Finance Score: -5
Governance Score: 9
Support Score: 7
  • Multiple Deficits and declines: -5
  • No PartB
  • Good trustee age range: +3
  • Dynamic board: +3
  • Gender balanced board: +3
  • Overall weighted support: +7
Overall GiG Score: 11 ?

HASTINGS FURNITURE SERVICE LIMITED

HFS reuses furniture and appliances donated by residents in Hastings and Rother, supplying them at affordable rates to people with low incomes through stores in Hastings and Bexhill. We also provide cost-price removals for people with low incomes and a full house clearance service for all residents (chargeable).HFS runs training for local people who are out of work.
Analysis by Giving is Great

Positives:

  • 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 and 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
  • Income has been volatile and on several occasions in recent years less than spending

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
31/03/23£362£479£-117n/an/an/an/an/an/a
31/03/22£375£427£-53n/an/an/an/an/an/a
31/03/21£396£369£27n/an/an/an/an/an/a
31/03/20£374£430£-56n/an/an/an/an/an/a
31/03/19£494£472£22n/an/an/an/an/an/a
31/03/18£540£544£-4£28£956£48610.7200
31/03/17£560£505£55£22£961£46111160
31/03/16£417£459£-42n/an/an/an/an/an/a
31/03/15£597£597£0£59£948£4699.4160
31/03/14£571£533£38£4£948£45710.3150
31/03/13£422£390£31n/an/an/an/an/an/a
31/03/12£432£390£42n/an/an/an/an/an/a
31/03/11£435£413£23n/an/an/an/an/an/a
31/03/10£365£349£15n/an/an/an/an/an/a
31/03/09£276£227£49n/an/an/an/an/an/a
31/03/08£240£191£49n/an/an/an/an/an/a
31/03/07£566£576£-10£3£714£1473.140
31/03/06£377£145£232n/an/an/an/an/an/a
31/03/05£110£104£6n/an/an/an/an/an/a
31/03/04£133£110£22n/an/an/an/an/an/a

Highest pay bracket: less than £60,000
Established: 33 years
(36 years as a company)

www.hfs.org.uk

mail@hfs.org.uk

01424441112

Charity Commission for England and WalesCompanies HouseFacebookX
UN SDGs
?
Listed activities
  • Accommodation/Housing
  • Economic/Community Development/Employment
  • General Charitable Purposes
  • The Prevention Or Relief Of Poverty
GiG Classification
  • Other facilities management and maintenance
How it operates
  • Other charitable activities
  • Provides services
Where it operates
  • East Sussex,
Who it helps
  • Other Defined Groups
  • 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
The Blagrave Trust£61,500
Sussex Community Foundation£37,522
Garfield Weston Foundation£30,000
DCMS£5,350
Specific Donations
Amount When
Months
To be used for
Sussex Community Foundation - Grant to Hastings Furniture Service
£1,500 14/07/2023
Funding was provided towards opening up their Dorset Place premises as an reused office furniture warehouse and to employ a part time store and marketing assistant.
The Blagrave Trust - Regional Partnership Grants
£16,500 30/05/2023
Young people into work
Garfield Weston Foundation - Main Grants award
£30,000 24/02/2023
Support post Covid and beyond
Sussex Community Foundation - Grant to Hastings Furniture Service
£10,000 13/12/2022
Funding was provided towards the increase in staff, volunteer, fuel, and gas and electric costs.
Sussex Community Foundation - Grant to Hastings Furniture Service
£5,000 16/07/2021
6
Funding was provided for wi-fi enabled camera feeds and an ICT upgrade.
Sussex Community Foundation - Grant to Hastings Furniture Service
£10,000 07/07/2021
Hastings Furniture Service helps people to affordably furnish and decorate their homes. They do this by collecting unwanted but re-useable furniture and household goods, selling them at a heavily ....more
The Blagrave Trust - Young people into work
£45,000 29/06/2021
Employment costs for young apprenticeships, following the end of government funding
Sussex Community Foundation - Grant to Hastings Furniture Service
£3,482 21/09/2020
HFS is an award winning charity and social enterprise established in 1988 by and for unemployed people. They collect unwanted but re-useable furniture and household goods, selling them at a heavily ....more
DCMS - Coronavirus Community Support Fund
£5,350 24/07/2020
"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 ....more
Sussex Community Foundation - Grant to Hastings Furniture Service
£2,540 27/04/2020
HFS was established by and for unemployed people. They collect unwanted but re-useable furniture and household goods, selling them at a heavily discounted rate, to people on low incomes in the area. ....more
Sussex Community Foundation - Grant to Hastings Furniture Service
£5,000 18/11/2019
7
Funding was provided towards staff costs of a volunteer co-ordinator and running costs.
National Lottery Community Fund - Making Good: People's Shed
£10,000 19/09/2019
12
Making Good: People's Shed
Sussex Community Foundation - Grant to Hastings Furniture Service
£5,000 16/11/2018
3
Funding was provided for lift repairs to improve accessibility and towards volunteer and training costs.
Masonic Trust - MCF Large Grant
£10,000 23/10/2018
Grant towards Workshop on Wheels service, providing DIY, craft & other creative activities for people living in deprived neighbourhoods.
Garfield Weston Foundation - Multi-Year Grant (3 Years) award
£75,000 18/10/2018
36
Keeping HFS on the road
National Lottery Community Fund - BookSwapBoxes
£9,999 21/03/2018
12
The organisation will make and distribute boxes with a variety of books. These will be sent to specific locations in the area to help encourage disadvantaged community members to participate in ....more
Sussex Community Foundation - Grant to Hastings Furniture Service
£5,000 20/11/2017
11
HFS was established by, and for unemployed people. They collect unwanted, re-useable furniture and household goods, selling them at a heavily discounted rate, to people on low incomes. Funding was ....more
Lloyds Bank Foundation - Grant to Hastings Furniture Service Ltd
£15,000 22/09/2016
12
The funding will support a fundraising strategy, web design, marketing and communications as well the development of an impact measuring tool in the form of an app.
Esmee Fairbairn - Grant to Hastings Furniture Service
£75,000 14/01/2009
36
Towards Core costs Towards the costs to establish volunteer support and training in the new store in Bexhill.
Show more rows

