Overall GiG Score: 19 based on 11 data points
Finance: -2
Governance: 9
Support: 12
(no PartB)
Deficit latest year: -2,
Good trustee age range: +3, Dynamic board: +3, Gender balanced board: +3,
Large volunteers +5, Supporters: +7

SOUTH LONDON CARES LIMITED 

Overview

South London Cares is a community network that connects young professionals to the elderly in activities that help one another feel less isolated and reduce generational gaps.

Support from partners has provided substantial funding sources to deliver a long term income diversification strategy. Fundraising prospects look good for the future based on their proven track record and deepening relationships with funders.

Sharing leadership and staff across 'sibling' organisations has given them the ability to share learning's and increased effectiveness of programmes. Evaluations of impact by third party supporters has accelerated the charities development and plans for expansion to new areas of South London are in the pipeline.

Source: Giving is Great

Mission:

Helping people find connection and reducing loneliness by bringing people together and bridging gaps across social and generational divides
Analysis by Giving is Great

Positives:

  • This charity has been very successful in attracting volunteers relative to its size
  • The charity has received backing from several prominent grant makers recently
  • There have been no material income shortfalls in recent years
  • The Board appears to be well diversified in terms of age and gender and dynamic in terms of composition

Regulatory & Governance issues to consider:

  • 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
  • Income was lower than spending in the latest year
Established: 10 years

www.southlondoncares.org.uk

alex.smith@southlondoncares.org.uk

0207 118 0404

Charity Commission for England and WalesCompanies HouseTwitterFacebookInstagramYouTube
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How you can help

Financial Data ?

Income & Spending ?
Sources of Income ?
Y/E Income Spending Surplus/
Deficit
Volun-
teers
31/08/22£358,366£411,237£-52,8711,366
31/08/21£407,617£366,729£40,8882,102
31/08/20£426,316£422,251£4,065900
31/08/19£443,732£443,484£2484,387
31/08/18£483,813£452,950£30,8633,000
31/08/17£386,450£336,079£50,3710
31/08/16£286,005£245,881£40,1240
31/08/15?£164,345£134,760£29,5850
31/10/14£40,460£25,933£14,5270

No information about staff salaries has been filed, which means that no-one was paid more than £60,000 in the latest financial year
What it does
  • Arts/Culture/Heritage/Science
  • Economic/Community Development/Employment
  • General Charitable Purposes
  • Other Charitable Purposes
  • Recreation
  • The Prevention Or Relief Of Poverty
A community network mobilising young professionals to volunteer to support their older neighbours with a little extra time, practical help, social connection and human companionship in the London boroughs of Southwark and Lambeth. We operate 2 core activities: Social Clubs, which bring different demographics together through group activities; and a one-to-one Love Your Neighbour project.
Who works here?
  • 1,366 volunteers
Who it helps
  • Children/Young People
  • Elderly/Old People
How it operates
  • Other charitable activities
  • Provides advocacy/advice/information
Where it operates
  • Lambeth, Southwark,

Who's supporting them? ?

Donations from Grant Makers ?

