MEDWAY ASTHMA SELF HELP
ANNUAL REPORT 2023 - 2024
Registered Charity Number 1196597 Charitable Incorporated Organisation
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- Medway Asthma Self Help (MASH)
Established in 1996, MASH supports people and families affected by asthma through the provision of support and information relating to the causes of asthma and its effective treatment, and by raising awareness of asthma in the general community of Medway
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Contents
Front Cover Front Page Introduction Page 2 Contents Page 3 Acknowledgements Page 4 Trustee Report Page 5 + 6 Trustee and Volunteer Information Page 7 Co-ordinators Report Page 8 + 9 We Need You Page 10 Fundraising Page 11 Clinic Report Page 12 Clinic Feedback Page 13 Treasurers Report Page 14 + 15 MASH Extras Page 16 MASH Centre Details Back Page
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Acknowledgements
MASH is very fortunate to be supported by many people and organisations this year. A number of them are acknoweledged below.
Dr Clive Johnson
Alan Stockey Emma Joy Wei Wei Samantha Whybrow Dr Paula Hamilton Judith Pender Julie Millest Holly Avery Andrew McGoffog Anir Manivannan Arya Manivannan Asha Saroy Bridget Nightingale Carole Coulthard Diana Smith Fiona Pender Holly Recht Isabella Boyle Jessica Pender Julie Critcher Joanna Sloat Katie Lowe Michael Turner Michaela Temperley Nanili Manivannan Sean Hanna Wendy Plamer Cllr Dan McDonald Cllr Gary Etheridge Cllr Hazel Brown Cllr John Williams Prof. John Dickinson Chris and Christine Rogers Dorte Gilry Nicki Georgini Asthma and Lung UK Bedfont Scientific Ltd Belinda @ Luci-Belle Crystals British Lung Foundation Amy @ Tropic Skincare Canva Central Theatre, Chatham
Charity Digital Co-op Community Fund Charlotte @ Refind Glamour Claire and Aidan @ Beyond Beauty Deborah @ Mid Kent College Diggerland, Strood Dragonfly Crystals East Medway University of the Third Age (U3A) EasyFundraising Farmasi Beauty -Hannah Fiona Mukhtar Funding For All Gillingham Street Angels Healthwatch Medway Historic Dockyard, Chatham Helen O’Neill Iain Ferguson Carpentry IONOS Imprint Media Designs Jodie Brown @ Simple But Delicious Kent Community Foundation In Kind Direct Karen @ The Lotus Hair Room Koko Tan and Brows Lounge Landsec Futures Community Grant Maliwan Massage and Therapy Mediclinic Pharmacy Medway CCG Medway Community Healthcare Medway Council Medway Park Medway Voluntary Action Melts By Lauren Nucleus Arts
Omni Osteopathy Rainham Eco Hub Rhia’s Treasures Rochester Eco Hub Roko Health Club Sarah at Scentsy Smile Publications Spensley’s Pharmacy, Twydall St Augustines Church Sue Patey @ Colour 4 Confidence Sylvia @ Avon Tesco Stores throughout Medway and in particualr Gillingham and Rainham Tesco Community Fund The Department for Digital, Cultural, Media and Sport DCMS) The Gary Bush Foundation The Millenium Centre, Rainham The Transformation Academy Terri Rhodes Universal Stores, Lower Stoke University of Greenwich University of Kent Watling Street Post Office WHoo Cares Woodville Halls, Gravesend Zoe Humm @ Tropic Skincare
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Trustee’s Report
A year of change and transition…
In closing out another successful year of delivering asthma advice and testing (for well over two hundred clients), and wider awareness raising of asthma to the community of Medway, we are struck by the continued uncertainty that small charities like MASH face.
Uncertainty prevailed over the future of the clinic for much of the year until we found a successor to Julie Millest (our MASH Nurse), who has recently retired, after twenty years of fabulous service to MASH. Our plans to train up a replacement did not ultimately materialise, but we are now delighted to welcome Holly Avery to our team, who having successfully completed her probation period formally took over clinic duties in October. Let us also express our continued thanks and recognition to Bridget Nightingale who has so regularly supported the MASH Clinic Days (with Dr. Clive Johnson and Kirsty Ferguson holding the fort when she couldn’t make it), providing a welcome smile at front of house.
