Thilen, a Nepalese orphan now sponsored through ROPE, is now healthy and proudly wears his traditional dress.
Andrew Burton, Sheila Crouch, Graham Fairburn
Tony Houghton, Kathy Nussbaum, Stuart Reid,
Michael Wood and Peter Wiles
The objects of the Charity are to advance and promote the Christian faith and the relief of poverty. It aims to help the very poor throughout the world where little or no other help is available. This help is given regardless of religion, class, age or race. The Charity operates in approximately 50 countries primarily through national partners (ROPEholders) who administer funds and care for the poor at grass roots level. ROPEholders account for the funds spent on a quarterly basis. There were 66 active ROPEholders at the end of March 2009.
The charity's mission is to inspire passion against the injustice of global poverty and oppression, converting this passion to righteous concern and this concern into direct action through personal giving to reach and bring change to the lives of individuals who have few other options for survival.
Our values:
Work overseas continues to develop well; some of the projects during the past year are as follows:
There are too many projects to mention them all in this report but details of initiatives supported are regularly updated on the charity's website (here at www.rope.org.uk) and in the quarterly newsletter Press Relief available on request or via the website.
ROPE Charitable Trust is a Christian charity and was incorporated as a company limited by guarantee in March 1998. The Charity was founded in 1991 by Michael Wood with a vision to make a difference for suffering people and the poorest of the world.
The Trustees who served during the year ended 31 March 2009, who are also directors for the purpose of Company law, are listed in the Information section on page 2 of the accounts. None has any beneficial interest in the Company, all are members and each one guarantees to contribute £1 in the event of a winding up. They met on five occasions to formally discuss and progress the activities of the Charity and additionally met together for prayer and other discussions. The Trustee meetings included a full day reviewing and discussing the long-term strategy for the Charity and agreeing key policies for its operation.
Trustees are appointed at General meetings of the Charity following recommendations by existing Trustees. Trustees are empowered to invest and disinvest the Charity's funds in furtherance of the Charity's objects. A revised Memorandum and Articles of Association was adopted in December 2008 incorporating modern best practice principles and requiring a third of directors to retire by rotation at each Annual General Meeting.
The Charity is closely related to Friends of ROPE (Registered Charity No 292451) which currently meets the administrative costs for operating the ROPE Charity. It is planned to merge Friends of ROPE into the main ROPE Charity in the coming year to simplify administration and improve transparency of activities.
The Charity is based in Great Missenden, Buckinghamshire where its offices are located. There were a number of staff changes during the year as our previous Chief Executive, Andy Jong, moved on after five fruitful years at the helm of our Charity. We acknowledge all that Andy brought to us and the progress we were able to make under his leadership. After re-examining the needs for the Charity's future growth and progress we decided to recruit a part-time Chief Executive supported by a Grants and Projects Manager. We were pleased to welcome Sarah Coope to the Grants and Projects. Manager role where she is now our key link with ROPEholders across the world and is developing our links with ROPEholders. At the beginning of 2009, we were delighted to welcome Graham Fairbairn as our new Chief Executive. Graham had previously been Deputy Chief Executive of Tearfund and brings with him a wealth of experience in relief, development and fund-raising. We are already benefiting from Graham's experience as we move forward in these challenging times.
The Charity continues to be extremely well supported by a large group of volunteers who willingly support the staff. We are very grateful for all of their contributions in a wide range of services to ROPE.
The Trustees have a risk management strategy which comprises:
The main actions taken during the past year to reduce risk and improve the Charity's operations are:
The past year has seen a global recession and financial uncertainties not experienced for many years. During this time, many charities have seen income reduced as donors have re-assessed their ability to give to needy projects around the world. ROPE has seen a modest reduction in income although this has not had a major impact on its activities. Whilst income and grants to ROPEholders have seen some reduction, this has been limited and our hopes are that the level of activity for the past year as a whole will be at least maintained in the coming year.
During the year to 31 March 2009, total income reduced to £597,000, down from £662,000 in 2008, a reduction of 10 per cent.
The Charity was again well supported by Friends of ROPE, a connected charity, which provided alladministrative staff and running costs contributing c£109,000 (2008: £109,000).
The level of grant support provided through our network of ROPEholders around the world was curtailed due to the economic recession and reduced income but still amounted to £597,000, compared with £718,000 in 2008, 17 per cent lower. The level of reserves is retained at approximately six months of grant expenditure and is kept under review by the Trustees. Available funds are invested in an interest-bearing CAF account.
The allocation of grants was similar to 2008 but with some increase in Asia offset by small reductions elsewhere; 32 per cent was provided to Africa, 10 per cent to the Americas, 49 per cent to Asia and 9 per cent to Europe & Middle East.
At the period end, total funds amounted to £184,000 (2008: £196,000), including £176,000 (2008:£184,000) reserves available for future distribution.
The Trustees are planning to increase the number of ROPE days where members of ROPE can present its activities and provide opportunities for donors to contribute towards its work. In addition,special events and presentations to supporters will provide increased understanding of ROPE's work.
The Charity's website will be updated to improve communication and enable ROPE to widen its reach to donors of all ages.
The Trustees are seeking to increase ROPE's role in meeting the needs of the very poor and will develop its arrangements with ROPEholders to meet these growing needs.
