## **Annual Report**
**and Financial Statements** Year ended 31 March 2023
Charity Registration Number: NIC102422 Generously supported by
**Northern Ireland’s only charity dedicated to helping cancer patients, the terminally ill and elderly people with a disability to hold on to their companion pets at a time when they need them most.**
## **Contents**
|**Contents**||
|---|---|
|Message from the Chair|03|
|About Rosie’s Trust|07|
|Who We Are and What We Do|08|
|Public Beneft|10|
|Highlights of the Year|11|
|Financial Position and Reserves|18|
|Statement of Trustees’ Responsibilities|18|
|Report of the Independent Examiner|19|
|Statement of Financial Activities|20|
|Income and Expenditure Account|21|
|Balance Sheet|22|
|Notes to the Financial Statements|23|
**Message from the Chair**
The National Lottery Community Fund (NLCF) was the bearer of excellent news as the financial year 2022—2023 drew to a close. This was when Rosie’s Trust learned that we had been successful in our application for a second People and Communities Grant for a period of three years.
In June 2022, we completed our ‘Funding and Communications Strategy’ to help us secure the future sustainability of the charity. This underpinned our successful application for a Dormant Accounts grant in July 2022. We were awarded the maximum grant of £100,000 over two years (payable in tranches of £25,000 every six months) and this enabled us to create two part-time positions: one focused on raising public awareness of Rosie’s Trust; the second on fundraising (Trust and statutory, corporate, community fundraising/events, and individual giving).
A previous application – submitted to them in October – had been unsuccessful[1] and, while the NLCF requested us to submit a revised application in December, we had a few months when we had to prepare for the possibility of a scaled-down service. We immediately launched a Christmas emergency appeal, which was designed to raise enough funds to keep our services operating at full capacity.
We are indebted to the many individuals and organisations who responded to this appeal, which raised an estimated £15,000. We also submitted grant applications to a wide range of organisations, including Ulster Garden Villages and Halifax[2] . We learned of the success of these two applications only at end of March, by which time we were in the unusual – but happy – position of having to turn down the funds offered as they duplicated the projects provided for in our application to NLCF.
During this period, we also did extensive financial modelling, which enabled us to assess the funds required to maintain the minimum level of services to our existing beneficiaries.
Annual Report and Financial Statements For The Year Ended 31 March 2023 | 03
## **Message from the Chair cont’d...**
## Beneficiary and volunteer feedback extremely positive
The importance of our having the capacity to support vulnerable members of the community to hold on to their companion pets cannot be overstated. As confirmed in an independent evaluation undertaken in June 2002, the impact of Rosie’s Trust services on the lives of cancer patients, the terminally ill and older people with a disability is profound.
One beneficiary described Rosie’s Trust services as “life changing” while several others referred to the “peace of mind” they bring. Another beneficiary referred to Rosie’s Trust as a “godsend”.
Amy Wilson, Information and Support Manager at Macmillan Cancer Support, explained the difference that Rosie’s Trust makes as follows:
_“The relationship people have with their pets can often provide an emotional haven when trying to deal with a cancer diagnosis. Flagging energies, dealing with treatments or attending appointments can limit their capacity to care for their pets in the way they have done previously. Being able to signpost patients to Rosie’s Trust has been such a relief as we know that it puts patients’ minds at ease knowing that their pet is being looked after.”_
The evaluation also found that Rosie’s Trust had made a significant difference to the lives of our volunteers. Here is how one volunteer summed up the experience:
_“I absolutely love volunteering for Rosie’s Trust and think it’s a very valuable use of my time. Before volunteering with Rosie’s Trust, I hadn’t given thought to people in these tough situations. It has really opened my eyes and I think it’s just an amazing service to offer people who may be struggling.”_
All of us at Rosie’s Trust are indebted to our fantastic team of 150+ active volunteers. It is clear that without them, we simply would not be able to operate. We are always looking at ways of showing our appreciation so that they know we do not take them for granted! We have been helped hugely in this task by the decision we took to replace one of our two Development Officer positions that had become vacant with a dedicated Volunteer Support Officer. We were very pleased to welcome Sandra McFadden who joined the team in this role in April 2022.
She has certainly confirmed the wisdom of creating this position, introducing a regular training programme and ongoing support for volunteers as well as timely responses to and interviews of volunteer applicants.
Sandra has also organised an ongoing series of walks and other events to bring volunteers and staff together in social settings.
In addition to the Volunteer Support Officer role, the Board agreed to appoint a part-time Director on an interim basis. This was necessary to alleviate the pressure on Tim Leonard, Board Chair at the time, who was effectively doing the role of the previous Director, Bronagh O’Neill as well as that of Chair while running his own business. This was clearly not a sustainable solution for the charity. In the event, Dr Catriona MacArthur held this position throughout the period under review, providing strategic leadership and direction to the team while supporting the Board to fulfil its objectives.
