## **Be Someone’s Santa** **Trustees’ Annual Report & Financial Statement** **Period ending: 31 March 2025** 1 Charity contact information Be Someone's Santa Scottish Charity Number: SC051401 48 Gordon Drive Glasgow G44 3TN www htt s'/lwww.besomeonessanta.or .uk htt s:IIwwN.facebook.coml rou slbesomeonessanta AA Al O @besomeonessanta ## **Objectives and activities** ## **Who are we?** Be Someone's Santa (SCIO) is a small Scottish charity that provides Christmas gifts for specifically nominated children and young people across Glasgow who are living in financial hardship, and who are unlikely to receive anything at Christmas time. What started as a small collection between family and friends in 2017 now delivers over 3,000 gifts to some of Glasgow’s most in-need families. The charity is run entirely by a small team of unpaid volunteers. Be Someone’s Santa partners with various divisions within Glasgow Health and Social Care Partnership, schools, community projects and support workers to identify children, young people, and families who are in need of support at Christmas, and then campaign for gift donations from the general public. Each nominated child/young person is allocated to a registered pledger from the appeal who is then provided with the child’s age and gender - this helps ensure gift appropriateness, and means no child is left unaccounted for. Be Someone's Santa is more than just a charity; it's a community of people who come together to spread joy at Christmas time. Volunteers work together to check and sort the pledged gifts. The social workers and community support workers then distribute to the children and their families in time for Christmas day. For anyone looking for a way to make a difference at Christmas, Be Someone's Santa is a great way to do it. Whether that be volunteering time, donating a gift, or even just sharing our appeal - every little bit helps, and together we can make sure that no child goes without a gift this Christmas. ## **Who does our appeal help?** Be Someone's Santa is a charity that helps to make Christmas a little bit brighter for some of Glasgow's most vulnerable children and families. In the early days of the appeal, the primary beneficiary was Glasgow Health and Social Care Partnership in the South of Glasgow, specifically Duty Team, Children and Families, Casework, Community Homelessness Services, Alcohol Drugs and Recovery Service, and Criminal Justice social work teams. Over the past few years as awareness of the appeal expanded the charity has also been able to extend its support to divisions within the North West of Glasgow Health and Social Care Partnership, as well as community projects and primary schools across Glasgow. This was only possible thanks to the growth of our pledging community, and our programme of fundraising. The children, young people and families nominated to the charity appeal simply do not have the resources to offer a Christmas like many of us take for granted. Some have no family around them at all, and some are living in homeless/temporary accommodation. 3 Be Someone’s Santa exists to make sure that every child has a gift to open on Christmas morning, and every family feels the joy of the season. ## **How does it work?** We recognise the value of providing a joyful Christmas for every child, irrespective of their circumstances. To this end, our charity collaborates closely with social care teams and support/community workers who have identified children and families facing challenging situations. Acknowledging the existence of comparable gift/toy appeals, we request that agencies/organisations participating in our appeal refrain from nominating the same child/young person for concurrent involvement in other charitable initiatives. This precaution is taken to prevent redundancy and ensure that the resources allocated to our cause effectively reach those in need without duplication across different charitable endeavours. Nominated children/young people are then matched with a registered pledger, who is responsible for buying them a gift. Pledgers are provided with the child's age and gender so that they can choose an appropriate gift. We also ask the pledgers to be creative and thoughtful with their gifts, and we offer advice and guides for each age group - after all, we want the children to be surprised and delighted on Christmas morning. Beyond the provision of Christmas gifts, our fundraising efforts aim to extend support by facilitating the distribution of warm pyjamas and clothing to maximise the impact on as many children as possible. Additionally, we allocate funds to issue food and heating vouchers to families identified as facing the greatest need during the winter season. ## **Why get involved?