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2021-03-31-accounts

Annual Report For the financial year ended 31 March 2021

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Trustees’ Report 3
Chief Executive Officer’s Review 4
Who we are 7
What we do – The public benefit 9
What we do – Rescuing and Rehoming 14
Who does it all 18
How we pay for it 22
Financial Review 32
Reference & Information 36
Statement of Trustees’ Responsibilities 37
Independent Examiner’s Report 38
Financial Statements
Statement of Financial Activities 39
Balance Sheet 40
Notes to the Financial Statements 41
A message from our Patron
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This report provides information about Yorkshire Cat Rescue, our aims, objectives and activities, and their positive impact in the community in Yorkshire and beyond.

The following message, from the Chair of trustees Lyndon Campbell, highlights the chal‐ lenges and achievements in the face of an extremely demanding year, and our plans and the challenges for the future of the charity.

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On behalf of the trustees, I am pleased to present our Annual Report, in what is now my tenth year as a trustee of Yorkshire Cat Rescue.

Because of the Covid‐19 pandemic, the time since our last re‐ port has been the most challenging period for the charity in re‐ cent times. Many changes to how the charity was able to oper‐ ate were required, often at very short notice. It continues to be a period of unprecedented uncertainty and challenge for all our people, for all our supporters, and for society generally.

In particular, our operational model, based around our rescue cen‐ tre, became immediately unworkable when it was required to close

under the DEFRA and general government restrictions. We had to develop and implement entirely new and different processes at very short notice, to be able to resume cat rescue and rehoming.

It also had a profound effect on our income. Our charity shops, too, were required to close, and we had to cancel our entire scheduled fundraising events programme. Thankfully, our initially very se‐ rious concerns over the impact on peoples’ ability and willingness to give to worthy causes, were very quickly allayed. Indeed, our supporters were absolutely magnificent in backing our charity.

The Pandemic will leave enduring, longer‐term consequences. The ongoing severe shortage of vet‐ erinary professionals and surgery capacity is one example. Supply shortages and cost pressures gen‐ erally, not least for experienced people, are already manifesting themselves much more widely.

In the months and years ahead, we must find ways to continue to grow our income, in the face of inflation and likely “donor fatigue” risks. We must also secure the charity’s long‐term future, plan‐ ning for beyond the medium‐term retirement of founder and current CEO Sara Atkinson.

I firmly believe our charity will rise to these challenges, as it always has done. It is testament to the dedication and commitment of all our supporters, volunteers and staff that, it has endured the worst that circumstances threw at us, whilst continuing to help cats and owners and the wider community.

The unprecedented £262,000 legacy, received shortly before the pandemic, proved absolutely cru‐ cial in providing short‐term financial security. I must emphasise that, without that legacy, followed then by the amazing support we received over the lockdowns and restrictions, our financial position would now be far more precarious. It remains the trustees’ intention to utilise those legacy funds for the longer‐term survival and development of the charity. Hopefully the worst of the pandemic is now behind us. If so, we are well‐placed financially to return to planning for the future.

On behalf of the Trustees, I would like to offer my sympathies to all those volunteers, staff, donors and supporters, and to their families, who have been directly affected by Covid‐19. I send my con‐ dolences to any who have sadly lost loved ones, and my hopes for much better times ahead.

Lyndon Campbell Chair of Trustees

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As our Chair of Trustees has said, and in what will hardly be a surprise to anyone, this has been a year – in fact, now nearing two years – unlike any other in all the 29 years since I first founded our charity. Until the pandemic, we were heading towards our longer‐term ob‐ jective of rehoming a thousand cats a year. We also found that we were increasingly being asked to take in sick or problem cats.

The severe restrictions on animal and people movements from March 2020, required immediate fundamental changes to our res‐ cue operation. Our rescue centre had to close, but in response we extended our reliance on volunteer fosterers ‐ from looking after preg‐ nant cats, nursing mums and kittens, to fostering virtually all our cats.

We gradually reopened our centre to staff for admissions, cats that for one reason or another can‐ not be placed in foster homes, and cats awaiting immediate adoption. Only now, late 2021, are we considering re‐opening to the public and for more “normal” operations.

Like so many others, our initial hopes that lockdown and restrictions would not create long‐term difficulties were soon dashed. Perhaps most seriously of all, veterinary practices were forced to close for all but the most urgent cases, which had profound effects on our ability to take in cats and on cat welfare. For many weeks, it was impossible to get a cat neutered, delaying many adoptions, and kittens started to develop into un‐neutered adolescents. Even over 18 months later, many vets struggle to return to near pre‐pandemic activity, and vet availability remains a critical constraint.

This said, we found a significant reduction in pregnant mums we were asked to take. This re‐ duced substantially the number of kittens avail‐ able for adoption. We believe this reduction this probably only a short‐term situation, as demand for kittens (like puppies) soared over the pan‐ demic. People found they could now sell kittens that would previously have been abandoned.

Whilst this temporarily reduced the number of cats presented for rescue, we expect it will mean more abandoned or surrendered cats in the future, as normality returns. Furthermore, we fear that the severe shortage of neutering

over the worst of the pandemic, which remains a serious issue, will result in many more unwanted kittens and cats being abandoned over the coming months and years. This potential “time‐bomb” is something we and other rescues must try and prepare for.

The lockdowns and subsequent restrictions forced us to re‐examine urgently our adoption, intake and fostering procedures. We developed, and put in place at short order, remote cat adoptions and

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revised admission procedures. Once DEFRA eased animal movements rules, this allowed us to re‐ sume adoptions at an increasing rate within social distancing and other pandemic restrictions.

We found from this experience that remote adoptions are as no less successful than adoptions from the centre. Cats generally cope well in foster homes, where they can accurately be assessed in a “home” environment rather than at a rescue centre. However, the time to undertake both adop‐ tions and admissions, including the need for centre volunteers and staff having to transport cats, greatly exceeds that required under historic operating conditions. It was far quicker when people could come to the centre and leave with a cat!

Limited staff and vet constraints reduced the number of cats we could handle to well below our previous levels. In 2019/20 we homed or reunited 829 cats. This was an on‐trend increase on the 774 for 2018/19, despite the last quarter of 2020 seeing plummeting numbers as the pandemic developed. In 2020/21, though, we were able to home or reunite 477 cats, a reduction of over 40%. Whilst this temporary reduction reflects the exceptional circumstances of the pandemic, the ongo‐ ing consequences will hold back numbers for some years yet.

Closing the centre meant having to furlough our Cat Care Team. We were able to gradually bring them all back, initially working from home, as remote adoptions became successful. All of our other charity staff worked from home, and many may continue to do so for the foreseeable future.

Our four shops were required to close for well over half the year, and over those periods all the staff were likewise furloughed through absolute necessity. Fortunately, between lockdowns we saw suf‐ ficient evidence that the impact on sales would become less profound than we initially feared. This, together with the considerable government support for the retail sector and the enthusiasm of staff and volunteers, meant we were able to avoid permanently closing the shops. Since the last reopen‐ ing in April 2021, the shops’ performance has been encouraging, and has vindicated that decision.

We ran a successful emergency fundraising appeal in the early stages of the pandemic, and we were humbled by the amazing and generous response from our wonderful supporters. Absent any finan‐ cial support at all from the government beyond the furlough scheme, over the early weeks when our normal adoption, shops and fundraising in‐ come all but disappeared it provided a massive fi‐ nancial and morale boost. It is hard to overstate just how much this support raised the spirits and

morale of staff and volunteers facing bleak times ‐ thank you so much everyone who donated! We were also fortunate to be awarded some grants from charitable trusts and other providers towards our ongoing costs in the absence of normal income, which was likewise enormously uplifting.

As the pandemic meant priority re‐evaluation of our operational processes, it did likewise for our whole fundraising strategy and approach. Several new online events were very successful, as were further ones run by our wonderful supporters, for which we are so grateful. Nevertheless, the pan‐ demic set our fundraising strategy, run by our two fundraisers, back by at least two whole years.

Many of the different ways of operating forced on us by the pandemic, such as remote adoptions, online fundraising opportunities and selective working from home, proved effective and we will con‐ tinue with them as the pandemic subsides. This is an ongoing process, and we will continue to

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actively investigate and pursue ideas to improve our services and operations. It has also given us the opportunity to review many of our policies and procedures, and this will positively affect the way we manage cats and some of the conditions and behaviours we encounter, into the “new normal”.

Looking forward, we need to return to our longer‐term strategic plan to secure the future sustainability of the charity, and to increase the scale and scope of its activities. This continues to require securing a significant and, as far as possible more dependable, increase in income. Per‐ versely, the pandemic has bought us some more time, since the temporary reduction in cats coming into our care ‐ to‐ gether with the amazing support we have received ‐ re‐ duced our direct cat costs, and it enabled some temporary increase in our reserves. However, as cat throughput re‐ turns to trend, our cat care costs will increase very substan‐ tially. It costs far more per cat than we can ever hope to recover in adoption fees. Much lies ahead!

The rescue centre is located in the grounds of, and immediately adjacent to, my husband’s and my private home. Addressing this for when I retire in a few years’ time is a major focus of our planning.

The availability of veterinary care is becoming a serious concern. This is because of a combination of the severe impact the pandemic had on the veterinary sector, a serious shortage of veterinary professionals, and supply chain problems. At the time of writing, there is a national, severe shortage of cat vaccines, for example. Another is an expected increase in kittens from unneutered parents and unwanted cats, due to restricted neutering capacity at surgeries and people returning to work.

I would like to thank our Trustees for their support and understanding, over what has been an awful and seriously challenging period for the charity and all of us involved with it. They are all themselves volunteers, mostly not involved in day‐to‐day charity activities. I recognise they have had to address difficult issues and decisions that they probably never expected ever to have to face, in a situation of fundamental and protracted uncertainty.

We have come through it all so far in a much better shape than we could reasonably have hoped back in March 2020, and we rescued and rehomed more cats than first seemed likely. Echoing what our Chair of Trustees said, this is due entirely to the dedication, commitment and generosity of eve‐ ryone who works for, volunteers for, fundraises for, donates to and gener‐ ally supports our charity to help save kittens and cats. To all of you, I can but express my sincere and heartfelt thanks. We all do this for the kitties, and I am sure if they could, they would all enthusiastically join me in that!

Thank you, all of you, and very best wishes

Sara Atkinson

Founder and Chief Executive Officer

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A “Charitable Incorporated Organisation” Registered Charity

We are registered with and regulated by the Charity Commission for England and Wales. Founded in 1992 as an unincorporated association, we changed to the CIO model in 2015. We operate from our rescue and rehoming centre near Haworth, West York‐ shire, from our charity shops, and through a wide network of volunteers throughout Yorkshire and beyond.

The charity is governed by a board of trustees, who direct the run‐ ning of the charity acting in accordance with the Constitution govern‐ ing document. The charity’s founder and Chief Executive Officer, Sara Atkinson is responsible for day‐to‐day management, supported by a small team.

Our trading subsidiary company, Yorkshire Cat Rescue (Trading Enterprises) Limited, operates the charity’s charity shops. All profits generated by that company are gift‐aided to the charity, so no net profit or losses remain there. Three of the trustees are also directors of the company.

The charity is not required to produce “consolidated” accounts adding together both entities, so the sales and costs for the charity shops are not part of the formal financial information given later in this report. Nevertheless, this report includes the shops’ activities and performance.

We are members of the Association of Dogs and Cats Homes (ADCH), adhering to their Minimum Standards (96%); the National Council for Voluntary Services; the Small Charities Coalition; and the Charity Retail Association. We achieved the Charity Excellence Framework “Quality Mark”.

