venturetrust Annual report & financial statements The

Transcription

1 Company Registration No (England & Wales) Charity No. SC (Scotland)/ (England & Wales) The venturetrust (a company limited by guarantee not having a share capital) Annual report & financial statements for the year ended 31 March 2012

2 Annual report & financial statements For the year ended 31 March 2012 Contents Report of the Board of Trustees 1 Trustees and advisers 12 Independent auditors report to the Trustees of the Venture Trust 13 Statement of Financial Activities for the year ended 31 March Balance Sheet as at 31 March Notes to the financial statements for the year ended 31 March

3 Report of the Board of Trustees Introduction Venture Trust believes in people. We believe that people who, because of their life experiences, have become marginalised and vulnerable and are living chaotic lifestyles have the capacity to change, and can be supported to take responsibility for their lives. Venture Trust helps people recognise what they need to change; then gives them the confidence, motivation and life skills they need to make those changes. At the heart of all our programmes, we give people time, space and support in a wilderness setting, far away from the pressures of home, where physical, emotional and social challenges take them into a personal 'stretch' zone where powerful learning can happen. Venture Trust has been offering people a chance for change for nearly 30 years. Public Benefit The trustees have complied with the duty in section 4 of the Charities Act 2006 to have due regard to public benefit guidance published by the Charity Commission. Objectives Venture Trust s overarching objective is to make a difference in the lives of people with chaotic pasts and uncertain futures by raising aspirations, increasing confidence, employability and stability, thereby generating long term impacts in terms of socio-economic wellbeing. In turn, we hope that the benefits of our work will positively shape strategy, policies and plans affecting the individuals we work with. Venture Trust s in-year objectives included increasing the number of people accessing our portfolio of services, expanding the geographic reach of our service and broadening our income base. Activities in pursuit of objectives Venture Trust achieves its objectives through innovative and distinctive outreach support and wilderness personal development journeys. We support young adults and adults at risk; young offenders referred by statutory agencies and disadvantaged young people referred by other support agencies. Wilderness journeys introduce, develop and test key personal development concepts through carefully designed experiences and activities. The emphasis is on learning new life-skills such as communication and planning which will enable participants to go on with new-found confidence to further education and employment and to make a positive contribution to society. Wilderness journeys run all year round, in all conditions and all weathers. Each journey poses its own unique challenges, offering participants and staff valuable opportunities to discuss the need to adapt, overcome and make the best of situations. Our joined-up services of outreach and wilderness journeys are structured as distinct programmes, tailored towards the needs and circumstances of each of our client groups. Our portfolio of programmes delivered in 2011/12 is laid out below. 1

4 Venture Trust programmes Criminal Justice Living Wild: Chance for Change is an intensive and challenging intervention for young Scots in the criminal justice system, particularly those on probation, serving Community Payback Orders and other community-based disposals. Venture Trust provides months of personal development support, including 10-day wilderness journeys in locations across Scotland which offer an intensive learning opportunity through challenging wilderness experiences and activities. In 2011/12 the programme was funded primarily by the Scottish Government s Justice Directorate, with additional support from the European Social Fund (ESF), Highland LEADER and a small number of UK trusts and foundations. The programme is proven to enable participants to reduce their risk of being re-convicted, sustain and increase their self-confidence, increase their employability, improve their bonds with the wider community, make increased use of services and opportunities, and to help them access employment, education and training opportunities. Our Outreach Team then provides Community Links support following the wilderness journey, helping them to make and sustain connections to appropriate services and opportunities within their communities. vt was amazeing mate its gave me the kickstart i needed so thank u 4 given me the chance to do the course and i mean that i found it works the course mate it really does hope to here or c u soon, thanx. Living Wild: Chance for Change participant, feedback submitted via Facebook (2011) Next Steps offers distinctive and challenging interventions for vulnerable women struggling with a range of complex life circumstances, including offending, substance misuse, abuse, trauma and longterm unemployment. Funded primarily by Comic Relief s Sport for Change fund in 2011/12, the programme has benefitted women referred by, and engaging with, partner agencies in Edinburgh, Glasgow, Aberdeen and Falkirk. The programme consists of intensive in-community support delivered through a series of preparatory workshops, culminating in a catalytic residential wilderness journey. On their return from this residential, participants re-engage with workshops and their referrers. Venture Trust s role is to help participants deepen their skills in setting goals, coping with challenging situations, effective communication and ability to build healthy relationships. More Choices More Chances 1 Venture Trust s established, effective and wide-reaching Inspiring Young Futures (IYF) programme supports young carers and young people who have been looked after in local authority care in Scotland. The programme consists of a number of phases delivered over months, and includes community-based support, partnerships with complementary services, and wildernessbased personal development journeys in the Scottish Highlands. The programme uses a phased approach to personal development, initially offering outreach support and one or two-day wilderness experiences, building up to a seven-day wilderness journey at our residential centre in Applecross or other locations across Scotland. Participants then have access to extensive community links support, which includes a wide range of community-based 1 More Choices, More Chances is the Scottish Government s action plan to reduce the proportion of young people not in education, employment or training in Scotland. Venture Trust s provision to complement this strategy supports young people with a wide range of backgrounds and needs but who are not involved in the criminal justice system. 2

