Finance Score: 2
Governance Score: -2
Support Score: 11
  • Strong growth: +2
  • Narrow trustee age band: -2
  • Dynamic board: +3
  • All female board: -3
  • Award winner
  • Grant maker support: +11
Overall GiG Score: 11 ?

SMART WORKS CHARITY 

We help women on low incomes get back to work by dressing them in a complete outfit of smart clothes to wear to their interview and by giving them one-to-one interview training. A professional outfit followed by careful interview preparation transforms our clients' self-confidence and gives them a far greater chance of succeeding.
Analysis by Giving is Great

Positives:

  • The charity has received backing from multiple prominent grant makers recently
  • This charity is a recent Award Winner
  • There has been strong growth in spending over the last 5 years
  • There have been no material income shortfalls in recent years
  • The Board appears to be dynamic in terms of composition

Regulatory & Governance issues to consider:

  • The Board is completely female
  • The Board has little diversity in terms of age
Established: 24 years

www.smartworks.org.uk

london@smartworks.org.uk

0207 2881770

Charity Commission for England and WalesCompanies HouseFacebookInstagramX
UN SDGs
?

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£3,119£3,019£100£421£2,843£2,56910.257550
31/03/22£2,805£1,777£1,028£286£2,743£2,49916.940454
31/03/21£1,745£1,399£346£181£1,716£1,41912.227400
31/03/20£1,859£1,556£303£207£1,370£1,0558.123419
31/03/19£1,421£1,131£290£157£1,067£8849.417300
31/03/18£835£777£58£43£638£5678.890
31/03/17£579£672£-93£30£581£5079.190
31/03/16£498£509£-12£0£0£0n/a00
31/03/15£371£330£41£0£0£0n/a00
31/03/14£492£326£165£0£0£0n/a00
31/03/13£275£198£78£0£0£0n/a00
31/03/12£233£182£50£0£0£0n/a00
31/03/11£174£174£0£0£0£0n/a00
31/03/10£357£180£177£0£0£0n/a00
31/03/09£169£114£55£0£0£0n/a00
31/03/08£116£103£14£0£0£0n/a00
31/03/07£77£58£19£0£0£0n/a00
31/03/06£31£58£-27£0£0£0n/a00
31/03/05£40£57£-17£0£0£0n/a00
31/03/04*£81£42£40£0£0£0n/a00

Financial Ratios
Fundraising Costs/Relevant Income: 19.4%
Fundraising Costs/Total Spending: 13.9%
Senior Staff Costs/Total Spending: 13%
Highest pay band: £100,000-£110,000
Liabilities/Assets: 14%
Liabilities/Income: 15%
Unrestricted Funds/Total Funds: 90%
Reserves/Spending: 10.2 months
Net Current Assets/Spending: 11 months
Quick Ratio: 5.3
Asset Split ?
What it does
  • Economic/Community Development/Employment
  • Education/Training
  • General Charitable Purposes
Who works here?
  • 57 employees
  • 550 volunteers
Who it helps
  • Children/Young People
  • Other Defined Groups
  • The General Public/Mankind
How it operates
  • Other charitable activities
  • Provides advocacy/advice/information
  • Provides human resources
  • Provides services
Where it operates
  • Throughout England And Wales,

Who's supporting them? ?

