to full potential”, by providing practical support for the poor, whilst empowering them to tackle the underlying root causes of poverty. Our catchment district is primarily the Causeway Coast and Glens Borough. However, our work with the Probation Board and Prison Service helps people from all over Northern Ireland. Our volunteers come from as far away as Belfast, although most are local. Poverty in this region is much higher than the Northern Ireland average with 27.5% of people and 30.9% of children living in poverty. Coleraine includes some of the most deprived wards in Northern Ireland.
The most vulnerable people in our community are faced with a complex set of barriers such as long-term unemployment, family breakdown, homelessness, problem debt, mental health issues, ex-offending, low educational achievement and poor self-esteem. For many, these barriers are too big to overcome without support. This can lead to periods of destitution, when people go without the bare essentials such as a home, food, clothes and heating.
Recognising the significant deprivation in the local area and motivated to support the most vulnerable in society, Vineyard Compassion was established. The charity takes a multi-faceted approach to tackling poverty, seeking to maximise the potential for lasting transformation. Its programmes are making a real difference. We have been privileged to see dignity and hope restored to thousands of vulnerable people who were trapped in cycles of poverty. The support Vineyard Compassion offers is available at no cost, to everyone in the community regardless of belief, sexual orientation, race or nationality.
Vineyard Compassion’s vision is to have:
“a transformed and thriving community where poverty is unacceptable and uncommon”.
Vineyard Compassion’s mission in achieving our vision is to:
“provide people with financial, emotional or practical support at their point of need, while empowering them to tackle the underlying root causes of poverty”.
The charity offers holistic support centred around three core themes:
PROVISION: we provide immediate financial, emotional or practical support at crisis points of need. For example, the provision of food, clothing, emergency housing, emotional support or debt counselling, where individuals lack the resource to meet their own needs.
EMPOWERMENT: we empower people to tackle the underlying root causes of poverty. For example, teaching budgeting skills, building capacity within clients to break the cycle of poverty, moving from dependency towards greater independence.
EMPLOYMENT: we support people on a journey towards employment that is fulfilling. We know that work is the best route out of poverty, not only providing financially, but building confidence and self-esteem, improving mental health and providing greater community.
Staff assisted by a team of over 200 volunteers support the work. Many volunteers are former clients who are now in a position to help others. We were delighted to receive the Queen’s Award for Voluntary Service in 2018 acknowledging the tremendous contribution made by our volunteers in meeting community needs.
The charity works alongside agencies and statutory bodies with the goal of tackling poverty. It receives referrals from and signposts clients to these organisations for specialist support. These include government departments such as Health, Communities and Justice, the Probation Board, Prison Service, Housing Executive and local councils along with many charities including the Simon Community and St Vincent de Paul.
Our activities include:
The Open Door drop-in café – this provides a gateway and befriending service to access all support services. Clients only have to enter ONE DOOR and go over their story ONCE to find help for the whole person.
Compassion Support – the Compassion Support team connects with all new clients. Through tailor-made support plans clients are empowered to move beyond crisis point
Causeway Foodbank – provides emergency food and household essentials. Referrals come from care professionals. We also operate a clothing bank called the Wear House
RESET Social Supermarket – provides six months of low-cost food along with support services, courses and training to enable people to reset their priorities of food, finance and future stability
CAP Centre – provides money management courses and one to one budgeting
Link Logs – offers a voluntary work placement designed to increase confidence, skills and employability. This mentor led environment operates within a social enterprise structure. Some referrals come from the Probation Board for community service and prisoners on day release
Compassion Housing – provides short-term emergency accommodation for homeless people along with care, support and supervision from Housing Support Workers. Referrals come from the Housing Executive.
Vineyard Compassion’s values support people in a process of transformation from dependence to independence. The different values build upon each other: you need
worth to have hope. You need hope to have meaningful relationships. You need
relationships to deal with the range of complex issues in your life
You need a holistic solution to be fully empowered.
Worth – ALL people are welcome, are valuable and deserve to be treated with dignity and respect.
Hope – we believe that there is hope for the future for everyone, no matter how difficult the situation might appear.
Relationships – we believe individual growth and healing happen as we spend time in community with people who care about us.
Holistic – we recognise and seek to meet the needs of the whole person – financial, emotional, practical and spiritual – not just their presenting problem.
Empowerment – we encourage people to develop skills that equip them to meet their own needs and break the cycle of poverty - moving from a place of dependence to independence.
