2020-12-31-accounts - Northumberland Dog Rescue

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Alexa’s Animals

Dog Rescue

Registered Charity 1170022

Annual Report and Financial Statement 1[st] January 2020 – 31[st] December 2020

1. Administrative Details

Registered Charity Number 1170022

Working Name Alexa’s Animals Dog Rescue

Address for charity correspondence Patterson’s Cottage, Charlton Mires, Alnwick, NE66 2TJ

Trustees (at 31 Dec 2020) David Francis Chairman

Alexa Nisbet Treasurer Carole Green Secretary Samantha Gibson Bridget Kohler M David Young MRCVS

Financial Advisor Russell Bambling, Lucid Accountants & Business Advisors Ltd

Bankers

Barclays Bank

Alnwick

Independent Financial Examiner

Nigel Jack, ACMA, MBA (from 2021)

2. Structure, Governance and Management

Alexa’s Animals has been operating since the early 1990s, but it only became a registered charity much more recently. The charity is a Charitable Incorporated Organisation, governed by a constitution which was formally registered with the Charity Commission on 3 November 2016.

The objects of the charity are to relieve the suffering of dogs in need of care, rescue and attention, and in particular to provide and maintain facilities and homes for the reception, care and treatment of such animals by such means that are exclusively charitable.

The trustees are also the sole members of the CIO, although it is possible that a broader membership structure might be established in the future. The charity’s Annual General Meetings are open to all of our volunteers and supporters

The trustees normally meet at roughly five-weekly intervals, but this pattern was severely disrupted during 2020. There are no committees. It is likely that, in due course, it will be necessary to form a trading subsidiary company, which is wholly owned by the charity, in order to continue some of our income-generating activities, including our charity shops.

3. Recruitment and Appointment of Trustees

The constitution, as amended on 23 August 2017, provides for a board of trustees of between 3 and 9 people. Two of the original trustees, Alexa Nisbet and Carole Green, were re-appointed as trustees, following the end of their initial 3-year term of office. No further trustees were appointed during the year.

4. Review of Achievements and Performance

We began 2020 with tremendous optimism. We had started work on preparing a new strategic plan, we were looking to expand our staff and volunteers’ team, and we were developing new marketing streams. Then, in February the Covid 19 worldwide pandemic struck. The Government’s ‘lockdown’ restrictions, and associated precautionary measures, had a significant impact on our activities, which have lasted well into the subsequent year.

From the start, we have operated the kennels through two elements: our charitable dog-rescue activities, and a commercial dog boarding and day-care service. We also opened a charity shop during the previous year to provide a new income source to compensate for a general reduction in income from on-street collections. The commercial activities exist to support our charitable activities, which would not

otherwise be viable if based on fund-raising efforts alone. The Covid 19 pandemic caused the closure not only of our shop, but also of the domestic and international holiday industry on which so much of our boarding and daycare income had depended. Our kennels remained open throughout, but as a precaution we significantly curtailed visits by our volunteers and the wider community. Our staff team continued to operate our core charitable activity, the intake and rehoming of dogs, but with significantly greater Covid-security measures in place.

i) New homes and new lives for dogs. Our main charitable purpose is to rescue dogs who are facing ill-treatment or uncertainty, and to find appropriate and loving new homes for them. Dogs come to us for a variety of reasons, for example: family breakdown, owners going into residential care, household poverty, a change of home circumstances, owners not being able to care responsibly, etc. We are also one of the few rehoming options that are open to the County Council’s animal welfare and adult social care services.

Despite the pandemic, we continued our work throughout the year. We rehomed 52 dogs, with the busiest months being March and September, though most of the year was consistent. We took in a large number of Border Terriers and crosses from a joint raid between the police and the Northumberland County Council animal welfare team . This meant that in March 11 dogs found new loving homes.

Lockdown saw a great demand for dogs and we had to pay close attention to differentiate between those who had given adoption a lot of thought, and to those who just wanted a dog for the lockdown period. Lurchers seem now to be the dogs who ‘stick’ in kennels, as Staffies have gained in popularity and started to shake off the bad press they had previously received, Lurchers have taken their place as the dogs filling every rescue. They often come to us in poor body condition and often with a nervous disposition.

We have managed to rehome quite a few lurchers throughout 2020 including our longest resident Chance who had been at the kennels over a year. They are now the dogs we take in most often from the Animal Welfare Officers as strays and take the longest to rehome.

We wait with interest (and some nervousness) now to see the result that the end of lockdown will bring and whether we will see the influx of ‘lockdown puppies’ coming into the rescues.

ii) Dog boarding and day care service. The year 2020 was difficult for everyone due to the Covid pandemic and has had a huge impact on the kennels with the boarding kennels taking a massive hit.

