Trustees' Annual Report and Accounts Year End 31 March 2025
1. Reference and Administrative Details
Detail Information Charity Name The Sophie Fitzpatrick Charitable Foundation for Rare Cancers Charity Registration 1205856 Number Principal Office Address Fieldfare, Manor Lane, West Hendred, WANTAGE, Oxfordshire, OX12 8RX Trustees Piers Denne (Chairman & Trustee), Giles Fitzpatrick (Trustee), Benjamin Matthews (Trustee & Secretary), Mungo Matthews (Trustee & Finance Director) Independent Examiner Buffery & Co Ltd, Chiltern House, 45 Station Road, Henley on Thames, Oxfordshire, RG9 1AT Bankers Lloyds Business Banking, Registered Office: 25 Gresham Street, London, EC2V 7HN
2. Structure, Governance and Management
Constitution
For the relief of sickness and the preservation and protection of health of people with forms of rare cancer, particularly, but not exclusively, appendiceal cancer by:
-
A. Providing information resources for patients, and their families about available treatments, clinical trials and the location of cancer specialists in the UK
-
B. Grant giving to research projects and patients.
Trustee Recruitment and Appointment
New Trustees are appointed as required by the existing trustees as part of regular Charity meetings and AGM’s. The Charity is committed to maintaining a balance of skills and experience among its Trustees to ensure effective governance.
Organisational Structure
The Charity is managed by the Board of Trustees, who meet monthly to set the strategy and review operational performance. The Charity's responsibilities and day-to-day operations are shared across the trustees.
3. Objectives and Activities
Charitable Purposes:
“To help people who have been diagnosed with a rare cancer”
The Sophie Fitzpatrick Charitable Foundation for Rare Cancers is here to support people who have been diagnosed with a rare cancer, especially with cancer of the appendix or goblet cell carcinoma, like Sophie. This cancer is so rare that the number of cases in the UK are undocumented and at the moment only 1,000 people in the USA are diagnosed with it out of a population of 341 million people So there is little support and few resources to help – our aim is to change this.
Objectives
The Trustees confirm that they have referred to the guidance contained in the Charity Commission’s general guidance on public benefit when reviewing the Charity’s aims and objectives and in planning future activities.
As this was the Charity’s first full year in operation a large proportion of the time has been on building a support network and better understanding the existing landscape of Charity’s supporting Rare Cancers in the UK.
With regards to the two stated focus areas for the Charity, in the 2024/2025 financial year, the Charity carried out the following activities to meet its purposes:
-
Providing information resources for patients, and their families about available treatments, clinical trials and the location of cancer specialists in the UK
-
a. Exploration of potential partnerships with existing platforms on how we can leverage their existing efforts to further support patients suffering from Rare Cancers.
-
Grant giving to research projects and patients.
-
a. Exploration of potential partnerships with hospitals to better understand rare cancers and identify improved treatment for patients (see key achievements).
-
b. Research into how the Charity can further support people facing rare cancers
-
Fundraising
-
a. Continue efforts to raise money for the Charity across individual events, corporate funding and annual events hosted by the Charity.
4. Achievements and Performance (Year in Review: 2025/2026)
This section highlights the positive impact of our work and the difference we made to our beneficiaries in our first full year of operations.
Key Achievements
-
The Charity donated £15,000 (the first of two payments totalling £30,000) helping to establish The Royal Marsden’s CLARITY biobank research project. CLARITY will investigate why gastrointestinal (GI) cancers are beginning to affect patients at younger ages:n
-
Researchers will collect samples from patients which will be stored within a specialist biobank. This will include between 20-25 appendiceal cancer patients, among other GI cancer types.
-
The CLARITY Biobank will be a comprehensive collection of multi-modal detailed data for patients experiencing early onset GI cancers. Using the information collated into the biobank, researchers at The Royal Marsden hope to identify trends in risk factors leading to the early onset of GI cancers to help with prevention, early detection and more precise treatment. They also hope to develop a better understanding of the
behaviour of these cancers, the effectiveness of different treatments, and the side effects experienced by this unique patient group.
