## **Trustees’ Annual Report for the period** **From** 31 March 2023 **Period start date To** 1 April 2024 **Period end date** **Charity name:** Marley’s Ferret Rescue and Rehoming ## **Charity registration number:** 1202585 ## **Objectives and Activities** ||SORP reference|| |---|---|---| |Summary of the purposes of
the charity as set out in its
governing document|Para 1.17|To relieve the suffering of ferrets and
domesticated polecats in need of care and
attention and, in particular, to provide and
maintain rescue homes or other facilities for
the reception, care and treatment of such
animals.
To educate the public in matters pertaining
to the prevention of cruelty and suffering
among ferrets and domesticated polecats| |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.|Para 1.17 and
1.19|Our first purpose, regarding rescue homes
and provision of care, is one way we provide
benefit to the public. We have a no-
questions asked policy to take in unwanted
or stray ferrets/polecats, allowing anyone to
place animals into our care. There are a
small number of rescues in the country who
specialise in the species, compared to e.g.
cats and dogs, and so this core service
makes it much easier for the general public
in our area to find rescue homes as needed.
We offer other services relating to the care
and wellbeing of ferrets/polecats without
them needing to be under our care. This
includes:
-
Microchipping service; we are trained
in microchipping small animals, and
provide this at a low cost compared
to vets. If a ferret goes missing, as
they can be escape artists, this gives
them a much better chance at being
re-united with their owner.
-
Vasectomised hob service; female
ferrets can develop life threatening
illness if they are not brought out of
the mating season in a reasonable
timeframe. We offer the use of
vasectomised male ferrets in our| |||care to the public, who bring females
out of season safely.
-
Boarding; similar to dog and cat
kennels, we offer space to
temporarily house ferrets/polecats for
the public
-
General advice; we offer advice and
care tips to anyone who asks,
helping others improve the daily lives
of their own ferrets/polecats.
Our second aim covers improving education
about the species. We have run our own
stalls at local fairs to help educate the local
community, and offer talks in schools etc.| |---|---|---| |Statement confirming
whether the trustees have
had regard to the guidance
issued by the Charity
Commission on public
benefit|Para 1.18|The Charity Commission’s guidance on
public benefit has been made use of
throughout the reporting period. As our aims
are based on providing services and
education, the guidance has been useful to
ensure these are met for the widest set of
people.
For example, the charity has ensured it
remains accessible to all by providing
appointment times on any day of the week –
this enables people who cannot visit during
the week to make use of our services.
Furthermore, the new location for the charity
(more detail in Achievements and
Performance) was chosen partly due to its
physical accessibility e.g. step-free access.
We have also extended the area we cover
for call-outs to around a 3hr travel-time
radius, allowing us to intake ferrets/polecats
from a much further distance, or to reach
people who cannot travel themselves.
In both examples, the trustees made the
conscious decision to ensure our benefit is
as widely available as possible.| **Additional information (optional)** You may choose to include further statements where relevant about: ||SORP reference|| |---|---|---| |Policy on grant making|Para 1.38|Marley’s Ferret Rescue and Rehoming does
not make grants to other charities,
organisations or individuals.| |Policy on social investment
including program related
investment|Para 1.38|The charity does not undertake social
investment programs| |Contribution made by
volunteers|Para 1.38|We have onboarded multiple regular
volunteers during the reporting period.
The main contribution of a volunteer is| helping maintain a husbandry routine – e.g. cleaning animal enclosures and providing care - allowing additional time for the trustees to handle appointments such as for potential adoptee visits. In turn, this has resulted in a greater number of ferrets and polecats being adopted from us, opening up more spaces over time to take in further animals into our care. This then directly allowed us to help more ferrets/polecats find loving homes. Other ## **Achievements and Performance** ||SORP reference|| |---|---|---| |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.|Para 1.20|Our biggest achievement is finding caring
lifelong homes for over 180 ferrets and
polecats! These animals have come to us
whether through an owner being unable to
care for them, brought to us as strays or any
other reason. In a few cases, we were also
able to re-unite a stray ferret with their
owner. On the topic of intakes, we had over
230 animals come into our care from the
mentioned sources.
We also ran our own fundraisers alongside
stalls at local fairs, which had an unexpected
side effect. It resulted in like-minded ferret
owners having the space to come together
and bond over their ferrets/polecats. Due to
our social media presence, these fundraisers
had a wide coverage across
Nottinghamshire and the surrounding area,
bringing together many people who would
not have met otherwise.
