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2021-08-31-accounts

OLIVE TREE CANCER SUPPORT GROUP Annual report and accounts for the year ended 31 August 2021

Registered charity No. 1157386 The Olive Tree Cancer Support Centre, Crawley Hospital, West Green Drive, Crawley, West Sussex RH11 7DH

Social media

www.olivetreecancersupport.org.uk/

Contents

Chairman’s statement......................................................................... 3 1. Who we are and what we do ............................................................ 4 1.1 Background and a summary of charity activities in 2020/2021 .................................. 4 1.2 Achievements and performance ..................................................................... 7 1.3 Looking forward statement ........................................................................... 9 2. Our strategy .............................................................................. 10 2.1 Our Charity strategy to 2025 and beyond ........................................................ 10 3. How we operate ......................................................................... 11 3.1 Charity information, structure and governance ................................................. 11 3.2 Charity operations and risk management ........................................................ 13 3.3 Fundraising activities ................................................................................ 16 3.4 Stakeholder management and communications ................................................. 18 4. Financial report ......................................................................... 19 4.1 The Financial Review 2020/2021 .................................................................. 19 4.2 Report of the Independent Examiner ............................................................. 23 4.3 Income and Expenditure Account .................................................................. 24

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Chairman’s statement

As the country recovers from the coronavirus pandemic, and the social restrictions and containment measures are relaxed, it is an extremely uncertain and worrying time for many of our members and their families. Throughout the pandemic, our priority has continued to be to support our members. The lasting impacts of the pandemic continue to effect diagnosis pathways and treatments, which has added another level of uncertainty and challenge to an already difficult and emotional time. I am extremely proud of the manner and the speed in which the Olive Tree responded to the unprecedented challenges encountered.

Graham Nicoll We were delighted and honoured to have been awarded The Queens Award Chairman for Voluntary Service with a special recognition for our response to the pandemic. It seems very fitting that the dedication and resourcefulness of the Olive Tree volunteers has been acknowledged at a time of such great challenge.

As the number of members utilising the Crawley centre has started to return to pre-pandemic levels, we continued to develop our position in Horsham with the launch of a further centre, allowing us to, for the first time, offer group and individual services in the town centre. This has proved very popular with our members, and we will continue to work to develop our position within the area.

During the year we raised £82,000 through the help of our supporters and staff, together with £19,000 in Covid-19 related grants and £12,000 in bequests, bringing the total income for the year to £115,000 (including interest). Despite the significant reduction in income from the prior year (£168,000), our strong financial management has allowed the Olive Tree to end the year in a financially strong and sustainable position. We now need to do all we can to increase our level of fundraising further, to ensure we can meet the demands we face ahead in a very challenging economic environment.

The Trustees have commenced a strategic review of the charity, with the aim of increasing reach to as many people affected by cancer as possible, regardless of gender, ethnic background and social or economic circumstance, whilst ensuring the sustainability of the charity. The framework has now been established and we have restated our values and mission. We are now in the detailed planning phase which will guide the Trustees in the development of the charity over the coming years.

Looking forward

The effects of the pandemic for cancer patients continue. As members become more confident to return to our centres, demand for our services and support will continue to increase. Our challenge is to be able to welcome them back and ensure we have the capacity to welcome new members.

The pandemic has also had a major impact on our volunteers. While some have had to concentrate on rebuilding their businesses, others have reconsidered their life choices including moving away from the area. This has resulted in a significant reduction in the number of volunteers, which is now recovering but many more will be required to meet the future challenges.

As we complete our strategic review, we will work with key stakeholders to get their feedback and contributions and continue to develop the plans and targets. We aim to offer help to all affected by cancer, and support our members where we can, through their cancer experience.

Gratitude

Thank you to our staff, volunteers and supporters for allowing the Olive Tree to continue to support our members during this most challenging year and into the future.

Graham Nicoll Chairman

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1.Who we are and what we do

1.1 Background and a summary of charity activities in 2020/2021

Charitable object

The charitable object of the Olive Tree Cancer Support Group (the Olive Tree), as registered with the Charity Commission, is to relieve the physical or emotional distress of persons with cancer and their partners, families, friends and carers through the provision of services.

The Olive Tree operates from its Support Centre in Crawley and provides services in Horsham as from June 2021. An Information Hub was established in 2018 at the local hospital and remains the administrative centre for all community activity in Horsham. The Olive Tree is open to everyone who is affected by cancer irrespective of whether newly diagnosed or a longer-term patient as well as their families. In 2020/2021 the Centre, despite the restrictions placed upon us due to the Covid-19 pandemic, provided services to 188 people (2019/20 – 240 users), including 140 new users.

The Olive Tree is a welcoming and trusted ‘safe place’ for its cancer patient community and for their loved ones, offering reassurance and relaxation at times of most need. Its empathetic and supportive team provides valued services, help and key understandings that enable and empower patients to meet challenges throughout their cancer journey.

In the reporting year, the Olive Tree provided services to 13% of new cancer patients who live in Crawley, and 3% who live in Horsham (see table below). The Centre provides support to 7% of new cases in the area. This means our support maybe needed by many more new and existing patients, particularly in Horsham. It is now estimated that about half of the UK population will be diagnosed with cancer at some point in their life. Due to the advances in medical care, more people are being cured and surviving longer, which means we will need to support more patients, their family members, carers and friends for longer.