Awards received
  • Charity Awards 2017 Social care
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
Greenwood Place£330,000
Garfield Weston Foundation£300,000
National Lottery Community Fund£169,200
The Segelman Trust£105,000
DCMS£43,200
Specific Donations
Amount When
Months
To be used for
Quartet Community Foundation - Grant to Smart Works
£250 25/09/2023
A grant towards the support provided by Smart Works which is at heart "a dressing and coaching service designed to help our clients be the best version of themselves at a crucial moment in their ....more
Quartet Community Foundation - Grant to Smart Works
£115 31/03/2023
A grant towards the support provided by Smart Works which is a heart "a dressing and coaching service designed to help our clients be the best version of themselves at a crucial moment in their ....more
Quartet Community Foundation - Grant to Smart Works
£1,314 30/03/2023
A grant towards the support provided by Smart Works which is a heart "a dressing and coaching service designed to help our clients be the best version of themselves at a crucial moment in their ....more
Quartet Community Foundation - Grant to Smart Works
£235 17/03/2023
A grant towards the support provided by Smart Works which is a heart "a dressing and coaching service designed to help our clients be the best version of themselves at a crucial moment in their ....more
Greenwood Place - Grant to Smart Works
£125,000 01/07/2022
Unrestricted funding
Garfield Weston Foundation - Multi-Year Grant (3 Years) award - COVID19 response
£100,000 20/05/2022
Core Costs
Quartet Community Foundation - Grant to Smart Works
£500 01/02/2022
As requested by the donor towards interview support for women who have been unemployed long-term.
Co-Operative Group - Grant to Smart Works
£5,463 23/10/2021
Smart Works would support unemployed women in Kensington & Chelsea with the clothes, coaching and the confidence to succeed at interview, find a job and transform their lives.
National Lottery Community Fund - Supporting unemployed and disadvantaged women with Career Coaching
£169,200 29/09/2021
The group is using funding to provide a Career Coaching service which aims to help unemployed women secure employment. The service includes a Client Advisory Group to put clients in the lead and an ....more
Garfield Weston Foundation - Multi-Year Grant (3 Years) award - COVID19 response
£100,000 09/07/2021
Core Costs
Greenwood Place - Grant to Smart Works
£75,000 01/07/2021
Unrestricted funding
Quartet Community Foundation - Grant to Smart Works
£800 22/03/2021
As requested by the donor towards interview support for women who have been unemployed long-term.
Community Foundation Tyne & Wear & Nthmbrlnd - salary costs for the Business Support Assistant to undertake a project to implement the communications and marketing recommendations from a report
£3,263 11/03/2021
salary costs for the Business Support Assistant to undertake a project to implement the communications and marketing recommendations from a report
Community Foundation Tyne & Wear & Nthmbrlnd - 3 months' salary costs for delivery of our virtual employment service across the North East
£2,688 11/03/2021
3 months' salary costs for delivery of our virtual employment service across the North East
Quartet Community Foundation - Grant to Smart Works
£2,000 08/03/2021
As requested by the donor towards interview support for women who have been unemployed long-term.
Co-Operative Group - Grant to Smart Works
£3,656 24/10/2020
Smart Works provides unemployed women in Islington with the clothes, coaching and confidence to succeed in interviews.
DCMS - Coronavirus Community Support Fund
£43,200 25/09/2020
"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 ....more
Garfield Weston Foundation - Multi-Year Grant (3 Years) award - COVID19 response
£100,000 29/05/2020
Core Costs
Greenwood Place - Grant to Smart Works
£80,000 27/04/2020
Unrestricted funding
Greenwood Place - Grant to Smart Works
£50,000 01/07/2019
Unrestricted funding
The Segelman Trust - Grant to Smart Works
£105,000 25/06/2019
36
To support core costs and their goal of expanding to more regions of the UK
Community Foundation serving Tyne & Wear and Northumberland - For staffing costs towards supporting young women into work
£2,688 15/06/2019
For staffing costs towards supporting young women into work
Greenwood Place - Grant to Smart Works
£50,000 01/01/2019
Unrestricted funding
Co-Operative Group - Grant to Smart Works Charity
£4,619 04/08/2017
A visit to Smart Works gives each women the clothes and the confidence they need to succeed at interview and move on with their lives.
Nesta - AC00630
£135,000 13/04/2017
12
Growth and Sustaining Fund programme grant to Smart Works Charity Grant Ref AC00630
DCMS - Follow on Funding
£135,000 13/04/2017
In April 2013, the Office for Civil Society launched the Centre for Social Action with the goal of encouraging people to make a difference through social action. As part of the Centre, the Office for ....more
John Ellerman Foundation - Core funding
£96,000 24/11/2016
36
Towards the costs of helping women on low incomes get into employment by providing an outfit for interviews along with one-to-one interview training.
The Segelman Trust - Grant to Smart Works
£90,000 04/10/2016
36
For core costs and to help increase the client base and ensure high quality outcomes
Esmee Fairbairn - Grant to Smart Works
£120,000 27/01/2016
48
Towards the salary of the head of partner engagement for a programme of support, including interview support, to help women back into the workplace.
Nesta - AC00418
£235,000 06/10/2014
Centre for Social Action Innovation Fund programme grant to Smart Works Charity Grant Ref AC00418
Esmee Fairbairn - Grant to Smart Works
£90,000 30/09/2009
48
Towards Core costs Towards core costs, especially client dressing and volunteer manager salary costs.
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: 48-62
Legal constitution
  • Charitable company registered in England & Wales on 08/05/2000, number: 1080609
  • Registered at Companies House on 03/11/1999, number: 03870671
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
  • Investing charity funds policy and procedures
  • Investment
  • Paying staff
  • Risk management
  • Safeguarding policy and procedures
  • Safeguarding vulnerable beneficiaries
  • Social media policy and procedures
  • Trustee conflicts of interest policy and procedures
  • Trustee expenses policy and procedures
  • Volunteer management
Filing Record
20 returns made; AR04: 1 days late,
Main office

SMART WORKS CHARITY
UNIT 1
CANONBURY YARD
202-208 NEW NORTH ROAD
LONDON
N1 7BJ

Objectives

THE CHARITY'S OBJECTS (THE OBJECTS) ARE THE RELIEF OF FINANCIAL HARDSHIP AND THE RELIEF OF UNEMPLOYMENT FOR THE PUBLIC BENEFIT THROUGH THE PROMOTION OF ECONOMIC INDEPENDENCE AMONG WOMEN IN SUCH WAYS AS MAY BE THOUGHT FIT, INCLUDING (BUT WITHOUT LIMITING THE GENERALITY OF THE FOREGOING) BY PROVIDING WORK APPROPRIATE CLOTHING FOR INDIVIDUALS SEEKING EMPLOYMENT AND / OR EDUCATIONAL OPPORTUNITIES, PROVIDING JOB-SEEKING ADVICE, TRAINING AND EDUCATION AND PROVIDING SUPPORT SERVICES FOR THOSE WHO SUCCESSFULLY PROCURE EMPLOYMENT OR AN EDUCATIONAL OPPORTUNITY, AND PROVIDED THAT SUCH BENEFITS MAY BE PROVIDED TO MEN WHERE IT IS DEEMED APPROPRIATE, IN THE DISCRETION OF THE TRUSTEES, IN THE COURSE OF ADVANCING THE OVERALL OBJECTS OF THE CHARITY.

Defined Area of Benefit:

NOT DEFINED

Data Sources

Charity Commission for England and Wales
360 Giving
CharityBase

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