Agile Rabbit – South west Science and Culture CIO Trustees Report and Financial Statements
for the Year ending 04 November 2024
Charity Number 1192190
The Trustees are pleased to present their annual report, together with the consolidated financial statements of the charity, for the year ending 04 November 2024.
The financial statements comply with the Charities Act 2011 and the Charities SORP (FRS 102) together with Update Bulletin 2.
Names of the Charity Trustees who manage the charity
Stephanie Cherington-Rimmell
Fintan Irwin-Bowler
Qasa Alom
Professor Sir Steve Smith (resigned 24/01/2024)
Structure, Governance and Management
The charity was registered in 2020. It is constituted as a Charitable Incorporated Organisation (CIO) and is governed by a deed. New trustees are selected by the current trustees of the charity. The dayto-day management of the charity is undertaken by two Co-Directors who are paid from the CIO’s own funds.
Our Charitable Purpose
The purpose of the charity are:
The advancement of education in the subjects of science and culture by holding public events, lectures, and creating information media for the public benefit in the southwest of England, other areas of England and Wales and other countries as the board of trustees may decide from time to time.
The trustees recognise that the charity must report each year on how they have carried out their charity’s purpose for the public benefit. In shaping our objectives for the year and planning our activities, the trustees have considered the Charity Commission’s guidance on public benefit.
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Our Main Activities
A brief summary of the main activities normally undertaken by the charity to carry out its purposes for public benefit is as follows:
Agile Rabbit is an educational charity that produces quirky events, radio programmes, podcasts, and other experiences, often in an interactive and creative way.
We support people and organisations to communicate research and ideas, showing their relevance to lives and societies. With an informal tone, our events are inclusive and accessible, while still challenging audiences.
Achievements and Performance in 2023-24
This past year allowed us to stretch our skills in various ways. We experimented with more engaging event formats and reached rural audiences by hosting talks in churches in Devon and Cornwall. Overall, 1,488 people attended.
In early 2024, we were commissioned by the University of Exeter’s Institute for Data Science and Artificial Intelligence. Following this, We hosted two panel conversation events in celebration of AI UK week in March. To take a closer look at the new and rapidly developing technology, the first event ‘Environmental Intelligence: Can AI Change the World’ engaged a rural audience at Dartington Hall, Dartington, Devon and attracted 250 members of the public. The conversation was facilitated by BBC’s James Coomarasamy and welcomed acclaimed environmental journalist George Mobiot and Head of MET Officer Penny Endersby to the panel. The second event ‘How Safe Is Artificial Intelligence?’ was held at Exeter Phoenix at the end of March. BBC’s Rebecca Kesby chaired the sellout event that was attended by students from Exeter College and curious individuals of all ages.
In spring, a new partnership was formed with Royal Cornwall Museum - now Cornwall Museum and Art Gallery. We were invited to help the museum team deliver an Evening of Invention during Easter half term. The aim was to promote the various career paths engineering has to offer to a young Cornish audience and their parents. We hosted three talks in the museum’s chapel gallery, with Professor Sanjeev Gupta speaking on The Secrets of Mars, and reached 150 individuals, maintaining our presence in Cornwall.
We were commissioned to develop a community building strategy for the University of Exeter’s Department of Engineering. We consulted with UK EDI experts and held one-on-one consultations with the department’s staff members to develop a seven-year strategy. While the Head of Engineering did not inform us on whether this would be implemented internally, it was valuable to build on our
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expertise and community engagement work in East Sussex and produce this piece of work, and we hope we will be able to draw on this in the future.
Special highlights of 2024 included reaching rural audiences in Dartington, Totnes, and Bruton. We continued the tradition of delivering an event for FUTURES: A Festival of Discovery for the South West by hosting a panel conversation on Climate Change and Gardening. BBC Gardeners’ World presenter, Frances Tophill, joined us on stage and Ritula Shah chaired. We were furthermore delighted to welcome Exeter Seed Bank who handed out sachets of wildflower seeds to our 450 attendees. The event also built a new partnership with Professor Sarah Gurr, former Chair of Food Security at the University of Exeter and President of the Plant Pathology Society. We look forward to exploring future events with her.
In the autumn, we were commissioned to deliver a guided walk and talk event on the government’s biodiversity net gain legislation. Led by Dr Diana Tingley, we chose a route along Ludwell Valley Park in Exeter and were joined by staff from Devon Wildlife Trust. The walk attracted 65 members of the public and was recorded as a podcast. After receiving resounding positive feedback from attendees, we were inspired to apply for several grants to deliver more accessible and inclusive biodiversity-themed walks.
In October, we held a conversation event with The Guardian’s John Crace at St Mary’s Church in Bruton. This allowed us to branch out and engage a new and rural audience of 350 people.