-
The CLARITY biobank project has the potential to impact the way in which appendiceal cancers are diagnosed and treated as part of larger collaborative efforts nationally and internationally. We are proud to fund this vital research and look forward to updating our supporters as this exciting project progresses.
-
The Charity has explored potential partners that will allow the Charity’s funds to directly support patients battling rare cancers and this work has continued into the new financial year.
-
There are ongoing conversations with “Act For Cancer” to further explore the opportunity to deliver on our first stated objective.
-
Fundraising has grown YoY across individual and corporate donations.
Reporting on Public Benefit
The most significant impact of our work was funding research into the CLarity biobank project that aims to better understand the trends in risk factors leading to early onset of Gastrointestinal (GI) cancers to help with prevention, early detection and more precise treatment . We believe our activities provide clear public benefit by supporting the research into rare GI cancers and supporting patients with the detection and treatment of such cancers. The Charity has also begun exploration into how we can directly provide support and funding to cancer patients with travel grants to ensure they are able to access the necessary treatments and ensure patients from all economic-socio backgrounds can access the required treatment in their battles.
5. Financial Review
Principal Funding Sources
The Charity's principal sources of funding during the year were individual fundraising (e.g. through Just Giving), our annual Charity ball and corporate donations.
Going Concern
The Trustees have reviewed the financial position of the Charity, including its assets, liabilities, and reserves, and are satisfied that the Charity remains a going concern and can continue to meet its obligations as they fall due for at least the next twelve months.
6. Financial Summary (Receipts and Payments Basis)
Note: This is a summary of the accounts required for the Trustees' Report. The full Receipts and Payments Account and Statement of Assets and Liabilities are attached separately.
The Charities Financial period start date: 22/11/2023 & Financial period end date: 31/03/2025.
Statement of financial activities
for the year ended March 2025
| Incoming Resources Donations Fundraising Events Income received from investment portfolio Total incoming resources Resources expended Donations Events Costs Office and IT Accountancy and Administration Total resources expended Net incoming/(outgoing) resources Net realised reserves brought forward Realised loss on investments Net realised reserves carried forward |
Period from November 2023 to Year Ended March 2025 £ 38,328 64,206 543 |
|---|---|
| 103,077 15,000 4,448 2,085 0 |
|
| 21,533 81,544 27,818 0 |
|
| 109,362 |
Balance sheet as at 31 March 2025
| Current Assets Cash at bank Investment Portfolio Current Liabilities Loan from Trustees Accrued Expenses Net Current Assets (Liabilitiy) Financed by Realised Reserves Surplus/(Deficit) for period Surplus/(Deficit) b/fwd Realised Reserves Unrealsied Reserves Surplus/(Deficit) for period Surplus/(Deficit) Unrealsied Reserces Total Reserves |
- | 31 March 2025 £ 3,617 105,745 0 0 |
- | 0 0 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 109,362 | ||||
| 81,544 27,818 |
||||
| 109,362 - - - |
||||
| - | ||||
| 109,362 |
Declaration and Approval
The Trustees declare that they have approved the Trustees' Annual Report set out above.
Signed on behalf of the Charity's Trustees:
Signature:
Full Name: Piers Henry David Denne
Position: Chairman
Date: 31/01/2026
Trustees' Annual Report and Accounts Year End 31 March 2025
1. Reference and Administrative Details
Detail Information Charity Name The Sophie Fitzpatrick Charitable Foundation for Rare Cancers Charity Registration 1205856 Number Principal Office Address Fieldfare, Manor Lane, West Hendred, WANTAGE, Oxfordshire, OX12 8RX Trustees Piers Denne (Chairman & Trustee), Giles Fitzpatrick (Trustee), Benjamin Matthews (Trustee & Secretary), Mungo Matthews (Trustee & Finance Director) Independent Examiner Buffery & Co Ltd, Chiltern House, 45 Station Road, Henley on Thames, Oxfordshire, RG9 1AT Bankers Lloyds Business Banking, Registered Office: 25 Gresham Street, London, EC2V 7HN
2. Structure, Governance and Management
Constitution
For the relief of sickness and the preservation and protection of health of people with forms of rare cancer, particularly, but not exclusively, appendiceal cancer by:
-
A. Providing information resources for patients, and their families about available treatments, clinical trials and the location of cancer specialists in the UK
-
B. Grant giving to research projects and patients.
Trustee Recruitment and Appointment
New Trustees are appointed as required by the existing trustees as part of regular Charity meetings and AGM’s. The Charity is committed to maintaining a balance of skills and experience among its Trustees to ensure effective governance.
