INS AXMINSTER CARE SERVICE ANNUAL REPORT 31- MARCH 2024 Objectives and Activities The objects of the Charityareto relieve poverty and sickness and distress and to do allsuch other things beneficial to the Community by such legally charitable means as the Trustees shall think fit in the town of Axminster and in the surrounding Parishes. The Activities of the Charity will include raisingfunds to support the Objectives of the Charity as stated above. This may include receiving donations and legacies. income received through the Charity Shop, Gr8rits, Gift Aid, and Bank Interest Received. Other activities of the Charity will include thegivingofGrantsto individualsttamilieswho are in need of financialor materialsupport in times of crisis; the giving of Grants to local community groups, schools, churches, and other charities who are struggling to raise funds for projects that will be of benefit and have impact within our local community. Requestsfor Grants for individuals are received bythesecretaryvia a third party such as a doctor, social worker, head of schooL. clergy etc. This is to ensure that the need is genuine. MateriaL goods are provided by the Charity on behalf of the Client to ensure that their needs are met and funds are not misused. The Grant is issued upon agreement with all Trustees. Requests for Grants received by groups. schools. churches. and other charities are received by the Secretary and are presented to allTrustees for consideration. The Trustees will consider how the Grant will enhance the community and peopLe within. and whether this meets with the Charity's ethos. Axminster Care Service has approximately forty-five volunteers across different areas of the service and include Volunteer Shop assistants/sorters who each work a few hours each day which helps to ensurethat our Charity Shop is able to open six days perweek. Volunteer Drivers who faciLitate thetransport service willwork at least one day per week. ensuring that we are able to cover the demand for medical transportation. Volunteer Telephonists operate the teLephone system and coordinate client transport requests and drivers, with each one working one morning perweekfor two hours. Achievement and Performance Despite the costof living crisisthe charity shop has continued tothrive. increasing itstakingsthis year by over£14,000 compared to the previousyear. This has partly been achieved by maximising the retail space within the shop premises. The shop continues to work with Axe Valley Community College in providingthem with donated attire fortheir Prom Night. and this is working extremely well with over £1000 received last year for donated garments purchased. Themed window displays have also encouraged people through the door to have a look around, who wouldn't have otherwise done so.
The dofibrillator, in*alled st yeai. has been actioned onco but not used. Thls shows thatthoro 18 a need forthi8 typ8 of faciiiiy in this part of the town. Devon & Somerset Flre & Rescue Servlce paid en unannounced vlsit to the Shop prem18es In March this yeaf and carfied out a fire safety check. They reported that the premises were of reasonable standard of fire safety. Th8 Volunteèr Drivers Team ha contlnued wvith transporting people to and from Medical appointments. An advertising campaign held during the year result8(l in the recruitm8nt of an 8dditlonal 5 Drivers. which has made a positive impact on tlie provision of this Service. Difficultie8 remain with Driver8 often taking holiday8 at the same tim8, restricting Driver availabllity over busy periods. Drivers were encouraged to take pert in 8 driving aoosessment and of which 11 Driver8 have taken up the offer. The assessment is designed to refresh Drivers knowledge of the Highway Code and boost their confldence. There ware no r8POrts of any of th6 Drivers being unsafe in their driving foiiowingthgir ass(Jssmgnts. Tha Volunt8er Telephollist Team hav8 continued to support the Drivef8 in coordinating client transport requests. There are always challenges to be met when trying to accommodate short notice client requests, Particularlywhen a numberof Drivers are on holidayatthe same time. The introductlon of a Hospltat Vlslt Day was Introduced this year. with a Driver taking clients specifically to RD&E H08pitsI to visit family for a fee of £10 per passenger. t)ut as yet has only generated a small amount of interesL The Douglas Hull Dyslexia Fund, set up last year. has been extenLled to Include 'educational' funding for those in need of a littL6 extra support in the classroom. Although tha schoo18 Within our catchment area have been encouraged to come forward with funding requests the iesponse h88 been very 8Low. Th8 total amount of donations from this fund to date 18 £14.170.83. The Trustees will investigate visiting each school to talk