## Changes in governance
We have also seen quite a few changes at Board level. We were very pleased to welcome in February 2023 four new Trustees - Jill Hawthorne, Gail Lavery, Clare Jess, and Louise Heatley - who have brought a wealth of skills, knowledge, and expertise to our Board. Sadly, we said farewell to Diane James, who resigned in February 2023 after a short but productive tenure on the Board, and, in November 2022, to Richard Gapper who had served as a Trustee since 2019 but who, happily, remains with us as a Dog Support Volunteer.
We also welcomed Claire Smyth to the team at Rosie’s Trust. She has assumed one of the part-time jobs funded through the Dormant Accounts grant – that of Communications and Marketing Lead - and has taken our communications and events management to a whole new level of professionalism. This has included not only increasing public awareness and engagement via social media and other communications, but also equipping event staff and volunteers with Rosie’s Trust kits and merchandise. Our increased visibility has resulted in more people visiting our stands at events as well as a significant increase in individual donations.
Richard was the architect of our very comprehensive Risk Register and convened a Saturday workshop before his departure to enable the Board to undertake a thorough review of the register. As part of our ongoing review of risk and procedures we compiled a manual of approximately 50 operational policies and procedures to further safeguard our volunteers, the beneficiaries and their pets.
The policy manual is necessarily a dynamic document and one to which we are adding on a regular basis in response to need. This year, for example, we developed a new complaints policy and procedure as well as a Business Continuity Plan to ensure that Rosie’s Trust is prepared for and effectively responds to emergency situations and critical incidents.
We have had less success with appointing someone to the second role provided for under the Dormant Accounts grant; that is, the fundraising position. As organisations throughout the third sector are finding, this is a particularly difficult role to engage in the current environment. I am pleased to report that we have now appointed an excellent candidate, Nuala Muldoon, as this report goes to print.
We were very pleased to receive from Access NI a Certificate of Compliance for three years following an audit of the arrangements we have in place for vetting all our staff, volunteers and Trustees.
We have necessarily been adapting our guidelines for keeping our beneficiaries and volunteers safe in accordance with the public health guidelines in relation to Covid-19. For example, we updated our Covid guidelines to coincide with the ending of free Covid testing. We stressed therein that the virus was still circulating, that our beneficiaries are among the most vulnerable in the community, and that volunteers should not enter beneficiaries’ homes. In cases where volunteers were obliged to enter a beneficiary’s home, we provided a series of recommendations to mitigate the risk of infection. We have continued to monitor the situation throughout the year to ensure that we are not placing unnecessary burdens on our volunteers while at the same time safeguarding our beneficiaries.
04 | Annual Report and Financial Statements For The Year Ended 31 March 2023
Annual Report and Financial Statements For The Year Ended 31 March 2023 | 05
## **Message from the Chair cont’d...**
## **Information about Rosie’s Trust**
## Cost-of-living crisis
While many, if not most of our beneficiaries struggle daily to make ends meet, the cost-of-living crisis has made that challenge insurmountable for some. The rising cost of vet fees, in particular, has caused huge stress and anxiety. The Board has sought to alleviate this pressure by introducing loan agreements whereby Rosie’s Trust pays the vet’s fee and the beneficiary repays the charity in instalments over an agreed period. We also agreed to support those beneficiaries who are simply unable to pay these fees. To date, however, all beneficiaries have refused the latter option, insisting instead on repaying Rosie’s Trust, regardless of their own financial difficulties.
In their selfless efforts to support our beneficiaries, our volunteers have felt the full impact of the increase in fuel costs. The Board therefore decided in April 2022 to reimburse volunteers for any travel expenses in excess of 10 miles. We were gratified, if not surprised, that many volunteers – who had the capacity - did not avail themselves of this option when it was offered to them. We have always known that all Rosie’s Trust volunteers are very, very special people!
In order to support staff through these challenging financial times, the Board provided staff with a 5% cost-of-living increase in salary from 1 September 2022.
We are confident that as we roll out our ‘Funding and Communications Strategy’ over the next few years we will not only be able to withstand these challenges and become financially sustainable, but that we will have sufficient resources to be able to grow and meet increasing demand for our services. Macmillan Cancer Support estimates that the number of people living with cancer in Northern Ireland will increase by 40% by 2030. Our ageing population will also inevitably have an impact on demand for our services.
We will continue to measure and evaluate our services rigorously to ensure that we are using our resources as effectively and efficiently as possible. This year we commissioned our first ‘Social Value Evaluation Report’ and were very pleased with the findings. The authors, Work West, found that every pound invested by Rosie’s Trust returned £4.91 in social value during the height of the pandemic. They also argued that the social value would have been far greater had Rosie’s Trust been operating in “normal” circumstances.
This finding was just one of several highlights during the year that are featured in the pages that follow. I am very proud and privileged to be the Chair of this fantastic charity and am indebted to my fellow Trustees, staff and volunteers of Rosie’s Trust for their support, dedication and commitment to keeping people and their pets together.
We are all indebted to the many people who have fundraised on our behalf during the year and to those who have donated to the charity. We are, of course, very thankful to the National Lottery Community Fund for its continued support of Rosie’s Trust.
Above all, I extend my heart-felt thanks to the staff and volunteers for staying the course during some very challenging months this year. They continued to provide the highest standard of service and remained positive throughout. They were, and remain, an example to us all. We are determined that they should never be placed in that position again and that beneficiaries and volunteers alike know that Rosie’s Trust will be there for as long as our services are needed.
