ALMOST HOME ANIMAL RESCUE N.1. TRUSTEES. REPORT FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31 MARCH 2023 The trustees present their annual report and finanaal statements for the year ended 31 March 2023. The financial statements have been prepared in accordance wth the accounting policies set out in note 1 to the financial statements and comply wth the charity's Constitution, the Charities Act 2011 and 'Accounting and Reporting by Charilies.. Statement of Recommended Practice applicable to charities preparing their accounts in accordance with the Financial Reporting Slandard applicable in the UK and Republic of Ireland (FRS 102)" (effective 1 January 2019). Objectives and activities The organisation rescues, provides shelter, and works to rehome abandoned companion animals in Northern Ireland. It also endeavours to educate members of the public on how lo correctly Ireal their animals. The organisalion will rescue and rehome stray or abandoned pets. This will give the public the oprxjrtunity to rescue an animal and give Ihem a new home. It will also educate the public on the correct Ireatment of animals. The evidence of this will be seen in a reduced number of animals destroyed in COU￿11 pounds in Northem Ireland. The local councils responsible for animal welfare will have their costs reduced and this wll have a commensurate affect on the rates. This will therefore benefit ratepayers. There is no private benefit for any of the trustees. We do not anticipate any harm befalling the public from the activities of the charity- The trustees have paid due regard to guidance issued by the Chartty Commission in deciding what acltvities the charity should undertake. We are a volunlary run rescue wilh no paid staff. Our aim is to take in, care for and r&home slray and unwanted animals at our shelter in Moira. This is laid down in the constitution under which we operate and we became a registered charity on 18th March 2015. These animals may be from local council pounds which results in a reduction in the numbers of dogs being euthanized at council expense. They may also come through animal welfare cases where animals are being abused and neglected. We also provide a lifeline to members of the public. who, through no fault of their own, may have lo surrender their much loved pets_ We always keep in touch with these people and let them know when their pet has been successfully rehomed. In the current year. we have rehomed around 920 animals, mainly cats and dogs, but rabbits. birds, pigs, snakes, and ferrets have also been included. Because of Covid. physical home visits have been put on hold. but are now carried out by video call - so far this seems to be wotking well. Any potents'al adopter who is not happy with or cannot manage a video call will be offered a home visit_ Beneficiaries of our work are residents who may live anywhere in Northem Ireland. We aim to educate the public in matters pertaining lo animal welfare and the care and treatment of animals. We actively encourage spaying and neutering of pets this helps to reduce the numbers of stray and unwanted animals. Sadly this year we have seen ever increasir)g numbers of unwanted dogs. cats and kittens and a big increase in the numbers of animals needing our help because of welfarelabuse issues. We advise on the importance of cleaning up after your pet. thus reducing the amount of time and m¢J)ey being spent cleaning up dog fouling in our parks and on our pavements_ A further benefit flowing from our work is in the support given to local businesses e.g. veterinary practices, animal food suppliers and suppliers of cleaning equipment malertals. This is incidental but necessary for the welfare of the animals in our care arKI the upkeep ol the shelter. Achlevements and performance Our fundraising efforts were difficult this year due to Covid. With good practices in place, we still managed to hold 2 slreet collections raising just over £2,000. We were also invited to collect in 2 local supermarkels which raised almost £900. Our volunteers stepped up as always and the fundraising team worked very hard despite difficult circumstances. They organised the printing of a calendar, raised sponsorship from local businesses to cover the printing costs and sold all 500 copies, held a Santa Paws evenl and some of the volunteers held raffles - altogether this raised around £6000. We held a very successful Meet & Greet in a local park- we met up wth a lot of our dogs with their new owners and mel a lot of folks who went on to adopt from us. Our supp)rters continue to show amazing generosity and support for our work. ALMOST HOME ANIMAL RESCUE N.1. TRUSTEES, REPORT (CONTINUED) FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31 MARCH 2023 Main achievements Heather House Our residents in Heather House. our retirement home. continue lo thrwe and are much loved and cared for by their own team of volunteers. A new ceiling was added to the house to ensure no heat