** Imagine waking up on Christmas day. It's cold. Your tummy is rumbling. Santa did not deliver any gifts. Sadly, this is the reality for so many children, young people, and families across Glasgow. The Scottish Government reports that 32% of Glasgow's children are currently living in relative poverty. Put another way, this is more than a quarter of the city's youth — equivalent to 1 out of every 3 children! The aftermath of the global pandemic and soaring living costs are making it harder for some families to afford basic necessities like housing, food, and heating. Homeless applications in Glasgow have increased to their highest levels in almost a decade, and food bank usage has more than tripled in the last six years. Since 2020, we have seen a 146% increase in the number of children and young people being nominated to the charity for a gift. When you are already facing a tough decision between eating and staying warm in the cold winter months, the added pressure of providing a Christmas gift can be overwhelming. The children and families we support simply do not have the resources to offer a Christmas like many of us take for granted. Some have no family around them at all or are living in homeless/temporary accommodation. 4 Be Someone's Santa has brought so much joy to children who might otherwise go without a gift this Christmas. We hope we can continue to support Glasgow's most vulnerable children and young adults. After all, every child deserves the gift of Christmas. 5 ## **Structure, governance and management** ## **Type of governing document** Be Someone’s Santa has a constitution for a governing document. ## **Trustee recruitment and appointment** The founder of Be Someone’s Santa, , has used her contacts to recruit four individuals (in addition to herself) as trustees of the charity. The trustees were selected by Jen for each having an area of expertise that would be beneficial to the operation of the charity. The list of trustees and a brief summary of their background and responsibilities is included below: is the founder of Be Someone's Santa and oversees its daily operations and strategic direction. This includes collaborating with agencies referring children and young people to the charity and managing allocations to pledgers. She also leads the onboarding of corporate support, fundraising/funding applications, and management/moderation of the community group. She ensures pledgers stay informed about the appeal's progress, addressing inquiries and questions from the public eager to contribute or already committed. In her day job as a Cognitive Behavioural Therapist working with children and adults, Jen has witnessed firsthand the hardship and challenges many face. She is dedicated to ensuring no one is forgotten during the Christmas holidays and devoted to inspiring a movement of goodwill that continues to make a difference in the lives of those less fortunate. 6 boasts an extensive marketing career spanning 15 years, with a diverse background in client-side and marketing agency roles across Edinburgh, Glasgow, London, and Sydney. Currently spearheading online marketing initiatives for Be Someone's Santa, plays a pivotal role in supporting with the management of inquiries and questions from the public eager to participate or seeking guidance on their pledges. A key focus for is to continue cultivating corporate donations through LinkedIn, and maintain and grow the charity’s social channel followings through engaging content and sharing stories. , a Software Developer, has been an integral part of Be Someone's Santa since its inception, contributing from the early days when it was a modest collection among Jen's family and friends, and assumed the role of trustee in 2022. Serving as the charity's resident technical expert, he plays a pivotal role in the development and maintenance of the charity website and pledging portal. , a Biomedical Scientist with Lanarkshire Trust, initially engaged with the charity in 2020 by fulfilling a ‘Special Request; pledge. Her profound commitment to the cause led her to seek further involvement. Currently serving as the charity's Secretary, actively supports in orchestrating fundraising activities and handling funding applications. , a chartered accountant, with over 15 years industry experience, initially became involved with Be Someone’s Santa in 2019 as both a personal and corporate pledgee. Currently serving as the charity's treasurer, she assumes a crucial role in overseeing and managing its financial matters. 7 ## **List of beneficiary organisations:** The following organisations and agencies were supported by the 2024 Be Someone’s Santa charity appeal. ## **Glasgow Health & Social Care Partnership** Be Someone’s Santa works with several different divisions in Glasgow Health and Social Care Partnership (GHSCP) in the Southside of Glasgow area. The main hubs are in Castlemilk, Govan, Gorbals, and Pollok and they support all of the surrounding areas to these locations. Within South GHSCP, the teams supported by the charity appeal are: |**Child and**
**family social**
**work services**|Helps to establish safe and stable environments for children and
young people. They assess risk, protect children, provide support to
parents, and establish relationships with all family members.| |---|---| |**Drug &**
**Alcohol**
**Recovery**
**Service**|Joint Social Work Services and Health Addiction Teams. If you need
help with an alcohol or drug problem, you can come to the Drug &
Alcohol Recovery Service and they will arrange for you to see the
worker best placed to help you, e.g. an Addiction Worker or an
Addiction Nurse, and they may speak to you about involving doctors,
psychology and occupational therapists as part of your care.| |**Homeless**
**Casework**
**team**|A homelessness service to anyone who is homeless, threatened with
homelessness, or in need of advice about homelessness issues,
