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2025-03-01-accounts

Silth’s Sanctuary

Trustees’ Annual Report - FY 24/25

2 March 2024 - 1 March 2025

Registered charity number 1195252

Silth’s Sanctuary - 1195252

The trustees present their financial statement of the charity (2 March 2024 - 1 March 2025)

This report was approved by the Trustees on [DATE] and signed on their behalf by:

Signature:___________

Sam Walton 31 December 2025 Name:________ Date:_______

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Silth’s Sanctuary - 1195252

Contents

1. Reference and administrative details 4

2. Structure, governance and management 4

3. Objectives and activities 5 - 6

3.1 Public benefit 3.2 Aims 3.3 Ethos

4. Achievements and performance 7 - 11

4.1 Animal rescue

4.2 Community assistance

4.3 Volunteers

4.4 Fundraising 4.5 Partnerships 4.6 New charity set up 4.7 Stories

5. Financial review 12 - 17

5.1 Total Finances

5.2 Balance Sheet

5.3 Notes to the financial statement

5.4 Basis of preparation

5.5 Accounting Policies

5.6 Income

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Silth’s Sanctuary - 1195252

1. Reference and administrative details

Charity name Silth’s Sanctuary Charity number 1195252 Company registration number CE026299 Registered address 7 Kew Road Formby Merseyside L37 2HB Trustees Arwen Nicholson Elara Nicholson Rhana Nicholson Rudy Arthur Sam Walton

2. Structure, governance and management

Silth’s Sanctuary is a Charitable Incorporated Organisation (CIO) registered 21 July 2021, with a Constitution governing document.

As of March 2025, Silth’s Sanctuary consists of 5 trustees and 14 volunteers.

Trustees are selected by members, and voted in by a majority trustee approval. A majority vote from members can bring forward a motion to remove a trustee. A majority vote from trustees will remove a trustee. Volunteers are admitted when they express interest.

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3. Objectives and activities

For the public benefit, the relief of animal suffering by providing food, shelter, and medical care with a focus on abandoned, feral, and sick animals and an aim to rehome wherever possible.

3.1 Public benefit

The Trustees of Silth’s Sanctuary confirm that they have complied with the requirements of the Charities Act 2011 with regard to the guidance issued by the Charity Commission, and have taken into account in the course of the charity’s work that our activities are undertaken for the purpose of public benefit.

3.2 Aims

Silth’s Sanctuary aims to approach the issues of pet abandonment with a holistic view.

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3.3 Ethos

Silth’s Sanctuary is built on a set of values that form the foundation for our charity. At Silth’s Sanctuary we believe that all animals have a right to humane care, medical assistance, and are not here to be used, abused, or consumed by people.

What this means for animals within our care:

We also believe that all animals, including humans, are worthy of respect and kindness. At Silth’s Sanctuary we proudly support human rights and stand with marginalised communities. We recognise and understand ongoing systemic struggles that communities face, support our volunteers, and stand in solidarity with communities fighting against these societal prejudices.

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4. Achievements and performance

In its 4th year as a registered organisation, Silth’s Sanctuary has continued to become a specialised small charity that focuses on socialising street cats and providing care for difficult cases (medical and behavioural). During this financial year, we were predominantly contacted about socialisation space for older feral kittens and with requests for assisting in trapping adult street cats.

We have continued to build strong ties to other local rescues and work together to play to all our strengths.

4.1 Animal rescue

Silth’s Sanctuary fostered and provided medical care for a total of 48 animals during this year.

Animals Admitted Rehomed Released Transferred PTS Died
Cats 38 32 2 1
Small
Animals		 10 10

A record of the animals under Silth’s Sanctuary’s care during the financial period of 2nd March 2024 - 1st March 2025. PTS stands for Put To Sleep (euthanised).

Released: Two cats were Trap/Neuter/Returned as they showed no signs of socialisation or benefits from being in an indoor environment with humans.

