**Company Registration Number: 08790053 Charity Registration Number: 1161139**
## **BLESSING IN DISGUISE**
**(A COMPANY LIMITED BY GUARANTEE AND A REGISTERED CHILDREN’S CHARITY)**
**ANNUAL REPORT AND FINANCIAL STATEMENTS**
**5[TH] APRIL 2024**
## **Blessing in Disguise**
## **CONTENTS**
|**Reference and Administrative Information**|**1**|
|---|---|
|**Structure Governance and Management**|**2**|
|**Objectives and Activities**|**2**|
|**Achievements and Performance**|**3+4**|
|**Future Plans**|**5**|
|**Financial Review**|**6**|
|**Reserves Policy and Balance Sheet**|**7**|
|**Profit and Loss Account**|**8**|
|**Independent Examiner’s Report**|**9**|
|**Independent Examiner’s Statement**|**10**|
## **Blessing in Disguise**
## **Reference and Administrative Information**
The organisation is a not-for-profit company limited by guarantee, incorporated on the 26[th] November 2013. The company was also registered as a charity on 31[st] March 2015.
The company is established under a Memorandum of Association which set out the objects and powers of the company and is governed under its Articles of Association.
**Registered Name** Blessing in Disguise **Charity Registration Number** 1161139 **Company Registration Number** 8790053 (England & Wales) **Registered Office** Lilford House St Helens Road Leigh WN7 4HG
**Trustees / Directors**
Catherine Holt Sharon Sargent Colette Scofield James Ellis Christopher Taylor
**Bankers**
Barclays Bank 1 Market Street Bolton BL1 1XA
**Accountant**
Christopher Myers BA (Hons), CPFA
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## **Blessing in Disguise**
## **Structure Governance and Management**
Blessing in Disguise’s Trustees are also directors for the purposes of company law. Blessing in Disguise is a registered charitable company limited by guarantee, registered as a charity on 31[st] March 2015. Blessing in Disguise’s governing document is in the form of Memorandum and Articles of Association, as amended by special resolution and registered at Companies House on 10[th] February 2015.
## **Objectives and Activities**
Blessing in Disguise’s Objectives are:
To relieve children and young people living in the UK who are disabled, have special needs or are terminally ill, and their parents and carers, by the provision of respite, recreational and leisure time activities and other services or support to address their need.
Blessing in Disguise aimed to:
- Raise enough funding through donations from businesses, to provide, free of charge, a range of life enhancing equipment and activities for children and young people with disabilities or life limiting illnesses.
- Provide much needed support for children and young people, their families/carers.
- Increase the number of children and families that we support each year.
- Provide exclusive and inclusive organised events and activities for children and young people to create treasured memories.
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## **Blessing in Disguise**
## **Achievements and Performance**
Blessing in Disguise has seen a significant increase in the number of beneficiaries that it has helped since the ‘Covid-19’ pandemic, the ‘Cost of Living’ crisis and the ‘Energy’ crisis.
Millions of people across the UK are struggling to cover their essential household costs as we’re all paying a lot more for energy and food, and things like rent and fuel. We support children and young people with lifelimiting illnesses and disabilities and provide special needs equipment and disability aids free of charge. In December 2022 we started to provide welfare packs to families registered with us that are really struggling to cope to cover their essential household costs. These packs include laundry items, personal hygiene items, cleaning products, towels, blankets and board games or something that will help them to promote happy family times and memories instead of all doom and gloom. During the past 2 years we have seen a huge increase in the number of families registered with us while funding has decreased and costs have increased.
Many of our families with disabled children have specialist equipment that is vital to their needs and their survival and spiralling energy costs have hit hard on these families and they are having to make the choice between eating and heating and are cutting back on how much they spend on food, or eating less, so they can pay for heating.
We have seen a huge decline in donations due to business closures and a trend in donators unable to make monetary donations due to their increase in running costs, with some willing to donate goods or equipment instead. We have had to re-prioritise and diversify how we support and help our families by providing care and hygiene and activity support packages and provide more online support for families in crisis whose mental health has been hugely impacted.
We have had many successful breakthrough experiences with some of the children and young people that have only been achieved with our support. We have provided a safe environment for parents and children to socialise with other like-minded individuals and families and to share their experiences together.
