Registered Charity No.1071200
www.benthampetrescue.org.uk Email: admin@benthampetrescue.org.uk
ANNUAL REPORT FOR YEAR 2021-2022
Bentham and District Pet Rescue – July 2022
1
Registered Charity No.1071200
Trustees' Annual Report for the period
From
Period start date Period end date
To
Day 01 Month 02 Year 2021 Day 31 Month 01 Year 2022
Section A Reference and administration details
Bentham and District Pet Rescue – July 2022
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Charity name
Bentham and District Pet Rescue
Other names charity is known by
Bentham Pet Rescue
Registered charity number (if any)
1071200
Charity's principal address
Far Sunnybank Laithe
Bentham and District Pet Rescue – July 2022
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Mewith, High Bentham
North Yorkshire
Postcode
LA2 7AX
Names of the charity trustees who manage the charity
Trustee name Office (if any) Dates acted if not for whole year Name of person (or body) entitled to appoint trustee (if any)
Bentham and District Pet Rescue – July 2022
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1
Phillip Ware Chairman
Appointed by members at AGM
2
Jill Craig Secretary Until 31 March 2021 Appointed at AGM 2020
3
Joanne Hall Secretary From AGM on 26 April 2021 Appointed by members at AGM
4
Sue Arnott Treasurer Appointed by members at AGM
Pat Roberts
From AGM on 26 April 2021 Appointed by members at AGM
5
Bentham and District Pet Rescue – July 2022
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6
8
Kath Threlkeld
From 1 February 2021
Co-opted by trustees; later appointed by members at AGM
7
Carolyn Ellis
From AGM on 26 April 2021 Appointed by members at AGM
Val Marshall Honorary President Ceased to act as trustee on 16 March 2020 but retained honorary position
Bentham and District Pet Rescue – July 2022
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Names and addresses of advisers
Type of adviser Name Address
Accounts
J S Andrews & Co
22 Dalesview Close, Clapham, North Yorkshire, LA2 8RP
Section B Structure, governance and management
Description of the charity’s trusts
Constitution dated 6 July 1998 updated at AGM 16 March 2020 Type of governing document
(eg. trust deed, constitution)
Unincorporated Association How the charity is constituted
(eg. trust, association, company)
Election by Members at Annual General Meeting / Co-option by Trustee selection methods members of the Executive Committee (eg. appointed by, elected by)
Bentham and District Pet Rescue – July 2022
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Section C Objectives and activities
The Charity's objects are:
(1) To relieve the suffering of cats, dogs and other pet animals in Summary of the objects Bentham and district who are in need of care and attention, in of the charity set out in particular by facilitating the care and re-homing of such animals. its governing document (2) The relief of pensioners who are unable to afford kennel costs or veterinary bills for their pets.
Section D Report on performance
An introduction
Ever since its origins in 1998, Bentham and District Pet Rescue (the Charity) has essentially been run as a ‘back yard’ operation, relying in turn on the goodwill of the original founder (and now Honorary President) Val Marshall (1997-2001), Pat Roberts (2001-2021), Pam Whitehead (20092016) and Louise Pauley (2016-2022) to host small rescue centres from their respective gardens. Although the description ‘back yard’ might suggest a rather ad hoc outfit, in fact the commitment of these volunteers and their helpers has ensured that the charity has continued to serve the communities surrounding the town of High Bentham and their pets for well over 20 years now and in an increasingly professional way.
Our net is cast over a wide area, being broadly the north west Craven district of North Yorkshire plus areas of north Lancashire and south Cumbria, extending as far east as Hellifield and west to Kirkby Lonsdale. Whilst most of our volunteers were initially from the Bentham area, our main volunteer base has extended to include people in Burton in Lonsdale, Settle, Hellifield, Clapham, Hornby and Kirkby Lonsdale with trustees from as far afield as Farnhill near Skipton, Newton by Bowland near Clitheroe and Ulverston.
Since its inception, Bentham Pet Rescue has responded to calls from members of the community about lost or abandoned animals, for help to manage colonies of feral and farm cats through a neutering scheme supported by our two local vet practices, and for help in the case of financial hardship, with a particular focus on assistance to pensioners struggling to pay for necessary treatment for their beloved pets. Our hands-on facilities for pet rescue have been restricted to cats, with two centres operating at the start of 2021, but contacts with other animal rescue charities in the region have enabled us to direct requests for help with other pets.
