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2024-12-31-accounts

BREASTFEEDING TWINS AND TRIPLETS UK

FINANCIAL STATEMENTS

FOR THE YEAR

01 January 2024 – 31 December 2024

Registered Charity Number: 1187134

BREASTFEEDING TWINS AND TRIPLETS UK

The Board of Trustees

Jan Bonar Ruth Cumming Ffion Mair Dean Nicola King Kathryn Stagg Katie Stimpson Catherine Wakely

Website

https://breastfeedingtwinsandtriplets.co.uk/

Registered address

187 Ecclesall Road South Sheffield S11 9PN

Working name

Breastfeeding Twins & Triplets UK

Administrator

Sarah Saunders (until 31 July 2025) Sarah Mason (from 1 July 2025)

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BREASTFEEDING TWINS AND TRIPLETS UK

FINANCIAL STATEMENTS

FOR THE YEAR 1 JANUARY 2024 – 31 DECEMBER 2024

Contents

Reference and Administrative Details………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………. 1
Trustees’ Annual Report…………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………… 3
Statement of Financial Activities……………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………… 6
Statement of Financial Position………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………… 7
Notes to the Accounts………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………….…. 8

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BREASTFEEDING TWINS AND TRIPLETS UK

TRUSTEES’ ANNUAL REPORT

FOR THE YEAR 1 JANUARY 2024 – 31 DECEMBER 2024

The Trustees have pleasure in presenting their report and the financial statements of the charity for the financial period 1 January 2024 – 31 December 2024.

Structure, Governance and Management

Breastfeeding Twins and Triplets UK is a Charitable Incorporated Organisation (CIO) (Foundation model), whose only voting members are its Trustees. The charity was registered with the Charity Commission on 23 December 2019. Trustees are recruited and trained by the existing Trustees and no other person or organisation has the authority to appoint Trustees to the board. Trustees meet not less than twice a year, in practice usually meeting every 2-3 months, to review the financial and operational state of the charity and to set the strategic direction of the charity.

Objectives and activities

The objects of the charity are:

Breastfeeding Twins and Triplets UK was set up as a charity in response to the often-poor information and support available to parents of multiples who wish to breastfeed or chestfeed their babies. It sprang from a Facebook group of the same name, which was set-up in 2015 and has become a celebrated community of support for parents of multiples, with 12,000 members to date, run by highly qualified admins who provide excellent, evidence-based advice. It is well-known that rates of breastfeeding amongst parents of multiples are significantly lower than among parents of singletons, and there are often particular additional challenges to be overcome, not just as a result of having more than one baby to feed, but also from increased incidence of premature and early-term birth, higher likelihood that the babies will need additional support in the neonatal intensive care unit (NICU) immediately after birth, high rates of birth interventions, and health problems in mother and babies, all of which can make establishing breastfeeding with multiple babies particularly difficult. Added to this, there is a wide perception, in the community generally but also among many healthcare professionals, that breastfeeding twins and triplets is ‘just too hard’ or even ‘not possible’, and therefore parents are often not given the encouragement and practical help they need to persevere when faced with these challenges. The members of the Facebook group regularly report that the support and advice they received through this forum was key to their successful breastfeeding journey, often in spite of receiving poor or non-existent support in their communities and a lack of positive encouragement from their wider families.

Having seen the broad and positive impact of the Facebook community, the group’s founder, International Board Certified Lactation Consultant (IBCLC) Kathryn Stagg, was driven to extend the net of this support more widely, both to reach more parents who would benefit from it directly, but also to improve the knowledge and skills of healthcare professionals and breastfeeding support volunteers to enable them to assist breastfeeding parents more effectively in the community.

The Trustees confirm that they have referred to the Charity Commission’s guidance on Public Benefit when reviewing the charity’s aims and objectives and in planning future activities.

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BREASTFEEDING TWINS AND TRIPLETS UK

TRUSTEES’ ANNUAL REPORT (cont’d)

FOR THE YEAR 1 JANUARY 2024 – 31 DECEMBER 2024

Achievements and Performance

We extended our register of lactation consultants, who have completed some extra training around the specific barriers to breastfeeding experienced by multiple birth families. They have continued to support breastfeeding families on a “pay what you can afford basis”. This was to ensure that finances, locality and difficulty in leaving the house with more than one baby, especially after caesarean section, were no longer barriers to accessing expert breastfeeding support. Parents are then sent a donation link to make a voluntary contribution towards the cost of receiving this support, or encouraged to fundraise for us in the future. 2024 saw us funding on average between three to four visits per month across the UK, totalling 46 families supported, an increase from the previous year (2023: 39 families supported). One-to-one videocall support via zoom has also been a valuable alternative source of support for those with situations where a home visit is not necessary. 29 families were supported in this way. We also continued to deliver two Preparing to Breastfeed educational webinar sessions for expectant parents. We facilitated these five times during 2024 and have had around 240 families attend in total.

