Notes to financial statements

Note 1

Accounting policies 

Charity Projects is a public benefit entity constituted as a charitable company limited by guarantee (company number 1806414) and a charity registered in England and Wales (charity number 326568) and registered as a charity in Scotland (charity number SC039730). The address of the registered office is 6th Floor, The White Chapel Building, 10 Whitechapel High Street, London, E1 8QS and the charity operates from the same address.

a) Basis of accounting

The financial statements have been prepared in accordance with the Companies Act 2006, the Charities and Trustee Investment (Scotland) Act 2005, Financial Reporting Standard 102 (FRS 102), the Charities SORP (FRS102) applicable to charities preparing their accounts in accordance with FRS 102 and UK Generally Accepted Practice as it applies from 1 January 2015.

The accounting policies below have been adopted for material items. No material uncertainties that may cast significant doubt about the ability of the Charity to continue as a going concern have been identified by the Trustees.

b) Consolidation

These financial statements represent the consolidated results and net assets of Charity Projects and its subsidiaries up to 31 July 2019. All members of the Charity Projects Group are listed on page 53.

The Charity has taken advantage of the exemption in S408 of the Companies Act 2006 not to publish a charity only Income and Expenditure Account. The net income of the charity for the financial year was £0.3m (2018: £15m).

c) Critical accounting judgements and key sources of estimation and uncertainty

In the application of the Charity’s accounting policies, which are described below, Trustees are required to make judgements, estimates and assumptions about the carrying values of assets and liabilities that are not readily apparent from other sources. The estimates and underlying assumptions are based on historical experience and other factors that are considered to be relevant. Actual results may differ from these estimates.

The estimates and underlying assumptions are reviewed on an on-going basis. Revisions to accounting estimates are recognised in the period in which the estimate is revised if the revision affects only that period, or in the period and future periods if the revision affects the current and future periods.

In the view of the Trustees, no critical judgements have been necessary in the preparation of the financial statements and no significant estimation uncertainty or assumptions concerning the future affecting assets and liabilities at the balance sheet date are likely to result in a material adjustment to their carrying amounts in the next financial year.

d) Financial instruments

Charity Projects has financial assets and financial liabilities of a kind that qualify as basic financial instruments. With the exception of the fixed asset investments, basic financial instruments are initially recognised at transaction value and subsequently measured at the present value of the future cash flows unless the effect of discounting would be immaterial. Financial assets comprise cash at bank and in hand, together with current asset investments, other debtors, accrued income and social investment loans. Financial liabilities comprise grants payable, other creditors and accrued expenditure.

Fixed asset investments, including bonds and cash held as part of the investment portfolio, are reported at fair value at the balance sheet date, with gains and losses being recognised within income and expenditure. Investments in subsidiary undertakings are held at cost less impairment.

Social Investment loans are held at fair value and assessed regularly for signs of impairment.

e) Fixed assets

Intangible fixed assets

Intangible fixed assets are stated at historical cost and amortisation is provided on all intangible fixed assets on a straight-line basis. Trademarks are written down over the length of period for which they are valid. Technology assets are capitalised software development costs and these are written off over their useful economic life. Amortisation rates are as follows:

Trademarks - 10% straight-line basis Software - 20% - 33 1⁄3% straight-line basis

Assets are assessed at least annually for impairment. Any impairment value is recognised immediately in the statement of financial activities. Individually purchased software is written off in the year of acquisition.

Tangible fixed assets

Tangible fixed assets are stated at historical cost, less accumulated depreciation and any recognised impairment loss.

Assets are capitalised when their initial recognition value is greater than £1,000.

