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2025-04-06-accounts

Annual Trustees’ Report 24/25

We are Hertfordshire’s volunteer run and paramedic led lifesaving charity.

www.heartsforherts.co.uk

DID YOU KNOW? EVERY SECOND COUNTS IN A CARDIAC ARREST

There are nearly 40,000 out of hospital cardiac arrests every year in the UK

One third of all cardiac arrests in the UK, happen within 300 metres of a school Less than 1 in 10 people survive an out of hospital

cardiac arrest

80% of out-of-hospital cardiac arrests happen at home and 20% happen in a public place

8 out of 10 cardiac arrests occur due to a cardiac

problem

Public access defibrillators are being used by bystanders in just 1 in 10 cardiac arrests For every minute that someone’s in cardiac arrest without receiving CPR and having a defibrillator used on them, their chance of survival decreases by 10%.

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“OUR PURPOSE IN THIS LIFE IS TO HELP OTHERS”DALAI LAMA

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About our charity

WE ARE A VOLUNTEER RUN AND PARAMEDIC LED CHARITY

Our small team of three volunteer trustees run the charity. We were founded in 2017, becoming a charity in 2022.

WE TEACH LIFESAVING SKILLS

Our Heartstart Lifesaver course is FREE and available to all. It is 3.5 hours in duration and teaches lifesaving skills including CPR, how to use a defibrillator safely, how to help someone who is choking, heart attacks, unconsciousness and how to use a public access bleed control kit.

WE FUNDRAISE AND CHAMPION DEFIBRILLATORS

We passionately fundraise to ensure there are lifesaving public access defibrillators available in our communities with 24/7 access.

WE FUNDRAISE AND CHAMPION PUBLIC ACCESS BLEED CONTROL KITS

We use our fundraising to co-locate lifesaving public access bleed control kits with 24/7 access and include them alongside defibrillators.

WE ARE THE GUARDIANS OF LIFESAVING EQUIPMENT

We ensure our lifesaving equipment is always emergency-ready by regularly checking the equipment, responding to activations from the Circuit after use in 999 calls and replacing consumables from our fundraising when needed.

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Each year, roughly 40,000 people suffer an out-of-hospital cardiac arrest – that’s around 250 people every day.- Resuscitation Council UK

Trustees’ Annual Report

FOR THE PERIOD

From 06/04/2024 To 05/04/2025

CHARITY NAME, REGISTRATION NUMBER AND PRINCIPLE ADDRESS :

Hearts for Herts CIO 1197822

40 Lilywhites Lane Hoddesdon

EN11 8FW

OBJECTIVES AND ACTIVITIES

This report covers our third year as a registered charity. Prior to becoming a charity, we were a community group known as Heartstart East Hertfordshire and were affiliated to the British Heart Foundation from 2017-2021 delivering the Heartstart course in the community.

In June 2021, the British Heart Foundation gave all groups 28 days notice that they would no longer support any group and CPR will be taught online.

Our charity was formed to continue the public benefit of learning inclusive lifesaving skills in the community in person, as well as to fundraise for much needed public access defibrillators and bleed control kits to be installed and maintained across Hertfordshire for the benefit of all with 24/7 availability.

Summary of the purposes of the charity as set out in its governing document: The objective[s] of the CIO are:

The advancement of health and saving of lives for the public benefit in Hertfordshire, in particular but not exclusively, by:

SORP reference: Para 1.17

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Trustees’ Annual Report

OBJECTIVES AND ACTIVITIES

Summary of the main activities in relation to those purposes for the public benefit, in particular, the activities, projects or services identified in the accounts:

SORP reference: Para 1.17 and 1.19

Statement confirming whether the trustees have had regard to the guidance issued by the Charity Commission on public benefit:

The trustees have read the guidance by the Charity Commission on public benefit and our charity exists purely to benefit the public.

SORP reference: Para 1.18

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15% of people surveyed think only trained medical professionals are allowed to use a defibrillatorResuscitation Council UK.

Trustees’ Annual Report

ACHIEVEMENTS AND PERFORMANCE CONTINUED

Summary of the main achievements of the charity, identifying the difference the charity’s work has made to the circumstances of its beneficiaries and any wider benefits to society as a whole:

All of our public access defibrillators are registered on the National Circuit, a project headed by the British Heart Foundation, which enables the East of England Ambulance Service to identify the nearest defibrillator to the 999 caller and send them to collect it to buy valuable time until an ambulance can arrive.