Our monthly events at Exeter Phoenix continued, welcoming speakers such as Professor of Cosmology and Royal Society University Research Fellow Tessa Baker and
Chief Scientific Adviser to the Food Standards Agency and Professor of Infectious Diseases, Robin May.
Blue Heart
In spring 2024, the second round of Blue Heart Community Funding awarded grants to seven projects including: planting hundreds of saplings in the grounds of a local school with volunteers and pupils; using water-loving plants and landscaping to make a model railway more resilient to surface water; supporting ESOL students to understand climate change and flood risk; online drama workshops of isolated young people experiencing climate anxiety; and Modern Flood Myths - a creative project imagining the future of Eastbourne through the lens of climate change, which will result in an exhibition and zine.
The team embarked on three major projects on behalf of Blue Heart, starting in early 2024.
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Walk in My Wellies was a pilot project designed to facilitate an exchange of perspectives between flood risk professionals and representatives of flooded communities. Through this, the pilot aimed to identify barriers to embedding community engagement in flood risk management, and develop ideas about how to address them. We were pleased to include Caroline Douglass, Executive Director of Flood and Coastal Risk Management at the Environment Agency, as one of our professionals, alongside flood wardens, members of flood action groups and communities who have experienced flooding, and a farmer managing land in an area prone to flooding. Reflections and feedback from the process have been included in a paper submitted to CIWEM.
Coney HQ (a previous collaborator on Agile Rabbit projects) undertook a project around community resilience – trying new approaches to starting conversations about resilience with communities facing multiple challenges, such as the cost of living crisis. Several approaches were developed, resulting in a resource guide, report, and a prototype board game which is now being professionally designed for use with Blue Heart communities and beyond.
Jo Seaman, local archaeologist and historian, was commissioned to undertake a project to explore the history of the Bourne Stream, the alleged origin of the town’s name - Eastbourne. Jo worked with volunteers from Heritage Eastbourne and Changing Chalk (a National Trust project) to survey two sites in Eastbourne’s old town and dig test pits to learn more about the history of the area on the banks of the stream. This activity, complemented with a project blog and public events (reaching c.400 people in total), worked well to raise awareness of flooding through a historical lens. The project produced a zine and an audio trail along the route of the Bourne, both showcased on the Blue Heart website. It also led to a discussion event, ‘Flowing through Time: The Bourne’s past, present and future’ which was held in the Old Town and attracted our largest audience to date.
Also delivered during this period have been a listening unit, showcasing clips from the Community Radio recordings created earlier in the project. This will allow us to take the voices of local people into community settings, encouraging conversations which can then be added to the audio archive. Whilst considering the look and feel of the listening booth, it became clear that a friendly, rather than technical, map of the project area would be useful. Local artist Helen Cann was commissioned to produce an illustrated map of the Blue Heart catchment, which could convey to residents the omnipresence of water in their local environment in a purely visual way. In October 2024 a Communications Coordinator was appointed.
Finances
Agile Rabbit was funded largely through grants, providing services to other organisations, and in a more limited way, through ticket revenue. Finances are healthy.
Marketing
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Work in new communities, on larger events, and with new partners saw the bolstering of Agile
Rabbit’s reputation and a growth in the newsletter audience and across social media.
Trustees
We continued with three esteemed trustees and are aiming to increase this number over the coming year to add to expertise and plan for succession.
Risk Management
The trust maintained its risk register which was reviewed regularly at trustee meetings.
Financial Review
Results for the year
The Charity ended the 4[th] November 2024 with an overall surplus of £78,829 (2023 £21,419), of this the unrestricted loss was £2,352 with a carry forward restricted funds relating to the recent WIMW project.
Total funds at 4[th] November 2024 were £139,880 (2023 £61,051) of which £23,794 were unrestricted (2023 £26,146) & the remaining £116,086 restricted (2023 restricted £34,905) .
Income in 2024 was £300,478, a 81% increase from 2023, majority due to the grant from University of Exeter for delivery of the new project WIWM.
As with growth on income, this resulted in greater expenditure for 2024, an increase of 54% compared to 2023, majority of this income was due to increase Blue Heart project delivery. In addition, the charity increased its employed staff from one on average through 2023 to three for the full year.
Finance, Investments and Reserves
It is the duty of the Trustees to manage the charity's reserves. The reserves policy is reviewed annually by the Trustees.
The Trustees have agreed to maintain an unrestricted reserve fund to cover three months of operating costs which is £23,000.
As at 5[th] November 2024, the charity had unrestricted funds of £23,794.
All restricted funds are used for their specific purposes.
Statement of Trustees’ Responsibilities
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The Trustees are responsible for preparing the Trustees’ Annual Report and the financial statements in accordance with applicable law and United Kingdom Accounting Standards (United Kingdom Generally Accepted Accounting Practice).
