Finance Score: 2
Governance Score: 3
Support Score: 9
  • Strong growth: +2
  • No PartB
  • Dynamic board: +3
  • Overall weighted support: +9
Overall GiG Score: 14 ?

MY LIFE FILMS LIMITED

Overview

My Life Films help people with dementia stay stimulated and connected by providing them with film-based services that improve their mental health and can be used as a support for their carers in care homes.

Analysis of services in research studies have evidenced significant impact films have in reduction of dementia symptoms. Their video-on-demand service, My Life TV, has gained national exposure and gives dementia sufferers a variety of film and video content to access. This is complemented by a number of partnerships with streaming services that has content adapted to provide specialised viewing for those with dementia.

Source: Giving is Great

Mission:

Transforming the well-being of those living with dementia
Analysis by Giving is Great

Positives:

  • There has been strong growth in spending over the last 5 years
  • A significant proportion of recent income was derived from major grant makers
  • The Board appears to be 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

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
29/02/24£256£276£-20n/an/an/an/an/an/a
28/02/23*£256£247£9n/an/an/an/an/an/a
28/02/22£259£264£-5n/an/an/an/an/an/a
28/02/21£269£174£95n/an/an/an/an/an/a
29/02/20?£194£240£-46n/an/an/an/an/an/a
28/02/18£214£150£64n/an/an/an/an/an/a
28/02/17£117£102£15n/an/an/an/an/an/a
29/02/16£55£44£11n/an/an/an/an/an/a
28/02/15£27£24£3n/an/an/an/an/an/a

Highest pay bracket: less than £60,000
Established: 10 years

www.mylifefilms.org

info@mylifefilms.org

02081546220

Charity Commission for England and WalesCompanies HouseFacebookX
UN SDGs
?
How you can help
What it does
My Life Film's charitable objective is to improve the lives of people living with dementia, and support their families, friends and carers through the use of creative filmmaking, storytelling and content. My Life Films provides film and video based services for people living with dementia and their carers.
Listed activities
  • The Advancement Of Health Or Saving Of Lives
GiG Classification
  • Art or music based therapy
How it operates
  • Provides advocacy/advice/information
  • Provides services
Where it operates
  • Throughout England And Wales,
Who it helps
  • Elderly/Old People