Our defibrillators were deployed on multiple occasions and we fulfilled our role as guardians of the network by checking each defibrillator, maintaining each cabinet and ensuring they were emergency-ready again and updated on the Circuit, ready for the next 999 call.

A summary of our main achievements include:

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80% of out-of-hospital cardiac arrests happen at home- Resuscitation Council UK.

Trustees’ Annual Report

ACHIEVEMENTS AND PERFORMANCE CONTINUED

Summary of the main achievements of the charity, identifying the difference the charity’s work has made to the circumstances of its beneficiaries and any wider benefits to society as a whole:

The difference the charity has made has been significant, it has saved at least two human lives through use of our public access defibrillators and through lifesaving training we provided.

Our charity is equipping the community with lifesaving education and equipment in both urban and rural Hertfordshire and through its increased availability and registration with the National Circuit, we are contributing significantly to the chain of survival and the saving of human lives.

Why? Every Heart Matters

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80% of out-of-hospital cardiac arrests happen at home- Resuscitation Council UK.

Trustees’ Annual Report

FINANCIAL REVIEW

Review of the charity’s financial position at the end of the period:

Our financial position is inextricably linked to our fundraising activities.

We are committed to legal, open, honest and respectful fundraising and we believe these are essential for vital income generation which we use to place and maintain our lifesaving equipment for the public benefit. We registered with the Fundraising Regulator and committed to the Code of Fundraising as a result of our commitment to fundraising standards.

Our core costs remain minimal, as the trustees work from home and meetings are held remotely or locally. The Chair stores the charity’s equipment in his garage and undertakes his duties from a home office. As a result, we have been able to maximise our funds into the provision of lifesaving equipment and its maintenance.

We recognise that our funds are mostly restricted to specific installations and we have limited unrestricted funds to enable us to support the charity’s growth with infrastructure and expertise from consultants.

Due to our close financial oversight, a key priority for us in the next financial year is to continue diversifying our income streams including implementing Gift Aid, legacy donations, philanthropic donations, match funding through the Big Give, and raising the profile of the charity to enable us to generate sufficient unrestricted income to enable us to invest in the expertise we need to continue our charitable purpose and enhance the public benefit of our lifesaving equipment.

We recognise that in 2028 and 2029 a large number of our defibrillators and bleed control kits will have consumables that expire and will require replacing. We have factored this in to our fundraising strategy and financial oversight.

Our income increased significantly through donations, grants and a partnership with Hertfordshire County Council which enabled us to fulfil our charitable aims by purchasing and installing our lifesaving equipment throughout Hertfordshire.

To maximise our impact and fundraising, whilst being conscious of financial risk, our school defibrillator conversion programme makes use of existing defibrillators provided by the Government to all schools in England in 2022. Instead of costing typically £1300 for a new installation, it costs the charity around £550 per school to convert (external heated cabinet, bleed control kit and electrical costs) and make the existing defibrillator available 24/7 to all (rather than locked behind school gates).

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1 in 10 people survive an out-of-hospital cardiac arrest- Resuscitation Council UK.

Trustees’ Annual Report

FINANCIAL REVIEW

Review of the charity’s financial position at the end of the period:

We utilised the Department of Health and Social Care Defibrillator Grant when it was available and we were able to purchase some defibrillators and cabinets for £750 each. We proactively worked with our suppliers to secure discounts for bulk orders and thus enabled our fundraising to go further for the public benefit.

This is the first year that our accounts are required to have independent examination and we have chosen HB Accountants in Hoddesdon to do so.

We had sufficient funds to take over into the next financial year and enable us to continue to build on our progress.

SORP reference: Para 1.21

Statement explaining the policy for holding reserves stating why they are held, amount of reserves held and reasons for holding zero reserves:

During this financial year the charity did not have a Reserves Policy but the trustees closely monitored the funds to ensure financial viability and have worked with Hertfordshire Community Foundation’s Better Boards programme and are developing a reserves policy which will be adopted in the next financial year and will reflect the charities growth.

