Our external grants programme supported a plethora of needs including, but not exclusively, elderly care, the provision of mental health services, employment and training, bereavement services, housing, and facilities providing advice and guidance. Grants included significant awards to the likes of Broughton House (£96,000), Royal Commonwealth Ex Services League (£200,000), Combat Stress (£250,000), SSAFA (£295,000), RFEA The Forces Employment Charity (£398,146) and smaller discrete grants to organisations such as the Army Widows’ Association (£32,000) and the Rainbow Trust Children’s Charity (£15,000). Income and Expenditure The total cost of raising funds was £5.9m (FY18-19: £5.7m) as we invested slightly more in income-generating activities. We continue to bear the entire cost of raising and administering funds, which we then pass on for free to our 89 delivery partners. Total expenditure decreased to £18.1m (FY18-19: £22.9m), largely due to last year’s substantial grant to the Defence and National Rehabilitation Centre (more than £7m). Regarding our investment portfolios, they showed a significant loss of £3.62m at year end (FY18-19 gains of £5.05m), given the market reductions in March 2020 (the final month of the reporting period). Since then the funds have regained much of their value – we continue to take a long-term view and manage our resources accordingly. Case studies Here are two examples of the support we have provided over the past year, via our individual grants programme (Holly) and via our grants to other charities and organisations programme (Combat Stress). How we helped Holly Holly was 19 when she joined the Army. She served with the Royal Electrical and Mechanical Engineers for seven years, including an operational tour of Iraq in 2003. After leaving the Army, Holly struggled with her mental health and found it difficult to hold down a job. But with the help of the Poppy Factory – one of 89 charities funded by our charity this year – she decided to launch The Hangry Lemons café in the indoor market of her hometown of Carlisle. Holly runs the café with her partner, Hannah. They applied to our charity for help with a kitchen refurbishment to get the café up and running, and the business got off to a great start. The café was closed due to the coronavirus pandemic, but Holly and Hannah look forward to welcoming customers back as social distancing restrictions lift.
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