Throughout 2024 the impact of the Cost-of-Living Crisis continued to affect more and more families across the community. A growing number of families are facing financial crisis for the first time, while others are being pushed further into poverty and despair. Those with very low incomes have experienced a substantial reduction in their disposable income. This leads them to face impossible decisions on whether to eat or heat their home; pay the electricity bill or cover unexpected costs such as repairing a washing machine or fixing a boiler. Many working families who previously were able to live comfortably are now living under the immense financial pressure, with mortgage or rent arrears and genuine fear of losing their home.
During 2023, Vineyard Compassion experienced an unprecedented surge in demand for its services. This momentum continued into 2024, with our Foodbank and Clothing bank serving more individuals in need compared to the previous year. Additionally, our Open Door drop-in sessions received more footfall over the past 12 months.
2024 also marked the continued growth of asylum seekers placed on the North Coast, across Portstewart, Portrush and Coleraine. Vineyard Compassion has the privilege of supporting these individuals and working alongside statutory and community/voluntary agencies to deliver coordinated support.
Collaboration and working in partnership are key values for Vineyard Compassion to ensure that clients receive the very best support. For this reason, Vineyard Compassion hosts and participates in several effective partnerships in the local area with various statutory agencies and community/voluntary organisations. One collaborative initiative was hosting an event at Vineyard in October 2024 to highlight the impact of the growing Housing Crisis on the North Coast – bringing together decision makers in the housing sphere to workshop creative solutions for this issue.
Vineyard Compassion seeks to avoid duplication in service provision whenever possible, and where gaps exist or current provision is unable to cope with demand, Vineyard Compassion looks for ways to launch projects that meet genuine needs in a sustainable and effective way.
In a recent survey, 92% of clients described Vineyard Compassion’s support as “life transforming” or “a great help”. 97% said since working with Vineyard Compassion they were “hopeful”, “more confident” and “able to face their problems”.
Two clients surveyed stated:
“If it hadn’t been for the help and support I received from Vineyard Compassion, I would either be dead or in jail.”
“The support I received has given me light at the end of the tunnel. I’m making good progress with paying off my debts and improving my mental health.”
The results for the year are set out on page 13.
The charity returned net incoming resources for the year of £52,972 (2023 – net outgoing resources of £273,753). At 31 December 2024 the total funds of the charity amounted to £1,428,164 (2023 - £1,375,192) comprising restricted funds of £274,758 (2023 - £116,137), and unrestricted/designated funds of £1,153,406 (2023 - £1,259,055).
Total unrestricted reserves (comprising of cash and debtors, less short-term liabilities) were £62,666 (2023 as restated £30,299).
Based on the 2025 budget, the range of reserves considered by the trustees to be adequate is between £113K - £227K. Unrestricted reserves are currently below this range. Trustees focus in budgeting and planning going forward is to build the unrestricted reserves towards the 3 month run rate, but ideally the 6 month amount.
Trustees may choose to invest some or all the reserves to obtain a financial return for the charity, ensuring an acceptable level of investment risk and that any reserves are invested in a way can be readily realised as cash, when needed.
Plans for future periods
Vineyard Compassion has continued to develop various partnerships and collaborative projects. A key milestone was the initiation of an Anti-Poverty Network of which Vineyard Compassion is a founding member and one of the main delivery agents. This network was spearheaded by Causeway Coast and Glens Council with input from the Department for Communities NI and is now chaired by Ricky Wright, Vineyard Compassion’s Chief Exec. A detailed action plan has been developed which will be outworked in the years ahead. This will be a key emphasis for Vineyard Compassion, to work strategically in partnership with other local organisations with the shared goal of tackling poverty and social deprivation. A consortium has been created among network members to offer holistic wraparound support to people in crisis, which was piloted in 2021 and will continue into 2025.
We also developed a new ‘Outcomes / Impact Framework’ to better identify the positive changes within people’s lives that we support. This will help us to capture our impact and provide the most detailed answer to “what does success look like?” for the organisation. This will be integrated into a new bespoke client case management IT system that will be developed and launched during 2025.
Due to the drop in grant funding during 2024, Vineyard Compassion has had to look at various cost saving measures, looking at greater efficiencies while maintaining our effectiveness. While we have had to pull back some of our services, we are confident that we can continue to provide that immediate relief to people in crisis. Alongside increasing efficiencies, we will also continue to grow and develop our Fundraising Strategy so that there is greater stability. We aim to secure multi-year grants to give greater security in grant funding and widen the variety of our funders. We will also continue to develop the number and amount of our individual donations, while growing our social enterprises to form a larger percentage of our overall income. We are confident that these plans will be realised.
