Building Financial Confidence for a Growing Youth Charity

Introduction

Projects4Change is a registered charity based in Newcastle upon Tyne, working with communities and partners to address the needs, voices and rights of young people. In 2024, the charity secured a significant Youth Investment Fund (YIF) grant to build a new Cowshed building, enabling them to support an additional 122 young people each week. As the organisation prepared to deliver its largest and most complex capital project to date, it identified a need to strengthen its financial systems and forward planning.

Central Support Offer – Identifying the Need

As this was the first capital grant of this size the charity had received, Projects4Change recognised gaps in its financial processes. The organisation was relying on Excel spreadsheets, using receipts and payments accounting, and lacked the systems needed to produce long‑term cash flow forecasts or assess whether project grants were covering delivery costs. This created risk when managing a major capital build alongside day‑to‑day operations and future planning.

The Intervention

Through the YIF Central Support Offer, Projects4Change received specialist financial management support from Almond Tree Strategic Consulting Limited, delivered through SAB Accountancy Services Ltd.

Almond Tree Strategic Consulting Limited provides practical, hands‑on consultancy to charities and community organisations across governance, finance, fundraising and strategic planning. Their work focuses on helping organisations navigate complexity with clarity, confidence and strong decision‑making. SAB Accountancy Services Ltd is a specialist accountancy firm with experience supporting charities to strengthen financial systems, forecasting and compliance, particularly during periods of growth or capital investment.

SAB Accountancy Services worked with the Prohects4Change to:

• Produce a detailed two‑year budget and cash flow forecast
• Review all income streams alongside their associated expenditure
• Migrate financial management to QuickBooks, a cloud‑based accounting system
• Agree an updated chart of accounts
• Deliver training sessions to build confidence in bookkeeping, reporting and good financial practice

The Result and Impact

The budgeting work showed that Projects4Change was performing better than expected, with no immediate cash flow concerns. The charity gained clarity on when specific grants would stop contributing towards staff salaries, allowing for more confident forward planning.

With QuickBooks implemented, financial records are now kept up to date, and regular management reports are produced internally. The budget has been extended through to March 2027, incorporating year‑to‑date actuals, giving the organisation significantly improved financial oversight.

Additional Benefits

As a result of the support, Projects4Change is better able to:

• Plan future funding bids against specific staff roles
• Target grant applications more strategically
• Make informed decisions about future staffing and infrastructure
• Clearly demonstrate organisational health while identifying underfunded activity

What They Said

“This support came at the best time for us as a charity. It has been critical in supporting our internal processes during our grant from the Youth Investment Fund. It has allowed us to be more strategic in our forward planning and in identifying under funded projects. We are now able to demonstrate the health of our organisation clearly while showing the areas that we need to focus our attention on to gain further support.”
 Kelly Coates, CEO, Projects4Change