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

Major supporters in last 5 years
City Bridge Trust£90,000
United St Saviour's Charity£80,000
Walcot Foundation£12,500
CAF£10,000
The EQ Foundation£6,750
The Fore£5,000
Specific Donations
Amount When
Months
To be used for
The EQ Foundation
£3,750 05/02/2021
Big Give Christmas Challenge 2020
City Bridge Trust
£90,000 15/10/2020
£90,000 over 5 years (£30,000; £24,000; £14,000; £12,000; £10,000) towards the salary costs of the Programme Coordinator for South London Cares and contribution to Social Club activity costs to ....more
CAF
£10,000 02/07/2020
3
Grant to South London Cares Ltd to support the organisation through COVID19
Walcot Foundation
£12,500 01/06/2020
12
South London Carers supports elderly people by partnering them with younger 'professional' neighbours to tackle the growing problem of isolation and loneliness in Lambeth and Southwark. Through ....more
The Fore
£5,000 28/05/2020
Grant from The Fore's RAFT Immediate Response Fund to South London Cares, as part of The Fore's COVID-19 Response programme.
United St Saviour's Charity
£80,000 14/04/2020
23
A continued partnership with United St Saviour's will help South London Cares to reduce older people's isolation and loneliness, and sense of being left behind, that the layered factors of ....more
The EQ Foundation
£3,000 15/12/2019
Big Give Christmas Challenge 2019
Garfield Weston Foundation
£60,000 05/12/2018
Building community at scale
United St Saviour's Charity
£90,000 03/04/2018
23
70 vibrant social clubs bringing at least 140 older neighbours and 500 young people together to share time, laughter and new experiences; reduce loneliness and isolation amongst older and younger ....more
London Borough of Southwark
£9,861 01/04/2018
Tenants and Residents Social Improvements Grant grant from the Housing & Modernisation department
Co-operative Group
£5,768 29/11/2017
Help fund vibrant activities to bring older and younger neighbours together in winter to reduce isolation and loneliness in Southwark.
London Catalyst
£3,000 05/09/2017
Winter Wellbeing 2017/18
The Fore
£25,000 01/08/2017
24
South London Cares is a community network formed of young professionals and older people, two groups most at risk of loneliness. Founded in 2014 and based in Southwark and Lambeth, its proactive ....more
The Fore
£25,000 17/07/2017
24
The Fore has provided funding to set up and run a new customer relationship management system to improve retention, facilitate expansion and transform operations at South London Cares and its ....more
United St Saviour's Charity
£4,735 12/05/2017
11
Continuation of South London Cares’ social clubs in Elephant & Castle, Walworth and Bermondsey helping to connect 180 older neighbours and younger volunteers.
London Borough of Southwark
£9,000 01/04/2017
Tenants and Residents Social Improvements Grant grant from the Housing & Modernisation department
Comic Relief
£40,000 30/11/2016
24
North London is a place of social extremes. LB Camden and Islington contain some of the best connected people in the UK - high-flying graduates working in finance, media, the law, PR and fashion – ....more
London Catalyst
£3,000 06/09/2016
Winter Wellbeing 2016/17
London Borough of Southwark
£6,500 01/04/2016
Tenants and Residents Social Improvements grant from the Housing & Modernisation department
London Catalyst
£5,000 26/08/2015
Support for Winter Wellbeing project
Show more rows

Data sourced from Donors via 360 Giving

How do they operate?

Community Networks Services

Objectives: To reduce isolation and loneliness amongst the elderly and young people

Intervention period: Ongoing social clubs and community work throughout the year

Beneficiaries: Young people and the elderly

Description: Community Network Services support people through social clubs, community fundraising events and the Love Your Neighbour programme, creating one-to-one friendships between young professionals and older neighbours. Group activities could include film nights, dance parties, new technology workshops, choir sessions, men's cooking classes and 'Desert Island Disc' nights. Older and younger community members share time, laughter, friendship and new experiences to help those who may struggle to get out and feel part of their community

Winter Wellbeing Programme

Objectives: To reduce isolation and loneliness amongst the elderly and young people

Intervention period: Seasonal through Winter

Beneficiaries: Young people and the elderly

Description: The programme reaches out to support people over 65, helping them stay warm, active, and connected at a challenging time of year. Support includes knocking on doors of older neighbours to check in and let them know they are not alone, delivering hot water bottles, blankets or thermal items of clothing to homes, signposting to organisations who can help keep homes warm and safe, providing benefits advice and help reducing bills, help in accessing physical and mental health services, arranging small grants for those in extremely difficult circumstances, offering to pay bills and buy food vouchers where applicable, and help in finding social activities in the local area. Outreach is made at sheltered housing units, GP surgeries,

....more
How effective are they?
Commentary: Engagement of 60-80+ year olds in social clubs and neighbouring support activities has been shown as more valuable when regularly used over a shorter period than sporadically visited over yearly periods. There are varying numbers of beneficiaries using The Care Family programmes over the year, but impact data drawn from evaluations by several social research partners has highlighted older neighbours report decreased loneliness and improved wellbeing consistently.

Who works here?

  • ALEX SMITH
Alex, CEO and founder of South London Cares and The Cares Family independent ‘sibling’ organisations, was formerly an aide to Ed Miliband and editor of one of the biggest political websites in the UK. He is a governor at Holloway School and was a volunteer during the 2012 Olympics. He has been awarded two UnLtd social enterprise awards for his work founding North London Cares in 2011 and South London Cares in 2014. In 2018 he became one of ....more
Commentary: South London Cares Limited is a wholly independent charity – affiliated by brand, six joint trustees, and four shared staff members to independent ‘sibling’ organisations North London Cares Limited, Manchester Cares Limited, Liverpool Cares Limited and The Cares Family Limited, which as independent organisations each report their annual accounts separately. The organisations share learning and some economies of scale, with a shared Chief Executive, Director of Operations, Head of Development and Partnerships Co-ordinator working across all branches.

Source: Giving is Great

How is it governed?

