REPORT OF THE TRUSTEES AND UNAUDITED FINANCIAL STATEMENTS FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31 DECEMBER 2022 FOR FROM ME TO YOU
REGISTERED COMPANY NUMBER: CE017498 (England and Wales) REGISTERED CHARITY NUMBER: 1183413
FROM ME TO YOU
CONTENTS OF THE FINANCIAL STATEMENTS FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31 DECEMBER 2022
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| Report of the Trustees | 1 to 7 |
| Independent Examiners Report | 8 |
| Statement of Financial Activities | 9 |
| Balance Sheet | 10 |
| Notes to the Financial Statements | 11 to 14 |
FROM ME TO YOU
REPORT OF THE TRUSTEES FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31 DECEMBER 2022
The Trustees who are also directors of the charity for the purposes of the Companies Act 2006, present their report with the financial statements of the charity for the year ended 31 December 2022. The trustees have adopted the provisions of 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 (FRS 102) (effective 1 January 2019).
The Trustees have adopted the Receipts and Payments method of accounting as the charity's gross income was less than £250,000.
OBJECTIVES AND ACTIVITIES
Objectives and aims
From Me to You tackles the social isolation often experienced by cancer patients. It encourages and educates people to stay connected with friends, relatives, and strangers by writing letters. The Donate A Letter campaign asks people to write anonymous letters to cancer patients receiving treatment. The charity receives 10,000 letters a year from all over the world, which are distributed across the UK to hospitals, cancer centres and individuals' homes.
Significant activities
During the period to 31 December 2022, the charity achieved its objectives and aims through:
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Education through on line, hybrid and in-person workshops, presentations, writing groups and interaction with companies.
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Production and distribution of material to enable and empower people to connect through writing.
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Maintaining an up-to-date website and on-line presence to educate and connect.
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Distributing letters to hospitals, cancer centres and homes.
Public Benefit
A 2013 Macmillan and University of Southampton report concluded that 30% of cancer patients experience social isolation and of those 25% go on to suffer from depression. Our own research has found that cancer patients not only experience friends and family moving away from them when they have cancer, but that they, the patients, also isolate themselves, perhaps no longer able to connect via work, school gates or social activities.
We aim to inspire, empower and educate two groups of people: those who have a friend or relative suffering from cancer and want to find a way to connect; and those who want to make a connection from a human point of view from one stranger to another.
A written communication is a way to maintain a connection with someone suffering from cancer, and at the same time reduce any social isolation and loneliness they may be experiencing. At the same time the letter does not invade the patient's privacy but provides them with a connection to the world beyond the cancer and to be a supportive friend or relative. Those receiving letters
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through our Donate A Letter scheme receive the same connections to the real world and experience the kind support of an unmet friend. The communication gives them a moment of distraction. One of our recipients described the experience: 'As I read the letter, just for that moment, I felt normal.'
The writer will also benefit from the activity as it affords them the opportunity to do something positive for someone else, as well as giving them space to be creative and mindful. A 2013 BMC Public Health report, and work produced out of Harvard, concludes that doing activities to help another, increases our own sense of wellbeing and furthermore, this wellbeing is additionally enhanced when the giving creates a social connection.
There is currently no other organisation in the UK offering the cancer care guidance and related activities to support cancer patients in the way that From Me to You does. A letter provides a very specific and unique connection between two individuals. It is exceptionally low cost and can be easily tailored to needs - a short postcard or a long letter can both provide connection. As an increasing percentage of the population now live alone the threat of social isolation during illness is heightened, and as more and more of us are touched by cancer, either directly or indirectly, we need to feel comfortable with a disease which is so prevalent. As we move away from the pandemic we had hoped that isolation may decrease but as cancer waiting lists extend in the UK, those living with cancer are experiencing greater uncertainty and increased failing health, so heightening their isolation. Around 300,000 people receive their first treatment for cancer each year in England's NHS. By December 2022, there are 27,500 patients waiting for NHS cancer treatment. This treatment backlog has been falling since late October 2022 but is still over double the pre-pandemic figure. Creating a connection for support is as much needed now as it was during the pandemic.
Vision
Write to Connect.
Mission
From Me to You focuses on alleviating cancer patient loneliness and isolation by empowering and educating people to connect via letters and cards.