Depreciation is provided on all tangible fixed assets at rates calculated to write each asset down to its estimated residual value evenly over its expected useful life, as follows:-

Fixtures and fittings - 25% straight-line basis Computer Equipment - 33 1⁄3% straight-line basis Office premises (refurbishment) - 20% straight-line basis

Residual values and useful economic lives are reviewed annually. Any impairment in value is charged to the statement of financial activities.

f) Cash and cash equivalents

Cash and cash equivalents comprise cash at bank and on hand, demand deposits with banks and other shortterm highly liquid investments with original maturities of three months or less and bank overdrafts.

g) Debtors/Creditors

Trade and other debtors are initially recognised at transaction price and subsequently adjusted, where necessary, for bad and doubtful debts. Similarly, trade and other creditors are recognised at transaction price. These are subsequently revalued at amortised cost.

h) Income

Income is accrued and included in the statement of financial activities when the Group is entitled to the income, it can be quantified with reasonable probability and it is more likely than not that the economic benefits associated with the transaction or gift will flow to the Charity. Income is deferred when it relates to future accounting periods.

Donation income represents monies received by the Charity from charitable donations, fundraising events and grants. Donation income is recognised in the statement of financial activities in the period that it is received unless there is an unequivocal obligation to donate, in which case it is recognised in the period in which it falls due. Where a donation is made with a valid Gift Aid declaration, the Gift Aid is recognised in the period in which the original donation was made.

Grant income is recognised in the Statement of Financial Activities in the year in which this becomes receivable and when any conditions for receipt have been met.

Legacies are accounted for as income once the receipt of the legacy becomes more probable than not, quantifiable, and control over the rights or other access to the economic benefit has passed to the charity. For pecuniary legacies this will generally be at the point probate is granted. For residuary legacies this will generally be on the earlier of cash receipt or once confirmation has been received from the representatives of the estates that payment of the legacy will be made or property transferred once all conditions attached to the legacy have been fulfilled.

Trading income is derived from the activities of the Charity's subsidiary Comic Relief Limited (and historically Brand Relief Limited).

Income from dividends and interest is recognised and accrued in the statement of financial activities when it is due.

i) Donated goods and services

Where the Charity receives donations of goods and services in kind and where there is a measurable value to the Charity, which can be ascertained with reliability, they are included as both income and expenditure in the Statement of Financial Activities.

j) Expenditure

Expenditure is accounted for on an accruals basis. Where expenditure does not fall clearly into one category, it is allocated to appropriate headings on the basis of staff headcount as a proxy for staff time in each cost area.

Expenditure on Raising Funds comprises the costs of generating voluntary income (primarily fundraising and event costs) and trading and other costs associated with the expenditure of the Charity's trading subsidiaries.

Charitable activities represents the grants awarded, staff and other direct costs associated with grant making and awareness raising activities including international poverty, fair trade campaigns and education projects.

Support costs represent overhead costs which have been apportioned to each expenditure heading on the basis of staff costs as a proxy for headcount as detailed in note 5b.

Governance comprises costs in relation to statutory and regulatory compliance as shown in note 5c.

k) Grants payable

Grants are recognised in the Statement of Financial Activities when they have been approved by the Trustees and notified to the beneficiaries, and are apportioned between amounts due within one year and after more than one year based on the expected payment profile. The Charity monitors the usage to which a grant is put and reports are required from beneficiaries before the next annual instalment is paid. However, the beneficiary would have a valid expectation that they will receive the grant as offered and accepted. Cancelled grants are credited to the Statement of Financial Activities when the cancellation has been approved. Circumstances in which a grant may be cancelled include adverse performance issues, a breach of the conditions of the grant, the grantee no longer being able to accept the grant, or there being an underspend on the project which would lead to a partial cancellation.

Grant liabilities are initially recognised at the amounts awarded and thereafter stated at amortised cost using the effective interest method unless the effect of discounting would be immaterial, in which case they are stated at cost.

l) Operating leases

Rentals under operating leases are charged to the statement of financial activities on a straight-line basis over the lease term.

m) General fund

The general fund is available to cover the costs of the organisation, other than the grants payable and cost of grant-making and management which are covered from the designated and restricted funds. Income that is credited to this fund includes sponsorship and corporate support, Gift Aid, investment income and gains / losses, interest and donations given specifically to cover running costs.

n) Designated funds

These unrestricted funds have been designated by the Trustees for specific purposes and are listed in note 19.

o) Restricted funds

These funds can only be used for purposes as specified by the donor and are listed in note 20.

p) Foreign currencies

Assets and liabilities in foreign currencies are translated into sterling at the rates of exchange ruling at the balance sheet date. Transactions in foreign currencies are translated into sterling at the rate of exchange ruling at the date of the transaction. Exchange differences are taken into account in arriving at the surplus/deficit for the year.

q) Irrecoverable VAT

Irrecoverable VAT is allocated to the principal areas of costs in which it has been incurred.