The law applicable to charities in England & Wales/Northern Ireland requires the Trustees to prepare financial statements for each financial year which give a true and fair view of the state of affairs of the charity and of the incoming resources and application of resources of the charity for that period. In preparing these financial statements, the trustees are required to:
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select suitable accounting policies and then apply them consistently;
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observe the methods and principles in the Charities SORP 2015 and (FRS 102;
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make judgements and estimates that are reasonable and prudent;
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state whether applicable accounting standards have been followed, subject to any material departures disclosed and explained in the financial statements;
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prepare the financial statements on the going concern basis unless it is inappropriate to presume that the charity will continue in operation.
The trustees are responsible for keeping proper accounting records that disclose with reasonable accuracy at any time the financial position of the charity and enable them to ensure that the financial statements comply with the Charities Act 2011, the Charity (Accounts and Reports) Regulations 2008 and the provisions of the trust deed. They are also responsible for safeguarding the assets of the charity and hence for taking reasonable steps for the prevention and detection of fraud and other irregularities
Approved by the Board of Trustees on _27/08/2025_______
and signed on its behalf by … ……. CHAIR
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Agile Rabbit – South west Science and Culture CIO
Statement of Financial Activities for the Year ending 4th November 2024
The notes on pages also form part of these accounts.
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Agile Rabbit – South west Science and Culture CIO
Balance sheet as at 4th November 2024
The accounts have been prepared in accordance with the provisions applicable to companies subject to the small companies regime.
The financial statements were approved and authorised for issue by the Board of Trustees on
27/08/2025___ and were signed on its behalf by:
Chair
The notes on pages 9 to 16 form part of these accounts.
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Agile Rabbit – South west Science and Culture CIO Statement of Cash flows for the year ended 4th November 2024
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Notes to the Accounts for the year ended 04 November 2024
1. ACCOUNTING POLICIES
Basis of Preparation
The Charity constitutes a public benefit entity as defined by FRS102. 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) 2[nd] edition and the Charities Act 2011.
The financial statements have been prepared under the historical cost convention.
Income
All income resources are included on the Statement of Financial Activities when the charity is legally entitled the income and the amount can be quantified with reasonable accuracy.
Expenditure
Expenditure is accounted for on an accrual basis and 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. Grants offered subject to conditions which have not been met at the year end date are noted as a commitment but not accrued as expenditure.
Tangible fixed assets
Depreciation is used to write off each asset over its estimated useful life. Fixed assets are depreciated as follows:-
IT equipment 25% per annum on costs
Items with cost price of £500 and above will be included in fixed assets.
Taxation
The charity is exempt from corporation tax on its charitable activities.
Fund accounting
The unrestricted fund has arisen through general fundraising, unrestricted donations and surplus from pursuing the charity’s 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 fund are raised for particular restricted purposes. The cost of raising and administering such funds are charged against the specific fund. Further explanation of the nature and purpose of each fund is included in the notes to the financial statements.
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Notes to the Accounts for the year ended 04 November 2024 (continued)
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Notes to the Accounts for the year ended 04 November 2024 (continued)
The charity had 3 employees during the year (2023 - 2).
The average weekly number of employees during the year were calculated on the basis of average monthly head count.
There were no redundancy and termination payments made in the year (2023 nil). No emoluments of staff above the range of £60,000.
The remuneration paid to, and employee benefits received by key management during the financial year, together with the associated employer's National insurance contributions, totaled £24,415 (2023 £25,953).
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Notes to the Accounts for the year ended 04 November 2024 (continued)
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Notes to the Accounts for the year ended 04 November 2024 (continued)
8 Restricted Funds
8 Prior Year Comparatives
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Notes to the Accounts for the year ended 04 November 2024 (continued)
10 Trustee Information
Trustees remuneration and expenses
The trustees received no remuneration, except for travel and subsistence to meetings.
11 Pensions
The Charity operates one defined contribution pension scheme. The charge to the Statement of Financial Activities for the year is £2,642 (2023 – £2,246).
There were outstanding contributions at year end totaling £424 (2023 – £2,027).
12 Related party transactions
In the year there was one related party transaction. The charity made payments to Agile Rabbits CoDirector for their consultancy support on event management, totaling £6,864
Kate Baker, Co-Director at Agile Rabbit, received a total amount of £6,864 for consultancy support. .Within the total, £4,264 was due to the director, and provided for in the accrued expense at year end.
In the Prior year there was one related party transaction. The charity made payments to the Agile Rabbits Co-Directors for their consultancy support on event management, totaling £10,891.25. Kate Baker, Director at Agile Rabbit, received a total amount of £10,891.25 for consultancy support. All payments were made in the year and no amount was provided for in the accrued expense at year end.
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13 Statement of Financial Activities for year ended 04 November 2023
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