The trustees have paid due regard to guidance issued by the Charity Commission in deciding what activities the charity should undertake. New trustees will receive appropriate induction and relevant training.
Vineyard Compassion is a company limited by guarantee and was incorporated on 1 August 2012. The company was established under a Memorandum of Association which established the objectives and powers of the company and is governed by its Articles of Association. The liability of its members is limited in that every member of the company undertakes to contribute an amount not exceeding £1 in the event of the company being wound up.
The trustees, who are also the directors for the purpose of company law, and who served during the year and up to the date of signature of the financial statements were:
New directors are appointed when appropriate. Suitable candidates are considered on the basis of their skills, experience and sympathy with the aims of the charity. New directors will be agreed at a board meeting before being invited to join and will receive appropriate induction and relevant training.
Trustees are responsible for setting the organisation’s payscales following the NICVA matrix and benchmark and ensuring that these are adhered to. Vineyard Compassion was birthed from Causeway Coast Vineyard church (CCV) and has the same trustees.
The trustees have paid due regard to guidance issued by the Charity Commission in deciding what activities the charity should undertake. New trustees will receive appropriate induction and relevant training.
We have a risk management assurance framework in operation. This covers areas such as safeguarding processes for children and vulnerable adults, staff training and development, health and safety for staff and public around the site as well as HR, IT and financial risks (covered by our reserves policy) Two of our board members sit on a risk management sub-committee alongside the Operations Director. Any risks are raised, discussed and measures put in place to mitigate the risk. Risk is a standing agenda item on our board meetings and the risk management assurance framework is reviewed formally at the board meeting every six months.
Reference and administrative details
The day-to-day management of the charity is overseen by Ricky Wright (Chief Exec), David McCracken (Operations Director) and Victoria Moore (Finance Manager).
The trustees, who are also the directors of Vineyard Compassion for the purpose of company law, are responsible for preparing the Trustees' Report and the financial statements in accordance with applicable law and United Kingdom Accounting Standards (United Kingdom Generally Accepted Accounting Practice).
Company Law requires the trustees to prepare financial statements for each financial year which give a true and fair view of the state of affairs of the charity and of the incoming resources and application of resources, including the income and expenditure, of the charitable company for that year.
In preparing these financial statements, the trustees are required to:
- select suitable accounting policies and then apply them consistently;
- observe the methods and principles in the Charities SORP;
- make judgements and estimates that are reasonable and prudent;
- state whether applicable UK Accounting Standards have been followed, subject to any material departures disclosed and explained in the financial statements; and
- prepare the financial statements on the going concern basis unless it is inappropriate to presume that the charity will continue in operation.
The trustees are responsible for keeping adequate accounting records that disclose with reasonable accuracy at any time the financial position of the charity and enable them to ensure that the financial statements comply with the Companies Act 2006. They are also responsible for safeguarding the assets of the charity and hence for taking reasonable steps for the prevention and detection of fraud and other irregularities.
In accordance with the company's articles, a resolution proposing that IDS Chartered Accountants LLP be reappointed as auditor of the company will be put at a General Meeting.
The trustees' report was approved by the Board of Trustees.
Opinion
We have audited the financial statements of Vineyard Compassion (the ‘charity’) for the year ended 31 December 2024 which comprise the Statement of Financial Activities, the Balance Sheet, the Statement of Cash Flows and the notes to the financial statements, including a summary of significant accounting policies. The financial reporting framework that has been applied in their preparation is applicable law and United Kingdom Accounting Standards, including Financial Reporting Standard 102 The Financial Reporting Standard applicable in the UK and Republic of Ireland (United Kingdom Generally Accepted Accounting Practice).
In our opinion, the financial statements:
Basis for opinion
We conducted our audit in accordance with International Standards on Auditing (UK) (ISAs (UK)) and applicable law. Our responsibilities under those standards are further described in the Auditor's responsibilities for the audit of the financial statements section of our report. We are independent of the charity in accordance with the ethical requirements that are relevant to our audit of the financial statements in the UK, including the FRC’s Ethical Standard, and we have fulfilled our other ethical responsibilities in accordance with these requirements. We believe that the audit evidence we have obtained is sufficient and appropriate to provide a basis for our opinion.
In auditing the financial statements, we have concluded that the trustees' use of the going concern basis of accounting in the preparation of the financial statements is appropriate.