Area of residence New users
at the Olive
Tree 2020/21
(prioryear)
New cancer cases
(as of Feb 2020,
no 2021 data)1
Total area
population
(2019)2
Crawley & local areas
Horsham
Other areas		 70 (83)
530
112,410
47 (44)
1,400
143,790
23 (31)
Total 140 (158)
1,930
256,200

Our services are not restricted to those living within the two town boundaries. Our users come from many local areas including Broadfield, Bewbush, Langley Green, Horley, Burgess Hill, East Grinsted, Haywards Heath and Billingshurst. The closest other cancer support centres to Crawley are in Chichester, Guildford, Redhill and Brighton, demonstrating a unique position of the Olive Tree to meet the demand for services from local communities.

As such, it is estimated that we are potentially accessible by a total population approaching 500,000 people.

1 https://www.cancerresearchuk.org/cancer-info/cancerstats/local-cancer-statistic. Crawley and Horsham, February 2020.

2 Sussex Community Foundation Insight reports, October 2020

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Supportive services

The aim of the Olive Tree is to provide therapeutic care to cancer patients and their supporters, enabling them to cope better with their disease and treatment. We are a self-funded charity, and our therapies and services complement the medical support that is given to cancer patients by the NHS. We do not offer any medical treatments or advice.

The Olive Tree provides many different types of services to its users. We had 1,247 Centre visits in 2020/2021 (down by 33% on the previous year due to the pandemic, PY – 1,853 visits) with an average of 104 per month (highest month was April 2021 with 174 visits). Complementary therapy is the most popular reason for a visit (63%, up from 37% in 2019/2020), followed by counselling (11%).

We ran a smaller number of workshops across Crawley and Horsham during the year due to the extended Covid-19 lockdown and restrictions on group work. The majority of these were activities held in the garden at the Crawley Centre. Yoga, tai chi and Qigong were the most popular. Some more unusual services offered by the Olive Tree are breast cancer surgery aftercare treatment, scar massage and Virtual Reality Headset Workshops.

We have continued to offer remote services for counselling, hypnotherapy and EFT. We also offer telephone initial interviews for new patients, however we have found that once we were able to offer face to face appointments that was, by far, the preferred option.

Services Description
Information support Library of books, magazines, local and national information, and Macmillan
brochures
Complementary Complementary therapies are offered to anyone who visits the Centre, both those
therapies with cancer and their supporters. These therapies complement orthodox cancer
treatments and improve the quality of life by relieving stress and tension. They
are based on the holistic principle that healing works on all levels: spiritual,
mental, emotional and physical.
 Acupuncture
 NADA protocol ear
 Emotional Support
acupuncture Therapies
 Aromatherapy
 Bowen Technique
 Cranio-Sacral Therapy
 Energy Healing
 Emotional Freedom
 Hypnotherapy
Technique (EFT)
 Meditation and
 Pranic Healing
 Indian Head Massage
relaxation
 Kinesiology
 Massage
 Oncology Massage
 Reflexology
 Reiki
 ACU sound therapy
Counselling & Coaching Counselling and Coaching offer patients alternative approaches to find their own
solutions to difficulties, and a way through a crisis and beyond.
Support groups Breast cancer group, Secondaries club, Prostate cancer group
Workshops Various topics – Mindfulness, Card Making, Headwrappers
Pink Ribbon programme Exercise for breast cancer patients
Exercises classes Yoga, Pilates, Qigong
CAB Welfare/ Benefits Confidential benefits advice
Drop in Social afternoons to discuss any concerns or just speak with someone
Wig service Selection of wigs, hats, scarves and bandanas with a fitting service

We continue to receive excellent feedback from our users with their testimonials included throughout the report.

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With thanks to you and everyone at the Olive Tree for all the dedicated work you do to give us support. It’s a worthwhile and valuable service that you provide. Thank you.

This is my first counselling experience and it helped me a lot more that I thought. It was nice to speak to someone outside of my “bubble” who could understand and help me to understand and help my emotions.

Impact of Covid-19 on user services – we remained open

The Centre in Crawley was made Covid-19 secure in 2020 and we remained open since the beginning of the pandemic.

The continued threat of Covid-19 meant that new ways of working had to be agreed and swiftly implemented in order to meet government guidelines as they changed and developed. We moved some of our services to telephone and online video platforms (Teams and Zoom), such as Counselling, coaching, ETF, and hypnotherapy. These are now provided as a blended option for those who are unable to attend the Centre for regular appointments. 22 users chose online/ telephone emotional support in the reporting year.

The wig service at the Crawley Centre remained open throughout the pandemic, providing wigs and other head coverings for chemo patients.

Thanking you all for your outstanding work and support throughout the pandemic.

I think what you are providing is an invaluable service. I have only tapped into a small amount of what you offer but it has all been very positive. When I felt so low and did not know where to go, I came to you, complete strangers. And you did not judge me or laugh, you led me to a room and gave me time. That was the most enormous step for me and I thank you for that.

Horsham Centre and Information Hub

We were delighted to establish a new centre in Horsham and partner with Total Therapy Studio, Carfax, who are providing us with premises two days a week.

Commencing in June 2021 with two exclusive sessions, Tuesday morning and Thursday afternoon, we have been able to offer massage, reflexology, acupuncture, hypnotherapy, counselling, nutritional therapy, yoga and meditation. All these services have proved very popular

and the numbers accessing them continue to grow. Since the centre was opened, 112 user visits were made. Overall, 34 individuals visited the centre including 5 new users.

The Horsham information Hub continues to provide an administrative base for the Horsham operation, including for our Fundraising Manager. Due to the reallocation of space at Horsham Hospital as a Covid Hub, it has not been possible to expand services as we would have wished, but the possibility remains to create a broader, more complete service in the future. There are plans to expand our counselling facility at the Hub in 2022.