Aileen Martin Chair
Charity established under Trust Deed on 20 January, 2015.
**Board of Trustees (at the date of approval of the accounts)**
Aileen Martin, Chair Appointed to Board June 2023
Emer Rice, Treasurer
Josephine Mallon, Secretary (Chair April 2023 to July 2023)
Clare Jess , Appointed to Board February 2023 Jill Hawthorne Appointed to Board February 2023 Louise Heatley Appointed to Board February 2023
Gail Lavery Appointed to Board February 2023
Tim Leonard (Chair April 2022 – September 2022) Joyce Savage (Chair October 2022 – March 2023)
The Trustees who resigned between the commencement date of these financial statements and the approval date are listed below:
Fiona Coulter Resigned June 2023 for personal reasons Richard Gapper Resigned November 2022 for personal reasons Diane James Resigned February 2023 for personal reasons Joy McGimpsey Resigned September 2023 for personal reasons
## **Contact details**
Telephone: 0289 1641340 Email: mail@rosiestrust.org Postal address: The Fountain Centre, 2 Queen’s Parade, Bangor BT20 3BJ
## **Independent Examiner**
James Fulford & Co Ltd Chartered Accounts PO Box 152 Newtownards BT 23 5GW
## **Bankers**
Co-op Bank Ltd 1, Balloon Street Manchester M60 4EP
Santander UK plc Bridle Road Bootle Merseyside L30 4GB
## **Registration**
Charity Commission for Northern Ireland NIC102422
## **Taxation Status**
As a registered charity, Rosie’s Trust has claimed exemption from tax.
## **Staff**
1. In that application we had indicated that we wished to expand our services into the Western Health and Social Care (HSC) Trust area (the only region where we do not have a presence). We were asked to submit a new application that was instead focused on consolidating our services in the four HSC Trust areas where we were already operating.
2. Both organisations subsequently offered the same amount of funding for different projects. We are also indebted to Enkalon and Marchig Animal Welfare Trust who supported us during this challenging period.
CEO, Dr Catriona Mac Arthur (O.4 FTE) Operations Manager, Jayne McStay Development Officer, Laura Quinn Volunteer Support Officer, Sandra McFadden Marketing and Communications Lead, Claire Smyth (O.6 FTE) Community Engagement and Fundraising Lead, Nuala Muldoon (0.6 FTE)
06 | Annual Report and Financial Statements For The Year Ended 31 March 2023
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## **Who we are and What we do**
Rosie’s Trust is unique. We are the only charity in Northern Ireland dedicated to helping cancer patients, the terminally ill and older people with a disability hold on to their companion pets at a time when they need them most.
When someone is faced with a cancer diagnosis, disability or terminal illness, their whole world changes. They have so much to worry about, so much to deal with and the one thing they need - especially those living alone – is the emotional support that their companion pet provides.
They are no longer able to provide their dog or cat with the same level of care they once could and their anxiety about the welfare of their beloved companion only serves to compound their distress.
At the most stressful time of their lives, they may be forced to give up their companion pet and, in so doing, experience tremendous loss, isolation and feelings of guilt.
Some people have reported that they considered delaying or even refusing treatment because they had no one to look after their pet.
Rosie’s Trust cares for our beneficiaries’ companion dogs and/or cats in their homes when they are no longer able to look after them independently.
We provide fostering services when our beneficiaries need to spend a period of time in hospital or in hospice care. Subject always to our beneficiaries’ wishes, we also find new homes for their pets when they are no longer able to care for them, including when they die.
Rosie’s Trust also offers a pet bereavement service, providing emotional support to beneficiaries when their companion pet predeceases them.
We provide our services free of charge, 365 days of the year. We depend on donations to cover our service costs, and every penny gifted to us is carefully used.
Our services offer peace of mind for our beneficiaries as they know Rosie’s Trust will support them in the care of their companion pet for as long as they need us and our resources permit.
Rosie’s Trust services not only help to address loneliness and social exclusion in Northern Ireland, but also to promote animal welfare, in accordance with the Welfare of Animals Act (NI) 2011.
Our team of 150+ committed volunteers are the life force of Rosie’s Trust and provide help and support in all aspects of pet care, including feeding, grooming, exercising, play and stimulation, and vet visits.
Our volunteers are our eyes and ears, ensuring when they visit that our beneficiaries are as well as can be and providing welcome social contact for many. Our volunteers work in teams, with each member making two visits a week.
An average of three volunteers is allocated to each beneficiary.
Our volunteers receive intense training before being matched to a beneficiary. This ensures they all have a sound understanding of Rosie’s Trust’s policies and procedures to promote the health and wellbeing of our beneficiaries, their pets, and the volunteers themselves. They are also trained to signpost to partner organisations, wherever necessary.
Since our establishment in 2015, we have served 173 beneficiaries. They are located in four of the five Health and Social Care Trusts (Belfast, Northern, Southern and South Eastern).