Transferred: 10 rabbits were transferred to rabbit rescues for rehoming. Silth’s Sanctuary provided foster space, vaccinations, parasite treatment, and neutering for longer-term fosters.

PTS: One cat was euthanised during this period due to severe health conditions. In this case, veterinary experts recommended euthanisation and we confirmed that there were no viable alternative options that could have led to a good quality of life.

4.2 Community assistance

Silth’s Sanctuary provided a number of in-person responses to community calls for help. A substantial number of animals and owners were assisted by Silth’s Sanctuary during this period.

Requests for help come from community Facebook groups (including Moggies & Doggies

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Merseyside and Scouse Pets 2), the Merseyside animal rescue community, emails, and private messages on Silth’s Sanctuary social media pages.

This support has included scanning, paper collaring, assessing stray animals, trapping animals, covering medical costs for stray cats (including neutering), reuniting lost pets with owners, and transporting animals for emergency medical treatment.

4.3 Volunteers

The number of people actively volunteering for Silth’s Sanctuary during this period stayed at 17, although this included some new members joining and other members taking a prolonged break.

Due to ongoing personal situations, including new family members and medical issues, we aimed to keep Silth’s Sanctuary stable in its size and activities this year. This meant we knew we could operate efficiently and effectively while also ensuring volunteers did not overextend themselves.

5.7 Expenses

During this financial period, £18,028.64 was spent running Silth’s Sanctuary; £17,207.57 was spent directly on charitable activities that directly impact animals (95%).

This year we spent £5,132.77 less than in 2023-24 on medical bills, and our general costs were reduced due to more efficient management of running costs. The reduction in medical bills was due to having fewer complicated cases, however we still supported many ferals and animals going to other rescues (mostly rabbits) where we did not ultimately receive an adoption donation.

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4.4 Fundraising and income

During this financial period, Silth’s Sanctuary raised £14,875.79. This was raised via social media, GoFundMe appeals, and monthly bank transfers.

GoFundMe appeal Date started Goal Raised
Fat Charlie 6 June 2024 £1,000 £1,097

This year saw our donations decrease in comparison to the last financial year. Due to the reduced number of animals taken in this year this is to be expected.

One-off donations are still our largest source of income. Monthly direct debit donations have decreased by 41% since the last financial year.

GoFundMe appeals raised half as much as the previous year (£1,097 in comparison to £2,098). This is unsurprising as we only ran a single appeal.

Although we applied for a number of grants, we did not receive any this year.

Our goal this year was to keep a stable income of donations. Because of the ongoing cost of living crisis, we are deeply aware of the financial struggle that many people are facing, especially throughout Merseyside. Therefore, our aim was to proactively fundraise while ensuring our supporters did not feel overly pressured.

We maintained our fundraising totals and covered all expenses for the year while handling a few emergency financial situations.

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4.5 Partnerships

During this year we established a new relationship with Alley Cats and Kittens rescue, who come to us to provide feral cat socialization resources and to provide rescue space for particularly difficult to socialize feral kittens trapped by their team. We are grateful for their collaboration and support.

4.7 Stories

Every one of the 48 animals admitted by Silth’s Sanctuary during this period has a unique story. Unfortunately, no animal that is admitted to a rescue has a completely happy backstory. However, at Silth’s Sanctuary we endeavour to make all their future stories happy. We have selected three stories that highlight the dedicated work of our volunteers, vets, and supporters.

Fat Charlie

Charlie was known to one of our local volunteers, who had been caring for him for a number of years on the street. Our volunteer provided shelter and food, but wanted to provide a longer term solution for such a friendly street cat.

Charlie started suffering due to poor oral hygiene, and so the volunteer asked us to assist with directly rehoming Charlie where he could receive treatment while recovering from life on the streets. The amount of medical care needed for Charlie would be prohibitively expensive for his new family, therefore they would not be able to help him. By directly rehoming him and treating the new family as a temporary foster space, we were able to attend to Charlie's medical needs and help him settle into his forever home without needing a foster space first.