Note 2.  Total Income - Group

Fundraising events include income raised through our Red Nose Day and Sport Relief campaigns. 2019 was a Red Nose Day year whereas 2018, the comparative period, was a Sport Relief year. Due to the substantial difference in annual income between these two campaigns, comparisons may not always prove useful.

Trading activities comprise the turnover of Comic Relief Limited, a trading subsidiary of Charity Projects. Comic Relief Limited’s turnover consists of income from merchandising and royalties of £8.8m (2018: £3.7m) and income of £4.3m (2018: £3.7m) from licensing activities and sponsorship, of which £1.5m (2018: £1.8m)) are inter-company charges netted off on consolidation.

Brand Relief Limited is dormant and had no turnover in the year (2018: nil turnover).

Donated goods and services are included within contributions to operating costs. Both Red Nose Day and Sport Relief rely on the generosity of the BBC in providing support to the preparation and broadcast of the annual television show. In addition, content, promotional support and coverage of activities is provided by local and national BBC television and radio, both on the day and in the lead up to the appeal night. The value of each of these elements is very difficult to quantify as they are not discrete activities but embedded, partly as newsworthy and entertainment content, within the operations and business of the BBC. Red Nose Day and Sport Relief provide valuable content which attracts a large audience, and without this the BBC would have to produce alternative content. As such, the support provided by the BBC has not been included in the charity's Statement of Financial Activities as it is not possible to meaningfully quantify it.

Brand Relief Limited, a wholly owned subsidiary of Charity Projects, was dormant throughout the year and there are no plans for further trading activities in this company in the foreseeable future.

The total remuneration for the year, excluding pensions, for the Chief Executive was £176k (2018: £165k). Additional payments of £24k were made to the Chief Executive during 2018/19. The amount paid in 2018/19 that relates to earlier periods was £20k. The balancing £4k is included in the total remuneration shown above. The additional payments relate to untaken annual leave entitlement and back dated salary adjustments.

Key management personnel constitute the Trustees, Chief Executive, Executive Directors, the General Counsel and Company Secretary. Total remuneration received by the key management personnel was £962k (2018: £922k).

Total redundancy costs (excluding contractual payments) during the year were £0.04m (2018: £1.25m).

Note 8. Trustees

Trustees received £nil remuneration in the year (2018: £nil). Costs of £9,161 were incurred in relation to travel, accommodation and subsistence in relation to Trustee duties (2018: £11,469). A further £4,688 was spent on meeting expenses (2018: £7,423 ). In 2019 all Trustee training was provided in-house. Three trustees were reimbursed directly for expense claims totalling £1,339 (2018: £131).

Indemnity insurance costing £7,056 (2018: £6,720) was purchased on behalf of the trustees.

Note 9. Taxation

Comic Relief is considered to pass the tests set out in Paragraph 1 Schedule 6 Finance Act 2010 and therefore it meets the definition of a charitable company for UK corporation tax purposes. Accordingly, the charity is potentially exempt from taxation in respect of income or capital gains received within categories covered by Chapter 3 Part 11 Corporation Tax Act 2010 or Section 256 of the Taxation of Chargeable Gains Act 1992, to the extent that such income or gains are applied exclusively to charitable purposes. The charity's trading subsidiaries donate to Charity Projects an amount equal to any taxable profits under Gift Aid. Consequently there is no taxation charge for the year (2018: £nil).

Note 17. Members' liability

The charity does not share capital and is limited by guarantee. In the event of the charity being wound up, the maximum amount which each member is liable to contribute is £1. There were 18 members at 31 July 2019 (2018:14)

The Common Ground Initiative is managed by Comic Relief and co-funded by UKAid from the Department for International Development.

The Common Ground Initiative II is managed by Comic Relief and co-funded by UKAid from the Department for International Development.

The Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation represents a general grant that has been designated by the trustees of Comic Relief to support the expansion of Comic Relief's international activities, to develop creative ways of demonstrating success stories from Africa, to engage millennials and to support global advocacy.

Red Shed is a designation of funds that were generated entirely from prior year investment gains, to create, catalyse and pilot innovative and new ways to tackle the relief of poverty and social injustice in the UK and internationally by individuals and new enterprises.

Fixed Asset Reserve represents a designation of funds equal to the net book value of the fixed assets.

Note 20 . Restricted funds (continued)

DCMS - Tampon Tax 1 is a five year grant made by the Minister for the Cabinet Office , through the Office for Civil Society, of £3 million, with Comic Relief committing another £1 million, to fund organisations that support women's charities that are making significant impact in the lives of women, including health, wellbeing, domestic violence and education initiatives, and support services for vulnerable women.

DCMS - Tampon Tax 2 is a five year grant made by the Minister for the Cabinet Office , through the Office for Civil Society, of £3 million, with Comic Relief committing another £1 million, to fund organisations that support women's charities that are making significant impact in the lives of women, including health, wellbeing, domestic violence and education initiatives, and support services for vulnerable women.

Jersey Overseas Aid and Comic Relief is a four-year partnership that aims to improve access to affordable financial services. Branching Out: Financial Inclusion at the Margins is an exciting programme that aims to give individuals and small businesses access to affordable financial services including bank accounts, savings, insurance and credit. It will provide low-income households with the means to plan for everything from long-term goals to unexpected emergencies. Jersey Overseas Aid have committed £4 million with Comic Relief committing another £4 million.

The Kentucky Fried Chicken Foundation has committed to donate £3m to Comic Relief for a 3 year programme. The year one partnership will top up existing projects focusing on helping young people fulfil their potential.

Working in partnership with the Scottish Government and the HM Treasury, the Levelling the field initiative aims to empower women and girls to reach their full potential through the power of sport, both in the UK and internationally.

M.A.C AIDS Fund has given £1 million which is being matched with £1m by Comic Relief to support projects in the UK and sub-Saharan Africa with the goal of improving the quality of life of people with HIV and other highly vulnerable groups, and to strengthen their engagement in the response to the HIV epidemic.

The amounts raised by the annual Paddy's Day Gig in Ireland, focus on Comic Relief’s a Safe place to Be Pillar and are split between International projects and Irish domestic projects by Irish regulations.

The Premier League Football Initiative is a partnership between Premier League and Comic Relief which jointly contribute £2.3million for a two year period. The programme supports young people from disadvantaged backgrounds to help prepare them for business, employment and self- employment. In addition, it focuses on raising the confidence and improving school performance of those taking part in the programme.

J. Sainsbury plc and Comic Relief support the Fair Development Fund through a £2m match-funding grant over four years. The Fair Development Fund targets workers and smallholder farmers in Sainsbury's supply chains across Africa, promoting fairer working conditions and increased incomes to enable long-term sustainable livelihoods. Sainsbury’s have contributed £250k per year for 4 years. Sainsbury’s also provide a £1 million in-kind contribution directly to the grant recipients.

Sport England has awarded £0.15 million towards the development of the Sport for Development Coalition capacity and development support. Sport England has awarded £0.3 million towards the development of Sport Relief focusing particularly on working with underrepresented groups, engaging workplaces and maternal wellbeing and mental health.

Steve Redgrave Fund. The Sir Steve Redgrave Charitable Trust transferred its assets to Comic Relief , who have established this fund to continue the work of the Trust to fund projects which support disadvantaged children and young people in the UK.

Tech for Good is a Social Tech initiative, co-funded by Comic Relief and Paul Hamlyn Foundation . Tech for Good supports not-for- profit organisations to develop or scale digital projects which deliver new or improved services to beneficiaries.

