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2024-12-31-accounts

Company no. 09646832 Charity no. 1163735

It's in the Bag Cancer Support Ltd Report and Unaudited Financial Statements

31 December 2024

It's in the Bag Cancer Support Ltd

Reference and administrative details

For theyear ended 31 December 2024
Company number 09646832
Charity number 1163735
Registered office and Bristol Haematology And Oncology Centre
operational address Horfield Road
Bristol
BS2 8ED
Trustees Trustees, who are also directors under company law, who served during
the year and up to the date of this report were as follows:
Jeremy Braybrooke
Susie Budd
Richard Bullard
John Garland (appointed 23 May 2024)
Katherine Gearing
Joanna Hopkins (appointed 23 May 2024)
Michael Perry
John Saunders
Edward Smith
Company secretary Susan Brand
Bankers CAF Bank Ltd
25 Kings Hill Avenue
Kings Hill
West Malling
Kent
ME19 4JQ
Independent Godfrey Wilson Limited
examiners Chartered accountants and statutory auditors
5th Floor Mariner House
62 Prince Street
Bristol
BS1 4QD

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It's in the Bag Cancer Support Ltd

Report of the trustees

For the year ended 31 December 2024

The trustees present their annual report for the period ended 31 December 2024.

Reference and administrative information set out on page 1 forms part of this report. The financial statements comply with current statutory requirements, the Memorandum and Articles of Association and the Statement of Recommended Practice - Accounting and Reporting by Charities (effective from January 2019).

The legal name of the charity is: It's in the Bag Cancer Support Ltd.

The charity is also known by its operating name: It's in the Bag.

The charity is constituted as a company limited by guarantee, registered under the Companies Act and its governing document is a Memorandum and Articles of Association under company legislation.

By operation of law all trustees are directors under the Companies Act 2006 and all directors are trustees under Charities legislation and have responsibilities, as such, under both company and charity legislation. The trustees are all individuals.

The principal operating address, telephone number and email and web addresses of the charity are:

Bristol Haematology and Oncology Centre (BHOC), Horfield Road, Bristol. BS2 8ED

Telephone: 0117 342 3472

Email Address: hello@itsinthebag.org.uk

Web address: http://itsinthebag.org.uk/

The registered office of the charity for Companies Act purposes is the same as the operating address shown above.

The trustees who served as a trustee in the reporting period and, if applicable, their dates of appointment or resignation during the year are listed on page 1.

All the trustees are also members of the charity.

Objectives and activities

The purposes of the charity as set out in its governing document are:

It's in the Bag (IITB) achieves its purposes in three ways:

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It's in the Bag Cancer Support Ltd

Report of the trustees

For the year ended 31 December 2024

Support

Testicular cancer is the most common cancer in men in their 20's and 30's. Being diagnosed with testicular cancer and going through treatment is a huge challenge physically, mentally and emotionally. We provide a range of activities and initiatives to help men through this tough time. We also support a smaller number of men and women who are affected by other germ cell cancers. This includes support for families and carers.

Awareness

Teaching the public, especially men, the importance of self-checking their testicles regularly, especially those aged 15-45 years (highest rates in men ages 30-34) and if they discover a problem or issue to see their GP immediately.

Survival

With UK cure rates for testicular cancer running above 96%, we focus on helping men tackle the emotional and practical impact of cancer both during treatment and into their lives afterwards. We also encourage and inspire those affected to help and support others.

The main achievements and performance of the activities undertaken in relation to those purposes during the period:

We have held a very successful Test Fest event and a number of awareness campaigns. We continue to be supported by our generous donors and again have been kicked into touch by additional legacy donations of £200k received during the year. More on how we intend to use this later.

It's in the Bag strategy

In 2024 the Trustees met for our annual review to determine how we were performing against our determined strategy, to implement changes to introduce new services and improve what we currently offer and to raise funds more effectively. We did that in the context of the additional legacy donations referenced above, with a view as to how that would support us to deliver the strategy over the next 5 years, but also with some specific deliverables over the next 3 years.

Our continued focus is on Support, Awareness and Survival and retaining the culture of the charity, which engages our volunteers with the sense of fun and the ridiculous that we know also appeals to our audience.

We have once again diversified our Trustee Board, with the addition of people management and commercial experience.

The key areas that we have focused on during 2024:

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It's in the Bag Cancer Support Ltd

Report of the trustees

For the year ended 31 December 2024

Support

Support for those diagnosed with testicular cancer (germ cell cancer) and their family and friends.

Support at diagnosis and through treatment

We have been looking to improve IITB penetration across the Southwest to improve access to our support services. We have focused on the following support services:

Support beyond treatment

We continued a helpline service manned by trained support facilitators, all of whom have had the experience of a diagnosis of testicular cancer. We trained and developed our team to provide Survivor Toolkit afternoons held in 2024. These are to help men and their families on the road to recovery. The take up for this event was lower than we wanted, although very well received by both patients and families who attended, so we are revisiting how we best provide this service into 2025.

Support for health care professionals

This is to support the training and education of the Bristol Testicular Cancer Service (BTCS) based at University Hospitals Bristol and Weston NHS Foundation Trust and those NHS trusts linked to the BTCS, this year Plymouth in particular. We funded Bristol and Plymouth staff, 3 doctors and 5 nurses, to attend the National Germ Cell Group conference in London (held in early 2025) alongside two of our volunteers.