As always, the Charity has relied on donations from supporters and on volunteers who organise fund-raising events throughout the year and those who give their time to help at the cat sanctuaries.
Our activities during the year
In the first half of 2021, we were unable to arrange any of our usual fund-raising activities due to the national restrictions imposed by government in response to the Covid-19 pandemic. It was not until 1 August that we were able to hold our first event – serving afternoon teas to walkers in Langcliffe. Coffee mornings in High Bentham and Hellifield followed and a successful Christmas Fair in Clapham brought the year to a close, this year inviting a number of local pet-related businesses and charities to share the event with us. After the fair, we held a lunch for our volunteers, providing our valued helpers with a chance to meet up socially.
Our centre in Burton in Lonsdale closed its doors at the end of April 2021 when Pat Roberts retired from hands-on cat care. Having devoted over 20 years to the rescue and care of cats in
Bentham and District Pet Rescue – July 2022
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the area through the operation of the sanctuary in her garden, it was only fitting that the Charity showed its gratitude for her outstanding contribution. A collection for a retirement gift drew donations from volunteers, past and present, and from other supporters aware of her dedication. In August, the Charity organised a special event where afternoon tea was served to all who had gathered to show their appreciation and a small exhibition included photos of many of the hundreds of cats whose lives were made better through Pat’s care and her re-homing skills. Unsurprisingly, Pat was presented with our ‘Volunteer of the Year Award’ for 2021.
Our newsletter, ‘ Pawprint’ , has proved a useful means of communicating with our supporters although other demands on trustee time meant that only one edition was issued this year (in March). More fruitful has been our Facebook presence, operated by our sanctuary manager, Louise Pauley; this has effectively provided a second means of promoting cats needing homes (in addition to our website) and also developed wider support for the work we do.
Whilst our website has continued to promoted indirect fund-raising schemes such as Easyfundraising, Amazon Smile and Amazon Wishlist, ad hoc donations from supporters have provided a much valued source of funds this year.
We held our AGM on 26 April 2021 but this year had to be attended virtually via Zoom. This was unavoidably delayed so as to ensure the annual accounts were available for the scrutiny of members.
Since our new team was formed in April, we have concentrated our efforts on forming a viable plan to continue the services we provide from 2022 onwards. We have known that Pat Roberts would be standing down in April 2021 and that our operation would again be reduced to one centre. When Louise Pauley began her involvement with the Charity in 2016, her commitment was for 5 years and, knowing she would be standing down, we have therefore searched for another person willing to take on the responsibility of a ‘back-garden’ cat sanctuary – but to no avail. Throughout the summer, with our trustee Carolyn Linney taking the lead, and on the basis of a detailed report provided by experienced volunteer Inga Voit, we began working towards an alternative system based on a fostering model. A tremendous amount of effort has been put into developing the support material and systems to achieve this, and work is ongoing.
Meanwhile, our collective desire to find premises on which to establish a permanent rescue centre is not diminished but unavoidably put on the backburner as the priority has been to ensure we have a means of continuing to help pets once the Newby centre closes in 2022. This has put in train a further project to move the charity towards a more corporate structure so as to ensure a more professional and business-like approach to the future operation we intend.
Our achievements
As with other rescue centres operating under the various restrictions resulting from the Covid 19 pandemic, we have strived to continue our rehoming services whilst ensuring our volunteers are protected and visitors could meet the cats safely.
This has been another busy year and, despite the planned closure of our centre in Burton in Lonsdale, we have re-homed a total of 51 cats during the last 12 months (and one lucky dog!). At times, the facilities in Newby were bursting at the seams with feline mums and kittens, at one point with 34 cats in our care. Nonetheless, the dedication of sanctuary manager Louise Pauley and her amazing team of volunteer helpers meant that all were successfully cared for and eventually rehomed.