Charlie was unneutered, so we knew that this was the first step on his journey inside - while under anaesthetic, the vets were also finally able to take a good look inside his mouth to see what was going on. What they found was worse than anyone was expecting - bad teeth, pus, and a potentially cancerous lump. Charlie also tested positive for FIV, a serious condition with these complications that could be life threatening had he remained in his condition on the street.

After consulting with the vets we agreed that a biopsy of the lump should be taken and Charlie was booked in for a dental extraction of all his teeth. To help cover the costs of his treatment we started a GoFundMe. Thankfully the biopsy results came back as non-cancerous so he could immediately receive treatment for his dental disease. Once he had recovered fully from the infection, dental extraction and was vaccinated and microchipped he was officially adopted.

Start-Up Rabbit Rescue

We became aware of a member of the public attempting to start up their own small animal rescue. They were collecting rabbits for free from Facebook, and we noticed that no checks

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were being performed for rehoming. We were then made aware that several rabbit rescues had voiced concerns about the animals in this start-up rescue's care, including a lack of medical treatment, quarantining procedures, and rehoming process to ensure suitable homes were being found.

Initially we allowed the prominent rabbit rescues in the area to take the lead in communication with the individual, only stepping in to get them to agree to relinquish a rabbit to us that they had set up as ‘free to a good home’. Bubbles came into our foster care as an emergency, where we fostered her for over a month, neutering and vaccinating her while waiting for space at a rabbit rescue to become available. Rabbit rescues prioritised space for the rabbits they were attempting to get relinquished into their care, which meant Bubbles had an extended stay with us.

In this time communications between the individual running the start-up rescue and various established rabbit rescues suffered difficulties. As we have already made contact with the individual, we reached out again offering updates on Bubbles. From there we started offering advice to the problems they were facing in the hopes that they would learn and accept help from more knowledgeable rescues. This included advice about lack of funds, quarantine procedures, medical treatment, and rehoming processes.

Through patience and time, we were able to establish a relationship based on trust and honesty. Because of this approach, the start-up rescue felt comfortable enough to approach us to find rescue space for 4 rabbits they currently had, as they realised they couldn't rehome them or give them the care they needed. We agreed, found temporary foster care in our rescue for the 4 rabbits and agreed with Bunny Angels to find permanent rescue space for them. We encouraged them to consider relinquishing more of the rabbits into our care and a few days later 4 more were handed over leaving them with only the rabbits they were intending to keep as their own pets.

All 8 of these rabbits were neutered and vaccinated by us before moving on to other rescues for rehoming. Unfortunately one rabbit, Honey, became extremely unwell after neutering and died not long after being admitted to Bunny Angel’s vets.

This particular case taught us that being consistent, educating, staying compassionate, and holding firm boundaries is important for building trust with members of the public, especially with regards to hoarding cases.

Matilda

Matilda came to us at 10 weeks old kitten after volunteers from Moggies and Doggies enquired about space for a kitten they had rescued. She had been stuck in a drain pipe and after 2 hours had finally been freed, She was scanned and no chip was found so foster space was requested.

Whilst she was initially given a clear bill of health from the vets after her ordeal, her fosterer began to notice a developing physical deformation she was concerned was Pectus Excavatum. X-rays at our primary vets confirmed this suspicion.

Silth’s Sanctuary - 1195252

Once she was officially diagnosed we reached out to Rescue Me Animal Rescue, who we know to have previously dealt with a case of Pectus Excavatum. We then arranged an appointment with Animal Trust, the specialist vets Rescue Me recommended, to determine whether or not surgery would be appropriate in Matilda's case.

After consulting with the specialist over Matilda’s x-rays we decided that, in her case, the risk of surgery would outweigh any potential gains in Matilda’s quality of life. The vets confirmed no anatomical risks that would deem the surgery a necessity.

The Trustees and vets agreed on a delayed process of neutering and vaccinations so Matilda could be monitored at every step and in her neutering it was discovered that her deformation was lessening with age. This meant the vets and trustees were happy to clear her as ‘healthy to be rehomed’.