After difficulties with our banking supplier, Dr. Clive Johnson has successfully taken MASH through a period of uncertainty to emerge with a new banking supplier. Well done indeed to Clive for his patience and perseverance, extricating MASH from our historic provider and putting in place much of the needed protocols for the new arrangements. Thanks also to Judith Pender, who has continued to provide much needed support throughout this tricky period of transition.
The Board of Trustees also continues to be in transition, with Wei Wei giving her resignation earlier in the year, as well as Clive resigning and recently supporting the transition of his Treasurer responsibilities. We would like to recognise both for their contributions to MASH, and note unfortunately Dr. Paula Hamilton has not had the time availability she had hoped to dedicate to MASH and has also recently resigned from our Board. We are delighted however to welcome Emma Joy as a Trustee, who brings a wealth of commissioning knowledge and experience, and we hope to soon welcome back Dr. Martin Farebrother, who if elected will rejoin our team of Trustees.
Our recent planning sessions have positioned clear tactical priorities, of which our transition of financial operations from Clive and Judith, MASH’s funding strategy and volunteer recruitment are our clear top three; we will move onto other recognised challenges when we have capacity to do so. MASH strives to be a self-help organisation, but it will also continue to welcome applications from those without asthma keen to make a difference. An improved and focused bench strength of volunteers will further support Kirsty in the fabulous balancing act she has dealt with week-on-week, between her roles as both coordinator and fundraiser. While we may not always be in a position to recruit those with asthma to expand our team, we recognise that there remains a need to strengthen the voice of those with asthma across the Medway community. We will evaluate and leverage tools and approaches available to us, to both maintain and develop MASH’s services as needed.
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Our current, and growing waiting list of clinic appointments illustrates MASH’s popularity, success of our outreach and the continued need for the service. We aim to evaluate opportunities for some basic triaging of our waiting list (if only to ensure we see the most pressing cases earlier if possible) and to set and manage clinic capacity to target appointment wait times. New opportunities have also emerged for MASH to explore already available social prescribing platforms, both to further raise awareness of MASH, and to collect available financial referral awards from GPs; MASH will position itself to exploit these.
Our new volunteers, trustees and personnel bring with them new insights and capabilities to help keep MASH focused and efficient in meeting its defined objectives, and we thank all for their continued determination and efforts.
There remains great potential for MASH, but we acknowledge we are competing in a toughening market for available grant funding and volunteer time. To combat these challenges, we will remain open to both traditional and new clinic operations, means of fund raising, and volunteer and trustee recruitment.
Alan Stockey (Trustee) On behalf of the Board of Trustees
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Could you be a MASH Trustee?
We are always looking to expand and strengthen our trustees board, to help us continue to support people and families affected by Asthma in Medway.
We are looking to expand the board with a range of skills and expertise (including but not limited to)
People with asthma
- People who care for or work with people with asthma People with Human Resources experience People with Accountancy experience People with Media experience People with IT experience
If you could give a few hours each month to support your local asthma charity, please get in touch to discuss : admin@medwayasthmaselfhelp.co.uk or call 01634 855844
Volunteering With MASH
MASH volunteers are an essential part of our charity. They help support our clinics, outreach, fundraising events and also help in the office. We are always looking to increase our number of volunteers, meaning we can increase our reach and services within the local community. Any amount of time that you are ale to spare to help us, we will be vey grateful.
We would also love to hear from you if you have any fundraising ideas.
We are pleased to be part of the Medway Time Tempo Credits scheme, allowing volunteers to earn Time Credits for their time contributed to MASH. These can be spent on accessing activities across a nationwide network, as well as within Medway.
You can email us at admin@medwayasthmaselfhelp.co.uk or call us on 01634 855844 to find out more
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Coordinator’s Report
2024 has been our busiest yet! Our clinics are constantly fully booked and we have now reached a 15 week wait to see Holly our Nurse. We started increasing capacity for our advice sessions back in February to help to reduce the demand we saw creeping in but have seen an unprecedented increase in the last few months that has meant people are now having to wait longer than ever to see us. We are working hard to get everyone seen as soon as possible and are thankful for everyone’s patience whilst we do this. We continue to be flexible with our appointments and have a good mix of face to face appointments and telephone appointments.
