The Alexandra Palace and Park Board convened to discuss financial matters and a proposed update to the fundraising policy. The board was also scheduled to receive updates from the Alexandra Park and Palace Advisory Committee and the Alexandra Palace and Park Consultative Committee. Some items, including an exempt human resources report, were expected to be discussed in a closed session, excluding the public and press.

Finance Report

The board was scheduled to review the forecast against the budget for 2025/26 for the Alexandra Park and Palace Charitable Trust (APPCT). According to the finance report, the APPCT, like many charities in the cultural, heritage, and hospitality sectors, was facing challenges including economic uncertainty, rising operational costs, and labour market pressures.

The report noted that the Trust was vulnerable to external shocks such as war impacting utilities and supply chains and climate change impacting the estate. It also noted that competition was growing across all of the Trust's subsidiaries, and that evolving customer expectations, particularly regarding sustainability and digital experiences, required investment in innovation.

The report stated that the Trust aimed to create A Sustainable Home For All That We Do by enabling everyone to experience inspirational culture, world-class entertainment, unique heritage, life-enriching creative and educational opportunities and restorative green space, forever.

The report also stated that an important key performance indicator (KPI) in the Operational Business Plan was achieving a sustainable budget position for the Trust, following multiple years of operating at a deficit.

The report listed financial challenges including:

• Insurance premium increases
• Increases to National Insurance contributions
• Increased estate guarding costs due to compliance with new legislation
• General cost inflation impacting repairs and maintenance budgets and the gross and net profit margins of the subsidiary

The report also listed mitigation strategies including:

• Recognition of the Restoration Levy collected on behalf of the Trust in year rather than in arrears
• Increases to car park charges
• Increased fundraising targets, including the introduction of a Patron Scheme, installation of Tap to Donate terminals, and the launch of a significant capital campaign targeting trusts and foundations
• Expanding estate tenancy opportunities to generate new revenue streams, including the successful in-sourcing of the Golf Course and future insourcing of the Boating Lake Café.

The report included a forecast that unrestricted income would be ahead of target by 2%, and that expenditure within the Trust would be 2% behind budget.

The report also listed risks including:

• Income shortfalls
• Cost overruns
• Economic challenges
• Regulatory and compliance changes
• Supplier and contractual dependencies

Fundraising Report

The board was scheduled to discuss updates to the Alexandra Park and Palace Charitable Trust's (APPCT) Fundraising Policy. According to the fundraising report, the APPCT is registered with the Fundraising Regulator¹ and is a signatory to the Regulator's Code of Fundraising Practice. The report stated that the Fundraising Team had undertaken a review of fundraising processes and related policies ahead of the publication of a new Code of Fundraising Practice in November 2025.

The report stated that the Fundraising Team recommended changes to the Alexandra Park and Palace Charitable Trust Fundraising Policy, focused on decisions to accept and refuse donations, and that the changes were recommended following benchmarking against due diligence processes within other charities of both similar turnover and fundraising income.

The key changes to the Fundraising Policy included:

• Clear criteria for the acceptance and refusal of donations, to be followed by both staff and Trustees involved in due diligence assessments.
• Increased detail on the Due Diligence Process carried out by the Fundraising Team to assess donations for potential conflicts or risks.
• Removal of duty for trustees to declare conflicts of interest on all new donations, retaining only for donations escalated to the Board.
• Removal of the Fundraising Policy from the website, directing customers instead to the Fundraising Regulator's more accessible 'Code of Fundraising Practice' and 'Fundraising Promise'.

The report included the full updated Alexandra Park and Palace Charitable Trust Fundraising Policy, which stated that the APPCT asks for donations and support from members of the public, charitable foundations and companies in support of its charitable objectives:

To uphold, maintain and repair the Palace and to maintain the Park and Palace as a place of public resort and recreation and for other public purposes

The policy stated that the APPCT has a separate Sponsorship Policy to reflect that Fundraising is a different activity with different aims and different accounting rules.

The policy also stated that trustees of the APPCT (and their delegates) will act in the best interests of the Charity when deciding to accept or refuse a particular donation, and that the principles guiding whether a donation can be accepted or refused are attached at Appendix 2.

The appendices to the policy included:

• Principles for acceptance and refusal of donations
• Due Diligence thresholds
• Due Diligence process

Other Business

Councillor Emine Ibrahim, Chair of Alexandra Palace and Park Board, was expected to consider any late items of urgent business. The board was also scheduled to confirm the unrestricted minutes of the Alexandra Palace and Park Board held on 18th September 2025, and to receive the minutes of the Alexandra Park and Palace Advisory Committee and the Alexandra Palace and Park Consultative Committee, both held on 17th July 2025. Jason Beazley, Duncan Neill and Nigel Willmott were scheduled to attend the meeting as co-optees/non-voting members.