Finance Score: 0
Governance Score: 5
Support Score: 6
  • No PartB
  • Good trustee age range: +3
  • Dynamic board: +3
  • Mainly male board: -1
  • Overall weighted support: +6
Overall GiG Score: 11 ?

THE BREN PROJECT

Providing supported employment opportunities for adults and young people with learning disabilities and autism.
Analysis by Giving is Great

Positives:

  • The charity has received backing from several prominent grant makers recently
  • Spending has increased over the last 3 years relative to the previous period
  • 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

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
31/12/23£216£193£23n/an/an/an/an/an/a
31/12/22£258£193£65n/an/an/an/an/an/a
31/12/21£138£158£-20n/an/an/an/an/an/a
31/12/20£182£161£21n/an/an/an/an/an/a
31/12/19£190£169£21n/an/an/an/an/an/a
31/12/18£164£158£6n/an/an/an/an/an/a
31/12/17£221£140£81n/an/an/an/an/an/a
31/12/16£141£136£4n/an/an/an/an/an/a
31/12/15£159£111£48n/an/an/an/an/an/a
31/12/14£70£86£-16n/an/an/an/an/an/a
31/12/13£100£74£26n/an/an/an/an/an/a
31/12/12£49£71£-22n/an/an/an/an/an/a
31/12/11£133£97£36n/an/an/an/an/an/a
31/12/10£113£87£25n/an/an/an/an/an/a
31/12/09£40£77£-37n/an/an/an/an/an/a
31/12/08£33£62£-28n/an/an/an/an/an/a
31/12/07£75£23£52n/an/an/an/an/an/a
31/12/06£23£3£20n/an/an/an/an/an/a

Highest pay bracket: less than £60,000
Established: 19 years

www.brenproject.org.uk

aashford@brenproject.org.uk

01244313473

Charity Commission for England and WalesCompanies HouseFacebookX
UN SDGs
?
Listed activities
  • Disability
  • Economic/Community Development/Employment
  • Education/Training
  • Environment/Conservation/Heritage
  • The Advancement Of Health Or Saving Of Lives
  • The Prevention Or Relief Of Poverty
GiG Classification
  • Services for people with disabilities
How it operates
  • Provides advocacy/advice/information
  • Provides human resources
  • Provides services
Where it operates
  • Cheshire East, Cheshire West & Chester,
Who it helps
  • Children/Young People
  • People With Disabilities

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
Garfield Weston Foundation£30,000
National Lottery Community Fund£20,000
Cheshire Community Foundation£17,500
The Clothworkers Foundation£1,300
Specific Donations
Amount When
Months
To be used for
National Lottery Community Fund - Bren Bikes
£10,000 14/07/2023
The organisation will employ a coordinator to support vocational training and supported work experience placements for people with learning disabilities and autism with the aim of improving employment skills improving opportunities for training and ....more
Garfield Weston Foundation - Main Grants award
£15,000 20/06/2023
Supported employment and training for disabled adults
The Clothworkers Foundation - Grant to Bren Project
£1,300 01/07/2022
purchase of laptops for a charity supporting people with disabilities in Cheshire
Cheshire Community Foundation - Bren Bikes Supervisor
£15,000 10/06/2022
Bren Bikes Supervisor
Cheshire Community Foundation - Grant to The Bren Project
£2,500 14/04/2022
Grant to The Bren Project
Garfield Weston Foundation - Main Grants award
£15,000 11/03/2022
Core costs
National Lottery Community Fund - Bren Bikes
£10,000 28/01/2022
The funding will be used to contribute to staff cost for a Bren Bikes coordinators for 12 months. The project aims to offer one-to-one vocational training and supported work experience placements for people with learning disabilities and autism ....more
National Lottery Community Fund - Building on Success
£178,902 26/09/2018
23
The Bren Project offers one-to-one vocational training and supported work placements for people with learning disabilities. This new project will continue to support people over two years, working with them to identify their interests, skills and ....more
Masonic Trust - Core funding
£3,000 21/02/2018
Supported work placements for people with learning disabilties or autism.
National Lottery Community Fund - Building on Success
£6,921 17/01/2018
12
The organisation will support people with learning difficulties and autism to secure employment or volunteering opportunities by creating video CVs. This will enable participants to fulfil their employment potential.
Garfield Weston Foundation - Main Grants award
£20,000 09/10/2017
Next Steps
National Lottery Community Fund - Bren Bikes
£245,728 17/06/2015
36
This new project will provide supported vocational training for people with learning disabilities and autism in Chester to provide them with the skills and experience to cope with employer expectations during work placements. It will launch a new ....more
Lloyds Bank Foundation - Grant to The Bren Project
£23,700 26/04/2013
The charity supports and inspires people with learning disabilities and autism to experience and enter the world of work by providing them with 1:1 supported work experience, placements tailored to a vocational area of their choice.
Woodward Charitable Trust - To provide one-to-one support for disabled people
£3,750 27/06/2007
To provide one-to-one support for disabled people on work placements, entitled the "Your Turn Project".
Show more rows

Data sourced from Donors via 360 Giving

How is it governed?

Trustees (6)
Current Trustees appointed
Gender Split

Age Range of Trustees:
  • BRENDAN EDWARD JOHN HARRINGTON (Chair) Appointed: 2020, Occupation: Director
  • DAVID ATKINSON Appointed: 2018, Occupation: Director
  • DEBRA PIPER Appointed: 2023
  • IAN MICHAEL SHOTTON Appointed: 2016, Occupation: Business Consultant
  • ROBERT MAYNE Appointed: 2018, Occupation: Director
  • ROY SMITH Appointed: 2022
Legal constitution
  • Charitable company registered in England & Wales on 12/10/2005, number: 1111644
  • Registered at Companies House on 01/09/2005, number: 05551999
Gift Aid
  • NOT 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
18 returns made; all on time
Main office

The Bren Project
New Scene Centre
Lime Wood Close
CHESTER
CH2 2HD

Objectives

TO DEVELOP THE CAPACITY AND SKILLS OF THOSE MEMBERS OF THE GENERAL PUBLIC LIVING IN CHESHIRE AND STAFFORDSHIRE WHO HAVE DISABILITIES, OR WHO ARE AT A SOCIAL DISADVANTAGE, BY GIVING AN OPPORTUNITY FOR SUPPORTED TRAINING, WORK EXPERIENCE AND EMPLOYMENT. SO THAT SUCH PERSONS CAN DEVELOP THEIR PHYSICAL, MENTAL AND SPIRITUAL CAPACITIES AND AS INDIVIDUALS AND MEMBERS OF SOCIETY, IMPROVE THEIR CONDITIONS OF LIFE.

Defined Area of Benefit:

CHESHIRE AND STAFFORDSHIRE

Data Sources

Charity Commission for England and Wales
360 Giving

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