We undertake a very thorough assessment process of each of our beneficiaries and their pets. This enables us to develop tailored action plans, which take into account and address all the risks we have identified, and ensure the best match for the beneficiary with our volunteers. We also have robust safeguarding policies in place to protect our beneficiaries and our volunteers. Social workers from the Health and Social Care Trusts refer potential beneficiaries to us as do organisations such as Macmillan Cancer Support (NI). We also accept self-referrals.
Our work has been made possible thanks to core funding from the National Lottery Community Fund.
08 | Annual Report and Financial Statements For The Year Ended 31 March 2023
## **Public**
## **1)The advancement of health or the saving of lives.**
We maintain the health and wellbeing of both the beneficiary and their companion animal by alleviating the stresses and anxiety felt when they are no longer able to care for their pet independently.
## **3)The advancement of animal welfare.**
Our work keeping people and their pets together supports our beneficiaries in ensuring the care they provide their animal meets the five welfare needs as detailed in the Welfare of Animal Act (Northern Ireland) 2011.
**2)The relief of those in need by reason of age, ill-health, disability, financial hardship or other disadvantage.**
Rosie’s Trust works with those experiencing terminal illness, acute cancer treatment, age and disability, maintaining their relationship with their companion animal and working with partner organisations to help the beneficiary overcome other challenges.
## **Highlights of the year**
Rosie’s Trust cares for our beneficiaries’ dogs and/or cats in their own homes when the beneficiaries are no longer able to look after their pets independently. We also provide fostering services when beneficiaries need to spend time in hospital or in hospice care and find new homes for our beneficiaries’ pets when they are no longer able to care for them.
We also rehome our beneficiaries’ dogs if requested to do so.
Rosie’s Trust services are provided free of charge, 365 days of the year. Our services are open-ended; we support our beneficiaries with the care of their companion pet for as long as they need us and our resources permit.
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Click here to view
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Jean Fitzgerald, Caroline Forsythe and Marnie perfectly summed up the ethos of Rosie’s Trust in this interview with BBC Newsline in August
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17 20 5,682 1,339 6
New Beneficiaries New Animals Canine Support Foster Animals
Supported Supported Hours Days Rehomed
64 17 69 69 13,335
Referrals responded Referrals Volunteers recruited Match ups Total Volunteer
to* actioned** and trained completed Hours
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- *This refers to the number of referrals that were assessed by staff against Rosie’s Trust’s comprehensive eligibility criteria.
10 | Annual Report and Financial Statements For The Year Ended 31 March 2023
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## **Highlights of the year cont’d...**
## Volunteers
We may have a small team of staff, but we are very fortunate to have a very large team of volunteers without whom Rosie’s Trust could not operate. Our volunteers are, quite simply, the lifeblood of our charity.
Each beneficiary requires an average of three volunteers to care for their companion pet.
We were able to ensure that the supply of volunteers kept pace with beneficiary demand during the year across all four of the five Health and Social Care Trust areas.
As Rosie’s Trust has expanded its reach so we have created additional roles for volunteers to meet evolving requirements. In addition to ‘Canine and Feline Support Volunteers’ for example, Rosie’s Trust now engages ‘Volunteer Coordinators’, ‘Phone Support Volunteers, ‘Foster Volunteers’, ‘IT and Communications Volunteers’, ‘Dog Listener Volunteers’ and ‘Pet Bereavement Volunteers’.
Mention must also be made of the Trustees who comprise the Board of Rosie’s Trust. These are also voluntary roles and are much more ‘hands on’ than is normally the case for Board members. In addition to assuming the roles and responsibilities required of all Board members, Trustees took turns this year to be on call every weekend and each undertook different operational duties according to their individual skills set, such as finance, accounting, fundraising, and HR.
Screenshot of a page on our new Volunteer portal, kindly
being developed by John McGarrigle
## Recognition
It is a testament to our volunteers that Rosie’s Trust was the proud recipient of the UK-wide Petplan & ADCH Animal Charity Team of the Year 2022 Award. Appropriately, the award was accepted at a ceremony in London by one of the charity’s Dog Listener Volunteers and Foster Carer, Hilary Idzikowska.
## What’s new
Rosie’s Trust re-designed our website this year to make it easier for potential volunteers and donors to navigate. It also provides hints and tips to care for our animals.
**Click here to visit**
Rosie’s Trust introduced our new pet bereavement service this year. Staff and volunteers undertook intensive training and they then provided training to all interested volunteers so that they can be on hand to support beneficiaries if they lose their beloved companion.
12 | Annual Report and Financial Statements For The Year Ended 31 March 2023
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## **Highlights of the year cont’d...**
## Our impact
The significant difference that Rosie’s Trust makes to the lives of people with a terminal illness or cancer diagnosis and older people with a disability – not to mention to the lives of their companion pets – is reflected in the unanimously positive feedback they provided in our 2022 survey.
## **The majority of beneficiaries said that Rosie’s Trust had made a big difference to:**
## Their lives
Their stress/anxiety levels Their feeling more confident Reducing loneliness and their sense of isolation
All beneficiaries reported that Rosie’s Trust had made a big difference to their companion pets.
