Hamworthy Hedgehog Rescue
Charity Number: 1186680
Trustees' Annual Report &
Financial Statements
for the Period 1[st] January 2020 to 31[st] December 2020
14[th] January 2021
Hamworthy Hedgehog Rescue Trustees’ Annual Report & Financial Statements
for the Financial Period from 1[st] January 2020 to 31[st] December 2020
Reference & Administration Details
Charity Details:
Hamworthy Hedgehog Rescue
The charity is a Charitable Incorporated Organisation, registration no: 1186680, registered with the Charity Commission on 29[th] Nov 2019.
The charity is registered with HM Revenue & Customs.
Prior to registration as a CIO, Hamworthy Hedgehog Rescue was an unregistered (below the £5000pa threshold) small charity of the same name.
Charity’s Address
40 Egmont Road, Hamworthy, Poole, Dorset, BH16 5BZ Phone: 07587 925476 Email: info@hamworthyhedgehogrescue.org.uk Website: hamworthyhedgehogrescue.org.uk Facebook: facebook.com/HamworthyHedgehogRescue/ Twitter: twitter.com/RescueHedgehog
Names of the Charity Trustees who Manage the Charity
James Matthew Dunne Tracy Elizabeth Dunne Howard Skelton Sally Louise Dark
Names & Addresses of Advisors
None
Bank
CAF Bank, 25 Kings Hill Avenue, Kings Hill, West Malling, Kent ME19 4JQ.
Structure, Governance & Management
Type of Governing Document:
Constitution – based on the Charity Commission’s model governing document for Foundation Charitable Incorporated Organisations, ie: where the Trustees are the only Members of the charity.
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Governance
The charity is governed by the Trustees and meetings are held quarterly, or more frequently if it is deemed necessary. Additional Trustees can be appointed by way of an annual general meeting. All newly appointed and existing Trustees are reminded regularly of their responsibilities.
Risk Management
The Trustees have identified major risks which face the charity and are satisfied that systems are in place to mitigate the effect of those risks. Trustees take reputational, operational and financial risk very seriously. Risks are monitored regularly and managed positively to limit the adverse consequences that can arise from unfavourable events.
Organisation
The Trustees continue to discuss the financial affairs and management of the charity, and to leave the day to day running of the charity to its Founder Tracy Dunne and Co-Founder Jim Dunne. In the event of any need to acquire capital items, this is presented to the trustees for their decision.
Trustee Selection Methods:
There must be at least three charity trustees. In accordance with the Constitution, Trustees are appointed or re-appointed for a term of four years by a resolution passed at a properly convened meeting of the charity trustees.
In appointing Trustees due consideration is given to ensuring that the Trustees have, between them, the skills and experience necessary to manage the charity effectively and in accordance with charity law.
Objects
Statutory Declaration on Public Benefit
The object of the CIO is for the benefit of the public; To further the conservation and preservation of the hedgehog species by providing a rescue, care and rehabilitation service for sick, injured, or orphaned hedgehogs, with the aim of eventually releasing them back to the wild, or appropriate protected sites for those with lifelong disabilities, and who can benefit from quality of life within a controlled "wild" environment.
Activities & Performance
Statutory Declaration
The Trustees of Hamworthy Hedgehog Rescue confirm that they have paid due regard to the guidance issued by the Charity Commission on public benefit in deciding what activities the charity should undertake.
Hedgehog Care and Rehabilitation
During 2020, Hamworthy Hedgehog Rescue cared for 698 hedgehogs, releasing 96 overwintered hedgehogs back to the wild by late April 2020, and a further 404 throughout the year. We have achieved an 73% success outcome rate, thanks to the commitment and hard work of our volunteers and the continuing support of local vets.
We overwintered 149 hedgehogs for the winter of 2020 - 2021.
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We saw a 14% increase in the number of hogs in care over the previous year, which stretched our time and resources to the maximum. Once again, we used foster carers over the winter, who would assist Hamworthy Hedgehog Rescue by caring for hedgehogs in their own homes. This meant we were able to care for more hedgehogs than we would otherwise have been able to.
This foster care arrangement worked well, and almost doubled the number of hedgehogs that we were able to take in, and also meant that we did not have to turn any hedgehogs away.
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698 Hedgehogs Entered Hamworthy Hedgehog Rescue
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500 were released to the wild
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72 were fostered out over the winter
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149 were overwintered in the rescue
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189 hedgehogs were euthanised or died due to their injuries/illness. This figure includes those hedgehogs that were dead on arrival, as we record these too.
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29 litters were hand reared, with a total of 110 hoglets between them.
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9 rear limb amputees were released into enclosed gardens where they could be monitored by the homeowner for their progress, health and wellbeing.
All release sites are carefully vetted and wherever possible the hedgehogs are released back to the area in or near which they were found. We have a clearly laid out release policy in place.
Hamworthy Hedgehog Rescue currently has 30 volunteer helpers, without whom we could not operate. The volunteers work on a rota system with shifts of 3 hours. We usually have 4 volunteers per day to assist with the cleaning, feeding and routine weighing of the hedgehogs. Volunteers also assist with collecting hedgehogs from finders.
Disposition of Hedgehogs Entering Hamworthy Hedgehog Rescue
Other Activities
Hamworthy Hedgehog Rescue has successfully continued to raise public awareness of conservation issues relating to hedgehogs, and the way individuals might support our work, through several articles in national and local press. Posters and leaflets offer seasonally appropriate information and advice. Information is also available on our website and via social media. Our Facebook page has almost 6000 followers, and posts regularly receive over 1000 reactions.