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
Esmee Fairbairn£216,450
The EQ Foundation£143,000
The Rayne Foundation£60,000
City Bridge Trust£57,000
DCMS£40,000
Garfield Weston Foundation£35,000
Specific Donations
Amount When
Months
To be used for
The EQ Foundation - Grant to My Life Films
£15,000 10/06/2024
Development of My Life TV
The EQ Foundation - Grant to My Life Films
£15,000 01/04/2024
Development of My Life TV
The EQ Foundation - Grant to My Life Films
£44,000 12/07/2023
Development of My Life TV
Esmee Fairbairn - Grant to My Life Films
£12,000 20/02/2023
Towards unrestricted core costs as a Cost of Living Uplift
The EQ Foundation - To develop My Life TV
£44,000 03/11/2022
Development of My Life TV and App for creating home movies
Sir Jules Thorn Charitable Trust - My Life Films Ltd. - 18/03/22
£2,500 07/04/2022
Core Funding
Garfield Weston Foundation - Multi-Year Grant (3 Years) award
£20,000 04/02/2022
36
Strategic Development Plan
Oxfordshire Community Foundation - My Life Dementia Services
£2,000 24/01/2022
This funding will be used for the business development leading to roll out of my life dementia services in care homes. It was matched by other donors and the recent Funding Network event.
Esmee Fairbairn - Grant to My Life Films
£180,000 23/06/2021
36
Towards unrestricted core costs to test and scale two new digital services to improve the lives of people affected by dementia in the UK.
The Rayne Foundation - Grant to My Life Films Limited
£60,000 07/06/2021
Towards the three-year national roll out of My Life TV, the world’s first Video on Demand streaming service specifically designed for people living with dementia.
The EQ Foundation - Grant to My Life Films
£25,000 15/03/2021
Development of My Life TV and App for creating home movies
DCMS - Coronavirus Community Support Fund
£40,000 09/10/2020
"The fund aims to:1) To reduce closures of essential charities that provide essential services to vulnerable groups during the COVID-19 crisis by ensuring they have the financial resources to operate, thereby reducing the burden on public ....more
Garfield Weston Foundation - Main Grants award
£15,000 21/08/2020
My Life Films - Development Plan
City Bridge Trust - Grant to My Life Films
£48,000 17/07/2020
24
£48,000 for a final 2 years (£24,000 x 2) to create a further 32 personalised life story film packages for people living with dementia.
City Bridge Trust - Grant to My Life Films
£3,000 04/05/2020
A grant of £3,000 to fund the essential and urgent costs outlined in the application, so that the organisation can carry on providing support to Londoners.
Esmee Fairbairn - Grant to My Life Films
£24,450 28/04/2020
6
towards unrestricted core costs as a COVID-19 Fast Response grant
City Bridge Trust - Grant to My Life Films
£6,000 09/04/2020
A one-off, unrestricted grant of £6,000, equivalent to one regular quarterly payment for the organisation’s current grant.
The Clothworkers Foundation - Grant to My Life Films
£6,000 25/07/2019
purchase of IT equipment, office furniture and a projector and screen for a charity which works with older people nationally
Heart Of England Community Foundation - My Life Films for Birmingham
£7,000 25/09/2018
11
Grant to My Life Films
Esmee Fairbairn - Grant to My Life Films
£146,800 25/07/2018
36
Towards unrestricted core costs to improve the lives of people with dementia and their families.
The EQ Foundation - Grant to MY LIFE FILMS LIMITED
£500 29/05/2018
Unrestricted via The Funding Network
The Funding Network - Films for Dementia
£7,688 23/05/2018
We aim to improve the quality of life and quality of care of four people living with dementia, their families and care workers.
City Bridge Trust - Grant to My Life Films
£48,000 02/05/2018
24
£48,000 over two years (2 x £24,000) for the costs of creating biographical films for 32 people with dementia in London and a contribution to core costs.
City Bridge Trust - Grant to My Life Films
£24,000 09/03/2017
£24,000 for the costs of creating biographical films for 24 people with dementia in London, and related project costs.
National Lottery Community Fund - Life story films for people living with dementia
£10,000 22/02/2017
12
This project will use the funding to create biographical films for people living with dementia. This will improve people's social health and reduce isolation.
Show more rows

Data sourced from Donors via 360 Giving

How do they operate?

Life Story Films

Objectives: To help isolated, unoccupied people with dementia to stay stimulated and connected to the world, improving their mental health and supporting essential care in care homes and private residence

Intervention period: Dependant on the needs of the individual

Beneficiaries: People with dementia

Location: Throughout England and Wales

Description: Life Story Films are short biographical films created by My Life Films that bring comfort and hope to people affected by dementia. Films are offered as 30-minute productions featuring images from family albums, interviews with the ‘Star’ and their family members, accompanied by their favourite music tracks, or a short 5-7 minute carer film to use as an innovative care tool that helps provide better person-centred care for the dementia suffer

My Life TV

Objectives: To help isolated, unoccupied people with dementia to stay stimulated and connected to the world, improving their mental health and supporting essential care in care homes and private residence

Intervention period: Dependant on the needs of the individual

Beneficiaries: People with dementia

Location: UK

Description: My Life TV is the first video-on-demand streaming service for people living with dementia. The service offers programmes that have been created or adapted for the cognitive needs of people living with dementia, from both My Life Films in-house production team and content partners (these include BFI, Fremantle, British Pathé, Getty Images, Royal Botanical Gardens Kew, etc). Content is organised into groups and playlists to create a user experience similar to Netflix or Amazon Prime

How effective are they?
Notes: My Life Films are still gathering evidence to support what impact their services have on dementia sufferers long term. On initial surveys of the My Life TV service, they found feedback was positive. Nearly all those who took part said the service could improve psychological wellbeing, and several care workers said it helped them to deliver routine care while also giving the primary carers respite.