Rosie’s Trust volunteers provided equally positive feedback. Many spoke of the sense of purpose the experience provided and how important and “rewarding” the service was. One volunteer summed up the majority view as follows:
_“It is very rewarding knowing that you are making a difference for people and their pets... enabling them to stay together at a difficult time. As a dog owner myself I can appreciate the value and importance of the visits.”_
Wee Belle is just one of our beneficiaries’ companion pets whose quality of life was transformed this year thanks to Rosie’s Trust volunteers. She had been so anxious that she wouldn’t leave the house, but after much patient care she is now enjoying her walks and getting in lots of sniffs!
Another spoke of how the volunteers’ visits removed “one source of stress for a beneficiary who already has enough stress to be getting on with” and how “it’s so important for the beneficiaries to see someone every day, including Christmas Day, as they are totally on their own.”
Others welcomed the ease of volunteering with Rosie’s Trust, for example:
“Rosie’s Trust gives me the ability to make a genuine contribution to the well-being of the vulnerable and their animals, without the usual bureaucracy and, quite frankly, wastage, that I would usually associate with these kinds of organisations.”
Thanks to a grant from Ards and North Down Council, Rosie’s Trust was able to commission a Social Return on Investment (or Social Value) report in May 2022. The study, which was undertaken by Work West, looked at such areas as the value of befriending adults and the elderly; the value of reduced social isolation; the value of improved mental health; and the value that volunteers place on volunteering.
Work West found that, for every pound invested, Rosie’s Trust generated a positive social value of “at least” £4.91. It stressed that this was a conservative estimate given that:
“This was a one-year analysis of a multi-year project and generated a really positive social value (£4.91 for £1). We believe that when the whole project is analysed as a whole the social value will be more. Furthermore the period the project activity analysed was greatly affected by the pandemic and the local lockdowns in force.”
Work West also noted that the evaluation did not take into account the value of what it referred to as Rosie’s Trust “crucial beneficiary”, the companion pet.
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Our Social Value
2021 - 2022
11
Partner
Organisations
6309 Volunteer
hours accumulated
78
153 new volunteers
active volunteers trained
46 beneficiaries and
50 pets supported
leading to...
confidenceIncreased Peace of mind Reduced socialisolation
New friends Improved
made mental health
For every £1
invested in
Rosie's Trust,
we return £4.91
in social value*
**----- End of picture text -----**
14 | Annual Report and Financial Statements For The Year Ended 31 March 2023
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## **Highlights of the year cont’d...**
## Fundraising
The financial year 2022-2023 could not have got off to a better start as it marked the beginning of an emotive marketing campaign undertaken in Belfast and regional centres to promote Rosie’s Trust.
The two-week campaign was generously provided free-of-charge by Navigator Blue and the Publicity Association of Northern Ireland (PANI). Designed by students at Ulster University, the campaign sought to raise awareness of Northern Ireland’s only charity dedicated to helping the terminally ill, cancer patients, and older people with a disability to hold on to their beloved pets. It called for small individual donations of £4 to help a four-legged companion by texting EVERYSTEP to 70450.
In addition to raising awareness and much-needed funds for Rosie’s Trust, the campaign also sought to attract potential volunteers.
Rosie’s Trust was also chosen as Charity of the Year by the NI Pet Awards in June 2022. We held a raffle at the Awards ceremony and were able to present some wonderful prizes thanks to local businesses who generously supported us.
We were very pleased that Earlswood Veterinary Clinic in Belfast also chose Rosie’s Trust as their Charity of the Year in 2022.
As was the case with all charities, our fundraising activities were hit hard during the pandemic. It was great to see these gather strength over the year and we are so grateful to the many individuals and organisations that fundraised on our behalf.
To celebrate our eighth birthday, we launched our ‘Create an 8 and donate £8’ campaign. We encouraged people to map a figure of 8 using a fitness or tracking app while out exercising, sharing photographs of their journey – on foot, by bicycle or whatever was preferred - and donating at least £8.
Other examples of fundraising
## **Individual Support**
This beautiful Easter hamper, which included a range of goodies as well as a hand-crafted bunny, was lovingly made and donated to Rosie’s Trust by our wonderful volunteer, Helen Wilson (and this was on top of a Christmas display she had also made for us to raffle!)
## **Donations In Memory**
Rosie’s Trust is also indebted to those beneficiaries who remember us in their Will, including the late Steven Snowdon who asked for donations to be given to Rosie’s Trust.
## **Corporate Support**
Fiona and the team at Hotel Chocolat, Belfast, have been steadfast supporters of Rosie’s Trust throughout the year. We took advantage of a trip to the store to ask Fiona why they had chosen our charity out of so many others. This is what she told us: “As a company there’s a charity chosen each year for Hotel Chocolat. However, as we aren’t in GB where the majority of these charities are, we like to keep our choices local and to be of help to NI charities that can often get overlooked because they are smaller. We’re all animal lovers in store and, as a dog friendly establishment, we love seeing our canine friends and having new doggy visitors. This can obviously mean a lot to some customers as well, getting to come in for a coffee and not having to leave their companion behind.”
