Trustees’ Annual Report Gateway Sidmouth
July 1st 2024 – June 30th 2025
Legal and Administrative Information
Gateway Sidmouth Charity number: 1203423
Principle office: 48 High Street Sidmouth EX10 8EJ
Trustees: Susan Marshall – chair Robert McIlwraith – treasurer Doug Millar Martin Marshall Dan Pawson-Pounds Stuart Huntley (resigned February 2025)
Independent examiner:
Mr Paul Egan
Report of the trustees
Introduction
Gateway Sidmouth ( The Charity) was approved as a Charitable Incorporated Organisation on the 6th June 2023. An organisation, using the name Gateway, had been in operation for several years under the Charitable umbrella of Sidmouth Parish Church and a leadership team with representatives from the church. Once the new 1
Gateway Sidmouth – Annual Report and Accounts
charity was registered Gateway Sidmouth transitioned to its own board of trustees and organisational arrangements. The ethos and objectives of the charity continue largely unchanged from the previous ways of working. The principle activity of the charity is to provide a safe space that people can access to discuss their housing situation with volunteers and receive the help and support that each individual needs.
Objectives and activities
The objective of the charity is to support and relieve the poverty of homeless people and those at risk of homelessness through information, signposting and practical support including food, clothing and equipment.
This objective is achieved in the following ways:
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Volunteers meet in the Mustard Seed café in Sidmouth three mornings a week (10am – 12md) and are available to any members of the public who want to talk about their housing situation. [Gateway continued to use the Mustard Seed café premises following the closure of the café in March 2025]
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We offer a non-judgemental listening ear and hospitality to those in need.
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We provide a drink and snack to those that are hungry.
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We aim to provide clothing and tents to keep the homeless warm and dry during inclement weather.
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We liaise with the local services including East Devon District Housing Department and East Devon Rough Sleepers coordinators to support people to find housing solutions.
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We liaise with the General Practitioners’ surgery and Food bank for people in need of their services.
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We assist people who have been recently homed but have no carpets, curtains, curtain poles or white goods to have some of these essential items by searching out low cost suppliers and providing the funds for their purchase.
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Gateway Sidmouth – Annual Report and Accounts
This our second year of operation has seen the charity build on its early foundations and adapt to the changes in our model of provision brought about by the closure of the Mustard Seed café. This year the charity has:
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Maintained a healthy cash position through fundraising and donations.
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Recruited and inducted new volunteers
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Kept under continuous review our operating model as we have been aware that our ability to use the Mustard Seed premises may be terminated if an alternative use for the premises cannot be found that would include our continued presence.
Our work with clients
The Charity operates out of a local Café – The Mustard Seed (closed March 2025). This is a Café owned and operated by the Mustard Seed Ministries Trust a charity formed by local Christians. Gateway operates on Tuesday, Thursday and Friday between the hours of 10 am and 12 noon. We owe a great deal of thanks to the Mustard Seed trustees for their continuing support. Following the closure of the café and with the support of the Mustard Seed Ministries trustees Gateway has continued to use their facility but without the benefit of the café.
The charity has kept its aims and objectives under continuous review this year and in making decisions the trustees have had regard to the public benefit of their decisions. In particular that there are sufficient resources to alleviate the poverty associated with homelessness or the financial difficulties faced by those struggling to furnish their home.
In meeting this requirement this year Gateway Sidmouth has:
- Provided an open access service to anyone in the area three mornings a week.
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Gateway Sidmouth – Annual Report and Accounts
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Provided a warm snack and beverage for those who are hungry. Following closure of the café our food and beverage offering has become more limited but we are still able to offer a snack and hot drink.
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Linked up with the YMCA café and Dairy café to provide those sleeping rough access to food and beverages and in the case of the YMCA café a warm place during hours when Gateway is not available.
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Provided warm clothing and sleeping bags for those who are sleeping rough.
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Provided tents to those sleeping rough
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Provided advice and guidance to people facing homelessness through eviction, family breakdown or a change in circumstances
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Assisted people to acquire the essentials that make an unfurnished house a home. This has included carpets and curtain rails.
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Liaised with and facilitated direct contact with East Devon District Council rough sleepers coordinators to support clients to access accommodation.
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Liaised with other local council departments who can provide advice and help to those at risk of becoming homeless including the financial resilience team.
Donors and fundraising
The charity is entirely dependent on the generosity of local organisations and individuals who donate monies to support our work. The trustees would like to thank everyone who has supported Gateway in the last year because without their help we wouldn’t be able to continue our work.
We received £6032 income in the form of donations from many sources and whilst it is difficult to mention one without mentioning everyone, we are particularly grateful for the ongoing support of several of the churches in Sidmouth and Salcombe Regis, Sidmouth Lions Club and the Mustard Seed café. We also wish to recognise the contribution that individuals make on a regular basis either through a monthly or annual donation.
