Finance Score: 1
Governance Score: 9
Support Score: 7
  • Liabilities <10%: +3
  • Fundraising costs high: -2
  • Good trustee age range: +3
  • Dynamic board: +3
  • Gender balanced board: +3
  • Overall weighted support: +7
Overall GiG Score: 17 ?

OFF THE FENCE TRUST LIMITED

Off the Fence tackles homelessness in Brighton and Hove. This includes an outreach to people who are street homeless, a drop-in advice service, and supported accommodation. The charity also runs a befriending service for women and a schools project.
Analysis by Giving is Great

Positives:

  • The charity has received backing from multiple prominent grant makers recently
  • This charity has a robust balance sheet
  • Spending has increased over the last 3 years relative to the previous period
  • There have been no material income shortfalls in recent years
  • 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:

  • Fundraising costs are high relative to funds raised

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£750£737£13£132£1,509£4797.82950
31/03/22£1,162£720£441£120£1,497£5368.92950
31/03/21£816£664£151£93£1,055£66011.92550
31/03/20£601£666£-65£46£904£5169.33150
31/03/19£594£596£-2£35£969£56211.32930
31/03/18£603£534£69£41£971£57212.9270
31/03/17£916£522£394£42£902£56613290
31/03/16£463£461£2n/an/an/an/an/an/a
31/03/15£453£441£12n/an/an/an/an/an/a
31/03/14£466£396£70n/an/an/an/an/an/a
31/03/13£580£340£240£34£426£983.5160
31/03/12£432£316£116n/an/an/an/an/an/a
31/03/11£276£262£14n/an/an/an/an/an/a
31/03/10£308£273£36n/an/an/an/an/an/a
31/03/09£308£306£2n/an/an/an/an/an/a
31/03/08£273£294£-21n/an/an/an/an/an/a
31/03/07£258£252£6n/an/an/an/an/an/a
31/03/06*£188£194£-6n/an/an/an/an/an/a

Financial Ratios
Fundraising Costs/Relevant Income: 21.9%
Fundraising Costs/Total Spending: 17.9%
Highest pay band: Less than £60,000
Liabilities/Assets: 1%
Liabilities/Income: 2%
Unrestricted Funds/Total Funds: 32%
Reserves/Spending: 7.8 months
Net Current Assets/Spending: 4 months
Quick Ratio: 16.3
Asset Split ?
Balance Sheet History
Established: 20 years

