Finance Score: 2
Governance Score: 5
Support Score: 11
  • Strong growth: +2
  • No PartB
  • Good trustee age range: +3
  • Dynamic board: +3
  • Mainly male board: -1
  • Large volunteer base +3
  • Overall weighted support: +8
Overall GiG Score: 18 ?

LISTENING POST COUNSELLING SERVICE LIMITED

Provision of professional counselling to adults of 18 years+. Donation according to means negotiated. Clients mostly in low income bracket & unable to afford counselling elsewhere.60 volunteer qualified counsellors & mature students in last stage of Diploma/Degree in Counselling staff the service. Centres in Gloucester, Cheltenham & Stroud.Annual programme of training courses & seminars.
Analysis by Giving is Great

Positives:

  • This charity has been successful in attracting volunteers relative to its size
  • The charity has received backing from several prominent grant makers recently
  • There has been strong growth in spending over the last 5 years
  • The Board appears to be well diversified in terms of age and dynamic in terms of composition

Regulatory & Governance issues to consider:

  • The Board is predominantly male
  • Over half the Board have joined recently

Financial issues to consider:

  • A PartB annual return has not been required and so detailed financial information is not available from the online data

Financial Data ?

Income & Spending ?
Sources of Income ?
Y/E Income
£k
Spending
£k
Surplus/
Deficit £k
Fundraising
Cost £k
Total
Funds £k
Unrestricted
Funds £k
Mths
Rsrvs
Staff Volun-
teers
31/01/24£319£326£-7n/an/an/an/an/an/a
31/01/23£309£277£31n/an/an/an/an/an/a
31/01/22£248£258£-10n/an/an/an/an/an/a
31/01/21£248£182£66n/an/an/an/an/an/a
31/01/20?£180£170£11n/an/an/an/an/an/a
31/01/18£161£171£-9n/an/an/an/an/an/a
31/01/17£146£107£39n/an/an/an/an/an/a
31/01/16£116£156£-40n/an/an/an/an/an/a
31/01/15£191£113£78n/an/an/an/an/an/a
31/01/14£116£103£13n/an/an/an/an/an/a
31/01/13£104£99£6n/an/an/an/an/an/a
31/01/12£97£99£-2n/an/an/an/an/an/a
31/01/11£78£95£-17n/an/an/an/an/an/a
31/01/10£98£81£17n/an/an/an/an/an/a
31/01/09£71£76£-5n/an/an/an/an/an/a
31/01/08£78£70£8n/an/an/an/an/an/a
31/01/07£69£64£5n/an/an/an/an/an/a
31/01/06?£50£41£9n/an/an/an/an/an/a
05/04/05£47£46£2n/an/an/an/an/an/a
05/04/04£52£42£9n/an/an/an/an/an/a

Highest pay bracket: less than £60,000
Established: 32 years

www.listeningpost.org.uk

counselling@lpost.org.uk

01452383820

Charity Commission for England and WalesCompanies HouseFacebookX
UN SDGs
?
Listed activities
  • Education/Training
  • The Advancement Of Health Or Saving Of Lives
GiG Classification
  • Outpatient support services
How it operates
  • Provides advocacy/advice/information
  • Provides services
Where it operates
  • Gloucestershire,
Who it helps
  • The General Public/Mankind

Who supports them? ?

Donations from Grant Makers ?

We have details on the following donations. Multi-year donations are allocated to the years for which they are earmarked.