Our objects and aims

We work towards a future where all kittens and cats can enjoy a “furever” home, with responsible, loving and caring owners

Cats and their welfare are the core of all the work we do, and of everything we believe in.

We strive to always be totally open, honest and transparent in everything we do.,

And we strive to treat all our valued supporters, vol‐ unteers and staff with consideration and respect.

We have a “no kill” policy, and we will never put a healthy cat to sleep. We will only ever put a cat to sleep, if advised by a veterinary surgeon that a poor outlook for the quality of remaining life makes it the only humane decision.

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Our Mission:

Where we are

Based at our rescue centre near Haworth in West Yorkshire, our rescue centre has 18 large, modern and well‐equipped cat pens, some of which can be used for quarantine. Our dedicated 12‐unit Kitten House (right) is always a favourite with visitors!

Initially in West Yorkshire, our work now extends to North and South Yorkshire and parts of Lancashire.

No cats permanently live on site. Most of our moth‐ ers and kittens at any one time are out in foster homes with our network of volunteer fosterers, and they will return to the centre only when ready for rehoming. The pandemic meant we extended this policy to substantially all the cats in our care.

The Five Animal Welfare Standards

We work hard to ensure that the five minimum standards are met for each cat both in our care (at our centre and in foster homes) and when being adopted to permanent homes:

🐱 The need for a suitable environment;

🐱 The need for a suitable diet;

🐱 The need to exhibit normal behaviour patterns;

🐱 The need to be housed with, or apart from, other animals;

🐱 The need to be protected from pain, suffering and disease.

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It is not only “just about helping cats and kittens…”

One big misconception about animal rescue is that “they only help animals, not people”. This is very definitely not the case! To start, it is believed around a quarter of British homes have one or more cats, around ten million cats in total. That is a very large number of people whose lives are touched by pet cats and in so many cases very positively, not least their general well‐being. An‐ imal rescues provide many of those cats, and they give support for owners and the wider community for cats, cat concerns, and for problems caused by abandoned, unloved, lost or sick cats.

However, the positive impact of animal rescues on the wider community extends well beyond just rehoming, and it is disappointing that the role animal rescues play is still not more widely recognised. The government excluded rescues from their £750m Covid‐19 support for charities package.

Cats come into our care for a variety of reasons, but usually one of:

Every one of those reasons has a human cause or impact, and can be addressed, or at least amelio‐ rated, by helping or educating people. Several of them are circumstances where humans too defi‐ nitely need help or support. It is surely hard to argue that rescues do not have a big role to play?

Our rehoming service for unwanted and stray cats and kittens provides a valuable community ben‐ efit, not least to local authorities, by removing strays, feral colonies and other “nuisance” cats.

We neuter every cat we receive, to reduce the number of cats breeding and producing litters of unwanted kittens. We also microchip them, to reduce the number of cats which become lost and unable to be reunited with their owners, reducing the number of stray cats and their nuisance effect when living wild. Both provide considerable benefit to local authorities and the wider community.

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We treat all our cats for any parasites or infections, such as ringworm, and make sure they receive any urgent or necessary medical treatment. In some cases, the veterinary costs can run to thou‐ sands of pounds for a single cat, kitten or litter. Nevertheless, adopters are only ever asked to pay a standard adoption fee, regardless of how much we have spent on bringing the cat to a position when he or she can be adopted. This means we can save the lives of many kittens and cats that might otherwise be put to sleep, because they are not deemed to be worth the costs of saving.

The benefits of a cat companion

For those who adopt a cat, benefits in‐ clude companionship to families, cou‐ ples and individuals. Many adopters re‐ port that their cat is their only or their best companion. This is particularly so for many elderly, house‐bound and dis‐ abled adopters, and for adopters who may find engaging with other people challenging.

Ludo

“I adopted Ludo [from YCR] in 2017, and he has been my angel. I live alone so this, along with the fact that I also had to work from home full time, meant I really struggled with loneliness during the lockdowns and it was really tough. Ludo loves having me around so much he’s always by my side and I genuinely don’t know what I’d have done if he wasn’t there.”

During the pandemic, where loneliness and isolation became very serious social concerns, many people told us that self‐ isolating and quarantining would have been intolerable had they not had their furry companion. A significant number of cat‐owners reported that, without their cat, they would have been totally isolated. We give here three poignant feedback reports from adopters.

Cats also give children an understanding of sharing, caring and compassion and they provide a source of fun, enjoyment and companionship to people of all ages and backgrounds.

Titch

“Titch has been even more of a friend to our girls than usual during lockdown. “Helping” with their homework and gen‐ erally being an important friend to all our family but partic‐ ularly to our daughters when they were in and out of school last year. She has been a constant companion, always look‐ ing for a knee to sit on whether you're doing online school lessons or not.

Titch was a star of online lessons. She has been, and is, a superstar.”

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Fifi

“I finished work and went into town… when I got home my phone rang… it was my manager telling me not to come in for at least the next six weeks. I was shocked. I lived alone and that night I hesitated before closing my blinds because I didn’t want to shut myself in or the world out. I was very isolated, my family and friends living in other towns.

Luckily, I had Fifi. She always sulked when I went to work… now she was getting to spend all day with me, and I with her. Having her company was a real comfort. We settled into a routine spending the morning chilling out on the sofa, then she would do her own thing whilst I went out for my daily walk. Knowing she was there was so important. Going back to an empty house would have been very depressing. I kept in touch with family [online] and Fifi even joined in the calls. In the end I was home for four months. Fifi kept me company and kept me sane, even helping me with a Lego model which I made to keep busy.”

Adopters know their new furever friend has been neutered, vaccinated, checked for parasites, mi‐ crochipped and generally health‐checked. They know we are here to provide back‐up advice or sup‐ port if they need it, and we will always take back for rehoming any cat we have adopted out, should the adopter’s circumstances change and they are unable to keep the cat. This gives people peace of mind that they may well not have had if they had acquired their cat in another way.

According to studies, around 75% of kittens born outside to a feral or stray cat don’t survive.

The multi‐cat household problem

We are increasingly asked to take on cats from multi‐cat households. These arise so often because a caring cat‐lover has tried to solve a local community problem, but the demands of the situation have overwhelmed them. Too often, sadly, the owner is threatened with eviction, and time is very short. We may agree with the owner to return a small number of neutered cats, circumstances permitting. This helps them feel they have not failed, and they become depressed by the experience – and to enjoy companionship from some of those they have often given up so much to help. We will always seek to advise and support the owner. This generally stops the situation becoming out of control again, by not only resolving the situation for the cats, but also greatly resolving the crisis – mental as well as situational – for the home occupier.

In the financial year, we assisted with the removal of over 60 cats from five such households. Almost without exception, the cats were in very poor condition. But, above all, their owners themselves were for the most part themselves seriously distressed, impoverished and living in squalor!

Helping people avoid eviction, or reducing or sometimes even avoiding the need for support from social services, helps alleviate some of the load and responsibility placed on hard‐pressed local coun‐ cils and housing associations.

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Case Study – Multi‐cat Household, cat‐loving occupier could not to afford to feed himself

We were called to a house where a very caring, well‐meaning, cat‐loving gentleman had taken in and cared for many local stray cats. Unfortunately, his caring and enthusiasm got the better of him, and he had become overwhelmed. The cats, well over 30, had interbred as he had been unable to afford their neutering, and were in poor condition as he could not pay the vet costs. Most had the highly‐contagious fungal infection ringworm, which is transferable to people.

Worse, he was spending so much feeding the cats that he was unable to feed himself, and he was living in squalor. The poor man was absolutely desperate, not knowing which way to turn.

We resolved the situation for both the gentleman and his cats, by removing the cats in stages and looking after them at our centre while we treated their ringworm – which usually takes a good few weeks intensive treatment, washing and deep cleans. Throughout, we kept him sup‐ plied with high‐quality cat food, so he could afford to spend his limited money feeding himself.

We returned two cats to him, once neutered, vaccinated, microchipped and healthy again, so he could retain some feline companionship – and self‐respect, not feeling he had been a failure.

Promotion of cat welfare issues

We promote good cat welfare, including emphasising the importance of neutering and micro‐ chipping, at every opportunity, including through broadcast and social media. We would do much more in this area, if we had the resources and time to allow it – something we are working on.

Our founder is often called upon to discuss cat‐related care and social issues on local radio and in the local press, and sometimes on local television. This included a recent (socially‐distanced!) TV interview about the importance of neutering, and one of our rescue coordinators also participated.

We provide cat welfare advice, and comment on active welfare issues regularly and extensively through our Facebook page, our regular newsletters, talks and other means. Our Cat Care manager is actively involved in promoting cat care and welfare issues in the regional cat care community.

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We work with other charities, large and small, local and national, to assist in rescuing and rehoming cats and promoting good cat welfare. A recent example was where a “backdoor” breeder in the North‐West was exposed, and a large number of kittens and cats needed rehoming at short notice. The local cat rescue put out a plea for help, and we were able to assist by taking in a considerable number of them. We local rescues generally lack the large financial and other resources that na‐ tional charities have, but by working together we can help offset this.

Case Study – relieving those in need, of worry and concern

In one recent – sadly far from a unique – situation, we were contacted by the family of a cat owner who had been diagnosed with terminal cancer. The owner recognised what was coming, and was very worried indeed about what would happen to their beloved feline companion. This was not helping their own situation. We willingly agreed to take in and rehome the cat, so the owner stopped worrying secure in the knowledge that we would find a loving new home.

This situation arises regularly, when (usually) elderly people need to go into care or hospital, and they are extremely worried about what will happen to their beloved feline companion.

Volunteering opportunities

We have historically been able to pro‐ vide many volunteering opportunities, at our centre, in the shops and in the wider community. Pandemic restrictions meant we had to pause new volunteer placements, work experience for college students or Duke of Edinburgh place‐ ments at our centre. However, we con‐ tinued to be able to offer roles at our shops, mindful of our responsibilities for volunteer safety especially those who fell into the categories seen most at risk.

Volunteering is widely credited with ben‐ efits for participants which can variously include creating opportunities, develop‐

ing skills, confidence and self‐esteem providing a sense of achievement and helping counter feelings of loneliness and isolation. We are proud to be able to provide many volunteering opportunities.

We recognise the importance of education and of well‐trained individuals able to progress their ca‐ reers in the sector. For those where benefits like these are not directly needed, volunteering helps people feel good about themselves knowing they are making a real difference. We have now been able to start to resume our volunteering programme, and hope to extend this as we move forward.

Public benefit requirement legal compliance

The trustees confirm that they have complied with the requirements of Section 17 of the Charities Act 2011, to have due regard to the public benefit guidance published by the Charity Commission for England and Wales.

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The cats we help

The core of our activity is uniting people and pussycats. Ideally reuniting with owners, but more usually having regular numbers of healthy kittens and cats available for adoption. There is far more to this process than many might first assume. We are reg‐ ularly surprised to find some people thinking all we really do is take cats that people bring in to us, and put them in a pen so other people can then come and pick one and take him or her away! There is of course much more to it than that. Far more!

As explained earlier, the pandemic restrictions and temporary rescue centre closure sadly and dra‐ matically reduced the number of cats we were able to take in. In 2020/21 we accepted 524 cats (including unborn kittens, and cats from other rescues) into our care, compared with 860 in the previous year. We found homes for 469 (805), and 10 (23) were reunited with or returned to previous owners. No cats (7) were able to be transferred to other charities for rehoming this year, because of pandemic rules.

