Finance Score: 7
Governance Score: 6
Support Score: 10
  • Strong growth: +2
  • Future income +5
  • No PartB
  • Good trustee age range: +3
  • Dynamic board: +3
  • Overall weighted support: +10
Overall GiG Score: 23 ?

HOUSING MATTERS (BRISTOL)

Housing Matters (Bristol) provides free, independent and confidential advice to anyone in housing need. Through a combination of advice, support and advocacy we enable clients to resolve housing issues, improve housing conditions and prevent homelessness. Previously known as Churches Housing Aid Society, we have been providing this much needed service since 1965 (previous charity number 233757).
Analysis by Giving is Great

Positives:

  • There has been strong growth in spending since inception
  • A significant proportion of recent income was derived from major grant makers and there are significant future grants due to be received
  • The Board appears to be well diversified in terms of age and dynamic in terms of composition

Regulatory & Governance issues to consider:

  • One or more trustees receive benefits from the charity
  • 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 Spending Surplus/
Deficit
Volun-
teers
31/03/23£392£368£24n/a
31/03/22£337£285£53n/a
31/03/21£279£228£50n/a
31/03/20£190£207£-17n/a
Highest pay bracket: less than £60,000
Established: 6 years

http://www.housingmatters.org.uk

admin@housingmatters.org.uk

01179351260

Charity Commission for England and WalesCompanies HouseX
UN SDGs
?
Listed activities
  • Disability
  • The Prevention Or Relief Of Poverty
GiG Classification
  • Shelter for homeless, vulnerable & excluded people
How it operates
  • Provides advocacy/advice/information
  • Provides services
Where it operates
  • Bath And North East Somerset, Bristol City, North Somerset, South Gloucestershire,
Who it helps
  • Children/Young People
  • Elderly/Old People
  • People With Disabilities
  • The General Public/Mankind

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
Henry Smith Charity£120,000
Quartet Community Foundation£92,478
Access to Justice Foundation£60,281
Lloyds Bank Foundation£52,250
Garfield Weston Foundation£30,000
DCMS£29,030
National Lottery Community Fund£19,789
Postcode Local Trust£15,000
Specific Donations
Amount When
Months
To be used for
Quartet Community Foundation - Grant to Housing Matters (formerly CHAS Bristol)
£5,000 05/03/2024
11
To deliver the HomeFull project in partnership with Talking Money, providing vulnerable parents with combined debt and housing advice.
Quartet Community Foundation - Grant to Housing Matters (formerly CHAS Bristol)
£4,000 01/12/2023
5
Towards an outreach project preventing communities in areas of multiple deprivation from falling into crisis, homelessness and debt through early intervention.
Quartet Community Foundation - Grant to Housing Matters (formerly CHAS Bristol)
£9,996 11/05/2023
Towards the Communications Officer post, improving digital resources and making services more digitally accessible for service users.
Henry Smith Charity - Grant to Housing Matters (Bristol)
£120,000 15/03/2023
36
towards three years' continuation funding of the running costs of an organisation providing housing advice and practical support for vulnerable people in Bristol and the surrounding area.
Lloyds Bank Foundation - One off gift towards cost of living crisis to Housing Matters
£2,250 14/12/2022
One off gift to support with the cost of living crisis
National Lottery Community Fund - Helping prevent homelessness for vulnerable people in Bristol
£9,886 02/12/2022
The funding will be used for a digital communications project including the development of digital resources benefiting up to 900 clients over the next year. The project aims to increase accessibility for clients and partners and share expert ....more
Quartet Community Foundation - Grant to CHAS Bristol - Churches Housing Aid Society
£4,998 25/10/2022
Towards adviser hours to meet the recent surge in demand, a ramp to enable office wheelchair access, office chairs and a laptop.
Quartet Community Foundation - Grant to CHAS Bristol - Churches Housing Aid Society
£5,000 20/10/2022
For additional energy and cost of living advice sessions in Bristol targeted at vulnerable people in crisis.
Quartet Community Foundation - Grant to CHAS Bristol - Churches Housing Aid Society
£7,500 08/06/2022
Towards advice services to meet increased demand during the cost of living crisis
Postcode Local Trust - Preventing and reducing the impact of poverty for marginalised Bristolians.
£15,000 26/02/2022
Funding enabled expert advice for Bristolians in crisis to access more money, and a safe, permanent home for them and their family.
The MSE Charity - Grant to CHAS Bristol (Churches Housing Aid Society)
£7,299 15/11/2021
Funding financial and digital life skills for marginalised Bristol families.
Lloyds Bank Foundation - Grant to CHAS Bristol
£50,000 08/09/2021
24
Unrestricted grant over two years towards the core costs of CHAS Bristol
National Lottery Community Fund - Helping marginalised Bristolians avoid homelessness through enabling technology
£9,903 06/08/2021
The organisation will use the funding to continue running their programme of housing support and advocacy services for people in housing crisis.
Quartet Community Foundation - Grant to CHAS Bristol - Churches Housing Aid Society
£9,988 21/07/2021
10
Additional management capacity that will enable the organisation to develop a robust, sustainable organisation.
Quartet Community Foundation - CHAS Bristol
£5,000 20/07/2021
11
To support the group's housing advice service with the surge in demand it is experiencing as a result of the Covid-19 pandemic.
Garfield Weston Foundation - Main Grants award - COVID19 response
£30,000 02/07/2021
CHAS Bristol - preventing homelessness for vulnerable Bristolians.
Access to Justice Foundation - Joint Initiative Emergency Bridging Grant
£16,768 09/03/2021
A flexible grant as part of the Emergency Bridging Fund of the Community Justice Fund. A pooled fund to support the specialist legal welfare advice sector in its response to COVID-19.
Quartet Community Foundation - Winter Homelessness Prevention Support in Bristol
£10,996 12/01/2021
2
To allow a temporary increase over the winter months to a homelessness prevention advice and support services for people in Bristol living in unsuitable or insecure housing situations.
DCMS - Coronavirus Community Support Fund
£29,030 22/09/2020
"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
Access to Justice Foundation - Joint Initiative Flexible COVID-19 Grant
£43,513 05/08/2020
A flexible grant as part of wave 1 of the Community Justice Fund. A pooled fund to support the specialist legal welfare advice sector in its response to COVID19
The Clothworkers Foundation - Grant to CHAS Bristol
£3,850 15/06/2020
COVID19 : Purchase of IT equipment for a charity that works with individuals who are homeless or at risk of homelessness in Bristol
Crisis UK - Grant to CHAS Bristol
£5,000 30/04/2020
Funding for project coordinator for foodbanks, housing advice helpline resources and info for community
Quartet Community Foundation - Grant to CHAS Bristol - Churches Housing Aid Society
£5,000 17/04/2020
Towards staff resource to support service delivery and a coordinated community response for vulnerable people in housing crisis caused by Covid-19.
Quartet Community Foundation - Grant to CHAS Bristol - Churches Housing Aid Society
£25,000 21/02/2020
The second year of a three-year award from the Henry Smith Charity towards the salary and on costs of an Advice Service Manager at a an organisation providing housing advice and practical support to vulnerable people in Bristol and the surrounding ....more
Show more rows

