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 objects of The American International Church Foundation (AICF) are to advance the Christian faith for the benefit of the public by providing for the worship of God, the study of His word, the fellowship of Christian believers and such other activities that may advance the Kingdom of God and in particular but without limitation by supporting the American International Church.
Activities for Achieving Objectives
AICF solicits donations to be used to provide grant funding to organisations that will fulfill the AICF objectives.
The trustees have paid due regard to guidance issued by the Charity Commission in deciding what activities the charity should undertake. When awarding grants, the Trustees review the public benefit provided by the grant recipient.
Grant Making
AICF has a grant making policy which outlines the procedure for awarding and monitoring grants. Grantmaking is the principal manner in which AICF achieves its objectives.
In 2024, AICF approved a grant application to The American International Church. After reviewing the information in the application, the Trustees of AICF awarded a grant of up to £100,000 to support the work of The American International Church in its ongoing Christian faith activities along with its effort to support the surrounding communities, for instance in its work with The Soup Kitchen and the Cold Weather Shelter. The American International Church was very grateful for the financial support AICF was able to provide and provided updates regarding the use of grant funds. During 2024, AICF raised donations totaling close to £38,000.
AICF raised £37,058 in unrestricted funds, £900 in restricted funds (more information below), collected £9,241 in Gift Aid (covering donations made is 2022 and 2023) and paid net bank charges of £107. In addition, AICF had expenses of £152 which covered the Companies House fee, costs for electronic signature documents, and a HMRC fine for the late submission of the 2022 tax return.
In December 2024, The Fitzrovia Partnership set up a Just Giving page to support The Soup Kitchen which is one of the charities that works with The American International Church. The Fitzrovia Partnership set up the Just Giving page to send these donations to AICF. These funds were included in the grants made to The American International Church with a statement explaining the purpose of the £900 raised by the Just Giving campaign and that these funds should be used to support The Soup Kitchen.
During 2024, AICF made grant payments to the American International Church of £27,100. At the end of 2024, AICF held £20,517 in its bank account. AICF received a number of larger donations and the Gift Aid payments fairly late in December 2024 and a grant payment to The American International Church was planned for January 2025.
Income for the year totalled £47,199 (2023: £32,959), and of this £900 (2023: £nil) related to restricted funds.
At the balance sheet date the charity had unrestricted funds of £18,718 (2023: £678) and no restricted funds (2023: £nil).
AICF only awards grants which it can fund from donations so the Trustees believe that there are no material uncertainties that call into doubt AICF’s ability to continue. For this reason, they adopt the going concern basis in preparing the financial statements.
AICF anticipates having minimal expenses and so does not plan to hold material reserves. Grant payments are made on a quarterly basis at a level in line with actual donations.
The charity is a company limited by by share capital, which is 100% owned by American International Church Society, a US not-for-profit company. The Charity is governed by its Articles Of Incorporation which were filed on 6 August 2018.
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:
The Charity’s management is the responsibility of the Trustees, who are appointed under the terms of the Articles of Association. New trustees receive training at the time of their appointment and are made aware of their responsibilities under Charity Law. AICF is required to have at least three trustees.
AICF is wholly owned by the American International Church Society, a charitable company incorporated in the USA. The American International Church Society has delegated all decision making for AICF to the Trustees. Trustees meet as required to transact Charity business. All Trustees must approve any grant application. Once a grant has been approved, a Monitoring Committee (comprised of two Trustees) is authorised to approve grant payments which meet the terms of the existing grant. The Monitoring Committee informs all Trustees when grant payments have been made.
The trustees' report was approved by the Board of Trustees.
I report to the trustees on my examination of the financial statements of The American International Church Foundation (the charity) for the year ended 31 December 2024.
Having satisfied myself that the financial statements of the charity are not required to be audited under Part 16 of the Companies Act 2006 and are eligible for independent examination, I report in respect of my examination of the charity’s financial statements carried out under section 145 of the Charities Act 2011. In carrying out my examination I have followed the Directions given by the Charity Commission under section 145(5)(b) of the Charities Act 2011.
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 that in any material respect:
accounting records were not kept in respect of the charity as required by section 386 of the Companies Act 2006.
the financial statements do not accord with those records; or
the financial statements do not comply with the accounting requirements of section 396 of the Companies Act 2006 other than any requirement that the financial statements give a true and fair view, which is not a matter considered as part of an independent examination; or
the financial statements 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 financial statements 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 financial statements to be reached.
Michelle Westbury FCCA
The statement of financial activities includes all gains and losses recognised in the year. All income and expenditure derive from continuing activities.
The notes on pages 6 to 11 form part of these financial statements.
The notes on pages 6 to 11 form part of these financial statements.
The American International Church Foundation is a charitable company limited by share capital, incorporated in England and Wales. The registered office is 79a Tottenham Court Road, London W1T 4TD .
The financial statements have been prepared in accordance 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 charity is a Public Benefit Entity as defined by FRS 102.
The charity has taken advantage of the provisions in the SORP for charities 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 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.
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.
Expenditure is recognised once there is a legal or constructive obligation to transfer economic benefit to a third party, 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 classified by activity. The costs of each activity are made up of the total of direct costs and shared costs, including support costs involved in undertaking each activity. Direct costs attributable to a single activity are allocated directly to that activity. Shared costs which contribute to more than one activity and support costs which are not attributable to a single activity are apportioned between those activities on a basis consistent with the use of resources.
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.
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.
None of the trustees (or any persons connected with them) received any remuneration or benefits from the charity during the year.
No trustees received reimbursed expenses in the year.
The average monthly number of employees during the year was:
The charity did not have any employees in the year (2023: none).
The charity is exempt from taxation on its activities because all its income is applied for charitable purposes.
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.
Donations were received in the year from trustees of the charity. The aggregate total received was £16,390.