Finance Score: 0
Governance Score: 2
Support Score: 13
  • Strong growth: +2
  • Multiple Deficits: -2
  • No PartB
  • Dynamic board: +3
  • Mainly female board: -1
  • Large volunteers +3
  • Grant maker support: +10
Overall GiG Score: 15 ?

BEFRIEND 

Through the provision of volunteer befrienders, BEfriend aims to alleviate the social isolation experienced by people with physical, sensory, psychological or cognitive impairment living within the London Boroughs of Ealing and Hounslow. Volunteers provide weekly visits either in the home, or to support their client to go out into the community.
Analysis by Giving is Great

Positives:

  • This charity has been successful in attracting volunteers relative to its size
  • There has been strong growth in spending over the last 5 years
  • A significant proportion of recent income was derived from major grant makers including the Government and there are significant future grants due to be received
  • The Board appears to be dynamic in terms of composition

Regulatory & Governance issues to consider:

  • The Board is predominantly female

Financial issues to consider:

  • A PartB annual return has not been required and so detailed financial information is not available from the online data
  • On several occasions in recent years income has been less than spending
Established: 25 years

www.befriend.london

hello@befriend.london

0203 093 1130

Charity Commission for England and WalesFacebookX
UN SDGs
?

Financial Data ?

Income & Spending ?
Sources of Income ?
Y/E Income
£k
Spending
£k
Surplus/
Deficit
Fundraising
Cost £k
Total
Funds £k
Unrestricted
Funds £k
Mths
Rsrvs
Staff Volun-
teers
31/03/23£297£293£3n/an/an/an/an/a204
31/03/22£222£225£-3n/an/an/an/an/a222
31/03/21£214£196£18n/an/an/an/an/a207
31/03/20£138£169£-32n/an/an/an/an/a153
31/03/19£66£114£-49n/an/an/an/an/a106
31/03/18*£86£86£0£0£0£0n/a00
31/03/17*£201£70£131£0£0£0n/a00
31/03/16£70£62£8£0£0£0n/a00
31/03/15£57£67£-10£0£0£0n/a00
31/03/14£52£56£-4£0£0£0n/a00
31/03/13£52£56£-4£0£0£0n/a00
31/03/12£52£50£3£0£0£0n/a00
31/03/11£51£47£3£0£0£0n/a00
31/03/10£38£45£-7£0£0£0n/a00
31/03/09£52£50£2£0£0£0n/a00
31/03/08£47£43£4£0£0£0n/a00
31/03/07£37£35£1£0£0£0n/a00
31/03/06*£35£41£-6£0£0£0n/a00
31/03/05*£46£44£2£0£0£0n/a00
31/03/04*£39£42£-3£0£0£0n/a00

Highest pay bracket: less than £60,000
Listed activities
  • Disability
  • Other Charitable Purposes
How it operates
  • Provides services
Where it operates
  • Ealing, Hounslow,
Who it helps
  • Elderly/Old People
  • People With Disabilities
Who works here?
  • Unknown number of employees
  • 204 volunteers

