2025-04-30-accounts

TRUSTEES’ ANNUAL REPORT 2[nd] July 2024 – 30[th] June 2025

Charity registration number: 1208935

Avid’s Angels Cat Rescue

Charity No.: 1208935

Trustees’ Annual Report

For the period 2[nd] July 2024 to 30[th] June 2025

Introduction

The Trustees are pleased to present their report with the independently examined financial statements of Avid’s Angels Cat Rescue. This is the first period of operation of the Charitable Incorporated Organisation, which covers 2[nd] July 2024 to 30[th] June 2025.

Charity Information, Trustees and Structure

Name of Charity: Avid’s Angels Cat Rescue Charity Registration Number: 1208935 Charity’s Principal Address: 14 Shawcroft View Bolton BL1 8UU

Trustees:

Names of Trustees who served during the period and since the period end are as follows:

Trustee Name Position Dates of Service (if not for the full period) Jennifer Ann Rimmer Chair First Trustee Michelle Joanne Morson First Trustee Chloe Ann Rimmer First Trustee Eileen Veronica Hatton First Trustee Donald Warner Silvester First Trustee Independent Examiner: Karen Bartlett (ICAEW) Axis Accounting & Bookkeeping Ltd Colchester Business Centre 1 George Williams Way Colchester CO1 2JS Bankers: Lloyds Bank PLC 25 Gresham Street London EC2V 7HN	Trustee Name	Position	Dates of Service (if not for the full period)
	Jennifer Ann Rimmer	Chair	First Trustee
	Michelle Joanne Morson		First Trustee
	Chloe Ann Rimmer		First Trustee
	Eileen Veronica Hatton		First Trustee
	Donald Warner Silvester		First Trustee

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Avid’s Angels Cat Rescue

Charity No.: 1208935

Description of the charity’s trusts:

Type of governing document	Constitution, 2ndJuly 2024
How the charity is constituted	Charitable Incorporated Organisation (CIO)
Trustee selection methods	There must be at least three charity trustees. If the number falls below this minimum, the remaining trustee or trustees may act only to call a meeting of the charity trustees, or appoint a new charity trustee. The maximum number of charity trustees is 12. The charity trustees may not appoint any charity trustee if as a result the number of charity trustees would exceed the maximum. Apart from the frst charity trustees, every trustee must be appointed for a term of 3 years by a resolution passed at a properly convened meeting of the charity trustees. In selecting individuals for appointment as charity trustees, the charity trustees must have regard to the skills, knowledge and experience needed for the efective administration of the CIO.

Objectives and Activities

Purposes of the charity, as set out by the Governing Document

The objectives of the charity are:

(1) To relieve the suffering of unwanted, stray, abandoned and injured cats and to promote humane behaviour towards animals by:

(a) providing foster homes or other facilities for the reception, care and treatment of cats in need of care and attention by reason of abandonment, maltreatment, poor circumstances, or ill-usage;

(b) providing appropriate veterinary care for such cats, including treatment of illness, vaccination, neutering and microchipping;

(c) actively seeking new, permanent homes for rescued cats in line with our rehoming policy;

(d) educating the public in matters pertaining to cat welfare and responsible pet ownership and the prevention of cruelty and suffering among animals in general, in particular but not exclusively through the provision of information and advice, designed to highlight the importance of neutering and microchipping of all cats.

(2) The prevention or relief of poverty on a case-by-case basis through the provision of cat food and cat litter, to cat owners who are unable to provide such items for their pets due to economic disadvantage.

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Avid’s Angels Cat Rescue

Charity No.: 1208935

Main activities in relation to those purposes for the public beneft

Homing and rehoming

The rescue, rehabilitation and rehoming of stray and unwanted cats and kittens. These are provided with a safe, secure environment and receive any necessary veterinary care they require. We provide a service to the public by taking in their unwanted cats and finding new homes for them. In many cases, owners are unable to take care of their cats due to changes in personal circumstances, financial reasons or infirmity.

Education

We believe in the importance of education to promote responsible cat ownership and reduce the number of homeless cats. We strive to educate the public on the importance of spaying/neutering and microchipping their pets, and providing proper care and nutrition.