Our trustee board continues to develop and have recently welcomed another new trustee who has expertise in project and change management. An ‘old’ friend is also returning to our trustee board and we look forward to welcoming them officially after the AGM. We have also said a sad goodbye to several trustees throughout the year and thank them for their hardwork and dedication in keeping MASH running smoothly. This year has also seen several new recruits into our volunteer pool including help in the office, the refreshing of our policies and procedures and at our outreach events. Our volunteers are invaluable to us as without them we are not able to run events and raise vital funds for MASH. We are always looking for new trustees and volunteers so please do get in contact if you are interested.
We have been diverse in how we do our outreach this year and have ‘dipped our toes’ into online webinar presentations, partnering with Bedfont in talking about asthma and what we do. The link to see this webinar has been shared on our social platforms but can also be found here -
https://www.nobreathfeno.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/09/Children-With-Asthma-Webinar.mp4? utm_medium=email&_hsenc=p2ANqtz-9b39DafUWT3PyI6-kSmJ4SJoM-
hUdiIY1i80YCblrvo0J9jwErQcCZutZCits_BjpTKGFE0wgNqbmjG18_6l4yocauGA&_hsmi=326001479&u tm_content=326001479&utm_source=hs_email
We also spent World Asthma Day at Medway Maritime Hospital talking to members of the public about MASH, taking enquiries and handing out information. If you saw our socials on the day, we also had a number of videos and pictures talking about the work we do and giving out some details about asthma management. These are still available for you to see on our socials sites too. Once again, we have attended many outreach events including some new places and some old. We took residence in Rochester Cathedral for a couple of afternoons during the summer to see our friends in Rochester. We have also attended the Hempstead Village Fair, Cliffe D-Day Celebrations, St Augustine’s Church and the annual Medway Mile. We love being out and about meeting everyone!
Our new roller banners at our World Asthma Day Julie and Holly 2024 Medway Mile stall at Medway Maritime Hospital
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Our quizzes and pamper evenings continue to be a popular evenings for us and are a good way for us to raise funds! We have a lot of volunteer support for these events are are continuously thankful for the time our volunteers give up for us. Our pamper evenings are becoming so popular we are looking into new venues to help increase capacity for therapists and sellers in order to keep up with demand!
We have been busy this year refreshing the design of our leaflets and roller banners, thanks to some of the funding we have received. We are so happy with the outcome. These can now be seen on display at our MASH outreach events and in our MASH centre. They look super!
We are aware that there continues to be an increase in people not carrying cash around with them. Due to this we have now decided to invest in a card payment machine to allows our supporters to pay via bank card or a digital wallet. We have just started trialing this, and have had a successful payment go through into our bank! Our ‘Sum Up’ machine can now be used for donations and at our outreach and fundraising events! By branching out into the digital world more, we can hopefully encourage more people to donate to us with ease.
This October has also seen a huge change at MASH, where Julie, our Specialist Asthma Nurse for over 20 years has now retired. Her dedication, hard work and expertise has helped so many people in Medway. Julie has handed the baton over to our new nurse, Holly, who is continuing the great work that Julie has done over the years. We want to say ‘Thank you’ to Julie for her commitment to MASH and wish her a ‘Happy Retirement’. A massive ‘Welcome’ to Holly too.
Thank you so much to everyone who had helped MASH with either donations, time or support this year. Without your kindness we would not be able to continue providing the great services that we do!
Kirsty Ferguson Coordinator
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Could you help keep MASH afloat?
Are you sound for a pound?
Are you able to make a small monthly donation to MASH?
Every pounds makes such a difference to us and helps us to continue to provide our services throughout Medway.
£1 pays for a stamp to send a letter to vulnerable clients to confirm their appointment
£5 allows 1 person a free asthma allergy test to help recognise their triggers
£10 provides our weekly clients with leaflets and factsheets after each advice sessions
£25 provides weekly clinics with the consumables needed for diagnosis and reviews
If you feel you are able to help , no matter how modestly, please let us know.
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NOTES
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Do You Shop Online?
You can help MASH raise free funds when you shop online via the EasyFundraising website / app. All you need to do is sign up on the EasyFundraising website at https://www.easyfundraising.org.uk/ or download the app from smartphone or tablets app store to register. Choose MASH as your chosen charity.