We make a commitment to each cat that comes through our doors: if it doesn’t settle in its new home, or the new owner cannot keep the cat if circumstances change, then we will take the cat back into our care. This was put to the test this year when we heard of a cat that had moved down to the Cambridge area with its elderly owner. When she died, 12 year old Toffee the cat remained in her home being fed by a neighbour but after many months we were informed the house was to be re-occupied by a new family who did not want the cat. With all local cat rescue centres full and a fast approaching deadline, we arranged for Toffee to be transported back to North Yorkshire. Toffee survived the journey well but, as a very nervous cat, she was not easy to
Bentham and District Pet Rescue – July 2022
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rehome. However, the perfect new owners came along eventually and Toffee is now settled in a delightfully quiet rural home where she is loved and well cared for.
This year we also helped a stray cat in Low Bentham which was subsequently taken in by the person concerned about his welfare, and we have assisted in neutering 12 farm/feral cats (in line with our new policy).
We have supported two ‘pensioners’ with vet bills for their pets, one an elderly gentleman in Settle whose dog needed surgery and an elderly lady in Low Bentham with a poorly dog needing tests and treatment. We also helped in two other ‘financial hardship’ cases: a cat that was stung by a bee (in Ingleton) and a cat that was attacked by a dog (in Settle).
This is the last year we will be operating from two centres, in Newby near Clapham and in Burton in Lonsdale. Our long-standing volunteer, Pat Roberts, gave notice of her intention to retire from 24/7 cat care and had been gradually winding down the number of cats she has taken in with a view to finishing in April 2021. This put additional pressure on Louise at our other sanctuary and caused us to pay particular attention to repairs and improvements to our facilities in Newby.
On the administrative side we have added to our policy set a statement on stray, farm and feral cats. In fact this was still awaiting final approval at 31 January 2022, with priority being switched to the development of the policies and paperwork necessary to support our new fostering project.
Our trustees
Early in the year our secretary Jill Craig gave notice of her intention to step down at the AGM. Being aware of the need to recruit new trustees to our team, we were pleased to co-opt Kath Threlkeld in February 2021, Kath having a background in the charity fund-raising sector (and a recent adopter of a cat from our Newby rescue centre). Along with Kath, at the AGM the membership also voted in new trustee Carolyn Linney, who has valuable experience in the veterinary nursing profession, and Pat Roberts who was able to stand as a trustee after over 20 years’ service to the charity as its main sanctuary manager.
Although Covid restrictions began to ease throughout this year, we continued to hold trustee meetings virtually via Zoom. It was not until October that we managed to hold a face to face meeting in Clapham Village Hall, albeit with a virtual element for trustees unable to be physically present. Since then we have sometimes chosen to hold meetings wholly virtually or, if a physical meeting place has been chosen, we have provided an opportunity to join online (lately via GoogleMeet). Given the distance some trustees need to travel to an in-person meeting, we are aware of the need to strike a balance between maintaining good working relationships whilst also operating in the most accessible and economical way.
In total 19 meetings were held during the year, many more than had been held in the previous 12 months. Since we have recognised the need to make significant changes to the way we operate as a charity, we held separate meetings to discuss day to day operational matters, thereby enabling other meetings to focus on forward planning.
Despite this huge increase in time commitment, all trustees gave of their time freely and no remuneration or expenses were paid to trustees during the year (with the exception of reimbursements paid to Pat Roberts during the winding up of the sanctuary on her premises before, and very shortly after, her appointment as a trustee at the AGM). All payments made to trustees as reimbursements for costs incurred by the Charity have been declared in our annual accounts. As required, the trustees have had regard to the guidance issued by the Charity Commission on public benefit.
Our finances
Despite the closure of one of our centres, we have still had a significant number of cats passing through our care. Consequently our regular expenses continued as usual. Cat food and litter, veterinary checks and treatment, together with our sanctuary running costs and insurances,
Bentham and District Pet Rescue – July 2022
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continue to represent our main outgoings. Our vet bills have risen but we have been able to cover this thanks to a small number of major donations specifically for this purpose, whilst also carrying forward a sum towards next year’s costs. Surprisingly our food and litter costs have dropped slightly, any increased charges being offset by having to support slightly fewer cats, and also thanks to the generous support of the local community in donating food at the supermarkets in Settle and Kirkby Lonsdale, and online support through our Amazon Wishlist.
Even with slightly fewer numbers, our income from adoptions has risen, in part due to having raised the level of expected donation to £65 per animal at the end of the previous year. Also, our commission from Agria Insurance has increased. (Free pet insurance for a limited period is offered for all cats adopted from us, bringing us a small commission if the policy is maintained.)
