Finance Score: 0
Governance Score: 6
Support Score: 9
    • Good trustee age range: +3
    • Gender balanced board: +3
    • Overall weighted support: +9
    Overall GiG Score: 15 ?

    HASTINGS ADVICE AND REPRESENTATION CENTRE

    HARC provides an accessible information, advice and advocacy service, specialising in welfare benefits and tax credits up to and including the Upper Tier Tribunal. We offer home visits to elderly and housebound people and advice surgeries in Hastings & Rother. Our aim is to relieve local poverty by ensuring the correct benefit is received by people on a low income.
    Analysis by Giving is Great

    Positives:

    • Spending has increased over the last 3 years relative to the previous period
    • A significant proportion of recent income was derived from major grant makers including the Government
    • The Board appears to be well diversified in terms of age and gender

    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
    31/03/23£769£737£32£117£372£2624.32414
    31/03/22£721£626£96£90£340£2464.72515
    31/03/21£656£518£138£61£244£21652113
    31/03/20£536£546£-10£70£106£9222115
    31/03/19£546£560£-14£72£116£1082.32214
    31/03/18£588£538£50£69£130£1202.7210
    31/03/17£531£506£25£61£80£791.9200
    31/03/16£534£507£27£66£55£441250
    31/03/15£489£502£-14n/an/an/an/an/an/a
    31/03/14£499£476£23n/an/an/an/an/an/a
    31/03/13£334£396£-62n/an/an/an/an/an/a
    31/03/12£393£334£59n/an/an/an/an/an/a
    31/03/11£329£343£-14n/an/an/an/an/an/a
    31/03/10£381£354£27n/an/an/an/an/an/a
    31/03/09£357£345£12n/an/an/an/an/an/a
    31/03/08£311£334£-22n/an/an/an/an/an/a
    31/03/07£335£333£3n/an/an/an/an/an/a
    31/03/06£348£331£17n/an/an/an/an/an/a
    31/03/05£307£308£-2n/an/an/an/an/an/a
    31/03/04£275£285£-10n/an/an/an/an/an/a

    Financial Ratios
    Fundraising Costs/Relevant Income: 18.5%
    Fundraising Costs/Total Spending: 15.9%
    Highest pay band: Less than £60,000
    Liabilities/Assets: 5%
    Liabilities/Income: 3%
    Unrestricted Funds/Total Funds: 71%
    Reserves/Spending: 4.3 months
    Net Current Assets/Spending: 6 months
    Quick Ratio: 18.4
    Asset Split ?
    Balance Sheet History
    Established: 24 years

