Dear sponsor of Downside Up,
   On behalf of the Trustees and Directors of Downside Up, the Russian-British Charitable Fund, we would like to thank you for your generous contribution made towards the new premises for the Early Intervention Centre for Russian children with Down syndrome in Moscow.
   The purpose of this letter is:
—> to tell you about our recent decision to swap buildings, by selling
      our building in Krylatskoe and moving to one in Izmailovskaya
     instead; and
—> to ask you to let us use the money you donated for the Krylatskoe
     building on the Izmailovskaya one instead.
   Downside Up's current Day Care Centre has become far too small for us. In 1998, when we moved in, we looked after about 50 children. Now we look after 700. Its 240 square metres are not big enough for us to provide our services to Russian children with Down's Syndrome and their families.
   And we need proper premises not only to allow us to provide our intervention services to more and more children: we also want to adjust the way we operate to keep up with the developments and best practice in Early Intervention thinking, for example to be able to emphasise socialisation in physical activity both indoors and outdoors, and to offer training facilities to our many visitors from Russia and elsewhere who want to understand and imitate the trailblazing way that Downside Up operates.
    In 2003 Downside Up was able to start preparing to move to a much more suitable building of 550 square metres conveniently located near metro Krylatskoe.
   To complete the move we needed to raise funds for some major reconstruction and to apply for the permits for reconstruction of the building to make it suitable for rehabilitation programmes.
   Our 2003 appeal for funds to pay for the works and reconstruction was hugely successful, and in total we raised our full target of $440,000. Our children, their parents and families, our staff, Russian and foreign sponsors were all looking forward to the move.
   But we could never start the work, because we could not get the permission needed for the reconstruction of the building. The process dragged on throughout 2005, with no prospect of a legitimate conclusion. The children we care for and their families were suffering from our lack of space, and a long waiting list for consultations.
   When we started the project of reconstruction we hoped that our good reputation and strong network of support and contacts within the relevant parts of Moscow would help us in achieving the approvals quickly and smoothly. In reality, we were rebuffed, and sent back and forth, as though we were aiming to build a skyscraper.
   By autumn 2005 our Trustees, realising that the process would take years not months, decided to abandon the bureaucratic ordeal, to sell the Krylatskoe building, and to start looking for a different one.
   In November 2005, we found a very good building that will suit perfectly our needs, and is as child-friendly as one could ever hope for. This new building is located in the eastern part of Moscow, 7 minutes walk from the "Izmailovskaya" metro station. It has 2 floors and a basement, at a total of 725 square metres. It is surrounded by a big, beautiful garden, with enough space (3900 square metres) for the children to have a playground, take walks and even have picnics.
   Most importantly, this new building needs only changes in the internal lay-out and re-decoration: it needs no major building works, and this none of the licences associated with that. The permits we do need will be easy to obtain.
   Our plan, then, is to complete the necessary change of lay-out and redecoration as soon as possible, and move the Early Intervention Centre by June 2006.
   To achieve all this, we need to contact all those who contributed to the fund we raised for work on the old building, and obtain your permission to spend that money on the new building instead.
    At the end of the process, estimated to be June 2006, we will commission a special audit from our accountants of the way in which this building fund has been spent, and of the process by which we have obtained permission to spend it on the new building, rather than the old one, and will send this to our donors and include it with our annual report for 2006.
   We hope you understand that we have made the right decision and will greatly appreciate your reply. Please insert your name and e-mail us the reply letter

   I should add that you would of course be entitled to have the money returned to you, and we are ready to do that. I should also add that the approach taken in this letter, which is being sent to all the donors of the building fund, has been approved by the Charity Commission.

Yours sincerely

Jeremy Barnes
Chairman of the Trustees