through their Community Homeless Services. If you think you are
homeless, or at risk of becoming homeless, they will make sure that
you are offered an interview at your local Community Homeless
Team.| |**Youth Justice**|Ensures that young people who display difficult and challenging
behaviours, including offending, are given the support and
opportunities required to remain safely in the community, change
their behaviour, reduce their vulnerability, and make positive choices
for the future.| |**Criminal**
**Justice**|Community Justice Glasgow aims to reduce offending, improve the
management of offenders and create safer communities. Their role is
to plan, co-ordinate, monitor and report of the delivery of offender
services by local partners and what impact these services have on
reducing re-offending and making communities safe.| |**Health &**
**Social Care**
**Connect**
**(Children &**
**Families)**|Public and agencies can make a referral to Connect regarding
welfare concerns of a child. If the case is unallocated then a Connect
worker will support the family during assessment and refer on to the
South C&F Duty Team for further support if required. Connect worker
will request gifts for the cases that will be open to them.| |**Kinship Care**|Provide support when a child is formally 'looked after' (in terms of the
Children (Scotland) Act 1995) by their extended family or close
friends, if they cannot remain with their birth parents. Under the
Looked After Children (Scotland) Regulations 2009, Kinship Carers| 8 ||are defined as 'a person who is related to the child (through blood,
marriage or civil partnership)' or 'a person with whom the child has a
pre-existing relationship'.| |---|---| |**Continuing**
**Care**|Provides advice and assistance to young people who have ceased to
be looked after on or after their 16th birthday. Local authorities are
legally required to provide aftercare support until the care leaver
turns 19, and to assess any eligible needs for aftercare support until
they turn 26s| |**Asylum and**
**Roma team**|Work with children, young people, and adults who are asylum
seekers to integrate them into local communities, providing vital
services in relation to daily life and support in relation to trauma and
the lived experience. Roma Team supports families from the Roma
community, helping to integrate them into their communities.| |**Children and**
**Families**
**learning**
**disability team**|Supports children and young people who have a range of moderate
to severe disabilities as well as complex health needs. The team is
responsible for assessing the needs of children and families affected
by disability and providing information on a range of respite and
leisure services as well as offering advice and information about local
resources.| ## **Caledonian Team - GHSCP** The Caledonian Team is an area within Glasgow Health & Social Care Partnership that works specifically in the area of domestic abuse. This means supporting children, mothers, and carers who have been impacted by domestic abuse and the male has been convicted of domestic abuse offences. They work very much like Children & Families social work with children on the child protection register, in poverty with the usual issues like drug, alcohol, and mental health impacting on the children and family. They work directly with about 500 + women and children (and then there will be children attached to families they are just working with mum or dad). Aside from the children nominated by Caledonian Team who Be Someone's Santa supported with Christmas gifts, we also supported small gifts for a nominated group of very vulnerable women who had, for example, been in care and are now living in abusive relationships. Be Someone’s Santa also supported some of the most vulnerable families with grocery vouchers to ensure they had food throughout the winter period. ## **GHSCP North West Glasgow Children & Families** North West Duty Team is based in the North West of the city covering areas including Partick, Possil, and Drumchapel. They work with new referrals which can come from the Police, Education, or Health. They work alongside other professionals and offer a service to families with children from birth to 18yrs. Their work consists of supporting families within the community to enhance their lifestyles. 9 NW Duty Team work with families from deprived areas who have financial difficulties, addiction to alcohol and/or substance misuse, mental health and difficulties with education. They liaise with professionals and complete joint visits to encourage families to take responsibility for their actions and support to encourage positive change. They work under Child Protection Procedures at times as well as voluntary work. Working together with families to support them to remain together as a family with resources/support which include weekly visits from Social Work and regular multi-agency meetings. Their work also includes working with families who have no recourse to public funds, Asylum Seekers, and Refugee families to provide support with integrating into the local communities, access to health care and education facilities. ## **GHSCP North West Glasgow Continuing Care,** ## **After Care & Homeless Young people Services** The North West Continuing Care, After Care & Homeless Young People Services provides advice and assistance to young people who have ceased to be looked after on or after their 16th birthday. Local authorities are legally required to provide aftercare support until the care leaver turns 19, and to assess any eligible needs for aftercare support until they turn 26 year old. Many of these young people are living alone for the first time and often finding themselves with very little in the way of home essentials. Be Someone’s Santa provides gift vouchers to allow these individuals to buy food, toiletries and household items. ## **Bluevale Community Project** Bluevale creates a club run by the community for the community, set in the most deprived area in Glasgow (according to the latest SIMD statistics). The local community is dealing with social issues such as high unemployment, drug and alcohol abuse, anti-social behaviour, and disengagement from mainstream services. Bluevale aims to make the area a better place to live by providing a whole system approach to community work meaning they work with families and individuals locally. Bluevale has created a support network for local families who are struggling especially with the current cost of living crisis. This has resulted in families asking for extra support at Christmas as some had stated that they were struggling so much that they were having to choose between heating and eating meaning that there would be young people that would not be receiving a gift this Christmas. The support from Be Someone’s Santa meant that Bluevale were able to support local families in need last Christmas. It also enabled Bluevale to recognise those families most in need and refer them to further organisations for income maximisation, benefits, and housing advice. ## **Project Present** Project Present is a grassroots, church-based community initiative in Glasgow’s West End that has been brightening the holidays for local families for over a decade. Each year at 10 Christmas, volunteers come together to organise a donation and gift drive similar to that of Be Someone’s santa to support children and families in need, collecting and distributing presents to nominated children and young people, including young people nominated from Kibble school. ## **Glasgow’s No.1 Baby & Family Support Service** ## **(SCIO)** Glasgow’s No. 1 Baby & Family Support Service is a community-driven charity providing crucial, free support to families experiencing hardship across Glasgow. Acting as a vital safety net, they support families living in poverty, including those in working poverty who often fall through the gaps of traditional services. Through the redistribution of donated baby items, clothing, toys, and household essentials, they ensure families have access to the practical items they need during difficult times. ## **Castlemilk Family Health Centre** Castlemilk Family Health Centre is a key primary care hub serving the Castlemilk community in the south of Glasgow, providing essential healthcare services including general practice consultations, preventative health support, and wellbeing advice for patients of all ages. As part of NHS Greater Glasgow and Clyde, the Health Centre plays a vital role in supporting the physical and mental health of local residents in an area experiencing some of the highest levels of socioeconomic deprivation in Scotland. According to the Scottish Index of Multiple Deprivation (SIMD), a significant majority of Castlemilk’s neighbourhoods rank among the most deprived in the country, with many data zones within the worst 5% nationally for income, employment, health and education. ## **Castleton Primary School** Castleton Primary School is a Glasgow City Council–run primary school based in the Castlemilk area of south Glasgow, serving children from early years through to P7 and acting as an important focal point for families in the local community. It not only delivers core education but also supports pupils and families through a range of wellbeing-focused activitiesThe school is situated in one of Scotland’s most deprived neighbourhoods, with data from the Scottish Index of Multiple Deprivation showing that Castlemilk contains a high concentration of data zones amongst the 5% most deprived in the country, outstripping many other parts of Glasgow for income, employment, health and education disadvantage. ## **Our Holy Redeemer (ORH) Primary School** Our Holy Redeemer Primary School is a dedicated primary school located in Clydebank, West Dunbartonshire, providing a supportive and nurturing environment where children are encouraged to learn, grow, and thrive. The school serves a community where a significant proportion of pupils come from areas experiencing high levels of socioeconomic hardship; for example, similar West Dunbartonshire contexts show that 11 many pupils live in neighbourhoods falling within the lowest Scottish Index of Multiple Deprivation (SIMD) deciles, reflecting challenges such as low income, unemployment, and related barriers to wellbeing and educational attainment. The school plays a vital role not just in delivering quality education but also in supporting families through inclusive practice, community engagement, and a focus