Annual Report 2018-2019
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The network of British Muslim charities working for social good in the UK and abroad FINANCIAL & AANNNNUUAALL STATEMENTS YEAR END RREEPPOORRTT 31 MARCH 2019 Charity Number 1166149 CONTENTS PAGE 1-2 Message from the Chair of Trustees and Chief Executive Officer 3 Who We Are 4 A Message of Gratitude 5 What We Do 6-7 Our Year at a Glance 8 This Year We Supported Through 9 This Year We Connected Through 10 This Year We Represented Through 11 Looking Towards the Future 12-13 Financial Review 14 Independent Examiner's Report 15 Statement of Financial Activities 16 Balance Sheet 17 - 25 Notes to the Financial Statements 26 Corporate Directory PAGE 01 MESSAGE FROM THE CHAIR OF TRUSTEES AND CHIEF EXECUTIVE OFFICER As-salamu alaykum Peace be upon you The world is suffering under the weight of a myriad of global issues. From climate change to dire poverty, from war and conflict to the refugee crisis – every day, the work our sector does has, unfortunately, become an increasing necessity. The Muslim charity sector in the UK provides a lifeline for the people that it serves, offering solutions and a vision of what the future could be beyond the pain and suffering of the present. This collective of charities are the pride of the UK Muslim community. Research from MCF found that last year, British Muslim charities raised nearly £500 million for a variety of worthy causes across the world, including to provide necessary help to our neighbours and communities here in the UK. As the needs of the world grow, so does our sector. From humble beginnings in the 1980s, with less than a handful of charities, the British Muslim charity sector has now blossomed into at least one hundred international non- governmental organisations. What our sector has become and has achieved is worthy and deserving of celebration – it would not have been possible without the grace of God and the endless hard work and dedication of so many. At the MCF we dedicate ourselves to enabling and supporting the sector in to becoming the best version of itself: to model what it means to be an effective, accountable and unified sector. Many of the struggles our world faces need immediate action – climate change is a particularly poignant example. We are all acutely aware that if we do not begin to make adequate changes, including within our own sector, to embody sustainability in our work, the reality of our negligence could be devastatingly irreversible. The climate does not care for our differences of opinions. We must look more long term – and we must, faced with our collective challenges, work together for the greater good. We have had a very busy year building on our strategic goals and delivering workshops, events and producing resources to help our members to network, discuss ideas and issues and develop their capacity and effectiveness. Centering our values of humanity, accountability, transparency, effectiveness and excellence, we partnered and worked with several different stakeholders to maximise impact and engagement, helping to bridge gaps and foster collaboration across different political, cultural and religious lines. PAGE 02 The research MCF has conducted this year has helped to build a foundation of understanding about the sector which had not been previously developed, thus inspiring us to pursue a mapping of the sector in the future as a central part of the work we do. Furthermore, our Safeguarding and Sustainable Development Goals workshops highlighted the power of having a space for important discussions within the sector and highlighting problems and offering solutions to help us reflect, grow and move forward. Other events such as our ‘Beyond Duty’ Annual Talk presented an opportunity to be inspired by the moving personal stories of Lord Alf Dubs and Neil Jameson, providing a positive framework for our members to develop a sense of duty and purpose in their own work. Dr Hany El-Banna OBE Chair of Trustees The need for MCF as a network of Muslim charities in the UK has become increasingly clear. As a body, we help to empower our members in working more collaboratively and in adopting certain standards and sustainability goals. We know that collaboration works and that when charities come together to find solutions, initiate discussions and innovate ways to address the root causes of poverty, meaningful change happens. To have a network solely dedicated to developing the space and resources for such collaboration to take place is a blessing – but with further strategic investment, MCF would be even better placed to carry out the vital work that needs to be done. We know what our sector needs, we know and have demonstrated what our sector as a collective can do – what we need now is to recognise where we need to be in the long- term. For the future of the British Muslim Charity Sector to be bright, we need to take the time now to ensure we invest in it. Fadi Itani Chief