THE DEMENTIA CARE HUB CIO
TRUSTEE ANNUAL REPORT FOR THE YEAR
01.04.2025 to 31.03.2026
Reference and administrative information
| Status: | The Dementia Care Hub is a Charitable Incorporated Organisation |
|---|---|
| (CIO) incorporated on 3rdAugust 2023 | |
| Governing | Trust Deed registered with the Charity Commission |
| document: | |
| Registered charity | 1204216 |
| number: | |
| Principal address and | Glenbrook |
| registered office: | 252 Calmore Road |
| Calmore, SO40 2RB | |
| Accountant: | Sara Sawyer, Eve Day Accountancy Ltd |
| Glenbrook, 252 Calmore Road, Calmore, SO40 2RB | |
| Trustees: | Richard Glover, Chair from 1 July 2025 |
| Virginia Hodge, Vice-chair from 1 July 2025 | |
| Fiona Chaabane | |
| Natasha Allan | |
| Catherine Palmer –March 2026 | |
| Laura Simmons –March 2026 | |
| Simon Brimble – resigned 30 June 2025 | |
| Executives: | Dr Kellyn Lee, CEO, Resigned November 2025 and left on |
| 28 February 2026 | |
| Emma Golby-Kirk, Director, Joined 2ndMarch 2026 |
The Dementia Care Hub, Trustee Annual Report, FYE 31.03.2026
Structure, Governance and Management
The Dementia Care Hub (TDCH) has undergone a significant change in leadership in the 25/26 financial year, bringing about challenges from a management and governance perspective which have now been resolved. Former Chair, Simon Brimble, stepped down at the end of June 2025 and was replaced by Rick Glover and Virginia Hodge who agreed to be Chair and Vice-Chair in the interim period while a new Chair was appointed. However, this was put on hold due to the resignation of founding CEO, Dr Kellyn Lee, in November 2025 who left the charity on 25 February 2026 to pursue more commercial activities and focus on research and practice. A new Director, Emma Golby-Kirk, was recruited in January 2026 and she joined the charity on 2[nd] March 2026. Emma has worked closely with the Chair, Vice-Chair and trustee team to build on the strong legacy of founder Dr Kellyn Lee and to further develop the charity’s activities and services.
Two new trustees have joined the charity during this financial year: Laura Simmons and Ruth Palmer, known as Catherine. Both of whom have been very supportive and have made valuable contributions to the Board. The six-strong trustee team bring widespread experience and expertise in charity governance, HR/ organisational development, stakeholder engagement and consultancy, law, operational leadership in health and social care, specialist dementia care and nursing care, as well as lived experience of caring for someone with dementia.
The Chair and Vice-Chair have agreed to remain in role to support the consolidation of TDCH and its activities in the leadership transition period. There have been a number of recent improvements in both systems and processes which have strengthened the charity’s compliance with standards of good governance, for example, improvements in internal financial controls.
Trustee selection process
The current trustees have been selected via personal recommendation, or in the case of specific skills being required through LinkedIn postings. It is the trustee body who can appoint trustees. All applications are reviewed for suitability, and shortlisted candidates are invited for interview. Those who are found suitable to be considered for a role are then invited to attend a trustee meeting as an observer to see firsthand the operation of the charity and Board. Once a trustee candidate has confirmed they wish to join the Board, existing trustees then vote on whether the candidate should be invited to formally join. Once this process is complete, and new trustees have attended their first committee meeting, they are then registered with the Charity Commission.
Objectives and Activities
The Dementia Care Hub (TDCH) was set up “for the public benefit to relieve the needs of persons living with a dementia, their families and carers, by providing support, training, and guidance and by the provision of facilities for respite and recreation in a safe and stimulating environment” .
The charity delivers advice, support and wellbeing activities from three hubs in Totton and Calmore, Waterside (Hythe) and Portchester. The hubs provide welcoming spaces for people to connect, enjoy shared experiences, access advice and support and build supportive relationships.
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The Dementia Care Hub, Trustee Annual Report, FYE 31.03.2026
The charity’s mission is to make the lives of people living with dementia and their carer support better, and to prevent avoidable distress through practical and emotional support that is inclusive and accessible to all. We do this through:
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Weekly drop-in social groups for anyone affected by dementia
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Wellbeing activity days providing regular, person-centred respite for people living with dementia
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Support groups for carers, both online and in-person
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Wellbeing support calls for those who need a listening ear
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Advice, referrals and advocacy when extra help is needed.