We hosted three more webinars for health professionals and breastfeeding support volunteers on the subject of ‘Supporting Breastfeeding Multiples’, reaching an audience of around 75 people (2023: 50 people). In collaboration with ARDO, we continued to offer funded breast-pump hires to families of premature twins who would not otherwise be able to have access to a hospital grade breast pumps to establish their milk supply, and we also offered more widely a discount code for pump hire to members of the Facebook group. Conferences continue to be an important way to raise our profile. In 2024, we had a stall at LCGB (Lactation Consultants of Great Britain) and ABM (Association of Breastfeeding Mothers). We talked to many health care workers and breastfeeding supporters and spread the word about the charity. Alongside this, the affiliated Facebook group membership continued to grow, surpassing 12,000 members at the date of signing this report (2023: 11,000 members in September 2024). The successful management of the Facebook group is dependent on the contributions of 10 volunteers, all qualified breastfeeding peer supporters, breastfeeding counsellors or IBCLCs, who act as the group’s administrators and who ensure that the group members receive high quality evidence-based breastfeeding support; their collective contribution is immeasurably important to the success of the group and to the wider charitable activities undertaken.

Future Plans

In August 2025 we were thrilled and very grateful to receive £4,070 funding from the National Lottery following an application made earlier in the year. This funding will enable us to expand our IBCLC face-to-face support project and fund an additional 40 face to face sessions in England over 2 years. We are now able to fully promote this project and we are planning to build stronger links with the charity Twins Trust to explore ways in which our two charities can collaborate and complement each other’s activities. We will also continue to offer 1:1 videocall support, Preparing to Breastfeed workshops for expectant parents, and funded pump hire.

We will have a presence at conferences and seminars, conscious that this is one of the best ways of reaching healthcare professionals and alerting them to our work and the resources and training we offer. We will continue to research other ways of reaching health visitors, midwives, maternity department infant feeding leads and other breastfeeding supporters to disseminate our resources and alert them to the work of the charity. We are exploring if our charity logo and website can be included as a useful contact in infant ‘Red Books’. We plan to survey the members of the Facebook group for feedback to ensure our knowledge of their needs is up-to-date. We will also continue to explore new sources of raising funds to provide support and enable us to expand the work of the charity. We are also planning to fund a group of twin and triplet mums who may find it difficult to access training to train as breastfeeding peer supporters.

Financial Review

2024 saw the charity generate income of £8,068 (2023: £11,213). Of this income, 88% (£7,085) came from philanthropic donations (2023: 97%, £10,873) and 11.5% (£925) came from the sales income from delivering our Supporting Breastfeeding Multiples webinar to healthcare professionals (2023: 3%, £315), with £46 earned from

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BREASTFEEDING TWINS AND TRIPLETS UK

TRUSTEES’ ANNUAL REPORT (cont’d)

FOR THE YEAR 1 JANUARY 2024 – 31 DECEMBER 2024

commission taken on sales of Kathryn Stagg’s book “Breastfeeding Twins & Triplets: A Guide for Professionals and Parents” which were sold at our conference stalls (2023: £0), and £12 was earned from commission on the sale of charity-branded merchandise (2023: £25).

The costs of delivering our charitable work remained reasonably static compared to the previous year, however our donation income reduced by 35%, in part due to the discontinuation of ‘Amazon Smile’ cashback donation, which had been a popular method of support amongst the members of the Facebook group. This resulted in the charity sustaining a deficit of £2,270 over the year (2023: £369 surplus). Other routes of increasing our philanthropic and grant support and other sources of revenue are being actively explored.

The charity’s reserves policy is to hold 6 to 9 months’-worth of expenditure as our unrestricted reserves, to ensure we can continue to service our core administrative support costs in the short-term should we experience a reduction in income whilst we explore new avenues of income generation. The current level of reserves held is currently at the top of this range.

The Trustees declare that they have approved the Trustees’ report above.

