Trustees’ Annual Report for the period
From 2 April 2024 Period start date To 1 April 2025 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 remains accessible to all by providing appointment times on any day of the week. We additionally now allow appointment times until 8pm for special circumstances to better accommodate more people. |
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 two additional 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 | In this period, we beat last year’s record for finding homes - 219 ferrets and polecats found their forever home! 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. We also hugely increased our donation income via fundraising - £20,622.26! This massively increases our ability to take on more cases, which is one reason why we were able to beat last year’s rehoming record. Another big achievement is getting the rescue fully operational at 2 West Lodge. This has required a significant amount of work to bring over all our enclosures, and rebuild everything. We now have a dedicated meeting space for running appointments, and plan to continue improving the rescue by expanding our boarding facilities. |
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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 | |
| Other |
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 £37,441.65 •Expenses of £35,378.15 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 reserves held | 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, ordered by greatest income first: •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 charitable organisations In the reporting period, our income from boarding services (£1,896.20) was close to that of our direct fundraising (£2,074.61). This is becoming a stable source of income for rescue. During the period 2024 to 2025 we ran in- person fundraising events, as mentioned this resulted in income of £2,074.61. 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 stable demand for adoptions, as well as an increased usage of our boarding services. Therefore, we do not foresee this risk occurring. Other We have obtained an independent examination of our finances, as the income exceeds the Charity Commission’s threshold of £25,000. We chose our examiner to be Margaret Bunker, who completed the examination on a voluntary basis. The commission requires an independent examiner to have the correct skills to complete the examination. Margaret was responsible for general accounting in her employment prior to retirement, dealing with HMRC. This practical experience in accountancy matches the criteria in Appendix 5 of guidance CC32. |
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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, there was turnover of trustees: Added Cara Fraser Scott Kevin Fraser Removed Sophie Davis |
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. 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. |
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Other
Reference and Administrative details
| Charity name | Marley’s Ferret Rescue and Rehoming |
|---|---|
| Other name the charity uses | |
| Registered charity number | 1202585 |
| Charity’s principal address | 2 West Lodge, Babworth, Nottinghamshire, DN22 8ER |
Names of the charity trustees who manage the charity
| Trustee name | Office (if any) | Dates acted if not for whole year |
Name of person (or body) entitled to appoint trustee (if any) |
|
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 |
Jaymie Walters | Entire period | N/A | |
| Matthew Clarke | Entire period | N/A | ||
| Cara Fraser | 08/05/2024 - period end |
N/A | ||
| Scott Kevin Fraser |
08/05/2024 - period end |
N/A | ||
Corporate trustees – names of the directors at the date the report was approved
Director name
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 held No assets 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)
| Type of adviser Name Address |
Type of adviser Name Address |
Type of adviser Name Address |
|---|---|---|
| Independent Examiner |
Margaret Bunker |
The Bungalow Nottingham Road, Coleortom, Coalville, LE67 8HN |
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
Signature(s) SIGN Full name(s) Matthew Alec Clarke Position (eg Treasurer Secretary, Chair, etc)
Date 30/1/26
Period of 2 April 2024 to 1 April 2025
Income Breakdown
| Income Breakdown | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Details | Card | Cash | Total | |||
| Donation | £19,239.59 | £1,382.67 | £20,622.26 | |||
| Grant Restricted | £3,500.00 | £0.00 | £3,500.00 | |||
| Adoption Fee | £4,240.00 | £3,465.00 | £7,705.00 | |||
| Shopify | £12.98 | £0.00 | £12.98 | |||
| Boarding | £1,647.20 | £249.00 | £1,896.20 | |||
| Fundraising Activity | £1,534.30 | £540.31 | £2,074.61 | |||
| Vasectomised Hob Service | £279.00 | £580.00 | £859.00 | |||
| Microchipping Service | £20.00 | £45.00 | £65.00 | |||
| Merchandise | £0.00 | £0.00 | £0.00 | |||
| Refund | £691.60 | £0.00 | £691.60 | |||
| Sponsorship | £5.00 | £0.00 | £5.00 | |||
| Owner return fee | £0.00 | £10.00 | £10.00 | |||
| Total | £31,169.67 | £6,271.98 | £37,441.65 |
Expense Breakdown
| Expense Breakdown | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Details | Card | Cash | Total | |||
| Vets | £19,637.24 | £220.00 | £19,857.24 | |||
| Medication | £3,692.64 | £0.00 | £3,692.64 | |||
| Food | £2,023.19 | £3,620.06 | £5,643.25 | |||
| Equipment | £1,122.93 | £0.00 | £1,122.93 | |||
| Enclosure Repairs | £0.00 | £0.00 | £0.00 | |||
| Enclosure Purchase | £220.00 | £50.00 | £270.00 | |||
| Trade Bin | £763.67 | £0.00 | £763.67 | |||
| Advertisements | £374.40 | £0.00 | £374.40 | |||
| Website | £221.22 | £0.00 | £221.22 | |||
| Shopify | £75.00 | £0.00 | £75.00 | |||
| Refund | £40.00 | £0.00 | £40.00 | |||
| Bedding | £256.90 | £1,107.79 | £1,364.69 | |||
| Phone | £72.00 | £0.00 | £72.00 | |||
| PayPal | £0.00 | £0.00 | £0.00 | |||
| Fuel | £454.53 | £1,086.09 | £1,540.62 | |||
| Merchandise | £231.60 | £0.00 | £231.60 | |||
| Insurance | £0.00 | £0.00 | £0.00 | |||
| Building Supplies | £0.00 | £53.00 | £53.00 | |||
| Fundraising Activities | £0.00 | £0.00 | £0.00 | |||
| Postage | £5.89 | £0.00 | £5.89 | |||
| Donation | £50.00 | £0.00 | £50.00 | |||
| Total | £29,241.21 | £6,136.94 | £35,378.15 |
| Total Income | £37,441.65 |
|---|---|
| Total Expenses | £35,378.15 |
CHARITY COMMISSION FOR ENGLAND AND WALES Independent examiner's report on the accounts Section A Independent Examiner's Report Report to the trusteesl members of Lpfss t CE J4- 1/4 AJ O rt))/riOA]fjL RAGES On accounts for the year ended Charlty no lif any) Set out on pages I report to the trustees I my examination of th charily {'Ihe Trust") for the year ended accounts of the above £(g2f Responsibilities and As the charity trustees of the Trust, you are responsible for the preparation basis of report of the accounts in accordance with the requirements of the Charities Act 2011 {"the Act.). I report in respect of my examination of the Trust's accounts carried oui under section 145 of the 2011 Act and in carrying oul my examination. I have followed the applicable Directions given by the Charity Commission under section 145151(b} of the Act. I have completed my examination. I confim that no material matters have come lo my attention {other than that disdosed below ') in connection wth the examinalion which gives me cause to believe that in. any material respect: accounting records were not kepl in accyjrdance with section 130 of the Act c the accounts do not rd with the accounling records Independent examiner's statement I have no COnrnS and have come across no other matters in connection wrth the examination to which attention should be drawn in order to enable proper understanding of the accounts to be reached. ' Please delete the words in the brackets if they do not apply. Slgnèd: Date: Name: 7M Relevant professional qualificationlsl or body lif any): Addss. E ILtSinTcS I IER October 2018
Sèction Disclosure Only complete if the examiner needs to highlighl matters of conrn {see CC32. Independent exanination rf tharrty &)))unts". dIreron$ and guidanee for examiners). Glve her• brfef detalls of any Items that the èxaminer wishes to dis¢los•. IER October 2018