The trustees present their report and accounts for the year ended 31 December 2020
The accounts have been prepared in accordance with the accounting policies set out in note 1 to the accounts and comply with the Trust Deed, the Charities Act 1993 and the Statement of Recommended Practice, "Accounting and Reporting by Charities", issued in March 2005.
Structure, governance and management
Promise Dreams is a national registered children’s charity that was launched in 2001 to make dreams come true for seriously & terminally ill children, and their families, across the UK. The charity accepts applications from children aged 0 to 18 and whether the child would like some time away from hospital appointments & treatment for a family holiday, specialist equipment to ensure the best possible levels of care are maintained at home or even the chance to meet their favourite celebrity while they still can, Promise Dreams is committed to help. Many of the applications received by the charity are not for items that the average person would consider a dream but for these children, and their families, something as simple as laminate flooring can make a huge difference to every day of their life. Tragically time is not something that many of these families have a lot of so raising a few special smiles & creating treasured memories is what Promise Dreams is all about. Thanks to the hard work, passion & enthusiasm of its supporters the charity has raised over 3.5 million pounds and nearly 1900 very special children have seen their dreams come true. The children and families that we work with are dealing with all the difficulties, pressure and worries associated with serious illness, it is essential that we provide a service that is sensitive, reliable, sympathetic and supportive of these circumstances. In organising dreams we operate with complete integrity and dependability- liaising, coordinating, organising, funding and if necessary accompanying- to ensure that the child has an unforgettable experience, and the family can share the joy.
We are very proud to report that 95% of our families rated us at 100% in our ability to provide our services, based upon completion of questionnaires following dream delivery.
All the trustees have volunteered to stand and act on behalf of the charity.
The trustees who served during the year were: J Donovan S Bawa S Walker
The board of trustees meets regularly and its main purpose and activity is focused on the settling of policy, strategic direction and ensuring good stewardship of recourses.
Chairs Foreword
2020 has been the most difficult year to date in our twenty year history. Covid 19. The lockdown that followed, inability to fundraise and the difficult decision to furlough staff dramatically played its part in almost halting our ability to deliver our objective, to serve more children with life threatening and life limiting or debilitating conditions. Our overall total income decreased by 54 % we struggled to mainatin the expenditure on dreams as shown in previous years, sadly also showing a decrease of 60% It is only due the generosity and commitment of some of our fundraisers undertaking online activities and legacy donations that we were able to deliver on a few dreams. Whilst still having our reserves to secure the future of Promise Dreams, we did have to use some of these, through this difficult period.
Delivering more dreams year on year and increasing our expenditure on this, is still our number one priority, with a number of strategic plans, in place to recover this loss. The small highlights of the year are always to do with the remarkable children and young families that we serve. They provide a never-ending source of inspiration which fuels our passion and motivation to continue to grow our income, resource and expenditure, in order that we can reach many more of them.
The stories that we hear every week, are so inspiring and moving that all of us here at
Promise Dreams are more determined than ever to deliver our longer term objectives; delivering a dream a day, 365 a year, improving our risk assessments by increasing our reserves and sustainability and providing an experience for our families that is magical.
We are proud of the fact that such a small team operates right across the country, with dreams reaching every corner of the UK. It is of real importance to us, that no matter where a child lives, they should be able to enjoy having a dream, creating smiles and precious memories for their loved ones and family. We are grateful to all the family members, health and social care professionals, hospital and hospice staff, teachers and many others who refer children and young people to us. We have worked hard to develop these relationships and proud to work in collaboration, with the extraordinary people who love and care for these special children.
Changes and improvements in the treatment and management of life threatening and life limiting conditions continue to enable many of the children and young people we serve to live longer, the work that we do here at Promise Dreams supports this with not only positive experiences for these families, but provision of tangible products and services that also help improve their everyday quality of life, with no government, lottery or grants to help us achieve this, we are really proud of this.
On behalf of all of the trustees, the staff and most importantly our beautiful children, who have had their dreams fulfilled by Promise Dreams, I would personally like to say thank you. Every month brings evidence of their generosity, energy and determination to stand alongside the children and families that we serve. They are a huge encouragement for all of us here at Promise Dreams and we simply could not do what we do without them. The board of trustees, manager and all of the staff at Promise Dreams are approaching 2021 with enthusiasm for our plans- whilst recognising it will be a difficult time, we are determined to grow income and dreams, once more, always remembering that our sole objective is to create sustainability in operations, deliver more dreams and increase income expenditure to achieve this.
With such committed supporters we look forward with optimism to the coming years.
How we are organised
The charity operates throughout the UK from Wolverhampton. The charities work is carried out by a manger and three staff, they are responsible for the good utilisation of resource and the achievements of objectives across the operational areas of: · Dream Fulfilment
· Marketing and Communications
· Fundraising
· Finance and administration
Our Mission
To create smiles and joy for terminally and seriously ill children and their families, by making their dreams come true.
Our Vision
That every terminally or seriously ill child and their family should have the opportunity to have a dream delivered by Promise Dreams.
Our Commitments
To treat all children and families with respect, care, compassion and empathy The importance in recognising everyone’s value in the organisation to fulfil our mission To celebrate the contribution made by all who work, volunteer in and on behalf of Promise Dreams, all our supporters and donors.
Statement of Public benefit
The trustees confirm that we acted in accordance with the public benefit guidance published by the charity commission of England and Wales.
- There must be identifiable benefits.
Our purpose is to improve the wellbeing of life limited or life debilitated children and their families, through the realisation of a dream. We receive great testimonies and thank yous from the children, parents and carers involved with the dream that substantiates what a great joy and experience this provides.
2. Benefit must be to the public, or section of.
The service that we provide is available to all life limited or life debilitated children and their families across the UK. Two unique aspects of the charity are its lack of waiting lists, most applications once completed and presented for decisions within one calendar month, other charities within this sector, can have up to twelve months waiting lists plus its work with children from birth to two years- a population which few if any other charities in our sector are able to help and unfortunately a growing cohort in palliative care, this means we help families who simply have nowhere else to go.
In this financial year, we have fulfilled dreams for children across every corner of the UK Our charitable activities do not result in private benefits except where incidental to those activities for example the purchase of goods and services in order to fulfil a dream.
Our Key Objectives
Our key achievements are exemplified by the stories of the children and families whose dreams have been made possible by Promise Dreams, it is these young people and their families and carers, that we devote our energy, imagination and care.
Financial Review
This year we raised £104,195
In response to the board’s commitment to delivering dreams and sustainability £24,628 was spent on our charitable purpose.
Reserves
The board’s policy is to have capital adequacy allocated in reserves.
Risks
The trustees have conducted a review of major risks to which the charity is exposed and have implemented strategies to mitigate those risks.
Our Supporters
Every penny we spend is first received as a result of the generosity, ingenuity and hard work of our many donors and supporters. Our heartfelt gratitude extends to many of those regular donors and supporters, that make such a difference to our financial planning and something we aim to improve on, we cannot do our work without you and for this thank you.
We are so proud of our all of supporters and fundraisers who work tirelessly to raise funds for Promise Dreams, every penny really does make a difference.
On behalf of the board of trustees
S Bawa Trustee Dated: 20/02/2020