Signed on behalf of the Trustees

Jan Bonar Trustee

Approved by the Trustees on 31 October 2025

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BREASTFEEDING TWINS AND TRIPLETS UK

STATEMENT OF FINANCIAL ACTIVITIES

FOR THE YEAR 1 JANUARY 2024 – 31 DECEMBER 2024

----- Start of picture text -----
Total funds Total funds
Notes 2024 2023
£ £
INCOME AND ENDOWMENTS FROM:
Donations 2 7,085 10,873
Charitable activities 3 971 315
Other trading activities 12 25
TOTAL 8,068 11,213
EXPENDITURE ON:
Raising Funds 4 311 375
Charitable activities 5 10,027 10,469
TOTAL 10,338 10,844
NET INCOME/(EXPENDITURE) & NET MOVEMENT
IN FUNDS (2,270) 369
Fund balances brought forward (as restated) 10,334 9,965
RECONCILIATION OF FUNDS:
TOTAL FUNDS CARRIED FORWARD 8,064 10,334
----- End of picture text -----

The statement of financial activities includes all gains and losses recognised in the period. All income and expenditure derives from continuing activities. All income and expenditure relates to unrestricted funds. There is no liability for corporation tax due on activities.

The notes on pages 8 to 13 form part of these financial statements

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BREASTFEEDING TWINS AND TRIPLETS UK

STATEMENT OF FINANCIAL POSITION

AS AT 31 DECEMBER 2024

----- Start of picture text -----
Note 2024 2023
£ £
CURRENT ASSETS
Debtors & prepayments 8 82 129
Cash at bank and in hand 9 8,224 10,413
Total current assets 8,306 10,542
LIABILITIES
Creditors: Amounts falling due within one year 10 242 208
NET CURRENT ASSETS 8,064 10,334
TOTAL ASSETS LESS CURRENT LIABILITIES 8,064 10,334
TOTAL NET ASSETS 8,064 10,334
THE FUNDS OF THE CHARITY
Unrestricted funds
General funds 11 8,064 10,334
Total charity funds 8,064 10,334
----- End of picture text -----

These financial statements were approved by the Trustees and authorised for issue 31 October 2025, and are signed on their behalf by:

J BONAR Trustee

Charity Registration Number: 1187134

The notes on pages 8 to 13 form part of these financial statements

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BREASTFEEDING TWINS AND TRIPLETS UK

NOTES TO THE FINANCIAL STATEMENTS

FOR THE YEAR 1 JANUARY 2024 – 31 DECEMBER 2024

1. ACCOUNTING POLICIES

1.1 Charity information

Breastfeeding Twins and Triplets UK is a charitable incorporated organisation registered with the Charity Commission in England and Wales as registered charity number 1187134, since 23 December 2019. The registered address is 187 Ecclesall Road South, Sheffield, S11 9PN.

1.2 Accounting convention

The financial statements have been prepared in accordance with 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) – (Charities SORP (FRS 102)).

Breastfeeding Twins and Triplets UK 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(s).

The financial statements are prepared in sterling which is the financial currency of the charity. Monetary amounts in these financial statements are rounded to the nearest £1.

1.3 Cash flow statement

The Trustees have taken advantage of the exemption in the Charities SORP from including a cash flow statement in the financial statements on the grounds that the organisation is a small charity with a turnover of less than £500,000.

1.4 Income

Voluntary income is received by way of donations and gifts and is included in full in the Statement of Financial Activities when receipt is deemed to be probable.

Income from charitable activities includes income from webinar sales, which are recognised when a legal entitlement exists.

1.5 Expenditure

Resources expended are recognised in the period in which they are incurred. Resources expended include attributable VAT which cannot be recovered.

Expenditure on charitable activities includes direct expenditure incurred in presenting training webinars, funding 1-to-1 breastfeeding support face-to-face and via Zoom to parents of multiples, funding breastpump hire for parents of premature twins and triplets and others facing financial hardship, supporting parents who have breastfed their twins and triplets to train as breastfeeding peer supporters with the Association of Breastfeeding Mothers (ABM), and developing a website to serve as an educational resource both for parents of multiples who wish to breastfeed or chestfeed their babies and for health professionals who wish to extend their knowledge to support these families better in their breastfeeding journeys.

1.6 Fund accounting

Unrestricted funds are donations and other incoming resources receivable or generated for the objects of the charity without further specified purpose and are available as general funds.

Restricted funds are to be used for specific purposes as laid down by the donor.