Matilda was adopted by the home who had rehomed our other kitten with chest deformities, Ronan.

Monty

We were asked to investigate the report of a domesticated rabbit being sighted by the road in Skelmersdale. This was because we were the closest rescue available with experience of trapping rabbits successfully.

Upon arriving at the location the team of 2 volunteers asked locals, residents and schools for information. This allowed us to determine the most likely location of the rabbit was the central reservation of the A road nearby.

Due to the shy nature of the rabbit and how overgrown the area was, searching in person was not possible. A trail camera was set up overnight and baited with food to confirm the location of the rabbit. The overnight footage confirmed we were correct and so our volunteers returned with the manual humane trap to attempt to bring the rabbit inside to safety.

Four days were spent learning the rabbits routine and ensuring they were confident with the trap. To encourage interest and familiarity with the trap, rabbit bedding from resident rabbits and a range of food was used. We then set the trap with a soft toy rabbit inside to tempt Monty to enter while we were present. Monty was set up in an appropriate foster space until foster space could be organised through Bunny Angels. She was neutered and vaccinated in our care and then was transferred to Ivy Dene rabbit rescue for rehoming.

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5. Financial review

Statement of financial activities, including summary income and expenditure account

5.1 Total Finances

Restricted Endow Prior
Unrestrict income ment year
ed funds funds funds Total funds funds
£ £ £ £ £

INCOME (Note 3)

Income and endowments from:

Donations and legacies
Other trading activities
Total
EXPENDITURE (Note 6)
Expenditure on:
Raising funds
Charitable activities
Total
NET INCOME
Total funds brought forward
Total funds carried forward		 £14,790.42 - - £14,790.42 22,914.85
- - - -
£14,790.42 - - £14,790.42 22,914.85
£85.37 - - £85.37 -
£17,943.27 - - £17,943.27 22,023.90
£18,028.64 - - £18,028.64 22,023.90
-£3,152.85 - - -£3,152.85 890.95
£6,034.89 - - £6,034.89 5,143.94
£2,796.67 - - £2,796.67 6,034.89

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Silth’s Sanctuary - 1195252

5.2 Balance sheet

Fixed assets
Total fixed assets
Current assets
Cash at bank and in
hand (Note 24)
Total current assets
Net current
assets/(liabilities)
Total assets less
current liabilities
Total net assets or
liabilities
Funds of the Charity
Restricted income
funds
Unrestricted funds
Total funds		 Unrestricted
funds
£
F01		 Restrict
ed
income
funds
Endow
ment
funds
Total this
year
Total last
year
£
£
£
£
F02
F03
F04
F05		 Restrict
ed
income
funds
Endow
ment
funds
Total this
year
Total last
year
£
£
£
£
F02
F03
F04
F05		 Restrict
ed
income
funds
Endow
ment
funds
Total this
year
Total last
year
£
£
£
£
F02
F03
F04
F05		 Restrict
ed
income
funds
Endow
ment
funds
Total this
year
Total last
year
£
£
£
£
F02
F03
F04
F05		 Restrict
ed
income
funds
Endow
ment
funds
Total this
year
Total last
year
£
£
£
£
F02
F03
F04
F05
- - - - -
£2,796.67 - - £2,796.67 £6,034.89
£2,796.67 - - £2,796.67 £6,034.89
£2,796.67 - - £2,796.67 £6,034.89
£2,796.67 - - £2,796.67 £6,034.89
£2,796.67 - - £2,796.67 £6,034.89
- - - -
£2,796.67 - £2,796.67 £6,034.89
£2,796.67 - - £2,796.67 £6,034.89

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Silth’s Sanctuary - 1195252

5.3 Notes to the financial statements

The company was entitled to exemption from audit under s477 of the Companies Act 2006 relating to small companies.

The members have not required the company to obtain an audit in accordance with section 476 of the Companies Act 2006.

The directors acknowledge their responsibilities for complying with the requirements of the Companies Act with respect to accounting records and the preparation of accounts.