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1.2 Achievements and performance

2020/2021 YEAR in NUMBERS

We are delighted to present our key data covering the usage of the Centres.

I would like to thank everyone at the Olive Tree. From the minute I stepped inside everyone was so lovely, it was so relaxing. With the kindness of people. I would highly recommend anyone needing the service. You will for sure leave a much more relaxed person with a real sense of well-being. Thank you each and everyone for all the time you give. It is really appreciated. Looking forward to

Being a typical man, when I heard of the Olive Tree, I thought – “no thanks! Why should I want to hang around with men in the same boat as I am? How depressing, how uninspiring! How wrong was I? From the first “Hello would you like tea or coffee?” I felt in safe hands. This is a place of empathy, understanding, inspiration and compassion. Here meetings, talks, outings and all the therapies you could wish for. It’s ok to talk about hospitals, treatments, side effects and fear. Also the

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coming back when I've recovered a little more from surgery.

car, wife, kids, garden, politics, anything at all. This is the Olive Tree.

Feedback received from users

The Centre is an absolute haven. I don’t know what I would have done without it.

With thanks to you and Thanking you all for everyone at the Olive your outstanding work Tree for all the and support throughout dedicated work you do to the pandemic. give us support.

The Queen’s Award for Voluntary Service

We were delighted to be recognised for our services by our Community and other organisations.

We have been honoured with The Queen’s Award for Voluntary Service (QAVS), the highest award a voluntary group can receive in the UK, equivalent to an MBE. We would like to thank Corrine Clark for her nomination of Olive Tree to receive this award.

The Queen’s Award for Voluntary Service aims to recognise outstanding work by volunteer groups to benefit their local communities. It was created in 2002 to celebrate The Queen’s Golden Jubilee. Recipients are announced each year on 2nd June, the anniversary of The Queen’s Coronation.

The Olive Tree Cancer Support Group is one of 241 charities, social enterprises and voluntary groups to receive the prestigious award this year. The process is extremely rigorous, involving nominations, due diligence and assessment involving the Lord Lieutenant’s office and Cabinet office leading to Royal approval of the shortlist and finally the award. The award represents a mark of excellence and recognition of a significant contribution to local community.

The Olive Tree received the award crystal and certificate from Mrs Susan Pyper, LordLieutenant of West Sussex, at a presentation evening held on 11th October 2021. In addition, the Olive Tree, along with select other Queen’s Award recipients, received a special Covid-19 recognition. This was for providing impactful support to the community in response to the Covid-19 pandemic, for managing a significant increase in our usual work and providing support in extra ways.

From the left: Trevor Chrismas (Trustee). Mrs Susan Piper, Brenda Millar (Volunteer)

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We thank each and every one of our 66 amazing volunteers and 5 members of staff for their dedication and hard work to achieve the exceptional standards required to receive this award, and without whom the Olive Tree simply would not exist.

1.3 Looking forward statement

Our ambition is to become a well-recognised, inclusive local charity supporting everyone who needs it, as they or their loved ones are undergoing cancer treatment, or living with cancer. As we are emerging from the pandemic, long-term consequences of it will be felt for some time. A backlog of cancer patient requirements, both from those who have not yet progressed with treatment, or have unknowingly delayed diagnosis during the times of lockdown, and also as a result of the continued increase in the prevalence of cancer in its various forms

The demand for our services will undoubtedly increase. According to Macmillan analysis as of September 2021, an estimated 3 million people are living with cancer in the UK. This number is predicted to rise to nearly 3.5 million by 2025, 4 million by 2030, and 5.3 million by 2040. This increase is partly due to the UK’s growing and ageing population, but also due to improvements in cancer diagnosis and treatments. We welcome the development of the 10-year cancer plan by the government for England by 2032. It will support further innovation and improvements to care that should result in 75% of cancer cases by 2028 to be of early-stage diagnosis.

We will reach out specifically to cancer patients within ethnic minority groups and to those in socially deprived areas within the Crawley/Horsham and the surrounding area. It is hoped that this will raise awareness of how we can support them and so encourage their involvement.

To meet the increased demand, we need to recruit further personnel. It is important that they have the right skills, are motivated and have appropriate personalities, in order to maintain our current high standards of delivery and care. We will continue to measure our performance using appropriate assessments, such as user feedback, to ensure that this is the case.

With a success in Horsham, we are continuing to review capacity and availability of the current site at Total Therapy Studios as we grow and expand our operations. This growth in our capacity requires a corresponding significant step up in our funding. We must deliver this in the face of greater competition for (possibly fewer) grants available to us given the current financial climate.

With users now enjoying the experience of on-line services (counselling) in addition to coming to our centres, we continue to explore other ways in which technology might help improve our efficiency and effectiveness.

We are beginning to restart our in-person fundraising activities in the community in 2022, and have secured a partnership with Crawley Town Football Club. Our continued expansion in Horsham will enable new local business partnerships to be formed and will offer a broader audience from which individual supporters and fundraisers can be sought and engaged. Rising costs of living in the UK will bring additional challenges with direct impact on our expenditure and even tougher competition for grants.

As we are developing our charity strategy, we are determined to meet our challenges and are confident in doing so given the long-term commitment and generosity of our existing and new supporters, to whom we will always be grateful.

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2.Our strate gy

2.1 Our Charity strategy to 2025 and beyond

Our strategy for the next few years demonstrates our striving to reach as many people as possible in our local communities. We shall continue to provide a wide range of supportive services that meet ever evolving needs of our users. We pride ourselves in living our values in everything that we do.