Each hub is run by an experienced hub manager and is supported by a team of wellbeing facilitators and volunteer helpers.
The Dementia Care Hub Organisation Chart (June 2026)
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Emma Golby-Kirk
Executive Director
Nerys Blackburn
Operations Manager
Debbie Sutton Alex Herring Ange Watson
Hub Manager
Hub Manager Hub Manager
Portchester
Totton Waterside
Sarah Allfree
Tanya James Rachel Cadby
Wellbeing Facilitator
Wellbeing Facilitator Wellbeing Facilitator
Victoria Beale
Deboragh Lough
Wellbeing Facilitator
Wellbeing Facilitator
Bonnie Simpson
Bev Cross Wellbeing Facilitator
Wellbeing Facilitator
Hayley Hulett
Wellbeing Facilitator
----- End of picture text -----
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The Dementia Care Hub, Trustee Annual Report, FYE 31.03.2026
The charity employees a staff team of 13 (5.5 FTE posts) who are supported by 27 regular volunteers, as well as ad hoc volunteers and supporters. The outgoing CEO (60% contract) has been replaced by an Executive Director (70% contract). Many of the staff and volunteer team have been with the charity since its inception and many have lived experience of supporting someone living with dementia. Their dedication and commitment to their roles is a strength of The Dementia Care Hub and a significant factor in the ongoing development of hub communities as effective and adaptable sources of support for people living with dementia and their carer partners.
Achievements and Performance
The last financial year has seen the continued the growth of TDCH. The number of member beneficiaries has increased, and we continue to see strong demand for our services.
Over the year, 277 people accessed our service, including 98 carers, 105 people living with dementia (Plwd), and 74 enquiries.
What our members say
Our team consisted of 13 staff members and 36 volunteers supporting activities across three hubs. Weekly, we delivered three social groups and five wellbeing sessions, with volunteers contributing between two and five hours per week totalling over 4,300 hours.
Across all groups and hubs, there were 3,643 attendances throughout the year, consisting of people living with dementia and members of their carer support network.
We made an additional 1,488 contacts with 274 people outside of our groups via telephone, email, letter and the website. Those supported included carers, plwd and general enquirers.
16 staff/volunteers undertook training which included safeguarding and GDPR.
The charity’s seven trustees have provided more than 264 hours of support to the charity over the past year, supporting with governance, HR and leadership. Trustees have also lent specialist expertise and experience in dementia care to the charity’s carer support activity development, which will develop further over the next financial year.
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The Dementia Care Hub, Trustee Annual Report, FYE 31.03.2026
Overall, despite a period of instability due to the changes in leadership, the 2025-2026 financial year has been a year of positive growth and consolidation of the founding CEO Dr Kellyn Lee’s vision – a testament to the energy and expertise that she invested in the charity. Whilst there is still interest in further growth and expansion of our hub-based activities, trustees, in partnership with the newly appointed director, maintain a cautious approach to developing into new areas. The priority is to focus on localities which have been identified as rurally isolated or underserved, and to ensure that expansion into identified new localities, is appropriately funded and supported.
The new director, Emma Golby-Kirk, brings experience in reminiscence and arts as wellbeing in dementia care, as well as community-led project development, and the next year will see new partnerships and exciting developments with organisations including Drums 4 Health and the National Motor Museum Beaulieu.