5 initiatives to consolidate and transfer young people s experiential learning into practical applications in their everyday lives. This programme focuses on early intervention and preventative work, designed to enable young carers and young care-leavers to build confidence, motivation, employability and a range of vital life skills, and to avoid the pitfalls that such young people sometimes face in the transition to adulthood. Inspiring Scotland, whose long-term commitment to Venture Trust and its work has created wideranging opportunities both for our beneficiaries and for the charity on a strategic and developmental level. As a further result of Inspiring Scotland s investment in the programme, we have been successful in attracting funding from local authorities, European Social Funds and UK trusts and foundations to expand and enhance the IYF programme. Transitions to Independent Living is a bespoke wilderness programme designed for young people living in temporary supported accommodation with the majority of referrals coming from hostels known as Foyers. Venture Trust has offered personal development support to young homeless people referred by Foyers from across the UK for over ten years, and draws from this extensive experience to offer a curriculum tailored specifically to the needs of the client group. The programme helps young people improve their employability, confidence and relationships, contributing to their transition to independent living by equipping them with the skills and experience necessary to access education, training, employment, and to sustain secure accommodation. since I have been back I have been looking and applying for more jobs. I have also joined the gym just like I said I would and I am also looking to voluntary work that was one of my goals that I set. Since I have been not been feeling down or bored. From a letter to staff written by a Transitions to Independent Living participant The Personal Development Partnership (PDP) is a partnership between three third-sector agencies (Venture Trust, Venture Scotland and The Prince s Trust/Fairbridge) working with young people aged in Scotland. The partnership is funded through the Cashback for Communities ( proceeds of crime ) initiative, managed by the Scottish Government, and is designed to make it easier for at risk young people to access the most appropriate support available to them from across the PDP partners portfolios of services. The PDP is specifically targeted at young people who need More Choices More Chances in life; young people who are not in employment, education or training, identified as being on the cusp of offending or re-offending and/or involved in anti-social behaviour. Venture Trust has two distinct roles in the partnership: hosting the Edinburgh hub providing resources and support to the Edinburgh-based Positive Destinations Advisor, and offering access to our existing service provision (particularly the Inspiring Young Futures programme) to young people referred via the PDP. Venture Trust engages PDP participants on wilderness-based personal development programmes, as well as established group work and community links support to help them to increase their confidence, employability and communication skills. Venture Trust also supports the learning and development taking place amongst the agencies as the partnership develops. International work In 2010, in recognition of Venture Trust s expertise in helping young people reduce their risk of reoffending, the Scottish Government requested that we launch a new international programme in Kachere Juvenile Prison (recently renamed Kachere Reformatory Centre) in the city of Lilongwe, Malawi. The programme is primarily funded by the Scottish Government s International Development Fund and was launched in early

6 The Moving On Malawi programme has been established to support the young male prisoners held at Kachere to develop essential life- and vocational skills, gain access to legal services and wider support inside and outside the prison, thereby improving their life-chances and reducing their rates of reoffending upon release. Young men released from the prison typically find themselves displaced from their families and communities and with very poor prospects for employment or education, often losing contact with support services and falling into ongoing patterns of offending, disadvantage and poverty. The programme, which has become known locally as Mwai wosinthika (translating to a chance for change ), has two main facets: Young men taking part in a discussion group in Kachere Reformatory Centre, delivered by Venture Trust as part of World AIDS Day. Work inside Kachere, offering the young men a programme of life skills development, vocational training, health awareness and access to legal support alongside initial improvements to sanitation and nutrition within the facility. Work outside Kachere, seeking to offer young men a range of opportunities, services and support from a network of agencies and groups upon release. Achievements and performance: 2011/2012 In 2011/12 Venture Trust launched an expanded and enhanced Criminal Justice programme, broadened the geographic reach of its More Choices More Chances provision and significantly progressed the development of new areas of work. In addition to our core Scottish provision for young people in the criminal justice system, looked-after young people and young carers, our portfolio of services has expanded to offer greater capacity for vulnerable women and increased provision for young homeless people from across the UK. We are pleased to report on progress towards establishing mainstream programmes for other client groups including those struggling with addiction and vulnerable children under 16 years old. All of these were achieved despite an increasingly challenging and competitive funding environment. During the year we supported a total 847 people facing issues including homelessness, caring responsibilities, substance misuse, a history of local authority care, and involvement in the criminal justice system in the UK. We delivered 48 residential wilderness expeditions, as well as 37 community activity days and 16 overnight wilderness activities, plus hundreds of 1-to-1 and small group development sessions. We are also pleased to report significant developments in our work in Malawi, which engaged with a total of 221 young men in 2011/12. This increase in assessment and engagement across the organisation is a direct result of recruiting new staff to handle increased demand for our services, both due to growth in our established geographic areas and by expanding to new ones. Venture Trust s journeys are based on the understanding that the wilderness is an ideal environment for introspection, reflection, discussion and learning. 4