Our Values

The Olive Tree C.A.R.E.S.

C ompassion A pproachability R eassurance E mpathy S upport

Our Vision

Our long-term aim is to be a well-recognised charity that provides free, accessible, personalised, innovative care and support to those affected by cancer in all local communities in Crawley, Horsham and surrounding areas .

Our Goals and objectives

1. Engage with 2. Optimise 3. Increase 4. Collaborate 5. Achieve more people range of services awareness of with other local sustainable affected by with focus on what we do health and financial cancer in our personalised cancer care resources to local care providers deliver on our communities strategy

As of April 2022, we are continuing to develop specific measurable plans to meet each of the five objectives and will provide an update on our progress in the next Annual report.

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3.How we o erate p

3.1 Charity information, structure and governance

Charity registration

The Olive Tree Cancer Support Group is a Charitable Incorporated Organisation (CIO) registered on 9 June 2014. The Olive Tree is governed by its CIO Constitution dated 29 May 2014, which sets out the charity’s powers and authorities. The constitution was amended by the Trustees and approved the members at the Annual General Meeting (AGM) held on 24 February 2021 to facilitate AGMs being held virtually in addition to in-person meetings.

The charity is regulated by the Charity Commission of England and Wales. Registration number 1157386.

Address: Wentworth House, Crawley Hospital, West Green Drive, Crawley, West Sussex RH11 7DH

Trustee information

The Olive Tree Board of Trustees provides independent control and has legal responsibility for the management and administration of the charity. The Board is also responsible for the strategic direction of the charity and the authority delegated to Management. The Trustees are elected by the members of the charity at the AGM and, subject to re-election or early retirement, serve for a maximum of three, three-year terms, after which they must stand down for at least twelve months.

Volunteers, employees, professionals, cancer patients, their carers and others are entitled to become members of the Olive Tree and are entitled to attend its AGM and vote on important decisions affecting the charity.

The Board consists of seven Trustees (ethnicity ratio – Asian 28%, White 72%). They all give their time to the Olive Tree on a voluntary basis and receive no remuneration. Reasonable expenses may be reimbursed.

----- Start of picture text -----
Alla Trevor Chrismas [1] Raj Graham Nicoll
Levadnaya (Treasurer) Limbachia [1] (Chairman)
Stephen Baily Yulia Baynham Louise Cheung [2]
----- End of picture text -----

In accordance with section 13 of the CIO Constitution

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The charity Trustees may appoint one of their number to chair their meetings and may at any time revoke such appointment. At the date of this report the appointed Chairman is Graham Nicoll.

Governance

Trustees meetings take place monthly, every first Wednesday in person or remotely. The Olive Tree Manager and the Fundraising Manager also attend the meetings to report on their activities. The objective of the sessions is to ensure good governance, provide oversight of charity management and fundraising, ensure robust financial control and identify any improvements to user experience. All meetings have agenda, papers and reports, and minutes are prepared and reviewed.

Trustees undergo regular training from external organisations. Most recent training covered governance, GDPR, safeguarding, fundraising, impact assessment, fraud policy, digital operations and annual reporting.

In addition to mandatory training courses, workshops designed to build your knowledge, skills and behaviours on topics such as safeguarding, EDI, reporting and governance are regularly attended.

The Trustees, in exercising their powers and authorities, confirm that they complied with their duty under the Charities Act 2011 and have had due regard to the public benefit guidance published by the Charity Commission. In preparing this report and accounts the Trustees have complied with the requirements set out in the guidance to report on the significant activities and achievements of the charity in 2020–2021.

The charity has taken out an insurance policy that provides professional indemnity insurance cover for the Trustees.

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3.2 Charity operations and risk management

Our employees and volunteers are an essential part of the Olive Tree Cancer Support Group and without them we could not operate.

Management and Staff

----- Start of picture text -----
Marilyn Drury Ava Harding Helena Taylor Lisa Balcomb Jackie Nunn Terrie Stephens
Centre Manager Fundraising Fundraising Administrator Administrator Macmillan
Manager (to Manager (from 1 Support Worker
31 August January 2022)
2021)
----- End of picture text -----

The Olive Tree currently has a staff of five. The Centre is managed by Marilyn Drury. Her position is a salaried NHS post, with additional funding by The Olive Tree. Administrative duties are conducted by Lisa Balcomb and Jackie Nunn who are employed on a job share arrangement. Ava Harding was our Fundraising Manager until 31 August 2021. Lisa and Jackie are both employees of the Olive Tree. We welcome Helena Taylor who joined us in January 2022 as Fundraising Manager.

In June 2020 Terrie Stephens was appointed as Macmillan Support Worker and is based at the Horsham Hub. This is a full-time position employed by the Olive Tree and funded by Macmillan, whose grant will end in July 2022.

We are grateful to Marilyn, Ava, Lisa, Jackie, Terrie and now Helena for their hard work and commitment in running the day-to-day operations of the Centre and at the same time giving empathy, compassion and support to everyone who visits the Olive Tree.

Volunteers

The Centre has 52 volunteers including 8 counsellors, 4 coaches, 26 therapists, 14 who help with general duties (Front desk, Drop-in organisers). Our aim is to have volunteers who are happy, engaged in shaping our services and eager to continually support the Olive Tree. Our engagement efforts are ongoing through volunteer lifecycle and we ensure consistent communication and recognition.

Volunteers, trustees and special guests at the Queens Award for Voluntary Service Award presentation.