Tech for Good 2 is a Social Tech initiative, co-funded by Comic Relief and Paul Hamlyn Foundation . Tech for Good 2 follows on from Tech for Good to support not-for-profit organisations to develop or scale digital projects which deliver new or improved services to beneficiaries

Tech vs Abuse is a programme funded by a Big Lottery Fund contribution of £305k and Comic Relief who provided £318k made up of funds from HM Treasury. Comic Relief makes grants to organisations that work with women and girls affected by abuse. The purpose of the programme is to invest in projects that focus on the design challenges and principles identified through Comic Relief's research results of their 2015 'Tech for Good' initiative to understand how technology and digital tools can be used to support people.

The Tech vs Abuse 2 programme is a collaborative research project undertaken by Think Social Tech, Snook, and SafeLives, commissioned by Comic Relief, in partnership with Esmée Fairbairn Foundation, and the Clothworkers Foundation. The funding programme was designed around these research findings and the insights it gathered from key organisations across the sector to support the development of technology that will improve the situation for people affected by domestic abuse.

Urban Slums and Maternal, Newborn and Child Health (MNCH) . This is a partnership agreement with the Big Lottery Fund that funds projects in the areas of urban slums and MNCH, to learn what can be achieved through collaboration with another funder, to generate shared learning about ways of working and international funding experience, to widen connections with the international funding sector and to inform and communicate with the UK development sector on what the collaboration aims to achieve.

The Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation is providing match funding towards grants to the Global Fund to fight AIDS, tuberculosis and malaria, and to The Challenge Initiative, to increase women’s access to family planning and reproductive health services.

The BT Supporters Club is a Comic Relief initiative in partnership with BT Sport. Subscribers to BT Sport are given the opportunity to add a monthly donation to their BT bill, with money raised used to support projects both here in the UK, and in some of the world’s poorest countries. BT also make a contribution to cover the operating costs and management of the fund.

The Laurie Family Fund is funded through donations from the Laurie family and supports projects in the UK and internationally. The Queen Elizabeth Diamond Jubilee Trust is a match funding grant which launched The Queen's Young Leaders Programme to support young people from across the Commonwealth with a particular focus on youth unemployment and enterprise. The Sing Fund was set up with Annie Lennox to support projects tackling HIV/AIDS in Africa.

The Vodafone Foundation these funds are intended to support the international development of Comic Relief, including scoping the landscape and potential for fundraising in five territories where Vodafone has an operating company, and exploring the potential for collaboration on grant-making in Africa around health and education projects.

Try 4 Change Fund is a fund developed by the Rugby Football Union and Comic Relief to support a range of projects that will use rugby as a tool for social change.

The negative balances relating to UKAid (Department for International Development Match Funding) arise because income is only recognised on entitlement to income from Department for International Development, but the corresponding onward funding is recognised in full at the time it is awarded. These negative fund balances will be eliminated over a number of years as income due is received from Department for International Development.

UKAid Match Funding is a co-funding arrangement created as part of Red Nose Day 2011 whereby Department for International Development committed to match fund up to £16million of Red Nose Day funds raised by the public which Comic Relief has allocated for health and education projects in Africa.

UKAid Match Funding All in, All learning! is a co-funding arrangement created as part of Red Nose Day 2015 whereby Department for International Development committed to match fund up to £10million of Red Nose Day funds raised by the public which Comic Relief will allocate towards education in sub-Saharan Africa.

UKAid Match Funding Maanda Initiative is a co-funding arrangement created as part of Red Nose Day 2013 whereby Department for International Development committed to match fund up to £16million of Red Nose Day funds raised by the public which Comic Relief will allocate towards improving the lives of women and girls in sub-Saharan Africa.

UKAid Match Funding Global Mental Health Matters is a co-funding arrangement created as part of Red Nose Day 2019 whereby the UK Government’s Department for International Development committed to match fund up to £2 million of Red Nose Day funds raised by the public which Comic Relief will allocate to mental health projects in Kenya.

UKAid Match Funding Slums Initiative is a co-funding arrangement created as part of Sport Relief 2012 whereby Department for International Development committed to match fund up to £10million of Sport Relief funds raised by the public which will be allocated towards slums projects in four cities in Africa.