Rosie’s Trust is very grateful to a group of dog lovers collectively known as the Scooby Doo Gang, who took on a staggering 100km challenge in March to raise funds for the charity and K9 Search and Rescue. They encouraged their followers to buy raffle tickets for some great prizes that were generously donated by local dog businesses.
## **Huge thanks to all our amazing supporters!**
We have too many supporters to mention in these short pages and so we give only a couple of examples above to illustrate the fantastic people behind Rosie’s Trust. Many donors prefer to remain anonymous – they know who they are so please accept our thanks once again for helping Rosie’s Trust keep people and their pets together!
16 | Annual Report and Financial Statements For The Year Ended 31 March 2023
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## Financial position and reserves
At 31st March 2023, Rosie’s Trust held restricted reserves of £1,806 and unrestricted reserves of £40,232. Rosie’s Trust aims to hold at least three months running costs on reserves to deal with any unforeseen circumstances including, but not limited to the winding up of the charity in the event of being unable to raise any further substantial funding to allow the payment of staff salaries and running costs (set at £40,000 in 2022-23). The Trustees and operations staff will consider on a regular basis the levels of funding that it holds and how this funding can be used to benefit the charity and the services that it provides and to best
In the 2022-23 Rosie’s Trust received income of £129,182 (2021-22: £140,882) and incurred a deficit of £29,879 (2021-22: £1,412 surplus). The main source of income was a five-year grant from National Lottery Community Fund (NLCF), which covered the majority of core costs including salaries. The NLCF grant expired on 31st December 2022 which accounts for the reduction in income and the deficit compared to the previous year.
However, in March 2023, we were fortunate to secure a further three-year grant from NLCF. In September 2022 we also secured new funding from the Dormant Accounts Fund NI, which enabled us to create two additional part-time posts aimed at future-proofing Rosie’s Trust by diversifying income streams and collaborations. We also received a level of unrestricted funding, mainly from donations, which was directed to other costs as required.
The Trustees would like to take this opportunity to once again thank the National Lottery Community Fund for their continued support which has made a substantial difference to our charity and also to all of our donors for their generosity.
## Statement of Trustees’ Responsibilities
The Trustees are responsible for preparing the Annual Report and the financial statements in accordance with applicable law and regulations.
The Trustees are required to prepare financial statements for each financial year. In preparing the financial statements, the Trustees are required to:
The Trustees are responsible for keeping proper accounting records that disclose, with reasonable accuracy at any time, the financial position of the organisation and that enable them to ensure that the financial statements comply with the requirements of The Regulator for Charities in Northern Ireland. They are also responsible for safeguarding the assets of the organisation and hence for taking reasonable steps for the prevention and detection of fraud and other irregularities.
##
In the case of each of the persons who are Trustees at the time when the report is approved, the following applies:
a) so far as each Trustee is aware, there is no relevant information (information needed by the organisation’s independent examiner in connection with preparing their report) of which the company’s independent examiner is unaware; and
b) each Trustee has taken all the steps that he or she ought to have taken as a Trustee in order to make himself or herself aware of any relevant information and to establish that the organisation’s independent examiner is aware of that information.
## **BY ORDER OF THE BOARD OF TRUSTEES**
Aileen Martin Chair
Emer Rice Treasurer
Date 26 January 2024
## Independent Examiner’s Report to the Charity Trustees of Rosie’s Trust
## **Independent examiner’s statement**
We report on the accounts of the Trust for the year ended 31 March 2023, which are set out on pages 20 to 26.
I have completed my examination and have no concerns in respect of the matters (1) to (4) listed above and, in connection with following the Directions of the Charity Commission for Northern Ireland, I have found no matters that require drawing to your attention.
## **Respective responsibilities of charity trustees and examiner**
As the charity’s trustees of the Trust you are responsible for the preparation of the accounts in accordance with the Charities Act (Northern Ireland) 2008.
Margaret Fulford B.Sc. (Econ) FCA Independent Examiner
It is my responsibility to:
## On behalf of
- examine the accounts under section 65 of the Charities Act
James Fulford & Co Ltd, Chartered Accountants PO Box 152 Newtownards BT23 5GW
- follow the procedures laid down in the general Directions given by the Commission under section 65(9)(b) of the Charities Act
- state whether particular matters have come to my attention.
Date 26 January 2024
## **Basis of independent examiner’s report**
I have examined your charity accounts as required under section 65 of the Charities Act and my examination was carried out in accordance with the general Directions given by the Charity Commission for Northern Ireland under section 65(9)(b) of the Charities Act.
My examination included a review of the accounting records kept by the charity and a comparison of the accounts presented with those records. It also included consideration of any unusual items or disclosures in the accounts, and seeking explanations from you as charity trustees concerning any such matters. My role is to state whether any material matters have come to my attention giving me cause to believe:
1. That accounting records were not kept in accordance with section 63 of the Charities Act
2. That the accounts do not accord with those accounting records
3. That the accounts do not comply with the accounting requirements of the Charities Act
4. That there is further information needed for a proper understanding of the accounts to be reached.
- select suitable accounting policies and then apply them consistently;
- make judgements and estimates that are reasonable and prudent; and
- prepare the financial statements on a going concern basis unless it is inappropriate to presume that the organisation will continue in business.