In addition, we also consider becoming a
charity an achievement. Prior to registration,
Marley’s Ferret Rescue was run
independently by Jaymie Walters – one of
our trustees. The registration has been a
goal for Jaymie for multiple years, and a
huge milestone for the rescue to reach.| **Additional information (optional)** You may choose to include further statements where relevant about: |Achievements against
objectives set|Para 1.41| |---|---| |Performance of fundraising
activities against objectives
set|Para 1.41|| |---|---|---| |Investment performance
against objectives|Para 1.41|No investments made| |Other||To better meet the charity’s goals, the
charity has also moved premises within the
reporting period. This new address is 2 West
Lodge, Babworth, DN22 8ER.
This new location has roughly 40m2
available for the charity to setup enclosures
upon, with space for a dedicated meeting
room for appointments. This allows for
increasing the number of animals in the care
of the charity from a maximum of 80 to a
maximum of 200. As a result, we can care
for more animals at any one time, allowing
more people to make use of our core service
–providingrescuehomes.| ## **Financial Review** |**Financial Review**||| |---|---|---| |Review of the charity’s
financial position at the end
of the period|Para 1.21|At the end of the reporting period, the charity
saw:
•
Income of £18,049.89
•
Expenses of £14,719.72
Available funds are as follows:
•
Cash balance £1,103.75
•
Card balance £2,250.97
•
Total balance available £3,354.72
We aim to retain a reserve of around £1500
at any given time, and any surplus above
this value is then used for paying vet fees,
purchasing food and bedding, and any other
expense.
Two accounts are in use; a bank account,
and cash with a hand written log of
transactions.| |Statement explaining the
policy for holding reserves
stating why they are held|Para 1.22|The reserve of £1500 has been specified to
ensure enough money is available to cover
emergency vet fees, regardless if no money
has been budgeted for vet care.| |Amount of reservesheld|Para 1.22|£1500| |Reasons for holding zero
reserves|Para 1.22|N/A| |Details of fund materially in
deficit|Para 1.24|None| |Explanation of any
uncertainties about the
charity continuing as a going
concern|Para 1.23|No uncertainties to report| ## **Additional information (optional)** You may choose to include further statements where relevant about: |
The charity’s principal
sources of funds (including
any fundraising)|
Para 1.47|
Our main sources of funding are as follows:
•
Donations from the general public
•
Adoption fees; when an animal is
adopted, we charge a fee that in turn
covers our typical outgoings for vet
care per animal
•
Grants from other organisations,
such as Animal Friends Pet
Insurance
During the period 2023 to 2024 we ran in-
person fundraising events, though this
income was significantly less then donations
and adoption fees; £1,367.20.
We also experimented with running an
online merchandise store under the trading
name “The Ferreterium”, which did not have
much success. This was started and
shutdown within the reporting period, with a| |---|---|---| |||total income of £610.43.
Both these figures are included in the total
income provided above.
In addition to donations and fundraising, the
charity offers three services that result in
income; microchipping of small animals,
boarding e.g. ferret “kennels”, and bringing
female ferrets out of season. These both
contribute to our first charity objective, by
“providing facilities for the reception, care
and treatment of such animals."| |---|---|---| |Investment policy and
objectives including any
social investment policy
adopted|Para 1.46|The charity does not hold any investments| |A description of the principal
risks facing the charity|Para 1.46|The charity’s main risk is a prolonged period
of reduced donations, no grants and no
adoption fees being paid. We rely heavily on
being able to recoup vet fees through
adoption fees, and being able to pay said
fees up-front via grants and donations.
If we become unable to afford vet fees, we
run the risk of not being able to provide
adequate care for our animals.
At present, we are seeing increased demand
for adoptions compared to the start of the
reporting period, as well as higher requests
for animals to be brought to us. Therefore,
we do not foresee this risk occurring.| |Other||| ## **Structure, Governance and Management** |Description of charity’s
trusts:||| |---|---|---| |Type of governing document
(trust deed, royal charter)|Para 1.25|Constitution of a Charitable Incorporated
Organisation| |How is the charity
constituted?
(e.g unincorporated
association, CIO)|Para 1.25|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|Para 1.25|Trustees are selected from individuals who
have had significant contribution to the
charity, and also have a wide knowledge of
the species. For example, regular volunteers
who wish to take on further responsibilities
within the charity, and have a greater
involvement in its running.