Trustees fund a length of service Recognition Award Scheme for the volunteers. Awards are given to recognise 1, 5, 10 and 20 years of service as well as an Outstanding Contribution Award. Many volunteers have been working in the Centre for a number of years including 29 with over 5 years of service and 5 with over 10 years of service. Our Annual Volunteer Christmas buffet and Awards evening did not take place in the reporting year due to Covid-19 but QAVS event was held instead in October 2021.

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In December 2020 we introduced “Reward Gateway”, a scheme that provides staff and volunteers with a range of discounts, well-being tools and a new improved method of charity communication.

The Centre Manager adopts an organised and rigorous approach to the recruitment and training of volunteers to ensure that they are appropriate in terms of skills, qualifications and their alignment with the Olive Tree values. Regular contact is maintained to ensure that the services that they deliver are of the appropriate standard and they themselves have job satisfaction.

Training

The Olive Tree believes that training is key to the effective and efficient delivery of high-quality support to all those who chose to take advantage of the wide range of support services available. Our aim is to have well-trained and well-informed employees and volunteers. The Olive Tree remains committed to providing all necessary and support to enable employees and volunteer to complete the tasks required.

Examples of training undertaken in 2020/2021 included Safeguarding, Cancer awareness, Health and safety, Fire safety, and Data protection.

Centre operations during the Covid-19 pandemic

Our staff and volunteers continue to show great flexibility, resilience and resourcefulness in keeping our services running at the Crawley Centre. Similar to 2019/2020, during further Covid-19 lockdowns we had volunteers providing emotional support (on-line and in person), acupuncture and exercise classes (Zoom sessions were held for Yoga, Pilates, Mindfulness, EFT and Hypnotherapy). We saw an increase in counselling post lockdowns.

We had two staff furloughed to February 2021, then again to August and September 2021, with the remainder of staff working from the Crawley Centre and Horsham Information Hub. During lockdowns we lost some of our volunteer therapists due to health issues and moving to other areas. It remains challenging to find new volunteers in the current environment.

To comply with lockdown opening procedures, three members of staff completed the HMG online training for Covid-19 management in 2020. During the first lockdown we made modifications to the Crawley Centre and the Horsham Hub to comply with Covid-19 Secure Guidelines. These continued to be in place during this reporting year. Additional PPE has been deployed along with additional disposable couch bedding. A Covid-19 Disclaimer document is signed by each user at the Centre before an appointment can take place.

Risk management

Trustees are responsible for managing and monitoring risks and having overall accountability. Management provides daily risk management on behalf of the trustees. There are reasonable processes in place for the identification and prevention of major risks, setting risk appetite and ensuring that risks are reviewed when issues arise.

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Employees and volunteers involved in delivering charity services have a responsibility to identify any risks associated with delivering their work, and to escalate these risks to the Centre Manager and Trustees.

The trustees and management undertake regular reviews of the risk management action plan and risk register. In May 2021, Olive Tree carried out an independent review of policies and procedures to provide assurance that internal controls are effective.

We operate a comprehensive annual planning and budgeting process. We monitor performance through the use of key financial and performance indicators which are reported to the Trustees at each meeting.

Reserves targets are calculated by reference to the forward financial outlook and the risks facing the charity, with the aim of ensuring that key services are sustainable, and that early action can be taken to deal with matters as they arise.

Specific risks considered by the Trustees include income, expense, reputation, fraud, cyber security and data protection, and staff and volunteers’ risks. Most recently the trustees also considered the potential risks arising out of the Ukraine crisis (impact on fundraising) and made provisions accordingly.

More than 80% of the Olive Tree’s income is from donations including non-recurring, one-off grants and bequests. This fundraising risk is mitigated through a combination a robust reserving policy and a professional and systematic fundraising approach, supported by volunteers.

The trustees of the Olive Tree are aware of the risk of fraud in charities. The Olive Tree Anti-fraud policy covers counter-fraud mechanisms. Fraud awareness training programmes are planned for all staff and volunteers.

At the Olive Tree we take data protection seriously and our responsibilities are covered in the Data Protection Policy. As a risk mitigation measure, appropriate training is provided for staff.

We will continue to work on developing robust cybersecurity protocols to ensure full security, while at the same time building resilience to respond quickly to attacks with minimal impact on our operations and reputation. We continue our efforts towards alignment with the National Cyber Security Centre (Cyber Essentials

framework). We know that security starts with people and our aim is to provide annual cybersecurity training for our staff and volunteers to help them to recognise cyber security threats and avoid making security mistakes.

People, leadership and culture are key to our service delivery. Major risks are include the inability to recruit the staff with right skills, the retention high calibre employees, and sustaining the culture, may impact our ability to deliver services. We closely monitor and benchmark compensation and benefits, staff support and supervision framework.

The Olive Tree has a small staff of five with a lot of knowledge concentrated in those individuals. Robust succession plans are being put in place to ensure that tasks can be readily passed

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on to other members of staff, knowledge is shared, including the documentation of processes and procedures, and there is no impact on charity operations due to staff movements.

Due to the coronavirus pandemic, the Olive Tree experienced a sudden drop in the number of volunteers which could impact the ability of the charity to deliver services. This risk has been mitigated, with new volunteers from the waiting list maintained by the Centre manager, being engaged and are now providing services.

Health and safety issues, compliance and regulatory risks are controlled through the deployment of policies and procedures. We have a robust volunteer recruitment process with appropriate safeguarding DBS checks where required.

Robust Financial control

Processes and procedures are in place to

3.3 Fundraising activities

Key donations and grants received in 2020/2021

The provision of our services is entirely dependent upon funding made through charitable donations and grants.