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It's in the Bag Cancer Support Ltd

Report of the trustees

For the year ended 31 December 2024

Awareness

When testicular cancer (germ cell cancer) is detected early it can be treated with surgery alone and reduces the need for more invasive treatments. Testicular cancer remains one of the most treatable and curable cancers, however raising awareness, particularly in the younger age group, requires a different approach. It’s in the Bag will continue to push the boundaries when raising awareness and does so in the following ways;

Promoting quirky and innovative campaigns and images

For April, Testicular Cancer Awareness Month (TCAM) and November, Men’s Health Awareness Month, we developed and presented videos and posters with the strapline “it doesn’t matter what shape your balls are”, with fantastic contributions from seven representatives from our sporting network including Henry Slade (rugby union - Exeter Chiefs) and Chris Wood (professional golf). We had really good engagement with this campaign and its important underlying message about selfchecking.

In April and November, we also ran a motorway services awareness campaign across 14 services in the Southwest, with 100 posters using our ‘Match Fit’ Campaign. We also used our relationship with printing providers, Out of Hand, to display the biggest awareness billboard in the Southwest in Barnstaple.

We also developed a charity partnership with Somerset County Cricket club in 2024, which we are very pleased has been extended into 2025. We had IITB stands at 3 events, including two county championship matches and one T20.

We have entered, or been entered for, a number of awards which is a great opportunity to raise the profile of the charity and of course spread the word on awareness. In 2024 we won the UK Festival award for Community Impact in Bristol and were also finalists for the Somerset Business charity of the year.

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It's in the Bag Cancer Support Ltd

Report of the trustees

For the year ended 31 December 2024

Attending schools, colleges, universities, workplaces and events that reflect our catchment group

Throughout the year we attended many events with our Awareness Stand and delivered presentations, both face to face and virtually. In 2024, we have focused on spreading our awareness sessions outside of Bristol and Bath. Feedback as ever has been positive.

In 2024 we presented to over 750 people face-to-face across the region at:

We also had over 1,000 visitors to our stands at:

As a designated charity for Exeter Chiefs Foundation, we had bucket collections at two matches in 2024 and were able to distribute a lot of awareness checking cards at Sandy Park as well as at the Test Fest venue at Taunton Rugby Club.

We continue to be a big part of the annual Bristol Pride Parade in July, which is one of our most popular events with both volunteers and the public. Our gender-neutral checking cards are well received. We also have a gender-neutral banner to ensure we meet our diverse audience.

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It's in the Bag Cancer Support Ltd

Report of the trustees

For the year ended 31 December 2024

Test Fest 2024

In 2024 we had a line-up of 12 bands/artists/entertainers; 5 Sponsors; The Drumbus; Glitter Bar; 10 food and drink vendors; IITB merchandise tent; children’s activities tent which changed to a silent disco in the evening and a Support Tent manned by our support facilitators. This year we also had an additional RAF Cadet Stand and Aardvark Occupational Health Van.

Most of the bands/artists donated their performances to the charity, but this is getting harder as costs rise for them too. The vendors and stalls paid to be at the festival. To encourage Grassroots music, we continue to work with Richard Huish College and showcased two of their bands and new to 2024 a band of 6th formers from Exeter. We repeated the Art & Design project with Bridgwater & Taunton College to redesign the large TEST FEST letters. We had 29 volunteers in total, 4 of which were trustees and 8 new volunteers.

The cost-of-living crisis and the weather were a little bit against us, but our fantastic team soldiered on. Considering the showers and chilly temperatures, people had a great time and so much awareness was raised. This year we carried out a post-festival survey through Mailchimp, which gave us valuable feedback for 2025. One consistent theme from the survey was that our volunteers are superb!

The awareness we raise is not all about the day of the event itself. The lead up to it gained us national recognition at the UK Festival Awards by winning the Community Impact Award, as well as publicity in Stand Out Magazine and Sue Brand was asked to speak at The Events Summit in October 2024. We also joined the Association of Independent Festivals who provide festival resources and peer support.

Selling and distributing merchandise

Each piece of merchandise we sell or give away, depending on the nature of the merchandise, can raise awareness of testicular cancer and the charity. This provides an effective way of communicating, as the message is delivered each time the merchandise is worn or used and, of course, it also allows us to raise funds.

Merchandise sales raised just under £1k in 2024.

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It's in the Bag Cancer Support Ltd

Report of the trustees

For the year ended 31 December 2024

Reaching out via our website and Social Media channels

Website

A new website was launched in June 2024 with the aim of better supporting people looking for information about Testicular Cancer and our work. The new website has given It’s in the Bag a refreshed look, with easily accessible information, videos and call to actions such as ‘Donate’ and ‘Tickets for Test Fest’ being in more prominent places. It has also allowed us to promote our branding, images and a feel for who the charity are and what we do.

The new website design has a more natural flow for viewers. There was a big spike in June, coinciding with Test Fest 2024, which helped attract users to the website, including for purchasing tickets (see Image 1).

Image 1: 2024 statistics

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It's in the Bag Cancer Support Ltd

Report of the trustees

For the year ended 31 December 2024

Channels

Image 2 shows that Organic Search and Direct search are still the main ways that users search for IITB. Whilst Organic Social media plays its part, that channel sent around 1,000 users to the website, whereas Organic Search and Direct search attracted 4,500 and 3,800 viewers respectively.

Image 2: Primary channels

Searchers are predominantly from the United Kingdom, with 11,000 searchers recorded this year, up from 5,600 searchers for the year 2023. The United States tends to rank next in second place with 923 searchers compared to 947 for the year 2023.

Page Views

The homepage tends to be the prime location linked to the Google link; therefore, the homepage views are always ranked as the highest ‘page’ which users have visited.