18 | Annual Report and Financial Statements For The Year Ended 31 March 2023
Annual Report and Financial Statements For The Year Ended 31 March 2023 | 19
## STATEMENT OF FINANCIAL ACTIVITIES
||**Unrestricted**|**Restricted**||**Prior Year**|
|---|---|---|---|---|
||**Funds £**|**Funds £**|**Total £**|**Total £**|
|**Incoming from:**|||||
|**_Charitable activities_**|50,539|78,643|129,182|140,882|
||||||
|**Total**|50,539|78,643|129,182|140,882|
||||||
|**Expenditure on:**|||||
|**_Raising funds_**|(668)|-|(668)|(523)|
|**_Charitable activities_**|(63,845)|(94,548)|(158,393)|(138,947)|
||||||
|**Total**|(64,513)|(94,548)|(159,061)|(139,470)|
||||||
|**Transfer between funds**|-|-|-|-|
||||||
|**Net Movement in funds**|(13,974)|(15,905)|(29,879)|1,412|
||||||
|**Reconciliation of Funds**|||||
|**_Total funds brought forward_**|54,206|17,711|71,917|70,505|
||||||
|**Total Funds Carried Forward**|40,232|1,806|42,038|71,917|
Continuing operations – The organisation commenced operations on 20th January 2015. There has been no change in operations in the current year or the previous year.
Historical cost profit and losses - The difference between the results disclosed above and the results on an unaudited historical cost basis is not material.
## INCOME AND EXPENDITURE ACCOUNT
|**PERIOD ENDED 31 MARCH**|**2023**|**2023**|||
|---|---|---|---|---|
||**Unrestricted**|**Restricted**|**2023**|**2022**|
|**INCOME**|**Funds £**|**Funds £**|**Total £**|**Total £**|
|General income, donations etc.|50,539|78,643|129,182|140,882|
||||||
|**OPERATING EXPENSES**|||||
|Salaries and wages|21,984|63,362|85,346|108,390|
|Staff Pension Costs|1,007|3,119|4,126|5,132|
|Rent|40|440|480|480|
|Sundry fundraising|668|-|668|523|
|Direct Expenditure|6,662|-|6,662|5,090|
|on Benefciary support|||||
|Consultancy|20,040|16,360|36,400|1,400|
|Promotional materials|1,308|-|1,308|11|
|Travel and Motor Expenses|1,383|4,350|5,733|2,990|
|Training|-|-|-|722|
|Telephone|449|1,919|2,368|2,631|
|Postage, Stationery, Advertising|23|70|93|635|
|Insurance|338|1,741|2,079|1,647|
|General|6,175|2,429|8,604|6,718|
|Subscriptions|61|158|219|262|
|Depreciation|4,375|600|4,975|2,839|
||64,513|94,548|159,061|139,470|
||||||
|**(DEFICIT)/SURPLUS FOR THE YEAR**|||||
|- Normal Activities|(13,974)|(15,905)|(29,879)|1,412|
||||||
|Transfer between funds|-|-|-|-|
||||||
||(13,974)|(15,905)|(29,879)|1,412|
20 | Annual Report and Financial Statements For The Year Ended 31 March 2023
Annual Report and Financial Statements For The Year Ended 31 March 2023 | 21
## BALANCE SHEET
|**AS AT 31 MARCH**||**2023**||**2022**|
|---|---|---|---|---|
||**£**|**£**|**£**|**£**|
||||||
|**FIXED ASSETS**|||||
|Restricted Funds Equipment||1,806||2,406|
|General Funds Equipment||-||4,375|
|||1,806||6,781|
||||||
|**CURRENT ASSETS**|||||
|Cash at Bank and in Hand|63,060||66,447||
||||||
||63,060||66,447||
||||||
|**CURRENT LIABILITIES**|||||
|Creditors|(1,826)||(1,311)||
||||||
||||||
|**NET CURRENT ASSETS**||61,234||65,136|
||||||
|**Deferred Income**||(21,002)||-|
||||||
||||||
|**TOTAL NET ASSETS**||42,038||71,917|
||||||
|**REPRESENTED BY**|||||
||||||
|Revenue reserves||42,038||71,917|
SIGNED FOR AND ON BEHALF OF THE BOARD OF TRUSTEES
## NOTES TO THE FINANCIAL STATEMENTS
The financial statements have been prepared in accordance with the Charities SORP (FRS 102). Rosie’s Trust is a registered charity and a public benefit entity. The currency used for the reporting of these financial accounts is Sterling (GBP).
## **1. ACCOUNTING POLICIES**
The following accounting policies have been used consistently in dealing with items which are considered material in relation to the company’s financial statements.
## **(a) Basis of Preparation**
The financial statements are prepared under the historical cost convention.
## **(b)) Fund Accounting Policy**
Unrestricted income funds are general funds that are available for use at the trustees’ discretion in furtherance of the objectives of the charity.
Restricted funds are those donated for use in a particular area for specific purposes, the use of which is restricted to that area or purpose.
