Finance Score: 5
Governance Score: 6
Support Score: 8
  • Poor Liquidity: -1
  • Good Reserves: +1Strong growth: +2
  • Fundraising costs low: +3
  • Good trustee age range: +3
  • Gender balanced board: +3
  • Grant maker support: +8
Overall GiG Score: 19 ?

CHESS HOMELESS 

Initially to provide emergency accommodation and support for the homeless in Essex. Then to assess each individuals needs and work towards finding long term solutions as appropriate.
Analysis by Giving is Great

Positives:

  • There has been strong growth in spending over the last 5 years
  • There have been no material income shortfalls in recent years
  • Fundraising costs are unusually low relative to funds raised
  • 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 issues to consider:

  • Liquidity appears to have been slender at the latest year end but unrestricted reserves are available
Established: 22 years

www.chesshomeless.org

david.brinkley@chesshomeless.org

01245 281104

Charity Commission for England and WalesCompanies HouseX
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£1,509£1,500£9£50£1,737£1,0128.14248
31/03/22£957£938£19£49£1,728£95712.23548
31/03/21£579£514£65£54£1,197£2696.32685
31/03/20£870£905£-34£45£994£86311.42257
31/03/19£594£542£52£40£1,028£98021.72288
31/03/18£748£764£-16£437£1,003£90814.3190
31/03/17£838£659£179£259£1,002£82515220
31/03/16£464£444£20£0£0£0n/a00
31/03/15£447£405£41£0£0£0n/a00
31/03/14£459£403£56£0£0£0n/a00
31/03/13£383£316£67£0£0£0n/a00
31/03/12£383£316£67£0£0£0n/a00
31/03/11£391£379£12£0£0£0n/a00
31/03/10£387£445£-57£0£0£0n/a00
31/03/09*£470£370£100£0£0£0n/a00
31/03/08£416£328£88£0£0£0n/a00
31/03/07*£398£271£128£0£0£0n/a00
31/03/06£216£179£38£0£0£0n/a00
31/03/05£225£181£44£0£0£0n/a00
31/03/04£122£162£-40£0£0£0n/a00