1.7 Financial instruments

As per the definition of FRS 102, the charity makes use of only basic financial instruments which are initially recognised at transaction value and subsequently measured at settlement value. Financial instruments held by the entity comprise debtors, creditors and cash.

1.8 Cash and cash equivalents

Cash and cash equivalents are basic financial assets and include cash-in-hand and bank overdrafts. Bank overdrafts are shown within borrowings in current liabilities.

1.9 Taxation

No provision has been made for taxation as the entity is a public benefit entity which is exempt from UK direct taxation on its charitable activities.

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BREASTFEEDING TWINS AND TRIPLETS UK

NOTES TO THE FINANCIAL STATEMENTS (cont’d)

FOR THE YEAR 1 JANUARY 2024 – 31 DECEMBER 2024

1.10 Going concern

These financial statements have been prepared on the going concern basis. In making this assessment, the charity’s Trustees have considered all available information about the future for at least, but not limited to, 12 months from the date the financial statements are approved. There are no material uncertainties regarding the charity’s ability to continue.

1.11 Significant judgements and estimations

The Trustees have given consideration to the significant judgements and estimates made in compiling the financial statements. The Trustees do not consider estimates or judgements made to be material to the financial statements. Accruals are made when activity has occurred for which a cash outflow is expected, but for which no invoice has been received. Estimates are based on prior experience and knowledge.

2 DONATIONS
Individual donations
Corporate donations
3 INCOME FROM CHARITABLE ACTIVITIES
Webinar sales
Book sales commission
4 COSTS OF RAISING FUNDS
Direct costs - donation processing fees
Support costs		 Total
Total
2024
2023
£
£
6,786
9,879
299
994
7,085
10,873
Total
Total
2024
2023
£
£
925
315
46
-
971
315
Total
Total
2024
2023
£
£
244
286
67
89
311
375

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BREASTFEEDING TWINS AND TRIPLETS UK

NOTES TO THE FINANCIAL STATEMENTS (cont’d)

FOR THE YEAR 1 JANUARY 2024 – 31 DECEMBER 2024

5 COSTS OF CHARITABLE ACTIVITIES

Direct costs:
Creating and delivering webinar series
Providing 1-to-1 breastfeeding support via Zoom
Providing 1-to-1 breastfeeding support face-to-face
Funded pump hire
Preparing to Breastfeed' Zoom Sessions
Advocacy
Conference Attendance
Website costs
Support costs		 Total
2024
£
250
880

5,947

-
300
100
405
-
2,145
10,027		 Total
2023
£
600
860

4,698

216

240

-
1,220
140
2,495
10,469

6 STAFFING, TRUSTEE REMUNERATION AND EXPENSES

No staff were employed during the current or previous financial periods. The charity engages freelance administrative support, at a cost of £1,672 in 2024 (2023: £1,595)

While acting in the capacity of a Trustee, no person (2023: none) received remuneration in the current financial period. Two Trustees (2023: three Trustees) received reimbursement of out-of-pocket expenses they had incurred on necessary administrative costs and subscriptions, claiming a total of £323.90 (2023: total of £435.42). Of this total, the full amount had been invoiced by year end (2023: £102.17 un-invoiced at year end).

One Trustee received a fee payment of £1,590 (2023: £2,564) for writing and delivering a series of webinars on 'Supporting Breastfeeding Multiples' to health care professionals and breastfeeding supporters, delivering 1-to-1 breastfeeding support to parents of multiples via Zoom, and delivering family training sessions on Preparing to Breastfeed Multiples. Such payments are allowable according to the charity’s governing document; rates of pay are set by the remaining Trustees in the absence of the benefitting Trustee, and the volume of payments is closely monitored. The non-benefitting Trustees believe that such payments are in the best interests of the charity, as this Trustee is considered to be one of the main experts in the UK in the field of supporting breastfeeding in families with multiple babies. The full amount of these payments had been invoiced and paid by year end in both the current and previous reporting periods. This same Trustee offered her book, entitled “Breastfeeding Twins and Triplets: A Guide for Professionals and Parents”, for sale at conference stalls hosted by the charity; the charity charged commission on these sales made at our stalls, generating income of £46 (2023: nil) during the year. Payment of this commission invoice was outstanding at year-end, but received early in 2025.

