## **DART INTERNATIONAL UK TRUSTEES ANNUAL REPORT 2024/25**
The trustees of DART International UK are pleased to present their annual report and financial accounts for the period 6 April 2024 to 5 April 2025.
DART International UK was entered on the Register of Charities on 22 May 2014 as a Charitable Incorporated Organisation (Registered charity number 1157168). This report represents the Charity's 9th year of operation.
**Background** DART was established as a result of experience gained in the aftermath of Typhoon Haiyan in the Philippines, when it became apparent that local communities and international aid agencies were poorly equipped to deal with damage to critical infrastructure caused by fallen trees.
Since 2014, DART teams have conducted disaster response operations in the South Pacific Island state of Vanuatu, San Jose in Northern Samar and the Caribbean island of Dominica, Grand Bahama, Malawi and most recently Carriacou. The Charity has also collaborated with another UK charity working in rural Sierra Leone to deliver arboricultural skills training as part of a sustainable farming development programme and, most recently, project managed the construction of a modern 4 classroom primary school serving the same village.
## **Our Mission** DART's charitable objectives are:
To provide teams of professionally qualified and experienced arborists, trained and equipped to support disaster relief operations worldwide by dealing efficiently with trees that pose a direct danger to the local community or obstruction of the relief effort. To promote a more considered approach to the treatment of fallen and damaged trees among international relief organisations, taking account of local knowledge, culture and practice, safeguarding trees that can be saved for future generations and helping process those that cannot in a way that supports the local economy and reconstruction.
**Governance** DART is governed by 8 trustees who meet regularly to manage the affairs of the Charity in accordance with its founding constitution. No DART trustee or associate is employed by or receives any financial or material benefit from the Charity, which is entirely managed and operated by volunteers.
**Volunteer Structure** DART has 108 registered volunteers, 61 of whom have qualified for overseas response team deployment by completing the Charity's mandatory pre-deployment Safety and Security training.
The Charity's Pre-deployment Training programme is underpinned by the Humanitarian Practice Network Good Practice Review, the Humanitarian Charter, the NGO Code of Conduct and field guidance given to staff of the IFRC and other major NGOs.
Typically, DART volunteers are highly qualified and experienced professional arboricultural specialists. In addition to fulfilling the Charity’s professional qualification and experience requirements, DART volunteers are all First Aid trained, DBS registered and receive advanced trauma and expedition First Aid training as part of their pre-deployment qualification.
Each volunteer brings a wide range of additional skills and life experiences to the organisation. The deployable volunteer base currently includes practising and former NHS paramedics, military and expedition trained medics, security and risk assessment specialists, trained engineers, emergency services personnel, builders, engineers, charity workers and many more. The deployed teams, benefiting from the diverse backgrounds, can impart more skills to the communities they are helping.
The Charity recognises that our volunteer’s availability and/or willingness to deploy will depend on their personal and professional commitments at any given time. Subject to their availability, volunteers agree to deploy in support of DART on the understanding that their time, energy and professional ability are freely donated; travel expenses, medical insurance, deployment field equipment and rations are funded by the Charity’s operational budget.
**Financial Strategy** . The Charity derives its financial support from two main areas. Firstly, a number of corporate sponsors have supplied specialist equipment, with some also providing financial support. Secondly, funds are raised through public and private donations via various fund-raising activities carried out by volunteers and supporters along with additional online donations. Corporate donations are usually solicited for a specific deployment, rather than as 'uncommitted' donations. This gives the Charity's corporate sponsors clear visibility of where and how their donation is being spent and allows DART to operate without maintaining a large cash reserve.
The Charity’s overall budget is divided between 4 main areas of expenditure: ‘Governance’, ‘Equipment’, ‘Training’ and ‘Operations’.
|**Budget**|**Amount(£)**|
|---|---|
|Total Income|£5510|
|Total Expenditure|£3323|
**Governance** . Minimal expenditure is placed on this, some costs e.g. web hosting costs are donated by volunteers.
**Equipment** . There were equipment purchases this year for the deployment to Grenada, rations and medical equipment was also bought along with some t-shirts.
**Training** . The annual volunteer Pre-Deployment Qualification Course was run this year however the cost of this is now provided by donations from the participants.