    www.harcuk.com

    info@harcuk.com

    01424443513

    Charity Commission for England and WalesCompanies HouseFacebookX
    UN SDGs
    ?
    Listed activities
    • Disability
    • Economic/Community Development/Employment
    • Education/Training
    • The Advancement Of Health Or Saving Of Lives
    • The Prevention Or Relief Of Poverty
    GiG Classification
    • Practical support, advice & companionship
    How it operates
    • Makes grants to individuals
    • Provides advocacy/advice/information
    Where it operates
    • East Sussex, West Sussex,
    Who it helps
    • Children/Young People
    • Elderly/Old People
    • People With Disabilities
    • 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
    The Blagrave Trust£113,930
    Access to Justice Foundation£113,530
    Sussex Community Foundation£51,095
    National Lottery Community Fund£19,996
    Specific Donations
    Amount When
    Months
    To be used for
    Sussex Community Foundation - Grant to Hastings Advice and Representation Centre (HARC)
    £10,000 08/03/2024
    11
    Funding was provided towards staff overheads.
    Sussex Community Foundation - Grant to Hastings Advice and Representation Centre (HARC)
    £5,000 24/03/2023
    6
    Funding was provided to help pay for a 0.5 part time specialist welfare benefits advisor for a period of 6 months, delivering specialist advice and representation to the people of Rye, Camber, ....more
    The Blagrave Trust - Regional Partnership Grants
    £58,489 28/02/2023
    Specialist advice and representation for young people
    National Lottery Community Fund - Hastings Advice and Representation Centre
    £10,000 06/01/2023
    The funding will be used towards the cost of an advisor to provide free welfare benefit outreach support and helpline advice for people who are experiencing challenging financial circumstances. The ....more
    Sussex Community Foundation - Grant to HARC Triage
    £10,000 13/12/2022
    Funding was provided towards a full-time Benefits Triage Outreach and Helpline Advisor for a period of 6 months in relation to the cost of living challenges.
    Access to Justice Foundation - Help Accessing Legal Support (HALS)
    £28,530 13/09/2022
    Help Accessing Legal Support (HALS) is a programme of The Access to Justice Foundation with the Ministry of Justice. We are working with organisations to sustain and improve access to early social ....more
    Sussex Community Foundation - Grant to Hastings Advice and Representation Centre (HARC)
    £5,000 23/03/2022
    Funding was provided towards a specialist welfare benefits advisor and trainer for a period of 6 months, delivering a specialist welfare benefit advice and representation service to the people of ....more
    Sussex Community Foundation - Grant to Hastings Advice and Representation Centre (HARC)
    £6,178 25/02/2022
    Funding was provided to increase staffing hours at their community based charity shops, enabling them to offer more volunteering/work experience opportunities.
    The Blagrave Trust - Specialist advice and representation for young people
    £55,441 16/02/2022
    The organisation offers young people specific advice in three settings: Xtrax, iRock and Little Gate farm (for young people with SEN). They are seeking core funding for their ongoing work with these ....more
    Sussex Community Foundation - Grant to Hastings Advice and Representation Centre (HARC)
    £4,000 18/03/2021
    6
    Funding was provided to cover staff costs for a part-time specialist welfare benefits advisor and trainer.
    Sussex Community Foundation - Grant to Hastings Advice and Representation Centre (HARC)
    £5,918 13/01/2021
    Hastings Advice and Representation Centre helps people understand their rights, which benefits they are entitled to and how to claim. They relieve local poverty and improve quality of life for their ....more
    Access to Justice Foundation - Joint Initiative Flexible COVID-19 Grant
    £85,000 16/07/2020
    A flexible grant as part of wave 1 of the Community Justice Fund. A pooled fund to support the specialist legal welfare advice sector in its response to COVID19
    National Lottery Community Fund - Hastings Advice and Representation Centre
    £9,996 22/04/2020
    12
    The group will use the funding to provide advice and support for people who are living with Muscular Sclerosis. The project aims to help people in their lives and enable them to reach their potential.
    Sussex Community Foundation - Grant to Hastings Advice and Representation Centre (HARC)
    £5,000 14/04/2020
    HARC provides free and confidential Welfare Benefit advice, information and representation. The uncertain world created by Covid-19 requires more support to already vulnerable people and those not ....more
    National Lottery Community Fund - Sessional Worker Learning Disabled
    £9,996 14/02/2019
    12
    The organisation will work in collaboration with local organisations to support people with learning disabilities with a view to improving their health and wellbeing and potential by providing advice ....more
    Henry Smith Charity - Grant to Hastings Advice & Representation Centre
    £114,600 12/12/2018
    36
    towards three years' salary of a Project Worker to provide specialist welfare benefits advice and income maximisation at outreach surgeries for people who are housebound East Sussex
    Sussex Community Foundation - Grant to Hastings Advice and Representation Centre (HARC)
    £5,000 16/11/2018
    3
    Funding was provided towards the core costs of providing Specialist Welfare Benefits Advice at Outreach Surgeries and homes of housebound clients in East Sussex.
    Tudor Trust - Grant to Hastings Advice & Representation Centre
    £20,000 05/09/2017
    12
    over one year towards the costs of an welfare benefits digital inclusion project in community venues across Hastings
    Sussex Community Foundation - Grant to Hastings Advice and Representation Centre (HARC)
    £4,987 14/07/2017
    11
    HARC is the best known specialist Advice Centre in Hastings and Rother for those needing advice and representation on Welfare Benefits and Tax Credits. Funding was provided to fund a sessional worker ....more
    National Lottery Community Fund - Session Worker targeting hard to reach members of the local community
    £9,974 22/02/2017
    12
    This organisation will use the funding to hire a sessional worker to provide outreach for people in rural areas. This will help people gain access to important services such as doctors surgeries and ....more
    Tudor Trust - Grant to Hastings Advice & Representation Centre
    £102,000 30/04/2015
    36
    over three years as continuation funding towards the core costs of an outreach and home visiting service at an established advice project serving the St Leonards, Hastings and East Sussex area
    National Lottery Community Fund - Hasting Advice Services Development Partnership
    £349,794 25/04/2013
    24
    The aim of the new project will see Hastings Advice Services (HAS) implement four key strands of service provision. The project will offer a bespoke high standard training package to front line staff ....more
    Nationwide Foundation - Grant to Hastings Advice and Representation Centre
    £5,000 24/01/2011
    Salary costs to provide 10 hours of outreach work per week aimed at maximising income for older people
    Show more rows