In 2019 our overnight stays had been nearly 2,500 whereas 2020 we only achieved 758 overnight stays ,with this made up of 553 single dogs, 164 two dog families and 41 three dog families . Our day care only reached 68 whereas the previous years had been 131. Due to the lockdowns our busiest months were January, February and September. It did mean that we could use this time to do some kennel and site maintenance and spend more time with our rescue dogs.

5. Premises

We own and operate the premises which are known as Patterson’s Cottage Boarding Kennels, which are located beside the A1 road, some 5 miles North of Alnwick. They include 25 kennel units, each with its own ‘run’, an enclosed exercise paddock, various office and storage buildings, and the cottage itself which is let on an assured shorthold tenancy to our Kennels Manager. During the year, we undertook a range of maintenance tasks, as well as installing a sand pit, sensory garden and a presentation area using artificial turf. We also began to plan for the installation of a summer-house type of building, which could give some shelter to our volunteers and staff, as well as providing overnight accommodation when a relief manager is needed on-site. However, this project was deferred, pending the ending of the Covid lockdown, and possibly attracting some grant aid.

During the year, we continued to assist Highways England and their consultants with a range of investigative surveys on various aspects of the biodiversity, ambient noise etc in the locality, in preparation for the planned dualling of the A1 trunk road. HE subsequently submitted to the Government an application for a Development Consent Order ( a form of planning application for public infrastructure). We await news of the likely timetable for building the section of dual carriageway in our area, between Denwick and North Charlton.

6. Voluntary activity

i) Fund-raising With the exception of a pop-up café held in Bamburgh on New Year’s Day, the ensuing Covid pandemic led to a complete cessation of such events and of street collections.

We continued to be the chosen Charity of the year by Kingston Park Pets at Home store.. The staff there voluntarily raised much needed funds, and we were in receipt of pallets of food for our dogs, and many of their customers donated food, toys, treats etc.

We were also pleased to be chosen by local computer hardware company AlnCom, to be their selected charity, and we benefitted from several fund-raising events. They have also offered us free access to their wireless broadband system, the installation of which was delayed as a result of the Covid pandemic.

Gift Aid and monthly donations have increased throughout the year, which was a welcome source of additional funding.

ii) Charity shop The operation of our charity shop on Wooler High Street was hit hard by the Covid lockdown which required us to remain shut for lengthy periods. However, it had already proved to be highly popular both with local residents and also holidaymakers, as well as being a somewhat more comfortable means of fundraising for our volunteers. We also introduced on a modest scale some on-line selling of donated goods. Towards the end of the year, we began to explore the possibility of opening a second shop, in Amble.

iii) Dog care and other help To address Covid-security concerns, we reluctantly reduced the involvement of our dog walkers within the kennels themselves, and we carried out a certain amount of our rehoming activity at arms’ length, making use of video calls and other remote means. We continued to receive help with doggrooming, grounds maintenance, joinery, general repairs, transport, gardening, veterinary advice, and much more.

iii) Overall On average we have approx. 25-30 volunteers covering dog walking and fundraising. We estimate that our charity shop volunteers contributed about 4000 hours during the year. In addition, our trustees have contributed about 1000 hours, during the year: not only in the formalities of governance, but also in supplying professional input, accountancy, publicity, website administration, public education, staff training etc

7. Financial Review

The Covid pandemic made a significant impact on our activities, which in turn impacted on our finances. The following is a commentary of the key aspects of our new financial position

i) Income: the near-cessation of the international and domestic holiday market for much of the year unsurprisingly caused a massive decrease in the income received from boarding and daycare, while the closure of our charity shop had a similar impact. However, we received a number of gifts from our supporters and trusts, many of them quite spontaneous and unsolicited. We also received several grants from the Government, via the County Council, linked to the Covid situation. We were also able to operate a staff furlough arrangement for about 5 months, under the Government’s Job Retention Scheme, which brought us a little extra income.