Regular social media posts, website blogs, advice via phone/email and outreach visits/local media outlets all help us to promote responsible cat ownership and to improve the lives of cats in our community.

Poverty relief

Where funds permit, members of the local community who are experiencing financial difficulties are provided with support to enable them to feed and look after their cat/s. Elderly members of our local community, who would otherwise find it difficult to adopt a cat due to their age, are provided with the opportunity to care for a cat without the worry of veterinary bills; this provides them with companionship and a sense of purpose.

The trustees are mindful of the Charity Commission guidance that our activities should benefit the public.

Achievements and Performance

Introduction

Avid’s Angels is a dedicated and passionate cat rescue charity with the primary goals of rescuing, fostering, successfully rehoming and saving the lives of cats in the North-West of England. We believe that every cat deserves a loving, caring home and we strive to make this a reality for as many cats as possible. Our dedicated volunteers work tirelessly to rescue cats from dangerous, unhealthy and unwanted situations and provide them with the care and support they need.

We offer shelter and a foster programme that provides cats with temporary loving homes while we search for their forever families. This programme allows us to provide individualised care and attention to each cat, ensuring that they are healthy and happy before they are adopted. We rely on a network of dedicated foster homes to care for cats and kittens that are not yet ready for adoption. Fostering not only saves lives, but it also helps to socialise cats and kittens, making them more adoptable in the long-term.

Our adoption process involves an extensive screening process, including a home check, to ensure that each cat is placed in a safe and loving environment. We work closely with potential adopters to match them with the right cat, taking into consideration their lifestyle, personality, and preferences.

We provide medical care to cats if and when required, and ensure that adopted cats are neutered, vaccinated and microchipped prior to going to their adoptive homes.

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Avid’s Angels Cat Rescue

Charity No.: 1208935

We provide ongoing support to our adopters, and are always available to answer questions and provide advice. We believe that our relationship with our adopters is a lifelong commitment, and we are always here to help in any way we can.

Homing and rehoming

• Since becoming a registered charity on 2nd July 2024, Avid’s Angels Cat Rescue has successfully rehomed 98 cats, bringing the total number rehomed since the organisation began to 202.

Of these 98 cats:

• 8 were direct home-to-home adoptions due to lack of space in rescue. This enabled the 8 cats to find their forever homes whilst remaining with their respective owners until such time as suitable homes could be found.

• 20 cats were strays, or had been abandoned by tenants.

• The remainder were surrendered for various reasons, including changes in family circumstances, financial compromise, allergies, etc.

• During the year under review, we have found that the number of cat surrender requests we have received has increased dramatically. Although we are unable to accommodate every cat surrender request, we do our best to help whenever possible. If we are unable to take in a cat, we always provide advice and suggest alternative options.

Education and advice

• We have continued to actively encourage members of the public to neuter their cats, whose unplanned litters can increase the number of unwanted and stray cats. We strive to educate the public on the importance of neutering and microchipping their pets, and of providing proper care and nutrition. This is primarily done via social media on a regular basis.

• Every cat and kitten rehomed via Avid’s Angels Cat Rescue has been done so with an informative ‘Adopter Handbook’ full of advice, and new owners are always warmly encouraged to stay in contact so we can support a smooth transition into their cat’s new home.

• Our regularly updated website blog features a wide range of helpful articles offering cat care tips and advice for the general public.

• In May 2025, one of our Trustees was interviewed for a second time by a local radio station to highlight the charity’s mission and the pressing needs of the feline community in the North West of England. This enabled our voice to be heard by a wider audience than social media alone.

• Cat owners/concerned members of the public often contact us with questions about behavioural or medical issues and, when appropriate, we have done our best to guide them towards helpful advice and support.

• We are occasionally approached by official organisations seeking assistance in situations involving cats, such as those concerning tenants and their pets.

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Avid’s Angels Cat Rescue

Charity No.: 1208935

Poverty relief

• We are often approached by members of the public who wish to surrender their cat/s into our care due to financial constraints. Whilst we are unable to take in every cat, we prioritise those cats on our waiting list who may not be receiving an adequate level of care due to their owners’ financial circumstances. As a result, 10 of the cats we have successfully rehomed in the period covered by this report were surrendered to us as their owners could not afford their cat’s upkeep.