about their indiduat needs, and it is hoped that this will encourage fuiiding requestsfor educational support etc. A 8mall-scale 8(fvertising campaign was initiated during the year. with advert8 and small editorials placed in the local parlsh magazines and the local MldweelcHerald. This has increased 8wareness of both ourTtansport Service and our Grdnt giving forfamilies. FlnanciaL Review Forth8yearto 31" March 2024, we saw8 contlnued increase in Charlty Shopsales malnly dueto the optimisation of retail space. ClientTransporl Donations and GiftAid had al80 increased. and this is malnly du8 to our Volunteer Drivers communicating with Gllents and remindlngthem that vwo operate 88 a Chairity and that theii donation wiu aid continuation of the Transport Service. Interest Received this year has seen a L8rge increas& mainly due to the large donatlon received In the prioryear and th6 improvement in int8re8t rate8. Expenditure for the Charty has increased compared to the previous year. with DonationslGrants made from the General Fund and Dystexia Fund totalling £56,152.89. Of this total, £45,332.06 was from the General Fund. wlth community groups, schools, familles, and other charit18s b&lng supi)orted. Staff costs have increased for this year but have been offset by the increase in sales. A review was conducted of our bank and savitigs accounts following the rec8ipt of a large donation in the previousyear. Three new accounts were sat up durlng thè course of the year in order to reduce any risk in holding rge sums of money. This was also an opportunity to search
for the best interest rate& and maxlmise Investmont. Cuff6ntly the Charlty Shop has its own Lloyd8 bank account with £197.946.27 held at the year 8nd, as does the Tr8Bsurers Lioyds Account with £4834.71 held at the year end. A Lloyds DepositAccount holds £218,652.72 atthe year end which is made up of donation8 received. Two COIF Account8 hold funds of £98,534.07 and £80.201.67, providing the Charlty wlth a good rate of interest on funds invested. Three new aGcounts have been opened and sums (leposited as follows: NatWestAccount £49,988.00; N8t West Liquidity Account £122,618.46; Virgin Account £80,050.00. The total sum of funds held at the end of the flnanclalyearwas 2852.852.90. TheTTustees will Gontinueto review howfunds are managgd 8nd inve9ted wjth 8 vlew to maxlml$lng interest and maintaln securlty of investments made. Plans for Future Perlods Axminster Care Servtce wlll continue its current servi¢e8 of Grant gtving and medical transport supporttothe community. Th8 Chartywillcontinueto iookto increase awareness of its activities through further advertising initiative8 overthe next tinancial year. The Trustees will look to better communlGate with the locals¢hoDls, makingthem aware of the DyslexialEducational Fund and encouraging them to put forw8rd fvnding Tequests. The TnJ8tees will look to investigate fvnding piatfonns to maximise interest rates and safeguard flnances. Structure, Governance and Management The Axminster Care Service Constitution is documented by a D8ed of Trust and 18 consistent by Trustees incorporated as a bo(Jy. Trljstees are appointe(I from time to time depending on av8ilabiLttyof rurrent post holders and will be nominated bya Trustee and elected Tfflrith agreeance of alt exlsting Trustees. Petitions for funding are recelved by the Secretary and are either discussed at a meeting of Tru8teg8, OF if the reoue8t is of som8 urgency, it will be distributed by email to Trustees for consideration. The decision to progress with a funding 8ppiic8tion will only take ptace th a majorityof Truste8s in favourof suppoitingthe request. Decisions relatingto the day to day running of the Charityshop are primarllylhe responsibility of the Shop Manager. Decisions rBlating to C08t8 of maintenance and 88curty of th8 Charity Shop will be discussed wlthin Tw.stee meetirtrg& orvia email to allTwstees in the event of urgency. Trusteos are mado awaro of their responsibillties via inlomiation provlded ty the Gov6mment website. On 818ction as Trustee, the appointee will have a settling in period where no defin8d responslbillty wlll be placed upon them, and this will depend on the Indivi(lual's character and business background. New Trustees will b9 provided with copies of polici8s held by th8 Charity as follows: Equality Policy, S8feguarding Pollcytr Social Media Policy. FinanciaL Res8Ne8 Policy, Investing Charity Funds Policy & Procedures, Serious Incident Repoiting. Privacy Notice for Employees and Volunteers Incorporating GDPR. Trustees will agree in committee any salary or salary revlew for the Shop Manager and As8lstant Shop M8nagor, and thiswilt be done on an annual basis. Trustees WIU look 8lthe currentflnanci8L climate, and comparison salarlesforthose in similar positionswithin the county.
