Finance Score: 0

Governance Score: 1

Support Score: 4

Narrow trustee age band: -2
Gender balanced board: +3

Grant maker support: +4

Overall GiG Score: 5

COMMUNITIES FIRST WESSEX

Community First develops and delivers services to improve peoples health, well-being and happiness. We are independent with a diverse membership of 600 charities, not for profit organisations and community groups. We deliver direct services to meet community needs and leverage the expertise, diversity and scale of our members; offering services, advice and support to individuals and communities.

Analysis by Giving is Great

Positives:

Spending has increased over the last 3 years relative to the previous period
There have been no material income shortfalls in recent years
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 gender

Regulatory & Governance issues to consider:

The Board has little diversity in terms of age

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		£3,347	£3,261	£85	£0	£1,683	£1,284	4.7	111	250
31/03/22		£3,325	£3,113	£212	£0	£975	£590	2.3	108	350
31/03/21	*	£3,356	£2,860	£496	£0	£300	£98	0.4	105	50
31/03/20		£2,463	£2,689	£-227	£0	£-157	£-350	-1.6	97	70
31/03/19		£2,829	£2,854	£-26	£0	£69	£-218	-0.9	110	140
31/03/18		£2,151	£2,282	£-131	£0	£-32	£-240	-1.3	86	0
31/03/17		£2,320	£2,351	£-31	£0	£105	£-117	-0.6	91	0
31/03/16		£2,356	£2,428	£-71	£0	£137	£-146	-0.7	68	0
31/03/15	*	£1,069	£1,105	£-36	£12	£440	£273	3	47	0
31/03/14		£975	£1,052	£-77	£20	£476	£217	2.5	47	0
31/03/13	*	£768	£739	£29	£9	£553	£247	4	30	0

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Financial Ratios

Fundraising Costs/Relevant Income: 0%
Fundraising Costs/Total Spending: 0%
Senior Staff Costs/Total Spending: 2%
Highest pay band: £60,000-£70,000
Liabilities/Assets: 36%
Liabilities/Income: 30%
Unrestricted Funds/Total Funds: 76%
Reserves/Spending: 4.7 months
Net Current Assets/Spending: 6 months
Quick Ratio: 2.1

Asset Split ?

Established: 12 years

cfirst.org.uk

admin@cfirst.org.uk

0300 500 8085

Charity Commission for England and Wales

Tweets

Listed activities

Disability
Economic/Community Development/Employment
Education/Training
General Charitable Purposes
Human Rights/Religious Or Racial Harmony/Equality Or Diversity
Other Charitable Purposes
The Advancement Of Health Or Saving Of Lives
The Prevention Or Relief Of Poverty

GiG Classification

Social & legal advocacy

How it operates

Acts as an umbrella or resource body
Provides advocacy/advice/information
Provides buildings/facilities/open space
Provides human resources
Provides services

Where it operates

Hampshire,

Who it helps

Children/Young People
Elderly/Old People
Other Charities Or Voluntary Bodies
People With Disabilities
The General Public/Mankind

Who works here?

111 employees
250 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	£166,456
Department for Transport	£12,702
BBC Children in Need	£1,000

Specific Donations

Amount	When Months	To be used for
BBC Children in Need - Grant to Communities First Wessex
£1,000	31/08/2021	This project will provide training and mentoring to a project worker who will deliver money management sessions to disadvantaged children. Children will improve their life skills through developing ....more This project will provide training and mentoring to a project worker who will deliver money management sessions to disadvantaged children. Children will improve their life skills through developing their understanding of money management.
National Lottery Community Fund - Developing Volunteering Opportunities for Young People Age 13-17 in Hampshire
£79,493	29/03/2021 24	The purpose of this project is to set up and run a regional youth volunteering programme. The aims include working closely with local charities schools and young people’s services to identify and ....more The purpose of this project is to set up and run a regional youth volunteering programme. The aims include working closely with local charities schools and young people’s services to identify and remove barriers (e.g. lack of transport) that prevent young people volunteering and to encourage more organisations to involve young people as trustees and advisors.
National Lottery Community Fund - ‘Community First Delivers’
£86,963	18/06/2020 6	Communities First Wessex (CFW) will use the funding to run a transport service a wellbeing service and support to VCS organisations to provide support through the pandemic.
Department for Transport - Bus Service Operators Grant Eng Comm Transport 20/21
£6,675	01/04/2020	The Local Authority Bus Subsidy Ring-Fenced (Revenue) Grant is paid by the Department for Transport to local authorities in place of the Bus Services Operators Grant previously paid to bus operators ....more The Local Authority Bus Subsidy Ring-Fenced (Revenue) Grant is paid by the Department for Transport to local authorities in place of the Bus Services Operators Grant previously paid to bus operators for running services under tender to local authorities.
Department for Transport - Bus Service Operators Grant Eng Comm Transport 20/21
£6,027	01/04/2020	The Local Authority Bus Subsidy Ring-Fenced (Revenue) Grant is paid by the Department for Transport to local authorities in place of the Bus Services Operators Grant previously paid to bus operators ....more The Local Authority Bus Subsidy Ring-Fenced (Revenue) Grant is paid by the Department for Transport to local authorities in place of the Bus Services Operators Grant previously paid to bus operators for running services under tender to local authorities.
National Lottery Community Fund - Positive Pathways
£428,092	14/06/2017 60	This project will support people who do not have the confidence or self-esteem to volunteer and reconnect with their community alone. The project will be led by a volunteering scheme to bring ....more This project will support people who do not have the confidence or self-esteem to volunteer and reconnect with their community alone. The project will be led by a volunteering scheme to bring together individuals to jointly volunteer or receive bespoke one-to-one support to help reconnect with their local community. It will work with people who are socially isolated due to poor health, long term unemployed, those with long term mental health conditions, criminal history, and substance misuse.
National Lottery Community Fund - TPP1 â€˜Silver Liningsâ€™
£49,524	23/03/2016 12	They will run activities for older people, including crafts, dance, supported shopping, minibus trips, quizzes, harbour walks, scooter outings, lunch clubs and computer training. Alongside the fun, ....more They will run activities for older people, including crafts, dance, supported shopping, minibus trips, quizzes, harbour walks, scooter outings, lunch clubs and computer training. Alongside the fun, there will be weekly sessions and advice on healthy living and managing conditions like diabetes and heart disease, along with tips on cooking healthy meals and exercising safely. This will help older people get the most out of life, and reduce feelings of loneliness and isolation.
Lloyds Bank Foundation - Grant to HCCS Community Action
£23,700	03/02/2011	the cost of employing a part time Opening Doors Volunteer Centre Project Worker (salary and on costs) plus project running costs and setting up volunteering initiatives