• To alleviate short-term financial issues experienced by some local cat owners, the charity has helped by providing food and litter, where funds have permitted.

• 4 of our long-term fosterers in this time period have been elderly people who have benefitted from the company of a cat without the worry of paying veterinary bills.

Collaboration with others

• This year we have continued to work collaboratively with other local animal rescue organisations to share resources and help each other to find suitable homes for cats. We have also supported each other in promoting fundraising events.

• We have developed links with additional local rescue organisations to share advice and expertise.

• Avid’s Angels Cat Rescue has maintained strong links with several veterinary practices, and is grateful to receive a charity discount from those with which we hold an account.

Contribution made by volunteers

• Avid’s Angels Cat Rescue is operated solely by volunteers working from their own homes, with no land or property owned by the organisation. This structure allows the charity to maintain minimum overhead costs. Volunteers handle the daily care and rehoming of cats and kittens, as well as fundraising and publicity efforts.

• The Trustees extend their heartfelt thanks to all the volunteers who are (or have been) involved in admin, home checking, fostering, cat care, socialisation, transportation, social media, fundraising, bookkeeping, grant sourcing, etc. this year - they have generously given their time and dedicated countless hours of hard work. Without their invaluable support, Avid’s Angels Cat Rescue would not have been able to make such a significant impact or help so many cats.

Challenges faced

Avid’s Angels Cat Rescue has faced a number of challenges during the period covered by this report:

• Significant increase in the number of surrender forms received : we are receiving an increasing number of requests from people wishing to surrender their cats into our care - far more than the number of adoption enquiries we receive. Unfortunately, due to our small, always-full cattery and limited number of fosterers, we can only take in a small proportion of those seeking help. As a result, our waiting list remains long and, at times throughout the year, has grown so extensive that we’ve had no choice but to temporarily close it to new surrender requests.

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Avid’s Angels Cat Rescue

Charity No.: 1208935

• Rising veterinary costs: the cost of the veterinary treatments we regularly depend on has increased once again this year. At present, we are facing significant outstanding vet bills, which are challenging to pay off as we largely rely on the generosity of the public for financial support, especially in the absence of successful grant funding.

• More voluntary foster volunteers required: while we’re fortunate to have many reliable and dedicated volunteers who take on a range of vital roles, we’re still in urgent need of more cat fosterers. Despite regular promotion on social media and providing a thorough support package, applications remain scarce. With more fosterers, we’d be able to help a greater number of cats in need.

• Renovations required: one of our two small catteries has reached the end of its usable life and now needs to be replaced. The other requires frequent maintenance to ensure it continues to provide a safe and suitable environment for the cats in our care. Recently, one of the cattery pens was temporarily out of action awaiting repairs, which further limited the number of cats we were able to accommodate.

Fundraising

• Avid’s Angels Cat Rescue was fortunate to receive three grants this year: £2,000 in August 2024, £500 in December 2024, and £1,000 in March 2025. While our Trustees have submitted several applications, competition is intense, and many available grants unfortunately exclude animal welfare organisations. To improve our chances of securing future funding - and to ease the workload on our trustees - we welcomed a volunteer Grants Manager in March 2025, dedicated to handling grant applications on behalf of the rescue.

• At the time of writing this report, our outstanding veterinary bills remain substantial. We are in urgent need of financial donations and grant funding to help reduce this burden. During this financial year, we launched two GoFundMe campaigns: one for a kitten named Snowglobe, who required urgent eye treatment (raising £300), and another for Coal, a kitten born with a severe chest deformity known as pectus excavatum (with £115 raised to date). We are incredibly grateful that a local rescue organisation we work closely with has generously agreed to cover the cost of Coal’s treatment. Once the fundraiser concludes, all donations from Coal’s GoFundMe will be transferred directly to the veterinary practice providing his care.

• In September 2024, we made a social media appeal for help with veterinary bills. A total amount of £1034 was kindly donated, including a generous £1000 by an anonymous supporter directly to our vet.

• In November 2024, we received a generous £737 donation from the owner of a surrendered cat to cover the cost of necessary veterinary treatment. Following this care, the cat was successfully rehomed.

