Overall GiG Score: 5 ?
Finance Score: -4
Governance Score: 5
Support Score: 4
  • Spending falling: -1
  • Volatile income: -3
  • No PartB
  • No conflicts policy: -1
  • Good trustee age range: +3
  • Dynamic board: +3
  • Grant maker support: +4

FRIENDS FIRST 

Friends First Trust is a public benefit entity and aims to contribute toward: • reducing long-term unemployment • reducing homelessness • reducing social isolation • increasing the provision of safe supportive housing To meet these aims Friends First work with people in two key ways, our Pathways to Employment and Pathways to Housing.
Analysis by Giving is Great

Positives:

  • The charity has received backing from several prominent grant makers, including a Community Foundation, recently
  • There have been no material income shortfalls in recent years
  • The Board appears to be well diversified in terms of age and dynamic in terms of composition

Regulatory & Governance issues to consider:

  • This charity does not have a Conflict of Interests policy

Financial issues to consider:

  • A PartB annual return has not been required and so detailed financial information is not available from the online data
  • There has been a change of accounting period recently, so trends may be hard to determine
  • Spending has fallen significantly over the last 5 years relative to the previous period
  • Income has been volatile recently
Established: 21 years

www.friendsfirst.org.uk

office@friendsfirst.org.uk

01273840884

Charity Commission for England and WalesCompanies House
UN SDGs
?

Financial Data ?

Income & Spending ?
N.B. data has been adjusted to reflect year end change
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
31/08/22£124£123£2n/an/an/an/an/a10
31/08/21?£91£83£8n/an/an/an/an/a10
31/12/20£121£119£2n/an/an/an/an/a2
31/12/19£176£204£-28n/an/an/an/an/a30
31/12/18£372£358£14£0£0£0n/a020
31/12/17£280£295£-15£0£0£0n/a00
31/12/16£226£225£1£0£0£0n/a00
31/12/15£287£289£-1£0£0£0n/a00
31/12/14£408£430£-22£0£0£0n/a00
31/12/13£426£389£37£0£0£0n/a00
31/12/12£384£345£40£0£0£0n/a00
31/12/11£276£292£-16£0£0£0n/a00
31/12/10£286£270£16£0£0£0n/a00
31/12/09£279£264£14£0£0£0n/a00
31/12/08£266£255£11£0£0£0n/a00
31/12/07£243£243£1£0£0£0n/a00
31/12/06£220£243£-23£0£0£0n/a00
31/12/05£224£235£-11£0£0£0n/a00
31/12/04£195£213£-18£0£0£0n/a00

Highest pay bracket: less than £60,000
What it does
  • Accommodation/Housing
  • Education/Training
  • The Prevention Or Relief Of Poverty
Who works here?
  • 10 volunteers
Who it helps
  • Other Defined Groups
  • People With Disabilities
How it operates
  • Provides advocacy/advice/information
  • Provides buildings/facilities/open space
  • Provides human resources
  • Provides services
Where it operates
  • East Sussex, West Sussex,

Who's supporting them? ?

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.

Specific Donations
Amount When
Months
To be used for
Sussex Community Foundation - Grant to Friends First
£9,804 14/07/2023
Funding was provided to employ a current volunteer with lived experience into a housing support role.
Garfield Weston Foundation - Main Grants award
£10,000 02/09/2022
Care for our City
Garfield Weston Foundation - Main Grants award
£10,000 05/03/2021
Care for our City
Co-Operative Group - Grant to Friends First
£9,723 19/11/2018
Help us connect people who have experienced disadvantage with work placements. Your support will open doors, paying for essential costs
National Lottery Community Fund - Pathways to Employment - Catering
£10,000 27/03/2018
12
The organisation will expand their pathways to employment programme, enabling more people with barriers to experience work and to become closer to employment.
Henry Smith Charity - Grant to Friends First
£5,000 07/12/2017
12
towards one year's salary of a Housing and Support Manager for a project providing support and services to homeless people in East Sussex
Sussex Community Foundation - Grant to Friends First
£5,000 20/11/2017
12
Friends First empowers people to be equipped for employment. Funding was provided to enable them to deliver their 'Pathways to Employment' project, through volunteer mentor sessions and group ....more
Garfield Weston Foundation - Main Grants award
£20,000 03/11/2017
Friends First
Woodward Charitable Trust - Towards funding a full-time resettlement worker
£4,000 23/07/2009
Towards funding a full-time resettlement worker in Hove.
Show more rows

Data sourced from Donors via 360 Giving

How is it governed?

Trustees (6)
Current Trustees appointed
Gender Split
Based on 5/6 persons

Age Range of Trustees: 44-73
Legal constitution
  • Charitable company registered in England & Wales on 28/11/2002, number: 1094827
  • Registered at Companies House on 22/03/2002, number: 04402061
Gift Aid
  • Registered with HMRC for Gift Aid
Policies in force
  • Complaints handling
  • Paying staff
  • Risk management
  • Safeguarding vulnerable beneficiaries
  • Volunteer management
Filing Record
19 returns made; all on time
Main office

21-23 Clarendon Villas
Hove
BN3 3RE

Objectives

THE OBJECTS FOR WHICH THE COMPANY IS ESTABLISHED (THE OBJECTS) ARE SUCH OBJECTS AND PURPOSES IN ANY PART OF THE WORLD AS ARE EXCLUSIVELY CHARITABLE IN ACCORDANCE WITH THE LAWS OF ENGLAND AND WALES AND ARE CARRIED OUT AS AN EXPRESSION OF CHRISTIAN FAITH AND IN PARTICULAR (BUT WITHOUT PREJUDICE TO THE GENERALITY OF THE FOREGOING):- (A) TO PROVIDE RELIEF AND ASSISTANCE FOR PERSONS IN CONDITIONS OF NEED, HARDSHIP OR DISTRESS WHETHER IN CONNECTION WITH HOUSING OR ACCOMMODATION OR SHELTER OR ADDICTION OR ABUSE OR OFFENDING BEHAVIOUR OR LACK OF MEANINGFUL OCCUPATION OR SICKNESS OR ACCIDENT OR ANY OTHER CIRCUMSTANCE IN ANY PART OR PARTS OF THE WORLD. (B) TO PROMOTE AND FULFIL SUCH OTHER CHARITABLE PURPOSES BENEFICIAL TO THE COMMUNITY IN ANY PART OR PARTS OF THE WORLD AS MAY BE THOUGHT FIT.?

Defined Area of Benefit:

NOT DEFINED

Data Sources

Charity Commission for England and Wales
360 Giving
CharityBase

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