All too often, cats come to us as an emergency needing imme‐ diate direct care or treatment. This can happen at all times of the day, and our emergency response team is on hand when such situations arise. In many cases, by prompt action and care

we are able to save kittens and cats who would otherwise have been unlikely to survive. The major‐ ity usually go on develop into fit and healthy cats, although sometimes the trauma means ongoing issues. Cats are able to deal with and adapt to the consequences of trauma and chronic conditions remarkably well, though. We successfully place with willing adopters kittens and cats who are blind, deaf, missing a limb, epileptic, diabetic, elderly, wobbly or are otherwise challenged!

Case Study – Abra and Aroona

We were alerted to kittens living in a garden during a very cold snap just before Christmas. The mother cat had not been seen for several days, and we were told one kitten had already died. On attending, we found two kittens, one in a moribund state. By sitting up with him all night, feeding him on sugar water and recovery food, and keeping him warm, we were able to revive him. We put both surviving kittens into a foster home for several weeks, where they gained weight and thrived. After neutering, they were successfully rehomed. The kittens would not have survived had we not been able to intervene.

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All the cats we care for are given an initial health check (IHC) on arrival at our centre (left). The IHC determines the condition of the cat, and establishes any treatment required. In addition to ‘routine' treatment the IHC may identify dental issues (common in older cats), allergies, fungal infections such as ringworm, cat diseases such as caliche virus or feline coronavirus, and injuries on the cats’ bodies. Routine treatment comprises neutering, vaccinating, microchipping and parasite control.

The Cat Care Team undertake daily observations of all cats at our centre, so that any wellbeing issues can be identified and dealt with promptly. Such issues include behavioural, diarrhoea, constipation and anorexia.

Nearly all our cats are neutered by local veterinary practices, at spe‐ cial rates. Any other treatment is provided by either these practices or those more local to the cat when being cared for by our fosterers.

Whilst at the centre, cats assessed with bravery or behavioural issues receive tailored training, aimed at remedying the problem. Simba’s story, below, is a good example of this.

Simba is shown in one of our large, modern cat pens. These are furnished appropriately to each resident, and are enriched with hiding places, high places, toys, scratch mats and (in most cases) a separate secure and personal outside area accessed through a cat flap, so the cat has a warm inside area to return. With our centre closed, the facilities could be used only in limited circumstances.

Case Study – Simba

Simba came to us with serious behavioural issues, from another rescue. We put him on Behaviour Modification Programme, with one of our cat care team helping him associate reasonable behaviour with reward. A lengthy but rewarding process, as his new owner confirmed:

“I can't believe it's been three months already! Simba has settled in very well and has taken a real liking to exploring the neighbours’ gardens! I think a quiet house where not much really goes on is just what he needed. He is such a mild‐mannered cat that he can even cope when my niece comes to visit him! He loves to play and is very affectionate. As with most cats, there's still a line so I know when I need to stop. Thank you so much for giving me the opportunity to have such a wonderful cat. I can't imagine life without him now.”

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Case Study – The Bradford Kittens

We were asked to take in several kittens that had turned up in a Bradford domestic property yard. It was clear that they needed help. We took four kittens in need of veterinary care, and the adult cats were feral so we referred them to other char‐ ities for neutering and return.

The kittens all had cat flu, and they were incredi‐ bly nervous with people. We ensured they re‐ ceived appropriate treatment and handling, and all four kittens were rehomed after a few weeks. This is one of the kittens the day we collected her, and then shortly after she was rehomed.

Fostering

We have always placed in foster homes most pregnant and nursing queens, orphan kittens, kit‐ tens who need to be tamed or given confidence (we call this “bravery training”), cats with injuries requiring cage rest to aid recovery and cats who don’t cope well with life at our centre. This is be‐ cause this is the best environment for these cats, who become accustomed to humans and, where appropriate, children and other pets.

We provide or pay for all the food, litter and other supplies, although some fosterers are happy to pay some or even all of the cost themselves. The

amount of food and litter required for a nursing mum and a hungry nursing litter for the time in foster (usually for about three months) is very considerable!

Below are “before and after” pictures of Minnie, a pregnant cat placed in one of our foster homes.

During the pandemic, with the centre closed, we extended this through necessity to virtually all cats. We have learned from this that most cats indeed respond and develop well in foster homes.

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Our Fospice Scheme

“Fospice” combines “foster” and “hospice”. Sometimes very elderly or terminally ill cats are passed to us for rehoming. Such cats often stay a long time at our centre, as they wait for that special person to adopt them. We felt that such cats would be less stressed, and better able to enjoy the time they had left, if they could be placed in permanent foster care very quickly. Our new “Fospice” scheme will only be used for such cats who can still enjoy some quality of life. Our “Fospice Appeal”, coin‐ ciding with the start of the new scheme, proved a great success.

Case Study – Old Boy

We were asked by a local cat rescuer if we could find a home for an elderly male cat. Old Boy had ongoing health issues, from being a stray for many years, but after several weeks in our care and treatment by our vets we were able to find him a loving permanent foster home.

After several months, this grand old gentleman finally succumbed to his conditions and passed away. But, thanks to us, he was able to enjoy the autumn of his life safe, warm, cared for, and loved.

Cats like Old Boy were at the forefront of our collective thoughts, when we launched our Fospice scheme during the year.

Post‐adoption care

We provide ongoing advice and assistance to adopters when they seek it.

Sometimes, though, where an adopted cat is likely to require ongoing medicines, treatment or other veterinary care after adoption, we will commit to covering such costs. These can range from a single treatment to ongoing care over the cat’s lifetime. This assurance often helps secure a loving home for a cat that might otherwise present challenges to rehome. It reassures adopters that they will not be landed with large vet bills that may be beyond their means to cover, even when (as many do) they intend if possible to cover the costs themselves.

We will always take back a cat, if the adopter’s circumstances change and they are no longer able to keep the cat. This hap‐ pens not infrequently ‐ for example a new baby arrives that is allergic to cats, or sometimes simply because the new and an existing cat just do not get on!

Vet care

We work extensively with local vets and owners’ own vets. The impact of the pandemic has been extremely challenging for most veterinary practices. We are very grateful to veterinary staff who have gone above and beyond, in helping make and keep healthy the cats that have been in our care.

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Our Community

People! A cat rescue charity, as with all other animal rescues, is in reality all about people. About how so many people, from all walks of life and at every level of involvement, work for the wel‐ fare of and finding loving homes for those unfortunate cats and kittens who are in need. And, in so doing, help cats help bring happiness and companionship and greater well‐being to so many.

People support our charity in so many ways. From occasionally do‐ nating money or time, to working many hours for or making substan‐ tial gifts to our charity. Without this wide support, our charity simply could not survive. Here is a little about how these wonderful people together deliver our mission.

Our trustees

Our team of seven trustees, of whom six were in office throughout the financial year and one was appointed in January 2021, have legal, accounting, fundraising or safeguarding backgrounds. Two volunteer regularly at our centre and at one of our shops. They direct the charity and are unpaid.

The trustees are always keen to hear from prospective new trustees, who may wish to contribute their skills and expertise to helping the charity further its objectives. They invite anyone so consid‐ ering to contact the trustees to initiate discussions. The charity Constitution states that “...in select‐ ing individuals for appointment as charity trustees, the charity trustees must have regard to the skills, knowledge and experience needed for the effective administration of [the charity].” New trus‐ tees are generally appointed if a trustee stands down, or if particular business, professional or per‐ sonal expertise and skills are deemed necessary.

The trustees delegate day‐to‐day operational decisions to the Chief Executive officer, who acts as liaison with them. Responsibility for significant executive and strategic decisions remains with them.

The trustees usually meet formally four times each year, but they may hold further ad‐hoc meetings when necessary. Email and telephone conference calls are used regularly for matters arising be‐ tween meetings, and for all meetings during the lockdown and restriction periods of the pandemic.

Our staff

We have a small team of part‐time and full‐time staff, historically mostly based at our Rescue Centre, headed by the Founder and CEO, Sara Atkinson. In addition, our charity shops team work hard to help generate funds to support the charity, through our four charity shops and online.

Our Cat Care Team ‐ Head of Cat Care and several Cat Care Officers and Assistants ‐ between them provide cover seven days a week. They collectively have a very great deal of specialised cat care knowledge and expertise, including medical. With our rescue centre closed, we had to furlough the team during the initial lockdown stage. One of the joys of the job is often receiving “assistance” with all the admin and paperwork, from little helpers like the one in the picture on the next page!

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Our two job‐share Rescue Coordinators liaise with the Cat Care Team, other staff, volunteers, fosterers, suppliers, customers and other interested parties, coordinating all cat movements. With the centre being closed, much of their (vastly‐changed) work had to be primarily from home, us‐ ing video calls and centre calls diverted to mobiles.

Supporting administration, communications, fundraising support and accounting is provided by two further mem‐ bers of staff. And then, our two part‐time fundraisers (be‐ low) work with volunteers and third parties to raise funds for our charity. Again, all these staff have been working primarily from home over the pandemic.

Each charity shop has a manager and an assistant manager – pictured right is our Brighouse shop team. Two shops have additional assistants, and a staff member sells items from the shops for us on eBay. All are overseen by the shops manager. All our shops staff work part‐time hours.

All the shops staff, the Cat Care Team and the fundraisers were furloughed at various times. Thankfully, we managed to sustain the jobs for all our staff, and we were able to bring everyone back well before the Job Retention Scheme expired. This has been a demanding time for many of our staff, emotionally and financially. We provided what support we could over the furlough periods, and we recognise the difficulties furlough and/or working from home have presented for staff.

We believe passionately in providing our people with relevant training, in‐house or from external providers. This provides not just benefit to the charity, it but shows our desire to help the individuals in their own personal development ‐ something our founder has always felt very strongly about.

Our centre staff undertake both animal‐based training courses, and wider skills courses including for management and health and safety. Staff and volunteers in our charity shops attend courses

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covering health and safety and shop processes. Pandemic restrictions and closures meant these were largely paused, although online options were pursued. As “normality” finally returns, we can significantly enhance our training and development programme. For example, since the financial year end, the Rescue Coordinators attended a full‐week Intensive Cat Rescue and Rehoming course, provided by Battersea Dogs and Cats Home with us only having to pay travel and accommodation.

Our fosterers

Our growing volunteer foster team cares in their own homes for pregnant or nursing queens, or‐ phan kittens, kittens who need to be tamed, cats with injuries requiring cage rest to aid recovery and cats who don’t cope well with life at our cen‐ tre.

During the pandemic, the restrictions meant we could no longer use our centre to look after most cats. These restrictions came with minimal warn‐ ing, and they presented a serious emergency sit‐ uation for us. We appealed to our fosterers and

to our wider supporter network for temporary homes. We had an amazing response, and in addition recruited many new fosterers. This brilliant support enabled the charity to continue to offer a rescue service during the pandemic, something that would otherwise have been very difficult indeed.

Our rescue coordinators regularly communicate with the fosterers by email and telephone, and we have a private Facebook group where the fosterers can chat to each other with concerns, questions, information or just fun photos to share! The foster community has grown year on year, and espe‐ cially over the pandemic, and forms a substantial and absolutely vital part of our cat care opera‐ tion. This may not be immediately apparent to anyone just visiting our rescue centre.

Our centre volunteers

Historically, we have relied heavily on volunteers at our centre, for supporting cat care (especially tasks like cleaning, socialising and feeding); for telephone answering; for the sadly unavoida‐ ble mountain of admin work; for driving cats to vets and other cat movements; and for organising stock and donated items. They range in age from keen teenagers to active octoge‐ narians, and include people with challenging conditions or cir‐ cumstances for whom volunteering with cats really helps.