Based on the work we have performed, we have not identified any material uncertainties relating to events or conditions that, individually or collectively, may cast significant doubt on the charity’s ability to continue as a going concern for a period of at least twelve months from when the financial statements are authorised for issue.
Our responsibilities and the responsibilities of the trustees with respect to going concern are described in the relevant sections of this report.
Other information
The trustees are responsible for the other information. The other information comprises the information included in the annual report, other than the financial statements and our auditor’s report thereon. Our opinion on the financial statements does not cover the other information and we do not express any form of assurance conclusion thereon.
In connection with our audit of the financial statements, our responsibility is to read the other information and, in doing so, consider whether the other information is materially inconsistent with the financial statements or our knowledge obtained in the audit or otherwise appears to be materially misstated. If we identify such material inconsistencies or apparent material misstatements, we are required to determine whether there is a material misstatement in the financial statements or a material misstatement of the other information. If, based on the work we have performed, we conclude that there is a material misstatement of this other information, we are required to report that fact.
We have nothing to report in this regard.
We have nothing to report in respect of the following matters in relation to which the Charities (Accounts and Reports) Regulations (Northern Ireland) 2015 require us to report to you if, in our opinion:
the information given in the financial statements is inconsistent in any material respect with the trustees' report; or
the charitable company has not kept adequate accounting records; or
the financial statements are not in agreement with the accounting records and returns; or
we have not received all the information and explanations we require for our audit.
As explained more fully in the Statement of Trustees' Responsibilities, the trustees (who are also the directors of the charity for the purpose of company law) are responsible for the preparation of the financial statements and for being satisfied that they give a true and fair view, and for such internal control as the directors determine is necessary to enable the preparation of financial statements that are free from material misstatement, whether due to fraud or error.
In preparing the financial statements, the trustees are responsible for assessing the charity’s ability to continue as a going concern, disclosing, as applicable, matters related to going concern and using the going concern basis of accounting unless the trustees either intend to liquidate the charitable company or to cease operations, or have no realistic alternative but to do so.
We have been appointed as auditors under section 65 of the Charities Act (Northern Ireland) 2008 and report in accordance with the Act and regulations made or having effect thereunder.
Our objectives are to obtain reasonable assurance about whether the financial statements as a whole are free from material misstatement, whether due to fraud or error, and to issue an auditor's report that includes our opinion. Reasonable assurance is a high level of assurance but is not a guarantee that an audit conducted in accordance with ISAs (UK) will always detect a material misstatement when it exists. Misstatements can arise from fraud or error and are considered material if, individually or in the aggregate, they could reasonably be expected to influence the economic decisions of users taken on the basis of these financial statements.
Irregularities, including fraud, are instances of non-compliance with laws and regulations. We design procedures in line with our responsibilities, outlined above, to detect material misstatements in respect of irregularities, including fraud. The extent to which our procedures are capable of detecting irregularities, including fraud, is detailed below.
Our approach to identifying and assessing the risks of material misstatement in respect of irregularities including fraud and non-compliance with laws and regulations, was as follows:
the engagement partner ensured that the engagement team collectively had the appropriate competence, capabilities and skills to identify or recognise non-compliance with laws & regulations;
we identified the laws and regulations applicable to the charity through discussions with trustees and other management, and from our commercial knowledge and experience of the sector;
we focused on specific laws and regulations which we considered may have a direct material effect on the financial statements or the operations of the company, including the Companies Act 2006, taxation legislation and data protection, antibribery, employment, environmental and health and safety legislation;
we assessed the extent of compliance with the laws and regulations identified above through making enquiries of management and inspecting legal correspondence.
identified laws and regulations were communicated within the audit team regularly and the team remained alert to instances of non-compliance throughout the audit.
We assessed the susceptibility of the charity's financial statements to material misstatement, including obtaining an understanding of how fraud might occur, by:
making enquiries of management as to where they considered there was susceptibility to fraud, their knowledge of actual, suspected and alleged fraud;
considering the internal controls in place to mitigate risks of fraud and non-compliance with laws and regulations; and
performing analytical procedures to identify any unusual or unexpected relationships;
reviewing journal entries to identify unusual transactions;
assessing whether judgements and assumptions made in determining the accounting estimates were indicative of potential bias;
investigating the rationale behind any significant or unusual transactions.
In response to the risk of irregularities and non-compliance with laws and regulations, we designed procedures which included, but were not limited to:
agreeing financial statements disclosures to underlying supporting documentation;
reading the minutes of meetings of those board of trustees;
enquiring of management as to actual and potential litigation and claims;
reviewing legal correspondence.