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It's in the Bag Cancer Support Ltd

Report of the trustees

For the year ended 31 December 2024

The next most visited page during 2024 was Test Fest. There were 1,700 users that looked at this page.

Image 3: Page views

Advertising

It’s in the Bag has not yet taken up its entitlement to £7,000 a month free advertising on Google due to its charity status. This will be reviewed and action taken in 2025 to ensure it is used and works well for IITB.

Social Media

Overall, our Facebook, Instagram, YouTube and LinkedIn followers continue to grow steadily and engagement is strong. Social media remains an important, effective tool in our work to support patients and raise awareness. Our evaluation shows clear trends in which types of content best support our strategic aims and we focus on those to ensure best impact, whilst also periodically testing and innovating new approaches.

To ensure the most engagement with our social media posts we include a ‘call-to-action’ wherever possible and/or tag individuals that our followers know/relate to - both of which give people a reason to interact. There is good evidence that many viewers look at reels (Facebook & Instagram) and shorts (YouTube), so we are focusing our efforts on these types of media.

Whilst our social media presence has been strong in relation to the population of our catchment area, we know that having 7 platforms is quite difficult to manage.

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It's in the Bag Cancer Support Ltd

Report of the trustees

For the year ended 31 December 2024

In 2024 we have made several changes to streamline and support increasing impact from our social media:

"Best Post" in terms of likes and reactions. This is the best way to measure whether our posts are interesting, because reacting means someone didn't just see it, they were also interested enough in it to click or write a comment.

"Best Reach" in terms of reach. Notwithstanding that platforms measure reach differently, it really just tells us how many times the post appeared on a screen and that does not gauge interest from viewers. However, it is a good way to measure whether we are making content that the algorithms like and think will be interesting to the people IITB wants to reach.

Facebook (FB)

We increased our followers by 28.35% compared to 2023. This was mostly steady growth with a small peak in new followers in June (Test Fest and Father's Day).

Best post: "last few days to vote for test fest in the UK festival awards" (top FB, 15 Oct 2024) Best post: “Black Friday Deals” Nov 2024 Best post: "We won the UK festival awards" (FB) 3 Dec 2024 Reach: up by 51.8% when compared with 2023

Instagram (IG)

We have 1,400 followers to our It’s in the Bag and Test Fest Instagram combined. This was steady growth across the year.

Best post: Headline Announcement Test Fest 2025 October 2024 Best post: We do awareness Hartpury College September 2024 Best post: Call for riders Le Tour de Balls Quatre August 2024 Best reach: Reel: Testicle Tuesday for TCAM and Test Fest August 2024 reach 9,093 Best reach: Story: Come and have a chat with Tim September 2024 reach 1,339

LinkedIn (LI)

We have 337 followers on LinkedIn, an increase of 101 (43%) since the end of 2023. We continue to grow our LinkedIn reach, with a more business focused audience and therefore the posts are not necessarily the same as those on Facebook and Instagram.

Best reach: Top two on LinkedIn were: Last day of TCAM sports balls post (LI, 30 April 2024) and TYACAM post (LI, 18 April 2024)

YouTube

Views were down on the previous year (total of 2,587), however we had launched two major films in 2023 (generic IITB video and for Test Fest).

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It's in the Bag Cancer Support Ltd

Report of the trustees

For the year ended 31 December 2024

Mobile Phones : are the most used device to watch our channel, and this has increased in 2024. Overall average viewing time is up from 1.03 minutes to 1.10 minutes.

Impressions are markedly increased from 47,208 to 58,671 where the biggest increase was ‘The Test Fest Highlights’ at 9,041 compared with 777 in 2023. In April, unique viewers increased from 198 to 238, the bulk for them attributed to Test Fest Highlights.

The most watched videos are:

1 How to check your balls with BSL 24% compared with 19% for 2023;

2 Test Fest 2023 15.4% compared to 2.6% in 2023; and

Traffic Source remains at 40-50% external, suggested videos 11% and YouTube Search has increased to 18% from 13% in 2023.

The UK is the top geographical area followed by the USA and in 2024, Italy.

Unsubscribed remains at around 90% however, subscriptions in 2024 were up by 2%.

Fundraising activities during the period

The ability to fundraise continues to become more challenging and as such we continually look at avenues which encourage regular donations and support. We receive support from businesses, clubs and bucket collections. Many of our supporters also give their time to help us and this is very much part of the family nature of our charity.

In order to improve the fundraising through existing activities and also garner new ideas, we have engaged a community fundraiser, using the funds provided by the legacy donation. This is to help generate immediate fundraising, but also to further professionalise our processes, including use of our CRM donor management system. This includes ensuring we demonstrate how much we value every penny we receive and ensure we have a closed communication loop with all our donors and fundraisers.

Legacy donations – We have been further humbled and excited to receive donations of £200k during the period. We have developed our strategy to use the £100k donation received at the beginning of the year to enhance the activities we determined in 2003, we increased the travel grant rate for low-income patients in 2003 and reduced the qualifying distance in 2024; to continue to invest in fundraising capability, we introduced a customer relationship system which allows us to track donations and communicate with our donors but have now added a community fundraiser (see above) and to supplement fundraising activities to several of our awareness campaigns. The second tranche of £100k we have determined to use more specifically on a cancer support worker with direct access to patients; a community engagement officer to improve our communication into the South West and a road show to help activate activities and raise awareness of the IITB charity and of course the importance of checking for Testicular Cancer.

General Fundraising – It has been another busy year in fundraising. We are delighted to once again have received support from some long-standing supporters, Edinburgh University Men’s Hockey Club, who sported some extraordinary moustaches again this year and raised £2,204.