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
National Lottery Community Fund£319,711
Henry Smith Charity£264,400
City Bridge Trust£139,550
The Charity of Sir Richard Whittington£106,280
Mercer's Charitable Foundation£30,000
Garfield Weston Foundation£20,000
London Catalyst£12,700
CAF£5,000
Specific Donations
Amount When
Months
To be used for
National Lottery Community Fund - Community Connections
£7,100 09/12/2022
The funding will be used to deliver monthly social events for older people experiencing loneliness. The project aims to build their social networks and gain peer support from people with similar ....more
Henry Smith Charity - Grant to BEfriend
£87,600 17/05/2022
36
towards three years' salary of a Bilingual Befriending Coordinator at an organisation providing befriending services for people from disadvantaged communities, impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic, in ....more
National Lottery Community Fund - The BEfriend Jubilee Tea Party
£2,720 14/04/2022
The funding will be used to host a virtual tea party and provide seeds to grow plants herbs or vegetables for vulnerable adults to mark the Queen’s Platinum Jubilee. The project aims to reduce ....more
Sir Jules Thorn Charitable Trust - BEfriend - 30/11/21
£1,250 14/01/2022
Core Funding
The Charity of Sir Richard Whittington - Grant to Befriend
£100,500 01/12/2021
36
A three-year contribution towards the organisation's running costs to provide a core befriending service to vulnerable elderly people experiencing chronic and prolonged loneliness.
Garfield Weston Foundation - Multi-Year Grant (2 Years) award - COVID19 response
£10,000 07/05/2021
Core costs
National Lottery Community Fund - Reducing isolation and loneliness
£252,067 29/03/2021
60
The project is using funding to run their befriending project supporting isolated adults from across Ealing through activities that improve their wellbeing. Through befriending people gain confidence ....more
Henry Smith Charity - Grant to BEfriend
£176,800 18/03/2021
36
towards three years' running costs of the 'Linked Mind Project' providing befriending, advocacy and support to people with mental health issues living in the London Borough of Ealing.
The Charity of Sir Richard Whittington - Covid-19 Rapid Response Fund Grant
£5,780 26/02/2021
6
To increase the capacity of the organisation to manage volunteers remotely.
London Catalyst - BEfriend - 4
£700 27/01/2021
Linked Minds P4H + SHST additional grant for Covid costs & evaluation
City Bridge Trust - Grant to BeFriend (formerly Volunteer Link Scheme)
£130,000 17/09/2020
£130,000 over 5 years (£25,000; £25,500; £26,000; £26,500; £27,000) to contribute to the salary costs of the Befriending Coordinators and associated project costs to deliver a Befriending ....more
National Lottery Community Fund - Emergency Covid-19 Support
£47,850 02/06/2020
6
The funding will be used to provide emergency food supplies and telephone befriending for their existing 130 elderly beneficiaries across the borough of Ealing.
City Bridge Trust - Grant to BeFriend (formerly Volunteer Link Scheme)
£9,550 04/05/2020
A grant of £9,550 to fund the essential and urgent costs outlined in the application, so that the organisation can carry on providing support to Londoners.
Garfield Weston Foundation - Multi-Year Grant (2 Years) award - COVID19 response
£10,000 01/05/2020
Core costs
CAF - Grant to BEfriend
£5,000 30/04/2020
3
Grant to BEfriend to support the organisation through COVID19
National Lottery Community Fund - Befriending for people with Dementia
£9,974 03/01/2020
11
The funding will be used to recruit and train new volunteers for the local befriending service. The project aims to reduce loneliness amongst older people living with dementia.
London Catalyst - The Volunteer Link Scheme - 2
£12,000 10/06/2019
Linked Minds (Mental Health Befriending Project)
Mercer's Charitable Foundation - Grant to BEfriend
£30,000 30/04/2019
24
Out and About for Well-being
National Lottery Community Fund - Befriending for people Experiencing Dementia
£9,650 06/07/2018
12
The funding will be used to recruit and train new volunteers for the local befriending service. The project aims to reduce loneliness amongst older people living with dementia.
London Catalyst - The Volunteer Link Scheme - 1
£3,000 06/02/2018
Befriending Service
Garfield Weston Foundation - Multi-Year Grant (2 Years) award
£20,000 26/09/2017
Befriending Project
Dunhill Medical Trust - Befriending, Counselling and Hospital Visit Service
£30,000 07/03/2013
To recruit volunteers who visit the same client each week for approximately two hours to provide social companionship and help relieve the severe isolation experienced by the clients, the majority of ....more
Lloyds Bank Foundation - Grant to Volunteer Link Scheme
£25,000 19/09/2011
the salary costs of the Scheme Manager
Show more rows

Data sourced from Donors via 360 Giving

How is it governed?

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

Legal constitution
  • Charity registered in England & Wales on 23/11/1998, number: 1072538
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
  • Investing charity funds policy and procedures
  • Investment
  • 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; AR18: 1 days late, AR17: 19 days late, AR06: 1 days late, AR05: 16 days late, AR04: 25 days late,
Main office

BOUNDARY HOUSE BUSINESS CENTRE LTD
BOUNDARY HOUSE
BOSTON ROAD
LONDON
W7 2QE

Objectives

to relieve the isolation experienced by people with physical, sensory, cognitive or psychological impairment through the provision of volunteer befrienders within the home, or within the local community, and to relieve the stresses experienced by carers by offering a respite service through the provision of volunteer befrienders. These services are mainly carried out within the London Borough of Ealing.

Defined Area of Benefit:

EALING

Data Sources

Charity Commission for England and Wales
360 Giving
CharityBase
Authorised officials of this charity can add information to this page (including a Donate Now button) for no cost

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