Commentary: A study was complete to measure what impact My Life Films services had on dementia sufferers. It documented their neuropsychiatric symptoms at three time‐points with help from carers in residential care homes. Results from the study showed significant reduction in neuropsychiatric symptoms in residents with neuropsychiatric impairment from baseline to the end of the study. Thematic analysis identified three major variables: triggered memories, knowledge gained to support care, and perceived changes in residents behaviours. Findings of the study suggest the services will reduce neuropsychiatric symptoms of dementia long‐term when used alongside routine care.

Who works here?

  • JORG ROTH
    Founder
    Appointed: February 2014
Born in Cologne, Jorg began his career as a producer for the German TV channel RTL, before moving to London to be a freelance correspondent in 1995. In 1998 he founded Bullseye TV, a production and distribution business that operated globally. Bullseye produced TV shows for the UK and US market and sold the rights worldwide. In 2007 the business got acquired by Sweden’s Zodiak AB and he became COO Entertainment of a group of companies which ....more
  • CHARLOTTE GEORGE
    Programme Manager
    Appointed: September 2019
Charlotte was a former Executive Producer at ITV, Director of Programmes at Etv and Series Producer at ITV Anglia
  • RACHEL ADDLEY
    Executive Director
    Appointed: November 2022
Rachel has a strong background in TV, impact and research, working with media, tech and content to create meaningful positive change for people, particularly those in marginalised groups. Before joining My Life Films she was Executive Director of Girl Effect, an international non-profit who use media and tech to empower adolescent girls to make positive choices for their lives, working in Africa and Asia. Previously she has also been Director of ....more
Commentary: My Life Films research partners cover dementia care, technology and computing, and include; Dr Tracey Williamson, Professor of Family Care at the University of Worcester, Dr Ben Shirley, Senior Lecturer in Audio Technology at the University of Salford and Dr Chris Hughes, Lecturer in Computer Science at the University of Salford.

Source: Giving is Great

How is it governed?

Trustees (8)
Current Trustees appointed
Gender Split

Age Range of Trustees: 46-65
Commentary:My Life Films medical advisors work directly with people living with disabilities in clinical and academic environments and include; Aileen Jackson, Head of Mental Health and Healthy Ageing at the Health Innovation Network South London and Piers Kotting, Associate Professor at Healthcare Innovation and Commercialisation at the University of Exeter. They also work with Dr Robert Lawrence, a Consultant in Psychiatry of Old Age and Neuropsychiatry at NHS Barnes Hospital.
  • ALEXANDER KANN (Chair) Appointed: 2016 Occupation: Director
Alexander is Chief Executive of Together TV and formerly worked on three VOD platform launches at BBC Studios and as a Director of ATVOD regulator
  • CAROLIN ROTH Appointed: 2014 Occupation: None
  • EMMA HEWAT Appointed: 2023 Occupation: Head Of Dementia
  • GEORGINA LESTINI Appointed: 2023 Occupation: Marketing Consultant
  • JULIAN GARNER FREESTON Appointed: 2024 Occupation: Accountant
  • MAANA RUIA Appointed: 2021 Occupation: Director Cen-Esg
  • SHONA CLEGG Appointed: 2023 Occupation: Clinical Studies Portfolio Manager
  • SYLVIA WOON Appointed: 2023 Occupation: Marketing Consultant
Legal constitution
  • Charitable company registered in England & Wales on 27/05/2014, number: 1157198
  • Registered at Companies House on 17/02/2014, number: 08898416
Gift Aid
  • Registered with HMRC for Gift Aid
Policies in force
  • Bullying and harassment policy and procedures
  • Complaints policy and procedures
  • Conflicting interests
  • Financial reserves policy and procedures
  • Internal charity financial controls policy and procedures
  • Internal risk management policy and procedures
  • Safeguarding policy and procedures
  • Safeguarding vulnerable beneficiaries
  • Serious incident reporting policy and procedures
  • Social media policy and procedures
  • Trustee expenses policy and procedures
Filing Record
9 returns made; AR23: 20 days late,
Main office

Unit 2
Dickson House
3 Grove Road
Richmond

Objectives

FOR THE PUBLIC TO RELIEVE THE NEEDS OF PEOPLE AND THEIR FAMILIES, FRIENDS AND CARERS SUFFERING FROM DEMENTIA AND ITS EFFECTS.

Data Sources

Charity Commission for England and Wales
360 Giving

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