7 Our beneficiaries influence every aspect of the organisation s development through feedback, evaluation questionnaires and by taking part in focus group activities. We also use an extensive monitoring and evaluation framework (developed with support from Evaluation Support Scotland), which has been designed to examine what participants have achieved as a result of Venture Trust's intervention. Our outreach staff members assess participants behaviour and personal situation at specific points before and after their wilderness course to measure their progress, and to enable each participant to recognise the personal development journey they have made with Venture Trust. All data and information is periodically evaluated on a basis by an independent, external evaluator from an appropriate academic discipline. This process enables us to observe and measure the changes that each of our programmes makes, and produces meaningful outcomes statistics. As such, we are able to report that during the year: Two thirds of our participants show demonstrably improved levels of confidence after taking part in a Venture Trust programme. More than seven in ten participants show higher levels of employability after their time with Venture Trust. Over half of participants have improved the stability of their lifestyles (for example by reducing their alcohol use, finding permanent accommodation, or stopping offending) Two thirds of our participants have improved the quality of their relationships with those around them, and the same number have improved their use of services in their local areas (such as registering with a doctor, using the library, or accessing mental health support). Our participants achieved 324 positive destinations during the year reaching employment, getting into education, securing training or taking up voluntary work. Programmatic achievements: Criminal Justice Venture Trust launched an enhanced, expanded Living Wild: Chance for Change programme in 2011/12. The programme was made available to young people on probation, or subject to other criminal justice orders such as Community Payback Orders (CPO), Drug Treatment & Testing Orders, Parole or taking part in the Turnaround programme. Following extensive consultation with referrers and the Scottish Government, Venture Trust expanded the referral criteria for this programme, making it available to people up to age of 30 years old, rather than 25 as in previous years. This has coincided with an increase in retention rates and improved outcomes, attributable in part due to the positive impact of creating more diverse age groups on wilderness journeys. Venture Trust staff handled the highest number of referrals ever made to this programme in 2011/12: a total of 412 (compared to 254 in the previous year). This increase can be attributed in part to the placement of a dedicated outreach worker in the Highlands (funded by Highland LEADER) who has significantly increased awareness of and demand for the programme, ensuring that Venture Trust has a truly national reach and impact. The results of Venture Trust s concerted awarenessraising campaign beyond traditional referral heartlands, together with recruitment and gradual bedding-in of additional outreach staff, has continued to yield some impressive results including increased referrals from 22 out of 32 local authority areas, and a further three maintained at the same levels, compared to 2010/11. Referrals were received from 29 of Scotland s 32 Local Authorities during the year, compared to 26 in the previous year. Our Living Wild Chance for Change programme supported 111 people involved in the criminal justice system into employment, education, training and voluntary work during the year. Perhaps the programme s greatest and widest-reaching impact is that 167 people reduced their risk of offending and started developing a more stable and sustainable lifestyle. 5

