The funding challenges for the sector and Reaching People have not got easier this year, but our lean and dedicated staff team continue to be flexible and together with our members critical contributions we are making a profound and lasting difference to the lives of many local people who have the greatest needs.
Through collaboration, discussion, development and delivery together, we are stronger and achieving far more than we could separately.
Our new work continues to build on our previous learning and project experience, and we’re proud to be forging new partnerships and starting new projects that expand our impact. One such partnership is with Alzheimer’s Research UK, which builds on our Social Prescribing work. Together, we are developing Dementia Community Champions to improve community engagement in research.
We all know from experience how poverty and digital exclusion impact on mental health, employability and access to many essential services. That’s why we are pleased that our work on Emergency Food Coordination, Refurb IT, Health Plus, and Moneywise Living has been able to continue. Our new Just ASK initiative provides vital targeted and digital inclusion support, linking across projects and training volunteers, in food and community hubs, to reach even more service users to ensure the ongoing and sustainable support access to digital services. Through these projects we have built the skills, capacity and resilience of over 1,000 local people.
As ever, thank you to our member organisations for working together with us and for their on-going commitment to partnership, leadership and sector-wide change.
We also extend our thanks and appreciation to our Board of Trustees, many of whom were new this year. In particular, I would like to thank Eric Waweru (from the Centre Project, a member organisation) who stepped down on 16 October 2024 after four years of dedicated service as a Trustee. Our mix of independent and member organisation Trustees gives us a unique strength, a huge range of experience and great balance of strategy, skills, and sector engagement.
Finally, a huge thanks to all our staff who, as a very small team, continue to work tirelessly to ensure we remain at the forefront of the community and voluntary sector locally.
The trustees present their annual report and financial statements for the year ended 31 March 2025.
The accounts have been prepared in accordance with the accounting policies set out in note 1 to the accounts and comply with the charity's governing document, 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)” (as amended for accounting periods commencing from 1 January 2016).
Our Aims
We aim to:
deliver significant, improved, and positive lasting impact and outcomes for local people who are in need and experiencing inequalities; and
develop and provide high quality services which provide a significant return on investment and value for money.
Our Values and Approach
Our values underpin and guide all we do and our relationships with stakeholders:
Cooperation, collaboration and partnership. We work with others to deliver our mission.
Respect. We are professional and act with integrity, trust and mutual respect.
Equity and Inclusion. We promote equity, fairness and diversity.
Informed. Our work is evidence based and demonstrates best practice.
Listen and learn. We listen to understand, learn and respond.
Transparent. We are open, honest and clear.
Commitment. We are passionate about overcoming barriers and seeking effective solutions.
Reaching People believes that through cooperation, collaboration and partnership we can create a sector that is ‘greater than the sum of its parts’, maximising its effectiveness and impact by:
sharing learning, expertise, knowledge and skills
accessing, pooling and targeting resources
minimising duplication and maximising reach
influencing decision makers and agenda setting
being creative and responsive
Objectives
We strive to:
Encourage, initiate, facilitate, coordinate and manage collaboration and partnership working.
Build the capacity and capability of individuals, communities and VSCE organisations.
Support the VSCE sector to have a voice and influence wider change.
The trustees have given due regard to guidance issued by the Charity Commission in deciding what activities the charity should undertake.
Review of the period
During the year Reaching People and many of our member organisations felt the impact of reduced funding from statutory services and charitable funds. The current funding environment has become increasingly competitive overall as well as more short term in nature. Membership grew to 33 organisations with an aggregate turnover of around £95 million.
Reaching People employed 9 staff directly, most of whom are part time. Our full-time equivalent staffing during the year was 5.5. Our total income for the current trading year is £805,961.
Activity and projects
Activities and projects are described under each of our goals:
1. To, encourage, initiate, facilitate, coordinate and manage collaboration and partnership working.
Following the highly successful delivery of our UK Shared Prosperity Fund, Moneywise Living partnership project to March 2024, we were offered an extension to the end of March 2025. In the last year, the 3 partners (Action Homeless, Leicester Community Advice and Law Centre and Leicestershire Cares) reached a range of communities across the city, supporting 559 participants exceeding our target by 135%.