Each time you shop online, login to your EasyFundraising account, find the store in the search bar and click through to their website. Easy Fundraising will do the rest.
It’s free to sign up, and will not cost you any extra when buying online. There are over 7000 brand partners you can shop with, who donate part of what you spend to a cause of your choice.
Want to support MASH and have a chance of winning prizes?
We are always looking for new supporters via the Medway Lottery.
It is a weekly lottery they raises money for good causes in Medway. Each ticket cost £1 a week and has a 1 in 50 chance of winning a prize.
Tickets have 6 numbers each, between 0 and 9. The draw is made every Saturday night. Prizes are given to players with tickets that match the first or last 2 to 6 numbers. Match all 6 numbers and win £25,000!
There are many other prizes to be won!
2 matched numbers = 3 extra tickets 5 matched numbers = £2,000 3 matched numbers = £25 6 matched number = £25,000 4 matched numbers = £250
From every ticket that is sold, 60p will go to good causes in Medway. What’s even better is you can choose which good cause you want 50p of the 60p to go to.
Visit https://www.medwaylottery.co.uk/ to sign up, and search for Medway Asthma Self Help in the search bar!
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Clinic Report
This will be my final AGM clinic report for MASH as I retired in October.
For over twenty years I have worked as an Asthma Specialist Nurse at MASH and I feel very priviledged to have been part of such a great local charity.
I have worked with so many dedicated volunteers, administrators and trustees whose support have been invaluable in the smooth running of the weekly clinics.
During the past year the asthma clinics have been at full capacity and for first time sadly, we have had a waiting list of patients wanting clinic appointments.
As I leave, I am reassured knowing that the clinics are now in the very capable hands of our new asthma nurse, Holly Avery. Holly is going to be a fantastic asset to MASH, and I know she will carry on the work with the same dedication, passion and care that I have tried to do in the past.
Julie Millest MASH Asthma Nurse
This is my first clinic report as the new MASH asthma nurse. I have been a qualified children’s nurse for over 14 years and have a varied nursing background; I have worked as a university lecturer and have also worked clinically on a general paediatric ward here in Kent and also in a tertiary centre in London. I still do weekly clinical shifts on a children’s ward. I also have experience as a parent of a child with asthma, and other members of my family have asthma too. I firstly wanted to say a huge thank you to Julie for being so generous with her time, and sharing her knowledge and skills with me the last few months as we have been working together. I’m really sad to see Julie leave but know she has a busy retirement to enjoy!
I am settling into the role now, which I am really enjoying. The clinics are busy and we unfortunately still have a waiting list.
There are new NICE/BTS/SIGN asthma guidelines due to be published this month which will be interesting to read; the recommendations from this will likely impact on what we do at MASH and the objective testing that is required to diagnose people with asthma.
Lastly I would like to say thank you to all our volunteers and Kirsty, our administrator, who all keep MASH running smoothly.
Holly MASH Asthma Nurse
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Clinic Feedback
Helpful and informative
Clear information and helpful knowledge
Very pleasant nurse and staff
Very approachable, clear and friendly
Explained how to use pump
I got the answers I needed
When asked what needed Very competent we did well Professional and Everything during advice thorough sessions we Test procedure clearly received this Made me feel explained feedback . . . comfortable
Professional and thorough
Amazing, very helpful and reassuring
Effective observations and understanding of m child’s symptoms
Explain that as a parent, I am doing everything right
The testing and advice was very good
Explained things I wasn’t aware of and gave advice and referrals
Testing. Explained the results and a plan of actions
Lovely service, very useful
Explaining Asthma and how to use pumps. You are perfect.
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’ - Treasurer s Report 2023 2024
Funds
The funds held by MASH as of the end of the accounting year 2023/24, close of banking on 30th September 2024, were £39,894. This total includes the balance held in petty cash.
Restricted Funds
Of the funds held at 30th September, £4629.36 are restricted for specific purposes as follows:
| Sum Restricted | ||
|---|---|---|
| Funder | Project | Brought Forward 2024- |
| 25 | ||
| Coop | Community Events, focus ME1 |
£571.36 |
| Tesco | Youth Drop-In | £1,866.00 |
| Ward Improvement | Nurse Salary | £2,000.00 |
| Funds | ||
| Ward Improvement | Nurse Training | £192.00 |
| Funds | ||
| Total | £4,629.36 |
These funds are included in the total funds held. These funds are liable to be returned to funders if the requirements of the funding are not met. It is not clear what action might be taken if the funds were not available for return.