8 In 2011/12, Next Steps delivered a full personal development support programme to women in the criminal justice system referred from agencies in Edinburgh, Glasgow, Aberdeen and Falkirk. The programme allowed the flexibility of using a variety of workshops in communities to complement the core component of a wilderness journey based from our centre in Applecross. We are delighted to have strengthened referral relationships with a number of other charities working with this group, as well as establishing links with Criminal Justice Social Work Teams who provide specialised services for women involved in offending. We are delighted to report that all of the 48 women who took part in the programme in 2011/12 showed increased confidence and more stable lifestyles, and almost nine in ten were more employable. Programmatic achievements: More Choices More Chances Venture Trust s established and large-scale programme for young people in Local Authority care and young carers, Inspiring Young Futures, offered intensive support to 518 young people in 2011/12. With extensive staff teams firmly bedded into communities in Edinburgh, East Lothian, West Lothian, Dundee, Clackmannanshire, Glasgow, Inverclyde, North Ayrshire, East Ayrshire and Perth & Kinross, the programme is now reaching more young people than ever before, and is increasingly recognised as a core element of More Choices More Chances (MCMC) provision available in those areas. The programme significantly broadened its impact during the year, whilst also benefitting from a number of refinements and developments to programme structure and content. Outcomes achieved in the year have been extremely strong, exceeding our targets, and are expected to improve still further as increasing numbers of young people progress further through the programme s long-term support. Three quarters of participants maintained and made better use of local services and opportunities. Seven in ten participants were demonstrably more employable after engaging with the programme, leading to participants achieving over 200 positive destinations; including education, employment, training or volunteering (some of these will have started engaging with Venture Trust during the previous financial year). Venture Trust continued to offer support to young homeless people resident in temporary, supported accommodation, through its bespoke Transitions to Independent Living programme. Thanks to multi-year grants and further funding from trusts and foundations, Venture Trust maintained a basic level of provision on this programme in 2011/12, working with a total of 20 young people from across the UK. Demand for this programme far outstripped available capacity in the year, and as such Venture Trust is committed to an ongoing fundraising programme intended to make greater numbers of places available to young people in Foyers. As in previous years, we are pleased to report that these participants have consistently gone on to record extremely positive outcomes, with a very high proportion making and sustaining transitions into positive destinations. Following its first full year of operation, the Personal Development Partnership (PDP) broadened its referral criteria in to embrace young people aged (rather than 14-17), as well as expanding its staff team and programme provision to offer greater support in key areas. The partnership was established in operational bases in Dundee, Edinburgh and Glasgow, and during expanded to embrace participants from North Lanarkshire. 2011/12 saw the development and delivery of a programme for Under-16s. As a result of the success of the IYF programme, Venture Trust 6 Experiential learning and games with aims offer an engaging and effective learning platform for people who may have struggled with mainstream education.

9 experienced significant demand from referrers for a similar intervention designed for younger people, in particular those aged who are approaching their school leaving date and are at risk of disengagement. Venture Trust delivered the first wilderness journeys for this client group during the year, working with young people referred from a number of agencies across Scotland. Venture Trust developed a new programme in partnership with Addaction, a nationwide charity supporting people to overcome and manage addictions through a range of complementary services. Venture Trust s intervention was designed to help Addaction s clients prevent relapse and sustain the progress made on their journey to recovery, whilst also equipping them with skills and strategies to move forwards positively with their lives. Venture Trust delivered the first pilot programme in 2011/12, with support from Addaction workers and received strong feedback from all participants and staff, establishing that the partnership model is effective and valued. Programmatic achievements: International The Moving On: Malawi programme known locally as Mwai wosinthika has now reached the end of year 2 of a three year pilot phase, is ahead of schedule and has achieved some outstanding results. Venture Trust s advocacy work has also succeeded in changing attitudes and mindsets in criminal justice circles in Malawi, most evident in that the Malawi Prison Service has re-named the facility from Kachere Juvenile Prison to Kachere Reformatory Centre, reflecting a significant change in the purpose of the facility: helping young men avoid reoffending as part of their sentence, rather than being solely a punitive sanction. Venture Trust staff have been working hard to ensure that all activities within the prison are delivered in partnership, particularly with the full involvement of prison staff, which feedback suggests has influenced the thinking of the Malawi Prison Service more widely. To date, Venture Trust staff have worked with prison staff to conduct individual needs assessments with 221 young men, and almost 80% of the inmates have taken up the chance to participate in the Mwai wosinthika programme of development, health and vocational activities. The programme has a rolling timetable of experiential learning sessions, in which the young men learn about keeping themselves and others safe and healthy; giving a positive impression to other people; setting, achieving and re-setting goals; solving problems & learning from experience; looking after oneself and establishing a daily routine; dealing with pressure; and how to form trusting relationships. Venture Trust has established and co-ordinated activities with a range of partners to offer practical skills and health awareness in the prison, whilst also building partnerships to support individuals to reintegrate in their communities on release. Upon release, the young men can meet with the Venture Trust worker on a regular basis, and are introduced to other agencies, opportunities, and a range of community groups/traditional authorities, local firms and family businesses. 69 young people have left Kachere having taken part in the Mwai wosinthika programme and linked up with the Venture Trust worker upon release. From our comprehensive one-to-one monitoring, it is possible to evidence that: 71% are less likely to reoffend. 56% are in some form of education, training, employment or wage earning activity (including farming, labouring, piecemeal activity etc). 75% have improved their confidence and skills. 7