ii) Staff We continue to be primarily a volunteer-led organisation, but the Covid situation led us to reduce this activity significantly, and to operate the kennels using a small staff contingent. Our part-time staff were on a ‘rolling furlough’ system from March to July. Our staff team consists of a full-time Manager (Sue Hamblett) who lives on the premises, and 3-4 parttime assistants on variable hours. We have introduced a range of goodpractice policies and procedures. We participate in the NEST pension scheme. During the year, our staff were able to make use of the quietness of the Covid lockdown to spend some time on working towards accredited relevant qualifications.
iii) Premises: in contrast with the previous year, our expenditure on maintenance and improvements to our kennels was quite modest. We made various upgrades to the kennel runs, and we established a sensory garden and also a mud-free enclosed display area for the dogs. We also reconfigured and improved some of our ‘front-of house’ area, including the reception office and front garden. We began to develop a project to install a multi-purpose building in the exercise paddock, to give a covered space for volunteers and staff, as well as accommodating a relief manager to stay overnight, if and when our manager is away. In addition to our kennels and cottage, we also have a charity shop on the main street in Wooler, and storage facilities just outside the town.
iv) Overall financial position despite the very abnormal conditions, we ended the year with a modest surplus of about £1.7k, due in no small part to the exceptional income which we received as gifts (including from Support Adoption for Pets, and Alncom) and from the government’s various Covid assistance measures. We know that these would not be sustained into 2021, and the shorter-term prospect for a revival in our kennels income would be in doubt. Also, with a very unlikely return to traditional street collections and charitable events, our attention has turned to establishing a second charity shop, to support our dog rescue activities.

8. Thanks

We are extremely fortunate to benefit from an enormous number of friends and supporters, who have helped in so many ways: whether with caring for the dogs, financial help, practical work at the kennels, donations of dog food, co-operation with partner organisations, governance and management, technical expertise, and so much more. Our grateful thanks, to you all.

ALEXA'S ANIMALS, Charity Registration Number 1170022

Financial Statement1 January 2020 to 31 December 2020

Income

ALEXA'S ANIMALS, Charity Registration Number 1170022	ALEXA'S ANIMALS, Charity Registration Number 1170022	ALEXA'S ANIMALS, Charity Registration Number 1170022	ALEXA'S ANIMALS, Charity Registration Number 1170022	ALEXA'S ANIMALS, Charity Registration Number 1170022	ALEXA'S ANIMALS, Charity Registration Number 1170022
Financial Statement1 January 2020 to 31 December 2020
Income
		2020		2019

	Donations Unrestricted	22,516		35,009
	Adoptions	7,721		6,080
	Fundraising (events)	4,898		8,249
	Grants (Restricted)			63,063
	Grants (Unrestricted)	28,106
	Boarding-Kennels	16,226		38,920
	Rental Income	6,000		6,000
	Shop Sales	22,928		13,040
	Gift Aid	3,683		16,305
	Other–Interest	44
			112,122		186,666
Sub-total
	Reserves Brought Forward		48,849		69,672

Total			160,971		256,338

Expenditure

Kennels
	Kennels (rent)
	Insurance	2,230		2,906
	Vet Fees	23,637		30,048
	Dog Training			136
	Kennel Consumables	3,217		5,715

Shop
	Shop Expenditure	6,320		2,621

Marketing/PR
	Advertising			1,499
	Fund Raising Expenses	168
	Marketing Costs	259

Administration Costs

	Bank Charges	500		552
	Card Charges	976		799
	Wages and Salaries	41,962		40,006
	Pension Costs	3,044		2,346
	Staff Training and Welfare (and PPE)	854		752
	Motor Expenses	521		985
	Office Supplies	87		283
	Licences	34		34
	Telephone and Internet	1,328		1,742

Premises Costs	Loan Repayments Kennel Purchases/Improvements Repairs and Maintenance Electric Costs Water Rates	13,340 5,263 5,029 1,626		13,340 93,394 9,026 1,305






Sub-total TOTAL INCOME INCLUDING RESERVES TOTAL EXPENDITURE			110,395 160,971 110,395		207,489 256,338 207,489

50,576

48,849

END OF YEAR BALANCE

ALEXA'S ANIMALS, Charity Registration Number 1170022

Financial Statement1 January 2020 to 31 December 2020, continued

END OF YEAR BALANCE	END OF YEAR BALANCE			50,576			48,849
ALEXA'S ANIMALS, Charity Registration Number 1170022
Financial Statement1 January 2020 to 31 December 2020, continued

					2020		2019
Composed of:
	Contingency Fund			35,000			35,000
	Premises Maintenance/Improvements			12,076			10,349
	Vehicle and Equipment Replacement			3,500			3,500

				50,576			48,849


Balance Sheet
	Fixed Assets
		Patterson’s Cottage			391,815		391,815

	Current Assets:
		Bank–Current Account		55,112		66,725

	Current Liabilities
		Northumberland County Council

		Mortgage-One Year		(13,340)		(13,340)

			Net Assets		41,772		53,385

					433,587		445,200

	Long Term Liabilities
		Northumberland County
		Mortgage–Greater than One		(127,651)		(137,407)
		NB: Loan outstanding (140,991)
					(127,651)		(137,407)



					305,936		307,793

While a full audit has not been carried out, I certify that the financial statements represent a true and fair view of the financial position of Alexa’s Animals Charity

Nigel Jack, ACMA, MBA 1 Pickard Bank Meanwood Leeds LS6 2SJ