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We carried out research by collecting data to establish the most common causes for hedgehogs requiring veterinary help, the disposition of hedgehogs that came into our care and where they were released. This data was shared with the Dorset Mammal Group to enable County wide data to be built up.
Some 400 hedgehogs were microchipped prior to release. Every adult hedgehog that comes into our care is scanned for a microchip as part of our admission procedure. Several hedgehogs were found to have microchips on entry, some of which had previously been released by Hamworthy Hedgehog Rescue, and some by other local rescues. This enabled us to obtain previous treatment records for these hedgehogs, and data was shared with or by other local rescues as required.
We maintained contact with a network of hedgehog rescuers, carers, rehabilitators and hedgehog friendly vets across Dorset and the UK by way of social media, email, our website and held meetings via Microsoft Teams and Zoom, where tips and information on all things hedgehog were discussed and shared.
Due to COVID-19 all public events and our two planned fundraising events were cancelled. However, we continued to offer advice via telephone, Facebook and our website.
We worked closely with other local hedgehog rescues, each referring hedgehogs to the other when this would mean help was available quicker. During our busy period, we were able to use spare capacity at other rescues to ensure that quality of care was not affected by high numbers in care.
Financial Review
Principal Sources of Funding and Outgoings
Hamworthy Hedgehog Rescue’s principal source of funds is private donations.
The charity was successful with grant applications to Lush Charity Pot and Wiggly Wigglers COVID Support fund, with £3,500 and £200 being awarded to the charity respectively.
Hamworthy Hedgehog Rescue are registered as a charity with HMRC so that Gift Aid may be reclaimed on donations where the donor indicates that is their wish.
Statement of the Charity's Policy on Reserves
The Charity’s policy on reserves is to generate and maintain a balance which is sufficient:
a) to preserve the financial viability of the Charity in the event that unforeseen and/or unavoidable circumstance precipitate a short-term fall in its income;
b) to enable the Charity, in the interests of meeting its objectives, to fund short-term deficits in a cash budget, e.g. money may need to be spent before donations are received and to cover the risk of unforeseen emergency or other unexpected need for funds, e.g. an unexpected large vets bill.
For these purposes the Charity will endeavour to generate and maintain reserves which are at least 20% of its annual turnover.
Details of Any Funds Materially in Deficit
The Trustees declare that the charity had no funds which were materially in deficit at the date of the statement of assets & liabilities.
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State of the Charity’s Finances
Like most other charities, COVID-19 has affected the charities fundraising activities, however donations have continued to come in at a healthy rate.
Hamworthy Hedgehog Rescue’s current resources from unrestricted funds are sufficient to meet its outgoings for at least six months.
All the indications are that this will remain the case for the foreseeable future.
Particulars of Any Outstanding Guarantee Given by the Charity
The Trustees declare that the charity has given no guarantee where potential liability is outstanding at the date of the statement of assets & liabilities.
Particulars of Any Outstanding Debt
The Trustees declare that the charity has no outstanding debts which are secured by an express charge on any of the assets of the charity at the date of the statement of assets & liabilities.
Statutory Statements on Liabilities
The Trustees declare that:
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The charity has given no guarantees where potential liability under the guarantee is outstanding at the date of this statement (eg: any outstanding/ongoing contract or legal undertaking to buy or provide specific services);
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The charity has no debt outstanding at the date of this statement which is owed by the CIO and which is secured by an express charge on any assets of the CIO (eg: a mortgage on property owned by the charity).
Remuneration of Trustees
All Trustees act in a voluntary capacity and receive no remuneration or other material benefits from their services to the Charity.
Out-of-pocket expenses necessarily and reasonably incurred by Trustees in promoting the purposes of the Charity are reimbursed at cost.
Declaration
Approved by the Trustees and signed on their behalf,
J M Dunne, Principal Trustee. Date: 14[th] January 2020
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Statement of Financial Activity
Receipts & Payments Accounts for the Financial Year Ended 31[st] December 2020
Statement of Assets and Liabilities
Disposition of Funds
The Charity has no designated or restricted funds
Notes to the Accounts
a) Accounting Policies
The financial statements have been prepared in accordance with the Charities Act 2011 Section 133, using the Receipts and Payments basis available to small charities.
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b) Reimbursement of Out-of-Pocket Expenses
No Trustees received any reimbursement of out-of-pocket expenses in the financial year.
c) Salaries & Professional Fees
Hamworthy Hedgehog Rescue does not charge any professional fees for the services that it provides.
No trustee receives any payments for the services they provide to the charity.
In the current financial year the charity employed no staff or external contractors.
d) Fixed Assets
The charity has ten Brinsea ICU/Incubators, a nebuliser and a portable aspirator which are classified as fixed assets. The charity has not disposed of any fixed assets in the current financial year.
e) Creditors
Cheques issued prior to the end of the financial year but not appearing in the end of financial year bank statement are only reported as outstanding creditors if they remain unpresented at the time of producing the financial statements.
f) Rounding Discrepancies
All amounts are recorded to the penny, but in these accounts are shown as digitally rounded to the nearest pound. This can occasionally result in a total apparently not being the sum of its constituent amounts. All individual amounts, and their totals, are nevertheless correct.
Approval of the Board of Trustees
The Trustees declare that they have approved the above Annual Report & Statement of Financial Activity.
Signed on behalf of the Trustees
J M Dunne, Principal Trustee.
Date: 14[th] January 2020
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