From a letter recipient
“ These letters have been a godsend. As my body continues to fall apart, these letters, in an odd way, are holding me together. Please, please continue. They mean so much.” (Pip J : Sept 2022)
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ACHIEVEMENT AND PERFORMANCE
Charitable Activities
From Me to You provides a solution to the social isolation so often experienced by cancer patients as their illness not only keeps them away from work and social environments but also causes them to be vulnerable for reasons of mental health.
During the period of this report, From Me to You was able to extend its reach to isolated and lonely people living with cancer via its Donate A Letter programme and by educating friends and family of patients to help them stay connected.
The Donate A Letter programme delivered over 10,000 letters to those in hospitals, cancer centres and at home and engaged with 4 new outlets in Worcestershire (Breast Haven Unit), Dorset (Weldmar Hospice), London (Kings College Hospital) and Cambridgeshire (Robert Horrell Peterborough Cancer Wellbeing Centre). These increased our total number of outlets to 20, with hundreds more letters being sent, every month, directly to homes. Many Donate A Letter writers tell us that the confidence writing for the charity has given them, means that they now connect with their own friends and family who are going through cancer treatment.
Whilst we receive weekly feedback from letter recipients, it is especially gratifying and endorsing when we hear from medical staff.
“Today I have been with the haematology teams and there has been some really lovely feedback about the letters. We now have the ward matrons involved in handing them out.” (Kareena M, Kings College Hospital Social Services Team)
“We wanted to thank you for the on-going resource of letters – they are a fantastic support to so many.” (Emma - Head of Services Stoke Royal Hospital.)
To service this enhanced demand for monthly letters, we increased our writer and supporter database by 30%. This increased engagement was very much facilitated by our new website and branding. After surveying our audience, we created an easier to navigate system for those using our suite of educational services. In the first 2 months after the new site went live in January 2022, we saw an increase in traffic and engagement of 45%.
We have had to navigate a careful balance this year between in-person and online engagement, (as well as hybrid working) to ensure our reach is as great as possible. We felt comfortable to run some in-person workshops post-pandemic, empowering attendees to connect, but we continued the online workshops and presentations to accommodate those still unable to safely leave the house. This additional online service, which we initiated in the pandemic has proved an excellent resource for extending our reach across the UK. We run bi-monthly workshops but are also delighted to be able to reach hundreds of people with in-person events. In communities we have partnered with groups and charities, including The Home Office, Soroptimists, Tangled Greif, Duke of Edinburgh Award, Manchester Health Estates, Give A Few Words, Lewis Foundation and Treatment Bag; and with corporates, including Expedia, VISA, BNY Mellon and Enhance Recruitment. It is through these organisations that we can spread our message, heighten the awareness of the mental health implications of loneliness and isolation for the cancer community and support and drive cancer care initiatives. We are increasingly building on our relationship with Macmillan, providing another service that they can offer in the hospital environment. This is a relationship we have been working hard to secure, and whilst it does not benefit us financially, it extends our reach within the cancer
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community. Through the period we have interacted in person and directly online with over 2,000 people.
This year we initiated a regional hub trial in Peterborough. Our aim to create greater connections between letter recipients and those writing. We have worked through the year with the local Robert Horrell Cancer Centre and built up a fruitful partnership. Our donated letters are available to all visiting the centre and need to be replenished every month. By holding local workshops and fundraising and awareness events, local people can know they are supporting their local community. This trial will be continued into 2023 and if successful will be a blueprint for other regional areas.
We used our 5[th] birthday, World Cancer Day and new branding to secure extensive media coverage with features on national and local radio, in magazines, websites and newspapers and podcasts. We find this a highly successful way to educate people on how to stay connected to a loved one living with cancer. The charity's social media reach is extensive (over 10,000 connected followers) and communicates with an engaged community of donors, supporters, writers and letter recipients. 2022 saw an easing of restrictions meaning we no longer needed to quarantine letters. Some of the processes introduced have been maintained as they were enablers for those with mobility restrictions, so writers can now email their photographed letters or Word document letters to us for us to print off.
We extended our funding streams as pandemic restrictions eased. We were able to host and be supported by fundraising challenges and create greater engagement from corporates as we could attend functions. We raised over £4,500 from the ISPE annual conference and received funding support from teambuilding workshops we hosted. We also continued our letter writing workshop club where attendees pay a monthly subscription to attend as well as asking for donations for our Donate A Letter workshops. We also ran fundraising campaigns eg our Xmas campaign and a 5 For 5 campaign to celebrate our milestone birthday. We also had some success applying for small grants eg St James Place.
