Trustees’ Annual Report for the period
From 1st January 2025 to December 31st 2025
Objectives and Activities
Shaftesbury Refugee Group is a Community Interest Organisation (CIO), a registered charity, 1204787 formed on 19th September 2023. Our charity’s objects are as follows:
To advance the education and relieve financial hardship of those granted refugee status and other displaced people in Shaftesbury, Gillingham, Motcombe and the adjacent villages and towns through:
increasing opportunities to engage with service providers, to enable those providers to adapt services to better meet the needs of that community.
providing peer support and other activities that build people’s confidence and enable them to participate more effectively with the wider community.
promoting educational, training, social and recreational events involving the local community.
This report will be provided to The Charity Commission.
A summary of our main activities in the year in relation to our objects:
Provide befriending and referral services that help refugees establish themselves within the local community and the life of the UK and take the journey to citizenship.
Provide some financial assistance to refugees to establish businesses, attend education, and meet domestic, health and well-being needs.
Continue to improve and add content to an active website which provides advice and support to refugees and their hosts, and establishes a point of contact with the community.
Organise the distribution and collection of IT equipment for refugees with our partners (delete s), DonateIT.
Seek grants and arrange events to raise funds such as Quiz Nights in Motcombe.
Arrange free and subsidised events to enable refugees to meet together and with the local community
Support English language development through conversation partners and summer school places.
Help furnish accommodation for people new to our community and moving into rented accommodation or Higher Education.
Assist the matching and rematching of refugees from Ukraine and hosts in the area as part of the Homes for Ukraine scheme.
Develop a wider network of partners and friends that can provide support when necessary for the needs of refugees.
Raise awareness of the plight of displaced people through the website, media, in schools, Refugee Week and through our events.
Be advocates for refugees in situations where they need support to make their needs clear.
Signpost displaced people and those keen to support them to relevant services such as Local Authorities and Job Centres.
Maintain a scheme to help with transport needs, including support for driving lessons and tests
A summary of our achievements and performance:
The number of people our service has been in direct contact with, to provide support (displaced people, hosts) for this period was approximately 150. The majority are Ukrainian refugees but we have also supported Syrian and Iranian refugees.
In the period of this report we had an average of just under 1000 unique visitors per month, to our website, for advice and support online.
Our Treasurer’s Finance Report and accounts, shows our income in the period to December 31st 2025, was £19,001.67. Our expenditure was £18,868.94 and only £657.92 (3.4% of our expenditure) was on the administration of the charity.
We have arranged many social events that have helped people in the Homes for Ukraine scheme to connect with each other. They included:
coach trips to Somerset in September and to Winchester in December
Stand with Ukraine
Masliana
Vyshyvanka Day
Ivan Kupala
Semley Music Festival
Gillingham and Shaftesbury Show
Independence Day
With our partner DonateIT, we have purchased and distributed approximately 12 laptops, tablets and phones, and offered a small number of grants for printers to meet the educational and professional needs of refugees.
We have provided 7 transport grants that have helped people become independently mobile through bicycles, driving lessons and tests.
We have given 3 small emergency dentistry grants.
With our partners Vodafone and The Good Things Foundation we have shared free data packages with 24 people.
With our partner The National Trust we have awarded over 100 complimentary day visit passes
With our partner Marnhull Tennis Club we have enabled children and adults to join and be coached during every school holiday period.
We have become affiliated with the City of Sanctuary and are working with Shaftesbury Town Council to support their adoption of City of Sanctuary status
We shared the emotions of song with Ukrainian choirs at Olia Hercules’ talk and in the rain of December as Shaftesbury opened for late night shopping.
We have maintained a group of 11 English Conversation volunteers helping 12 refugees
With our partners Skills and Learning (adult education) and their brilliant tutor Linda, we initiated a new beginners in English course for 6 Gillingham residents
We have 9 other volunteers supporting transport needs, health service visits, IT donations, translation and photography.
We have supported 5 families of Ukrainian guests who have moved into private accommodation by providing small grants, advice and help with arrangements.
We have supported Visa Extension scheme information events and, with the support of The International Organisation for Migration and our local MP, Simon Hoare, been an advocate for people whose visas were delayed.
We have supported Syrian refugees who have successfully applied for and gained their British citizenship. A wonderful thing to celebrate. We have helped them develop their businesses through opportunities for catering at 3 quizzes.
We have provided 17 week-long places at a summer school with our partners English Country Schools and Port Regis.
We have provided approximately 13 week-long places during the summer and shorter school holidays with our partners Prime Sports Coaching
We have provided grants for a series of music lessons via qualified tutors for 3 young people
We have provided grants for additional cultural activities such as swimming or ballet for young people who feel isolated or hope to build their confidence
We have provided a maths tutor to support Ukrainian examination preparation for 6 Ukrainian young people, giving 101, hour-long tutorials in total.
We have provided small relocation grants to 8 young people moving to Higher Education to study for degrees in subjects as varied as criminology, journalism and biotechnology.
We have liaised with the Dorset Council resettlement team and support workers locally where families have encountered hardship or additional challenges. We have very good trusting relationships with Dorset Council and other statutory agencies.
We have represented our group at Dorset Together meetings, enabling us to link to wider services and partners across Dorset. We were consulted on and contributed to the new resettlement team format of quarterly meetings.
We have met regularly as Trustees and scoped our future as a charity and amended our Business Plan accordingly with our ambitions and approach for the next four years.