escaped- the materials were provided by Almost Home and the work was carried out by our amazing team of volunteers. Our vet calls with Ihem on a weekly basis. more oflen if required. Sadty we have lost a few little souls this year, but we always aim to have somebody with them when they pass. They are then cremated and their ashes scallered in the memory garden which is nol far from Heather House. Payment is made to Pet's Farewell which is a company owned and managed by 2 of our trustees, Karen and lan Matthews. They charge Almost Home 8 nominal fee for this service - it is invoiced to the charity and paid by bank transfer. In the year ending March 2023 we paid them a total of £1.224. The ongoing sponsorship of the residents and the House itself continue to be very successful. We have been able to invite sponsors to meet their dogslvisit Heather House - Ihese events are enjoyed by both the sponsors and the animals. Mother and Baby Unlt This unit continues to be full we have had some 63 litlers of puppies through the doors this year- thankfully all have thrived and gone on to find new homes. Throughout all the work we carry out, we adhere to the rules of the Northem Ireland Charity Commission with regard lo running a charity, and also ensure that no harm is caused to any person as a result of any activity carried out byAlmost Home Animal Rescue. We have several other units - the catlery. spay & neuter unit and the main kennel block - all have their own team lead and their own volunteers. We have improved some of the outside runs and bought new crates for the dogs that need to be on cage rest because of either illness or injury. Financial revlew The results are sel out in detail on pages 6 to 12. The organisation returned net incoming resource5 for the year ol £156,477 {2022. £190.6501 leawng unrestricted funds of £726,360 (2022.. £569,881. The unreslricled funds are considered to be essents'al to provide sufficient funds to cover any unforeseen costs which may arise and fulfill legal obligations of the charity in the event that current levels of income are not maintained. The trustees have agreed to designate funds at the year end of £55,000 for various projects. It is the policy of the charity that unreslricted funds which have not been designated for a specific use should be maintained at a level equivalent lo between three and six month's expenditure. The trustees consider that reserves al this level wll ensure that, in Ihe event of a significant drop in funding, they will be able to continue the charity's current activities while consideration is given to ways in which addits'onal funds may be raised. This level of reseNes has been maintained throughout the year. As stated above, we have ended the year in a very healthy financial position. Proposed building and repair works will cost approximately £75,000 - £80.000. therefore the trustees have agreed to designate funds of £55.000 towards these costs. We always have to ensure we have enough funds to pay for the care of our special needs animals, scme of which are very coslty and to have enough money to cover any emergency which should arise, thankfully we have very generous supporters and we hope to commence the work during the next financial year. ALMOST HOME ANIMAL RESCUE N.1. TRUSTEES. REPORT (CONTINUED) FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31 MARCH 2023 Plans for future perlods We have a lot of plans for the fulure, the main ones being a new laundry facilitylutility room and a new outside secure off lead area. We carried out some maintenance on our memory garden but hope to enlarge and improve Ihis area. Structure. governance and management The organisation is governed by ils Constitution. The organisation is not for profit and unincorporated. The organisation is governed by its Board of Truslees who meet regularly. The trustees who served during the year and up io the date of signature of the financial slatements were: Mrs K Matlhews Mr l Mallhews Mrs E Walker Mrs A Mccalmont Mrs C Mccleary (Resigned 31 May 2022) (Resigned 31 July 2022) None of the Irustees has any teneficial interest in the charty- We currently have 3 trustees who are responsible for the overall decisions made at the shelter. We also have a committee of 8 people who oversee the day to day running of the shelter- each unil within the shelter has ils own team leader and they liaise with the volunteers in each area. Some 220 volunteers have been recruited and trained and without their hard work it would be impossible to function. We are very proud of Ihe fact that the rescue is run on a completely voluntary basis. so that any nN)ney we receive is spent totally on the animals in our care and the running costs of the shelter. We have held 7 commillee meetings during the year and a meeting Gan be quickly arranged if any matters arise which need urgent discussion. Tho trustees. report was approved by Ihe Board of Trustees. UJ (L I ILLf Mrs E Walker Trustee Date..