Financially, DART continues to benefit from its all-volunteer workforce and donated training/equipment and storage facilities. Consequently, with no paid staff or premises to maintain, DART's financial overheads are extremely modest, and the Charity remains highly cost effective. Our total funds are £18,192.
## **Operational Activities** .
## **Grenada deployment:**
On 7th March, DART International UK deployed to the Caribbean islands of Carriacou and Petit Martinique.
The islands were directly in the path of Hurricane Beryl, the earliest Category 5 hurricane in history of the Caribbean. Initial reports stated that winds had reached 150 mph. Approximately 4,000 people were thought to be sheltering in 76 emergency shelters, with around 11,000 people in need of immediate assistance and three fatalities reported.
Contact was made with NaDMA (National Disaster Management Agency), and an official invitation for DART to travel to Carriacou and Petit Martinique was received on 7th July 2024.
A safety and security assessment, using government sources and previous experience in this part of the world, deemed a deployment appropriate. A team of four was selected: Will Clifford (Team Leader), Will Wood, Owen Jamieson, and Craig Parker (Medic).
Operational management approached Airlink, a charity instrumental to our success due to their provision of free flights for humanitarian organisations, and flights were confirmed for Wednesday 10th July through American Airlines.
Prior to departure, DBS checks, medical forms, and health documentation were completed and submitted to the Board of Trustees. A request was also made to Ian at Stein, the charity’s main sponsor, and DART was supplied with PPE, climbing kit, rigging kit, and first aid equipment. The charity owes a huge debt of gratitude for their support and assistance over the last 10 years.
Expedition equipment allowed the team to be entirely self-sufficient for all shelter, food, water, and medical needs. The DART team was also equipped with three chainsaws, along with fuel, filters, and maintenance equipment for their operation. Chainsaws were supplied by personal donations and our corporate sponsors.
Team members visited the National Disaster Management Agency (NaDMA), where discussions covered our objectives, the exchange of contact details for relevant personnel within the Emergency Operations Centre (EOC) and the gathering of information regarding where we could best assist and the available methods of transport.
The first term worked extensively with Caribbean Disaster Relief Unit (CDRU). Clearance and training were carried out. This partnership continued with the second team comprising Alan Rhodes, Matt Long, and Steve Griffiths.
Team Two flew out from London Heathrow on 20th July, arriving on 21st July. Work was carried out with Grenadian and multinational organisations, primarily alongside CDRU. This included indepth training and best practice in chainsaw use, alongside health and safety protocols. The team continued clearing roads and buildings while imparting their skills. The training delivered provided a wider legacy, as DART aimed to “teach the teacher.” This approach helped to leverage the beneficial impact DART provided to Grenada during their time of need.
DART’s aims for the following 12 months remain unchanged and are to:
- Develop corporate and charitable partnerships
- Maintain operational readiness for overseas deployment
- Expand the deployment volunteer base
- Strengthen governance and continue trustee succession planning
- Continue to develop and improve operational capability
## **Summary:**
DART has continued to fundraise and has increased its end-of-year cash reserves. There were two successful team deployments this year, and the organisation continues to scan for opportunities where its skills can be used for humanitarian benefit in the future. The trustees conclude that DART International UK is well placed to continue its humanitarian work.
## **Approved by the full Board of Trustees and signed on their behalf by**
...H Coloma........... H Coloma (Chair)
...A Bakere..............