Data sourced from Donors via 360 Giving

How is it governed?

Trustees (8)
Current Trustees appointed
Gender Split

Age Range of Trustees: 40-72
  • BRETT MCLEAN Appointed: 2016, Occupation: Fsb Chairman
  • CLAIRE DAVIES (Chair) Appointed: 2017, Occupation: Company Director
  • EDWINA HUGHES Appointed: 2024, Occupation: Project Manager
  • JACKY EVERARD Appointed: 2001, Occupation: Advice Centre Manager
  • JAKE ALEXANDER Appointed: 2022, Occupation: Team Manager
  • MARK JOHNSON Appointed: 2024, Occupation: Director
  • NICHOLAS PORTER Appointed: 2024, Occupation: Managing Director
  • PAUL COURTEL Appointed: 2024, Occupation: Retired
Legal constitution
  • Charitable company registered in England & Wales on 19/06/1991, number: 1003257
  • Registered at Companies House on 12/10/1988, number: 02304489
Gift Aid
  • NOT registered with HMRC for Gift Aid
Policies in force
  • Bullying and harassment policy and procedures
  • Complaints handling
  • Complaints 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
  • Safeguarding policy and procedures
  • Safeguarding vulnerable beneficiaries
  • Serious incident reporting policy and procedures
  • Trustee conflicts of interest policy and procedures
  • Trustee expenses policy and procedures
  • Volunteer management
Filing Record
20 returns made; all on time
Main office

Hastings Furniture Service Ltd
6-8 Dorset Place
Hastings
TN34 1LG

Objectives

THE OBJECTS FOR WHICH THE ASSOCIATION IS ESTABLISHED ARE THE RELIEF OF POVERTY AND DISTRESS OF PERSONS IN EAST SUSSEX AND SURROUNDING AREA WHO ARE IN NEED BY REASON OF UNEMPLOYMENT OR LOW INCOME BY PROVIDING GOODS AND SERVICES THAT SUCH PERSONS WOULD NOT OTHERWISE NE ABLE TO AFFORD.THE RELIEF OF UNEMPLOYMENT FOR THE BENEFIT OF THE PUBLIC IN SUCH WAYS AS MAY BE THOUGHT FIT INCLUDING:= ADVANCEMENT OF LEARNING BY PEOPLE NO LONGER IN FULL TIME EMPLOYMENT THROUGH CONTINUED DEVELOPMENT OF THEIR INDIVIDUAL CAPABILITIES, COMPETENCIES, SKILLS AND UNDERSTANDING IN ORDER TO PROGRESS TO FURTHER EDUCATION, TRAINING OR PAID WORK= PROVISION OF VOLUNTEERING AND WORK EXPERIENCE OPPORTUNITIES FOR UNEMPLOYED PEOPLE= CREATION OF TRAINING AND EMPLOYMENT OPPORTUNITIES BY THE PROVISION OF WORKSPACE, BUILDINGS, AND/OR LAND FOR USE ON FAVOURABLE TERMS TO OTHER NON-PROFIT ORGANISATIONSTHE PROTECTION AND PRESERVATION OF THE ENVIRONMENT FOR THE PUBLIC BENEFIT BY THE REUSE/RECYCLING OF FURNITURE AND OTHER HOUSEHOLD ITEMS÷

Defined Area of Benefit:

IN PRACTICE HASTINGS AND ROTHER DISTRICT

Data Sources

Charity Commission for England and Wales
360 Giving

Tips for Selecting Charities

Which areas of philanthropy are most effective?
The text of this post is taken from an article on the Effective Altruism forum. It suggests that you can achieve the most impact by supporting causes that fight extreme poverty, improving animal welfare....more
Our Top Tips for Philanthropy
Here are some ideas to help you gain more satisfaction from your philanthropy and confidence that the causes you have selected are impactful. Engage your brain, as well as your heart You....more
How to become a Philanthropist
In this Blog we outline a strategy to help people who are new to philanthropy and for those who feel dissatisfied with the impact they are having. Effective philanthropy is immensely rewarding for donors,....more

Giving is Great