We have secured sufficient funding to enable us to achieve our goals for the coming year.
Financial Review
Financial position:
The opening reserve balance on 1st January 2025 was £12237.96
Income in the period to December 31st 2025 totalled £19,001.67
Purchases totalled £ 18,211.02,
Administration, legal and professional costs were £657.92 (3.4% of total expenditure)
This resulted in a surplus of £132.73 for the period.
The closing balance on 31st December 2025 was £12,370.69
Reserves policy:
In order to continue with our vital work into the future we hold a small reserve of £500 which allows us to retain our capacity and to be resilient in the face of any issues such as declining donations. The Reserves Policy is reviewed annually and the amount held in reserve considered each time. No funds are in deficit.
Going Concern:
The charity has a plan for expenditure of its current funds and monitors the spend against that plan at each meeting. The charity is not in deficit and there are no uncertainties about the charity as a going concern.
Governance of the Charity
Shaftesbury Refugee Group is a Charitable Incorporated Organisation formed as such on 9th September 2023, whose only voting members are its charity trustees. It has a constitution based on the Charity Commission Foundation model as its governing document. https://www.shaftesburyrefugeegroup.org/constitution.
The charity is managed by a committee of trustees. There are currently 10 trustees. Three trustees were appointed in that period.
Trustee name and Office (if any) with dates appointed if not for whole year
Carolyn Godfrey: Chair
Sara Delano Jacson MBE: Secretary
Rosalind Hanby: Vice Chair
Stuart Twiss: Health and Safety Officer, Information Officer, Website Manager
Julia Markus
Stephen Wiles: Treasurer
Nicola Pender
Guy Sutherland appointed June 28th 2025
Rebecca Sutherland appointed June 28th 2025
Luke Foy appointed December 2nd 2025
Meetings
The trustees have held 10 quorate and minuted meetings in the period of this Annual Report.
Probity
The Trustees are all fit and proper persons and have agreed to act in line with the following policies,
Code of Conduct
Equality
Safeguarding
Health and Safety
Environment
Finance
Reserves
Expenses
Grant Giving
Incident Reporting
Personal Data and Privacy
Risk
Anti Racism
Bullying and Harassment (new)
Social Media (new)
Complaints
See our website. https://www.shaftesburyrefugeegroup.org/our-policies
Appointment of Trustees
Trustees are invited to fill particular gaps in our skill set and we aim to be representative of different parts of the community e.g. geographically. Appointments made in the year are confirmed at the AGM.
Induction of Trustees
New Trustees are inducted in a way that suits their prior experience of Trusteeship and governance. All are made aware of the policies of the charity and all are given access to online training especially around safeguarding. Trustees receive training in the corporate and transparent decision making processes the charity uses and the electronic platforms that help the charity administer itself securely and nimbly.
Volunteer Induction
Volunteers supporting our work need to be aware of and agree to the same policies and all hold a current DBS certificate, accept the Volunteer Guidance (new) and accept their obligations to maintain confidentiality.
Public benefit
The Trustees of the charity have fulfilled their duties under section 4 of the 2006 Act and have due regard to the guidance on Public Benefit (PB1, 2 and 3) provided by the Charity Commission and have taken it into account when making decisions to which the guidance was relevant.We have had no reason for departing from this guidance.
Incident Reporting
The Trustees of the charity are aware of their obligations to report any incidents to the Charity Commission and have had no reason to do so in the period of this report.
Thanks
We would like to thank all current and past Trustees for their support and dedication to our charity.
We would also like to thank all of the hosts who have welcomed Ukrainian guests; the Syrian and Ukrainian families and the Friends of Shaftesbury Refugee Group who have welcomed new refugees into our community.
We have been able to achieve more by working within a community of partners upon whom we can rely for additional services such as IT, clothing, furniture, fund raising and advice. In particular we have been helped greatly by Prime Sports Coaching, English Country Schools, Semley Music Festival, The Grosvenor Arms, Bill Hamilton of Compton McRae, Jamie Randall Photography, Simon Barfoot of Donate IT, Citizens Advice, Gillingham and Shaftesbury Show, International Organisation for Migration, Virginia Hayward Hampers, City of Sanctuary, Refugee Week, local schools, Open House, Skills and Learning (adult learning), Shaftesbury and Gillingham Town Councils and their respective mayors and Dorset Council.
We thank our donors who have been personal, charitable and organisational. Every contribution makes a difference, signalling support for displaced people and making the burden of a displaced life apart from connections and family a little easier. Their generosity is much appreciated.
Our English Conversation volunteers are in regular contact with families and meet a prime need to learn fluent English but also support in many ways, as friends and local support. Their assistance is invaluable for displaced people. Thank you!
Finally we welcome, and celebrate the courage and resilience of all refugees coming to Shaftesbury and the surrounding area. ‘No one leaves home unless home is the mouth of a lion’,Warsan Shire.
The trustees declare that they have approved the Annual Report of Shaftesbury Refugee Group above.
Chair: Carolyn Godfrey
Secretary: Sara Jacson
Signed by the above on behalf of the charity’s trustees at the AGM.
Correspondence:
Shaftesbury Refugee Group, CIO charity: 1204787
c/o Sara Jacson
Grove Farm House
Dinah’s Hollow
Melbury Abbas
Shaftesbury
SP7 0DE
