## **Agile Rabbit – South west Science and Culture CIO Trustees Report and Financial Statements** ## **for the Year ending 04 November 2025** ## **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 2025. 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 (resigned 1/10/2025) Helen Claire Featherstone (appointed 02/10/2025) ## **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 day-to-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. ## **Our Main Activities** Page **1** of **18** Agile Rabbit – South West Science and Culture CIO Financial Statements 2025 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 2024-25** We explored a vast array of important topics to our community in this fun year. Sometimes these were related vital to health and social issues; Dr Tina Cartwright led an event on menopause and Professor John Tregoning joined us to talk about death. In January 2025 we collaborated with the Under the Umbrella team from the University of Exeter’s Chyme department. This event allowed the audience to step into the shoes of a young person navigating their school day with a neurodivergence with hands-on activities. This was worthwhile for all involved and - with increased public awareness of neurodivergence - helped to bust some myths. Science continued to be a rich and diverse area for Agile Rabbit and its communities. We were joined by Joshua Howgego who wrote a book about meteorite hunters, had an event on the science of swearing, and explored exoplanets with Nathan Mayne. We were delighted to receive a small grant from the Devon Community Foundation to arrange a series of Walkie Talkies - walks and talks that are both engaging for the mind, and exercise for the body. In these we looked at the Benefits of Blue Spaces, the poetry, health and wellbeing of trees, and a fungal foray. In the Spring we held our first event in London; it was at the Conway Hall and we were pleased to welcome a panel that included Caroline Douglass and Professor Jan Selby to discuss Climate Change and water. In September we were invited to curate a discussion for the Futures Festival; we chose a History of Hip Hop as the subject and held the event in a Cornish Church! We discussed how this American revolution in music, dance, and art spread across the global cultural landscape. The area of global affairs continued in an event with the esteemed writer Christina Lamb who is the Chief Foreign Correspondent for the Sunday Times. We continued fertile relationships with the University of Exeter, Cornwall Museum and Art Gallery and Exeter Phoenix. Blue Heart is a major piece of work for Agile Rabbit and we were so pleased with how it turned out for this year. There was a number of excellent engagement events and projects; here’s a selection: ## Page **2** of **18** Agile Rabbit – South West Science and Culture CIO Financial Statements 2025 Flowing through Time: The Bourne’s past, present and future Wednesday 27 November 2024 Followed on nicely from the Bourne River project which focussed on the history of the Bourne in shaping Eastbourne Old Town, and received a lot of interest from local residents. We decided to hold the event at a venue in the heart of the Old Town and had a full house – including 4 walk-ins! ## Climate Change and Water: the next 100 years in East Sussex Wednesday 19 March 2025 Linked global climate issues to our local area, and gave us an opportunity to collaborate with the Pevensey to Eastbourne Coastal management Scheme, our sister project managing the coast. ’ Blue Heart pop-up shop: Submerged: Eastbourne s Lost Treasures - - Friday 9 and Saturday 10 May, 10am 5pm; Sunday 11 May, 10am 4pm A chance to have a physical presence which Blue Heart doesn’t usually have. We took over the community space in the Beacon Shopping Centre, Eastbourne. The popup shop included an art installation in the window, designed to look like a flooded antiques shop, displays about the project and our work to date, and family-friendly activities to encourage people into the space. Over 550 people visited the space during the 3 days it was open. Managing and delivering the event provided valuable learning for the future – not least that may local residents have a particular mental image of what ‘a flood’ looks like, which doesn’t match the local reality. This perhaps partly explains the prevailing impression that ‘Eastbourne doesn’t flood’. OCEAN with David Attenborough, screening and director’s talk - Wednesday 26 November, 6pm 9pm Attracted new audiences, including a representative from Surfers Against Sewage. The speaker’s talk was part ‘behind the scenes’, part explaining the reasons for making the film, and part updating the audience on what has happened since the film was released. ## Community Fund During the reporting period, projects funded in 2024 came to fruition including: an exhibition of art and creative writing generated by the Modern Flood Myths project; ESOL sessions focussing on weather, environment and emergencies; planting trees and wildflowers at Ratton School to reduce flood risk and improve the school grounds. The final round of community grants was awarded early in 2025, supporting nine projects. These included: the Museum of Water; a Climate Resilient Garden; rainwater harvesting at a historic property; a community stop-frame animation project, ‘Tails of the River Bourne’; and ‘Nature in Our Hands’, a project by West Rise Junior School to support pupils to engage with, understand and value the marshland adjacent to their school. Page **3** of **18** Agile Rabbit – South West Science and Culture CIO Financial Statements 2025 ## **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. ## **Trustees** There were some changes in trustees as Qasa Alom left and we welcomed Helen Featherstone. We are aiming to increase this number over the coming year to add to expertise and plan for succession. ## **Marketing** 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 four 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 2025 with an overall deficit of £36,916 (2023 +£78,829), mainly due to the spend of restricted funds brought forward from 2024. As a result there was unrestricted gain of £59,003. Total funds at 4[th] November 2025 were £102,964 (2023 £139,880) of which £82,797 were unrestricted (2023 £23,794) & the remaining £20,167 restricted (2023 restricted £116,086) . Income in 2025 was £201,268, a 33% decrease from 2024, majority due to a large University of Exeter WIWM project in 2024 carried forward as a restricted fund into 2025 and completed within the year. Expenditure for the year was 7% greater than 2024, majority of this is due to spend on restricted grants and small growth in the staff team compared to 2024. ## **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. Page **4** of **18** Agile Rabbit – South West Science and Culture CIO Financial Statements 2025 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 2025, the charity had unrestricted funds of £82,797. All restricted funds are used for their specific purposes. ## **Statement of Trustees’ Responsibilities** 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: - select suitable accounting policies and then apply them consistently; - observe the methods and principles in the Charities SORP 2015 and (FRS 102; - make judgements and estimates that are reasonable and prudent; - state whether applicable accounting standards have been followed, subject to any material departures disclosed and explained in the financial statements; - 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 28.08.2026 Approved by the Board of Trustees on __________________________ and signed on its behalf by …………….