During the pandemic, we had no choice but to reduce our reli‐ ance on centre volunteers. Our telephone volunteers were able to volunteer from home, as were some of our admin volunteers and we were able to recruit some volunteer drivers to help out ferrying cats backwards and forwards ‐ for example, to and from vet appointments and to and from foster homes. Cat‐facing vol‐

unteer roles largely ceased, though, and whilst we were acutely conscious of the effect of this on some of our volunteers, regulations and circumstances left us no choice. As the restrictions eased, we begin to introduce volunteers back to the centre, but this is still very much on a reduced basis.

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During the first lockdown, March to June 2020, we were approached by a furloughed veterinary surgeon who volunteered to check all cats coming into our care. This was a massive benefit to us, since at that time vet practices were able to offer only a very substantially reduced service.

Our shop volunteers

Our shop volunteers are crucial to our four charity shops, as without them this could never be a viable operation. They help sort donated items, stock the shops, assist with displays, man the tills and look after cus‐ tomers generally. This latter role became even more crucial, when the shops were al‐ lowed to re‐open, and volunteers (see right) helped manage and limit the number of customers coming into the shops.

Many of our shop volunteers fall into the “more vulnerable” categories. We fully un‐ derstood where any volunteer needed to delay return until the worst of the situation had passed, and we took all possible steps to make the working environment as safe as reasonably possible for everyone. We

appreciate the consideration the vast majority of our shop customers showed, in following the gov‐ ernment rules to help keep all our volunteers and staff and themselves.

Our fundraising volunteers

Our fundraising volunteers always played a vital role bringing in much‐needed funds. Some running their own events, and others helping out at events we had organised. The “Kittie Committee'' small

team of volunteers ran events such as our Furr Ball and our Afternoon Tea & Kitten Drive.

The lockdown presented major challenges to both our em‐ ployed fundraisers – since substantially all their planned programmed of fundraising events had to be postponed or cancelled – and our volunteer fundraisers, who were sud‐ denly faced with very changed circumstances.

One of the most uplifting experiences out of the pandemic has been to see how magnificently our fund‐raising volun‐ teers stepped up to the plate, in the cats’ time of need. Sometimes working with our employed fundraisers, often very much working on their own initiative with their own ideas. We tell more about some of these initiatives later in the report. In a specific example, the lovely girl on the left ran to raise money for the charity. If there ever were some powerful examples of how human ingenuity and resource‐ fulness can triumph over adversity, we have seen plenty!

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Where does our funding come from?

It often comes as a surprise to people, that our charity receives almost no charity funding from the government or any other public source. Adoption fees cover only a fraction of our costs. Virtually all the rest of our funding is voluntarily donated to us in some form, or it arises from our own fundraising activities.

We do not even have the benefit of any commercial contracts with local authorities, as some ‐ usually dog ‐ rescue charities have.

Even over the pandemic lockdown and restrictions periods, the only

substantive additional help we received was for the shops under the support for retailers schemes for all the retail sector, and the Job Retention Schemes available to pretty well any organisation. This support effectively compensated our shops, and to a far lesser extent the charity itself, for some – albeit far from all – of the costs arising from the government‐mandated lockdowns and restrictions.

We have therefore always relied on the support and goodwill of many different concerned individ‐ uals and organisations, to collectively fund all our cat rescue, rehoming and welfare activities.

----- Start of picture text -----
Total Charity Income £000
800
700 Job Retention
Scheme Grants
600 Legacies
500
Shops Surplus
400
Trading &
Commercial
300
Adoption Fees
200
Grants
100
Voluntary Income
0
2019/20
2020/21
£706,581
£521,498
----- End of picture text -----

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Adoption Fees

Animal rescues charge adopters an “adoption fee” when they adopt a kitten or cat. We explain to adopters that this fee is a contribution towards the vet costs, fostering, neutering, vaccinating, treat‐ ing for parasites and microchipping of their new cat. We also explain that these fees only represent a small proportion of the direct costs we actually pay, and this chart proves the point clearly:

The gap remains substantial, even after the relative net reduction in veterinary fees in 2020/21. Donations generally

In total, we received nearly £213,000 in donations from individuals, 44% more than in the previous year and easily the most in a single year in our history. Gift aid increased the value of qualifying donations by a further 25%. We are so very grateful to all who donated, but very aware that much was in response to the dire situation our supporters saw we were facing because of the pandemic.

Much of the increase was in donations and made online ‐ through our website, through Facebook, through Just Giving or one of a number of other donation platforms. Online giving is now much the largest part of our donations income stream. This was offset by much‐reduced direct donations from our trading subsidiary’s shops, closed for well over half the year and with trading restrictions applying to the remainder, most of which are the net proceeds of sale of gift‐aided donations.

We can now value donations in kind of much of the food and Amazon “wish list” items, which in the financial year totalled £15,750 and increases the total donations amount. See an example of some of these in the picture to the left! We cannot place any objective value on many other donated items, nor on the time our support‐ ers give, but the value would be far higher again.

Yorkshire Cat Rescue is registered with the Fundraising

Regulator, and so is open and accountable regarding its fundraising operations including recording any complaints received. We are pleased to confirm again we received no complaints in the year.

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Appeals

From time to time, we appeal for funds, through the website, social media or our mailing list, for specific cats or specific purposes. In most cases, these are to help cover the costs of veterinary treatment and other costs for individual cats with a specific injury or condition. Appeals in the year included for Lorne (below) and Bandit (right).

Bandit was one of the cats rescued from a multi‐cat household. He and another were blind, their eyes destroyed probably by cat flu as young kittens. They needed surgery to permanently resolve their conditions, and then further treatment and care whilst in foster. Our appeal for funds covered the costs. Both cats made full recoveries and – as cats so often do – they adapted very well to their situation. Both went to loving homes, and now live near‐ normal lives.

A vet contacted us about a very stoic but also very poorly stray kitten, named after the street the vets were in. It transpired she had very severe, badly‐fractured pelvis. She required complex, specialised surgery and treatment which cost us thousands of pounds, but we were able to cover the costs from what her appeal gen‐ erated. Brave little Lorne went on to make a full recov‐ ery, and again was adopted into a loving home.

Another successful appeal that very much showed the

compassion and generosity of our supporters was for Fospice Cats (see earlier). Such cats invariably need initial and usually ongoing treatments and medication and support, so they can enjoy the twi‐ light of their lives free of pain and in comfort. This appeal really touched supporters’ heartstrings.

2020/21, though was like no other year. The Covid‐19 Pandemic severely curtailed our fundraising options and activities, beginning as it did just before the start of the financial year and extending well after the end of it. In late March 2020, seeing all our upcoming fundraising plans suddenly out of the window, we launched a more general “help us through Coronavirus” appeal. This was the first time we had felt we needed to appeal for funds generally, rather than for specific purposes.

The response was phenomenal! Our supporters donated over £38,000, £29,000 of which fell in the financial year, in what became far and away the most successful – and crucial ‐ appeal in our history. It also generated a considerable number of new monthly regular donations. As a result of this amaz‐ ing response, we were able to continue operations and develop new ways of operating, secure in the knowledge that the short‐term at least was now secure.

Regular Donors

People who donate regularly, usually monthly ‐ our “YCR Heroes” ‐ are so important to us. They provide a monthly income stream that, unlike most others, is reasonably predictable. This helps greatly when many of our costs are largely fixed each month. We saw an increase in over a third in the monthly value over the year, much of which arise from concerned support‐ ers who signed up in response to our “Help us through Coronavirus” appeal.

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Grants

We recognise that, in the pandemic, many grant‐awarding commercial businesses and charitable organisations saw major cuts to their own income. We are therefore more grateful than ever to those who were able to support our work as an animal rescue charity, in this very challenging year. We received specific grants totalling £35,116 (2020: £47,768) from these charities and trusts:

from these foundations and trusts, that extended their previous support for this latest year:

and “public vote” grants from Pets at Home, Support Adoption for Pets and Asda Supermarkets .

We try to secure grants for specific items of equipment, where there is a clear need but the cost would be difficult to justify if all was paid out of charity funds. An example this year was com‐ puter equipment, office chairs and other equipment which al‐ lowed staff to be able to work from home since there was no alternative, funded by the Battersea Dogs and Cats home.

Another example from the previous year was equipment for our new vet room, funded by a grant from Mars Petcare, including the medicines refrigerator (one of two) shown right. These al‐ lowed us to be able to buy in and hold medicines, at much lower cost than if they were dispensed by vets as previously. This will save the charity a lot in cat medicine costs in the future.

Legacies

We received £39,000 in legacies in the year (2019/20 ‐ £276,000), from the estates of Marie Caltieri, Margaret Eells, Yvonne Giradier, Robert Hadley, Margaret Roberts, and Enoch Winchurch. We send our condolences to the families and friends of all of them, and we remember them with gratitude.

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Many larger charities receive tens of millions of pounds in legacy income every year, often over half their income. We are actively promoting the message “If the time is ever right for you to remember a charity in your will, please remember Yorkshire Cat Rescue. Thank you”

Legacies make a vital difference being able to continue helping cats, that those generous people loved. But we can never know how much, or how little, we may receive over coming months and years. We therefore have to treat any major legacies as “exceptional”, aiming to utilise those funds for the longer‐term security and development of the charity rather than to cover immediate costs.

Our fundraisers are working to increase the awareness amongst potential benefactors, about rea‐ sons for remembering the charity in their will and means whereby they can easily do so. We have developed free material to encourage this, and we have partnered with a free will‐writing service.

Lottery

We began our lottery shortly before the financial year began. Managed and run by Unity Lottery, who run many charity lotteries, there is no financial or op‐ erational risk to the charity. The lottery made a small contribution in the previous financial year, but over the 2020/21 year it really took off, and members grew month on month. It is now a significant income stream, as well as being fun for members to play!

Gross income was £23,442 (£3,327) and net income after prizes and costs was £12,914 compared with a small deficit last year. There have been many prize winners so far, including two already for £1,000!

Partnerships

Due to the pandemic, partnership opportunities were sadly severely constrained in the year. We very much enjoy working with our ex‐ isting partners, where between us we can provide added benefits for cat owners whilst generating benefits for the charity. We are exploring every option for future partnerships, and we are hopeful that eased restrictions will open up new opportunities. In addition to formal partnerships, we received food and other donations from businesses in the pet supplies sector, including Iams, Harringtons, Mars Petcare, Burgess Pet Care and Cat‐It .

Burgess Pet Care offered us “Charity of the Year” for June 2020 to June 2021. Sadly, the pandemic ‐ and the resulting dearth of fund‐

raising opportunities ‐ meant that we were unfortunately unable to take any significant advantage of their fundraising support. We are very grateful for them providing the opportunity, had circum‐ stances been more “normal”. In addition to the food donations referred to above, Burgess gave us food to pass on to adopters and provided food for the cats in our care.

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Pets At Home operate the Very Important Pets (VIP) scheme. Customers who sign up and swipe a card at the till, and points are recorded which when turned into value are donated to charities to exchange for

goods. We exchange our points for supplies at the Keighley store, with pro‐ motional activity when this is possible.

Natusan biodegradable

cat litter creates much less waste than traditional litter. They offered a special promotion deal and code to new purchasers, with a commis‐ sion for us for every new customer and on future bags sold.

Our continuing partnership with leading pet insurer Petplan means we can provide every adopter with 28‐days complimentary pet insurance.

