The trustees, who are also the company directors of Islamic Relief Worldwide, are responsible for preparing the trustees’ report. This includes the group strategic report and the financial statements, preparing these in accordance with applicable law and United Kingdom Accounting Standards (United Kingdom Generally Accepted Accounting Practice). Company law requires our trustees to prepare financial statements for each financial year. They must not approve the financial statements unless they are satisfied that they give a true and fair view of the state of affairs of the charitable company and the group, and of the incoming resources and application of resources, including income and expenditure , of the charitable group for that period.

In preparing these financial statements, the trustees are required to:

Trustees must keep adequate accounting records that are sufficient to:

The trustees are also responsible for safeguarding the assets of the charitable company and the group and, therefore, must take reasonable steps to prevent and detect fraud and other irregularities.

Under Section 418 of the Companies Act 2006 the trustees’ report must contain statements to the effect that, in the case of each of the persons who are trustees at the time, the report is approved:

The trustees are responsible for the maintenance and integrity of the corporate and financial information included on the charitable company’s website. Legislation in the United Kingdom governing the preparation and dissemination of financial statements may differ from legislation in other jurisdictions.

We develop strategic plans to make certain that we deliver maximum public benefit and achieve our strategic objectives, which fall under purposes defined by the Charities Act 2011. The trustees have carefully considered the Charity Commission’s general guidance on public benefit in setting our objectives and planning our activities.

The organisation recognises that it is only as good as the staff that it employs. Accordingly, Islamic Relief Worldwide is an equal opportunities employer and we are proud to recruit and promote staff based on aptitude and ability, without discrimination. The steps we take include ensuring ‘blindshortlisting’ when recruiting to new roles, so applicants cannot be identified when we decide who to shortlist for interview. As set out in our Recruitment and Selection Policy, we make all reasonable adjustments necessary for candidates who tell us they have a disability and give full and fair consideration to all applications. It is the policy of Islamic Relief Worldwide that the recruitment, training, career development znd promotion of disabled persons should, as far as possible, be identical to that of other employees.

Our policies and procedures fully support our colleagues with disabilities and we take active measures to do so. The organisation is responsive to the needs of its employees and as such, should any employee of the Charity become disabled during their time with us, we will make reasonable adjustments to their working environment where possible, in order to keep the employee with the organisation. Determined to do more, we are working to create and embed an Equal Opportunities Policy and to ensure our learning and development opportunities are accessible to all colleagues. We support our employees and actively develop their skills. We encourage all our colleagues to engage with our organisational strategy and objectives and to give their suggestions and views in the development of these. In 2021 we undertook a global staff survey which identified areas to explore but also areas to celebrate. Going forward, this data will help to shape our People and Culture Strategy.

We offer our employees management and leadership development through our Aspiring Managers and Management and Leadership Development programmes in order to enable them to forge career paths within the organisation.

We strive to promote a healthy workplace. In 2022 managers received mental health awareness training; and we trained an additional 10 mental health first aiders. Islamic Relief now has over 30 mental health first aiders offering support and guidance to colleagues. Staff benefitted from a programme of wellbeing initiatives, including webinars on financial, emotional and physical support; healthy snacks and nutrition advice; and a day off work to focus on their wellbeing.

We continue to provide greater flexibility to allow staff to achieve a better work-life balance and in 2022 we trialled a hybrid working model to allow staff to continue working from home for most of the week whilst developing a functional return to work premises to enhance cohesion and collaboration and boost morale.

We provide all our UK-based staff with a healthcare cash plan and access to an employee assistance programme which includes online consultations with a doctor. Recognising that our workforce was also affected by the cost of living crisis, we provided staff on lower salaries with a lump sum to help ease the strain.

The commitment and passion of our network of volunteers continues to contribute greatly to the success of Islamic Relief Worldwide. These dedicated volunteers have been instrumental in supporting every aspect of our operations: across our shops, administration, fundraising and campaigning activities. Our active management of volunteers enables us to deploy them in the most effective way and enhances their experience.

A resolution to reappoint Grant Thornton LLP as auditors will be put to the members at the Annual General Meeting.

Islamic Relief Worldwide raises funds through various channels including online platforms and through our International Fundraising and Partner Development departments, which help new member offices establish themselves and grow, as well as strengthen links with institutional donors around the world. In the UK, we engage donors and fundraise through our strategic business unit, Islamic Relief UK. The overall objectives are agreed with the Board and disseminated to Islamic Relief UK. The Board and Islamic Relief UK then plan accordingly, setting key performance indicators for their teams and delivering in accordance with the Fundraising Regulator’s Code of Fundraising, to which the charity adheres. Management regularly monitors the performance of the fundraising teams and reports are issued to the Board periodically.

The charity adheres to all relevant statutory regulations including the Data Protection Act 2018 and the Charities Act 2011. We are registered with the Fundraising Regulator and strive for best practice in fundraising by adhering to the Code of Fundraising Practice and are committed to its Fundraising Promise. Islamic Relief is also a member of the Institute of Fundraising. Our fundraising uses several different approaches, which include the following:

Most of our activities were carried out by our own staff and volunteers. Islamic Relief Worldwide occasionally engaged third-party organisations to fundraise on our behalf, subject to contractual agreements and requirements to meet the same standards observed by Islamic Relief Worldwide in our fundraising practices.

A student volunteer led campaign, Charity Week engaged more than 5,000 volunteers across the globe and saw 107 UK educational institutions take part in the event. The project was run by 189 core volunteers who worked closely with our fundraising team. They received formal training and support to deliver an effective campaign which raised a total of £923,311 domestically.

In 2022 we developed and rolled out a new Data Retention Policy, outlining suitable time limits on how long personal data is held by Islamic Relief. We also made improvements to mandatory training for all staff by issuing reminders and tying this training to the staff appraisal process. The Islamic Relief website has also been updated to ensure those participating in fundraising challenge events are aware of age restrictions, fitness levels and training/preparation required at the point of sign up. In 2023, we will continue working on developing policies including our Donor Refund Policy and Donor Care Policy, as well as integrating the Code of Fundraising into our existing policies and procedures.

Islamic Relief Worldwide abides by the Fundraising Regulator’s Code of Fundraising Practice and ensures our colleagues and volunteers are fully briefed about the protection of vulnerable people. We brief staff and volunteers about best practice before they undertake any fundraising, making them aware of the need to identify, respect, support and protect vulnerable people.

We pride ourselves in having an opendoor policy, providing stakeholders with transparency and an opportunity to give us feedback on their experience. However, there may be times when we do not meet the high standards we set ourselves. For such instances, we have a Fundraising Regulator-approved complaints policy in place. We try to make it easy for concerns and complaints to be raised via our website, where our Complaints Policy can be found. Complaints are captured centrally, dealt with in accordance with the process laid out in the policy and reported to the Fundraising Regulator through the annual return. In 2022 we received 44 complaints, each of which was dealt with in accordance with our complaints policy.

Trustees’ indemnity insurance, indemnifying each trustee against liability to third parties, has been in place throughout the year ended 31 December 2022 and up to the date of approval of this report.