    Data sourced from Donors via 360 Giving

    How is it governed?

    Trustees (8)
    Current Trustees appointed
    Gender Split
    Based on 7/8 persons

    Age Range of Trustees: 49-74
    • ANDREW STANLEY BURNETT Appointed: 2020, Occupation: Finance And Operations Manager
    • CORDELIA ANN WOOLLARD Appointed: 2021, Occupation: Operations Director
    • DAWN POOLE Appointed: 2018, Occupation: Office Manager
    • FRANCES MARY MAPSTONE Appointed: 2024, Occupation: Charity Consultant
    • MICHAEL JOHN GRATTON (Chair) Appointed: 2000, Occupation: Solicitor
    • RICHARD ANTHONY LYNCH Appointed: 2000, Occupation: Retired
    • SHELLEY FELDMAN Appointed: 2017, Occupation: Administrator
    • STEPHEN JOHN LEWIS Appointed: 2018, Occupation: Retired
    Legal constitution
    • Charitable company registered in England & Wales on 21/11/2000, number: 1083566
    • Registered at Companies House on 07/08/2000, number: 04048683
    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
    • Paying staff
    • Risk management
    • Safeguarding policy and procedures
    • Safeguarding vulnerable beneficiaries
    • Serious incident reporting policy and procedures
    • Social media policy and procedures
    • Trustee conflicts of interest policy and procedures
    • Trustee expenses policy and procedures
    • Volunteer management
    Filing Record
    20 returns made; all on time
    Main office

    The Advice Community Hub
    Renaissance House
    London Road
    St. Leonards-on-Sea
    TN37 6AN

    Objectives

    A) TO PROMOTE THE BENEFIT OF THE INHABITANTS OF EAST SUSSEX AND THE SOUTH COAST OF ENGLAND (HEREINAFTER CALLED THE AREA OF BENEFIT). THIS WILL BE WITHOUT DISTINCTION OF SEX OR OF POLITICAL, RELIGIOUS OR OTHER OPINION BY ASSOCIATING WITH THE LOCAL AUTHORITIES, VOLUNTARY ORGANISATIONS AND INHABITANTS. THIS WILL BE IN A COMMON EFFORT TO ADVANCE EDUCATION AND TO PROVIDE FACILITIES IN THE INTEREST OF SOCIAL WELFARE, WITH THE OBJECT OF IMPROVING THE CONDITIONS OF LIFE FOR THE SAID INHABITANTS. (B) TO RELIEVE THE POVERTY OF THE INHABITANTS OF THE AREA OF BENEFIT, PARTICULARLY THROUGH THE PROVISION OF A COMPREHENSIVE WELFARE BENEFIT AND TAX CREDITS ADVICE SERVICE? TO MAINTAIN AND MANAGE AN ADVICE AND COMMUNITY CENTRE IN CO-OPERATION WITH LOCAL AUTHORITIES IN EAST SUSSEX AND THE SOUTH COAST OF ENGLAND AND TO SECURE THE SUPPORT OF LOCAL COMMUNITIES IN EAST SUSSEX AND THE SOUTH COAST OF ENGLAND IN ACHIEVING THE ABOVE OBJECTS

    Defined Area of Benefit:

    HASTINGS AND DISTRICT

    Data Sources

    Charity Commission for England and Wales
    360 Giving

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