Fundraising events

Our in‐house fundraising income had traditionally been very limited, with us relying heavily on fundraising by volunteers.

To better support the volunteers, including the “Kittie Com‐ mittee” who organised the annual Furr Ball and on whom probably unreasonable reliance had been placed, and to boost our in‐house fundraising very substantially, we re‐ cruited two part‐time fundraisers in autumn 2019. They put in place a programme of major fundraising events. Then, as with other charities and organisations, the restrictions meant we had to cancel every one of these planned or in‐

tended fundraising events. This proved incredibly frustrating, not least to our fundraisers after so much work and effort had gone in, and we had already sold tickets to participants.

Our postponed abseil event, hosted for us for free by the Crowne Plaza Hotel in Harrogate, finally took place in July 2021 ‐ the only major event we have been able to run in so far. However, boosted by pandemic sup‐ port, it proved a brilliant success, generating over £25,000 for the charity in next financial year.

One amazing entrant created online pet shows, the en‐ try fees stated as being in support of her abseil attempt and which were paid to us. These shows raised several thousand pounds for our charity! The picture (left) shows her receiving her abseil completion certificate, and a special thank‐you award, flanked by our founder and one of our volunteer mascot cats.

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Part of the event income was generated by modest entrance fees and commercial sponsorship, but the large part was from monies raised by sponsorship of and other activities by individual entrants.

Badly Drawn Pets and Cartoon Kitties. In these two lockdown online initiatives, organised by our in‐house fundraisers but carried out by a large number of our amazing, (not always very…) artistic volunteers.

For a modest fee people sent in pictures of their pets which our artists turned into art or cartoons. Despite the title, the quality of the pictures, and the effort put, in were both re‐ markable. Buyers were gener‐

ally absolutely delighted, as were we, and they raised significant funds for the charity. We are re‐ peating the Badly Drawn Pets campaign for the end of 2021. Three examples:

Here is an example of the brilliant Cartoon Kitties – showing other pets were allowed as well!

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Those cats won’t rescue themselves!

One of our most successful online events, and thoroughly enjoyed by all taking part, was “Dan's Questionable Quiz”, hosted by Dan, a supporter who was furloughed from his important job in the hospitality sector. His quizzes, every Sunday night during the first and third lockdowns, were an absolute highlight of the week for many of us, and they raised over £5,400

for the charity. They always started with the brilliant, and oh so‐true, announcement “Those cats won’t rescue them‐ selves!”. Dan later raised even more money for the charity, by taking part in our Abseil Chal‐ lenge (pictured, with well‐de‐ served refreshment after the ordeal) despite being no big fan of heights. All the kitties, and all of us, send Dan sincere thanks!

The Virtual Stall : One of our volunteer fundraisers regu‐ larly held stalls at local shows and usually summer events. Selling mainly cat‐themed items, themselves hand‐crafted by talented volunteers who support our charity, she then donated all the proceeds to us.

The pandemic of course put an immediate halt to all the shows and events. But, determined not to see the kitties lose out, she in‐ stead set up an online “vir‐ tual stall”, to sell the hand‐ crafted items online.

What happened next far exceeded anyone’s wildest expectations! The stall

took off, a place to buy high quality, cat‐themed, hand‐ crafted gifts, of which just some examples are shown.

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Supported by the amazing crafting volunteers, from late‐June 2020 the Stall raised an amazing nearly £12,000 for the charity in the financial year, and it continues to do likewise to this day. We are so grateful to every volunteer whose efforts made this happen.

So many individuals raised money for the charity, in many different ways. An example is the knitters who knit our perennial favourite Catnip mice (pictured) and Easter Chicks, sold in our shops, on the Virtual Stall, and through various other channels.

In just three examples: one little girl challenged herself to read 100 books, to raise money for the charity; a local, very talented landscape artist gave his paintings to cus‐ tomers for free, when they confirmed they had donated

the selling price to the charity; and an eight‐year‐old girl ran 100 miles raising money for us.

It would be impossible to list and thank all the individual fundraisers for their support in this report, but we can assure them their efforts have done so much to help all the kittens and cats in our care.

Charity Shops

Our charity shops in Keighley, Halifax, Brighouse and (left) Skipton are each staffed by a mix of our staff and volunteers. They, take in, process and sell do‐ nated clothing and other goods. Some items are sold on eBay. We operate the Retail Gift Aid Scheme, adding 25% value to qualifying donations

In an already challenging retail environment, when the lockdown began in March 2020 with very little notice, we were required to close, and could only re‐open in stages from mid‐June 2020. Even then, compliance with strict government regulations seri‐

ously curtailed activity as we had to implement numerous strict protective rules, including to:

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Although we were delighted to be able resume receiving and selling donated items, footfall and therefore sales levels were much reduced compared with before. Fewer donated items were gift‐aided, since it was not as easy for donors to sign up or leave details when they came. The second full lockdown in November, and then the third and longest from the start of January 2021, left us with only around five and a half months trading all year.

Sales when we could open were better than we had feared, but at £164,000 they were still less than half the

£347,000 of the previous year. Nearly all our costs ‐ like rents and staff ‐ are fixed whatever the level of activity, so losing such a huge part of your annual income means a near‐immediate crisis! A charity is not allowed to support a loss‐making commercial activity, so the prospects were dire.

Whilst animal rescue charities themselves were inexpli‐ cably overlooked in the much‐publicised government emergency aid for charities, our shops qualified for emergency retail grants, business rates relief and the Job Retention Scheme. Over the year, these provided just over £195,000 in total, and saved the shops from near‐immediate and permanent closure. With this sup‐ port, our shops generated a small net income for the charity, helped by high‐quality donations such as can be seen on display at our Brighouse shop to the right.

We must thank both the local authorities and HMRC, for

their implementation and handling of these support schemes, which from our experience was gen‐ erally exemplary. In addition, three of our shop landlords allowed limited rent payment deferral, although the Skipton landlord refused to help even though their own actions badly limited footfall.

This has all been a very difficult time for our shop volunteers, for our staff (all furloughed when the shops were closed), our donor supporters and our customers. Volunteers were no longer able to volunteer, and even when the shops could open, ensuring the safety of vulnerable ones meant only some could safely resume. Yet the response of volunteers, staff and donors was outstanding.

This could not be better proven by how now, since be‐ ing allowed to reo‐ pen on 12 April 2021 and despite initial

and continuing restrictions, sales have reasonably quickly returned to near‐enough pre‐pandemic levels. See above for a recent, very successful craft sale at our Halifax shop, and right for a themed window display for the Euro 2021 soccer tournament at our Keighley shop.

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Our income, our fundraising and our expenditure

Charities like ours expect to have some years where costs exceed income, but hopefully more years where the opposite is the case. Thankfully our income exceeded our costs in both years, in 2020/21 despite the profound impact of the Covid‐19 pandemic. The pandemic’s financial consequences do make comparison and interpretation of income and costs trends difficult, though.

Excludes gross income generated by, and the operating costs of, our charity shops. The net contribution from the shops is included in “Other Income”.

We must hold and build reserves, to cover years in deficit; the impact of inflation on our costs; un‐ expected income shortfalls; and (particularly) to secure the long‐term future of the charity.

As well as the pandemic impact, the unprecedented late‐2019 £262,000 legacy dominates the com‐ parisons. Without that legacy, the previous financial year would have looked very different. Our 2019/20 costs (£574,114) were, worryingly, a third higher than our non‐legacy income (£429,825).

The situation improved in 2020/21, where costs of £471,175, including of furloughed staff, were instead only 6% higher than non‐legacy income of £444,579. Much lower vet bills helped a lot here. Indeed, including Coronavirus Job Retention Scheme (“CJRS”) grants of £39,424 (£1,464), our total

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non‐legacy income slightly exceeded our costs. Add in the legacy income of £39,424 (£275,272) and we report a final net surplus of income over expenditure of £50,323 (£132,467). This outcome was far better than we feared back in March 2020, and we can thank our supporters for much of it.

We cannot rely on legacy income to keep bridging gaps between costs and other income though, as we had to in the two years prior to this. This is why our investment in fundraising resources, the anticipated increased income from which has been much delayed by the pandemic, is so crucial.

Another big challenge no certainty that the exceptional supporter financial backing will be sustained, as the pandemic abates and the economic outlook changes. At the same time, we are seeing signif‐ icant cost inflation, which usually hits donation‐reliant charities hard, because donation amounts and other income amounts rarely increase at anything approaching the rate at which costs increase.

People Costs £266,108 (2020: £220,000) (note: before CJRS grants )

The cost increase is due to the full‐year effect of the two fundraisers appointed in 2019; the impact of the 1[st] April 2020 large increase in the National Living Wage (an initiative the Charity fully sup‐ ports); at 1[st] April 2020, recognising the much‐increased responsibilities of the cat‐facing team; and a much‐increased accrual for carried‐forward annual leave that staff had been unable to take.

Even before the pandemic, our work seemed to be becoming ever more complex. This reflected the changing mix in the cats we take in; our continuing efforts to improve the rescue and rehoming experience for our cats; minimising external non‐veterinary professional costs (finance, HR, IT and PR are carried out in‐house); and complying with the seemingly ever‐increasing regulatory burden.

The pandemic, its regulations making operations far less efficient, and its impact on volunteering roles placing more load and problems on staff, seriously exacerbated this. We currently employ 13 staff, five full‐time and eight part‐time/job‐share. Their weighted average hourly rate for normal hours was £11.36, compared with the National Living Wage of £8.72. The support of volunteers allows us to employ staff only when needed for expertise, experience, qualification or responsibility.

Annual pay reviews take effect 1st April. However, in view of the ongoing pandemic and uncertain‐ ties, we felt it unwise to award any pay increases effective 1st April 2021 or subsequently.

Veterinary costs £85,123 (2020: £165,155)

Costs in the previous financial year were easily the highest ever, reflecting a wide range of factors in what was almost a “perfect storm”. Thankfully, they then almost halved in the 2020/21 financial year. Much reflected the 39% reduction in cat intake, but part also reflected a lack of available vets.

We had also seen a large increase in vet bill claims for cats where we commit to pay future costs for specified, usually chronic, conditions. Last financial year, this led the trustees to establish a specific reserve, to cover future costs for cats we cover. This year saw a welcome levelling‐off in the trend. However, severe restrictions on vet practice activity may mean some owners were unable to get their cat to their vet, or their vet to be able to see them. This could lead to longer‐term health issues.

Veterinary costs are much our largest third‐party cost. They mirror the number of cats we are able to take in, but also the prevalence of diseases, of kitten season timings, and the mix of cats we take in. We have seen a recent trend whereby, perhaps because we have the rescue centre, we seem to be getting an increasing proportion of more difficult or complex cases. Examples include litters with ringworm, requiring extensive quarantine, and kittens and cats requiring major surgical procedures.

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We are already seeing cost increases in medicines and treatments. We can only see this trend con‐ tinuing, especially as large corporates now own the majority of UK veterinary practices.

We are actively developing new processes, protocols and procedures, both to secure the best out‐ come for cats in our care and to ensure we incur only required veterinary costs that cannot be avoided. Ideas include investment in equipment and innovative treatments, reducing the number of vet trips for cats, meaning they suffer less stress and have less need for treatments and medications.

Other direct cat costs £29,242 (2020: £29,895)

The underlying level was reduced compared with the previous year because of the reduced number of cats brought in and because of the centre being closed. However, the value now includes that of donated food (corresponding increase in donations), so the cost looks much higher in comparison.

Premises costs £14,233 (2020: 28,422)

Costs halved, due to pen heating, repairs and other cost savings with the rescue centre being closed. Contribution from the charity shops.