Data sourced from Donors via 360 Giving

How is it governed?

Trustees (9)
Current Trustees appointed
Gender Split

Age Range of Trustees: 37-64
  • ANDREW JAMES GIBBARD Appointed: 2021, Occupation: Marketing And Communications Professional
  • ANDREW JOHN GORDON MARSHALL-JONES Appointed: 2022, Occupation: Solicitor
  • BENJAMIN BANKS Appointed: 2022, Occupation: Grants Programme Manager
  • GARY JORDAN Appointed: 2018, Occupation: Trustee
  • JASMIN MICHELLE MATHARU Appointed: 2021, Occupation: Independent Brand And Insight Consultant
  • JOHN MEIRION MATHIAS Appointed: 2019, Occupation: Company Director
  • JOSEPH KEVIN SAUNDERS Appointed: 2024, Occupation: Financial Director
  • KIM FIONA MYLCHREEST Appointed: 2023, Occupation: Housing Manager
  • SAMANTHA KATE MARTIN SHE/HER Appointed: 2023
Legal constitution
  • Charitable company registered in England & Wales on 16/10/2018, number: 1180341
  • Registered at Companies House on 16/03/2017, number: 10675390
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
  • 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
4 returns made; all on time
Main office

Easton Business Centre
Felix Road
Easton
Bristol
BS5 0HE

Objectives

TO RELIEVE THOSE IN NEED BY REASON OF YOUTH, AGE, ILL-HEALTH, DISABILITY, FINANCIAL HARDSHIP OR OTHER DISADVANTAGE IN THE BRISTOL AND SURROUNDING AREA, IN PARTICULAR BUT NOT EXCLUSIVELY BY 1) PROVIDING ADVICE ON AND ASSISTANCE WITH HOUSING AND RELATED MATTERS INCLUDING WELFARE BENEFITS, 2) ACTING AS ADVOCATE ON BEHALF OF MEMBERS OF THE PUBLIC FOR WHOM THE CHARITY IS ESTABLISHED TO ASSIST AND TO REPRESENT AT TRIBUNALS AND COURT HEARINGS AND TO UNDERTAKE LEGAL WORK ON THEIR BEHALF, 3) THE CARRYING OUT OF LOBBYING ON HOUSING AND RELATED ISSUES

Data Sources

Charity Commission for England and Wales
360 Giving

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