www.offthefence.org.uk

office@offthefence.org.uk

01273733566

Charity Commission for England and WalesCompanies HouseFacebookInstagramXYouTube
UN SDGs
?
Listed activities
  • Accommodation/Housing
  • Economic/Community Development/Employment
  • Education/Training
  • The Advancement Of Health Or Saving Of Lives
GiG Classification
  • Practical support, advice & companionship
How it operates
  • Provides advocacy/advice/information
  • Provides buildings/facilities/open space
  • Provides human resources
  • Provides services
Where it operates
  • Brighton And Hove,
Who it helps
  • Children/Young People
  • 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
Garfield Weston Foundation£75,000
Ministry for Housing, Communities and Local Government£50,000
Sussex Community Foundation£30,000
National Lottery Community Fund£29,755
Co-Operative Group£12,316
Specific Donations
Amount When
Months
To be used for
Sussex Community Foundation - Grant to Off The Fence
£5,000 08/03/2024
11
Funding was provided for their Women At Risk Project.
Co-Operative Group - Grant to Off The Fence Trust
£4,399 21/10/2023
400 high-tog rated, military-quality sleeping bags for rough sleepers are funded annually. We use Vango 350 bags as they last longer, are warmer and, over time, have proved to be the most popular.
Garfield Weston Foundation - Main Grants award
£30,000 27/01/2023
Core running costs for our overall operation
National Lottery Community Fund - Helping our Homeless survive the Winter
£9,900 25/11/2022
The funding will be used to purchase sleeping bags for people experiencing homelessness during the winter months. The project aims to meet growing demand and reach out to more people in need.
Garfield Weston Foundation - Main Grants award
£25,000 17/12/2021
Antifreeze Homeless Project
Sussex Community Foundation - Grant to Off The Fence Trust
£10,000 17/11/2021
2
Funding was provided for a Vauxhall Combo Van to help them extend their Antifreeze project.
Co-Operative Group - Grant to Off The Fence Trust - Antifreeze Homeless Project
£7,917 23/10/2021
We would like to purchase 100 high-quality flasks and sleeping bags for the new influx of rough sleepers who will shortly be back on the streets of Brighton.
The Bishop Radford Trust - Grant to Off the Fence
£2,000 30/07/2021
Grant towards outreach to people who are street homeless, a drop-in advice service, and supported accommodation. The charity also runs a befriending service for women and a schools project.
National Lottery Community Fund - Providing showers and laundry services within the Empower Centre
£9,880 25/06/2021
The funding will be used to install shower and laundry facilities for homeless people in the Brighton & Hove area. The shower and laundry facilities will enable homeless people to access safe and secure facilities for personal hygiene and ....more
Sussex Community Foundation - Grant to Off The Fence Trust
£5,000 09/12/2020
Resisting poverty, empowering people, restoring hope. Off The Fence helps the socially excluded in Brighton & Hove. The charity offers: emergency outreach to homeless individuals and a homeless day centre; a schools programme for 6-18 year olds; ....more
Sussex Community Foundation - Grant to Off The Fence Trust
£5,000 19/11/2020
3
Funding was provided for IT upgrades and new equipment to enable them to adapt to remote working.
Garfield Weston Foundation - Main Grants award - COVID19 response
£20,000 05/06/2020
Antifreeze
National Lottery Community Fund - Re-connecting vulnerable women
£9,975 15/05/2020
9
The funding will be used to provide tablets to staff and beneficiaries during the coronavirus lockdown. The project aims to support the needs of vulnerable women through online communication.
Ministry for Housing, Communities and Local Government - MHCLG Homelessness Fund
£50,000 07/05/2020
Organisations supporting homelessness
The Clothworkers Foundation - Grant to Off The Fence Trust Ltd
£5,000 06/05/2020
COVID19 : purchase of IT equipment for a charity that works with vulnerable women in East Sussex
Sussex Community Foundation - Grant to Off The Fence Trust
£5,000 06/04/2020
Off The Fence work in the Brighton and Hove area, tackling poverty in all forms. We do this by having a centre for the homeless, called Antifreeze, a centre for vulnerable women, called Gateway, and a Schools and Youth team who support and empower ....more
Sussex Community Foundation - Grant to Off The Fence Trust
£10,000 18/11/2019
11
Funding was provided towards core costs.
Co-Operative Group - Grant to Off The Fence
£8,526 15/11/2019
We want to complete the third stage of our 'Hygiene For All' project by launching a shower van to service the homeless in Brighton & Hove.
Garfield Weston Foundation - Main Grants award
£15,000 25/01/2019
Antifreeze
Sussex Community Foundation - Grant to Off The Fence Trust
£5,000 16/11/2018
3
Funding was provided for running costs relating to the Antifreeze Centre, where they support the homeless.
Sussex Community Foundation - Grant to Off The Fence Trust
£7,000 20/11/2017
3
The Antifreeze centre, through the Off the Fence Trust, provides a safe space and welcoming place to connect with others in the community, and offers practical and emotional support for exiting homelessness. Funding was provided towards running ....more
National Lottery Community Fund - Hygiene for all
£10,000 09/08/2017
12
This project will purchase a new van to provide hygiene products and hot and cold drinks to homeless people. This will enable the organisation to reach more people, improving their well-being by providing basic essentials.
Tudor Trust - Grant to Off the Fence Trust Ltd
£90,000 31/03/2014
36
over three years towards the salary of the Chief Executive at an organisation which supports homeless people and vulnerable women in Brighton and Hove
Lloyds Bank Foundation - Grant to Off the Fence Trust
£15,000 28/02/2014
The charity supports homeless people across Brighton and Hove. The funding will help support their Antifreeze project, which helps people at the point of crisis and supports them into housing.
Henry Smith Charity - Grant to Off The Fence Trust
£50,000 05/12/2013
24
towards two years' continuation funding of the running costs of a project supporting people who are homeless or rough sleeping in Brighton & Hove
Show more rows

Data sourced from Donors via 360 Giving

How is it governed?

Trustees (7)
Current Trustees appointed
Gender Split

Age Range of Trustees: 31-66
  • AAT JANET SHELLEY Appointed: 2024, Occupation: Director
  • DANIELA BAYMAN Appointed: 2024, Occupation: Director
  • DAVID JONATHAN MELLARD Appointed: 2024, Occupation: Hr Professional
  • JEAN MARY COOKE Appointed: 2018, Occupation: Director
  • MATTHEW ALAN WEIR Appointed: 2019, Occupation: Director
  • MAX MKANDAWIRE Appointed: 2021, Occupation: Electrician
  • SIMON JAMES RITCHIE Appointed: 2024, Occupation: Ceo
Legal constitution
  • Charitable company registered in England & Wales on 31/03/2005, number: 1108777
  • Registered at Companies House on 30/11/2004, number: 05300691
Gift Aid
  • Registered with HMRC for Gift Aid
Fundraising Regulator
First registered: 04/04/2017, current status: Large charity (levy paid)
Policies in force
  • 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
  • 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
18 returns made; AR06: 1 days late,
Main office

37 PORTLAND ROAD
HOVE
BN3 5DQ

Objectives

THE OBJECTS, BASED ON CHRISTIAN VALUES, AREA. TO RELIEVE PERSONS WHO ARE IN CONDITIONS OF NEED OR HARDSHIP OR WHO ARE AGED OR SICK AND TO RELIEVE THE DISTRESS CAUSED THEREBY IN ANY PART OF THE UNITED KINGDOM OR THE WORLD AS THE TRUSTEES MAY FROM TIME TO TIME THINK FIT.B. TO PROMOTE AND FULFIL SUCH OTHER CHARITABLE PURPOSES IN ANY PART OF THE UNITED KINGDOM OR THE WORLD AS THE TRUSTEES MAY FROM TIME TO TIME THINK FIT.C. TO ADVANCE THE CHRISTIAN FAITH.

Defined Area of Benefit:

UNITED KINGDOM OR THE WORLD.

Data Sources

Charity Commission for England and Wales
360 Giving
Charizone

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