The charity accounts do not include the gross sales and costs of our charity shops, only their net contribution to the charity. This contribution is a complex combination of: net proceeds of goods sold under the Retail Gift Aid scheme, which are treated by law as directly donated to the charity (included in donations income); the Gift Aid these sales generate; cash donations to, and charity goods sold, by the shops; fundraising and events support; fees charged to the charity for all of these; and the remaining trading profits of the shops, which are usually modest after all the other items.

The main pandemic impact was much‐reduced Retail Gift Aid Scheme donations, offset by a big reduction in the fees charged to the charity for raising funds (see chart). This is a major reason why it is hard to compare the two financial years. Thanks to the retail sector and CJRS grants received by the shops, their net overall contribution to the charity was similar to the previous financial year.

Other costs of raising funds £27,026 (2020: £18,941)

£6,343 of the increase is lottery prizes and operator expenses, reflecting in a £20,000 increase in lottery ticket sales. The rest is mainly initial advisory fees relating to installing the new CRM system. Other costs £25,887 (2020: £29,225)

The reduction mostly reflects reduced travel costs, again a consequence of pandemic restrictions.

Our Reserves

Charities are required to retain adequate reserves, so they can continue operating and not be at risk of financial failure in the event of unexpected shortfalls in income or sudden increases in costs.

Most of the charity’s income is voluntary and variable (especially legacies) but most costs are either largely fixed in the short term (especially people) or reflect the number of cats and kittens that we find homes for (especially vet fees). The trustees must therefore be cautious. To assist them they receive regular management accounts, and they review the financial position of the charity regularly. The trustees aim to hold reserve funds sufficient to cover approximately six months total charity operating costs. At the 2020/21 level of expenditure, this would have been approximately £230,000.

34

However, as the pandemic reduced the number of cats we were able to take in, so expenditure in some key areas, especially veterinary services, was less than “normal”. The longer‐term impact of the pandemic on the charity’s income and operations remains hard to quantify. Therefore, the trus‐ tees believe it is prudent currently to maintain a reasonable margin of safety above this amount.

At 31st March 2021, the charity’s reserves totalled £597,648 (2020: £547,325). £70,725 (2020: £72,993) of these were “restricted” i.e. for use only for the specific purposes for which they were donated. The trustees retained the reserve of £45,000 (2020 £45,000) for veterinary care commit‐ ments for cats adopted with specific medical conditions. Remaining unrestricted reserves, not tied up in (harder to realise) fixed assets, were £371,978 (2020 ‐ £311,604). As this is equivalent to approximately 9.7 months’ costs (2020: 7.4 months) the reserve policy continues to be satisfied.

Our Future Plans

Our plans for 2020/21 included investment and new procedures to improve cat welfare; implement‐ ing a Customer Relationship Management (CRM) system to assist our fundraising efforts; a signifi‐ cant increase in the number and variety of fundraising events and sources; and reorganisation and enhancement of rescue centre procedures and roles. Many of these plans were set back by about two years because of the pandemic, but some progress has been made in each of these areas,

Our longer‐term strategic plan remains to secure the future sustainability of the charity, and to in‐ crease the scale and scope of its activities. This requires securing a significant and preferably more forecastable increase income, which was why the charity invested in the two new fundraisers.

The rescue centre is currently located in the grounds of, and is immediately adjacent to, the home of the founder and CEO. This situation will become untenable when she retires in a few years’ time.

One potential solution is a purpose‐built building in the house grounds but further away, so the house could be sold or let. The existing extensive cat pens might remain in situ. An alternative would be for the charity to purchase and convert the house. In both cases subject to planning consent, but more significantly to raising the necessary funding. Other options to avoid closure would require moving to a new site, or dramatically reducing the scale of the charity to an entirely home‐based operation lacking the resources and facilities and expertise we currently have. Now that we hope we have seen the worst of the pandemic, we can return to the longer‐term planning for this.

We had been considering the practicalities and financial viability of employing a vet, perhaps to op‐ erate from a small unit in a local business centre or similar. This would reduce the stress for the cats being transported to external practices, and it would very much enhance the veterinary care that the cats would have access to at our centre. However, a combination of the pandemic and other economic developments, leading to a serious shortage of both veterinary surgeons and veterinary capacity, means this currently looks unlikely to be practicable. We are therefore considering what alternative approaches may be practicable, including potential vet partnering solutions.

In spite of the pandemic, considerable hard work has continued behind the scenes, aimed at increas‐ ing the charity’s income in future years and at widening the sources from which it arises.

The trustees are confident that, on present information, the charity should continue to weather the current pandemic difficulties. When the pandemic finally subsides, they anticipate being able to return to the development plan for the charity, to secure its future enabling it to continue helping increasing numbers of unwanted cats and kittens find their new loving new homes for years to come.

35

Charity Registration Number 1160138 (England & Wales) Chief Executive Officer Sara Atkinson Trustees Lyndon Campbell (Chair) Hannah Bates Anne‐Marie Dewhirst Andrew McDougall Thomas Piercy (appointed 12 January 2021) Lyndsey Randall Judith Robertshaw Principal Office The Farm, Lower Pierce Close Cross Roads Keighley BD22 9AQ Bankers CAF Bank 25 Kings Hill Avenue Kings Hill, West Malling Kent ME19 4JQ Virgin Money 73 North Street Keighley BD21 3SD Independent Examiner Mark C Wilcock FCA Watson Buckle Limited York House Cottingley Business Park Bradford BD16 1PE

Approval

This annual report was approved by the trustees of the charity on 23 November 2021 and was signed on its behalf by:

Lyndon Campbell, Trustee

36

The trustees are responsible for preparing the trustees' report and the financial statements in ac‐ cordance with United Kingdom Accounting Standards (United Kingdom Generally Accepted Account‐ ing Practice) and applicable law and regulations.

The law applicable to charities requires the trustees to prepare financial statements for each finan‐ cial year which give a true and fair view of the state of affairs of the charity and of the incoming resources and application of resources, including income and expenditure, of the charity for that period. In preparing these financial statements, the trustees are required to:

The trustees are responsible for keeping proper accounting records that disclose with reasonable accuracy at any time the financial position of the charity and enable them to ensure that the financial statements comply with the Charities Act 2011, the applicable Charities (Accounts and Reports) Reg‐ ulations, and the provisions of the constitution. The trustees are also responsible for safeguarding the assets of the charity and hence for taking reasonable steps for the prevention and detection of fraud and other irregularities.

Approved by the trustees of the charity on 23 November 2021 and signed on their behalf by:

Lyndon Campbell, Trustee

37

I report to the charity trustees on my examination of the accounts of the charity for the year ended 31 March 2021 which are set out on pages 39 to 54.

Respective responsibilities of trustees and examiner

As the charity’s trustees of Yorkshire Cat Rescue you are responsible for the preparation of the ac‐ counts in accordance with the requirements of the Charities Act 2011 (‘the Act’).

I report in respect of my examination of the Yorkshire Cat Rescue's accounts carried out under sec‐ tion 145 of the 2011 Act and in carrying out my examination I have followed all the applicable Direc‐ tions 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 giving me cause to believe that in any material respect:

  1. accounting records were not kept in respect of Yorkshire Cat Rescue as required by section 130 of the Act; or

  2. the accounts do not accord with those records; or

  3. the accounts do not comply with the accounting requirements concerning the form and content of accounts set out in the Charities (Accounts and Reports) Regulations 2008 other than any requirement that the accounts give a ‘true and fair view' which is not a matter considered as part of an independent examination.

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

Mark C Wilcock FCA Independent Examiner Watson Buckle Limited Bradford

23 November 2021

38

Yorkshire Cat Rescue

Statement of Financial Activities for the Year Ended 31 March 2021 (Including Income and Expenditure Account)

Note
Income and endowments from:
Donations and legacies
3
Charitable activities
4
Other trading activities
5
Investments
6
Other (Job Retention Scheme Grants)
7
Total income and endowments
Expenditure on:
Raising funds
8
Charitable activities
9
Total expenditure
Net movement in funds
Reconciliation of funds
Total funds brought forward
Total funds carried forward		 Unrestric‐
ted funds
Restricted
income
Total funds Total funds
General
Funds
2021
2020
£
£
£
£
378,474
13,737
392,211
607,000
43,353
‐
43,353
67,105
47,126
‐
47,126
29,835
1,313
‐
1,313
1,177
37,495
‐
37,495
1,464
507,761
13,737
521,498
706,581
(93,144)
(355)
(93,499)
(122,726)
(362,026)
(15,650)
(377,676)
(451,388)
(455,170)
(16,005)
(471,175)
(574,114)
52,591
(2,268)
50,323
132,467
474,332
72,993
547,325
414,858
526,923
70,725
597,648
547,325

All of the charity's activities derive from continuing operations during the above two periods.

39

Yorkshire Cat Rescue (Registration number: 1160138) Balance Sheet as at 31 March 2021

Note
Fixed Assets
Tangible assets
12
Investments
13
Current Assets
Stocks
Debtors
14
Cash at bank and in Hand
Creditors: Amounts falling due within one year
15
Net Current Assets
Total assets less current liabilities
Net Assets
Funds of the Charity:
Restricted Income Funds
Unrestricted Funds
Total Funds
19		 2021
2020
£
£
149,871
160,432
4
4
149,875
160,436
5,076
5,154
61,695
63,575
439,919
367,391
506,690
436,120
(58,917)
(49,231)
447,773
386,889
597,648
547,325
597,648
547,325
70,725
72,993
526,923
474,332
597,648
547,325

The financial statements on pages 39 to 54 were approved by the trustees, and authorised for issue on 23 November 2021 and signed on their behalf by:

Lyndon Campbell, Trustee

40

Yorkshire Cat Rescue Notes to the Financial Statements for the Year Ended 31 March 2021

1 General information

The entity is a Charitable Incorporated Organisation governed by its constitution. Its registered address is: The Farm, Lower Pierce Close, Cross Roads, Keighley BD22 9AQ.

2 Accounting policies

Basis of preparation and statement of compliance

The financial statements have been prepared in accordance with Accounting and Reporting by Charities: Statement of Recommended Practice applicable to charities preparing their accounts in accordance with the Financial Reporting Standard applicable in the UK and Republic of Ireland issued in October 2019 the Financial Reporting Standard applicable in the United Kingdom and Republic of Ireland (FRS 102), the Charities Act 2011, and UK Generally Accepted Accounting Practice.

The financial statements have been prepared under the historical cost convention except that, as disclosed in the accounting policies, certain items are shown at fair value.

The charity's functional and presentation currency is the pound sterling.

The charity is a public benefit entity as defined by FRS102.

Exemption from preparing a cash flow statement

The charity opted to adopt Bulletin 1 published on 2 February 2016 and has therefore not included a cash flow statement in these financial statements.

Fund structure

Unrestricted funds are general funds that are available for use at the trustees' discretion in furtherance of the general objectives of the charity.

Restricted funds are those donated for use in a particular area or for specific purposes, the use of which is restricted by specific conditions imposed by funders or donors to that area or purpose.

Designated Funds are those set aside at the discretion of the Trustees for specific purposes. They would otherwise form part of general unrestricted funds.

Income and endowments

Income, including donations, gifts, legacies and grants that provide core funding or are of a general nature is recognised when the charity has entitlement to the income, it is probable that the income will be received and the amount can be measured with sufficient reliability.

Income is deferred where the charity has to fulfil conditions before becoming entitled to it, where the income is received specifically for expenditure in a future accounting period, or where donations, sponsorship and entry fees are received in anticipation of a fundraising event to be held in a future accounting period.