We also had huge support from Wessex Truck Festival who did a skydive for us and all proceeds of their Truck Gathering and Festival were donated to It’s in the Bag, totaling £7,400.

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It's in the Bag Cancer Support Ltd

Report of the trustees

For the year ended 31 December 2024

We had a group of runners taking part in the Cheltenham Half Marathon, raising close to £1,000. We also had a group of nine brave people who jumped out of a plane, all in the name of fundraising! Over £3,500 was raised.

We also were supported by some enterprising walkers taking on routes such as the Three Peaks, where a team raised £2,455, splitting it between It’s in the Bag and two other great charities, and the Gurnsey Costal Path where Bob Creighton raised over £1,000.

It was also a big year for us regarding resources for Fundraising, where we brought in support from a freelance fundraiser. Her work has been focused on the development of systems, namely Beacon CRM, our new database, and developing processes and procedures for how we raise funds and build relationships with our supporters.

Beacon CRM has enabled a greater level of record keeping of supporters and donations, with a greater ability to build understanding and relationships with our donors, volunteers and other followers.

Business Support – We were very pleased to be chosen again as a designated charity for Exeter Chiefs Rugby Foundation, who donated £1,438 and we continue to have very good relationships with, Out of Hand, Graphic Mill, Sheppy’s Cider, Clear As Day Productions, VMR Publicity and Astra Security and superb support from AMI Dynamics, DPD Group Services and Twosix communications. In addition, we had another fantastic contribution from a NHBC regional golf day (£12,000), the CIBSE dinner (£1,000) and also ongoing contribution from the Tiny Coffee Company who donate 5p from every cup of coffee sold which resulted in over £1,000 over 3 years.

Grants – We applied for a grant from the Openworks foundation and they very generously provided just under £12k to fund our Support activities.

Survival

It's in the Bag Volunteers

As an entirely volunteer led charity, volunteers are vital to the work of It's in the Bag and we ask a lot of our supporters. We want to ensure our volunteers are nurtured and that they clearly represent our charity. We maintain regular communication, via a WhatsApp group, and also engage with our volunteers (and the wider public) through regular use of social media. We currently have 48 volunteers.

In 2024, our new trustees developed and completed an engagement survey with our volunteers to assess motivation and satisfaction levels, effectiveness of communication and identify areas for improvement. Engaged and satisfied volunteers are crucial to achieving our mission and goals. Overall the feedback was very positive with most volunteers identifying the great sense of fun and community. Recommendations for improvement focused on streamlining communications and enhancing volunteer processes.

To celebrate survival and to thank our volunteers, supporters and business sponsors we organise a bi-annual event which includes the "Golden Pants Awards" to recognize our fantastic volunteers and supporters. The Testicular Ball was postponed from November 2023 and held in early 2024 in Bristol and was a lively, fun evening. This event is integral to our ongoing efforts to use and raise funds by attracting and strengthening relationships with volunteers and business sponsors. We will hold another Ball at the end of 2025, which will also recognise our 10th anniversary as an independent charity.

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It's in the Bag Cancer Support Ltd

Report of the trustees

For the year ended 31 December 2024

We strongly believe that celebrating survival for many men and their families is an important step in the recovery process.

Innovative features

We are the only testicular cancer charity to produce gender neutral materials to encourage selfchecking and early diagnosis.

We continue to be the only testicular cancer charity who ensure that all our checking videos have subtitles and British Sign Language to appeal to those with disabilities.

Test Fest - we remain the only testicular cancer awareness music festival in the UK.

In 2024, we again ran a project with local college Art and Design Department to design large letters for the Test Fest with 39 students. We also work with the Richard Huish college music department to encourage Grassroots Music, which nationally is on the decline.

Recruitment strategy

We have continued our recruitment strategy to appeal to potential Trustees and a wider range of volunteers for specific roles, looking beyond IITB connections. We have successfully recruited two new Trustees in the period.

Patrons

Our patrons actively support publicise our events and activities.

YouTube platform - our YouTube platform has benefitted from the investment we have made with increased utilization and professional output. By using tools such as Snappa and Canva we can design our images to fit all media platforms.

Virtual events - we have the skills, experience and necessary tools to continue to leverage such events.

Financial review

For the period under review, we generated total income of £256k (2023: £157k) and spent £122k (2023: £93k) leaving a surplus for the year of £134k. Funds brought forward from the prior period were £126k, resulting in total funds of £260k as at 31 December 2024 to be carried forward into the next financial year.

Reserves policy

The charity's estimated annual expenditure is budgeted to be in the region of £100k. We will plan, as in past years, to secure the charity's future and ability to meet its aims and objectives. The directors will ensure that there are sufficient reserves to cover the costs for the forthcoming year, particularly as most of our funds are raised through donations from individuals and therefore the charity has no guaranteed income.

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It's in the Bag Cancer Support Ltd

Report of the trustees

For the year ended 31 December 2024

The directors are also mindful of the possible need to contract out some of the administration and therefore feel it necessary to hold reserves in anticipation of this potential future cost. The directors therefore believe that a reserve balance of around £50,000 is a prudent level to secure the charity's future. We are currently holding reserves above this target thanks to significant legacy donations received over the last two years. We have started spending this funding by implementing plans to augment the services we provide and also to further professionalise the administration of the charity, more detail is provided in the plans for future periods section below.

Going concern

The charity currently has sufficient funds to sustain its planned activities and therefore has no going concern issues. We have managed our accounts very closely and of course have been positively supported by the legacy donation this year of £200k which has mitigated the ongoing uncertainty exacerbated by global events and cost of living impact, but we will continue to exercise a prudent view of necessary expenditure.

