Annual report
for Birmingham Community Matters
I work as an associate for Birmingham Community Matters (BCM) - a charity that supports people to set up, run and grow small community organisations in Birmingham. As you may know, it is compulsory for the trustees of every charity registered in England and Wales to submit an annual report to the Charity Commission - the non-ministerial government department that registers and regulates the charity sector. The annual report carries that year’s accounts and also tells people about the charity’s work, where its money has come from, and how it has spent that money in the last accounting year. It has the potential to be a boring document - a bit of a chore to write and read - but at BCM we now make our annual report a showcase for our good work and recent achievements. It’s also another chance to celebrate the successes of small community groups we have supported. I worked with designer Kerry Leslie on BCM’s 2022-23 annual report, threading a theme of recovery and growth through each section to reflect that our charity had emerged from the pandemic with new knowledge and services. I kept the language deliberately light and upbeat, so it would be easy to read, as well as informative.
I have completed the 2023-24 annual report and the trustees have signed it off. I will share it here once BCM has submitted it to the Charity Commission.
“The trustees and myself were keen that our annual report served as a review, reflection and celebration of our work and impact, as well as including the relevant information required by the Charity Commission. Marie was key in not only coordinating the information for inclusion, but also helping us to reflect on our story of the past year, drawing out themes to highlight the nature of the period.
[…] Marie is always a pleasure to work with, she takes time to understand how we work and how our day to day work is going, what makes the organisation tick and stand out but also where the opportunities and challenges may be. She responds to requests for work quickly and effectively, and also always brings new and relevant ideas for how we can better communicate, always thinking about the needs and preferences of our audience and also how to make our work and services as broadly accessible as possible. She keeps up to date with new approaches, technology and thinking and is generous with her knowledge with the wider team”
- Jo Burrill, Birmingham Community Matters
Read Jo’s full testimonial.