………………………………… CHAIR Page **5** of **18** Agile Rabbit – South West Science and Culture CIO Financial Statements 2025 ## **Independent Examiner’s report to the trustees of Agile Rabbit – South West Science and Culture CIO** I report on the accounts of the charity for the year ended 04 November 2024, which are set out on the following pages 7-18 ## **Responsibilities and basis of report** As the charity’s trustees you are responsible for the preparation of the accounts in accordance with the requirements of the Charities Act 2011 (‘the Act’) I report in respect of my examination of the charity’s accounts carried out under section 145 of the Act and in carry out my examination I have followed all the applicable directions given by the Charity Commission under section 145(5)(b) of the Act. ## **Independent examiner’s statement** The charity’s gross income this year did not exceed £250,000 but it did during the previous year. As this report includes a review comparative information from the prior year I can confirm that I am qualified to undertake the examination by being a member of ICAEW. I have completed my examination. I confirm that no material matters have come to my attention in connection with the examination giving me cause to believe that in any material respect: 1. accounting records were not kept in respect of the charity as required by section 130 of the Act; or 2. the accounts do not accord with those records; or 3. the accounts do not comply with the applicable requirements concerning the form and content of accounts set out in the Charities (Accounts and Reports) Regulations 2008 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. 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. NAME: Sam Blackford FCA ADDRESS: 105, Chineway Gardens, Ottery St Mary, Devon, EX11 1JJ SIGNED DATE: 28 August 2026 **Agile Rabbit – South west Science and Culture CIO Statement of Financial Activities for the Year ending 4th November 2025** The notes on pages 9 to 17 form part of these accounts. Page **7** of **18** Agile Rabbit – South West Science and Culture CIO Financial Statements 2025 ## **Agile Rabbit – South west Science and Culture CIO Balance sheet as at 4th November 2025** 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 ____________________ and were signed on its behalf by: 28.08.2026 ____________________________ Chair The notes on pages 9 to 17 form part of these accounts. ## Page **8** of **18** Agile Rabbit – South West Science and Culture CIO Financial Statements 2025 ## **Agile Rabbit – South west Science and Culture CIO Statement of Cash flows for the year ended 4th November 2025** Page **9** of **18** Agile Rabbit – South West Science and Culture CIO Financial Statements 2025 ## **Notes to the Accounts for the year ended 04 November 2025** ## **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 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 Page **10** of **18** Agile Rabbit – South West Science and Culture CIO Financial Statements 2025 specific fund. Further explanation of the nature and purpose of each fund is included in the notes to the financial statements. Page **11** of **18** Agile Rabbit – South West Science and Culture CIO Financial Statements 2025 ## **Notes to the Accounts for the year ended 04 November 2025 (continued)** Page **12** of **18** Agile Rabbit – South West Science and Culture CIO Financial Statements 2025 The charity had 4 employees during the year (2024: 3) 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 (2024 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, totalled £24,767. (2024 £24,415). Page **13** of **18** Agile Rabbit – South West Science and Culture CIO Financial Statements 2025 **Notes to the Accounts for the year ended 04 November 2025 (continued)** Page **14** of **18** Agile Rabbit – South West Science and Culture CIO Financial Statements 2025 ## **Notes to the Accounts for the year ended 04 November 2025 (continued)** ## **8 Restricted Funds** During the year, a transfer of £95,766 was made from restricted funds to unrestricted funds following the successful completion of the activities and objectives of the University of Exeter WIMW project which the restricted funding had been provided. The Trustees confirmed that the transfer was consistent with the restrictions attached to the original funding and therefore complied with the requirements of the Charities SORP. ## **8 Prior Year Comparatives** Page **15** of **18** Agile Rabbit – South West Science and Culture CIO Financial Statements 2025 ## **Notes to the Accounts for the year ended 04 November 2025 (continued)** ## **10 Trustee Information** Trustees remuneration and expenses The trustees received no remuneration or expenses in the year ended 4[th] November 2025. (2024 – nil) ## **11 Pensions** The Charity operates one defined contribution pension scheme. The charge to the Statement of Financial Activities for the year is £3,025 (2024 – £2,642). There were outstanding contributions at year end totaling £455 (2023 – £424). Page **16** of **18** Agile Rabbit – South West Science and Culture CIO Financial Statements 2025 ## **Notes to the Accounts for the year ended 04 November 2025 (continued)** ## **12 Related party transactions** In the year there was one related party transaction. The charity made payments to Agile Rabbits Co-Director for their consultancy support on event management, totaling £9,743. Kate Baker, Co-Director at Agile Rabbit, received a total amount of £9,743 for consultancy support. All payments were made in the year and no amount was 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 £6,864 Page **17** of **18** Agile Rabbit – South West Science and Culture CIO Financial Statements 2025 **13 Statement of Financial Activities for year ended 04 November 2024** Page **18** of **18** Agile Rabbit – South West Science and Culture CIO Financial Statements 2025