• In December 2024, we received a generous £500 donation by cheque from Mr and Mrs Piezchonka. This marks the second consecutive year this kind couple has supported our rescue, and we are profoundly grateful for their continued generosity.

• In May 2025 we were awarded a grant of £250 by Bolton Guild of Help; we asked them to pay this directly to one of our veterinary practices to reduce our bill.

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Avid’s Angels Cat Rescue

Charity No.: 1208935

• Throughout this financial year, we took part in several local fundraising events, running stalls that included tombolas, homemade Christmas wreaths, and our own range of wax melts. While these events raised modest funds for the charity, they required a significant volunteer effort. Nevertheless, we greatly value these opportunities for the awareness they generate within the community about our work.

• We have created an Amazon Wishlist and registered with the PayPal Giving Fund in the hope that these platforms will help generate both monetary donations and essential supplies. Additionally, the charity is enrolled in the online fundraising scheme 'Easyfundraising', where we currently have 23 supporters who raise funds for us simply by shopping online.

• In May 2025 Avid’s Angels Cat Rescue was thrilled to be chosen from several hundred nominations to be the cat charity partner of Jollyes Pet Store for 1 year. The store will be collecting food/litter donations, supporting us with instore events and raising awareness of our organisation across their social media channels.

• As a relatively new charity, we are continually seeking ways to expand our audience, especially on social media. Broadening our reach is crucial, as we frequently use these platforms to request much-needed donations—whether financial or supplies like cat food and litter. We are grateful to have a core group of regular supporters who contribute monthly, and we have also been fortunate to receive generous donations of food, cat litter, beds, and toys.

• We have also received a small amount of commission this year from Agria Insurance. All cats adopted from us come with five weeks of free pet insurance, and if adopters choose to continue the policy, we receive a small commission.

• We have recently installed a small number of cash donation pots in local shops in an effort to raise further funds.

Financial Review

Attached to this report is the Statement of Receipts and Payments for the period ending 30[th] June 2025.

As of 30th June 2025 the money in the charity’s bank account is £152. Income for the year: £24,736. Expenditure for the year: £24,791. Deficit for the year: £55.

Please note, although our gross income does not exceed £25,000, we have chosen to have our accounts independently verified to provide us with wider access to possible grants.

• The costs of food, litter, veterinary check-ups, and treatments remain our primary expenses. These have all increased significantly, along with our Public Liability insurance premium.

• In May 2025, we reluctantly decided it was necessary to raise our minimum adoption donation by £5 to £145. Nevertheless, we acknowledge that for many of the cats in our care, this amount does not fully cover the costs we incur for their care.

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Avid’s Angels Cat Rescue

Charity No.: 1208935

• We recognised that DocuSign was an increasingly costly platform to use for the many contracts we send out (Adoption Contracts, Surrender Contracts, Volunteer Contracts, etc.) As

we were regularly exceeding our allowed limit of 10 ‘envelopes’ each month, this was attracting further costs to the charity. In October 2024 we trialled an alternative platform, Legalesign. We find this to be much more cost-effective as we can send out an unlimited number of documents to be signed – a saving of at least £18 per month, and sometimes as much as £50.

• Cattery waste disposal has proved to be very expensive, and costs increased further in April 2025. We did successfully agree a discount with the waste disposal company, however we are constantly researching cheaper alternatives.

Future plans

The plans for the next financial year are as follows:

• We aim to expand the number of spaces available for rescue cats, enabling Avid’s Angels Cat Rescue to help even more animals in need. To achieve this, we plan to replace one of our aging catteries and recruit additional foster carers to increase our capacity.

• Claim Gift Aid on donations which qualify.

• Reduce the amounts we currently owe on veterinary bills.

• As the rescue is always operating at full capacity, we are committed to intensifying our efforts to find loving, permanent homes for the cats currently in our care.

• We plan to explore new fundraising opportunities and actively pursue animal welfare grants to support our work. Additionally, we aim to purchase more donation pots and seek permission to place them in local retail outlets - ideally alongside donation bins for cat food and litter.

• Research cheaper alternatives to cattery waste disposal.