Reserves
Also included in the funds held at 30th September is £9,313 nominally reserved as follows:
� £7,313 for closure. This sum for closure consists of three months’ salary for our two employees plus on costs, three months’ rent and three months of other utilities, bills and insurance, pro rata where applicable. Further details are available.
� £2,000 for contingencies. Trustees in 2022 resolved to allocate £1,000 p.a. to the contingency reserve. The key issue for the contingency reserve is the full repairing lease which we have with the landlord. This makes us liable for all repairs. Historically, repairs have been made by the landlord but we cannot guarantee this will continue and the landlord has not agreed to renegotiate this aspect of the lease.
Our examiner has pointed out that these funds are an internal accounting provision and that they are not protected.
The key issues affecting the accounts in 2023/24 are as follows :
- The shortfall of £9,680 in the accounting year 2022/23 was reduced in the accounting year 2023/24 to £3,130. While this is a positive development, there is a clear need for a strategy to ensure the closure of any budget shortfall rather than subsidising it in the short term
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from reserves. The total shortfall funded from reserves is £12,810 over the past two accounting years. MASH will run out of funds if we continue to run a shortfall. There is also a need for a clear budget for each financial year, with targets for income. There have been regular management accounts presented to trustees each month from March 2024.
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It should be recognised that the reduction in the shortfall in 2023-24 is in large part due to the successful bids that Kirsty, supported by Judith and others, has made during this year.
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On the suggestion of the AGM in November 2023, trustees resolved to open bank accounts with the Charities Aid Foundation Bank and to close the three Barclays accounts. This resolution was in line with the report to the 2023 AGM about the difficult procedures put in place by Barclays Bank in response to MASH becoming a CIO and the challenge we had in complying. The new accounts were successfully opened in early 2024. All payments to and from the old accounts had to be transferred individually to
the new accounts. This has now been completed and the Barclays accounts closed in August 2024. MASH now has a CAF Cash account and a CAF Gold account. It is possible that these accounts will make possible investment opportunities with CAF bank to increase our income.
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It was also suggested at the 2023 AGM that MASH investigate Xero accounting software which may make administration of our accounts easier. This has not been done during 2023-24 but will be worth exploring.
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During the year our electricity provider, Good Energy, made a substantial recalculation of our bill going back to the opening of our account, together with a substantial increase in our monthly bill. Trustees complained through Good Energy’s internal complaints procedure and the back payment was reduced. On that basis, trustees decided to settle and a repayment of approximately £800.00 was made to Good Energy, together with our increased monthly bill.
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There are opportunities for renegotiating contracts with our providers. Kirsty successfully renegotiate both IONOS and BT contracts, halving the monthly payments to IONOS and achieving a substantial reduction in the BT bill. Currently, the Good Energy account seems to be a potential target for renegotiation.
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It is important to recognise the support of our examiner, Chris Harvey, who has given a great deal of help in the operation of the accounting spreadsheet and in the final preparation of the accounts.
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MASH needs to develop tools to be able to analyse the income and expenditure for individual events. While the outcomes of events, such as outreach, are not solely financial, it would be good to be able to assess them individually. Some start on this has been made with the Restricted Funds spreadsheet and clearer control of expenditure on restricted funds.
Clive Johnson Treasurer and Trustee
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What are people saying about MASH?
Here are the most common things our clients feedback to us . . . . .
We are grateful to the following organisations who have supported our work with grants and donations.
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Medway Asthma Centre
Medway Asthma Self Help
Registered Charity Number 1196597 131 Watling Street, Gillingham, Kent ME7 2YY 01634 855844
admin@medwayasthmaselfhelp.co.uk
Facebook: @Medway.SelfHelp X : @MedwayAsthma Instagram: @medwayasthma
Opening Times
Monday 9.00am - 12noon Office Only Thursday 5.00pm - 8.00pm (telephone line only) Friday 2.00pm - 5.00pm
Clinic Details
A 30-minute consultation with a specialist asthma nurse on Fridays, by appointment only.