Reference and Admln18tratlve Detalis The name of the Charlty is Axmlnster Care Service and can sometimes be referred to as ACS. Axminster Car8 Service is a UK regist8r8d charity, Charity No. 900144. The Address of the prin¢lpal offlce is Axminster Care Seniice, South Street, MInSter. Devon EX13 SAD. The names of theTrustees for the accounting perlo(l are as follows: Chalrman. DrJamesVann Vice Chairman, Mrmerwyn D Syme8 Secretary. Mrs Jaqu81ino Sym8s Treasurer, Mr8 Alison Hayward Driver Coordinator, Mr Malcolm Laws Mr8 Thelma Collier The Secretary. Mrs Jacqueline Symes, will have communicatlons wlth the charity's lawyer Scott Rowo Solioitors. Axmlnster. who hold the Tltle to the property at South Street, Axminstsr. The Secretary wilt also inanage the day-to-day activities of the Ch8rity 8s at the date of this Annu8l Report. The Treasurer wlll manage the day-to-day finances of tlie Charity as at the date of this Annual ReporL in tiaison with Lloy(18 Bank Plc.
kKcKne 75,43&02 16,149.60 66,265.93 681.86 15,336.25 61.076.22 13.039.10 67S,572.19 333.25 2,679.17 CIEnt TfTn5Wt donatJrLS DorO.lon5 Gift Axl Int¢reA rtteiied 173 921.66 752,699.93 l>)n&icns CIEnt ExeS TrSPrt(Cs drivirg 16svAnents A£hertsi Heèt and li£ht Tdq)hxe Wweraid ittes In9Jia)ce Shoprnintenmce siw pp1k pcIekMt vite C¥41 ch¥ges Staf(s AdminstfailTh Def èxilbEor P¥ty RememberaKe wreah 56,15289 J6.165.C 2,191.83 15.022.40 16.037.79 2KI.00 485.50 2,37149 769.07 IAI.66 1.77&11 3,18&36 1.46121 1.584.OD 429.60 29,371.08 8KI.64 1.211.iJO 842.35 109.99 2,5J2.90 634.89 50.00 1.466.01 7,824.84 1,405.02 1.878.00 I.47 22,888.98 2,095.78 117.1017S 74.450.11 SURPLLiS lor the star WRPLUS In wevicusyear 5&817.91 678 249.82
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Four Ashes Accountants In nd nt Examlnerfs Re rt ort to the trustee5 of Axmlnster Care Seyvlce tharlt no 900144 On accou tsfort I report to the trustees on my examlnatlon of the accounts of the above charity ft)r the year ended 31 March 2024. Res onslblllties and basls of re ort As the charlty's trustees, you are responsible for the preparation of the accounts In accordance wlth the requiretnents of the Charities Act 2011 ("the ACV). I report in respect of my examination of the chaiity's accounts tarried out under section 145 of the 2011 Art and In carrylng out my examlnatlon, I have followed all the appllcable Directions given by the Charity Commission under section 145{5}(b) of the Act. endent examl er's statement I have Completed my examinatlon. I confim that no material matters have come to my attentfon In connection with the examination which gives me c2Use to believe that in. any matertal respect: the accounting records were not kept In accordance with section 130 of the Charities Act. or the accounts dld not accord with the accountlng records; or the accounts dld not comply with the appllcable requlrements concernlng the form and content of accounts set out in the Charftles (Accounts and Reports) Regulations 2008 other than any requlrement that the accounts Eive a 'true and falrf vlew whlch Is not a matter considered as part of an independent examinatton. I have no concerns and have come across no other matter5 in connection with the examlnatlon to whlch attentlon should be drawn In thls report In order to enable a proper understanding of the accounts to be reached. Slmon H ett r Ashes Accountants wl Cott oke Abbott Beanilnster Dorset DT8 3JU Assoclation of Accountin nicians Licenced Accountant