Plans for future periods

We have reviewed our strategy and updated our three-year operating plan ensuring that we can provide sustainable support.

Support: Our hope is to support many more men and their families in the South West of England, including the use of Grants and the Survivorship Toolkit. The main aim is to encourage attendance of those who are treated outside of the Bristol clinical service and we will further develop support facilitators in Devon and Cornwall. With the appointment of a volunteer clinical coordinator, focused on engagement with clinical teams across the South West, we hope to ensure all patients across the region are able to access the support they need. In 2025 we will fund a paid cancer support worker to engage directly with patients and co-ordinate across the south west. We also realise that some services have no Clinical Specialist Nurse (CNS) for Germ Cell Cancer and Cheltenham is in this position. Therefore, we are investigating funding a CNS for one day a week for 3 years.

Awareness: We will continue to strengthen all our current platforms and campaigns. 2025 is IITB’s tenth anniversary as an independent charity and we are running a number of events to celebrate, including, our 4th Tour de Balls cycle ride – the ‘Big Birthday Tour’. This 300-mile sponsored cycle tour is a fantastic way to raise awareness and funds to support the work we do.

Following on from the success of "The Test Fest" in 2024, we hope that Test Fest 2025 will be an even more successful fantastic event celebrating men’s health and raising awareness of testicular cancer. With increasing awareness of the event locally, as well as Winning the UK Festival Award for Community Impact we expect to see numbers rise again. We continue our collaboration with Taunton RFC to use their ground for the festival, and further developing our relationship with Somerset Chamber of Commerce, Bridgewater and Taunton College, Richard Huish College and local music venues. We are growing in confidence as a community festival with the Association of Independent Festivals.

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It's in the Bag Cancer Support Ltd

Report of the trustees

For the year ended 31 December 2024

We continue our links with many schools and colleges who invite us to their annual student fairs or other health-related awareness events (e.g. UWE, SGS College and Hartpury College). We aim to increase our reach across the region to other schools, colleges and universities, as well as local businesses, dependent on volunteer availability. We are also specifically focusing on building relationships with schools, mens’ groups and cancer champions in Plymouth, the second largest city in the region.

Survival: We will continue to celebrate survival and encourage giving back through volunteering and/or fundraising. We will be running a number of events in 2025, including The Testicular Ball (in October 2025), showcasing our popular ‘Golden Pants Awards’, which is a fantastic way of saying thank you to our volunteers and supporters and recognising those who go above and beyond.

Structure, governance and management

As set out in the charity's Articles of Association, the charity may by ordinary resolution:

No person other than a trustee retiring by rotation may be appointed a trustee at any general meeting unless:

All members who are entitled to receive notice of a general meeting must be given not less than seven nor more than twenty-eight clear days· notice of any resolution to be put to the meeting to appoint a trustee other than a trustee who is to retire by rotation. Our AGM was attended by trustees, volunteers and supporters who all made a valuable contribution to celebrating the previous year and helping to set the path we will take in the next year.

The trustees may appoint a person who is willing to act to be a trustee.

A trustee appointed by a resolution of the other trustees must retire at the next annual general meeting and must not be taken into account in determining the trustees who are to retire by rotation.

Statement of responsibilities of the trustees

The trustees (who are also directors of the charity for the purposes of company law) are responsible for preparing the trustees' report and the financial statements in accordance with applicable law and United Kingdom Accounting Standards, including Financial Reporting Standard 102: The Financial Reporting Standard applicable in the UK and Republic of Ireland (United Kingdom Generally Accepted Accounting Practice).

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It's in the Bag Cancer Support Ltd

Report of the trustees

For the year ended 31 December 2024

Company law requires the trustees to prepare financial statements for each financial year, which give a true and fair view of the state of affairs of the charity and of the income and expenditure of the charity for that period. In preparing those financial statements the trustees are required to:

The trustees are responsible for keeping proper accounting records which disclose with reasonable accuracy at any time the financial position of the charity and which enable them to ensure that the financial statements comply with the Companies Act 2006. 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.

The trustees are responsible for the maintenance and integrity of the corporate and financial information included on the charitable company's website. Legislation in the United Kingdom governing the preparation and dissemination of financial statements may differ from legislation in other jurisdictions.

Members of the charity guarantee to contribute an amount not exceeding £10 to the assets of the charity in the event of winding up. The trustees are members of the charity but this entitles them only to voting rights. The trustees have no beneficial interest in the charity.

Independent examiners

Godfrey Wilson Limited were re-appointed as independent examiners to the charitable company during the year and have expressed their willingness to continue in that capacity.

Approved by the trustees on 11 June 2025 and signed on their behalf by

MPerry

Michael Perry - Trustee

17

Independent examiner's report

To the trustees of

It's in the Bag Cancer Support Ltd

I report to the trustees on my examination of the accounts of It's in the Bag Cancer Support Ltd (the charitable company) for the year ended 31 December 2024, which are set out on pages 18 to 30.

Responsibilities and basis of report

As the trustees of the charitable company (and also its directors for the purposes of company law) you are responsible for the preparation of the accounts in accordance with the requirements of the Companies Act 2006 (‘the 2006 Act’).

Having satisfied myself that the accounts of the charitable company are not required to be audited under Part 16 of the 2006 Act and are eligible for independent examination, I report in respect of my examination of the charitable company's accounts as carried out under section 145 of the Charities Act 2011 (‘the 2011 Act’). In carrying out my examination I have followed the Directions given by the Charity Commission under section 145(5) (b) of the 2011 Act.