The limitations of fundraising throughout the pandemic have caused us to keep healthy reserves. We are comfortable with this decision. We are making plans in 2023 to to run projects, extend marketing reach, engage with a greater number of outlets to increase our number of beneficiaries and improve our CRM systems so through 2023 the reserves will be reduced.
The onboarding of a Treasurer Trustee (Lesley Jepson) has ensured that our fundraising and costs are well managed.
Through 2023 we intend to maximise the marketing opportunity of the publication of our book From Me, To You (Publisher: Spellbound April 2023) both for fundraising and awareness raising; we also intend to recruit a part time charity administrator/marketeer and extend the influence of our hub model and engage volunteer Community Ambassadors to drive this.
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FINANCIAL REVIEW
Principal funding sources
The main sources of funding during the period ended 31 December 2022 has been through grants and public donations. Personal donations have increased this year, but 2022 saw a significant drop in Corporate donations and Grants. This situation will be addressed by the Trustees in 2023.
During 2022 our ability to undertake face-to-face meetings, workshops and presentations increased in the post-Covid world. We also continued to invest significantly in social media activities which meant that our costs increased by 83% on 2021.
Despite our expenditure exceeding our income by 8% this year, we still have a significant surplus in reserves. This is needed to continue to fund activities into 2023 as there is an increased demand for our materials as the awareness of From Me to You grows and isolation and fear of socialising is still evident. The surplus fund will enable us to extend our reach without compromising the quality and quantity of what is already provided to writers and recipients. We plan to extend our services via local hubs, so enhancing the connectivity between community, writers, recipients and supporters.
Incoming Resources
Total incoming resources for the year amounted to £29,895. Significant fundraising activities are:
Trustees and supporters raised funds through completion of various sponsored challenges. Our cofounder Alison completed a hula-hoop challenge raising £2,000 and Trustee Liz completed a walk dressed as a post box raising £2,500. Other funds were raised through birthday donations, ‘inmemory’ donations and many other physical challenges. Our ‘five for five’ initiative encouraged supporters to donate £5 to celebrate our 5[th] birthday.
Our Xmas card stamp appeal in 2022 was also very successful, raising £1,600.
We received a grant of £2,500 from St James Place Foundation to allow us to extend our reach and service more hospitals and cancer centres during the pandemic. We also received £500 in the form of a Costa Community grant.
We received sponsorship from the International Society for Pharmaceutical Engineering at their Annual Awards dinner on 10 November at the Royal Armouries Museum in Leeds. This was a very successful event, at which our co-founder Brian spoke about his personal experiences, increasing awareness and raising around £4,500.
During 2022 we saw donations from the public (including gift aid) increase by 60% compared to 2021.
Outgoing Resources
The main expenditure for the period ended 31 December 2022 is social media consultancy amounting to £17,323. The charity very much relies on having an online presence on three major social media platforms: Twitter, Facebook and Instagram. As a national charity social media builds an online community, encouraging and promoting our aims and objectives as well as providing an avenue to obtaining financial support. During 2022 we increased our face to face contact with supporters and letter writers post-Covid but we still very much operated online so our social media presence remains essential to our supporters, letter writer, beneficiaries and donors.
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Reserves Policy
In order that From Me to You can continue to operate at the highest level and to continue to support the Donate A Letter Scheme, the Trustees have set a reserves policy which requires:
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reserves are maintained at a level which ensures that From Me to You’s core activity can continue during a period of unforeseen activity;
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the ability to provide funds which can be designated at short notice to projects in the event of a perceived need;
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the ability to cover additional management, administration, fundraising and volunteer expenses where necessary;
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a proportion of reserves are maintained in a readily accessible form
Changes in funding and the growing demand for the services of From Me to You require us to review our reserves policy on an annual basis to ensure that service levels and future growth can be adequately funded.
STRUCTURE GOVERNANCE AND MANAGEMENT
Governing document
Constitution of a Charitable Incorporated Organisation (CIO) Whose Only Voting Members Are Its Charitable Trustees.