• To review our current policies and procedures, identify any gaps, and develop any additional policies needed to ensure comprehensive and effective governance.

Reserves policy

The trustees have determined that a suitable level of reserves would be £2,000. As of the end of the period, unrestricted funds stand at £152. This means the charity’s reserves are significantly below the target level, and the trustees acknowledge the urgent need to secure additional funding through donations and grants.

Currently, there is no Reserves Policy in place, however the trustees are endeavouring to build up a Reserve Fund to provide funding for emergencies.

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Avid’s Angels Cat Rescue

Charity No.: 1208935

Trustee Remuneration

No Trustees received any remuneration during the financial period ending 30th June 2025.

Conclusion

This has been a challenging year for Avid’s Angels Cat Rescue for many reasons (see ‘Challenges faced’ above). Nevertheless, we are proud of what we have accomplished in our first year of registered charity status. Despite the challenges we have faced along the way, we remain optimistic and excited about the future. We are committed to building on our progress and working hard to achieve our goals over the next 12 months.

Statement of Trustees’ Responsibilities

The trustees are responsible for preparing the Trustees’ Annual Report and the financial statements in accordance with the applicable law and United Kingdom Standards (United Kingdom Generally Accepted Accounting Practice).

Law applicable to charities in England and Wales requires the trustees to prepare financial statements for each financial year which can give a true and fair view of the charity and of the incoming resources and the application of resources of the charity for that year.

In preparing these financial statements, the trustees are required to:

1. Select suitable accounting policies and then apply them consistently;

2. Observe the methods and principles in the Charities SORP;

3. Make judgement and estimates that are reasonable and prudent;

4. State whether applicable UK Accounting Standards have been followed, subject to any material departures disclosed and explained in the financial statements; and

5. Prepare the financial statements on the going concern basis unless it is inappropriate to presume that the charity will continue in operation.

The trustees are responsible for keeping proper accounting records which disclose with reasonable accuracy at any time the financial position of the charity and enable them to ensure that the financial statements comply with the Charities Act of 2011 and the charity Accounts and Reports Regulations of 2015. They are also responsible for safeguarding the assets of the charity and hence for taking reasonable steps for the reservation and detection of fraud and other irregularities.

The Trustees' Annual Report was approved by the trustees of the charity on 23[rd] July 2025 and signed on its behalf by:

Michelle Morson - Trustee

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CHARITY COMMISSION FOR ENGLAND AND WALES Independent examinerfs report on the accounts Sectioii A Indepeiident Examiner s Report Report to the trusteesl members of AVID'S ANGELS CAT RESCUE On accounts for the year ondod 3010612025 Charlty no (If any 1208935 Set out on pages I report to the trustees on my examination of the accounts of the above charity (Yhe Trust.) for the year ended Re8ponslbllltse• and As the charity trustees of the Trust, you are r8sponsible for the preparation basls of report of the accounts in aGcordance with the requirements of the Charities Act 2011 (Yhe Act.). I report in respect of my exarnination of the Tfust's accounts eArried out under section 145 ofthe 2011 Act and in carrying out my examination, I have followed the applicable Directions given by the Charity Cornmission under section 145(5)(b) of the AGI. I have completed my examination. I confinn that no rnaterial matters have come to my attention l in connection with the examination which gives m8 cause to believe that in, any material respect. accounting records were not kapt in a¢cordanc8 With section 130 of the Act or the a¢counts do not accord with the accounting records Independent examlnerfs statement I have no concerns and have come across no other matters in connection with the examination to which attention should be drawn in order to enable a proper understanding of the accounts to be reached. . Please delete the words In the brackets if they do not appty. Slgned: Name: KAREN BARTLETh ACA Relevant profe$$lonal quallflutlon(sl or body (If any): ICAEW Address: AXIS ACCOUNTING & BOOKKEEPING LTD, 1 GEORGE WLLIAMS WAY COLCHESTER, C012JS IER October 2018

Section B Disclosure Only complete if the examiner needs to highlight matters of Concern (see CC32, Independent examination of charity accounts-. directions and guidance for examiners). Give here brlof details of any Items that the examinor wishes to disclose. IER October 2018

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