Independent examiner’s statement

Since the charitable company’s gross income exceeded £250,000 your examiner must be a member of a body listed in section 145 of the 2011 Act. I confirm that I am qualified to undertake the examination because I am a member of the Institute of Chartered Accountants in England and Wales (ICAEW), which is one of the listed bodies.

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:

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.

William Guy Blake

Date: 11 June 2025 William Guy Blake ACA Member of the ICAEW For and on behalf of: Godfrey Wilson Limited

Chartered accountants and statutory auditors 5th Floor Mariner House 62 Prince Street Bristol BS1 4QD

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It's in the Bag Cancer Support Ltd

Statement of financial activities (incorporating an income and expenditure account)

For the year ended 31 December 2024

Note
Income from:
Donations and legacies
3
Charitable activities
4
Celebrate
Awareness
Investments
Total income
Expenditure on:
Raising funds
Charitable activities
Celebrate
Awareness
Support
Total expenditure
6
8
Reconciliation of funds:
Total funds brought forward
Total funds carried forward
Net income and
movement in funds		 Restricted Unrestricted
£
£
11,700
224,144
-
705
-
14,080
-
5,357
11,700
244,286
-
6,171
-
5,206
-
99,996
9,704
835
9,704
112,208
1,996
132,078
-
126,024
1,996
258,102		 2024
Total
£
235,844
705
14,080
5,357
255,986
6,171
5,206
99,996
10,539
121,912
134,074
126,024
260,098		 2023
Total
£
138,704
-
15,786
2,190
156,680
-
1,427
77,881
13,218
92,526
64,154
61,870
126,024

All of the above results are derived from continuing activities. There were no other recognised gains or losses other than those stated above. Movements in funds are disclosed in note 17 to the accounts.

19

It's in the Bag Cancer Support Ltd

Balance sheet

As at 31 December 2024

Note
Fixed assets
Tangible fixed assets
11
Current assets
Stock
12
Debtors
13
Cash at bank and in hand
Liabilities
Creditors: amounts falling due within 1 year
14
Net current assets
Net assets
16
Funds
17
Restricted funds
Unrestricted funds
Total charity funds		 £
11,045
2,891
256,914
270,850
(11,871)		 2024
£
1,119
258,979
260,098
1,996
258,102
260,098		 2023
£
190
15,029
1,989
113,353
130,371
(4,537)
125,834
126,024
-
126,024
126,024

The directors are satisfied that the company is entitled to exemption from the provisions of the Companies Act 2006 (the Act) relating to the audit of the financial statements for the year by virtue of section 477, and that no member or members have requested an audit pursuant to section 476 of the Act.

The directors acknowledge their responsibilities for:

These accounts have been prepared in accordance with the special provisions applicable to companies subject to the small companies' regime.

Approved by the trustees on 11 June 2025 and signed on their behalf by

MPerry

Michael Perry - Trustee

20

It's in the Bag Cancer Support Ltd

Notes to the financial statements

For the year ended 31 December 2024

1. Accounting policies

a) General information and basis of preparation

It's in the Bag Cancer Support Ltd is a charitable company limited by guarantee registered in England and Wales. The registered office address is Bristol Haematology And Oncology Centre, Horfield Road, Bristol, BS2 8ED.

The financial statements have been prepared in accordance with Accounting and Reporting by Charities: Statement of Recommended Practice applicable to charities in preparing their accounts in accordance with the Financial Reporting Standard applicable in the UK and Republic of Ireland (FRS 102) (effective 1 January 2019) - (Charities SORP (FRS 102)), the Financial Reporting Standard applicable in the UK and Republic of Ireland (FRS 102) and the Companies Act 2006.

It's in the Bag Cancer Support Ltd meets the definition of a public benefit entity under FRS 102. Assets and liabilities are initially recognised at historical cost or transaction value unless otherwise stated in the relevant accounting policy note.

b) Going concern basis of accounting

The accounts have been prepared on the assumption that the charity is able to continue as a going concern, which the trustees consider appropriate having regard to the current level of unrestricted reserves. There are no material uncertainties about the charity's ability to continue as a going concern.

c) Income

Income is recognised when the charity has entitlement to the funds, any performance conditions attached to the item of income have been met, it is probable that the income will be received and the amount can be measured reliably.

Income from government and other grants, whether 'capital' grants or 'revenue' grants, is recognised when the charity has entitlement to the funds, any performance conditions attached to the grants have been met, it is probable that the income will be received and the amount can be measured reliably and is not deferred.

For legacies, entitlement is taken as the earlier of the date on which either: the charity is aware that probate has been granted, the estate has been finalised and notification has been made by the executor(s) to the Trust that a distribution will be made, or when a distribution is received from the estate. Receipt of a legacy, in whole or in part, is only considered probable when the amount can be measured reliably and the charity has been notified of the executor's intention to make a distribution. Where legacies have been notified to the charity, or the charity is aware of the granting of probate, and the criteria for income recognition have not been met, then the legacy is treated as a contingent asset and disclosed if material.

Income received in advance of events is deferred until criteria for income recognition are met.

d) Donated services and facilities

Donated professional services and donated facilities are recognised as income when the charity has control over the item, any conditions associated with the donated item have been met, the receipt of economic benefit from the use by the charity of the item is probable and the economic benefit can be measured reliably. In accordance with the Charities SORP (FRS 102), general volunteer time is not recognised.