A Bakere (Secretary)
||**Unrestricted**
**funds**||**Restricted**
**funds**||**Endowment**
**funds**||**Total funds**||**Last year**|
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
||**to the nearest**
**£**|**to the nearest**|**to the nearest £**||**to the nearest £**||**to the nearest £**||**to the nearest £**|
|**A1 Receipts**||||||||||
|VoluntaryReceipts|**-**||**-**||**-**||**-**||**5,510**|
|Investment Interest|**-**||**-**||**-**||**-**||**-**|
||**-**||**-**||**-**||**-**||**-**|
||**-**||**-**||**-**||**-**||**-**|
||**-**||**-**||**-**||**-**||**-**|
||**-**||**-**||**-**||**-**||**-**|
||**-**||**-**||**-**||**-**||**-**|
||**-**||**-**||**-**||**-**||**-**|
|**_Sub total_**_(Gross income for_
_AR)_|**-**||**-**||**-**||**-**||**5,510**|
|~~—————=~~|~~—————=~~|~~—————=~~|~~—————=~~|~~—————=~~|~~—————=~~|~~—————=~~|~~—————=~~|~~—————=~~|~~—————=~~|
|**A2 Asset and investment**
**sales, (see table).**
~~—————=~~|~~—————=~~|~~—————=~~|~~—————=~~|~~—————=~~|~~—————=~~|~~—————=~~|~~—————=~~|~~—————=~~|~~—————=~~|
|~~—————=~~|**-**
~~—————=~~|~~—————=~~|**-**
~~—————=~~|~~—————=~~|**-**
~~—————=~~|~~—————=~~|**-**
~~—————=~~|~~—————=~~|~~—————=~~|
|~~—————=~~|**-**
~~—————=~~|~~—————=~~|**-**
~~—————=~~|~~—————=~~|**-**
~~—————=~~|~~—————=~~|**-**
~~—————=~~|~~—————=~~|**-**
~~—————=~~|
|**_Sub total_**
~~—————=~~|**-**
~~—————=~~|~~—————=~~|**-**
~~—————=~~|~~—————=~~|**-**
~~—————=~~|~~—————=~~|**-**
~~—————=~~|~~—————=~~|**-**
~~—————=~~|
|~~—————=~~|~~—————=~~|~~—————=~~|~~—————=~~|~~—————=~~|~~—————=~~|~~—————=~~|**-**
~~—————=~~|~~—————=~~|~~—————=~~|
|**_Total receipts_**
~~—————=~~|**-**
~~—————=~~|~~—————=~~|**-**
~~—————=~~|~~—————=~~|**-**
~~—————=~~|~~—————=~~||~~—————=~~|**5,510**
~~—————=~~|
|~~—————=~~|~~—————=~~|~~—————=~~|~~—————=~~|~~—————=~~|~~—————=~~|~~—————=~~|~~—————=~~|~~—————=~~|~~—————=~~|
|**A3 Payments**||||||||||
|Deployment|**-**||**-**||**-**||**-**||**3,073**|
|insurance|**-**||**-**||**-**||**-**||**250**|
|Merchendise and admin cost|**-**||**-**||**-**||**-**||**1,475**|
||**-**||**-**||**-**||**-**|||
||**-**||**-**||**-**||**-**|||
||**-**||**-**||**-**||**-**|||
||**-**||**-**||**-**||**-**|||
||**-**||**-**||**-**||**-**||**-**|
||**-**||**-**||**-**||**-**||**-**|
|**_Sub total_ **|**-**||**-**||**-**||**-**||**4,798**|
|~~———————~~|~~———————~~|~~———————~~|~~———————~~|~~———————~~|~~———————~~|~~———————~~|~~———————~~|~~———————~~|~~———————~~|
|**A4 Asset and investment**
**purchases, (see table)**
~~———————~~|~~———————~~|~~———————~~|~~———————~~|~~———————~~|~~———————~~|~~———————~~|~~———————~~|~~———————~~|~~———————~~|
|~~———————~~|**-**
~~———————~~|~~———————~~|**-**
~~———————~~|~~———————~~|**-**
~~———————~~|~~———————~~|**-**
~~———————~~|~~———————~~|~~———————~~|
|~~———————~~|**-**
~~———————~~|~~———————~~|**-**
~~———————~~|~~———————~~|**-**
~~———————~~|~~———————~~|**-**
~~———————~~|~~———————~~|~~———————~~|
|**_Sub total_ **
~~———————~~|**-**
~~———————~~|~~———————~~|**-**
~~———————~~|~~———————~~|**-**
~~———————~~|~~———————~~|**-**
~~———————~~|~~———————~~|**-**
~~———————~~|
|~~———————~~|~~———————~~|~~———————~~|~~———————~~|~~———————~~|~~———————~~|~~———————~~|~~———————~~|~~———————~~|~~———————~~|