These accounts have been prepared in accordance with the provisions applicable to small companies subject to the small companies regime and in accordance with FRS102 SORP.

5.4 Basis of preparation

These accounts have been prepared under the historical cost convention with items recognised at cost or transaction value unless otherwise stated in the relevant note(s) to these accounts.

The accounts have been prepared in accordance with the Statement of Recommended Practice: Accounting and Reporting by Charities preparing their accounts in accordance with the Financial Reporting Standard applicable in the UK and Republic of Ireland (FRS 102) issued on 16 July 2014 and with the Charities Act 2011. The charity constitutes a public benefit entity as defined by FRS 102.

5.5 Accounting policies

Income

Income is recognised in the Statement of Financial Activities when the charity becomes entitled to the resource, it is more likely than not that the trustees will receive the resources, and the monetary value can be measured with sufficient reliability.

There has been no offsetting of assets and liabilities, or income and expenses.

Grants and donations are only included in the SoFA when the general income recognition criteria are met.

Gift Aid receivable is included in income when there is a valid declaration from the donor. Any Gift Aid amount recovered on a donation is considered to be part of that gift and is treated as an addition to the same fund as the initial donation unless the donor or the terms of the appeal have specified otherwise.

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Expenditure and liabilities

Liabilities are recognised where it is more likely than not that there is a legal or constructive obligation committing the charity to pay out resources and the amount of the obligation can be measured with reasonable certainty.

5.6 Income

Analysis of
income
Donations
and
legacies:
Donations and
gifts
General grants
provided by
government/othe
r charities
Total
Charitable
activities:
Total
Other
trading
activities:
Other
Total
TOTAL INCOME		 Analysis of
income		 Unrestricte
d funds
Restricte
d income
funds
Endowm
ent funds
Total
funds
Prior year
£
£		 Unrestricte
d funds
Restricte
d income
funds
Endowm
ent funds
Total
funds
Prior year
£
£		 Unrestricte
d funds
Restricte
d income
funds
Endowm
ent funds
Total
funds
Prior year
£
£		 Unrestricte
d funds
Restricte
d income
funds
Endowm
ent funds
Total
funds
Prior year
£
£		 Unrestricte
d funds
Restricte
d income
funds
Endowm
ent funds
Total
funds
Prior year
£
£		 Unrestricte
d funds
Restricte
d income
funds
Endowm
ent funds
Total
funds
Prior year
£
£
Donations and
gifts		 £14,790.42 - - £14,790.42 22,579.99
General grants
provided by
government/othe
r charities		 - - - 300
Total £14,790.42 - - £14,790.42 22,879.99
- - - - -
Total - - - - -
Other - - - - 34.86
Total - - - - 34.86
£14,790.42 - - £14,790.42 22,914.85