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Gateway Sidmouth – Annual Report and Accounts
We have continued to promote ‘Gift Aid’ to our donors this year and added a further £979 to our funds through claims made under this scheme.
Expenditure
The trustees keep the expenses of the charity under regular review and aim to keep the operating expenses as low as is reasonably practical.
Expenditure is broken down in to areas such as client support, volunteer expenses, Website update and IT support, insurance, premises rental and utilities.
Our support to clients includes a warm space for conversations about their situation. The hospitality of a cup of tea and a meal for the hungry. We have provided tents, clothing, towels and toiletries but most of these items are donated.
Volunteers
Gateway is extremely grateful to and wishes to thank all our volunteers for the skills, knowledge, experience and commitment they bring to helping the homeless or those facing homelessness in our community.
The charity has seen a small turnover in volunteers with some leaving and others starting. We are very fortunate to have in our cohort of starters some volunteers with a strong sense of wanting to help in our community and to help people who are facing homelessness. They are committed to learning how best to support our clients and most volunteers will learn ‘on the job’.
Our volunteer leavers have had many reasons for stopping their face to face work with clients and where there are lessons for running the charity we welcome this feedback. Some volunteers are offering support in new ways rather than with clients such as sourcing goods needed by our clients or managing historic paper-based client files to ensure that all our records are digitised.
We currently have a small group of six volunteers with two new volunteers ready to start once we have completed their recruitment checks. We need more volunteers to allow us to cover periods of absence and holidays easily and are always happy to hear from anyone who is interested to volunteer. Our recruitment is mainly by word
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Gateway Sidmouth – Annual Report and Accounts
of mouth although we plan to raise awareness of the opportunity to volunteer more widely next year.
Trustees
As chair I am extremely grateful to the talented team of trustees who share their knowledge, experience and wisdom to direct Gateway as it develops into a more established organisation.
We are actively seeking new trustees to fill the vacancies left by our colleagues earlier this year. As with volunteers, this tends to be by word of mouth and again we will be more active next raising the profile of the charity and our need for new trustees.
……………………………………………..
Susan Marshall Chair – Gateway Sidmouth
Date
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Gateway Sidmouth – Annual Report and Accounts
| Gateway Sidmouth - 01/07/2024 to 30/06/2025 |
£ |
£ |
|---|---|---|
| Income and Expenditure Account (£) | ||
| INCOME | ||
| Donatons and legacies | 6031.8 | |
| Charitable fundraising actvites | 3265.1 | |
| Grants | 0 | |
| Gif Aid | 979.38 | |
| TOTAL INCOME | 10276.28 | 10276.28 |
| EXPENDITURE | ||
| Volunteer expenses | 462.48 | |
| Website / data mang. / Computer support | 1338.35 | |
| Mobile phone | 216.5 | |
| Insurance | 724.4 | |
| Premises - rental and utlites | 1226.07 | |
| Marketng materials | 542.4 | |
| Client equipment | 1309 | |
| Food and beverages - clients and volunteers | 2732.05 | |
| Homeless Link membership | 60 | |
| TOTAL EXPENDITURE | 8611.25 | 8611.25 |
| NET GAINS /(LOSSES) ON INTEREST | 451 | 451 |
| NET SURPLUS / (EXPENDITURE) | 2116.03 |
Signed by Treasurer A.R. McIlwraith. 14/07/2025
Gateway Sidmouth - accounts 01/07/2024 to 30/06/2025 Balance Sheet (£)
CURRENT ASSETS
Cash in hand 30/06/2024 Surplus in period 01/07/204 to 30/06/2025 Cash Held Debtors - money owed to charity TOTAL CURRENT ASSETS
LIABILITIES
Creditors - amounts falling due within one year
NET CURRENT ASSETS
TOTAL YEAR END FUNDS
Note 1 - Current account cash - £5700.06 / Deposit Account - £21727.07 Cash - £50 - Total Cash - £27474 (27474 + 907.55 - 486.3 = £27895.25) Note 2 - Church donations for last 6 months = £835 / Gift Aid £72.55 = £907.55. Both paid in July 2025
Note 3 - Mustard Seed Rental Costs for April, May and June 25 = £450 / Error in Mustard Seed payment £36.3 (Jan 2025) - total 486.30. This amount paid in July 2025 Note 4 - Cash was not recorded in the prior year and the £50 seems to have been accumulated via unattributed donations. Cash use is now recorded in a cash book.
£ £ Note
25307.97 2116.03 50 4 907.55 2 28381.55 28381.55 486.3 3 26845.48 27895.25 27895.25 1