The appointment process is a simple
unanimous vote, where all existing trustees
must be in agreement to onboard the new
trustee/s. In the reporting period, no new
trustees have been appointed.| |**Additional information (optional)**
You may choose to include further statements|**Additional information (optional)**
You may choose to include further statements|where relevant about:| |---|---|---| |Policies and procedures
adopted for the induction and
training of trustees|Para 1.51|Provided all trustees are in agreement, the
new trustee is onboarded onto our internal
systems. We use Discord and WhatsApp for
async communication, and Animal Shelter
Manager 3 to track all animals in our care.
Files are available on Discord covering our:
neutering policy, finance policy, eligibility for
rehome policy, stray policy, and resident
policy (reasons for an animal to stay with us
for life). Species-specific documents about
care are also available, and highly
encouraged to read for new trustees.
Training is typically needed for running
appointments and any other public-facing
tasks. In the case of appointments, an
existing trustee will initially pair up with the
new trustee to show how the appointment is
to be run, what documentation needs to be
filled, and so forth. Once the new trustee is
confident enough, then the existing trustee is
able to switch to a supporting role, and allow
the new trustee to run appointments
themselves.
As no trustees have been appointed in the
reporting period, this procedure is not fully
refined and will undergo review at the time of
appointment.| |The charity’s organisational
structure and any wider
network with which the
charity works|Para 1.51|The charity is very loosely organised, with all
trustees having equal standing in decision
making. There are zero employees, or
positions that are paid. Operational
decisions are made by simple majority vote.
By this, we mean decisions like:| |||•
Where and when should fundraising
activities be held
•
Which organisations to apply to for
monetary grants
•
Whether an animal with a terminal
illness no longer has a good enough
quality of life; this then would be
decision on providing euthanasia
•
Which vet practice should be used to
treat a given animal
There is no official wider network, however
the charity does communicate with other
ferret specific charities in a narrow set of
circumstances:
•
An animal is brought into our care,
that originated from another rescue
•
To share information about where
ferret food is being offered cheaply or
for free| |---|---|---| |Relationship with any related
parties|Para 1.51|As mentioned above, the charity
communicates with other animal rescues on
an as-needed basis – this also includes
other non-ferret-specific rescues.| |Other||| ## **Names of the charity trustees who manage the charity** |1
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20|**Trustee name**|**Office (if any)**|**Dates acted if not for whole**
**year **|**Name of person (or body) entitled**
**to appoint trustee (ifany)**| |---|---|---|---|---| ||Jaymie Walters||Entireperiod|N/A| ||Matthew Clarke||Entireperiod|N/A| ||Sophie Davis||Entireperiod|N/A| |||||| |||||| |||||| |||||| |||||| |||||| |||||| |||||| |||||| |||||| |||||| |||||| |||||| |||||| |||||| |||||| |||||| – Corporate trustees names of the directors at the date the report was approved **Director name None** Name of trustees holding title to property belonging to the charity |**Trustee name**|**Dates acted if not for whole year**|| |---|---|---| |**None**||| |||| |||| |||| |||| |||| ## **Funds held as custodian trustees on behalf of others** Description of the assets No assets held held in this capacity Name and objects of the N/A charity on whose behalf the assets are held and how this falls within the custodian charity’s objects Details of arrangements for N/A safe custody and segregation of such assets from the charity’s own assets ## **Additional information (optional)** ## **Names and addresses of advisers (Optional information)** |**Additional information (optional)**
**Names and addresses of advisers (Optional information)**|**Additional information (optional)**
**Names and addresses of advisers (Optional information)**|**Additional information (optional)**
**Names and addresses of advisers (Optional information)**| |---|---|---| |**Type of**
**adviser**
**Name**
**Address**||| |**None**||| |||| |||| |||| ## **Name of chief executive or names of senior staff members (Optional information)** None – no staff are employed ## **Exemptions from disclosure** Reason for non-disclosure of key personnel details **All disclosed** ## **Other optional information** ## **Declarations** **The trustees declare that they have approved the trustees’ report above.** **Signed on behalf of the charity’s trustees** |**Signed** **on behalf of**|**the charity’s trustees**|**the charity’s trustees**|| |---|---|---|---| |**Signature(s)**
**Full name(s)**
**Position (eg Secretary,**
**Chair, etc)**
**Date**|||| ||Matthew Alec Clarke||| ||
Treasurer||| ||27/1/25||| ||27/1/25|||