Adopted: 1[st] December 2018
Approval date: 14[th] May 2019
REFERENCE AND ADMINISTRATIVE DETAILS
Registered Company number
CE017498 (England and Wales)
Registered Charity number
1183413
Registered Office
14 Heathfield Gardens LONDON W4 4JY
Trustees
Mr B Greenley Miss F Smith Ms A Burgin Mrs A James Ms L A Jepson (appointed 23/5/2022) Ms E Kentish Mrs P Thomson-Hall (resigned 1/12/2022)
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Independent Examiner Keith Bennett FCCA Darlington Business Centre 181 Coniscliffe Road Darlington DL3 8DE
Approved by order of the Board of Trustees on 02-Oct-2023 and signed on its behalf by:
L Jepson Trustee
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INDEPENDENT EXAMINER’S REPORT TO THE TRUSTESS OF FROM ME TO YOU
Independent Examiner’s Report to the Trustees of From Me to You (‘The Company’)
I report to the charity Trustees on my examination of the accounts of the Company the year ended 31 December 2022.
Responsibilities and basis of report
As the charity's Trustees of the 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 Act”).
Having satisfied myself that the accounts of the 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 your charity’s accounts as carried out under section 145 of the Charities Act 2011 (‘the 2011 Act’). In carrying out my examination, I have followed all the applicable Directions given by the Charity Commission under section 145(5)(b) of the 2011 Act.
Independent examiner's statement
I have completed my examination. I confirm that no matters have come to my attention in connection with the examination giving me cause to believe:
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accounting records were not kept in respect of the Company as required by section 386 of the 2006 Act; or
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the accounts do not accord with those records; or
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the accounts do not comply with the accounting requirements of section 396 of the 2006 Act 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; or
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the accounts have not been prepared in accordance with the methods and principles of the Statement of Recommended Practice for accounting and reporting by charities (applicable to charities preparing their accounts in accordance with the Financial Reporting Standard applicable in the UK and Republic of Ireland (FRS 102)).
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.
Keith Bennett FCCA Darlington Business Centre 181 Coniscliffe Road Darlington DL3 8DE
Date: 02-Oct-2023
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FROM ME TO YOU
STATEMENT OF FINANCIAL ACTIVITIES FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31 DECEMBER 2022
| INCOME AND ENDOWMENTS FROM Donations and legacies EXPENDITURE ON Charitable activities Other Charitable activities NET INCOME / (EXPENDITURE) RECONCILIATION OF FUNDS Total funds brought forward TOTAL FUNDS CARRIED FORWARD |
2022 2021 Unrestricted Unrestricted funds funds £ £ 29,895 39,730 32,189 17,588 (2,294) 22,142 66,593 44,451 64,299 66,593 |
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The notes form part of these financial statements
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FROM ME TO YOU
BALANCE SHEET 31 DECEMBER 2022
| Notes CURRENT ASSETS Debtors 4 Cash at bank NET CURRENT ASSETS TOTAL ASSETS LESS CURRENT LIABILITIES NET ASSETS FUNDS Unrestricted funds 5 TOTAL FUNDS |
2022 2021 Unrestricted Unrestricted funds funds £ £ 2,170 3,234 62,129 63,359 64,299 66,593 64,299 66,593 64,299 66,593 64,299 66,593 64,299 66,593 64,299 66,593 |
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The charitable company is entitled to exemption from audit under Section 477 of the Companies Act 2006 for the year ended 31 December 2022.
The members have not required the company to obtain an audit of its financial statements for the year ended 31 December 2022 in accordance with Section 476 of the Companies Act 2006.
The Trustees acknowledge their responsibilities for complying with the requirements of the Companies Act 2006 with respect to accounting records (Sections 386 and 387) and the preparation of financial statements (Sections 394 and 395)
These financial statements have been prepared in accordance with the provisions applicable to charitable companies subject to the small companies regime.
The financial statements were approved by the Board of Trustees and authorised for issue on 02-Oct-2023 and were signed on its behalf by:
L Jepson – Trustee
A Burgin – Trustee
The notes form part of these financial statements
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FROM ME TO YOU
NOTES TO THE FINANCIAL STATEMENTS FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31 DECEMBER 2022
1. ACCOUNTING POLICIES
Basis of preparing the financial statements
The financial statements of the charitable company, which is a public benefit entity under FRS 102, have been prepared in accordance with the Charities SORP (FRS 102) ‘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 (FRS102) (effective 1 January 2019)’, Financial Reporting Standard 102 ‘The Financial Reporting Standard applicable in the UK and Republic of Ireland’ and the Companies Act 2006.
The charity has taken advantage of the provisions in the SORP for charities not to prepare a Statement of Cash Flows.