SORP reference: Para 1.22

Explanation of any uncertainties about the charity continuing as a going concern: N/A

SORP reference: Para 1.23

Details of fund materially in deficit:

There was no deficit.

SORP reference: Para 1.24

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1 in 10 people survive an out-of-hospital cardiac arrest- Resuscitation Council UK.

Trustees’ Annual Report

STRUCTURE, GOVERNANCE AND MANAGEMENT Description of charity’s trusts Type of governing document:

Constitution

How is the charity constituted?

Charitable Incorporated Organisation (CIO)

Trustee selection methods including details of any constitutional provisions e.g. election to post or name of any person or body entitled to appoint one or more trustees:

In accordance with our constitution, we use its provisions and powers to enable us to appoint new trustees following a recruitment process based on the skills we require.

SORP reference: Para 1.25

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Every minute without CPR and defibrillation reduces the chance of survival by 10%. - Resuscitation Council UK.

Trustees’ Annual Report

STRUCTURE, GOVERNANCE AND MANAGEMENT

Governance processes

Our key achievements during this time frame were our continued development of our governance processes including our policies and procedures, continuing to work with Hertfordshire Community Foundation to build and develop the foundations of the charity and work towards the fundamental principles of the Charity Governance Code for Small Charities and our charitable aims. The trustees are committed to strong governance and meeting our regulatory requirements. We are utilising the resources available to support us including from the Charity Commission, the Charity Excellence Framework and our membership of the National Council for Voluntary Organisations (NCVO) which commenced in 2024.

The Chair was granted a place on the Small Charity Leader course, an invaluable course which involved working with other charity leaders from around the UK. We would like to thank Vic Hancock Fell for giving us a grant to access the programme and for her leadership in creating an excellent course which has enabled us to develop the charity further.

We recognised as a small team of three trustees that we needed to increase the trustee board due to the growth of the charity and we undertook our first recruitment campaign. We appointed Dr Michael Chilvers, a Consultant Anaesthetist as trustee designate and will formally commence his duties on the board in July 2025.

The foundations we built in the first two years as a charity enabled us in this financial year to maximise our impact across the county due to the established relationships and fundraising activities we undertook. We saw a significant increase in our fundraising, this is due to our decision to diversify our income streams to support our charitable objectives and reduce financial risk in a challenging financial climate impacting the whole third sector. Our fundraising included grants from the Simon Gibson Trust and Hertfordshire County Councillors using their Locality Support Fund, a partnership with Hertfordshire County Council, public donations, corporate donations and community events.

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Every minute without CPR and defibrillation reduces the chance of survival by 10%. - Resuscitation Council UK.

Trustees’ Annual Report

NAMES OF THE CHARITY TRUSTEES WHO MANAGE THE CHARITY

Declarations

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

Signed on behalf of the charity’s trustees:

Signature:

Position: Chair

Date: 3rd February 2026

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Only 11% of people surveyed said they felt totally confident about using a defibrillator correctly. - Resuscitation Council UK.

24/25[Impact] Summary

£151,000 £11,787

Total fundraised for the previous financial year 23/24

Total fundraising received 24/25

38

Number of organisations worked with

Education Support 1,000+ People taught lifesaving skills for free to date

Youngest taught to Oldest taught to 11 date 97 date

Equipment installations

32 Defibrillators

200 Bleed Control Kits

999 activations

Number of volunteers

Fastest activation post 25 hrs installation Defibrillator activations 79

2

Bleed kits used

3

Trustees

4

Defibrillator guardians

3

Fundraisers

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f91 fyeARTW Our lifesaving work in aciion IJ, 14" 15

Our pioneering funded school defibrillator conversion programme

There are 40,000 out of hospital cardiac arrests every year according to the UK Resuscitation Council and with a third of these being within 300 metres of a school, we determined that lifesaving equipment needs to be available 24/7.

At no cost to schools, we will make the defibrillator available to the school and the community 24/7 and register it on the National Circuit.

We fully fund:

One third of out-ofhospital cardiac arrests happen within 300 metres of a school

In 2023, the UK Government provided 20,000 schools with lifesaving defibrillators throughout England. A large majority of schools already had defibrillators and a vast number throughout the country are not available 24/7.

A cardiac arrest can affect anyone at anytime of day, access to a lifesaving defibrillator should not be determined if a school is open or not.