Major supporters in last 5 years
Barnwood Trust£76,220
DCMS£30,000
Henry Smith Charity£20,000
National Lottery Community Fund£10,000
Specific Donations
Amount When
Months
To be used for
Barnwood Trust - Glos Funders - Organisation and Group Funding
£50,000 29/06/2023
24
Counselling management software system
Barnwood Trust - Access Audits
£1,440 07/12/2022
ReciteMe accessibility software for website
Co-Operative Group - Grant to Listening Post
£1,692 22/10/2022
We plan to pay professional supervisors of counsellors so that we can carry out counselling using our volunteer counsellors.
National Lottery Community Fund - Staffing Costs support
£10,000 14/10/2022
The funding will be used towards staff costs which will enable the organisation to continue to provide counselling to local people which are paid for on a donation basis. The project aims to meet an increase demand for their service and support ....more
Barnwood Trust - Gloucestershire Funders (Organisational & Group Funding)
£20,000 25/03/2022
Expansion of service to meet 68% increase in client registration
DCMS - Coronavirus Community Support Fund
£30,000 11/08/2020
"The fund aims to:1) To reduce closures of essential charities that provide essential services to vulnerable groups during the COVID-19 crisis by ensuring they have the financial resources to operate, thereby reducing the burden on public ....more
Henry Smith Charity - Grant to Listening Post
£20,000 11/05/2020
24
towards two years' running costs of a counselling service for adults living in Gloucestershire who are suffering emotional and psychological distress
Barnwood Trust - Organisational and Groups Funding
£4,780 05/05/2020
Volunteer-based counselling service
Henry Smith Charity - Grant to Listening Post
£9,000 07/12/2017
24
towards two years' running costs of a counselling service for adults in Gloucestershire who are suffering emotional and psychological distress
Joseph Rank Trust - Listening Post, Gloucester
£37,500 27/07/2017
36
To fund the running costs of the charity
Henry Smith Charity - Grant to Listening Post
£20,000 03/12/2015
36
towards two years' running costs of a counselling service for adults Gloucestershire who are suffering emotional and psychological distress
Henry Smith Charity - Grant to Listening Post
£9,500 05/12/2013
towards one year's core costs of a counselling service for adults living in Gloucestershire who are experiencing emotional and psychological distress
Henry Smith Charity - Grant to Listening Post (Gloucestershire)
£5,000 13/06/2012
towards one year's running costs of a counselling service for adults in Gloucestershire
Show more rows

Data sourced from Donors via 360 Giving

How is it governed?

Trustees (5)
Current Trustees appointed
Gender Split

Age Range of Trustees: 36-77
  • ALASTAIR MACNAUGHTON SAMMON Appointed: 2021, Occupation: Retired
  • DAVID MONUMENT Appointed: 2021, Occupation: Digital Marketing Manager
  • PAULINE BAYLISS-JONES Appointed: 2023
  • ROBERT DAVID KINGSTON Appointed: 2023, Occupation: Retired Civil Servant
  • RONALD GEORGE STOREY Appointed: 2024, Occupation: Occupational Psychologist (Retired)
Legal constitution
  • Charitable company registered in England & Wales on 11/08/1992, number: 1013442
  • Registered at Companies House on 12/06/1991, number: 02619615
Gift Aid
  • Registered with HMRC for Gift Aid
Policies in force
  • Bullying and harassment policy and procedures
  • Complaints handling
  • Complaints policy and procedures
  • Conflicting interests
  • Financial reserves policy and procedures
  • Internal charity financial controls policy and procedures
  • Internal risk management policy and procedures
  • Investment
  • Paying staff
  • Risk management
  • Safeguarding policy and procedures
  • Safeguarding vulnerable beneficiaries
  • Serious incident reporting policy and procedures
  • Trustee conflicts of interest policy and procedures
  • Volunteer management
Filing Record
20 returns made; all on time
Main office

Listening Post
St. Mary De Lode Church
St. Mary's Square
GLOUCESTER
GL1 2QT

Objectives

THE RELIEF OF DISTRESS IN CHRISTIAN AND NON-CHRISTIAN ADULTS WITH EMOTIONAL AND PSYCHOLOGICAL PROBLEMS IN SUCH WAYS AS THE COUNCIL OF MANAGEMENT MAY THINK FIT, AND PARTICULARLY BY:(I) TRAINING AND EDUCATING LOCAL CHRISTIANS AND NON-CHRISTIANS IN COUNSELLING AND RELATED SUBJECT AREAS(II) PROVIDING COUNSELLING AND RELATED SERVICES WITHIN A CHRISTIAN ETHOS AND FOLLOWING CHRISTIAN PRINCIPLES

Defined Area of Benefit:

GLOUCESTER CITY AND ITS ENVIRONS

Data Sources

Charity Commission for England and Wales
360 Giving

Tips for Selecting Charities

Which areas of philanthropy are most effective?
The text of this post is taken from an article on the Effective Altruism forum. It suggests that you can achieve the most impact by supporting causes that fight extreme poverty, improving animal welfare....more
Our Top Tips for Philanthropy
Here are some ideas to help you gain more satisfaction from your philanthropy and confidence that the causes you have selected are impactful. Engage your brain, as well as your heart You....more
How to become a Philanthropist
In this Blog we outline a strategy to help people who are new to philanthropy and for those who feel dissatisfied with the impact they are having. Effective philanthropy is immensely rewarding for donors,....more

Giving is Great