By changing companies, we were able to revise our overall insurance policy to obtain a slightly reduced premium whilst adding trustee liability to our cover. With an eye to the future, we have adopted a new animal re-homing management system using ‘Anilog’ software although we are still in the process of assessing its cost-effectiveness for our level of usage.
Ongoing repairs to our Newby centre were expected but not so the damage caused by storm Arwen which resulted in emergency actions to keep the building watertight and the cats safe.
Although income from local events began again this year, the money raised was modest, apart from our Christmas Fair which was reasonably successful. This year we updated our Christmas cards and added bespoke tea towels to the range of Charity merchandise. Although such events can be hard work for volunteers, sometimes for limited return, we recognise the value of having a local presence at which members of the public become aware of the work we do and can choose to support us in many ways, not just financially.
With the help of a volunteer experienced in sourcing grants from various charitable funds and foundations, were received generous donations from two trusts which focus on animal welfare. These were specifically for vet bills, pet food and for neutering so these sums are separately identified in our accounts.
We were grateful for an unsolicited but significant donations from a charitable foundation in addition to funeral collections and donations from individuals – large and small. We continue to have monthly support from several individuals through our ‘Sponsor a Pen’ scheme and others make regular contributions, including through our Paypal account. [Although funds were not received until after 31 January 2022, we were notified of a legacy bequest of £50,000 from a former trustee of our charity; this has been included in this year’s accounts but further details will be available in the Annual Report for 2022-2023.]
Difficulties with converting the Charity’s Nat West current account to an online one led to the setting up of a new account with Co-op bank, trustees being keen to seek a more ethical service as well as a more convenient and efficient one.
As at 31 January 2022, the Charity holds reserves of £137,294 of which £135,096 is unrestricted. It continues to be our intention that the Charity should hold sufficient reserves to cover operating costs for two years in case fund-raising efforts should fail. Since we will be switching to a new way of working, our estimate is that £25k per annum should be set aside for this. It is intended that funds over and above this operating reserve should form our ‘building fund’ to enable us to secure a new site on which to establish a permanent cat rescue centre.
The year ahead
2022 will see the closure of our remaining rescue centre but we are determined this will not be the end of our rescue and rehoming services. We have already recruited one foster-carer who is trialling our new system, but it is too soon to offer any assessment of its likely success. What is certain is that the Charity will maintain its presence within our local community, will continue to provide a hardship fund for pets in need (and their owners) and will maintain a service even if that is initially at a lower level than in previous years.
Bentham and District Pet Rescue – July 2022
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Meanwhile we aim to engage with our supporters and volunteers to maintain their support for our long-term aims, to continue with local fund-raising and to seek out additional trustees to help expand our team for the future.
Bentham and District Pet Rescue – July 2022