There are inherent limitations in our audit procedures described above. The more removed laws and regulations are from financial transactions, the less likely it is that we would become aware of non-compliance. Auditing standards also limit the audit procedures required to identify non-compliance with laws and regulations to enquiry of the trustees and other management and the inspection of regulatory and legal correspondence, if any.
Material misstatements that arise due to fraud can be harder to detect than those that arise from error as they may involve deliberate concealment or collusion.
A further description of our responsibilities is available on the FRC's website athttps://www.frc.org.uk/auditors/audit-assurance-ethics/auditors-responsibilities-for-the-audit. This description forms part of our auditor’s report.
Use of our report
This report is made solely to the charity’s trustees, as a body, in accordance with Part 4 of the Charities (Accounts and Reports) Regulations (Northern Ireland) 2015. Our audit work has been undertaken so that we might state to the charity's trustees those matters we are required to state to them in an auditors' report and for no other purpose. To the fullest extent permitted by law, we do not accept or assume responsibility to anyone other than the charity and the charity’s trustees as a body, for our audit work, for this report, or for the opinions we have formed.
IDS Chartered Accountants LLP is eligible for appointment as auditor of the charity by virtue of its eligibility for appointment as auditor of a company under section 1212 of the Companies Act 2006.
The statement of financial activities includes all gains and losses recognised in the year. All income and expenditure derive from continuing activities.
Vineyard Compassion is a private company limited by guarantee incorporated in Northern Ireland. The registered office is 10 Hillmans Way, Ballycastle Road, COLERAINE, Co Londonderry, BT52 2ED.
The financial statements have been prepared in accordance with the charity's memorandum, the Companies Act 2006, FRS 102 “The Financial Reporting Standard applicable in the UK and Republic of Ireland” (“FRS 102”) and the Charities SORP "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 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, modified to include the revaluation of freehold properties and to include investment properties and certain financial instruments at fair value. The principal accounting policies adopted are set out below.
The accounts to 31 December 2024 contain a prior year adjustment. Income was overstated by £91,480 due to an accounting error in identifying deferred income.
At the time of approving the financial statements, the trustees have a reasonable expectation that the charity has adequate resources to continue in operational existence for the foreseeable future. Thus the trustees 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 trustees in furtherance of their charitable objectives unless the funds have been designated for other purposes.
Designated funds comprise funds which have been set aside at the discretion of the trustees for specific purposes. The purposes and uses of the designated funds are set out in the notes to the financial statements.
Restricted funds are subject to specific conditions by donors or grantors 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.
Cash donations are recognised on receipt. Other donations are recognised once the charity has been notified of the donation, unless performance conditions require deferral of the amount. Income tax recoverable in relation to donations received under Gift Aid or deeds of covenant is recognised at the time of the donation.
Turnover is measured at the fair value of the consideration received or receivable and represents amounts receivable for goods and services provided in the normal course of business.
Expenditure is recognised once there is a legal or constructive obligation to make a payment to a third party, it is probable that settlement will be required and the amount of the obligation can be measured reliably.
Tangible fixed assets are initially measured at cost and subsequently measured at cost or valuation, net of depreciation and any impairment losses. Only assets with a value of £500 or more are capitalised.
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 the statement of financial activities.
At each reporting end date, the charity reviews the carrying amounts of its tangible assets to determine whether there is any indication that those assets have suffered an impairment loss. If any such indication exists, the recoverable amount of the asset is estimated in order to determine the extent of the impairment loss (if any).
Recoverable amount is the higher of fair value less costs to sell and value in use. In assessing value in use, the estimated future cash flows are discounted to their present value using a pre-tax discount rate that reflects current market assessments of the time value of money and the risks specific to the asset for which the estimates of future cash flows have not been adjusted.
If the recoverable amount of an asset is estimated to be less than its carrying amount, the carrying amount of the asset is reduced to its recoverable amount. An impairment loss is recognised immediately in income/(expenditure for the year, unless the relevant asset is carried at a revalued amount, in which case the impairment loss is treated as a revaluation decrease.
Recognised impairment losses are reversed if, and only if, the reasons for the impairment loss have ceased to apply. Where an impairment loss subsequently reverses, the carrying amount of the asset is increased to the revised estimate of its recoverable amount, but so that the increased carrying amount does not exceed the carrying amount that would have been determined had no impairment loss been recognised for the asset in prior years. A reversal of an impairment loss is recognised immediately, unless the relevant asset is carried in at a revalued amount, in which case the reversal of the impairment loss is treated as a revaluation increase.