Through our own efforts and those of our member Leicestershire Cares we have further developed links with large Leicester and Leicestershire based businesses such as Giant Bicycles donating 26 laptops and Watches of Switzerland committed to donating going forward, to fight digital poverty through the Refurb IT project. Although our project funding ended in December 2024, there is both the demand for refurbished devices to digitally excluded individuals and the supply of donations from businesses, charities and individuals, and we endeavour to sustain the project as it also plays a part in encouraging and initiating collaboration and partnership with both the business and wider VCSE sector. Similarly, our Health Plus project is developing productive strategic relationships within the health and VCSE sector.
2024 saw the start of a new partnership with Alzheimer’s Research UK, building on the relationships and connections formed through our Social Prescribing work, this partnership was formed to help awareness of Alzheimer’s among South Asian communities.
During the year, we have worked with De Montfort University on several joint projects, including mapping in-work poverty and debt in Leicester, playing a role in their Financial Literacy workshop and being part of creative approaches to digital inclusion.
Reaching People is a member of the city’s Community Public Health Steering Group and had a key role in helping to develop the terms of reference for Feeding Leicester. We also supported Public Health to run an event to thank Leicester’s food aid community, supported by local councillors, the National Director of Feeding Britain and Liz Kendall, MP. The event highlighted the vital role of the volunteer community, as well as the importance of collaboration to address wider challenges and providing wrap around support across health, unemployment, cost of living, housing and the underlying issue of poverty.
2. To build the capacity and capability of individuals, communities and VSCE organisations.
A key thread in all of Reaching People’s work is capacity building in various forms. The members meetings promote sharing of learning, ideas and resources. The CEO forum and Trustee networking meetings, a legacy from the Leadership programmes continue to be a safe, confidential space for individuals to connect and provide mutual personal and practical support and development opportunities.
Our Moneywise Living work not only provides cost of living and energy advice to individuals but aims to take this a step further supporting financial and digital skills, boosting capability and confidence. Approx. 80% of participants did not have English as a first language; despite this barrier, we saw an increase in digital and/or financial skills for 69% of participants. Additionally, we recorded that the confidence and resilience of 411 participants increased whilst on the project.
Our Health Plus work reached 76 health professionals and 252 individuals, which has led to continued funding. 99% of NHS staff reported increased confidence using the NHS App. Over two-thirds of community participants felt confident registering for the NHS App and using its functions - such as booking appointments, accessing health records, requesting repeat prescriptions, and finding reliable health information online. Our approach means that our inputs have a much wider reach with 57% of people, saying they now feel confident passing on this knowledge to others in their community.
The funding for Refurb IT came to an end in December, having overachieved its outcomes between 175% - 278% against financial and digital skills, access to work, education opportunities and connection with others building confidence, resilience and reducing social isolation.
Similarly, the Just ASK project has begun to provide direct support to users of food and community hubs skilling them to access online information and services but also skilling up the hub volunteers to provide this support themselves beyond the end of the project.
Over the last year, through the community food partnership, Reaching People has supported the move towards affordable food coupled with wrap around services such as energy advice, debt support, financial advice (such as Moneywise Living), and capacity building through English classes, employment skills training and digital skills support (such as Just ASK), with the ultimate aim of tackling poverty at a local level. The approach appears to have had a positive impact with demand for food remaining stable and community groups becoming more adept at commercial operations.
To move our approach to digital inclusion forward we collaborated with De Montfort University to research ways in which we can better ‘future proof’ communities to be less fearful and better able to rise to the challenge of digitalisation. The learning will be applied to our digital capacity building work going forward.
3. To support the VSCE sector to have a voice and influence wider change.
The end of the Leadership programme was marked and celebrated in April. The key-note speaker, Dame Julia Unwin, spoke to a diverse audience about the obligation of the sector to speak out and use its power to create change.
Reaching People has continued to have a significant role in the food hub partnership to feed information gathered in the communities about current cost of living crisis issues and poverty related issues of energy, debt, employment, mental health etc. into the City Council for policy decision making. In particular, we assisted De Montfort University’s research and mapping of in-work poverty and types of debt across Leicester, by carrying out surveys through the food hub network. Reaching People was invited to sit on a panel of experts at the University’s Financial Empowerment Network with an audience of VCSE representatives and academics.