Trustees (7)
Current Trustees appointed
Gender Split
Based on 6/7 persons

Age Range of Trustees: 34-76
Iana is a public affairs and communications professional, with a passion for supporting people to affect positive change at a local and national level. She has experience across a diverse range of sectors including health, justice, education and finance. Iana has been part of The Cares Family for many years as a younger neighbour at South London....more
Polly is Head of Communications and Marketing at Royal Trinity Hospice where she leads on messaging and campaign delivery. She was previously responsible for communications and partnership campaigns at Missing People, and helped to establish HIV support charity Body & Soul’s social enterprise ‘Brave’.
Legal constitution
  • Charitable company registered in England & Wales on 10/06/2014, number: 1157401
  • Registered at Companies House on 31/10/2013, number: 08757344
  • Registered with HMRC for Gift Aid
Policies in force
  • Complaints handling
  • Conflicting interests
  • Investment
  • Paying staff
  • Risk management
  • Safeguarding vulnerable beneficiaries
  • Volunteer management
Main office

3 Space
International House
6 Canterbury Crescent
LONDON
SW9 7QD

Objectives

THE CHARITY'S OBJECTS ARE TO PROMOTE SOCIAL INCLUSION FOR THE PUBLIC BENEFIT:AMONGST PEOPLE AGED OVER 55 IN LAMBETH AND SOUTHWARK WHO DO NOT REGULARLY PARTICIPATE IN COMMUNITY LIFE,AS THEY DO NOT HAVE LARGE OR STRONG NETWORKS OF FRIENDS AND FAMILY AROUND THEM;WHO ARE LONELY OR ISOLATED;AND WHO ARE HAVING DIFFICULTY ACCESSING STATUTORY AND NON-STATUTORY SERVICES BECAUSE THEY ARE HOUSE-BOUND,IMMOBILE,UNABLE TO DRIVE OR TO EASILY ACCESS TRANSPORT,BY THE PROVISION OF:1.A LOVE YOUR NEIGHBOURPROGRAMME,WHICH MATCHES YOUNG PROFESSIONAL VOLUNTEERS TO OFFER A LITTLE EXTRA PRACTICAL SUPPORT WITH EVERY DAY TASKS,OR A LITTLE ADDED COMPANIONSHIP;AND 2.A SOCIAL CLUBS PROGRAMME,WHICH PROVIDES REGULAR ACTIVITIES WITHIN COMMUNITY CENTRES,CAFES,PARKS AND OTHER TRUSTED HUBS OF THE COMMUNITY TO BRING OLDER PEOPLE TOGETHER WITH PEERS AND YOUNG PROFESSIONALS TO SHARE NEW EXPERIENCES AND BUILD FRIENDSHIPS.AND 3.OTHER PROGRAMMES DEEMED APPROPRIATE AND VIABLE BY THE CHARITY'S LEADERSHIP.AND TO ADVANCE IN LIFE AND HELP YOUNG PEOPLE:ESPECIALLY BUT NOT EXCLUSIVELY THROUGH LEISURE TIME ACTIVITIES,SO AS TO DEVELOP THEIR CAPABILITIES THAT THEY MAY GROW TO FULL MATURITY AS INDIVIDUALS AND MEMBERS OF SOCIETY;AND BY PROVIDING ACTIVITIES WHICH DEVELOP THEIR SKILLS,CAPACITIES AND CAPABILITIES TO ENABLE THEM TO PARTICIPATE IN SOCIETY AS MATURE AND RESPONSIBLE INDIVIDUALS.IN ORDER TO ACHIEVE THESE OBJECTS THE TRUSTEES HAVE THE POWER TO:(A)RAISE FUNDS THROUGH GRANTS,DONATIONS,SALES,COMMISSIONS AND CONTRACTS;(B)APPLY FUNDS TO CARRY OUT THE WORK OF THE CHARITY;(C)CO-OPERATE WITH OTHER GROUPS TO ADVANCE THE OBJECTS OF THE CHARITY;(D)RECRUIT VOLUNTEERS THROUGH VARIOUS MEANS TO SUPPORT THE WORK OF THE CHARITY;(E)DEFER,DEVOLVE OR DELEGATE POWER TO EMPLOYEES;NOTHING IN THIS CONSTITUTION SHALL AUTHORISE AN APPLICATION OF THE PROPERTY OF THE CHARITY FOR PURPOSES WHICH ARE NOT CHARITABLE IN ACCORDANCE WITH SECTION 7 OF THE CHARITIES AND TRUSTEE INVESTMENT(SCOTLAND)ACT 2005 AND/OR SECTION 2 OF THE CHARITIES ACT (NORTHERN IRELAND) 2008.

Data Sources

Charity Commission for England and Wales
360 Giving
CharityBase

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