10 Plans for the future Looking ahead, Venture Trust has identified the following mission and strategic aims to guide its development over the next 5 years. Mission Venture Trust will grow and enhance its reputation as a highly respected and effective provider of wilderness-based personal and social development programmes which help people across the UK to overcome the range of disadvantaged, complicated or chaotic life circumstances that they face. Strategic aims Over the next five years, we aim to: Increase our programme provision to incorporate up to 88 ten-day wilderness journeys per year from base camps in Applecross and other Scottish wilderness areas (such as the Cairngorms and Trossachs). This would provide over 1,000 residential places to individuals in need of our support. Launch major programmes in partnership across the UK. Efforts will focus upon establishing relationships with organisations supporting people dealing with a wide spectrum of issues including offending, homelessness, addiction, learning disabilities, those leaving care and military early leavers. By working collaboratively, we can tailor programmes to ensure that participants are properly prepared, supported throughout their journey and upon returning to their community, able to sustain changes by accessing local services and other provision available from partners. Publicise our work and evidence the results it helps people achieve. Development of welltargeted communications and publicity will complement voluntary fundraising and facilitate the growth of UK programmes and partnerships. Diversify our income by launching a range of voluntary giving initiatives and broadening our network of supporters including from the private sector. Grow social enterprise to commercialise activities building on our strengths and track record in wilderness journeys, development and training. This will support employment and employability for former participants, enhance organisational capacity and resilience, and directly engage customers with the wider work of Venture Trust. Demonstrate our impact by making best use of monitoring and evaluation data, and targeting information more effectively to influence strategy, policies and plans affecting the people we support. We envisage achieving this increase in activity and reach in two main phases: Phase 1 ( ) consolidation of current service provision and development of new programmes and new partnerships across the UK, ensuring that the organisation is as efficient and effective in delivering programmes as possible. Phase 2 ( ) operation of new programmes and partnerships, enabling sustainable growth in programme provision commensurate with resources. 8

11 Public benefit The trustees have complied with the duty in section 4 of the Charities Act 2006 to have due regard to public benefit guidance published by the Charity Commission. Structure, governance and management The Board presents the report and financial statements of Venture Trust for the year ended 31 March The statements appear in the format required by the Statement of Recommended Practice for Accounting and Reporting by Charities (revised 2005). The report and statements also comply with the Companies Act 2006 as Venture Trust was incorporated by guarantee on 25 October 1982 and registered as a charity on 16 March The company was established under a Memorandum of Association which established the objects and powers of the company and is governed under its Articles of Association. In the event of the company being wound up members are required to contribute an amount not exceeding 1. Board of Trustees The trustees of the charity are also directors for the purposes of company law and under the company s Articles are known as members of the Board. Nine non-executive directors meet on a quarterly basis and have delegated the day-to-day management of the organisation to the Chief Executive. The Board is supported in checking that the organisation has safe and effective systems of control in place by a finance and HR sub-committee, comprising representatives from the Board, the Chief Executive and members of the Senior Management Team, which reports directly to the Board of Directors. Subcommittees for performance management and risk have also been established during the year. Members of the Board, who are directors for the purpose of company law and trustees for the purpose of charity law, who served during the year and up to the date of this report are set out on page 12. Induction and training for new trustees is led by the Chair and Chief Executive. This includes: the obligations of trustees; key documents which set out the operational framework for Venture Trust including the Memorandum and Articles; resourcing and the current financial position as set out in the latest published accounts, and future strategy, plans and objectives. Upon appointment, all members complete a register of interests, which is reviewed and updated annually. All trustees give of their time freely and no trustee remuneration was paid in the year. Trustees are required to disclose all relevant interests and register them with the Chief Executive and in accordance with our policy to withdraw from decisions where a conflict of interest arises. Venture Trust has been inspected, monitored or evaluated by the following organisations, all of whom are able to provide information on the quality and appropriateness of the organisation: The Adventure Activities Licensing Authority, Highland Council, the Scottish Government, ESEP (the company administering European Social Funds in Scotland) and Inspiring Scotland. 9

12 Risk management We continue to evaluate and mitigate risk through adopting appropriate policies, procedures and systems within the context of an organisational risk register. These procedures are periodically reviewed to ensure they continue to comply with statutory requirements and the needs of the organisation. In the past year, no new significant risks have been identified and the Board and Senior Management Team continue to keep areas of potential risk under review and take steps to mitigate risks. Organisational structure The Chief Executive has responsibility for the day-to-day management of the organisation within the context of the strategic direction, financial plan and delegations set by the Board. He is supported by a team of 72 staff responsible for strategic development, engagement with partners and stakeholders and delivering wilderness-based personal development programmes for young people aged and adults aged During the year, Venture Trust also created three permanent part time roles for individuals who had been long term unemployed and offered two student placements bringing valuable skills and experience to the team. Venture Trust has a residential centre and offices in Applecross, Wester-Ross, Scotland, a head office in Edinburgh, community mobile vehicles and staff working throughout Scotland. The Board approves the delegation of financial authority through the Chief Executive, with a specific scheme of delegation. Financial position and policies Current and future years Grants form the majority of Venture Trust s income for , with 49% of total income being grants from statutory bodies and 44% grants from trusts and foundations. In subsequent years, we anticipate that voluntary donations will form an increasingly significant proportion of the charity's funding, providing greater stability and diversity of funds. In addition, we have sought to reduce costs in year to maximise value for money in delivering our programmes. Financial results and dividends Net outgoing resources for the year amounted to 85,446 (2011: outgoing resources of 63,359). However this includes a deficit of 98,442 (2011: 55,723) relating to depreciation on capital purchases in previous years which were funded by grants included in full in the year of receipt. Excluding this capital fund, net incoming resources on revenue funds for the year amounted to 12,996 (2011: outgoing resources of 7,636). The Memorandum of Association prohibits the payment of any dividends. Reserves policy Venture Trust has a policy to build up existing reserves, over the next five years, to cover three months operational costs. The actual free reserves held at 31 March 2012 were 286,709 (2011: 273,713). 10