- **(c) Fixed Assets and Depreciation**
- Fixed assets are shown in the accounts at their purchase price (or at an equivalent amount if the assets were donated). This amount is then depreciated so that the assets are written down to their anticipated resale value over the period the company will use them. The depreciation rates and methods adopted are:
|**Straight Line**||
|---|---|
|Equipment, furniture and fttings|20%|
|Van|25%|
## **(d) Incoming Resources**
Income includes subscriptions, donations and other cash received and receivable. Donations are recognised where there is entitlement, certainty of receipt and the amount can be measured with sufficient reliability. Investment income is recognised on a receivable basis.
Income was attributable to the one principal activity of the company carried on within the United Kingdom and Europe.
## **(e) Finance Leases**
If assets are leased and the terms of the agreement are almost equivalent to an outright purchase, a fixed asset and an equivalent liability are created.
The fixed asset is then depreciated using the rates and method shown in note (b) above.
The interest element of the lease is charged as an expense over the primary period of the lease, based on the capital outstanding.
## **2. TRUSTEES’ EMOLUMENTS**
All board members give their services on a voluntary basis, and no remuneration is paid to them.
Aileen Martin TRUSTEE Emer Rice TRUSTEE
22 | Annual Report and Financial Statements For The Year Ended 31 March 2023
Annual Report and Financial Statements For The Year Ended 31 March 2023 | 23
## **3. PARTICULARS OF EMPLOYEES**
Rosie’s Trust receives the services of many people, including volunteers (both members and non-members) and employees.
The analysis by function of the average number of people employed by the organisation during the year (excluding trustees) was:
||**2023**|**2022**|
|---|---|---|
||||
|Service Delivery|3|4|
||||
||||
|Their remuneration was:|||
||**2023**|**2022**|
||**£**|**£**|
||||
|Wages and salaries|82,523|102,643|
|Employer Pension Contributions|4,126|5,132|
|Social Security costs|2,823|5,747|
||89,472|113,522|
Rosie’s Trust’s work would not have been as extensive as it has been without the dedicated services of our volunteers, as noted in the Trustees’ Report.
## 4. FIXED ASSETS
||**General Fund**|**Restricted Fund**||
|---|---|---|---|
||**Assets Van**|**Assets Equipment**|**Total**|
|**VALUATION/COST**|**£**|**£**|**£**|
|At 31 March 2022|7,000|7,656|14,656|
|||||
|At 31 March 2023|7,000|7,656|14,656|
|||||
|||||
|**DEPRECIATION**||||
|At 31 March 2022|2,625|5,250|7,875|
|Charge for the year|1,750|600|2,350|
|Exceptional depreciation charge|2,625|-|2,625|
|||||
|At 31 March 2023|7,000|5,850|12,850|
|||||
|||||
|**NET BOOK VALUE**||||
|At 31 March 2023|-|1,806|1,806|
The van broke down during the year and it is not economical to repair. An exceptional additional depreciation charge has been made to write it down to nil net book value.
We are very grateful for their gift of time to the charity.
24 | Annual Report and Financial Statements For The Year Ended 31 March 2023
Annual Report and Financial Statements For The Year Ended 31 March 2023 | 25
## 5. REVENUE RESERVES
The analysis of restricted funds is given below.
||||**National**||
|---|---|---|---|---|
|||**Dormant**|**Lottery**||
||**Halifax**|**Accounts**|**Community**||
||**Grant**|**Fund NI**|**Fund**|**Total**|
||**£**|**£**|**£**|**£**|
|Reserves brought forward|2,406|-|15,305|17,711|
|Received in the year|-|25,000|74,645|99,645|
||||||
||2,406|25,000|89,950|117,356|
||||||
|Less: Expenditure|||||
|Income and Expenditure|-|(3,998)|(89,950)|(93,948)|
|Transfer between funds|-|-|-|-|
|Fixed assets depreciation|(600)|-|-|(600)|
|Deferred income c/fwd|-|(21,002)|-|(21,002)|
||||||
|Reserves carried forward|1,806|-|-|1,806|
Revenue reserves include grants that have preconditions attached. These grants are separated as shown above and relevant expenditure is allocated against them.
Any funds unspent at the end of the year are carried forward if the charity has received them outright, and they are shown as income in the year received. Any funds received that are repayable to the granting body if unspent are shown as income to the extent that expenditure has been incurred and a deferred income liability is included for the amount not yet spent.
## **6. ORGANISATION INFORMATION**
The organisation was formed by Trust deed. It is registered with HMRC and The Regulator for Charities in Northern Ireland as a charity. It operates within Northern Ireland and its registered address is The Fountain Centre, 2 Queens Parade, Bangor, BT20 3BJ.
The nature of the entity’s operations and a description of the principal activities is included in the Trustees’ report.
## **7. APPROVAL OF FINANCIAL STATEMENTS**
26 | Annual Report and Financial Statements For The Year Ended 31 March 2023
We’d love to talk to you about Rosie’s Trust so please call us on **02891 641340** or visit **rosiestrust.org** for more information.
Rosie’s Trust is registered with the Charity Commission for Northern Ireland NIC102422. Registered office 2 Queen’s Parade, Bangor BT20 3BJ