Reaching People worked closely with the City Council to organise and promote an event, attended by the Work and Pensions Secretary and local MP, Liz Kendall, to celebrate the contribution of volunteers at food hubs while raising awareness of the food security in the city and the importance of community.
We continue to be active members of the VCSE Alliance and Community Public Health Steering Group and were one of a few VCSE organisations invited to a ‘Health Inequities’ meeting with senior representatives from public health, statutory and health services to identify public health priorities for Leicester.
Our Health Digital Inclusion work was highlighted in collaboration work with the University of Leicester and The Centre for Ethnic Health Research in their ESRC (Economic and Social Research Council) Festival of Social Science.
In response to the potential bankruptcy announcement by the city council, a members meeting was held with speakers from the national organisation Locality and the Save Birmingham Campaign to create voice and messages to the council.
The Social Prescribing ended with a well-attended international webinar hosted by the National Academy of Social Prescribing, to launch the learning report based on our work, that of Hastings and the Academy. This was followed by discussions with representatives from the Kings Fund, NHS and Independent Age to plan and support processes to disseminate the findings.
A meeting was held with the Chief Executive of ICB (Integrated Care Board) and a member of their board to discuss the work of Reaching People, our expertise, opinions on VCSE and NHS collaboration and partnerships and what needs to change. As a result, Rutland approached Reaching People regarding our expertise in Social Prescribing and role of the VCSE sector, with a view to potential collaboration.
Review of the finances and reserves
The results for the year ended 31 March 2025 are shown in the Statement of Financial Activities on page 10 and the position of the Charity as at 31 March 2025 is shown on the Balance Sheet on page 11.
Trustees are pleased to report that the year ended in a positive position, with a small surplus achieved despite ongoing sector challenges. This reflects prudent financial management and the continued diversification of our funding streams, which has strengthened our resilience. The surplus, while modest, provides reassurance of stability and enables us to invest in supporting our members and the communities we serve. Careful stewardship of resources, alongside collaboration with partners, remains central to our financial strategy and sustainability.
There has been a modest reduction in income, primarily due to the Leadership project coming to an end and the Foodbank Plus project being transferred to Leicester Community Advice and Law Centre, however we had a full year of Moneywise Living and both Just Ask and Dementia Community Champions started during the year. Trustees remain confident that the financial model in place has enabled Reaching People to reach the people in most need.
The staff team remains relatively small and continues to use specialist external support where opportunities arise and need a quick turn-around, for example report writing and sub-contracted arrangements with partner members are used for project delivery. Staff are also directly employed to deliver specific projects giving Reaching People direct lines of accountability to the funders and ensuring that Reaching People maintains the appropriate quality assurance and risk management for projects delivered by member organisations on behalf of Reaching People.
Previously, designated funds were identified for use in the development of partnership opportunities including bid writing, management, and infrastructure development however new bids written during the year were managed within the income generated.
Reaching People is a real living wage employer and the pension contribution for staff is set at 5%. For this financial year several projects continue to be delivered through membership organisations by way of Service Level Agreements.
Reserves Policy
The Trustees review the reserves policy not less than annually to ensure that all relevant risk areas are included in accordance with guidance issued by the Charity Commission. Thus, the relevant risks included are the impact of a loss of funding, and the potential impact of restructuring costs and liabilities required to downsize the organisation in an orderly manner, if an income reduction was anticipated.
The trustees’ current policy is to maintain free unrestricted reserves to meet its objectives:
Provide sufficient working capital to ensure continuity of core operations
Provide a level of funding for unexpected opportunities or needs
Protect against financial risks, such as unforeseen expenditure or sudden loss of income (e.g. redundancy liabilities)
In addition to free reserves, the Board of Trustees has designated reserves to:
Support future business development, including one-off, non-recurring costs that build organisational capacity – such as research, staff development, bidding expertise/capacity or systems investment
Cover between three and six months of core operating costs to safeguard the organisation in the event that funding should cease
This policy requires that free and unrestricted reserves are maintained at a level that would ensure Reaching People’s core activities could be maintained in the short to medium term in the event of a substantial drop in funding. The trustees consider that reserves at this level will ensure that they will be able to continue the Charity’s current activities while consideration is given to ways in which additional funds may be raised. This cover will help fund running costs and provide adequate working capital.