|**_Totalpayments_**
~~———————~~|**-**
~~———————~~|~~———————~~|**-**
~~———————~~|~~———————~~|**-**
~~———————~~|~~———————~~|**-**
~~———————~~|~~———————~~|**4,798**
~~———————~~|
|~~———————~~
~~===~~|~~———————~~
~~===~~|~~———————~~
~~===~~|~~———————~~
~~===~~|~~———————~~
~~=>>~~|~~———————~~
~~=>>~~|~~———————~~
~~=>>~~|~~———————~~
~~=>>~~|~~———————~~
~~=>>~~|~~———————~~
~~=>>~~|
|**_Net of receipts/(payments)_**
~~===~~|**-**
~~===~~|**-**
~~===~~|**-**
~~===~~|**-**
~~=>>~~|**-**
~~=>>~~|**-**
~~=>>~~|**- 712**
~~=>>~~|**- 712**
~~=>>~~|**- 712**
~~=>>~~|
|**A5 Transfers between funds**
~~===~~|**-**
~~===~~|**-**
~~===~~|**- -**
~~===~~|**- -**
~~=>>~~|**- -**
~~=>>~~|~~=>>~~|**-**
~~=>>~~|~~=>>~~|**-**
~~=>>~~|
|**A6 Cash funds lastyear end**
~~===~~|**14,284**
~~===~~|**14,284**
~~===~~|**- -**
~~===~~|**- -**
~~=>>~~|**- -**
~~=>>~~|~~=>>~~|**14,284**
~~=>>~~|~~=>>~~|**12,979**
~~=>>~~|
|**_Cash funds thisyear end_**
~~===~~|**14,284**
~~===~~|**14,284**
~~===~~|**-**
~~===~~|**-**
~~=>>~~|**- 14,284**
~~=>>~~|**- 14,284**
~~=>>~~|**- 14,284**
~~=>>~~|~~=>>~~|**13,691**
~~=>>~~|
|~~===~~|~~===~~|~~===~~|~~===~~|~~=>>~~|~~=>>~~|~~=>>~~|~~=>>~~|~~=>>~~|~~=>>~~|
**Section B Statement of assets and liabilities at the end of the period**
|**Categories**|**Details**|**Details**|**Details**||**Unrestricted**
**funds**||**Restricted**
**funds**||**Endowment**
**funds**|
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
||||||**to nearest £**||**to nearest £**||**to nearest £**|
|**B1 Cash funds**|Cash at bank||||**16,605**||**-**||**-**|
||Cash in hand||||**1,587**||**-**||**-**|
||||||**-**||**-**||**-**|
||**_Total cash funds_**||||**18,192**||**-**||**-**|
||(agree balances w ith receipts and payments
account(s))||||Agreement Error||||OK|
||||||**Unrestricted**
**funds**||**Restricted**
**funds**||**Endowment**
**funds**|
||**Details**||||**to nearest £**||**to nearest £**||**to nearest £**|
|**B2 Other monetary assets**|||||**-**||**-**||**-**|
||||||**-**||**-**||**-**|
||||||**-**||**-**||**-**|
||||||**-**||**-**||**-**|
||||||**-**||**-**||**-**|
||||||**-**||**-**||**-**|
|||||||||||
||**Details**||||**Fund to which**
**asset belongs**||**Cost (optional)**||**Current value**
**(optional)**|
|**B3 Investment assets**|||||||**-**||**-**|
||||||||**-**||**-**|
||||||||**-**||**-**|
||||||||**-**||**-**|
||||||||**-**||**-**|
|||||||||||
||**Details**||||**Fund to which**
**asset belongs**||**Cost (optional)**||**Current value**
**(optional)**|
|**B4 Assets retained for the**
**charity’s own use**|||||||**-**||**-**|
||||||||**-**||**-**|
||||||||**-**||**-**|
||||||||**-**||**-**|
||||||||**-**||**-**|
||||||||**-**||**-**|
||||||||**-**||**-**|
||||||||**-**||**-**|
||||||||**-**||**-**|
|||||||||||
||**Details**||||**Fund to which**
**liability relates**||**Amount due**
**(optional)**||**When due**
**(optional)**|
|**B5 Liabilities**|||||||**-**|||
||||||||**-**|||
||||||||**-**|||
||||||||**-**|||
||||||||**-**|||
|||||||||||
|Signed by one or two trustees on
behalf of all the trustees|Signature||||Print Name||||Date of
approval|
||H.Coloma||||H.Coloma||||30/01/2025|
||A.Bakere||||A.Bakere||||30/01/2025|