Organisational Structure
The Charity is managed by the Board of Trustees, who meet monthly to set the strategy and review operational performance. The Charity's responsibilities and day-to-day operations are shared across the trustees.
3. Objectives and Activities
Charitable Purposes:
“To help people who have been diagnosed with a rare cancer”
The Sophie Fitzpatrick Charitable Foundation for Rare Cancers is here to support people who have been diagnosed with a rare cancer, especially with cancer of the appendix or goblet cell carcinoma, like Sophie. This cancer is so rare that the number of cases in the UK are undocumented and at the moment only 1,000 people in the USA are diagnosed with it out of a population of 341 million people So there is little support and few resources to help – our aim is to change this.
Objectives
The Trustees confirm that they have referred to the guidance contained in the Charity Commission’s general guidance on public benefit when reviewing the Charity’s aims and objectives and in planning future activities.
As this was the Charity’s first full year in operation a large proportion of the time has been on building a support network and better understanding the existing landscape of Charity’s supporting Rare Cancers in the UK.
With regards to the two stated focus areas for the Charity, in the 2024/2025 financial year, the Charity carried out the following activities to meet its purposes:
-
Providing information resources for patients, and their families about available treatments, clinical trials and the location of cancer specialists in the UK
-
a. Exploration of potential partnerships with existing platforms on how we can leverage their existing efforts to further support patients suffering from Rare Cancers.
-
Grant giving to research projects and patients.
-
a. Exploration of potential partnerships with hospitals to better understand rare cancers and identify improved treatment for patients (see key achievements).
-
b. Research into how the Charity can further support people facing rare cancers
-
Fundraising
-
a. Continue efforts to raise money for the Charity across individual events, corporate funding and annual events hosted by the Charity.
4. Achievements and Performance (Year in Review: 2025/2026)
This section highlights the positive impact of our work and the difference we made to our beneficiaries in our first full year of operations.
Key Achievements
-
The Charity donated £15,000 (the first of two payments totalling £30,000) helping to establish The Royal Marsden’s CLARITY biobank research project. CLARITY will investigate why gastrointestinal (GI) cancers are beginning to affect patients at younger ages:n
-
Researchers will collect samples from patients which will be stored within a specialist biobank. This will include between 20-25 appendiceal cancer patients, among other GI cancer types.
-
The CLARITY Biobank will be a comprehensive collection of multi-modal detailed data for patients experiencing early onset GI cancers. Using the information collated into the biobank, researchers at The Royal Marsden hope to identify trends in risk factors leading to the early onset of GI cancers to help with prevention, early detection and more precise treatment. They also hope to develop a better understanding of the
behaviour of these cancers, the effectiveness of different treatments, and the side effects experienced by this unique patient group.
-
The CLARITY biobank project has the potential to impact the way in which appendiceal cancers are diagnosed and treated as part of larger collaborative efforts nationally and internationally. We are proud to fund this vital research and look forward to updating our supporters as this exciting project progresses.
-
The Charity has explored potential partners that will allow the Charity’s funds to directly support patients battling rare cancers and this work has continued into the new financial year.
-
There are ongoing conversations with “Act For Cancer” to further explore the opportunity to deliver on our first stated objective.
-
Fundraising has grown YoY across individual and corporate donations.
Reporting on Public Benefit
The most significant impact of our work was funding research into the CLarity biobank project that aims to better understand the trends in risk factors leading to early onset of Gastrointestinal (GI) cancers to help with prevention, early detection and more precise treatment . We believe our activities provide clear public benefit by supporting the research into rare GI cancers and supporting patients with the detection and treatment of such cancers. The Charity has also begun exploration into how we can directly provide support and funding to cancer patients with travel grants to ensure they are able to access the necessary treatments and ensure patients from all economic-socio backgrounds can access the required treatment in their battles.