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## **Achievements and Performance** (continued)
We have provided the following activities free of charge to families with children and young people with disabilities or life limiting conditions that have needed our support and that meet our criteria:
- Exclusive VIP Fun Fair Events for over 1750 children and young people with disabilities and their families attended our bi-annual specially adapted fun fair with a total value of £51.8k
- Easter Egg and Toy Appeal delivering over 200 Easter Eggs, toys and equipment to Hospices, Local Hospital Children’s wards and Special Educational Needs Schools, Children’s Homes and Women’s Refuge with a total value of over £600
- ‘Santa in July’ – Christmas Party and gifts for up to 34 adults and 42 children who may have been ill, battling life threatening conditions over the last festive period or for whom enjoying Christmas in December is just not an option.
- Provision of Cost of Living Welfare & Activity Packs for over 240 children and their families from April 2023 to April 2024 (12 months) with a total value of over £4.7K
- Santa’s Sensory Grotto and Virtual Grotto and gifts for over 30 children and their families with a total value of over £450
- Provided a family day out at ‘Wembley’, London for the Challenge Cup Final in August 2023 for 4 families (16 people) including return coach trip, all meals and 4 family tickets to watch the match with a total value of over £1.7k
- Circus day out event for over 200 children across the North West with a total value of over £3k
- Provision of Special Needs and Disability Equipment to the value of £5k, including wheelchairs, Fly2Seat, Jenks school desk/chair, Special Needs Buggy’. We also short term loaned equipment out to families.
- Sign-Posting and Referral - to assist in meeting client needs if we are unable to.
- Office equipment donated to the value of over £100
- Nominated charity to receive support from a leading global engineering and construction company, a global telecom equipment supplier, a high profile finance company, a local masonic lodge and a local rotary club.
- Created a contingency plan to enable us to fund activities and essential equipment without there being a time delay in awaiting income from pledged donations.
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## **Future Plans**
The long-term vision of Blessing in Disguise is to encourage individuals with life-limiting illnesses and disabilities to seek help and support from our services to encourage them to achieve and thrive in society and not to struggle through.
Our service has evolved and adapted to meet the ever changing needs of our service users and by continuously improving how we are best able to meet those needs.
We operate a very cost effective service and keep our overheads as low as possible by working with local businesses, such as fun fairs operators, circus operators, sports complexes and venues, we help the young people we work with to experience what every child should: fun; learning in a new environment; developing new skills and achieving things they thought impossible; taking part in activities and overcoming fears and boundaries and promoting independence.
We don’t consider these experiences to be luxury, or nice to have; we believe that these experiences and skills are the foundations of every childhood to enable them to create happy memories and to make them feel safe and valued. Families that attended the ‘Santa in July’ event described it as the best day out they had ever had. Huge thanks to everyone who contributes to making these events possible. We aim to provide a safe space for families and groups to relax and enjoy spending valuable quality time together and relaxing away from every day struggles and hustle and bustle.
March 2022 BID relocated to new premises over in Leigh after being forced to leave existing offices due to the building being sold to developers and being subsequently demolished. New location is not ideal, but due to the limited availability of suitable premises within our budget we had to make the compromise on having to travel further afield. We continue to look for more suitable location and premises.
We keep our costs down by using VOIP phones (50% discount as a charity). We have re-negotiated card payment fees for donations made to us as well negotiated a discount for our finance software. We don’t have company cars, no company mobiles or other unnecessary expenses. Marketing is all done inhouse by the team via social media, built and maintain own website so no additional costs on or ongoing high fees. Premises rental – negotiated discount to keep rent within budget
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## **Financial Review**
The results for the year and the Charity's financial position at the end of the year are shown in the attached financial statements.
Further to explain the spend on equipment, we have received donated equipment into the charity that we have donated to families that have requested equipment and therefore the only costs and expenditure on those items is for collection and delivery and/or refurbishment of those items. We received several pieces of special needs equipment back that has gone on to help more families.
By having access to volunteers, we are able to achieve great outcomes that would have otherwise not been achieved due to lack of resources and funding for paid staff and the hire in of services.
Staff wages are all paid at the Governments National Minimum Wage (NMW) and only increase in line with Government National Minimum Wage rules. Directors’ salaries are bare minimum and well below national average and there has been no wage increases in over 5 years (24% below national average basic salary)
We highlighted goals for 2023/2024 which helped us to reach over 2500 children, young people and families. Blessings supported more people with welfare packs during this financial year than any previous year.