Our impact at a glance (FY25/26)
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The Dementia Care Hub, Trustee Annual Report, FYE 31.03.2026
Financial Review
| Financial Statement Year Ending 31 March 2026 | Financial Statement Year Ending 31 March 2026 | Financial Statement Year Ending 31 March 2026 | Financial Statement Year Ending 31 March 2026 | Financial Statement Year Ending 31 March 2026 | Financial Statement Year Ending 31 March 2026 | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| RECEIPTS | |||||||
| Donations | £41,205 | Balance Sheet as 1 April 2025 | |||||
| Grants | £39,325 | Unrestricted funds | £11,768 | ||||
| Interest Received | £197 | Restricted funds | £26,272 | ||||
| Membership | £10,471 | £38,040 | |||||
| Research Day fees | £900 | Balance Sheet as at 31 March 2026 | |||||
| Wellbeing | £119,363 | Current Assets | |||||
| TOTAL INCOME | £211,461 | Current account | £9,819 | ||||
| Reserves | £52,947 | ||||||
| Net of Accounts Receivable/Payable | -£5,939 | ||||||
| PAYMENTS | £56,827 | ||||||
| Direct Expenses | £7,907 | ||||||
| Hall hire | £19,748 | ||||||
| Transport costs | £4,824 | ASSETS | |||||
| Advertising | £1,242 | ||||||
| Bank fees | £76 | Total Net Assets 1 April 2025 | £38,040 | ||||
| Employment costs | £151,255 | ||||||
| IT, office, subscriptions et | c | £5,500 | Total Net Assets 31 March 2026 | £56,827 | |||
| Consultants | £395 | ||||||
| Insurance | £595 | ||||||
| Training & development | £1,109 | ||||||
| TOTAL PAYMENTS | £192,651 | ||||||
| Excess of Income/Expenditure | £18,810 |
Overview
The 25/26 financial year has seen the continued the growth of TDCH. Turnover after cost of sales increased from £125.5k to £203.5k, with an operating surplus of £18.8k.
The increase in turnover is due to an increase in member beneficiaries, with the new hub in Hythe attracting new regular members from the rurally isolated Waterside area and existing hubs building to 80-100% occupancy in Wellbeing Activity Days.
The charity has enjoyed its most successful year in securing income from fundraising, grants and donations. Grant awards increased threefold from £12.4k in 24/25 to £39.3k in 25/26. Donations increased slightly from £38.1k to £40.5k.
In line with the expansion of activities and services, expenditure has increased from £145.7k to £184.7k. The staff team has expanded to deliver new activities in the Waterside Hub and salaries have increased in line with the National Living Wage.
In March 2026, the charity invested £2,750 in new laptops for the management team, and commissioned an IT provider to oversee security, updates and provide a managed IT service.
Transport is a significant cost (£4.8k) but these costs were fully covered by two grants: HCC Cost of Living and Exxon Mobil. Expenditure in all other cost centres has risen in proportion to expansion of service delivery.
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The Dementia Care Hub, Trustee Annual Report, FYE 31.03.2026
Overall, FY25/26 has been a positive year for the charity as we have increased our beneficiary reach and increased income from grants and donations by 40%. However, the charity closed with a £20.2k deficit in the previous financial year and operating costs have risen in FY25/26. This means that the £18.8k surplus has been invested in the charity’s deposit account for the time being to safeguard against periods of financial fluctuation.
Reserves position
The Reserves Policy requires the charity to hold three months’ operating costs. This has been budgeted at £50k for the financial year 2026/27, an increase from £37k in 25/26. The balance of the deposit account is currently £53.4k (June 2026) and so the charity holds free reserves of £3.4k.
Fees and membership donations
The suggested monthly membership fee, which is classed as a voluntary donation, was increased from £13.75 per calendar month in FY24/25 to £15 per month in FY25/26. Membership fees are entirely voluntary, and some member beneficiaries have chosen to continue paying their original amount and some don’t pay all – for example carers who are experiencing financial difficulties due to caring for someone living with dementia.
Wellbeing fees have been increased from £70 per five-hour wellbeing session to £75 for the day. We continue to support members by applying a nil charge for sessions that are missed due to illness, medical appointments or the unpredictability of living with dementia. This is under review in the 26/27 financial year to ensure the financial sustainability of the charity.
Grants and Donations
The vital support that the charity has received from grant providers, trusts, foundations and our donor and supporter community has enabled us to offer free / by donation support to as many people as possible. Grants and fundraising income has also subsidised places at our wellbeing activity sessions so that we can maintain an affordable fee to the beneficiary and continue to operate when members are absent due to sickness and the challenges of living with dementia.
Specific project grants have helped us fund new equipment and deliver enrichment wellbeing activities and trips with third-party support. We are also grateful to funders who have invested in our general running so that we can offer nutritious fresh-cooked meals and provide transport to those who are unable to make the journey to hub-based activities themselves.