The Olive Tree’s promise to the general public, our community and to our valued supporters, staff and volunteers is that our fundraising is, in all its forms, legal, open, honest, and respectful. We take every reasonable step necessary to comply with the law and are fully responsible for our actions, ensuring that our fundraising is carried out in line with the Code of Fundraising Practice. We make sure that all of those who fundraise on our behalf do likewise and, as such, do not cause detriment to the charity’s reputation. We also verify that all such fundraising activities are in-line with both our ethical standards and legal requirements.

Ava Harding Fundraising Manager (until 31 August 2021)

The Olive Tree, in deciding whether to accept a donation or gift, considers the charity's best overall interest, and will refuse donations from donors whose activities appear to be in direct conflict with any of our charitable aims or objectives.

Supporters who wish to donate to a specific area of the Olive Tree’s work can do so by providing written instruction to this effect with their donation. The Olive Tree will always respect this. If the Olive Tree is unable to accept such a request, then the donation is refused or refunded if the sponsor does not wish the money to be used for a suitable alternative purpose.

Fundraising Performance

Our Fundraising Manager has persevered in seeking funding from a wide variety of sources and fundraising opportunities throughout the reporting year despite the ongoing negative impacts of the pandemic, and has overseen a healthy income stream once more. We would like to thank The Henry Smith Charity for their continued support in sponsoring this position again this year.

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Our key donors for 2020/21 are listed on page 22 of this report. We greatly appreciate the efforts and generosity of all who have contributed to our funds over the past year. Our overall income in 2020/21 from all sources (excluding investment income) was £113,485.

This money has proved vital in our ongoing provision of services, particularly in the light of the additional pressures associated with Covid-19, and continue to help improve the lives of our many users affected by cancer.

We are most thankful for Covid-19 specific funding given by the Sussex Crisis Fund and the Argus Appeal, both administered by Sussex Community Foundation. Other large grants were gratefully received from The Henry Smith Charity, Gatwick Airport Authority and The Longley Trust. We would also like to thank the Marsh Christian Trust and the Magic Little Grants Fund for their

financial support. We have benefitted greatly from the token and nomination schemes at Bunzl Greenham, Varian, Arnold Clark Autocare, Asda, John Lewis & Partners, TK Maxx, Homesense, Amazon Smile and Give as you Live, all of which were triggered thanks to the nominations of our supporters. In this toughest of times, we are so very grateful for each of these generous contributions. We must also highlight, with our utmost appreciation, the kind and generous bequests received in the year from the late Pru Rajani Lukka, the late Ann Noble and the late G M Woods.

The continuing restrictions resulting from Covid-19 has again severely impacted our fundraising community

event programme. In this difficult time, we thank Jamie McDonnell, Faye Rabson, Michelle Ward and Rachel Palmer, for their herculean fundraising events over the course of the year. Many of our volunteers and supporters have continued to raise money with their own initiatives,

whilst ensuring that they are Covid-19 secure. We are extremely proud of them and sincerely grateful for their exceptional efforts. Whilst there are too many to mention in this report, organisations such as Trailblazers, RAM Cricket Club and Crawley Town Old Boys continue to be key and integral to our achievements in this respect.

We welcome and thank our new corporate partners Crawley Town Football Club, Global4Communications and The Hornbrook (Hall & Woodhouse). We thank each of you for your fundraising efforts to date and look forward to working with you going forward.

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Engagement with our donors

Donor retention and development continues to be most important for the Olive Tree in order to ensure the sustainability of funding. We are committed to a continuous improvement of our donors’ experience by targeting our communications with them. This way we learn more about their expectations, award criteria and key drivers of their loyalty, and achieve this through the provision of funding progress reports, end of funding reports, and by regularly meeting with our funders and supporters.

Looking forward, our fundraising challenge will become greater. The demands for our support and care will grow, and this, together with the expansion of our Horsham service offerings, will mean that our costs will increase and with this, our fundraising will need to scale up accordingly.

Our Fundraising Manager, Ava Harding, resigned at the end of this financial year to further progress her career. We thank Ava for her sustained efforts and achievements throughout her tenure. We would like to welcome Helena Taylor who joined as a new Fundraising Manager in January 2022.

3.4 Stakeholder management and communications

Engagement with our stakeholders remains a high priority of the Olive Tree, and is a means of advising us of the impacts of our decisions and enables us to better respond to their needs. The development and building of strong relationships with each of them is an important, ongoing part of our charity operations and governance.

Our key stakeholders are below:

All Trustees and management are committed to being open and transparent with the charity regulators and to meeting all of the Small Charity compliance requirements. A thorough and up-to-date understanding of legislation affecting the Olive Tree such as Charity Commission regulatory reporting (changes to SORP, best practice guides, new Trustee information) and forums for Trustees and Staff (for example, Institute of Fundraising) is core to ensuring that all decisions conform to the relevant guidance and constraints.

Ongoing provision of feedback and testimonials from the users of the Olive Tree are integral to the continuous shaping and improvement of services. As a minimum, we conduct a service user satisfaction survey every three years and issue a new user satisfaction survey on an annual basis.

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The single greatest impact of the pandemic and restrictions was going online. We adapted to using the Zoom online platform that facilitated the delivery of services, operation of the charity, and maintaining contact with users.