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Section E Declaration
The trustees declare that they have approved the trustees’ report above.
Signed on behalf of the charity’s trustees
Signature(s) Sue Arnott Full name(s) Phillip Ware Treasurer Position Chairman
Date
Bentham and District Pet Rescue – July 2022
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| Contents | |
|---|---|
| Page | |
| lndependent Examiner'sReport totheTrustees | 1-2 |
| Accountants'Report totheTrustees | 3-4 |
| Declarationfrom theTrusteesiotheAccountants | 5-6 |
| StatementofFinancialActivities | 7-8 |
| Balance Sheet | I |
| Notes tothe Statementof Accounts | 10-13 |
| $tatementofFinancialActivities forthe | YearEnded31 | January2 | 022 | 022 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Note | 2022 | 2421 |
||
| I | ||||
| Unrestrictedfunds-income | 2and4 | |||
| Donations, grants and miscellaneousfundraising | 13,947 | 1s802 | ||
| Giftaid | 7,061 | |||
| Legacy | 50,000 | |||
| Animaladoptions | 5,175 | 3,895 | ||
| lnsurance commission | 193 | 64 | ||
| lnterest | 29 | 141 | ||
| Donated professionalservices | 950 | 850 | ||
| 77,355 | 24,852 | |||
| Unrestrictedfunds-expenditure | 2and4 | |||
| Veterinary | 2,442 | |||
| Catteries | 3,346 | 2,568 | ||
| Food andlitter | 2,641 | l,+ao | ||
| Miscellaneousfundraising | 787 | 391 | ||
| Electricity | 426 | 329 | ||
| Repairs and renewals | 183 | 344 | ||
| Travellingand transport | 1,521 | 649 | ||
| Telecommunications | 219 | 625 | ||
| Softwareand related training | 29S | |||
| Postage andstationery | 58 | |||
| Accountancy fee(waived) | 750 | 675 | ||
| lndependentexaminer'sfee(waived) | 200 | 175 | ||
| Legal fee | 210 | 399 | ||
| lnsurance | 594 | 799 | ||
| Transactioncharges | 73 | 1A7 | ||
| Conference fee | 225 | |||
| Meetings | 111 | |||
| Donations andgifts | 462 | t5 | ||
| Depreciation ofequipment | 2,494 | 1,344 | ||
| 14,353 | 13,641 | |||
| Unrestrictedfunds- netsurplus | bJ.UU^Z | 7,211 | ||
| Unrestrictedfunds-summary | 2and4 | |||
| Broughtforuvard Net surplus |
72,49464,883 63,0027,211 |
|||
| Carried forward | 135,09672,494 | |||
| Continued |
| Note | 2022 | 2022 | 2421 | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| g | t | |||
| Restrictedfunds-income | 2and5 | |||
| Donations andgrants | 10,000 | 13,630 | ||
| Restrictedfunds-expenditune | 2and5 | |||
| Veterinary | 12,660 | o.ttt | ||
| Food andlitter | 600 | |||
| 12,660 | 8,772 | |||
| Restrictedfunds-net (deficit)surplus | ( | 2,660) | 4,858 | |
| Restrictedfunds-summary | 2and5 | |||
| Broughtforurard Net(deficit)surplus |
( | 4,858 2,660) |
+,asa | |
| Carriedforuard | 2,198 | 4,858 |
| Bentham&.DistrictPet R | escue | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| tsalanceSheet | at3XJanuary2022 | |||||
| Noie | 2422 | lvz | I | |||
| t | ||||||
| Flxedassets | ||||||
| Equipment | 2and3 | 4,430 | 6,579 | |||
| Current assets | 2 | |||||
| Stock | Jb4 | |||||
| Debtors and prepayments | 58,835 | 524 | ||||
| Paypaiaccount | 4.307 | 5,289 | ||||
| Building societyaccounts | 57,822 | 57,792 | ||||
| Bank accounts Cash |
12,472 aAo |
7,300 q16 |
||||
| 134.,269 | 71,221 | |||||
| ereditors | 2 | |||||
| Amounts faliingduerarithin | oneyear: | |||||
| Creditorsanciaccruals | (1,405) | ( | 848) |
|||
| Netcurrent assets | 132,864 | /U J/J | ||||
| Total net assets | tJt.tv+ | 76,952 | ||||
| Capital andreserves | ||||||
| Unrestricted funds | 2and4 | 135,096 | 72,A94 | |||
| Restricted funds | 2and5 | 2.198 | 4,858 | |||
| 11'7 ad,t | 7A O(' |
| quipnient | ||
|---|---|---|
| 2422 | 2021 | |
| f€ | ||
| Cost: | ||
| Broughtfonruard Acquisitions |
8,552 345 |
6,972 1,580 |
| Carriedfonrvard | 8,897 | 8,552 |