5. Financial Review
Principal Funding Sources
The Charity's principal sources of funding during the year were individual fundraising (e.g. through Just Giving), our annual Charity ball and corporate donations.
Going Concern
The Trustees have reviewed the financial position of the Charity, including its assets, liabilities, and reserves, and are satisfied that the Charity remains a going concern and can continue to meet its obligations as they fall due for at least the next twelve months.
6. Financial Summary (Receipts and Payments Basis)
Note: This is a summary of the accounts required for the Trustees' Report. The full Receipts and Payments Account and Statement of Assets and Liabilities are attached separately.
The Charities Financial period start date: 22/11/2023 & Financial period end date: 31/03/2025.
Statement of financial activities
for the year ended March 2025
| Incoming Resources Donations Fundraising Events Income received from investment portfolio Total incoming resources Resources expended Donations Events Costs Office and IT Accountancy and Administration Total resources expended Net incoming/(outgoing) resources Net realised reserves brought forward Realised loss on investments Net realised reserves carried forward |
Period from November 2023 to Year Ended March 2025 £ 38,328 64,206 543 |
|---|---|
| 103,077 15,000 4,448 2,085 0 |
|
| 21,533 81,544 27,818 0 |
|
| 109,362 |
Balance sheet as at 31 March 2025
| Current Assets Cash at bank Investment Portfolio Current Liabilities Loan from Trustees Accrued Expenses Net Current Assets (Liabilitiy) Financed by Realised Reserves Surplus/(Deficit) for period Surplus/(Deficit) b/fwd Realised Reserves Unrealsied Reserves Surplus/(Deficit) for period Surplus/(Deficit) Unrealsied Reserces Total Reserves |
- | 31 March 2025 £ 3,617 105,745 0 0 |
- | 0 0 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 109,362 | ||||
| 81,544 27,818 |
||||
| 109,362 - - - |
||||
| - | ||||
| 109,362 |
Declaration and Approval
The Trustees declare that they have approved the Trustees' Annual Report set out above.
Signed on behalf of the Charity's Trustees:
Signature:
Full Name: Piers Henry David Denne
Position: Chairman
Date: 31/01/2026
Independent examiner’s report
on the Accounts of the Sophie Fitzpatrick Charitable Foundation for the period ended 31 March 2025
I report to the trustees of the Sophie Fitzpatrick Charitable Foundation (charity number: 1205856) on the accounts for the period ended 31 March 2025 set out in this report.
The charity's trustees are responsible for the preparation of the accounts. The charity’s trustees consider that an audit is not required for this period under section 144 of the Charities Act 2011 (the Charities Act) and that an independent examination is needed.
It is my responsibility to:
-
examine the accounts under section 145 of the Charities Act,
-
to follow the procedures laid down in the general Directions given by the Charity Commission (under section 145(5)(b) of the Charities Act, and
-
to state whether particular matters have come to my attention.
My examination was carried out in accordance with general Directions given by the Charity Commission. An examination includes a review of the accounting records kept by the charity and a comparison of the accounts presented with those records. It also includes consideration of any unusual items or disclosures in the accounts and seeking explanations from the trustees concerning any such matters. The procedures undertaken do not provide all the evidence that would be required in an audit, and consequently no opinion is given as to whether the accounts present a ‘true and fair’ view and the report is limited to those matters set out in the statement below.
In connection with my examination, no matter has come to my attention
-
which gives me reasonable cause to believe that in, any material respect, the requirements:
-
to keep accounting records in accordance with section 130 of the Charities Act; and
-
to prepare accounts which accord with the accounting records and comply with the accounting requirements of the Charities Act have not been met; or
-
to which, in my opinion, attention should be drawn to enable a proper understanding of the accounts to be reached.
Mark Buffery FCA
Buffery & Co Ltd Chiltern House 45 Station Road Henley on Thames RG9 1AT 30 January 2026