We are funding 70 school defibrillator conversions

Thanks to our fundraising and a partnership with Hertfordshire County Council, this lifesaving programme is building momentum and we have more demand than we can currently fund.

James Cant, Chief Executive of the UK Resuscitation Council said “This is a brilliant initiative that we’re proud to support. Making defibrillators accessible outside school gates, particularly in high-risk areas, means communities have life-saving equipment close at hand when it matters most.” 16

Sustainable lifesaving equipment in green spaces

Green spaces are key to our health and well-being

Solar and wind power at Barclay Park, Hoddesdon Using both sustainable technologies keep this lifesaving piece of equipment powered all year round.

Minutes matter in a cardiac arrest, for every minute without CPR and a defibrillator, the chance of survival decreases by 10% every minute.

Solar power at Panshanger Park

Green spaces can cause delays in the ambulance service reaching someone in need. Every minute matters.

Panshanger is unique in its layout and by placing the new installation in the centre, it houses lifesaving equipment to buy valuable time until an ambulance can arrive on scene.

Partnership and collabration

Our sustainable lifesaving solutions would not be possible without collaboration and partnership. Together, we are saving lives and helping our communities to enjoy the beauty of Hertfordshire’s green spaces with peace of mind knowing lifesaving equipment is available if the worst should happen.

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SOLAR AND WIND POWERED DEFIBRILLATOR AT BARCLAY PARK IN HODDESDON

Unveiled by Deputy Lieutenants Karen Trew JP, DL and Dr Sally Burton DL

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SOLAR POWERED DEFIBRILLATOR AT PANSHANGAR PARK HERTFORD Unveiled by Deputy Lieutenant Mark Bretton MBE, TD, DL and High Sheriff of Hertfordshire Annie Brewster JP, this defibrillator was called into action 8 days later.

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COLLABORATIVE PROJECTS

We are committed to collaborating to save lives throughout Hertfordshire.

We donated 18 Public Access Bleed Control Kits for each police station’s defibrillator cabinet throughout the county.

Thanks to the support of the Police and Crime Commissioner, Jonathan Ash Edwards, we were able to install these vital lifesaving kits with 24/7 public access.

They were unveiled at a ceremony at Police Headquarters with the High Sheriff of Hertfordshire, Annie Brewster JP.

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9 Lifesaving Public Access Bleed Control Kits donated to Greater Anglia Train Stations. Unveiled at a ceremony by the Mayor of Broxbourne, Cllr Sherrie McDaid, Lewis Cocking MP and Cllr Paul Seeby.

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Fundraising

Our ability to provide, maintain and sustain a lifesaving network of public access defibrillators and bleed control kits across Hertfordshire is dependant upon our fundraising activities to provide the funds we need to purchase vital equipment.

Our volunteer fundraisers Joyce, Janet and Cheryl and supporters run a number of events throughout the year including quiz nights, a curry night, tombola and other fun events. Every pound and penny raised enables us to fund our lifesaving mission.

We teamed up with Herts Sport and Physical Activity Partnership with a 100KM Rowathon to raise vital funds for a solar powered defibrillator cabinet at Panshanger Park.

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COLLABOIIATION WITH DIPPS CHAIIITY TO SAVE LIVES &Lic pri¢e& Ip £3.40 Meal Qe31 Clubcard Prl¢e ° £3.90 23

Students, Parents & Carers 5tud•nt dTQP off and parking èstrlan Entranc• li JOIN OUR MISSION TO SAVE Chirfly Re# NiJrnl)¥i fy￿ART￿ LIVES

Hearts for Herts Hearts for Herts Hearts for Herts 1197822
Receipts andpayments accounts
For the period
from		 4/6/2024 To 4/5/2025