on ensuring every child feels respected, valued and equipped to succeed. ## **Caledonian Primary School** Caledonia Primary School in Baillieston, Glasgow, is a vibrant and inclusive primary school that serves children from Nursery through to P7, rooted in a community with a proud, hardworking spirit. The school emerged from the amalgamation of local schools and promotes a nurturing ethos underpinned by values such as resilience, respect and responsibility, with a curriculum designed to reflect the creative and lifelong learning skills needed for future success. A significant proportion of pupils live in areas facing socioeconomic challenges with more than 60% of children residing in SIMD 1 and 2, which are among the most deprived quintiles in Scotland’s Scottish Index of Multiple Deprivation, highlighting the real pressures many families experience locally. Despite these challenges, Caledonia Primary is committed to supporting pupils’ academic achievement and wellbeing, fostering strong partnerships with families and local agencies to help every child thrive. 12 ## **Impact and achievements** In the financial year ending 31st March 2025 we worked with social workers and staff from not-for-profit and charity organisations from various parts of Glasgow, with the aim to allocate gifts to underprivileged children and families that the organisations worked with. A list of the beneficiary organisations of our work is provided in this report. This year, we were able to significantly expanded our reach both within the southside of Glasgow and beyond, taking nomination from primary schools and other family support services and community interest groups. This also meant that the number of children our appeal had to find gifts for was larger than in previous years, with over 3,200 children receiving a gift from us in 2024 - an increase of 32% YoY. With the cost-of-living crisis limiting the public’s ability to donate gifts, we proactively secured corporate support, both through financial pledges (enabling us to purchase gifts on their behalf) and bulk pledging from staff and customers. We also built partnerships with Starbucks, Ibis Hotels, Londis Baillieston, and two Asda stores, which hosted Christmas tree tags for customers and staff to select and return gifts for children of specific ages. The Newton Mearns Asda additionally ran a gifting trolley. This support was invaluable and enabled us to confidently accept nominations from additional areas. 13 16'.04* Asda (Newton Meam8) I nanK YCW so mucn io ali our CuS￿meT8 and eolleagues v4ho have donaied pretyents to our glft appeal irolley. We have already reeelved 100 gifts Inthe first two weeks - an arnazing response. rom Be Someone's Santo was delighied to collect Ihese gills in Ofdef to dlsirlbute io chlljren In our comrrnjnlly. Our trolley wll be in 8tcrfe until Friday 20th Deeembei. - •sda communily and customer One again, Be Someone's Santa experienced a positive reception from numerous businesses in 2024. with several generously contributing gifts. monetary support, and providing warehouse space for the drop-off and storage of gifts. Noteworthy contributors to the 2024 appeal included Active PT, William Grant & Sons, City Building, Asda, starbucks. Ibis Hotels, Everyday Athlete. PocketRocket PT, and GTW Storage. 14 This year. our JustGiving campaign continued to perform strongly. raising an impressive £9,322. One of our key supporters. Activ Scotland, an independent Glasgow-based gym once again backed Be Someone's Santa by running their annual "Reach the North Pole" fitness challenge, with members completing a series of activities to collectively achieve the kilometres required to "reach the North Pole." Everyday Athlete once again supported us by encouraging their members to donate warm clothing and vouchers, while Fit for It continued their support through pledges and promotion to their membership base. We were also delighted to receive support frorn The PocketRocket PT. who took on the challenge of providing gifts for our teenage nominees, an age group that is particularly difficult to support each year. 15 Our 2024 appeal saw over 3,425 gifts delivered to children who would not otherwise have received a Christmas gift had presents to open on Christmas day. In addition to this, food vouchers totalling £5,000 were distributed to families to allow them to buy food and heat top ups over the festive period. An important aspect of the work Be Someone’s Santa does is ensuring that every child on the list receives an appropriate gift bag. To do this the Be Someone’s Santa team check every gift bag donated to the appeal and make sure that it contains most, if not all, of the items listed below: - Item of warm clothing - Age appropriate Toy/Gift - Sweet treat - Toiletries (gender and age appropriate) Sorting through over gift bags and making sure they are matched to the right child on a social worker’s list is a huge undertaking. The charity’s trustees were helped by a small team of volunteers and social workers over the two drop-off weekends. _The pictures below are some of the gifts dropped off for the 2024 appeal._ 16 17 The pictures below is some feedback from the pledgers who took part this year,. 