The board considers carefully the Charity’s commitments, taking into account their inherent risks and the activities generally. It monitors, on an on-going basis, the fund balances available relative to its financial plans and to the meeting of its objectives in both the medium and longer term.
Reserves Cover
The total reserves funds of the Charity at 31 March 2025 are £174,574. This is made up of:
General unrestricted reserves: £20,000.
In accordance with our reserves policy Designated Funds of £25,000 are set aside for three to six months operating costs and the balance of £122,974 is set aside for future business development.
Restricted Funds: £6,600 which relates to Alzheimer’s Research UK. All our projects fall within Restricted Funds.
Financial Effect of Any Significant Events
The wider charity sector continues to be affected by the cost-of-living crisis, increased demand for services, and ongoing economic uncertainty. These factors have placed additional pressures on organisations, with many expected to deliver more with fewer resources. Reaching People has inevitably felt these sector-wide challenges; however, by adapting delivery models and seeking diverse funding opportunities, we have been able to maintain stability. The Board continues to monitor the external environment closely to manage risk and respond effectively to significant events that could affect our financial position in the future.
Risk management
The trustees have assessed the major risks to which the charity is exposed and are satisfied that systems are in place to mitigate exposure to major risks.
The board regularly reviews the risks that the organisation faces and identifies the actions that need to be carried out over the year to either eliminate the risk, control and reduce the risk, or accept the risk. The trustees are satisfied that policies and procedures covering all the main areas of risk are in place and applied and a new process this year identifying Trustee leads for specific policies has been adopted.
Future Strategy and Plans
Trustees are confident that the current strategic plan, informed by member organisations engagement, will be effective in bringing organisations together and delivering services to more people with higher levels of need. Our approach to a small core staffing resource and diversification of funding through a range of funding bids is also key to future sustainability for Reaching People and the support we provide to our member organisations.
We will continue to focus on ensuring our key projects are delivered effectively and efficiently with lasting results. We will also continue to learn from our own and others practice with the aim of extending our reach and influence over the coming year.
Structure, governance and management
Constitution
Leicestershire Voluntary Sector Resource Agency (LVSRA) is a registered charity and is incorporated as a company limited by guarantee, registered in England. The charity trades as Reaching People following its merger with Reaching People in June 2013. LVSRA is governed by its Memorandum and Articles of Association which are on public file at Companies House and available at the registered office. The extent of each voting member's liability in the event of a winding up is limited to £10.
The trustees, who are also the directors for the purpose of company law, and who served during the year were:
Method of appointment or election of trustees
Trustees are recruited as independent individuals and also from Voluntary and Community organisations operating in Leicester, Leicestershire and Rutland who are members of Reaching People. Nominations are received through members of LVSRA/Reaching People and trustees are elected at the Annual General Meeting.
No trustee received any remuneration for services as a member of the Board of trustees or had any beneficial interest in any contract with the charity during the year. Travel or other expenses incurred in discharge of the trustees’ duty are made available.
Organisational structure and decision making
The Board is responsible for all decisions by LVSRA. During the year, Mandy Wardle-McLeish stepped down as Chair, though she remains a trustee; trustees, staff and members thank her for her dedicated leadership and contributions to Reaching People. Jenny Hand was appointed as Chair. Eric Waweru also stood down as a trustee. Tracey Waterfield, Henrietta Chubb, Kiran Kala, Rachel Hall and Marie Davis were appointed as new trustees.
The trustees' report was approved by the Board of Trustees.
I report to the trustees on my examination of the financial statements of Leicestershire Voluntary Sector Resource Agency (the charity) for the year ended 31 March 2025.
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.
Since the charity’s gross income exceeded £250,000, the independent examiner must be a member of a body listed in section 145 of the Charities Act 2011. I confirm that I am qualified to undertake the examination because I am a member of ICAEW, which is one of the listed bodies.
