Annual Report and Financial Statements
for the period ending 31 March 2025
Contents
Trustees’ report
Examiner’s report – under separate cover
Receipts and payments account – under separate cover
Trustees, report for the period ending 31 March 2025
Reference and Administrative details of the Charity, its Trustees and Advisors.
The Trustees during the financial period up to and including the date the report was approved were:
Name Position Dates
Alexandra Dunn - Appointed 17th February 2026 Jacqueline Taylor - Appointed September 2019 Olivia Dunn - Appointed September 2019 Trevor Snell - Appointed 7th February 2023 Angela Shaw - Appointed 23rd August 2023 Kimberley Shedden - Resigned 17th February 2026
Charity Number
The Charity was registered with the Charity Commission for England and Wales, Number 1185295 , on 13[th ] September 2019
Principal Address Bankers Address Virgin Money Mothershare 7 Waterhouse Street 16 Bank Edge Road Halifax HX1 1XZ Halifax HX2 8JU
Independent Examiner - Edward Shanks
Structure, governance and management:
The Charity is governed by a constitution adopted on 13 September 2019. The Charity is a Charitable Incorporated Organisation (CIO) formed on 13 September 2019.
Method of recruitment and appointment of trustees:
The Trustees of the Charity are appointed/reappointed by the members at the AGM. Trustees are recruited by advertisement and interview.
The Charity’s objectives and activities:
Objectives
The prevention and relief of poverty among socially and/or economically disadvantaged families and pregnant women in Calderdale and the surrounding areas, who are unable to provide essential equipment, clothing and other items for babies and children. Supplying them with such items free of charge through a referral service from external agencies.
Activities
Mothershare became a CIO on 13 September 2019, having been founded by two sisters in June 2015. At the end of October 2024, Mothershare moved premises from Ogden in Halifax. It was a decision taken after much thought and consideration in order to reduce some of the outgoing costs on our Charity. We are now based in Illingworth, Halifax and still work on a referral basis to provide/loan essential items to families and children from birth to late teens.
Our referrals come from local statutory agencies which include Calderdale Council Family Intervention Team, Midwives, Health Visitors, The Women’s Refuge, The Women’s Centre, Schools, West Yorkshire Police and Healthy Mums to mention a few.
Examples of the essential items we provide / loan are:
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A maternity and newborn pack for a Mum to enable her to leave hospital.
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A cot, mattress and bedding to families whose baby does not have a safe place to sleep.
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Safety gates to families in rented accommodation with no internal door.
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A pram to allow mum to get out and about.
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Hygiene Packs for Year 5/6 school children.
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A bundle of essential clothes and items for families finding themselves homeless after fleeing abusive situations.
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Birthday bundles which include presents, a cake, sweets to share at school, banners and a card ensuring no child feels left out.
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Christmas Eve boxes and Christmas Gifts for many children throughout Calderdale so that all children receive some presents at this special time of year.
We initially intended to provide a service in the North Halifax area of Calderdale but recently we have seen our service spread further to areas in Brighouse and Oldham. Mothershare is led by our team of committed volunteers and this small group of dedicated people do an amazing job running the office as well as helping to raise funds, sort and wash donations in our stockroom, collate items for each referral and deliver them. Without these wonderful individuals we could not provide our much needed service.
Many of the items we provide or loan out are pre-loved and new items which are generously donated by the general public. However there are some items we have to buy new, mainly, cot mattresses, safety gates and underwear and our fundraising efforts help towards supplying these essential items.
We have received donations of money from Local Giving, funds from a sponsored walk, a donation from a funeral collection, many essential items from local businesses and one grant from The Community Foundation for Calderdale.
Public benefit statement
In setting our objectives and planning our activities, our Trustees have given serious consideration to the Charity Commission’s general guidance.
Achievements and Performance
During 2024/2025 Mothershare:
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Responded to 273 referrals
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Provided 1027 items (N.B 1 item can be a bundle which would include multiple items)
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Helping 573 children
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Supplied 59 families with a hygiene packs
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8 Birthday Bundles
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Provided over 500 families with Christmas gifts and Christmas Eve boxes
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Personal Hygiene Packs for Year 5/6 school children at a school in the HX2 area.
We continue to be extremely busy and are supporting refugee families alongside the local families who continue to struggle for a variety of different reasons alongside the cost-of-living increases.
The hygiene packs we have been able to provide with a grant from CFFC again and these have been very well received. Included in these packs are essential house cleaning products and personal hygiene products such as washing powder, anti-bacterial spray, wipes, shower gel, shampoo, toothbrushes and toothpaste. This has allowed families to use their limited funds more effectively.
We have continued our fundraising efforts through various events over this year to help further boost our funds.
At Christmas, we had another very busy year and provided over 500 children with Christmas presents and Christmas Eve boxes.
We have also provided Birthday Bundles throughout the year as we believe birthdays are special. Our bundles contain a cake, gifts, a goodie bag, banners and a card.
We regularly receive some amazing feedback, showing appreciation for what we do. This is received verbally, via emails and letters from the agencies we deal with, e.g. midwives and social workers and sometimes from our service users themselves.
Financial Review
The net receipts for the period were £9,105.00
This total includes net receipts of £5,605.00 on unrestricted funds and net receipts of £3,500.00 on restricted funds.
Reserves Policy
The Charity’s free reserves at the period end were £5,605.00
Our reserves policy is to hold approximately 6 months of unrestricted expenditure plus additional amounts, calculated using a risk-based approach.
Our target reserve equates to £4,998.00. The current level of reserve is therefore £607.00 above the amount calculated by our reserve policy.
The board will continue to monitor the level of reserves on a regular basis and take action to reduce running costs or increase income through applying for grants and fundraising activities as necessary.
Declaration
The Trustees declare that they have approved the Trustees’ report
above.
Signed on behalf of the board of trustees
Signed: A. Dunn
Date: 11/03/2026
Name: Alexandra Dunn (Trustee)
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Independent examiner's reporttothe Trustees of Mothershare Charitable Incorporated Organls8tlon ('the CIO,). Charlty Number 1185295 I report tothe Charitytrustees on my examination of the accounts of the CIOforthe period ended 31 March 2025. which are set out on pages 6 to 9. R8sponsibilities and basis of the report As the trustees ofthe CIO. you are responsible forthe preparation ofthe accounts in accordance with the requirements of the Charities Act 20111'the Act,). I report in respect of my examination of the CIO'S accounts as carried out under section 145 of the 2011 Act. In carryingout my examination, I have followed all the applicable directions given by the Charity Commission under section 145(5)Ib) of the Act. Ind8pendent examlner's statement I have completed myexamination. I confirm th8t no material matters have come to my attention in connection with the examination. giving me cause to believe that in 8ny material respect: Accounting records were not kept in respect of the CIO as required by section 130 ofthe Act, orThe accounts do not accord with those records. I have no concerns and have come across no other matters in connection with the examination to which attention should be drawn in orderto enable a proper understanding ofthe accounts to he reached Edward Shanks 22 Fieldhead Avenue, Rochdale, OL115JU ACA Chartered Accountant 5" March 2025