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Charity Name Medway Asthma Self Help
No (if any)
Receipts and payments accounts
| For the period from |
01/10/2023 Period start date |
To | Period end date 30/09/2024 |
|---|---|---|---|
CC16 a
Section A Receipts and payments
| A1 Receipts | Unrestri cted funds to the nearest £ 4,136 15,476 2,776 548 - - - - 22,936 |
Restrict ed funds to the nearest £ - 5,470 - - - - - - 5,470 |
Endowm ent funds to the nearest £ - - - - - - - - - |
Total funds to the nearest £ 4,136 20,946 2,776 548 - - - - 28,406 |
Last year to the nearest £ |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Donations | 4,136 | - | - | 4,136 | 3,780 |
| Grants | 15,476 | 5,470 | - | 20,946 | 12,546 |
| Fund Raising | 2,776 | - | - | 2,776 | 2,754 |
| Interest | 548 | - | - | 548 | 221 |
| - | - | - | - | - | |
| - | - | - | - | - | |
| - | - | - | - | - | |
| - | - | - | - | - | |
| total(Gross income for AR) |
22,936 | 5,470 | - | 28,406 | 19,301 |
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A2 Asset and
investment
sales, (see
table).
- - - -
- - - - -
Sub total [ - ] - - - -
Total 28,406
receipts 22,936 5,470 - -
A3 Payments
Rent & insurance
3,004 3,308 6,312 7,452
telephone&
internet/zoom
1,093 294 1,387 1,333
water, electricity &
cleaning
1,768 112 1,880 836
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| Fundraising & publicity |
- 651 | 1,831 | - | 1,180 | 1,073 | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Training | - | 920 | - | 920 | 875 | ||||
| stationery & postage |
- 350 | 350 | - | - | 724 | ||||
| clinic | 673 | - | - | 673 | 992 | ||||
| miscellaneous | 1,296 | - | 1,296 | 453 | |||||
| Bank Fees | 35 | 35 | |||||||
| salaries & pension costs |
11,714 |
6,138 | - | 17,852 | 15,243 | ||||
| Sub total | 18,583 | 12,953 | - | 31,535 | 28,981 |
| - - - 12,953 - 7,483 - 12,112 4,629 |
- - - - - - - - |
- - - 31,535 - 3,130 |
- - - 31,535 - 3,130 |
|
|---|---|---|---|---|
| - | ||||
| 28,981 | ||||
| - 7,483 | - | - 3,130 | - 9,680 | |
| - | - | - | - | |
| 12,112 | - | 43,024 | 52,706 | |
| 4,629 | - | 39,894 | 43,024 |
Section B Statement of assets and liabilities at the end of the period
Categories Details
| B1 Cash funds |
Bank Accounts |
|---|---|
| Petty Cash | |
| Reserves |
Total cash funds (agree balances with receipts and payments account(s))
| Unrestri cted funds to nearest £ 25,857 95 9,313 35,265 OK |
Restrict ed funds to nearest £ 4,629 - 4,629 OK |
Endowm ent funds to nearest £ |
|---|---|---|
| - | ||
| - | ||
| - | ||
| - | ||
| OK |
Details B2 Other monetary assets
Details B3 Investment assets
Details B4 Assets retained for the charity’s own use
Details
B5 Liabilities
| Unrestri cted funds to nearest £ - - - - - - Fund to which asset belongs |
Restrict ed funds to nearest £ - - - - - - Cost (optional) - - - - - |
Endowm ent funds to nearest £ |
|---|---|---|
| - | ||
| - | ||
| - | ||
| - | ||
| - | ||
| - | ||
| Current value (optional) |
||
| - | - | |
| - | - | |
| - | - | |
| - | - | |
| - | - |
| Fund to which asset belongs |
Cost (optional) - - - - - - - - - |
Current value (optional) |
|---|---|---|
| - | - | |
| - | - | |
| - | - | |
| - | - | |
| - | - | |
| - | - | |
| - | - | |
| - | - | |
| - | - |
Fund to Amount When due which due (optional) liability (optional) relates - - - - -
Signed by one or two trustees on behalf of all Date of the trustees Signature Print Name approval
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