Stocks are stated at the lower of cost and estimated selling price less costs to complete and sell. Cost comprises direct materials and, where applicable, direct labour costs and those overheads that have been incurred in bringing the stocks to their present location and condition. Items held for distribution at no or nominal consideration are measured the lower of replacement cost and cost.
Net realisable value is the estimated selling price less all estimated costs of completion and costs to be incurred in marketing, selling and distribution.
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.
No provision is required for taxation as the company is defined as a charity for taxation purposes.
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.
In the application of the charity’s accounting policies, the trustees are required to make judgements, estimates and assumptions about the carrying amount of assets and liabilities that are not readily apparent from other sources. The estimates and associated assumptions are based on historical experience and other factors that are considered to be relevant. Actual results may differ from these estimates.
The estimates and underlying assumptions are reviewed on an ongoing basis. Revisions to accounting estimates are recognised in the period in which the estimate is revised where the revision affects only that period, or in the period of the revision and future periods where the revision affects both current and future periods.
During the current financial year, no critical accounting estimates or judgements were made by the Directors.
Reset subscription
Housing benefit / Rent
Portrush Road service charge
Housing deposit scheme
Textile recycling
Clothing online
Supported housing
Causeway foodbank
CAP debt centre
Link logs
Social supermarket
Compassion Support
Compassion counselling
Other projects
Insurance
Building Costs
Printing, postage and stationary
Other expenses
Staff and volunteer costs
Governance costs includes payments to the auditors of £1,600 for audit fees (2023 - £1,925).
None of the trustees received any remuneration or benefits from the charity during the year.
During the year persons connected to a trustee of the charity were paid £0 (2023 - £8,634) by virtue of their employment.
The average monthly number employees (excluding directors) during the year was:
The remuneration of key management personnel, who comprise the senior leadership team, is as follows:
The charity operates a defined contribution pension scheme for all qualifying employees. The assets of the scheme are held separately from those of the charity in an independently administered fund.
The restricted funds of the charity comprise the unexpended balances of donations and grants held on trust subject to specific conditions by donors as to how they may be used.
The unrestricted funds of the charity comprise the unexpended balances of donations and grants which are not subject to specific conditions by donors and grantors as to how they may be used. These include designated funds which have been set aside out of unrestricted funds by the trustees for specific purposes.
Certain grants received and receivable may become repayable to the funder if the charity is no longer able to meet the conditions under which they were awarded. Due to the nature of these contingencies, it is not possible to quantify the potential effect or give an indication of timing as to the liabilities that may arise.
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:
The remuneration of key management personnel, who comprise the senior leadership team, is as follows:
Transactions with related parties
During the year the charity entered into the following transactions with related parties:
Included within expenditure on charitable activities were amounts totalling £2,747 (2023 - £4,136) paid to Lynas Foodservice Limited, a company in which Mr Andrew Lynas is a director. The amount owing at the year-end and included in trade creditors was £175 (2023 - £137).
Included within charitable activities were amounts totalling £33,799 (2023 - £49,556) received from Lynas Foodservice Limited, a company in which Mr Andrew Lynas is a director. The amount owed at the year-end and included in trade debtors was £9,919 (2023 - £18,163).
Included within expenditure on charitable activities were amounts totalling £0 (2023 - £4,523) paid to Fuelwise Network Limited, a company in which Mr Russell Kelly was a director until 20 October 2023. The amount owing at the year-end and included in trade creditors was £0 (2023 - £448).
Included within shared services were amounts totalling £26,000 (2023 - £35,900) paid to Causeway Coast Vineyard Church, a charity with the same directors. The amount owing at the year-end and included in accruals was £0 (2023 - £6,400).
Included within other debtors were amounts totalling £1,000 (2023 - £7,514) for Love Christmas Grant owed from Causeway Coast Vineyard Church, a charity with the same directors.
Included within income were amounts totalling £0 (2023 - £2,267) for Fuel poverty Offering from Causeway Coast Vineyard Church, a charity with the same directors. There were no amounts outstanding at the year end.
Expenditure for Love Ukraine Grant from Causeway Coast Vineyard was £0 (2023 - £2,768).
Included within other creditors were amounts totalling £0 (2023 - £3,635) for pension contributions owed to Causeway Coast Vineyard, a charity with the same directors.