Our plans for the future are to continue to strive to enhance all of our achievements and involve and help many more children and young people and their families/carers, providing the much needed specialist equipment and support that they deserve and without our support would miss out on.
We realise the potential to further increase the number of beneficiaries that we support each year and increase the amount of accesible opportunuties that enable them to attend more social recreational activities.
We will sustain our contingency plan (policy on reserves) to ensure future viability.
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## **Blessing in Disguise**
## **Reserves Policy**
Blessing in Disguise recognise the need to develop its’ reserves for continual growth and development and to secure the future viability of the company and to efficiently continue to provide specialist equipment and support during periods of delay between a pledge of donation and receipt of the actual donation.
## **Balance Sheet**
|**Abbreviated Balance Sheet as at 5th April 2024**|2022/2023
**£**|2023/2024
**£**|
|---|---|---|
|**Fixed Assets**|0|0|
|**Current Assets**|||
|Cash at Bank and in Hand|147,535|138,038|
|**Creditors:**amount falling due within one year|0|0|
|**Net Current Assets**|147,535|138,038|
|**Net Assets**|147,535|138,038|
|**Capital and Reserves**|||
|Profit and Loss Account|147,535|138,038|
|**Shareholders’ Funds**|147,535|138,038|
The Directors are satisfied that the company is entitled to exemption from the requirement to obtain an audit under Section 477 of the Companies Act 2006. The members have not required the company to obtain an audit in accordance with Section 476 of the Act.
The Directors acknowledge their responsibilities for complying with the requirements of the Companies Act 2006 with respect to accounting records and the preparation of Accounts.
The Accounts have been prepared in accordance with the provisions in Part 15 of the Companies Act 2006 applicable to companies subject to the Small Companies Regime.
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## **Blessing in Disguise**
## **Financial Review**
## **Profit and Loss Account**
**----- Start of picture text -----**
£
Incoming Resources from Donors 77,832
Charitable Activities 24,646
Gross Profit 53,186
Cost of generating funds and administrative expenses 62,683
Net incoming (outgoing) resources - 9,498
Blessing in Disguise Ltd
Abbreviated Profit and Loss Account
for the period ended 5th April 2024
4 [th] January 2025 4 [th] January 2025
**----- End of picture text -----**
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## **Blessing in Disguise**
## **Independent Examiner’s Report to the Trustees of Blessing in Disguise**
I report on the accounts of the company for the year ended 05 April 2024, which are set out on pages 4 to 5.
## **Respective responsibilities of trustees and examiner**
The trustees (who are also the directors of the company for the purposes of company law) are responsible for the preparation of the accounts. The trustees consider that an audit is not required for this year under section 144(2) of the Charities Act 2011 (the 2011 Act) and that an independent examination is needed.
Having satisfied myself that the charity is not subject to audit under company law and is eligible for independent examination, it is my responsibility to:
- examine the accounts under section 145 of the 2011 Act
- follow the procedures laid down in the general directions given by the Charity Commission under section 145(5)(b) of the 2011 Act
- state whether particular matters have come to my attention
## **Basis of independent examiner’s report**
My examination was carried out in accordance with the general directions given by the Charity Commission.
An examination includes a review of the accounting records kept by the charity and a comparison of the accounts presented with those records. It also includes consideration of any unusual items or disclosures in the accounts, and seeking explanations from you as trustees concerning any such matters. The procedures undertaken do not provide all the evidence that would be required in an audit and consequently no opinion is given as to whether the accounts present a ‘true and fair view’ and the report is limited to those matters set out in the next statement.
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## **Blessing in Disguise**
## **Independent examiner’s statement**
In connection with my examination, no matter has come to my attention:
(1) which gives me reasonable cause to believe that in any material respect the requirements:
- to keep accounting records in accordance with Section 386 of the Companies Act 2006 and
- to prepare accounts which accord with the accounting records, comply with the accounting requirements of section 396 of the Companies Act 2006 and with the methods and principles of the Statement of Recommended Practice: Accounting and Reporting by Charities have not been met or
(2) to which, in my opinion, attention should be drawn in order to enable a proper understanding of the accounts to be reached.
Date: 4[th] January 2025
20 Coralin Way Bryn, Wigan. WN4 0ET.
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