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BREASTFEEDING TWINS AND TRIPLETS UK

NOTES TO THE FINANCIAL STATEMENTS (cont’d)

FOR THE YEAR 1 JANUARY 2024 – 31 DECEMBER 2024

7 SUPPORT COSTS

Administrator fees
Quickfile fees
ICO Subscription
Eventbrite and Paypal fees
Marketing and Merchandise
Bank charges		 2024
2023
£
£
1,672
1,595
80
80
40
40
94
35
221
744
105
90
2,212
2,584

Support costs (including governance) are apportioned among the charitable activities costs and the cost of raising funds (notes 4 & 5). Direct costs are allocated wherever possible. Remaining costs are apportioned on the basis of the direct expenditure incurred on each activity.

8 DEBTORS

Trade Debtors
Donation and Gift Aid Debtors
9 CASH AND CASH EQUIVALENTS
Cash at bank and in hand
Total cash and cash equivalents
0 CREDITORS: Amounts falling due within one year
Trade creditors
Accruals		 2024
2023
£
£
46
-
36
129
82
129
2024
2023
£
£
8,224
10,413
8,224
10,413
2024
2023
£
£
241
106
1
102
242
102

10 CREDITORS: Amounts falling due within one year

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BREASTFEEDING TWINS AND TRIPLETS UK

NOTES TO THE FINANCIAL STATEMENTS (cont’d)

FOR THE YEAR 1 JANUARY 2024 – 31 DECEMBER 2024

11 FUNDS
Unrestricted general funds
Prior year comparatives:
Unrestricted general funds		 Opening
Balance
01 Jan 2024
£
10,334
10,334
Opening
Balance
01 Jan 2023
£
9,965
9,965		 Income
£
8,068
8,068
Income
£
11,213
11,213		 Expenditure
£
(10,338)
(10,338)
Expenditure
£
(10,844)
(10,844)		 Net mov't
in funds
2024
£
(2,270)
(2,270)
Net mov't
in funds
2023
£
369
369
Closing
Balance
31 Dec 2024
£
8,064
8,064
Closing
Balance
31 Dec 2023
£
10,334
10,334

Unrestricted general funds are available for use at the discretion of the Trustees to support the full objects of the charity.

12 ANALYSIS OF NET ASSETS BETWEEN FUNDS

Debtors and prepayments
Cash at bank and in hand		 Total
Total
2024
2023
£
£
82
129
8,224
10,413
UNRESTRICTED FUNDS
Creditors: due within one year (242)
(208)
8,064
10,333

13 RELATED PARTY TRANSACTIONS

Trustee Kathryn Stagg received payments of £1,590 (2023: £2,564) for writing and delivering a series of webinars on 'Supporting Breastfeeding Multiples' to health care professionals and breastfeeding supporters, delivering 1-to-1 breastfeeding support to parents of multiples via Zoom, and delivering family training sessions on Preparing to Breastfeed Multiples, as detailed in note 6 above. These payments were approved by the other Trustees in Kathryn’s absence, as per the charity’s constitution. Kathryn, an IBCLC, is one of the UK’s foremost experts in breastfeeding multiples and as such the remaining Trustees felt that there was no better person to deliver these aspects of the charity’s work, and therefore approved the payments to Kathryn as being in the best interests of the charity. Kathryn also benefitted from having the opportunity to sell her book, “Breastfeeding Twins and Triplets: A

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BREASTFEEDING TWINS AND TRIPLETS UK

NOTES TO THE FINANCIAL STATEMENTS (cont’d)

FOR THE YEAR 1 JANUARY 2024 – 31 DECEMBER 2024

Guide for Professionals and Parents”, at conference stalls hosted by the charity during the year; the charity charged £2 commission per book sold at these events, generating income of £46 during the year. This income is included within ‘Income from charitable activities’ on the SoFA.

14 PRIOR YEAR STATEMENT OF FINANCIAL ACTIVITIES

----- Start of picture text -----
Total funds
Notes 2023
£
INCOME AND ENDOWMENTS FROM:
Donations 2 10,873
Charitable activities 3 315
Other trading activities 25
TOTAL 11,213
EXPENDITURE ON:
Raising Funds 4 375
Charitable activities 5 10,469
TOTAL 10,844
NET INCOME/(EXPENDITURE) & NET MOVEMENT IN
FUNDS 369
Fund balances brought forward (as restated) 9,965
RECONCILIATION OF FUNDS:
TOTAL FUNDS CARRIED FORWARD 10,334
----- End of picture text -----

All income and expenditure related to unrestricted funds.

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