18 The text below are impact statements from the families of children who received gifts in the 8ppe81.' "l am so gratefvl for all the gifts. I was dreading Christmas. but now I can't wait to see their facesl" "I couldn t believe how 8m8zing the gifts were that were donated to my kids. To know that someone out there is thinking of us m8kes me want to cry...h8PPy te8rsl° .1 can't tell you how much this has helped my family this year. l am so grateful." 19 ## **Financial review** ## **Cash Donations** In line with the charity’s purpose of enabling local donors to support vulnerable and underprivileged children and young people through the donation of gifts, most of the support received by Be Someone’s Santa is non-financial. The charity’s main source of income continues to be physical gift donations from individuals and local businesses, rather than cash income. The charity also receives some monetary donations to help support its activities. During the year, this income came from the following sources: ## **Personal Donations** Donations from individuals who chose to support the charity financially, either alongside a gift pledge or instead of donating physical gifts. ## **Corporate Donations** Cash donations from local businesses, including those who wished to support the charity directly or to match employee gift pledges. ## **Fundraising** Most fundraising income was received through the charity’s JustGiving page. This was the first full campaign year in which JustGiving was in use and resulted in a significant increase in online donations. Income received through this platform increased from £5,411 in the previous campaign to £11,340 during the year, an increase of 110%. There was a corresponding reduction in direct personal donations, as many supporters chose to donate through JustGiving instead. The charity has submitted an application to HMRC to enable Gift Aid to be claimed on eligible donations in future years. It is hoped that this will be in place in time for the 2026 campaign. ## **Charitable Trusts and Grants** No income was received from charitable trusts or grant-making bodies during the year. We hope to be able to access charitable trusts again in future campaigns. 20 ## **Use of Funds** Cash donations are essential to the work of Be Someone’s Santa and are used in a number of ways to support the charity’s aims. Each year, donated funds are used to “top up” gift pledges with small additional items such as warm clothing, toys, selection boxes, gift vouchers and toiletries. This helps to ensure that the gifts received by children and young people are as equitable and enjoyable as possible. There are occasions where a supporter has pledged a gift for a nominated child but is unable to fulfil that pledge, or where a child is referred to the charity after the public appeal has closed. In these cases, the charity uses donated funds to purchase gifts on the supporter’s behalf, ensuring that every child supported by the charity receives a gift on Christmas morning. The charity has tracked unfulfilled or “no-show” pledges over recent years and these have averaged around 15% of all pledges made. As the number of children supported by the charity increases each year, the need for funds to cover these unfulfilled pledges becomes increasingly important. The trustees remain mindful that the core ethos of the charity is to provide physical gifts donated and curated by local supporters. While cash donations are vital to the charity’s work, the trustees aim to reduce reliance on cash funding over time by lowering the number of unfulfilled pledges. A number of supporter engagement initiatives are already in place to help achieve this. In the meantime, the charity maintains a modest cash reserve to ensure it can meet its commitments to children and young people. 21 In addition to gifts on Christmas morning, through the charity’s work with local social care and community organisations, some families and individuals are identified as being in particularly acute need. Where appropriate, additional support is provided using donated funds, including vouchers to assist with food purchases and household heating top-ups. ## **Income & Expenditure** 22 ## **Statement of the charity’s policy on reserves** Due to the increasing number of children being nominated to Be Someone’s Santa, together with a rise in the number of unfulfilled (“no-show”) pledges compared with the previous year, the trustees have reviewed the charity’s reserves policy. The trustees consider it necessary to hold reserves in order to ensure that the charity is able to meet its commitments in cases where gift pledges are not fulfilled by the original pledger. The charity aims to hold reserves sufficient to provide gifts for 15% of the number of children supported in the previous year. In addition, the trustees have identified the need to hold a designated reserve of £5,000 to enable the charity to provide additional support to families and individuals with the greatest level of need. For the period covering 2024 to 2025, the trustees have therefore set a target level of reserves of £24,085. At the year end, the charity’s actual reserves, including funds brought forward from the previous year, amounted to £25,524. The charity’s reserves were therefore in excess of the target level set by the trustees. ## **Donated facilities and services** A key