Invoice #85875 to Sydenham Mutual Aid

Sydenham Mutual Aid group - Expense Policy

Background The ongoing lock-down is pushing more people into severe financial hardship. Sydenham Mutual Aid receives weekly requests for help with getting essential food and groceries from vulnerable residents who are unable to pay and do not have immediate access to food banks or benefits. There is therefore a need to be able to receive donations to help provide emergency support to these vulnerable residents who are unable to pay for food and other essential items themselves.

Expenses Limit Shopping for emergency food and groceries should be for a maximum of £25, except in exceptional circumstances. All request for shopping aid must be referred and approved by either an area or safeguarding lead. Image of receipt which matches a request for aid must be supplied and matched to request for reimbursement. When uploading expenses please include: ● The name of sub group from which you received the request ● The name of the road to which you delivered shopping or other support ● The date you delivered the shopping/ carried out the request Please DO NOT include any details which could breach the privacy of the person who has requested support. This includes their house number or name. The name of your expense should look something like this: SubGroup Name (Kirkdale) – Street name (Peak hill) - Date (30/03/20). This will help us to track expenses if something goes wrong and ensure expenses are legitimate. You must upload a valid receipt or invoice clearly showing the total amount, date, legal address, and what the payment is for. One of the administrators will then approve the expense claim. Expenses over £25 must be approved by the area or safeguarding lead as well as by two administrators. Claims will be paid out by The Social Change Agency 3 times a week. At the moment these days are Monday, Wednesday and Thursday.

Donations We will accept donations to our Open Collective account and use these donations to pay the expenses of members of our community less able to pay themselves. Communication Flyers and online materials will include a means to donate. For those who cannot donate online or by phone but wish to make a financial contribution, an administrator will arrange to donate on their behalf and subsequently collect the cash. Balance on account The balance of the account will be reviewed every fortnight by the administrators. On disbandment of Sydenham Mutual Aid group, any remaining funds will split between the following organisations. ● Lewisham Food Bank ● Eliot Bank & Kelvin Grove Children’s Centre Food Bank

Administrators Kate Shipp, A J Macconville and Rebecca Dixon are the administrators. This role will rotate every two months if possible, and no one should be an administrator for more than 3 months. While someone is in the administrator role, they cannot access funds for reimbursement, which means they will be unable to carry out requests that involve incurring an expense.

Transparency A summary of our income and outgoings will be posted in our monthly newsletter. This will show how much has been received and spent. If a member has a concern about spending, they can raise this with the coordinators and this will be discussed and addressed in the weekly coordination call.