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Data sourced from Donors via 360 Giving

How is it governed?

Trustees (6)

Current Trustees appointed

Gender Split

Age Range of Trustees: 67-82

JANET LEFLEY Appointed: 2021, Occupation: Retired

BEVERLEY JONES (Chair) Appointed: 2013, Occupation: None

CLIVE GRAHAM Appointed: 2019, Occupation: Retired

DAVID CHARLES ELEY Appointed: 2020, Occupation: Retired Banker

JOHN EVANS Appointed: 2016, Occupation: Director

PAUL FREDERICK KIRKLAND Appointed: 2020, Occupation: None

Legal constitution

Charitable company registered in England & Wales on 30/05/2012, number: 1147527
Registered at Companies House on 16/05/2012, number: 08071971

Gift Aid

Registered with HMRC for Gift Aid

Event History

14/01/2014 - Asset transfer in from COMMUNITY FIRST EAST HAMPSHIRE
05/06/2014 - Asset transfer in from COMMUNITY EMERGENCY FUND
05/06/2014 - Asset transfer in from HAVANT COUNCIL OF COMMUNITY SERVICE
23/09/2021 - Asset transfer in from BASINGSTOKE RAPE AND SEXUAL ABUSE CRISIS CENTRE
24/05/2022 - Asset transfer in from COMMUNITY FIRST NEW FOREST
07/07/2023 - Asset transfer in from ITS YOUR CHOICE LIMITED
13/02/2024 - Asset transfer in from WHEELS FOR FREEDOM

Other Regulators

Ofsted (Office For Standards In Education)

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

11 returns made; AR21: 50 days late, AR15: 6 days late, AR13: 12 days late,

Recent reorganisation events:

Asset transfer in from BASINGSTOKE RAPE AND SEXUAL ABUSE CRISIS CENTRE on 23/09/2021
Asset transfer in from COMMUNITY FIRST NEW FOREST on 24/05/2022

....more

Main office

LEIGH PARK COMMUNITY CENTRE
DUNSBURY WAY
HAVANT
HAMPSHIRE
PO9 5BG

Objectives

TO PROMOTE ANY CHARITABLE PURPOSES FOR THE BENEFIT OF THE PUBLIC, PRINCIPALLY BUT NOT EXCLUSIVELY IN HAMPSHIRE (INCLUDING PORTSMOUTH, SOUTHAMPTON AND THE ISLE OF WIGHT)AS WELL AS SURROUNDING AREAS (HEREINAFTER CALLED THE 'AREA OF BENEFIT') AND, IN PARTICULAR, BUT NOT EXCLUSIVELY, THE ADVANCEMENT OF EDUCATION THE PROTECTION OF HEALTH AND THE RELIEF OF POVERY, DISTRESS AND SICKNESS AND PROVIDE THEM WITH THE NECESSARY SUPPORT, INFORMATION AND SERVICES TO ENABLE THEM TO PURSUE OR CONTRIBUTE TO ANY CHARITABLE PURPOSE.TO PROMOTE ORGANISE AND FACILILTATE CO-OPERATION AND PARTNERSHIP WORKING BETWEEN THIRD SECTOR, STATUTORY AND OTHER RELEVANT BODIES IN THE ACHIEVEMENT OF THE ABOVE PURPOSES WITHIN THE AREA OF BENEFIT.

Data Sources