We actively use a range of communication channels in order to keep our service users informed. For example, we issue a monthly update newsletter from the Centre management team, we extend an invitation to attend the AGM, and we circulate our Annual Report to members. We aim to further increase our usage of social media platforms such as LinkedIn, Facebook, Instagram and Twitter. These platforms allow us to freely engage with our supporters and those interested in our work by publishing our latest news, details of our fundraising events and campaigns, and up to date information regarding our service provision.

We are extremely grateful to our grant providers (donors) because, as a self-funded charity, without them the Olive Tree would struggle to survive. We engage with each of these on an individual and tailormade basis, and ensure that their required funding reports, both interim and at the end of funding, are submitted in a complete and timely manner.

Engagement with the local community (such as Crawley Local Community Network, Local Cancer Network), the general public and media through various community fundraising events, other Centres (Horizon in Brighton, Age UK in Horsham, Horsham District Council Wellbeing Centre), and meetings with local GP practices promoting the Olive Tree, remain a priority.

4.Financial re ort p

4.1 The Financial Review 2020/2021

Treasurers report

The charity has maintained a sound financial position. As a consequence of the planning exercise that took place when the Covid-19 pandemic restrictions began, we ensured the maintenance of the Centre and its services to the greatest extent possible.

This year the surplus was £17,242, following a surplus of £37,498 in the prior year. Full details can be found on page 24 of this report. Our reserves take account of the long-term nature of our operations and the needs of our service users. We plan to keep them at the level required in the Reserves Policy, fully taking account of the wide range of risks to which the charity is exposed. The self-funding nature of the charity presents significant reliance on income received with inherent volatility. Outgoings, by contrast, comprise items such as staff costs, premises, IT, therapy and volunteer expenses which are stable and, in many cases, unrelated to activity levels.

Trevor Chrismas Treasurer

Income

The primary sources of income are donations, fundraising activities and legacies together with certain grants for specific purposes. Income received in the year was £114,935 (inclusive of interest), down from £168,343 in the prior year. The decreases were across the board, with the most significant declines in income from bequests, grants and a reduction in events due to the pandemic. The decline in bequests was due to a single large bequest received in the prior year. This type of income is always unpredictable. The reduction in grants was due to Covid-19 related grants received in 2019/20 that were no longer available in the reporting year.

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Expenditure

Expenditure in 2020/21 was £97,693, down from £130,845 in the prior year. The decrease of £33,152 was primarily from reduction in costs due to a staff vacancy, a reduction in volunteer expenses following a transition to remote provision of some counselling and therapy services, and other reductions due to lower onsite activity levels.

Covid-19 Financial Impact

Financially this has been another rather unusual year. While the prior year comprised seven “normal” months and five covid affected months, the entire current year has been affected by some degree of pandemic restrictions with a limited opening up of the economy, albeit in an environment of general financial caution.

For the Olive Tree this has meant that income has further reduced in the current year and our services have been opening up to a limited extent. There remain limitations in both the services offered by the Olive Tree, and the ability to raise funds.

Covid-19 support grants received in the prior year have not been available in the current year, other than the Coronavirus Job Retention Scheme “CJRS” (Furlough) which ramped down towards the end of the period. On a more positive note, The Olive Tree has been fortunate in receiving £21,000 of grants specifically for the opening of the new Horsham treatment rooms, working with Total Therapy Studios. In addition, while bequests have reduced, they remained an important source of funding for the organisation.

The Pandemic has also had a significant impact on our volunteer community, with a number of therapists and counsellors having to focus on rebuilding their business and consequently being able to offer less or no time volunteering. This affects not only the level of services provided, but also the value of donations received in the centres, with expenses also remaining historically low.

Importantly the charity has continued to maintain a strong reserves policy, which has given both our staff and the service users confidence in the Olive Tree’s ongoing viability.

The future remains uncertain. The pandemic has already continued far beyond the timeframes previously envisaged. Covid-19 restrictions and the associated impact on the economy limited fund raising activities and the ability of donors to continue to support the Olive Tree. The increase in the cost of living and inflation of 7% put pressure on expenditure. The Ukraine crisis added another dimension, as we see significant fundraising efforts undertaken to support refugee, with funds being diverted and redistributed in the charity sector.

Furthermore, the high levels of competition for the limited grants available is likely to continue, reducing the application success rate. At the same time, the level of demand for Olive Tree services will continue to be hard to predict but has already increased significantly as restrictions have relaxed. More people are coming forward for testing, hospitals have stepped up cancer treatments and so more people are being referred to the Olive Tree.

Restricted Funds

Restricted funds comprise amounts received for a specific purpose. Such funds are monitored to ensure they are only applied for the specific purpose and any balance of such funds is held separately.

£
Deficit b/fwd* (6,771)
Income Received 59,634
Expenses Paid (34,745)
Funds c/fwd £18,118

*Since the opening balance was a deficit, none of the charity’s assets were regarded as held for restrict funds.

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Horsham Information Hub . A grant of £29,320 was received specifically in respect of the Horsham Information Hub. Related expenditure amounted £22,991. In addition, a deficit of £5,271 was carried over from the previous year leaving a surplus of £1,057 at the end of the period.

Horsham Holistic. Grants of £10,000 was received specifically in respect of the newly opened Horsham Therapy Centre, of which £1,729 had been expended at the end of the financial year. These grants continue to be expended in the current financial year.

Counselling Grant. Grants of £12,500 were received in respect of counselling supervision costs. Counselling activities were greatly reduced due to the pandemic restrictions, resulting in expenditure of £3,525 during the period. The counselling has now resumed, and this grant continues to be expended during the current financial year.

Fundraising Officer . A grant was received from the Henry Smith Charity in the amount of £6,500 to support the role of Fundraising Officer. The grant received has been fully expended with no amounts being held over.