13 Statement of trustees' responsibilities Trustees responsibilities in relation to financial statements The Charities and Trustee Investment (Scotland) Act 2005 and the Charities Accounts (Scotland) Regulations 2006 require the trustees to prepare financial statements that give a true and fair view of the state of affairs of the charity at the period end and of its surplus or deficit for the financial period. In doing so the trustees are required to: select suitable accounting policies and then apply them consistently; make sound judgements and estimates that are reasonable and prudent; and prepare the financial statements on the going concern basis unless it is inappropriate to presume that the charity will continue. The trustees are responsible for maintaining proper accounting records which disclose with reasonable accuracy at any time the financial position of the charity and to enable them to ensure that the financial statements comply with the legislation. The trustees 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. The trustees, in determining how amounts are presented within items in the income and expenditure account and balance sheet, must have regard to the substance of the reported transactions or arrangements in accordance with generally accepted accounting principles and practice. The trustees are responsible for the maintenance and integrity of the financial information included on the charity's website. Legislation in the United Kingdom governing the preparation and dissemination of the financial statements and other information included in annual reports may differ from legislation in other jurisdictions. Auditors Saffery Champness have expressed their willingness to remain in office as auditors of the charity. Statement of disclosure to the auditors So far as the trustees are aware, there is no relevant audit information of which the auditors are unaware. Additionally, the trustees have taken all the necessary steps that they ought to have taken as trustees in order to make themselves aware of all relevant audit information and to establish that the auditors are aware of that information. In preparing this report the directors have taken advantage of the small companies exemption provided by s415a of the Companies Act Approved by the Board on 9 October 2012 and signed on its behalf by: Mairi Brackenridge (Chair) 11

14 Trustees and advisers Board of Trustees Mairi Brackenridge (Chair from 13/12/11) Brian Cole Pete Higgins David Mackie (Chair until resignation from Board 13/12/11) Glenys Watt (resigned 13/3/12) Jill Stevenson Alan Mackay Gillian Gray (appointed 13/12/11) Dan Gunn (appointed 22/5/12) Jennifer Lambert (appointed 22/5/12) Netta McIver (appointed 22/5/12) Bill Whyte (appointed 22/5/12) Secretary Douglas Graham Senior Management Team Greg Barton Chief Executive until resignation 31/12/11 Mark Bibbey Chief Executive from 1/1/12 Joe Connelly Head of Programmes Malcolm Jack Head of Funding & Contracts Amelia Morgan Head of Finance & Admin Auditors Saffery Champness Chartered Accountants Edinburgh Quay 133 Fountainbridge Edinburgh EH3 9BA Bankers The Royal Bank of Scotland Main Street Kyle Ross-shire IV4O 8AB Solicitors Morton Fraser Quartermile 1 Lauriston Place Edinburgh EH3 9GL Charity number: (England) SCO38932 (Scotland) Company number: Registered office address: Lion House, Red Lion Street, London, WCIR 4GB Operational address: 6D Bruntsfield Terrace, Edinburgh, EH10 4EX 12