The financial statements have been prepared under the historical cost convention.
Income
All income is recognised in the Statement of Financial Activities once the charity has entitlement to the funds, it is probable that the income will be received and the amount can be measured reliably.
Expenditure
Liabilities are recognised as expenditure as soon as there is a legal or constructive obligation committing the charity to that expenditure, it is probable that a transfer of economic benefit will be required in settlement and the amount of the obligation can be measured reliably. Expenditure has been classified under headings that aggregate all cost related to the category. Where costs cannot be directly attributed to particular headings, they have been allocated to activities on a basis consistent with the use of resources.
Taxation
The charity is exempt from corporation tax on its charitable activities.
Fund accounting
Unrestricted funds are available for use at the discretion of the trustees in furtherance of their charitable objectives
Restricted funds can only be used for particular restricted purposes within the objects of the charity. Restrictions arise when specified by the donor or when funds are raised for particular restricted purposes.
The purpose and use of each fund is included in the notes to the financial statements if applicable
2. TRUSTEES’ REMUNERATION AND BENEFITS
There were no trustees’ remuneration or other benefits for the year ended 31 December 2022 nor for the year ended 31 December 2021
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Trustees’ expenses
Expenses included hotel rooms for trustees attendance at the ISPE event in Leeds and other workshops. Trustee mileage amounted to £271. No expenses were recorded in 2021.
3. COMPARATIVES FOR THE STATEMENT OF FINANCIAL ACTIVITIES
| Unrestricted | ||
|---|---|---|
| fund | ||
| £ | ||
| INCOME AND ENDOWMENTS FROM | ||
| Donations and legacies | 39,730 | |
| EXPENDITURE ON | ||
| Charitable activites | ||
| Other Charitable Activities | 17,588 | |
| NET INCOME | 22,142 | |
| RECONCILIATION OF FUNDS | ||
| Total funds brought forward | 44,451 | |
| TOTAL FUNDS CARRIED FORWARD | 66,593 | |
| 4. DEBTORS: AMOUNTS FALLING DUE | WITHIN ONE YEAR | |
| 2022 | 2021 | |
| £ | £ | |
| Other debtors | 2,170 | 3,234 |
4. DEBTORS: AMOUNTS FALLING DUE WITHIN ONE YEAR
5. MOVEMENT IN FUNDS
| Unrestricted funds General fund TOTAL FUNDS |
At 1/1/22 £ 66,593 66,593 |
Net movement in funds At 31/12/22 £ £ (2,294) 64,299 (2,294) 64,299 |
|---|---|---|
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Net movement in funds, included in the above are as follows:
| Incoming | Resources | Movement | |
|---|---|---|---|
| resources | expended | in funds | |
| £ | £ | £ | |
| Unrestricted funds | |||
| General fund | 29,895 | (32,189) | (2,294) |
| TOTAL FUNDS | 29,895 | (32,189) | (2,294) |
| Comparatives for movement in funds | |||
| Net | |||
| movement | |||
| At 1/1/21 | in funds | At 31/12/21 | |
| £ | £ | £ | |
| Unrestricted funds | |||
| General fund | 44,451 | 22,142 | 66,593 |
| TOTAL FUNDS | 44,451 | 22,142 | 66,593 |
| Comparative net movement in funds, included in the above are as follows: | |||
| Incoming | Resources | Movement | |
| resources | expended | in funds | |
| £ | £ | £ | |
| Unrestricted funds | |||
| General fund | 39,730 | (17,588) | 22,142 |
| TOTAL FUNDS | 39,730 | (17,588) | 22,142 |
| A current year 12 months and prior year 12 months combined position is as | follows: | ||
| Net | |||
| movement | |||
| At 1/1/21 | in funds | At 31/12/22 | |
| £ | £ | £ | |
| Unrestricted funds | |||
| General fund | 44,451 | 19,848 | 64,299 |
| TOTAL FUNDS | 44,451 | 19,848 | 64,299 |
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A current year 12 months and prior year 12 months combined net movement in funds, included in the above are as follows:
| Unrestricted funds General fund TOTAL FUNDS |
Incoming resources £ 69,625 69,625 |
Resources Movement expended in funds £ £ (49,777) 19,848 (49,777) 19,848 |
|---|---|---|
6. RELATED PARTY DISCLOSURES
There we no related party transactions for the year ended 31 December 2022
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