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.
The statement of financial activities includes all gains and losses recognised in the year. All income and expenditure derive from continuing activities.
Leicestershire Voluntary Sector Resource Agency is a private company limited by guarantee incorporated in England and Wales. The registered office is First Floor, 42 Tower Street, Leicester, LE1 6WT.
The accounts have been prepared in accordance with the charity's governing document, 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)” (as amended for accounting periods commencing from 1 January 2016). 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.
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.
Incoming resources made available for specific purposes as declared by the donor have been treated as restricted funds. Expenditure for those purposes is charged to the fund together with a fair allocation of overhead and support costs.
Unrestricted funds are donations and other incoming resources receivable or generated for the objects of the charitable company without further specified purpose and are available as general funds.
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. Central staff costs are allocated on the basis of time spent, and depreciation charges are allocated on the portion of the asset’s use.
All expenditure is accounted for on an accruals basis and has been classified under headings that aggregate all costs related to the category.
Support costs are those costs incurred directly in support of expenditure and the objects of the charity. Governance costs are those incurred in connection with administration of the charity and compliance, with constitutional and statutory requirements
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:
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).
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 only has financial assets and financial liabilities of a kind that qualify as basic financial instruments. Basic financial instruments are initially recognised at transaction value and subsequently measures at their settlement value with the exception of bank loans, which are 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.
Grants receivable
Other income
Membership
Moneywise Plus Management Income
Charitable Expenditure Unrestricted
Charitable Expenditure Restricted
Equipment & maintenance expenses
Stationery & office expenses
Telephone
Travel & subsistence
General charitable expenditure
Project costs
Advertising
Project consultancy costs
Premises costs
Insurance
Sundry expenses
Bank charges
Governance costs includes payments to the independent examiner of £3,240 (2024- £3,000) for independent examination and accountancy fees.
None of the trustees (or any persons connected with them) received any remuneration during the year. Trustees were reimbursed £0 in total for travelling expenses (2024- £0).
The average monthly number of employees during the year was:
No employee received remuneration amounting to more than £60,000 in either year.
The remuneration of key management personnel was as follows:
The charity is exempt from tax on income and gains falling within section 505 of the Taxes Act 1988 or section 252 of the Taxation of Chargeable Gains Act 1992 to the extent that these are applied to its charitable objects.
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.
These are unrestricted funds which are material to the charity's activities.
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.
Designated reserve
This amount has been set aside to cover the work of the organisation in the event that funding should cease. This is set to cover approximately three-six months running costs. This amount may vary annually depending on business development.
Funds designated for future business development
This amount has been set aside by the Board of Trustees for future business development.
Leicester Community Advice and Law Centre (LCALC)
Elizabeth Chahal a trustee of Leicestershire Voluntary Sector Resource Agency trading as Reaching People, is also in a position of influence at LCALC a member of the Charity.
During the year the charity charged membership fees of £528. We were supplied with invoiced services from LCALC to the value of £41,153. The outstanding accrual at the 31 March 2025 was £8,973.
The Centre Project
Eric Waweru was a trustee of Leicestershire Voluntary Sector Resource Agency trading as Reaching People and resigned on 16 October 2024. He is also in a position of influence at The Centre Project a member of the Charity.
During the year the charity charged membership fees of £132 to The Centre Project.
Falcon Support Services
Marie Davis and Rachel Hall, both trustees of Leicestershire Voluntary Sector Resource Agency trading as Reaching People, are also in a position of influence at Falcon Support Services a member of the Charity.
During the year the charity charged membership fees of £528 to Falcon Support Services.
The Emerald Centre
Kiran Kala, a trustee of Leicestershire Voluntary Sector Resource Agency trading as Reaching People, is also in a position of influence at The Emerald Centre a member of the Charity.
During the year the charity charged membership fees of £132 to The Emerald Centre.
Friends of Reaching People
The following trustees were Friends of Reaching People and made donations as follows:
Jenny Hand £240
Mandy Wardle-McLeish £72
The charity had no material debt during the year.