| Depreciation: | ||
| Broughtfonrvard Provision |
1,973 2,494 |
629 1,344 |
| Carried forward | 4,447 | 1,973 |
| Writtendown value: | ||
| Carried forward | 4,#A | 6,579 |
| Contents | |
|---|---|
| Page | |
| lndependent Examiner'sReport totheTrustees | 1-2 |
| Accountants'Report totheTrustees | 3-4 |
| Declarationfrom theTrusteesiotheAccountants | 5-6 |
| StatementofFinancialActivities | 7-8 |
| Balance Sheet | I |
| Notes tothe Statementof Accounts | 10-13 |
| $tatementofFinancialActivities forthe | YearEnded31 | January2 | 022 | 022 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Note | 2022 | 2421 |
||
| I | ||||
| Unrestrictedfunds-income | 2and4 | |||
| Donations, grants and miscellaneousfundraising | 13,947 | 1s802 | ||
| Giftaid | 7,061 | |||
| Legacy | 50,000 | |||
| Animaladoptions | 5,175 | 3,895 | ||
| lnsurance commission | 193 | 64 | ||
| lnterest | 29 | 141 | ||
| Donated professionalservices | 950 | 850 | ||
| 77,355 | 24,852 | |||
| Unrestrictedfunds-expenditure | 2and4 | |||
| Veterinary | 2,442 | |||
| Catteries | 3,346 | 2,568 | ||
| Food andlitter | 2,641 | l,+ao | ||
| Miscellaneousfundraising | 787 | 391 | ||
| Electricity | 426 | 329 | ||
| Repairs and renewals | 183 | 344 | ||
| Travellingand transport | 1,521 | 649 | ||
| Telecommunications | 219 | 625 | ||
| Softwareand related training | 29S | |||
| Postage andstationery | 58 | |||
| Accountancy fee(waived) | 750 | 675 | ||
| lndependentexaminer'sfee(waived) | 200 | 175 | ||
| Legal fee | 210 | 399 | ||
| lnsurance | 594 | 799 | ||
| Transactioncharges | 73 | 1A7 | ||
| Conference fee | 225 | |||
| Meetings | 111 | |||
| Donations andgifts | 462 | t5 | ||
| Depreciation ofequipment | 2,494 | 1,344 | ||
| 14,353 | 13,641 | |||
| Unrestrictedfunds- netsurplus | bJ.UU^Z | 7,211 | ||
| Unrestrictedfunds-summary | 2and4 | |||
| Broughtforuvard Net surplus |
72,49464,883 63,0027,211 |
|||
| Carried forward | 135,09672,494 | |||
| Continued |
| Note | 2022 | 2022 | 2421 | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| g | t | |||
| Restrictedfunds-income | 2and5 | |||
| Donations andgrants | 10,000 | 13,630 | ||
| Restrictedfunds-expenditune | 2and5 | |||
| Veterinary | 12,660 | o.ttt | ||
| Food andlitter | 600 | |||
| 12,660 | 8,772 | |||
| Restrictedfunds-net (deficit)surplus | ( | 2,660) | 4,858 | |
| Restrictedfunds-summary | 2and5 | |||
| Broughtforurard Net(deficit)surplus |
( | 4,858 2,660) |
+,asa | |
| Carriedforuard | 2,198 | 4,858 |
| Bentham&.DistrictPet R | escue | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| tsalanceSheet | at3XJanuary2022 | |||||
| Noie | 2422 | lvz | I | |||
| t | ||||||
| Flxedassets | ||||||
| Equipment | 2and3 | 4,430 | 6,579 | |||
| Current assets | 2 | |||||
| Stock | Jb4 | |||||
| Debtors and prepayments | 58,835 | 524 | ||||
| Paypaiaccount | 4.307 | 5,289 | ||||
| Building societyaccounts | 57,822 | 57,792 | ||||
| Bank accounts Cash |
12,472 aAo |
7,300 q16 |
||||
| 134.,269 | 71,221 | |||||
| ereditors | 2 | |||||
| Amounts faliingduerarithin | oneyear: | |||||
| Creditorsanciaccruals | (1,405) | ( | 848) |
|||
| Netcurrent assets | 132,864 | /U J/J | ||||
| Total net assets | tJt.tv+ | 76,952 | ||||
| Capital andreserves | ||||||
| Unrestricted funds | 2and4 | 135,096 | 72,A94 | |||
| Restricted funds | 2and5 | 2.198 | 4,858 | |||
| 11'7 ad,t | 7A O(' |
| quipnient | ||
|---|---|---|
| 2422 | 2021 | |
| f€ | ||
| Cost: | ||
| Broughtfonruard Acquisitions |
8,552 345 |
6,972 1,580 |
| Carriedfonrvard | 8,897 | 8,552 |
| Depreciation: | ||
| Broughtfonrvard Provision |
1,973 2,494 |
629 1,344 |
| Carried forward | 4,447 | 1,973 |
| Writtendown value: | ||
| Carried forward | 4,#A | 6,579 |