Reserves held

Reserves, comprising that part of a charity’s unrestricted funds that are freely available to spend on any of the charity’s purposes, were £201,529, decreasing from £202,405 for the prior year, are in line with the reserving policy (below) and follow the surplus of income over expenditure detailed on page 24, adjusted for the movement in restricted funds. Details of funds invested are included on page 25.

Risk management and reserves

The Trustees undertake regular assessments and, where appropriate, systems or procedures have been established to mitigate the risks the charity faces. These inform the Trustees’ consideration of an appropriate target range for cash reserves.

Reserves targets are calculated by reference to the forward financial outlook and the risks facing the charity, with the aim of ensuring that key services are sustainable, and that early action can be taken to deal with matters as they arise.

Reserves Policy

The Trustees set, publish, implement and monitor the Reserves Policy in line with the guidance provided by the Charities Commission in England and Wales, “Charity Reserves and Building Resilience” (CC19) to ensure compliance with their legal duties to:

The Trustees have reviewed the financial risks facing the organisation (see Risk Management section) and quantified both the probability and magnitude of various risks. The Trustees have resolved as a policy to set both an upper and a lower limit of unrestricted reserves to be maintained for such purposes and to act to increase or decrease expenditure if the reserves fall outside those limits. At the date of the approval of this report by the Trustees, the target range of reserves was £176,000 to £264,000 (2020: £149,000 to £224,000). The increase in the target range follows, in part, an increase in the fundraising challenges arising from the crisis in Ukraine, a shocking event which has upturned the lives of many millions of people and challenges the sense of peace and security in which many Europeans have lived for two generations. Consequently fundraising supporting those affected is likely to reduce the grants and donations available more widely in the charity sector. In addition, the price pressures and shortages arising globally are expected to increase the expense base of the Olive Tree. Actual reserves at £201,529 (2020: £202,405) are within the target range.

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Large Donations, Grants and Bequests

Significant amounts were received from:

Macmillan £29,320
Sussex Community Foundation £16,000
The Estate of G M Woods (Bequest) £10,000
The Henry Smith Charity £6,500
The Albert Hunt Trust £5,000
Gatwick Airport Authority £2,500
The Estate of P Lukka (Bequest) £2,000

Fundraising donations via JustGiving were £12,016.

Independent Examiner

Ian Lineham was re-appointed as independent examiner to Olive Tree Cancer Support Group during the year and has expressed their willingness to continue in that capacity.

Approved by the trustees on 4[th] May 2022 and signed on their behalf by

A Trevor Chrismas Trustee

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4.2 Report of the Independent Examiner

Independent Examiner’s Report to the Trustees of the Olive Tree Cancer Support Group, registered charity 1157386

I report to the Trustees on my examination of the accounts of the Olive Tree Cancer Support Group (“the Charity”) for the year ended 31 August 2021 set out on pages 24 to 25.

Responsibilities and basis of report

As the Trustees of the Charity, you are responsible for the preparation of the accounts in accordance with the requirements of the Charities Act 2011 (“the Act”).

I report in respect of my examination of the Trust’s accounts carried out under section 145 of the Act and in carrying out my examination, I have followed the applicable Directions given by the Charity Commission under section 145(5)(b) of the Act.

Independent examiner’s statement

I have completed my examination. I confirm that no material matters have come to my attention in connection with the examination which gives me cause to believe that in, any material respect:

I have no concerns and have come across no other matters in connection with the examination to which attention should be drawn in order to enable a proper understanding of the accounts to be reached.

Ian Lineham Date 16[th] May 2022 Chartered Accountant Institute of Chartered Accountants in England and Wales

4 Gander Hill, Haywards Heath, West Sussex RH16 1QX

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4.3 Income and Expenditure Account

Year ended 31 August 2021
Income
Fundraising and Donations
Grants_including Macmillan_
Covid-19 related grants_including CJRS_
Bequests
Drop-in and Therapy Donations
Events
Total Operating Income
Interest
Total Income
Expenditure
Staff Costs
Drop-in and Therapy expenses
General Expenses
Equipment
Premises (Horsham)
Fund Raising
Advertising and Awareness
Training
Total Expenditure
Excess of Income over Expenditure
Opening Funds
Closing Funds
Reserves
At 31 August
Cash at Bank
Restricted Funds
Total Reserves		 2021
£
19,798
52,420
19,163
12,000
4,891
5,213
113,485
1,450
114,935
69,942
7,007
13,794
168
4,628
906
1,002
246
97,693
17,242
202,405
219,647
219,647
(18,118)
201,529		 2020
£
34,643
59,880
18,273
35,029
7,971
11,040
166,836
1,507
168,343
79,347
15,351
18,183
3,521
7,386
1,544
2,260
3,253
130,845
37,498
164,907
202,405
202,405
0
202,405

Approved by the trustees on 4th May 2022 and signed on their behalf by A Trevor Chrismas Treasurer

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Notes to the Financial Statements

The Trust had funds at 31 August 2021 of £219,649 (2020: £202,405) which were invested as follows:

CAF Cash Account (current account)
CAF Gold Account (immediately available)
Redwood Bank (95 days notice)
Saffron Building Society (immediately available)		 2020/21
£
9,645
41,000
83,680
85,322
219,647		 2019/20
£
4,850
30,000
82,555
85,000
202,405

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THE OLIVE TREE CANCER SUPPORT GROUP CONTACT DETAILS

Horsham

Crawley

T: 01293 534 465

E: office@olivetreecancersupport.org.uk

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