part of the charity's mission is not only to provide a gift for each nominated child or young person, but also to ensure that the gift is age-appropriate and, where possible, aligned with the recipient’s individual needs or interests. Given the challenge of managing gifts for over 3,000 children, having an appropriate space to check and sort bags by age and gender is essential. This enables social workers to assess each gift bag and make selections tailored to the knowledge they have of each child. Securing suitable space for the campaign period remains one of the charity’s most significant logistical challenges each year. For the 2024 appeal, GTW Storage kindly provided several storage units within their facility from mid-November to early December. This allowed the charity to host two public drop-off events on the weekends of 22–23 November and 29–30 November, with an additional week dedicated to sorting and distributing gifts. The charity is also fortunate to benefit from the support of a dedicated team of volunteers, who assist with checking and sorting gift bags, managing local collections, and collecting gifts from pledgers who are unable to attend the public drop-off events. 23 ## **Future plans** Our primary objectives for 2025 focus on promoting the charity and its mission year-round, rather than concentrating activity solely around the appeal period. This strategic shift is intended to strengthen and stabilise donation levels, providing more consistent support for referred families. A continuous presence will also help us fulfil pledges when gifts are not returned during designated drop-off dates, adding an important layer of resilience to the appeal. In addition, we continue to actively seek a long-term partnership with a venue provider for a minimum of two years. The annual challenge of securing drop-off venues requires significant time and effort, and without a venue the appeal cannot operate. A multi-year partnership would provide essential stability and help ensure the continuity of our work. Recognising changes in charitable giving, we have established a dedicated JustGiving charity page and are currently awaiting HMRC confirmation of our Gift Aid application. This will allow supporters who prefer direct donations,rather than pledging for a specific child to contribute more easily. We also plan to strengthen our board of trustees through the appointment of an additional trustee to support secretarial and administrative duties, alongside recruiting volunteers to assist during drop-off weekends. A 2025/2026 roadmap is currently in development and will provide the framework for planning and delivering the 2025 appeal. 24 ## **Declaration** Signed on behalf of the charity trustees: Designation Date 25 2024 2025 Income Personal Donations Fundraising Corporate Donations Total Income Cash Donations by Source £650 £11,340 £7,950 £19,940.18 £650 Gift Top U Pro ect Present Nominated Families Grfts Sofvare Costs Statione Bank Fees Misc Total Ex -£g83 -£1.000 -£5,300 -£1.757 -£49 -£4 -£163 9,256.37 £7,950 Personal Donations Fundraising Corporate Donations enses £11,34 Su lus l Deficit £10,683.81 Children Pled ed 150/0 of led es 3,425 514 Gift Reserve Required ecial Re uestes Reserve eratin Ex enses Total Reserve Required £17.990 £5,000 £1,095 £24,085 Actual Reserves Surplus I (Shortfall) £25,524.70 £1,439.69 ## **Independent Examiner’s Report to the Trustees of: Be Someone’s Santa SCIO (SC051401)** I report on the accounts of the charity for the year ended 31st March 2025 which are set out on pages 21-24 of the Trustees Annual Report and attached accounting document. ## **Respective responsibilities of trustees and examiner** The charity’s trustees are responsible for the preparation of the accounts in accordance with the terms of the Charities and Trustee Investment (Scotland) Act 2005 and the Charities Accounts (Scotland) Regulations 2006 (as amended). The charity trustees consider that the audit requirement of Regulation 10(1) (d) of the 2006 Accounts Regulations does not apply. It is my responsibility to examine the accounts as required under section 44(1) (c) of the Act and to state whether particular matters have come to my attention. ## **Basis of independent examiner’s statement** My examination is carried out in accordance with Regulation 11 of the 2006 Accounts Regulations. An examination includes a review of the accounting records kept by the charity and a comparison of the accounts presented with those records. It also includes consideration of any unusual items or disclosures in the accounts, and seeks explanations from the trustees concerning any such matters. The procedures undertaken do not provide all the evidence that would be required in an audit, and consequently I do not express an audit opinion on the view given by the accounts. ## **Independent examiner’s statement** In the course of my examination, no matter has come to my attention 1. which gives me reasonable cause to believe that in any material respect the requirements: - to keep accounting records in accordance with Section 44(1) (a) of the 2005 Act and Regulation 4 of the 2006 Accounts Regulations - to prepare accounts which accord with the accounting records and comply with Regulation 9 of the 2006 Accounts Regulations. ## **Print name:**