Financial Ratios
Fundraising Costs/Relevant Income: 3.3%
Fundraising Costs/Total Spending: 3.4%
Senior Staff Costs/Total Spending: 5%
Highest pay band: £60,000-£70,000
Liabilities/Assets: 21%
Liabilities/Income: 30%
Unrestricted Funds/Total Funds: 58%
Reserves/Spending: 8.1 months
Net Current Assets/Spending: 2 months
Quick Ratio: 0.4
Asset Split ?
Listed activities
  • Accommodation/Housing
  • Economic/Community Development/Employment
  • Education/Training
  • The Advancement Of Health Or Saving Of Lives
How it operates
  • Provides advocacy/advice/information
  • Provides buildings/facilities/open space
  • Provides human resources
  • Provides services
Where it operates
  • Essex,
Who it helps
  • Other Defined Groups
  • The General Public/Mankind
Who works here?
  • 42 employees
  • 48 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
Essex Community Foundation£191,854
National Lottery Community Fund£82,392
Garfield Weston Foundation£55,000
The Aim Foundation£10,000
Specific Donations
Amount When
Months
To be used for
National Lottery Community Fund - CHESS Homeless
£9,612 10/06/2022
The funding will be used to purchase kitchen appliances as part of a refurbishment at their premises supporting people who are homeless. The project aims to create a facility to offer participants ....more
Essex Community Foundation - Grant to CHESS Homeless
£20,000 07/04/2022
towards the costs of a support worker, supporting homless individuals at night shelters in Chelmsford
Essex Community Foundation - Grant to CHESS Homeless
£47,819 19/08/2021
towards staff costs and security of a new night shelter in Chelmsford for homeless people
Essex Community Foundation - Grant to CHESS Homeless
£51,035 02/08/2021
24
to fund wellbeing support staff over two years to work with the most vulnerable homeless individuals, and rough sleepers across Chelmsford, Braintree, Maldon and Rochford
Garfield Weston Foundation - Main Grants award
£30,000 30/07/2021
CHESS Homeless
National Lottery Community Fund - CHESS Homeless
£10,000 19/03/2021
10
The funding will be used to purchase of a vehicle to enable workers from a group who support homeless people to meet with clients who require face to face support with mental health needs. The ....more
The Aim Foundation - Grant to chelmsford Chess
£5,000 07/12/2020
12
A one off gift from Family Fund
Essex Community Foundation - Grant to CHESS
£50,000 06/10/2020
to support vulnerable homeless people over the winter months during COVID19, across Chelmsford and the surrounding areas
Lloyds Bank Foundation - Variation grant to Chelmsford CHESS
£7,480 23/07/2020
Grant to Chelmsford CHESS meeting the additional costs of adapting services, premises or implementing other safety measures in response to the Covid pandemic.
National Lottery Community Fund - CHESS new home
£62,780 18/06/2020
6
CHESS Homeless offers housing and support to people who are homeless in Essex. This funding will be used to enable CHESS to increase its staff provision to provide more support to individuals as ....more
Essex Community Foundation - Grant to CHESS
£15,000 29/04/2020
towards the renovation costs of new move on properties for homeless people being housed during COVID19
Garfield Weston Foundation - Main Grants award
£25,000 07/02/2020
Chess Homeless
The Aim Foundation - Grant to Chelmsford Chess
£5,000 08/11/2019
12
one off gift
Essex Community Foundation - EMDR (Eye Movement Desensitisation Reprogramming)
£8,000 20/06/2019
11
Towards the costs of continuing Eye Movement Desensitisation Reprogramming sessions, a specialist trauma intervention for homeless people in Chelmsford
Lloyds Bank Foundation - Grant to Chelmsford CHESS
£99,000 27/03/2019
36
The charity provides Winter and Night shelter accommodation as well as move-on housing and employment opportunities in its social enterprise. Its change programme includes counselling and 1-1 ....more
Essex Community Foundation - Lifeskills training
£5,000 14/02/2019
11
To provide a range of life skills training for those who use the Chelmsford night shelter
Essex Community Foundation - Grant to CHESS
£5,401 09/10/2018
To support the general work of a homeless charity in Chelmsford
Essex Community Foundation - EMDR Therapy
£8,000 08/05/2018
11
To continue a specialist trauma intervention for homeless people in Chelmsford
Essex Community Foundation - Grant to CHESS
£4,227 29/08/2017
Towards supporting homeless people in Chelmsford
Essex Community Foundation - EMDR Therapy
£8,000 01/02/2017
12
To continue a specialist trauma intervention for homeless people in Chelmsford
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: 34-65
Legal constitution
  • Charitable company registered in England & Wales on 23/09/2002, number: 1093901
  • Registered at Companies House on 02/04/2002, number: 04407742
Gift Aid
  • Registered with HMRC for Gift Aid
Policies in force
  • Bullying and harassment policy and procedures
  • Campaigns and political activity policy and procedures
  • Complaints handling
  • Complaints policy and procedures
  • Conflicting interests
  • Engaging external speakers at charity events policy and procedures
  • Financial reserves policy and procedures
  • Internal charity financial controls policy and procedures
  • Internal risk management policy and procedures
  • Investing charity funds 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; AR09: 32 days late, AR07: 34 days late,
Main office

Chess
200 New London Road
CHELMSFORD
CM2 9AB

Objectives

The Charity’s objects are restricted specifically, only for the public benefit, to relieve poverty, hardship and distress, in particular but not exclusively, amongst the homeless, those at risk of homelessness, and those living in adverse conditions.

Defined Area of Benefit:

PRIMARILY BUT NOT EXCLUSIVELY WITHIN THE DISTRICT ADMINISTERED BY ESSEX COUNTY COUNCIL

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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