UKAid Match Funding Trade & Enterprise Initiative is a co-funding arrangement created as part of Sport Relief 2014 whereby Department for International Development committed to match fund up to £10million of Sport Relief funds raised by the public which Comic Relief will allocate towards supporting income generation and enterprise growth across sub-Saharan Africa.

Other Restricted Funds include donations given by a number of individuals who have chosen to support specific areas of our grant making.

Note 21. Contingent Assets

As at 31 July 2019, the Charity has entered into funding agreements where the Trustees have concluded that not all conditions for recognition of the grant income have been met. The Trustees expect that the conditions in these agreements will be fulfilled over the course of the next five years. The unrecognised value of these agreements is up to £33m (2018: £33m)

Note 22. Contingent Liabilities

As at 31 July 2019, the Charity had entered into a £1m. development impact bond with The British Asian Trust. The Trustees have concluded that not all conditions for recognition of the expenditure have been met for the full amount and a payment of £191k has been made. The Trustees expect that the conditions in this agreement will be fulfilled over the course of the next three years. The unrecognised value of this agreement is £809k (2018: £1m)

Note 26. Related parties

Comic Relief Inc.

Comic Relief Incorporated (Comic Relief Inc. previously known as America Gives Back Inc.) is a 501(c)(3) charitable organisation registered in the United States in 2007

Richard Curtis is a Trustee of Charity Projects and Vice President of Comic Relief Inc. Kevin Cahill is Honorary Life President of Charity Projects and a Trustee of Comic Relief Inc. The remaining nine Trustees of Comic Relief Inc. are independent of Charity Projects.

Charity Projects provides Comic Relief Inc. with the Comic Relief brand as part of a licence agreement. Under the same agreement Charity Projects observes Comic Relief Inc. board meetings but carries no voting rights or power to remove Comic Relief Inc. board members and has no beneficial interest in Comic Relief Inc. Therefore, Comic Relief Inc. is neither a subsidiary nor an associate of Charity Projects

In May 2019, the fifth Red Nose Day USA was produced by Comic Relief Inc. in partnership with NBC Universal under license from Charity Projects. A license fee of £50k (2018: £50k) was charged by Charity Projects.

In 2017, following discussions with the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation a core grant from the Foundation to Charity Projects, was sub-granted from Charity Projects to Comic Relief Inc. to support the production of Red Nose Day USA £0.7m ($0.9m) for 2017/18, no further subgrants were made in 2018/19.

In 2019, Charity Projects provided no funding (2018: £0.5m) to Comic Relief Inc. into their Ignite Fund to help Comic Relief Inc. move to the next level of reach and fundraising.

Comic Relief Inc's year end is 31 December. The unaudited income raised from Red Nose Day USA 2019 was $43.2m (2018: $46.9m).

Other related parties.

During the year, Comic Relief Limited charged £1.4m (2018: £1.8m) to Charity Projects as a licence fee for the use of the Comic Relief brand in an onward licence to Comic Relief Inc.

Charity Projects charges Comic Relief Limited a management fee for shared staff, premises, depreciation and other support costs. The charge is based on the ratio of income for each entity. For 2019 the fee was £1.6m (2018: £1.2m).

Comic Relief Limited transfers its total net taxable profit to Charity Projects at the end of each year under gift aid. For the year ended 31 July 2019 this was £11m (2018: £5.7m).

At 31 July 2019 Comic Relief Limited owed £8.1m (2018: £3.2m) to Charity Projects. During the year Trustees and key management personnel made personal donations totalling £3k (2018: £1k).

Tim Davies, our Chair, is the Chief Executive Officer of BBC Studios the company which produces the Night Of TV. Co-production fees of £0.75m were due from BBC Studios to Comic Relief at 31 July 2019 (£0.4m 2017/18) and a payment of £0.004m (£0.01m 2017/18) was made by Comic Relief to BBC Studios for production.

Theo Sowa, one of our Trustees during the year, is the Chief Executive Officer of the Africa Women’s Development Fund. During 2018/19 payments of £0.28m (£0.28m 2017/18) relating to two grants worth £2.74m awarded in prior years were paid. Theo was not part of the grant making decision process in relation to this funding.