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Silth’s Sanctuary - 1195252

5.7 Expenditure

This year Last year

Analysis
Unrestricted
funds
Restricte
d income
funds
Endowme
nt funds
Total funds
Unrestricted
funds
Restricte
d income
funds
Endowmen
t funds
Total funds
Expenditure on raising
funds:
£		 Analysis
Unrestricted
funds
Restricte
d income
funds
Endowme
nt funds
Total funds
Unrestricted
funds
Restricte
d income
funds
Endowmen
t funds
Total funds
Expenditure on raising
funds:
£		 Analysis
Unrestricted
funds
Restricte
d income
funds
Endowme
nt funds
Total funds
Unrestricted
funds
Restricte
d income
funds
Endowmen
t funds
Total funds
Expenditure on raising
funds:
£		 Analysis
Unrestricted
funds
Restricte
d income
funds
Endowme
nt funds
Total funds
Unrestricted
funds
Restricte
d income
funds
Endowmen
t funds
Total funds
Expenditure on raising
funds:
£		 Analysis
Unrestricted
funds
Restricte
d income
funds
Endowme
nt funds
Total funds
Unrestricted
funds
Restricte
d income
funds
Endowmen
t funds
Total funds
Expenditure on raising
funds:
£		 Analysis
Unrestricted
funds
Restricte
d income
funds
Endowme
nt funds
Total funds
Unrestricted
funds
Restricte
d income
funds
Endowmen
t funds
Total funds
Expenditure on raising
funds:
£		 Analysis
Unrestricted
funds
Restricte
d income
funds
Endowme
nt funds
Total funds
Unrestricted
funds
Restricte
d income
funds
Endowmen
t funds
Total funds
Expenditure on raising
funds:
£		 Analysis
Unrestricted
funds
Restricte
d income
funds
Endowme
nt funds
Total funds
Unrestricted
funds
Restricte
d income
funds
Endowmen
t funds
Total funds
Expenditure on raising
funds:
£		 Analysis
Unrestricted
funds
Restricte
d income
funds
Endowme
nt funds
Total funds
Unrestricted
funds
Restricte
d income
funds
Endowmen
t funds
Total funds
Expenditure on raising
funds:
£
Incurred
seeking
donations		 £85.37 - - £85.37 - - - -
Total
expenditure on
raising funds		 £85.37 - - £85.37 - - - -

Expenditure on

charitable activities:

Expenses
Incurred		 £17,943.27 - - £17,943.27 22,023.90 - - 22,023.90
Total
expenditure on
charitable
activities		 £17,943.27 - - £17,943.27 22,023.90 - - 22,023.90
TOTAL
EXPENDITURE
£18,028.64 - - £18,028.64 22,023.90 - - 22,023.90

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Silth’s Sanctuary - 1195252

Analysis of expenditure on charitable activities

This year Last year

Activity or
programme		 Activities
undertaken
directly
Grant
funding
of
activities
Supp
ort
Costs
Total this
year
Activities
undertaken
directly
Grant
funding
of
activities
Support
Costs
Total last
year		 Activities
undertaken
directly
Grant
funding
of
activities
Supp
ort
Costs
Total this
year
Activities
undertaken
directly
Grant
funding
of
activities
Support
Costs
Total last
year		 Activities
undertaken
directly
Grant
funding
of
activities
Supp
ort
Costs
Total this
year
Activities
undertaken
directly
Grant
funding
of
activities
Support
Costs
Total last
year		 Activities
undertaken
directly
Grant
funding
of
activities
Supp
ort
Costs
Total this
year
Activities
undertaken
directly
Grant
funding
of
activities
Support
Costs
Total last
year		 Activities
undertaken
directly
Grant
funding
of
activities
Supp
ort
Costs
Total this
year
Activities
undertaken
directly
Grant
funding
of
activities
Support
Costs
Total last
year		 Activities
undertaken
directly
Grant
funding
of
activities
Supp
ort
Costs
Total this
year
Activities
undertaken
directly
Grant
funding
of
activities
Support
Costs
Total last
year		 Activities
undertaken
directly
Grant
funding
of
activities
Supp
ort
Costs
Total this
year
Activities
undertaken
directly
Grant
funding
of
activities
Support
Costs
Total last
year		 Activities
undertaken
directly
Grant
funding
of
activities
Supp
ort
Costs
Total this
year
Activities
undertaken
directly
Grant
funding
of
activities
Support
Costs
Total last
year		 Activities
undertaken
directly
Grant
funding
of
activities
Supp
ort
Costs
Total this
year
Activities
undertaken
directly
Grant
funding
of
activities
Support
Costs
Total last
year
Medical
Costs		 £12,479.45 - - £12,479
.45		 17,612.20 - - 17,612.20
Food Costs £4,540.81 - - £4,540.
81		 3,123.51 - - 3,123.51
Other £923.01 - - £923.01 £1,288.19 - - £1,288.19
Total £17,943.27 - - £17,943
.27		 22,023.90 - - 22,023.90

5.8 Cash at bank and in hand

Cash at bank and on hand
Total		 This year
£		 Last year
£
£2,796.67 £6,034.89
£2,796.67 £6,034.89

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