21

It's in the Bag Cancer Support Ltd

Notes to the financial statements

For the year ended 31 December 2024

1. Accounting policies (continued) On receipt, donated professional services and donated facilities are recognised on the basis of the value of the gift to the charity which is the amount the charity would have been willing to pay to obtain services or facilities of equivalent economic benefit on the open market; a corresponding amount is then recognised in expenditure in the period of receipt.

e) Interest receivable

f) Funds accounting

g) Expenditure and irrecoverable VAT

Expenditure is recognised once there is a legal or constructive obligation to make a payment to a third party, it is probable that settlement will be required and the amount of the obligation can be measured reliably.

Irrecoverable VAT is charged as a cost against the activity for which the expenditure was incurred.

h) Allocation of support and governance costs

Support costs are those functions that assist the work of the charity but do not directly undertake charitable activities. Governance costs are the costs associated with the governance arrangements of the charity, including the costs of complying with constitutional and statutory requirements and any costs associated with the strategic management of the charity’s activities. These costs have been allocated between cost of raising funds and expenditure on charitable activities in proportion to the direct costs of each activity, as follows:

2024 2023
Raising funds 5.0% 0.0%
Celebrate 4.0% 1.5%
Awareness 82.0% 84.2%
Support 9.0% 14.3%

i) Tangible fixed assets

Depreciation is provided at rates calculated to write down the cost of each asset to its estimated residual value over its expected useful life. The depreciation rates in use are as follows:

Equipment 4 years

22

It's in the Bag Cancer Support Ltd

Notes to the financial statements

For the year ended 31 December 2024

1. Accounting policies (continued)

j) Stock

k) Debtors

Trade and other debtors are recognised at the settlement amount due after any trade discount offered. Prepayments are valued at the amount prepaid net of any trade discounts due.

l) Cash at bank and in hand

Cash at bank and cash in hand includes cash and short term highly liquid investments with a short maturity of three months or less from the date of acquisition or opening of the deposit or similar account.

m) Creditors

Creditors and provisions are recognised where the charity has a present obligation resulting from a past event that will probably result in the transfer of funds to a third party and the amount due to settle the obligation can be measured or estimated reliably. Creditors and provisions are normally recognised at their settlement amount after allowing for any trade discounts due.

n) Financial instruments

The charitable company 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 with the exception of bank loans which are subsequently recognised at amortised cost using the effective interest method.

o) Accounting estimates and key judgements

In the application of the charity's accounting policies, the trustees are required to make judgements, estimates and assumptions about the carrying values of assets and liabilities that are not readily apparent from other sources. The estimates and underlying assumptions are based on historical experience and other factors that are considered to be relevant. Actual results may differ from these estimates.

The estimates and underlying assumptions are reviewed on an ongoing basis. Revisions to accounting estimates are recognised in the period in which the estimate is revised if the revision affects only that period, or in the period of the revision and future periods if the revision affects both current and future periods.

The key sources of estimation uncertainty that have a significant effect on the amounts recognised in the financial statements are described below.

Depreciation

As described in note 1i to the financial statements, depreciation is provided at rates calculated to write down the cost of each asset to its estimated residual value over its expected useful life.

23

It's in the Bag Cancer Support Ltd

Notes to the financial statements

For the year ended 31 December 2024

2. Statement of financial activities - prior period comparative

Income from:
Donations and legacies
Charitable activities
Awareness
Investment income
Total income
Expenditure on:
Charitable activities
Celebrate
Awareness
Support
Total expenditure
Net income / (expenditure) and net
movement in funds		 Restricted
£
£
-
138,704
-
15,786
-
2,190
-
156,680
-
1,427
7,796
70,085
-
13,218
7,796
84,730
(7,796)
71,950
Unrestricted		 2023
Total
£
138,704
15,786
2,190
156,680
1,427
77,881
13,218
92,526
64,154

24

It's in the Bag Cancer Support Ltd

Notes to the financial statements

For the year ended 31 December 2024

3. Income from donations and legacies

Legacies
Voluntary donations
Grants
Gift Aid
Fundraising events
Total income from donations		 Restricted
Unrestricted
£
£
-
200,000
-
23,601
11,700
-
-
543
-
-
11,700
224,144		 2024
Total
£
200,000
23,601
11,700
543
-
235,844		 2023
Total
£
100,000
38,294
-
-
410
138,704

All income from donations and legacies in the prior year was unrestricted.

4. Income from charitable activities

Celebrate:
Celebration event income
Awareness:
Testical festival
Awareness merchandise sold		 2024
Total
£
705
13,468
612
14,080		 2023
Total
£
-
13,050
2,736
15,786

All income from charitable activities in both the current and prior years was unrestricted.

5. Government grants

The charity received no government grants in the current or prior year.

25

It's in the Bag Cancer Support Ltd

Notes to the financial statements

For the year ended 31 December 2024

6. Total expenditure

Awareness events
Other fundraising events
Support courses
Celebrate survival events
Publicity and awareness
Grants payable (note 7)
Website and computer
Awareness merchandise
Shopify costs and merchandise storage
Insurance
Administration costs
Administrative support
Trustee costs
Depreciation
Accountancy
Sub-total
Allocation of support and governance costs
Total expenditure		 Raising
funds
£
-
5,682
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
5,682
489
6,171		 Celebrate
£
-
-
-
4,794
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
4,794
412
5,206		 Awareness
£
37,087
-
-
16,596
-
5,749
7,492
4,142
-
2,056
18,181
773
-
-
92,076
7,920
99,996		 Support
£
-
-
850
-
-
8,854
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
9,704
835
10,539		 £
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
1,130
870
5,709
-
417
1,530
9,656
(9,656)
-
Support and
governance
costs		 2024 Total
£
37,087
5,682
850
4,794
16,596
8,854
5,749
7,492
4,142
1,130
2,926
23,890
773
417
1,530
121,912
-
121,912

Total governance costs were £2,303 (2023: £2,840).