15 Independent auditors report to the Trustees of the Venture Trust for the year ended 31 March 2012 We have audited the financial statements on pages 15 to 28 for the period ended 31 March The financial reporting framework that has been applied in their preparation is applicable law and United Kingdom Accounting Standards (United Kingdom Generally Accepted Accounting Practice). This report is made solely to the charity s trustees and members, as a body, in accordance with Chapter 3 of Part 16 of the Companies Act Our audit work has been undertaken so that we might state to the charity s trustees and members 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 trustees, the charity and the charity s members as a body, for our audit work, for this report, or for the opinions we have formed. Respective responsibilities of trustees and auditors As explained more fully in the Statement of Trustees Responsibilities, the trustees (who are also the directors of the company for the purposes of company law) are responsible for the preparation of the financial statements and for being satisfied that they give a true and fair view. We have been appointed auditors under section 44(1)(c) of the Charities and Trustee Investment (Scotland) Act 2005 and under the Companies Act 2006 and report in accordance with regulations made under those Acts. Our responsibility is to audit and express an opinion on the financial statements in accordance with relevant legal and regulatory requirements and International Standards on Auditing (UK and Ireland). Those standards require us to comply with the Auditing Practices Board s Ethical Standards for Auditors. Scope of the audit of the financial statements An audit involves obtaining evidence about the amounts and disclosures in the financial statements sufficient to give reasonable assurance that the financial statements are free from material misstatement, whether caused by fraud or error. This includes an assessment of: whether the accounting policies are appropriate to the charity s circumstances and have been consistently applied and adequately disclosed; the reasonableness of significant accounting estimates made by the trustees; and the overall presentation of the financial statements. In addition, we read all the financial and non-financial information in the trustees report to identify material inconsistencies with the audited financial statements. If we become aware of any apparent material misstatements or inconsistencies we consider the implications for our report. Opinion on financial statements In our opinion the financial statements: give a true and fair view of the state of the affairs of the charity as at 31 March 2012 and of its incoming resources and application of resources, for the year then ended; have been properly prepared in accordance with United Kingdom Accounting Standards (United Kingdom Generally Accepted Accounting Practice); and have been properly prepared in accordance with the Companies Act 2006, the Charities and Trustee Investment (Scotland) Act 2005 and Regulation 8 of the Charities Accounts (Scotland) Regulations 2006 (as amended). 13

16 Opinion on other matter prescribed by the Companies Act 2006 In our opinion the information given in the Trustees Annual Report for the financial year for which the financial statements are prepared is consistent with the financial statements. Matters on which we are required to report by exception We have nothing to report in respect of the following matters where the Companies Act 2006 and the Charities Accounts (Scotland) Regulations 2006 (as amended) require us to report to you if, in our opinion: proper and adequate accounting records have not been kept, or returns adequate for our audit have not been received from branches not visited by us; or the financial statements are not in agreement with the accounting records and returns; or certain disclosures of trustees remuneration specified by law are not made; or we have not received all the information and explanations we require for our audit; or the trustees were not entitled to prepare the financial statements in accordance with the small companies regime and take advantage of the small companies exemption in preparing the Trustees Annual Report.... David Hughes (Senior Statutory Auditor) for and on behalf of Saffery Champness... Chartered Accountants Statutory Auditors Edinburgh Quay 133 Fountainbridge Edinburgh EH3 9BA 14

17 Statement of Financial Activities for the year ended 31 March 2012 Notes Unrestricted funds Restricted funds (revenue) Restricted funds (capital) Total 2012 Total 2011 Incoming resources Grants and funding 4 56,850 2,669,369-2,726,219 2,668,521 Donations & voluntary income 4 26, ,627 37,034 Income from charitable activities 5-139, ,670 27,063 Interest receivable 1, , Other income 18, ,567 2,228 Total incoming resources 102,753 2,809,411-2,912,164 2,735,550 Resources expended Costs of generating voluntary income 8, ,071 21,472 Costs of charitable activities 49,411 2,829,392 98,442 2,977,245 2,764,822 Governance costs 11, ,294 12,615 Total resources expended 6 69,331 2,829,837 98,442 2,997,610 2,798,909 Net incoming / (outgoing) resources 33,422 (20,426) (98,442) (85,446) (63,359) Transfer 16 (20,426) 20, Other recognised gains and losses ,996 - (98,442) (85,446) (63,359) Balance brought forward at 1 April , , , ,292 Balance carried forward at 31 March , , , ,933 Grants and donations for 2011 include 37,000 of grants to fund the acquisition of fixed assets in the year which do not represent income for Companies Act 2006 purposes. Accordingly, the income and expenditure account under that legislation would show a deficit for the year ended 31 March 2011 of 100,359. There are no such grants in the year ended 31 March All income and expenditure is in respect of continuing activities. All recognised gains and losses are included in the statement of financial activities. The notes on pages 17 to 28 form part of these financial statements. 15

18 Balance Sheet as at 31 March 2012 Notes Fixed assets Tangible assets , ,363 Investments , ,363 Current assets Debtors , ,842 Cash at bank and in hand 2,430 1,781 Current liabilities 618, ,623 Creditors: amounts falling due within one year 13 (462,252) (350,053) Net current assets 156, ,570 Total net assets , ,933 Income funds Unrestricted , ,713 Restricted revenue Restricted capital , , , ,933 These financial statements have been prepared in accordance with the special provisions relating to small companies within Part 15 of the Companies Act Approved by the Board on 9 October Mairi Brackenridge The notes on pages 17 to 28 form part of these financial statements. Company number:

19 Notes to the financial statements for the year ended 31 March Status of the company Every member of Venture Trust undertakes to contribute to the assets of Venture Trust in the event of a winding-up while he is a member, or within one year after he ceases to be a member, for payment of the liabilities of Venture Trust contracted before he ceases to be a member, such amounts as may be required not exceeding Accounting policies 2.1 Basis of accounting The financial statements have been prepared under the historical cost convention and in accordance with applicable accounting standards, the Statement of Recommended Practice: Accounting and Reporting by Charities (SORP 2005) issued in March 2005 and the Companies Act The principle accounting policies adopted in the preparation of the financial statements are as follows: 2.2 Donations and grants Income from donations and grants is included in incoming resources when receivable, except as follows: When donors specify that donations and grants given to the charity must be used in future periods, the income is deferred until those periods. When donors impose conditions which have to be fulfilled before the charity becomes entitled to use such income, the income is deferred and not included in incoming resources until the pre-conditions for use have been met. Grants received for the purchase of capital items are included in incoming resources in full on receipt and treated as separate restricted funds. 2.3 Fund accounting The majority of the funds held by the charity are restricted (revenue) as they are received with the intention of being used for a specific programme. Other funding is received as donations towards a capital purchase for a specific programme and is therefore treated as being restricted (capital). Any funding received without terms and conditions attached is treated as being unrestricted. Some of the restricted funding received allows for a proportion of income to be offset against general costs. Where restricted funding is not sufficient to cover the full costs of a programme (including its allocation of general costs), a transfer from unrestricted funds is made. 2.4 Interest receivable Interest is included when receivable. 17

20 2.5 Resources expended Resources expended are included in the Statement of Financial Activities on an accruals basis. All costs have been directly attributed to one of the functional categories of resources expended in the Statement of Financial Activities as follows: Fundraising costs Charitable activities Governance costs Direct costs of marketing and publicity materials along with appropriate travel, training, recruitment, administration and support costs associated with Funding and Contracts staff. These include direct costs incurred in programme delivery along with administration and support costs allocated to the various activities as shown in note 6. These are costs associated with meeting the constitutional and statutory requirements of the charity and include the audit fees and costs linked to the strategic management of the charity. 2.6 Tangible fixed assets and depreciation Tangible fixed assets are stated at cost less depreciation. Depreciation is provided at rates calculated to write off the cost less estimated residual value of each asset over its expected useful life, as follows: Leasehold property Fixtures, fittings & equipment Computer equipment Motor vehicles 33.33% straight line 25% straight line 33.33% straight line 20% straight line All expenditure on items of a capital nature exceeding 200 are capitalised into tangible fixed assets. All items under 200 are expensed via the statement of financial activities. 2.7 Operating leases Rentals payable under operating leases are charged against income on a straight line basis over the lease term. 2.8 Pensions The charity operates a defined contribution scheme for the benefit of its employees. Contributions payable are charged to the statement of financial activities in accordance with Financial Reporting Standard Foreign currency transactions Monetary assets and liabilities denominated in foreign currencies are translated into sterling at the rates of exchange ruling at the balance sheet date. Transactions in foreign currencies are recorded at the rate ruling at the date of the transaction. All differences are taken to the Income and Expenditure account. 3. Net outgoing resources Net outgoing resources are stated after charging: Depreciation 178, ,980 Auditors remuneration 9,740 10,462 18

21 4. Grants and donations Unrestricted Restricted Restricted Total Total (revenue) (capital) Statutory bodies: Scottish Government - 668, , ,466 European Social Fund - 576, , ,089 Clackmannanshire Council - 68,238-68,238 40,421 East Ayrshire Council - 30,000-30,000 - Cashback for Communities - 66,431-66,431 38,969 Turningpoint Scotland ,667 Other statutory bodies - 26,086-26,086 10,358 Trusts & Foundations: Inspiring Scotland - 747, , ,757 Other trusts & foundations 56, , , ,733 Other grants - 10,000-10,000 - National Lottery - 2,083-2,083 7,061 56,850 2,669,369-2,726,219 2,668,521 Donations: Guardian & Observer Christmas Appeal , ,319 28,153 Other donations 13, ,308 8,881 26, ,627 37, Incoming resources from charitable activities Restricted Total & Total Local authorities 16,070 12,663 Personal Development Partnership 123,600 14, ,670 27,063 Income from Local Authorities represents contributions made towards participant costs from 6 local authorities in Scotland (2011: 6 local authorities). Contributions are split into payments made on the participant s completion of the three stages of the Inspiring Young Futures programme. Income from the Personal Development Partnership represents grant funds released for each relevant participant on a Venture Trust course. 19