CC16a

Section A Receipts and payments Section A Receipts and payments
A1 Receipts Unrestricted
funds
to the nearest
£
9,210
-
-
458
32
-
-
-
9,700
-
9,700
180
331
50
350
1,430
2,341		 Restricted
funds
to the nearest £
44,390
15,400
81,900
-
-
-
-
-
141,690
-
-
-
141,690
9,430
58,486
-
11,865
2,444
1,091
-
-
83,316		 Endowment
funds
to the nearest £
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-		 Total funds
to the nearest £
53,600
15,400
81,900
458
32
-
-
-
151,390
-
-
-
-
151,390
9,430
58,486
-
11,865
2,444
1,091
180
331
50
350
1,430
85,657		 Last year
to the nearest £
Donations 9,210 4,930
Grant - 6,620
Contract - -
Interest 458 207
Cashback 32 30
- -
- -
- -
Sub total(Gross income for
AR)		 9,700 11,787
A2 Asset and investment sales,
(see table).
-
Sub total - -
Total receipts
A3 Payments
11,787
Bleed Kits 9,430 - 9,430 6,080
Defibrillators 58,486 - 58,486 3,000
Other Equipment - - - 385
Cabinets 11,865 - 11,865 -
Installation 2,444 - 2,444 385
Parts for Defibrillators 1,091 - 1,091 -
Insurance 180 - - 180 175
IT Costs 331 331 238
Memberships 50 50 234
Marketing 350 350
Sundry 1,430 - - 1,430 500
Sub total 2,341 83,316 - 85,657 10,997
A4 Asset and investment
purchases, (see table)
- -
- -
- -
- -
Sub total - - - - -
Total payments 2,341 83,316 - 85,657 10,997
Net of receipts/(payments) 7,359 58,374 - 65,733 790
A5 Transfers between funds - - - - -
A6 Cash funds last year end 2,018 - - 2,018 1,227
Cash funds this year end 9,377 58,374 - 67,751 2,017

CCXX R1 accounts (SS)

1

25

Section B Statement of assets and liabilities at the end of the period Section B Statement of assets and liabilities at the end of the period Section B Statement of assets and liabilities at the end of the period Section B Statement of assets and liabilities at the end of the period
Categories
B5 Liabilities
B3 Investment assets
B2 Other monetary assets
B4 Assets retained for the
charity’s own use
B1 Cash funds		 Details
Details
Details
Total cash funds
(agree balances with receipts and payments
account(s))
Details
Details		 Unrestricted
funds
to nearest £
-
-
-
-
Agreement Error
Unrestricted
funds
to nearest £
-
-
-
-
-
-
Fund to which
asset belongs
Fund to which
asset belongs
Fund to which
liability relates		 Restricted
funds
to nearest £
-
-
-
-
Agreement Error
Restricted
funds
to nearest £
-
-
-
-
-
-
Cost (optional)
-
-
-
-
-
Cost (optional)
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
Amount due
(optional)
-
-
-
-
-		 Endowment
funds
to nearest £
-
-
-
-
OK
Endowment
funds
to nearest £
-
-
-
-
-
-
Current value
(optional)
-
-
-
-
-
Current value
(optional)
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
When due
(optional)
-
-
-
-
-

Signed by one or two trustees on behalf of all the trustees

Print Name

Date of approval 3/2/2026

Signature 2

J Honey-Jones

CCXX R2 accounts (SS)

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CHARITY COMMISSION FOR ENGLAND AND WALES Independent examiner's report on the accounts Sectlon A Independent Examinerfs Report Report to the trusteesl members of Hearts for Herts CIO On accounts for the year ended 5 April 2025 Charity no (if any) 1197822 Set out on pages 1-26 I report lo Ihe trustees on my examination of the accounls of the above charity ("the Trust") for the year ended 5 April 2025. Responsibilities and As the charity trustees of the Trust. you are responsible for the preparalion basis of report of the accounts in accordance with the requirements of the Charities Act 2011 {"the Acr). I report in respect of my examination of the Trust's accounts carried out under section 145 of the 2011 Act and in carying out my examination, I have followed the applicable Directions given by the Charity Commission under section 145(5)Ib) of the Act. I have completed my examination. I confinn that no material matters have come to my attention in connection with the examination which gives me cause to believe that in, any material respect: accounting records were not kept in accordance with section 130 of the Act or the acmunts do not accord with the accounting records Independent examiner's statsment I have no concems and have come across no other matters in connection with the examination to which attention should be drawn in order to enable a proper understanding of the accounts to be reached. Signed: Date: Name". HB Accountants Relevant professional qualificationlsl or body lif any): l.C.A.E.W. Address: 28 Plumpton House, Hoddesdon, Herts. EN11 OLB 27 27