26

It's in the Bag Cancer Support Ltd

Notes to the financial statements

For the year ended 31 December 2024

6. Total expenditure (continued) Prior year comparative

Prior year comparative
Awareness events
Celebrate survival events
Support courses
Publicity and awareness
Grants payable (note 7)
Website and computer
Awareness merchandise
Shopify costs and merchandise storage
Insurance
Administration costs
Administrative support
Trustee costs
Depreciation
Accountancy
Sub-total
Allocation of support and governance costs
Total expenditure		 Raising
funds
£
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-		 Celebrate
£
-
1,320
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
1,320
107
1,427		 Awareness
£
23,875
-
-
21,831
-
1,178
4,983
3,517
-
1,114
14,520
997
-
-
72,015
5,866
77,881		 Support
£
-
-
2,452
-
9,770
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
12,222
996
13,218		 Support and
governance
costs
£
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
1,058
303
3,630
-
165
1,813
6,969
(6,969)
-		 2023 Total
£
23,875
1,320
2,452
21,831
9,770
1,178
4,983
3,517
1,058
1,417
18,150
997
165
1,813
92,526
-
92,526

27

It's in the Bag Cancer Support Ltd

Notes to the financial statements

For the year ended 31 December 2024

7. Grants payable

Grants to individuals - 23 grants (2023: 24) 2024
£
8,854		 2023
£
9,770

All grants were paid to individuals in line with the 'Support' charitable objectives as outlined in the trustees report.

8. Net movement in funds

This is stated after charging:

Depreciation
Trustees' remuneration
Trustees' reimbursed expenses
Independent examiner's remuneration:
Independent examination (excluding VAT)		 2024
£
417
2,250
773
1,275		 2023
£
165
Nil
997
1,200

Trustee reimbursed expenses relate to travel expenses for two trustees (2023: one trustee) for the current and prior year.

Trustees' remuneration relates to one trustee (2023: Nil) that gave temporary fundraising support to the charity within the year.

9. Taxation

The charity is exempt from corporation tax as all its income is charitable and is applied for charitable purposes.

10. Staff costs

The charity has no employees. Key management personnel comprise the trustees, who received no remuneration during the year (2023: none).

28

It's in the Bag Cancer Support Ltd

Notes to the financial statements

For the year ended 31 December 2024

11. Tangible fixed assets

Cost
At 1 January 2024
Additions in year
At 31 December 2024
Depreciation
At 1 January 2024
Charge for the year
At 31 December 2024
Net book value
At 31 December 2024
At 31 December 2023
12. Stock
Merchandise for resale
13. Debtors
Prepayments		 Fixtures
fittings &
furniture
£
£
1,383
676
1,346
-
2,729
676
1,383
486
336
81
1,719
567
1,010
109
-
190
2024
£
11,045
2024
£
2,891
Office
Equipment		 Total
£
2,059
1,346
3,405
1,869
417
2,286
1,119
190
2023
£
15,029
2023
£
1,989

29

It's in the Bag Cancer Support Ltd

Notes to the financial statements

For the year ended 31 December 2024

14. Creditors: amounts falling due within 1 year

2024
£
Accruals
5,106
Deferred income (see note 15)
6,765
11,871
15. Deferred income
2024
£
Deferred during the year
6,765
Deferred income relates to ticket income received for the 2025 Test Fest.		 2023
£
4,537
-
4,537
2023
£
-

16. Analysis of net assets between funds

Tangible fixed assets
Current assets
Current liabilities
Net assets at 31 December 2024
Prior year comparative
Tangible fixed assets
Current assets
Current liabilities
Net assets at 31 December 2023		 £
-
1,996
-
1,996
£
-
-
-
-
Restricted
funds
Restricted
funds		 £
1,119
268,854
(11,871)
258,102
£
190
130,371
(4,537)
126,024
General
funds
General
funds		 £
1,119
270,850
(11,871)
Total
funds
260,098
£
190
130,371
(4,537)
Total
funds
126,024

30

It's in the Bag Cancer Support Ltd

Notes to the financial statements

For the year ended 31 December 2024

17. Movements in funds

£
Restricted funds
Openworks
-
Total restricted funds
-
General funds
126,024
Total unrestricted funds
126,024
Total funds
126,024
At 1 January
2024
Unrestricted funds		 £
£
11,700
(9,704)
11,700
(9,704)
244,286
(112,208)
244,286
(112,208)
255,986
(121,912)
Income Expenditure		 £
1,996
At 31
December
2024
1,996
258,102
258,102
260,098

Purposes of restricted funds

Openworks A grant of £11,700 was very generously donated by the Openworks Foundation. This is a restricted grant with the funds to be spent on costs associated with support to individuals and families affected by Testicular Cancer. These costs will include the travel grants and diagnosis packs issued by IITB.

Prior year comparative

Prior year comparative
Restricted funds
National Lottery
Total restricted funds
General funds
Total unrestricted funds
Total funds
Unrestricted funds		 £
7,796
7,796
54,074
54,074
61,870
At 1
January
2023		 £
£
-
(7,796)
-
(7,796)
156,680
(84,730)
156,680
(84,730)
156,680
(92,526)
Expenditure
Income		 £
-
At 31
December
2023
-
126,024
126,024
126,024

18. Related party transactions

There were no related party transactions during the year (2023: none).

31