Executive Officer PAGE 03 WHO WE ARE OUR VISION To see British Muslim charities making the biggest difference they can towards a more just and sustainable world. OUR MISSION To enable British Muslim charities to become more effective and reach their full potential. OUR VALUES Our diverse members are united by a collective set of values, rooted in our shared faith of Islam, which are: HUMANITY ACCOUNTABILITY TRANSPARENCY EFFECTIVENESS EXCELLENCE A MESSAGE OF GRATITUDE PAGE 04 Thank you to our members Thank you to our partners - who helped make this a successful year PAGE 05 WHAT WE DO AT MCF SSUUPPPPOORRTT We support MCF members and their staff by providing a set of services to enhance their capabilities and help them to respond to a rapidly evolving environment so that they can strengthen their accountability to stakeholders, improve their efficiency and have greater impact. CCOONNNNEECCTT Networks are among the most powerful assets of MCF and its members: as a source of knowledge, experience and skills, they enable debating issues, sharing knowledge, mobilising resources and delivering impact. RREEPPRREESSEENNTT In an increasingly challenging operating environment, it is important for British Muslim charities to develop and project a data-driven, self-confident, collective voice, one that is heard and genuine. OUR YEAR AT A GLANCE PAGE 06 MCF Safeguarding Workshop The event included a range of specialist speakers including: Dr Angela Crack (University of Portsmouth), After reports of unacceptable sexual misconduct by Elanor Jackson (specialist in women’s and girls’ rights staff working for UK-based international NGOs, & gender equality), Sarah Mistry (Bond), Kristiana we recognised the importance of asking difficult Wrixon (ACEVO), Michelle Russell (Charity questions about the sector’s governance and Commission), Dr Stuart Gordon (LSE) leadership around safeguarding. The workshop enabled attendees to understand the Through our Safeguarding workshop on the 30th May regulatory framework, become aware of risk factors 2018, we highlighted that safeguarding should be an and proposed policy solutions, identify the steps absolute priority for any NGO: not only in terms of required to build and strengthen organisation's policies and practices, but also in terms safeguarding culture and capacity and recognise of organisational culture. This workshop brought what good leadership looks like in regard to together a range of expert speakers to discuss the safeguarding. different dimensions and challenges related to improving safeguarding standards. The specialist speakers boasted expertise from a range of backgrounds helping to contribute to a more complex and detailed discussion about how Muslim NGOs can tackle safeguarding issues within their own organisations. MCF 2018 Annual Talk: 'Beyond Duty' We were also thankful to have the support of haysmacintyre who hosted our event in Central Our Annual Talk on the 12th December 2018 gave us London. a strong and moving vision to enter into 2019 he . T The event saw the participation of representatives theme of hope, the necessity of being vocal and from a wide variety of organisations: steadfast against injustice and inequality and CEOs of leading Muslim international NGOs ensuring the Muslim charity sector’s place at the the Interim CEO for Bond (the UK’s network of table of important and impactful discussions, all International Development NGOs) shaped the discourse of the evening. the Charity Commission (the regulatory body for UK Charities) We had the immense pleasure of being joined by the Independent Commission for Aid Impact Lord Alf Dubs and Neil Jameson CBE, who both spoke Muslim professional networks passionately about their stories, their impact, and charity executive experts the sense of duty that drove them to go beyond small-charities and interfaith networks what was expected of them. chartered accountants and law firms. Two of the key values that MCF works to strengthen in the Muslim charity sector are humanity and excellence. The Annual Talk’s guest speakers have a long history of upholding these very values. To acknowledge their contributions, their dedication and their experiences, the MCF awarded Lord Dubbs and Mr Jameson with a frame with the famous passage from the Quran 5:2 "whosoever saved a life it is as if they have saved all of mankind", for their service to humanity and communities respectively. PAGE 07 PAGE 06 OUR YEAR AT A GLANCE Measuring Impact and Progressive Dr Carl Wright reminded attendees to use the SDG’s Change Workshop targets as a framework to measure the impact of their programmes. Dr Duncan Green spoke about the power On the 7th March 2019, MCF held a workshop-style event of relationships stating that 'power is the underlying hosted by Grant Thornton discussing the importance of force-field of development' therefore recognising measuring change within charities and the impact of the where power lies and utilising this power to influence SDGs.