Charitable Funds Committee Assurance Report - July 2025
Meeting: Trust Board – Public Meeting (Corporate Trustee)
Date: 9 July 2025
Report Title: Charitable Funds Committee Assurance Report
Agenda Item: CT25/07/8.2
Committee Date: 14 May 2025
Meeting Chair: Chris Brook, Non-Executive Director and Committee Chair
Meeting quorate: YES
Purpose: Assurance
Link to Strategic Objective:
- Be an exceptional place to work, volunteer and learn.
- Provide outstanding quality of care and performance.
- Be excellent collaborators and innovators as system partners.
- Be an environmentally and financially sustainable organisation.
Summary of items considered at the meeting:
| Issue | Consideration | Resolution | Assurance |
|---|---|---|---|
| Charity Activity Update | The charity continues to successfully receive funds and complete applications for various grants – but we need more funds to underpin the long-term viability of the charity. | NHSCT awarded a grant of £142k from the Community Resilience Fund to support the Out of Hospital Cardiac Arrest Desk pilot. The third instalment of £15k was awarded as part of the acceptance of the interim report by NHSCT for Welfare Wagons With ELT and Charity approval, the team successfully entered an application for a £46k grant to NHSCT Workforce Wellbeing. This grant would provide better access to Trauma Support via Thrive and the Time for Me app. | Substantial |
| Charity Activity Update | Welfare Wagons provide great support in most regions, but its purpose requires clarity | Usage of Welfare Wagons continue to perform well in most areas, with volunteers giving 128 days of service since January. Areas that perform well below target is Bedfordshire and Luton, and Cambridgeshire and Peterborough. It is important that the Welfare Wagons purpose is clearly defined and not just about the ’free snacks and drinks’. There was an action given to the team to be clear on staff expectations. | Substantial |
| Communications and Engagement | The charity continues to be promoted within the limits of the communication team | The charity continues to receive good external publicity and has created a newsletter which summarises all the good work it does. | Good |
| Charity Finance Report | The charity continues to successfully receive funds and complete applications for various grants – but we need more funds to underpin the long-term viability of the charity. | Income received of £329k against £571k of spend. General fund balance stands at £368k. Total reserves stand at £1.4m. Charitable donations tend to perform very well via the Community First Responders and Grants from NHSCT. Stars of East contribution from the charity was supported. | Substantial |
Matters for escalation or referral:
None