Legacies

Legacies are recognised as income when probate has been granted, the charity has established its entitlement to the funds, and the funds have either been received, or receipt is reasonably assured.

41

Yorkshire Cat Rescue Notes to the Financial Statements for the Year Ended 31 March 2021

Grants receivable

Grants are recognised when the charity has an entitlement to the funds and any conditions linked to the grants have been met. Where performance conditions are attached to the grant and are yet to be met, the income is recognised as a liability and included on the balance sheet as deferred income to be released.

Gifts in kind and volunteers' contributions

The charity benefits greatly from a wide range of gifts in kind and voluntary contributions. The fair value of cat food and other cat supplies, other consumables and small items donated for fundraising activities, is now recognised in the financial statements. Prior to 1 April 2020, it was not practicable to reliably measure the values of all these numerous, often small, donations, because of the disproportionate amount of time required.

Gifts donated for sale are included as income when they are sold. Services or facilities provided to the charity as a donation, where these would normally be purchased from suppliers, are included in the financial statements at fair value or, if fair value cannot be reliably measured, then at the cost to the donor. No amounts are included in the financial statements for the invaluable, and very considerable, services donated by the charity's foster, rescue centre, fundraising and other volunteer, without whom the Charity could never be remotely viable financially.

Investment income

Interest on funds held on deposit is included when receivable and the amount can be measured by the charity.

Expenditure

All expenditure is recognised once there is a legal or constructive obligation to that expenditure, it is probable settlement is required, and the amount can be measured reliably. All costs are allocated to the applicable expenditure heading that aggregate similar costs to that category. Where costs cannot be directly attributed to particular headings they have been allocated on a basis consistent with the use of resources, with central staff costs allocated on the basis of time spent, and depreciation charges allocated on the portion of the asset’s use. Other support costs are allocated based on the spread of staff costs.

Raising Funds

These are costs incurred in attracting voluntary income and in organising fundraising activities, purchases of goods for resale, and the costs of operating the lottery and of running fundraising events.

Charitable activities

Charitable activities expenditure comprises those costs incurred by the charity in the delivery of its activities and services for its beneficiaries. It includes both costs that can be allocated directly to such activities and those costs of an indirect nature necessary to support them.

Going Concern

The trustees consider that there are no material uncertainties about the charity's ability to continue as a going concern.

Support Costs

Support costs include central functions and have been allocated to activity cost categories on a basis consistent with the use of resources.

42

Yorkshire Cat Rescue Notes to the Financial Statements for the Year Ended 31 March 2021

Taxation

The charity is considered to pass the tests set out in Paragraph 1 Schedule 6 of the Finance Act 2010 and therefore it meets the definition of a charitable company for UK corporation tax purposes. Accordingly, the charity is potentially exempt from taxation in respect of income or capital gains received within categories covered by Chapter 3 Part 11 of the Corporation Tax Act 2010 or Section 256 of the Taxation of Chargeable Gains Act 1992, to the extent that such income or gains are applied exclusively to charitable purposes.

Tangible Fixed Assets

Individual fixed assets costing £500 or more are initially recorded at cost.

Depreciation and amortisation

Depreciation is provided on tangible fixed assets so as to write off the cost or valuation, less any estimated residual value, over their expected useful economic life as follows:

Asset Class Depreciation method and rate
Motor vehicles 25% reducing balance
Leasehold property 5% straight line
Furniture, fittings & equipment 25% straight line

Significant judgements and estimates

Preparation of the financial statements requires management to make significant judgements and estimates. The items in the financial statements where judgements and estimates have been made include:

Depreciation

Management review its estimates of the useful lives of the depreciable assets at each reporting date based on the expected utility of the assets; however. By their nature, component life cannot be determined with absolute certainty.

Fixed Asset Investments

Fixed asset investments are included at historical cost less provision for diminution in value.

Stock

Stock is valued at the lower of cost and estimated selling price.

Debtors

Debtors are recognised initially when they become due at the transaction price. They are subsequently measured at amortised cost using the effective interest rate method, less provision for impairment. A provision for impairment of debtors is established when there is objective evidence that the charity will not be able to collect all amounts due according to the original terms of the debtors.

Creditors

Creditors are obligations to pay for goods and services that have been acquired by the charity. Creditors are initially recognised at the transaction price and subsequently measured at amortised cost using the effective interest method.

43

Yorkshire Cat Rescue Notes to the Financial Statements for the Year Ended 31 March 2021

Cash and cash equivalents

Cash and cash equivalents comprise cash on hand and call deposits, and other short‐term highly liquid investments that are readily convertible to a known amount of cash and are subject to an insignificant risk of change in value.

Pensions and other post retirement obligations

A defined contribution plan is a pension plan under which fixed contributions are paid into a pension fund and the company has no legal or constructive obligation to pay further contributions even if the fund does not hold sufficient assets to pay all employees the benefits relating to employee service in the current and prior periods.

Contributions to defined contribution plans are recognised as an employee benefit expense when they are due. If contribution payments exceed the contribution due for service, the excess is recognised as a prepayment.

Financial Instruments

The charity only has financial assets and financial liabilities of a kind that qualify as basic financial instruments. Basic financial instruments are initially recognised at transaction value and subsequently measured at their settlement value.

3 Donations and legacies

Appeals and donations
Legacies
Gift aid tax reclaimed
Grants
Sale of donated goods
Donated proceeds ‐ goods sold by trading subsidiary as
agent
Profits from trading subsidiary gift‐aided to the charity
Donated goods and services		 Unrestric‐
ted funds
Restricted
Income
Total Funds Total Funds
General
Funds
2021
2020
£
£
£
£
212,934
62
212,996
147,564
39,424
‐
39,424
275,572
37,027
‐
37,027
37,915
21,441
13,675
35,116
47,768
24,750
‐
24,750
9,000
22,556
‐
22,556
70,743
13,592
‐
13,592
16,612
6,750
‐
6,750
1,826
378,474
13,737
392,211
607,000

44

Yorkshire Cat Rescue Notes to the Financial Statements for the Year Ended 31 March 2021

4 Income from Charitable activities

4 Income from Charitable activities
Cat adoption fees
5 Other trading activities
Lottery
Commissions receivable
Sale of goods
Other trading income
6 Income from investments
Interest receivable on bank deposits
Interest receivable and similar income:
Fundraising events under the charity's direction		 Unrestric‐
ted funds
Total Funds Total Funds
General
2021
2020
£
£
£
43,353
43,353
67,105
Unrestric‐
ted funds
Total Funds Total Funds
General
2021
2020
£
£
£
23,442
23,442
3,327
16,180
16,180
15,453
4,583
4,583
4,506
2,414
2,414
6,549
507
507
‐
47,126
47,126
29,835
Unrestric‐
ted funds
Total Funds Total Funds
General
2021
2020
£
£
£
1,313
1,313
1,177

45

Notes to the Financial Statements for the Year Ended 31 March 2021

Yorkshire Cat Rescue

7 Other Income

Unrestric‐
ted funds		 **Total Funds ** Total Funds
general 2021 2020
£ £ £
Job Retention Scheme grants receivable 37,495 37,495 1,464

8 Expenditure on raising funds

Staff costs (Note 11)
Lottery prizes and operator expenses
Website, online platforms and payment costs
Platform implementation and fundraising advice
Cost of goods sold
Advertising & mailings
Fundraising services charges from trading subsidiary
(Note 13)		 Unrestric‐
ted funds
Restricted
income
Total Funds Total Funds
general
funds
2021
2020
£
£
£
£
54,597
‐
54,597
33,021
11,750
‐
11,750
70,743
10,528
‐
10,528
4,185
7,854
‐
7,854
4,606
3,960
3,960
1,526
‐
1,526
2,283
1,052
‐
1,052
2,651
Telecoms, office supplies, postage etc 740
229
969
‐
Costs of holding events
Depreciation of tangible fixed assets
Other costs of raising funds		 325
325
‐
126
126
21
812
‐
812
5,216
93,144
355
93,499
122,726

46

Yorkshire Cat Rescue

Notes to the Financial Statements for the Year Ended 31 March 2021

9 Expenditure on Charitable Activities

Direct Cat Care Costs Unrestric‐
ted funds
Restricted
Income
Total Funds
Total
General
Funds
2021
2020
£
£
£
£
Veterinary fees
Food, litter, medicines and other cat care supplies
Waste disposal and sanitation		 75,198
9,925
85,123
165,155
28,103
‐
28,103
28,954
1,139
‐
1,139
941
People Costs 104,440
9,925
114,365
195,050
Staff costs (Note 11)
Training, protective clothing and other staff costs
Travelling expenses and other volunteer costs		 211,511
‐
211,511
186,979
329
‐
329
2,927
1,938
‐
1,938
7,993
Premises costs
Depreciation of tangible fixed assets
Motor expenses ‐ cat ambulance/transport vans
Telecoms, office supplies, postage etc
Independent examiner's fee
Communications and other operating costs
10 Trustees remuneration and expenses
Website, online platforms and payment costs		 213,778
‐
213,778
197,899
14,233
‐
14,233
28,422
7,821
3,859
11,680
11,712
5,512
‐
5,512
4,073
6,355
‐
6,355
3,231
4,769
1,866
6,635
7,314
2,880
‐
2,880
1,500
2,238
‐
2,238
2,187
362,026
15,650
377,676
451,388

During the year the charity made the following transactions with trustees:

L Campbell

£nil (2020: £48) of expenses were reimbursed to L Campell during the year.

H Bates

£nil (2020 £12) of expenses were reimbursed to H Bates during the year.

J Robertshaw

£180 (2020: £5) of expenses were reimbursed to J Robertshaw during the year for transporting cats.

No trustees, nor any persons connected with them, have received any remuneration from the charity during the year.

No trustees have received any other benefits from the charity during the year.

Donations made by the trustees without any conditions attached totalled £180 for the year (2020 ‐ £65).

47

Yorkshire Cat Rescue Notes to the Financial Statements for the Year Ended 31 March 2021

11 Staff costs

The aggregate payroll costs were as follows:

Wages and salaries
Social security costs
Pension costs		 2021
2020
£
£
246,839
205,703
14,532
10,807
4,737
3,490
266,108
220,000

Key management personnel comprises Sara Atkinson, Chief Executive Officer. Her remuneration and benefits (incuding employers' NIC) totalled £25,264 (2020 ‐ £23,648).

The monthly average number of persons (including senior management) employed by the charity during the year expressed as full time equivalents was as follows:

Charitable Activities
Fundraising
Management & administration		 2021
2020
No
No
7
7
2
1
2
2
11
10

10 (2020 ‐ 9) of the above employees participated in the Defined Contribution Pension Schemes. Contributions to the employee pension schemes for the year totalled £4,737 (2020 ‐ £3,490).

No employee received emoluments of more than £60,000 during the year

12 Tangible fixed assets

Cost
At 1 April 2020
Additions
At 31 March 2021
Depreciation
At 1 April 2020
Charge for the year
At 31 March 2021
Net book value
At 31 March 2021
At 31 March 2020		 Leasehold
buildings
Furniture &
equipment
Motor
vehicles
Total
£
£
£
£
201,000
3,209
9,296
213,505
‐
1,244
‐
1,244
201,000
4,453
9,296
214,749
45,813
906
6,354
53,073
10,072
998
735
11,805
55,885
1,904
7,089
64,878
145,115
2,549
2,207
149,871
155,187
2,303
2,942
160,432

48

Yorkshire Cat Rescue Notes to the Financial Statements for the Year Ended 31 March 2021

13 Fixed asset investments

2021 2020
£ £
Shares in group undertakings and participating interests 4 4

Subsidiaries

The charity wholly owns the issued share capital of Yorkshire Cat Rescue (Trading Enterprises) Limited, Company number 07518205, which operates the charity's four charity shops. Yorkshire Cat Rescue (Trading Enterprises) Limited donates all its profits to, and carries out fundraising activities for, the charity.