We wish to thank the following funders for their generous support of the charity’s core operations and specific projects in FY25/26:
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Charles Hayward Foundation
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Cooperative Group
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Energise Me (Culture in Common)
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Exxon Mobil
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Hampshire County Council – Cost of Living Fund
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New Forest District Council
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Tesco Groundworks
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Totton and Eling Council
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The Dementia Care Hub, Trustee Annual Report, FYE 31.03.2026
Our donor supporters include members of our staff and volunteer community, as well as local businesses who invest time and energy into raising funds to support the ongoing operations of the charity. Without them, we wouldn’t function.
Special thanks this year also go to three members of our beneficiary community who raised donations for The Dementia Care Hub in memory of loved ones who have passed away.
We warmly thank all donors who have supported the charity in FY25/26. In line with our Privacy Policy, we have not named individual donors in this report, but we extend our thanks to the following
organisational donors, many of whom have been approached or directly involve our staff and volunteers:
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The Cadnam Cup
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Copythorne Amateur Theatrical Society
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Empress of Blanding pub
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Minstead Fete
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Netley Marsh Steam Engine Rally
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Southampton Freemasonry, Peace and Harmony Masonic Lodge
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Portchester Fire Station
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Santo Lounge
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The Salmon Leap, Totton
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Totton panto
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University of Oxford
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University of Portsmouth
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Water Aid
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The White Hart pub
Financial summary
The accounts show that there is no concern regarding the ability of the charity to remain a going concern. There is tight control of the budgets and prudent financial action has been taken when needed.
Support-in-Kind
Since TDCH’s inception we have been fortunate to have received considerable pro bono support from Rachel Cooper of Welbeck Accountancy who has provided accountancy services and prepared the charity’s EOY accounts. Rachel stepped down from this role at the end of the 24/25 financial year and a new accountant has been appointed.
The charity has also been supported by Steven Lynes, at Behegan Lynes, who has provided payroll services to the charity since its inception. Steven chose to step down at the end of the 24/25 financial year, due to the increased workload as the charity has grown its staff team.
The charity and its trustees would like to formally record their thanks to Rachel Cooper and Steven Lynes for all the support that they have given in providing pro bono accountancy and payroll services from the charity’s inception to enable it to become established and sustainable.
We would also like to thank the Empress of Blandings pub who have provided facilities for us to host staff training days at no charge to TDCH.
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The Dementia Care Hub, Trustee Annual Report, FYE 31.03.2026
At the start of the year, the Waterside Hub was meeting at Carpathia Grange by the kind generosity of the management. This arrangement was found to cause difficulties for residents of the care home and members of TDCH, so in February 2026 the Waterside Hub relocated to 14[th] Applemore Scout Hut in the grounds of Applemore College, Hythe. We would like to thank the management and team at Carpathia Grange for all the support that they gave us while we were able to use their facilities.
Finally, the trustees would like to thank Nicky Harper of Harper Design Studio who provides pro bono website management and design services for the charity enabling us to keep beneficiaries (existing and new) well informed of the support available from The Dementia Care Hub.
Risk Management
The following are the principal risks facing the charity:
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Lack of revenue streams to support growth and sustainability
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Insufficient volunteers to support the charity’s objectives
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Maintaining high quality emotional wellbeing support of people with dementia and their carers
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Funding and supporting training and development of staff and volunteers
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Awareness and access barriers, particularly in rurally isolated areas
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Loss of institutional knowledge due to lean leadership structure
These risks are under regular review by the Executive Director and Trustee Board and will be mitigated by securing development funding to strengthen the charity’s management and administrative function.
Forward planning
The focus in the 26/27 financial year is to consolidate the charity’s financial position by securing three-tofive-year development and sustainability funding. The focus on ensuring the quality of delivery in personcentred practice and emotional wellbeing support will continue through development of a whole organisation training and development plan. The charity will forge new working partnerships with arts, cultural and health and wellbeing stakeholders to develop specialist therapeutic support to people living with dementia and the carers who support them. Finally, we aim to secure investment to develop external evaluation of our activities and services so we can better understand and demonstrate the impact we make in building communities of support and helping people live well with dementia.
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The Dementia Care Hub, Trustee Annual Report, FYE 31.03.2026
Declarations
The trustees declare that they have approved the trustees’ report above.
Signed on behalf of the charity’s trustees:
----- Start of picture text -----
Signature(s)
Full name(s) Rick Glover Virginia Hodge
Position(s) Chair Vice Chair
Date 7 July 2026 13 July 2026
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