These activities include a substantial amount generated by selling goods on behalf of donors rather than on its own account, where donors can then gift‐aid the proceeds net of selling commission to the charity.

The turnover of Yorkshire Cat Rescue (Trading Enterprises) Limited for the year ended 31 March was £124,401 (2020 ‐ £346,631). This included a charge to the charity of £11,750 (2020 £70,713), in recognition of profits on what would otherwise be its own sales income foregone, and fundraising activities undertaken on behalf of the charity. This amount is included in Expenditure on Raising Funds (Note 8).

Yorkshire Cat Rescue (Trading Enterprises) Limited's expenditure was £306,974 (2020 ‐ £330,019) and its profit after government Covid‐related grants and tax for the year, all of which was donated to the charity, was £13,620 (2020 ‐ £16,612). The aggregate amount of its capital and reserves at 31 March 2021 was £104 (2020 ‐ £104).

14 Debtors

Trade debtors
Due from group undertakings
VAT recoverable
Other debtors
15 Creditors: amounts falling due within one year
Trade creditors
Other Taxation and social security
Accruals and deferred income
Prepayments and accrued income		 2021
2020
£
£
5,469
6,320
17,562
26,598
18,954
11,052
10,418
12,406
9,292
7,199
61,695
63,575
2021
2020
£
£
6,546
14,329
4,008
3,246
48,363
31,656
58,917
49,231

49

Yorkshire Cat Rescue Notes to the Financial Statements for the Year Ended 31 March 2021

16 Pension and other schemes

Defined contribution pension scheme

The charity operates a defined contribution pension scheme. The pension cost charge for the year represents contributions payable by the charity to the scheme and amounted to £4,737 (2020 ‐ £3,490).

17 Commitments

Other financial commitments

The financial commitment relates to an operating lease. The total amount of other financial commitments not provided in the financial statements was £2,314 (2020 ‐ £3,382).

18 Contingent liabilities

Future veterinary bills

The charity has committed to covering future veterinary costs for specified medical or age conditions of certain harder‐to‐rehome cats. As the charity has a "no kill" policy, giving commitments to help with veterinary costs is sometimes necessary to enable such cats to be rehomed.

These commitments comprise both costs for acute treatment, which may be required soon after the cat is adopted and are not expected to recur, and costs that the charity has agreed to cover for chronic lifetime conditions or for general old age.

Because of the nature of the costs, the time‐scale of the commitments for chronic conditions, the fact that adopters often do not seek to recover costs they incur, and because many adopters do not advise the charity when the cat has died, it is not possible to determine with any reasonable certainty what the future liability of the charity will be.

An informed estimate can be made for the liability for the following 12 months, and this estimate is included in Accruals and deferred income (Note 15). Beyond this period, given the large number of variables involved, there is no objective basis for determining the liability.

As an indication of the annual cost of veterinary bills incurred under this commitment, the total cost incurred in the financial year for both acute and chronic conditions was £15,598 (2020 ‐ £16,220).

50

Notes to the Financial Statements for the Year Ended 31 March 2021

Yorkshire Cat Rescue

19 Funds
Unrestricted funds
General
General fund
Designated
Veterinary costs fund
Restricted funds
1000 Champions
Jean Salisbury Animal Welfare Trust
Support Adoption for Pets
The Machig Animal Welfare Trust
The Emerald Foundation
Cat Ambulance
Freuds
To help with Vet Bills ‐ Various
Mars Petcare Ltd
The Big Lottery Fund
Bradford Council
Battersea DCH/Assoc Dogs & Cats Homes
Total restricted funds
Total funds		 Balance at
1 April
2020
Incoming
resources
Resources
expended
Transfers
Balance at
31 March
2021
£
£
£
£
£
429,332
507,761
(455,170)
‐
481,923
45,000
‐
‐
‐
45,000
474,332
507,761
(455,170)
‐
526,923
29,082
62
‐
‐
29,144
8,550
‐
(570)
‐
7,980
11,604
‐
(774)
‐
10,830
1,425
‐
(95)
‐
1,330
12,000
‐
(750)
‐
11,250
3,146
‐
(735)
‐
2,411
4,000
‐
(250)
‐
3,750
‐
9,925
(9,925)
‐
‐
2,703
‐
(685)
‐
2,018
‐
‐
‐
‐
‐
483
‐
(126)
‐
357
‐
3,750
(2,095)
1,655
72,993
13,737
(16,005)
‐
70,725
547,325
521,498
(471,175)
‐
597,648

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Yorkshire Cat Rescue Notes to the Financial Statements for the Year Ended 31 March 2021

19 Funds (Continued)

Balance at
1 April
2019		 Incoming
resources		 Resources
expended		 Transfers Balance at
31 March
2020
£ £ £ £
Unrestricted funds
General
General fund 332,030 674,756 (532,454) (45,000) 429,332
Designated
Veterinary costs fund ‐ ‐ ‐ 45,000 45,000
332,030 674,756 (532,454) ‐ 474,332
Restricted funds
1000 Champions 29,082 ‐ ‐ ‐ 29,082
Jean Salisbury Animal Welfare Trust 9,120 ‐ (570) ‐ 8,550
Support Adoption for Pets 12,376 ‐ (772) ‐ 11,604
Help Animals (The Machig Animal Welfare Tr 1,520 ‐ (95) ‐ 1,425
The Emerald Foundation 12,750 ‐ (750) ‐ 12,000
Motor Vehicles 4,126 ‐ (980) ‐ 3,146
Freuds 4,250 ‐ (250) ‐ 4,000
Vets Bills ‐ 31,325 (31,325) ‐ ‐
Mars (Veterinary Room) 3,527 ‐ (824) ‐ 2,703
Big Lottery Fund 6,077 ‐ (6,077) ‐ ‐
Bradford Council ‐ 500 (17) ‐ 483
Total restricted funds 82,828 31,825 (41,660) ‐ 72,993
Total funds 414,858 706,581 (574,114) ‐ 547,325

The specific purposes for which the funds are to be applied are as follows:

General Fund

This fund can be used without restriction for any of the purposes and activities of the charity

Designated Funds

Veterinary Costs Fund

This fund has been designated by the Trustees, for where the charity has committed to covering future costs for specified medical or age conditions of certain harder‐to‐rehome cats to the extent provision for such costs is not already included in these accounts.

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Yorkshire Cat Rescue Notes to the Financial Statements for the Year Ended 31 March 2021

19 Funds (Continued)

Restricted Funds

1000 Champions

These funds will be used to help purchase or build a new rescue centre.

Jean Salisbury Animal Welfare Trust

These funds relate to the building of new cat pens.

Support Adoption for Pets

These funds relate to the building of new cat pens.

The Machig Animal Welfare Trust

These funds relate to the building of new cat pens.

The Emerald Foundation

These funds relate to the building of new cat pens.

Cat Ambulance

These funds were raised to purchase a new van for day to day cat transport and general operations.

Freuds

These funds relate to the building of new cat pens.

Veterinary Bills

These funds were provided by various donors, to help pay the charity's ongoing veterinary bills.

Mars Petcare Ltd

These funds were provided to enable a dedicated veterinary room to be created and equipped.

The Big Lottery Fund

These funds were provided in the year to facilitate the establishment of a comprehensive programme for training and managing volunteers and ensuring their welfare and development.

Bradford City Council

These funds were provided for the purchase of a branded gazebo for fundraising activities.

Battersea Dogs & Cats Home/Association of Dogs and Cats Homes

These funds were provided to purchase equipment necessary for staff to work at home over the Covid‐19 pandemic.

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Yorkshire Cat Rescue Notes to the Financial Statements for the Year Ended 31 March 2021

20 Analysis of net assets between funds

Tangible fixed assets
Fixed asset investments
Current assets
Current liabilities
Total net assets		 General
Fund
Veterinary
Costs Fund
Unrestric‐
ted funds
Restric‐
ted funds
Total Funds
£
£
£
£
£
109,945
‐
109,945
39,926
149,871
4
‐
4
‐
4
430,891
45,000
475,891
30,799
506,690
(58,917)
‐
(58,917)
‐
(58,917)
481,923
45,000
526,923
70,725
597,648

21 Related party transactions

During the year the charity made the following related party transactions:

Yorkshire Cat Rescue (Trading Enterprises) Limited (a subsidiary of Yorkshire Cat Rescue.)

During the year, gift aid of £13,620 (2020 ‐ £16,612) was received from Yorkshire Cat Rescue (Trading Enterprises) Limited. The charity paid Yorkshire Cat Rescue (Trading Enterprises) Limited £11,750 (2020 ‐ £70,743) for raising donations and other funds for and generally supporting & promoting the charity through its charity shops. At the balance sheet date the amount due from Yorkshire Cat Rescue (Trading Enterprises) Limited was £17,562 (2020 ‐ £9,812).

Key management personnel

Sara Atkinson (Chief Executive Officer)

An amount of £9,000 (2020 ‐ £9,000) is included as a donated service. This amount is the value of the rent given free of charge to the charity for the use of the land at Sara's property.

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We are so proud to have Milly Johnson as our patron. As many will know, Milly is the Yorkshire born‐and‐bred, best‐selling and award‐ winning romantic novelist, after‐dinner speaker, poet, profes‐ sional joke writer, short‐story writer and newspaper columnist. And cat‐lover! She has been a wonderful supporter of our charity for a long time, and she donates all the profits from her recent brilliant, sometimes‐edgy, always poignant book of poetry “A Cat‐Shaped Space” to Yorkshire Cat Rescue.

Thank you for your continued support, especially after the year we don’t like to talk about. It has sorely depleted the resources of the charity,

and so any help you have given and continue to give is both needed and appreciated more than you know.

When I agreed to be patron for Yorkshire Cat Rescue, I did it because I wanted to give my time to helping the charity in any way I could. I have been there from the off watching it develop and grow, and knowing that monies raised went on the ‘guests’ rather than swanky office furniture.

I acquired my first cat from the charity nearly thirty years ago, and discovered a lifelong love of our feline friends that I confess I wasn’t expecting to find. I’m so proud of what YCR has achieved and am touched by the wonderful efforts made by its staff and volunteers to keep it surviving, way above the call of duty. It is a joy to be involved with them.

So thank you from me for any little or large donation, any purchase you make from the shops or website, any advertising you do for them because we could not continue without your goodwill.

Here’s hoping for steadier times ahead ‐ for you and us. Keep well and keep safe... and keep supporting us.

Milly Johnson x

Case Study – Rufus

The adorable Rufus came when his owner could longer look after him. He has a tumour in his back leg, but his quality of life is very good and he may live for many years, so we rehomed him.

Rufus will likely need his leg amputating at some point, which we will pay for. We would not be able to offer such commitments, and therefore be able to find loving homes for cats like Rufus, if it were not for such amazing support!

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Yorkshire Cat Rescue, Lower Pierce Close Cross Roads, Keighley BD22 9AQ https://yorkshirecatrescue.org mail@yorkshirecatrescue.org | 01535 647184 Designed and created by Yorkshire Cat Rescue Employees Copyright ©Yorkshire Cat Rescue 2021 All Rights Reserved

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